How many Samurai Shodown IV Arcade ROM versions are there?
Being an expat in the Shenzhen area comes with its perks. I bought this wonderful emulator briefcase for a lousy 400 RMB (50 EUR), and I mainly bought it for playing SSIV, SSVSP and the KOF series.
I love SSIV since it got published, and as an owner of a Neo Geo back then of course I had played it with friends like crazy. Not only that, but also in a competitive, more professional way. We even stood chances in our trips to Tokyo against the godlike players of the Japanese arcades (which was actually a bit later in time). Playing against CPU was always a breeze, either on AES or MVS. Sure, SNK Syndrome is very much a thing but if you play the game competitively, you get onto a different level and the CPU is ... unfair, but dumb.
I haven't touched the game for roughly 20 years in a serious way, but hey.. SamSho is like riding bicycles or swimming. Once you learned it, you do not forget.
NOW. This arcade version of the game keeps wrecking me. It says it is on level 4 - thus not that hard IMHO - but there are things going on where I have no explanation. On this device there is the regular arcade version, and the so called Boss hack, if my very limited ability to read Hanzi (Kanji) characters is working this time.
I usually play Genjuro (Shura) and Kazuki (preferably Rassetsu), also Hanzo. There are some quirks with this stick and the buttons, so yeah... you get what you pay for, I can live with that. But, it's not only that Amakusa is a freaking pain in the ass, or when I play Kazuki and face Sogetsu later - I almost don't stand a chance. It is a sweaty frenzy of mashing combos out, with almost no damage at all, while any slash puts me down by 15-20 percent. I am not talking about Zankuro, his C slash in counter situations x3 brought me down to 20% health. Come on! I am aware of reading my inputs, that is counter slash C - that is okay. But 3x put me down to red 20%?
But if you are aware of Kazuki's strengths and weaknesses, I think you know what is really wrong about what I am trying to tell here. It is not only that hits get crushed, but impossible situations happen. So, with Slash Kazuki, you can do the CD 14 hit, stop at 10, do neutral B+DP, yes? It is a standard. I almost cannot land that, I only have a 10% chance of doing so in comparison to Neo Geo home version or the arcade machines I had played on. Not only that it fails most of the time, but goes on to do see that after hit 10 my nB+DP goes into nowhere.
I also see that I get countered every now and then at hit 7 or 8 by CPU. When Kazuki is still putting the enemy on fire.
Other thing: Amakusa does her ... I forgot the move's name ... flying up there in a yellow fireball, charging. I do a DP+C with Genjuro - 1-2% health taken away.
Genjuro, doing full QCF+Bx3 with all the interactions of B (8x hitter), takes 10%. Doing the CD14 with Genjuro, connecting with DP+D at 10 (the input throw .. "nesseru") ... 15% chance maybe to land it. He just reaches into nowhere. What is that supposed to be? That is not a stick problem or button electronics problem. Genjuro does the reach to grab at the end, but the grab lands only when Galford or Haohmaru decide to wake up on the right side of the bed.
Gaira. Amazing. Stomps to shake the ground, I jump, he doesn't connect, I land, he grabs me from the ground, trhows, stomps 3x and I cannot even recover with up, or back-back or anything. Gaira just killing machine without any even chance to move your stick. Earthquake move, dashes forward, grab grab grab, stomp, done, repeat. This is absolutely not possible in timing.
Haohmaru Slash. BDP+C, blocked, hits me with C, where I countered with B or tried the DP+D of Genjuro. I mean, you guys know the "Hurrrriyaaah!" move, then he just cancels into C, ignores my df+B, cuts me down into his b+C. That's nonsense.
I do the CD 14 hitter with Genjuro, and at slash 8/9 where Genjuro does actually the same move like in dash+B the opponent suddenly gets out and cuts me down with a B. What?!
Doing CD and cancel at 10 into DP with B - several times I saw that Genjuro could not land the DP, but after 3-4 hits it ended up into nowhere.
f,f+DP B for Genjuro, happily going into first two strikes of DP hit, then going into nowhere.
Kazuki fully loaded, CD BBC DP+C ... 15% damage.
Kazuki bust, f,B+DP C and mashing forward and slash to go up to 10 hits on counter taking maybe 3-5% health?
What the hell is this one arcade version? I find it incredibly difficult to connect even the DP with Genjuro, which is really easy, and then it takes nothing whereas I get totally wrecked by Haohmaru C slash or Galford jump from above and basically unblockable? I really do not understand. Can anyone point out what this version actually is?
I actually believe that this is one of the early versions of the MVS, before it got balanced by SNK, but China usually is only keen on stealing, just not stealing in the perfect way. Guys, it is so incredibly frustrating. Especially if you win first round later in the game. If you beat the enemy down to 10% and you still have 60-70% and the timer goes down to 20, every hit of the enemy goes to wrecking you. I even had it one time that Haohmaru did a one hit C putting me down from 75% to 45%, then jump, I blocked high, BD overhead, ignoring my high block, putting me into red, connecting with C, done. My wife was watching, and she just said - "well, this is a cheating system. You got to live with it."