1. Jungle Book (SNES)(Platformer)2. Metal Combat: Falcon's Revenge (SNES)(Light Gun Shooter)3. Might and Magic VI (PC)(RPG)4. Revenant (PC)(RPG)5. Neo Turf Masters (NGPC)(Sports)
6. Fatal Fury: First Contact (NGPC)(Fighter)
7. Pac-Man (NGPC)(Action)8. Golden Axe (Genesis)(Hack and Slash)9. Blood and Bacon (PC)(FPS)
10. Gain Ground (Genesis)(Strategy)11. Flicky (Genesis)(Platformer)12. Zombie Shooter 2 (PC)(Top-Down Shooter)13. Phantasmagoria (PC)(Point and Click)14. SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighter's Clash - Capcom Version (NGPC)(Card Game)I've been playing this off and on for a couple of months now, and this morning I decided it was finally time to take down the semi-final run and then the finale. I had built up a formidable deck which focused heavily on a set of Akuma and Yashiro cards to swiftly remove my opponent's characters and open him or her up for attack. This strategy proved fruitful, and I was able to best most of my challengers within only a couple of turns. But enough about that; onto the meat of the game.
Card Fighter's Clash is a series of collectable card game-based video
games, themed around the ongoing competition between industry rivals SNK and Capcom. I played the first game in the series, of which there is a Capcom and an SNK version. Outside of starting cards and some minor changes, I don't believe there is much difference between the two sides, and my final deck had cards of both types. Like other
games on the Neo Geo Pocket Color, CFC uses a cutesy SD style, both with the various characters and the card designs. It fits the handheld's theme as well as the design of
games like Puzzle Fighter and helps the overall aesthetic.
But how does it play? Well, it's somewhat reminiscent of a JRPG. You wander around various arcades or shops, interacting with NPCs, shops, and objects like crane
games and slot machines. Some of the NPCs will offer to play against you, which is where you produce a deck and get going. The actual card game involves putting down character cards to attack and defend in three lanes while using action cards to bolster offense, execute quick manuevers to shift the tide of battle, or otherwise build an advantage. With these skills, you then try to drain your opponent's health until they run out, warranting you a victory and a set of cards that you win.
Beating all of the NPCs in one of the various locations will open up a tougher battle against a boss, who provides more cards if you win as well as a coin to prove your victory. You need five coins to access the semifinals, which pits you in a back to back battle against three difficult opponents. Beat them, and you can go to Las Vegas to compete in the finale.
The game is fun, but it does have a couple of issues, mainly around balance: rarer cards are just about all ways more powerful, and making it through the semifinals is unlikely unless you're weilding some B- or A-rank cards. I eventually gave up entirely on strategies relying on weaker cards and simply built around power and abilities that instantly remove opposing characters from play to open up the enemy for attack. There are some other strategies that I saw NPCs employ...but those NPCs also lost. Repeatedly. There is a lot of grinding for cards in this game, and you'll eventually just be able to wallop bosses through sheer force.
Still, it's a fun ride, and once you understand the rules (which the game is more than happy to explain whenever you need, including for review in a fight if you need it), play moves swiftly. I had a good time, and I'm happy to have spent more quality time with my NGPC.
Now...is there any real point to trying the SNK version? I own both but am not sure it's not worth it to simply write it off as done as well.
