But in MI2 almost all the characters have some fan service costumes. Going by that Leona is related to both Rei and Asuka simultaneously from Neon Genesis Evangelion.
That game has the best alternate costumes ever. :P
Is MI2 worth getting? I was thinking of picking that up.
It depends on what you're looking for in a 3D KOF game.
Personally, I would say yes, assuming you don't already have Maximum Impact 1.
I really do like MI2/KoF 2006. It feels more like King of Fighters and less like Wild Ambition 2 (which the first Maximum Impact HAD to have been at some point in its development). Not automatically a good thing as I prefer the Fatal Fury series, but the characters and core moves feel more natural and like the 2D KoFs in MI2 if you ask me.
The new characters are pretty poorly designed though IMO. I like Falcoon's concepts for the classic characters but the new MI2 characters encompass everything I loathe about Japanese animation. Some of the classic cast is pretty bland graphically too since they lack that intentional unrestrained grittiness and personality SNK would draw the sprites with in their mid-nineties games (Samurai Shodow III and KoF'96 especially).
This makes the game feel kind of slapped together but the actual gameplay experience is fast and fun. There's a couple of hilarious mini-games too for unlocking thing. I like the one where a bulldozer is pushing you off a cliff gradually and you have to destroy it before hand. The one where you're locked in a steel cage with the Metal Slug and have to destroy it with your bare hands before the timer runs out and it annihilates you is great too.
Neo Rasa on
"You know how Batman hangs people over the edge of buildings and gets them to spill information. That's Neo Rasa's way of it, but instead of information, he just likes to see people suffer." ~Senor Fish
You gotta cancel into special moves and then into supers without fail. You might want to try Rock Howard since his Raging Storm super will do damage to an enemy on the ground.
You also need to do it in three or four combos. If you actually knock her down at all the wasted time will kill your chances of success.
Neo Rasa on
"You know how Batman hangs people over the edge of buildings and gets them to spill information. That's Neo Rasa's way of it, but instead of information, he just likes to see people suffer." ~Senor Fish
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PunkBoyThank you! And thank you again!Registered Userregular
But in MI2 almost all the characters have some fan service costumes. Going by that Leona is related to both Rei and Asuka simultaneously from Neon Genesis Evangelion.
That game has the best alternate costumes ever. :P
Is MI2 worth getting? I was thinking of picking that up.
It depends on what you're looking for in a 3D KOF game.
Personally, I would say yes, assuming you don't already have Maximum Impact 1.
Honestly, I've never played a KOF of anykind.
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I just found a (hopefully) working copy of 02/03. This makes up for my 00/01 not working properly. God I'm so happy, can't wait to play it. The only major complaint I have right now is that unless I'm playing one of the "core" characters who I know will repeat, it's annoying to find that someone I've spent time learning is just gone in the next couple of games. I've been eyeballing MI2 from afar, but the fact that that it looks like complete and total ass is turning me right off. I expect old, sprite based games to look chunky and cheesy, and I frankly will always love sprites over polys (I think they age better and have more personality in general), so the new look is distressing. I'm hoping to import XI soon and also hoping that XII is $$$.
Also, I used to fear Gill, but Igniz is the single most ass-tasticly cheap boss ever. And it wouldn't have been nearly as bad trying to get over that if my disk wasn't fucked so hard there was a 5 minute load between each continue. Who thought giving a boss super moves that killed you even if your bar was full was a good idea? And before that he had to decide that giving him unlimited supers was also a swell thing, and that giving him easy, obvious infinite combos was sweet shit. And he actually uses them. Those are two kneecaps I would love to wreck.
And since when was That Engine not able to be mentioned?
If I remember correctly, we can talk about Mugen, but we can't link each other to shit like Mortal Kombat vs Street Fighter character packs. It itself is fine, but the copyright infringement that it's mostly used for is not. Which makes it pretty hard to talk about, because that's just about all it's good for.
You gotta cancel into special moves and then into supers without fail. You might want to try Rock Howard since his Raging Storm super will do damage to an enemy on the ground.
You also need to do it in three or four combos. If you actually knock her down at all the wasted time will kill your chances of success.
Turns out I just needed to beat the game with the two main characters and unlock Duke. He just as incredibly cheap as the computer showed me he could be. Except, sadly, I don't have infinate gauge to throw around.
You can just keep doing that basic combo he loves to rape me with over and over. I just modified it to throw in his Genocide Cutter lookalike. Seven hits or so. Throw in the low super if you can. Do level 3 if you ever get the chance.
