Samurai Shodown II (Neo Geo)

Game Profile

First released in 1994, this fighting game follows 15 samurai in their individual quests. The rage system, which was popular in the first game, has been further enhanced. Not only does attack power rise when the gauge is full, but the player can also use a special technique that can break the opponent's weapon and force the opponent to fight unarmed.

The game also allows for more movement techniques such as back-stepping, rushing forward and ducking, allowing for even more strategies. A fun and important detail of this game: One of the new characters, Cham Cham, was voiced by voice actress Reiko Chiba, an idol in the gaming community.

Game Review

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Review

USA Fri, 08 Aug 2008 by Corbie Dillard

Let's face it, the majority of SNKs existence is based around their unrelenting quest to come up with a fighting game for their system that could stand toe-to-toe with Capcom's immensely popular Street Fighter II arcade game. Samurai Shodown has the..

Let's face it, the majority of SNKs existence is based around their unrelenting quest to come up with a fighting game for their system that could stand toe-to-toe with Capcom's immensely popular Street Fighter II arcade game. Samurai Shodown has the..

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User Comments

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1. Charco Ireland 02 May 2008, 16:40 GMT

Man this looks sweet......

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2. DDR Paladin356 United States 02 May 2008, 17:05 GMT

Good game, but terrible translation. Hilarious though!

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3. sephiroth79 United States 02 May 2008, 21:07 GMT

This is a great game...I can't wait until it's on VC.

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4. Atlantis1982 United States 02 May 2008, 23:23 GMT

Oh hell (censored) YEAH!!!

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5. Serpent United States 03 May 2008, 02:43 GMT

This games awsome...I have so much fond memories of it.

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6. deadly.by.design United States 05 May 2008, 01:42 GMT

Victoly! (sic)

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7. slangman United Kingdom 05 May 2008, 16:44 GMT

As far as i heard this is actually supossed to be the best of the Samurai Shodown games.

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8. sephiroth79 United States 05 May 2008, 19:43 GMT

Let's not forget:

Cham Cham: "Oooh! It was scarry!"
Cham Cham: "Shit! You really make me mad!"
Charlotte: "In France, there's no impolite person like you! It's reasonable I win!!"
Charlotte: "You imitate my distinguished family. I never forgive you."
Earthquake: "Gosh! I've made it mincemeat! He he he he he!"
Earthquake: "He he he he he, you'd better on a diet!"
Galford: "Hey! Do you like to challenge my American ninjutsu?"
Gen-an: "He he he, I drag your soul in the evil world."
Gen-an: "Who is the real king of the evil world, let's have it our!"
Genjuro: "I'll be never beaten by anyone who lives in confort, like you."
Genjuro: "KILL YOU!!!!!!!!!!"
Haohmaru: "How weak you are! I will kill you as well as 'tofu' with my sword!"
Haohmaru: "I don't like this ominous feelings."
Haohmaru: "I slay my imitation with my sword together with Mt.Fuji!"
Kyoshiro: "Go through the beauty of real 'kabuki' by your death!"
Nakoruru: "Power, speed and beauty. I have defeated you in all way."
Nicotine: "What a nice person! You kindly give the palm to such a crock!"
Sieger: "Don't be hateful each other. Love is the best strength."
Sieger: "Give you my knock for justice!"
Ukyo: "..... To cut a same face..... ..... feel bad....."
Wan-Fu: "How foolish, stupid and silly you are! Get away, chicken!"
Wan-Fu: "Look at our great Chinese power!"

Fantastic game, the nonsense above makes it even better!

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9. morphballer United States 10 May 2008, 23:54 GMT

@ sephiroth79: It looks like they did a word for word translation of the dialog.

Not that I'm complaining but what happened to the first one?

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10. sephiroth79 United States 19 May 2008, 19:10 GMT

yes they did and it's hilarious :)

I hope they release SS1 and 2 soon, they were both fantastic games.

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11. ANEUDY-666 Puerto Rico 31 May 2008, 03:16 GMT

i hope it comes. at least till samurai showdown anthology comes anyways i'm waiting for snk games for wii including king of fighters orochi saga, which has krauser.

