RetroWars IV: Capcom vs SNK

[Neon Ignition]

There's no doubting which of the two companies held the crown in terms of the fighting franchise most would be in favour of, however both companies battled it out across a multitude of franchises and fighting styles in both 2D and 3D form for years. Multiple staff would find themselves working for both companies leading to a bleed over of influences that would ultimately culminate in both companies working together to produce some card battlers and four fighting games. Still facing their respective highs and lows to this very day in the genre, the tale of Capcom and SNK is decades old.

In each RetroWar we pit two titans of rivalry against one another as many school kids would do back in the day, weighing up the strengths and weaknesses of each side, arguing in favour of your childhood 'top dog' and sharing your modern day hindsight view on who truly was the greatest.

Let's look at our two competitors:

CAPCOM
Street Fighter stands to this day as the crown jewel of fighters for many, especially amidst the wider world of fighters beyond these two companies as well. The franchise enjoying having its little teats milked by Capcom for years before facing the inevitable issue of making a true sequel and seeing the transition falter as Street Fighter III failed to have the same impact the iterations of its predecessor had. Capcom also struggled to move into the 3D era for a long time as well, attempts such as Rival Schools, Star Gladiator and the outsourced Street Fighter EX series all struggling to recreate the smaller impact attempts like the Alpha series enjoyed. This was until Street Fighter IV hit and married the two approaches together successfully creating a new run for the company to enjoy (until SFV wobbled the boat). None of this covers other series Capcom ran either such as Darkstalkers, the VS games or dedicated Marvel titles.







SNK
SNK was always more of a plucky underdog, however that didn't mitigate a level of ambition to their efforts. Whilst Capcom was busy making games successfully of all sorts of different genres, SNK was knocking out high cost consoles to do its titles justice in the home. With Art of Fighting they started their road to combat Capcom's fighters before leading into Fatal Fury and showing their diversity in styles with Samurai Showdown and Last Blade, their efforts largely culminating in the King of Fighters series that bled their experience together to become their central focus that now awaits its fifteenth entry. The series never enjoyed Capcom's level of success though in terms of commercial success.






THE DEBATE
This is an open ended discussion. A good leading point is to cast your vote then tell us why your chosen option was just that, but beyond that there's a lot to break the subject down into:

-Who made the better fighting games?
-Was the Street Fighter or King of Fighters series the best choice?
-Which singular fighting game or series from both companies was the best?
-Did playing on a dedicated system (the Neo Geo consoles) make a difference to your experience?

Defend your Favourite - Defeat your Rivals

[Leon Retro]

I've always preferred Capcom. Street Fighter 2 and its sequels were my 'go-to' fighters in the early to mid-90s. Turbo on the SNES and Super Turbo on the 3DO kept me happy for years.

My favourite SNK fighting series is Samurai Shodown. I had a lot of fun with the first game back in the day. The sequel is my favourite. I also really liked King of Fighters '95 -- which seemed quite amazing at the time.

Away from SF2, I also really like other Capcom fighters such as the Zero/Alpha series. The Darkstalkers games also really appeal to me.

[DeathAdder]

I prefer Streetfighter 2 to any of the SNK fighting games, but I don't like the way SF evolved. SF2 with the first 12 characters was amazing, but I thought Cammy and everyone else who arrived afterwards was rather lame. The Alpha games don't do it at all for me - really dislike the character art. So Streetfighter 2 first, but then a few SNK fighters occupying the rest of the top 5 for me.

Nowadays, though, Tekken, Soul Calibur and Dead or Alive are more my thing.

[Leon Retro]

Nowadays, though, Tekken, Soul Calibur and Dead or Alive are more my thing.

I also like those series' of games. Soul Edge and Soul Calibur are my favourite 3D fighters that I've played a lot over the years. I've just bought Soul Calibur IV & V for the 360, so I hope they're enjoyable.

[Dogg Thang]

Capcom has always won it for me but I think SNK have a load of brilliant fighters and, really, we all win here. They both have made some amazing games and managed to deliver something a little different from each other too. The 2D SF series from 2 onwards is superb, to the point of probably being a little redundant to say, but Capcom also gave us the Marvel games, Darkstalkers and some other treats like Pocket Fighter. Loads to love.

SNK I think took a little while longer to refine what they were doing but KoF really came together to become a brilliant series of fighting games. Among the other SNK games, Garou and the Last Blade games are standouts. They play great, the art is stunning and they have a feel all of their own.

So really, they're both strong contenders and have earned their place as fighting game royalty.

[Neon Ignition]

I think this is where my crux comes down on this rivalry between the two companies. Street Fighter is the jewel amongst them all in most of its iterations (Alpha series is the king though) however once you set that franchise aside I veer back towards SNK.