Yeah, I cleared out level 3 missions and then demolished level 4 with ease. The only thing that slowed me down was the 30 hit combo mission. Then I discovered you could link Ryo's F,B,F+P to his Ranbu. 15+15=30
Something else...what US SNK fighters am I missing? I don't need any duplicates, multi-platform, etc. I'm also not a Samurai Showdown fan, really. I've got...
AoF for Genesis
FF for Genesis (I believe)
KoF 95 for PS1
KoF 99 for PS1 (the not-dreammatch one)
Last Blade 2 DC
Garou DC
KoF 02/03 PS2
KoF MI PS2
CvS 2 GC
SVC Xbox
Off the top of my head...I know I need KoF Dreammatch 98 for DC. I played the GBA KoFs and they're bullshit. I know MI2 is out...but that's KoF 2006 right? The 94 Rebout never came out here. Is KoF 12 out...Xbox I think? I've already been reminded of Wild Ambition for PS1.
Something else...what US SNK fighters am I missing? I don't need any duplicates, multi-platform, etc.
You're right about MI2 being King of Fighters 2006 in the US. The XBox has King of Fighters: NeoWave, not KoF XII (which hasn't been shown yet).
In addition to what you have, if you want US completion but don't want duplicates or Samurai Shodown you should get:
Capcom vs. SNK: Millenium Fight 2000 - Dreamcast
Fatal Fury 2 - SNES
Fatal Fury 3: Road to the Final Victory - PC
Fatal Fury Special - SNES
King of Fighters 2000 / 2001 - PS2
King of Fighters: Evolution - Dreamcast
King of Fighters: NeoWave - XBox
I don't know how anyone could call EX2 on the GBA bullshit. The first EX is horrible but EX2 is a MASSIVE improvement and easily the best fighter on the GBA in terms of accuracy and overall control quality and speed.
You can often find reasonably priced bundles of the Neo Geo Pocket Color and several games. I would seriously consider this.
Neo Rasa on
"You know how Batman hangs people over the edge of buildings and gets them to spill information. That's Neo Rasa's way of it, but instead of information, he just likes to see people suffer." ~Senor Fish
I have a NGPC and Cardfighters Capcom edition. After it died, I never really saw any games again. I might have to try to buy some online.
Fatal Fury came out on PC? Weird. And I don't have a SNES really. Might have to finally pick one up. Evolution on DC is Dreammatch 98 right? I know 98 and 99 had weird names on DC and PS1.
I have a NGPC and Cardfighters Capcom edition. After it died, I never really saw any games again. I might have to try to buy some online.
I have the SNK version and a Link Cable. I hope we meet someday.
Most NGPC games are cheap as hell online. There are a bunch of really rare games, but for most of the good stuff you're looking at $5-$15 online for a new copy (just the cart plus clear case, which isn't that big of a deal considering boxes for some English games don't even exist). I've bought Sonic Pocket Adventure for $5, Dark Arms for $12, and Card Fighter's Clash (SNK) for $10, among others online. Import shops like Play-Asia usually have a decent selection.
And since the NGPC has a shitload of 2D fighters (albeit if you don't like SD you won't get very far) and a joystick instead of a D-Pad, it's an awesome handheld for fighting games. The only real complaint I have is I wish it would have had four buttons or more instead of the two it has, but considering the DS is the first Nintendo handheld to have more than two face buttons I'm not surprised.
One of the most appealing aspects of the South Town series is its deep storyline. Back in the 1990's, you looked forward to each new King of Fighters game, not only because it introduced new play mechanics to the series, but because it also expanded the characters themselves. The heroes would frequently find themselves embroiled in bitter rivalries or become romantically involved with one another, turning each new installment of KOF into a soap opera with a shocking plot twist at the end.
But yeah, to answer your question, Fatal Fury was the flagship game of the series, and Street Fighter II's first successful competitor. Its big twist was that the battles took place on two planes of movement... if you were cornered by an opponent, you could slip into the background for a temporary escape. It introduced many of the popular characters in the South Town series, including Terry Bogard, Kim Kaphwan, Mai Shiranui, and Geese Howard.
The Art of Fighting was next up to bat, released about a year after Fatal Fury. It was never a fantastic game, but it blew away gamers with its stunning graphics. The camera would zoom in and out to give the player a better view of the action, and any character unlucky enough to take a punch to the face would be left with welts and bruises, a first in a versus fighting game. Sadly, The Art of Fighting was burdened by a number of annoying flaws... the characters were a little too large for their own good, and the player was forced to cower in the corner and charge up his attacks. Next to Savage Reign, it's the shortest lived of the South Town games, and many of the characters from The Art of Fighting were eventually folded into the King of Fighters series.
