"Strategic fighting"

After SNK's death, Eolith bought the KOF franchise. Initially, it was rumored that Eolith alone would produce The King of Fighters 2001 (KOF 2001 for the purpose of this review). However, it was then made public that the former employees of SNK would still work on the title. Both SNK and Eolith thus worked together on the latest KOF title and while the tradition was maintained, some drastic changes were made to the gameplay. Was it Eolith's choice or was it an attempt to attract more players to an overlooked game ? It would be more suitable to opt for the reason that this is a way to prevent 2D fighting from dying as Arcades as slowly perishing.

Anyway, the new title in the KOF franchise is innovative enough although it shares all the on-going aspects of its prequels. As in each edition, there are some new characters. These are May Lee, Angel, Foxy and K9999 who rapidly became insanely popular (even before the game was released, this cool character raised a debate). Like everybody else, each of these characters has a deep personality and his own reasons for participating in the tournament. May Lee is a sweet girl who wants to help people around her although she certainly dresses in a strange fashion. Angel, on the other hand, is quite the opposite. Pretentious, obnoxious, she cares only about herself and doesn't think highly of other people (and she makes Britney Spears look dull). Foxy is just Kula's friend (people who have played the prequel will remember her) and will stand by her all the time.

…And K9999 ? Some may refer to him as a mere Tetsuo rip-off. As a matter of fact, he is (someone at Eolith or SNK must really dig into Akira). Hell, they even got the same guy who did the voice back then to do the seiyuu in the game. One of his moves is directly taken from the anime people who have watched Akira will instantly remember it. However, K9999 is much more than that. He is in the same league as Iori Yagami, K' and Lin. He's among those characters that will rapidly become outstanding figures of the genre. And his attitude and personality are so overwhelming one can't help but move the cursor over to him and choose him every time.

~ Gameplay ~

2001 marks a giant leap over its prequels and over the whole series in general. Teams must not necessarily consist of 3 characters now. You may have anywhere between 1 and 4 characters which means strikers can also be from 1 to 3. You can set your team before each fight. An easy team ? You will probably go for a 2 fighters-2 strikers team while some of the toughest teams will make you opt for a stronger set-up. However, it all depends on the gamer and this is without doubt what makes this KOF so different from the rest of the series.

Of course, various set-ups will influence certain factors. With more fighters, your power stocks decrease and the characters themselves are more vulnerable and take damage like a kid. Similarly, with a single character, you can stock more power and take less damage upon being hit. Strikers can be called when you are not performing any action and during certain moves. If you are playing with only one character, you will thus have 3 strikers. It is not possible to call all three of them at the same time but if you are quick enough, you can have the one jump in while another is posing or preparing to leave.

This whole ''Team Set-up'' feature makes the game border on the strategic genre. At the highest difficulty, it is essential to make the good choices and random set-ups won't take you very far. It is even more necessary to know how to use the strikers and how to make the most of your power since this has become a variable factor now. Sadly, using strikers has become a dying concept due to their relative lameness in this edition but if you know precisely when to call them and in what situation, they'll save you more than once.

KOF 2001 also marks the introduction of the Critical Wire Attacks. Certain moves will cause the opponent to hit the edge of the screen and rebound, thus giving you enough time to add more hits. Sounds familiar ? It should because this concept already exists in a lot of fighting games : Marvel vs. Capcom, Guilty Gear X and Last Blade to name a few. Some moves will produce the same effect when they hit as counters. The last feature is how some moves can be cancelled into other special moves at the expense of one power stock for major damage.

As one takes the time to experiment with each character and get used to definite winning teams, this title unveils its true charm. KOF 2001 is unique with its approach and gameplay. The fact that you can alter your teams before each fight makes it even more terrific. Of course, some will tend to stick to the usual 3 characters-team all the time but by doing so, they are also missing out the fun. KOF 2001 is about always changing your fighting strategy, experiencing new combos and adapting to countless situations until you are rewarded with the solid endings.

