Neo Turf Masters
Game: Neo Turf Masters
Console: Arcade
Developer: SNK
Release Date: 1996
Golf is a difficult genre to make a game from; too technical and no-one will be able to play the game, too easy and those well versed in golf (who are likely your main target market) won't want to touch it. Neo Turf Masters strikes a balance between these two extremes with an easy target aim system, and auto club selection, meaning that players can see where and how hard they're likely to hit the ball. However some of the holes are difficult enough to still give problems to players and it can be very difficult to judge the movement of a putt.
Players begin on the final day of a tournament and must score well enough to move their way up the rankings. At each hole they must judge the best direction in which to hit the ball and then set the strength and timing meters so that the ball lands on the fairway, or green. Putting is a little different and only requires timing, though the aim is much more of a guess than with driving. An arrow indicating the maximum distance the ball could go with the current club would have been a very useful inclusion.
Graphically the game looks great for 1996; though it's not trying any sort of 3D graphics, the 2D effects look far superior as clumsy 3D polygons would have been an insult to an SNK game. The music is funky and almost what you'd expect from this sort of arcade game. The announcer can get a little shrill and tiring at times, but it's bearable.
Overall Neo Turf Masters is the sort of sports arcade game that was nearly spot on, but could have done with being a little easier in places. Since it's an arcade game, the timed shots leave players little time to think about what they're going to do, and it's easy to fall behind on the leaderboards with a few poor shots.
Rating: 68/100
Grade: C
Samurai Shodown
Game: Samurai Shodown
Console: Arcade
Developer: SNK
Release Date: 1993
As I mentioned in the previous part of this review, SNK fighting games are generally very difficult to progress through. This is no problem if you're willing to spend hours practicing, but for those who'd rather have a little fun attempting to outwit some challenging but not over tough AI, there comes a point in the game where continuing would take more practice than it's worth.
Controlwise there are light, medium and heavy slashes and kicks available to players as basic moves as well as various special moves which are pulled off with quarter turn combinations. On the Wii controller it's annoying that there are only 4 viable buttons as heavy slashes and kicks both require awkward combinations of buttons to be pressed. In addition to this, the kicks are rarely particularly damaging or useful so it's best to stick to slashes.
Graphically the game is detailed, interesting and on a par with the other games in the collection; attack animations are varied, as are the character designs and there's action which occurs in the background every now and then, a little like Street Fighter. Musically too the game is on a par with other SNK titles, with fitting but not overly memorable tracks playing behind fights.
Overall Samurai Shodown has a unique selling point in that its fighters are all wielding swords of some sort, but the combat is very similar to many other games and doesn't benefit from the difficulty in progressing through the game. Once players come up against a character they lose to 3 times in a row or more, they're more likely to quit than continue training.
Rating: 55/100
Grade: D
Sengoku
Game: Sengoku
Console: Arcade
Developer: SNK
Release Date: 1991
Sengoku is one of the strangest arcade games I've ever played. Players take on the role of a warrior, attempting to stop the second coming of a powerful warlord who was defeated 400 years ago. Most enemies make reference to Japanese mythology and the game is made unique by the player's ability to transform into a different warrior at any given time until their life bar runs out as that warrior. At random times during the game, players will be transported to another dimension to fight possessed townsfolk.
The action is pretty boring with a just a single attack button, despite the choice of characters to play as. There's various power-ups, though none seem to make the action any more fun, with ranged attacks and weapons simply doing the same job as the regular attack. The random transportations to another dimension are pretty irritating, and overall there's no explanation of anything that's going on.
Graphically the game has interesting colours and enemy designs, though the backgrounds seem to be intentionally vague with strange colours. Despite the clarity of the sprites and decent animations, I'd have preferred for it to be clear what was going on in the game. Musically the game is incredibly weird, with what I can only describe as Japanese folk moaning accompanying the sections in another dimension.
Overall Sengoku is a boring and overly long game with strange elements and themes that just don't seem to work particularly well. There's no investment for players in the quest to vanquish the warlord, switching between characters is temporary and provides no real advantage over enemies, and the random teleportation interrupts the flow of gameplay.
