History Creator / SNK

'''SNK''', an acronym for '''Shin Nihon Kikaku''' 『新日本企画』 (Japanese for "New Japan Project"), is one of the better known video game companies. Besides developing arcade games dating back to 1978, SNK is also responsible for the NeoGeo home console, as well as the short-lived Hyper Neo Geo 64 and portable NeoGeoPocket. The company's legal and trading name became SNK in 1986. It also possesses a unique story of collapse and rebirth: After things started to look bad in the beginning of 2000, SNK [[DarkestHour was forced to declare bankruptcy in 2001 and sold many of its rights to various companies]]. Eventually, with hard work and effort, its CEO, Eikichi Kawasaki, eventually gathered up many of its former rights and [[HesBack rebuilt SNK, now named SNK Playmore]]. Kawasaki was the company's largest shareholder until August 2015, when his shares (along with his wife's) were bought over by a Chinese video game company.

'''SNK''', an acronym for '''Shin Nihon Kikaku''' 『新日本企画』 (Japanese for "New Japan Project"), is one of the better known video game companies. Besides developing arcade games dating back to 1978, SNK is also responsible for the NeoGeo home console, as well as the short-lived Hyper Neo Geo 64 and portable NeoGeoPocket. The company's legal and trading name became SNK in 1986. It also possesses a unique story of collapse and rebirth: After things started to look bad in the beginning of 2000, SNK was forced to declare bankruptcy and sold many of its rights to various companies... but eventually, with hard work and effort, its CEO, Eikichi Kawasaki, eventually gathered up many of its former rights and rebuilt SNK, now named SNK Playmore. Kawasaki was the company's largest shareholder until August 2015, when his shares (along with his wife's) were bought over by a Chinese video game company.

'''SNK''', an acronym for '''Shin Nihon Kikaku''' 『新日本企画』 (Japanese for "New Japan Project"), is one of the better known video game companies. Besides developing arcade games dating back to 1978, SNK is also responsible for the NeoGeo home console, as well as the short-lived Hyper Neo Geo 64 and portable NeoGeoPocket. The company's legal and trading name became SNK in 1986. It also possesses a unique story of collapse and rebirth: After things started to look bad in the beginning of 2000, SNK was forced to declare bankruptcy and sold many of its rights to various companies... but eventually, with hard work and effort, its CEO, Eikichi Kawasaki, eventually gathered up many of its former rights and rebuilt SNK, now named SNK Playmore.

SNK is mostly known for its {{fighting game}}s and was once the biggest rival of Creator/{{Capcom}} in that field; this rivalry was embodied in the ''[[VideoGame/SNKVsCapcom SNK vs. Capcom]]'' crossover series. Their fighting game bosses have a reputation for being ''extremely'' harder than their rival companies' counterparts, thus making them the {{Trope Namer|s}} for SNKBoss. To casual observers, SNK's 2D fighters were mere imitators of the ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' series, but this is not the case. The combat systems are totally different, with SNK's ''VideoGame/{{Art of Fighting}}'' series introducing the whole concept of the [[FinishingMove super special move]] that would go onto to become a fighting game staple. Also, although both employed luxuriously rich, detailed 2D visuals, SNK's backgrounds were more expressive, and often filled with comic touches. It's also worth pointing out that staff have switched between the Capcom and SNK camps over the years, with original ''Street Fighter'' creators Creator/TakashiNishiyama and Creator/HiroshiMatsumoto going onto to work at SNK, notably creating the ''VideoGame/FatalFury'' and ''VideoGame/{{The King of Fighters}}'' series, while famed illustrator Shinkiro as well as lesser known Senri Kita [[note]]perhaps best known for her work on various ''[[VideoGame/SamuraiShodown SamSho]]'' titles (''64'', ''Warrior's Rage'', and ''Sen''), fans of ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' may recognize her work on the [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTellius Tellius]] duology of ''Path of Radiance'' and ''Radiant Dawn''[[/note]] started at SNK but now work for Capcom. Creator/DaisukeIshiwatari, known best for his work on ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'' and ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'', was also employed under SNK as part of the team developing ''VideoGame/TheLastBlade''. If you look at his work (and sometimes squint), you can see more than a few {{Shout Out}}s to SNK's properties.

