Fighting Games Friday: An Ode to SVC Chaos
Plenty of video gaming types have lists of their favorite games. But anyone who’s been far too invested in this hobby for years will have at least one game they considered personally charming to them despite being beset with many flaws — a problematic favorite, if you will. It’s a title with significant problems that can be overlooked somewhat depending on a person’s personal tastes thanks to its charms. For me, this perfectly describes SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos.
I will freely admit that SVC Chaos is not a good game, barely average in terms of its core gameplay. The title was planned to be SNK’s main answer to the Capcom vs. SNK titles developed by Capcom, with the title including a series of characters from both companies battling it out — though they largely consisted of Street Fighter and The King of Fighters faces from Capcom and SNK, respectively.
SVC Chaos had a solid lineup, with mainstay faces from both companies like Ryu, Ken, and Chun-Li from Capcom and Kyo Kusanagi, Ryo Sakazaki, and Terry Bogard from SNK being included. But slightly oddball characters not featured in other fighting games at the time were thrown in, like Zero from the Mega Man Zero games (contrary to the Mega Man X version introduced in the Marvel vs. Capcom 3 titles) and Princess Athena from the Athena arcade game. This was also the first game to introduce Violent Ken from Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie as a playable character, with his own Psycho-Powered move set. Seeing Capcom’s characters animated in an SNK sprite style was also a treat.
The cast and presentation were not enough to make this a quality product. The game felt sluggish in action, lacking a spark that powered other SNK games at the time, particularly the KoF titles. The mechanics and move properties were also all over the place, with some moves having altered hit properties and attacks simply not hitting landing on the opponent when the game was in a seemingly bad mood. This made matches and especially tournaments difficult to hold. Even the fixes made to the home console version weren’t enough to make it a well-balanced game.
SVC Chaos was a very flawed product with an even more flawed development cycle. But it’s been on my mind since the 20th anniversary of its original Japanese arcade release passed last month. Sure, it’s another anniversary that makes me realize just how old I am, but it’s a good time to reflect on how the appealing factors of this title made some glaring flaws worth overlooking.
The mere novelty of an SNK and Capcom crossover made by the former company made SVC Chaos worth checking out for anyone who enjoyed fighting games, and played both main franchises from two companies that were fighting game rivals throughout the 1990s. The SNK characters from the KoF series played closely to their counterparts from those titles. Those from the Samurai Shodown titles need a few modifications for a slightly more combo-heavy fighter, while others from non-fighting games needed a lot of adjustment. The Capcom characters were more interesting, with all their move sets and properties (again, when they worked) being adjusted for SNK’s fighting game style. The game was made with solid ideas in mind, but the final product was in dire need of a polishing it never received.
Still, the mere novelty of using several characters with sprites and gameplay styles created for this game was enough for me to play it for hours. I enjoyed using the Capcom characters in a fighting system and engine from SNK, alongside using and fighting unique characters like the aforementioned Mega Man Zero, Red Arremer (from Capcom’s Gargoyle’s Quest), Princess Athena, and Mars People (from SNK’s Metal Slug). It helped that every fight was preceded with unique and hilarious pre-match dialogue, thanks to both questionable writing and translations.
This is another game that’s more appreciable upon delving into its development history. SVC Chaos was first in development under the old SNK, during a period when the Capcom vs. SNK games were released by Capcom and while SNK themselves released SNK vs. Capcom: Match of the Millennium for the Neo Geo Pocket Color. That SNK went bankrupt in 2001, with many development team members subsequently going to other companies at that time, if they remained in the gaming industry at all. When the new SNK reformed in 2003 as SNK Playmore, they didn’t have the resources to fully complete this title and largely released it as is. It was the poor victim of severe financial drama that never received the updated version it direly needed.
It’s not the best game, but SVC Chaos remains an interesting experiment. I fully remember its unpolished nature, but I also won’t forget the charms it came with. I’d still like for SNK to give this crossover another shot someday, this time with an ample amount of development resources to ensure that it releases as a finished game. The chances of that are low, with Capcom and SNK more focused on providing their own fighting game products, but I won’t give up the slither of hope.
About The Author
Geoff
News Editor | Geoff is some nerd who writes for a blog and thinks he's knowledgeable. He write a lot about video games, but is capable of writing about other subjects, too. Twitter
