People primarily know SNK for two things- their massive library of excellent 2D fighting games, and the hardware that powered many of these titles, the venerable Neo-Geo arcade/home system. It’s rather surprising that it took them this long to hop on the happy nostalgia bandwagon and create- what else?- a fighting game celebrating the storied history of the hardware that made them famous. Even though it’s far from perfect, this console celebration is a good deal of fun.
NeoGeo Battle Coliseum is a game based on a now common concept: stick a bunch of franchises all together in a single game and have them beat each other up. While SNK might be mostly known for its fighting game franchises, NGBC opts to take the entire history of SNK into account, bringing in characters from shooting and action stalwarts like Metal Slug and King of the Monsters. There are even a few faces from some less-well-regarded NeoGeo and SNK titles, which are a rather unexpected surprise. (Anyone here think highly of World Heroes? Didn’t think so.) The roster definitely ups the game’s appeal factor, and will make anyone who regularly visited arcades in the 1990s nostalgic.
