SNK vs. Capcom: The Best Neo Geo Pocket Color Game?
SNK vs. Capcom: Match of The Millennium is probably one of the best games on the Neo Geo Pocket Color and we can finally play it again now on the Nintendo Switch!
Gameplay
For a game that was released on a handheld console back in 1999, SNK vs. Capcom: MoTM has a lot of content for you to get through. You got your core game which is your classic fighting game affair with 26 characters in total evenly split as thirteen fighters from SNK and another thirteen from Capcom. Representing SNK we have characters from the King of Fighters series and Samurai Showdown with Capcom bringing its own fighters from Darkstalkers and Streetfighter.
Each respective character maintains most of their move sets even though the Neo Geo Pocket Color had only the two A & B buttons, with your punches and kicks being either light if you gently tap the button or heavier if you press down the button hard, this takes some getting used to but once you have it down it becomes muscle memory.
Features
Being on the switch has afforded MoTM a few luxuries such as being able to apply LCD effect screen filters, change the background of your virtual NGPC, remap buttons (by default A & B will be switched on the Switch), the ability to scale your screen to make it fill the switches screen vertically and even the ability to rewind if cheating is your thing. One last included feature I must mention is the inclusion of the original 30-page game manual, this is accessed digitally at any time and you can even zoom in real close. This is a real nice touch, especially with just how many different game modes and features this title contains. I also really like that the manual is clear scanned in from an original they must have dug up somewhere and really adds to the nostalgia.
These are all great features but apart from a few cosmetic additions the game is essentially a like-for-like port of the original game and that’s not a bad thing.
Olympics
SNK vs. Capcom: MoTM has a ton of different game modes and mini-games under the Olympics section from the main menu. Playing through these modes and games will net you points. Some of these are integral to unlocking the 8 hidden characters along with unlocking additional moves for your characters.
This is a really nice feature and means MoTM is more than just a simple fighting game. I tend to find fighting games without additional modes don’t tend to hold my attention for too long.
The mini-games act as a sort of celebration of each franchise and are genuinely fun to play. Each is based on different games from each developer. Capcom has representation from Ghouls N’ Ghosts where you take control of Arthur avoiding enemies to grab treasures while a nice Neo Geo Pocket Color rendition of the Ghouls N’ ghosts main theme plays.
Another game features as a homage to Metal Slug with another being a Rhythm game which I seemed to be really quite bad at.
VS MODE
This is a really cool feature and lends well to the Switch’s ability to allow two-player gaming using two Joy-cons. In SNK vs. Capcom: MoTM the verses mode starts two instances of the game on-screen at the same time.
Both screens are side-by-side next to each other on your Switch’s display or TV which means you are effectively playing as though you have two Neo Geo Pocket Colors connected via link cable and it works great! While not the most ideal way to play the game, the Joy-con’s stick makes for a good stand-in for the original consoles excellent NGPC’s ‘clicky’ stick. That said, my ‘go-to’ controller for 2D fighting games is usually the SN30 Pro+ from 8BITDO due to its fantastic D-pad but with MoTM, I found using it’s analogue stick to be a much more authentic experience and worked almost as well as the Neo Geo Pocket Color’s micro-switched stick.
SNK has recently announced that a compilation made in collaboration with Capcom is very soon to be released for the Nintendo Switch which will include Match of the Millennium along with the 5 other previous Pocket Color releases already on the Switch. It may be worth holding out a little longer if you’d like all the games in one collection. The full list of games on the compilation includes Fatal Fury: First Contact, King of Fighters R-2, The Last Blade: Beyond the Destiny, Samurai Shodown! 2, SNK Gals’ Fighters and of course SNK vs. Capcom The Match of the Millennium.
Conclusion
In conclusion, SNK vs. Capcom: Match of The Millennium is a great example of a port done right. It adds just enough features to make it fully playable on the Switch and it’s a well-rounded package with the hours of extras included In the Olympics mode. The main downsides of the game are the lack of internet play and the different feel the Switch’s analogue stick has over the NGPC’s original Multi-switched, 8 way ‘clicky’ stick. For the price and the sheer variety of gameplay on offer in this game I would highly recommend getting a copy for your Nintendo Switch
8
Nintendo Switch review code kindly provided by SNK
