Samurai Shodown II Critic Reviews

In the end it only seems fair to rate it the same as the Virtual Console version - as a solid fighting game in its own right - and leave it up to you, dear reader, to decide if the online play and minor technical compromises improve or tarnish an enjoyable core experience.

It’s the truth; you either love this game because it reminds you of Slurpee-fueled afternoons at the 7-11 near school, or you’re an incredibly knowledgeable fan of fighting games who wrote your 500 page dissertation on the subtle differences between SNK and Capcom games. You guys are cool, you’ll love it. But to the entry level fighting gamer, I can’t fully recommend it.

A great nostalgic release for Xbox Live Arcade. Diehard fans will appreciate the ability to take the game online and do battle against the masses, while others will just enjoy the ability to play a classic fighter on the 360, despite the terrible d-pad.

Samurai Shodown is a great series, and as far as I'm concerned, SS2 is the best installment of the bunch. Between that and the game's online support, I'm well satisfied with this release. If you have fond memories of '90s arcades, I'd guess that you'll be satisfied, as well.

An essential for any 2D fighting fan, even with the fairly bare-boned Neo Geo port.

Truly a cult classic.

This version of Samurai Shodown II doesn't bring much new to the mix, but that won't matter for fans of the original. The classic's here in all its glory and occasional goofiness -- if you're outfitted for the experience, slice away.

But with a core game that stands strong, and Live matchups that are fairly smooth, Samurai Shodown II remains an enjoyable beatdown for fighting fans.

One more classic NeoGeo 2D fighting game appears for the Xbox Live Arcade, but it offers less than we expected. This is just a port from the original game that doesn’t include anything new... except for a multiplayer online mode that most times doesn’t work or makes combats run in bullet time. The original game is here, ok, but indeed the control system feels poorly adapted to the X360 pad.

There are other, better, games out there to play now and unless you’re that obsessed reliving the once great games of the past there’s no reason to look back.

If you spent time jamming quarters into Samurai Shodown 2 in an arcade somewhere back in the day, this game is worth a look. But if you're looking for a classic, fun 2D fighter on XBLA, you could do better.

The king of Neo Geo struggles to find its footing on XBLA.