PixlBit

The Samurai Shodown series has been around at this point for quite a while. Years ago, it helped redefine the fighting genre by working in a variety of new ideas, most prominently, weaponry. Unfortunately for the series, over time it has become less and less relevant, especially when it made its move to 3D. Since that point, it has struggled to find its identity, and this shows through in the latest iteration of the series, Samurai Shodown Sen.

At its core, Sen is a combo-based fighter, much like many other fighting games on the market. Unfortunately, it adheres to combo-based attacks so strongly that it has resulted in something that is quite unenjoyable for newcomers to the game/series. Personally, I found the learning curve to be particularly high, especially coming from Super Street Fighter IV, which offers a much more fluid and precise control scheme.

The game's move list feels quite shallow, forcing players to rely on the rigid combo system to effectively attack their opponent. What's worse is that the damage dealt by given moves always felt disproportionate to something as simple as a grab. I found myself performing grabs as often as possible because each one would drop around 25% of my opponent's life bar.

Grabs aren't the only thing that felt overpowered - strong swipes seem to fall into the same category. Thus, instead of investing time to learn comboing it almost always felt easier to simply block and time strong attacks to hit at the exact right moments.

Counter attacks, which seem to occur randomly, are also included in the warrior's arsenal and can reduce a lifebar by well over 50%. I was able to pull them off a number of times, but I can't say I understand how or why, even after analyzing both me and my opponent's exact moves. Regardless, a move that removes that much health in any case is a bit misconceived unless it requires some huge button input string that can't be easily or quickly executed.

Given the lack of balance in the move list and the stiff controls, there isn't much more that could be wrong with the game. These two points drag down any amount of quality the game could've been trying to achieve.

The game's graphical presentation is as lifeless as the fighting engine, featuring bland 3D models and some rough looking arenas. This can be forgiven to an extent due to the true age of the game (two years old in Japan), but even still, it's obvious that the series' real strength is in the detailed 2D sprites.

Samurai Shodown Sen is a very poor fighting game that seems even worse when competing with Super Street Fighter IV. Its lack of balance and lack of accessibility make it unenjoyable for both veterans and newcomers of the genre. For those looking to try out the series, check out some of the Arcade rereleases found on Xbox Live Arcade, or the compilation that released on Wii.