Anyone who remembers the good ol' days of the arcade likely has fond memories of the Samurai Shodown series. This series was a staple of just about any arcade and plenty of pizzerias and it was incredibly innovative for its time. While the first game was simply a Street Fighter clone with swords and blood, the sequels were actually quite innovative. Introducing features that wouldn't become standard in the fighting game genre for years after the fact, Samurai Shodown 2 started this trend and brought the series to the forefront of the genre at the time.

However time hasn't been the kindest to the Samurai Shodown series. While the graphics and especially the soundtrack have stood the test of time the fighting really hasn't. This game comes from a simpler time when projectile attacks were meant to be abused and the computer was able to throw you even if it meant pulling you out of an unstoppable attack. While it carries a lot of retro goodness the game itself just doesn't stand up to later fighting games, even later entries in the very same series.

One thing needs to be immediately addressed above all other things, do not buy this game if you don't own an arcade stick. The controls in this game are immensely convoluted involving plenty of half-circles, diagonals and quarter circles executed in an odd manner and they're basically impossible on the 360 controller. While you can manage if you're very persistent it's just not a viable means of handling the controls for the long term. Not only are the opponents on Xbox Live ridiculously good but they're probably using arcade sticks so be ready to lose.

This isn't even taking into account how laughably bad the computer AI is. Even on the easiest difficulty you don't stand much of a chance against the computer due to how it works. SNK never really programmed smart AI in their older games; they gave them ridiculous abilities, such as throwing you when you attempt an unblockable super move, or giving them moves so powerful that it's just as much a matter of luck as it is skill when you beat them. Let's take an example.

Everybody who has ever been to an arcade knows "That Kid." You know the one I'm talking about, the guy who seems to have memorized every move from every character in the entire game but only actually uses one or two moves ad nauseum? Now imagine if he had the reflexes of a computer and could pretty much choose when they would be hurt. Also they're incredibly adept at throwing you to the point that they can do it even if you're in the middle of attacks that should be hitting them, pulling you out of it and doing a lot of damage. That all sounds pretty obnoxious doesn't it? Yeah, that's pretty much every single fight through the entire game.

Then again the Samurai Shodown series started off as a rather ruthless game series and lightened up a bit as time went on. When the controls tightened up, air blocks were introduced and the two fighting styles for a character were brought in the games really came into themselves. Unfortunately they chose to release one of the more popular games in the series instead of one of the actually technically proficient ones. In many cases playing this game is a matter of memorizing how to do a few moves very well and then abusing them ad nauseum. It's not a terrifically exciting proposition to all but the most hardcore fans.

This is a problem that many retro releases face; how do you attract people to purchase the game outside of the group who played it when it was originally released? Generally most games that are released to services like Xbox Live Arcade will have some sort of upgrade done be it to graphics, gameplay or adding new features to the title. The only thing really added here is the ability to play on Xbox Live and that's just not enough. There are other, better, games out there to play now and unless you're that obsessed reliving the once great games of the past there's no reason to look back.