Samurai Shodown III: Blades of Blood

aka: Fighters Swords, Nettō Samurai Spirits: Zankuro Musōken, Samurai Shodown III, Samurai Spirits: Zankurō Musōken
Moby ID: 12196
Buy on PlayStation
$71.09 used on Amazon
Note: We may earn an affiliate commission on purchases made via eBay or Amazon links (prices updated 3/27 9:27 PM )

Description official descriptions

*The 12 samurai (and ninja) elite are back, this time to answer the threat of the demon Zankuro, Minazuki. The possessed swordsman has brutally slaughtered innocents in his path, yet could not raise his blade to the cries of an innocent baby. Vowing never to spill innocent blood again, he targets those who live by the way of the sword...but now the hunter becomes the hunted:

  • Amakusa, Shiro Tokisada - The orb wielding Boss from Samurai Shodown I is now a contender in the race against Zankuro, his next religious sacrifice for enlightenment.

  • Basara, Kubikiri - The embodiment of hate has risen Basara the Executioner from his grave for revenge against Zankuro for murdering his lover (and himself). Love is stronger than death.

  • Gaira, Kafuin - A Buddhist monk with giant prayer beads as his weapon. He had an argument with his grandfather, the great Nicotine and was kicked out from the monastery. Wandering aimlessly, he witnesses the demon Zankuro spill innocent blood. The monk vows to teach the demon a thing or two on the teachings of Buddha...the hard way.

  • Galford and Poppy - The American Ninja and his beloved dog seeks to defeat the demon Zankuro in the quest for justice for the deaths of refugees killed by Zankuro.

  • Genjuro, Kibagami - Former colleague of Haohmaru, now rival. Genjuro the Assassin almost killed Haohmaru in a match for a scroll that would increase one's fighting skill, but instead got expelled from his fighting school. Flamed with vengeance, now he's has his sword aimed at Haohmaru's heart...history will not repeat itself.

  • Haohmaru - Learns from a boy that a demon killed his parents, out of compassion Haohmaru takes the task to avenge the boy of his parents.

  • Hanzo, Hattori - Darkness never sets in the eyes of the Ninja Hanzo and death is its only release. The stench of death by the demon Zankuro only draws him nearer, to what may be his ultimate release.

  • Kyoshiro, Senryo - The famed Kabuki artist searches out his next dramatic play by defeating the demon Zankuro for his next best-selling kabuki play!

  • Nakoruru - Sensing a disturbance in Mother Nature, Nakoruru with the help of Shikuruu the wolf and Mamahaha the falcon seeks out the demon Zankuro.

  • Rimururu - Nakoruru's ice-wielding sister. Determined to protect her sister at all costs feels instead that the disturbance in nature is caused by Amakusa.

  • Shizumaru, Hisame - A boy with an umbrella searching for his past. Remembers only the never-ending screams of his parents being murdered by a vile demon...maybe this is the demon he's been searching all this time at long last...

  • Ukyo, Tachibana - The blue-haired master swordsman finds his sensei and students dead. He learns that the demon Zankuro is responsible and heads off for revenge. The female fans still await him from a distance...

The third series of Samurai Shodown introduces 2 different techniques for each character. The "Slash" techniques are the original moves of the most of the characters whereas the "Bust" techniques maybe the "darker" version of each character.

Spellings

  • サムライスピリッツ斬紅郎無双剣 - Japanese spelling
  • 熱闘サムライスピリッツ 斬紅郎無双剣 - Japanese Game Boy spelling

Groups +

Screenshots

Promos

Credits (Arcade version)

73 People (66 developers, 7 thanks) · View all

Haohmaru
Nakoruru
Ukyo
Galford
Kyoshiro
Hanzo
Genjuro
Amakusa
Rimururu
Basara
Gaira
Shizumaru
Zankuro
Haohmaru
Nakoruru
Ukyo
[ full credits ]

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 72% (based on 18 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.8 out of 5 (based on 47 ratings with 1 reviews)

Samurai [NoW LoAdInG] Shodown III

The Good
It's Shodown on the PlayStation. Seriously, it's Shodown on the PlayStation.

Honestly, I have no positives to give.

The Bad
First, right after the PlayStation BIOS ROM start up with the sound, and right after the "Sony Computer Entertainment Presents" screen, what do you get? NoW LoAdInG just like that, bouncing in an out towards you. LAME! On the Saturn and Neo-Geo CD versions, there's a little anime graphic and the progress bar going across. True, all versions take like five minutes to load, but still, by the time it loads and the intro starts, I forget what game I'm playing. Seriously. Then, the intro is lame.

