Samurai Shodown (1994). Play online

Summary

The Game Boy port of Samurai Shodown packs the arcade’s full roster and stages onto a tiny cartridge, even keeping most of each fighter’s signature moves. What it trades away are the combo chains, fatalities and any vocal taunts, but the scaled‑down music still carries the era‑appropriate shakuhachi and shamisen tones that define the series. Two surprise additions – the enigmatic Kuroko and the speedy courier Hikyaku – give handheld fans something fresh while preserving the original’s blood‑splatter flair. As in the arcade, a tiny referee lifts colored flags to signal who’s landed a hit, and a wandering delivery man can toss bombs or restorative chicken onto the battlefield, turning fortunes in an instant. All of this manages to fit in the Game Boy’s modest hardware, offering a bite‑size taste of SN K’s weapon‑centric, feudal‑Japan showdown.

Storyline

In the Game Boy version of Samurai Shodown, the evil Shiro Tokisada Amakusa—executed in 1638 for the Shimabara Rebellion—returns in 1787 as an akuma after striking a pact with the dark god Ambrosia. He uses the Palenke stone’s power to unleash chaos across 1788, seeking vengeance against the Tokugawa Shogunate and the world itself.

A diverse roster of fighters converges on Amakusa’s menace: wandering samurai Haohmaru hunts strong opponents; nature‑guardian Nakoruru protects the wild with her eagle Mamahaha; ailing samurai Ukyo Tachibana seeks a flower for his love; French noble Charlotte Christine defends France; American‑turned‑ninja Galford Weller fights alongside his dog Poppy; ronin Jubei Yagyu safeguards Japan; Texan thief Earthquake craves treasure; ninja Hanzo Hattori rescues his son Shinzo; kabuki star Kyoshiro Senryo perfects his art; Mayan warrior Tam Tam retrieves the stolen stone; Chinese fighter Wan‑Fu searches for worthy allies; and Genan Shiranui pursues a path of evil.

Non‑playable characters include Kuroko, the masked judge of each duel, and Hikyaku, a delivery man for Amakusa who intermittently disrupts battles.