The Last Blade
I've never played a Samurai Shodown game, but after playing "The Last Blade", I think I'll probably enjoy it.
I went on and on about the history of SNK when I talked about "The King of Fighters '98" so be sure to take a look at that if you're interested. But after playing KoF '98, I figured that I should probably take a look at some other Neo Geo games. I was watching Friday Night Fisticuffs and immediately fell in love with "The Last Blade 2", so I figured let me take a look at the original first!
Known in Japan as "Bakumatsu Rouman: Gekka no Kenshi" which tranlsates to "Curtain Closing Romance: Swordsman of the Moon Luster", the only game with a doper title is its sequel. Released in late 1997, the game takes place during the Bakumatsu era in Japan which were the last years of the Edo period (mid-1800s). Specifically, this game takes place in 1863 and the story is based rising political tensions between different factions trying to rise to power.
Much like most other SNK fighting games, there are only 4 buttons to play around with. In the case of King of Fighters, your buttons are Light Punch, Heavy Punch, Light Kick, and Heavy Kick. As for Samurai Shodown, the attacks are Light Slash, Medium Slash, Heavy Slash (Light + Medium Slash), Light Kick, Medium Kick, and Heavy Kick (Light + Medium Kick). In the Last Blade games, you have a Light Slash, Heavy Slash, Kick, and dedicated parry button. By parrying, you're able to stun the opponent and counter attack.
It's a very fun and unique fighting game. Apparently it's very hotly debated if "The Last Blade" or "The Last Blade 2" is better. Either way it's a great little sword fighting game that I find myself playing every now and then.