Go Play Samurai Shodown V Special
Samurai Shodown V Special got announced for PS4 a little while back, so I’m using that as an excuse to gush about this game. It’s a bit unconventional in terms of fighting games. It’s a bit unconventional if you’re familiar with modern fighting game design. There are no long combos (most consist of two or three moves), and with the right read, you can do ridiculous damage.
Round timers are short, clocking in at 60 seconds, real time. What ends up happening, at least in my experience, are tense matches where most of it is spent exchanging pokes until something big happens. Someone lands a big hit or combo, someone catches their opponent’s weapon and knocks it out of their hands, they punish a whiff with a super, or they activate state of nothingness, or maybe they just did Haohmaru’s AB at the round start (Hi it’s me, I’m that guy). Either way, this results in the tension ratcheting up. Seriously, you don’t realize how long regular fighting game timers are until you play SamSho and half your rounds end in time outs. It all adds up to make a game that switches seamlessly between slow but tense neutral and explosive scramble situations. I adore every second of it.

It’s not without its warts but this game is probably one of my favorite fighters period. The base level gameplay is simple enough that anyone can pick it up fairly quickly, but there’s enough mechanics and nuance that makes high level play intricate and interesting. Grab a friend and give it a shot!
