News from ASI - Segoku 3 Release Date, SNK et all.

Well folks, I just got back from ASI in Las Vegas and I got to play something you all want to play... Sengoku 3. Yeah, it was there and so was SNK in full force (more on this a little bit later). So this post will be long, sorry, but I will try to break it up so it makes more sense.

Apple Photosystems/SNK were right at the begining of the show. A huge black sign with the words "check out what's inside!" was hanging over their section. Roughly 10 beautiful Dynamo cabinets were on display all with Segoku 3 Artwork, and lightup T-molding. The game looked fantastic, and SNK knew it. I quickly started playing Sengoku 3 and was marveled by the graphics, this game looks really good. I played a quick round and went to talk to some of the show people (who gave me so many goodies... Sengoku 3 shirts, KOF 2000 shirts, Notebooks, etc, etc..) I asked her for a release date on Sengoku 3 and they said the end of May... nothing tenative... and directed me to Tim Jackson.

Tim Jackson is the Director of Sales at Apple Photo Systems. After teasing me about giving me a free Cart if I promoted the game at the show (More on this later I pinned him down for a release date and price.

4/27/2001
$650

That's right, three weeks from now Sengoku 3 hits! He gave me his card and told me to call him next week to talk business (he thought I was a reseller I think) I took it and thanked him for his help.

Back to Sengoku 3, well... how did I feel about the game. First 20 mins it is incredible... after that, and I hate to say it, it is really boring.

Here is ther breakdown of the game:
The game starts with 4 selectable characters. There is the big tough guy with a small log (my fav, he does so much damage). The guy who sort of resembles Strider (good reach, weak hits, but good balance), another Knight looking character in a blue outfit and blonde hair (a bit slow, and his slash attack has no reach)... and the lady ninja (who is also great to play with). The controls are as follows:

A - Slash Weapon
B - Punch/Pick up items
C - Jump
D - Use Special
A+B+C - Desperation Move

As you begin you fight through 3 stages, which are labeled as China, Japan and Italy. Each one is given a rating, hard, easy, etc... The graphics in game look good, but the screen barely scrolls... you basicly fight a ton of people on a static screen, then move a few inches and fight some more people... then move to another area.... A little bit disapointing since I got sick of some of the backgrounds (especially the ones with fire and spikes on the ground, they would make you lose health just because your slash would make you touch them). At the end of each level there is a Boss character, two of which will join your battle (A guy in green with grey hair and another female ninja) after you beat the first three stages. Then it is off to another three stages of more mindless fun... Well, the only problem is I stopped having fun.

The game is way to long, it took me and a friend over an hour to beat, and by that time I was completly sick of seeing the damn ghost Samauri. There is only 10 or so enemies that you fight over and over and over again. It gets old fast. Here is the list to the best of my knowledge of who you will be fighting:

Samauri
Samauri 2 (w/sword in attack position)
Girl Ninja
Frog
Mutant
Face Ball - a ball made up of screaming faces
Axe Knight
Shogun
Old Man
Hawk Man
Bosses (6)

So as you can see, for an hour game there is a lot of repetition... and there are no new outfits or color changes, just the same enemies over and over again. Plus, the Samauris are all you really see, the others only appear on a few boards.

Most bosses are quite easy, the last one is incredibly cheap (regaining life every time you get him near death... I spent 6 credits trying to figure out how to kill him, I will let you do the same) he becomes invincible every time he does a devastating special, which means no way to not get hit!

All and all the game was fun, but became torture to complete... With my friend threating to walk away from the machine if this was not the last board... so like I said, fun for a few minutes or a credit or two, but it suffers from the repetition and nothing new stage after stage.

So what's my final verdict... great game, it is going to do well in arcades, but at home you are going to love this game for a week then probably shelf it I don't see a ton of replay here.

