What more can you ask for? It's Samurai Shodown one and two!
User Rating: 8.6 | Samurai Spirits: Kenkaku Shinan Pack PS
A hard-to-find import, the Samurai Spirits “Fencing Pack” is a worthy addition to any SNK fan’s library. However, those who are not enthusiasts may find the atrocious loading times and slimmed-down animation somewhat off-putting. Many SNK fans have dreamt of a Samurai Shodown collection that included the much-lauded Samurai Shodown 2 (a.k.a. Shin Samurai Spirits). Until then, this obscure gem is the closest we can get. Samurai Spirits: Kenkaku Yubinan Pack is the first two Samurai Shodown games scaled down and crammed onto one disc. This is both a good and bad thing as you get two quality games, but you lose some of the feel that made them arcade classics. The disc abruptly begins at the game selection screen. Once your choice has been made, the game has to load for a good 30 seconds. This is a major detraction considering the massive amount of load time still in store. Both games start from the title screen and there is an option to watch the original demos. When you choose “start game,” you are redirected to an options screen in English giving you the list of modes and the menu for actual in-game options. Both games have the story (arcade) and versus modes that you might expect as well as a mode that is sort of a mix of time attack and survival where you are ranked on your performance. Graphically Samurai Spirits is pretty much an exact port. The sprites are dead-on with the arcade and the animations are fluid. It’s main drawback is, as stated above, the loading which occurs at the character select screen, after your opponent’s threat, right before the match begins, before the winner’s taunt, and before and after each bonus round and cinematic. All that loading makes the game almost three times longer than it was in the arcade. Shin Samurai Spirits also suffers in the loading department, but it isn’t quite at the level of the first game. The sprites are still arcade-perfect, but the animation is a little choppy. Some of the special moves have been altered to prevent slow-down, which is an acceptable flaw. Like many PSX SNK titles, the music has been reworked to sound a little more realistic. While this certainly doesn’t hurt the game, it does give it a different feel. On the other hand, the sound effects are crisp and loud. The voices are also clean with just a touch of fuzziness. A definite plus is in the game play department. The controls are smooth and manageable. My only qualm was with the mapping of the fierce buttons to the shoulders, but it’s still easier than hitting two buttons at once in the arcade. The SS Fencing Pack, even with its obvious problems, is still a must-have game especially considering that this is one of the few ways to play part two on a console. My opinion may be a little skewed, but I would still give this game a fairly high score. After all, it is Samurai Shodown. 
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