Speaking of which, KOF is the most recent, and in my humble opinion, best of the South Town games. It was one of the first crossover tournament fighters, bringing together fan favorites from Fatal Fury, The Art of Fighting, and a handful of older, more obscure SNK titles. King of Fighters' hook is that characters fight in teams of three. The object is not to survive for three rounds, but to knock out all the fighters on the other team. The early games in the series didn't give the player the option to hot-swap characters... when one fighter is taken out of the arena on a stretcher, the next member of the team replaces him. Later KOF games introduced strikers and true tag-team gameplay to the series, but the inclusion of these features left some SNK fans hot under the collar. King of Fighters: Maximum Impact on the Playstation 2 went the other route, removing the team gameplay that the series was founded upon. Needless to say, it wasn't fondly embraced by long-time King of Fighters players.
My favorites from all three series are as follows:
Garou: Mark of the Wolves
Not really a Fatal Fury game per-se... there's no field switching and many of the famous Fatal Fury characters have been given the boot. Still, it's an interesting look at the future of South Town, and the gameplay is more refined than in past Fatal Fury games (especially those awful Real Bout spin-offs).
Art of Fighting 3
This is actually a side story, where Ryo Sakazaki and his friends take a vacation to Mexico. Of course, things aren't all cervezas and siestas while they're on the other side of the border... they've got thugs to fight, and the battles are a thing of beauty thanks to slick rotoscoped animation. It's nothing at all like the first two games in the series, borrowing slightly from Virtua Fighter in its use of chain combos and pursuit attacks.
King of Fighters '99
The King of Fighters series has always had a nebulous artistic direction, but it finally finds an aesthetic that works for it in KOF '99. SNK gave the game a sleek, futuristic feel that makes each battle eye-poppingly intense, and included characters which are both fun to use and easy to admire. The storyline's kind of dumb (spoiler: the bad guys are using clones of the main character to take over the world! Oh, brother...) but that's easily forgiven when you think of all the things this game gets right.
King of Fighters: Maximum Impact on the Playstation 2 went the other route, removing the team gameplay that the series was founded upon. Needless to say, it wasn't fondly embraced by long-time King of Fighters players.
Actually, Maximum Impact did indeed have 3 on 3 team battles. But only in Versus mode.
So yeah, when you're playing against other people, it's traditional 3 on 3 KOF.
as far as not being 'fondly embraced' by long-time KOF players, I think that "they" are often too thickheaded to consider anything much more of a hair different than KOF 98 not to be good.
Maximum Impact is a very good game. But most of these so-called KOF fans dismissed it outright when they heard that it had 3D graphics; despite the fact that it has 2D gameplay. And even the ones that didn't trash-talk it before playing it only gave it just enough time to find some things they considered 'flaws' so they could dismiss and complain about it; rather than to keep playing and indeed find that the game had ways to remedy such 'flaws'; like the 3 vs. 3 thing, among others.
I can understand players, and KOF fans, not like Maximum Impact. It might almost be considered more of a Real Bout Fatal Fury game than a KOF. But when I heard some of the stuff flying around when it came out, I wanted to punch a hole in my monitor.
I got bored and people here might actually care, here's the King of Fighters roster. I'll list everyone from '94 along with which game they originally appeared and then list new characters added for each successive game. By new character I mean fightable. All the characters pop up in various cutscenes all the time that may be before their first appearance as a fightable sprite in King of Fighters. Since there's a mix of names from various languages I'll just be alphabetizing by "first" name. Have fun:
King of Fighters '94:
Andy Bogard (Fatal Fury: King of Fighters)
Athena Asamiya (Athena)
Benimaru Nikaido
Brian Battler (Football Frenzy?)
Chang Koehan
Chin Gentsai (Psycho Soldiers)
Choi Bounge
Clark Steel (Ikari Warriors)
Goro Daimon
Heavy D!
Heidern
Joe Higashi (Fatal Fury: King of Fighters)
Kim Kap Hwan (Fatal Fury 2)
King (Art of Fighting)
Kyo Kusanagi
Lucky Glauber (Dunk Dream?)
