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SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters Clash is a series of SNK Playmore games between 1999 and 2006 for hand-held consoles. It is a digital collectible card game, spun off from the popular series of fighting games by SNK and Capcom, and also including references to many other kinds of games from both companies. The game uses cards based on Capcom and SNK characters from a variety of earlier games. The first two versions of this game were released for the Neo Geo Pocket Color, and a new version for the Nintendo DS was released in 2007.
The first game in the series, released in 1999 for the Neo Geo Pocket Color handheld console, was the first crossover between SNK and Capcom. Characters in the game are illustrated in the super deformed art style. There are two complementary versions of the game: the SNK version and the Capcom version. Each version of the game has a different starting deck and different exclusive cards that can be obtained, but the gameplay remains the same, with card battles resembling a somewhat simplified version of Magic: The Gathering, in which a maximum of three "creatures" (i.e. fighters) are allowed in each player's field at any given moment and there is no mana to be spent to place them in the field (there are, however, Special Points, SP for short, which are gained as fighters are placed in the field and spent as the players use Action Cards—this game's equivalent of Enchantments—or combined attacks). The game received an emulated re-release for Nintendo Switch in January 2022, which includes both versions and features the ability to battle and trade between them on a single system. This re-release was later included as part of the Neo Geo Pocket Color Selection Vol. 2 game compilation, released for Nintendo Switch and Windows in November 2022.
The game was mostly well received. TouchArcade said "It’s one of those games that gives back the more you put into it." Gamezebo said "Overall Card Fighters’ Clash holds up very well to modern scrutiny – like most of the top tier NGPC titles – and this sensibly priced port is a must play for anyone with even a passing interest in the card battler genre."
This Japan-only sequel to SVC: Card Fighters' Clash was released as カードファイターズ2 in 2001 for the Neo Geo Pocket Color after Capcom vs. SNK 2. In addition to the 240 character and 60 action cards from the first game, 124 new cards are added, adding cast from Garou: Mark of the Wolves, Samurai Shodown: Warriors Rage, The King of Fighters '99 and 2000 for SNK, and Project Justice, Mega Man Legends, Dino Crisis and Onimusha for Capcom, while also including 40 Reaction cards that can be used during the opponent's attack. Another new feature is special character cards with alternate versions of various characters depicted with regular artwork instead of the super deformed style. Instead of being released as two versions (SNK and Capcom), this game was released as a single version that lets the players decide to either start with a SNK deck or a Capcom deck. It was the last game to be released for the Neo Geo Pocket Color in Japan. A fan translation for the game exists.
This Nintendo DS game was released on December 14, 2006, in Japan and was released on April 24, 2007, in the United States. In addition, there are key features:
Many newcomers have been added from recent games produced by both companies, such as Capcom's Dante and Phoenix Wright as well as SNK's Yuki and Nagase.
Almost immediately after the American NDS version was released, an unavoidable bug was discovered in the game. The bug occurs on the ninth floor of the tower, during the second play through. The game crashes after talking to an opponent named Jon, who has to be defeated in order to finish the game. On June 6, SNK announced that the replacement cartridge would be available in stores on June 25 and began the process of implementing a recall. These cartridges have been sent by mail along with a package of five King of Fighters trading cards. The recall ended in January 2008. Fixed versions of the game features a black and white graphic behind the title font on the cartridge's label, while bugged versions feature the label in full color. The other versions of the game did not contain the aforementioned glitch.
The game was mostly poorly received. Eurogamer said it was "broken in the literal sense of not working as sold and, as such, must be scored appropriately. That the game underneath the bodged localisation is also, figuratively, a broken shell of what it once was and absolutely nowhere near as good as it should have been, is more than anything, deeply, deeply sad." IGN said it was "Without a doubt one of the biggest letdowns thus far on DS." Game Revolution said that the game "takes everything I remember about playing tradable card games, highlights the bad parts, and then breaks." Famicom Tsūshin scored the game a 25 out of 40.
North American cover art for the SNK version
North American cover art