Stakes Winner 2

Stakes Winner 2[lower-alpha 2] is a horse racing arcade video game developed by Saurus, with additional support from AM Factory, and originally published by SNK on September 24, 1996. It is the sequel to the original Stakes Winner, which was released earlier in 1995 on multiple platforms. In the game, players compete with either AI-controlled opponents or against other human players across multiple races. Though it was initially launched for the Neo Geo MVS (arcade), the title was later released to Neo Geo AES (home), in addition of being ported and re-released through download services for various consoles. Like its predecessor, it was received with mixed reception from critics and reviewers since its initial release. A third entry, Stakes Winner 3, was rumored to be in development but never released.[1]

Stakes Winner 2
Developer(s)Saurus[lower-alpha 1]
Publisher(s)SNK
Producer(s)Nobuyuki Tanaka
Takahiro Shima
Designer(s)Hajime Yasuhara
Programmer(s)Takuya Kawamura
Artist(s)Chigusa Yokoyama
Hiroaki Fujimoto
Miso Suzuki
Composer(s)Hiromu Sasaki
Hiroyuki Takei
Shuichi Kurosawa
SeriesStakes Winner
Platform(s)Arcade
Release
  • WW: 24 September 1996
Genre(s)Racing, sports
Mode(s)
Arcade systemNeo Geo MVS

Gameplay
Arcade version screenshot.
See also: Stakes Winner § Gameplay

Stakes Winner 2 is a thoroughbred horse racing game similar to its predecessor, where players take control of any of the available horses, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, to compete against either AI opponents or other human players across multiple races.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

Players control their horse with the joystick while two action buttons are used; one controlling the reins for small accelerations that drains little portions of the horse's stamina and another for the whip for fast speed, which drastically consumes stamina from the horse and if the stamina is depleted completely, racing is given up for a short period.[3] Two quick taps on the joystick at any direction allows the horse to push back an opponent in front of them, however two quick taps on the opposite side reduces speed.[3] Power-ups also spawn on the race track for players to pick up.[3] Failing to qualify for the next race results in a game over screen unless players insert more credits into the arcade machine to continue playing.

Development and release

Stakes Winner 2 was developed by Saurus, with additional support from System Vision.[7][8] The game was first released by SNK for the Neo Geo MVS on September 24, 1996 and was then published for Neo Geo AES on December 13 of the same year.[9][10] The game was later ported by Saurus to the PlayStation and Sega Saturn, both of which were released on May 1997.[11][12] It has since received multiple re-releases in recent years on various digital distribution platforms such as the Virtual Console, Nintendo eShop, PlayStation Network and Xbox Live.[13][14]

Reception

Stakes Winner 2 was met with mixed reception from critics and reviewers since its release. In Japan, Game Machine listed it on their November 1, 1996 issue as being the fourth most-successful arcade game of the year, outperforming titles such as Dancing Eyes, Street Fighter Alpha 2 and The King of Fighters '96.[19]

Notes
  1. Additional work by System Vision
  2. Also known as Stakes Winner 2: The Strongest Horse Legend (Japanese: ステークスウィナー２: 最強馬伝説, Hepburn: Sutēkusu U~inā: 2 Saikyō-ba Densetsu) in Japan.

References
  1. "特集記事 (噂の続編ゲーム) - ステークスウィナー 3". Gamest (in Japanese). No. 187. Shinseisha. 15 January 1997. p. 24.
  2. ACE (30 September 1996). "紹介 - ステークスウィナー 2". Gamest (in Japanese). No. 180. Shinseisha. p. 241.
  3. Stakes Winner 2 user's manual (Neo Geo AES, JP)
  4. ACE (15 November 1996). "紹介 - ステークスウィナー 2". Gamest (in Japanese). No. 183. Shinseisha. pp. 218–219.
  5. ACE (30 November 1996). "攻略 - ステークスウィナー 2". Gamest (in Japanese). No. 184. Shinseisha. p. 214.
  6. ACE (30 December 1996). "攻略 - ステークスウィナー 2". Gamest (in Japanese). No. 186. Shinseisha. pp. 73–75.
  7. "New Game: ステークスウィナー 2". Neo Geo Freak (in Japanese). No. 17. Geibunsha. October 1996. pp. 60–61.
  8. "ステークスウィナー 2". Neo Geo Freak (in Japanese). No. 18. Geibunsha. November 1996. pp. 74–77.
  9. "Dossier: Neo Geo Y SNK — Deportivos". GamesTech (in Spanish). No. 11. Ares Informática. July 2003. p. 61.
  10. "Title Catalogue - NEOGEO MUSEUM". SNK Playmore. 2010. Archived from the original on 2018-08-28. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
  11. "セガサターン対応ソフトウェア（ライセンシー発売）- 1997年発売". SEGA HARD Encyclopedia (in Japanese). Sega. 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-03-23. Retrieved 2020-05-02.
  12. "ステークスウィナー2". PlayStation Official Site Software Catalog (in Japanese). Sony Interactive Entertainment. 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-10-08. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
  13. "ステークスウィナー2 - ゲーム情報GAME". SNK Playmore (in Japanese). D4 Enterprise. 12 February 2013. Archived from the original on 2019-07-06. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
  14. Moyse, Chris (November 18, 2018). "Waste all your cash at the gee-gee's as Stakes Winner 2 returns to modern platform - Spend a pony at the old airs and graces". Destructoid. Enthusiast Gaming. Archived from the original on 2020-10-08. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
  15. Knight, Kyle (1998). "Stakes Winner 2 [Japanese] (Neo Geo Advanced Entertainment System) - Review". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on 2014-11-15. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
  16. "NEW GAMES CROSS REVIEW: ステークスウィナー２ 最強馬伝説". Famitsu (in Japanese). No. 438–439. ASCII Corporation. May 9–16, 1997. p. 32.
  17. "NF編集部にまる - ネオジオゲームㇱインレビュー: ステークスウィナー２". Neo Geo Freak (in Japanese). No. 25. Geibunsha. June 1997. pp. 124–128.
  18. "Sega Saturn Soft Review - ステークスウィナー２ 最強馬伝説". Sega Saturn Magazine (in Japanese). No. 51. SoftBank Creative. May 9, 1997. p. 145. Archived from the original on October 8, 2020. Retrieved May 23, 2020.
  19. "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - TVゲーム機ーソフトウェア (Video Game Software)". Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 529. Amusement Press, Inc. 1 November 1996. p. 21.
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