SNK Fighters are basically the last hope for 2d fighting games on consoles these days. As Capcom seems to have given up on fighting games entirely as of late (well they did Fighting Jam, but most would like to pretend that never happened), and Arc Systems is set on only releasing dozens of Guilty Gear XX updates, all the competition in the genre seems to have run dry. Yet despite this, SNK has been putting out fresh fighters like Neo Geo Battle Coliseum and each new installment of The King of Fighters series. Now here comes, Samurai Showdown: Tenkaichi Kenkakuden, marking their latest 2d fighter entry.

Visuals: Quantity over Quality?
SSTK is basically a “greatest hits” type Samurai Showdown game that features every character that’s ever been in a SS game plus a handful of new ones. So as one would expect, the roster for the game is absolutely huge. Players can easily look forward to over 40 unique characters selectable, all carrying their entire movelists from each past game. Yet despite the sheer wow factor that might carry when listed on paper, one result of this cut and paste collection is that all the old animations are back as well.

See, besides Fatal Fury: Mark of The Wolves, SNK has never really been known for visual splendor when it comes to their fighters and SSTK is no exception. Compared to Capcom fighters or even Guilty Gear, the sprites all seem stiff and underwhelming. This isn’t really a surprise considering that most of these sprites are over ten years old at this point, but it doesn’t change the fact that fan-made fighting games have looked better than this in motion.

Still, the animation is saved by the art for the most part. From the character designs to the special moves to the detailed backgrounds, SSTK carries a good image. All the new cast additions are interesting characters and their attack styles tend to fit in the mold of the series. Overall, SSTK is not the prettiest kid on the block, but with so many neat looking characters to play as, most players really wont mind.