Of all the titles announced in January’s Nintendo Direct, one of the biggest surprises was SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy. An all-female fighter featuring 2-vs-2 action and a cast of some of SNK’s best-loved characters, wrapped up in over-the-top costumes and candy-coated style, SNK Heroines is certainly looking like an intriguing addition to Switch’s growing stable of fighting games. Eager to learn more about this upcoming pastel powerhouse, we recently caught up with SNK Heroines’ producer, Yasuyuki Oda, and director, Kaito Soranaka, for a quick-fire two-on-one chat about the upcoming brawler.
First of all, would you mind introducing SNK Heroines Tag Team Frenzy to our readers?
Yasuyuki Oda: It's a new kind of tag team fighter in which the heroines of SNK are gathered together in a mysterious mansion to battle each other. What happened to the girls after the KOF Tournament!? Play the game to find out!
We’re big fans of Gals Fighters on the Neo Geo Pocket Color here at Nintendo Life, so we were especially excited to see some parallels here - did your team take any inspiration from that title in designing SNK Heroines?
Oda-san: We have heard a lot of people express that opinion about Gals Fighters. I was surprised by how many people were fans of it! SNK Heroines is a new title, but I think you can call it a spiritual successor to Gals Fighters.
Can you tell us a little about how the game’s tag system will work?
Oda-san: It's a tag team style fighter in which you can make switches in real time. It has a new and unique win/lose conditions, requiring the player to use the Dream Finish skill, in order to win a round.
We noticed each character in a team seems to have either an ‘Attacker’ or a ‘Supporter’ role - can you talk about these?
Kaito Soranaka: The Attacker's role is fighting in the foreground, while the Supporter uses items to help allies or interfere with enemies. You can switch out characters, so the initial Attacker isn't necessarily always an Attacker.
We also spotted what looks like an ‘item slot’ next to each character’s life bar, how are these items used in the game?
Soranaka-san: There are certain conditions in which you can acquire items, like destroying an item container during battle. Using these items, the player can restore gauges, attack opponents, or power up allies.
We’re excited at the prospect of on-the-go fighting with SNK Heroines on Switch, so we’re curious about the control scheme. Can you tell us anything about how the game will control? Will two players each be able to use a single Joy-Con for portable brawls?
Oda-san: Yes, that is possible.
Relatedly, we noticed that SNK Heroines will support up to four players - can you expand on how four-player multiplayer will work in the game?
Soranaka-san: Each player controls one character in the tag team. For example, if player one controls Athena, when Athena is the Attacker they will fight in the battle, but when Athena is the Supporter, they can help their ally by using items.
Costumes and accessories seem to be a big part of the action in SNK Heroines. Is there a story reason behind the fashion focus? Do the costumes & accessories factor into the gameplay?
Soranaka-san: There aren't any accessories that change special skills or attack power or influence battle in any way, but there are Reaction Accessories that react when taking damage and some accessories that have special sound effects.
Along with the costumes, one thing that really stands out from looking at early footage is the art style, with plenty of sparkles, ribbons, and plates of curry (!). What inspired that art direction?
Oda-san: The setting of this game is a mysterious mansion, and the costumes of the characters are different than usual. This game's world is different from any KOF or SNK title so far. We consulted the art director and character designer about the world building aspect, and we created the scenario and art style to match.
What audience are you hoping to attract with SNK Heroines? Are there features you’ve included to appeal to hardcore fighting fans, or casual players, or both?
Oda-san: I hope both, if possible. It's easy to perform skills in this game, but with items and gauges and combos, the mind games and gauge management will give both experienced and casual gamers a level playing field. On top of that, we've increased the appeal of the characters for fans to enjoy.
Thanks to Oda-san and Soranaka-san for taking the time to speak to us. SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy arrives on Nintendo Switch this summer.
Comments 44
Never had a chance to experience Gals fighters on NGPC, as it is expensive as hell currently Hope this game turns out as good as it looks, I'm looking forward to it!
I wait for blazeblue.this game is not realy my thing
Keep getting excited about this but Not entirely hyped about only being able to win via super move. The same thing basically killed Sony's Smash clone
Please next project, SNK Hunks.
Instead of Sexy gals, put a bunch of Six pack SNK guys like Joe Higashi, Goro Daimon, Clark Still, etc.
