Samurai Sprits V sp, Mark of the wolves, Last Blade 2... which one to get?

I need a piece of advice here.
Im thinking of getting one of these three games for this x-mas. (SS V special, MOTW, Last Blade 2) But I must be little picky 'cause each of them costs a fortune.
I did enough searching on the internet so I know what they look like, but I really wanted to hear from people who actually played them on Neo Geo AES system. Help me out plz...

I love Sam Sho V Special, but both Garou and Last Blade 2 are better games. Personally, I generally like Garou's gameplay over all of them - but the style and mood of Last Blade 2 are tough to beat, and it's not exactly lacking in the gameplay department either. Tough choices there.

SSVS

Get an unfixed copy of SS5S. I'm having a blast with it playing against my friends, but like any fighting game it will probably get boring if you don't have human competition. Its a matter of taste though, I prefer the SS style of play..

Droid

What is the difference between UNFIXED ss5 and FIXED ss5? I was thinking of getting fixed version because it was cheaper?

If you get an unfixed SS5S you will get the censored version (no fatalities/body splitting) However if your AES is equipped with Razoola's unibios2.0 mod, you can play the game in its full uncensored form with fatalities/body splitting intact.

If you get a fixed SS5S, you get watered down fatalities (no body splitting?) and I'm pretty sure the unibios2.0 will not work to uncensor the game.

You might try contacting Electroman via pm to see if he still has his unfixed English SS5S for sale.

Droid

SSVS is all about the fatalities. though the game is excellent overall, $360+ is too much for this game in my opinion and you will need to install the unibios 2.

MotW has the most beautiful graphics on Neo-Geo. the gameplay is pretty simple, but very fun. it has a small roster though and the price is in the $400 range.

Last Blade 2 would be the best choice out of the three games. very fun gameplay system, excellent graphics, amazing presentation/atmosphere and great roster. however, considering the big price difference between LB1 and LB2, you would rather get LB1. the Jap LB1 can go for as cheap as $140 and it has a better gameplay than the second game. also, I don't think it's worth getting LB2 if you already have the first one. the best thing to do if you want LB2 is to get the MVS cart and a phantom1 convertor.

if you really want to pick an expensive game, I suggest getting Metal Slug 3. but if you want to stick with the 3 games above, I suggest either:

Last Blade 2 if you don't have LB1

or

MotW

also, consider that the SSVS price will start to sky rocket once the NeoStore stock finishes, so this may be your last chance to get it.

DON'T GET THE "FIXED" SSVS. it's complete waste of money.

I think Electroman had a US unfixed SS5S for around $325 last week and it may still be avail. Jap MoTW I think can be had for $350-400 unless it went up. Jap LB2 around $250.

SS5S is worth every penny imo. All are good games though.

btw K127, what is that pic in your sig from? Thats not from SS5S is it? If so which move is it? I thought Hanzo only had the Bonebreaking fatal.

Droid

the pic in my sig is for SSVS, it's edited just for fun. thanks for the price info. I edited my post.

the story behind SSVS is big. to make it short:

after releasing SSV, SNK Playmore annouced SSVS, and said it will have Fatalities and new characters.

SNKP released the MVS version. everyone was happy, except for some Japanese players who complained about the game for being too gory.

when they released the home cart, customers found out that the fatalities were removed.

outraged customers expressed their ingratidute to what happen, especially that SNKP remained silent about the fatalities, and didn't annouce that they were removed from the home version. not to mention the sound glitches and bugs.

SNKP playmore annouced that they will recall the SSVS carts for a fix. they said that the fatalities will be watered down (i.e. no body splitting).

some people sent their carts, and some didn't. the NeoStore also left some "unfixed" carts in stock and sent the rest.

by that time, Razoola had been working on fixing the fatalities and the bugs, and he succeded. now the original full fatalities that were in the MVS can be played at home with the help of his Unibios 2.

SNKP returned the carts, and now we have both versions.

the pic in my sig is for SSVS, it's edited just for fun.

Click to expand...

lol damn ya had me going there for awhile. I first saw your sig a couple days ago and it had me scratching my head. I was like "Damn, Hanzo has a decap move"

SNKP playmore annouced that they will recall the SSVS carts for a fix. they said that the fatalities will be watered down (i.e. no body splitting). some people sent their carts, and some didn't. the NeoStore also left some "unfixed" carts in stock and sent the rest. by that time, Razoola had been working on fixing the fatalities and the bugs, and he succeded. now the original full fatalities that were in the MVS can be played at home with the help of his Unibios 2

Click to expand...

