KOF XV planned for 2020, Samurai Shodown platforms announced

During SNK's recent IPO conference in South Korea, the company discussed more about its upcoming titles including the next King of Fighters and the reintroduction of Samurai Shodown.

Although it has been more than a year since Yasuyuki Oda claimed that King of Fighters XV "will be a reality," the game is currently scheduled for a 2020 release. Nothing more was said about the title, which is likely in the very early stages of development.

As for Samurai Shodown, the game will apparently be coming to Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and Steam in addition to PlayStation 4. According to TeamPowerGeyser on Twitter, footage of the game was shown but recording and photos were not allowed. SNK also announced that Samurai Shodown is currently set to release sometime in the second quarter of 2019.

SNK reveals new Samurai Spirits game, coming in 2019

SNK has chosen to revive another of its classic franchises with a new entry in the weapon-based fighting game set in early modern Japan.

Samurai Spirits, the series known as Samurai Shodown in the U.S., will see a new entry released sometime in 2019. A teaser trailer for the game shows off gameplay for Haohmaru, Jubei Yagyu, Galford, Earthquake and Nakoruru while Cory Bell on Twitter has pointed out that art shown in the trailer seems to reveal Tam Tam, Genjuro, Kyoshiro, Hanzo, Uyko Tachibana and possibly Charlotte.

Readers can check out the brief teaser trailer for the title after the jump. Samurai Spirits is set to be released on PlayStation 4 sometime in 2019.

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Registration open for AnimEVO 2018, six more games added

AnimEVO has opened signups for its myriad tournaments that will take place during Evolution 2018 and has also added six more games to the field.

Samurai Shodown II, Aquapazza, Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax Ignition, Akatsuki Blitzkampf, Windjammers and Granblue Fantasy have all been added to the AnimEvo roster. In addition, the Windjammers tournament will be part of Dotemu's Flying Power League with a $3,000 prize pot and free entry for players.

Registration for all AnimEVO games can be found at Smashgg except for Gundam Versus which will open at a later date. Players interested in AnimEvo events must be a registered attendee of Evolution 2018 to participate, and BlazBlue Central Fiction, Koihime Enbu, Melty Blood Actress Again Current Code, Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[st] and King of Fighters XIV will not accept on-site signups.

For more information on AnimEVO and its games, readers can head to the AnimEVO website or follow the group on Twitter. AnimEVO takes place as part of Evolution 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Aug. 3-5, 2018.

AnimEvo 2018 lineup announced

AnimEvo has announced the 19 games that will be a part of its event during Evolution 2018.

Melty Blood Actress Again Current Code, Under Night In-Birth EXE:Late[st], Gundam Versus, Hokuto no Ken, Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus R, Koihime Enbu, The King of Fighters XIV, Samurai Shodown V Special, Garou: Mark of the Wolves, Blazblue: Central Fiction, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, Puyopuyo Tetris, Catherine, Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, Arcana Heart 3 Love Max Six Stars!!!!!!, Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon S, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters, Vampire Savior and Yatagarasu Attack on Cataclysm will all be side tournaments run by the community in Las Vegas.

Registration is not currently open, but the staff behind AnimEvo has put out a call for game suggestions, as well as a call for volunteers that can be found on Google Documents.

For more information as it becomes available, players can check out the official AnimEvo website or message AnimEvo on Twitter. AnimEvo takes place on Aug. 3-5, 2018, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

SNK Arcade Archives series coming to North American PS4

The PlayStation Blog has announced that King of Fighters '94 and other SNK Arcade Archives titles will be coming to the West.

Starting with the release of KOF '94 on Oct. 27 (the same day as the Japanese release), the PlayStation Network plans to offer Samurai Showdown, Metal Slug, Alpha Mission II, Fatal Fury and World Heroes all before the end of 2016. Nam-1975 and Neo Turf Masters are scheduled to follow sometime in 2017.

No prices have been listed for the games, but their Japanese equivalents will cost roughly $8 so that may be a decent estimate. 

Archive of Samurai Shodown III & Fatal Fury Special from Mikado Odaiba Great Battle

The people behind Takadanobaba Game Center Mikado in Tokyo, Japan, organized a tournament event dedicated for two of SNK's less prominent fighting games.

Mikado Odaiba Great Battle ~Zansamu vs Garosupe~ was held at Tokyo Culture Club in the city's Odaiba island on April 24. Both Zansamu and Garosupe refer to Samurai Shodown III and Fatal Fury Special respectively. Despite not having the bigger playerbase, the event brought 29 FF Special players while SSIII held out at 24.

The full archive of the tournaments can be found after the jump!

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Latest Humble Bundle Features Over 20 SNK Games Including Garou & The King of Fighters

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Neo Geo platform, SNK Playmore teamed with Humble Bundle to offer a huge list of games including some of their popular fighting games.

As of this post, 21 games from SNK's libarary are available to download such as Samurai Shodown II, Metal Slug, The Last Blade, Sengoku and more. The ports are handled by DotEmu.

The main tier of games from the bundle gives users the ability to play fighters SSII, Art of Fighting 2, Fatal Fury Special, King of the Monsters and The King of Fighters 2000. Paying for the bundle above the current average grants access to The Last Blade and The King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match. To those who pay $10 or more, the bundle gives users the chance to play Garou: Mark of the Wolves, Samurai Shodown V Special and The King of Fighters 2002 Unlimited Match.

