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Platform: Xbox
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Publisher: SNK Playmore
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Developer: SNK Playmore
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Medium: DVD-ROM
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Players: 1 - 2
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Online: Yes
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Also on: (n/a)
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Newcomers beware, only hardcore fans of the series need apply.
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For the longest time, message board denizens have been arguing about the "depth" of various fighting games. Typically, the discussion involves a comparison of the Tekken, Virtua Fighter, and Dead or Alive franchises, with the DOA games considered shallow, Tekken thought to be moderately deep, and Virtua Fighter placed on the furthest end of the deep spectrum.
But despite years and years of this arguing, no one's really been able to adequately define depth. In fact, it's about the time someone calls for a definition that the argument dead-ends. Of course, that's probably because the argument is started by a bored individual looking to ruffle some feathers with the latest buzzword, but that's beyond the point.
To my knowledge, the closest anyone has come in defining "depth" would be the following: The less likely a button-mashing player is to beat someone well-versed in the intricacies and strategies of the game, the deeper that game is. In other words, it seems that depth is the presence of various gameplay mechanics that, through understanding and use, allow one to plan and execute a successful strategy beyond that of simple button-mashing.
Going by the above, Samurai Shodown V is unquestionably one of those deeper games. A proper strategy, a proper understanding of the gameplay mechanics, is required to succeed here; button-mashing just won't cut it. That's not to say I didn't try, but no matter how many times I played Story Mode, no matter which of the 26 characters I used, around the third or fourth fight, my techniques of randomly alternating among the attack buttons and constantly repeating the same move over and over again just didn't work anymore.
But in attempting to develop a proper strategy, attempting to understand the gameplay mechanics, I ran into a few problems. Heading to Practice Mode, I intended to pick the white-clad archer gal I'd grown rather fond of in my failed Story Mode runs. Now, I refer to her here by appearance, instead of name, as I actually don’t know her name. Story Mode's character selection screen doesn't list names, only displaying a character's picture. And though a character's name is displayed near the life bar during a match, well, there are other things on my mind at that point.
Unlike Story Mode, Practice Mode does display a character's name in the selection screen. In fact, that's the only thing it shows. So if, like me, one is only familiar with a character's appearance, one would need to go back to Story Mode, sit through a few loading screens until a match starts, make note of a character’s name, and then go back to Practice Mode in order to use that character.
That's plenty annoying on its own, but it's even moreso when trying to practice techniques against a certain character, like say, the one that kept giving me problems in Story Mode. Again, I had to hit Story Mode, sit through a few loading screens, and then quit out ...all just to learn a character's name. The exclusion of character names from the Story Mode character select and the exclusion of character portraits from Practice Mode is just plain odd, and the results can be needlessly frustrating, especially for those unfamiliar with a good chunk of the characters.
Then again, those unfamiliar with most of the characters will likely be unfamiliar with the Samurai Shodown franchise, which brings up another problem. As previously discussed, a proper strategy and understanding of gameplay mechanics is required for players to succeed in the game. However, the game makes no attempt to aide the player in their understanding of these mechanics. Despite the promise of Practice Mode, all it does is allow the player to choose their opponent and the actions they will perform. No tutorial, no tips, no explanation as to what Concentration One refers to - the closest the game comes to actually aiding players would be the Moves List on the Pause Menu.
However, none of this will really matter to hardcore fans of the series. These are the folks that'll really get a kick out of the 11 new characters, customizable controls, Xbox Live Tournaments, the ability to save replays of Xbox Live matches, and so forth. They won't be bothered by the shortcomings listed above, the cheesy dialogue in Story Mode, nor will they really care about the short, but frequent, load times between matches and menu choices. They probably won't care that some of the sound effects, especially the animal sidekicks, can get pretty annoying, squeaking or squealing at just about every attack. Their only major concern will be that the gameplay is smooth and remains intact from the arcade version, and thus, they should have no problems with this enhanced port.
It's a different story for the rest of us, though. A tutorial or "How to Play" movie would've gone a long way here. Instead newcomers are left fumbling in the dark, which tends to be more frustrating than fun. Meanwhile, casual Shodown fans will likely find themselves annoyed with the frequent loading, not to mention the issues listed above. As such, Samurai Shodown V is only recommended for those who are not just familiar with the series, but really, really love it.
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