Platform: PlayStation 4

Developer: SNK

Publisher: NIS America

Release Date: September 7, 2018

Genre: Fighting

Nerd Rating: 7/10

 

 

The announcement of King of Fighters XIV was a momentous moment for fighting game fans across the world.

Jubilation rang out, not just because a legendary series was getting updated for the modern era, but because of the attitude in which series developer SNK was approaching the title.

In an interview with Japanese gaming outlet Famitsu, series producer Yasuyuki Oda stated that when King of Fighters XIV was green-lit by SNK’s CEO at the time, it was done with the intention of restoring SNK as the leader  in the fighting game genre.

“Speaking of the green light, the actual motivation for beginning development of King of the Fighters XIV came when SNK’s then CEO in 2013, announced his desire to “regain their position as number 1 in fighting games.” Oda said that he advised his boss on what he expected the development costs to be and that he was undeterred. ”

King of Fighters XIV released in 2016, and while the presentation was visually a little rough around the edges, no one could argue that its gameplay was anything less than stellar.

Two years have passed since this rebirth for SNK, and the hunger to see what was next from this storied developer grew to insatiable levels.

Could it be a rebirth of Samurai Showdown?

Could the most underrated fighter of all time – Mark of the Wolves finally receive the sequel it deserved?

The possibilities were almost limitless, so it was more than a little surprise when we finally found out exactly what it was the company was working on – SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy – an all female spin-off of the King of Fighters universe.

Best described as a fighting game lite, SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy recruits pretty much every notable female character from the King of Fighters franchise, pairs them up, and pits them against other pairs of teams in a frenetic, fast-paced tag team experience.

The combat system eschews complex button inputs and rigid memorization in favor of a much more simplified scheme. Fighters are given a light attack, a strong attack, a throw button, and a special moves button. These special moves are activated by either pressing the button while your character is in a neutral position, or pressing forward, backwards, or down plus that button. It’s an input scheme that loosely resembles the one found in the Super Smash Bros. Series.

Also loosely resembling the Smash series is the appearance of various items throughout the course of the battles, which range from the mundane, like banana peels, to the exotic, like hurricane force winds. However, unlike the items that appear in Smash, I never felt that the items that came into play in SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy became deciding factors in a match.

So “light” is the approach to SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy’s approach to its core combat mechanics, that something as simple in normal fighting games as crouching have been eliminated. A Mortal Kombat-esque block button has also been instituted, which definitely takes some time to get used to, especially for those who are more used to the standard ‘press back to block’ of KoF .

It’s definitely a stripped down approach to the mechanics of the fighting games, and it’s readily apparent that it was meant entice players who were not normally fighting game fans with something more approachable, while also emphasizing offense and action.

Where SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy gets especially interesting is in how fights are finished.

Instead of just depleting an opponent’s life gauge, SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy requires players to fill up a special gauge called the “Spirit Meter” in order to perform a “Dream Finish” and claim victory. This Spirit meter fills as blows are landed, but also is depleted when using a special move. So there are instances where you will have an opponent stunned, but you’ll need to quickly tag in your partner, who has a full Spirit Meter to finish the job.

While this sounds somewhat complicated, it really just boils down to beating up your opponent enough, and then pressing the R1 button to execute the Dream Finish. It is possible though, for an opponent to snap out of their stunned state and defend themselves, causing the Dream Finish to miss. So that adds an interesting wrinkle of danger to the match endgame. Opponents don’t necessarily have to be stunned in order to perform the Dream Finish. As long as your enemy’s life gauge is low enough, and your Spirit Meter is high enough, you can activate the move to finish them off. I saw plenty of instances online where players were able to combo into a Dream Finish, resulting in an impressive, match-ending spectacle.

In my review of Platinum Games’ masterpiece, Bayonetta 2, I spoke about how Japanese developers have a penchant for striding the line between ridiculous, which is derived from the word ridicule, and ludicrous – something so outlandish as to be amusing. I say this because no discussion of SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy is complete however, without bringing up the subject of the game’s overt sexuality.

Yes, the cornerstone of the game is in objectifying the all-female cast; however, the Japanese art of riding the line between ridiculous and ludicrous in on full display, and SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy comes away with a sense of playfulness that Western developers don’t have.

