''SNK vs. Capcom'', or alternately ''Capcom vs. SNK'', is a series of
crossover
Crossover may refer to:
Entertainment
Albums and songs
* ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album)
* ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987
* ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album)
* ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album)
* ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
s by either
Capcom
is a Japanese video game developer and video game publisher, publisher. It has created a number of List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil' ...
or
SNK
is a Japanese video game hardware and software company. It is the successor to the company Shin Nihon Kikaku and presently owns the SNK video game brand and the Neo Geo video game platform. SNK's predecessor Shin Nihon Kikaku was founded in 1978 ...
featuring
characters
Character or Characters may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk
* ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...
that appear in games created by either company. Most of these are
fighting game
A fighting game, also known as a versus fighting game, is a video game genre, genre of video game that involves combat between two or more players. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as Blocking (martial arts), blocking, grappli ...
, and take on a similar format to Capcom's own ''
Marvel vs. Capcom
is a series of crossover fighting games developed and published by Capcom, featuring characters from their own video game franchises and comic book series published by Marvel Comics. The series originated as coin-operated arcade games, though ...
'' series, in which the players create teams of fighters and have them fight each other. Games in this series either contain ''SNK vs. Capcom'' or ''Capcom vs. SNK'' in their titles, with the first company named denoting the company behind the game's development.
Reception to the series has been varied; the Capcom-developed titles were the most positively-received, while the SNK-developed installments received more mixed reviews.
History
The supposed origin behind this series was an issue of ''Arcadia''
magazine
A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...
in which there were articles covering both ''
The King of Fighters '98
''The King of Fighters '98: The Slugfest'', known in Japan as ''The King of Fighters '98: Dream Match Never Ends (KOF '98)'', is a fighting game released by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home consoles in 1998. It is the fifth game in ''The Kin ...
'' and ''
Street Fighter Alpha 3
''Street Fighter Alpha 3'', released as in Japan, Asia, South America, and Oceania, is a 2D fighting game originally released by Capcom for the arcade in 1998. It is the third and final installment in the '' Street Fighter Alpha'' sub-series, ...
'', both of which were released at around the same time. Readers had misread the cover, which said ''KOF vs. SF'', to mean that there was a fighting game that would pit characters from ''
Street Fighter
, commonly abbreviated as ''SF'' or スト (''Suto''), is a Japanese media franchise centered on a series of fighting video and arcade games developed and published by Capcom. The first game in the series was released in 1987, followed by six ...
'' and ''
The King of Fighters
''The King of Fighters'' (''KOF'') is a series of fighting games by SNK that began with the release of ''The King of Fighters '94'' in 1994. The series was developed originally for SNK's Neo Geo MVS arcade hardware. This served as the main plat ...
''. Because of this uproar, Capcom and SNK supposedly signed a deal that would allow them to produce only two fighting games concerning both franchises in
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...
(the ''Card Fighters'' series (see below) were not fighting games and therefore were exempt from the rule). It is highly suggested that ''
SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos'' was only made in order to fulfill the contract obligations that SNK made prior to the company filing
bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...
and their eventual closing in
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
. Also, if one company was the main creator of one game, the distributing company would gain the profits and not the company that licensed the characters for use (although SNK gave the rights to use the SNK characters to Capcom for the first ''Capcom vs. SNK'' game, SNK did not profit from the game, which did not help their financial problems).
While no new ''SNK vs. Capcom'' titles have been released since ''Card Fighter DS'', characters from both companies have appeared together in a handful of other titles, including Akuma and Geese Howard in
Bandai Namco
also known as the Bandai Namco Group and generally Bandai Namco, is a Japanese multinational holding company, production enterprise and entertainment conglomerate headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, formed from the merger of Bandai and Namco on S ...
's ''
Tekken 7
is a fighting game developed and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. It is the seventh main and ninth overall installment in the ''Tekken '' series. ''Tekken 7'' was released to arcades in March 2015. An updated arcade version, ''Tekken 7 ...
'', Mega Man, Ryu, Ken Masters and Terry Bogard in
Nintendo
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles.
Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...
's ''
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'' is a 2018 crossover fighting video game developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Sora Ltd. and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is the fifth installment in the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series, succeeding ...
