Neo Geo Pocket Color - SNK Vs Capcom: Match of the Millennium

Format
Neo Geo Pocket Color
Publisher
SNK
Developer
SNK
Country of origin
Japan
Release date
2001
Genre
1 on 1 Fighter

SNK Vs Capcom match of the millennium

By John Huxley
24th May 04

Having played the DC version of this game I was disappointed at what was basically Street Fighter Vs King of Fighters with little or no variety of characters that Capcom showed with Marvel Vs Capcom 2 (although it is a better game). What SNK have achieved with this 32Mb cartridge half the size of a credit card (it is, I've compared it!) is testament to their ability and ingenuity; a respectable number and variety of characters are present and all clad with their best moves from across the genre, as well as more extras than Capcom ever cared to give it's adoring public. The roster of fighters reads like this:

Capcom (playable)
Ryu
Ken
Chun Li
Guile
Zangief
Dan (Yes!)
Sakura
Morrigan
Felicia
Akuma
B.B Hood
M. Bison
Evil Ryu
Capcom Bonus Game Characters
Authur
Felicia
Karin
Capcom Guest Appearances
Vega

SNK (playable)
Kyo
Terry
Iori
Ryo
Mai
Haohmaru
Nakoruru
Athena
Leona
Yuri
Akari
Geese
Orochi Iori
SNK Bonus Game Characters
Marco Rossi
Jubei
Rimururu
SNK Guest Appearances
Billy

Most of the characters are at their fighting best with moves from all the latest games (even Mai's toned-down self from KOF'99) - all except a few. Hoahmaru and Nakoruru from SNK's Samurai Showdown series have both been made weaker to match up more evenly against the lesser fighters from KOF and Street Fighter, yet Evil Ryu and Iori have been made unbelievably hard. Unlike MOTM's bigger brothers (and it has quite a few) Evil Ryu's sprite in this game is totally different from the normal Ryu. No red-eye syndrome here. He's a living, breathing killing machine who really looks like he wants to rip your head from your torso. Any character changes are simply to give the game balance, in which this game excels. Every character is perfectly capable of finding weaknesses in the opponent's defense and no one character stands out as the poor pick of the bunch. Except Dan, but he's supposed to be like that (check out the Street Fighter Alpha film for more on his badness).

Ahh - the graphics. Superb. The Neogeo Pocket is a machine based around 4 colour sprites, so don't expect any change with MOTM. It's the animation that makes me want to cry with tears of joy. If you've ever played Capcom's Street Fighter Alpha series on the Gameboy I'm sure you can vouch for the lack of detail in the realistically-proportioned characters. The Neogeo's screen was never going to sport such deficiencies in graphical design; SNK knew from the word 'Go' that pocket gaming was never supposed to pretend to be something that it isn't, and these SD (super deformed) characters are typical of SNK's knowledge of videogame design. Using SD characters allows for detail and animation that apes their larger counterparts to a tee. Fingers, eyes, hair and accessories all retain detail and fluidity that you don't expect from a screen of this size. Also a nice touch are when certain characters meet before a fight they trigger a unique little animation. This can vary from the simple (Kyo and Iori's classic stand-off) to the eccentric (Mai and Chun Li's meet involves comparing period regalia, with Mai's costume aptly falling down). The backgrounds are the best seen on a handheld so far, making full use of all the colours available to create a great atmosphere. Almost every background contains some kind of animation, although most notable is Terry's train stage with Mt.Rushmore, err, rushing past in the background giving a great sense of traveling on top of a freight train.

The gameplay is something that is enhanced by the hardware itself. The Neogeo Pocket's joystick was designed with fighting games in mind, and as such makes smooth quarter/half circle directional movements associated with the genre easy as pressing a button. Even Zangief's notoriously hard-to-do spinning pile drive move is made preposterously simple. The joystick really does make this game a joy to play, which is something the Gameboy Advance will never achieve no matter how good the games themselves are. MOTM shows most fighters up (including the Dreamcast version) by offering many different play styles. Tournament, sparring and Vs. modes and single, tag and team play (from the KOF series) are joined by counter, rush and average styles. These styles relate to the use of your super special moves - taking systems from both SNK and Capcom games to create a variety of play that no other fighter out there possesses. I cant work out the maths, but there are over 20 different ways to play this game including mini games...

Which brings me neatly to the Olympic mode. For those of you who don't know, this is a series of mini games based around winning medals and points to buy more moves for each character in the main game itself. As well as survival, time attack and first blast (one hit kill mode) both factions have their own unique mini games. Capcom has Ghost Trick (jumping game Ghost 'N Goblins style) and Cat Walk (benami game with Felicia), while SNK's games are Target 9 (shooting game with Marco from Metal Slug) and Blade Arts (featuring Samurai Showdown's Jubei slashing straw dummies). Also found here are Time Attack, Survival and First Strike (one-hit kill mode). I've spent a heinous amount of time playing these sub-games to earn the gold and platinum medals, but I've wasted an embarrassing amount of time in the Olympic 'talk' mode. This features either Karin or Rimururu 'managing' your Olympic career...which boils down to otaku talk with the two cute ladies. For me this mode is the icing on an already sweet cake and makes me feel all warm and kid-like when I think about it.

Now, I've played my fair share of fighting games on a variety of systems but MOTM stands up as one of the best, if not the best available right now. From what I've seen on the Gameboy Advance, only a sequel will be able to suppress this game. Pick up a Neogeo Pocket Colour and a copy of this game at any price, or forever be subject to taunts and insults from us people who've had the pleasure to play MOTM.

-- John Huxley 24th May 04

Neo Geo Pocket Color SNK Vs Capcom: Match of the Millennium Images