SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters' Clash (NGPC)

At last (by popular demand), a totally new game genre for the site. Actually I don't think I've ever even played a trading card game at all, so this is all going to be totally new to me.

Like the Pokémon games, this came in two flavours: Capcom and SNK (though both versions are actually made by SNK). I'm gonna have to go with the Capcom version though, as there's way more chance I'll actually recognise some of their characters.

The game started off with a pretty decent tutorial, though I'm still not exactly clear on... almost everything, so I'm reading up on the terms.

It'd be a lot easier to concentrate if this music wasn't driving me nuts. It only lasts about 12 seconds before looping! Did they not have enough memory left for an actual song or something?

Uh, what? Does this make any sense to anyone else? Am I just not reading it right?

Okay, I think it's saying that if I use a 'unite attack' with cards that have more BP in total than the enemy's counter attack card, then the BP difference is dealt as damage directly to my opponent. BP being kind of like a combination attack/health stat for each card.

Maybe I have a shot at figuring this game out after all if I put a bit of thought into it. Right, next term.

Shit, there's another page of them! You know what, I think I'll just start the game now and figure it out as I go. That always works out well for me...

Usually I tend to go with the character that looks less smug, but they seem pretty equal this time.

Apparently the guy on the left is called Cap, and the girl is his younger sister. I dunno, they don't really look related, but maybe one (or both) of them dyes their hair.

I was wondering if the SNK version has a different choice of characters, and unlike in the Pokémon series, it actually does. I wish I'd chosen this one now, these two look way more likeable. Though their fashion sense is making me wonder if this is set in the 80s.

Wow, this is actually pretty retro. I can't believe they've put constantly fidgeting characters in a game made in 1999. Even Pokémon Red/Blue's characters knew how to stand still.

Hey I'm being challenged by the male protagonist from the SNK version (called Shin), and it really is an offer I can't refuse; there's no option to say no.

Here's an incredibly interesting fact for you; it's always Shin that challenges you at the start in this version, no matter what gender you choose to play as. Oh, and he's called Shin because that's what the S in SNK stands for.

Meanwhile, in the SNK version, it's Cap that comes to challenge Shin, in an entirely different room!

But whatever, I'm sure they sync up eventually. Back to the Capcom version, where they've graciously let me take the first turn.

Sasquatch is a Capcom character? He can't be a very high tier one, though I can't be too picky as I've only got a handful of cards to choose from in my... hand.

I'll go with Charlie, he's got lots of big numbers so he should do well. Even if he won't stop fiddling with his watch.

I have three spaces to choose from, but I'm not really bothered so I'll put him down on the left.

I'm sure the tutorial mentioned something about powering up character cards with other cards, but it doesn't seem to be working for me. It won't let me put any of my cards down onto Charlie.

In fact it won't let me do anything. The 'attack' button doesn't work, and when I tried 'ability' it told me that he didn't have any.

Oh I see, I can probably only boost a card with one of the characters on their back-up list. Apparently Zombie works well when he's teamed up with a dinosaur. Makes sense.

I gave up trying to do anything in the end, and skipped my turn. And then Shin did the same. So I guess nobody's allowed to attack on the first round. Okay, so now I know that, and I'm one step closer to mastering this game.

Shin decided he'd stick his card all the way over there, so I decided to shoot for the open goal, slammed down a Ken card and chose 'attack'. But nope, can't attack with a newly placed card, so I had to use Charlie instead.

With no card to defend him, Shin himself took the full force of Charlie's 600 BP to the face, knocking him down to 400 health.

And they let young children play the game in this world? In any sane universe these cards would have been taken off the shelves the first time a Dhalsim card yoga-fire'd some kid's eyebrows off.

Shin places another card of his own, then attacks Cap with the full fury of Lee Pylon's 200 BP (whoever that is.) Fortunately I was able to counter him with the Ken card I'd put down earlier.

Ken started with 700 BP and Lee began with 200, so after throwing them against each other, Ken comes off with 200 less BP, and Lee is set on fire and dies.

If this was a unite attack, Ken's remaining 500 BP would have been delivered straight to Shin's forehead as piercing damage. (See, I was paying attention to all those terms earlier!) But it's not, so all that happens is his Lee card is off the table, and my Ken card is now 28.6% more rubbish.

But against all odds I actually manage to win the first match in the game!

I won a Chun-Li card from him as well, who comes with a special move. I'm not really sure I'd ever want all my characters being reduced to 100 BP though. Seems to have limited tactical usefulness.

Well, this is a card fighting game, so I might as well challenge someone else to a card fight. Like... this guy. Because he's the closest person to me.

Nori don't want none of this. In a few moves I've already knocked off a fifth of his health. Plus I set his hair on fire, not that it seems to bother him much.

