The PS version uses a new sprite entirely. In the overworld map, the NeoCD version uses a scaled-down version of the dungeon/down character sprite. Motions in the Neo Geo CD version have a smoother look and feel than the others. The Neo Geo CD version has more ornate and colorful menus, whereas the PS and Saturn versions have fairly blank, purple-and-green menus instead. The Neo Geo CD version has considerably more animation in the combat sprites than the PS and Saturn, including unique idle stances for each character, and specialized death animations for monsters. In addition, the second chapter also introduced a new character, a warrior by the name of Shippuu no Reon, whose name translates roughly to "The Ringing of the Gale Winds." All of the first two Samurai Shodown games' characters make an appearance, either as a temporary helper, plot device, and/or enemy. The secondary characters who could join you were Charlotte Christine Colde, Rimururu and Kyoshiro Senryo, as well as other "main" characters whom the player did not select at the outset. Over the course of the game, two other characters could also join your party (unless the hero is Genjuro who only gains a partner in his second story). In addition, to better adjust to character continuity, certain stories were modified slightly based on the selected chapter. The basic outline of the plot did not diverge greatly for any of them, but each had different dialogue ingame, and each also had unique special scenes which would go into greater detail of the character. They were Haohmaru, Nakoruru, Genjuro Kibagami, Galford D. The menu options enable equipping of armor and accessories, as well as use of items.Īt the outset, the player is given the option to choose from six characters to be the "main" character of the story. Your characters roam an overworld, enter towns and dungeons, and get into battles, which occur on a separate screen. The basic setup of the game is very similar to most console RPGs, such as Final Fantasy. Despite this, speculations were made of a possible localized US release by Working Designs, but rumors proved false. While it was praised for its striking animation and 2D visuals, it was hampered by excessive load times. Finally, it was released in mid-1997, to generally mixed reviews. This may, in fact, be the only reason SNK's original two-chapters-per-version plan wasn't put into effect. Unsurprisingly, this plan resulted in a significant backlash from fans, and was discarded.Įventually, as development ground on, the executive decision was finally made to scrap the third chapter entirely, and focus solely on the first two, so as to allow the game to be released sooner.
In a somewhat inexplicable marketing move, SNK decided that each version was to contain only two of the three episodes, thereby necessitating a player to buy two copies of the game in order to get the whole thing.
For a while, it was to be a NeoCD exclusive, but developmental and financial pressures caused SNK to also release it for the other two current systems. For some time, rumors abounded that it was never going to come out.Īs originally envisioned, the game was to be split into three episodes: one for each of the three games in the series. It was announced for development at the height of the Samurai Shodown series' popularity in 1995, and underwent many delays in the process, finally being released a few years later. The development history of the game is fairly storied. Samurai Shodown RPG, known as Samurai Spirits, a True Story: Bushido Biographies (Shinsetsu Samurai Spirits - Bushidou Retsuden) in Japan, is a console role-playing game for the SNK's Neo Geo CD system, and was also ported to the Sega Saturn and Sony PlayStation.
0 kommentar(er)
