SNK HEROINES ~ Tag Team Frenzy (PS4)

Some things in life make you wonder WTF!? They literally make you wonder what in the hell someone was thinking when they did something? Such is the case with "SNK HEROINES". I was going into this playthrough, and review expecting a competent fully fledged fighter in the vein of older SNK fighters, but what I was met with felt more like a low budget novelty. It felt like it was one step above games like "Dive Kick". Moreover it felt like it was a game catering to female gamers while implying they aren't competent enough to play a proper fighting game. It was like a dollhouse dress-up fighter filled with SNK's version of Barbies made available for all those gals who like to play with said Barbies like boys do with their toys. The kind of childhood experience that leads to naked, and headless dolls. The story, which was itself lacking in seriousness, revolved around a perverted KOF character named Kukri and a pocket dimension he created just for the occasion. It felt so out of place and fantastical that the only thing that rivaled it's lackluster and ludicrous nature was the simple mechanics that anyone could pick up on and win with.

When I say this game has simple mechanics I mean it. It has light, and heavy attacks assigned to their two respective face buttons. It has a throw button for instant throws/throw cancels, and a special skill button that merely requires you press it along with a DPad directional to perform special attacks. The light button actually has an auto-combo function, but the game calls it something else that doesn't even make sense. From the auto-combo it's simple to link into specials for extended combo links. The only thing the game really does interesting outside of all that has to do with the spirit gauge, and health bar. The spirit gauge which fills up when your characters are attacked, or when they attack can be used to perform cancels of varying types, or can be spent on an dream finisher which is tied to the 'R1' shoulder button. The spirit gauge takes up 95% of the spirit/health bar with health making up only 5% of that bar, in most cases.

The reason for this (I feel) is that the developer thinks that with the Mario Kart-esque item usage that entails tossing single use targeted effect based items such as bombs and health refills among other things at the opponent (tilting the R.Thumbstick right, left, or down for directional effect) along with the tag in & out mechanics (R2) it will spice things up enough to distract the gamer from the fact that it only takes getting a character down to red health and applying a dream finisher to end a match. That it will make for a flashy eSports worthy display. Unfortunately matches go by ridiculously fast, especially with the easy combo mechanics. With the matches ending only when a player successfully downs an opponent's character with a dream finisher when they are in red health the rest of the action serves as only a minor delay to that end. Dream finishers that land the fatal blow end the match regardless of whether or not you still have an active tag partner. Thus making the simple tag function a way to basically keep the fight going for a little while longer.

Modes of play come in a slim, and basic variety. You have your story mode which is actually decent for what it is. It includes 3D rendered cutscenes that aren't half bad which feature the female roster with in sync animations, and the male antagonist who is simply there to scare his victims into sand sculptures for his collection. For playing through the handful of fights you will be rewarded in-game currency for spending on costumes, voice packs, and accessories as well as gallery items that includes such things as cutscenes, BGMs, art, and a variation of said art. All of the fights leading up to the final boss are SNK ladies. The boss is Kukri himself, and he like most SNK bosses is cheap as hell. I was unable to defeat the boss even when applying all of the mechanics. It's almost like the developer made the boss unbeatable on purpose. The added fact that I got a few trophies for my futile continue attempts pointed to this as being fact.

Aside from 'Story' you'll also find a 'Battle' menu which houses a local versus mode, a tutorial mode, training mode, and survival mode. Survival mode is what you'd expect from such a mode. You battle until you lose through a series of random fights with different reward payouts. Unfortunately at less than 20 matches in you face off against the insurmountable Kukri who will more than likely defeat you due to his obscene health bar that takes chip damage while he pro combo's you to near death before finishing you with a dream finish before you can recover. Lastly, the only mode which will be what some of you are curious about is almost basic, and bare bones like a lot of the game's other functioning features. In it's menu you can search for a quick match or host a room if you so desire. Along with those options you can tweak search/match parameters including area/region, connection quality, and mode type. One thing which is unique to SNK HEROINES matchmaking is the option to choose 'Normal' or 'Gamble' modes. If you choose Gamble you can wager gold on who you think is gonna win. The winner earns the pool of gold as a prize for winning. It's basically gambling without the exchange of real money.

While I'd like to give the developer credit for making something unique this game truly does feel like some toss away novelty meant to stick it to fans of fighting games. It features a basic menu of mode options with additional options being tied to somewhat limited character, and profile customization as well as soundtrack, cutscenes, and art unlocks. The character items that you can unlock, while initially seemingly impressive, only gives the girls of SNK two other costumes, and a medium length list of accessories that once unlocked for one girl can be applied to the others. The accessories which cover the character from head to toe body part by body part are more comically aesthetic in a way similar to TEKKEN 7's customization. Wacky odds, and ends that add a little humor as well as some slightly stylish fashion to the character. You'll also find a few voice packs for purchase that alter the characters voice and quotes. The in-game currency with which you buy these bits & baubles is easily won by simply grinding survival mode, or playing through any of the other modes in the game outside of versus. in-game currency is easy to come by making that which you can get with it seem a little less than important or status flaunting. Profile customization is also a thing, but it is very limited as well. You can change your avatar (somehow?), save it to a slot, and purchase/assign a simple textual title that will be seen by your online opponents. Mostly girlish nods to the characters with a bit of sadism, and kinkiness thrown in for good measure.

Overall there's not much to the game, and the roster of characters who make up the fights, and tag team composure feel less than substantial in comparison to the mechanical flash the developer is trying to pass off as a legit fighting game experience. This game, for what it's worth, is a huge step down from KOFXIV, and in all honesty feels more like a novelty than something you'd see at an honorable fighting game tournament. Like a joke fighter that can't be taken seriously for it's wholly casual nature, and flashy facade. It takes away the skill, and throws it out the window to appease God knows who? I honestly don't know if this game was directed at guy gamers or girl gamers. Whoever it was meant for though I think it missed the mark. Only get it if you want something wacky to play or stream. The mechanics fit fine. They just feel less than professional, and less than skillful. It's more about minding the mechanics functions than learning a proper roster of unique characters. They've all been dumbed down to the previously mentioned mechanics. Characters whose move sets equate to similar button presses, but instantaneous specials that are the only thing that's unique outside of character design. I don't even know any more guys & gals ... why SNK!?

On a side note ...

SNK HEROINES features a survival mode co-op option where players can control individual characters from a tag team. Though it sounds like an interesting concept I was actually unable to test this feature as I'm a solo gamer.