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karasu99
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"Samurai Spirits Sen" , posted Thu 8 Apr 02:56post reply

Anyone else pick up the US release of Sen a few days back? Being both impetuous and foolhardy, I rushed to buy it, only to find (as some cafe-ers pointed out a while ago) that it is merely adequate.

I could go on for a while about some of the issues but to start, control without a stick is extremely sub-par (I have yet to complete one of the rage-explosion only 'supers'). The models and textures for the characters are average, which is pretty disappointing for a modern console game. They don't seem to have produced any alternate outfits, just differently colored versions of the originals-- again, I was not expecting KOF:MI2 levels, but one alternate would have been pretty good.

Then, oddly enough, even though it was a 50$US release, they printed the manual in full color! Even Bayonetta had the normal, crappy black and white instruction manual.

Let's see... I like several of the character designs, but they don't really feel much like the rest of the cast at all in the way they play-- they are more like native 3D fighters than 2D ports. But then most of the returning characters don't feel like their 2D selves at all. I don't really know what I was expecting on this count-- perhaps a SFIV kind of 2D-in-3D? I think that would have matched better somehow. Oh, and they've gone a bit overboard with the 'foreigner-living-in-Japan' business this time. What, with three of the new editions being Galford-esque westerners in Japanese dress, you would think that this was a regular occurrence. Although Assquake and Galford did begin the tradition I suppose.

Hmm, also, I like the presentation a lot, as I always do in SS games. The music is great as well. I like Draco, the sub-boss, since he reminds me a lot of the Mitsurugi/Tanegashima business in Soul Edge. While Golba, the final boss, is interesting as a design, I can't help but wonder what SNKP was trying to say by having his stage be called 'Imperial Palace' and being located in (looks like) New York.

Anyone else have any impressions? Or am I the only tortured soul who picked this up?






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Shin ATproof
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"Re(1):Samurai Spirits Sen" , posted Thu 8 Apr 05:47post reply

I played the game once as a beta and once when it was completed and it felt like a poorly designed frankenstien of Soul Calibur and Kengo with a tiny bit of Samurai Shodown and it was a total abortion in my book.

If the consensus here is "adequate/mediocre" then I'm rather surprised at how forgiving on this game people are. The presentation was decent enough, I'll give it that...





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Ishmael
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"Re(1):Samurai Spirits Sen" , posted Thu 8 Apr 09:47post reply

quote:
Anyone else pick up the US release of Sen a few days back?

So you're the one who bought it!

Even though the game looks vulgar I do want to at least try it to satisfy my own curiosity. But since I don't have a 360 right now that may be awhile. Is it at least better than Warriors Rage?





Shin ATproof
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"Re(2):Samurai Spirits Sen" , posted Thu 8 Apr 10:56post reply

quote:
Is it at least better than Warriors Rage?



Not really and you're still comparing two turds.

I'd go as far as to day that the SamSho64 games are better than this garbage and even that isn't saying much.

INTERESTINGLY, I've been hearing that the netcode for SSSen isn't terrible. Signs that SNKP will make KoF13 and KoF02UM online play...playable?





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"Re(3):Samurai Spirits Sen" , posted Thu 8 Apr 11:08post reply

quote:

INTERESTINGLY, I've been hearing that the netcode for SSSen isn't terrible. Signs that SNKP will make KoF13 and KoF02UM online play...playable?



Nahh, it probably means that the servers are so empty, that the 5 proud owners of the game can slug it out without any lag....

Er, wait- Does online console gaming works as a server, or on p2p terms? I never bothered to check.







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hikarutilmitt
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"Re(4):Samurai Spirits Sen" , posted Thu 8 Apr 13:18post reply

quote:

INTERESTINGLY, I've been hearing that the netcode for SSSen isn't terrible. Signs that SNKP will make KoF13 and KoF02UM online play...playable?


Nahh, it probably means that the servers are so empty, that the 5 proud owners of the game can slug it out without any lag....

Er, wait- Does online console gaming works as a server, or on p2p terms? I never bothered to check.



