The SNK Thread

[Nester the Lark]

The Neo Geo Mini is getting a special Christmas Edition with eight more games included.

Meanwhile, the SNK 40th Anniversary Collection is out today. I gotta wait for it to ship to me, though.

Launch trailer:



Also, Mega64 did their own silly trailer, highlighting the Playback feature with the ability to jump in at anytime.

[Nester the Lark]

Out of the blue, Jeanne from World Heroes is announced as the next DLC fighter for SNK Heroines.

[Nester the Lark]

There have been a couple of recent Retronauts podcasts that have focused on SNK, specifically the games in the Anniversary Collection.

The first episode is just kind of a rundown of the initial batch of games. The second episode actually has Frank Cifaldi discussing the collection, as well as going on some interesting tangents (like how there continued to be official NES games produced even into the 2000s). He also mentions that he pitched a "Neo Geo Rarities" collection as a follow-up to the Anniversary Collection.

I've really enjoyed the collection. The second batch of games have really filled it out, and most of the technical issues have been fixed since the update.

[Nester the Lark]

The SNK 40th Anniversary Collection is coming to the PS4, and they've released a cheesy '80s-style commercial for it:



This is actually a direct parody of a real commercial for Vanguard on the Atari 2600. I wonder how many people will pick up on that.

[nocturnal YL]

That's quite brilliant.

[Nester the Lark]

So, it looks like SNK announced at Evo Japan that SNK Heroines is coming to PC via Steam on February 21. Interesting, since no new DLC has been announced since last year, and I assumed that SNK was abandoning the game and moving on due to poor sales. I wonder if this means that they plan to continue supporting the game, or if they just hope to recoup a little money from it.

To be honest, I actually did pick up a cheap copy a good while back, but I have yet to actually play it. I do want to support SNK on Switch (I wished for it, after all), but the game does make me feel... a bit awkward.

I suppose I should go ahead and give it a try.

[Nester the Lark]

The main lineup for Evo 2019 has been revealed, and interestingly, the new Samurai Shodown is included, despite that we still don't know many details about it. However, they did show a new (short) gameplay trailer, and revealed that it's planned for release in "early-summer." (Evo 2019 is in early August.) Still no specific platforms confirmed.



That looks really fast for a SamSho game, but I guess that's just the modern style for fighting games. Though, I worry that that loses the classic SamSho style of just one hit taking away a ton of health. SamSho wasn't really about doing long combos. It was more about being methodical and scoring the hard hits.

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EDIT: Also confirmed to be playable at PAX East, which is at the end of March, so there should hopefully be more details soon.

[Nester the Lark]

Looking at the trailer more closely, I guess the damage output is about on par with the later Samurai Shodown games.

Anyway, there's going to be a panel for the game at PAX East on March 30. It will include producer Yasuyuki Oda, director Nobuyuki Kuroki, and most surprisingly, Yasushi Adachi, the original creator of Samurai Shodown who no longer works at SNK. This raises the question of if he's involved with the new game in some way. (Would be pretty cool if he was.) Hopefully, there will be video or a transcript of the panel.

About a month ago, I came across an interview with Adachi from 2017 where he talks about the creation of Samurai Shodown. It reveals some really interesting things, and is well worth a read.

[nocturnal YL]

Just as I suspected, the spelling of Samurai Shodown is intentional. (Victoly, on the other hand, isn't.)

I’ve always felt that Ninja Scroll and Rurouni Kenshin were both influenced by Samurai Shodown.

Wait, Rurouni Kenshin came after Samurai Shodown!?

[The Qu]

Rurouni Kenshin started in April of '94, Sam Sho in July of '93. It's a tight fit, but it's possible the former was influenced by the latter.

[Nester the Lark]

Huge dump of new Samurai Shodown info today.

New trailer for PAX East. Shows off a lot more characters, including Charlotte, Genjuro, Kyoshiro, Yoshitora, Ukyo, Shiki, Hanzo, And Tam Tam.  There will be 16 characters in all, including three new ones.

Still missing one of my mains, Shizumaru, but there's always hope for DLC, right? (My other mains are Galford and Nakoruru, in case you're wondering.)

Also, Switch port confirmed, but not until Q4 2019. PS4 and Xbox One versions due out in June. At least Switch is confirmed, tho.

Here's the full press release (courtesy of GoNintendo):

Reboot of Classic Weapons-Based Fighting Game Series Will Bring New Characters and Innovative New Features to Multiple Platforms this Year, Including Nintendo Switch

LONDON, UK — March 25, 2019 — SNK, the creators of legendary fighting game series like King of Fighters, Fatal Fury, and Art of Fighting, is pleased to announce the return of their beloved weapon-based fighter Samurai Shodown, coming to PlayStation®4 and Xbox One this June, Nintendo Switch™ in Q4 2019, and PC at a later date. Powered by Unreal Engine 4, the new Samurai Shodown reboots the classic 2D fighting game with beautiful new 3D graphics that retain the classic fantasy Samurai manga look of the series, while also bringing the series up-to-date with the latest cutting edge graphical standards.