But then he goes and throws a grenade right back at me! 300 damage to Cap. That bastard.

Okay, now it's on. Where's my action cards, I want to throw a truck at him. Oh right, I see, it costs a certain amount of SP to use an action card, and I build up my SP level by putting down cards with an SP value. Right now I'm at SP 0, so I couldn't even throw a pebble card at him, and I haven't got the space to put down a card to increase it.


ABOUT 

TEN 

FUCKING

MINUTES 

 LATER.

Holy shit, this match never wants to end. Fifteen minutes I've been putting down cards now, and you wouldn't believe how sick of it I am.

He puts down a card, I put down a card, I knock one of his cards out, he knocks one of my cards out. Everything I've got on the table is worn out and useless, with only a few BP left, so I can't make a decent attack. Or at least I don't know how to. I bet that a real player with any kind of skill and knowledge of the game could win from this in less than a minute.

Okay, I really am getting frustrated and miserable here. I'm going off for a walk or something, because I seriously need a break.


LATER.

Checkmate. He has three active cards, and enough SP to launch a full unite attack against me. Even if I counter with my Juli card, she can only soak up 300 of their combined BP. So whatever I do, at least two card's worth of hurt is going straight to Cap's smug face.

Look at him, he's like a robot. He doesn't understand the human emotion called 'shame'.

Right, I can't take any more card fights, I've had enough of them. I'm just going to wander around and see what else is in this game.

Whoa, a surprise shop out of nowhere. A shop inside a shop.

Uh, my brain's not in any fit state to decipher what that means right now.

I don't see any prices, so I'm guessing this a trading shop for people who've won so many cards they don't know what to with them, rather than a guy like me with just the starting deck... that I don't know what to do with.

Oh right, it even says 'TRADE' in big letters at the top. See, my head's totally not in the game right now. That 20 minute match melted my mind.

Why even ask? Who isn't going to push the switch? I bet if you did a study, 9/10 gamers would hit the switch without hesitation, and the other 10% would only avoid it because they feel like screwing up the test.

Oh, the switch makes the dust dragon roar by the way.

I was expecting to step out into the street when I left the shop, but I've got a map screen instead with different places I can jump to in Osaka. There's Plaza Capcom, NeoGeo Land, Joy Joy... I'm starting to think this entire game is going to take place in shops and arcades.

I tried to play a game of King of Fighters in NeoGeo Land, but poor Cap's so tiny he'd have to climb up to reach the joystick.

I was curious so I looked it up, and there really was a Neo Geo Land in Osaka. Three of them actually, and they were apparently a lot like this place.

Whoa, Capcom's arcade has a bar! And a suspicious looking picture of a leaf for some reason. I tried to get Cap a beer, but shockingly they wouldn't serve him.

The walking around part of the game is about as much like Pokémon as it looks so far. Everywhere I go is full of NPCs that either want to challenge me to a match, or give me advice.

I wonder what all these ghosts are looking at. Oh, they must be waiting for someone to turn up and play cards (ie. me).

I feel like the last sane man trapped in a world obsessed with card battles. Or to be accurate, an idiot who's still trying to play a card fighting video game without doing any card fighting.

I've found the Resident Evil mansion! It's still swarming with of zombies, but everyone's too busy playing cards to care.

I wonder what's in door #1.

I went around and talked to all the zombies while that guy in the corner fired off more rounds than you can ever even find in Resident Evil 1. Neither of us really got much for our efforts.

Anyway I don't care about zombies, I've got my sights on that box.

A free Chris Redfield and Rebecca Chambers card! Nice. But now what can I do? The rest of the mansion seems to be sealed off. I suppose I could go give that crane machine in Plaza Capcom another go...

Oh okay fine, I'll go play another bloody card fight.

I went back to the start and challenged Cap's sister (Comet) to match... and actually won! In a reasonable amount of time! And I have no idea how I did it. I'm sure I didn't have the SP left to do a full unite attack, but that's what happened. I bet she just let me win because she felt sorry for me.

Oh, in case you're wondering, on the SNK side Shin's sister is called 'Kei'.

Final score after 1 hour and 20 minutes of play: 3 battles, 2 wins, 1 loss, 0 coins. And then I forgot to save before I turned it off, and lost my progress. D'oh.


Honestly, despite all my whining this actually seems like a decent game. I get the feeling that if I actually knew what I was doing the matches wouldn't typically drag on for twenty minutes and I'd be enjoying them a lot more. But during this first look of the game I was getting more entertainment out of the pixel art on the cards than I did out of the gameplay.

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As always, feel free to tell me how I wrong I am, point out my mistakes, make suggestions, or just share your opinion on the game in the comments box.