Rating: 44/100
Grade: E
Game: Shock Troopers
Console: Arcade
Developer: Saurus
Release Date: 1997
Shock Troopers is a shooting game in the same style as Metal Slug. Players make their way through a choice of 3 different courses to their objective in the centre, through 6 stages. Within these stages are many enemy soldiers who must be eliminated with the use of guns, power-up weapons or special weapons. The plot is explained through cutscenes after each level and while basic is better than most of the game plots featured in this SNK collection so far.
Gameplaywise there are similarities with Total Carnage, though here movement and aiming direction are one and the same, meaning that at times players must move toward their enemies to shoot at them. The range of guns featured is impressive, and each of the 8 characters have a different special weapon. Some of the bosses can take a huge number of hits to kill, and there's often a lot going on onscreen, but with a generous health bar, health upgrades and unlimited continues it's bearable.
Graphically the game has a cartoon feel to its sprites, with basic but recognisible locations playing host to the combat. In the jungle section there's part of a level which takes place on a motorbike, and another whilst climbing up the side of a structure. These changes of pace are nicely placed so as to give players a break from the relentless combat. Musically the game provides a fitting soundtrack, though there's a lot of noise from the constant shooting and explosions.
Overall Shock Troopers is an enjoyable and fairly replayable experience thanks to its short overall length, choice of paths and characters, and fast active gameplay. While twin stick control would have been nice, the lack of it isn't something that ruins the game, and there's enough power-up weapons and special weapons to explore and cause mayhem with.
Rating: 86/100
Grade: B
Super Sidekicks 3 - The Next Glory
Game: Super Sidekicks 3: The Next Glory
Console: Arcade
Developer: SNK
Release Date: 1995
Super Sidekicks 3: The Next Glory is a football game, where players can choose to play as a wide variety of teams, in many different competitions. With very short games, the emphasis is on creating chances in order to score; most fouls are overlooked with only the most heinous of tackles interrupting play. If the scores are level at the end of a game, the player is given 3 options, a repeat of the game, a sudden death game where the first goal wins or a penalty shootout. If either of the first options are chosen and still result in a draw, they are removed from the choices after the 2nd game, and eventually players would be forced to play penalties.
The controls are simple with buttons for shooting, high and low passing, two types of tackles and swapping players. Play feels very natural and most of the time controlling players and pass directions is intuitive. The only time where play feels a little out of control is in the penalty area of either team, where it's more of a mad scramble to score/defend. Arrows at the edge of the screen to indicate offscreen players would also have been nice, but it's not bad overall.
Graphically the game looks great in the SNK style; there's no attempt at 3D or anything new for the time but the player sprites and effects when goals are scored look very detailed and there's a real sense of quality in the visuals. The menu music featured is fun and upbeat, though games are only accompanied by the sound of the crowd and a few announcements from a commentator.
Overall for 1995 this is a very polished arcade football game; FIFA 95 could have learned from some of the aspects of this game, though the incredibly short game time does somewhat ruin the chance of players actually having enough time to score a goal and win the game. Other than this though, there's a lot to enjoy and it's not particularly difficult, unlike many other SNK games.
Rating: 75/100
Grade: B
Game: The King of Fighters '94
Console: Arcade
Developer: SNK
Release Date: 1994
The King of Fighters '94 combines fighters from The Art of Fighting and Fatal Fury (seen in the last part of this review), and makes teams of three fighters each competing against eachother in various locations around the world to be crowned the king of fighters. The game's unique selling point is that once a fighter has been beaten, the next steps into the ring and so on until all three fighters have lost. The remaining fighter in the ring after one has been beaten gains a health bonus.
The controls are much like other fighting games with heavy and light kicks, an evasive move and a special heavy move as well as quarter turn special moves for ranged attacks. In contrast to The Art of Fighting and Fatal Fury, movement and hitting the opponents seem to be much easier, and the overall difficulty level seems to be far more manageable.
Graphically the game looks great with detailed arenas, fighters, move animations and more. The establishing shot of each arena has a depth effect and really adds to the feel of the fight. The music featured in the game has a high level of energy and makes for a tense atmosphere behind the fights; there's a rock influence to most of the soundtrack, which combines with a slight electronic feel also.
Overall The King of Fighters '94 is by far the best fighting game featured so far on this collection, as the fighting experience is intuitive and enjoyable. Although we now take SNK's high quality visuals for granted, it's important to note that in 1994, there weren't many other games that looked as good as this in both the arcade and home console forms.