* NeoGeo (1990-2004)
* Neo Geo CD (1994-1997)
* NeoGeoPocket (1998-1999)
* Neo Geo Pocket Color (1999-2001)

* ''VideoGame/{{Art of Fighting}}'' series (1992–1996)

* ''VideoGame/{{The King of Fighters}}'' series (1994–present)
* ''VideoGame/FuunSeries'' (1995–1996)

* ''[[VideoGame/SNKVsCapcomSVCChaos SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos]]'' (2003)

* RuleOfSymbolism - SNK's first notable fighting game, ''VideoGame/FatalFury'', introduces the city of Southtown. The bulk of the ''VideoGame/FatalFury'' and ''VideoGame/{{Art of Fighting}}'' series take place in Southtown, detailing and developing it, [[ShownTheirWork pretty damn believably at that]]. The final game of the original SNK, ''The King of Fighters 2000'', ends with Southtown being [[NukeEm blown up]].

[[quoteright:210:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/SNK_logo_001_9818.jpg]]

SNK is mostly known for its {{fighting game}}s and was once the biggest rival of Creator/{{Capcom}} in that field; this rivalry was embodied in the ''[[VideoGame/SNKVsCapcom SNK vs. Capcom]]'' crossover series. Their fighting game bosses have a reputation for being ''extremely'' harder than their rival companies' counterparts, thus making them the {{Trope Namer|s}} for SNKBoss. To casual observers, SNK's 2D fighters were mere imitators of the ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' series, but this is not the case. The combat systems are totally different, with SNK's ''VideoGame/{{Art of Fighting}}'' series introducing the whole concept of the [[FinishingMove super special move]] that would go onto to become a fighting game staple. Also, although both employed luxuriously rich, detailed 2D visuals, SNK's backgrounds were more expressive, and often filled with comic touches. It's also worth pointing out that staff have switched between the Capcom and SNK camps over the years, with original ''Street Fighter'' creators Creator/TakashiNishiyama and Creator/HiroshiMatsumoto going onto to work at SNK, notably creating the ''VideoGame/FatalFury'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters The King of Fighters]]'' series, while famed illustrator Shinkiro as well as lesser known Senri Kita started at SNK but now work for Capcom. Creator/DaisukeIshiwatari, known best for his work on ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'' and ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'', was also employed under SNK as part of the team developing ''VideoGame/TheLastBlade''. If you look at his work (and sometimes squint), you can see more than a few {{Shout Out}}s to SNK's properties.

* DoingItForTheArt - Their philosophy. Both their greatest strength and their greatest weakness, and partially responsible for their downfall. Notably, a couple of their games [[note]]''Samurai Shodown III'' and ''Art of Fighting 3'' for starters[[/note]] saw them spend ''too much time'' on the art at the expense on the actual ''game'' beneath it.
** TheyJustDidntCare - Occurred during the Playmore era, at least a couple of times. One, arguable, came with ''The King of Fighters XII'', later patched with ''XIII'' [[note]]For being an ObviousBeta that lacks bosses but includes DerangedAnimation (for starters, TONS of fat human pigs in the Paris background), the audience's reaction varies between FranchiseKiller and that it's ruined. Thankfully, ''XIII'', despite its lack of new characters sans Saiki, vets that missed out on ''XII'', and (unexpectedly) Hwa Jai from the ''original'' ''Fatal Fury'', restored the reputation of the series.[[/note]]. Another one is ''[[VideoGame/SNKVsCapcomSVCChaos SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos]]'', later rehashed into (but ''not'' patched) with ''VideoGame/NeoGeoBattleColiseum'' [[note]]This one was forced to be a cash cow mainly due to the fact that the newly-revived SNK had to finish the contract with Capcom at all costs. No one would've even guessed that the game would (arguably) look far worse and be far more unbalanced than Eolith's ''KOF'' installments, ''2001'' and ''2002'', however...[[/note]].

