SNK VS CAPCOM
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Pocket games, and graced with Chibi-style sprites and gorgeous backgrounds, this excellent fighter offers 16 brawlers from different fighting franchises. Story Mode follows a single character worldwide, with each getting a unique storyline. Versus lets two players fight head-to-head, while a solo player can try Training Mode. Tournament allows up to eight human or computer players to take part in a series of bouts, including playoffs to determine overall position. There are options to tweak the difficulty and time limit, while the control methods have been adapted for both one and twobutton joysticks and joypads. The cartridge format allows rapid loading of presentation screens with each character having an alternative colour scheme – the humorous taunts before and after fights are also a nice touch. Fighters have a Guard gauge that can be depleted (or undone by a Guard Break attack), and a Super gauge with two power levels for screen-filling special moves. Pulling off those moves will take some practice, as the computer is a stern opponent even in Normal mode. The game really shines in its two-player mode, offering some frantic to-and-fro battles. This is easily the best-looking C64 fighting game to date, with plans for an enhanced Stronger Edition with 16 extra characters. If you own a C64 you need this game in your collection.