<s>
Samurai	B-Application
Shodown	I-Application
II	I-Application
,	O
known	O
in	O
Japan	O
as	O
is	O
a	O
1994	O
fighting	O
game	O
released	O
as	O
the	O
second	O
entry	O
in	O
SNK	O
's	O
Samurai	B-Application
Shodown	I-Application
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Like	O
the	O
original	O
Samurai	B-Application
Shodown	I-Application
,	O
the	O
sequel	O
was	O
initially	O
released	O
for	O
the	O
Neo	B-Application
Geo	I-Application
arcade	I-Application
and	O
home	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
up	O
on	O
the	O
extremely	O
enthusiastic	O
fan	O
reception	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
Samurai	B-Application
Shodown	I-Application
game	O
,	O
SNK	O
rebuilt	O
the	O
sequel	O
from	O
the	O
ground	O
up	O
,	O
including	O
almost	O
all	O
of	O
its	O
predecessor	O
's	O
cast	O
,	O
adding	O
several	O
new	O
characters	O
,	O
and	O
refining	O
the	O
overall	O
gameplay	O
with	O
more	O
responsive	O
control	O
,	O
more	O
moves	O
(	O
particularly	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
the	O
POW	O
meter	O
as	O
a	O
super	O
special	O
move	O
meter	O
;	O
these	O
moves	O
not	O
only	O
cause	O
severe	O
damage	O
to	O
the	O
opponents	O
but	O
also	O
break	O
their	O
weapons	O
,	O
forcing	O
them	O
to	O
fight	O
unarmed	O
for	O
a	O
short	O
interval	O
before	O
a	O
replacement	O
weapon	O
is	O
issued	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
substantial	O
number	O
of	O
Easter	O
eggs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Such	O
a	O
technique	O
was	O
later	O
also	O
used	O
in	O
Namco	O
's	O
Weaponlord	B-Application
and	O
later	O
popularized	O
by	O
Capcom	O
's	O
Street	B-Application
Fighter	I-Application
III	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
year	O
after	O
the	O
defeat	O
of	O
Amakusa	O
from	O
within	O
the	O
first	O
Samurai	B-Application
Shodown	I-Application
,	O
a	O
new	O
threat	O
soon	O
emerges	O
in	O
the	O
form	O
of	O
Mizuki	O
Rashojin	O
:	O
a	O
vengeful	O
spirit	O
who	O
possess	O
a	O
local	O
shrine	O
priestess	O
named	O
Mizuki	O
and	O
seeks	O
to	O
bring	O
forth	O
chaos	O
and	O
destruction	O
to	O
the	O
world	O
in	O
the	O
name	O
of	O
the	O
dark	O
god	O
Ambrosia	O
's	O
will	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
exception	O
of	O
Tam	O
Tam	O
and	O
Amakusa	O
,	O
the	O
remaining	O
cast	O
of	O
the	O
original	O
Samurai	B-Application
Shodown	I-Application
return	O
for	O
the	O
sequel	O
,	O
being	O
joined	O
by	O
six	O
new	O
warriors	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Samurai	B-Application
Shodown	I-Application
II	I-Application
was	O
originally	O
released	O
for	O
the	O
Neo	B-Application
Geo	I-Application
arcades	I-Application
and	O
home	O
consoles	O
in	O
1994	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
spite	O
of	O
its	O
considerable	O
popularity	O
,	O
the	O
game	O
went	O
for	O
several	O
years	O
without	O
being	O
released	O
on	O
any	O
other	O
system	O
in	O
the	O
west	O
except	O
for	O
PC	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1996	B-Application
,	O
a	O
port	O
of	O
the	O
Neo	B-Device
Geo	I-Device
CD	I-Device
version	O
for	O
Windows-based	O
PCs	B-Device
was	O
released	O
in	O
Japan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
North	O
American	O
version	O
of	O
this	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
1999	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
ported	O
to	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
only	O
for	O
the	O
Japanese	O
market	O
in	O
1998	B-Application
,	O
in	O
the	O
form	O
of	O
the	O
Samurai	B-Application
Spirits	I-Application
Kenkaku	O
Shinan	O
Pack	O
(	O
combines	O
the	O
first	O
two	O
games	O
into	O
one	O
package	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
later	O
,	O
an	O
official	O
Xbox	B-Device
Live	I-Device
Arcade	I-Device
port	O
and	O
a	O
PlayStation	O
2/Wii	O
anthology	O
containing	O
every	O
Samurai	B-Application
Shodown	I-Application
game	O
were	O
announced	O
at	O
the	O
Tokyo	O
Game	O
Show	O
2007	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
released	O
on	O
Xbox	B-Operating_System
360	I-Operating_System
on	O
September	O
10	O
,	O
2008	O
,	O
and	O
on	O
the	B-Operating_System
Wii	I-Operating_System
's	O
Virtual	B-Application
Console	I-Application
in	O
Europe	O
on	O
August	O
8	O
,	O
2008	O
and	O
in	O
North	O
America	O
on	O
August	O
25	O
,	O
2008	O
,	O
at	O
a	O
cost	O
of	O
900	O
Wii	B-Application
Points	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
December	O
18	O
,	O
2012	O
,	O
SNK	O
Playmore	O
released	O
the	O
game	O
on	O
the	O
onboard	O
memory	O
of	O
the	O
Neo	B-Architecture
Geo	I-Architecture
X	I-Architecture
portable	O
console	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
also	O
ported	O
for	O
iOS	B-Application
and	O
Android	B-Application
platforms	I-Application
and	O
released	O
on	O
iOS	B-Application
App	I-Application
Store	I-Application
and	O
Google	B-Application
Play	I-Application
in	O
June	O
2013	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