-Nick

<-------------End of first report----------->

Next, Sengoku 3 and Apple Photo Systems. Apple Photo Systems were a pleasure to talk to, they are really proud of this product and they are pushing it hard. I also saw a ton of people take interest in Sengoku 3... so we may see quite a few of these machines soon in a local arcade.

Here is the weird thing. There was a lady at the show handing out T-shirts, sorry I did not get her name. I asked her if she was with Apple, and she said no SNK. So I said, oh.. you came over from Japan for the show then... and she said No, SNK has a small office in CA. What the! SNK USA still exsists people, I have no idea what this means, but she kind of said it under her breath, almost like when you regret saying what you just said. I am not sure what this means but run with the rumours, I would like to hear your opinions.

Also, Apple hired a Penthouse Pet, Aria Giovanni, to sign her picture at the booth! Um... nice angle

Nightmare in the dark was also at the show and I got to play it through completion. I have to say that it is not a bad game, but it has a lot of problems. First of all it is really short (15-20 mins to beat) and is made up of 5 levels with 5 stages each. Stages 1-4 are the puzzle stages which are quite easy and take no time to beat, and stage 5 is a boss. First off the boss graphics and animations are great! I really liked the level 2 boss. The normal enemies are also well done and have tons of animation. A friend noted this looked like Meal Slug Puzzle (would have sold better as that too I bet!) and I agree. The music is also top notch, and sounds pretty good for a Neo game. Overall, let me just say first play I really did not like it, but as I played it, I started appreciating the simplicity of the game. So it grew on me, but there are some flaws that keeps this from being a great game.

First off the speed of the game, everyting is just sluggish and feels really slow. There are powers up to help you, but it never quite feels fast enough. Well, maybe that isn't true, you do get use to it, but it is a slow game.

Second, it is damn easy. One credit, my first time playing, I got to the second boss (10 stages) with out getting hit once! You get one life and a life bar with three hits, and losing them is pretty hard! As an operator this would immeditely kill the game for me. A person can easily beat this game in under 4 credits the first time they play it.

Thirdly, 2p seems worthless, and he also slows the game down to a crawl, especially on a boss stage. This should be a 1p game only... or they should have optimized the code better for two players. As is, 2p is no fun to play at all.

No one was playing or paying attention to NITD at the show, I was the only one that played it (and the Hi-score screen verifies that)... oh well, fun game, but it is flawed. I would not spend the $250 they want for it now, it would be fun at $60 or so though. This is not a game you will play all the time, but it can be a fun distraction.

-Nick

Nice info nruva! sounds like you had a blast at the show.

Finally, I need to tell you all that I am a changed man. There were so many Sengoku 3 carts with in my grasp I could easily have snatched one and took it home with me. I must say though, as much of a temptation as it was, I did not take a Sengoku 3 home... honest, even if they ask you, I didn't!

Seriously though, all the cabs were unlocked and the carts were inside to grab. The carts are Red and look great. The label read "SENGOKU 3 2001 SNK SAMPLE" so if you see one of these on eBay then you know where it came from (*cough* thieves).

SNK had a good showing at the ASI, and a lot of people are psyched about Sengoku 3. I think it will sell great, and do well on location. I also think this is the best beat-em-up on the machine, but that is not saying very much. And just like all the others, this one suffers from the same problems, mostly it gets boring after a while. Some people at the show said it was nothing new, and I still did not feel the way I felt the first time I played Final Fight, but Sengoku 3 is a good trip to the past when games were much simplier. It is not a must buy, but it is a must play, I recommend spending the money and playing it all the way through in an arcade before you put down the money for a cart in three weeks. Well, I hope you enjoyed this little bit of gossip, I will post more as I remember it Regards,

-Nick

As far as the office in CA is concerned - this is a consultancy/ sales office financed and payrolled by SNK but it is not called SNK USA - different name - the girl you spoke to was probably Ely :-)
She runs all sales into S America etc.

Jeff

That's great news, thanks Nick. I never thought the MVS would really get that much attention these days, especially on a follow-up to a game as old as Sengoku 2. I'm curious about something though: All this artwork you saw, it did in fact read "Sengoku 3" and not something else?