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12. Corbie United States 07 Jun 2008, 01:35 GMT

I'm waiting for Last Blade, Last Blade 2, Garou: Mark of the Wolves, and Pulstar. But Samurai Shodown II was the best of the series, at least in my opinion. The broken English was just a hilarious side bonus. :)

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13. DDR Paladin356 United States 18 Jun 2008, 03:14 GMT

@sephiroth79

You forgot the best one of them all, the intro:

Long Long Ago, there were a man who tried to make his skills ultimate. Because of his bloody life, its no accident that he was involved in the troubles.

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14. sephiroth79 United States 20 Jun 2008, 18:26 GMT

Ah, the troubles...standing on the criff at the beginning :)

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15. MrLopez Netherlands 21 Jun 2008, 09:28 GMT

BEST Samurai Shodown EVER!!

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16. Corbie United States 27 Jun 2008, 11:52 GMT

It's the pinnacle of the Samurai Shodown series. But I agree, the English translation was laughable at best. Funny stuff. :)

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17. Mickeymac United States 08 Jul 2008, 07:15 GMT

I dunno, it looks a little unbalanced from the video, also I could do without the blood, as it reminds me of Mortal Combat, and that game almost turned me off fighters forever! Still looks pretty damn good, though.

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18. angel m. rivera collazo Puerto Rico 14 Jul 2008, 15:42 GMT

i have shodown 1.i need this one too!

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19. Mickeymac United States 14 Jul 2008, 18:39 GMT

While I haven't played the original, It was the first fighting game I've been interested in a while. The last one I played was Sonic the Fighters, and that was a little too complicated for me. I can only dread the thought of how incredibly complicated this is, but an interest is a start, not to mention it just looks that cool!

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20. That Guy from Faxanadu Sweden 14 Jul 2008, 21:42 GMT

I can´t wait for this one. Really. Gimme pleease!

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21. DaDun Canada 19 Jul 2008, 07:04 GMT

LOL ya this is great but...when is the vc gonna get THE LAST BLADE and SUPER SMASH BROS 64. we need these games and more n64 games like ssb and perfect dark if you guys know wat i mean :P

kevenz

22. kevenz Canada 31 Jul 2008, 17:07 GMT

I think SS4 is better than this, don't you people agree?

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23. Tony United States 31 Jul 2008, 18:29 GMT

More Engrish please:)

Lets attack aggressively! Go Fight! A winner is you!

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24. sephiroth79 United States 31 Jul 2008, 21:41 GMT

"I think SS4 is better than this, don't you people agree?"

Nope, this one's the best, hands down.

Get it more! Get it more!

Only twinkies have preferences. You Pansy Face.

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25. Mickeymac United States 01 Aug 2008, 02:43 GMT

Okay, now I have to get this, the sheer humorness(inventing words is fun!) is too much to resist!

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26. DaDun Canada 01 Aug 2008, 04:09 GMT

yayyyy its coming to na on Monday. Let's keep goin and get super smash bros and last blade!

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27. Mickeymac United States 01 Aug 2008, 05:00 GMT

@DaDun

I'm with you there - I played Super Smash Bros. recently, and even with all the sequels it still was fun! Plus, I saw some vids of Last Blade and I gotta say, if a game can make a little old fisherman seem badarse, then I'm all for it!

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28. sephiroth79 United States 01 Aug 2008, 20:40 GMT

I'm not making up anything, it's real dialogue from "Pulstar" and "Matrimelee"

http://neogeoforlife.com/viewpage.php?page_id=101
http://neogeoforlife.com/viewpage.php?page_id=215
Funny stuff

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29. Mickeymac United States 02 Aug 2008, 08:39 GMT

@sephiroth79

It took me a while to figure out what that was refering to! I hope those games come to the VC soon, they look awesome! There sure were a lot of great games on the Neo Geo huh? Now if we'd just get more of those( hopefully games of or near Samurai Shodown will be a trend of some sort), people would stop complaining whenever a new one gets released.

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30. Link79 United States 04 Aug 2008, 05:50 GMT

What exactly makes this so much better than the first one? It just looks like alot of the same. I'm sure there are more characters but is that the only thing that's better?