Thanks to their age in some cases this may seem an odd preference but I find the broad slate of Samurai Shodown, Fatal Fury, Garou, Last Blade, Art of Fighting etc to be more interesting and better to play than Capcom's non-SF titles like Marvel vs, Darkstalkers etc which is what makes me wonder if SNK is the better of the two even if Capcom has Street Fighter under its belt

[speedlolita]

Street Fighter III: Third Strike.
Street Fighter III: Third Strike.
Street Fighter III: Third Strike.
Street Fighter III: Third Strike.
Street Fighter III: Third Strike.
Street Fighter III: Third Strike.
Street Fighter III: Third Strike!

[Leon Retro]

Street Fighter III: Third Strike!

You wouldn't happen to be a fan of Third Strike???

[teddymeow]

I always associate Capcom with Street Fighter when it comes to 2D 1-on-1 fighters.

Red Earth, Dark stalkers etc never did much for me.

As I've got older I've really learned to appreciate the SNK games. A broader suite of titles and most of them are bloody good! Garou, KoF, SamSho and the like.

So, my heart will always be Capcom as it's what I grew up playing but, my goodness, them SNK games is well tasty!

[Strider]

One of the things SNK had in its favour was diversity in my opinion. A lot of good variety which I don’t recallCapcom’s brawlers shared. Last Blade remains one of my favorite fighters of the era.

[Asura]

I think, realistically, Capcom win this - which is a bit of a turn-up, coming from a guy with an SNK avatar.

Back in the 80s/90s, I was a big SNK fan. I never owned a Neo Geo, but as someone who grew up in a seaside area with good access to arcades, I was always drawn to the arcade fighters, and although I enjoyed playing Street Fighter II at home, I was always much more excited by the likes of Samsho II or the Fatal Fury games in the arcades. I used to see Soccer Brawl and the like on GamesWorld and loved seeing SNK's biggest and best. I read the mags, especially the ones with big import sections, always big fan of games like Art of Fighting to Kabuki Klash. It wasn't just because they were "Japanese and obscure" (though I'll admit that had an allure) but something about the games really drew me in, and I was sometimes dismissive of other stuff. I owned very few western-developed games on the Saturn and Megadrive. I was also a big anime fan, which I think was more aligned with SNK, up until SF Alpha which fully took on the anime aesthetic.

SNK's armour wasn't impregnable though. I'm not convinced they ever made one truly great scrolling fighter, I always preferred Capcom's.

However, I think the title which points out a fulcrum shift in their rivalry was Resident Evil. The 32-bit era was a difficult transition for many companies. Some managed it, some didn't, and SNK really struggled. Capcom had RE, which was an enormous success and kicked off the survival horror genre (even if it built on earlier games like Alone in the Dark), and even though Street Fighter EX isn't remembered fondly, I think it actually did quite well?

SNK's early forays into 3D weren't great, from what I recall. There was a Fatal Fury game and a Samsho game, but I remember that neither of these reviewed well. Koudelka wasn't great, even if it would go on to inspire better things. In fact, I didn't play a good 3D SNK game until trying KoF: Maximum Impact 2 on PS2, which wasn't exactly stellar even though it was playable. This has nothing to do with a 2D/3D debate, but more about the ability of each company to move with the times, and Capcom managed it. Even in this era they brought us SFIII and Alpha2/3, which are among my personal favourites.

Capcom would later give us Onimusha, Devil May Cry, so many other compelling titles... Whereas for SNK, we're waiting with bated breath for a new Samurai Showdown title, hoping it won't be bad, because the previous one was. Given, they've had some recent wins in the form of the recent KoF games (was that Gal Fighters sequel actually good in the finish?).

I love SNK. Some of my favourite games are part of their stable. Still, I can't help but feel Capcom have shown themselves to be the best overall, in most respects.

To wrap up, when asked about "best game", I would have to pick Street Fighter II, potentially in its Super Turbo variety. This is just because I think there are very few games which are approaching 30 years old, but are still just as compelling now as they originally were. The characters are as iconic as Mickey Mouse or Sonic. The game is just an absolute marvel.

Hey [MENTION=345]Superman Falls[/MENTION], can we have a Neo Geo Pocket Color love-in?

[Cassius_Smoke]

I'm probably more a Capcom player. I particularly liked the Alpha series. They seemed to couple the colourful character designs and solid game play the best. Capcom seem to nail the meaty hits and combos more for my taste. SNK does do more tactical style fighters, which I appreciate too. Real bout fatal fury, where you can duck in and out of the background/foreground, got a good many hours from me

[speedlolita]

[MENTION=5941]Asura[/MENTION] SNK Heroines is one of the worst video games I've played.

[Neon Ignition]

Hey @Superman Falls, can we have a Neo Geo Pocket Color love-in?

Noted



I think, looking at the two companies broadly then Capcom is an easy win. Focusing just on fighters, I have to give it to SNK because of that diversity in what they've delivered. Street Fighter is great but even with that you need to filter out the iteration and it doesn't leave much that they nailed it with.

[Asura]

@Asura SNK Heroines is one of the worst video games I've played.

Wow, don't sugar-coat it - tell us what you really think

Yeah, I was blown away it was full-price. When SNK showed it off, I assumed it was a cut-price gag game.