SNK vs Capcom: Card Fighters’ Clash could be the most deep and lengthy NEO GEO Pocket Color game to be rereleased yet. The cards’ pixel art is astonishing, and while it can take a few matches to get into the game, the card battles themselves are strategic and a blast to play. For $8, this is a steal for fans of either company or card games in general.
SNK VS. Capcom: Card Fighters’ Clash
Developer: SNK
Price: $8
Platform: Nintendo Switch (reviewed)
Monster Vine provided a switch code for review
I’m thrilled to start 2022 with both a positive review and a review of a classic NEO GEO Pocket game. I’ve reviewed quite a few of these in the past year and a bit, and they’re pretty strong re-releases all-around. I hoped we would get SNK vs Capcom: Card Fighters’ Clash in the same manner, and here we are! My hopes were answered, and it’s a worthwhile card-RPG that you should play.
In SNK vs Capcom: Card Fighters’ Clash, you get to pick either Capcom or SNK. Originally, these were two separate game versions, but both are included in this release, and you can freely switch between them. You pick a different boy or girl avatar to play as, and immediately jump into the game. Your goal is to defeat foes to collect coins as part of the SC Tournament. By travelling to different zones and fighting their players, you earn the right to enter the finals and battle your rival. It’s a familiar story, but as a vessel for a fun card-fighter, it works nicely.
The gameplay itself is quite exciting, considering you’re simply playing a card game against someone. You can play up to three character cards, who all have a single life/attack value. Your goal is to reduce your opponent’s life points by attacking them directly with your characters, which normally requires you to blow through their own characters. There are also Action cards that have specific effects in exchange for the SP you gather while summoning characters. It sounds hectic, and it takes a couple matches for it all to set in, but it’s a lot of fun once you get going. There are lots of opponents to fight and different cards to earn, so you’ll be occupied for a good amount of time.
“The colorful chibi art for the wide array of Capcom and SNK characters is incredible, and the music is energetic and varied depending on the situation.“
Deck-building is the best part of the game, as you swap out different characters for stronger ones or cards from series that you like. All sorts of franchises are represented, from stuff like Mega Man and Fatal Fury to Power Stone and Art of Fighting. My mainly-Capcom deck still had SNK favorites like Terry Bogard and Hanzo in it, so you can mix and match the two companies to make your ideal group of characters.
There are some excellent bonus features in Card Fighters’ Clash. You have the features that are standard at this point, like the ability to rewind frames and change the display patterns and filters, and then you have some awesome extra features. You can trade between versions on your own now, so long as you have a save file in each. This makes it way easier to collect all the cards or to make a powerful deck of both Capcom and SNK characters, and I’m very happy that they included this.
The visuals and sound are excellent, as expected. The colorful chibi art for the wide array of Capcom and SNK characters is incredible, and the music is energetic and varied depending on the situation. The overworld sprites are pretty basic, but the card art makes up for it and then some.
The Final Word
SNK vs Capcom: Card Fighters’ Clash is an excellent card fighting RPG that combines the handy features of previous NEO GEO Pocket Color releases with the exciting and addictive card-collecting of the original game. Simply put, this is one crossover that you really don’t want to miss out on, especially for only a crisp $8.
MonsterVine Rating: 4.5 out of 5 – Great
