Samurai Shodown V Special, Samurai Spirits Zero Special (サムライスピリッツ零) is the last official game for the Neo Geo platform and the ninth in SNK's Samurai Shodown series, the release date of the title was april 22, 2004 in japan.
The release was delayed a week and after that SNK delivers a censored game. the worlwide fan base forces SNK to fix the game.
Ins't a masterpiece, in fact some of the past games are better.
The game feels kinda lazy in some aspects reusing the old sprites and voices from Samurai Shodown 4 and 3.
This game tries to fix the mediocre reception of Samurai Shodown V whit some changes in the roster, stages and finishing moves. Being this, the most significant of the changes adding the Zetsumei Ougi, or the Overkill Move, its like a Mortal Kombat fatality sometimes really bloody.
The generic fatalitys where expand adding new death screams and animations.
The gameplay is like the others games in the series, a more methodical and strategic and less combo oriented fighting game than the average of the genre. In Samurai Shodown yo can do a lot (really a lot) of damage whit one good slash and this game Ins't the exception, but adds a power metter for the regular attacks thats makes the game even more strategic.
Like I say most of the sprite work ins't new, all the returning chars wear their old sprites a very detailed work but feels kinda lazy for SNK. The atmosphere continues dark like Samurai Shodown 3 and 4, and (fortunately) the slash or bust system is gone generating, in some cases two diferents characters (like Rera and Nakoruru).
Anyway, like in the regular Samurai Shodown V (set 1), the chars do not have ending scenes.
The music is good and classy , traditional japanese mixed whit modern rhythms, sometimes using silence or environment sounds in some stages, this mixed whit the good voice acting (even the recycled ones) generate a very well made atmosphere.
Like I say this ins't the best Samurai Shodown (in fact Samurai Shodown 2 is for me and the world the best Samurai Shodown game ever) but this one is a lot of fun.
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