Sure, i can get a nosebleed by looking them in Shirtless with great muscle, six pack and cool costumes.
@Anti-Matter nose bleed is bad. Blood is bad. Evrything is bad. Please don't talk about blood. Blood is garbage
Also how do you get nosebleed by looking at shirtless men, do you try and kiss them hard on the tv while they are pictured. How
@1UP_MARIO
Please understand, i still tolerate Mild Blood content from Final Fantasy III NDS, Final Fantasy XII, Street Fighter games.
Yes, the contents printed Clearly inside the ESRB rating.
Btw, i used "Nosebleed" as my jokes, not really i will got nosebleed whenever i saw Muscular men.
@abe_hikura agreed.... im super excited about this game, and really like seeing new footage on it, but it was a bit of a turn off when I found out you can only win the match by using the Supers, because then, I feel like it'll just be a match of spamming the Super until it finally connects
This game looks more fun every time I see it, probably a day 1 buy.
@1UP_MARIO @Anti-Matter I'm guessing 1UP_MARIO hasn't seen much anime .
The collector's edition is crazy with all the goodies they packed in. Shirts, towels, headbands, pins, artbooks and soundtrack for $120!! I couldn't resist... so much swag!
https://store.nisamerica.com/snk-heroines-diamond-dream-edition-nintendo-switch
@dougphisig
Oh, btw.
I set Apachai Hopachai picture as my smartphone wallpaper.
He's sooo... Muscular for a Muay Thai boxer.
@QwertyQwerty - The only thing that is turning me off this game its oversimplifying of controls. From what I read it's more basic than Bloody Roar was (may it RIP).
@Anti-Matter - I'm alright with this.
@dougphisig you guessed right
Now if the game's not that expensive, I'll happily lose some (nose) blood for this.
@Anti-Matter He might be muscular for a Muay Thai boxer but he also looks terrifying for a human
any pricing on that? I'll buy it for 19.99$ for sure.
The hate for this game used to be its a one button fighter. So was dragonball Z mostly and a lot of people love that game. Just cause you can access special moves at a tap of a button doesn't make it crap!.
Nope still not interesting enough to me, I rather play the NeoGeo stuff over this anyday. SNK had one shot to bring the true KOF to Switch and they blew it.
@8-Bit_Superman - Isn't any game being sold for monetary gain of a company technically an objectification of the material included?
That's the grey area with media and consumers. It's the targeted marketing, and they opted to target the largest possible market for this game. Weeb Nation.
Regardless, this game also offers customization, and some previews they've shown more modest options. Obviously this game becomes more objectified base on who's playing it with such a feature. Only way to stop it is limit the customization to merely the modest options, which limits one of their pitches to the Weeb market they're aiming for.
Not too fond of all-female cast. Maybe one day we will get a proper KoF on our beloved Switch... maybe.
Not a huge fighting game fan, but the casual controls, good performance, and excessive fanservice seem right up my alley!
Maybe we'll get DoA5: Last Round at some point, too.
@Anti-Matter Men in fighting games are usually pretty exposed anyway, so the clothing options or camera focus would have to be particularly lewd for it to stand out from other fighters. I don't see that happening, but keep fighting the good fight, friend: sometimes dreams do come true.
Not interested at all.
@8-Bit_Superman - It's also been just basic reaction with attraction and the puberty teenagers go through. It's why "sex sells" has been a thing so some time. And the practices predates that of capitalism and monetary gains.
Companies will naturally become concerned when the weeb and teenage boy market isn't buying it anymore. And it becoming a huge hot button issue with social media outlets is also what is gaining them traction. This game, for its simplicity and weebified market strategy would not have had this coverage if released prior to 2015, it's why Arcana Heart died. But weeb games and DLC (like Fate/Estella and FE Warriors) have been getting more coverage due to outrage from markets that were simply not there originally.
@8-Bit_Superman
This stuff is never going to go away, pal, the sooner prudes realize that the better I can stop reading and fighting against it constantly.
This goes both ways as well because women love their eye candy and over the top stuff like this too. I don't even get aroused by this kinda stuff I just like skimpy (and fully armored for my MMO characters) dressed female characters in anime and rpgs/fighting games.
Like I said before, preordered three (and one $119 Dream Edition for myself) copies of the game!
