Capcom has at all times had a little bit of an uneven relationship with its companions in relation to crossover combating video games. We obtained Avenue Fighter X Tekken, however Tekken by no means returned the favour; plus, Marvel and Tatsunoko aren’t recreation builders, so there was clearly no return journey there. Naturally, we’re main as much as say that SNK and Capcom had been in the identical state of affairs, however that’s really not the case – though we completely perceive why you’d suppose that.
The SNK vs. Capcom collection is an odd curiosity within the total Capcom vs. pantheon. It really kicked off on SNK’s aspect with SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters Conflict, which is a card recreation that launched completely on the NEO GEO Pocket Colour (with a Nintendo Change re-release a few years again). However in fact, whenever you hear ‘SNK vs Capcom’ the apparent thought is a combating recreation, and SNK would ship a month later with SNK vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium which is a bona-fide combating recreation… for the NEO GEO Pocket Colour. Once more, it’s good for what it’s, however it’s probably not what you need from a recreation known as SNK vs Capcom, is it?
Fortunately, 2000 and 2001 got here with a one-two punch from Capcom within the type of Capcom vs SNK: Millennium Struggle 2000 and Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium 2001. These two Capcom-developed titles pitted fighters from each firms towards one another in an arcade combating recreation. What made them so particular was how they tailored each side into one cohesive unit because of the Groove and Ratio methods. There is a cause Capcom vs SNK 2 is taken into account top-of-the-line combating video games ever made, alongside the likes of Avenue Fighter 3: Third Strike and Garou: Mark of the Wolves to this very day.
However there was at all times the query of how an SNK-developed Capcom vs. recreation would prove, and some years later we obtained our reply within the type of SNK vs Capcom: SVC Chaos, which teaches us that not all crossovers are created equal. Don’t get us fallacious, SVC Chaos shouldn’t be a foul recreation by any means, however it’s an enormous letdown compared to the Capcom choices.
One of many issues that made the Capcom vs SNK video games so interesting was how they blended the persona and gameplay of each side right into a cohesive combating recreation that basically felt like a celebration of the 2 firms combating classics, whereas SVC Chaos looks like a toned-down model of King of Fighters 2002 with Capcom characters.
Talking of the Capcom characters, we attain one in every of SVC Chaos’ largest downfalls: the roster. Whereas the Capcom vs SNK rosters weren’t barn burners, SVC Chaos has maybe the lamest principal roster selections you can decide. Except for Avenue Fighter 3’s Hugo and Crimson Earth’s Tessa, the default roster of Capcom fighters all hail from Avenue Fighter 2. Clearly these characters are iconic for a cause, however given this was three years after Marvel vs Capcom 2’s distinctive roster that featured names from Resident Evil, Captain Commando, and lots of extra, it’s a little bit of a disappointment. Plus, in the event you’re vulnerable to taking part in grappler characters, Hugo is your solely possibility – however this recreation shouldn’t be made for grabs.
SVC Chaos does not less than shine is in its secret characters. Whereas the bottom roster is boring, SNK determined to get bizarre with it for the hidden fighters (that are simply selectable on this new port by holding L1 on the character choose). Not solely will we get the likes of Zero from Mega Man Zero, Demitri from Darkstalkers, and the introduction of the dumbest Avenue Fighter character, Violent Ken. However frankly weird selections like Ghosts ‘n Goblins’ Crimson Arremer (or Firebrand, because it’s identified in Marvel vs Capcom 3) and Metallic Slug’s Mars Folks, which is an alien jellyfish that communicates by saying “beep boop”.
Nevertheless, these secret characters shortly reveal SVC Chaos’ largest situation: the steadiness. Nearly each one in every of these fighters is ridiculously unbalanced, with Zero, Violent Ken, and particularly Athena (who has common strikes that you just’d mistake for supers) capable of decimate you in seconds. Preventing towards Goenitz within the arcade mode as Hugo is likely one of the most depressing experiences you may have as a consequence of his near-instant projectile spam and ridiculous quantities of chip harm. It is not fairly Arc System Works’ Fist of the North Star ranges of unbalanced, however it’s most likely corresponding to Capcom’s JoJo’s Weird Journey.
Fortunately, there’s one other space the place SVC Chaos excels over its predecessors, in its completely beautiful sprite work. Whereas Capcom vs. video games are inclined to reuse sprites (everyone knows in regards to the Morrigan sprite, proper?), SNK has created new artwork for the fighters, and it appears phenomenal. Particular shoutouts should go to the bigger characters like Samurai Shodown’s Earthquake, Hugo, and Demitri — who appears higher than he ever has in a Capcom recreation.
As for the PS4 port itself, there’s probably not all that a lot to speak about. It’s a port of the arcade recreation with no actual bells and whistles connected aside from the gallery mode (that includes character, promo, and stage artwork, however missing something tremendous fascinating like design paperwork). The coaching mode is pretty barebones, there’s no rewind of save state choices such as you would discover in Capcom Preventing Assortment or comparable releases, and there’s no technique to simply arrange 1v1 fights towards the CPU; arcade is your solely selection, that means you may’t practise particular matchups.
In fact, the primary promoting level of this PS4 port is the net play, full with rollback netcode. And for essentially the most half, it feels about proper. It’s not fairly as good because the netcode present in Responsible Gear Try or Avenue Fighter 6, so coping with excessive ping continues to be a hassle, however it’s strong when it really works. Nevertheless, there are very restricted choices when looking for or creating matches. While you go into the obtainable lobbies, there’s no connection indicator – nor are you able to seek for a minimal connection, or whether or not to match up with wired or wi-fi connections. To make issues worse, it’s already uncommon to search out greater than 30 folks on-line with no crossplay obtainable.
Conclusion
SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos is a bizarre curiosity within the historical past of combating video games. Whereas it did have the monumental process of following up on top-of-the-line fighters ever made, it’s laborious to disclaim that it is a bit of a letdown. It does have vibrant spots like some distinctive character selections and a spread of incredible sprites, however it doesn’t rise up with Capcom or SNK’s finest. In the meantime, the PS4 port itself is as okay as okay could be. It received’t blow you away with further content material or options — it’s merely a strong technique to play SVC Chaos.
