The first time I saw this game in the arcades I remember thinking "oh great, another SF2 clone". But, several quarters later I realized the game was for real. Sporting some truly over the top characters and bloody sword conbat, Shodown was a whole new genre all itself. The weapon based reversal system really gave this game a unique feel that was new at the time. Also, this game rewarded the player with gallons of blood just waiting to be spilled. I will never forget the first time I landed that fierce strike with my sword just as my rage meter topped off, the result was my opponent being sliced in half, GRUESOME!!!!!!!

Also there were the occasions when you would strike your opponents body in just the right place causing an arterial slice that sprayed blood clear across the screen, another famous gruesome spectacle that Shodown offered. The abilty to disarm your enemy with a well placed strike was an origional feature as well. Many a time I remember trying desperately to flip to the other side of the screen to recover my sword. Add to the mix some very well drawn backgrounds with multiple spectators watching the battle, not to mention the occasional thief who would occasionally run across the battlefield. Some times he would drop much needed healing items, other times he would drop bombs that were very much not needed. Musically, this game was a mixed bag, some stages sported guitar riff styled rock soundtracks while others sported traditional Japanese themed music. Both were well done and greatly added to the overall experience.

I realize that Neo Geo Units are hard to come by, therefore many have not experienced this game in its pure form. There was however a very good port of this game on the SNES. This version, of course, was blood free, and only featured the small scaled version of the character sprites, nonetheless, it was a very competent port.