Mai Shiranui (Fatal Fury 2)
Ralf Jones (Ikari Warriors)
Robert Garcia (Art of Fighting)
Rugal Bernstein / Omega Rugal
Ryo Sakazaki (Art of Fighting)
Sie Kensou (Psycho Soldiers)
Takuma Sakazaki (Art of Fighting 2)
Terry Bogard (Fatal Fury: King of Fighters)
Yuri Sakazaki (Art of Fighting 2)
King of Fighters '95:
Billy Kane (Fatal Fury: King of Fighters)
Eiji Kisaragi (Art of Fighting 2)
Iori Yagami
Saishu Kusanagi
King of Fighters '96:
Chizuru Kagura
Geese Howard (Fatal Fury: King of Fighters)
Goenitz
Kasumi Todoh (Art of Fighting 3)
Leona
Mr. Big (Art of Fighting)
Mature
Wolfgang Krauser (Fatal Fury 2)
King of Fighters '97
Vice
King of Fighters '97:
Chris / Orochi Chris
Blue Mary (Fatal Fury 3: Road to the Final Victory)
Ryuji Yamazaki (Fatal Fury 3: Road to the Final Victory)
Shermie / Orochi Shermie
Shingo Yabuki
Yashiro Nanakase / Orochi Yashiro
King of Fighters '99:
Bao
Jhun Hoon
K'
Krizalid
Li Xiangfei (Real Bout Fatal Fury 2: The Newcomers)
Maxima (Robo Army)
Whip
King of Fighters 2000:
Hinako Shidou
Kula Diamond
Ramon
Seth
Vanessa
Zero
King of Fighters EX Neo Blood:
Moe Habana
King of Fighters 2001:
Angel
Foxy
Igniz
K9999
Lin
Mei-Lee Jinju
Original Zero (his striker attacks are so badass here he deserves to be listed twice)
King of Fighters EX 2 Howling Blood:
Jun
Miu
Reiji Oogami
Sinobu
King of Fighters 2003:
Adelheid Bernstein
Ash Crimson
Duo Lon
Gato Futaba (Garou: Mark of the Wolves)
Maki Kagura
Malin
Mukai
Shen Woo
Tizzoc / The Griffin Mask (Garou: Mark of the Wolves)
King of Fighters Maximum Impact:
Alba Meira
Chae Lim
Duke
Lien Neville
Mignon Beart
Rock Howard (Garou: Mark of the Wolves)
Soiree Meira
King of Fighters XI:
Bonne Jenet (Garou: Mark of the Wolves)
Duck King (Fatal Fury: King of Fighters
Elizabeth Blanchetorche
Gai Tendou (Buriki One)
Hotaru Futaba (Garou: Mark of the Wolves, PS2 Only)
Sho Hayate (Savage Reign)
Jyazu (Kizuna Encounter: Super Tag Battle)
Momoko
Oswald
Shion
Silber (Buriki One)
Tung Fu Rue (Fatal Fury: King of Fighters, PS2 Only)
King of Fighters Maximum Impact 2 / King of Fighters 2006:
Hattori Hanzo (Samurai Shodown)
Hyena
Jivatma
Lilly Kane
Luise Meyrink
Ninon Beart
Philomena Germi (Metal Slug)
Richard Meyer (Fatal Fury: King of Fighters)
Neo Rasa on
"You know how Batman hangs people over the edge of buildings and gets them to spill information. That's Neo Rasa's way of it, but instead of information, he just likes to see people suffer." ~Senor Fish
That's the problem in a nutshell, Slash... it doesn't FEEL like a King of Fighters game. Heck, it doesn't really seem finished, which is pretty much what I'd said in my review of the game. Max Impact feels more like the skeletal framework for a potentially awesome fighter than a truly memorable game. The graphics and sound are both fine, but the game lacks personality, technique, and a whole lot of characters.
It's especially aggravating to me that SNK would take all that time creating a 3D environment for the characters without actually taking advantage of it. There are no breakable walls (they just kind of crumple without giving way), no environmental hazards, and no multi-layered stages where players can be knocked down into a lower or higher floor. It's all very sterile, and after a few matches you start to feel like one of those mimes trapped in an invisible box. The 3D backgrounds in KOF Evolution for the Dreamcast had a better sense of immersion than the playfields in Max Impact!
Having said that, I'd be more than willing to give the sequel a spin. I doubt that it's as entertaining as KOF XI (the true heir to the King of Fighters crown!) or Neo-Geo Battle Coliseum (not really KOF, but awesome in its own right) but it can't possibly be any worse than the blando commando Xbox game King of Fighters: NeoWave.
Yeah King of Fighters '99's soundtrack in general really grew on me after a while.
In the Dreamcast and PSX ports Krizalid is "Krizaleo."
The trick with Krizalid (as with Rugal actually) is to bait him into doing his rising anti-air move, then punishing him as he recovers. It's probably easiest with Mai because if you wall jump and then do her diving attack, she'll fly way over Krizalid's head but he'll do his rising punch move EVERY TIME. Meanwhile you've landed behind him long before he even reaches the peak of his jump.
