Samurai Shodown V launches onto mobile courtesy of SNK and Hamster's ACA NeoGeo library
After releasing The King of Fighters 2000 last week, SNK and Hamster have now released - you guessed it - another classic fighting game from the days of yore: Samurai Shodown V. Samurai Shodown V is a 2003-released fighter that introduced tons of new concepts into the series such as the Concentration Meter and the Sword Gauge. It’s held in high regard much like the other Samurai Shodown Entries, and to see it getting the ACA NeoGeo treatment on mobile is wonderful news.
Samurai Shodown as a series is known to be quite unique for a lot of different reasons. To begin with, rather than being a heavily combo-based game where if you get hit you’ll be getting hit at least six more times, this one is all about lethal sword strikes being dealt out to those who can’t control their spacing. Two or three hits with your weapon will likely end your opponent quickly, so it stays constantly tense and emulates the reality of a sword fight quite well.
Where those reality-emulating traits end is likely the character roster, as there are quite a few weirdos on here. While there’s a good mix of regular, katana-wielding samurai characters, there are also giant mutated folk wielding huge clubs and a fire-torch and the like. This odd mix gives the series a lot of character and makes it really stick out from the rest of the genre alongside the generally lethal gameplay style.
Samurai Shodown V itself introduced new mechanics into the series such as the Concentration Meter, which allowed you to deal out a super lethal attack once filled. Added in alongside the Sword Gauge, which kept track of the durability of your blade, these mechanics freshened up the gameplay loop and added in new ways to keep things interesting.
If you haven’t stayed caught up, the ACA NeoGeo releases thus far come courtesy of SNK and Hamster, and are essentially re-releases of a lot of classic games from the 80s to the 90s, including the first Samurai Shodown itself. They’ve been released onto mobile with many modern-day conveniences built in, such as save states and online multiplayer.
With all of those cool new modern features, this tends to be the best way to play these games nowadays. If you’re looking to try out Samurai Shodown V itself, you can check out either of the links below to purchase it for only $3.99. In the meantime, you can take a peek at the full ACA NeoGeo Library thus far at the official SNK website.
Looking to dig your teeth into the modern 1-on-1 combat games out there? Check out our Top 25 best fighting games for iOS!
