Samurai Shodown on the Genesis is one of those fighting games that actually makes you think between swings. Yeah, it’s got the usual combo stuff, but the pacing’s slower—more about reading your opponent, baiting them into whiffing a heavy slash so you can punish. The weapons add weight to every hit, and that "clang" when blades collide never gets old.

Picking Haohmaru first seems obvious, but I got wrecked by Charlotte’s reach until I figured out spacing. The AI’s brutal if you just button-mash, but landing a perfectly timed Rage Explosion feels like cheating in the best way. Also, Genjuro’s laugh still haunts my dreams.

It’s janky by modern standards, but there’s something raw about the way this game handles swordplay. You’ll either love the deliberate pace or rage-quit when Hanzo teleports behind you for the fifth time.