I can't play Samurai Shodown II to save my life

Magician · Sep 22, 2003

I remember the days when I could finish Street Fighter II Turbo on level eight with every character. Good times.

I can beat MotW, LB, & LB 2 on level 6 with minor difficulty; but this Shin Samurai Spirits buisness is just on a whole different level. There I sat in front of my tv for an hour trying to beat the fourth or fifth opponent (Charlotte) on level 2, and I can't do it :eek:

There has to be something I'm just not getting!?

*starts to whimper, then leaves*

Crissaegrim · Sep 22, 2003

I'm right with you man. I think it was perfect for it to come out when it did, because it was a perfect compliment to SF 2. It was the first 2d fighting game to be set up like SF but play in a totally different way. I understand that about the game, but it doesn't mean I can play it.

This is what makes me nervous about SS 5.

Average Joe · Sep 22, 2003

Just pick Ukyo.

Electroman · Sep 22, 2003

I have a theory Magician-

You may be so used to combo heavy fighters such as the ones you just mentioned, that your skill may be "attenuated" by the lack of true combos and slower speed of SS2.

I say this b/c that is how I feel. I can cream the hell out of characters in LB1 but I always f'in fail against the likes of Charlotte and other SS2 characters.

BoriquaSNK · Sep 22, 2003

no worries man, I suck at ss2 also

Big Shady · Sep 22, 2003

And is why I wrote this Samurai Spirits II FAQ. Read up and see if it helps you at all.

Dampfwalze · Sep 22, 2003

Use Earthquake.
Push Down and A+B simultaneously or A+B without
pushing Down.
If they try to jump into you: D,DB,B and A or B.
Most enemies are a piece of cake when you
use Earthquake.

I even finished SS2 without using a continue this way and
I am not a beat'em up expert.

Lee Gray · Sep 22, 2003

You know what,with earthquake i use the clone technique when u dissapear in a puff of smoke and two of you land then i slice the opponent as they never know what one you are and its a piece of piss and the opponent never seems to block your move once you land, only fighter i dont do it with is when i fight mizuki as when you land against her her shadow spin around and ends up slicing your legs deep but i beat it on level 8 one time a few years ago doing this with earthquake no continues but it is time consuming
and not that much fun as your hand hurts after a while

but when i use anyone else for a fun game i dont usually get as far.

Magician · Sep 22, 2003

Dampfwalze said:
Use Earthquake.
Push Down and A+B simultaneously or A+B without
pushing Down.
If they try to jump into you: D,DB,B and A or B.
Most enemies are a piece of cake when you
use Earthquake.

I even finished SS2 without using a continue this way and
I am not a beat'em up expert.

I don't want to know the cheesest ways to play and finish the game, I want to learn how to play this game so that I can have at least a little dignity when I'm playing against my friends.

In MotW I can "corner whore" all day long. So far only one the members from the MN group that can exit my doings with some consistency. Verbatum and I are on a level playing field when it comes to LB 2; good times to be had always. But then SSII is popped in, and it's all over as Verbatum and Ramad quietly giggle and my futile efforts to mount an offense.

I refuse to be the MN clique's SSII whopping b***h a minute longer. :mad:

Freelancer · Sep 22, 2003

I had similar problems "adjusting" to the Sam Shodown style of gameplay. At first, I got frustrated with the slower gameplay and the very unforgiving nature of the game (playing foolishly, jumping a lot, trying to string together combos and using nothing but special moves and the CPU will DESTROY you). I also couldn't figure out why the damn computer blocked just about every one of my attacks.

I did not improve until I realized that my SF2 method of gameplay was the root of all my problems. Once I made adjustments to the slower, more strategic form of combat and began to rely more on my basic moves and not so much the specials--only THEN did the wins begin to manifest themselves with regularity. It's been written before, the special moves are not to be used as a primary method of attack, but rather, a complimentary or counteractive form of offense. That's what was killing as the recovery time leaves you open for what seems like an eternity to the CPU.

Magnaflux · Sep 22, 2003

Maybe you've forgotten that samurai spirits is a fencing game and not a knuckle game. It's more about poking and evasive manuevers than out right combos. Change your strategy and you'll be much more successful.

Pink Spider · Sep 22, 2003

SSII beats me up alot too...

roker · Sep 22, 2003

Besides the boss, I don't really have much of a problem with this game. Its fun, but you have to learn how to avoid letting the opponent get to close to you, or you have to be the one playing agressive.

I prefer the defensive, poke-slash-back away strategy.

BILLY · Sep 22, 2003

Play SS1 also. It's a simpler game than SS2 and kind of sets the stage for the whole patient poking sword fighting thing. I think it's easier to get into SS1 and then shift over to SS2.

