SNK vs. Capcom, or alternately Capcom vs. SNK, is a series of crossover video games by either Capcom or SNK featuring characters that appear in games created by either company. Most of these are fighting games, and take on a similar format to Capcom's own Marvel vs. Capcom series, in which the players create teams of fighters and have them fight each other. Games in this series either contain SNK vs. Capcom or Capcom vs. SNK in their titles, with the first company named denoting the company behind the game's development.

SNK vs. Capcom
Genre(s)Collectible card game
Fighting
Developer(s)Capcom Production Studio 1
Dimps
SNK
Publisher(s)Capcom
SNK
SNK Playmore
Platform(s)Arcade, Dreamcast, Windows, Neo-Geo, Neo Geo Pocket Color, Nintendo DS, GameCube, Switch, PlayStation,PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox
First releaseSNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters Clash
October 21, 1999
Latest releaseSNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos (2024 re-release)
July 20, 2024

Reception to the series has been varied; while the Capcom-developed titles were the most positively-received (and are still widely well regarded by critics), the SNK-developed installments received more mixed reviews by the time of its releases, although these have been the subject of reappraisal as time went on, now being considered cult classics by players and critics alike.

History

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Release timeline
1999SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters Clash
SNK vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium
2000Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000
2001Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium 2001
SVC: Card Fighters 2 Expand Edition
2002
2003SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos
2004
2005
2006SVC: Card Fighters DS

The supposed origin behind this series was an issue of Arcadia magazine in which there were articles covering both The King of Fighters '98 and Street Fighter Alpha 3, both of which were released at around the same time. Readers had misread the cover, which said KOF vs. SF, to mean that there was a fighting game that would pit characters from Street Fighter and The King of Fighters. Because of this uproar, Capcom and SNK supposedly[by whom?] signed a deal that would allow them to produce only two fighting games concerning both franchises in 1999 (the Card Fighters series (see below) were not fighting games and therefore were exempt from the rule). It is highly suggested[by whom?] that SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos was only made in order to fulfill the contract obligations that SNK made prior to the company filing bankruptcy and their eventual closing in 2000. Also, if one company was the main creator of one game, the distributing company would gain the profits and not the company that licensed the characters for use (although SNK gave the rights to use the SNK characters to Capcom for the first Capcom vs. SNK game, SNK did not profit from the game, which did not help their financial problems).

Series hiatus

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In a 2021 interview with Polygon, director Hideaki Itsuno confirmed that at one point, there had been plans for a new, 3D installment in the series, but that it had been cancelled due to SNK's bankruptcy. The 3D assets created for Capcom vs. SNK 3 were later repurposed for the cancelled Capcom Fighting All-Stars;[1] said project was set to include The King of Fighters protagonist Kyo Kusanagi as a guest character during its planned release after a deal was struck with the then-reformed SNK Playmore.[2] There were interviews with SNK that it would be possible to renew their contract with Capcom to make new SNK vs. Capcom games,[3] but in another interview, both companies stated that they would not do any further collaboration with each other, claiming SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters DS would probably be the last crossover game between both companies.[4] However, in an interview from January 2009, Yoshinori Ono, the producer of Street Fighter IV, expressed interest in a possible third game if fans demanded it.[5]

While no new SNK vs. Capcom titles have been released since Card Fighters DS, characters from both companies have appeared together in a handful of titles by other developers, including Bandai Namco's Tekken 7, Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and Cygames' Granblue Fantasy.

Crossover appearances and re-releases

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SNK vs. Capcom: Match of the Millennium and SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters Clash were re-released for the first time in 2021 and 2022 respectively on Windows and Nintendo Switch.[6] In March 2022, Street Fighter characters were added to Netmarble and SNK's The King of Fighters All Star. In August 2022, SNK and Capcom artists Eisuke Ogura and Shinkiro – the latter of whom is currently at Capcom after famously working at SNK – created special promotional posters featuring both companies' characters to celebrate the 2022 Evolution Championship Series tournament, the first live EVO since the COVID-19 pandemic. In a subsequent interview, SNK producer Yasuyuki Oda stated that "both parties" were interested in a potential revival of the series.[7] Oda stated in a later interview that the EVO artwork opened the doors for further collaboration between the two companies.[8]

