Play Kizuna Encounter - Super Tag Battle / Fu'un Super Tag Battle Online

Kizuna Encounter, released by SNK in 1996 and playable on MAME 0.243, is a fighting game from the tail end of the Neo Geo's arcade prime. It doesn't try to reinvent the genre, but instead builds on the foundation of its predecessor, Savage Reign, by fully committing to two-on-two tag battles. This was SNK's direct answer to the growing popularity of team-based fighters, offering a distinct flavor compared to its contemporaries.

You control a duo of fighters, switching between them with a button press to extend combos, cover weaknesses, or save a partner from being knocked out. The main objective is to defeat both opposing characters by depleting their health bars. Its signature mechanics include throwing your partner into the fight for a quick, powerful assist and building a super meter that allows both characters to perform a devastating dual super move together. The pacing is fast and the AI can be brutally efficient, demanding quick swaps and good awareness of both fighters' positions. It feels like managing controlled chaos, where a well-timed tag can completely reverse the momentum of a match.