SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos
It was the third arcade game in a series of crossovers between these two companies (see "SNK vs. Capcom" series) and the only one developed by SNK (SNK previously produced "" for the Neo Geo Pocket Color). Plot. After the events of "Capcom vs. SNK 2" in a post-apocalyptic future where civilization is scarce and desolate, the famous tournament teams such as the "Garcia Financial Clique" (SNK) and the "Masters Foundation" (Capcom) are under an end-times crisis; a majority of them have all died, a minority of them went missing, and 36 of the  small total have survived and are now locked in a war between Order and Chaos to decide the fate of the universe, whoever wins will return back to their centuries peacefully. Gameplay. The gameplay is based on the "KOF" series (particularly "The King of Fighters 2002"), with the same four button configuration and many of the same techniques. However, the game does not use the Team Battle format, but follows the traditional round-based one-on-one format. Each match begins with a dialogue exchange between the player's character and the opponent. One new technique introduced in the game  is the Front Grand Step, which allows the player to cancel attacks with a forward dash. The player can perform this technique while guarding from an opponent's attack, which will consume one Power Gauge level. The game uses a different type of Power Gauge known as the Groove Power Gauge System, which has three levels. The Groove gauge fills as the player lands attacks against the opponents or guard attacks. When the gauge fills to Lv. 1 or Lv. 2, the player can perform Super Special Moves, a Guard Cancel Attack or a Guard Cancel Front Step maneuver. When  the gauge is full, its reaches MAXIMUM level and a MAX Activation occurs. During MAX Activation, the gauge will change into a timer and the player gains the ability to cancel any of their moves anytime (in addition to Super Special Moves and Guard Cancels). Once the timer runs out, the gauge returns to Lv. 2. In addition to the regular Super Special Move, each character also has an 'Exceed' move which can only be performed once when the player's life is less than half. This crossover features characters primarily from both SNK and Capcom's respective fighting game  sequels such as "The King of Fighters '96" and "Super Street Fighter II Turbo", alongside additional character appearances from "Samurai Shodown", "Art of Fighting", "Metal Slug 2", "Athena", "Darkstalkers", "Final Fight", "Mega Man Zero", "Ghosts 'n Goblins", and even "Pocket Fighter" (including Street Fighter Alpha's Dan and Red Earth's Tessa.) Reception. "SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos" has received mixed reception, such as the rushed and bland presentation of the game (as seen in stages with very few colors and devoid of "life"), and the low resolution of the Neo Geo (320 × 240) made the game's visuals  considerably rough considering the game's 2003 release. The PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions received "mixed" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. In Japan, "Famitsu" gave the PS2 version a score of three sixes and one seven for a total of 25 out of 40. In 2012, "Complex" ranked it as the 14th best SNK fighting game ever made, adding that "the game’s secret characters (Firebrand, Mars People, Zero, etc.) had to be the best part about this game," as well as newly animated sprites (Demitri, Earthquake, Tessa, etc.) But was also criticized by others due to  the lack of certain "token" characters (like Haohmaru, Benimaru, Zangief, etc.), and the omission of the selectable fighting styles showcased by Capcom, instead featuring only one-on-one modes with extended vital gauges, not giving any choice to players who favored other styles, even those created by SNK itself.