Neo Rasa on
"You know how Batman hangs people over the edge of buildings and gets them to spill information. That's Neo Rasa's way of it, but instead of information, he just likes to see people suffer." ~Senor Fish
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PunkBoyThank you! And thank you again!Registered Userregular
edited March 2007
Neo, you're missing May Lee from the roster. She first appeared in 2001, I think.
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Neo, you're missing May Lee from the roster. She first appeared in 2001, I think.
You're right, that was pretty stupid of me.
Neo Rasa on
"You know how Batman hangs people over the edge of buildings and gets them to spill information. That's Neo Rasa's way of it, but instead of information, he just likes to see people suffer." ~Senor Fish
What's your vote for the most annoying King of Fighters end boss? I've got to give it to that rock guy from one of the later games... I think it was KOF 2003. Anyway, he rains down these gigantic stone pillars which are all but impossible to avoid. Once you reach the guy, you might as well just reset your system because you ain't getting further than that without abusing the cheat- er, continue service.
Was that Mukai? His column super did a frankly unfair amount of damage, if I recall. Still, I actually found him easier than Krizalid or Omega Rugal, but admittedly I've played a lot of games since those two...
Yeah that's Mukai. Omega Rugal in either '94 or '95 is the one I have the most trouble with.
Neo Rasa on
"You know how Batman hangs people over the edge of buildings and gets them to spill information. That's Neo Rasa's way of it, but instead of information, he just likes to see people suffer." ~Senor Fish
And did SNK not make a boxing game for Heavy D! to be from? Like you noted, Lucky and Brian are from two of their other sports games.
I think May Lee's an awesome character! Did Chae Lim really just appear in MI out of nowhere to replace Kim, Jhun, and May?
Yeah, I agree May Lee's a fun character. I keep on hearing conflicting reports that SNK can/cannot use her, since she was introduced when Eolith released KOF 2001 and 2002. Although doesn't Chae Lim have a May Lee alternate outfit? And wasn't May Lee in the Japanese version of Neowave? (Kinda disappointing she's not in the US version.)
And isn't Kim a playable character in 2006?
Heh, considering the amount of characters associated with Kim, SNK could have at least 2 Korean teams if they wanted...
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Yeah, I heard stuff about them owning or at least co-owning the character. And at least a couple others introduced in those years. I'm just confused if Chae Lim's first go was in MI. She doesn't really fit in with the strange style used for the four new characters.
Yeah, but in MI2 he was really broken. It was to the point where if Terry got into one of his crazy power dunk combos the other person would lose a minimum of half their life.
If I was going to purchase some Japanese PS2 SNK fighting games, what would be some of the best ones to look into getting. Keep in mind that I have most of, if not all the ones they have released here in the US (on the PS2 & Xbox), so I would mainly be interested in ones that didn't make it out here or ones that are significantly better versions over there.
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It depends on what you're looking for in a 3D KOF game.
Personally, I would say yes, assuming you don't already have Maximum Impact 1.
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Speaking of crossovers...
Even though this isn't a video game, this still has Capcom vs Namco vs SNK vs Penny Arcade.
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The new characters are pretty poorly designed though IMO. I like Falcoon's concepts for the classic characters but the new MI2 characters encompass everything I loathe about Japanese animation. Some of the classic cast is pretty bland graphically too since they lack that intentional unrestrained grittiness and personality SNK would draw the sprites with in their mid-nineties games (Samurai Shodow III and KoF'96 especially).
This makes the game feel kind of slapped together but the actual gameplay experience is fast and fun. There's a couple of hilarious mini-games too for unlocking thing. I like the one where a bulldozer is pushing you off a cliff gradually and you have to destroy it before hand. The one where you're locked in a steel cage with the Metal Slug and have to destroy it with your bare hands before the timer runs out and it annihilates you is great too.
How am I supposed to defeat the invincible Clack and Maxima? I've got those two and the one where you have to beat Yuri *twice* in 30 seconds. Ugh.
You also need to do it in three or four combos. If you actually knock her down at all the wasted time will kill your chances of success.
Honestly, I've never played a KOF of anykind.
Also, I used to fear Gill, but Igniz is the single most ass-tasticly cheap boss ever. And it wouldn't have been nearly as bad trying to get over that if my disk wasn't fucked so hard there was a 5 minute load between each continue. Who thought giving a boss super moves that killed you even if your bar was full was a good idea? And before that he had to decide that giving him unlimited supers was also a swell thing, and that giving him easy, obvious infinite combos was sweet shit. And he actually uses them. Those are two kneecaps I would love to wreck.
Anyone want to beta read a paranormal mystery novella? Here's your chance.
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If I remember correctly, we can talk about Mugen, but we can't link each other to shit like Mortal Kombat vs Street Fighter character packs. It itself is fine, but the copyright infringement that it's mostly used for is not. Which makes it pretty hard to talk about, because that's just about all it's good for.
