SNK vs Capcom Card Fighters’ Clash [Switch] Review – Top Draw

Card-games really took off on handhelds in the late nineties. Fuelled by the Pokémon Trading Card Game becoming a playground obsession – your system simply had to have a entry in the genre.

And the Neo Geo Pocket Color had one of the very best – or should we say two of the best, with Card Fighters’ Clash coming in both SNK and Capcom flavours.

It’s no real surprise to see they still hold up well today in this new package for the Switch either.

The Card Fighters’ Clash titles were a notable omission in the recent Neo Geo Pocket Color Selection Vol 1, but it’s no surprise to see them get their own separate release.

They’re packed with content and are quite possibly the games that have aged the best from the underrated handheld.

Initially card battles seem complex – the tutorial throws all the rules at you in a flurry of text – but it soon becomes compulsive.

The one on one card battles boil down to each side placing a maximum of three characters cards down each, with these drawn randomly. Generally the higher the BP, the more powerful the card – with cards going up against each other until the overall health bar of one player reaches zero.

It’s not all about the BP though, with certain cards also possessing special abilities that change up the playing field. There are also action cards, SP to spend on such cards, and the ability to combine certain cards. 

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Now that seems a lot, as we said – but give Card Fighters’ Clash time to weave its magic and it becomes all encompassing. Although you’ll soon get used to the core rules you’ll always feel like you have a bit more to learn – which is a very good feeling indeed. 

The presentation is also top drawer, considering the limitations of the system the game was originally made for. All the character art is sharp and full of character, there’s some charmingly wonky translation work, and the story you play through is simplistic but effective. 

There’s been some effort made with this port too, with a versus mode that you can play on one system – with each player taking up one end of the Switch each.

The fact both the SNK and Capcom iterations of the game are included also makes it much easier to collect all 300 cards. Because who really has a Neo Geo Pocket Color link cable anymore?

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.

Source: https://www.gamezebo.com/2022/01/19/snk-vs-capcom-card-fighters-clash-switch-review-top-draw/