Capcom… SNK… They join together on one game… And all the people go “HOLY SHI…”
Overview
Sometimes, the best things in life come in twos: yin & yang, burgers & fries, Ebony & Ivory, and now…Capcom & SNK??? Yes, boys and girls, them two rascals have done the impossible and have shook hands to compile the biggest dream match deal in fighting game history. Now people can stop their “Who would win in a fight?” daydreams between Ryu & Kyo and actually go to the arcade to seek their answers.
Graphics 7/10
The fight settings are nicely detailed with some cool layouts like the crowds of people at the street markets, the infamous Geese’s Tower, and the large light showing circle sporting huge shadows when past by in the back alley stage were excellent. I love that they brought back intros for all the stages. While not as good as SNK did them, it was great nostalgia for me. Capcom doing all of SNK fighters through animation and sprites were finish very well like they were their very own creations. Letting the companies do the artwork for all the fighters were wicked to see, however, Blanka’s SNK art was a miss and it ended up looking rather disgusting. Seeing all those “arrows” shooting across multiple times onscreen in every direction was sort of aggravating during the team versus screen, which felt mismatch and uneven. The different ways of how the bright full screen effects came when executing special KOs were perhaps too different for my taste, but that’s just me.
Gameplay/Controls 7/10
Before selecting your dream team, you had to decide a super meter from either Capcom or SNK. Capcom’s meter was that of the super level bar seen from the alpha series, while SNK’s super bar acts was the ‘extra’ blue bar that was in KOF 94-98. The ratio system is use to make sure each player has an equal opportunity of being strong and getting defeat. The player has four slots to fill up their respective team. Ranging from numbers one to four, the fighter’s assigned number showcase their difficulty of using them and how much damage they can take and make in the fight, with four being the most dangerous. So let’s say you picked Terry Bogard, who is Ratio 2. From right there you are only given the chance of getting another Ratio 2 fighter or get two Ratio 1 fighters to max out the four spots. Pick a single Ratio 1 fighter and then taken a Ratio 3 person will automatically fill up your ratio spaces. In battle, it’s the normal first to take out all members of their opposing team wins, but constant fear was definitely something you could feel around the air. There was plenty tests of odds stacked against you if you were fighting against someone who had the higher ratio. Ratio 1 fighter vs Ratio 3/4 fighter weren’t pretty battles to watch, unless you were the Ratio 3/4 fighter.
The CPU teams had some noticeable groupings like the crew that is made up of all Ratio 1 fighters, the Ratio 3 with the Ratio 1 lackey, and the two cool heroes with both of them Ratio 2. It was hard to see who was going to give you a hard time in fights because no one could be totally predicted when strategize. The controls, however, were most likely the worst setup for a 2D fighter I ever lay my eyes and hands on. Now, people would think four buttons isn’t that bad if you played SNK games before, but that’s not it. Think Capcom’s regular six button format, but rid two buttons from one side and there you have it. Even after playing all these years, it still felt uneasy, unrealistic, and flat out uncomfortable at times.
Sound/Music 8/10
Damn, did Capcom go techno crazy for most of their music tracks or what? The music change well within the fights, including the final round switching to the tone of the end results after the last blow of the fight connects. Having the announcer croak out a robotic voice made the game feel like it had a futuristic vibe to it and the voice acting from both companies are mixed beautifully. Meanwhile, the sound bites fitted the actions came a somewhat lower then average because sometimes you can hear them and sometimes you can’t.
Replay Value 6/10
Whoa! With all the moderate amount of characters in this game, how could I give it such a point just above from being average? Easy…the ratio system turned the value sour. In the arcade’s limited selection, having no ratio edit option will piss you off like ten years ago, when you had no team edit option in KOF 94. You may get more choices in single mode or against another player, but the fighters being stuck and labeled by ratio levels will tick most people off and they have every right to be. Although, finding out Morrigan and Nakoruru was hidden in there was shocking. That and playing the hidden Ratio 4 fighters, like Evil Ryu and O. Iori, were fun to use to beat the crap out of the weak!!!
Overall 7/10
Capcom’s first attempt of this collaboration on their turf did have a few duds, but through it all, this was a decent try. To me, this seemed like an ‘experimental’ project before they could perfect their craft with the next game. Buying the product or renting it, you’ll be happy with the majority of the game. Hey! Be thrilled and lucky that these two rival companies took the time and money to even make this mammoth dream match in the first place.
- by Mr. Boombada
