First impressions count a lot in a game. They set the mood for the game and get you interested in playing further. Or...they can leave you cold and make you want to do something else. From the first thump of the drum to the quick introduction that gives the player a quick view of the characters in the game, the Saturn version is already more impressive than the Sony version. It has an intro. Things dipped momentarily when I progressed to the character selection screen. There is absolutely no character animation when you are choosing between the different samurai. It looks like SNK ported this part of the game directly from the Sony version. Believe you me, this was very disappointing and instilled a bit of fear in me. If SNK did not even bother to update the character selection screen then how much would they update the rest of the game over the Sony version?

My fears were unfounded to say the least. The Saturn version of Samurai Spirits 3 brings redemption to the 32-bit consoles. Where the Sony version failed miserably, the Saturn version shows what some good programming and a little 8 Mbit ram cartridge can do. SS3 is superb. The loading time between levels is about 4 to 5 seconds which is very good. You cannot get this time on the Neo-CDZ version. I play Samurai Spirits (any of the three in the series) with Nakoruru. She is the girl fighter who is garbed in red and white. The quality of the character animation in the game is excellent and Nak's robes flow realistically as she stands there with her pet eagle flapping in the background. Dark Nakoruru (every character has a dual nature) has a pet grey wolf but I usually use 'good' Nak. Why SNK didn't add this animation to the character selection screen is odd but nevermind - the game has all the animation that you'll want. As a Nakoruru player, I rely on her forward slash move where she flies towards her opponent with her sword in front of her. This can do a good amount of damage if the opponent is not defending.against her flight. Nak's close range attacks are also useful when things get hectic. She has a close-up kick attack where she puts a knee to you and will continue to kick if there is no opposition. She spins a full backward revolution and can kick for about 3-4 times. The damage that this attack causes is minimal but every little bit helps. Nak's close up attack in Samurai 2 is a cool move where she walks right on the opponent for multiple hits. Those boots were made for walking. In Sam3, she has a similar attack where she can stomp on you after you're down. Another difference in Samurai 3 from Samurai 2 is Nak's upper/forward aerial slash. If she hits her opponent at the right angle and proximity, she can do a multiple hit juggle that can extend for 5 hits as both characters rise up to the sky. These moves were sort of difficult to pull off on the PS version because of the imprecise control and fair animation quality. Nakoruru is a very agile fighter and her fighting style mixes both long range and short range attacks which involves a great deal of moving around on the screen. The animation and gameplay can suffer if its not done properly (look at the PS version) but the game is perfect in this area. One 'combo' that I use is a close sword attack, followed by a forward aerial slash and then I jump in close for that spin-kick attack. The action can obviously get furious and frenetic. Samurai is a game where the animation and control has to be nigh perfect in order to feel right. Anything less will make the game unplayable and disappointing. When the fighting gets intense, you absolutely do not need something like poor animation or weak control slowing down your game and your slash time. The Saturn keeps up with all of this activity and everything runs silky smooth; never will you see any jittery camera pans or gaps in the character animation. Whether you are jumping in for a close attack or leaping out to avoid a counterattack the action is executed perfectly. The camera focuses in and out of the battles in flawless fashion. Very impressive, very Neo.

Samurai 3 is also a game that requires time and strategy to play. The first thing that everyone should do before playing the Saturn version of Samurai 3 is go to the options menu and toggle the time limit to infinite time. The timer is SS3 runs down quickly and can ruin an involved battle prematurely. Of course, if you are a cheese player you will appreciate the quick times because you can do some damage and then play cat & mouse. The whole attraction of Samurai 3 however is the gritty fighting action and the strategy that you can use when fighting. There is just as much importance on defense as there is on offense. Samurai 3 is a fine mix of attacking, defending, doing those special moves and pulling off 'combos' as you beat your opponent into a pulp. The rage meter is also a strategic device that you can use to your advantage or disadvantage. A blow from an opponent's sword will make you go into berserker mode and this gives more force to your attacks. The minus to this is that any damage that you sustain will be multiplied because in your blind raging fury, your usual defensive tactics are no longer in place. Nice or what?

The level designs in Samurai 3 are near perfect to their Neo-Geo counterparts. Galford's waterfall level features animated water that cascades down convincingly and birds that flit around the screen. Rimururu's wintry stage has snow flurries that dance about and you can see the breath from the animals in the background as they huff and puff in the winter wonderland. Nak's stage is particularly soothing to look at - she fights on the side of a mountain with a shimmering lake that is knee deep. A shock of red fauna grows out from the mountain's crevices and dragonflies buzz lazily around the water's surface. As Nak battles, the splashes and ripples are all rendered in good detail. An occasional leaf falls from the skies and swivels down very leaf-like to the surface of the water. Watch the reflection of the leaf as it descends towards the water. Every character's level features background animations and foreground objects that you can cut or break. The screen doors on Basara's stage can be shorn in half and they will fall to the floor. The animation here was too quick; i.e, the screens did not fall off realistically but I'm nit-picking here like I will do from time to time. Samurai 3 retains the critical hits of past Samurai games where you can kill an opponent with one fatal blow. Critical blows are always fun to watch. This is when you hit an opponent in such a way that his body is cut in half (like the screen door) and a jetting spray of blood gushes out of the mortal wound. I felt that the upper torso fell off too quickly (like the screen door). When you cut a person in half, the flesh should sort of stick and cling as the blood oozes and clots. This would make the body fall off slowly as the veins and arteries desperately try to hold on. Right?

I would like to close out this article by looking at the sound in Samurai 3. Most people who have had the priviledge of owning a Neo-Geo will remember the vivid and full bodied sound and music in the Samurai games. I recall the first time I played Samurai Shodown on my Neo-Geo fondly. I played it in the arcades before I got the cartridge but there is so much background noise in public arcades that any music or sound from the game you are playing is drowned out. You can only enjoy this sort of thing in the quiet of your own apartment or house. The shrill lilt of the flute and the deep reasonant pounding of the drums in that game sounded so alive and pure. Believe me, back then it didn't get much better than that. The amazing thing was all that great music and realistic sound effects were coming off of a cartridge. Piped through a good stereo system and speakers, the mix of background noises and the thumps of the drums in addition to the main musical score and main sound effects are incredible to listen to as you play the game. There is no other word to describe it. Check out Gaira's level and listen to the low fiddling of the crickets as they play insect orchestra in the background. The Saturn version retains all of these aural delights and you will thrill in the background sounds as well as listen to the high pitch of the flute and the deep thump of the drums. The sound effects are excellent as well. Punches sound like punches, sword slashes sound like they mean business and death cries are shrieked with alarming realism. I suppose the sound quality may be overlooked at times in video games but they are very noticeable in this one. You will be hit with some great sound effects and music here.

The control on the Saturn version is impeccable. Mix this with the excellent animation and you have a package that is a near perfect port of the Neo-Geo original. I did not think SNK had it in them to replicate their success with the Neo-Geo on the 32-bit consoles. Their past releases on the Sony and Saturn were good but there was always a little something that was off. Some games had a lot that was off but I can say that this is their best work yet and proves that a bit more ram makes a huge difference in the quality of a game. Samurai 3 gets my highest recommendation and is the first SNK port that I would consider taking to replace my Neo-Geo cartridge. The cartridge version doesn't need to load between rounds so its staying. Two packages are available on the Sega Saturn. One package contains the game and an 8Mbit ram card that is required to play the game. The other package is just the game itself for those of you who have picked up Real Bout Fatal Fury already. The game by its lonesome is US$50.

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