Samuari Showdown II hitting the Wii Virtual Console on August 4th!

by the hammer of Dan Zuccarelli!


As far as the NEO-GEO arcade system went, Samuari Showdown was my favorite. I played a ton at our student center back when I was in college (missing one class often enough that dropping it was the only way to avoid failing). Sure there were other factors at play (like the pinball and pool tables), so it wasn’t entirely the NEO-GEO’s fault.

The inclusion of Samuari Showdown on the recent SNK anthology made me want to pick it up at some point, but now I’m thinking I may just pick up the superior sequel on the Wii virtual console next week for 900 points (9 bucks.)

The press release after the jump also mentions an anthology of Samuari Showdown games hitting the Wii later this year for $29.99. So, on second thought maybe I’ll wait for that…. my Wii is filled to the brim and I just don’t have anywhere to store stuff.

Full press release after the jump Continue Reading »



When We Were Young: A review of SNK Arcade Classics, Volume 1

by the hammer of Jim Squires!

When most people think of the video arcade, they think of the early eighties. Those were the days of wine and roses (and Pac-Man). Of course it didn’t last very long. The bubble burst and, for the most part, the arcade scene died a quick and painful death. During my formative years however the arcade scene had a brief but successful resurgence. The early nineties saw a number of great titles that brought the popularity of quarter-munching electronic entertainment back to the forefront. Games like Street Fighter II, Lethal Enforcers, and the six-player X-Men Arcade ruled the day. But tucked away in the back of the arcade was one cabinet that few of us knew what to make of. It usually cost a little more than the rest, but it didn’t have just one game. You could choose from two, four, or — if your local arcade could afford it — up to six different games. The big red cabinet didn’t have much in the way of art to draw you in, just big white letters in a generic font . They read NEO-GEO. From the second I put my first fifty cents into that machine, I was in love.

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SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1 includes a ton of Neo Geo Arcade gems!

by the hammer of Dan Zuccarelli!

So I didn’t realize this when I posted the New Releases schedule yesterday, but this SNK collection for the PS2 and PSP has one of my favorite fighting games of all time on it! Playing Samuari Showdown at the student center at Temple University was probably where I spent a full 1/2 of my college career. I LOVED that game. My favorite character by far was Nakoruru who was able to command animals and would use them in her attacks. It was great fun and now that I see it included in the package I’m going to be picking this one up no doubt.

The collection includes a few others worth nothing as well. Baseball Stars 2 is the sequel to the superb NES game, and everyone should know about Metal Slug. Fatal Fury, King of Fighters, King of the Monsters, Magician Lord are all Neo Geo arcade games and do a good job of rounding out the package.

  • ART OF FIGHTING - The first game in SNK’s second fighting-game franchise, set in the same universe as FATAL FURY.
  • BASEBALL STARS 2 - The sequel to SNK’s popular baseball arcade game.
  • BURNING FIGHT - New York detectives battle organized crime in this fighter.
  • FATAL FURY - First released in 1991, FATAL FURY introduced the two-plane fighting system.
  • THE KING OF FIGHTERS ‘94 - The first game in the popular KING OF FIGHTERS series.
  • KING OF THE MONSTERS - In KING OF THE MONSTERS, giant monsters fight for power in epic battles.
  • LAST RESORT - A challenging futuristic shooter.
  • MAGICIAN LORD - Players help the wizard Elta save his homeworld in this platformer.
  • METAL SLUG - Known for its humor and fast- moving gameplay, this run-and-gun side-scroller was the first in the popular series.
  • NEO TURF MASTERS - A golf game which debuted in the arcades in 1996.
  • SAMURAI SHODOWN - Set in the 18th century, SAMURAI SHODOWN features bladed-weapon combat and an international cast of characters.
  • SENGOKU - In SENGOKU, players face off against undead feudal Japanese armies.
  • SHOCK TROOPERS - In this run-and-gun adventure, players save a scientist and his granddaughter from the Bloody Scorpions.
  • SUPER SIDEKICKS 3 - A soccer game featuring teams from all over the world.
  • TOP HUNTER - Bounty hunters protect colonists from space pirates in this futuristic action game.
  • WORLD HEROES - This classic fighter pits players against historical figures in a tournament enabled by time travel.