Turns out I just needed to beat the game with the two main characters and unlock Duke. He just as incredibly cheap as the computer showed me he could be. Except, sadly, I don't have infinate gauge to throw around.
You can just keep doing that basic combo he loves to rape me with over and over. I just modified it to throw in his Genocide Cutter lookalike. Seven hits or so. Throw in the low super if you can. Do level 3 if you ever get the chance.
Yeah, I cleared out level 3 missions and then demolished level 4 with ease. The only thing that slowed me down was the 30 hit combo mission. Then I discovered you could link Ryo's F,B,F+P to his Ranbu. 15+15=30
Something else...what US SNK fighters am I missing? I don't need any duplicates, multi-platform, etc. I'm also not a Samurai Showdown fan, really. I've got...
AoF for Genesis
FF for Genesis (I believe)
KoF 95 for PS1
KoF 99 for PS1 (the not-dreammatch one)
Last Blade 2 DC
Garou DC
KoF 02/03 PS2
KoF MI PS2
CvS 2 GC
SVC Xbox
Off the top of my head...I know I need KoF Dreammatch 98 for DC. I played the GBA KoFs and they're bullshit. I know MI2 is out...but that's KoF 2006 right? The 94 Rebout never came out here. Is KoF 12 out...Xbox I think? I've already been reminded of Wild Ambition for PS1.
Anything else?
You're right about MI2 being King of Fighters 2006 in the US. The XBox has King of Fighters: NeoWave, not KoF XII (which hasn't been shown yet).
In addition to what you have, if you want US completion but don't want duplicates or Samurai Shodown you should get:
Capcom vs. SNK: Millenium Fight 2000 - Dreamcast
Fatal Fury 2 - SNES
Fatal Fury 3: Road to the Final Victory - PC
Fatal Fury Special - SNES
King of Fighters 2000 / 2001 - PS2
King of Fighters: Evolution - Dreamcast
King of Fighters: NeoWave - XBox
I don't know how anyone could call EX2 on the GBA bullshit. The first EX is horrible but EX2 is a MASSIVE improvement and easily the best fighter on the GBA in terms of accuracy and overall control quality and speed.
You can often find reasonably priced bundles of the Neo Geo Pocket Color and several games. I would seriously consider this.
It's amazing how good this game is
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Fatal Fury came out on PC? Weird. And I don't have a SNES really. Might have to finally pick one up. Evolution on DC is Dreammatch 98 right? I know 98 and 99 had weird names on DC and PS1.
Ahhhh! Noooo!
King of Fighters EX2: Howling Blood is fucking awesome! It's like KOF 2000, but with some cool new features (but minus 2k's armor/cancel modes).
It's really good; probably the best portable KOF there is. It's wonderful.
Steam ID: slashx000______Twitter: @bill_at_zeboyd______ Facebook: Zeboyd Games
I really wanted to play it because of the new character. Sakura petals and Kyo's moves? Awesome.
I have the SNK version and a Link Cable. I hope we meet someday.
Most NGPC games are cheap as hell online. There are a bunch of really rare games, but for most of the good stuff you're looking at $5-$15 online for a new copy (just the cart plus clear case, which isn't that big of a deal considering boxes for some English games don't even exist). I've bought Sonic Pocket Adventure for $5, Dark Arms for $12, and Card Fighter's Clash (SNK) for $10, among others online. Import shops like Play-Asia usually have a decent selection.
And since the NGPC has a shitload of 2D fighters (albeit if you don't like SD you won't get very far) and a joystick instead of a D-Pad, it's an awesome handheld for fighting games. The only real complaint I have is I wish it would have had four buttons or more instead of the two it has, but considering the DS is the first Nintendo handheld to have more than two face buttons I'm not surprised.
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But yeah, to answer your question, Fatal Fury was the flagship game of the series, and Street Fighter II's first successful competitor. Its big twist was that the battles took place on two planes of movement... if you were cornered by an opponent, you could slip into the background for a temporary escape. It introduced many of the popular characters in the South Town series, including Terry Bogard, Kim Kaphwan, Mai Shiranui, and Geese Howard.
The Art of Fighting was next up to bat, released about a year after Fatal Fury. It was never a fantastic game, but it blew away gamers with its stunning graphics. The camera would zoom in and out to give the player a better view of the action, and any character unlucky enough to take a punch to the face would be left with welts and bruises, a first in a versus fighting game. Sadly, The Art of Fighting was burdened by a number of annoying flaws... the characters were a little too large for their own good, and the player was forced to cower in the corner and charge up his attacks. Next to Savage Reign, it's the shortest lived of the South Town games, and many of the characters from The Art of Fighting were eventually folded into the King of Fighters series.
