Proposing a full female cast is not a big first for SNK to tell the truth. Remember, in 2000, we had already had the right to Gal Fighters on NeoGeo Pocket, a title that brought together all of the greatest heroines of the SNK school for a festive, funny and kawaii fight, the Super Deformed design helping many. SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy could be assimilated as a spiritual sequel, with the difference that it has opted for a design that contrasts radically with the usual productions of the Osaka firm. If we know that Japan is fond of little – young – girls in panties and thongs, we were far from imagining that SNK was ready to excessively sexualize its female icons. Admittedly, Mai Shiranui and her few bits of fabric that serve as clothes are the perfect counterexample, but the creators of SNK Heroines have managed to go even further, by stripping her more. Worse, the most alluring outfits in the game are accessible by default, while the original costumes of each fighter are to be unlocked by finishing the "Story" mode dedicated to them. This shows how much the notion of perversion is at the heart of the game, justified moreover by a scenario barely worthy of an old porn. We indeed discover with amazement that Kukri (one of the new characters of KOF XIV, capable of manipulating sand) is a notorious pervert and that his guilty pleasure is to subdue girls without their knowledge. To satisfy his sexual urges, he decided to capture, or rather kidnap, most of these young ladies via an ultra-powerful computer that keeps them in a parallel dimension. And since Kukri must also like giant mud fights, he decided to confront them all in fights full of hearts, dolls and fluff, which here replace all the visual effects related to the impacts inflicted by the blows. A real WTF scenario which is, let's be honest, not to displease us, especially since such a proposal in 2018 in the era of protest hashtags, it remains cheeky, it must be admitted. Even in Japan.
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
Unfortunately, it's not just the coating that is likely to make people talk, the gameplay of SNK Heroine has also suffered the wrath of a marketer convinced that by turning away the entire technical approach of KOF XIV will allow the great audience to hang on to the fights. Exit the quarter circles, the semi-circles or even the furies ultra complex to execute; here, everything is triggered with the help of a button and a simple direction. Worse still, to protect yourself, you must now press the guard button (as in Dead or Alive or even Mortal Kombat) and no longer via the Back direction. At what point, in any brainstorming between developers, do we validate the fact that the Guard Button is more “general public” than the Back key? The worst part is that the inconsistencies do not stop there, SNK having made the stupid decision to prevent the characters from bending. No need to re-read the sentence, you will read correctly: in SNK Heroines, it is not possible to crouch. EAT YOUR DEAD WELL! How not to go into a rage when you are thrown in your face with such aberrations? And don't tell us that it's mainstream, because that would be to take the lambda Beijing for the first of the Mongols.
At what point, in any brainstorming between developers, do we validate the fact that the Guard Button is more “general public” than the Back key?
As for the game system, know that we play a team of 2 fighters, sharing the same common life gauge, while the Super bar and that linked to combos are on the contrary separated. The idea is not bad in itself, since it breathes a certain part of strategy into the fights, pushing the player to remain alert, since the fight can end at any time, even with 2 characters. Where this system becomes completely absurd is that to finish off your opponent, you have to do it with a fury (Dream Finish), a basic strike that has no effect on your opponent who can continue to stand. This means that there is only one way to end a match, whereas the beauty of a fighting game is to be able to vary the situations, especially when it comes time to end the match. enemy. Winning a fight on a flick can sometimes be more rewarding than releasing a Dream Cancel. And it's not at SNK that we're supposed to teach them that though...
Just to add a little spice during fights, be aware that items can burst into the middle of a match. Bonuses or maluses sent by the teammates who remained in the background and which are supposed to help us or penalize the competitor. Orb to regain a little life, bomb, banana peel or even fully pixelated screen, to tell the truth, we never understood the interest of integrating collectibles in a fighting game taking place on the same plane. However, all is not black in SNK Heroines and the latter, despite a gameplay cut with the katana, manages to offer some nice moments of play, in particular in the possibility of switching from one character to another, and authorizing sequences of shots that are sometimes interesting, if not rewarding. Of course, you don't need to have been fed up with Versus Fighting in your youth to achieve these feats, the title of SNK allowing auto-combos galore with single button mashing. The command list is not cheap, there is something to have fun in terms of combos, especially since the juggles are present. Despite these rare moments of intense fighting, SNK Heroines will not be remembered, the fault of a wobbly approach that will satisfy neither laymen nor experts of the arcade stick. Then there remains the perverse otak' who will have fun going to the end of the Story mode with as many teams as possible to unlock each end cutscene. The latter will also be able to unlock all the alternative outfits, buy all kinds of cosmetic bonuses via virtual currency to customize their favorite virtual dolls. We'll admit that we have a soft spot for Lady Terry Bogard, no doubt the real surprise of this somewhat OSEF fighting game.
