SNK and Capcom have seen a huge resurgence recently, particularly with their fighting games. Street Fighter 6 and The King of Fighters XV are both fantastic games that put both companies back in the limelight again. Because of this recent glow-up from both companies, this is the best time to re-release older beloved titles. Capcom is bringing back the Marvel vs Capcom games in one collection, and SNK re-released some of their older games with new features, such as The King of Fighters ’98 and The King of Fighters XIII. Heck, SNK is even developing a sequel to Garou: Mark of the Wolves called Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves. However, SNK isn’t done yet, as a brand new re-release is here: SNK vs Capcom SVC Chaos!
This classic title returned to modern consoles and PCs on July 22, and there’s much to discuss about what’s new in this port, both the good and the bad. Without further ado, let’s get right into this review of SNK vs Capcom SVC Chaos!
A Gritty Vibe With A Bit of Some Charm
Something that grasps me a lot about this game is how dark and edgy it feels. From the soundtrack, stages, character models, and even the HUDs, it feels like you’re in this post-apocalyptic world. To some who like the bright and colorful vibe of the Street Fighter and KOF games, this might come as a disappointment for you. Personally, I love this unique take the developers went with, as it fits the cast pretty well. It doesn’t really take away from the great character designs and models of the Street Fighter and KOF characters.
In particular, I love the pre-battle character intros in this game. In some fighting games, characters have unique intros where one character talks and the other character talks back. However, SVC Chaos has a special take on this feature. Before the characters go into battle, both characters have a back-and-forth conversation with each other. Some of these conversations can go on for a long time, and it’s really cool to see. Sometimes, you’ll even see your favorite characters say the craziest stuff. For instance, Ryu is so cocky in this game, and he will taunt some characters pre-battle. Overall, there is an hour-long worth of pre-battle dialogue from different characters in the game, so I highly suggest playing arcade mode and checking them out! Also, some of the victory screen quotes are something to laugh at as well.
Gallery Option
Unique to this specific re-release, players can now view a gallery option. This gallery contains 50+ pictures showcasing stage backgrounds, character portraits, promotional art, and much more. Lots of the character art in this game are done by Shinkiro, Falcoon, and Nora. It’s something small, but galleries are always a welcome feature that allows you to get lost in the game’s art.
Unique Roster of Characters
The character roster is a very important part of fighting games. Having multiple characters who all have different play styles is a great way to make players feel like they can fit in. In SVC Chaos, for the most part, there’s a character for everyone. Whether you’re a player who likes to be aggressive or hang back and be more defensive, there are some characters you can work with here. However, there is a lack of grapplers in this game, with Hugo being the only one. If you are a grappler enjoyer but don’t like Hugo, I think it will be very difficult for you to find a character for yourself. Granted, while some characters do have command grabs, they aren’t the big bodies you are looking for.
On the bright side, I think this roster has some fantastic faces that fans will appreciate! Characters such as Rockman Zero from the Megaman Zero games, Demitri from Darkstalkers, and Genjuro from Samurai Shodown are all playable. While it’s missing some fan favorites, such as Sakura from Street Fighter, Haohmaru from Samurai Shodown, and Benimaru from The King of Fighters, I think the roster SVC Chaos has here is enough to stand on its own.
Additionally, by holding L1 or LB in the character select screen, you can see and select the secret boss character you want to play. This change is unique to this re-release, as you had to memorize cheat codes to unlock them in previous ports. Now, they are just straight-up playable from the start! It’s a very nice, convenient change for those who want to pick up their favorite secret boss character quickly.
Nice Mix of Defensive and Offensive Mechanics
While this game has Capcom characters, it’s actually developed by SNK. At the time when this game came out, many players expected a game similar to The King of Fighters. However, it’s not quite the same, as it doesn’t have the overwhelming movement options that KOF has. For the most part, it’s a very grounded game that only has a normal jump and a super jump. However, the speed of the game does feel similar to KOF. It seems that SNK wanted to appeal more to Street Fighter fans when making this game while also not wanting to alienate KOF fans. But don’t get it twisted because this game has quite a few interesting mechanics.
For starters, there is a guard meter in this game that decreases every time you block an attack. At first, it might seem annoying to handle, but you can use a Guard Cancel Attack that will knock your opponent across the screen and refill your guard meter. This uses one level of your super meter, so it’s a great way to make sure the player is playing smart with their meter. Another guard cancel mechanic you can use is Guard Cancel Frontstep. By pressing the C and B buttons or dashing while blocking, you will do a quick, invincible dash. From this invincible dash, you can quickly act out of it with an attack, allowing you to punish moves that are unpunishable on the block. Just a heads up though, doing the dash after block instead makes you lose less meter than pressing B and C at the same time.
