It’s not uncommon for a company to gather their classic games together in a compilation. Nintendo gave their NES Mario games a 16-bit makeover in Super Mario All-Stars on the SNES. Namco bundled enough of their arcade games to produce 5 Namco Museum volumes for the PS1. Then the early 2000s saw a ton of collections with Taito Legends, Midway Arcade Treasures, and the Sonic Mega Collection among others.
They’re still around today with Sonic Origins, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection, and the Capcom Fighting Collection. The latter brought Darkstalkers out of the vault alongside some hidden gems. So, it would be nice to see other companies gather their brawlers together too. Like SNK. Their bigger series have received compilations, and some of their more obscure entries have turned up as separate entries on digital storefronts. But if SNK put together their own Fighting Collection, which underrated gems would appear on it? Here are some suggestions.
8 Real Bout Fatal Fury Series
SNK is no stranger to digitally re-releasing their old games. The problem is that they tend to lose steam partway through. Fans have been able to grab Fatal Fury, King of Fighters ’94, and the original Samurai Shodown easily and legally since the PS3/360 days. Then Fatal Fury Special, KOF ’95, and SamSho 2 might turn up. KOF ’96 actually turned up on PS3, but Fatal Fury 3 and SamSho 3 didn’t get a sniff until the ACA Neo Geo series.
However, while the early Fatal Fury games can still be fun in that old school way. Their Real Bout successors have aged much better. They play much more smoothly and have some lusciously bold and colorful graphics. They could make a good backbone for a collection, like Darkstalkers did for the Capcom Fighting Collection. It even has a Japan-exclusive PS1 title, Real Bout Garou Densetsu Special: Dominated Mind, that could be the cherry on the cake. All together, they'd warm up the crowd for the upcoming Garou: Mark of the Wolves sequel.
7 The Last Blade Series
Samurai Shodown is SNK’s premier weapons fighter. Yet they produced a successor series in 1997. The Last Blade has players pick from a range of characters, like the Shinto priestess Akari, the Jet Li-inspired Lee Rekka, or series’ hero Kaede. Then they choose between a ‘Power’ style (build up meter for a super move) or a ‘Speed’ style (connect Tekken-style hitstrings into a big attack).
Then they get a stunningly beautiful game that rivals Capcom’s Street Fighter 3, and arguably plays better than its pre-Third Strike entries. All while running on the old Neo Geo MVS hardware. The game gained a sequel and a Neo Geo Pocket Color title before going dormant. With its most popular character, Hibiki Takane, turning up in Samurai Shodown 2019, it’s unlikely to get a new game today. But the first two would be at home on this collection as its crown jewels.
6 Aggressors Of Dark Kombat
ADK’s World Heroes series is more likely to enter a collection like this. However, ADK also produced a quirkier fighter than their main series. Aggressors of Dark Kombat (get it? ADK?) was an odd combo of a beat ‘em up and fighting game. It has the life bars and one-on-one combat like the latter. Then like the former, players could sidestep and pick up weapons either throw into the stage or hidden behind objects.
The game rewards aggressive play by restoring health with each hit. It also fills up a ‘Crazy Meter’ for a ‘Crazy Attack’. Like schoolgirl Kisarah Westfield breaking her opponent’s heart by smooching with her boyfriend. Or giant German fighter Leonhalt Domador calling in his white tiger for help. The controls are a bit odd, with weird commands and 3 buttons: punch, kick, and jump. But it has to be seen to be believed.
5 Savage Reign
Weirdly enough, this post-apocalyptic brawler is set in the same timeline as Fatal Fury. One of the characters, an old man called Chung Paifu, even has Terry’s cap as a childhood memento. Otherwise, the story is the standard big strong man holds a tournament to see if anyone can take him down. The game plays like an odd combo of Samurai Shodown and Fatal Fury.
Every character has a weapon, but they can also throw it at their opponent and continue bare fisted. They can also sidestep by jumping between planes. It makes for a fun throwback to SNK’s heyday, especially when paired with its tag-based sequel Kizuna Encounter. Both are hard to find legally, with just a few Japan-only digital re-releases. So, it would benefit from being part of a collection.
4 Waku Waku 7
Waku Waku 7 is easier to find alone, being part of the ACA NeoGeo series via HAMSTER Corporation and D4 Enterprise. However, it might be more of a hard sell that way as it’s weirder than either Aggressors of Dark Kombat and Savage Reign put together. Gameplay-wise, it’s a fun little fighter, albeit with a fairly small 9 character roster (of which only 7 can be played in Arcade Mode).
But what a set of characters they are! They’re all anime parodies in search of the wish granting WakuWaku balls. The Joseph Joestar-esque Dandy-J swings his whip around in search of treasure. The unitard-clad bunny girl Arina is looking for love. Mauru is a purple version of My Neighbor Totoro. Then, to achieve their dreams, they have to beat a big, ball-shaped monster with a dopey grin called Fernandez.
3 SNK Vs Capcom: Match Of The Millennium
While SNK and Capcom have teased a future collaboration, they actually have worked together recently. Albeit just for the digital re-release of their Neo Geo Pocket Color collab SNK Vs Capcom: Match of the Millennium. It’s essentially a mini-version of Capcom Vs SNK, playing like an 8-bit King of Fighters game, but with a 2-on-2 tag option à la Marvel Vs Capcom.
As little as it is, it may also be the best of SNK & Capcom’s clashes. It has a more varied cast than the Capcom Vs SNK games. Their cartoony looks also offer more expressive animations. Plus, there’s an Olympics Mode where players can go through a series of mini-games featuring characters from Ghosts N’Goblins, Metal Slug, and more. Nintendo Switch and PC players don’t have to wait for this hypothetical collection to become a reality to get it. It’s worth playing ASAP.
2 SNK Vs Capcom: Card Fighters Clash
Still, if SNK wanted to match the Capcom Fighting Collection, then this would be their equivalent of Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo. It’s a collectible card dueling game originally released on the Neo Geo Pocket Color where players build decks with a variety of SNK and Capcom characters. While the game isn’t as in-depth as Magic: The Gathering, it’s a fun, simplified take on the genre.
Big names from Street Fighter, King of Fighters, Resident Evil, Metal Slug, etc., turn up, as do more obscure ones from Cyberbots and Buriki One among others. It gained a Japan-only sequel in 2001, and a less-than-stellar DS edition in 2006. Luckily, Switch owners can pick up the original game digitally. But it would be nice if it got more attention across more platforms.
1 Neo Geo Battle Coliseum
If all else fails, SNK could always re-release this Arcade/PS2 gem. Once their collab deal with Capcom ended after SVC: SNK Vs Capcom Chaos, SNK decided to have their characters fight among themselves instead. Characters from King of Fighters, Fatal Fury, Art of Fighting, Samurai Shodown, Last Blade, World Heroes, Aggressors of Dark Kombat, Metal Slug, Savage Reign, and more take each other on in tag battles.
The game uses the then-new Atomiswave hardware to produce a sleek-looking fighter that’s a step above its predecessor, and positively shames its rival counterpart Capcom Fighting Evolution. It has all new sprites, all new stages, and a sense of humor. It would work wonderfully as the headpiece uniting SNK’s hidden gems with their big hits in a compilation. But, if that isn’t to be, it would be great in digital storefronts. Then maybe it could get a sequel perhaps? Just saying.