365//365: Day 232 – SNK Gals’ Fighter (NGPC) [PP]

While the unfortunate reality of female combatants in a fighting game is that their weak yet quick, applying this science into a fighting game that’s exclusively female fighters seems somewhat tripe (discounting Arcana Heart). SNK went ahead and released a female only fighter title anyway titled SNK Gal’s Fighter on the Neo Geo Pocket Color. Being that this is an SNK only brawler, the depth of the roster full of femme fetale is noticeably thin. If you’re only halfway familiar with the SNK roster as a whole, you’ll gravitate towards the likes of Mai and Yuri and no one else. Even those immersed in the SNK fighter universe will find the lack of variation disappointing. While the the gameplay, audio and video are all strongly influenced, or even borrowed from SNK vs Cacpom, the feel of the title isn’t as epic in scope in any way. While it is a commendable project, including females only in a fighting title with none of the character truly feeling like the often stereotypical portrayal of a female combatant, there’s little else to distinguish it from any Tom, Dick and Jane fighting game. The limited number of modes doesn’t help either, adding even less incentive to give this a second look. While the core gameplay is similar to that of SNK vs Capcom, the immersion is totally absent, with nothing left but a handful of females to choose from in a fighting game with a rather lackluster AI. If you are able to track down a copy for dirt cheap, go for it, otherwise your should save your pennies for the vastly superior SNK vs Capcom on the same handheld unit.

Even if it didn't borrows heavily from SNK vs Cacpom in the visual and mechanical department, SNK Gals' Fighter fails to claw out its own identity.

Rating: 5.9