The original Neo Geo Pocket Color version of Card Fighters' Clash was widely regarded as one of the best experiences on the platform, but never got its just due. Splitting the game up into both an SNK and Capcom version made sense with it being released alongside Pokemon games doing the same thing, but did split the already-niche audience up more. The modern-day Switch version combines both releases into one game, making for a more complete and cohesive experience. The game allows for SNK and Capcom-themed decks and having both versions in one purchase makes it a lot more convenient. Local multiplayer is included and allows for local card trading.
The in-game tutorial is fantastic and offers up an interactive way to learn quickly. You have character and action cards to work with and character cards have a battle point and soul points. BP acts as HP and SP acts as a way to play more character cards. Cards can be played one at a time or you may do a unite attack to deal out more damage quickly. There are counter attacks to consider, which make it possible to take a foe’s card out with just their attempt at attacking backfiring. The draw phase lets you pick your cards out of the pack, while the set phase lets you play a card, and build up SP and then the attack phase. Attacking lets you use any of your three-character cards as long as they aren’t in a frozen state. The back-and-forth exchange is a lot of fun and offers a fair challenge, while countering adds a nice layer of strategy.
Ideally, you want to counter with a character that has a lot of BP and can take a foe out, ensuring that your playable deck is around for longer. The better a job you do with that, the less damage your party takes, and your avatar’s character will receive over a turn. Being careful is key because if you get sloppy with cards and just go in trying to take out foes quickly, it’s a recipe for a quick defeat. Balance is key and having a good amount of offense alongside a strong defense while also using back-up character cards to help buff your team helps. Buffing SP can help deal out more damage with things like unite attacks and those can quickly turn the tide.
Playing a game that is over 22 years old in the card battle genre takes getting used to as well, but strangely newer games help ease the feeling of old game design. Cardpocalypse is designed essentially to be a card battler using Pokemon-esque cards and its battles feel similar to what we have here. Ironically, playing a new game with a premise that it takes place at the same time as this game’s release wound up making this game easier to re-learn, as it’s been many years since I first played the original Card Fighters' Clash. Within a few battles, the gameplay system is easy to figure out and it’s a user-friendly experience overall.
Having both full games in one collection like this makes it the best way yet to play the game and allows all of the effort put into the games to shine. The portrait art in particular is unlike anything seen in any other game because it’s in the NGPC art style that hasn’t been used on other consoles - offering a unique visual presentation for characters to this day. After nearly thirty years, there’s still nothing that portrays Guy from Final Fight quite like this does and it’s a testament to how well-crafted the art style is that it works so well so many years later. While faces like a lot of detail, more care was put into character poses and that makes the characters' personalities shine a bit more.
As is the norm for the NGPC Collection releases, being able to zoom in on the gameplay field is a huge help – especially in portable mode. The inclusion of the original game manual is always welcome, and the high-quality scans make it easy to appreciate how much work went into the art. It’s also great to have more in-depth instructions than what we’re given in-game. While the core gameplay is easy enough to figure out, it never hurts to have a reference tool available at any time to more fully explain things. The variable borders that match up all of the different NGPC device colors are also nice, as is being able to turn scanlines on or off. Given how great the pixel art looks in NGPC games, I usually prefer to have them turned off, but they’re available for folks who want them.
Anyone who has enjoyed a card battle game in the past twenty years will get a lot of use out of Card Fighters' Clash. Its usage of fighting game character is something that helps it stand out and much like the Project X Zone games on the 3DS, is a premise that works far better in execution than it may seem like it would in theory. Card Fighters' Clash has held up remarkably well over time and is something that offers a lot of replay value thanks to its gameplay being so addictive and fun to learn. It’s a fantastic gateway card battler with its inclusion of well-known characters helping to make the concept more appealing to newcomers and its eight dollar price tag makes it a tremendous value for the dollar.