@Anti-Matter Apa! Love Kenichi.
@8-Bit_Superman Good for you, I'll continue (and have for 25+ years) enjoying my anime, games, and manga without being constantly offended by stuff that ultimately doesn't matter.
@TurboTEF - I don't think he's objectifying and bringing this to the front. It's more likely he's been with this view and has now been seeing "more" of it happen simply due to those who witch hunt against the mediums they've been known to be in.
I'm sort of the in between (and have for 30+ years, and in marketing). I get their stance, and in ways I agree I would like to see a more respectable games made. Yet, the examples those who witch hunt and spotlight are often the cringiest fan service generally out there. Which serves to respond in the opposite way they desire, it gets more coverage and more sales of less effort than before. You and I both know this game would been dead in the water the moment of its release if it released 5 years ago and Twitter didn't blow up about it.
But I am for equality, and if there is a developer who wants to go full Chipendales on their man-only fighting game and there is a market beyond Anti-Matter, I'd say go for it.
gotta let us play with one hand like super mario run
I'll just wait and hope for a real Senran Kagura game on Switch instead.
Even though I'm not a huge fanservice guy, I do find it kind of adorable to see Kula wearing Angel's outfit.
@Joeynator3000 I'd love to see that Burst remake come to Switch. Considering the original was a 3DS exclusive, it'd be fitting.
On top of that we've increased the appeal of the characters for fans to enjoy ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
@Ralizah Yeah I don't know why all other consoles get the big HD games and all that while Nintendo only gets the small 3DS games. And when the Switch does get the series....it's a pet Asuka simulator...
and some pinball game we know nothing else about, lol
What the hell is this, seems like so much wasted potentional. I would much rather see a kof vs snk or a kof or a snk. All girls in bikinis...
This game looks great!
@Joeynator3000 Maybe they will announce it later, like Marvelous tend to announce Steam releases later?
@tobibra I doubt it. :/
I'm looking forward to this app be, I like the idea of a simplified fighting game.
To be honest, I've always found 6-button and 4-button fighting games too complicated to play anyway. I never have any idea which is the best button to press or combo to use. SNK Heroines really appeals to me - perhaps a rethink of the fighting genre is not a bad idea?
@8-Bit_Superman Agreed but it has come to my attention that the fighters have their original costumes as well (ymmv on how much they sexualize the fighters from the outset), just all the screens are of the bikinis and whatnot. What that says about how the marketing department views its target demographic is up for debate. Here's hoping to balance, a solid moveset and good netcode.
@Paraka "But I am for equality, and if there is a developer who wants to go full Chipendales on their man-only fighting game and there is a market beyond Anti-Matter, I'd say go for it."
Internet rage from dudes that don't look like that (the irony) would burn down the internet first.
@retro_player_22 a bit extreme don't you think? this game in no way stops us from still getting a new kof. like, why would it?
@Platinumhobo We will be getting a new KOF but the question is will it come to Switch if this game flops? If SNK is testing the Switch audience with this game and their support for Switch depends on the sale of this game then they had just done this the wrong way.
They should be looking at the Hamster NeoGeo numbers and provide their support base on those. Bringing a spinoff to Switch first over a main entry just doesn't show a positive sign. It's like Square Enix bringing Final Fantasy Explorers to 3DS, it's a branded FF game but nobody bought it so that must mean nobody wants a Final Fantasy game for 3DS right? Nope nobody bought it cause it's a Monster Hunter ripoff, plays nothing like Final Fantasy and everyone just want a FFV and FFVI remake.
I am sure when it lands in the west it will have heavy censorship....I really hope it stays the same...(Wipes off nosebleeds)..... I will get it, I had Senran Kagura for 3DS and this will be good for the lack of fighting games on Switch.
I have played Ultra street fighter so much I think I am the best in the world ...challenge me if you dare.. muhahahahah..
@uximal It's already been confirmed it isn't getting censored, so there's that.
@retro_player_22 you're not wrong about them using the Hamster NeoGeo games as an indicator. That makes sense. The only thing I disagree with is that Heroines is meant to be some sort of test. I would think that if it was exclusive to the Switch, but it's not. I will eat my words for KOFXV skips the Switch, but I don't think they have any real correlation.
Also, hey man I bought FF Explorers. It was fun...for a time :/
Show Comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...