Museum of the Game ®

International Arcade Museum® — Killer List of Videogames®

Samurai Shodown

サムライ・ショダウン

Description

This is a two-player combat game much like Capcom's long-running fighting series, but some characters have weapons and some pets. This game is responsible for making the "RAGE" gauge (or "POW" gauge) in fighting games popular. It has an exceptional artistic style and balance.

Samurai Shodown was produced by SNK in 1993.

SNK released 187 machines in our database under this trade name, starting in 1978. SNK was based in Japan.

Other machines made by SNK during the time period Samurai Shodown was produced include: Football Frenzy, Fatal Fury 2, Baseball Stars 2, Garou Densetsu 2: Arata-naru Tatakai, Art Of Fighting, 3 Count Bout, Fire Suplex, Fatal Fury Special, Garou Densetsu Special, and Bust A Move

Specs

Name	Samurai Shodown
Developer	SNK (Japan)
Year	1993
Type	Videogame
KLOV/MOG #	9417
Class	Wide Release
Genre	Fighting
Monitor	Orientation: Horizontal Type: Raster: Standard Resolution Color: Color
Conversion Class	JAMMA+
# Simultaneous Players	2
# Maximum Players	2
Game Play	Competitive
Control Panel Layout	Multiple Player
Controls	Joystick: 8-way Buttons: 4 - Light Slash/Hard Slash\|Medium Slash/Hard Slash\|Light Kick/Hard Kick\|Medium Kick/Hard Kick
Sound	Amplified Stereo (two channel)
Cabinet Styles	Upright/Standard
Instructions	Samurai Shodown Instructions Image

Game Play

The object of the games is to beat the stuffing out of your friends or the computer opponent. Along the way you are treated to scenes that tell a small but interesting story. If you are able to win (beat all computer players) then you are treated to a different ending for each character.

Samurai Shodown KLOV/IAM 5 Point User Score: 3.44 (3 votes)

Fun Factor: 4.70

Overall Like	5.00
Fun (Social)	4.50
Fun (Solo)	4.50
Collector Desire	4.50

Technical Rating: 3.42

Gameplay	5.00
Graphics	4.50
Originality	3.33
Sound/Music	4.50

Personal Impressions and Technical Impressions each account for half of the total score. Within the Personal Impressions category, Like carries a little more weight than the other factors.

Images

Trivia

The game is called Samurai Spirits in Japan. Some of the characters in this game are based on real-life historical figures such as Miyamoto Musashi (Haohmaru), Amakusa Shirou Tokisada and Hanzo Hattori.

Cabinet Information

Usually just a header or in some cases a set of stickers with moves.

Miscellaneous

LICENSOR: Neo-Geo

VAPS Arcade/Coin-Op Samurai Shodown Census

There are 15,364 members of the Video Arcade Preservation Society / Vintage Arcade Preservation Society, 9,708 whom participate in our arcade census project of games owned, wanted, or for sale. Census data currently includes 167,365 machines (7,023 unique titles).

Very Common - There are 245 known instances of this machine owned by Samurai Shodown collectors who are active members. Of these, 15 of them are original dedicated machines. 6 of them are conversions in which game circuit boards (and possibly cabinet graphics) have been placed in (and on) another game cabinet. 224 of them are only circuit boards which a collector could put into a generic case if desired.

For Sale - There is one active VAPS member with a Samurai Shodown machine for sale. There are 4 active VAPS members with a Samurai Shodown circuit boards for sale.

Wanted - There is one active VAPS member currently looking for Samurai Shodown.

This game ranks a 75 on a scale out of 100 (100 = most often seen, 1=least common) in popularity based on census ownership records.

This game ranks a 2 on a scale out of 100 (100 = most often seen, 1=least common) in popularity based on census want list records.

Rarity and Popularity independently are not necessarily indications of value. [More Information]

Flyers

Technical

As this is a neogeo based game, it will not work in a standard JAMMA cabinet. You will need to wire a 4th button for each player. This is a very simply addition to a SF2 style cabinet.

Legacy or Series

Manuals

Soft DIP Settings - Samurai Shodown Manual — **Soft DIP Settings**
(2 pages, 312 kB File)

Additional References (logged in members often see more)

3D Model (External): Upright (51de53fcadafe0f7e66202687a227eab)

eBay Listings

Click to search eBay for Samurai Shodown Videogame machines and related items.

Click to search eBay for SNK for machines and parts.

When you click on links below to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Such revenue helps to fund this site's operations. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

TOP WATCHED LISTINGS FOR: Samurai Shodown