Bitmap Books
Friday, 19 October 2012
Samurai Shodown Anthology Review (Wii)
The Samurai Shodown series is one of SNK's best known franchises and players have been chasing decent home versions of the games for years. Though a number of the titles have appeared on everything from the SNES to the Mega CD there has never really been a version that lived up its arcade origins.
The Samurai Showdown Anthology gives many players the chance to play arcade perfect versions of the six Shodown games for the first time. As well as the games there are a few other minor options included such as being able to edit characters colours and play a small mini game.
The Shodown series has always taken a slightly different approach to the beat'em up genre due to the characters carrying weapons. The games are also much more about waiting for an opening and capitalising on your opponents mistake. Matches in any Shodown game can be incredibly cagey as it can take as little as three strong attacks to down an opponent due to extra damage being given for counters and hitting people in the air.
The first two Showdown games are the best example of what makes the series so special. The second game especially, is incredibly tactical. One mistake and your opponent will be all over you. This makes it pretty tough in single player but it does illustrate the different way you need to play the game.
In order to win matches you need to understand which moves counter other moves and which will leave you open if they are blocked. Special moves are also used differently with their main aim being to make your opponent jump or move into a position where they can be struck with you weapon.
Samurai Shodown II is also the best balanced of all the games. After this, SNK started to add in mountains of new techniques and even changed the button assignment. Samurai Shodown III is the worst affected with gaudy, overly large sprites and bizarre move sets making it seem messy and unfocused.
Luckily, the series does recover and the forth and fifth games return to being fun. However, they are still full of overly complex techniques and difficult moves to pull off (especially on the small Wii classic controller), and still feel more than a little unbalanced. In there favour is an ever increasing roster of characters that remain interesting and different enough to warrant players trying out the newcomers.
Samurai Shodown VI is the most over the top and allows you to pick just about every character in the game. You can even choose to play as a small monkey or one of the characters dogs. It also allows for a large degree of customisation in which special bars and techniques you use. It may not be as tactical as before but it is excellent knockabout fun.
8/10
SNK Arcade Classics Vol.1 Review (PS2)
Capcom, Taito and Midway have had great success with arcade compilations. Now it is the turn of SNK to try their hand at bringing some of their gems from yesteryear to a new audience. We here at Retro101 couldn't wait to get our hands on this compilation as many of the games have not appeared on home systems before. As always though, there is the mix of classics and games better best forgotten.
Seeing as this package has 'Volume 1' stuck on it we assume that SNK is planning to continue to bring us games from it's past. This, in some way can help to explain why we have many of the first titles in their long running franchises. The first Art of Fighting, World Heroes, King of the Fighters and Fatal Fury games are all here. Unfortunately, they have all been bettered quite substantially by later games in their respective series’ and will warrant a couple of plays each at best.
There are more titles that will have people running back to their current generation systems as well. Magician Lord is a terrible platform game that could be used as an instrument of torture. Meanwhile, Sengoku and Burning Fight are two of the dullest scrolling fighters we have ever had the misfortune to experience (and we've played Growl).
On a brighter note, the first Samurai Shodown game is included and we are delighted to say that it retains all the brilliance that made it such a hit when it was first released. There are plenty of other reasons to smile as well. King of the Monsters, though a little basic, is still great fun to play in short bursts. Here players pick from one of six B movie monster characters and do battle in the middle of a Japanese city.
The Neo Geo sports titles put up a good show as well. Baseball Stars 2 and Neo Turf Masters still play a great game of Baseball and Golf respectively. Super Sidekicks 3 is also included and, while not the best football game ever, is still worth spending some time with.
The real highlights of the package though are some of the games making their debuts on the home consoles. Top Hunter, which recently came out on the Wii Virtual Console, is a great little oddity of a game. It's sort of a platformer crossed with Metal Slug but instead of guns our heroes have long extendable arms which they use to grab enemies and chuck them around. Last Resort, is a great side scrolling shooter which shows more than a little resemblance to R-type. Still, it is an intense score rush game that requires buckets of skill to get anywhere with and is a must for any fan of the genre.
However, the best game in the package for us is Shock Troopers. Imagine a top down version of Metal Slug and you are in the right area. The game has three different paths that can be taken and offers up some of the most intense and varied shooting action we have seen in an arcade game. You also have the option of choosing from a whole host of characters to blast your way through the levels with. The first Metal Slug game is included and, though it has already been released in its own collection, we are glad to see it here.