Rating: 71/100
Grade: C
Top Hunter
Game: Top Hunter
Console: Arcade
Developer: SNK
Release Date: 1994
Top Hunter is an intriguing Beat 'em Up featuring a quest to save 4 planets from the tyranny of evil rulers before finally defeating their boss. There are 2 stages one each planet before a final boss rush to end the game. Each stage is fairly short, but has 2 planes of play which both the player characters Roddy and Cathy can swap between, as well as most of the enemies featured in the game. This adds an element of strategy as some power-ups, switches and score bonuses require clever plane swapping to collect.
Roddy and Cathy have basic punching moves, throws, jumping attacks and quarterturn special moves as their moveset, with the ability to command a giant robotic body if taken from an enemy in various parts of the game. This variety of moves allows players a choice of attack, and though there's no defensive option, the action is generally fast enough for this not to be an issue. The bosses featured in the game are fairly varied, and only the final boss seems to be a little difficult, in contrast to many of SNK's other titles.
Graphically the game looks beautiful with detailed backgrounds and a good sense of which plane is which in terms of the foreground and mid plane. Characters and enemies have large sprites and are animated well. The overall difficulty level is entirely manageable and players shouldn't struggle to beat the game, especially with unlimited credits. The music is pretty average, and gets a little lost behind all the action, but there's some enjoyable tunes for each section of the game for those who listen out.
Overall Top Hunter is a great arcade game, providing a unique twist on the Beat 'em Up genre with it's dual plane approach, and combining this with great graphics, short but engaging levels and a perfectly matched difficulty level. If I had to recommend a single game from this entire SNK collection, it'd probably be this.
Rating: 86/100
Grade: B
World Heroes
Game: World Heroes
Console: Arcade
Developer: Alpha Denshi
Release Date: 1992
Throughout this SNK collection, medals are available for beating games and completing various tasks. By earning 10 medals from the past 15 games, World Heroes is unlocked for play and completes the 16 games available on the disc. While I'm not a fan of locking away content for players to complete objectives to release, it is at least fairly simple to acquire the necessary number of medals to play this game.
World Heroes is a fighting game featuring fighters from all around the globe in a very similar style to Street Fighter II. So similar in fact that there's even a few lookalikes in the game's cast, and it plays rather similarly too. While many fighting games took their inspiration from Street Fighter II, it's important to have a unique selling point for your fighting game which this unfortunately lacks. The action is clunky and somewhat slow, and each fighter has a couple of moves which are clearly more effective than any of the others, leading to repetitive button mashing rather than true strategy.
Graphically the game looks great; better than Street Fighter II in any of its console releases at least, with many frames of animation for each character and interesting locations in which to battle. The soundtrack is a little lacking, with generic music for this type of game, and the era in which it was released. There are some fun special moves, but nothing mirroring the excitement of fatalities in Mortal Kombat.
Overall World Heroes is an incredibly average fighting game released in the boom after Street Fighter II's impact on the world, and as such it suffers somewhat from trying to copy the successful formula. It's fighters are forgettable and it's really just another fighting game to put on the pile. It's a shame that this was the game which trying to hard to gain medals unlocked, as Metal Slug or something of that sort would have been more of a reward.
Rating: 60/100
Grade: D
So that brings us to the end of the SNK arcade collection, and there's been a wealth of choice for fans of fighting, beat 'em up and sports games. There's no doubt that graphically, SNK's games were impressive and generally fairly difficult to beat, but none of the games featured on the collection were genuinely horrible, and 4 of the 16 games even made it into my arcade top 30.
With a collection of Metal Slug games released on the PSP shortly before the release of this collection, it'd have been silly to put more than a single version of the game on here. There's a good variety of the type of games that players have come to expect from SNK, and it's fairly representative of arcade games in the 90s as a whole.
The extras included with the collection are mainly unlockable, and there's a great deal of art, videos and music to unlock for those who actually check on those sort of features. Overall this is a solid collection of gaming history from a company whose games are pretty difficult to play in their original arcade format without a lot of money and searching for Neo Geo consoles.
Collection Rating: 79/100
Grade: B
