I've played a ton of fighting games in my time, it's my favorite genre--but even someone of my experience knows how to brute force through one when push comes to shove--an option I didn't have in Samurai Shodown, which is an experience I've been truly hungry for. SamSho asks you to understand the dynamic between two fighters in a fashion truly all fighters do, but only this one arguably requires to perform well. As someone with an admitted short fuse with gaming, it certainly didn't hurt that the presentation and characters in this game are just amazing--fully engaging and entertaining no matter how often I lost, and dying a lot made learning the ropes and winning all the more rewarding.

I'd say the game's only flaw is Shizuka, perhaps the worst boss battle SNK has made you encounter. I'm sure some masochistic designer was really patting themselves on the back for making a boss battle with so much emphasis on challenging defense, when the reality is that the battle's focus on drilling specific weak points really causes it to shift into a mindless button masher, the precise antithesis of what makes the game so great in the first place.

A+ for presentation, there's some really awesome, unique kaiju here and they captured some very authentic feeling physics for all of them. Playing Thundertross in particular is amazing, the way his sword is somehow weighted as if right out of a Megazord fight scene. Very nice music, too.

That said, this is a disappointingly simple fighting game. Every character has unique mechanics, but these mechanics almost come off as 'mash to win' buttons that just make every fight incredibly easy. Whether you're zoning with little limit as Pipiguras or capturing foes at every turn with Woolie, everyone has a distinct skill that adds a lot to their character but has little balance, making almost every character braindead to fight well as. As soon as you figure out your character's cheapest move with no cooldown, you have your win condition and the whole experience is kind of a cake walk.

JRPGs already ask a great deal of people who play them--and most of them allow one to grind at the player's freedom when necessary. Having to keep track of old saves when underpowered that you may not have? Sounds like a fucking headache. Just let me walk away from the battle and grind like every other JRPG. What if I didn't save at all shortly before this encounter because I can't see the fucking future? I have to repeat the verbose story and such over again as far back as prior character levels? Fuck that, and fuck this game. Returning this rental pronto.

I like the adrenaline of trying not to die in a video game--and I like the adrenaline begotten by a good scary movie--but the two together tends to be a little much for me, which is why I don't play very many survival horror games, and also why I love the Quarry--a game that blends survival horror with choose your own adventure in a fashion that feels less like a high pressure struggle and more like a simulator for directing a horror movie as you guide characters' crucial choices. This isn't to say the stakes are low as your every choice could spell life or death for the game's colorful characters, but the hands off fashion helped me feel free to craft an interesting story just as much prioritize and desperately try to save all of these poor camp counselors. Though the ribbon on top is absolutely the game's embracing of the feel of a classic slasher film, from the diverging paths represented by kitshy, video nasty style tapes to the great performances within--stand out performances given by Brenda Song, Ted Raimi, Ariel Winter, and especially Siobhan Williams, who is excellent as my favorite new character in recent gaming, Laura. I don't always love the transition of games growing to feel more and more like interactive film, but this game's forboding atmosphere and memorable set pieces really drew me in.

Despite being a huge fan of both Ninja Turtles and beat em ups, it took a bit of time for the appeal of Shredder's Revenge. The way Streets of Rage 4 has it's palm sweating energy gambles, Battletoads' hyper fast dodge cancelling, and River City Girls' expansive move lists--this game had little to distinguish it in terms of gameplay depth. It's incredibly straightforward, but where it thrives is it's presentation. It's one thing to emulate the art and voices of the old cartoon, which this game does perfectly, but the fashion in which the environment can be used against your foes, the way enemies can accidentally harm one another, the way being stunned takes the form of gags like being flattened like a pancake or dropped down a hole--this game is intent on feeling like a player has control over an episode of the cartoon and it excels at this in flying colors.