I want to add that the huge inspiration behind Samurai Shodown are the novels of Fuutaro Yamada. The man was truly a father to the "Dark Japanese fantasy" genre that's still explored today with the titles like Sekiro. Actually, Amakusa Shiro was a villain in his legendary novel "Makai Tenshou", and Yagyuu Juubei was one of his most prominent heroes. His most well-known work in the west is probably Kouga Ninpouchou (Basilisk), adapted into manga by Segawa Masaki and then into anime (Not the trash season 2 though). The old prominent animated movie "Ninja Scroll" shared the same universe with Basilisk. This is really unfortunate how few of his works got a decent adaptation and even though some were noticed in the west, the name of the progenitor remains largely unknown.
@@SpectralSound. Yamada deserves to be much more popular worldwide considering how foundational was his work for the pop ninja lore and how massive is his contribution into formulating the aesthetic of fantasy feudal Japan. Only one of his books has been officially translated into English, what's a total travesty.
@@Miraihi It's probably best he's not that well known in the West, especially in the US. We love our anime but we love our Jesus as well and won't take too kindly to him vilifying a Christian like Amakusa. I love Ninja Scroll myself but when I saw Ninja Resurrection's anti-Chirstian propaganda, I turned it off.
Yeah. Air blocking in SamSho is an affront to God. The whole game is based around commitment, so each jump is a decision that you, the player, must *own*.
Shout-out to that gag about "stop saying 'im not good at fighting games' and be honest for once". Anybody who deeply loves fighting games has experienced a friend saying they're "not very good" at them and then bending over backwards to try to help them learn just to realize later they were never really interested in the first place. Saying "I'm not very good" implies that interest exists and you just don't know where to start learning. I don't know why people have such a hard time just saying "I'm not interested"
just want to expand a bit about the nature of heavy punishing; i love how Samsho has hit stop. even as a spectator I always grunts every time the heavy button hits. it's satisfying to watch. the extra oomph is very vivid it's like saying 'look at that mistake' or 'reap your reward.' i'm KoF fans and SFV casual spectators and i rarely got the oomph cathartic experience on that game. a single button hit from samsho delivers like-you-said a mystical experience. like the definition of battling a lifeline is very much real. not to mention the comeback mechanic in this game is so good. when one player decide to burst on samsho 2019, i hold my breath anticipating when Issen is coming. and since this game is read heavy, i never know who's going to win and mostly glue myself to chair watching how the players staking their life second by second. after winner proclaim the victory only then i elude from the grasp of heavy pressure. this game is something and i really hope to see it flourish.
I remember the first time I sat down at my friend's computer and he booted up MAME (arcade cabinet emulator) and showed me Samurai Showdown 2, we spent probably 12 hours sharing a single keyboard with controls split down the middle amazed by the pixel art, the style, the gushing blood, the sound effects, everything. This was in the late '90s/early '00s, but the sheer level of craftmanship beat out anything else we were playing on Dreamcast or PS1.
It sounds like there's some heavy compression on your voice over in this one. Not exactly complaining. It's great work as usual. Just curious if you've been playing with some different EQ settings or a new mic.
the OG Samurai Shodown on the SNES was the first fighting game I ever played and although I have played many other fighting games it is still my favourite.
Really nice video to one of my favorite fighting game series that’s not based on pre-existing comic book characters (Marvel vs Capcom), Anime characters (DragonBall Z, Yu Yu Hakusho, Sailor Moon) or Nintendo characters (Smash Bros)…..DEFINITELY my favorite true fighting game series when compared to Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Tekken, all those….. If you make a follow up, try to cover the portable games, the ones on the NeoGeoPocket Color are superb!! Well, technically there’s a release on the regular NGPocket, and the second was released on the NGPocket Color……the 2 GameBoy games are neat too, especially the Japan exclusive Samurai Shodown 3….Part 1 for the GameBoy was always noteworthy to me, it’s possibly the weakest of the early 2D entries, but it’s the ONLY game so far that lets you play as that Mail Courier haha…..The NGPocket games are really good and the GameBoy games are worth playing. I feel like all 4 mentioned games had more focus on special moves…it’s like I can play the arcade series and rarely use a special, but when I play any of the portable games I use special moves quite a bit…it’s weird how similar they are, yet how different they feel…it’s unfortunate those games aren’t as easily accessible to competitive play
They should revitalize the franchise by teaming up with Arc System Works and crossing over with Guilty Gear or maybe even Sengoku Basara by Capcom and feature close to a hundred fighters.