Offensive Mechanics
The rest of the mechanics are very offensive-oriented. MAXIMUM Mode is a state your character enters for 17-18 seconds when you reach three levels of super meter. In this state, you can cancel multiple moves freely, allowing you to have longer combos and pressure. I love this because you can take people to the corner quickly or pressure the opponent’s guard meter. Check out the videos below to get a glimpse of how this is used in combos!
Finally, Exceed Moves are super attacks that don’t require meter to use. When your character’s name flashes, this indicates when you can use it. You can only use these moves once in an entire match, so be mindful of how you use them!
There’s Some Wacky Stuff Going On Here
Now, these are all great mechanics, but beware that this game has some questionable design decisions and unbalanced characters. Secret characters such as Goenitz, Geese, Zero, and Orochi Iori are insanely overpowered to the point where it’s mind-boggling. Against these broken characters, it feels like you can never really play the game at all. They have zero weaknesses and tons of strengths. Goenitz, for example, has near-instant projectiles that shut down everything you can do while also having a teleport that moves him around. How exactly are you gonna pin someone like this down? On the other hand, Orochi Iori is extremely fast and is able to run away from opponents quickly while also having some of the best options and damage in the game. There are so many unfair matchups in this game where certain characters dominate others with little room for counterplay. It’s truly just…chaos.
There are also some weird design decisions and bugs in the game that will make you scratch your head. For example, if you whiff a throw, your meter will decrease by 20%. Why is this a thing in this game?! For what purpose does this serve?! SNK, if you are reading this, I need you to give us an answer.
Also, this game’s input read with charge motions is buggy. To clarify, in any other fighting game that Guile is in, you can simply down-back, and it will charge both Sonic Boom and Flash Kick at the same time. In SNK vs Capcom SVC Chaos, however, you have to first press either down or back before you charge with down-back. For some odd reason, you have to manually tell the game, “Hey, I’m about to start charging for Sonic Boom” by pressing back once, then start charging with down-back. For Flash Kick, you have to press down once, then charge with down-back. Again, this appears to be a bug that SNK has not fixed for this re-release.
Overall, This Feels Like M.U.G.E.N
Honestly, the whole vibe of this game reminds me of M.U.G.E.N. It’s completely unbalanced and has a crossover of different characters. Now, to be fair, there’s nothing inherently wrong with that, as most people find unbalanced games charming. Moreover, learning the Guard Cancel Frontstep mechanic will make fighting against characters’ offense a lot easier. Personally, though, I would like to not throw my controller across the room.
Fantastic Accessibility Features
Alright, it’s finally time for the elephant in the room: Rollback Netcode. Yes, this game has rollback, and it’s quite good! My first online match was actually against someone from Japan, and it was flawless, as someone who lives in Chicago, Illinois. However, that’s not all, as the online play features in this re-release is fantastic. The “Find Match” option will tell you how many people are online and how many people are waiting for a match. This is great for seeing how many people are online before queuing up. You can also watch your last ten matches in the replay option and host a match while waiting in practice or arcade mode.
In the options menu, there are an insane amount of customizable features. You can change the game round time, turn blood off, turn flash off, and even change input delay online. Additionally, there is a jukebox option where you can change the menu music to any song you like. The video settings also allow you to change scanline percents, smooth image, display size, and much more. Add a controller customization feature on top of this and you have yourself an overwhelming options menu. Having said that, there’s one last powerful feature that is one of the biggest strengths of this re-release: the hitbox viewer.
In the options menu, you can turn the hitbox viewer on, then go into training mode and see the magic happen. Thanks to this new feature, you can see the maximum range of a character’s attack and see where they can get hit. For reference, the red box is where you can get hit, whereas the blue box is where your attack will hit. Finding your best pokes and how to beat characters’ tools will be done with this hitbox viewer.
SNK vs Capcom SVC Chaos Isn’t Really A Bad Game
Overall, I think this re-release of SNK vs Capcom SVC Chaos is an okay product! It’s not mediocre by any means necessary, but it’s also not a groundbreaking fighting game. Don’t get me wrong, the presentation, gameplay mechanics, roster, and accessibility features are all great. However, due to how overpowered the secret characters are, it’s hard to recommend for someone who wants to enjoy it casually or even competitively. I think if you are willing to push through the broken characters and weird design decisions, this 100% can be an enjoyable game for you.
