SNK VS. CAPCOM: SVC CHAOS

Fighting games aren't the main thing I play these days, but I grew up playing Street Fighter and most of my favorite characters from SF2 are here. The controls are a little different than I remember, but the special moves are mostly the same and I got right back into it pretty quick. I can't speak to the balance since I'm not an expert and only play single player, but it's pretty clear some characters are better than others. Luckily, all the ones I like seem to be somewhere in the middle and despite a few cheap shots or a hit not connecting like I think it should sometimes, the gameplay is still tight enough to enjoy it. I really like the Street Fighter sprites that were updated for this game. They are basically all of the characters that I felt were missing from Street Fighter 3 back in the day. While they aren't quite as detailed as SF3, they are way better than anything that came before and with a much better art direction than the Alpha series. I wish they could have added more Samurai Showdown or Darkstalkers characters though. Seeing them with this level of quality and art direction in 2D would have been awesome. The soundtrack/announcer/effects are way better than SF3. I never liked the pop music and loud silly announcers from the more recent Capcom fighters. While this game might have a few lighthearted tracks or characters, the overall tone takes itself more seriously which is what I tend to go for. But having said that, it's not quite as good as something like KoF XIII that’ll get stuck in your head long after playing it. All in all I'd say if you are like me and regret not picking this up back when it came out at the tail end of the original xbox's life cycle, give it a try. It’s a solid enough fighter to scratch that 2D fighting itch and the nostalgia of seeing some of my favorite characters in the updated 2D art style makes this my new favorite fighting game.

I first played this golden oldie on ye ol' Sega Dreamcast. The variety of characters from both SNK and Capcom, the tight and smooth controls, the gritty graphics style, the almost arthouse arenas, and an okay-ish story made it rock and still do. Absolutely loved it then and even more so in 2024. SNK Vs Capcom SVC Chaos sits next to Garou, RBFF2, KOF98, and KOF2002 as one of SNK's all-time best fighting games. Played using both an XB1 controller and an old Logitech F310, with both automapping and working fantastic. Even my ol' crummy laptop with an Ryzen 5 3500U and Vega 8 graphics run SNK Vs Capcom SVC Chaos buttery smooth. My main rig with a 5600G and RX 6600? Without even trying.

I purchased the game to support legal emulation. I've wanted the game on PC for years and DRM FREE is a plus. This is the AES (NEO CONSOLE) set of ROMs and has limited credits/continues. Eventually I want to purchase every SNK game on GOG, but this is not my favorite NEO GEO game. I prefer the Neo Pocket SNK match of the millennium which is cheaper and not as hard. Still, I'm not regretting my decision to buy this game.

Not perfect by any means, but I really like the roaster from both companies