The first volume of the SNK collection is a real mixture. There are certain games here that we would never want to play again in a million years. But don't let that put you off as the inclusion of Shock Troopers alone makes the package worth hunting out. The fact you have some other stone cold classics in there, such as Samurai Shodown, Metal Slug and Last Resort, make this a must for any fans of classic games.
7/10
Seeing as this package has 'Volume 1' stuck on it we assume that SNK is planning to continue to bring us games from it's past. This, in some way can help to explain why we have many of the first titles in their long running franchises. The first Art of Fighting, World Heroes, King of the Fighters and Fatal Fury games are all here. Unfortunately, they have all been bettered quite substantially by later games in their respective series’ and will warrant a couple of plays each at best.
There are more titles that will have people running back to their current generation systems as well. Magician Lord is a terrible platform game that could be used as an instrument of torture. Meanwhile, Sengoku and Burning Fight are two of the dullest scrolling fighters we have ever had the misfortune to experience (and we've played Growl).
On a brighter note, the first Samurai Shodown game is included and we are delighted to say that it retains all the brilliance that made it such a hit when it was first released. There are plenty of other reasons to smile as well. King of the Monsters, though a little basic, is still great fun to play in short bursts. Here players pick from one of six B movie monster characters and do battle in the middle of a Japanese city.
The Neo Geo sports titles put up a good show as well. Baseball Stars 2 and Neo Turf Masters still play a great game of Baseball and Golf respectively. Super Sidekicks 3 is also included and, while not the best football game ever, is still worth spending some time with.
The real highlights of the package though are some of the games making their debuts on the home consoles. Top Hunter, which recently came out on the Wii Virtual Console, is a great little oddity of a game. It's sort of a platformer crossed with Metal Slug but instead of guns our heroes have long extendable arms which they use to grab enemies and chuck them around. Last Resort, is a great side scrolling shooter which shows more than a little resemblance to R-type. Still, it is an intense score rush game that requires buckets of skill to get anywhere with and is a must for any fan of the genre.
However, the best game in the package for us is Shock Troopers. Imagine a top down version of Metal Slug and you are in the right area. The game has three different paths that can be taken and offers up some of the most intense and varied shooting action we have seen in an arcade game. You also have the option of choosing from a whole host of characters to blast your way through the levels with. The first Metal Slug game is included and, though it has already been released in its own collection, we are glad to see it here.
The first volume of the SNK collection is a real mixture. There are certain games here that we would never want to play again in a million years. But don't let that put you off as the inclusion of Shock Troopers alone makes the package worth hunting out. The fact you have some other stone cold classics in there, such as Samurai Shodown, Metal Slug and Last Resort, make this a must for any fans of classic games.
7/10
The King of Fighters Collection – The Orochi Saga Review (PS2)
The King of Fighters series is one of SNK's most popular and iconic franchises. The games see characters from SNK’s different fighting titles meeting up to have an almighty three on three scrap. The formula works so well that Capcom decided to use it when they developed their Marvel output. This collection contains the first five games in the franchise.
The collection is dubbed the 'Orochi Saga' as it follows the story of several crime lords as they host the King of Fighters tournament and gradually come to learn of the awesome power of the evil Orochi. Geese Howard, of Fatal Fury fame, then decides he wants to raise the Orochi from his slumber to harness his power. This, of course, causes all hell breaks lose. Beat'em ups are never too hot on plot but any excuse for a fight is fine by us.
We at Retro 101 are very glad to see the first five titles here as it means you not only get the history and development of the series but the best games as well. King of Fighters 96 and 98 are, generally speaking, the ones that fans tend to pick as their favourites and it is easy to see why. These two certainly have the best feeling of impact and chaos and most concepts introduced throughout the series are balanced perfectly here.
That is not to say that King of Fighters 94, 95 and 97 are bad by any means. KOF 94, being the first in the series suffers from being rough around the edges and 95, while improving on certain things, introduces a few ideas that don't quite work how they should. When you reach KOF 96 all the rough edges have been removed and the various dodges and counters have all been balanced out which, while only being little changes, makes a massive difference.
