Throughout the long history that video games have been made available to the general public as an entertainment medium, there have been many gems and many different novelty games. Gal Fighters for the Neo Geo Pocket color is one of them.
At first glance, Gal Fighters may seem like just another in the long string of "Pocket Fighter" series on the NGPC. Nothing could be further from the truth. While Gal Fighters does follow the usual trappings of fighting games, it offers a few new twists, which make it a game to look at.
First off, Gal Fighter's character line up is entirely female (sans one character, perhaps, depending on how you look at it). While this may be a deterrent to some, it is a welcome change and very refreshing. Gal Fighter's line up consists of many lovely ladies from the SNK world. Mai, Yuri, Akari, Shermie, Athena, Shiki, Leona, and Nakoruru are selectable initially, with 3 hidden characters unlockable after certain conditions are met.
Another unique feature that really sets this game apart from other fighters on the NGPC is the item system. Throughout the course of many battles, certain items, ranging from earrings to tea sets to belts, and even bullets, can be acquired by winning matches. If used in battle, they imbue certain characteristics that give your character a winning advantage. During a versus mode game, these items can also be used and stolen after winning a match, if the winning player so chooses. This not only adds to the replay ability of the game, but also gives you and the other player that "one more game" excuse to keep playing to get your item back after you lost it.
Control-wise, this game is rock-solid. Controls roll off like butter except when pulling off desperation moves, which can be tricky to execute at times. This may be attributed to the speed of Gal Fighters, which is one of the quickest on the NGPC.
Graphics are up to par with the good controls and speed of Gal Fighters. Backgrounds, though not as detailed or colorful as Fatal Fury: First Contact, are still detailed and varied, showing off the NGPC's color palette. Gals in the game stick to the NGPC's law of 2-3 colors per character, but retain a high level of detail and bounciness, which is always a good thing.
Overall, Gal Fighters is an enjoyable fighting experience on the NGPC for novelty gamers and fighting fanatics alike. Lightning-fast game play matched with detailed graphics and tight controls make it a game to come back to. The unique roster of characters and the item system make Gal Fighters unique. These are definitely some Gals to bring home to momma!
Graphics: 8/10
Sound: 8/10
Game play: 9/10
Replay Value: 8/10
NEOGEO is a registered trademark of SNK PLAYMORE CORPORATION.
All intellectual property rights related to NEOGEO products and others belong to SNK PLAYMORE CORPORATION.
Non SNK software titles belong to their respective authors.
This website is tested with Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox. Best Viewed at 1024x768 or higher. Although it is tested with Firefox and IE, it should work with other browsers without problems - please contact me if you notice any issues!