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31. Corbie United States 04 Aug 2008, 11:28 GMT

The Dynamic Fighting System makes a solid difference. The ability to duck and hop over attacks adds a lot of defensive capability to the mix that was missing from the first game. Great new characters and a nice visual upgrade round this wonderful package out. Most Neo Geo fans, myself included, think Samurai Shodown II is by far the best release in the entire series.

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32. Link79 United States 04 Aug 2008, 13:54 GMT

Cool! Sounds good. I bought the first one and liked it so maybe I'll give this a try.

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33. AngelBlack187 United Kingdom 08 Aug 2008, 00:55 GMT

will download tmz :)

Satan's Therapist

34. Satan's Therapist United Kingdom 08 Aug 2008, 01:15 GMT

Would anyone say that this is a hard game? Have not played a samurai showdown game before.

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35. morphballer United States 08 Aug 2008, 02:31 GMT

The A.I. in SNK fighting games is very challenging and in some cases, notoriously cheep so don't expect to blow through the game in a day. As with the first game I would recommend an arcade controller for SSII. I use my PS2 Street Fighter controller by way of an adapter. It plays like a dream! :D

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36. Mickeymac United States 08 Aug 2008, 04:28 GMT

I can't wait till this comes. I was thinking about getting the original, but after seeing some videos, I knew this was the game to get! However, there have been some people who got the game and said that the original was better, so maybe someday I'll look into that one. But for now, I just want #2!

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37. DEMON212 United Kingdom 08 Aug 2008, 05:56 GMT

So if this one's so much better, how come they both get a 5? It just seems odd to me.

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38. Mickeymac United States 08 Aug 2008, 06:47 GMT

Well, like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dx38JqdB5uQ

Show me Hanzo kicking that much arse(or more), and I'll give. Until then, I'll just wait for this one to come out.

I'd prefer it if the opponent did something though, because I'll admit it's not as impressive once you realize that the opponent is just standing there most of the time. It is, however, a great way to show off the special attacks.

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39. Dazza United Kingdom 08 Aug 2008, 07:39 GMT

@Demon - Both SS1 and SS2 are excellent and worthy of 5 stars IMHO.

Having said that I do prefer SS2 myself, but I also prefer SMB3 to SMB1. :-p

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40. Kirby8 Denmark 08 Aug 2008, 07:42 GMT

Im not really into fighting games but i think that I will give this a try sometime

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41. BF-Medic Norway 08 Aug 2008, 08:33 GMT

morphballer: What kinda PS2-adapter are you using for the Wii? I would also like to use my SFII controller on this :)

Ben

42. Ben United Kingdom 08 Aug 2008, 17:32 GMT

@Demon: Both games are good games. SS2 is better than SS1, which already had 5 stars, so you have to give SS2 5 stars too. Seeing though they're rated out of 5, you can't just go 1 higher because it's better... this isn't Spinal Tap...

:)

I'd also like to know about this PS2 adaptor, well, i'd prefer a saturn one, but i can't seen that happening :(

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43. deadly.by.design United States 08 Aug 2008, 18:16 GMT

It's pretty good, but I've already bought SS1 and would rather have a Last Blade game. I don't play fighters often by myself, so I don't want too many.

wii-c-kid

44. wii-c-kid United Kingdom 08 Aug 2008, 19:51 GMT

Wow, I think it's time to expand my list of 20 VC games to purchase to a mega 21! It's only taken another 6 months, but Nintendo have finally broken my top 20 list.

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45. DaDun Canada 08 Aug 2008, 19:56 GMT

For me I have sf new challengers and just want this game, last blade and super smash bros 64 for all the fighters i will ever need. my other two wishlist games r earthbound and perfect dark tho lol

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46. BF-Medic Norway 09 Aug 2008, 10:25 GMT

I guess this is the adapter he uses:
http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-14-71-10y-49-en.html
I have just ordered one myself :)

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47. MrLopez Netherlands 09 Aug 2008, 18:50 GMT

Finally it's here!
Go Galford!

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48. Bass X0 United Kingdom 10 Aug 2008, 15:20 GMT

Yeah, Galford is still my favorite character to play as. And I've also discovered the charms of Cham Cham.

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49. MasterMario United States 15 Aug 2008, 01:29 GMT

I wonder if this game will be on SNK Arcade Classics Vol 2.

