Kizuna Encounter: Super Tag Battle
  

  
REVIEW:  Kizuna Encounter: Super Tag Battle is the sequel to Savage Reign, but obviously had a complete title rework. (This is likely because Savage Reign basically flopped in the over-saturated and highly-competitive time of 90s arcade fighting games). Kizuna Encounter brings back all of the characters from Savage Reign and introduces 3 cool and colorful newcomers to add some excitement to the roster: Kim Sue Il, Rosa and Jyazu.
 

 

Similar to the prequel, Savage Reign, Kizuna Encounter looks and plays like a variety of other SNK fighting games. I'd say the gameplay is most comparable to Art of Fighting, Samurai Shodown, and The King of Fighters (three SNK franchises I really enjoy). Unlike Savage Reign, which was a traditional 1-VS-1 fighting game, Kizuna Encounter allow players to choose 2 characters to form a team and can swap them out during gameplay, on the spot! In addition to the Tag-Team gameplay, new defensive maneuvers have been added to the original formula, including Dodging / Rolling. In terms of gameplay speed, Kizuna Encounter plays a bit faster than Savage Reign and is arguably more fun and enjoyable competitively.
 
The roster of 12 characters is small by 1996 standards, but the large character sprites and hard-drawn 2D backgrounds create a moody and unique post-apocalyptic aesthetic. Characters who are "tagged out" also appear in the background during battles — a cool visual element conveniently borrowed from SNK's more popular 2D fighting series, KOF. While most characters returning from Savage Reign fall into the realm of "weird" in terms of their visual designs and movesets (with quite a few oddball characters)... newcomers like Rosa and Kim Sue Il add some much needed "coolness" to the game. 

 

 

Kizuna Encounter was one of those obscure mid-90's fighting games that never quite took off. The bizarre, and arguably uninspired character designs, along with the "mix-up" of SNK graphical & gameplay elements that have been done before (and arguably better), weren't enough to make Kizuna Encounter really "stand out" from the crowd. The Tag-Team gameplay and decent combo system is one of the game's strong points... but the truly epic X-Men VS Street Fighter was already doing it better several months prior (and was taking all the money from hardcore fighting game crowd). I know I didn't have any extra change for Kizuna Encounter in 1996. Maybe if SNK was able to throw the roster of AOF / AOF2 into the mix (which wouldn't make sense with Kizuna Encounter's timeline but would work aesthetically), maybe Kizuna Encounter's roster would've been more attractive.

Page Updated: October 11th, 2025 Developer(s): SNK Publisher(s): SNK Platform(s): Arcade, NeoGeo, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Wii Virtual Console, Nintendo Switch, Steam Release Date(s): Sept. 20th, 1996           Arcade Nov. 7th, 1996               NeoGeo June 21st, 2007              in Fu'un Super Combo - PS2 June 28th, 2011              Wii Virtual Console Dec. 20th, 2016              in Fu'un Super Combo - PS4 Jan. 10th, 2019             Switch / XB1 /    PS4 Oct. 11th, 2025             Steam Characters:  Sho Hayate, Kim Sue Il, Rosa, Gordon Bowman, Chung Paifu, Gozu, Mezu, Joker, Max Eagle, Nicola Zaza, King Lion, Jyazu News Links:  Oct. 2025: Kizuna Encounter Now Available on Steam with Rollback Featured Video: Related Games: Savage Reign, Art of Fighting, Fatal Fury, Samurai Shodown, Samurai Shodown 4, Ninja Master's, Fighter's History, Fighter's History Dynamite, World Heroes, Power Instinct 2, Mortal Kombat Trilogy, Golden Axe: The Duel, X-Men Vs. Street Fighter, Galaxy Fight, The King of Fighters XI    Gameplay Engine  7.0 / 10 Story / Theme  6.5 / 10 Overall Graphics  5.0 / 10 Animation  6.5 / 10 Music / Sound Effects  6.0 / 10 Innovation  6.0 / 10 Art Direction  6.0 / 10 Customization  4.0 / 10 Options / Extras  4.0 / 10 Intro / Presentation  5.0 / 10 Replayability / Fun  5.0 / 10 "Ouch" Factor  5.5 / 10 Characters  4.5 / 10 BOTTOM LINE  6.0 / 10     Final Words: Kizuna Encounter's tag-team gameplay was halfway decent for the time... but neither the roster or the gameplay could hold a candle to the likes of X-Men VS Street Fighter, released around the same time. Aesthetically, Kizuna Encounter didn't quite stand out amongst most other 2D fighting games of the era, and seemed "dated" upon its release. There are still some charming aspects of Kizuna Encounter, with large 2D sprites and nicely detailed hand-drawn backgrounds worth checking out. However, neither the gameplay or roster could really stand on its own. Even so, Kizuna Encounter is an "interesting" SNK fighting game that's worth a look for SNK / Arcade historians. On the bright side, several characters from this series eventually crossed over to future SNK fighting games, including: The King of Fighters XI and Neo Geo Battle Coliseum - where they were given brand new sprites & animations. This was no doubt a pretty cool fan service for old school players who actually remember this obscure game. ~TFG Webmaster | @Fighters_Gen      Click Here for all Official Art / Movelists! Click Here for more Animted Stages! Click Here for all Screenshots! FOLLOW    ON:                             TFG NEWS CHARACTERS GAMES