REVIEW: Fatal Fury First Contact


Title	Fatal Fury First Contact
Developer	SNK
Publisher	SNK
Release Date	December 23rd, 2020
Genre	Fighting
Platform	Nintendo Switch
Age Rating	E10
Official Website

SNK has been releasing some Neo Geo Pocket Color Selection titles on the Nintendo Switch for some time now. I’ve taken a look at each one so far, so when a chance arrived to take a look at Fatal Fury First Contact, I jumped on it. I’ve had a blast with other games released in the collection, so I went into this expecting to have a lot of fun, let’s see if I did.

Graphically, Fatal Fury First Contact is on par with the other Neo Geo Pocket titles released on the Switch so far. The chibi style characters have plenty of personality, and it’s always fun to see your favorites presented in a new way. The backgrounds are all nicely done as well and range from temples to sakura covered forests. The animations are all very smooth and the game looks great on docked or in portable mode.

Like the previous titles, Fatal Fury First Contact has some of the best chiptunes that will ever bless your ears. I caught myself humming along several times as I was laying waste to my enemies! The sound effects are nothing to write home about, but they get the job done nicely and add a bit of impact to the fighting.

As you would expect, the fighting is where this title really shines. Each fighter has a range of special moves and auto combos that will have even the most green fighting game players feeling like a champ. There are plenty of super moves and more advanced tactics for fighting veterans to have fun with as well. I did feel like a couple characters were a bit overpowered, but with slick moves and the occasional rewind, they aren’t that difficult to overcome.

This is probably the most bare-bones title released so far in the Neo Geo Pocket Selection lineup. There aren’t any modes here, aside from a one player mode and a versus mode. Each character has an ending and some very nice pixel art at the end of their run. I feel like the roster of eleven fighters including two new fighters, Rick Strowd and Li Xiangfei, gives a great amount of replay value, and their uniqueness will keep you coming back for more.

At the end of the day, if you’re looking for a basic but fun fighter for your Nintendo Switch, you can’t really go wrong with Fatal Fury First Contact at the mere $7.99 price tag. The fighting is very smooth and the great roster will have you wanting to play around with them for many hours on end. It may not have a ton of modes, but it has it where it counts, and Mai makes a super cute chibi as well!