SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos is a 2003 fighting game produced by Playmore (now SNK) for the Neo Geo arcade and home platform. It was then later ported to the PlayStation 2 and Xbox, although only the Xbox port was released in North America and both platforms were released in Japan and PAL regions.

It was the third arcade game in a series of crossovers between these two companies (see SNK vs. Capcom series) and the second developed by SNK (SNK previously produced SNK vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium for the Neo Geo Pocket Color).

In a post-apocalyptic future where civilization is scarce and desolate, both famous fighting tournament rosters such as the Garcia Financial Clique (SNK) and the Masters Foundation (Capcom) are under an end-times crisis; a majority of fighters have been deceased, a minority of them went missing, and only 30 surviving fighters (counting out Athena, Red Arremer, and the four evil clones) of the small total are still at large while locked in a war between Order and Chaos to decide the fate of the universe, whoever wins will return back to their centuries peacefully.

Gameplay

The gameplay is based on the KOF series (particularly The King of Fighters 2002), with the same four button configuration and many of the same techniques. However, the game does not use the Team Battle format, but follows the traditional round-based one-on-one format. Each match begins with a dialogue exchange between the player’s character and the opponent. One new technique introduced in the game is the Front Grand Step, which allows the player to cancel attacks with a forward dash. The player can perform this technique while guarding from an opponent’s attack, which will consume one Power Gauge level.

The game uses a different type of Power Gauge known as the Groove Power Gauge System, which has three levels. The Groove gauge fills as the player lands attacks against the opponents or guard attacks. When the gauge fills to Lv. 1 or Lv. 2, the player can perform Super Special Moves, a Guard Cancel Attack or a Guard Cancel Front Step maneuver. When the gauge is full, its reaches MAXIMUM level and a MAX Activation occurs. During MAX Activation, the gauge will change into a timer and the player gains the ability to cancel any of their moves anytime (in addition to Super Special Moves and Guard Cancels). Once the timer runs out, the gauge returns to Lv. 2.

In addition to the regular Super Special Move, each character also has an ‘Exceed’ move which can only be performed once when the player’s life is less than half.

Characters

This crossover features a total of 36 fighters primarily from both SNK and Capcom’s respective fighting game sequels such as The King of Fighters ’96 and Super Street Fighter II Turbo, alongside additional character appearances from Samurai Shodown, Art of Fighting, Metal Slug 2, Athena, Darkstalkers, Final Fight, Mega Man Zero, Ghosts ‘n Goblins, and Red Earth.

Playable characters

SNK characters

Capcom characters