Depends on the game. Some use a server just to setup a peer-to-peer connection and run with it (BlazBlue and VF5) and others use an actual server (just about everything else). Thing is, if the netcode is bad, it won't really matter as much which it uses, especially given the chance that anyone buying this likely lives relatively further apart form each other.

Honestly, I wish/hope there's a demo because I tend to like some games that are otherwise turds because fun can usually be found in them if you're willing to try.





Mozex
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"Re(4):Samurai Spirits Sen" , posted Fri 9 Apr 01:41post reply

quote:
Er, wait- Does online console gaming works as a server, or on p2p terms? I never bothered to check.



Other than MMO's almost all console games are P2P, one of the players is hosting the game/match. A server is only involved in the matchmaking process.

This pisses of the hardcore PC gaming crowd because lots of FPS's don't have dedicated server support any more.





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Mosquiton
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"Re(5):Samurai Spirits Sen" , posted Fri 9 Apr 08:39post reply

quote:

Honestly, I wish/hope there's a demo because I tend to like some games that are otherwise turds because fun can usually be found in them if you're willing to try.



I know what you mean here. I feel like a lot of my favorite games tend to review around a 7 out of 10, which is definitely above turd level, but other games that don't even hit that level of objective goodness can be strangely entertaining.

Samurai Shodown: Edge of Destiny doesn't fit in either one of these categories. It's... a little further down on the scale. Honestly about on the same level as Warrior's Rage (which is one of the only games I've ever bought that I've gone to the trouble of refunding). Whatever you loved about Samurai Shodown probably isn't in here. Most characters are barely recognizable gameplay-wise. It's a combination of a poorly-designed spamfast and a terrible waiting game between super-high damage/high-priority pokes. The violence is pretty poorly done and happens way too often.

It's kind of embarrassing in general. I feel bad for the series when I'm playing it. Definitely don't spend money on it.





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karasu99
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"Re(6):Samurai Spirits Sen" , posted Fri 9 Apr 08:51post reply

quote:
The violence is pretty poorly done and happens way too often.



Agreed. The end of round blood fountain, for instance, uses a sound effect that reminds me of poorly tuned radio-- it's not a wet noise, it's just white noise.

It is like a game made by people who learned to do PS1-era 3d fighters relatively okay, and then time traveled to today to produce a game for a modern console.

Yes, I think I need to start vetting my game purchases a little more carefully. This one is a stinker, and I'll probably never play it enough to make it worth buying.





kofoguz
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"Re(7):Samurai Spirits Sen" , posted Sun 11 Apr 05:46post reply

quote:
It is like a game made by people who learned to do PS1-era 3d fighters relatively okay, and then time traveled to today to produce a game for a modern console.

Why Capcom bought the team, which made this game beats me.





Abster
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"Re(1):Samurai Spirits Sen" , posted Mon 12 Apr 06:52post reply

Sen seems to have gotten lost in trying to figure out what kind of fighter it's trying to be. The classic high powered slashes are there, but there's also juggling and a height system. There's only a handful of projectiles if that, and a 2d joystick format for movement, but jumping is just terrible. The graphics are a generation behind, which makes me wonder if the Taito Type X2 is capable of better graphics like what the 360 currently offers. I wouldn't call it the worst SS game but it definitely leaves a lot to be desired.





KTallguy
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"Re(2):Samurai Spirits Sen" , posted Tue 13 Apr 17:10post reply

I tried this in Japanese arcades, and although I think the soundtrack is pretty boss, it doesn't play at all like SamSho. The focus seems to be making your opponent whiff an attack, then launching to a high powered juggle (Tekken), combined with character specific followups/special abilities.

Here's a high level Ukyo vs Nakoruru match.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugKWozz5TnI

You can see their old moves intact, but they are interpreted very differently. The juggles get really annoying though.

Here's Genjuro vs Kyoushiro (HATE)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWcVNFpAo7E

You can see that Kyoushiro is just as annoying as in normal Sam Sho with that long, boring, Yoshimitsu esc juggle. Genjuro is pretty normal looking.

And here are two of the new characters.
I think most of the new characters are pretty boring, but this match is kind of interesting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHQOGa9n9GA

The game lost a lot of the mystical fantastical elements, so no cool fireballs or zoning. I kind of wish they went the Street Fighter 4 route with this game, instead of changing everything so drastically. I wouldn't say it's the most horrible game ever, but it's definitely very stiff feeling.





