Samurai Shodown 3

by Sony

Product Details

• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B00002STL1
• Media: Video Game
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #33,978 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

GameSpot Review

Shodown III held its own in the arcades. But until the release of King of Fighters '95 and Fatal Fury Real Bout for the Saturn, SNK has had trouble converting its games to the home platform. The burning question: Would Shodown III safely make the transition? The answer: Samurai Shodown III for the Playstation is really good, but not really great.

Some animation frames from the arcade version of the game have been cut, and the gameplaying speed on the Playstation is somewhat slower. It's a solid game - that is, as long as players are willing to deal with the excruciatingly long loading time. Even so, the gameplay is still there - along with vivid colors and SNK's detailed character art and backgrounds.

It would seem that the name of the game in Samurai Shodown is patience. For players who like to whale on the buttons, prepare yourselves for a big time beating. Players should instead look for openings and slice away. Since this game doesn't really have a combo system, players have to string together moves slowly, methodically countering their opponent's swordplay. This can lead to some long bouts - a departure from today's fighters, which are designed to guzzle quarters as fast as possible before going to the consoles.

Changes from Samurai Shodown II are many. Each character now has an alter ego with tweaked moves, and players can also choose among the many difficulty settings. For example, new players can make their character always block; more experienced players can eliminate blocking; and there's even an option that gives players a full desperation move meter throughout a match. These options are a nice touch - especially for those who are otherwise discouraged by the move complexity in the fighting game genre.

Those who loved the arcade game version of Samurai Shodown III will be happy with this conversion. Those who have never played the game should give it a try - they'll probably like it, provided they can stand the loading time. --Nikos Constant
--Copyright ©1999 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of GameSpot is prohibited. GameSpot and the GameSpot logo are trademarks of GameSpot Inc.

Manufacturer Description

A stylish Japanese-animated fighting game involving 12 samurai on a revenge quest for the head of the demonic Zankuro. Each samurai carries a distinct identity -- monk American ninja snow maiden aesthetic perfectionist etc -- and special feature allows player to determine one of two "moods" for each attack -- ie Chivalry or Treachery. Player controls all 12 characters. Also features 'Rage Gauge' and 'Power Gauge' to intensify every attack. With 24 different attack modes and 96 special moves and full-power attacks.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Samurai Shodown Colt Game you can't escape from!!!, May 25, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Samurai Shodown 3 (Video Game)

Ever since company SNK has diminished, These games like Samurai Shodown has become the most valuable collectible of all time. Although most gamers who like fighting games, dislike the Samurai Shodown series, they are really missing out! Samurai Shodown started it all right after STREET FIGHTER. I have never seen anything so "Awesome" and spectacular graphics come to play on all Video Game systems. I wished that SNK stayed with Playstaion that way fans like myself could have collected them all instead of jumping to one system to another just to get all the Samurai Shodown series. Samurai Shodown has plenty of cool moves, improved levels of play, and great story lines for each character. Although it may seem quite easy, it still leaves you satisfied that you could slice someone up with a sharp sword and spend the rest of your day feeling Great! ITS A MUST BUY! Once you purchase it keep it under your bed. Someday this game will be worth a lot of money.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This could have been better..., June 24, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Samurai Shodown 3 (Video Game)

I'll sum it up quickly as I can.

THE GOOD THINGS ABOUT THIS GAME:>

It's a visually attractive 2D fighter, like all the Shodown games are;

It follows the Shodown tradition of very well-designed characters, many of whom are based upon actual Japanese historical figures;

Not only are nearly all the character voices present, the original arcade version's music has apparently been redone completely, using live instruments! There are even a couple tracks that weren't on the arcade soundtrack at all. It's very impressive, and it might be worth it to buy the game just for that, since a soundtrack for the PS version was never released, as far as I know...

You get all the bamboo slicing, cherry tree chopping, lantern breaking, torso halving and artery spraying you could want in a Samurai Shodown game.

THE BAD THINGS:

It's loading all the time, and there is no shortcut option to bypass these lengthy waits;

Many frames of animation are missing...it's most noticeable in the characters' pre- and post-fight animations, some of which have been abridged to the point of incomprehensibiliy;

The voices, although present, suffer from low sample rates and are very muffled;

Personally, I wish there were more characters. I think I was spoiled by Street Fighter Zero III.

IN A NUTSHELL:

The music rules. And hey, it's Samurai Shodown. But the loading times are dispicable. And Samurai Shodown III is no substitute for the original, which was never released on US Playstations.

4.0 out of 5 stars Good but Slow, July 24, 2001

By 

Jennifer Sneed "valiantstables" (Callender, IA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Samurai Shodown 3 (Video Game)

I liked Samurai Shodown 3, but it was a bit slow. Loading and in the action. The movements are cool, some neat fighting styles, but it can get annoying when you are playing and it does a kind of "Matrix" slow mo in the middle of the action. I think the graphics could have been clearer too, but SS has always been a bit grainy for systems. But, I still liked it!