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50. That Guy from Faxanadu Sweden 15 Aug 2008, 16:44 GMT

I had big expectations, Samurai Shodown II is good, but I can´t see what the hype is all about. The gameplay feels strange. Perhaps I´ll get used to it, but the uneven tempo with slow characters, some quick specials and slowmotion on some hits... right now my timing is completely off!

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51. Outrunner United Kingdom 18 Aug 2008, 18:59 GMT

Downloaded this yesterday. I have to say I'm liking it a lot.

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52. AngelBlack187 United Kingdom 25 Aug 2008, 12:32 GMT

its good, but i think ssd4 and last blade are a lot better :)

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53. Mickeymac United States 26 Aug 2008, 05:20 GMT

You think SS4 is good, then you gotta play SS6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAcCCC6OU38&feature=related

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54. Atlantis1982 United States 26 Aug 2008, 07:37 GMT

Well this game kicking the tar out of me, and I can only manage to beat the first opponent. Hopefully by time and practice I'll manage to be decent, other than that, a nice game indeed and was worth the wait. :)

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55. Bass X0 United Kingdom 26 Aug 2008, 10:51 GMT

who are you playing as?

Cham-Cham is a good character I think with some good moves.

try setting the game to an easier difficulty setting to allow you to practice for a while.

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56. AngelBlack187 United Kingdom 26 Aug 2008, 14:56 GMT

SS6 looks frickin awesome. wants it :) cheers Mickeymac

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57. AngelBlack187 United Kingdom 26 Aug 2008, 14:57 GMT

What console is SS6 on ?

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58. whalleywhat Canada 26 Aug 2008, 19:47 GMT

SamSho II seems to play fairly different from the SFII template. I think that's where a lot of people's complaints come from. It doesn't seem to allow for combos and you need to be fairly reactive and hit big when you get an opening. If you try to button mash and be too aggressive, the AI is gonna pick you apart. I like it that way, makes you learn and understand the mechanics. As I get to know the game better, I can see where poor decisions and lack of patience are making me lose rounds.
Just a couple of complaints: seeing as you can load from your save anyways, they might as well have just let you have infinite credits. It just makes it more of a nuisance than it needs to be, and if you're playing for score, you're only gonna use one credit anyways. Also, it would be nice if they'd mapped the strong attacks to L1 and R1 on the Classic Controller, but I guess that wouldn't be accurate.

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59. Mickeymac United States 26 Aug 2008, 20:30 GMT

@AngelBlack187

Right now, it's on the PS2, however it's going to be on the Anthology on the PS2 and Wii. I don't know when the Anthology is being released though.

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60. Ricardo91 United States 27 Aug 2008, 00:58 GMT

A Samsho anthology? Sweet! now I don't need to get this from the shop! I can save 900 wii points and 200-some blocks for Star Parodier. :)

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61. Corbie United States 27 Aug 2008, 01:42 GMT

Samurai Shodown VI was developed using Sammy's Atomiswave arcade board. This board is based off of Sega's Naomi board. Samurai Shodown VI was also released on the Playstation 2 console in Japan and included some extra playable characters as well. While I don't like it as much as SS2, it's easily my second favorite game of the series. :)

On a side note - I almost bought one of those Atomiswave PCBs for my Neo Geo cabinet, but it seemed a bit expensive for just that one game. I couldn't find another Atomiswave game that I'd want bad enough to spend that kind of money on it.

Adroitone

62. Adroitone United States 05 Sep 2008, 18:17 GMT

It really saddens me to see that SS2 did not make the the top 20. How is SS1 going to make the top 20, but not SS2? :(

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63. sipherdee Canada 06 Sep 2008, 04:17 GMT

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3163122

I was about to purchase when I read what follows:

"The Wii will receive a collection of all six of the main Samurai Shodown games similar to SNK's Metal Slug Anthology, which was released on Wii earlier this year. Again no official word on a U.S. release nor on what kind of Wii control capabilities might be implemented, but both seem likely."

I thought it may be of interest to some of you. Waiting will be hard because this review makes me want to play.

