© SNK / CapcomFor anyone old enough to remember the initial 1999 launch of SNK vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium, his recent surprise arrival on Switch was a real event. This cross-country fighter is part of a celebrated series that puts the best fighters in the stables of the battle series of both companies into battle and especially this entry has not appeared on any console platform in official form since the launch on Neo Geo Pocket Color over two decades ago.
For Neo Geo Pocket Color series producer Adam Laatz and assistant director Lionel Ackah, the collaboration with Capcom, which led to the return of this series, offers hope for further releases.
“Capcom was instrumental in allowing us to relaunch SvC: The Match of the Millennium on the Nintendo Switch,” Laatz told us when asked how involved Capcom was with the relaunch. “Although it can be a challenge to license games and work with third parties sometimes, we are very grateful that our good friends at Capcom have helped us make the porting of this title a reality. day in which we bring both companies and players together in a certain sense, we hope that the relaunch of this SvC title after so many years will serve as an opportunity for more releases in the future! “
While it can be a challenge to license games and work with third parties sometimes, we are very grateful that our good friends at Capcom have helped us make this title a reality.
Neo Geo Pocket Color Selection Vol.1 was released on the Switch one month after the arrival of SNK vs. Capcom has also put together the NGPC titles previously released on Switch and added more to the business. Given that Code Mystics’ Neo Geo Pocket Color emulation framework is obviously functional on the Switch, you might assume that getting Match of the Millennium on the eShop was a relatively basic exercise. I asked how long it had been since the initial one “Okay, let’s do this” to ‘boom – it’s ready to go! ‘.
“We understand that if you’re not involved in the development of the game, you might think that emulation is easy,” says Lionel Ackah, assistant director of the series. “However, it takes a lot of work and effort to bring a high level of quality. We can proudly say that Code Mystics has always answered the call here and once again met the expectations of our fans in this version. An example, the mechanics of the link game must be adapted to each game and each game we have played must be thoroughly tested, often requiring fine tuning, in this respect the emulator provided by Code Mystics is more accurate for NGPC than any previous attempts “This time, the development took about a year from start to finish for our first batch of Neo Geo Pocket Color Selection titles.”
Fans of this game and the console in general have waited a long time to play them on modern platforms – why did it take so long to see them relaunched? “The two main reasons,” says Ackah, “were to find a developer we could trust and get a license for our collaborative titles.”
Since the micro-switch stick of the original console is obviously not an option, I asked Ackah how he prefers to play on the Switch – with the analog stick, D / buttons or touch screen? “While not as perfect as the original microswitch joystick, of course … The D-pad would be closest to the original experience.”
development took about a year from start to finish for our first batch of Neo Geo Pocket Color Selection titles
Given that the release of Switch allows a new generation of players to experience the game, we wondered if it’s fair to assume other the entries in the SNK vs Capcom series could reach the Switch in full time. Ackah played with his answer (“I hope so!”), but the outlook for more Neo Geo Pocket colors seems a little sunnier, at least in the short term, according to Laatz. “We are currently making plans for future releases and thank you for your support of SvC: The Match of the Millennium and Neo Geo Pocket Color Selection Vol.1! Please watch out for future announcements!”
After two decades (yes, it’s been so long!), It’s great to see Match of the Millennium finally arrive on another platform and we were curious if we might see NGP (C) games from third parties coming to Switch at some point? “We can’t say much,” Ackah said, “but it’s a possibility.”
And to finish, I asked Ackah for his favorite fighter in the Millennium Match. “It’s always difficult to choose a character with such a fantastic list,” he said diplomatically. “I would say Mai Shiranui, because she has a certain set of skills and movement that make her stand out from most of the typical character archetype fighting games.”
We are sure that many fans would agree with him.
SNK vs. Capcom: Match of the Millennium and NEOGEO POCKET COLOR SELECTION Vol.1 are now available on Switch eShop.