SNK vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium review by Jeurja

Crossovers...
The world has seen many.
Who can forget the brilliant shinanigins of "Magnum P.I." and "Simon and Simon" teaming up to bring television excellence? Or can you recall the now-legendary "Hey! You got your peanut butter in my chocolate!" commercials? In fact, Hollywood even exploited the crossover angle. "Freaky Friday," "18 Again" and "Vice Versa" are just a sampling of widespread nature of the art form that is the crossover. However, the best crossovers often happen when two things that would most likely never cross over in the first place...uh, cross over. Such is the case with SNK vs. Capcom. Two rival companies, both skilled in the fine art of 2D Fighters...the thought of them ever joining together to form a video game Voltron of sorts was too fantastical. It would *never* happen, right? The tension between the two companies was too hot. Diehard King of Fighters players dissed and dismissed the Capcom fans as "button mashers" while the Capcom loyalists belittled SNK-ites for liking a game with (and I'm quoting something I once actually overhead at an arcade) "Faggot-ass, pony tail-havin' characters who suck!" Um...moving along... Enter SNK vs. Capcom. It took gamers everywhere by suprise. Some scoffed, but most cheered. The unbelievable had happened. While many people play and love the arcade/Dreamcast game developed by Capcom, most hardcore gamers would agree that the Neo Geo Pocket version was the O.G. place to be (don't 'chu see?).

GAMEPLAY: Awwwww yeeeaaaah. Thanks the the NGPC's dope joystick, this game controls smooth as silk. I've put in many an hour and have had nary a problem. Some have complained about the lack of buttons... So the NGPC's got 2 buttons? So what?! The control is so amazing, you won't complain. At the writing of this review (post Super Street Fighter IIX Revival on GBA), nothing has topped SNK vs. Capcom's control.

GRAPHICS: Great animation, detailed backgrounds, and, most importantly, super-deformed characters done right! They retain all the charm and personality of their "big brother" versions, even with most of them having only a few colors. Go figure. I think the SD Capcom charactes actually look better in SNK vs. Capcom than they do in Pocket Figher.

SOUND: OK, so you're not going to hear a symphony, but the renditions of the classic tunes are top notch. Some killer stereo effects on the music make it worth plugging in that pair of headphones. Sound effects aren't anything special but they get the job done. Sound effects do not a game alone make.

EXTRAS: There is so much to choose from. Damn. You can choose to fight solo, tag team (take that, PSOne!), or KoF Team style. But the fighting is only part of the game. This cart has minigames galore! You love Ghosts 'N Goblins? There's a G 'N G minigame. You want some rhythm action? Play Felicia's dance game. The list goes on. Plus, I haven't even mentioned survival mode and a whole boatload more. But I figured that even Forrest Gump would have gotten the picture by now. So, to summarize, there's so much replay in this, you will not get tired of it for months, or even years... if then. I still love it and can imagine being in the old folks' home, NGPC in tow, playing SNK vs. Capcom and muttering "The kids today just don't understand what good games are..." to myself.

OVERALL: The best crossover ever, in my humble opinion. Great graphics, even better control, and just a lot of fun.