[In honor of the Neo Geo console's recent 20 year
birthday, the GSW column
regulars The Raroos dug back into the archives of their print zine to present us with Missus
Raroo's classic article from 2005 about why she loves SNK's peerless Samurai Shodown II.
Not only does her write-up give love to a great fighter, but it also sheds light on the artistry
and details that help make it such a timeless game. Plus, her illustrations are really
cute!]
A Disclaimer From a Non-Gamer
I am, self-admittedly, every fighting-enthusiast’s worst nightmare. I am a button-masher. I
know enough to realize that various direction and button combinations are supposed to result in
special attacks, but I never manage to get the combinations quite right when I attempt them on
purpose. I either don’t have enough fine motor coordination, or I just have really bad
timing. Whatever the case may be, when I try to fight with some intentional strategy, I always
die the fastest. Thus, it’s not like I button-mash out of stubbornness, it’s a matter
of survival.
Given this background knowledge of my fighting-game skills, or lack thereof, you may be wondering
what I could possibly add to a discussion about fighters. Your concerns are definitely valid,
because I have not played very many fighters and even the ones I’ve played, I’ve
barely clocked in more than a few rounds. I have, however, seen my fair share of fighters come
and go, thanks to my time spent with Mister Raroo.
And, after years of exposure to myriad fighting games, there is one fighting game that stood out
from them all. I couldn’t remember the name of the game, but I did remember how there were
a bunch of cute barnyard animals in the background in one fighting scene. I was also able to
recall there being characters with animal tagalongs, including one with a bird and one with a
dog. This was enough information for the Raroo to identify the game immediately as: Samurai
Shodown II, known in Japan as Shin Samurai Spirits.
If you want a “real” review that comments on attack combos and the like, then
don’t bother reading any farther. If you want to know the place that Samurai Shodown
II holds in relation to the other titles in the Samurai Shodown series, I
couldn’t tell you. There are plenty of fan sites out there that can provide you that
information in lengthy FAQs—I found quite a few when doing a little background
research for this article.
What I didn’t really find, though, were write-ups that mentioned all of the reasons why I
happen to love Samurai Shodown II, and so at least I don’t feel like I’m
replicating what’s been written a million times before. So, without further ado I
present...Falling in Love with Samurai Shodown II For All the Right
Reasons.
For Its Japanese Flavor
As soon as you power up Samurai Shodown II, you are immediately treated to cherry
blossom petals falling over the the Gairyu Isle background, complete with a path of red Torii
gates leading to Mount Fuji, one of the most recognizable settings in Japan. Next, you are
presented with a flurry of the game’s characters flashing against a scrolling Japanese art
screen, the same pattern that also serves as the background during player selection. Finally, the
title screen comes on, accompanied by characteristically Japanese music complete with the sounds
of shakuhachi, shamisen, and taiko drums. Thus, even before you even get to play the game, you
are immersed in the wonderful Japanese ambience that permeates all of Samurai Shodown
II.
The playing options in the game allow you to select the regions of Japan, Spain, or USA. If you
select Japan, the gushing blood during battles is colored in red, but if you select Spain or US,
the blood color is palette-swapped and appears green instead.
Also, if you select Spain, the game text changes to Spanish, and if you select USA, the text
changes to English, or as some like to say Engrish, due to the improper, but oh so satisfying,
translations (For example, you’ve got to appreciate Kyoshiro gloating with a comment like
“Fight like dance, and win. That’s the soul of Kabuki.”). Luckily, regardless
of region, none of the character voices or audio narration is dubbed or changed from the original
Japanese. Even though I can’t understand the Japanese comments throughout the game, the
dramatic, guttural voices add such great feeling that would be completely ruined by English
dubbing.
To complement the Japanese sounds, the visual references throughout the game pay homage to some
great popular culture and history. The most obvious character connection is Hanzo, based on the
historical ninja master Hattori Hanzo. In the game, Hanzo plays on a war torn battlefield that
includes such wonderful details as a sideways leaning cement lantern and a broken Japanese-style
battle flag.
Although less obvious to me, I found out through research that Ukyo is based on the swordsman
Sasaki Kojiro Genryu, Nicotine was most likely made after the Buddhist monk Takuan, and Haohmaru
after the samurai Miyamoto Musashi. In the game, Haohmaru also happens to love the Japanese
alcoholic beverage sake. He drinks sake to taunt his opponent, and he even uses a sake bottle as
a weapon at times.
Japanese Kabuki theater is weaved in with Kyoshiro and the Japanese card game Hanafuda with
Genjuro. The samurai servant Jubei snacks on rice balls to taunt his opponent while competing in
a beautiful snow-covered bamboo forest that leads to a home built with traditional Japanese
architecture. Two of the bamboo stalks stand out in foreground and can be cut by players in the
heat of battle, a simple yet satisfying instance of interactive backgrounds.
Finally, I love the presence of Kuroko, the judge who dutifully referees every battle. Supposedly
Kuroko dresses in the tradition of a Kabuki stagehand, while using the red and white flags to
referee as in a kendo match. Of course, Kuroko also throws confetti, and I suppose that is
neither customary in Kabuki nor kendo.
For Its Humblest Heroes
Throughout my life, I’ve always been a champion of the underdog. I’ve always rooted
for the underdog, and I’ve always been the underdog, you know, the kid who tried her
hardest, but still spent a lot of time cheering from the bench. So, what can I say, I love the
humblest heroes of Samurai Shodown II the most! First, take Earthquake. This is one
obese man who is not afraid to flaunt it. He bares his belly in all of its glory, wearing nothing
but a flimsy vest, and when he wins a battle he’s not too shy to take a gigantic bite of
chicken leg.
Next, consider the attractiveness of Gen-An the green monster. Gen-An is a worthy adversary with
his sharp Freddy Kreuger-style claws, but in the end, he’s a guy who scratches his butt
when he wins a battle. That leads us to the small but ever mighty Nicotine. You find out when he
battles that halitosis is no longer something to be embarrassed by. A puff of his bad breath can
send his opponent down for the count. Even in victory, though, Nicotine doesn’t get away
with gloating. Sometimes he’ll laugh so hard that his back will give out, revealing that
even after taking down his rival, he is still vulnerable to old age.
Throughout the game, you will find other small details that reveal the humanity characters have
through their weaknesses. Sieger, for example, has the most ridiculously large fist cover for a
weapon. It’s a weapon that has got to give poor Sieger some confidence since, after all, he
has all the pressure in the world to fight before the king. Taking up half the screen, the fist
is so large that you might hardly notice how it compensates for Sieger’s puny legs and
pointy-toed boots.
Sieger’s masked weakness is further revealed when he loses a battle. The king has to stand
up in disgust to shame him, and at times you will find Sieger falling down and grabbing his
shoulder. To me, it’s the classic “pretending to be hurt” scam that people play
all of the time when they fail at something. I can just hear him blaming the shoulder,
“Darn you, shoulder! If it weren’t for you, I could have won the honor of the
king!”
Finally, perhaps the most sympathetic hero of all is Ukyo, our very own tuberculosis case. The
poor guy perseveres even while coughing up blood. His taunt is to kneel down and cough, and when
winning a battle he sometimes collapses all of the way to the ground while his girlfriend finally
emerges from behind the torii gate post to help him. If that isn’t a departure from the
regular victory dance, I don’t know what is.
For Its Fan Clubs
While the heroes of Samurai Shodown II may be unconventionally humble, they don’t often
lack the support of fans rooting in the background. Some levels in the game are set in locations
without the presence of spectators, like Charlotte’s empty palace or Nicotine’s foggy
temple grounds. Nevertheless, there are definitely some memorable fan clubs worth noting.
First, there are the standard fan clubs. When Ukyo wins a battle, for example, he is sometimes
showered by a pack of adoring women dressed in kimonos. Nothing out of the ordinary there. Then,
there’s the kabuki star Kyoshiro who is constantly being rooted for by members of his cast.
There are about a dozen men in the background who wave their arms around with fans or with
instruments in hand. Again, no big surprise.
Next, you have what I like to think of as wannabe fans. These are fans who look a lot like
the fighter. Now, they might just be relatives, but even so, it’s funny because they are
just choosing to root for whoever shares their resemblance. I guess it’s not so different
from what happens all of the time in real life, but I still find it amusing for some reason. In
this category, there is Gen-An who is being supported by two fellow green monsters on either side
of a giant and ominous-looking cauldron.
The goblin on the right is busy stirring the pot and the goblin on the left is too busy waving
his giant spoon above his head to help with the stirring. The established work ethic of the
goblins carries over to the end of the battle. The goblin on the left gets so emotionally caught
up in the action that if Gen-An loses, he falls down. Meanwhile, the goblin on the right is the
responsible one who keeps his spoon in the pot, but gets a stern look on his face, probably upset
not only that Gen-An lost, but that he’s the only one doing any work.
Another character with a wannabe fan club is Earthquake. If you play Earthquake’s level,
you can’t help but notice that all of the guys in the background are bare-chested and
big-bellied just like Earthquake. In particular, there is one look-alike fan who is busy chowing
down chicken, one of Earthquake’s favorite snacks, and there is another guy standing with
very proud posture in the back. This guy in the back cracks me up the most, because he spends the
whole time continuously spinning a chain much like the one that Earthquake uses as a weapon. You
can’t help but guess that this guy adores Earthquake and wants to be just like him!
