Reviewed by Chuck The Usurper

Here's a game from a while back that still manages to thoroughly entertain me even now. The first game in the Samurai Shodown franchise from SNK, as ported to the Sega CD by JVC (huh?! JVC? What happened to Takara?)

Y'know, I bought this version of the game in the first place because I figured it would be the best one out of the different systems I had (Genesis, SNES, Sega CD), but alas, twas not to be. First of all, for some unknown reason, Earthquake is missing form this version, just like the Genesis version. So if you want to play as Earthquake, you have to go with the SNES version. My other complaint is that the loading times are a bit excessive, although they won't make you tear your hair out.

Other than those gripes, this is a pretty faithful translation. Considering that the development team had to cram this rather large game onto a Sega CD disc, the results are pretty satisfying. The graphics are about on a par with the SNES version, the sound is great, and slowdown is nonexistent.

Overall, a solid conversion of a timelessly fun game. It's not perfect, but you could do a lot worse. Anyone who is interested in this game, and is trying to choose between the Genesis & Sega CD versions would do well to get the CD, but it's pretty hard to find nowadays, and Earthquake calls the SNES home.

Final Score: 7 out of 10