Multiple crossovers between SNK and Capcom were announced throughout 2024. At Summer Game Fest in June, both Terry Bogard and Mai Shiranui were revealed as part of Street Fighter 6's second season of downloadable content, making them the first third-party guest characters in a mainline Street Fighter game.[9] The next month, during EVO 2024, a re-release of SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos for Windows, Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 was announced and released that day.[10] The following August, it was announced that the Capcom-developed titles in the series would be included in Capcom Fighting Collection 2, set for release in 2025.[11] In September, it was announced that Ken Masters and Chun-Li would be part of the first season of DLC for Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, similarly making them the first third-party guest characters in a Fatal Fury game.[12] These announcements sparked speculation about a potential revival of the series, an interest acknowledged by Capcom producer Shuhei Matsumoto in an interview.[13] In another interview, Oda stated that while there were certain hurdles in the way, they were aware of the fan demand and the odds of a revival were not impossible.[14]

SNK-produced games

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Capcom-produced games

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  • Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000 – Released for Sega's NAOMI arcade hardware in 2000 and ported to the Dreamcast during the same year, the original Capcom vs. SNK features 28 characters (evenly divided between Capcom and SNK properties), two selectable fighting styles or "grooves" (based on the gameplay systems featured in The King of Fighters and Street Fighter Alpha series) and a ratio-based character selection system that determines the number of characters in a player's team based on their strength.
  • Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium 2001 – Titled Capcom vs. SNK 2: Millionaire Fighting 2001 in Japan. Released for the NAOMI hardware in 2001 and ported to the Dreamcast (in Japan only) and PlayStation 2 during the same year. The game expands on the "Groove" system from the previous game by featuring six different fighting styles or "Grooves" and adds twelve new characters in addition to the ones featured in Capcom vs. SNK Pro. The PlayStation 2 version was later re-released as a PS2 Classics port for PlayStation 3. The arcade version will also be included on Capcom Fighting Collection 2, set for release on Steam, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in 2025.
    • A version for GameCube and Xbox was released under the title of Capcom vs. SNK 2 EO. According to the Japanese official website for the GameCube version, EO stands for Easy Operation, because of a new feature that allows the player to assign special techniques to the right analog stick (C Stick for the GameCube version). This version will also be included in Capcom Fighting Collection 2.

Characters

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List of characters
Character Side SNK-developed Capcom-developed
MotM Chaos CvS CvS2
  Akari Ichijou SNK Yes No No No
  Akuma Capcom Yes Yes Yes Yes
  Athena SNK No Yes No No
  Athena Asamiya SNK Yes No No Yes
  Baby Bonnie Hood Capcom Yes No No No
  Balrog Capcom No Yes Yes Yes
  Benimaru Nikaido SNK No No Yes Yes
  Blanka Capcom No No Yes Yes
  Cammy Capcom No No Yes Yes
  Chang Koehan SNK No No No Yes
  Choi Bounge SNK No Yes No Assist[a]
  Chun-Li Capcom Yes Yes Yes Yes
  Dan Capcom Yes Yes Pro Yes
  Demitri Maximoff Capcom No Yes No No
  Dhalsim Capcom No Yes Yes Yes
  E. Honda Capcom No No Yes Yes
  Eagle Capcom No No No Yes
  Earthquake SNK No Yes No No
  Evil Ryu Capcom Yes No Yes Home
  Felicia Capcom Yes No No No
  Geese Howard SNK Yes Yes Yes Yes
  Genjuro Kibagami SNK No Yes No No
  God Rugal SNK No No No Yes
  Goenitz SNK No Yes No No
  Guile Capcom Yes Yes Yes Yes
  Haohmaru SNK Yes No No Yes
  Hibiki Takane SNK No No No Yes
  Honki ni Natta Mr. Karate SNK No Yes No No
  Hugo Capcom No Yes No No
  Iori Yagami SNK Yes Yes Yes Yes
  Joe Higashi SNK No No Pro Yes
  Kasumi Todoh SNK No Yes No No
  Ken Capcom Yes Yes Yes Yes
  Kim Kaphwan SNK No Yes Yes Yes
  King SNK No No Yes Yes
  Kyo Kusanagi SNK Yes Yes Yes Yes
  Kyosuke Kagami Capcom No No No Yes
  Leona Heidern SNK Yes No No No
  M. Bison Capcom Yes Yes Yes Yes
  Mai Shiranui SNK Yes Yes Yes Yes
  Maki Capcom No No No Yes
  Mars People SNK No Yes No No
  Morrigan Aensland Capcom Yes No Yes Yes
  Mr. Karate SNK No Yes No No
  Nakoruru SNK Yes No Yes Yes
  Raiden SNK No No Yes Yes
  Red Arremer Capcom No Yes No No
  Rock Howard SNK No No No Yes
  Rolento Capcom No No No Yes
  Rugal Bernstein SNK No No Yes Yes
  Ryo Sakazaki SNK Yes Yes Yes Yes
  Ryu Capcom Yes Yes Yes Yes
  Ryuhaku Todoh SNK No No No Yes
  Ryuji Yamazaki SNK No No Yes Yes
  Sagat Capcom No Yes Yes Yes
  Sakura Capcom Yes No Yes Yes
  Shiki SNK No Yes No No
  Shin Akuma Capcom No Yes No Yes
  Terry Bogard SNK Yes Yes Yes Yes
  Tessa Capcom No Yes No No
  Vega Capcom No Yes Yes Yes
  Vice SNK No No Yes Yes
  Violent Ken Capcom No Yes No No
  Wild Iori SNK Yes Yes Yes Home
  Yun Capcom No No No Yes
  Yuri Sakazaki SNK Yes No Yes Yes
  Zangief Capcom Yes No Yes Yes
  Zero Capcom No Yes No No
Total 22 36 35 48
  1. ^ In Capcom vs. SNK 2, Choi is not playable separately, but constantly accompanies Chang during battle and will attack opponents as part of Chang's moveset.