Wear those t-shirts proudly.

Yep, Sengoku 3. I am looking at one of the posters now and it says:
"2D Horizontal scroll action game/ Two player & burst in play!
SENGOKU 3

The Final Battle Is Now
2001. The Ancient Ninja Take Up Arms Against Evil.
Slash! Kick! Punch! Release the Ninja Arts!
...
...
... "

Bunch of promotional Text, kill the bad guys you get the idea The posters are pretty nice too, We got a few, I will have to go through my stuff.

-Nick

finally!!! some decent interesting news...
good stuff..
thanks.

Great report nruva, very comprehensive Looking forward to playing those games.

How would you say it compares against Sengoku 1&2, as well as Burning Fight? Better, worse, the same? Which would you want to get stuck on a desert island with?

-BioMotor_Unitron

Well, I did not like Burning Fight very much... or the original Sengoku, but I did like Sengoku 2. Now, to tell you the truth they are all just about the same game, including Sengoku 3. Way too many of the same kind of baddies charge you from off screen and you beat them all up. And they are all really fun for a little while, I've played Sengoku 2 to completion a few times. But would I want to play them over and over? Probably not. Sengoku 3 is the best of the bunch, and that goes for my past favorite beat-em-up on Neo Geo, Robo Army, as well (I just liked the way it looked and played). Sengoku 3 gives you the variety of 6 different fighters with slightly different techniques and some great graphics to boot. If I had to choose one beat-em-up for the Neo Geo on my desert island, it would be Sengoku 3

-Nick

Oh, and I mentioned slow down on Nightmare in the Dark with 2 players, but I didn't say anything about Sengoku 3. Well, there is no noticable slowdown at all with 2 players, even when the screen gets hectic. It uses a mix of 3D rendered background objects and 2d sprites... makes it look really good (better then any other 3d on the Neo Geo before) and does it all without slowing down even with two players... that is an accomplisment in my book.

-Nick

Thanks for the info. I love both the original Sengokus, as well as Burning Fight (never played Robo Army, need to find an MVS copy). While they are no Final Fight or Streets Of Rage 2, I have fun playing them, so will probably jump on Sengoku 3 ASAP.

-BioMotor_Unitron

Did I mention that side-scrolling beat-'em-ups are my all-time favourite genre (it changes places with fighters, on occasion)? My perceptions may be a little coloured, but DAMN, I want this game.

-BioMotor_Unitron

Nick, you f---ing ROCK!

I wish I went to fun video game conferences... instead I spent this weekend hammering down drinks at Disneyland on the Governor's dime



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Bobak!

You can also see me in the classic SNK game, "Guerrilla War" (known in Japan as "Guevara")

Great reviews nruva! I can't wait for Sengoku to come out. So you want to get rid of a few of those freebees you got? I am interested if you are willing.

thanks for the info~~~
Man.....I wish I can have those SNK sample carts LOL I mean if they are willing to give them away instead of snapping one

Well, beat-them-up era is over. To me, Final Fight is the ultimate king and SOR series run for the second.

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Strength and Honor

Silent_Scope
"You have to defeat Sheng Long to stand a chance"

yeah nruva, if you have any extra promo items and can hook me up i would really apreciate it. pleeeaaaasseee!

Mail me a Sengoku 3 t-shirt :evil:

I would pay for the shirt/poster and shipping if you are willing to part with one or the other???
Great report by the way!

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--Shaper MC

--WHAT NEO GEO'S ALL ABOUT--
--BUY MVS ONLY--

Well, all the shirts are different and I really am a big SNK fan, so I think I will keep them. A few friends went as well though, and I know one of them has a Medium Sengoku 3 shirt he may want to part with. I will ask him.

-Nick

Nruva, you fucking rule! Best Neo news all week! Can't wait to get S3!!

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--Neo Addict Since 1991--