one of the most phenomenal and underrated games from SNKs golden age of fighters, i'd probably put this game as one of my favorites even above games like garou and maybe some of the kofs from around then, this game has its fair share of broken or janky things like a lot of snk fighters around then do but the gameplay is really fun with a power (no gatlings/chain but you do more damage and can do links) and speed (gatlings/chains for big combos but individual moves do less dmg) system choice before you pick a character, both are cool but the speed system with its chain system feels reminiscent to the anime fighters that would come after (guilty gear x etc, i know there was some before too but this game has a more polished feel to it than most of them) and its really fun. the setting is really cool too and graphically the game is probably snks best from this timeframe, the stages are amazing and the character sprites are really cool, it immerses you in pretty well. contrary to what alot of people think this isnt just some samurai shodown clone and it plays pretty much completely differently and stands on its own as a really cool somewhat overlooked game.

This is maybe not my favorite fighting game that I've ever played, but it's definitely the one I'd pull up first if I wanted to show someone how gorgeous sprite art could be and why I feel like we aren't done exploring that space. And by "exploring that space," I do not mean "remaking the same four super nintendo games over and over, but what sprite art can be made to say in context of itself, how it can portray surroundings in a realistic unreality. Technology forcing a limiter on interpretation of modern trends. Meadows of scanlines and oceans of dots.