"A worthy addition to the KOF legacy."

So how does the latest addition to the KOF series stack up against the others? Quite well actually.

STORYLINE: 5/10
I never really liked the NESTS storyline, and the conclusion is rather disappointing as well. The bosses motivation is bland and uninteresting, the cyber punk theme just does not seem to fit KOF well, and there are so many unanswered questions, it seems like it was just thrown together in some spots, and teaming up certain characters that do not match up just for the heck of it? Good grief.

GAMEPLAY: 8/10
With the death of the striker systems abusiveness, this game is once again more about strategy, and less about hitting the opponent once, calling King, Seth, Joe, or Another Iori and killing the opponent with an easy 5 hit striker combo. This game now uses a ratio system, you can have
4 fighters = Only 1 long super bar and a ratio equivalent of 1 each.
3 fighters + 1 Striker = 2 decently long super bars, and a ratio equivalent of 2 each.
2 fighters + 2 Strikers = 3 short super bars and a ratio equivalent of 3 each.
1 fighter + 3 Strikers =4 tiny super bars and a ratio equivalent of 4 each.
This striker system is a rather refreshing change and adds a whole new level of strategy to the game. With the addition of my new favorite character, the deadly yet hard to use Angel (Pronounced an-hell), and the return of Xangfei, this game is wonderful.
Another new feature is super canceling, where you switch from one move or super right into another at the cost of a super bar, but unless you routinely use 2 characters or 1 character, you will not find much use for it.

DIFFICULTY: 8/10
The computer seems to finally know some strategy, as I have seen it perform large combos, major rush downs, and even super canceling. The bosses both have simple strategies to beat, but if you mess up, they will annihilate you, despite the fact they are almost as bad in AI as Orochi from 98 was, they are so overpowered it is unfair in the max. All that aside, its nice to have a KOF that does not need to be on Level 8 to be a challenge.

SOUND: 5/10
To much techno music and nothing overly special in the voice acting department makes this a bland sounding game, nothing really worth mentioning.

GRAPHICS: 7/10
Outdated technology, strange artwork, a big step down for KOF graphic wise, yet the last boss more than makes up for it, he is one of the coolest, if not the coolest last boss ever, he just oozes style. The animation is okay as well, but it is a poor effort put into it, not that deserving of an outstanding score.

REPLAYABILITY: 10/10
Its KOF, with so many new ways to play, so many characters, and so many neat combos to find, you will always want to come back for more.

END RESULT: Not everyone seems to like it, but if you were disgusted by the Striker system in 2000, you will love this game, but if you found the striker system of 2000 its best feature, this might just be very disappointing.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/21/02, Updated 04/21/02