Andio Pandio

64. Andio Pandio United Kingdom 08 Sep 2008, 15:08 GMT

Currently my favourite game on vc. The art style is awesome compared to the sequels, and it almost feels like chess with it's attack/defend strategy. i used to look longingly at the arcade cabinet in my local arcade wishing i could afford a neo-geo, but now i can play it any time i like - cheers Ninty !!!

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65. SNK United Kingdom 11 Sep 2008, 16:08 GMT

class game, but for some reason all the games ive played on the virtual console are running at 50hz ive noticed this because i got this game on mame and all the neo-geo games run at 60hz like in the arcades and the games run faster better in my opinion dont know why the games dont run at 60hz on the vc, still a good game though

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66. The Fox United States 12 Sep 2008, 05:32 GMT

Great game, but I would recommend getting it on xbox live if you have a 360. It might be a little more pricey, but looks better and has online play!

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67. Mickeymac United States 12 Sep 2008, 05:49 GMT

@The Fox

Yeah, I was just about to mention that! Personally I think it actually looks worse than the VC one, but that's just from looking at screenshots. I don't have a 360 yet, but if it is better I'll just save my money. Is there any noticable lag?

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68. The Fox United States 13 Sep 2008, 16:27 GMT

@Mickeymac
No single player lag, but there is a bit of lag online on some matches. It's not that bad from my experiences so far though.
The only real problem is that the standard 360 controllers d-pad isn't the best for pulling off some of the more complex motions. (like for the super moves)

Adroitone

69. Adroitone United States 13 Sep 2008, 17:33 GMT

The 360 version does not look better, matter of fact, if you don't turn off the terrible filter, it looks far worst. Also, since they didn't take the time to update the sprites in the game, it cannot look better than what it looks like on the VC since the VC is pretty much prefect.

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70. Mickeymac United States 13 Sep 2008, 20:32 GMT

Screw it, my brother doesn't want to play anyways. I might get the 360 one, since it has online, but I have no need for the VC version.

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71. sipherdee Canada 14 Sep 2008, 17:57 GMT

Samurai Showdown Anthology announce on Wii Fanboy:

http://www.nintendowiifanboy.com/2008/09/12/save-those-wii-points-samurai-shodown-anthology-releases-this-w/

Meanwhile, I am also getting it on Xbox Live Arcade for online play.

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72. Mickeymac United States 01 Oct 2008, 01:20 GMT

@sipherdee

Yep, 'nother game to add to my Christmas list, along with that King of Fighters collection.

Edit: Damn it, it's been delayed until February! So much for christmas, guess I gotta get it for my birthday now.

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73. Super Flip United States 01 Oct 2008, 21:01 GMT

I love this game, I just bought it today.

Its kinda hard to get used to the Classic Controller, Im used to using PS2-esque controllers for fighting games but, it works.

I also appreciate the save feature. =3

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74. whalleywhat Canada 12 Oct 2008, 23:01 GMT

I'm seriously considering getting a hori stick for this. Would be good for shmups, too. I'm hitting the wall for how good I can get with the Classic Controller.
Jubei owns.

Adroitone

75. Adroitone United States 14 Oct 2008, 03:36 GMT

For any games on the Neo Geo, instead of the Hori Arcade stick, I would highly suggest getting the Neo Geo arcade stick. The way the buttons are lineup on the Neo Geo stick matches the original Neo Geo layout. Doing moves with the Hori Arcade stick on most Neo Geo fighters are impossible due to the fact that the Neo Geo fighters required a bunch of 2 or 3 button presses at the same time (use Hanzo in SS1 and SS2, then you will understand).

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76. WaddleWave Puerto Rico 24 Nov 2008, 15:37 GMT

@Corbie Dillard: Yes, the review nor the sidebar states what kind of control this game support. From the users I can predict it does support Classic Control. Does it support GameCube controls?

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77. Mickeymac United States 25 Nov 2008, 04:34 GMT

@WaddleWave

All Neo Geo games support the Classic and Gamecube controllers.

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78. Mickeymac United States 29 Dec 2008, 06:00 GMT

Yeah! Played this on the Xbox, and it is sweet! Can't get enough of it! Too bad there aren't a lot of people playin' it, but still, when I get into a game with someone, it is awesome!

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