After the first two Samurai Shodown games the third outing was seen as something of a disappointment by hardcore fighting game fans. It removed some of the more popular characters and various movement options available to the player, drastically altering the pace of the game; it also felt half-finished when compared to its polished predecessors. Samurai Shodown IV – originally released in 1996 – was an attempt by SNK to return to the roots of the series and win back its fanbase, and it's fair to say that it was a success in this respect.
If you've never played a Samurai Shodown game before, it's worth pointing out a few basic features. While these are one-on-one fighters in the same vein as Street Fighter II, Mortal Kombat and The King of Fighters, the key difference is that the combatants are armed with weapons. This changes the flow of each fight and places a greater emphasis on blocking and countering incoming blows. A round in Samurai Shodown usually consists of plenty of clanging sounds as blade hits blade and each player waits for an opening. Successful attacks often trigger a torrent of blood as the character on the receiving end is thrown backwards; it's fair to say that a single, well-timed strike can turn the tide of a round.
The four buttons control various attack strengths and there are the usual selection of special moves to learn and master. SNK decided to remove mid-air blocking – something introduced in Samurai Shodown III – and this decision makes the game feel a little old-fashioned when compared to other fighters of the time, but lends each bout an additional layer of tension as taking to the air leaves you open to a counter. Other tweaks – such as ditching the go-behind move (where you could quickly outflank your rival) and restricting the use of your "POW" meter to once per round – make this fourth outing feel subtly different from its forerunners. It's also possible to forfeit a round in order to give yourself a full POW gauge in the next – the tactical benefits of which should be obvious. Finally, in a nod to Mortal Kombat, some characters possess "Fatal Slash" moves which serve as gory fatalities.
The "Slash" and "Bust" system makes a return, offering two different versions of each character and extending the longevity of the game considerably. While it's tempting to pass this off as little more than a palette swap, there's much more to it than that, with revised moves making each variant feel unique. The cast sees fan favourites Charlotte, Tam Tam and Jubei Yagyu return from the first game and also includes all of those from the much-maligned third instalment. Siblings Kazuki Kazama and Sogetsu Kazama round things out, but sadly they're not all that memorable. There are some unfortunate omissions – Neinhalt Sieger, we're looking at you – but on the whole there's enough content here to keep you happy for a while.
Presentation-wise, Samurai Shodown IV is a vast improvement over the third entry in the series, which boasted new sprite designs but ended up looking a bit rushed in places. The visuals are much more refined here, with each character sporting a more distinct, cartoon-like look and silky-smooth animation. The backgrounds are also gorgeous, putting to rest the rather drab stages seen in Samurai Shodown III. As ever, the gorgeous music – much of which features traditional Japanese instrumentation – serves as the perfect accompaniment to the on-screen action.
As you might expect, Samurai Shodown IV's focus on local multiplayer makes it ideal for the Switch and its detachable Joy-Cons, although the analogue stick on these controllers isn't ideal for pulling off the intricate moves. A better option would be to invest in the Switch Pro Controller or an 8Bitdo SNES30 pad, the latter of which was recently updated to include support for Nintendo's new console.
Conclusion
While Samurai Shodown IV wasn't the last game in the series, it is considered by some fans to be the best, and with good reason. The weapon-based gameplay is refined after the experiments of the first three outings and roster of fighters is unique and varied; add in the "Slash" and "Bust" variants and you've quite a few combat options to master. All of the Samurai Shodown games boast excellent presentation but this entry truly benefits from the increased storage available on the Neo Geo at the time; smooth animation and plenty of detail in the backgrounds helps to elevate the game above many other 2D releases of the period. While it's easy to grumble about the proliferation of fighting games on SNK's platform, this franchise has always set itself apart thanks to its focus on swords and other weapons, so if you're sick of Street Fighter and can't stand another King of Fighters then this might be just the tonic you need.
Comments 34
SS IV is definitely not the best. That honor goes to SS II followed closely by SS I. It's still a great entry though.
When more of these SNK fighters are out it would be nice to see a sort of buyers guide here, with detailed comparisons to help those of us that may only want to buy one entry per series.
"Few fans: me" should have been written.
I really liked the first game in the arcade. I wonder if they will bring over the rest of the Samurai Showdown games.I did not really like 3 so I completely skipped playing 4.
Not as good in terms of story like the first two but still better than SS3, SSV and SSS.
I recall really enjoying this one. It was one of my favorites aside from the Last Blade 2 which is hands down my favorite fighting game.
I can't talk about his SSII since I didn't play it as much but hands-down definitely better than the original & SSIII.
Good times playing this one back in the day. Damn good times!
Keep em coming Hamster!
There sure are a lot of fighting games from SNK on the Switch...
Great score for a great game. I hope Switch can attract new people to the series. I grew up playing Mega Drive port of the first Samurai Shodown. I played it with my friend all the time. Tam Tam is my favorite character. I loved playing as him.
I have the Samurai Shodown Anthology on Wii (which includes all 6 main Samurai Shodown games and bonuses). Samurai Shodown Anthology is my go-to 16-bit-era fighting game after all the time.
It may be because I haven't played all of them in the series so, many of the games on the collection bring something new. Samurai Shodown IV is definately among the best, retaining the old school style of SS1 and SS2, and making it darker, more atmospheric, with more ambient sounds and bg animations. Samurai Shodown 1 will always have the best soundtrack for me though and is also the most iconic, followed by SS2.
