SNK Gals’ Fighters

Genre: Fighting

Players: 1-2 Competitive (Local)

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Review:

(Note: This game is included in the NEOGEO Pocket Color Selection Vol. 1 bundle, along with Big Tournament Golf, Dark Arms: Beast Buster 1999, Fatal Fury First Contact, King of Fighters R-2, Metal Slug 1st Mission, Metal Slug 2nd Mission, Samurai Shodown! 2, SNK Vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium, and The Last Blade: Beyond the Destiny)

SNK Gals’ Fighters is a Fighting Game featuring female characters from SNK’s various Fighting game franchises that is undoubtedly a direct predecessor to SNK Heroines Tag Team Frenzy (though without the tag teams). This game was first released on the NEOGEO Pocket Color in 2000 and was brought to Nintendo Switch in 2020. This release of the game includes display settings, a selection of borders, zoom controls, a rewind function, and a copy of the original game’s manual, but there are no significant enhancements to the game itself (unless you count the addition of same-screen multiplayer).

I should note before going on that a lot of my thoughts of the NEOGEO Pocket Color Fighting Games are similar, and as such I’m copy-pasting much of what I say about them, and changing things where applicable.

Unfortunately, due to the hardware limitations of the NEOGEO Pocket Color, this game is highly dated in multiple ways. Naturally, the primitive chiptune sound and limited 2D pixel art graphics with chibi-esque versions of the series’ characters are a part of this, but more frustrating is this game’s embarrassingly small roster of 11 playable characters (with unlockable alternate versions). However, there is some good news here – unlike other Fighting Games from the NEOGEO Pocket Color, SNK Gals’ Fighters features pretty smooth and fast-paced gameplay, though of course not quite on par with other games in SNK’s massive stable of Fighting games.

Given how old SNK Gals’ Fighters is, and the limitations of its original hardware, one could almost forgive this game’s limitations, but its $8 price tag puts it in line with games in the ACA NEOGEO series, including other SNK Fighting games that play better, look better, and feature more playable characters. By comparison, it’s hard to see much reason to get this game unless you’re nostalgic for the original or want to see a game featuring chibi-ified takes on SNK’s female Fighting game characters..

tl;dr – SNK Gals’ Fighters is a Fighting Game featuring female fighters from throughout SNK’s franchises, originally released on the NEOGEO Pocket Color. Unfortunately, the limitations of that hardware really hobbles this game when it’s compared to other games in the genre or even other SNK Fighting games, including the ACA NEOGEO games you can get on the Nintendo Switch for the same price. Unless you have a nostalgia for the original release, you’re better off sticking with other SNK Fighting games.

Grade: C+

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