KOF 97 takes a few backwards steps as SNK try something a little different. What is most disappointing though is that the music and sound effects are very poor. This removes almost all the tension and atmosphere from the game and often left us feeling bored. Of course, everything is fixed and polished to perfection with KOF 98. Otherwise known as 'the slug fest' this is one of the most highly revered and sought after fighting games of all time. It allows players to pick from over thirty nine characters and we are delighted that it has made it onto this compilation. All of the characters are unique which means if you want to master everyone you are going to be here for a very long time.
Aside from the main games SNK has also added other options into the mix. For fans you can check out a whole host of related media such as art work and sound effects for the games. There is also the excellent addition of the challenge mode. This gives you various conditions to overcome in preset matches, such as only using the kick button or being outnumbered. Overcoming a challenge unlocks new characters, art work, music and various other things.
SNK has released a number of collections now but this is by far the best of them. The King of Fighters series is one of the greatest 2D beat'em up franchises out there and on this disc are two of the best fighting games you are ever likely to find. Anyone who has thought twice about picking up the other collections should not hesitate here. KOF 98 would be worth the money on its own, but adding it into a mix that contains KOF 96 and all the extras makes this an unbeatable package. If you have never played a SNK fighting game before then this is the place to start.
9/10
The collection is dubbed the 'Orochi Saga' as it follows the story of several crime lords as they host the King of Fighters tournament and gradually come to learn of the awesome power of the evil Orochi. Geese Howard, of Fatal Fury fame, then decides he wants to raise the Orochi from his slumber to harness his power. This, of course, causes all hell breaks lose. Beat'em ups are never too hot on plot but any excuse for a fight is fine by us.
We at Retro 101 are very glad to see the first five titles here as it means you not only get the history and development of the series but the best games as well. King of Fighters 96 and 98 are, generally speaking, the ones that fans tend to pick as their favourites and it is easy to see why. These two certainly have the best feeling of impact and chaos and most concepts introduced throughout the series are balanced perfectly here.
That is not to say that King of Fighters 94, 95 and 97 are bad by any means. KOF 94, being the first in the series suffers from being rough around the edges and 95, while improving on certain things, introduces a few ideas that don't quite work how they should. When you reach KOF 96 all the rough edges have been removed and the various dodges and counters have all been balanced out which, while only being little changes, makes a massive difference.
KOF 97 takes a few backwards steps as SNK try something a little different. What is most disappointing though is that the music and sound effects are very poor. This removes almost all the tension and atmosphere from the game and often left us feeling bored. Of course, everything is fixed and polished to perfection with KOF 98. Otherwise known as 'the slug fest' this is one of the most highly revered and sought after fighting games of all time. It allows players to pick from over thirty nine characters and we are delighted that it has made it onto this compilation. All of the characters are unique which means if you want to master everyone you are going to be here for a very long time.
Aside from the main games SNK has also added other options into the mix. For fans you can check out a whole host of related media such as art work and sound effects for the games. There is also the excellent addition of the challenge mode. This gives you various conditions to overcome in preset matches, such as only using the kick button or being outnumbered. Overcoming a challenge unlocks new characters, art work, music and various other things.
SNK has released a number of collections now but this is by far the best of them. The King of Fighters series is one of the greatest 2D beat'em up franchises out there and on this disc are two of the best fighting games you are ever likely to find. Anyone who has thought twice about picking up the other collections should not hesitate here. KOF 98 would be worth the money on its own, but adding it into a mix that contains KOF 96 and all the extras makes this an unbeatable package. If you have never played a SNK fighting game before then this is the place to start.
9/10
World Heroes Anthology Review (PS2)
Retro101 has always been a fan of SNK and the games they make. Even though the Art of Fighting Anthology disappointed us we are glad to see that games from their history continue to be brought to a new audience. The next SNK franchise to be given the collection treatment is World Heroes.
World Heroes, though not as well known as Fatal Fury or Samurai Shodown, has had its moments over the years. Many people may remember it being used to find the winners on the old video game show 'Games World'. Basically, the games see a collection of people from history brought together for an almighty scrap. If you have ever wanted to see Bruce Lee take on Hulk Hogan or Captain Kidd take on Rasputin then this is the game for you.
This anthology brings arcade quality versions of all four games in the series to home consoles for the first time. The series has never been renowned for being the most technical of fighting games but it more than makes up for this in other ways. World Heroes 1 and 2 have a Death Match mode, World Heroes 2 Jet has a one on three tournament mode and World Heroes Perfect is the most genuine attempt to create a standard one on one fighter.
