Arcade Classic Samurai Showdown V Special Coming to PlayStation 4, Vita

A brutal arcade classic is making its bloody return on PlayStation. This morning SNK revealed on the official PlayStation Blog that Samurai Showdown V Special is on the way to PlayStation 4, and even the PlayStation Vita! Check out the announcement trailer above.

Samurai Showdown V took the series to a new apex in quality and showmanship. It was fun, polished, and really gory, In fact, after a violent incident in Japan around the time the home version was supposed to launch, the game got mysteriously delayed, and then heavily censored.

“Today, we are happy to announce that we have heard our fan’s requests to bring this game back in its original form,” says SNK’s Josh Weatherford, “and have been working with our partners at Code Mystics to deliver the game to PS4 and Vita. The goal from the start has been to give the game a proper release that will not be marred by the circumstances that hobbled the original AES launch. Our team believes that it is important to see the game delivered to fans as the original creators intended.”

In the blog, Josh takes a moment to break down the features and mechanics that make Samurai Showdown such a unique success. Instead of focusing on combos and special moves, players at the high level will often rely on spacing and range to best their opponents.

Sword Gauge: A meter that directly affects how much damage you do. Any attack—even whiffs or blocked attacks—reduces the meter and the amount of damage you can do. It slowly regenerates to maximum when you are not attacking.

Rage Gauge: A staple in the Samurai Shodown series. Taking damage fills this meter and once at max it results in increased attack power along with other bonuses. A Rage Explosion command can also be used which can be used to push back your opponent and open up other possibilities.

Weapon Flipping Attack: The super special move of Samurai Shodown V Special. It can be used while the Rage Gauge is at max or during a Rage Explosion. The move will both deal significant damage to the opponent and disarm them.

Concentration One: Only usable under certain conditions, this move will result in your opponent going into slow motion while you move at normal speed. Combined with the damaging Fatal Flash command that can only be used in this state, this command is perfect for staging last minute come-backs.

Overkill Moves: These are ultimate moves that can only be used once during a match against an opponent who is already on the ropes. Landing this move will result in your character executing the opponent with a brutal, visceral secret technique.

It’s going to be a bloody good time, and we’ll get to see this game in action sooner than later. SNK also revealed that Samurai Showdown V Special will be showing up in beta form at EVO 2017. Stay tuned for more info, and more footage.