* HeyItsThatVoice - SNK has its own group of in-house voice actors (technically speaking [[note]]the various voice actors are affiliated with their own agencies, but are frequently used in SNK titles[[/note]]), and as such, you'll probably see the same names pop up in credits. Most of the more regular members such as Satoshi Hashimoto and Harumi Ikoma have been working with SNK since the early '90s (see TheOtherDarrin below) and a good portion of them voice [[TalkingToThemself multiple characters]] (with certain actors such as Eiji Yano and Monster Maezuka qualifying for ManOfAThousandVoices status). In addition, several big name voice actors in the business have been called in to provide voice acting for characters (a more notable case being NorioWakamoto himself on more than one occasion [[note]]Igniz in ''KOF 2001'', Rugal in ''KOF 2002'' (although he was Darrin'd by Rugal's original VA, Toshimitsu Arai, come its UpdatedRerelease, ''2002: Unlimited Match''), and Golboa in ''Samurai Shodown Sen''[[/note]]), some of them before they truly hit their stride in the industry (examples including Creator/EijiTakemoto and KatsuyukiKonishi respectively as [[VideoGame/FatalFury Rock Howard]] and [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters Maxima]]).
** NamesToKnowInAnime - Many of the voice actors they hire aren't really big names in the industry, as they have limited voice roles outside of SNK games (or none at all). However, they do hire big names from time to time, such as the aforementioned Norio Wakamoto. There's also Creator/NobuyukiHiyama, who has been the voice of [[VideoGame/FatalFury Joe Higashi]] since the mid 90s. In ''The King of Fighters XIII'', Creator/AmiKoshimizu [[TheOtherDarrin darrin'd]] Akoya Sogi as the voice of Mai Shiranui, who had the role for more than 15 years. Other examples (for starters) are Creator/KappeiYamaguchi (as [[VideoGame/FatalFury the Jin brothers]], Chonshu and Chonrei), Creator/ToshiyukiMorikawa ([[VideoGame/FatalFury Bob Wilson and Hon Fu]]), and KoujiIshii ([[VideoGame/FatalFury Ryuji Yamazaki and Gato]]); there's actually a surprisingly lengthy list.

* TheOtherDarrin - SNK is actually notable for trying very hard to avert this; some of their characters have had the same voice actor for almost two decades now. It's notable because their older characters were from a time when voice acting in video games was generally a novelty, and was delivered by whoever was around.

* TheWikiRule - [[http://snk.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page Yo.]]

** NamesToKnowInAnime - Many of the voice actors they hire aren't really big names in the industry, as they have limited voice roles outside of SNK games (or none at all). However, they do hire big names from time to time, such as the aforementioned Norio Wakamoto. There's also Creator/NobuyukiHiyama, who has been the voice of [[VideoGame/FatalFury Joe Higashi]] since the mid 90s. In ''The King of Fighters XIII'', Creator/AmiKoshimizu [[TheOtherDarrin darrin'd]] Akoya Sogi as the voice of Mai Shiranui, who had the role for more than 15 years. Other examples (for starters) are KappeiYamaguchi (as [[VideoGame/FatalFury the Jin brothers]], Chonshu and Chonrei), Creator/ToshiyukiMorikawa ([[VideoGame/FatalFury Bob Wilson and Hon Fu]]), and KoujiIshii ([[VideoGame/FatalFury Ryuji Yamazaki and Gato]]); there's actually a surprisingly lengthy list.

* ''NAM-1975''

[[IThoughtThatWas Has nothing to do with]] ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' (which has the Japanese name of ''Shingeki no Kyojin''), despite sharing the same initials.

* AudioAdaptation - SNK, mostly prior to their bankruptcy, seemed rather fond of these, to the point that they likely outnumber any other fighter-producing companies in volume. Several of their more recognizable fighting series have a few drama [=CDs=] to their name, ''KOF'' in particular. Most serve to further characterize [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters SNK's rather extensive rosters]] and add depth to their particular 'verses, but some, such as [[http://snk.wikia.com/wiki/Neo_Geo_DJ_Station Neo Geo DJ Station,]] opt for meta humor by employing [[BreakingTheFourthWall fourth wall breaking]], MediumAwareness, and large doses of LampshadeHanging.

[[IThoughtThatWas Has nothing to do with]] ''Manga/ShingekiNoKyojin'' despite sharing the same initials.

Despite sharing the same acronym, [[IThoughtThatWas has nothing to do with]] ''Manga/ShingekiNoKyojin''.

