Neo Geo Battle Coliseum
Encyclopedia
NeoGeo Battle Coliseum is a 2 on 2 tag team fighting game for the Atomiswave
arcade board. The game features characters from several SNK
and ADK
titles. The PlayStation 2
version of the game has been released in Japan, North America and Europe. The Xbox Live Arcade
version was released worldwide on June 9, 2010.
"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."
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 the company's bankruptcy and eventual closing in 2001.
The game's single play is more like a survival battle, where the player must beat enemies after enemies 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 of time is when time out will determine the victor.
During a single-play, the rule is to defeat any 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 up one member of the opposite team to win, without the need to fight the other member if the former 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're given the option to use one of three continue services to help give them a boost getting back into the game:
. In addition to that, certain characters have special D-Assaults. Here are some of the possible combinations:
"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. Blast gave the game 3/5.
IGN gave the game a 7.3/10.
Atomiswave
The Atomiswave is a custom arcade system board and cabinet from Sammy Corporation. It is based on Sega's NAOMI system board...
arcade board. The game features characters from several SNK
SNK Playmore
SNK Playmore Corporation is a Japanese video game hardware and software company. SNK is an acronym of , which was SNK's original name. The company's legal and trading name became SNK in 1986....
and ADK
ADK (company)
, also known as , was a Japanese video game production company founded sometime in July of 1980. "ADK" is an acronym for Alpha, Denshi, and the Japanese term for "corporation", Kabushiki kaisha...
titles. The PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
version of the game has been released in Japan, North America and Europe. The Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade is a type of video game download distribution available primarily in a section of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360, that focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent game developers...
version was released worldwide on June 9, 2010.
Story
The official story, 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."
The name of the organization that hosts the tournament, WAREZ, is an obvious play on the word warez
Warez
Warez refers primarily to copyrighted works distributed without fees or royalties, and may be traded, in general violation of copyright law. The term generally refers to unauthorized releases by organized groups, as opposed to file sharing between friends or large groups of people with similar...
, as SNK Playmore blames software piracy
Copyright infringement of software
Copyright infringement of software=The copyright infringement of software refers to several practices which involve the unauthorized copying of computer software. Copyright infringement of this kind varies globally...
as one of the contributing factors to the company's bankruptcy and eventual closing in 2001.
Gameplay
The game system of the arcade NGBC, as previously mentioned, is a 2 vs. 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 enemies after enemies 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 of time is when time out will determine the victor.
During a single-play, the rule is to defeat any member of the team, not both team members. That is, unlike most tag-team systems (but similar to Kizuna Encounter
Kizuna Encounter
is a competitive fighting game produced by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home platform. It is the sequel to Savage Reign. Like its predecessor, it was ported to the Neo-Geo CD and also included in the Fūun Super Combo for the PlayStation 2...
or Tekken Tag Tournament
Tekken Tag Tournament
is the fourth installment in the popular Tekken fighting game series. It, however, is not canonical to the Tekken storyline. The game was originally available as an update kit for Tekken 3. Tekken Tag Tournament was originally released as an arcade game before it was ported to the PlayStation 2...
), where all opposition must be beaten in order to win, in NGBC the player only needs to beat up one member of the opposite team to win, without the need to fight the other member if the former 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:
- The first is to gain more time. Extra time helps the player to beat more teams, which is so because the game records the number of teams defeated in the hi-score table.
- The second is to gain full power gauge. This is simply to blow the opposition away as soon as the next battle starts.
- The third is adding more life. Self-explanatory, especially due to the winning condition mentioned earlier.
Additionally, if the player loses and chooses to continue, they're given the option to use one of three continue services to help give them a boost getting back into the game:
- The first takes your opponent's life gauge down to 1/4 full.
- The second fully maxes out the player's special move gauge.
- The third adds more time.
Double Assault
Also abbreviated as D-Assault, it's 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 TournamentTekken Tag Tournament
is the fourth installment in the popular Tekken fighting game series. It, however, is not canonical to the Tekken storyline. The game was originally available as an update kit for Tekken 3. Tekken Tag Tournament was originally released as an arcade game before it was ported to the PlayStation 2...
. In addition to that, certain characters have special D-Assaults. Here are some of the possible combinations:
- Yuki and Ai have 2 different D-Assaults, depending of the leader character. If the leader is Yuki, he calls Ai and they combine their powers and transform into Atomic Guy (one of the monsters from King of the MonstersKing of the MonstersKing of the Monsters is a series of video games created by SNK Corporation for the Neo-Geo, featuring giant monsters reminiscent of kaiju and tokusatsu.-King of the Monsters:...
