The King of Fighters XI [Import] (PS2) Review
Posted by Sean McCabe on 03.23.2007
The King is dead. Long Live the King!
The King is back, and it wants its rightful place on the throne.
Right now if you are an American and adore 2D fighting games, I’d be pissed. I’d be extremely pissed. Sony’s American arm has been known for not taking too kindly to 2D games on the PS2 for a while now. And whilst the earlier King of Fighters, Neo Geo Battle Coliseum and Samurai Showdown V found there way to American consoles, chances are this won’t. This is a crime of the highest magnitude and I urge anybody reading this to take action. Just because I am European and this game happens to be getting a release here (albeit not till the end of June), rather than take some kind of perverted pleasure from this, I believe this is a game that should be made available everywhere, for its awesomeness should not be contained just in one or two continents. Suffice to say, this review is of the Japanese version, although I’d like to note, that fighters like this are usually extremely important friendly and there isn’t much of a language barrier. This is as true for KoF XI as it is for most others.
This is Terry about to perform the Power Dunk. Learn it. Fear it.
Graphics: Graphics are an odd thing to judge in my personal view. To me realism means nothing, pumping out the most polygons or the fanciest textures do not, by their own qualities, make for great graphics. What are great graphics are graphics that have a certain degree of style. They have panache, and make you go “ooh” and “ah”. 2D can still have this effect.
And it can certainly have this effect on the Atomiswave arcade board, for which KoF XI is the first game of its series to utilize. It was scary, really, just how much SNK got out of it’s own Neo Geo board for so many years. I fully expect the Atomiswave board will still be used five years from now and still continuously up the ante in polish thanks to the skill and talent of developers. But what of the here and now? Whilst Guilty Gear XX is undeniably the most beautiful 2D fighter of the moment, KoF XI more than gives it a run for it’s money, and actually tops it in certain areas. Because once you get past the sprites and backdrops, the real meat and potatoes of 2D graphics is animation, and the amount thereof. This has always been KoF’s strongest area, even when the sprites were a bit messy, it always had the most different and interesting animations of the genre. However, KoF XI gives you much cleaner sprites than ever before, every character has redrawn animations and new ones, from Vanessa throwing off her jacket at the beginning of a fight to B. Jenet’s new running animation. She looks like she’s going to give you a hug… before smacking you right in the face. Pfft, tease.
This game is absorbingly beautiful and has great graphics, in a way in which, say, a game like Motorstorm does not. The graphics are charming, not realistic. But that is what I would rather have and have more respect for. It’s all about the standards you have, and as a reviewer those are my standards.
Awww, how cute. Momoko is about to snap Kula's neck.
Gameplay: With XI, King of Fighters had redefined itself. King of Fighters was always accessible, but if there was one problem it had, it was how difficult it often could be to chain attacks into coherent combos. It tended to take a lot of practice just to learn any kind of foolproof combo, and that is really the only complaint I could ever lodge at the series’ gameplay.
Not anymore. XI brings with it a glorious new tech system, which has now made even the most complex of combos deceptively simple. As only the second game in the series to utilize a tag system common in Capcom’s games, KoF XI has brought this system to new heights. Although there is a skill stock that ensures this system is not abused, in essence it allows characters to switch out in the middle of a combo, by simply clicking the two punch or kick buttons in the middle of a combo. This works quite well, but as the stock limit is two, can never be used more than twice in one combo.
But that’s far from all. The game also introduces for the first time, Super Cancels and Dream Cancels. Whilst it is a KoF tradition that lethal moves be cancellable into deadly moves, super cancels allow the reverse, allowing a combo to go up, and not just down, the power chart. And Dream Cancels are in essence, the ultimate weapon… chaining a lethal move into a lethal desperation move. These are easy to do for anyone who just takes a little time to learn the games system, but results in some of the most beautiful eye candy to have ever graced a 2D fighter. As it also utilizes stock, it again cannot be abused. The stock system may have been the best addition of all, ensuring these additions enhance and not break the gameplay. Interestingly, time out wins are not awarded based on health, but on overall performance, encouraging players to fight fairly and not conservatively should the clock start running down.
The AI for the most part is good, offering a challenge for all levels of players. However, in what seems to in a moment of self-realized irony, the final boss in the game is perhaps the worst case of SNK boss syndrome ever. When we all made jokes of Screen filling specials and absolute priorities in reference to freaks like Rugal and Goenitz in the past, SNK decided to shut us right up with Magaki. Just be prepared to hit, run, and above all, pray. And he’s just the herald of Orochi. Since KoF XII is liable to bring the current saga to its conclusion, I’m, in fear of how nasty Orochi will be, assuming he is the final boss. If there is one thing I always disliked about the KoF series, is the difficulty differentiation between the final boss and the rest… I play mostly on the easiest setting not because I couldn’t make the boss, I could make him on an even quite hard setting… he’s just too damn hard himself on any other setting however. This really could do with some sorting out. The only reason this doesn’t damage the game is the continue service, another KoF tradition and a thankfully still present, giving you options to make the next fight easier if you just can’t beat it.
Ah, B. Jenet, pirate babe and feminist. Well, she does like to beat people with her high heel.
Sound: King of Fighters 2002 was a very good game, but dang the music was awful. Fortunately XI’s Midas Touch covers everything, including a return to form musically for the series. Whilst I’d say that the music isn’t quite as iconic as that featured for example, in Garou: Mark of the Wolves, or King of Fighters 98, it goes a long way to make the fights seem to matter more. More recent attempts were awfully twee and had no oomph, taking away from the beautiful violence on display. XI at least features tracks that you wouldn’t mind beating someone’s face in to.
The sound effects are as visceral as you’d expect and a lot of the voice acting has been re-recorded, and now sound clearer. Many characters have new voice actors, and there’s more speech in the game than probably any of its predecessors. Good stuff.
See? She has stars around her. That's totally hot.
Lasting Appeal: Fortunately KoF XI doesn’t skimp here. There are 15 unlockable characters, a very complete practice mode, a challenge mode featuring 40 unique challenges, arcade modes for both single and team play, lots of art, a good roster and the usual endless mode. But of course, it’s the quality and depth of the fighting engine which will really elongate this game, as is the obvious two-player mode. Just wish I knew more people into 2D fighters around here.
And Mai. I had to beat every single damn girl in the game by survival mode rules to unlock her. It was worth it.
Fun Factor: Ooh, this game is nirvana for fighting game fans. It is pure undistilled fun on a disc. My only complaint is some of the roster choices. Although I get the wonder that is B.Jenet for the first time in KoF history, I lose Leona, in her first absence from the series in over 10 years. You win some, you lose some. There will never be a KoF that has the perfect roster for any individual, as it changes so much. However the roster here is still great. Terry Bogard, Kyo, Iori, Benimaru, Athena and other old favorites return. Several characters appear properly for the first time, and there are three all new characters, the sophisticatedly sexy Elizabeth, who goes a long way in making up for the absences of Vice and Mature, Oswald, an intimidating character who uses cards as his weapons, not to mention strongly reminds me of Yamazaki, and Momoko, a capoiera trained little girl who brings the necessary cutesy factor, all very nice additions to the family.
How much you will like this game… may ultimately be measured by how wide your smile is when you hit your first Dream Cancel.
Mines could be measured in meters.
The 411: The 2D fighter will never have the same level of popularity as it once did, since when 3D became the new 2D, but it will also never die when companies like SNK can still provide classics of this level. If you are even remotely into 2D fighters… if you still carry your memories of playing Streetfighter 2 in an arcade or on a SNES deep in the murky past… you owe it to yourself to pay homage to the new King.
Graphics
8.8
Still no hi res sprites, but about as good as you’ll ever get without them.
Gameplay
9.6
The best 2D fighter to be released since Street Fighter 3: Third Strike. That is heavy praise.
Sound
8.9
Music is good, voices and sound effects are great.
Lasting Appeal
9.2
High on single player content, which is quite unusual for KoF but good to see. Will probably never get old as a multiplayer game.
Fun Factor
9.5
Fun is this game’s middle name, as long as you’re into 2D fighters. Frankly you must be if you’re even reading this.
