Fighting Games Fri… Saturday: Samurai Shodown Rises (+Other News)

Tokyo Game Show doesn’t start until next week, but it’s no surprise that several publishers have already revealed the games they plan to show. This happens every year, and few surprises are left for the main event. It didn’t help that Sony held their PlayStation LineUp Showcase this week, where several PlayStation-centric and multiplatform titles were announced, and fighting games were among them. If you start wondering why the post is so long this week while reading, now you’ll know.

The biggest announcement was for the revival of Samurai Shodown, the reveal SNK teased for a week. It wasn’t a complete surprise that this was in development, as it was first rumored before The King of Fighters XIV released in 2016 — though this definitely isn’t coming in “2017.” Rumors also spread on Twitter last weekend that the aforementioned tease was for this. SNK rumors tend to be accurate, so someone working within the company has some comically loose lips.

The new Samurai Shodown game will retain the style of the 2D titles for a 2.5D gameplay format; but like KOFXIV and recent fighting games from other publishers, its presentation has shifted to using 3D models. Unlike KOFXIV, though, this game looks aesthetically pleasing enough that few are complaining about the lack of 2D sprite work.

The aesthetics are reminiscent of Capcom’s recent Street Fighter installments, with an art style that blends realism and cel shading and includes well-animated character models. The characters are also cartoonishly muscular, which works better in tandem with an over-the-top historical setting compared to a modern one. It’s powered by Unreal Engine 4, the same engine Capcom used for Street Fighter V.

SNK revealed several characters right off the bat in the short trailer, including Haohmaru, Nakoruru, Earthquake, Jubei Yagyu, and Galford. More characters are featured in the middle of the trailer (48 seconds in) for a quick second, including Tam Tam, Genjuro Kibagami, Ukyo Tachibana, Charlotte, and Kyoshiro Senryo. The latter set of characters should be formally revealed over the next few months. It would be wise not to expect as many characters as the last two numbered Samurai Shodown games, but this implies that it will still be decently sized.

Again, this game will retain the style of the 2D games, meaning it won’t play like Samurai Shodown 64 and Samurai Shodown Sen, both of which were clunky efforts. It will also retain the blood spray from the old games for Fatality-like attacks, though the use of 3D character models makes them look more gruesome.

Samurai Shodown is due for a 2019 release for PlayStation 4, though whether it will be exclusive to the console is unknown, since the trailer and the teaser site don’t list platforms. It’s possible more gameplay could be shown at TGS next week, but if not, hopefully we won’t have to wait long. In the meantime, add this game to the list highlighting the samurai game renaissance.

Meanwhile, more returning characters were revealed for Dead or Alive 6 at the PlayStation Lineup Showcase too. Ayane, one of the most popular characters in the Dead or Alive series, was shown, with an outfit that resembles her threads from the first Ninja Gaiden reboot title. Marie Rose and Honoka from the updated versions of Dead or Alive 5 were also confirmed; the former is popular thanks to her youthful looks, while the latter is a well-endowed schoolgirl. This game has less fanservice compared to DOA5, but they didn’t say it wouldn’t have any fanservice. Nyotengu, who was DLC for Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate, will also be included as a preorder bonus.

Speaking of fanservice: Previously-confirmed characters were shown in alternate outfits, which also included Kasumi in her old outfit. This almost feels like damage control from the backlash some fans provided after they became flustered at the thought of less fanservice. Some gamers, I’m telling you.

DoA6 will release on February 15th, making this another title in a crowded month for big game releases. At least it’s not competing with any other fighting games.

Cervantes was confirmed for Soulcalibur VI, which was inevitable for two reasons. For one, he has yet to miss a title in the franchise, and retains the same appearance thanks to being immortal. The second reason is due to his inclusion leaking before the official reveal, thanks to Bandai Namco showcasing the wrong beta build at the Melbourne eSports Open. Whoops! Cervantes’s retains several moves from the previous games, and includes new attacks as part of the Lethal Hit and Reversal Edge features. A longer gameplay demonstration will be needed to determine more changes he’s received.

SCVI will release on October 19th, meaning there aren’t many character reveals left. Raphael Sorel was also accidentally revealed with Cervantes, so he’ll be next, but that could be it for the initial roster. Expect the company to showcase more DLC characters outside Tira shortly after the game releases.

The fourth DLC character for Dissidia Final Fantasy NT was revealed to be Kam’lanaut From Final Fantasy XI, a character whose existence was unknown to anyone who hasn’t played the MMO FF installments. He’s one of the two remaining Zilart princes in FFXI’s story, and will be a Warrior of the Specialist class in this game, perhaps due to how he can imbue his sword with elemental effects. The trailer showed his large variety of attacks, despite characters having fewer unique techniques in this game due to its 3-on-3 nature. He will arrive in late October.

Meanwhile, two DLC characters remain, who include a female character from the latter half of the numbered FF games returning from previous Dissidia titles, and a new male character also from the latter half of the FF games. Post your guesses in the comments!

Isabelle from Animal Crossing was the latest playable character announced for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, introduced in a way that made several think they were teasing a new Animal Crossing game. (It was cruel at first, but a new AC game was actually confirmed afterward.) Isabelle will join the Villager from the same series, which makes her the 68th (!!) character in the game. Note that the character count doesn’t include Echoes like Lucina, Daisy, and Richter Belmont, who have most of their techniques taken from Marth, Peach, and Simon Belmont, respectively, to give a picture of how massive the roster is.

There should be at least one more reveal left for Ultimate before its December 7th release, though don’t be surprised if there are also hidden characters.

Summon your most powerful card because Yugi is coming to #JUMPFORCE! Ready to duel against the King of Games? Tell us in comments which mighty card would you summon to battle?

Unite to fight, JUMP FORCE arrives in 2019! Pre-order your copy here: https://t.co/tpmTsXlGz5 pic.twitter.com/m91bqQFsan

— Bandai Namco US (@BandaiNamcoUS) September 14, 2018

The newest character confirmed for Shonen Jump crossover Jump Force is Yugi from Yu-Gi-Oh!, revealed through a lone screenshot on Twitter. This game is being targeted towards the worldwide market, so the development team is including identifiable to the worldwide audience. It’s why Yugi is making his playable debut in this game, after being left out of predecessor J-Stars Victory VS entirely. We’ll have to wait for a gameplay trailer to see how he plays, but my guess is that he’ll rely on several monsters summoned through cards. The video could arrive at TGS next week.

This was such a large pile of fighting game news that I can’t imagine TGS itself will provide much. But every time I assume that, there’s always plenty. We’ll find out if that happens again next Friday.