The sounds are as bad a Genesis or that semi-decent version on 3DO. Scratchy, off-key, mono. I thought the PlayStation, according to the arrogant Tommy Tallirico, had the most powerful sound processor ever. So why does the sound effects quality suffer? Not enough RAM in that there PlayStation? Strange, but the PlayStation does have more RAM than the Neo-Geo CD . . . SNK and Sony were lazy.

Hey, the music's in standard Audio CD format. Hey, it's so bad, you wouldn't know it. Again, why the "tape recorder through a cup on the side of the arcade machine" quality? Why? Shodown's much is very Yanni and nice to listen to. Not this version.

The graphics are low-res. Hey, the zooming feature is here. Cool! But that's about it. Even when zoomed, the graphics look low-res, muddy, dark, pixelated, confused, smudgy, blurred, and crappy. I swear, also, Hoahmaru is washes out. Seems like it.

The play control suffers. I swear it's loose or laggy . . . maybe both? No! That's not fair! I had nothing but trouble pulling off moves I can do on the Saturn version with ease. I want to beat up the programmers at SNK for this! This is a disappoint after the better-than-Saturn version of King of Fighters 95. I used different characters and even played with friends of mine. Nothing. That game stinks.

Lastly, the NoW LoAdInG screen! It's so bad, I have to mention it again. It occurs EVERYWHERE! I'm serious. Oh, lastly lastly, the case says we can save data. Yeah, right. I've never been able to save the data. Ever.

The Bottom Line
SNK's worst hour. True, the PlayStation, from a programmer's viewpoint, is above the Neo-Geo CD in power, equal to the 3DO, below the Saturn for sheer numbers crunching, and way below the Jaguar and N-64, but Jaguar . . . anyways, so the hardware isn't a problem. I mean the graphics of the Gear Gear version looks like the arcade of the first game. No excuse. The shoddy controls, the bad sound/music . . . no, this really is SNK's worst hour of gaming. I have a feeling, for people who bought this game on their PlayStations, "WHOA! Dude, there's Shodown for the 'Station! WHOA!" And the other dude, "Get it, man! So get it! We so enjoyed that on the Super NES!" only to get, "ARGH! RETURN IT!" It's that bad.

(Did I mention the NoW LoAdInG screens that are everywhere?)

I recommend the Saturn import, NeoRAGE XP emulation, using some other version in the series, the Neo-Geo originals and stuff. Stay away from this version!

PlayStation · by Fake Spam (85) · 2007

Trivia

Awards

  • Electronic Gaming Monthly
  • March 1997 (Issue 92) - Neo Geo Game of the Year runner-up + Neo Geo Game of the Year (Readers' Choice)

Analytics

MobyPro Early Access

Upgrade to MobyPro to view research rankings!

Related Games

Samurai Shodown
Released 1994 on SNES, Genesis, Game Boy...
Samurai Shodown: Edge of Destiny
Released 2008 on Arcade, Xbox 360
Samurai Shodown VI
Released 2006 on PlayStation 2, 2014 on PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4
Samurai Shodown! 2: Pocket Fighting Series
Released 1999 on Neo Geo Pocket Color, 2019 on Nintendo Switch
Samurai Shodown V Special
Released 2004 on Arcade, Neo Geo, 2016 on Windows...
Samurai Shodown
Released 2019 on PlayStation 4, 2019 on Xbox One, 2020 on Windows...
Samurai Shodown IV: Amakusa's Revenge
Released 1997 on SEGA Saturn, 1997 on PlayStation, 2000 on Windows...
Samurai Shodown NeoGeo Collection (Classic Edition)
Released 2020 on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4
Samurai Shodown: Anthology
Released 2008 on PlayStation 2, Wii, PSP

Related Sites +

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 12196
  • [ Please login / register to view all identifiers ]

Contribute

Are you familiar with this game? Help document and preserve this entry in video game history! If your contribution is approved, you will earn points and be credited as a contributor.

Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Indra was here.

PS Vita added by Fred VT. Wii added by Charly2.0. Neo Geo CD added by Corn Popper. Xbox One added by mars_rulez. Arcade added by 666gonzo666. Nintendo Switch added by Rik Hideto. Windows Apps added by Kennyannydenny. PlayStation 4 added by Foxhack. PlayStation 3, PSP added by Alaka. SEGA Saturn added by Evil Ryu. Neo Geo added by Terok Nor. Game Boy added by Kayburt.

Additional contributors: Alaka, Freeman, Evil Ryu, Игги Друге, Wizo, Hipolito Pichardo.

Game added February 24, 2004. Last modified March 27, 2024.