Unless you were born recently or have been living in a cave for the past 15 years, chances are you have played at least one King of Fighters (KOF) videogame. The series became famous for its 3 on 3 team battles and offered a deep and complex combat system that most casual fighting fans found to be unfriendly. The fact is that KOF was made for hardcore fighting fans and those who think it is just a Street Fighter clone clearly need to be taken to school by seasoned players.
A new KOF game comes out almost as frequently as a sports video game and quite recently we've seen remakes and releases of older games in the series as well as some mediocre 3D experiments. The series has certainly evolved significantly from a gameplay standpoint over the years as each new KOF game experimented with different combat mechanics and ideas which only hardcore fans took notice of. Casual players who only spammed special moves would not notice these changes. That said, even the most jaded gamer would admit that KOF games are some of the finest 2D fighting games ever made.
Charging up for a powerful attack .
The major complaint the gamers have regarding the series in general is that each KOF game has pretty much recycled the same graphics engine over the past decade. The sprites, animations and visuals used in these games have remained somewhat consistent. The recycled sprites and animations resulted in newer entries such as the The King of Fighters 2003 and even The King of Fighters XI looking like games that should have when released back in 1998. Obviously there were some minor refinements but nothing major enough to hold a candle to the groundbreaking 2D graphics of Guilty Gear X2 and Street Fighter III.
Perhaps the most obvious reason why the upcoming The King of Fighters XII is not just another KOF game is because this time the developers have made the genuine effort to completely rework the graphics and sprites from the ground up and fortunately, the results are brilliant. Just by looking at the screens and trailers, no one can deny that the game’s high definition 2D graphics are absolutely breath taking and will surely set a new standard. The beautifully hand drawn sprites, the modern anime esque animations are something that will give any long time fan of the series tears of joy. The graphical overhaul was long overdue and we are glad to see it finally happen.
Cant believe a KOF game looks this good!.
Of course, with such a major overhaul some sacrifices would need to be made. The King of Fighters XII will feature a smaller character roster compared to previous entries. However, seeing the amount of work that has been put into the sprites and animations, a roster of 22 characters (for the home version) is still quite reasonable. The roster will feature fan favorites such as Kyo Kusangi, Terry Bogard, Iori Yagami but there will be fans complaining about certain characters being cut from the roster, such as Mai Shiranui.
Based on what we have seen, The King of Fighters XII looks to retain the same solid fighting system that fans have cherished over the years, however an interesting thing that we have been hearing is that the pace and flow of the new game feels a tad bit slower than the previous games, but this could actually result in a more tactical and accessible fighting experience, much like what Capcom did with the Street Fighter III series.
Kyo owns Iori...again.
We are certainly pleased with The King of Fighters XII based on what we have seen so far and we are looking forward to yet another solid fighting experience. Fans are obviously counting the days already but even those of you who have yet to get into the series or have parted ways with it years ago, should certainly keep an eye on this game.
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