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Review: SNK Gals’ Fighters [Neo*Geo Pocket Color] |
Let me get this out of the way first — the end boss of SNK Gals’ Fighters is none other than Iori Yagami in a dress, with a mask on. There, I said it. I’m sorry if that spoils the surprise for you, but it just had to be said, and frankly I didn’t want it to drag on any longer.
*wind whistles*
*bell chimes*
*tumbleweed tumbles*
Bunch of humourless geeks!
Ahem. Anyway, transvestism aside, I’m sure you’re wondering what, if anything, can yet another Pocket Neo SNK fighting game possibly offer?
Well for one thing, humour. This is one of the funniest games I’ve ever played — even the manual offers some laughs other than those from the terrible translations. It’s similar in tone to that NGPC colossus SNK vs. Capcom with it’s self-mocking, ironic dialogue and ludicrous situations. Take the story (please) — a number of female warriors from SNK fighting games all receive a letter from “Miss X.” inviting them to a “Queen Of Fighters” tournament, in which the prize is the legendary “K Talisman” — a mystical artefact with the power to grant it’s owner a single wish. Flicking through the manual shows the wishes of the participants: Shermie wants a new home for her hamster, Athena wants her long hair back, Leona wants her tooth cavity fixed…you get the idea, we’re not talking armageddon or anything like that.
And once again, I think it’s the best way to go. The punches and kicks are grossly exaggerated, the special attacks are ridiculous (Mai’s flame attacks now burn her to a crisp, Athena’s HCB+K shield move now involves her pulling Kensou out of nowhere and holding him in front of her) and the dialogue is camp to the extreme. And why not? It just adds to the charm.
It’s all very “girly” too — with lots of pink backgrounds, hearts and stars. Just ..er… my sort of thing ya know. The soundtrack is also very bouncy and upbeat, and although none of the music has been recycled (they’re all new tunes) they’re all completely unmemorable as well. I almost wish they had reused the older themes.
Now if there’s one thing the Neo-Geo Pocket Color has in droves, it’s fighting games. KOFR-1, KOFR-2, Fatal Fury 1st Contact, Samurai Shodown 2!, Last Blade and of course, SNK vs. Capcom.
Here’s where we run headfirst into a brick wall. Out of a total of 11 selectable characters, only 4 of them are completely new sprites — the rest are from other NGPC games. This is bad.
If, like me, you own several of the above fighters, then you’ve already seen a fair bit of what GF has to offer.
It’s not all bad though, seeing as there has been no Neo Pocket equivalent of KOF’99 so far (I want KOF-R3!) — it’s nice to see that all the KOF characters in Gals’ Fighters appear in their ‘99 incarnations. Mai can link her QCB+K and QCB+P attacks, Athena’s got her cropped hair and shorts outfit (quote from the manual: “Tempted to cut her hair by a girlish impulse, Athena is troubled by her new haircut. It has offended some fans and fuelled rumours of a failed love affair in the media“…what?!), Leona’s got her new stand pose and DMs and so on and so on. I’m glad this has been done, as I’d be more pissed if they were just straight rips from SvC or R-2.
There are some new moves and tweaks, it has to be said. Everyone also has a brand new DM…or to use Gals’ Fighters terminology, a brand new “Mighty Bop” (aww!) and these are generally more humorous than the older super attacks.
There’s also the “Pretty Burst” — a universal D,D P+K motion which costs one level of super meter…sorry, “Gal Gauge” and has effects varying from speed-ups to reducing your opponents’ gauge to zero.
The game itself plays a lot faster and looser than previous NGPC fighters. It’s also a lot smoother (you really notice it when they jump) and better animated than anything before it. I guess the fact there are only 11 characters means each one gets a bigger share of the available memory than in, say, SvC.
While playing it, I noticed the continuation of a worrying trend that’s becoming more and more common in all fighting games today. I just feel that when the creative teams get together on 2D fighters today, instead of coming up with original ideas, they just use the same tired old bunch of “innovations.” Chain combos! Super cancels! Juggling! Woo! It happened with SFA3 and MvC2, it happened to a lesser extent with KOF’99 and it’s happened again here.
Basically, playing SNK Gals’ Fighters is a bit like playing KOF’99 in permanent Counter Mode.
To extend the lifespan, there are three secret characters to unlock, and defeating an enemy quickly and well sees you awarded with a special item. These come in the form of things like earrings, hairpins, invitations and explosives (how feminine!) These items all have a specific effect (such as increasing super move damage or reducing the opponent’s life gauge) and one can be selected after you pick a character to use in the main game. I like the way you can steal an opponents item in the 2-player mode…
I’ve read other reviews of this game, partly for a laugh and partly to plagiarise and they all wind up saying the same thing, “it’s not SNK vs. Capcom” … and it’s true that it isn’t. But that’s because it’s a different game.
It seems that SNK have really shot themselves in the foot by releasing such an incredible game so comparatively early in the machine’s life — as anything after it ends up being compared to that one game. And it’s true that Gals’ Fighters has less characters and less secrets and therefore less long-term appeal than SvC — but if you judge it on it’s own merits, it’s an amusing, well-made little fighting game.
My biggest issues with this game are not the fact that it isn’t SvC, but rather that the large amount of re-used characters and attacks mean that anyone with two or more NGPC fighters has already seen and played more than 50% of the game, and an extra super move here and there and a slightly less rigid game engine does little to change that.
I’d recommend it….but cautiously. You may wish to check your NGPC library closely before buying it.
