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SVC Chaos has a nice intro.
It has a very nice intro.
It has an especially nice intro for recent-era NeoGeo productions.
It has Mister Karate in the intro.
I really don't know what to say about the game itself, though. Only a few characters seem to be implemented in the (video-only) build shown. The SNK sprites are nearly all recycled from King of Fighters '96, although Earthquake is... both enormous and astounding. You might say that he is astoundingly enormous. The Capcom characters look exactly like SF2-era Capcom characters, redrawn in the distinctive King of Fighters style.
The game seems to be of a one-on-one nature. It has a classic, gritty, circa-1992 atmosphere. It seems intentionally direct and specific in its focus. If I didn't know better (and I don't), I'd say that it aspires to recapture some of the vibrations from Street Fighter II and the main Fatal Fury series.
It says something to me that Playmore has spent so much time, effort, and ROM space on the game's introduction while there still remains so much to implement. As it looks to me, the intro sequence serves as a kind of a focal point. It consists of some of the most impressive, painstaking animation yet seen on the Neo-Geo. Its style and direction are not dissimilar to what one might find in the introduction to, say, Super Street Fighter II Turbo.
The intro is long, elaborate, well-choreographed, serious -- and yet it ends with an oblique in-joke, for the fans. This seems like the overall vision for the game. It fits in with the character lineup, the battle system (from what is made evident in the trailer), the style of backgrounds and character art.
The game is early, but Playmore are putting in all that they've got. They want this game to stand on its own; to attract passers-by simply because of its presence. They want it to reflect a specific image of The Fighting Game -- done the hard way, and the right way. More or less.
This is SNK's major asset -- depth, and an intrinsic understanding of the emotional basis for their games. This is what SNK has to offer more than anyone; what both keeps their fans fed and has the potential to severely confuse the uninitiated.
This is the quality which seems to be at work, at the moment. Once you've got the right emotional foundation, it's not much of a trick to fill in the details as seems most appropriate. The introduction sequence is both an early product of this focus, and an obvious display to keep the right kind of energy flowing through the rest of production.
As for the underlying theory at hand in this case, I think Playmore are onto something. I'm not sure what, mind -- but it sure has been a long time since I've seen an intro sequence so painstakingly rendered and animated on a sprite-based system. Combined with the whole design setup -- mechanically and visually -- it strongly recalls a time when fighting games were special unto themselves.
Street Fighter II wasn't just a fighting game. It didn't just consist of a bunch of well-designed characters, a bunch of backgrounds, and a solid fighting engine. Rather, SFII was its own game. Characters were meticulously drawn and animated from scratch. Each characer had his or her own distinctive, memorable level. Every character theme was a masterpiece, easily ranked amongst the catchiest, most well-written, and generally most memorable game music of the era.
The levels weren't merely backdrops, but real locations. They had depth, animation, interactive elements. They blended with the characters. They tied into the characters' personalities. They were laid out with impeccable precision and care.
Everything about the game felt important; portentious. It was all tied together. EVerything existed for a reason. Nothing was arbitrary. The game existed because it had to exist; because it simply was.
You don't get that much, anymore -- from any game, really. Yet, it wasn't all that uncommon in 1992.
This attitude seems to be what Playmore is aiming for, with SVC Chaos. Perhaps it's merely my nostalgia kicking in, but for a one-on-one match between the two kings of classic 2D fighters, such a philosophy seems wholly appropriate to me.
I'm really curious to see how this all gets carried out.
Eric-Jon Waugh
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