'', Ryu, Chun-Li, Haohmaru, Genjuro Kibagami and Nakoruru in
Cygames
is a Japanese video game development studio established in 2011 by CyberAgent. Mobile and E-commerce company DeNA acquired a 24% stake in the studio in 2012, and Nintendo acquired another 5% stake in 2018, leaving CyberAgent with 69% of the share ...
' ''
Granblue Fantasy
(Japanese:グランブルーファンタジー, Hepburn: ''Guranburū Fantajī)'' is a Japanese social-network game and role-playing video game developed by Cygames for Android, iOS and web browsers, which first released in Japan in March 2014 ...
'' and Ryu, Chun-Li, Akuma, M. Bison and all SNK-created characters featured in ''SNK vs Capcom'' series in
Netmarble
Netmarble Corp. (Hangul, Korean: 넷마블 주식회사) is a South Korean mobile game developer. It is South Korea's largest mobile-gaming company which was founded in 2000 by Bang Jun-hyuk.
Overview
Netmarble developed ''Lineage 2 Revolution ...
/
SNK
is a Japanese video game hardware and software company. It is the successor to the company Shin Nihon Kikaku and presently owns the SNK video game brand and the Neo Geo video game platform. SNK's predecessor Shin Nihon Kikaku was founded in 1978 ...
's ''
The King of Fighters All Star
''The King of Fighters All Star'' is a beat 'em up role-playing game developed by Netmarble Games and published by SNK. It was first released in Japan on July 26, 2018, for the iOS and Android. The game is a retelling of SNK's ''The King of Fight ...
''.
Future
In a 2021 interview with ''
Polygon.com'', director
Hideaki Itsuno
is a Japanese video game director and designer. His entire career has been at Capcom, where he shepherds the ''Rival Schools'', '' Power Stone'', ''Devil May Cry'' and ''Dragon's Dogma'' series.
Career Early years (1994–2002)
Hideaki Itsuno ...
confirmed that at one point, there had been plans for a new, 3D installment in the series, but that it had been cancelled due to SNK's bankruptcy. The 3D assets created for ''Capcom vs. SNK 3'' were later repurposed for the cancelled ''
Capcom Fighting All-Stars
''Capcom Fighting All-Stars: Code Holder'' was a 3D fighting game planned for the arcade and PlayStation 2 that was to be developed by Capcom. Like '' KOF: Maximum Impact'', it was designed to translate a 2D fighting game series into 3D. This ...
''. There were interviews with SNK that it would be possible to renew their contract with Capcom to make new ''SNK vs. Capcom'' games,
but in another interview, both companies stated that they would not do any further collaboration with each other. ''SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters DS'' will probably be the last crossover game between both companies.
However, in an interview from January 2009,
Yoshinori Ono, the producer of ''
Street Fighter IV
is a 2008 fighting game published by Capcom, who also co-developed the game with Dimps. It was the first original main entry in the series since '' Street Fighter III'' in 1997, a hiatus of eleven years.
The coin-operated arcade game version wa ...
'', expressed interest in a possible third game if fans demand it.
In August 2022, SNK producer
Yasuyuki Oda
(born 1972) is a Japanese game designer. Oda showed an interest in gaming during his childhood that led him to study animations when growing up. He debuted as a developer for SNK, doing debugs of certain games while being a major planner in '' Gar ...
stated that "both parties" are interested in a potential revival of the series.
SNK-produced games
* ''
SNK vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium'' - A portable fighting game developed by
Dimps
is a Japanese video game developer based in Osaka, Japan, with an additional office in Tokyo. It is best known for developing games in the '' Sonic the Hedgehog'', ''Dragon Ball'' and ''Street Fighter'' franchises. The company was founded on Mar ...
and released for the
Neo Geo Pocket Color
The is a 16-bit color handheld video game console manufactured by SNK. It is a successor to SNK's monochrome Neo Geo Pocket handheld which debuted in 1998 in Japan, with the Color being fully backward compatible. The Neo Geo Pocket Color was re ...
. The game features three different playing rules to choose from (Single Battle, Tag Match, and Team Battle). The game also features an "Olympic Mode" with themed minigames.
* ''
SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters Clash'' - Also released for the Neo Geo Pocket Color, a
digital collectible card game
A digital collectible card game (DCCG) or online collectible card game (OCCG) is a computer or video game that emulates collectible card games (CCG) and is typically played online or occasionally as a standalone video game. Many DCCGs are types of ...
featuring trading card based on SNK's and Capcom's properties. Two versions were produced; the ''SNK Supporter's Version'' and the ''Capcom Supporter's Version''.
* ''
SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters 2 Expand Edition'' - The sequel to ''Card Fighters Clash'', released on the Neo Geo Pocket Color in Japan and Asia only. Includes cards based on ''Capcom vs. SNK 2''.
* ''
SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos'' - Released for the
Neo Geo
Neo Geo is a family of video game hardware developed by SNK. On the market from 1990 to 2004, the brand originated with the release of an arcade system, the Neo Geo MVS and its home console counterpart, the Neo Geo AES.
The Neo Geo MVS was su ...
(both arcade and home versions) and ported to the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. A one-on-one fighting game featuring 36 characters.
* ''
SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters DS'' - A ''Card Fighters Clash'' sequel released for the
Nintendo DS
The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tan ...
.
Capcom-produced games
* ''
Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000'' - Released for
Sega
is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...
s
NAOMI
Naomi or Naomie may refer to:
People and biblical figures
* Naomi (given name), a female given name and a list of people with the name
* Naomi (biblical figure), Ruth's mother-in-law in the Old Testament Book of Ruth
* Naomi (Romanian singer) (bo ...
arcade hardware in
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
and ported to the
Dreamcast
The is a home video game console released by Sega on November 27, 1998, in Japan; September 9, 1999, in North America; and October 14, 1999, in Europe. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, N ...
during the same year, the original ''Capcom vs. SNK'' features 28 characters (evenly divided between Capcom and SNK properties), two selectable fighting styles or "grooves" (based on the gameplay systems featured in ''The King of Fighters'' and ''Street Fighter Alpha'' series) and a ratio-based character selection system that determines the number of characters in a player's team based on their strength.
** An updated version titled ''Capcom vs. SNK Pro'', released for the arcades and Dreamcast in Japan and ported to the PlayStation in 2001, which adds
Dan Hibiki
is a fictional character from Capcom's ''Street Fighter'' fighting game franchise. He was created to parody Ryo Sakazaki and Robert Garcia, the two lead characters of SNK's ''Art of Fighting'' series, as Capcom saw Ryo as a ripoff of ''Street F ...
and
Joe Higashi
is a video game character created by SNK. He makes his first appearance in the fighting game '' Fatal Fury: King of Fighters'' as one of the three playable characters from the game. The ''Fatal Fury'' series introduce Joe as a goofy Muay Thai fi ...
to the character roster (they originally appeared only in the ending sequence of the original game). The Dreamcast version of the game also discards the shop option to earn extra characters and colors, having all of them available by default.
* ''
Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium 2001'' - Titled ''Capcom vs. SNK 2: Millionaire Fighting 2001'' in Japan. Released for the NAOMI hardware in
2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
and ported to the Dreamcast (in Japan only) and
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
during the same year. The game expands on the "Groove" system from the previous game by featuring six different fighting styles or "Grooves" and adds twelve new characters in addition to the ones featured in ''Capcom vs. SNK Pro''.
**The Nintendo GameCube and Xbox versions were released under the title of ''Capcom vs. SNK 2 EO''. According to the Japanese official website for the GameCube version, ''EO'' stands for ''Easy Operation'', because of a new feature that allows the player to assign special techniques to the right analog stick (C Stick for the GameCube version).
Characters
Reception
The SNK-developed games have been poorly received, with a
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
score of 48% for ''Card Fighters DS'' and 57% for ''SVC Chaos''. The two Capcom-developed games and SNK vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium have fared better, with ''Capcom vs. SNK 2 Mark of the Millennium 2001'' achieving a Metacritic score of 81%.
In 2012, ''
Complex
Complex commonly refers to:
* Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe
** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
'' ranked ''Capcom vs. SNK'' at number 38 on the list of the best video game franchises.
References
{{Capcom's VS. series
Capcom franchises
Capcom games
Neo Geo games
Fighting games
2D fighting games
Nintendo Switch games
SNK franchises
SNK games
SNK Playmore games