) for a few seconds, and all his attacks are unblockable. - In the case of Ai, she calls Yuki and both create a super attack which shocks all opponents on-screen. The name of this move is ASO II: Last GuardianASO II: Last GuardianASO II: Last Guardian is a vertically scrolling full screen shoot 'em up released by SNK in 1991 for the Neo Geo arcade and home systems...
. - Kyo KusanagiKyo Kusanagiis one of the main characters in SNK Playmore's The King of Fighters video game series; he was first introduced in The King of Fighters '94 as the leader of the Japan team. He is one of the iconic characters of the series and regularly appears on publicity material and merchandise. His name and...
and Iori YagamiIori Yagamiis a character from the SNK Playmore's The King of Fighters video game series that first appeared in The King of Fighters '95 as the leader of the Rivals Team. He is an iconic character of the series, and regularly appears on publicity material and merchandise. Iori is a central character to the...
make the technique they both used in KOF 97The King of Fighters '97The King of Fighters '97 is a fighting game produced by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home console. It is the fourth game in The King of Fighters series. It was ported to the Neo-Geo CD, as well as the PlayStation and the Sega Saturn in Japan only...
to defeat Orochi. In this attack, Iori grabs his opponent by the neck while Kyo charges a devastating blow. - Terry BogardTerry Bogardis a video game character created by SNK Playmore , and is the main character of the Fatal Fury series. In the series, he is an American fighter who enters the worldwide tournaments called The King of Fighters to kill Geese Howard, a criminal who killed Terry's father. Terry becomes a formidable...
and Rock HowardRock Howardis a video game character appearing in various games from SNK Playmore . Rock makes his first appearance as a playable character in the fighting game Garou: Mark of the Wolves, the last chapter in the Fatal Fury series, as the new lead character from the series...
share special D-Assault attacks, rightly named "Storm and Stream" and "Buster and Storm". It's a combination of their famous supers with variations depending of the leader character; either being a Shining Knuckle/Power Stream combo or a Buster Wolf/Raging Storm combo. - Ryo SakazakiRyo Sakazakiis a video game character developed for the fighting game Art of Fighting from SNK Playmore . His name is most often written in kana, however, in some games kanji is used to write parts of his name. In the series, Ryo is a martial artist that practices his family's fighting style, the Kyokugenryu...
and Robert Garcia both attack with their signature Zan Retsu Ken/Genn'ei Kyaku moves and later make a backjump finishing with a double Haohshokoken, while the background goes black and a dragonDragonA dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
and a tigerTigerThe tiger is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to and weighing up to . Their most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with lighter underparts...
(that represent Ryo and Robert, respectively) appear on the screen.
Regular characters
- Original 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 their evil designs. Yuki has based all his moves in old SNKSNK PlaymoreSNK Playmore Corporation is a Japanese video game hardware and software company. SNK is an acronym of , which was SNK's original name. The company's legal and trading name became SNK in 1986....
's Neo Geo games, such as indirect references to various icons of this company. Also, he transforms into 2 characters: Duke Edwards from Burning FightBurning Fightis an arcade game created by SNK in 1991 for the Neo Geo MVS system. This game is a beat 'em up, very similar to Crime Fighters. Three years after its release in arcades and on the Neo Geo AES, it was released in the Neo Geo CD as the only other home version of this game.The producer of this game...
and Atomic Guy from King of the MonstersKing of the MonstersKing of the Monsters is a series of video games created by SNK Corporation for the Neo-Geo, featuring giant monsters reminiscent of kaiju and tokusatsu.-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 goes to stop WAREZ. Like her partner Yuki, all her moves are based on old Neo-Geo games. The most notable is Neo Poke-KunGanbare Neo Poke-KunGanbare Neo Poke-Kun was an unusual game for the Neo Geo Pocket Color, which drew direct inspiration from the majority of video game history. The game was divided into two modes; observing Neo Poke-Kun in his tiny studio apartment , and playing the minigames that Neo Poke-Kun would create for you...
