How Much Have I Played Before Posting Comments Below and Giving A Score?:
Played it once briefly long ago. Then played it again and finished it so I could do this write-up.
Played it once briefly long ago. Then played it again and finished it so I could do this write-up.
My Comments:
This game is actually pretty solid. Initially I didn't care much for it, mainly due to the fact that there's no mid-round tag mechanic. Instead, in typical KOF fashion, two teams of three characters face off. When the first character is knocked out the round ends and a new round starts with the next fighter in line stepping in to replace their fallen teammate. This continues until all three members of one or the other side are knocked out. There are no assists, no tags and no way to use characters until their team mates before them have been knocked out. As with every KOF game I've ever played though, you can switch up the sequence of characters between each match. However, over time I've learnt to appreciate fighters even when they don't have the same mechanics as my beloved Marvel games.
As I've got more into fighting games, and learnt a bit more of the back-story and personality behind the King Of Fighters characters, I've learnt to appreciate the cast more and more. Years ago they all looked to me like generic copies of one another, but now these same characters seem very different and unique. I actually rate Iori as one of the coolest video game characters I have controlled in a fighting game, ever! The graphics behind these characters are definitely dated now in 2016, and they weren't entirely groundbreaking when this dropped on Xbox in 2005. That makes sense I guess given this game is a port of a game released in the arcades in 2002, although I'm not sure if the later PS2 and Xbox ports were given any graphical updates during those three years. Even so, the graphics, while somewhat blocky, remain attractive enough for us older gamers who can still appreciate them. And there's no shortage of characters! The back of the box proudly exclaims that there are 39 characters in the game, plus 5 additional bonus characters to unlock. If you were an old school KOF fan in the early years then you're almost certain to find the characters you like in this game. Having said that, it would have been awesome to also get the entire cast from Garou Mark Of The Wolves in this game as well. (I would have loved to have been able to use Freeman in this game).
The button controls and special moves aren't quite up to the same level of responsiveness as Marvel vs Capcom 2, but they do the job well enough and are at least better than something like SVC Chaos.
It is worth mentioning that this game seems to feature one of the cheapest final bosses I have ever come up against. Maybe I just need to spend more time with the game, but Rugal (the final boss) just seems ridiculously overpowered. His moves have insane reach, do massive damage and have near instant recovery. He was just brutal! However, you also have the option (at any time in any game mode) to pick Rugal yourself as one of your characters. Eventually after getting sick of being owned by Rugal I finally "cheated" and put him as the first player on my own team. In the Rugal vs Rugal fight the final boss went down like a one-legged man in a kicking contest. I was then treated to pretty much the strangest finishing credits I have seen in a game...ever. They seem filled with crazy Japanese humour, with men looking at unwilling women and jumping on them while a giant love-heart thought bubble appears, and standard size characters throwing multiple miniature sprites of alternate characters out of who knows where. It's just...really strange.
Anyway, all things considered, the main word I would use to describe this game is solid. It's not awesome like Marvel vs Capcom 2 or Guilty Gear or even Capcom vs SNK 2. But it's solid enough in it's own right. And if you're a fan of the King Of Fighters franchise then it's got pretty much the best cast you will ever see on original Xbox. It's not one of the true heavy weights on original Xbox, but it's definitely worth owning and playing none-the-less.
This game is actually pretty solid. Initially I didn't care much for it, mainly due to the fact that there's no mid-round tag mechanic. Instead, in typical KOF fashion, two teams of three characters face off. When the first character is knocked out the round ends and a new round starts with the next fighter in line stepping in to replace their fallen teammate. This continues until all three members of one or the other side are knocked out. There are no assists, no tags and no way to use characters until their team mates before them have been knocked out. As with every KOF game I've ever played though, you can switch up the sequence of characters between each match. However, over time I've learnt to appreciate fighters even when they don't have the same mechanics as my beloved Marvel games.
As I've got more into fighting games, and learnt a bit more of the back-story and personality behind the King Of Fighters characters, I've learnt to appreciate the cast more and more. Years ago they all looked to me like generic copies of one another, but now these same characters seem very different and unique. I actually rate Iori as one of the coolest video game characters I have controlled in a fighting game, ever! The graphics behind these characters are definitely dated now in 2016, and they weren't entirely groundbreaking when this dropped on Xbox in 2005. That makes sense I guess given this game is a port of a game released in the arcades in 2002, although I'm not sure if the later PS2 and Xbox ports were given any graphical updates during those three years. Even so, the graphics, while somewhat blocky, remain attractive enough for us older gamers who can still appreciate them. And there's no shortage of characters! The back of the box proudly exclaims that there are 39 characters in the game, plus 5 additional bonus characters to unlock. If you were an old school KOF fan in the early years then you're almost certain to find the characters you like in this game. Having said that, it would have been awesome to also get the entire cast from Garou Mark Of The Wolves in this game as well. (I would have loved to have been able to use Freeman in this game).
The button controls and special moves aren't quite up to the same level of responsiveness as Marvel vs Capcom 2, but they do the job well enough and are at least better than something like SVC Chaos.
It is worth mentioning that this game seems to feature one of the cheapest final bosses I have ever come up against. Maybe I just need to spend more time with the game, but Rugal (the final boss) just seems ridiculously overpowered. His moves have insane reach, do massive damage and have near instant recovery. He was just brutal! However, you also have the option (at any time in any game mode) to pick Rugal yourself as one of your characters. Eventually after getting sick of being owned by Rugal I finally "cheated" and put him as the first player on my own team. In the Rugal vs Rugal fight the final boss went down like a one-legged man in a kicking contest. I was then treated to pretty much the strangest finishing credits I have seen in a game...ever. They seem filled with crazy Japanese humour, with men looking at unwilling women and jumping on them while a giant love-heart thought bubble appears, and standard size characters throwing multiple miniature sprites of alternate characters out of who knows where. It's just...really strange.
Anyway, all things considered, the main word I would use to describe this game is solid. It's not awesome like Marvel vs Capcom 2 or Guilty Gear or even Capcom vs SNK 2. But it's solid enough in it's own right. And if you're a fan of the King Of Fighters franchise then it's got pretty much the best cast you will ever see on original Xbox. It's not one of the true heavy weights on original Xbox, but it's definitely worth owning and playing none-the-less.
How Much Has Nostalgia Clouded My Judgment:
Not a lot. I do have nostalgia for some of the cast from early KOF days, and particularly like Garou Mark Of The Wolves characters. But overall I've always been more of a Street Fighter guy than a KOF guy.
Not a lot. I do have nostalgia for some of the cast from early KOF days, and particularly like Garou Mark Of The Wolves characters. But overall I've always been more of a Street Fighter guy than a KOF guy.
My Score (out of 10):
7.5
7.5
Will I Play This Game Again?:
Yeah, I'd definitely like to. Although I'm probably more likely to put the time into KOF13 on my Xbox 360, or KOF i2012 on my iPhone, instead if I were truly in the mood for SNK goodness.
Yeah, I'd definitely like to. Although I'm probably more likely to put the time into KOF13 on my Xbox 360, or KOF i2012 on my iPhone, instead if I were truly in the mood for SNK goodness.