That's one awesome summary . I think the Razoola's unibios 2 won't fix a "fixed" cart. I think it will still be watered down (i.e. no body splitting) due to the re-encode which is why SS5S unfixed is going for a little more than SS5S fixed?

Droid

Personally, I would opt for SSVS. I am having alot of fun with it. Graphically, and sound wise, it is a masterpiece.

I personally like LB2, its a very addictive game in terms of fun factors and every thing else in it and second is MOTW. I would cast my vote for LB2, if I were you.

I would go with Last Blade 2. Beautiful graphics, great characters and some of the best gameplay to ever be seen on the neo geo. Not only that but if you get the jap copy it will be cheaper than the other two.

Do yourself a good service friend and get a Japanese version of MOTW first. Yes its rediculously priced but the US version is just bloody insane. I think you can snatch a JP AES MOTW for less than $400. Ebay almost always has one lying around. Hit-Japan usually has them.

Then... get the JP version of LB2 (although I'd recommend you get LB1 instead)

Lastly get SSVS Unfixed ONLY if you already have SS2.

MOTW should be your priority though, IMO. The game is just so much fun to play.

I think it's already confirmed that the fatalities in the "fixed" version can't be returned to their original form.



I first played SSV and I was like "WTF? they ruined the series. what's with the shitty backgrounds". the animations seemed sloppy compared to the previous games and the music were horrible. but then I realized that it has the best gameplay out of the five SS games.

then SSVS came. while it has 3 amazing new BGs (each has 2 versions ei: day/night), 70% of the old SSV's BGs (most of them were excellent) were gone in favour to all the new stuff (fatalities, bosses ... etc.)

not only that, but also most of the remaining BGs from SSV were changed a little and they look a bit worse now (I'll post example with pics)

to sum up the changes from SSV to SSVS (unfixed version + Unibios 2):

- Fatalities were added. in addition, the generic finishing moves from old SS games that occured randomly were brought back. not only that but now they occure more frequintly. plus, they added new types (in one of them, the opponent gets torn down vertically)

- 3 new characters were added (Amakusa, Zankuro and Mizuki)
- 2 mid-bosses were removed (one of them was based on Genjuro and the other was based on Ukyo. they just changed the clothes' colors, faces, weapons ... etc. which was lame)


- the gameplay was tweaked a little. the roster is more balanced now.


- the story was entirely removed (in SSV, the story was only availabe in Japanese text)


- around 7 new backgrounds added (3 of them have 2 versions)
the new BGs are: the ocean stage which is shown in the Jap insert of the game, a Japanese village with a small bridge in the back, and a dojo. the rest of them were taken from previous SS games like SS2 and SS4.

- around 20 of the backgrounds that were in SSV were removed.

- the remaining BGs from SSV were edited.

k'_127 said:

- 3 new characters were added (Amakusa, Zankuro and Mizuki)

Click to expand...

Don't forget Gaoh is now playable... And has new frames, voices and stuff.

k'_127 said:

- around 7 new backgrounds added (3 of them have 2 versions)
the new BGs are: the ocean stage which is shown in the Jap insert of the game, a Japanese village with a small bridge in the back, and a dojo. the rest of them were taken from previous SS games like SS2 and SS4.

Click to expand...

Mizuki's stage is new. No backgrounds are taken from SS2.

k'_127 said:

- around 20 of the backgrounds that were in SSV were removed.

Click to expand...

I find it hard to believe, considering SS5 had 17 stages.

I first played SSV and I was like "WTF? they ruined the series. what's with the shitty backgrounds". the animations seemed sloppy compared to the previous games and the music were horrible. but then I realized that it has the best gameplay out of the five SS games... then SSVS came.

Click to expand...

Does SS5S seem to be much smoother than SSV? It seems so to me. But I don't have SSV to compare with it directly anymore (sold it). I remember the % counter messages were distracting. We tried it out and for some reason didnt find it much fun.

