Samurai Shodown II

### Ports

PlayStation, Windows, PlayStation 2, Wii, PSN, Virtual Console, XBLA, Neo Geo X, iOS, Android

### Release

October 28, 1994 (MVS)
December 2, 1994 (AES)
December 15, 1994 (Neo Geo CD)

### Modes

Single player
2-player Versus

### Display

304 x 224 pixels (horizontal, 4,096 colors)

### Rating

ESRB: T for Teen - animated blood, crude humor, violence.

***Samurai Shodown II***, released in Japan as ***True Samurai Spirits: Haohmaru's Portrait of Hell***, is a competitive fighting game produced by SNK in 1994 for the all Neo Geo systems, preceding the original *Samurai Shodown* and was followed by a third game in the series, *Samurai Shodown III*.

The first game was met with enthusiasm from gamers and press, so SNK made several adjustments with revamped, new offensive and defensive moves, more characters, new uses for the POW gauge and a new defensive parry-like move for all characters, a technique made famous later by Capcom's *Street Fighter III*.

Once again, the musical score (traditional japanese music, ambiance, and some rock or symphonic-oriented tracks) by Tate Norio and YAMAPY was met with great response, and two albums with original and arranged soundtracks were released as part of the merchandise.

## Gameplay

This sequel retains the same input as the first *Samurai Shodown*: two Slash and two Kick buttons, divided into light and medium. Strong Slash can be done pressing Light Slash + Medium Slash together, while Strong Kick with Light Kick + Medium Kick at the same time. Basic moves like **Dash** (forward twice, also known as the "Bakufu Blitz"), **Jump Back** (backward twice, also known as "Flying Retreat"), **Body Toss** (press any button near the opponent), the Locking Swords system (when two armed characters locks their weapons, press Light Slash and Medium Slash quickly), the **Barehanded Sword Grab** (do a middle circle forward in the joystick when unarmed with the right timing to catch an opponent sword attack and make a counter attack) are present here. Hikyaku, "the Edo Express Delivery Man" is present once again (only money/bonus points are gone). The **Rage Gauge** system returns; when a player received damage the gauge increases. When it reaches MAX, the player enters in **Rage Explosion** mode, increasing their attack power during a certain amount of time, after that, the gauge returns to its initial state.

### New to the series:

* **Forward roll** - tap twice diagonal down-forward to perform a roll forward the opponent.
* **Backward roll** - tap twice diagonal down-backward to perform a roll away the opponent.
* **Duck** - double tap down to croush to avoid air-proyectiles and attacks.
* **Hop Back, Run** - a feint move entering the command back, back, forward to make jump back and then perform a dash move to surprise the opponent.
* **Short Hop** - press Medium Slash + Light Kick at the same time to perform a small back jump. If the player also press forward, the jump will be straigh up.
* **Taunt** - pressing Light Slash + Light Kick or Medium Slash + Medium Kick to perform a taunt. Nothing is affected by a taunt.
* Blocking a weapon attack at the very last moment will result in a Sword Stun **parry move**, causing the attacking character to freeze briefly. Note that this requires extreme precision.
* This is the first *Samurai Shodown* game to feature Super Special Moves to deal major damage, called **Weapon-Breaking Technique**. Can only be perfrormed during Rage Explosion. The input for each character appears in-screen above the Rage Gauge. If the player hits the player successfully with a Weapon-Breaking Technique, in addiction to the high level of damage inflicted, the opponent **loses his/her weapon** during some seconds, until Kuroko provides a replacement.
* In addition to Weapon-Breaking Techniques, there are 4 characters with secret techniques (2 with offensive attacks and 2 with special moves). These movements were later best known as **Hidden Super Special**.

## Plot

### Intro

Original wester version:

*Long long ago, there were a man
who try to make his skill
ultimate. Because of his bloody
life, it's no accident that he
was involved in the troubles.*
Original Japanese version:

今は昔のものがたり。
我が道 極めんとする男あり。
血生臭い生きざまに
凶事まとうは 偶然ではなかった。
Rōmaji:

Imahamukashi no monogatari.
Waga michi kiwame ntosuru otoko ari.
Chinamagusai ikizama ni
kyouji matouha guuzen deha nakatta.
English translation:

*This is an ancient tale...
About man who tried to excel at his path.
Because of his bloody way of life,
it was no accident he was involved into troubles...*

Portuguese translation:

Era uma vez...
Um  homem que queria ser o melhor em sua jornada.
Por causa de sua vida sangrenta,
não foi por acidente ele se envolver em problemas.
SNK updated translation:

*This is an ancient story.
A tale of a man who tried to excel at his profession.
And in this bloody way of life,
extreme carnage was no coincidence.*

Portuguese translation update:

A muito tempo atrás...
Um  homem que queria ser o melhor em sua profissão.
E em seu estilo de vida sangrenta,
carnificina extrema não foi coincidência .
### Story

Year 1789, from spring to summer. Shiro Tokisada Amakusa, cause of the calamities occurring worldwide and driven to resurrect the Dark Deity Ambrosia, was slain by a single samurai whose existence was never recorded by history.

This person deeply involved with the resurrected Amakusa, Haohmaru, was suddenly attacked one night. But the one who was up easily defeated was not Haohmaru, but the sinister assailant...

Haohmaru's attacker was clearly manipulated by someone or something, an evil force.

