NeoGeo Battle Coliseum

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 two-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 three battles, and after a player manages to clear three 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 are given the option of using one of three continue services to help give them a boost getting back into the game:

The first takes the 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, 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:

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 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 Guardian.

Kyo Kusanagi and Iori Yagami use the technique they both used in KOF 97 to defeat Orochi. In this attack, Iori grabs his opponent by the neck while Kyo charges a devastating blow.

Terry Bogard and Rock Howard share special D-Assault attacks, rightly named "Storm and Stream" and "Buster and Storm". This is a combination of their famous supers with variations depending of the leader character, making either a Shining Knuckle/Power Stream combo or a Buster Wolf/Raging Storm combo.

Ryo Sakazaki 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 dragon and a tiger (which represent Ryo and Robert, respectively) appear on the screen.

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." (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.)

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 the enemy's evil designs. 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 Ganbare 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.

From The King of Fighters series: Kyo Kusanagi (in his KOF'99 design), Iori Yagami, K′, Shermie

From the Fatal Fury series: 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

From the Art of Fighting series (including Buriki One): Mr. Karate (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 Blade series: Kaede (in his Awakened form), Moriya Minakata, Akari Ichijo, Keiichiro Washizuka

From the World Heroes series: Hanzo, Fuma, Mudman

From Aggressors of Dark Kombat: Kisarah Westfield

From King of the Monsters 2: Cyber Woo (the girl piloting Woo is named Yuzu Makijima, an original character)

From the Metal Slug series: Marco Rossi, Mars People

From Athena: Athena

Bosses

Mizuchi: A clone of Orochi from The King of Fighters '97 created by WAREZ.

King Lion (Shishioh in Japan): The main antagonist of Savage Reign and Kizuna Encounter. 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 the World Heroes series.

Goodman: The real final boss of Battle Coliseum. He uses a flaming whip both as a weapon and to command a fire-like gorilla 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 2001.

Reception

NeoGeo Battle Coliseum was criticized for not making the storyline more obvious in the game and for sub-par graphics. Blast Magazine opined 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 the Blast reviewer about the PS2 version of the game and gave the game 3/5. IGN gave the game 7.3/10.