Update: July 24, 2008
«©NCSX» SNK has compiled nearly all of their fighting games onto Neo Geo Online Collections over the past few years including King of Fighters, Fatal Fury, and even World Heroes Perfect. Love for Samurai Spirits was lacking. Until now. A collection of six Samurai Spirits titles mastered on a single DVD ships this week at the price of JPY4800. The games are: » Samurai Spirits
» Shin Samurai Spirits: Haohmaru Jigokuhen
» Samurai Spirits: Zankuro Musouken
» Samurai Spirits: Amakusa Kourin
» Samurai Spirits Zero
» Samurai Spirits: Tenkaichi Kenkakuden Succinctly, that's Samurai Shodown 1-6. Features include 2-play online bouts, original and newly arranged BGM, character color editing, a practice mode, and the ability to check out special moves at any time by pausing the game. Relevant Links
» Official SNK Website with information on all Samurai Spirits games. Jan Code: 4964808700110 View the back cover and screenshots on the main NCSX website. Region Lock-out
Please note Japanese Wii games will not boot on USA or European Wii consoles due to the inherent region-lockout on Japanese Wii game discs. A Freeloader is required.
NCS Game Notes
» In the intro to the game, multiple sprays of cherry blossoms jet through the air followed by an animated scroll that unfurls and shows sketches of the various characters. Next, video screens which depict Samurai fighting action appear on scrolls which are also unfurled and stream across the length of the screen. » The title screen shows Haohmaru recreating his pose from the cover of Samurai Spirits V with his sword hefted over his shoulders. If you allow the game to run on demonstration, it'll boot up all of the Samurai games in sequence and show the introductions, the title screens, and well as a short amount of actual gameplay. It's a nice way to revisit all of the Neo Geo Samurai games that you've played and loved through the years.
» Either the analog stick on the Nunchuk or the Wii Remote may be used to make selections on the game menu. If using the Wii Remote, you'll control a little hand-pointer that moves around the screen to select the different modes and options. Control in the game is handed through a combination of the Nunchuk and the Wii Remote. That's it.
» We were hoping the Wii edition of the first Samurai Spirits would be better than the PS2 conversion but it's the same. In fact, all of the games are the same as the PS2 versions. » Nintendo didn't censor the blood in the game. It's just as ruddy and splashy as the PS2 games. » The Wii version of the game doesn't support online fighting. In place of the Neo Geo Online Collection selection in the main menu, there's a Mini-Game option that was designed especially for the Wii. » Press START and the Neo Geo Online menu template pops into view. A faint image of Samurai Spirits stages slowly scrolls in the background. The following game modes are selectable: Top Row from the left to the right:
● ARCADE MODE
● PRACTICE MODE
● Samurai Spirits Tenkaichi
● ONLINE MODE Bottom Row from left to right:
● Memory Card Save/Load
● Controller Configuration
● Monitor or Television Adjustment
● Sound Setting
● Character Edit » The quality of the game conversions is very good overall but please read further below on our opinions of the six games included in the collection. Overall, they sound about right, the controls feel like we're sitting in front of a Neo Geo, and the visuals are near 1:1. They're so 1:1 that the shadows flicker fiercely in the early Samurai games. The fighters also undulate when standing in place like we remember from back in the day. » We get questioned about what controller we use when playing Neo Geo Online Collection games every time we post one of these up. We're staunch Hori Real Arcade Pro users. Failing that, the PS2 version of the original Neo Geo joystick is pretty good but it doesn't match up to the feel and solid assurance of a HRAP. » The blood runs ruddy. On all six games. We checked. The blood in Samurai Spirits V spurts out in rather copious fashion. » All of the games may be controlled with a Dual Shock 2's d-pad or analog thumbstick. The d-pad is more accurate but the analog stick allows for some real fluid movement. » Press Start in Tenkaichi and the game modes are: ARCADE MODE
VS MODE
PRACTICE MODE
SURVIVAL MODE
SPIRITS EDIT MODE
COLOR EDIT MODE
GALLERY MODE
NETWORK MODE
OPTION MODE
EXIT TO MAIN MENU Quick and Durty (self-sic) run-through of all six games in the collection » Samurai Spirits
Why doesn't Earthquake animate in the character selection screen? He just stands there like a boulder. That was the first sign that something was amiss. (Correction: Earthquake doesn't animate in the original Neo Geo version either). The animation and movement of the game doesn't feel like the Neo Geo original even though the music and sound effects are pretty close. The controls feel somewhat off and the frame rate isn't up to par. The camera also does not focus in and out smoothly like the Neo Geo original. The game plays okay however so it's not a total loss but if you're looking for a replacement for your Neo Geo cartridge, this ain't it. What happened, SNK? » Shin Samurai Spirits
What a relief. The second Samurai Spirits moves and executes more like the Neo Geo game we know and love. The game is a much improved conversion that feels true to the original although it's not perfect. The camera scroll isn't as smooth as the Neo original but better than what we saw in the first game. The voices and sound seem slightly off kilter but we didn't have a chance to power up the Neo original this morning for a side-by-side comparison. » Samurai Spirits III
Another faithful conversion that play well and moves fast. Check out the beautiful detail on the fighters and the subtle movements during the game. Sword slashes will cause sheets of blood to erupt from enemies which we found amusing. » Samurai Spirits IV
The travesty that was Samurai Spirits is forgotten once we get to SSIV. Great conversion that's blazing fast and controls wonderfully. Check it out with a HRAP and feel the love. For our first match, we used Nakoruru against Sogetsu and whacked him out in 18 seconds flat. It is ironic that SNK botched the very first SS which should have been the easiest to do but redeemed themselves in the later games which required much more memory when they were released on the Neo. » Samurai Spirits V
Another excellent conversion that plays, feels, and sounds fairly close to the Neo original. The only thing that SNK couldn't get right in all of the Samurai conversions is the camera movement when fighters range near and far to each other. In the Neo Geo original, the camera moves in and out effortlessly and with natural fluidity. In the PS2 conversions, the camera isn't as smooth and in some cases, it's abrupt. » Samurai Spirits Tenkaichi Kenkakuden
The version of Tenkaichi Kenkakuden included is NOT the same as the PS2 version which was released last year. The included game is a port of the Atomiswave original which is inferior (in our opinion) to the PS2 conversion. The game plays well however and is another very good port of the Atomiswave game. A gallery mode in the game allows you to view the ending animation sequences for all of the characters right off the bat without accomplishing anything, listen to the BGM in the game, and view a number of illustrations of the characters in Tenkaichi. This document is ©NCSX 2008. All rights reserved. No reproduction in whole or in part of this document may be made without express written consent of National Console Support, Inc.
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