(Neo Geo PocketNeo Geo PocketThe Neo Geo Pocket was SNK's first hand held video game system, released in Japan in late 1998; however, lower than expected sales resulted in its discontinuation in 1999, and was immediately succeeded by the Neo Geo Pocket Color. The system only had a retail release within the Japan and Hong Kong...
mascot) as her own mascot and who is incorporated into her moves and attacks. In addition to that, she has her own Neo-Geo Pocket, which she uses in certain attacks. Apart from this game, Ai also appears in the Days of MemoriesDays of MemoriesDays of Memories is a series of dating sims that SNK Playmore has been making for cell phones since 2005. They have recently released a compilation of the first three games for the Nintendo DS, with new graphics and an extra viewing mode.-Summary:The games are dating sims starring SNK, ADK, and...
game series and in SNK vs Capcom: Card Fighters DS as an SNK character card.
- From The King of Fighters series
- Kyo KusanagiKyo Kusanagiis one of the main characters in SNK Playmore's The King of Fighters video game series; he was first introduced in The King of Fighters '94 as the leader of the Japan team. He is one of the iconic characters of the series and regularly appears on publicity material and merchandise. His name and...
(in his KOF'99 design) - Iori YagamiIori Yagamiis a character from the SNK Playmore's The King of Fighters video game series that first appeared in The King of Fighters '95 as the leader of the Rivals Team. He is an iconic character of the series, and regularly appears on publicity material and merchandise. Iori is a central character to the...
- K'
- Shermie
- From the Fatal Fury series
- Terry BogardTerry Bogardis a video game character created by SNK Playmore , and is the main character of the Fatal Fury series. In the series, he is an American fighter who enters the worldwide tournaments called The King of Fighters to kill Geese Howard, a criminal who killed Terry's father. Terry becomes a formidable...
(in his Garou: Mark of the Wolves design) - Mai ShiranuiMai Shiranuiis a player character in both the Fatal Fury and The King of Fighters series of fighting games by SNK and in related media, also appearing in a large number of other games...
- Kim KaphwanKim KaphwanKap-hwan Kim , usually written surname first as Kim Kap-hwan, is a character in both the Fatal Fury and The King of Fighters series created by SNK Playmore . He is credited as the first ever fictional Korean character to appear in a fighting game...
- Geese HowardGeese Howardis a fictional video game character appearing in SNK Playmore's Fatal Fury fighting games series. Debuting in Fatal Fury: King of Fighters, Geese is the local crime boss of the fictional city of South Town. Geese hosts a fighting tournament named "The King of Fighters", in which he faces the...
- Tung Fu Rue
- Jin Chonshu
- Jin Chonrei
- Rock HowardRock Howardis a video game character appearing in various games from SNK Playmore . Rock makes his first appearance as a playable character in the fighting game Garou: Mark of the Wolves, the last chapter in the Fatal Fury series, as the new lead character from the series...
- Hotaru Futaba
- From the Art of FightingArt of Fightingis a trilogy of competitive fighting game titles that were released for the Neo Geo platform in the early 1990s. It was the second fighting game franchise created by SNK, following the Fatal Fury series and is set in the same fictional universe...
series (including Buriki OneBuriki OneBuriki One: World Grapple Tournament '99 in Tokyo, otherwise known simply as Buriki One, is a 3D competitive fighting game produced by SNK and released as a coin-operated arcade game in...
)
- Mr. KarateRyo Sakazakiis a video game character developed for the fighting game Art of Fighting from SNK Playmore . His name is most often written in kana, however, in some games kanji is used to write parts of his name. In the series, Ryo is a martial artist that practices his family's fighting style, the Kyokugenryu...
(Ryo Sakazaki's persona from Buriki One) - Robert Garcia (in a new design for this game)
- Mr. Big
- Lee Pai Long
- From the Samurai Shodown series
- Haohmaru
- Nakoruru
- Genjuro Kibagami
- Shiki
- Asura
- From The Last BladeThe Last Blade, is a fighting game series created by SNK for the Neo Geo system. The Korean version of the game is known as "The Last Soldier". The Last Blade and its sequel are widely considered to be two of the most accomplished games available for the Neo Geo system, with fan opinion divided as to which is...
series
- Kaede (in his Awakened form)
- Moriya Minakata
- Akari Ichijo
- Keiichiro Washizuka
- From the World HeroesWorld Heroesis a series of fighting games created by ADK originally created for the Neo Geo MVS arcade cabinets with the assistance of SNK, though some of the games in the series were also ported to the Neo Geo AES and Neo-Geo CD platforms, as well as some non-SNK platforms such as the Super NES and the Sega...
series
- Hanzo
- Fuma
- Mudman
- From Aggressors of Dark KombatAggressors of Dark KombatAggressors of Dark Kombat, sometimes abbreviated as ADK, and known in Japan as or simply GanGan, is a one-on-one fighting arcade game developed by Alpha Denshi Corp. and published by SNK...