* HeyItsThatVoice - SNK has its own group of in-house seiyuu (technically speaking [[note]]the various seiyuu are affiliated with their own agencies, but are frequently used in SNK titles[[/note]]), and as such, you'll probably see the same names pop up in credits. Most of the more regular members such as Satoshi Hashimoto and Harumi Ikoma have been working with SNK since the early '90s (see TheOtherDarrin below) and a good portion of them voice [[TalkingToThemself multiple characters]] (with certain seiyuu such as Eiji Yano and Monster Maezuka qualifying for ManOfAThousandVoices status). In addition, several big name seiyuu in the business have been called in to provide voice acting for characters (a more notable case being NorioWakamoto himself on more than one occasion [[note]]Igniz in ''KOF 2001'', Rugal in ''KOF 2002'' (although he was Darrin'd by Rugal's original VA, Toshimitsu Arai, come its UpdatedRerelease, ''2002: Unlimited Match''), and Golboa in ''Samurai Shodown Sen''[[/note]]), some of them before they truly hit their stride in the industry (examples including Creator/EijiTakemoto and KatsuyukiKonishi respectively as [[VideoGame/FatalFury Rock Howard]] and [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters Maxima]]).
** NamesToKnowInAnime - Many of the seiyuu they hire aren't really big names in the industry, as they have limited voice roles outside of SNK games (or none at all). However, they do hire big names from time to time, such as the aforementioned Norio Wakamoto. There's also Creator/NobuyukiHiyama, who has been the voice of [[VideoGame/FatalFury Joe Higashi]] since the mid 90s. In ''The King of Fighters XIII'', Creator/AmiKoshimizu [[TheOtherDarrin darrin'd]] Akoya Sogi as the voice of Mai Shiranui, who had the role for more than 15 years. Other examples (for starters) are KappeiYamaguchi (as [[VideoGame/FatalFury the Jin brothers]], Chonshu and Chonrei), Creator/ToshiyukiMorikawa ([[VideoGame/FatalFury Bob Wilson and Hon Fu]]), and KoujiIshii ([[VideoGame/FatalFury Ryuji Yamazaki and Gato]]); there's actually a surprisingly lengthy list.

* DoingItForTheArt - Their philosophy. Both their greatest strength and their greatest weakness, and partially responsible for their downfall. Notably, a couple of their games [[hottip:*:''Samurai Shodown III'' and ''Art of Fighting 3'' for starters]] saw them spend ''too much time'' on the art at the expense on the actual ''game'' beneath it.
** TheyJustDidntCare - Occurred during the Playmore era, at least a couple of times. One, arguable, came with ''The King of Fighters XII'', later patched with ''XIII'' [[hottip:*:For being an ObviousBeta that lacks bosses but includes DerangedAnimation (for starters, TONS of fat human pigs in the Paris background), the audience's reaction varies between FranchiseKiller and that it's ruined. Thankfully, ''XIII'', despite its lack of new characters sans Saiki, vets that missed out on ''XII'', and (unexpectedly) Hwa Jai from the ''original'' ''Fatal Fury'', restored the reputation of the series.]]. Another one is ''[[VideoGame/SNKVsCapcomSVCChaos SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos]]'', later rehashed into (but ''not'' patched) with ''VideoGame/NeoGeoBattleColiseum'' [[hottip:*:This one was forced to be a cash cow mainly due to the fact that the newly-revived SNK had to finish the contract with Capcom at all costs. No one would've even guessed that the game would (arguably) look far worse and be far more unbalanced than Eolith's ''KOF'' installments, ''2001'' and ''2002'', however...]].

** NamesToKnowInAnime - Many of the seiyuu they hire aren't really big names in the industry, as they have limited voice roles outside of SNK games (or none at all). However, they do hire big names from time to time, such as the aforementioned Norio Wakamoto. There's also Creator/NobuyukiHiyama, who has been the voice of [[VideoGame/FatalFury Joe Higashi]] since the mid 90s. In ''The King of Fighters XIII'', AmiKoshimizu [[TheOtherDarrin darrin'd]] Akoya Sogi as the voice of Mai Shiranui, who had the role for more than 15 years. Other examples (for starters) are KappeiYamaguchi (as [[VideoGame/FatalFury the Jin brothers]], Chonshu and Chonrei), Creator/ToshiyukiMorikawa ([[VideoGame/FatalFury Bob Wilson and Hon Fu]]), and KoujiIshii ([[VideoGame/FatalFury Ryuji Yamazaki and Gato]]); there's actually a surprisingly lengthy list.