Some characters alone, with their fighting styles, are worth noting. Angel, one of the new characters, is extremely complex but not in a bad way. She takes a lot of time to get used to but once you can claim to have mastered her (imagine a horrible pun here !), you are assured to win since she can be extremely cheap. And you'll just play on until you reach the boss, Igniz, who is probably one of the cheapest guys ever. There is also a sub-boss (typical of the series) who is an old acquaintance, Original Zero. That guy sees it fit to be accompanied by no less than 3 strikers, one of which is utterly annoying.

But let's get back to Igniz. SNK titles (specially KOF) have always been known for their cheap and powerful bosses. However, each time, there was a pattern which could be used to get rid of them quickly. Yes, these were not exactly a nice way of playing but you were practically forced to use them since you would lose otherwise. As you would imagine, this raised some complaints although I'm pretty sure everybody relied on these ''weaknesses''. Well, you'll be happy to learn that there are no such patterns now. Not just that but the bosses can actually adapt to your own strategy and turn everything against you, including the kitchen sink and the car keys. The multiple characters ensure that the game preserves its uniqueness even when you may have spent countless hours on it. Each character has dozens of combos which you must learn and just when you've thought you knew all of them, a human challenger pops in and makes you question your own abilities. It is impossible to proclaim you can handle everyone perfectly just as there will always be someone who will defeat you if you are not careful enough.

As far as gameplay is concerned, The King of Fighters 2001 is innovative and interesting. The huge cast makes for an astounding replay value and gives the game a huge life span. The game never gets repetitive, even after long playing sessions and 2-player mode is totally addictive. Whether your favorite character is arrogant Kyo Kusanagi, funny Shingo Yabuki or affable Chang Koehan, you'll feel compelled to try all of them until you get blisters. However, in order to enjoy the gameplay, there must be decent graphics and sound and we're just about to see that since you've come this far (which is quite surprising !).

~ Story ~

While merely a fighter, this title still delivers a solid plot. The story revolves mainly around K', Kula, K9999, Kyo (notice a pattern ?) and, logically, Igniz. But that's not all there is to it because a single plot wouldn't hold for a long time. Various smaller ones have been supplemented and each team has its own ending which tells a lot about its motives for being in the game. And Eolith and SNK do know their stuff since you have to defeat the game with all the teams if you want to grasp the whole plot. I could say a lot more but that would spoil the game and I don't want to do that.

~ Graphics ~

The graphics are nice but can be considered as disappointing compared to the game's prequels. Some characters look great such as iffy Maxima or scantily-clad Mai and Angel but a lot of them have horrible designs and consequently look bad. It is also irrefutable how their pictures when you are selecting them are just weird and in some instances, just plain ugly. Well, some are great but the vast majority seems to come from an unknown, obscure console. Yuri looks like a midget in her winning picture and Vanessa looks like she's been run over by a truck.

It's not all bad though. A few characters have been redrawn and look stunning. Some of the older characters look better than ever while the new ones have been supplied with devilish (in a good way !) designs. Original Zero looks simply superb in his black and white outfit while Igniz can do down as one of the best drawn characters ever. He seems to come directly from those popular animes (he's a lot like Sigfried from Saint Seiya as a matter of fact) and his elaborate clothes are very refreshing compared to what SNK usually do. And he moves with an eerie fluidity that would make Blitzball players jealous.

On the other hand, the backgrounds are just decent. Some are gloomy while some may be colorful. The settings are varied and range from a busy street with a lot of on-lookers to a space pod. Each time, you fight in a different country and this can be Brazil, Korea or China as each will refer to a certain team. In addition, you can even make out little details which show this relationship such as a man brandishing a ''Kim'' sign in the Korean stage or a bunch of fighters wearing Goro Daimon's headband in the Japanese landscape.

