In this translation of SNK's hit arcade game, Samurai Shodown for the Super Nintendo offers twelve selectable characters, thirteen animated stages, and multiple bonus rounds--all squeezed onto a 32-Meg cartridge. As an 18th century noble warrior, you must use your sword to battle ninjas and other Samurai from around the world. Setting this game apart from most fighters are a "Rage Gauge," which makes you stronger as you absorb damage, and a "Courier Man" who runs past the screen dropping special items such as food and money. Learn and master a variety of special moves as you fight for honor!

The characters are as follows: Fugu Blade wielding Ha-Oh Maru; Samurai "heartthrob" Ukyo Tachibana; young environmentalist Nakoruru; French leader Charlotte; Ninjas Galford and Hanzo Hattori; two-handed swordsman Jubei Yagyu; former Kabuki actor Kyoshiro Senryo, military giant Wan Fu; Mayan Tam Tam; scissor-handed Genan Shiranui; and Earthquake, the massive Texan. Battle each character until you come face to face with the evil Shiro Tokisada Amakusa! Parents should be warned that Samurai Shodown carries an MA-13 rating for animated violence and blood.

Iza To! En Garde! Dude! Twelve of the mightiest samurai, ninja, knights, and warriors from Japan, France, the United States, and China lock swords in NEO GEO's SAMURAI SHODOWN. With blades, bare knuckles, rage, and various Methods of Mayhem, fight your way to the final battle with Satan's Shogun. Use all powers at your disposal to get a head!

The game is set in the late 18th century and all the characters wield weapons. The game uses comparatively authentic music from the time period, rife with sounds of traditional Japanese instruments, such as the shakuhachi and shamisen, and a refined version of the camera zoom first found in Art of Fighting. True to its use of bladed weapons, the game also included copious amounts of blood.

The game quickly became renowned for its fast pace, focused more on quick, powerful strikes than the combos. As to emphasize the distinction of this gameplay system, slow motion was added to intensify damage dealt from hard hits. Also during a match, a referee held flags representing each player (player 1 was white; player 2 red). When a player landed a successful hit, the referee would lift the corresponding flag, letting everyone watching know who dealt the blow. To lessen the repetition of fights, a delivery man running in the background threw items such as chicken (that healed) or bombs, which could significantly change the outcome of a play.

"A samurai fears nothing, struggles to triumph over evil, and lives for one purpose - to destroy all enemies." A conversion of the popular arcade beat 'em up that manages to stand out from the crowd of Street Fighter clones due to its unique premise.

Ported from the old Neo-Geo system, almost nothing that matters has survived the porting process leaving passable graphics, jerky animation, and frustrating gameplay.

The game that put the Neo-Geo on the map! Superb weapons-based fighter featuring 12 characters, bonus rounds and one end boss.

The first game that introduced weapon fighting into the fighting game genre. The game used an upgraded version of the scaling graphics engine that was originally featured in "Art of Fighting".

Samurai Shodown also started SNK's reputation for their unique style of Engrish, known as SNKgrish in their games.

Samurai Shodown is considered by some to portray Japanese culture and language effectively. Unlike most American versions of Japanese video games, the characters in this game (including the announcer) generally speak fluent Japanese with subtitles, and traditional Japanese music is often heard during gameplay. Samurai Shodown takes most of its characters from either historical sources or characters from the Ninja Scroll anime. In fact, a few designers that worked on Samurai Shodown also worked on the Ninja Scroll anime.