Reflecting on the Spirits - Just What is This Series?
Samurai Shodown (Samurai Spirits in Japan) is one of SNK's longest-running and most celebrated 2D fighting game series, joining the ranks of games like King of Fighters and Fatal Fury. But what kind of fighting game is it, and how does this matter specifically for Samurai Shodown VI?
To really understand what Samurai Shodown VI set out to accomplish and how it did so, it's worth having a little background on what the series is as a whole. Samurai Shodown is not, strictly speaking, a Street Fighter style game, nor is it an anime fighter, nor is it "anime Street Fighter," as some folks like to label any fighting game with unusual characters and system mechanics but no universal airdashing. Samurai Shodown is very much its own beast, with its own unique pacing, aesthetic, and overall "feeling."
The word to keep in mind is deliberate. Every action carries with it risk. The match may speed to a blinding pace in scramble situations, tumble like an avalanche with intense setplay and mixups, or slow to a crawl in tense neutral situations with both players fishing for a chance to whiff punish for a big reward. You may even get staredowns where nothing is happening for several seconds at a time, with neither opponent wanting to be the first to blink and risk getting counterhit or parried and lose a major chunk of their healthbar. Single heavy hits and extremely short combo sequences are capable of significant amounts of damage in Samurai Shodown, but of course carry with them huge risks to complement their huge rewards. Meter is built not through attacking but by taking damage, and taking enough damage will put your character into a rage state, increasing your damage output and giving you access to powerful techniques. However, rage doesn’t last long and an impatient player may find themselves punished for trying to make a comeback before it runs out.
Samurai Shodown's characters are flashy and over the top, its combat is theatrical, its mechanics are refined, and its risks and rewards give every decision a weight that's hard to find in nearly any other game. But what makes this series in particular special to me, and why I feel VI is the ultimate culmination of what Samurai Shodown has to offer, is that every game in this series manages to preserve this "feeling" while taking wildly unique spins on it mechanically. There's a saying that the first Street Fighter game you pick up seriously is what feels like "real" Street Fighter to you, and every other entry makes you say, "This isn't REAL Street Fighter." Every Samurai Shodown feels like real Samurai Shodown. There are entries I like far more than others. There are entries I don't care for at all. But they all feel like the real deal. So what does this mean for Samurai Shodown VI specifically?
A Dream Match Come True
Samurai Shodown VI (or Samurai Spirits Tenkaichi Kenkakuden in Japan and on Fightcade, sometimes shortened to Samurai Shodown Tenka or SST) is what's known in fighting games as a dream match game. The story takes place outside of the normal canon as an excuse to bring every character possible together into one game, whether they're alive in the story or not. This game is the Samurai Shodown equivalent to King of Fighters 98 or Mortal Kombat Trilogy in terms of its roster - everyone from the first five games, including previously non-playable sub-bosses like Yumeji and Sankuro, is fully playable, as well as several new additions just for this game.
For several characters, this is the only game in which they can be played:
- Yumeji: a neutral and defense-oriented samurai with incredible reach on their normal attacks and the ability to control major screen real estate with their tricky arcing air projectiles
- Sankuro: a loud-mouthed prideful bandit gang leader who can call in his cronies to assist him in battle and play dirty with hidden pistols, bombs, and a health-restoring sushi platter
- Andrew: an anime version of Andrew Jackson (yes, THAT Andrew Jackson) who boasts a flexible playstyle with incredible reach, strong zoning and mixup games, and the ability to rush in quickly from huge distances
- Ocha-Maro: a mechanical puppet master boasting an enormous movelist, with a rekka series branching off into multiple paths and enders
- Sugoroku: a jolly fireworks technician who wants to finish the match with a bang by fighting with an enormous fireworks canon. Sugoroku is an unconventional character with short but chunky attacks and a unique install special that has his daughter coming in to light the canon - just don't let it blow up in your face.
- I Spirit: the most simple and straightforward spirit choice, trading away advanced movement, defensive, and metered options away in exchange for incredible damage. I Spirit's unique mechanic is the hyper slash, a heavy swing that can absorb one hit and deliver massive damage.
- II Spirit: the first of two spirits that offer hops, ducks, and rolls as unique movement and defensive options. II Spirit’s unique mechanics are weapon destruction, secret move, and toy transformation. Ordinarily, landing your weapon flip technique (WFT) will disarm your opponent and knock their weapon away. II Spirit’s WFT will temporarily destroy your opponent’s weapon, forcing them to fight unarmed until the background judge tosses a new one onscreen. II Spirit allows you to use your character’s secret move, a powerful super attack, once per match at no cost. II Spirit also offers a unique taunt in toy transformation, temporarily turning your character into an adorable chibi version of themselves that can avoid some higher attacks.
- III Spirit: the first of two spirits that offer sidestep and sway as defensive mechanics. III Spirit’s unique mechanics are air parry, which allows you to defend yourself while jumping, and rage charge, allowing you to manually charge your rage meter when you have the space to do so safely.
- IV Spirit: the second spirit with sidestep and sway. IV Spirit’s unique mechanics are continuous slash, rage explosion, and issen. Continuous slash gives each character access to a series of universal target combos that can be started from a unique starter. These target combos provide different benefits depending on the character and route chosen - some are cancelable into specials of WFT, some build rage meter, and others provide knockdowns at various distances. Rage explosion is a single-use burst that can be used to escape combos or pressure, instantly put your character into rage, and temporarily freeze the timer. During rage explosion, IV Spirit allows you to use issen, a fast rushing attack that can deal major damage. Rage explosion comes at a heavy price however - using it disables your rage meter for the remainder of the match.
- V Spirit: V Spirit is the second spirit to offer rolls, hops, and ducks. V Spirit’s unique mechanics are meditation, state of nothingness, rage explosion, and issen. Meditation allows your character to spend their rage meter to charge a blue portion of their health bar, fueling the comeback mechanic state of nothingness. When your character has lost at least one round and has taken enough damage that their remaining healthbar has reached the blue portion, you can activate state of nothingness, slowing time for your opponent and allowing for unique, highly-damaging combo routes. Issen is also available to use during state of nothingness. V Spirit also allows you to use rage explosion, but issen cannot be used during rage explosion like in IV Spirit.
- VI Spirit: VI spirit offers mechanics not found in any other Samurai Shodown game. VI Spirit’s unique mechanics are hyper guard, mikiri dodge, and secret move. VI spirit also reworks the rage meter, making it act more like a traditional 2D fighter. Rage meter is built through attacking and does not drain on its own, but will empty once WFT is used. Hyper guard is a pushblock that can be used at the cost of 25% of your rage meter. Mikiri dodge is a unique parry that has your character performing a short backstep, hop, or duck that leaves behind a trail of afterimages. If your opponent strikes the afterimage but not your character, the green portion of your healthbar increases. Once you’ve taken enough damage to reach the green portion, you have unlimited access to your character’s secret move.
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