It's all about knowing the ranges and timing of different attacks and not doing anything stupid. Learn to make the best of your opponent's mistakes. And when you make a mistake, pay attention and don't make the same one twice. Good defense in SS equals a great offense.

P.S. Not that I'm an SS2 expert. I usually just play on level 4 or so that I have a chance of beating Mizuki. The game is just challenging and requires a lot of time to be spent in getting comfortable with.

TriShield · Sep 22, 2003

I've been into Samurai Shodown since the original debuted ten years ago. I found SSII easy to pick up when it was released after mastering the first one.

I can't play Samurai Shodown III to save my life though. I still hate the button layout years later, and the computer AI plays for keeps even on the easiest setting.

My skillz are rusty y0. :emb:

Lovecraft0110 · Sep 22, 2003

Very good points here, guys.

True, all the SS games couldn't be farther away from the SFII norm. After all, it's meant to simulate -to some extent- a duel between samurai, so it SHOULD play like one. And I think that the greatness of the game is that it does feel like you're really in a Iaijutsu/Kenjutsu duel.

I recently wrote a couple of lines on a great gaming session that I had with my buddies; one of the games we played more was SSIV. All of us happen to be hardcore RPG fans (no, I don't mean videogames, but "pen and paper" RPG games), and we regularly play a Swordplay-oriented game which is set in a fictional Medieval Japan, "Legend of the Five Rings". By what we know about Iaijutsu and Kenjutsu duels from this game, the extent to which that is reproduced in the Samurai Showdown games is quite amazing. Of course you have some silly special moves and flashy stuff like Rimururu, but if you play with say Genjuro and Ukyo, and avoid using special moves, the game becomes pretty much a SIMULATION of an actual duel. Even the different swings of the katana and the movements the players are rather realistic.

God, I fucking LOVE Samurai Showdown! :glee:

Mokum · Sep 22, 2003

SSII is kinda hard... Uhm no, wait...

... it's hella hard! :mad:

I'm with you bro :crying:

Loefye · Sep 22, 2003

Don't play SS2 like a normal fighter, if you do, you will continue to lose. SS2 is all about timing your hits and predicting what your opponent is going to do next, going for flash is only going to get you defeated. The below link is to a very detailed and well written FAQ, it helped me sharpen my SS2 skills by a landslide and I am sure it will work for you too.

http://www.neo-geo.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=16617

Arcademan · Sep 23, 2003

Personally, I never had a problem playing SSII. Play defensively, know your strike distances with whatever character you use and have patience. Of course, some of the characters on that game are as useful as a one legged guy at a butt-kicking contest :glee:

Verbatum · Sep 23, 2003

Magician said:
I remember the days when I could finish Street Fighter II Turbo on level eight with every character. Good times.

I can beat MotW, LB, & LB 2 on level 6 with minor difficulty; but this Shin Samurai Spirits buisness is just on a whole different level. There I sat in front of my tv for an hour trying to beat the fourth or fifth opponent (Charlotte) on level 2, and I can't do it

There has to be something I'm just not getting!?

*starts to whimper, then leaves*

Come to my home, and I will train you my friend! I won a SS2 tourney at the old Penny Arcade downtown St. Paul back in the day, so I have some credability!

Fygee · Sep 23, 2003

One of the things that's always really bugged me about the SS games is the CPU's absolutely insane ability to block moves, especially in SS3. Basically the only way to get an attack in is to counter whatever move the CPU is using with pokes or hit them out of the air.

I don't mind that style of gameplay for certain situations, but the game pretty much forces a poke-a-thon. The character balance is out of whack too.

One of the things I liked most about SS4 is you could play it on lvl 1 and win using traditional methods of play, and then gradually work your way up towards SS's style of play as the difficulty gets higher, instead of starting out with an uber CPU at level 1 like the others did.

roker · Sep 23, 2003

ya know, if you play on level 1, the game is a lot of easy fun (kinda like KOF 96). So play on level 1. Its shameless and fun.

Lee Gray · Sep 23, 2003

Well i been playing it virtually for a week solid on level 8 and after defeat after defeat i just managed to beat it for only the third time ever with no continues and boy did i celebrate afterwards

my voice aches and my arms ache but it was wortrh it

Rassilon · Sep 23, 2003

I used to be a monster with Genjuro and Hanzou.. But that was years ago, and i suck now too. it takes all my credits and i cant even get past about the 4th or 5th match.

Arcademan · Sep 23, 2003

Rassilon said:
I used to be a monster with Genjuro and Hanzou.. But that was years ago, and i suck now too. it takes all my credits and i cant even get past about the 4th or 5th match.

God, I hate that feeling...knowing that you can walk all over a game, then come back years later only to have that same game walk all over you?!! :oh_no:

I can't play Samurai Shodown II to save my life

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