** With the exception of ''KOF '99'', Kyo (with or without the rest of the Japan Team) [[ThemeNaming always had a theme with the word "Esaka" in it]] during ''KOF'''s pre-bankruptcy run. Esaka was a train station in Osaka near the site where SNK's headquarters resided, and when SNK went bankrupt, they moved out of the building. Thus, Esaka was interchangeable with SNK to their fans. In ''2000'', the swan song of the old SNK, Kyo receives a heartful, emotional ballad known as [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgI3q3LL5u8 "Goodbye Esaka."]] They might as well just called it "Goodbye SNK" for all it's worth.

SNK is mostly known for its {{fighting game}}s and was once the biggest rival of Creator/{{Capcom}} in that field; this rivalry was embodied in the ''[[VideoGame/SNKVsCapcom SNK vs. Capcom]]'' crossover series. Their fighting game bosses have a reputation for being ''extremely'' harder than their rival companies' counterparts, thus making them the {{Trope Namer|s}} for SNKBoss. To casual observers, SNK's 2D fighters were mere imitators of the ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' series, but this is not the case. The combat systems are totally different, with SNK's ''VideoGame/{{Art of Fighting}}'' series introducing the whole concept of the [[FinishingMove super special move]] that would go onto to become a fighting game staple. Also, although both employed luxuriously rich, detailed 2D visuals, SNK's backgrounds were more expressive, and often filled with comic touches. It's also worth pointing out that staff have switched between the Capcom and SNK camps over the years, with original ''Street Fighter'' creators TakashiNishiyama and HiroshiMatsumoto going onto to work at SNK, notably creating the ''VideoGame/FatalFury'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters The King of Fighters]]'' series, while famed illustrator Shinkiro as well as lesser known Senri Kita started at SNK but now work for Capcom. DaisukeIshiwatari, known best for his work on ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'' and ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'', was also employed under SNK as part of the team developing ''VideoGame/TheLastBlade''. If you look at his work (and sometimes squint), you can see more than a few {{Shout Out}}s to SNK's properties.

* AudioAdaptation - SNK, mostly prior to their bankruptcy, seemed rather fond of these, to the point that they likely outnumber any other fighter-producing companies in volume. Several of their more recognizable fighting series have a few drama [=CDs=] to their name, ''KOF'' in particular. Most serve to further characterize [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters SNK's rather extensive rosters]] and add depth to their particular verses, but some, such as [[http://snk.wikia.com/wiki/Neo_Geo_DJ_Station Neo Geo DJ Station,]] opt for meta humor by employing [[BreakingTheFourthWall fourth wall breaking]], MediumAwareness, and large doses of LampshadeHanging.

* SNKBoss - [[FanNickname Known amongst fighting games fans as]] "SNK Boss Syndrome." [[TropeNamers And for]] [[TropeCodifier a good reason]].

* ''VideoGame/SengokuSNK'' series

* ''Sengoku'' series

* HeyItsThatVoice - SNK has its own group of in-house seiyuu (technically speaking [[note]]the various seiyuu are affiliated with their own agencies, but are frequently used in SNK titles[[/note]]), and as such, you'll probably see the same names pop up in credits. Most of the more regular members such as Satoshi Hashimoto and Harumi Ikoma have been working with SNK since the early '90s (see TheOtherDarrin below) and a good portion of them voice [[TalkingToThemself multiple characters]] (with certain seiyuu such as Eiji Yano and Monster Maezuka qualifying for ManOfAThousandVoices status). In addition, several big name seiyuu in the business have been called in to provide voice acting for characters (a more notable case being NorioWakamoto himself on more than one occasion [[note]]Igniz in ''KOF 2001'', Rugal in ''KOF 2002'' (although he was Darrin'd by Rugal's original VA, Toshimitsu Arai, come its UpdatedRerelease, ''2002: Unlimited Match''), and Golboa in ''Samurai Shodown Sen''[[/note]]), some of them before they truly hit their stride in the industry (examples including EijiTakemoto and KatsuyukiKonishi respectively as [[VideoGame/FatalFury Rock Howard]] and [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters Maxima]]).

* ''VideoGame/TroubleWitches NEO!''

* AudioAdaptation - SNK, mostly prior to their bankruptcy, seemed rather fond of these, to the point that they likely outnumber any other fighter-producing companies in volume. Several of their more recognizable fighting series have a few drama [=CDs=] to their name, ''KOF'' in particular.