The would-be assassin gasps a final promise to Haohmaru. "I'll have your soul one day.... Ambrosia...lives." The evil ones are after him! Haohmaru, sensing an evil force rivaling Amakusa, pays a visit on his old fencing master. While Haohmaru relates his story, his master's visage grows unusually grim.

"Stay away. You have undeniably grown stronger. But you must not confront them. Do you understand?"

His master obviously knows more, but grows silent, and besides Haohmaru isn't listening anyway. That night, they share a few drinks to celebrate their reunion after a long separation, and at dawn Haohmaru slips out unannounced to embark on his journey.

An audacious smile plays on his lips.

## Characters

### New to the series

* Cham Cham - Tam Tam's young sister. She was so absorbed in her fishing that she didn't notice when someone stole her family's heirloom, the Tanjil Stone. If her big brother finds out, she'll get in trouble. Her grandfather told poor Cham Cham the direction of the Tanjil Stone. She starts the journey accompanied by Paku Paku, her monkey friend.
* Genjuro Kibagami - Haohmaru's true rival. "There is no question you are strong. But one day, you will cause great suffering with your sword." With those words, Nicotine expelled Genjuro, who became his pupil at the same time as Haohmaru. With a heart full of hate, Genjuro hunts Haohmaru and Nicotine.
* Neinhalt Sieger - Sieger, the commander of the most powerful group of knights in Europe, The Holy Order of the Knights of the Red Lion, was ordered by Emperor Heinrich to destroy, singlehandedly, the demon that had been attacking neighboring countries. Sieger set out on a jorney, for the good of his homeland.
* Nicotine Caffeine - Haohmaru and Genjuro's master. There was a time when Nicotine hunted demons with his sword. But after being defeated by a certain demon, he settled down and lived quietly as a priest. But one day, he learned that the same demon was now after his pupil's life.

### Returning characters

* Charlotte Christine Colde - Charlotte commissioned a mural depicting her victory over Amakusa. The artist's brush flew, as if he was possessed, and painted the form of a demon Charlotte had never seen before.
* Earthquake - As usual, Earthquake was thieving when he heard a voice from a demon. He promised gold if Earthquake killed certain people. Greedy Earthquake decided to become a servant of this demon...
* Galford D. Weller - There had been a noticeable increase in crime recently. Getting suspicious, Galford investigated a group of related incidents and found that dark shadows from the demon world were causing those with weak hearts to commit crime.
* Genan Shiranui - Genan's soul was in the demon world where screaming, insanity, and hatred swirled in a giant vortex. The ruler of this demon world came to Genan and told him he could be given his life back, in return for servitude. Genan's body rematerialized when he pledged his loyalty.
* Hanzo Hattori - After defeating Amakusa, Hanzo was able to retrieve his son's body. But his soul still wandered the land of the demons, as before. One day, Hanzo learned that he could liberate all these wandering souls if he defeated the ruler of the demon world.
* Haohmaru - "Haohmaru, do not get involved with demons." The warnings of Nicotine, his master, could not stop Haohmaru. That day, Haohmaru drank with his master for the first time in a while and set out on a journey: to find the demon that was after his soul.
* Jubei Yagyu - Even after the defeat of Amakusa, there was no end to the appearance of demons. The Shogun, Tokugawa, realizing the gravity of the situation, ordered Jubei to destroy these demons. But the demon's were hunting Jubei as well.
* Kyoshiro Senryo - "The soul of your 'techniques' are mine!" With that, one of his own servants attacked Kyoshiro. He was possessed by a demon. Kyoshiro nimbly evaded the attack and destroyed the demon.
* Nakoruru - As usual, Nakoruru stood with her eyes closed among the birches and tried to talk with nature. But that day, she couldn't hear the voice of nature. Something was wrong. Nakoruru could feel the spirit of nature being sucked away into the demon world.
* Ukyo Tachibana - The demon flower that Ukyo found was not the perfect flower he sought. "I do not know if this is true, but the perfect flower blooms in the center of the demon world." After hearing those words from an old scholar in the country of Musashi, Ukyo set off for the demon world again, despite his illness.
* Wan-Fu - One day, someone claiming to be a seer appeared before Wan-fu. This person told the story of "The Egg of the Destroyer," which could grant dominion over the world, in exchange for one's soul. With this item, the unification of China would be possible. Wan-fu set off on a journey.

### Boss

* Mizuki Rashojin - She is a spirit that has become an immortal demon, through a pact with Ambrosia. Currently, Mizuki inhabits the body of Bizuki, a woman with supernatural powers. Bizuki had tried to subdue Mizuki and use its powers for good, but failed, and was possessed. Mizuki plans to merge the Palenke Stone and the Tanjil Stone to further strengthen the demon world. She is the first and only female final boss in the series, and the only boss to have assistance from a pet.

### Hidden character

* Kuroko - In the past, the Kuroko was a demon hunter, along with Nicotine. Back in those days, Nicotine wielded a sword named "Taima," and the Kuroko had already taken to concealing his identity in black. Together, these two defeated many powerful demons and none could stand in their way. None, until Mizuki Rashojin.

## Gallery

*Main article: Samurai Shodown II/Gallery*
*Neo Geo cover art.Arcade flyer.Arcade flyer 2Arcade flyer 3Marquee title card.Moves strip.Title screen.Select screen.Gameplay screenshot.Advertisement*