I picked up SSVS on impulse (heh which neo buys aren't) fired it up and heard that goofy "glug....glug-glug-glug-glug" BGM, saw the pink background color stage then let put it back on the shelf and contemplated selling cheap. Thankfully BigPoppaLarge talked me into keeping it. I started playing it a couple months back and havent stopped, even though I kinda suck at it. Even that glug song doesnt bother me anymore. Playing with Sonofx51 and SPark, they've told me SS5S is way better than SSV. My only complaint so far is that they made Haohmaru a lower tiered (the lowest?) character in the game and made Galford really, really tough. SPark uses and abuses me with that character for now

Droid

I was comparing SSV with previous SS games. I mean, compare between SS3 and SSV. watch how Ukyo's hair moves in SS3.

this was due to hardware limitation.

Hmkay said:

Don't forget Gaoh is now playable... And has new frames, voices and stuff.

Click to expand...

that's true. not to justify not mentioning it, but I think he's just a waste of space in both games (his BG is still good though)

Hmkay said:

Mizuki's stage is new. No backgrounds are taken from SS2.

Click to expand...

true. I didn't mention it just to avoid creating confusions (like if it's not already there )

Hmkay said:

I find it hard to believe, considering SS5 had 17 stages.

Click to expand...

in SSV, each character has it's own BG (which also adds up a lot to the game's general feeling). many of the BGs have more than 1 version though.

Tough question.

First, not LB2 because even if it's a damn good game, it's no match against the 2 others.

As I have both MotW and SSVS, I'd say SSVS because I'm far more into SS gameplay. Best Neo game in my opinion. To say the truth, I hardly play MotW alone because it's kinda boring and I find SSVS COM being cheap (Mina, Enja ) but great to play alone.

No need to say that parties with friend are monstrous of fun with SSVS, and also with MotW, even if the roster is kinda limited.

First off: This is what emulators are for. Try before you buy and then you can make up your OWN mind.


Get LB 2 if you want the best ALL AROUND game (graphics, gameplay, atmosphere, etc)

DO NOT listen to most of the opinions above.

Garou is a great game but it sports some weak music and the graffics are NOT as good as the neo fanboys make it out to be. Get the dreamcast or MVS version.

As being and owner of SSVS I can wholeheartedly say that it is an uninspired pile of crap compared to all the sam sho games before it. the price it goes for right now is WAY too much (I would CONSIDER it @$100).
The game is all about the whole "missing fatalities" trip. If it wasn't for that this game would be worthless. I don't even know how to pull off fatalities in the Sam Sho series so I don't give two shits. (one of the only good points of the game is that you get red blood automatically. no code or bios needed).
While special adds 3 boss characters it has FAR less backrounds than SSV, lame color choices in many areas, a horrible soundtrack for a sam sho game, weakened sound effects, a shitty opening, no endings and a pathetic single player mode with any of the characters that are not new ( I beat the game on level 4 difficulty and the game only lasts 6 stages and when you beat amakusa in the 6th stage thats it...game over) . plus they removed the ability to play as popy as in V.
If you want a more original and complete piece of work than get SSV instead of SSVSpecial.

As being and owner of SSVS I can wholeheartedly say that it is an uninspired pile of crap compared to all the sam sho games before it.

Click to expand...

Probably not the best for a single player experience due to no storyline, but versus human competition the game kicks ass. Invest more time into it and you may change your opinion. I wasn't overly impressed with it when I first got it. But once I gave it a chance and played against other ppl, its moved into the games I'd never sell category. And the sad part is I usually end up getting waxed most of the time. Me, SPark, BigPoppaLarge and Sonofx51 play the hell out of it whenever we hookup. I imagine after tomorrow's socal hookup we'll have even more converts.

I second what tristesse said. SS5S is one of the best games on the Neo. I'm so impressed with the job Yuki did, I'm actually looking forward to see what they do with SS6 on atomiswave. Probably the only game I'd consider buying that system for.

Droid

I'm with Orpheus on SSVS, they guy who said its a graphical and sonic masterpiece is on drugs, i'd take any SS game 1-4 before any recent efforts.

Garou has some shoddy BG's, not great tunes, i'd go Last Blade 2, or a Real Bout if you have none.

ORPHEUS said:

Garou is a great game but it sports some weak music and the graffics are NOT as good as the neo fanboys make it out to be. Get the dreamcast or MVS version.

Click to expand...

Weak music? Sorry I have to disagree with you on that one. OMG no other fighter I have played puts me into the mood more than MOTW's music. It pumps. Best music in a street/fist fighter. Period.

Last blade 2 all the way