However, while detailed and crystal clear, a couple of backgrounds also comprise of ugly parts which do hurt the game in a way. You cannot really make out the faces of on-lookers which are blurred and the Japanese background itself is pretty lame and not even worth mentioning. So, I won't mention it. Moreover, there are a lot of parts which have been seriously messed up such as the band in the N.E.S.T.S. stage. There are certainly a lot of flaws which makes the graphics in KOF 2001 quite disappointing.

~ Sound ~

The music is another issue in this game. This does not mean that the soundtrack is bad. Actually, there are a couple of memorable themes but the overall level is not as good as the standard SNK themselves had set. But it must be said that if you don't compare it to the previous ones, the soundtrack of KOF 2001 is decent and certainly does not deserve the bashing it got as soon as the game came out. This ''It's not as good as the prequels, so I must hate it !'' attitude is getting ridiculous and mainly shows how people will always rely on first opinions.

Among the most significant pieces, the Psycho Soldiers and the N.E.S.T.S. teams are the best. The Psycho Soldiers' theme (Psycho Fellows) is a very entertaining, instrumental one while that of the N.E.S.T.S. team (Dominant Corporation) is upbeat and will get your adrenaline boiling in no time. The remaining ones suit the atmosphere of the game well and are varied enough to prevent you from snoozing in the arcade although they are quite banal. This game actually has good boss music too, something unheard of before. If Original Zero didn't abuse you so much, you'd love his music and would spend hours losing -I mean, fighting- against him.

The voices are superb though. Some of the older characters are done by new actors and in most cases, this is a nice change and a very refreshing one. But, as usual, some can get pretty irritating such as Athena and Bao who seem very intent on distracting you. However, all the actors do their job well and there are no serious flaws such as hesitant voices and mistimed shouts or groans. K9999 is done by the same actor who originally lent him his voice and I have to admit that's a great idea since some freaks like me can't imagine him differently.

Each move has a distinctive sound effect and the most popular ones are nice and will send shivers down your spine. While the game may seem sparse on the audio side, it's actually neat and makes things more interesting (but I'll have to agree it depends on the gamer here). The sound effects are very realistic and none of them are far-fetched. Leona's explosive earring sounds like the real thing and moves connecting are well done too.

~ Controls ~

Provided a scrub didn't hammer the controls beforehand, there's very little to complain about. The controls are responsive and you can only blame yourself for your mistakes. Some moves have pretty challenging commands and these too are new as previous KOF titles confined to the same commands for everybody. This idea isn't very popular among the vast majority of gamers but sadists like me will welcome it. This factor considerably increases the challenge and adds more depth to the game, something which only a few people seem to realize (what a pity !).

Some characters are very difficult to come to terms with but isn't that where the interest lies ? The game would rapidly lose all its charm if everybody controlled the same and there wasn't any variation. Characters like Angel, K9999 and May Lee give a whole new definition to ''Mastership'' as they require countless hours of playing. And whooping someone's ass with a so-called tough character is one of the best feelings you can get playing while playing any fighting game.

~ Conclusion ~

The King of Fighters 2001 is a worthy addition to one of the best 2D fighting series. Its innovative features coupled with the characteristic gameplay of the series makes it worth playing and the new ideas will attract more and more gamers. There is no denying that the game is now more accessible and got proper advertising compared to any of its prequels. This game is not as good as the prequel (and there is no need to compare it with titles such as KOF 98) but still manages to be entertaining and all the things that make a game great have been implemented.

Maybe I'm just nitpicking but things could have been better. As you've seen throughout this review, the main flaws are the graphics and the music. However, these are saved by the overwhelming gameplay and even people who are usually so finical about replay value won't find much to complain about in this domain. If you do happen to see this game in an arcade, be sure to try it out. But let me just warn you, such machines are always bound to be surrounded by a crowd with people cheering and shouting while a small group will be arguing about who's the best character. In any case, The King of Fighters 2001 is just what you would expect from such a long series : KABOOM !

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 04/29/02, Updated 11/09/02