SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos

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SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos
Japanese arcade flyer depicting the characters Kyo Kusanagi and Ryu with art by Falcoon
Developer(s)	Playmore (Arcade) SNK Playmore Code Mystics (PC, NS, PS4)
Publisher(s)	SNK Playmore, MEGA Ignition Entertainment (PS2/Xbox)
Producer(s)	Eikichi Kawasaki
Designer(s)	T. Mieno
Programmer(s)	Bok Mannami Cyber Kondo M. Yusuke
Artist(s)	Nona Falcoon
Composer(s)	Masahiko Hataya Yasumasa Yamada Yasuo Yamate
Series	SNK vs. Capcom
Platform(s)	Arcade, Neo Geo AES, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4
Release	July 24, 2003 Arcade WW: July 24, 2003 Neo Geo AES NA/JP: November 14, 2003 PlayStation 2 JP: December 23, 2003 EU: April 15, 2005 Xbox NA: September 28, 2004 JP: October 7, 2004 EU: March 18, 2005 AU: May 13, 2005 Windows WW: July 20, 2024 Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 WW: July 22, 2024
Genre(s)	Fighting
Mode(s)	Single-player Multiplayer
Arcade system	Neo Geo MVS

SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos^[a] is a 2003 fighting game produced by Playmore (now SNK) for the Neo Geo arcade and home platform. It was then later ported to the PlayStation 2 and Xbox, although only the Xbox port was released in North America^[1] and both platforms were released in Japan and PAL regions.

It was the third arcade game in a series of crossovers between these two companies (see SNK vs. Capcom series) and the second developed by SNK (SNK previously produced SNK vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium for the Neo Geo Pocket Color).

The game was re-released in July 2024 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PC via Steam and GOG.com, adding online rollback netcode from Code Mystics and an in-game gallery.^[2]

The gameplay is based on the KOF series (particularly The King of Fighters 2002), with the same four button configuration and many of the same techniques. However, the game does not use the Team Battle format, but follows the traditional round-based one-on-one format. Each match begins with a dialogue exchange between the player's character and the opponent. One new technique introduced in the game is the Front Grand Step, which allows the player to cancel attacks with a forward dash. The player can perform this technique while guarding from an opponent's attack, which will consume one Power Gauge level.

The game uses a different type of Power Gauge known as the Groove Power Gauge System, which has three levels. The Groove gauge fills as the player lands attacks against the opponents or guard attacks. When the gauge fills to Lv. 1 or Lv. 2, the player can perform Super Special Moves, a Guard Cancel Attack or a Guard Cancel Front Step maneuver. When the gauge is full, its reaches MAXIMUM level and a MAX Activation occurs. During MAX Activation, the gauge will change into a timer and the player gains the ability to cancel any of their moves anytime (in addition to Super Special Moves and Guard Cancels). Once the timer runs out, the gauge returns to Lv. 2.

In addition to the regular Super Special Move, each character also has an 'Exceed' move which can only be performed once when the player's life is less than half.

This crossover features a total of 24 standard fighters, plus 12 boss characters for a total of 36. These characters are drawn primarily from both SNK and Capcom's respective fighting game sequels such as The King of Fighters '96 and Super Street Fighter II Turbo, alongside additional character appearances from Samurai Shodown, Art of Fighting, Metal Slug 2, Athena, Darkstalkers, Final Fight, Mega Man Zero, Ghosts 'n Goblins, and Red Earth. Most of the boss characters are normally inaccessible and require the use of cheat codes to become playable, while two of the bosses, Athena and Red Arremer, are fully inaccessible in the arcade and AES releases, and can only be unlocked in the PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions of the game. All 36 characters are immediately accessible in the 2024 release. Original characters from this game Violent Ken (based on his brainwashed state from Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie) and Serious Mr. Karate (based on original Mr. Karate's first appearance in Art of Fighting) were later being introduced to the main canon games Ultra Street Fighter II and The King of Fighters XIII respectively.

Following a cataclysmic event, all life on the planet has been wiped out. In purgatory, a group of fighters are drawn into a tournament by Athena and Red Arremer, avatars for the forces of Order and Chaos, who promise that the winner will receive one wish. Now the fighters compete to win the tournament and have their wish granted, with the fate of all life hanging in the balance.

SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos has received mixed reception, such as the rushed and bland presentation of the game (as seen in stages with very few colors and devoid of "life"), and the low resolution of the Neo Geo (320 × 240) made the game's visuals considerably rough considering the game's 2003 release. The PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions received "mixed" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.^[5][6] In Japan, Famitsu gave the PS2 version a score of three sixes and one seven for a total of 25 out of 40.^[9]

In 2012, Complex ranked it as the 14th best SNK fighting game ever made, adding that "the game’s secret characters (Firebrand, Mars People, Zero, etc.) had to be the best part about this game," as well as newly animated sprites (Demitri, Earthquake, Tessa, etc.) But it was also criticized by others due to the lack of certain "token" characters (like Haohmaru, Benimaru, Zangief, etc.), and the omission of the selectable fighting styles called "Groove Systems" all showcased by Capcom, instead featuring only one-on-one modes with extended vital gauges, not giving any choice to players who favored other styles, even those created by SNK itself.^[19]

An eight-volume graphic novel series of translated Chinese manhua was published in the U.S. by DrMaster Publications Inc., originally created by Happy Comics Ltd.

Notes

• Official website
• SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos at GameFAQs
• SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos at Giant Bomb
• SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos at Killer List of Videogames
• SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos at MobyGames