''Samurai Shodown IV: Amakusa's Revenge'' is the fourth in

SNK is a Japanese video game hardware and software company. It is the successor to the company Shin Nihon Kikaku and presently owns the SNK video game brand and the Neo Geo video game platform. SNK's predecessor Shin Nihon Kikaku was founded in 1978 ...

's flagship ''

Samurai Shodown ''Samurai Shodown'', known in Japan as is a fighting game series by SNK. The series began in 1993 and is known for being one of the earliest in the genre with a primary focus on weapon-based combat. Plot The stories in the series take place ...

'' series of fighting games. Chronologically, it is the second and final chapter of a story between ''

'' and ''

Samurai Shodown II ''Samurai Shodown II'', known in Japan as is a 1994 fighting game released as the second entry in SNK's ''Samurai Shodown'' series. Like the original ''Samurai Shodown'', the sequel was initially released for the Neo Geo arcade and home system. ...

'', with '' Samurai Shodown III'' being the first chapter. ''Samurai Shodown!'' on the

Neo Geo Pocket The Neo Geo Pocket is a monochrome handheld game console released by SNK. It was the company's first handheld system and is part of the Neo Geo family. It debuted in Japan in late 1998 but never saw an American release, being exclusive to Japa ...

is a monochrome adaptation of this game, and it was followed by ''Samurai Shodown! 2'' on the

Neo Geo Pocket Color The is a 16-bit color handheld video game console manufactured by SNK. It is a successor to SNK's monochrome Neo Geo Pocket handheld which debuted in 1998 in Japan, with the Color being fully backward compatible. The Neo Geo Pocket Color wa ...

, which is a 2D adaptation of '' Samurai Shodown 64: Warriors Rage''.

Gameplay

Among other series changes, aerial blocking was removed entirely. One can also no longer charge one's own "pow" gauge. The off-screen delivery man was omitted entirely from the game. The "CD combo" was added, wherein a player can press the C and D buttons together, triggering a strike that can be followed up by a sequence of button taps. SNK also added a "suicide" move, wherein one's character forfeits the round. The bonus to this is that the one committing suicide will start the next round with a full "POW" gauge. Certain finishes also enable a " fatality" move in the vein of '' Mortal Kombat''.

Characters

Some of the older characters were restored, such as

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

, Tam Tam and Jubei Yagyu. The entire cast of the previous game also returns, though some have been retouched to further enhance the cartoonish look. Joining the cast are the two

ninja A or was a covert agent or mercenary in feudal Japan. The functions of a ninja included reconnaissance, espionage, infiltration, deception, ambush, bodyguarding and their fighting skills in martial arts, including ninjutsu.Kawakami, pp. 2 ...

brothers: *Kazuki Kazama - member of the Kazama ninja clan specializing in fire jutsu, he deserts to rescue his younger sister, Hazuki, from Amakusa's clutches. *Sogetsu Kazama - older brother to Kazuki and Hazuki who uses water jutsu; unlike Kazuki, he stays with the clan and is ordered to assassinate his brother for leaving. Cham Cham from ''

'' also makes a playable appearance, exclusively for the PlayStation port of the game known in Japan as ''Samurai Spirits: Amakusa's Descent Special''.

Reception

In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed ''Samurai Shodown IV'' on their December 1, 1996 issue as being the most-popular arcade game at the time. According to ''

Famitsu formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the f ...

'', the AES version sold over 9,253 copies in its first week on the market. Reviewing the arcade version in '' GamePro'', The Union Buster commented that ''Samurai Shodown IV'' lacks the depth of contemporaries such as ''

Street Fighter Alpha 2 ''Street Fighter Alpha 2'', known as in Japan, Asia, South America, and Oceania, is a 1996 fighting game originally released for the CPS II arcade hardware by Capcom. The game is a remake to the previous year's '' Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' ...

'' and ''

Soul Edge is a fighting game developed by the Namco team Project Soul and published by Namco as the first installment in the ''Soulcalibur'' series of 3D fighting games. Originally released as an arcade game in December 1995 in video gaming, 1995, an upgra ...

'', but for the same reason offers an easier pick-up-and-play experience. He was unimpressed with the two new characters but pleased with the return of those which had been dropped from the roster in ''Samurai Shodown III''. He particularly praised the visuals, remarking that "The fighters have superb animation; several fighting stages are outright beautiful; and the special moves look awesome." The four reviewers of ''

Electronic Gaming Monthly ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (often abbreviated to ''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews. History The m ...

'' gave the Neo Geo home version a unanimous score of 8 out of 10, praising the high number of characters and the size of the character sprites. In a review of the Virtual Console release, ''Nintendo Life'' also gave the game an 8 out of 10, but their praise focused more on the animations, heavy challenge, and the thrilling pacing of battles, commenting, "a single slash scapable of turning the tide against any opponent."

Notes

References

External links

*
''Samurai Shodown IV''
at GameFAQs
''Samurai Shodown IV''
at

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''Samurai Shodown IV''
at

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