Title: Fatal Fury First Contact
Platform: Nintendo Switch eShop
Developer: SNK/Code Mystics (Switch version)
Publisher: SNK
Release Date: December 23rd, 2020 (NA)
File Size: 147MB
Review copy provided by SNK
Here’s my second review of a Neo Geo Pocket Color game on Switch. This time it’s an adaptation of the Fatal Fury franchise. The same where Terry Bogard, who some may recognize as a recent newcomer in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, originated from (yes, a LOT of folks likely were introduced to him this way!). Here the game is much like The Last Blade: Beyond the Destiny on NGPC (which I just reviewed before), but how does this game compare to it? Let’s find out!
Terry Bogard vs. Andy Bogard
As you may have expected, this is another 8-bit 2D fighting game. If you’ve played The Last Blade: Beyond the Destiny, you’ll have a very good idea of what to expect here. The game has the same 1-on-1, stage-to-stage style of gameplay with a similar control scheme as well with how some moves require certain quick directional presses to pull off.
However, if you’ve played the aforementioned game, this game somehow is much lighter in comparison. There’s a very distinct lack of gameplay modes. You only get a choice of a single 1-player and 2-player modes. 1-player is the aforementioned stage-to-stage gameplay (basically your classic arcade mode). However there’s barely anything resembling a story. Terry Bogard for instance will just fight seemingly a total of 8 or 9 opponents, and then it just ends with the credits. No cutscenes or anything.
The Configuration Menu showcasing various options.
You get some decent options in the configuration menu on the title screen. It comes with a sound test for both the music and the sound effects. And a stage select for the 1-player mode, where upon beating it once, you can sort of select where in the sequence of opponents you want to start from. I had to re-beat it once (this time with Mai, as the option would go above stage 1 for some reason), and then I picked stage 8 with the option, and then it allowed me to fight Krauser as Terry right away. Beating him won the mode for me with the credits right after. But interestingly when I beat the mode with both Terry and Mai, seemingly the 9th fight wasn’t actually fought (unfought matches are marked with a *-* instead of a point total like 2-0), so that’s interesting.
Another unique bit is how the internals work. In The Last Blade: Beyond the Destiny, you could just change the game to Japanese via the reset function straight away. But here, instead you have to boot into a special in-game menu via the Y button when resetting, which not only gives you a language selector, but also allows you to change the monochrome colors of the game displayed, AND albeit useless; the calendar! So yeah, as far as I know, this bit has no real bearing as it was obviously meant to be something for the Neo Geo Pocket’s calendar function (finally a new Game & Watch!), but it’s pretty surreal being able to set the calendar to December 2020!
Pretty surreal isn’t it?
It’s not without its faults, specifically this odd glitch that occurred after beating the first opponent as Terry Bogard (I picked Andy Bogard as my opponent, lost, and refought with Andy being at 1/4 health for reference). The game just blew up on itself, forcing a reset. Have a recording to see for yourself! Luckily it didn’t happen again afterwards. Also speaking of, if you lose a fight, you can retry using one of three optional handicaps (or skip using one), such as having the opponent only have 1/4 health each round. That’s neat.
Visually it’s good. From what I could tell, the character sprites look more color accurate than in The Last Blade: Beyond the Destiny I guess? Otherwise it’s pretty identical in both games. Audio is also fine as you’d expect. Again there’s a sound test if you fancy listening to a tune. Don’t recall that being in the other game at least.
Portable mode multiplayer in action.
Special features are exactly the same as before; same single scanline filter, a rewind feature (again seemingly 5 seconds?), remappable buttons, and a full-color manual. Plus the resolution of the manual is insane, as you can zoom it in like 100x and it’s still very clean. Did they have like 4K-quality digital copies or something? That’s some preservation for a system from the end of the 90’s.
Overall I wouldn’t recommend this one unless you just want to fight squarely with friends. It has the same portable mode double-screen 2-player function as the other game (and likely all multiplayer games on NGPC that come out on Switch). The Last Blade: Beyond the Destiny is far more recommended for the content offered. Maybe I was spoiled by that game, but this one felt super light in comparison. You may love it, just don’t expect much other than basic fights.
You’ll Love:
+ The same special features and full-color digital manual are present and are always welcome.
+ Sprites are crisp and clean, along with the scanline option if desired.
+ Rewind is always appreciated. Gets you out of tight jams.
+ The special menu for changing the language, monochrome colors and… the calendar!? That’s wicked cool to see!
+ There’s a sound test for music and sound effects as well!
+ Has screenshot and video capture support.
You’ll Hate:
– Sadly very basic with only the basic 1-player and 2-player modes only.
– I encountered a weird glitch as shown in a video above (here it is again) that required a reset.
Score: 7/10