Reception

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Card Fighters DS and SVC Chaos had a polarized, mixed reception, with a Metacritic score of 48%[16] and 57% respectively;[17] although Chaos has been the subject of reappraisal as time went on, being often considered a cult classic by some outlets.[18] The two Capcom-developed games and Match of the Millennium have fared better, with Capcom vs. SNK 2 achieving a Metacritic score of 81%.[19]

In 2012, Complex ranked Capcom vs. SNK at number 38 on the list of the best video game franchises.[20]

References

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  1. ^ Leone, Matt (January 7, 2021). "Capcom vs. SNK: An oral history". Polygon. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  2. ^ "Guests – Round 5: Toyohisa Tanabe". Street Fighter V: Secret File. 2019. Retrieved 2021-03-23.
  3. ^ "KOF Game Videos: Interview with SNK Playmore". Cyberfanatix.
  4. ^ "KOF Game Videos: SNK related news". Cyberfanatix.
  5. ^ Capcom vs. SNK 3 Is Very Not Impossible?
  6. ^ "SNK vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium coming to Switch on February 17". Gematsu. February 4, 2021.
  7. ^ Robinson, Andy (August 30, 2022). "'Both sides' are interested in reviving SNK vs. Capcom, says producer". Video Games Chronicle. Retrieved August 30, 2022.
  8. ^ SNK (September 26, 2024). Tokyo Game Show 2024: SNK Special Program (Live English Translation) (Video broadcast). Event occurs at 22:09. Retrieved September 27, 2024 – via YouTube.
  9. ^ Scullion, Chris (June 7, 2024). "Terry and Mai from Fatal Fury are coming to Street Fighter 6". VGC. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  10. ^ Fanelli, Jason (July 20, 2024). "SVC Chaos Gets Steam Re-Release, Console Versions Coming Soon". GameSpot. Retrieved 2024-07-21.
  11. ^ "Capcom Fighting Collection 2 | CAPCOM". www.capcom-games.com.
  12. ^ Romano, Sal (September 26, 2024). "Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves DLC characters Ken and Chun-Li from Street Fighter announced". Gematsu. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  13. ^ Glaze, Virginia (July 19, 2024). "Exclusive: Capcom's "dream" is to make more Marvel crossover games". Dexerto.
  14. ^ Extension, Time (October 3, 2024). "SNK "Very Aware" We All Want A New Capcom Vs. SNK Game, But "The Hurdle Is Quite High"". Time Extension. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
  15. ^ Orlando, Greg. "SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters DS". (January 2007) Newtype USA. Volume 6 Number 1 page 131.
  16. ^ "SNK VS. CAPCOM CARD FIGHTERS DS". metacritic. CBS Interactive Inc. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  17. ^ "SVC CHAOS: SNK VS. CAPCOM". metacritic. CBS Interactive Inc. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  18. ^ Jones, Elton (September 18, 2012). "The 25 Best SNK Fighting Games Ever Made (14. SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos)". Complex.
  19. ^ "CAPCOM VS. SNK 2: MARK OF THE MILLENNIUM 2001". Metacritic. CBS Interactive Inc.
  20. ^ "The 50 Best Video Game Franchises". Complex. Archived from the original on 2012-09-28. Retrieved 2012-09-26.