Once again set in the late 18th century, after the events of Samurai Shodown V and prior to the events of the original game, Samurai Shodown will see the return of thirteen classic characters, including Haohmaru, Earthquake and Galford, who will be joined by three brand new characters to the series. Additional characters will also be available via post-launch DLC.

Developed in-house at SNK by the same team that brought us King of Fighters XIV, Samurai Shodown features a host of modes, such as Story, Practice, Online Battle and multiple offline battle modes. The new game will also debut an innovative new asynchronous online mode called “Dojo” that uses deep machine learning to create a CPU-avatar that learns from players’ actions during offline modes and creates a Ghost AI character. Players will be able to upload their Ghost to the leaderboards and also download Ghost data from other players. Players can take on Ghosts in 1v1 battle, or take on the Ironman Challenge and attempt to take down up to 100 ghosts in one go.

The public will be able to play Samurai Shodown for the first time on the show floor at PAX East in Boston, March 28 - March 31. PAX East attendees can also attend the Samurai Shodown - Resurrecting a Legend panel, Saturday, March 30 from 4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. EDT. The panel will be moderated by Team Spooky’s Giby and feature SNK’s Yasuyuki Oda (Producer), Nobuyuki Kuroki (Game Director) and the Director of the original Samurai Shodown, Yasushi Adachi, as well as several others from SNK.

Samurai Shodown will be released on PlayStation®4 and Xbox One this June, Nintendo Switch™ in Q4 2019 and PC at a later date. For more information about the game, please visit us on Twitter @samuraishodown_.

Samurai Shodown will be published in North America and Europe by Los Angeles-based Athlon Games. For more on Athlon Games, visit www.athlongames.com.

Interesting that it's not being localized and published by NISA.

And here's a fact sheet (courtesy of Gematsu):

About

After more than a decade, Samurai Shodown is back! SNK is rebooting one of its most successful series, carrying on the legacy of past titles with a new game that retains the same thrilling battles of past titles in a graphically advanced package. Samurai Shodown’s gameplay is driven by the tense atmosphere of being one strike away from death, and the exhilaration of defeating an opponent with overwhelming power and attacks. Taking place between the events of the original game and Samurai Shodown V, the new game carries on the legacy of the one true weapon-based fighter.

Key Features

Exhilarating Weapons-Based Combat – Samurai Shodown carries on the legacy of the tense battles the series is known for, where players are always one strike away from death, and one powerful attack away from victory.

Evolving the Presentation – Using the power of Unreal Engine 4, SNK is able to modernize the unique atmosphere and setting of past titles in a gorgeously artistic package that achieves a detail and graphical quality like never before.

Unique Cast of Returning and New Warriors – Samurai Shodown welcomes back iconic characters from past iterations, including the swordsman Haohmaru, his rivals Ukyo and Genjuro, the shrine maiden Nakoruru, and fan-favorite Galford. The starting roster will include a total of 16 characters—13 veterans and three newcomers to the franchise.

All New Gameplay – Carrying on some of the key fighting mechanics that made the series popular, such as the Rage Gauge, Rage Explosion, Sword Clash and more, Samurai Shodown will also include several new techniques, including a powerful, one-time use attack from each character called the Super Special Move.

Revolutionary New AI System – Titled Dojo Mode, SNK has developed a proprietary AI system that learns from player patterns and creates a specific Ghost clone from that data. With this system, players can fight against their own Ghost or take on the Ghosts of top players in mock battles.

And about 45 minutes of gameplay footage:



I'll post more personal thoughts a bit later.

[Nester the Lark]

OK, my thoughts:

Everything I've seen and heard about the new Samurai Shodown looks like it's going back to the series' roots, and basing itself off of the first two games. (SamSho II is often considered the best in the series. My personal favorite is IV.) I'm glad to know it's retaining the classic gameplay.

The roster includes 10 of the 12 characters from the original game (minus Wan-Fu and Gen-An). Then there's Genjuro (from SamSho II), Yoshitora (from SamSho V) and Shiki (from SamSho 64). Plus three new characters not yet revealed. I'm guessing one will be shown at the PAX East panel later this week.

Charlotte stood out to me just because she seems to be the only character that got a significant redesign. The other characters have had minor tweaks to their appearances here and there, but they mostly still look like their classic designs. I wonder why they thought they needed to change Charlotte (other than just to make her sexier)? Maybe her original costume will be DLC.

