[quote name='BustaUppa']I got an itch for some Samurai Shodown II. What's my best option for that? I thought I heard someone mention that a new collection of some sort was being released.
And while I'm at it, what about Darkstalkers? Did that PS2 collection get axed, or was it import-only? I was quite happy with my PS1 copy of Darkstalkers 3, until I fired up MAME and realized how many frames were being droped![/QUOTE]
The two easy ways to get Samurai Shodown II now are the PS2 collection (which is out and Japan and coming out here next March, I think) and Xbox Live. The advantage to the PS2 compilation is that it has several games on it. Unfortunately, the emulation is off on these games, as there's a few graphical glitches. That's disappointing. The Xbox Live version is kinda expensive, as it's $10 for just Samurai Shodown II, but it's also spot on. And I'm like positive you can turn off the silly graphical filter. The game also runs in 720p, so even with the sprites unfiltered, it still looks great. So yeah, go with the 360 version, since I can basically guarantee you that the US release of the collection will have all the current issues and more.
For Darkstalkers, the compilation only came out in Japan. I don't think it was ever planned for the US. Or if it was... well, it won't be coming out, seeing as how it's been like 4 years since anything's been done with that series in the US (the crappy PSP collection.) It's totally worth picking up, and it should be dirt cheap.