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"Re(3):Samurai Spirits Sen" , posted Tue 13 Apr 18:35post reply

quote:
I think most of the new characters are pretty boring, but this match is kind of interesting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHQOGa9n9GA

I always thought Suzuhime was an edit character in Soulcalibur 4, slender looking female with Nightmare's weapon.

Also, what the hell happens to J's leg in the middle of the match?





karasu99
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"Re(4):Samurai Spirits Sen" , posted Wed 14 Apr 02:22post reply

quote:
I think most of the new characters are pretty boring, but this match is kind of interesting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHQOGa9n9GA
I always thought Suzuhime was an edit character in Soulcalibur 4, slender looking female with Nightmare's weapon.

Also, what the hell happens to J's leg in the middle of the match?



Ha! It looks like they have revealed the dirty laundry of their sloppy character modeling.

As I've played more of the game I have found that I am a little less disgusted and feeling like I wasted my money if I think of it as:
a) having no connection to Samurai Spirits whatsoever but rather some other unknown franchise and
b) being some obscure game for the PS1 that I am playing in emulation somehow, and that I am lucky to have even found a copy.

...because let's face it, it is a lot less offensive if viewed in this perspective. I am at a loss to think of why SNKP proceeded in the direction that they did. Did this start life as a generic weapon-based fighter developed by someone else that was then picked up by SNKP, had SS characters added, and was re-branded as a SS game?





chazumaru
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"Re(5):Samurai Spirits Sen" , posted Wed 14 Apr 08:41post reply

From these videos, the game is much more acceptable than I expected. Then again, I expected complete crap (basically I was expecting that leg issue to be the standard for the whole experience). The backgrounds are respectable although they are a bit empty. And the menus/presentation are really neat. Too bad that the fights look ridiculous.

It does feel a lot like a PS1 fighting game of the Fighter's Impact / Zero Divide generation, when every single publisher thought they had their chance because of Takara's success with Tohshinden.

I may have told that story before, but the first time I went to TGS*, I was following a guy working for a European publisher (he was responsible for bringing some Tecmo games like Zero to Europe) and some former SNK staff from the Samurai Spirits team were pitching a "revolutionary fighting game with Samurai warriors" to whoever would accept to meet them. They were looking for publishing money to finish the game and had high hopes about the new ideas they had. Unfortunately I wasn't part of that meeting but I always wondered what happened to that project.


I remember that an announcement a few years ago made me remember about that story and think "maybe that's what the 3D SamSpi game became" but I can't figure out which game made me think that back then. Maybe it was the first announcement of SamSpi Sen.


*That was in 2002, which was a pretty good year for vaporware/cancelled projects since I managed to play Capcom Fighting All-Stars and Capcom's Red Dead Revolver, as well as hearing them talk behind closed doors about their plans for Catan Online and Makaimura Online (they were looking for European partners for both games). ... Holy shit, that was eight years ago... Damn.





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"Re(6):Samurai Spirits Sen" , posted Wed 14 Apr 09:36post reply

I bought it a few days ago, and I can agree with pretty much everything that's been said.

There are actually some aspects I will say what I do like (though it's a short list). I like some of the new character designs, like the crazy foreigner samurai and the guy with the bokuto. And it has a Wakamoto boss, which is always a plus. Also I like most of the music; it's different, quite a bit more rhythmic and less ambient than past SS games.

Sadly, that's about it. The rest is just not good. Gameplay has already been discussed, it feels way too much like a poor 2D concept for a 3D fighter. The physics of juggling and movement are so improbable it's ridiculous. Though I say I like some of the new characters, the character models are ugly as hell. The stages are empty and lifeless. Visual effects are almost non-existant. Hell, even the options are rather poorly-conceived. There's a "language" option, which is "English" by default, but almost all the voices are still in Japanese. So changing it to "Japanese" makes the announcer Japanese and turns off the subtitles. Uh... okay, why couldn't they just make this two seperate options? And the game has force-feedback by default, but for some reason I can't seem to find an option anywhere to turn vibration off. Am I missing something?





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