Samurai Shodown On Xbox Series X: Game Of Legends

Fighting game fans are well aware of the quality to come whenever the SNK logo graces a screen. The Pepsi to Capcom’s Coke in the glory days of the arcades, the creators of The King of Fighters and Metal Slug were known for their technically proficient releases and complex gameplay. Although they offered a wide range of genres to arcade operators, they gained a reputation for several fighting franchises, and this includes Samurai Shodown – and the Xbox Series X edition of this instantly classic weapon fighter is the definitive way to play.

Taking place before the events of the first game in the series, 2019’s Samurai Showdown puts a tight focus on what makes the series great. Between two skilled combatants, battles can be tense and slow-moving, with each fighter waiting for their opponent to strike. Returning mechanics like the Rage Gauge are welcome additions, giving players the choice between a powerful X-Factor-type boost of strength or a powerful special move that could devastate a health bar. The game’s bloody execution-style finishers return in this installment, too, and while they never get to the level of Mortal Kombat, they feel over the top in their own way and fit right in with the arcade gameplay.

While many fighting games have evolved over the years to implement features that make sense for their move away from arcade cabinets, Samurai Shodown still feels like an arcade PlayStation port one might rent at Blockbuster. Characters chat it up in Japanese for most of the action, with only a few big English phrases popping up from time to time. Attacks flow from one to the other in a way that recalls the classic 2D style. Cutscenes interrupt arcade mode with an end boss yelling about destroying the world before the player’s chosen warrior inevitably cuts them down, and it provides an authentic arcade feel even on console.

Fans of the game who already purchased the game on Xbox One will get the Series X version for free via Smart Delivery. While the game gains minimal performance enhancement just thanks to the capabilities of the new machine, the real upgrades come in the form of its frame rate boost. On TVs that support the feature, Samurai Shodown will now run at a full 120 FPS. This is an Xbox exclusive feature as of now, and the enhancement is well worth trying out for those with the expensive setup. It’s only appropriate that a series known for smooth animation and blazing fast counters would be the first fighting game to push the limits of what players expect.

Season 3 of Samurai Shodown‘s DLC offerings arrive alongside the release of the Xbox Series X upgrade, which includes a few mechanical changes that stretch to all versions of the game. The biggest of these is the addition of a Guard Crush, which punishes fighters who block too frequently by opening them up to a huge strike. This has appeared in other weapon fighters before but never in SNK’s release. Testing it out, the mechanic seems designed to mix things up for the upper levels of the metagame, providing one more way to get a mental edge on a tough opponent.

With the addition of 120 FPS to an already excellent port, the Xbox Series X enhanced edition of Samurai Shodown is an impressive arcade fighter that shouldn’t be missed. The game is still receiving DLC additions to its expansive roster, including more guest characters to join the inexplicable addition of Warden from Ubisoft’s For Honor. Even with just the base group of fighters and a couple of button-mashing friends, this edition of SamSho is worthy of SNK’s legacy and just a whole lot of fun.

Samurai Shodown is available now on Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Google Stadia, and PC. Screen Rant was provided with an Xbox code for the purpose of this review.

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