RE: Samurai Shodown (2019)

I’ve been thinking of the best way to succinctly describe Samurai Shodown (2019) -- a way to summarize it in a way that’s accurate, entertaining, and gives me a 1% higher chance to get more pageviews.  It hasn’t been easy, partly because SNK’s latest is a far cry from a LOT of stuff on store shelves these days.

Pared down to basics?  Sure, you could say it’s Street Fighter at the core.  That is, it takes fundamental concepts and strategies and upholds them over virtually everything else.  Conversely, that means that this game is not on the level of your standard “anime fighter”.  There’s been a jump to 3D graphics, but it’s by no means a 3D fighter like Tekken or Soul Calibur.  I wouldn’t even put it on the same level as Mortal Kombat, goriness aside.  No, this is its own beast.  An anomaly, for sure.

That’s why I’ve come up with a way to succinctly describe the game.  Samurai Shodown is the best game.

…For pissing people off, that is.

The Samurai Shodown Sleepy Time Post

June’s almost over, and for me this month has been uniquely terrible.

Selling Out and Going Indie

The crux of this post is going to depend on whether or not you consider Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night to be an indie game.  I do, basically, since Kickstarter helped it exist (resoundingly), and it’s not as if it’s the product of one of the big companies like EA or Activision.  I mean, it’s here specifically because a well-known company in the industry (Konami) either would have rejected it preemptively, or actively resented its potential existence to the point where the heads -- in their unfathomable wisdom -- let Castlevania mastermind Koji Igarashi escape from their employ.

Mostly, I just want to call it an indie game because it’d give me the chance to lump it together with some of the other games I’ve been playing (not named Smash Bros. Ultimate).  Namely, Katana Zero and VA-11 HALL-A.  Also, it’ll be easier for me to use it as a paddle with which to whoop the backside of the modern, big-budget, AAA game industry.  As if they weren’t whooping themselves already.

Final Fantasy VII Remake feat. Tifa (feat. Technical Difficulties)

It was either a post on the Final Fantasy VII Remake -- or the first part of it, at least -- or another one on Smash Ultimate.  Trust me, it was a dead heat right up to the finish line.

Also, I should probably talk briefly about that time my computer temporarily died.  So let’s get stuck in.

Mortal Kombat 11: A Very Special Post

So I haven’t touched Mortal Kombat 11 in a solid month, and I think I know why.

Well, besides me constantly seeking power and/or revenge in online matches of Smash Ultimate.  One day I’ll get someone into Elite Smash.

Final Fantasy VII: Weapon-Stomping Edition

So I beat Emerald Weapon for the first time in my life (and a good 22 years after other gamers had long since succeeded).  Might as well use this time to talk about Final Fantasy 7 to celebrate.

Not like there’s anything else related to the game going on right now.

Avengers: Endgame: Last Train Home

Okay, Marvel Studios.  You can stop now.

There are going to be as many Avengers: Endgame spoilers as I can think of following the jump, so watch out.  Then again, I assume that if you breathe, you’ve already seen the movie, sooooooooooooo…jump away.

I mean jump toward the post.  That way.  Like, thataway.

Avengers: Endgame! But Also Housekeeping

Well, I guess I might as well break the mold and talk about a niche, relatively obscure indie film that I just managed to see through one very specific venue twenty miles out from my locale.  It may never be a financial powerhouse -- or break even, for that matter -- but hey.  Sometimes you’ve just got to support creative vision and raw artistry.

…Now I feel bad for doing the complete opposite.

Avengers: Endgame!  The last Avengers for a while, I think!  I’ll talk about it!  Eventually!  And briefly!  But first, business.

Let’s discuss Devil May Cry V (FINALE).

Before I begin, I’d like to take a moment to admit that -- as of this writing -- I have “Devil Trigger”, “Subhuman (Game Edit)”, and “Crimson Cloud” downloaded and embedded in my phone. With a little “Unwavering Bravery” for good measure.

Now let me give Devil May Cry V the sendoff it deserves.

I will suffer

I will burn

Let hate prevail

Enslave my soul

But I’ll never surrender

Wait…damn it, wrong song!  Well, whatever.  Spoilers.

Super Technical Difficulty Bros. Ultimate

So in my world, there’s no better reason to declare a state of emergency than having your PC suddenly and abruptly die on you.

Which to be fair, I only just learned about.  Talk about an unforgettable life experience.