Kizuna Encounter: A new life for one of the pioneers of Tag Fighters
12In 1996, SNK released "Kizuna Encounter Tag Battle," which became one of the first fighting games to use the tag mechanic, with teams of two characters.
This sequel to Savage Reign shifted the focus from two-on-one fights (similar to Fatal Fury) to two-on-two team combat, with defined areas to switch between characters.
Despite its creative concept, the game only became popular during the Neo Geo emulation scene of the mid-90s, and its original Neo Geo cartridge, both in the arcade and home versions, is almost nonexistent. Collectors report that only five copies of its PAL version existed.
This game was compiled with Savage Reign for PlayStation 2 as "Fu'Un Super Combo" and is the same game ported as a downloadable game on the PlayStation store for modern systems, although it was also available for the Nintendo Wii Virtual Console. On October 11, SNK re-released it on Steam with online combat as part of its effort to revive more hidden parts of its catalog.
Both Kizuna Encounter and X-Men vs. Street Fighter were released in Japan in 1996, both introducing the TAG mechanic to fighting games, but Capcom's title outsold SNK's by a few weeks.