SNK VS CAPCOM: Card Fighters’ Clash was a bit of a head-scratcher for Neo Geo fans when it came out in 1999. I certainly was looking forward to a portable version of SNK VS Capcom where I could duke it out in standard fighting game format with epic matchups like Chun-Li VS Mai. Instead, Card Fighters’ Clash is a straight-up card battle game, pitting you against other Card Fighter deck collectors in a fight to collect the best deck and become the champion.
It’s been almost 23 years since I’ve played Card Fighters Clash, and I honestly forgot how fun the gameplay is. While the original game was separated into two cartridges, one for the SNK side and another for the Capcom side, this Nintendo Switch release makes both titles accessible in one purchase. I’ve always been more of a Capcom fan, so I found myself playing the Capcom side of this game more than the SNK side. If you are worried about not understanding how to play this game, don’t worry, as there is an in-depth tutorial that you can launch from the game menu that will explain almost every aspect of the game.
Once you are comfortable jumping into the main game, you will pick one of two protagonists to begin your Card Fighters Clash adventure. Seeing the old overhead RPG view that I was raised with on games like Dragon Warrior and Final Fantasy made me smile, although it’s evident that this design decision was based on how the Game Boy Pokémon games were presented. Walking up to other characters on the screen will either give you an option of starting a card battle, or you will be given advice or hints. The card battles in this game can get pretty detailed, but the basic concept is that you shuffle up to 50 of your cards in your deck against the other players. Each card is represented by a Capcom or SNK character and has its own hit points or special abilities. Drawing cards on the battlefield will put you up against the other player’s cards, but the overall goal is to drain the deck holder hit points to zero to win the match.
Thanks to the Game Boy steamrolling any other handheld in its path, the Neo Geo Pocket did not get a fair chance in North America when it was first released and it’s software suffered to as a result. Now that Card Fighters’ Clash is out on the Nintendo Switch, I hope it gets a second look by card battle fans who may have missed it the first time.
Mike’s Starting Recommendations –
If you are playing Card Fighters Clash in handheld mode, I highly recommend you do the below settings to get the best experience out of the game. While the game boarders and screen filter options are great, it’s too hard to see for my liking.
- Turn off the CRT/Handheld Screen Filter in display settings
- Turn off the NEO GEO Pocket border in display settings.
- Zoom the game screen to the maximum vertical length.
eShop Link: https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/snk-vs-capcom-card-fighters-clash-switch/
Introducing! SNK VS. CAPCOM: CARD FIGHTERS’ CLASH, a white-hot card fighting game for the NEOGEO POCKET COLOR (released in 1999), is coming to Nintendo Switch™!
SNK VS. CAPCOM: CARD FIGHTERS’ CLASH was originally sold as two separate games; the SNK Cardfighter’s Version and the CAPCOM Cardfighter’s Version. But now, both have been combined into one game! Nothing is stopping you from collecting all the cards!
-SNK icons like Terry, Nakoruru, and Marco clash against CAPCOM legends Ryu, Chun-Li, and Mega Man in this insane card fighter!
-There are 300 cards in total, where characters from both SNK and CAPCOM appear as Character Cards for fighting, and Action Cards for support during battle. Go out there and make the strongest fighting deck in the world!
-You can trade between both the SNK and CAPCOM Cardfighters’ Versions. What’s more, you can even use their individual save data to have them battle each other!
*You may switch between the SNK Cardfighter’s Version and CAPCOM Cardfighter’s Version at any time, but each has their own save data.
*You may switch between the Japanese and English versions at any time, but each has their own save data.
*Trading between Japanese and English versions is not possible.
*The manual included in the game it is from the NEOGEO POCKET Color edition. Therefore, some of the controls may vary on Nintendo Switch.
From the moment he touched an Intellivision controller in 1985, Mike knew that he had experienced something incredible in the world of video games that would shape him for the rest of his life. From that point forward, he would make it his mission to experience video games from every console generation going forward. Eventually, he would become obsessed with magazines that wrote about the games he loved, and it would inspire him to start writing about games himself in 1998 for various local media outlets. Always looking for an opportunity to branch out, Mike eventually coded the foundation of a website that would ultimately morph into Gamer Logic Dot Net, an independent video game site that continues to cover modern and classic video game today. Additional, Mike composes music for indie games under his other alias "Unleaded Logic"
