Kizuna Encounter

Kizuna Encounter[lower-alpha 1] is a 1996 competitive fighting game produced by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home platform. It is the sequel to Savage Reign. The European Neo-Geo homecart PAL release was rare, with only five known copies, making it a sought-after item in video game collecting (the Japanese AES version is not rare and is identical except for the packaging and inserts).[3][4][5]

Kizuna Encounter
Neo Geo AES cover with art by Shinkiro
Developer(s)SNK
Publisher(s)SNK
D4 Enterprise
(Virtual Console)
Hamster Corporation (PS4/Switch/Xbox One)
Director(s)Kanbei Hama
Mitsuzo I.
Producer(s)Akira Goto
Hiroshi Matsumoto
Takashi Nishiyama
Programmer(s)Bashi
Jaron
Artist(s)Akairo Megane
G. Ishidaman
Nishi Futatsu
Writer(s)Hidetaka Suehiro[1]
Composer(s)Mitsuo
Yasuo Yamate
Yoshihiko Kitamura
SeriesFū'un
Platform(s)Arcade, Neo Geo AES, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Virtual Console, Xbox One
ReleaseArcade
  • WW: 20 September 1996
Neo Geo AES
  • WW: 8 November 1996
Virtual Console
  • JP: 28 June 2011
Nintendo Switch
  • WW: 10 January 2019
PlayStation 4
  • JP: 10 January 2019
Xbox One
  • WW: 10 January 2019
Genre(s)Fighting
Mode(s)
CabinetUpright
Arcade systemNeo Geo MVS
CPUM68000 (@ 12 MHz),
Z80A (@ 4 MHz)
SoundYM2610 (@ 8 MHz)[2]
DisplayRaster, 304 × 224 pixels (Horizontal), 4096 colors

Like its predecessor, it was ported to PlayStation 2 (released in Japan only), this compilation was re-released in the PlayStation Store for PlayStation 4 in December 2016.[6] The Neo Geo version was released for the Wii Virtual Console in Japan on June 28, 2011.

Gameplay
Gameplay screenshot showcasing a match between Rosa and Sho Hayate against Max Eagle and Chung Paifu.

The Kizuna Encounter fighting system is similar to the Real Bout Fatal Fury fighting system. Notable additions include the tag system, in which players have the ability to switch characters in-game by pressing the tag button while standing in their team's tag area.[7] If a player loses one character, regardless of their other character's vitality, he or she loses the match. A roll system similar to the one used in The King of Fighters is also present in Kizuna Encounter as well.

Plot

One year ago, King Leo had made and held the Battle of the Beast God tournament in order to see who was worthy enough to challenge and fight against him from within their own given time and opportunity. Nine fighters had entered the tournament upon sight and that each of them had battled against one another from within a strong and relentless manner, but in the end, Sho Hayate had proven to be the strongest warrior and that he had won the tournament while defeating both King Leo and his fake impersonator King Lion from within the finals of the competition. To seek revenge against Hayate and those who caused his humiliating downfall, King Leo has organized a second version of the Battle of the Beast God tournament, but this time, there's a new rule: teams of 2 people must work together from within this new tournament so that they can either ensure victory or face defeat. The competitors from last year's tournament have learned of King Leo's new tournament and that each of them have decided to join forces with each other on either friendly or temporary terms. With the exception of Carol Stanzack (who decides to skip the tournament in order to continue her gymnastics training) and Nicola Zaza (who's too busy in having to work on his latest scientific project), Hayate and the fighters from the previous tournament have returned for combat and that they're ready to face the latest challenge that's presented to them by King Leo. However, the previous fighters aren't the only ones from within this tournament, as two new challengers have entered into the fray as well and that they have their own reasons in participating from within King Leo's new competition. The gathered fighters must be ready and prepared to not only fight against each other and King Leo from within this tournament, but also, they must deal with an unknown threat that lies directly from within the shadows of this competition as well.

Characters

Returning Characters
  • Sho Hayate
  • Max Eagle
  • Gordon Bowman
  • Chung Paifu
  • Joker
  • Gozu
  • Mezu
  • King Lion

New Characters
  • [8] Rosa - A young woman who wields a sword in combat and leads a strong resistance force against King Leo. When her young brother and a couple of her friends are kidnapped by King Leo, Rosa heads to the tournament in the hopes of defeating King Leo and saving her young brother and her friends.
  • Kim Sue Il[9] - A young Korean police detective who uses taekwondo and wields a staff. He is investigating Joker's involvement in the tournament and that he seeks to arrest Joker and disband his gang, the Looly Po Po. It is heavily implied that Sue Il is a descendant of Kim Kaphwan from the Fatal Fury series and that he shares some of his ancestor's traits (in which the both of them have and value a strong sense of justice and that the two of them have an almost identical appearance to each other while also sharing many fighting skills and techniques with one another as well).

Bosses
  • King Leo (Sub-Boss)
  • Jyazu (Final Boss) - An unknown cruel and sadistic fighter who wears a golden crow's helmet on his head and that he dresses in the same attire as Gozu and Mezu (only this attire is black). He fights with a pair of sharp claws and that he uses vicious attacks and relentless abilities in battle (most of them being very dangerous) while also imitating some of Gozu and Mezu's own moves. Jyazu's background is shrouded in mystery and that his intentions are unknown, though he is known for being the leader of the terrorist organization, the Jaguar. He can transform into a crow at will and can mask his evil intent from his enemies, giving him an unfair advantage.

See also

Notes
  1. Also known as Fū'un Super Tag Battle (Japanese: 風雲スーパータッグバトル, Hepburn: Fū'un Sūpā Taggu Batoru, lit. "Wind and Cloud Super Tag Battle") in Japan.

References
  1. Suehiro, Hidetaka (February–March 2011). "Game Design in the Coffee. Lovable Game Design by SWERY". Game Developers Conference. Informa. Retrieved 2020-01-09.
  2. "SNK NeoGeo MVS Hardware (SNK)". system16.com. Retrieved 2020-01-09.
  3. CNN.com. 8 very rare (and very expensive) video games
  4. Racketboy.com Holy Grails of Console Game Collecting
  5. "The Wish List". Edge presents Retro. Here Retro features a non-definitive list of the most collectible games in the world at the moment [2002]
  6. "FU'UN SUPER COMBO™ PlayStation Store". Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  7. "Coin-Operated". Sega Saturn Magazine. No. 15. Emap International Limited. January 1997. p. 95.
  8. http://www.arcadequartermaster.com/snk/ke_1.html
  9. In English version, his name is changed to Kim Young-Mok.
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