* HeyItsThatVoice - SNK has its own group of in-house seiyuu (technically speaking [[hottip:*:the various seiyuu are affiliated with their own agencies, but are frequently used in SNK titles]]), and as such, you'll probably see the same names pop up in credits. Most of the more regular members such as Satoshi Hashimoto and Harumi Ikoma have been working with SNK since the early '90s (see TheOtherDarrin below) and a good portion of them voice [[TalkingToThemself multiple characters]] [[hottip:*:with certain seiyuu such as Eiji Yano and Monster Maezuka qualifying for ManOfAThousandVoices status]]. In addition, several big name seiyuu in the business have been called in to provide voice acting for characters (a more notable case being NorioWakamoto himself on more than one occasion [[hottip:*:Igniz in ''KOF 2001'', Rugal in ''KOF 2002'' (although he was Darrin'd by Rugal's original VA, Toshimitsu Arai, come its UpdatedRerelease, ''2002: Unlimited Match''), and Golboa in ''Samurai Shodown Sen'']]), some of them before they truly hit their stride in the industry (examples including EijiTakemoto and KatsuyukiKonishi respectively as [[VideoGame/FatalFury Rock Howard]] and [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters Maxima]]).
** NamesToKnowInAnime - Many of the seiyuu they hire aren't really big names in the industry, as they have limited voice roles outside of SNK games (or none at all). However, they do hire big names from time to time, such as the aforementioned Norio Wakamoto. There's also NobuyukiHiyama, who has been the voice of Joe Higashi since the mid 90s. In ''King of Fighters XIII'', AmiKoshimizu [[TheOtherDarrin darrin'd]] Akoya Sogi as the voice of Mai Shiranui, who had the role for more than 15 years. Other examples are KappeiYamaguchi (as the Jin brothers, Chonshu and Chonrei), ToshiyukiMorikawa (Bob Wilson and Hon Fu), and KoujiIshii (Ryuji Yamazaki and Gato).

* FanNickname - SNK Delaymore is a detractor nickname from fans who believe that it takes SNKP ''forever'' to release a new game (the worst example being the amount of time it took for the dev team to [[ArtEvolution redraw]] their [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters sizable pool of characters]] for ''The King of Fighters XII''). SNK Crymore is a ''counter'' nickname to the above, used by fans irked by the complaints of the first group. [[FlameWar It'd be best to leave it at that.]]

* ''[[VideoGame/TroubleWitches Trouble Witches NEO!]]''

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic - [[AwesomeMusic/{{SNK}} Hear here.]]

* {{Engrish}} - Especially in the ''VideoGame/SamuraiShodown'' games.
** [[{{Mondegreen}} Terry]] [[FountainOfMemes Bogard]]. We cannot stress this enough.
** BlindIdiotTranslation - Very frequently in earlier releases, which often had a tendency of [[{{Narm}} ruining scenes]].

** NeverLiveItDown - Unfortunately, this often slips into downright [[HateDumb denial that SNK ever actually came up with something on their own.]] This is made even worse by the fact that while SNK and Capcom ''did'' crib off of each other time and time again, several fighting game mechanics [[OlderThanTheyThink could be instead attributed to SNK]].

* MagnumOpus - ''[[VideoGame/FatalFury Garou: Mark of the Wolves]]'' is widely considered to be SNK's last great game. Even fans of the genre who otherwise loathe SNK ''love [=MotW=]'' for its polish and complexity.
** ''The Last Blade'' games also get this kind of aplomb. Not quite at ''Garou'''s level, but still considered to be the cream of the crop.
* MemeticMutation - It is possible that the line "[[BlindIdiotTranslation You fail it! Your skill is not enough, see you next time, bye-bye!]]" from {{horizontal scrolling|Shooter}} ShootEmUp ''BlazingStar'' (the semi-official sequel to ''{{Pulstar}}'', [[FollowTheLeader a clone of]] ''VideoGame/{{R-Type}}'') was the originator of the meme "FAIL."
** Everything [[VideoGame/FatalFury Terry]] [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters Bogard]] [[GratuitousEnglish says]]. It's to the point where that fact in itself is becoming a meme.

* GratuitousEnglish - Especially in the ''VideoGame/SamuraiShodown'' games.
** [[{{Mondegreen}} Terry]] [[FountainOfMemes Bogard]]. We cannot stress this enough.
** BlindIdiotTranslation - Very frequently in earlier releases, which often had a tendency of [[{{Narm}} ruining scenes]].