- Kisarah Westfield
- From King of the Monsters 2King of the MonstersKing of the Monsters is a series of video games created by SNK Corporation for the Neo-Geo, featuring giant monsters reminiscent of kaiju and tokusatsu.-King of the Monsters:...
- Cyber Woo (the girl piloting Woo is named Yuzu Makijima, an original character)
- From the Metal SlugMetal Slug seriesMetal Slug is a series of run and gun video games first released on Neo-Geo arcade machines and game consoles created by SNK. It was also ported to other consoles, such as the Sega Saturn, the PlayStation, the Neo-Geo Pocket Color and more recently, the Game Boy Advance, PlayStation 2, PlayStation...
series
- Marco Rossi
- Mars People
- From AthenaAthena (video game)is a platform arcade game, produced and published in 1986 by SNK. It was later ported to the NES, developed by Micronics. The NES version was the only one released in North America. Conversions were done also for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Amstrad CPC in 1987 by Ocean Software under their...
- AthenaAthena (video game)is a platform arcade game, produced and published in 1986 by SNK. It was later ported to the NES, developed by Micronics. The NES version was the only one released in North America. Conversions were done also for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Amstrad CPC in 1987 by Ocean Software under their...
Bosses
- Mizuchi: A clone of Orochi created by WAREZ.
- King Lion (Shin Shishioh in Japan): The main antagonist of Savage ReignSavage Reignis a futuristic-themed competitive fighting game released by SNK for their Neo Geo arcade and home platform. It was ported to the Neo Geo CD, as well as for the PlayStation 2 along with its sequel Kizuna Encounter in Japan only .-Plot:Savage Reign is set in the first half of the 21st century in...
and Kizuna EncounterKizuna Encounteris a competitive fighting game produced by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home platform. It is the sequel to Savage Reign. Like its predecessor, it was ported to the Neo-Geo CD and also included in the Fūun Super Combo for the PlayStation 2...
. The version of King Lion the player fights against as a CPU opponent is actually King Leo, the boss version of King Lion from Savage Reign, although his name is still displayed as King Lion. Unlike the other bosses, King Leo/Shin Shishioh himself is not a playable character. Instead, the player takes control of the regular King Lion (the Shishioh impersonator) as a selectable character. - Neo Dio: A copy of the original Neo Dio created by WAREZ, boss from World HeroesWorld Heroesis a series of fighting games created by ADK originally created for the Neo Geo MVS arcade cabinets with the assistance of SNK, though some of the games in the series were also ported to the Neo Geo AES and Neo-Geo CD platforms, as well as some non-SNK platforms such as the Super NES and the Sega...
series. - Goodman: The real final boss of Battle Coliseum. He uses a flaming whip both as a weapon, and to command a fire-like gorillaGorillaGorillas are the largest extant species of primates. They are ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forests of central Africa. Gorillas are divided into two species and either four or five subspecies...
spirit (called Saru Ou, or Gorilla King) in a manner similar to an animal tamer. He is playable only in the PS2 and Xbox Live Arcade versions of the game. His design resembles Igniz from The King of Fighters series.
Reception
NeoGeo Battle Coliseum was criticized for not making the storyline more obvious in the game and for sub-par graphics. The game seemed starkly behind the times."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. Blast gave the game 3/5.
IGN gave the game a 7.3/10.
External links
NeoGeo Battle Coliseum at the official Japanese website of SNK PlaymoreSNK Playmore
SNK Playmore Corporation is a Japanese video game hardware and software company. SNK is an acronym of , which was SNK's original name. The company's legal and trading name became SNK in 1986....
- NeoGeo Battle Coliseum at the official website of SNK Playmore USASNK PlaymoreSNK Playmore Corporation is a Japanese video game hardware and software company. SNK is an acronym of , which was SNK's original name. The company's legal and trading name became SNK in 1986....
- NeoGeo Battle Coliseum at the official European website of Ignition EntertainmentIgnition EntertainmentIgnition Entertainment Ltd. is a British video game publisher formed in April 2002. It was created from a selection of smaller developers and publishers, such as Archer MacLean's Awesome Studios.-History:...