@EverydayLegend yeah I knew a new game for the series had came out because that Woolie guy was talking about it. I'll try it someday but I'm in no rush tbh.
you can't talk about the history of Samsho with No reference to Ninja Scroll.... smh xbox series console community has never stopped playing because the netcode is good on xbox. I'm wondering how much better it can be with the rollback
I was always a huge SS fan played the series for over 25 years easily maybe even 30, and ss2019 is complete garbage, so many awful system changes i'm not gonna be one of these fans that cup snks balls on this one, the game is complete garbage, the throw system is trash, the combo system is trash, the lack of grounded damage and the effect or lack of foresight in snk changing certain moves because of this change is trash, the game is just trash
I'd like to add something that many Samurai Shodown (2019) players still don't know... in 2021, SNK released a Next-Gen version of the (2019) 'reboot.' The next gen version released only on the Series X|S on March 16, 2021 with 120fps gameplay making it the very first fighting game to have true 120fps gameplay. To this day it is still the only fighting game that has 120fps gameplay - which significantly improves netplay (even SF6 is not confirmed to incorporate the true 120fps gameplay) making this Samurai Shodown a game truly ahead of its time. If you are interested in trying it, this game is heavily streamed under the Twitch category 'Samurai Shodown Enhanced'. This game was featured as a Main game Tournament at Frosty Faustings XV Feb 4, 2023 and will be a Main Game Tournament at Combo Breaker next month. This game was also a part of Vortex Gallery Online 2023 on February 25th, 2023.
Samurai Shodown was always somewhat of an innovative franchise. It was among the first of the weapon-based fighters, and I believe SS2 introduced a parrying mechanic, something that Street Fighter 3 would refine and popularize.
@@RafaelVolcanesyeah me too, fucking love it, it's gotten me hooked on the series♥️ Probably gonna get the digital eclipse samsho NEOGEO collection for my Xbox next week♥️♥️
My man KBash got StumbleBee out of hiatus to talk about one of the fighting game series GOATs Being among the twelve fans of niche microcelebrity fgc creators, I'm hooting and hollering rn
I really wish the latest entry would have been more popular. People complain about fighting games were you get combod for 10+ secs but then they don’t support games like Samurai Shodown. Smh, will never understand the FGC.
I think it’s because most people love high speed rushdown. Games that require patience and prioritize mental fortitude over displays of dexterity aren’t usually popular, despite being satisfying as hell.
They probably aren't the same demographic. They would sooner turn to any ArcSys game not named FighterZ and have a good time with that since the defensive options are simple.
@@willdiesel8431 SamSho’s (for the sake of this reply, SS7’s) defense options are even simpler, and more generous. Press back to block. Press back within 10f of a move landing to just defend. 236A+B to reflect, or if unarmed, catch the blade.
@@yeetkunedo when I say defensive options (and I'm mainly referring to what ArcSys implemented) I'm referring to "faultless" options. If the above poster was getting combo'd to oblivion there are ways out of it that are relatively simple that can be a universal mechanic for that game or character specific that will burn a shared meter. Oh and trust me the simplest blocking methods are enough for the NRS fanbase to bemoan simply because it's not a button press. I've seen all types of complaints.
Samurai Shodown (2019) is the greatest fighting game of the last five years. Maybe ten. Its only weakness lies in its netcode, and that's being addressed four years after the fact. Everything else about the game is sublime, near-perfect, even. Might even come out of RU-vid exile to make a response video to this. It's that worthy of praise, and I'm glad you found joy in it.
I agree Samurai Shodown (2019) is one of the greastest fighting games. However its 'poor netcode' reputation is exclusive to Last-Gen versions only. Samsho 2019 is my #1 favorite fighting game, so I got the next gen 120fps game version capable of good online with other countries. ❤ No regrets
@@Ke11yAnn_ Unfortunately, the 120fps functionality exclusive to Xbox, which is not only the least popular console for FGs worldwide, but it's also stifling the PC version, which is more than capable of hitting those targets. The netcode is equally shoddy across all three versions, although PC has it worst, due to the lobby lockups. Rollback will be a godsend for all three platforms.
This was great and super well-written. I can count on one hand the number of creators who can keep me engaged with an hour-plus video about a game I have never played, and you're one of them!