The plot of the game transports the lovely ladies of the KoF series into an alternate dimension created by the shadowy, debauched (and sandy) mind of the dastardly Kukri.

Allowing his pervy side to run.. well, extra pervy, he forces the girls into ultra-skimpy outfits (it’s his imagination after all) and demands that they fight against each other. The fear and despair generated by the losing teams is used to power an evil statue that he constructed. If enough fear is absorbed by this statue, then his fantasy dimension will break free into actual reality, and he will be able to add as many “mademoiselles” as he wants to his collection.

Yes – it’s a completely audacious story; however, the game has an irreverent sense of self-awareness that oddly works.

It is readily apparent that the designers were having a bit of fun with the design, and as disturbing as the plot of the game might sound when reading its description, it never actually feels all that dark. Brief cut-scenes where Kukri is creeping on the scantly-clad lasses give way to a silliness as we see him dancing around in the next scene, celebrating his pending “fetishism explosion”. This sense of play permeates throughout SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy and one has to admire the guts of SNK and NIS to even entertain the idea of bringing the game to the U.S., given the current political atmosphere.

Since the focus of SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy is less on fighting, and more on the pleasing aesthetics of its cast, players can naturally unlock new costumes and customize them with a number of added accessories.

You can also engage in photo shoots with the different ladies. A number of backgrounds can be purchased with in-game currency, or unlocked through playthroughs, as well as poses, facial expressions, and more.

Online modes in SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy are pretty standard fighting game fare, although I couldn’t help notice that there was no Ranked mode. Options were to find a quick match, create a room, or engage in a betting match. This mode is one of the more interesting online features that I’ve seen in a fighting game in a while. Players still go head-to-head, but they have the ability to wager some of that hard-earned in-game currency.

Talk about putting your money where your mouth is!

The online matches that I played ran pretty smoothly; however there were a couple of disconnects in there and one laggy match.

Visually, SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy doesn’t push any boundaries when it comes to its character models. However, there is a pleasing array of colors splashed across the screen during the fights themselves. The action moves along at a steady 60 fps on the PS4 version of the game; however, if you’re playing on the Nintendo Switch, the frame rate is cut to 30.

There are plenty of ingredients here that give SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy a real shot at being something special; however, there is a feeling that the developers held a bit back. Perhaps they were wary of pouring too much in the way of time and resources into something that is essentially a pop-corn game. Maybe they were worried about backlash coming from the U.S. over the skimpy outfits. In any event, the main complaint I have with SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy is that there just isn’t enough of it.

There are so many wacky, cool things happening in the game, that you can’t help but want more.

For a game that places its cheesecake motif and playing dress-up front and center, you would expect much more diverse lineup of things to do outside of the arena.

I was pretty almost shocked at the lack of unlockable costumes available in the game. Each fighter in SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy has a total of three costumes, two of which must be purchased through in-game currency. And with only 14 available fighters, it doesn’t take too long to unlock everything. While there are a number of minor accessories that can also be unlocked, like glasses, or cute animal tails that can be added to the costumes each of the ladies, these little extras only serve to accentuate the outfits and don’t make up for the surprisingly sparse wardrobe.

It’s also a shame that such a promisingly bizarre, goofy plot is so painfully short. There felt like there was an unrealized opportunity for the story in SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy to go in any number of increasingly unconventional directions, and I really would have enjoyed getting to see more insanity from Kukri as he forces the girls into increasingly outlandish situations. Instead, we get the typical run through the roster, interspersed with a few cut-scenes, and then the credits roll.

While there is a variety of sound assets that can be unlocked during multiple playthroughs, I found it really surprising that there were so few art assets to unlock.

The simplified combat mechanics, along with the titillating premise may succeed in drawing in a number of players who may not normally pick up a fighting game; however, the lack of extra content serves to create an underscoring theme of unfulfilled potential in SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy. It’s a shame too because despite these shortcomings, it’s hard to deny the infectious sense of fun infused throughout the game.

Like a summer fling, SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy will keep you passionately engaged for a fleeting moment in time. It’s a fun ride that you will remember for years to come.

It just won’t be a long term relationship.

*We would like to thank our friends at NIS America for providing NerdBacon with a review copy of SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy*