SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos (エス・エヌ・ケイ バーサス カプコン エスブイシー カオス, Esu Enu Kei Bāsasu Kapukon Esbuishī Kaosu

SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos (エス・エヌ・ケイ バーサス カプコン エスブイシー カオス, Esu Enu Kei Bāsasu Kapukon Esbuishī Kaosu) is a 2003 fighting game produced by Playmore (now SNK) for the Neo Geo arcade and home platform. It was 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).

Plot
After the events of Capcom vs. SNK 2 in a post-apocalyptic future where civilization is scarce and desolate, the famous tournament teams such as the Garcia Financial Clique (SNK) and the Masters Foundation (Capcom) are under an end-times crisis; a majority of them have all died, a minority of them went missing, and 36 of the small total have survived and are now 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

Arcade version screenshot showcasing a match between Kyo Kusanagi and Ryu.
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.

This crossover features characters 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
Athena[a]
Choi Bounge
Earthquake
Geese Howard[a]
Genjuro Kibagami
Goenitz[a]
Honki ni Natta Mr. Karate[a]
Iori Yagami
Kasumi Todoh
Kim Kaphwan
Kyo Kusanagi
Mai Shiranui
Mars People[a]
Mr. Karate
Orochi Iori[a]
Ryo Sakazaki
Shiki
Terry Bogard
Capcom characters
Akuma
Balrog
Chun-Li
Dan Hibiki[a]
Demitri Maximoff[a]
Dhalsim
Guile
Hugo
Ken Masters
M. Bison
Red Arremer[a]
Ryu
Sagat
Shin Akuma[a]
Tessa
Vega
Violent Ken[a]
Zero[a]

SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos has received mixed reception, such as the rushed and bland presentation of the game (as seen in stages with very few colors and devoid of "life"), and the low resolution of the Neo Geo (320 × 240) made the game's visuals considerably rough considering the game's 2003 release. The PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions received "mixed" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. In Japan, Famitsu gave the PS2 version a score of three sixes and one seven for a total of 25 out of 40.

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Developer(s) Playmore (Arcade)
SNK Playmore
Publisher(s) SNK Playmore, MEGA
Ignition Entertainment
(PS2/Xbox)
Producer(s) Eikichi Kawasaki
Designer(s) T. Mieno
Programmer(s) Bok Mannami
Cyber Kondo
M. Yusuke
Artist(s) Nona
Falcoon
Composer(s) Masahiko Hataya
Yasumasa Yamada
Yasuo Yamate
Series SNK vs. Capcom
Platform(s) Arcade, Neo Geo AES, PlayStation 2, Xbox
Release
2003
Genre(s) Fighting
Mode(s)
Single-playerMultiplayer
Arcade system Neo Geo MVS

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