Most of the games in the bundle can be playable on a browser or downloadable. KOF98UM and 2002UM are playable using Steam. Controls on most of the games are not modifiable so controller to keyboard input programs like Xpadder might be required if you play a specific layout. You can donate now!

KOF: Maximum Impact 2, The King of Fighters 2003 and Samurai Shodown V Available Now on Japanese PlayStation Store

Following the big multi-platform-wide sale, SNK Playmore added some more of its older PlayStation 2 games to the Japanese PlayStation Store.

KOF: Maximum Impact 2, also known as The King of Fighters 2006, and The King of Fighters 2003 are now available as PS2 Classics in the PS Store. In addition to KOFMI2's retitled name outside Japan, KOF2003 was released on PlayStation 2 in the West with the original version of The King of Fighters 2002.

Samurai Shodown V is also available as a PS2 Classic. This version is based on the original game, not the updated version Samurai Shodown V Special.

If you have access to a Japanese PlayStation Network account and currency to use, they are available now and are region free.

Various SNK Fighters Now On Sale In Xbox Marketplace, Due April 13

Xbox 360 users can get their hands on multiple SNK games for a low price.

This week's Xbox Marketplace Spotlight Sale focuses on SNK games with a majority being fighting games. Samurai Shodown II, Samurai Shodown Sen, Garou: Mark of the Wolves, NeoGeo Battle Coliseum, The King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match, The King of Fighters 2002 Unlimited Match and The King of Fighters XIII are all 50% off their original listing price in the digital store.

These deals are valid for both Xbox Live Gold and Silver users, so anyone interested in getting any of these fighters should go buy them before April 13!

The King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match & Samurai Shodown VI Available on Japanese PlayStation Store

Both The King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match and Samurai Shodown VI/Samurai Spirits VI can be available as digital games in the land of the rising sun.

The Japanese PlayStation Store have both KOF98UM and SSVI available for download as PlayStation 2 Classics for the PlayStation 3. The reveal was prematurely teased in a report from Korean game ratings board GRB. Also included was the report of The King of Fighters XI; it wasn't included in the release batch.

Being PlayStation 2 Classics, these are running through emulation instead of utilizing the Emotion Engine found on PlayStation 2 and original PS3 consoles. Expect lag from both emulation and if running in high definition.

There are no plans to release them in North America at the moment.

Art Of Fighting & Samurai Shodown II Tournament Videos From Takadanobaba Mikado Game Center

SNK video archive user ImbuedGold returns with some older SNK fighting game tournament videos from Sept. 2013!

The first video tournament set of the original Art of Fightingwhile next pair features Samurai Shodown II. They are played from Japanese arcade Takadanobaba Mikado. Even if they older fighting games, make sure to check out the videos after the jump since they are of wonder!

You can find ImbuedGold upload more SNK-related videos from Japan including content for The King of Fighters XIII on his YouTube channel!

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Samurai Spirits Tenkaichi Kenkakuden Ranbat Footage from Alpha Station Arcade in Japan

Samurai Shodown is one of those games where it's pretty rare to find recent footage of mid-to-high level gameplay. A lot of players talk about how great it is but honestly it's difficult to find anyone to play against to begin with!

Of course, leave it to Japan to hook us up with ranbat footage of this series. The latest was uploaded by ImbuedGold and features Samurai Shodown VI gameplay from a (somewhat) recent ranbat that was held at Alpha Station arcade (RIP -- closed on the 7th of this month) in Okubu. 

This is a four part video series which you can check out after the jump along with a full player list. Enjoy!

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SNK Brings NeoGeo Classics to PSN and PSP: Initial Lineup Includes Fatal Fury, King of Fighters '94 and Samurai Showdown

Andriasang reports that SNK Playmore is bringing a new "NeoGeo Station" service to Playstation Network and PSP which will allow you to play NeoGeo classics on those platforms. 

Ten titles will be available to start and these include Fatal Fury, The King of Fighters '94, Samurai Showdown and Art of Fighting.  Separate versions of each title are being sold for the PSP and PS3 (with PS3 versions costing a bit more), but they have some impressive features for an emulation service like this. 

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HAUNTS REVIEWS SAMURAI SHODOWN: SEN FOR 1UP.COM

Alright, so I happened to review another fighting game for 1UP and boy, where do I start with this one. What I'll say is Samurai Shodown: Sen, in concept, could be a good game but in reality they toss in a lot of elements of other 3D games and lose focus of what the game should be about. Generally speaking, it's really slow, clunky game, where you end up blocking a lot and offense typically consists of either throwing or going in for a powerful slash that will kill your opponent in just a handful of strikes. As I mentioned, they also have game play mechanics like juggle combos, just frame input moves, while rising attacks -- stuff you'll find in other 3D fighting games -- but a worthwhile experience gets lost in this mess. I tried to look past the PS2-esque graphics, but horrible hit detection, an embarrassing training mode, tedious gameplay and a handful of glitches makes this a title to definitely pass on.

Check out the full review here!