This leaves me with the most bizarre fan club of all and that is the fan club for Galford.
Galford is a ninja with a husky who fights at a shipyard in San Francisco! There is no indication
of what he could possibly have in common with a bunch of muscle-toned men who work with fish on a
dock, and yet this is exactly the colorful bunch that Galford finds rooting for him.
Among the crowd, there is a guy choking and head butting another man, an old man teetering with a
cane, a guy just rubbing his belly, and one reclining with his arm behind his head, his legs
crossed, and his fist up to cheer. There is also one man distracted by a cute dog, another one
cheering with his butt sticking out, and yet another sitting so excited that he has to tap his
feet and cup his mouth to cheer all the louder. It is totally bizarre, and I love it!
Throughout this section, I didn’t mention Nakoruru’s fan club, but that is because I
pay special tribute to them below. Read on.
For Its Animals
I mentioned earlier that my lasting memories of Samurai Shodown II were of
the animals. The “barnyard” scene that was seared into my memory is the level for
Nakoruru, who also happens to be the character with the bird sidekick, a hawk named Mamaha that
can be used in attacks. While Mamaha may be the main animal star people associate with Nakoruru,
I love all of the animals that adorn the background of her level, which turns out to be more of a
forest/straw-thatched roof cottage scene than a barnyard scene.
To the best of my visual discernment, I have been able to spot the following animals: numerous
deer populating the forest on the right side of the screen, a big standing brown bear carrying
Nakoruru’s sister Rimururu on its shoulder, a white parrot sitting atop the head of a black
cow, kittens cleaning each other under the watchful gaze of three huskies, a group of red
chickens to the left of a posing white rabbit and a hopping white rabbit, a couple of bounding
foxes, a trio of yellow birds building a nest in a barrel, a white horse chilling behind a low
fence, a couple of monkeys roughhousing on a shelf and a couple more clapping wildly on the
cottage awning, beavers surfacing by logs in the river, and even what appears to be a hamster
running in a wheel inside the building!
Although the level of nature-loving Nakoruru takes the cake when it comes to animals, there are
others thrown in throughout the game. Akin to Nakoruru’s hawk, Galford has a husky dog
Poppy to aid in attacks. Before battle, Galford calls out, “Let’s go and defend the
justice, Poppy,” and throughout the fight, Poppy doesn’t disappoint with his
intimidating fighting stance and snarling expression. Sound effects of his growls and barks liven
the scene, and at the end of fights you might spot the animation of Poppy’s eye twinkling,
Poppy licking Galford’s face, or even the guest appearance of Poppy’s three adorable
puppies: Poppa, Puppa, and Pippa.
To top it off, Galford’s level includes the treat of a naughty gray cat trying to paw its
way into a blue bag that probably contains fish, a brown bulldog-looking pup that is continuously
being scratched under the chin, and arguably the star of the background: a prize-winning shark
that hangs in humiliation, twirling around with a hook through its nose so that its neck is left
arching back and its mouth hanging wide open to reveal a big red tongue.
Cham Cham also has an animal companion in her monkey Paku Paku. Paku Paku doesn’t get
involved in attacks, but it does liven up the action with silly antics such as making “ooh
ooh ooh” noises, beating its chest, or jumping on Cham Cham’s head after a battle,
which by the way, leaves Cham Cham looking none too pleased. In the background of Cham
Cham’s level, Paku Paku has a fan club consisting of a monkey that cheers with a stick in
hand and a mommy monkey that appears to have kid monkeys flanking her sides. Cham Cham’s
level also features a silly alligator that laughs, some dead fish hanging from a pole, and a good
showing of flamingoes that I guess aren’t too intimidated by the alligator to stick around.
Although much more minor in detail, Genjuro’s beautiful level with the flowing waves of
grain is made even more picturesque with geese flying by in the sky and Gairyu Isle is livened up
by the circling of a seagull up high. Similarly, the black crows in Hanzo’s battleground
level add to the feeling of desolation, and the black feathers that fall across the screen in
close-up view when some crows are forced from a falling gravestone are a great touch. In my
everyday life, I love animals for enriching my days, and similarly, the animals of Samurai
Shodown II breathe special life into the gaming experience. For them alone, I will forever
love Samurai Shodown II.
[Missus Raroo doesn't consider herself to be a "real" gamer, but between listening to her
husband excitedly talk about games on a regular basis and trying her hand at a select few titles
herself, she knows a thing or two about video games. She served as the co-editor-in-chief of the
Game Time With Mister Raroo print zine and was called the "heart and soul" of the publication by
readers. She lives in El Cajon, CA with her husband, son, daughter, and pets. You may reach
Missus Raroo at koopaboo@yahoo.com.]
Recommandations
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and reject those that you are not interested in
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