digital	B-Device
PC	I-Device
version	O
of	O
Samurai	B-Application
Shodown	I-Application
II	I-Application
with	O
Neo	B-Operating_System
Geo	I-Operating_System
emulation	O
was	O
bundled	O
with	O
many	O
other	O
SNK	O
Playmore	O
Neo	B-Operating_System
Geo	I-Operating_System
emulated	O
ports	O
and	O
released	O
on	O
the	O
Humble	O
Bundle	O
store	O
on	O
December	O
8	O
,	O
2015	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
game	O
and	O
many	O
others	O
in	O
the	O
Neo	B-Operating_System
Geo	I-Operating_System
25th	O
Anniversary	O
bundle	O
that	O
were	O
on	O
Humble	O
Bundle	O
were	O
later	O
released	O
for	O
DRM-free	O
download	O
on	O
GOG.com	O
on	O
May	O
31	O
,	O
2017	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
with	O
the	O
original	O
Samurai	B-Application
Shodown	I-Application
,	O
the	O
Neo	B-Application
Geo	I-Application
AES	I-Application
version	O
censors	O
all	O
blood	O
in	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
Samurai	B-Application
Shodown	I-Application
II	I-Application
also	O
includes	O
a	O
"	O
blood	O
code	O
"	O
to	O
enable	O
all	O
blood	O
;	O
SNK	O
provided	O
this	O
code	O
to	O
gaming	O
magazines	O
for	O
publication	O
and	O
to	O
those	O
who	O
called	O
their	O
customer	O
service	O
department	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
went	O
on	O
to	O
be	O
Japan	O
's	O
eighth	O
highest-grossing	O
arcade	B-Application
game	I-Application
of	I-Application
1995	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Famitsu	O
,	O
both	O
the	O
Neo	B-Application
Geo	I-Application
AES	I-Application
and	O
Neo	B-Device
Geo	I-Device
CD	I-Device
versions	O
sold	O
over	O
75,066	O
and	O
20,487	O
copies	O
during	O
their	O
first	O
week	O
on	O
the	O
Japanese	O
market	O
,	O
respectively	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Samurai	B-Application
Shodown	I-Application
II	I-Application
was	O
well-received	O
by	O
critics	O
and	O
considered	O
an	O
improvement	O
over	O
the	O
original	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
four	O
reviewers	O
of	O
EGM	O
gave	O
the	O
Neo	B-Operating_System
Geo	I-Operating_System
home	O
version	O
unanimous	O
scores	O
of	O
9/10	O
each	O
and	O
the	O
"	O
Game	O
of	O
the	O
Month	O
"	O
title	O
,	O
saying	O
that	O
the	O
game	O
improved	O
in	O
every	O
aspect	O
over	O
its	O
already	O
excellent	O
predecessor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
remarked	O
that	O
,	O
in	O
combination	O
with	O
other	O
recent	O
releases	O
such	O
as	O
Fatal	B-Application
Fury	I-Application
Special	I-Application
,	O
SNK	O
was	O
close	O
to	O
overtaking	O
Capcom	O
as	O
the	O
premier	O
maker	O
of	O
fighting	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Samurai	B-Application
Shodown	I-Application
II	I-Application
made	O
GameSpot	O
's	O
list	O
of	O
the	O
greatest	O
games	O
of	O
all	O
time	O
and	O
EGM	O
list	O
of	O
top	O
ten	O
cult	O
classics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Retro	O
Gamer	O
included	O
it	O
among	O
top	O
ten	O
Neo	B-Operating_System
Geo	I-Operating_System
games	O
:	O
"	O
With	O
its	O
beautiful	O
graphics	O
,	O
silky	O
smooth	O
animation	O
and	O
eclectic	O
character	O
roster	O
,	O
the	O
second	O
part	O
of	O
SNKs	O
Samurai	B-Application
Shodown	I-Application
series	O
is	O
easily	O
its	O
best	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
massive	O
arcade	O
success	O
,	O
Samurai	B-Application
Shodown	I-Application
II	I-Application
was	O
a	O
fantastic	O
two-fingered	O
salute	O
to	O
Capcom	O
and	O
proved	O
that	O
SNKs	O
style	O
and	O
ambition	O
knew	O
no	O
bounds	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
certainly	O
lacks	O
the	O
depth	O
of	O
later	O
games	O
in	O
the	O
series	O
,	O
but	O
for	O
sheer	O
fun	O
and	O
accessibility	O
Samurai	B-Application
Shodown	I-Application
II	I-Application
is	O
without	O
equal	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2008	O
,	O
they	O
gave	O
the	O
XBLA	B-Device
re-release	O
a	O
review	O
score	O
of	O
91%	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Chad	O
Okada	O
(	O
Game	O
Lord	O
)	O
stated	O
that	O
efforts	O
to	O
localize	O
the	O
text	O
were	O
stunted	O
as	O
the	O
small	O
profit	O
earned	O
from	O
Neo	B-Operating_System
Geo	I-Operating_System
home	O
versions	O
was	O
not	O
considered	O
worth	O
the	O
time	O
and	O
money	O
needed	O
to	O
fix	O
translation	O
errors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Next	O
Generation	O
reviewed	O
the	O
Neo-Geo	B-Operating_System
version	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
and	O
stated	O
that	O
"	O
Unfortunately	O
,	O
even	O
in	O
its	O
full	O
arcade	O
reproduction	O
,	O
Samurai	B-Application
Showdown	I-Application
II	O
is	O
still	O
just	O
another	O
fighting	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
's	O
definitely	O
a	O
game	O
every	O
Neo-Geo	B-Operating_System
owner	O
should	O
invest	O
in	O
,	O
but	O
not	O
a	O
reason	O
to	O
buy	O
a	O
machine	O
if	O
you	O
do	O
n't	O
own	O
one.	O
"	O
</s>
