‘Kizuna Encounter ACA NEOGEO’ Review – A Lucky Encounter After The Heavy Reign – TouchArcade

A couple of months in the past, SNK and Hamster launched Savage Reign within the ACA NEOGEO cellular line. In my review, I gave it a little bit of a drubbing attributable to its slap-dash mechanics, poor thematic consistency, and common lack of any actual distinguishing options in SNK’s ocean of nice combating video games. It was much less about it being a foul fighter, because it wasn’t, however extra about it feeling redundant within the face of the style’s first main growth interval. It someway received a sequel within the following yr, which exhibits you simply how a lot cash there was in one-on-one arcade fighters on the time. You wouldn’t be capable of inform by the title, thoughts you. Kizuna Encounter ($3.99) is the follow-up to Savage Reign, but it surely doesn’t appear to need to promote that truth. How a lot can change in only a yr and a half, although? Let’s discover out.

So, initially, let’s discuss in regards to the roster. It principally retains the identical characters, but it surely retires Carol the dodgeball lady and that one child with the protect. Of their place we get Rosa, a cool lady with a katana, and Kim, who wields a workers and has some mad Tae Kwon Do abilities. He might or will not be associated to the Kim we all know and love from extra well-known SNK fighters. We even have a brand new ultimate boss who is sort of a bit cooler than the earlier one. The remainder of the bunch are primarily the identical, but it surely’s spectacular how swapping out a few the odder fighters for a pair of extra grounded ones helps the roster really feel extra constant total. The backgrounds have additionally been reined in, with extra thematically acceptable venues that truly really feel like they’re from the identical setting.

The mechanics have seen some heavy modifications. The multi-plane combating that served because the closest factor to a gimmick Savage Reign had has been tossed out solely. It’s absolutely gone. The straightforward ranged weapon assault mapped to A + B can also be gone, nixed in favor of extra typical instructions and particular strikes. One button makes use of your weapon, one button punches, and one button kicks. As to that fourth button, that’s the place Kizuna Encounter will get attention-grabbing. You see, that fourth button permits you to tag in your associate character.

Let me hit you with a few launch dates. Kizuna Encounter, launched in arcades worldwide by SNK on September twentieth, 1996. X-Males vs. Avenue Fighter, launched in arcades in Japan by Capcom on September twenty fifth, 1996. Each of those video games launched a function that might turn out to be very fashionable within the style in a rush: tag workforce matches. Certain, the concept of getting the participant select a workforce of fighters was well-established by this level, most famously in SNK’s King of Fighters collection. However in these video games, every character took their flip combating. You couldn’t swap your characters on the fly mid-round. In Kizuna Encounter and X-Males vs. Avenue Fighter, you possibly can. Test these dates. Kizuna did it first.

Kizuna Encounter additionally makes use of its tag system in a really attention-grabbing manner. You may tag between your characters everytime you like, however you need to be in your tag zone. It’s principally the world the place you start every spherical. Should you’re outdoors of that zone, you possibly can’t tag in your associate. Additional spice comes from the truth that if both of your fighters has their life bar diminished, the struggle is over. No, the opposite character received’t bounce in and proceed the struggle. So you will have two full life bars to work with, however you need to juggle them to get essentially the most out of them. Then again, if you happen to can dominate your opponent and preserve them away from their tag zone, you solely have one life bar to whittle down. This… is a very intriguing hook. Wow, the sequel to Savage Reign has a stable hook!

I’m wondering if the builders understood on the time how ubiquitous this mechanic would turn out to be, albeit with a number of tweaks? In all probability not. However right here we’re, wanting again virtually thirty years later, and this sport feels fairly darned good to play. That the tag zone aspect didn’t catch on serves to present this sport a definite taste that helps it rise above a number of its contemporaries. No, it doesn’t have Wolverine in it. I’ll admit that may be a notable drawback versus the opposite tag-team fighter that got here out that week. However if you examine it to Savage Reign, it’s frankly unimaginable how a lot of a glow-up Kizuna Encounter is.

As a cherry on high of all of this for cellular gamers, that is really reasonably fulfilling to play in single participant. The CPU isn’t too nasty, no less than till you get to the final boss, so you possibly can get pleasure from giving them a thrashing with the varied characters when you will have a spare minute or two. That is vital as a result of as typical you’re in all probability not going to have the fitting set-up to get pleasure from this cellular model in multiplayer. You’ll want exterior controllers and a few type of technique of displaying the sport for each gamers. You recognize, except you need to snuggle up round your iPhone display. So sure, you’ll in all probability be flying solo and taking over the CPU opponents.

Time for the remainder of the same old feedback. As talked about, you should utilize an exterior controller and it’s undoubtedly the way in which to play. Hook up your Spine or Kishi and also you’ll be whipping out these particular strikes no downside. The contact controls are a bit tougher to cope with, however Kizuna Encounter isn’t a sport that depends closely on fancy chains of strikes or combos, so there are worse decisions. The standard additional modes are right here, together with all the gameplay, video, and management choices we’ve seen within the different ACA NEOGEO releases. The Rating Assault and Caravan modes are an alright match right here, permitting you to jostle on the leaderboards if sufficient different gamers present as much as the social gathering.

With all the same old provisos about ACA NEOGEO cellular variations of combating video games in thoughts, I type of dig Kizuna Encounter. I believe you’re higher off having fun with it on a platform the place you possibly can indulge within the multiplayer mode, however taking it for what it’s, I can consider worse methods to blow a couple of dollars on a cellular sport. It’s a kind of NEOGEO video games that I believe lots of people missed, and I might say that it holds up reasonably properly for a sport of its classic due to that fulfilling tag workforce function. Should you don’t thoughts being primarily locked to single-player in a one-on-one fighter, give Kizuna Encounter a glance.