SNK vs. Capcom: SvC Chaos - A reflection of its time

We live in an age where cameos are so common that it has to be something really good to surprise us. The 90′s was when this primordial broth was cooked; the world of comics had its first big crossovers, and in video games, they would not be left behind. The popularity of fighting video games was such that it was the dream of many of their young (and not so young) users to see a crossover between these worlds. At the time, Capcom was leading the way with other brands, but it wasn’t long before there was a whole series of crossover titles with another of the greats of Japanese video games; SNK. One of these titles, SNK vs. Capcom: SvC Chaos, returned a few weeks ago.

SNK vs. Capcom: SvC Chaos is a fighting title that, as its name suggests, is a crossover between the worlds of SNK and Capcom; it is the fourth and final title in the crossover series they had between 1999 and 2003.  The title pits characters against each other in 1v1 matches in a fighting style very similar to The King of Fighters franchise. The commands for each of the characters, regardless of their origin, are kept there, with two fist buttons and two kick buttons. If you have played any fighting title from either company, you will know that you will have special powers, energy bars and spectacular moments.

A chaotic look at the classic

Firstly, you have to remember that in 2003, SNK was far from the stability it has now, with some economic problems that, while not an excuse, are noticeable in this game. There is a lot that lives up to its title if you are a purist. The imbalance between characters is noticeable, even in arcade mode, with some characters feeling like they have a greater advantage. The energy bar system sometimes feels quite inconsistent, reaching points where you really don’t know where it’s going.

As for the character art, the sprites look very detailed, although there are some that look better than others. The animations in general and the details of each character are maintained. The same can be said for the scenarios, which look very detailed, although the lack of an audience in each of them takes away some life. Another detail worth mentioning are the fighters’ dialogues before each fight. Sometimes some of them are too long and go by so fast that it is not possible to read them well, but at other times the same thing they are talking about does not make much sense, although it is normal in a fighting game.

SNK vs. Capcom: SvC Chaos features 24 characters, 12 from SNK and 12 from Capcom. The selection of these characters takes up titles like The King of Fighters and Samurai Shodown on the SNK side, and on the other side, it is almost all Street Fighter 2. At a time when a fighting title against Capcom had characters from other franchises, the selection here feels a bit unbalanced. However, the very strange selection of secret characters is where the game shines, with 12 extra “fighters”, including Mars People from Metal Slug or Zero from Mega Man Zero... characters that have nothing to do with the fighting world.

An extra for the road

Among the extras, we can find a handful of details that make the game offer a little more. The most notable is the art gallery, which you will always want to print out and place somewhere in the house. On the other hand, the training mode is rather modest and could have been a bit more. On the visual side, we have a series of different frames with which we can decorate our screen, or we can include the scan lines to give it that retro look of the time.

SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos is a title to be admired for showing an era that other companies might want to hide. The work done on the port is minimal, but it adds enough elements to make it appealing beyond the fighting game enthusiast community.