Also, the referee is back! He may just be a background detail, but I always thought he was a cool touch.

After watching a bunch of footage, I was starting to think that being able to slice opponents in half wasn't implemented into this demo, but then I saw this video. Fatalities confirmed. (EDIT: I realized that the other gameplay video I posted contained at least one fatality, but I didn't notice it.)

I realize it's still in development, but for a game that's supposed to be out in probably less than three months, it seems like it should be... a little more finished? It gives me the feeling that the game is being rushed out so that it can be at Evo 2019. Maybe it's good that the Switch version is coming 4-6 months later, so it won't feel like it's launching as a work-in-progress.

Overall, I like the back-to-basics approach it's taking. I'm still excited for this game, and I'm glad it was finally confirmed for Switch. Samurai Shodown was never as popular as Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat back in the '90s, but it was still a respected fighting game series. Hopefully this new game will turn out well enough for it to regain some of its previous glory.

[Nester the Lark]

SNK will be having a SamSho live stream. I guess this is where they'll announce a new character.

[Nester the Lark]

Just got finished watching the PAX panel. I'll post a link to the video later, but I'll sum it up.

First, Yasuchi Adachi was unfortunately not able to attend due to a family emergency.

They announced a Samurai Shodown Neo Geo Collection for the Switch, PS4, Xbox One and PC. It's being developed by Digital Eclipse, and will include SamSho 1-5 and 5 Special, both Japanese and international versions, as well as an extensive museum mode like the 40th Anniversary Collection. Also, online play.

Obviously, I already have the Wii collection, which includes SamSho 6 but not 5 Special. I was waiting for Hamster to release the arcade version of 5 Special, but I was afraid it might be the censored version, or not include the cutscenes in English. I think I may wait and just get the new collection instead.

Also, they revealed one of the new characters: Darli Dagger. Unlike some of the other SamSho characters, she was not based on any previous historical or fictional characters.

Finally, they mentioned that there will be DLC characters after release. They also mentioned that they were considering guest characters from other companies (as is popular in fighting games these days).

I already tweeted my suggestion a few days ago.

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EDIT: Here's the video. It starts about two minutes in.

[Nester the Lark]

Here's the special live stream:



To be honest, it wasn't quite what I was expecting. I certainly didn't expect live music and a choreographed sword fight.

I didn't understand most of it since it was only in Japanese, but it seemed like they covered a lot of what was already said at the PAX panel. Also, it was hosted by the voice actors for Galford and new character Yashamaru.

Here's the new trailer that shows all of the characters (briefly):



They tweeted renders of all the characters. Here's the one with the new characters:

Here are the details according to GoNintendo:

- available both physically and digitally for 7,200 yen
- digital Deluxe Pack including a Season Pass for 9,000 yen
- Season Pas includes four additional characters
- these characters can be purchased separately as well
- early purchase of the Standard Edition / Deluxe Pack gets you a “Retro 3D: Haohmaru” downloadable costume
- early purchase of the Deluxe Pack / Season Pass Bonus gets you a “Retro 3D: Nakoruru” downloadable costume
- the SNK Online Shop will sell a 30,000 yen exclusive limited edition
- this limited edition includes a NeoGeo rom casette-style case, art book, and an original picture illustrated by Yumi Saji
- 13 returning characters are Charlotte, Earthquake, Galford, Genjuro, Hanzo, Haohmaru, Jubei, Kyoshiro, Nakoruru, Shiki, Tam Tam, Ukyo, and Yoshitora

Darli Dagger (voiced by Yuu Kobayashi)

A shipwright who has mastered the use of various tools. She washed ashore an island at an early age, where she was taught the power of crafting by carpenters, and how to protect herself and survive by pirates. She is currently building a ship said to be unsinkable with her comrades at the island’s workshop.

Wu-Ruixiang (voiced by Seira Ryuu)

A descendant of an ancient and honorable feng shui clan, Wu-Ruixiang is a woman who serves the Qing dynasty. With a mission is to protect generations of long mai, she travels to various places under the emperor’s command. She is wise, but extremely clumsy. She also dreads exercise as she tends to seclude herself indoors. Her secret art manifests the power of a divine beast, calling forth a dragon.

Yashamaru Kurama (voiced by Kouhei Amasaki)

A young, fallen samurai. He hates villains who exploit wealth from the weak, and moves in the shadows as the chivalrous thief known as the “Karasu Tengu (Crow-Billed Goblin).” In the past, his father was executed on false charges, and his hatred for the Shogunate is deeper than anyone other. He fights wielding his memento nagamaki sword, and uses the power of the tengu (long-nosed goblin) passed down for generations.