Arcade fans and retro-gamers with Twitch Prime Memberships are receiving a treasure trove of old-school treats, free of charge. SNK has partnered with Twitch to release several classic titles for download through the Amazon Games App.
Over the summer, SNK is celebrating the 30th anniversary of its cartridge-based Neo Geo arcade cabinet systems, which were a mainstay of 90s arcades, best known for fighting and side-scrolling titles. The latest batch of games largely focuses on side-scrolling shooting titles like Metal Slug 2, and the SNK 40th Anniversary Collection which compiles 24 classic console and arcade titles such as Ikari Warriors, Athena, and Alpha Mission.
While the company's impressive roster of characters has grown more obscure since arcades decline in popularity, at least one of SNK's fighting icons earned a spot in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
It is not unfair, though perhaps uncharitable, to say that SNK has been coasting on 90s nostalgia for its various properties, as the latest incarnation of Samurai Shodown is the company's only notable recent release. And while Ubisoft arranged for its Vanguard character from For Honor to appear in Samurai Shodown, the company has garnered more media attention for a string of inappropriate tweets focusing on a female Samurai Shodown character's backside.
This is the second of three batches of free SNK games to hit Twitch this summer. In May, SNK released several of their classic fighters, including Art of Fighting 2, Fatal Fury Special, and The King of Fighters 2000 and 2002. The release date of the third batch has yet to be announced.
Twitch Prime Members can download the second batch of SNK titles now.