The lack of discourse surrounding the developer today belies the giant influenceSNKhas had on video games. Duringthe ’90s, SNK formed a large part of arcade culture, and its fighting games were considered the pinnacle of the genre and were among the most visually spectacular games of their time.
At launch, SNK’s Neo Geo arcade system was the most powerful video game hardware on earth, and its home console equivalent hadthe price to match. Its bankruptcy in 2001 means the company has a much lower profile these days, but we’re glad the company has since prevailed. Here are the series that will keep the Neo Geo jingle playing in our hearts forever.
8The Last Blade
A spiritual successor to Samurai Shodown, The Last Blade is a 2D fighter, SNK’s speciality. The game is visually dazzling and showcases why SNK was the king of fighters: it incorporates a unique parrying system, whereby deflecting your opponents' attacks leaves them open.
Though The Last Blade had a short three-year run, it was well-liked by fans, warranting a couple of remasters on modern hardware. That said, the series' scattershot porting history has left fans itching for an HD compilation.
Though the details are murky, it seems that a full series compilation may be out of SNK’s hands. While the second and third entries had their remasters published by SNK, the first one was handled by Hamster Corporation.
7SNK Vs. Capcom
SNK Vs. Capcom is a dream crossover as both companies have large character rosters that work well in a fighting game scenario. The two developers alternate between working on the entries, with SNK’s offerings often considered more esoteric, but also with more gameplay depth.
Though the Capcom entries were once considered superior, SNK’s SVC Chaos and Match of the Millennium have now been deemed cult classics. Both games show SNK’s mastery of the fighting genre, with the latter being among the most complex games on theNeo Geo Pocket Color.
6Ikari Warriors
Ikari Warriors was the vertically scrolling answer to Contra’s mastery of the side-scrolling shooter. Like Konami’s competing series, Ikari Warriors is a military shooter inspired largely by ’80s action films. The result is a lot of fun, especially with a friend.
This series is notable for its use of rotary joysticks, making it arguably a pioneer of twin-stick shooters. Though its name recognition has dwindled over the years, particularly after the 2010s, Ikari Warriors is still remembered fondly by retro enthusiasts as a fun series.
Though Ikari Warriors didn’t survive as an IP, its main characters, Clark and Ralf, were not left behind. They became part of Metal Slug from the sixth game onwards, and also featured in King of Fighters.
5Art Of Fighting
While the first Art of Fighting game was rather simplistic and even primitive, featuring only two playable characters for the story mode, the second game was a complete overhaul. It added a rage gauge for special attacks and features a much larger cast. Art of Fighting 3 added a focus on juggling opponents and featured some of the best visuals in arcades at the time.
Perhaps the most serendipitous consequence of the Art of Fighting series was its use of cameo characters. After Fatal Fury’s Geese Howard as a secret boss was well-received, SNK conceptualized a crossover of all its fighting series, leading to the King of Fighters.
4Samurai Shodown
SNK was churning out fighting game after fighting game in the ’90s, but not without good reason. It wasn’t simply to introduce new characters: each series brought something new to the table when it came to 2D combat.
Samurai Shodown was one of the earliest fighting series to feature weapons. It also rewards you for paying attention to the environment: this title incorporates bombs and health pickups into its fighting gameplay, rendering it unique.
3Fatal Fury
Street Fighter 2’s impact on the fighting game genre has been discussed to death, and rightfully so. The game codified the modern 2D fighter. But Fatal Fury’s contribution must not be minimized, coming out just a few short months after SF2, the game gave rise to some of SNK’s most iconic characters.
It isn’t justTerry Bogard’s introduction that makes Fatal Fury one of SNK’s best series, though. The games brought finesse to the fighting genre, rewarding movement control and defensive play while featuring gorgeous sprite art and memorable character designs.
Garou: Mark of the Wolves is considered part of the Fatal Fury series.
2Metal Slug
If it wasn’t the fighting games that brought you over to SNK, it wasMetal Slug. This is the single best run-and-gun series ever produced. Its dot pixel animation style is iconic to this day. The gameplay hasn’t aged a bit. Metal Slug has rocking soundtracks, fast-paced shooting, and an ethos rooted in bullet hell games. It’s relentlessly hard, but ultimately rewarding. Each entry brings something new to the table as the first codifies the gameplay, while the second introduces series stalwarts Eri and Fio.
The third entry was essentially SNK’s farewell to its fans as the company prepared for bankruptcy: over an hour long, an absurd length for an arcade game, it was big, bombastic and better than it had any need to be.
The fourth entry was developed by Mega Enterprise, not SNK, and introduced Nadia and Trevor to the series. The game has been officially incorporated into the Metal Slug canon. SNK’s involvement began anew with Metal Slug 5, when the company was revived as SNK Playmore.
1King Of Fighters
King of Fighters is a dream match of a series and lives up to its name. Conceived as a crossover ofSNK’s best fighting games, it has since become its own thing, with some of the richest lore in the fighting genre.
If you find it hard enough to master one character in fighting games, just know that this series throws down the gauntlet and asks you to master three of them. A team-based fighter that amalgamates all that is good about SNK, KOF has received over a dozen entries and various spin-offs throughout its run to become the company’s flagship series.
