NeoGeo Battle Coliseum

NeoGeo Battle Coliseum
Developer(s) SNK Playmore
Publisher(s)
Platform(s) Arcade, PlayStation 2, Xbox 360 (via Xbox Live Arcade)[1]
Release date(s)

Arcade (Atomiswave)

PlayStation 2

  • JP December 22, 2005
  • NA December 11, 2007
  • PAL November 24, 2006

Xbox Live Arcade

  • INT June 9, 2010

PlayStation Network

  • JP February 18, 2015
Genre(s) 2D Versus fighting
Mode(s) Up to 2 players simultaneously
Cabinet Upright
Arcade system Atomiswave

NeoGeo Battle Coliseum (abbreviated NGBC or NBC) is a 2 on 2 tag team fighting game for the Atomiswave arcade board released in 2005. The game features characters from several SNK and ADK titles. Subsequently a PlayStation 2 version of the game was released in Japan, North America, and Europe. The Xbox Live Arcade version was released worldwide on June 9, 2010.

Plot

The official plot, as given by SNK, is as follows:

"In February, 2017 of the new Japanese era there is a man trying to rule the NEOGEO World. "I will topple NeoGeo's most powerful warriors and put myself on the throne!". We knew that if he managed to obtain NeoGeo world's awesome power, world domination would not be far from his reach. This man, who sat at the heart of the "WAREZ Conglomerate" with overwhelming financial power behind him, had already set out on his ambitious path to gain NeoGeo World's power. Those who knew the truth of his intentions were already trembling with fear... As NeoGeo World drew closer to the verge of disaster, a WAREZ sponsored fighting competition was announced. This event is called "NEOGEO BATTLE COLISEUM". The Federal Government is worried about the situation, and has secretly dispatched its two best secret agents, Yuki and Ai. A world on the verge of eternal darkness... The future of NEOGEO World is now in the hands of the warriors."[2]

The name of the organization that hosts the tournament, WAREZ, is an obvious play on the word warez, as SNK Playmore blames software piracy as one of the contributing factors to its 2001 bankruptcy.

Gameplay

The game system of the arcade NGBC, as previously mentioned, is a 2-on-2 tag battle, regardless of how many players are playing. While the 2-player game system is similar to most tag-team systems of other games, the single player system is unusual.

The game's single play is more like a survival battle, where the player must beat enemy after enemy as long as possible. However, the game gives the player 300 seconds, and when time-out occurs, instead of win or lose, the player will face the boss (depending on how well they perform). Only at this point will time-out determine the victor.

During a single-play, the rule is to defeat either member of the team, not both team members. That is, unlike most tag-team systems (but similar to Kizuna Encounter or Tekken Tag Tournament), where all opposition must be beaten in order to win, in NGBC the player only needs to beat one member of the opposite team to win, without the need to fight the other member if the first is defeated.

The survival battles are divided into rounds of 3 battles, and after a player manages to clear 3 opponent teams, they are given a chance to use one of the three game services provided:

Additionally, if the player loses and chooses to continue, they are given the option of using one of three continue services to help give them a boost getting back into the game:

Double Assault

Also abbreviated as D-Assault, this is one of the new super moves in this game, when the character makes a rush attack that, if connected successfully, calls the partner to perform together a special tag team autocombo, similar to games like Marvel vs Capcom or Tekken Tag Tournament. In addition to this, certain characters have special D-Assaults. Here are some of the possible combinations:

Characters

Regular characters

Yuki - One of the main characters in this game. A Federal Agent who joins the fighting competition "Battle Coliseum" held by WAREZ, he seeks to ascertain the identity of the ringleader, which is shrouded in mystery, and to put an end to the enemy's evil designs.[3] Yuki bases all his moves on old SNK's Neo Geo games, such as indirect references to various icons of this company. Also, he transforms into 2 characters: Duke Edwards from Burning Fight and Astro Guy from King of the Monsters. He also appears in SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters DS as an SNK character card.
Ai - The other main character, she also is a Federal Agent who sets out to stop WAREZ. Like her partner Yuki, all her moves are based on old Neo-Geo games. The most notable is Neo Poke-Kun (Neo Geo Pocket mascot) as her own mascot, who is incorporated into her moves and attacks. In addition to this, she has her own Neo-Geo Pocket, which she uses in certain attacks. Apart from this game, Ai also appears in the Days of Memories game series and in SNK vs Capcom: Card Fighters DS as an SNK character card.
Kyo Kusanagi (in his KOF'99 design)
Iori Yagami
K′
Shermie
Terry Bogard (in his Garou: Mark of the Wolves design)
Mai Shiranui
Kim Kaphwan
Geese Howard
Tung Fu Rue
Jin Chonshu
Jin Chonrei
Rock Howard
Hotaru Futaba
Mr. Karate (Ryo Sakazaki's persona from Buriki One)
Robert Garcia (in a new design for this game)
Mr. Big
Lee Pai Long
Haohmaru
Nakoruru
Genjuro Kibagami
Shiki
Asura
Kaede (in his Awakened form)
Moriya Minakata
Akari Ichijo
Keiichiro Washizuka
Hanzo
Fuma
Mudman
Kisarah Westfield
Cyber Woo (the girl piloting Woo is named Yuzu Makijima, an original character)
Marco Rossi
Mars People
Athena

Bosses

Reception

NeoGeo Battle Coliseum was criticized for not making the storyline more obvious in the game and for sub-par graphics. Blast Magazine said the game seemed starkly behind the times.[4] "The NeoGeo fighters have always been looked on by the gaming world with a certain nostalgic level of respect. The games weren’t as good as their competitors. The graphics were excellent on the NeoGeo, but that was years ago, and not much has changed in the games... This is a classic late release for a previous generation platform", wrote Blast Magazine about the PS2 version of the game. Blast gave the game 3/5.[4] IGN gave the game 7.3/10.[5]

References

  1. Gantayat, Anoop. "SNK Playmore Details Xbox Live Arcade Plans". andriasang - Gaming News from Japan. Retrieved December 7, 2009. External link in |work= (help)
  2. SNK Playmore. "NEOGEO BATTLE COLISEUM". SNK-Playmore USA Official Website. Archived from the original on January 21, 2008. Retrieved January 28, 2008. External link in |work= (help)
  3. NeoGeo Battle Coliseum history in Ignition Entertainment
  4. 1 2 NeoGeo Battle Coliseum - Blast, the Online Magazine
  5. "IGN". Retrieved 2015-02-12.

External links

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