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by Jerry Whorebach 02/25/2014, 8:42pm PST |
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I like how the author of this piece, despite obviously understanding Samurai Shodown V on a deeper level than anyone who ever reviewed it for money, doesn't settle for simply telling you Wot He Thinks. Instead, he contacts two of the world's foremost experts on the subject, and asks them a series of interesting, relevant questions (with follow-ups!). It might not be capital-J journalism (because it doesn't involve studying pixel densities in a lab or organizing trade unions or whatever the fuck it is idiots think journalists are supposed to do), but it's definitely the sort of thing I'd like to read more of.
Jason Moses: What do you like the most about SSV Special? The least?
Uesugi Kengou: My favorite thing about the game is that it offers the best opportunity for serious, balanced matches out of the entire Samurai Shodown series.
Samurai Shodown was designed to approximate the feeling of being in a duel to the death. If you were actually fighting someone with your life on the line, you would try to minimize unnecessary movements and actions, just like you would in the game. As such, SS is a game where waiting is good, where turtling isn’t cheap.
Along the same lines, SSV is a game where okizeme and wakeup setups aren’t particularly strong, and the emphasis is instead placed primarily on spacing and positioning. It’s a game where you have to read your opponent’s movements, carefully manage your spacing, and wait for just the right moment to throw out a move. That’s Samurai Showdown.
It’s that kind of purity of concept that earned the original Samurai Shodown Gamest Magazine’s Grand Prize when it came out, and I think V Special is the most fully realized version of what SS1 was striving for.
As for things I don’t like? Nothing really stands out. |
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