Publisher: SNK
Developer: SNK
Size: 1 CD
Memory Usage: None
No. of players: 2(simultaneously)
Known in Japan as: Sengoku Densho
Got it for: $25.00, from The West Exit.

Click here for Mega CD box
All pics can be clicked on for a comparison shot from the Mega CD version. NOTE: PC IE users, once a new window has been opened, the gifs will no longer animate until the page has been refreshed.
Ok, I won't lie to you....I didn't understand what was going on in the Neo Geo MVS version...I don't understand what's going on now. Apparently a floating castle has appeared in the sky, these two guys(who were, most likely, getting drunk on the roof of their apt.) saw it....they decided to check it out...and all Hell breaks loose(literally). Granted, I'm sure that's not even remotely the plot line...but it's close enough...trust me...

What's it all about?
It's a side scrolling beat'em up with an extreme emphasis on fast hits, quick kills and pure action. Fighting takes place on various "planes" that you'll constantly be transported back and forth from. Travel a bit on the Earth, whoop some ass, then(all of the sudden) a portal opens up and you are either sucked up into the sky to fight on the island of the floating castle or are cast down into the pits of, what appears to be, Hell. Along the way, after successfully defeating hordes of enemies you'll come across power-ups that will equip you with a variety of swords or add projectiles to your normal attacks. Also, defeating certain enemies will unlock a spirit(of sorts) that will merge with your character. Once you have successfully released a spirit from its captor, you can morph into that spirit's form and continue to fight. This effectively raises the game's character total from two to five.
Graphics - Solid. Nicely detailed characters go well with the colorful and imaginative backgrounds. The animation, though a bit sparse on the actual levels, is quite good for your characters, various enemies and the bosses. The Neo Geo CD even gets a chance to show off some of its hardware scaling ability as enemies will approach from far in the background, running until they reach you as the hardware scales their sprites. It's a nice, little effect.

Sound - The music is odd mix of fast paced, rockin' "action" themes(for the Earth-based sections) and very cool, eastern-sounding(think the Samurai Shodown soundtrack) set of selections(for the upper and lower planes). The sound effects consist of your various grunts and power screams, usually followed by a slick sword swiping noise and some solid hit effects. All of this is nicely mixed with some great stereo effects.
Control - Smooth, but slow. Your characters do any and everything you tell them to, they just move at such a slow speed. I am assuming the added animation is what makes this game seem so much more sluggish than its Mega CD conversion.

AI - Well, it's a Neo Geo game...so it's pretty cheap at times...scratch that, it's cheap *all* the time. Unlike the Mega CD version, for some reason, your characters just don't move as fast which kills their ability to attack more than two or three times in the air(on the Mega CD version you could attack *seven* times in the air, which was a real blessing). For some reason, even on normal this game is just really cheap, with certain enemies that *guarantee* your death every time they show up(the blue/red samurais). It's unreal...EVERY TIME THEY SHOW UP YOU *WILL* DIE if you do not have some sort of weapon or projectile, and there's quite a few times you won't. It gets to be really annoying after about the first ten to fifteen times...
Replay value - High. It's an arcade-style fighter: Fast, furious...and most importantly, fun. Add to that the two player option, that was missing in the Mega CD version, plus the fact that you have unlimited continues and you've got a game that you'll play forever!
Load Times - Excellent. After the hefty, initial load the rest of the game is pretty much load-free. The only exception to this is that with some, not all(oddly enough), of the bosses, the game will load for a second(or so) before you fight them.

Initial Load: 50 seconds
Boss Load: 1 second
Loads are timed when the "Now Loading..." screen appears, not just when the bar starts moving(as this can be one to three seconds after the screen initially appears). I don't use a stopwatch or anything fancy, just the internal clock on my iBook to time it. It could be a second or two off...
Tips for better gaming experiences:
When you're not using one of your various spirit forms, their time limits actually recharge. If you switch out of your spirit personas before their time runs out, you can let it recharge and essentially keep them throughout the entire game.
My rating: 85(out of 100) - An awesome, fast-paced arcade-style beat'em up with a shitload of action and some nice graphics. It only looses points due to the viciously cheap AI...
GamePro gave it: 5.0(graphics), 4.0(sound), 3.0(gameplay), 3.0(funfactor), 5.0(challenge)(out of 5) Note: This score was originally for the AES version

JD's frisky thoughts: Not too bad, not too bad at all. Though not nearly as deep as about any other fighter out there, this is still a great, arcadey action game....and believe it or not, I like the Mega CD version more than this one.
Back, savages!
The samurai spirit.
The overly-flippy ninja.
Yeehaw....purple cowboy...?
Mandatory bits of hilarity brought to you by the ever-wonderful SNK US-translation crew:
As per the game's official side-description, it is boasted as: Super Sengoku Action Game

After the credits finish rolling, you are left with: Thank you playing to Sengoku. Present by SNK