SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy Review

1. Game: SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy
2. Consoles: PS4 (reviewed), Nintendo Switch
3. Publisher: NIS America
4. Developer: SNK

An SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy code was provided by the publisher.

Anyone who’s spent some time with SNK’s fighters knows just how popular their ladies are. While the male portion of the company’s fighting game titles are iconic, the ladies that fight against or alongside them are arguably more beloved. With that in mind, SNK has sought to revisit a little known game known as SNK Gals’ Fighters and adopt its concept for a modern 3D fighter. SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy may appear to be the easiest “dress-up” fighter ever released. But don’t judge it purely from a surface level. SNK has managed to craft a fighter that’s fan service heavy, full of charm, and accessible yet still deep in a variety of ways.

Since this fighter prides itself as a celebration of SNK’s standout lady brawlers, its roster features a slew of recognizable faces. Athena, Mai, Kula, and Yuri make their unsurprising yet welcome appearance. They’re joined by a few of the women who first got their time in the ring with The King of Fighters XIV, such as Love Heart, Mui Mui, and Zarina. Even the return of Shuri should make fans disheartened by her absence from KOF XIV especially joyous. And witnessing Terry Bogard transition into a lady is quite the hilarious sight to see. There’s a few notable roster omissions from this game that’s hard to ignore, however. Seeing as how popular King, B. Jenet, Vanessa, and Angel are amongst SNK fans, it’s a bit puzzling to see them not in this game. Here’s hoping that future character DLC corrects this issue.

So who brought all these women together? A sand-powered madman who’s looking to merge his dark dimension with that of the real world. How does he expect to act out his plan, you ask? By absorbing the energy provided by the battles that erupt between the two-person teams transported to his castle. Yes, it’s silly. But SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy knows exactly what it is and fully embraces the absurdness of it all. The constant delivery of inside jokes, outlandish cutscenes, and clever callbacks to past SNK fighters makes the story far more interesting than you’d initially expect. You’ll regularly find yourself snickering at the wild events happening onscreen once a cinematic takes place. Besides the Story Mode is your usual fighting game mode lineup, which helps fill out this game’s package nicely.

SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy isn’t a fighter that’s aimed at pro players who constantly research frame data. It’s more of “My First Fighter” experience that makes itself more approachable to beginners. Combos are incredibly easy to pull off, plus special moves and supers are activated via one button and a simple directional input. The deeper aspects of the game’s mechanics become clearer as you master tag team combos, figure out the best time to throw out items, and how to punish off wall bounces.

KO’ing your opponent is only possible once you send them into a danger state and finish them off with a “Dream Finish.” Players who’ve poured plenty of time into KOF XIV should already have a feel for this fighter since it adopts most of that game’s mechanics. While SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy is more of a carefree experience, it throws in a few interesting gimmicks that makes its matches a blast to play and watch unfold.

Each heroine can be customized to your heart’s content. As you attain in-game currency from your time spent in the game’s many modes, you’ll get to purchase new costumes and accessories. This portion of the game is a cool little side endeavor – it’s a much simpler adaptation of the character customization options seen in Injustice 2. Throwing a cheerleader outfit onto (Miss) Terry Bogard, turning Mai into a cowgirl, and letting Athena don warrior princess attire is entirely possible. There’s a great selection of character costume options to play around with, so the more creative players who stick with this fighter will have something else to busy themselves with.

Visually, SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy is a bright and bubbly affair. What’s obvious at first sight is just how much it sticks to KOF XIV, which isn’t shocking since it’s basically powered by that fighter. The art style pops way more than the in-game graphics themselves – it would have been much more preferable to see this fighter step into a more striking anime 2D realm. As for the music, prepare your ears for a slew of J-Pop tunes that may be a bit too cringeworthy for some. Some won’t mind it much. The soundtrack as a whole is definitely an acquired taste, though.

SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy Takeways

SNK’s latest lady fighter manages to be better than fans may have originally thought. Its launch roster could certainly be a bit bigger, but it still features a decent offering of popular characters from the company’s standout fighters. What makes SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy so endearing is its easy to master battle mechanics, hilarious Story Mode, and deep character customization mode. The game’s art style pops and lends itself nicely to the happy go lucky theme it represents.

The in-game visuals aren’t too impressive, however – they stick to the somewhat awkward looking graphics KOF XIV has been judged harshly for. And the music can be a bit too cheery and corny to handle. SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy still does a lot of good things that makes it a can’t miss fighter for diehard SNK fans. Don’t let all its bright colors and silly damage animations scare you away – this SNK gals’ fighter is worth investigating.

Our SNK Heroines Tag Team Frenzy Review Score: 7 out of 10

See Also

• All Upcoming Fighting Games of 2018