Name That Game...please.

Ok, I've been bothered by this for nearly 10 years and I have tried and tried to figure it out. There was this old neo-geo game in the arcade where you were ninja/samurai type guys. It was a side-scroller action game (i.e. double dragon, etc.). I remember your guys could get these power-up type things that turned you into different things (I think I remember some type of chinese demon like in the bruce lee story movie). I think you could get swords as well, but I'm not too sure about that. The only other thing I can remember was that it was a two player game.

Anyway, I'm sure somebody around here knows what game I'm talking about. Help me solve this mystery!

Sounds like Sengoku to me...

Yup, I was thinking of the first installment. Thanks a ton man; I've been wondering about that game for so long and I can finally tell my brother, hah.

Its Sengoku found a review to refresh your memory =p

'Sengoku gets my vote for "video game most likely to cause carpool tunnel syndrome". It's a button masher that goes on and on - far longer than my attention span. It's a side-scrolling fighter with jaw-dropping graphics but repetitive gameplay. The two playable characters look ridiculous. One is an Asian guy with sunglasses, a red jacket, and yellow pants, and the other guy wears a cowboy hat, a light blue vest, and purple pants. C'mon now! The only possible explanation is that SNK was trying to show off the system's extensive color palette. The stages are bizarre and the scenery is constantly changing. One minute you're fighting in the streets, and then you're whisked off to another dimension, battling an army in the clouds. Most of the enemies look like ancient Asian warriors, but there are some huge, ugly monstrosities as well. I love how you can watch certain enemies approach from the background, thanks to some nice scaling effects. Three buttons are used in this game: attack, jump, and transform. By defeating certain enemies, you gain the power to transform into different characters, including a samurai warrior, a ninja, or vicious dog. The game is loaded with power-up orbs that provide each fighter with unique special attacks like weapons and fireballs. I especially like how the dog can spits out tiny dogs that chomp on the enemies' legs. For the first few minutes of play, I thought Sengoku was awesome. I couldn't get enough of all that kicking, punching, and slashing action. But you can only fight the same thugs so many times, and my wrist starting hurting from continuously tapping the attack button! I suppose the real culprit is the unlimited continues - always a bad idea in this kind of game. It effectively removes any sense of challenge and tension, and they're awfully hard to resist. Sengoku had two sequels. This one's a wild ride, but you'll probably get sick like I did.
1 or 2 players "