Haoh in SC6 is wild. He doesn’t quite translate as well to SC as Baiken does from GGXrd to SS7, but he’s still capable of absolutely biblical proportions of damage.
Couple things I want to mention about 5 and 6. SS5 was actually a prequel, narratively, which is why it's called "Zero" in Japan. And SS6 was just a dream match, a term used to describe games that can only occur in a dream because it features a narrative that can't happen otherwise (re:KoF98:Dream Match Never Ends). It didn't even have a number associated with it in Japan -- that was a North American thing. It's also not bloody at all due to the game being focused around a festival, which is also why one of the new characters exclusive to this game is a fireworks specialist that fights with a fireworks cannon. By making it less bloody, they could also get a lower age rating and get it to more people, they theorized. It's also a festival in that it celebrates the whole series by featuring EVERY character and different modes/ISMs/grooves/variations to choose from based on each game in the series. And since SS2019 is a reboot, that means SS4 is the last game in the series narrative so far. Oh shit, Stumblebee. Been wondering what he's been up to.
SS7 / 2019 is playable online, you just need a wire. Wifi *will not* provide favorable play conditions. Steam also has lobby lockdown issues where PS4 / XB1 doesn’t.
KBash covering one of my favorite game series of all time, when I know damn well it's niche as hell?? I'm actually shocked. I've been a hardcore proud Nakoruru simp since 1993. I was obsessed with this game in 1993. The weapon based combat and super stylish characters looked so much cooler than Street Fighter II to me. I have desperately wanted to play the NEO GEO CD RPG SamSho game so badly for decades. I STILL have my Samurai Shodown VHS anime tape I bought in the 90s. I still have my Samurai Shodown manga. I own Samurai Shodown Warriors Rage on PS1. I have the NEOGEO Pocket Color with SamSho2 on it and SNK vs Capcom. And finally, as an adult I was able to get my own North American NEO GEO arcade cabinet with Samurai Shodown 2 in it. I'm just such a huge fan of this series and I have been for decades.
Samsho: the ultimate robbery game. . . so much salt, so much sweating, so much fun. This series honestly is a mess; but I love it for being crazy fun with friends in an arcade setting lol
While I have not played Samsho a lot, I kinda bounced off of what I tried of Samsho 5, but I do really like Last Blade 2, which feels like a very similar philosophy but is a bit more restrained in its characters and presentation. Amazingly wonderful spritework in that one too.
@@c2HitsButtons I play roughly half the cast with a decent level of competence, but my mains are Haohmaru, Ukyo, and especially Yoshitora. But I can play Darli, Hanzo, Kyoshiro, Sougetsu, Galford, Earthquake, Kazuki, Hibiki, Baiken, Basara, Wan-Fu, the list goes on.
Killer video, as always. SamSho 2019 was one of my favorite fighters to play with my old roommate, I have so many good memories associated with it. Excited for the rollback update, I want to make this my go to game so I'm really hoping it gets an influx of new players when the time comes.
You can currently obtain a rare collectible called Samurai Sword-Down through the PlayStation Stars program for the next 14 days. I don’t know what these collectibles do exactly, I guess some kind of achievement, but it’s cool that the series is getting some random attention
They're profile trophies that you can only see by viewing someone's profile on the PS app. So like game trophies, but even more specific and niche. Nothing really to them other than to show off to the few people that might go looking at your profile in a specific way. Each month has had a fighting arcade cab parody for just playing one of a few different games. They've been neat little throwbacks.
