Samurai Shodown II hits Switch, while Samurai Showdown III lands on PS4 and Xbox One

SNK’s blood-gushing classics return

Retro-game enthusiasts Hamster have launched the latest title’s in their ongoing range of classic Neo Geo titles. This week sees the sword and sorcery ofSamurai Shodown IIavailable for the Nintendo Switch, while PS4 and Xbox One owners can pick up its direct sequel,Samurai Shodown III.

Samurai Shodown IIoriginally launched in the arcades and on the Neo Geo platform in 1994. Overhauling almost every element of the original title’s gameplay, SSII include new evasive movement and a new meter system, as well as popularising both the Hop and Parry elements we still see in many fighters today. Rather than just being a straight sequel,SamSho IIwas an entirely new entity in fighting games. Today it remains a great title.

It was followed (naturally) bySamurai Shodown IIIa scant year later. WhileSamSho IIIdidn’t re-invent the wheel as its predecessor did, the game did undergo a style overhaul to give it a darker, grittier tone This was perhaps in-line with the rising success of theMortal Kombatfranchise. Each character received a “dark” variant, known as Burst, and move cancels were given more emphasis to allow for a wider variety of combos.

Both titles are good games, withSamSho IIdeserving more praise than it receives today for its innovation in movement and strategy, which would influence some of the titles that would supersede it, such as the excellentStreet Fighter III: Third Strike. These Hamster re-releases unfortunately do not feature online support.