I also recommend The King of Fighters Collection for Wii which includes KOF 94-98.
As for other great fighting games on the Neo Geo: I think besides all of the Samurai Shodown and King of Fighters games, high up there is The Last Blade, The Last Blade 2, Garou: Mark of the Wolves, and Waku Waku 7.
I never liked World Heroes, Fatal Fury, or Art of Fighting much. They were obvious Street Fighter clones and never stood out for me, not even graphically where you'd expect the Neo Geo to show off a little bit more than a SNES, but they are solid fighters of the era at least.
Samurai Shodown IV is my favorite in the series. While many point to the second as the best — and I think it's very good — I found it flawed in some ways, being overly complicated in spots, and hurt by heavy slash requiring two buttons simultaneously. I much prefer having each slash mapped to a single button as it is in part four. I also prefer the fourth game's presentation, especially with the redrawn sprites which was started for the rushed third installment.
I can't remember which Samurai Shodown it was that I played on Genesis, but I loved it. Maybe after SNK finishes rereleasing all their old fighting games they'll get around to making a new one.
Still no word on Blazeblue for Switch?
SS2 all the way!
One of my favourite games on the Sega Saturn and among the all time best fighters ever
Couldn't help but notice the fighting game library on Switch seems so surpass the Wii U in terms of variety. If they port over Smash Bros, then it might be time for me to "Switch" consoles.
Hamster really are filling the gap while we await Nintendo's vc.
I'm planning to wait for II, but every time there is a lull in the release schedule I'll be tempted to pick up a Neo Geo classic.
My Switch is filled with '90s arcade games, it's like a time machine!
I prefer I and II over this one. Still good though.
Maybe it's just me but I find the Pro Controllers D-Pad much much better then the SNES 8bitdo controller. I can pull off special moves more effectively with the Pro controller
@Damo Oh, Sieger's in there, but it's not what you'd expect.



Wan-Fu, too!
If you beat the game in under the time limit for your character, shown at the beginning of your game, you get this post-credit scene. I don't know if there are others, I usually get these two (I use Ukyo). The way it's presented, it seems like they missed all the action. I wonder if Earthquake and Nicotine show up with other characters, hmm.
Speaking of characters, back in the day in (Old) Chinatown Fair in NYC, it was ALWAYS the Kazama brothers being picked. More specifically, (Slash) Sogetsu, a.k.a. Soggy. Having been on the receiving end and observing lots of matches, the Kazama brothers were so deadly!
@Koudai1979 That would be the first Samurai Shodown, which was ported to literally every then-current console at the time. The Genesis didn't receive any of the others.
Going to be honest here, I'd love to see more NeoGeo releases that aren't just fighters.
@masterLEON I get the same bizarre scene when I beat it with Tam Tam. I am not a die hard Samurai Shodown fanboy so I don't get the joke if that's what it's trying to accomplish.
@CartoonDan And you did good. The second is better than the first though, so you may want to purchase it instead.
@SKTTR
King of fighters collection for the wii? Now I have to get that. I also recommend the Samurai Showdown Anthology. You can get it for probably the same price as the new SF game.
@Priceless_Spork I bought all 4 SNK collections on Wii. The KOF Collection and the Samurai Shodown Anthology (as well as the Metal Slug Anthology and SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1) were each around 12,99 - 16.99 used in mint condition, but that was at the time when Wii U came out, and Wii games were sold for cheap.
My favourite is Samurai Shodown Anthology. It has the 4 original games and the fifth installment from the NEO GEO CD. The best part about the collection is that it even has the most recent game, Samurai Shodown VI from the PS2, on the disc. They could have released SS6 as a stand-alone PS2-port / Wii title, but Wii owners were just fortunate to get all 6 main games on the disc.
@masterLEON that's a shame. No wonder I didn't know about any of the other Shodown games of the time lol. Up until the Dreamcast and GameCube, I was a one console guy.
@masterLEON also since you seem to be pretty knowledgeable about fighting games, maybe you can help me with this: I remember playing what I think was a 2.5D fighting game on PSX where you used weapons and could chop down the bamboo trees during a fight. Any idea what that game was? It might have been on PS2.
@Koudai1979 Hm, by any chance did the game only have one life that you had to carry from battle to battle, and if your limbs get injured, you can't attack with that limb? That game (Tenchu) starts out in a bamboo forest but I don't remember if you can chop down the bamboo trees.
@masterLEON it might have been. That sounds familiar. The only PSX games that I played that I remember the names to are FF VII, Need For Speed, Tekken 3, & Battle Arena Toshinden. The only PS2 games that I played that I remember the names to are FF X, Socom, & SSX3.
@masterLEON I just watched a gameplay video of Tenchu. I don't think that is what I'm thinking of.
@Koudai1979 could you be thinking of Bushido Blade? I never played it, but I remember it from the period as a weapons-based fighter on the PS1. I did take a quick look at gameplay footage and it has the bamboo trees in it and you can cut them as you described. There was also a sequel.
@sdelfin Yeah, that's it! I remember thinking that was so awesome that could happen during fights.
Destructible environments are one of the reasons why DBZ: BT2 & 3 are some of my favorite fighters.
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