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King of Fighters |
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Most
players dream of twins… in this case… I don’t.
How can you say anything bad about the King of Fighters? King of
Fighters started in 1994 with a handful of SNK’s most popular franchises
mixed into one of the largest rosters of the time. As time progressed,
the King of Fighters series grew to be one of the largest and most
strategic 2D fighters of all time. With a huge following in Japan and a
cult following in the US, King of Fighters has made an impact on the
fighting genre. Moving forward, Playmore/SNK had the foresight to dual
release King of Fighters 2000 and King of Fighters 2001 in a 2-Disc Set
for the Playstation 2.
First, let me start by saying, for the most part, this game set is
almost a complete port of the Neo Geo versions. Concerning the visuals,
they were just as stunning on Neo Geo as they are on the Playstation 2.
The only real changes to the visuals are the transitions between matches
and the character art. Both received complete revamps. Though I can’t
complain about the Neo Geo’s original art, the Playstation 2 art takes
on a life of it’s own by not only being more detailed, but also through
better usage of color. This is mainly because the Neo Geo is still a
16-bit system (which may be hard to believe when you compare its recent
library to other modern games). With only 256 colors, the Neo Geo
version looks slightly dated compared to the Playstation 2 edition.
I’m not going to delve too deep into the audio portion of this set. All
the sound effects were ported over. Every last sound effect… PORTED. It
is nice that they enhanced the audio support for surround sound. This is
mainly due to the Playstation 2’s DVD playback ability that you get
anything more than stereo.
It’s the game play that King of Fighters is known for, and since this is
a set, I will have to break it down by game.
With the King of Fighters 2000, we’re looking at the 6th game in the
series. Some would expect a little more than just a remake of the King
of Fighters 99. Unfortunately, this game failed to supply much more. The
King of Fighters 99 introduced the Striker Match. The way the Striker
Match works is as such, first, you choose a team of four fighters. Next,
you select one member of your team to be active at all times. This
fighter is your Striker. The Striker can come in for a single attack,
and then they leave the playfield. The Striker can be used only a
limited number of times (usually only 5) during the match. A notable
change to the Striker Match is the usage of alternate Strikers. The way
this works is, once you have chosen who will be your Striker, you are
then given the ability to choose to use either that character, or an
alternate character that has a different Striker attack. An example of
this would be choosing Terry Bogard as your Striker. Once you do so, you
will be given the option of using either Terry or Geese Howard as your
Striker for in-game play.
With the basic fighting engine, there weren’t too many changes. There
was slight upgrades made in the line of rush combos and other tactical
attacks. The dodge system was made more useful. But the main change from
King of Fighters 99 is speed. The game moves noticeably faster than its
predecessors.
Concerning the King of Fighters 2001, this is the best King of Fighters
game to date. King of Fighters 2001 is not only the fastest in the
series (if you don’t include 2002), but it also mastered the Striker
Match. The new Striker Match puts other games with assists to shame
because you now have the ability to choose how to assemble the team. You
start by choosing for fighters. You then decide how many you want
fighting and how many you want as Strikers. Of course, you must have 1
actual fighting character, but other than that you can have up to 3
Strikers. Having multiple Strikers has never been so easy. By having the
D-pad in the left, right, or center position and hitting the Striker
key, you are able to choose the Striker you want to unleash.
Now, there are certain advantages and disadvantages to this Striker
system. The major advantage is strategy. If you can effectively use your
Strikers, you can juggle your opponent in massive combos. Also, for each
Striker you have, you are allotted another level to charge. Building up
levels allows you to release the fury of your “Deadly Moves”. With each
additional level you build up, you can either increase the power of the
attack, or unleash a more powerful attack. The downside to this Striker
Match is that using Strikers requires 1 full Max Gauge. Another draw
back, is an unbalanced team. Having more Strikers means you have less
chances to defeat your opponent. If you choose to have 3 Strikers,
you’ll only have 1 fighter to use. If this fighter looses, the match is
over.
Regarding the fighting engine, this has been revamped as well. The King
of Fighters 2001 engine not only increased the usability of rush combos,
but also allows you to weave Striker attacks into combos. There are also
reversals for some moves, and even characters with multiple stances.
Using the latest array of attacks can prove very useful to skilled
players.
Both versions offer the standard modes of play, plus one. The Team Play
and Team Vs allow you to play by the Striker Match rules as they apply
to the corresponding game. There is a Single Play and Single Vs, which
removes the additional characters, but leaves the game as a 1on1 fight.
The fight lasts 2 rounds and feels more like a standard fighting game.
There is also a Memory Mode in King of Fighters 2000 (only). Memory Mode
allows you to see the intros to the previous King of Fighters games
(94-99). Though this isn’t everything you may hope, they did at least
include the ability to gain additional alternate Strikers by playing
Party Mode. Party Mode is, at best, a weak version of survival mode. The
beginning enemies in KoF00 are unbelievably easy to win with perfects.
In KoF01, I’m glad the enemies are more challenging.
I’m not going to start with the story to this game. During the game you
are offered brief cinemas that reveal a little more of the behind the
scenes of the King of Fighters tournaments. As informative as these are,
players may not fully understand what is going on (at least, I wasn’t
completely clear on it). This actually is true for both King of Fighters
2000 and King of Fighters 2001. Another complaint of mine is that the
roster is so large, that they have never taken the time to put in any
form of story for any of the characters. I tend to overlook this when
playing because the game is just so fun, but it’s the only thorn in my
side preventing the King of Fighters series from being the “KING” of
fighting games.
King of Fighters is a series known for greatness. They have
revolutionalized the fighting industry. With this latest release, US
audiences finally get to enjoy what they’ve been missing. Two thumbs up
here, but not entirely because the game is missing a few key elements.
Besides the lack of a story, this double impact set will leave players
satisfied. I recommend this to all fighting fans.
Written by Carlos Garcia
(Posted 01-04-2004)