Jepthah

I don't care how advanced video game systems get, how many bits and how many billions of pixels and colors they have.

I don't care how many ultra-secret moves and 3-D effects are put into each new generation of so-called 'fighting games.'

In my opinion, Samurai Shodown (the first two, and especially the second one) are the best fighting games ever made. Street Fighter may have been more popular and Mortal Kombat more high-profile, but SS has a certain magic that I don't think can ever be duplicated.

Through innovative means I have been playing it again recently (often!) and I still can't believe how cool it is. The characters have great individuality and flair with awesome moves. The sound effects are sharp, music is good, backgrounds are interesting. And most importantly, it's just so damn fun to play.

My current favorite character is the one, the only, the beautiful and deadly



Does anyone else love this classic SNK creation from the days of old?

Grimfarrow

I have to interject.

I TOTALLY agree! SS2 is by far my favorite of all time.

But my favorite character of all time is.....

Tachibana Ukyo (hmmmmph!)

Jackskeleton

SS3 sucked. the first two were cool, even though I rock in the game, I would play Street fighter over samurai shodown any day, but needless to say, i'm a 2-d fighter at heart, and I can't deny the coolness of Samurai shodown.

though I do love street fighter (especially the Alpha series)

Galford was my main character.

Jepthah

Ukyo is a great fighter (that's him on the right vs. the ubiquitous Haohmaru).



By his somewhat humble appearance, turned away and sword sheathed, you wouldn't think so--but many insist he is the absolute strongest fighter in the whole game (and he has groupies--another reason to like him). The tuberculosis-inflicted one is good to play, but I prefer my fighters a bit more outlandish.

chanster

I liked the Green Dude with the Freddy Claws. I could kick butt with that guy..

Grimfarrow

Ukyo is *definitely* the strongest character in the game. I remembered how I was nearly in trouble because these guys challenged my Ukyo 34 times - and lost ALL of them. They were so pissed off that they seriously wanted to kick my ass.

After all, when I do my 4-hit combo, they are guaranteed to be dizzy. And after they are dizzy and get hit by another 4-hit, they are dead. Simple as that.

(Not to talk about how I love running toward the enemy, then make them guess what I would do - trip them and make them try blocking down, or do a Flying Swallow and make them block up? Against people like Haohmaru, I just stop running right before I get to them. Heh.)

khai

Heh, yeah, Ukyo is definately a powerful character.

I have a similar favorite from the SNK series. The Last Blade, especially part 2. You can get into some crazy matches in that game.

Icculus

My favorite was always Nicotine, it was great destroying people with a character that looked so weak . I have the SS for the SUper Nintendo but it just isn't the same as the arcade.

Jepthah

Caffeine Nictoine is HILARIOUS. I love how after he wins he cracks up and then surprises himself by cutting a fart.

He's actually the same character as in the original Ninja Scroll anime, or so I hear.

Giantrobo

Another vote for the series

Grimfarrow

Nicotine is also one of the *cheapest* characters in the game, especially with his infinite re-dizzy combo. I like his character though

toogood

Yeah, I remember SS2. Paid $220 for it. Man, those were the good old days. Sold the game and my system and got the "updated" version on the saturn. BIG MISTAKE. It was so much better on the NEO GEO.

dvdnation

God Bless You!!, Samurai Showdown is also my favorite fighting series of all time, much better than Street Fighter,

El Gray

I agree that SS2 was the pinnacle of the series. The day they replaced SS with SS2 in the lobby next to Little Bernie's Pizza Hole in the Commons at Texas A&M was a great one.

My friends and I were quite fanatical at that time.

SS3 and 4 sucked, comparatively.

I played mostly with Nakoruru back in the day. I like having a bird to do my bidding.

Jepthah

Man, THAT is devotion! To bad no one ever properly translated the game to another platform. It always degenerated in one way or another.

I remember how the Neo system was like $800 and the games were $300, and yes they looked 'arcade quality impressive' but I thought it was crazy. '24-bit', etc.

But Shodown completely blew me away. If I had the money at the time I would have plonked down $1k just to have both.

G-d bless the internet, is all I have to say.

mljones99

I almost forgot about that game! definitly one of my favorites!!!

jessecrx

I own Samurai Shodown 2 for my MVS System. Its by far my most favorite SNK game, next to Super DodgeBall(I'm a Kunio Fan, so back off). If I had to rank my favorite 2D Fighters I'd say:

1. Super Street Fighter 2 X GrandMaster Challenge
2. Street Fighter 2 Turbo Hyper Fighting
3. Samurai Shodown 2
4. Street Fighter Alpha 2
5. King Of Fighters 98
6. Street Fighter 3 2nd Impact

Hattori Hanzo was my all time fave character. Ukyo was always my rival, but overall I think Galford was the best in the game. His dog, Poppy, was unstoppable

sfsdfd

I've played probably 100 fighting games. SS2 is the hands-down winner, with Soul Blade a close second.

SS2 is a clean fighting game. It's the antithesis of the button-masher style that 95% of fighting games seem to follow. Every character has well-defined strengths and weaknesses that gives each one a unique feel.

Even more stunning is the atmosphere. It's somber, almost respectful. Nicotine's stage in the forest is practically silent, with only an occasional monk howling in the background. But it's got a few upbeat stages thrown in, such as the biker bar and Nakoruru's village; and the lightning and driving rain in Zeitler's stage feels very dramatic.

SS2 is just stunning - a true classic.

- David Stein