There’s something truly special about SNK games. I’ve spent hours transfixed by the likes of The Last Blade, Metal Slug and The King of Fighters ’98, my face almost pushed against an Astro City’s 29-inch monitor drinking in their beauty – it’s that boldness, that style and all that colour served up in chunky 2D that ensures these things are timeless in their beauty.
So it’s something of a privilege to talk to a pivotal part of all that: Eisuke Ogura, an artist who’s been with SNK – on and off, given the somewhat turbulent history of the company in the early 00s – for over 25 years, and who’s at the forefront of their recent revival. He’s been a key part of the fighting games that have defined the company – and it’s the fighting games that first drew him there.
The King of Fighters 15Publisher: SNKDeveloper: SNKPlatform: Played on PS5Availability: Out now on PC, PS4/PS5 and Xbox One/Series S/X
“When I was in high school Street Fighter came out and was quite popular,” Ogura says, speaking from his home where he’s been working remotely through the pandemic. “You know, I couldn’t help but feel really inspired by the way it was drawn – we had these big moving characters on screen and it was really interesting to me.” He was in luck, as a recent graduate had gone onto work on Street Fighter icon Ryu’s palette animation and a path had been established from the school to the vibrant game development scene in Osaka.
“Fighting games were super popular and so companies like Capcom and SNK were immensely adored, and they were filled with people that really wanted to work on fighting games,” says Ogura. When he joined in 1996 the 3D revolution was beginning to take hold with the likes of Sega’s Virtua Fighter and Namco’s Tekken, but SNK’s commitment to a more traditional style helped attract Ogura.