Though the Death Match mode is present in the first World Heroes, it is refined and improved upon massively in the second game. Death Match mode has two fighters competing over one energy bar in a sort of kung fu tug-of-war. The matches last for only one round but often move back and forth as one player manages to continually hang on to the last bit of the energy bar.
What makes life interesting is that these matches take place in arenas filled with all manner of unpleasant things. One stage may have you jumping landmines, while another will have you avoiding a giant laser or see the edges of the arena replaced with flaming ropes or a wall filled with spikes. These dangerous arenas more than make up for any lack of depth in the normal one on one fights.
Unfortunately, though World Heroes is filled with mad special moves and colourful characters, it does become quite dull and repetitive away from the Death Matches. The early games, for instance, only have one punch and kick button with which to set up attacks. Even though holding the buttons longer creates stronger attacks it can't hope to match other SNK games like Garou: Mark of the Wolves or Samurai Shodown.
World Heroes 2 Jet replaces the Death Match Mode with a tournament mode where you need to beat two out of three fighters on one day to progress to the next round. Without the dangerous arenas though, it soon begins to feel a little dull and it's unlikely that many gamers will be picking Jet to play on a regular basis.
World Heroes Perfect removes all the gimmicks and goes for a straight one on one match. New special attacks and features have been added to try and shake things up and it just about manages to pull it off. The game runs at a break neck speed and the torrent of flamboyant special moves help create a fun, if limited, fighting game. Perfect is certainly better than the normal fighting modes in the other World Heroes games but not a patch on something like Street Fighter Alpha or the later Fatal Fury games.
We here at Retro101 are really glad to see the World Heroes franchise become much easier to get hold of. The games may not be at the pinnacle of the 2D fighting genre but the colourful character list and the Death Match mode still means there is more than enough here for any fight fan to enjoy.
7/10
World Heroes, though not as well known as Fatal Fury or Samurai Shodown, has had its moments over the years. Many people may remember it being used to find the winners on the old video game show 'Games World'. Basically, the games see a collection of people from history brought together for an almighty scrap. If you have ever wanted to see Bruce Lee take on Hulk Hogan or Captain Kidd take on Rasputin then this is the game for you.
This anthology brings arcade quality versions of all four games in the series to home consoles for the first time. The series has never been renowned for being the most technical of fighting games but it more than makes up for this in other ways. World Heroes 1 and 2 have a Death Match mode, World Heroes 2 Jet has a one on three tournament mode and World Heroes Perfect is the most genuine attempt to create a standard one on one fighter.
Though the Death Match mode is present in the first World Heroes, it is refined and improved upon massively in the second game. Death Match mode has two fighters competing over one energy bar in a sort of kung fu tug-of-war. The matches last for only one round but often move back and forth as one player manages to continually hang on to the last bit of the energy bar.
What makes life interesting is that these matches take place in arenas filled with all manner of unpleasant things. One stage may have you jumping landmines, while another will have you avoiding a giant laser or see the edges of the arena replaced with flaming ropes or a wall filled with spikes. These dangerous arenas more than make up for any lack of depth in the normal one on one fights.
Unfortunately, though World Heroes is filled with mad special moves and colourful characters, it does become quite dull and repetitive away from the Death Matches. The early games, for instance, only have one punch and kick button with which to set up attacks. Even though holding the buttons longer creates stronger attacks it can't hope to match other SNK games like Garou: Mark of the Wolves or Samurai Shodown.
World Heroes 2 Jet replaces the Death Match Mode with a tournament mode where you need to beat two out of three fighters on one day to progress to the next round. Without the dangerous arenas though, it soon begins to feel a little dull and it's unlikely that many gamers will be picking Jet to play on a regular basis.
World Heroes Perfect removes all the gimmicks and goes for a straight one on one match. New special attacks and features have been added to try and shake things up and it just about manages to pull it off. The game runs at a break neck speed and the torrent of flamboyant special moves help create a fun, if limited, fighting game. Perfect is certainly better than the normal fighting modes in the other World Heroes games but not a patch on something like Street Fighter Alpha or the later Fatal Fury games.
We here at Retro101 are really glad to see the World Heroes franchise become much easier to get hold of. The games may not be at the pinnacle of the 2D fighting genre but the colourful character list and the Death Match mode still means there is more than enough here for any fight fan to enjoy.
7/10
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