SNK Gals Fighters
  

 

   
REVIEW:  So as the story goes, the "Queen of Fighters Tournament" was organized by Miss X... (whom is actually Iori Yagami dressed as a woman). Obviously, the premise of Gals Fighters doesn't take itself seriously at all, and is actually pretty hilarious. Either Iori is just plain weird for dressing as a woman and thinking he could fool the SNK girls, or maybe he's actually an evil genius and has a fetish for watching the SNK ladies fight it out (hey, his plan ended up working, didn't it?) Anyway... onto the review.

 

 

SNK Gals Fighters is a 1-on-1 fighting game made exclusively for the Neo Geo Pocket Color. The game features 10 of SNK's most famous female fighters (along with a ton of cameos). Gals Fighters plays most similarly to KOF R-1 & R-2, but features slightly faster gameplay and a friendlier combo system. The gameplay also includes items that players can equip to influence matches, but most of the items actually have no effect on the gameplay. The matches are also 1-on-1, unlike KOF. While the game has an unique premise, Gals Fighters didn't bring a whole lot of justice to the Neo Geo Pocket in terms of innovation, which is unfortunate since the system was already on the decline upon the release of Gals Fighters... 


The NGPC already had a ton of traditional 2D fighting games, all of which based on recognizable SNK franchises like KOF, Fatal Fury, Samurai Shodown & Last Blade. Gals Fighters is actually the only "original" fighting franchise to appear on the system (besides SNK Vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium, which is more of a crossover than anything else). It would seem that a "girls only" fighting game, with a basic gameplay engine and a silly premise, only has so much mainstream appeal.

 

 

The simple fact that SNK Vs. Capcom: Match of the Millennium is a much deeper fighting game and has a significantly bigger, more attractive roster (and came out nearly a year earlier), makes Gals Fighters seem to be more of a joke than anything else. As a big fan of MOTM, I have to say there's not much incentive to play Gals Fighters for any extended period of time.


Aesthetically, Gals Fighters isn't as impressive as some of the older NGPC titles, but what the game lacked in graphics it made up for in personality and humor. No dout hardcore SNK fans will enjoy the funny cut-scenes and all of the "little" extra details they fit into the game. Though Gals Fighters only features female playable fighters, quite a few males actually make cameos in the game, including: Kyo, Ryo, Todo, Takuma, Kensou, Juzo, Goro, & Yashiro. For a die-hard SNK/KOF fan, Gals Fighters is an entertaining title, but as a whole, the game lacks depth and features a pretty small character roster.

 

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Page Updated: July 16th, 2023 Developer(s): Yumekobo Publisher(s): SNK Platform(s): Neo Geo Pocket Color, Nintendo Switch Release Date(s): Jan. 27th, 2000              NEOGEO Pocket Color Feb. 19th, 2000             NEOGEO Pocket Color Apr. 29th, 2020           Nintendo Switch Characters:  Athena Asamiya, Mai Shiranui, Leona Heidern, Yuri Sakazaki, Shermie, Shiki, Nakoruru, Akari Ichijo, Whip, Yuki, Miss X Featured Video: Related Games: SNK Vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium, SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy, The King of Fighters R-1, The King of Fighters R-2, Fatal Fury: 1st Contact, Fatal Fury: 1st Contact, Last Blade: Beyond The Destiny, Samurai Shodown!: Pocket, Samurai Shodown! 2: Pocket, Arcana Heart, Skullgirls, Guilty Gear X: Advance, Street Fighter Alpha 3: Upper, SFA3: Max    Gameplay Engine  6.5 / 10 Story / Theme  6.0 / 10 Overall Graphics  5.5 / 10 Animation  6.5 / 10 Music / Sound Effects  5.0 / 10 Innovation  6.5 / 10 Art Direction  8.5 / 10 Customization  3.0 / 10 Options / Extras  5.5 / 10 Intro / Presentation  5.0 / 10 Replayability / Fun  6.0 / 10 "Ouch" Factor  5.0 / 10 Characters  6.5 / 10 BOTTOM LINE  6.5 / 10     Final Words: SNK Gals Fighters is an interesting little game... and no doubt one of SNK's most obscure fighting games. In my opinion, Gals Fighters doesn't have as much replayability as some others on the system (especially MOTM), but it's possibly a bit more "interesting" than some of the basic ports of SNK's other franchises. SNK's girls are great and all, but I think Gals Fighters could've been epic if SNK was able to throw in some Capcom gals too! Now that would have made things more interesting. If anything, Gals Fighters definitely should've had a larger character roster. Nonetheless, it's a classic title that any NGPC owner should have in their library. On that note, SNK Gals Fighters has become somewhat of a collector's item, since it was one of the last games to be released on the system. You'd be lucky to pick up a physical version of the original NGPC game for less than $100! I thought this game was fated to exist as a forgotten relic of fighting game history... but 20 years after its release, SNK brought back Gals Fighters as part of their Nintendo Switch NeoGeo Pocket digital collection, alongside a variety of other (arguably more popular) classics from the system. ~TFG Webmaster | @Fighters_Gen       Click Here for all box artwork / flyers!    Click Here for all character artwork! Click Here for all screenshots! FOLLOW    ON:                             TFG NEWS CHARACTERS GAMES