If it weren't for my shitty internet i would have gone online in smasho 2019 again and again and again. I picked warden once and it fits like a glove, gotta love it with the move cancels
This was a wonderful celebration of one of the coolest fighting game series ever! Also, I just want you to know that you dropping the serious voice and breaking into "OOOOOHH does X do Y? I DON'T THINK SO" is my favorite bit of yours
Bushido Blade 2 and the original Bushido Blade need to be played. It makes all lifebar games look casual. Also, the bamboo thicket arena lets you cut down every. Single. Stalk. In full 3D movement like Tekken but with more freedom of movement. There are 2 factions of "assassin schools", you can choose from a selection of weapons before each match which changes the move-set, with some characters having unique combos for certain weapons. One of the arms could be crippled by a well-placed strike, which prevents dual wield or thrown attacks (every character has their own "sub-weapon" that can be thrown or, in certain set-ups, drawn to dual wield. You could also throw sand or water if standing on the right terrain in order to momentarily stun the target). In the original, you could also cripple one leg which forced the character to shuffle around nearly prone....fun for trolling, prevented jumping, but that was removed for BB2 which was for the best. High melodrama of the 2 schools in their generations-long blood feud. Shinto v Narukagami. The opening cinematic is truly cinematic, with a Shinto ambush of the Narukagami shrine showcasing the starting roster of 3 per faction. I still remember the images and soundtrack. This is a Playstation title. As in, PS1. I still remember basically all the roster if I think, some of them don't even need to try. Kaun, Gengoro, and Jo from Shinto vs Narukagami's line up...they I don't remember the names of as easily but Narukagami is presented as the heroic faction, with "main anime young boy", "woman of skill" and "gruff tough guy" Kanuki, mirrored by Shinto's Kaun, who is the white-haired, pale faced, mysterious and solemn but slight anti-hero, Jo the bubbly precocious never-give-up girl, and Gengoro, the traditionalist samurai bound by honor, ruthless in duty (and adopted father of Kaun). Each faction has a Light, Medium and Heavy style fighter to pick from out the gate, but the story mode quickly unlocks more of the roster. Each character you play story mode on has a unique version of the story events with periodic interactions with other characters that have relationships with the character or the enemies, weaving an epic tale of loss and revenge, in delightful melodrama. Gengoro, the Highwayman, Red Shadow and her pupil Nightstalker, Utsusemi, Musashi the ronin with a corncob pipe, Tony the disco dancer, and many more characters ranging from near-absurd to classic tropes, all made to feel grounded in this real-world setting about secret martial schools who care more about their shadow war than the modern world. Also, there are 2 secret unlockable gun users. Shinto get Katze, a wannabe cowboy channeling Revolver Ocelot and Narukagami has a dominatrix-clad woman with an M-16 rifle. I didn't mention that it is set in modern day, which gives the anachronistic Bushido obsessed story an interesting layer....the story mode features a series of ninja minions between the level bosses: the Narukagami have blow dart gun subweapons. The Shinto ninjas are more dangerous; they draw and fire a semiauto pistol that can 1-shot kill. Little touches like this demonstrate that the Shinto are less beholden to tradition for the sake of victory. But, again, a good hit from the main weapon can 1-shot kill anyone, anytime. The gun users are fun, they can kill from across the map with a good shot. Which they need, lacking any melee attacks. Instead of subweapons, they can reload their guns. Guns have limited ammo before being useless until reloaded. And if the arm gets crippled by an attack...no more reload. So Katze goes from an unfair terror to completely useless; fun asymetrical balance on display. (May be worth noting that the gun wielders are only playable in Arcade and VS, not Story mode. In Story, each is a mid-point boss for the opposing faction that forces you to use mobility and positioning tactics to avoid being domed while trying to close in and get the kill.) There's rumored 2 more secret characters, uniquely costumed Kabuki warriors for each faction that you unlock by beating Time Trial, in which you, wielding a Katana (no weapon select) must beat 100 enemies with Katanas in a row. I could never beat the challenge to kill all 100, without dying once, under the time limit to unlock the Kabuki. It haunts me to this day. Go play Bushido Blade 2! I have longed for it to get an update for years upon years, and pulled it our for solo or group couch play so many times. It's a great crowd pleaser, with the chance to just get your sword edge into the opponents forehead as they go into a jump and end the fight 5 seconds in with a gout of low-polygon blood. Just for fun, the weapon choices are: Katana Nodochi Long sword (it's more just a sword) Broadsword (it's a huge great sword) Narukagami: naginata Shinto: yari spear And certain fighters get special combos with one or a variety of weapons. Oh, there's also High, Medium and Low stances for each weapon, which changes the moveset of attacks. Certain characters get a special stance with certain weapons. For instance, some replace Low stance Katana with Duel Wield using their subweapon which is a second sword. Highwayman's subweapon is a rapier (lethal thrown) but can dual wield it with a longsword. Gengoro and Kaun get Iaijutsu as a stance with katana, sheathing the sword and only drawing to attack before resheathing; which is the ultimate stance for styling on people - or getting yourself killed if you whiff an attack and are locked in place resheathing the sword as that blade comes swinging down at you with no weapon to deflect with. True masters of Bushido Blade 2 use Iaijutsu (and I think only 3 characters can access the stance, the third being Tony, an African-American disco scoundrel with an afro and sunglasses in purple disco suit). Fun visual variety between how different factions use the same stance; how different classes of characters wield the same weapons; different movesets for the same weapons, Throw animations, ultra-secret moves that are just pure anime like backflipping over the opponent to impale them with a backward stab are doing rapid "100 cut" combos, and that moment of knowing your enemy attacked with a medium stance light attack at just short of range to connect and are now helplessly open to a high stance overhead heavy, all done in less than 3 seconds. It makes For Honor, Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat and Tekken all look like childrens' games with the healthbars. Training wheels. I say this enjoying all those fighting games. But nothing else I've seen in the industry approaches the high-speed, fast paced, tactical and visceral chess game of Bushido Blade. Oh, and you can play in 1st person camera mode which just ratchets up the immersion, i think they give you a small wireframe model of yourself in the corner so you can keep track of what stance you are in but you really need to know the moveset to do well in 1st person since you don't get that full view of your character in motion. Rant ended. TLDR; Bushido Blade 2 is still my favorite console game. Bushido Blade 1 is worth playing afterward just to see where it came from, treat it as a prequal and not the starting point. I think you can emulate it now?