Speaking of which, KOF is the most recent, and in my humble opinion, best of the South Town games. It was one of the first crossover tournament fighters, bringing together fan favorites from Fatal Fury, The Art of Fighting, and a handful of older, more obscure SNK titles. King of Fighters' hook is that characters fight in teams of three. The object is not to survive for three rounds, but to knock out all the fighters on the other team. The early games in the series didn't give the player the option to hot-swap characters... when one fighter is taken out of the arena on a stretcher, the next member of the team replaces him. Later KOF games introduced strikers and true tag-team gameplay to the series, but the inclusion of these features left some SNK fans hot under the collar. King of Fighters: Maximum Impact on the Playstation 2 went the other route, removing the team gameplay that the series was founded upon. Needless to say, it wasn't fondly embraced by long-time King of Fighters players.
My favorites from all three series are as follows:
Garou: Mark of the Wolves
Not really a Fatal Fury game per-se... there's no field switching and many of the famous Fatal Fury characters have been given the boot. Still, it's an interesting look at the future of South Town, and the gameplay is more refined than in past Fatal Fury games (especially those awful Real Bout spin-offs).
Art of Fighting 3
This is actually a side story, where Ryo Sakazaki and his friends take a vacation to Mexico. Of course, things aren't all cervezas and siestas while they're on the other side of the border... they've got thugs to fight, and the battles are a thing of beauty thanks to slick rotoscoped animation. It's nothing at all like the first two games in the series, borrowing slightly from Virtua Fighter in its use of chain combos and pursuit attacks.
King of Fighters '99
The King of Fighters series has always had a nebulous artistic direction, but it finally finds an aesthetic that works for it in KOF '99. SNK gave the game a sleek, futuristic feel that makes each battle eye-poppingly intense, and included characters which are both fun to use and easy to admire. The storyline's kind of dumb (spoiler: the bad guys are using clones of the main character to take over the world! Oh, brother...) but that's easily forgiven when you think of all the things this game gets right.
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Actually, Maximum Impact did indeed have 3 on 3 team battles. But only in Versus mode.
So yeah, when you're playing against other people, it's traditional 3 on 3 KOF.
as far as not being 'fondly embraced' by long-time KOF players, I think that "they" are often too thickheaded to consider anything much more of a hair different than KOF 98 not to be good.
Maximum Impact is a very good game. But most of these so-called KOF fans dismissed it outright when they heard that it had 3D graphics; despite the fact that it has 2D gameplay. And even the ones that didn't trash-talk it before playing it only gave it just enough time to find some things they considered 'flaws' so they could dismiss and complain about it; rather than to keep playing and indeed find that the game had ways to remedy such 'flaws'; like the 3 vs. 3 thing, among others.
I can understand players, and KOF fans, not like Maximum Impact. It might almost be considered more of a Real Bout Fatal Fury game than a KOF. But when I heard some of the stuff flying around when it came out, I wanted to punch a hole in my monitor.
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King of Fighters '94:
Andy Bogard (Fatal Fury: King of Fighters)
Athena Asamiya (Athena)
Benimaru Nikaido
Brian Battler (Football Frenzy?)
Chang Koehan
Chin Gentsai (Psycho Soldiers)
Choi Bounge
Clark Steel (Ikari Warriors)
Goro Daimon
Heavy D!
Heidern
Joe Higashi (Fatal Fury: King of Fighters)
Kim Kap Hwan (Fatal Fury 2)
King (Art of Fighting)
Kyo Kusanagi
Lucky Glauber (Dunk Dream?)
