Genre: 2d Fighter
Developer: SNK
Publisher: SNK

Samurai Shodown II is the epitome of graphical glory on the NGPC. The background artwork is extremely detailed, and pushes the NGPC's color palette limitations to the max. The characters, while only featuring 2 colors apiece, are large, detailed, and very fluidly animated. The cutscenes are equally impressive, sporting the exact same screen flash-laden atmosphere that made the Sam Sho series what it is today. Fantastic!

As good as the graphics are, the sound is nearly as good. The soundtrack is just saturated with SamSho's traditional atmosphere, making heavy use of transition between the eery, quiet, wind-filled stanzas, and dramatic, percussion-heavy action sequences. The music is easily the best on the NGPC, as it's not only marvelously melodic, but it makes total use of every channel of audio the NGPC has. The sound effects don't lag behind the music by much at all. It's odd at first playing a Sam Sho game with no voice acting, but most of the sound effects perfectly emulate the grunts and hum-hahs that the characters make after winning a fight or performing a particularily nice move.

A fighter on a hand-held with only two buttons? Believe it or not, the gameplay in this title is as tight and deep as any of the previous SamSho titles. How did SNK perform this miracle? One button fakes a move, the other slashes. In the air, the fake button kicks, and combinations of the two buttons performed along with a D-stick motion allow the use of special moves. Regarding the NGPC's unique D-stick, it works perfectly for the game, and is much more precise than a traditional D-pad. In terms of characters, the game features a whopping 15 of them, each with their entire array of moves and endings. Upon winning difficult fights, you are rewarded with trading cards, which can be appended to your character to power-up attack or defense, add new functionality to a special move, or even add a whole new move altogether. On the whole, this game is easily the best handheld fighter ever, and it looks as though its crown will be difficult to steal.

SamSho 2 is easily the best game in the NGPC's library, and the best fighter to ever grace a handheld. In fact, even if this title's gameplay engine was for a normal console fighter it would be suberb. Sam Sho 2 maintains not only the fantastic gameplay from the Sam Sho series, but the outstanding samurai atmosphere that the series is so famous for. Perhaps a reason by itself to buy an NGPC!