Nah these devs made some dumb decisions. I would've bought this game day 1 if it had come out on pc and when it finally did, it just had to be on Epic Games and followed that shit up by being full price or more way later on Steam. Only just now did i think to check if it's on sale and bought it. I was so hyped for this game but all these factors strangled the hype out of me until i literally forgot about the game. Here i am 4 years too late, thinking that this game is a banger.
I absolutely loved the characters of this game. Very original. And i think if they make a more hand drawn, slightly more realistic look, it would still be good. While making this evolving.
My first step into this series was with SamSho 6. It’s…interesting. As far as I know, it’s the only one where you get to play as animal characters like Poppy
I know its unpopular opinion, but I love the first SamSho the best. It reminds of the first Bushido Blade (or vice versa), and I love BB too. They aren't combo heavy bombastic fighters, they are far more grounded. I love SS1's music, because it wasn't energetic, and added to the quiet tension (once again like BB1). I appreciated that a single hit in SS1 took a half bar of health, that's more in-line with what a weapon like a sword would do. The game is more of a dance, or playing "chicken" to find out who is going to slip up first. I'd take strategy or yomi over "memorize this 24 input combo or fail noob" in a fighting game every time.
Your videos are always great and this one's especially awesome! Really appreciate the way you make these cause nobody else I know of is talking about games in quite the way you do. No offense to other youtube people, but it feels like you actually analyze the games on a deeper and more interesting level than most out there. Makes me wish Gundam had some games with stories on par with the show cause I'd love to see what you think of that whole world lol Also I did not expect to see Stumblebee, so that was great too!
This was brilliant. Kudos and thank you for this retrospective. My only critique is that I was hoping to see a loose comparison to the only relevant 2D weapon base fighter that wasn't mentioned...The Last Blade and it's sequel. Surely that was more relevant as it was under the same company umbrella than the really obscure examples you gave. Gamers have gushed about how it is visually more appealing as A reason it should've been given the green light for an updated look as opposed to SamSho2019 but it was completely absent here. I'm not one of those people but it's absence is akin to having a Street Fighter retrospective but not mentioning a thing about Final Fight. Wouldn't The Last Blade be the sister series to Samurai Shodown? Again thanks for this informative retrospective, I learned some new information on top of being entertained.
I might have to give samsho a chance. I really like Street Fighter because I don't want to take the time to learn combos and how to mix them into gameplay, and a lot of fighters are unplayable if you don't. Especially DB Fighterz, which is frustrating because I love DBZ but man it feels like a part time job to be good at that game lol. I like a game where I can pick it up and use fundamentals to be competitive
This is *the* game for you, then. Rushdown tactics are generally risky to the point of recklessness, as a single heavy strike on counterhit can dock your life bar by nearly 30%. This is a game where patience is the source of your power.
There are alternatives to the DBZ IPs even now that don't expect you to be a master fighter. FighterZ mixes so many elements from other games that no one could blame you for not having a super fun time with it. It was a love letter to those who didn't want the simulators that were churned out for years. Just know that if you care about the net code of your fighting games, wait until the newest SamSho has an optimal version.
@@willdiesel8431 I tell people to get it when it goes on sale. The full game - base and all three DLC seasons- often goes on sale for a combined total of $32, a $90-ish savings. Rollback update will be free, and you’ll have the time to get used to the game before jumping online and meeting players with four years of experience preceding your own.