Mai Shiranui (Fatal Fury 2)
Ralf Jones (Ikari Warriors)
Robert Garcia (Art of Fighting)
Rugal Bernstein / Omega Rugal
Ryo Sakazaki (Art of Fighting)
Sie Kensou (Psycho Soldiers)
Takuma Sakazaki (Art of Fighting 2)
Terry Bogard (Fatal Fury: King of Fighters)
Yuri Sakazaki (Art of Fighting 2)
King of Fighters '95:
Billy Kane (Fatal Fury: King of Fighters)
Eiji Kisaragi (Art of Fighting 2)
Iori Yagami
Saishu Kusanagi
King of Fighters '96:
Chizuru Kagura
Geese Howard (Fatal Fury: King of Fighters)
Goenitz
Kasumi Todoh (Art of Fighting 3)
Leona
Mr. Big (Art of Fighting)
Mature
Wolfgang Krauser (Fatal Fury 2)
King of Fighters '97
Vice
King of Fighters '97:
Chris / Orochi Chris
Blue Mary (Fatal Fury 3: Road to the Final Victory)
Ryuji Yamazaki (Fatal Fury 3: Road to the Final Victory)
Shermie / Orochi Shermie
Shingo Yabuki
Yashiro Nanakase / Orochi Yashiro
King of Fighters '99:
Bao
Jhun Hoon
K'
Krizalid
Li Xiangfei (Real Bout Fatal Fury 2: The Newcomers)
Maxima (Robo Army)
Whip
King of Fighters 2000:
Hinako Shidou
Kula Diamond
Ramon
Seth
Vanessa
Zero
King of Fighters EX Neo Blood:
Moe Habana
King of Fighters 2001:
Angel
Foxy
Igniz
K9999
Lin
Mei-Lee Jinju
Original Zero (his striker attacks are so badass here he deserves to be listed twice)
King of Fighters EX 2 Howling Blood:
Jun
Miu
Reiji Oogami
Sinobu
King of Fighters 2003:
Adelheid Bernstein
Ash Crimson
Duo Lon
Gato Futaba (Garou: Mark of the Wolves)
Maki Kagura
Malin
Mukai
Shen Woo
Tizzoc / The Griffin Mask (Garou: Mark of the Wolves)
King of Fighters Maximum Impact:
Alba Meira
Chae Lim
Duke
Lien Neville
Mignon Beart
Rock Howard (Garou: Mark of the Wolves)
Soiree Meira
King of Fighters XI:
Bonne Jenet (Garou: Mark of the Wolves)
Duck King (Fatal Fury: King of Fighters
Elizabeth Blanchetorche
Gai Tendou (Buriki One)
Hotaru Futaba (Garou: Mark of the Wolves, PS2 Only)
Sho Hayate (Savage Reign)
Jyazu (Kizuna Encounter: Super Tag Battle)
Momoko
Oswald
Shion
Silber (Buriki One)
Tung Fu Rue (Fatal Fury: King of Fighters, PS2 Only)
King of Fighters Maximum Impact 2 / King of Fighters 2006:
Hattori Hanzo (Samurai Shodown)
Hyena
Jivatma
Lilly Kane
Luise Meyrink
Ninon Beart
Philomena Germi (Metal Slug)
Richard Meyer (Fatal Fury: King of Fighters)
It's especially aggravating to me that SNK would take all that time creating a 3D environment for the characters without actually taking advantage of it. There are no breakable walls (they just kind of crumple without giving way), no environmental hazards, and no multi-layered stages where players can be knocked down into a lower or higher floor. It's all very sterile, and after a few matches you start to feel like one of those mimes trapped in an invisible box. The 3D backgrounds in KOF Evolution for the Dreamcast had a better sense of immersion than the playfields in Max Impact!
Having said that, I'd be more than willing to give the sequel a spin. I doubt that it's as entertaining as KOF XI (the true heir to the King of Fighters crown!) or Neo-Geo Battle Coliseum (not really KOF, but awesome in its own right) but it can't possibly be any worse than the blando commando Xbox game King of Fighters: NeoWave.
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Krizalid? Man, I hated that tornado-spewing git. Kept thinking his name was "Krizaldid", for some reason: loved his theme tune, mind!
In the Dreamcast and PSX ports Krizalid is "Krizaleo."
The trick with Krizalid (as with Rugal actually) is to bait him into doing his rising anti-air move, then punishing him as he recovers. It's probably easiest with Mai because if you wall jump and then do her diving attack, she'll fly way over Krizalid's head but he'll do his rising punch move EVERY TIME. Meanwhile you've landed behind him long before he even reaches the peak of his jump.
You're right, that was pretty stupid of me.
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And did SNK not make a boxing game for Heavy D! to be from? Like you noted, Lucky and Brian are from two of their other sports games.
I think May Lee's an awesome character! Did Chae Lim really just appear in MI out of nowhere to replace Kim, Jhun, and May?
Yeah, I agree May Lee's a fun character. I keep on hearing conflicting reports that SNK can/cannot use her, since she was introduced when Eolith released KOF 2001 and 2002. Although doesn't Chae Lim have a May Lee alternate outfit? And wasn't May Lee in the Japanese version of Neowave? (Kinda disappointing she's not in the US version.)
And isn't Kim a playable character in 2006?
Heh, considering the amount of characters associated with Kim, SNK could have at least 2 Korean teams if they wanted...
it's been so long since I've played any kof...
PSN: super_emu
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Asses.
Now im going to have to go to the import store or on Ebay.
Im trying to save for a PS3.
For Garou, just get a DC, seriously. I've never had any complaints about it.