The King of Fighters 2003

"An improvement on a long running series"

Introduction:

The latest installment of the seemingly neverending King of Fighters series boasts quite a few new gameplay elements added on an already decent system. The game has been running since '94, and this the last KoF that we'll be seeing on the old Neo Geo MVS hardware. This is a real way to go out with a bang. The series has always been developing over the years with things like the striker system, and being able to pick 4 characters to a team. KoF 2003 throws almost all of that out the window and revamps the gameplay.


Gameplay: 7/10

With all of the added goodies, Playmore really went into overdrive trying to make this a great game. This game, without a doubt, is the best of the series and boasts the most replay value of all. They added the tag system, which I thought was missing one thing; the ability to have characters that are sitting out heal(a la Marvel vs Capcom.) Rather than healing, their health remains the same, which almost defeats the purpose of taking them out to begin with. The computer's AI is basically your standard SNK/Playmore. The normal characters are certainly not pushovers, but really can't compete with a seasoned player who really know what they're doing. Normally, KoF bosses(actually, generally all bosses in SNK games) tend to be rather difficult(KoF '97 and 2002 come to mind...) but these ones were almost let downs. While they do give a bit of competition, the normal boss, Adelheid(son of Rugal) really didn't provide much of a challenge to me when I played him for the first time. The sub-bosses, Kusanagi, Chizuru and Maki Kagura are slightly challenging, but not much. Mukai, the final boss on the other hand, is fun to play against. At times he may come off as cheap, but he's not overly hard. The cancel system has also been improved in this game, however it does not really play like it does in SVC(which, in max mode is pure cheapness.) MAX mode was taken out completely, so cancels can be performed, permitting you have a single power stock for it.


Story: 4/10

The premise of the game is simple, just like all KoF games. A mysterious person/persons are sponsoring the KoF tournament for some unknown reason, etc. I won't really go into detail, as it could ruin the game, though.


Graphics/Sound: 7.5/10

This is where KoF 2003 kind of fails. I think most people could agree that it's high time SNK scraps the 10 year old MVS in order for something more modern. Though, SNK is really pushing the limits of this, and the game doesn't look bad, or sound bad for that matter. The soundtrack isn't catchy and clear like Capcom vs. SNK 2, but for what it does, it does a good job. The graphics are slightly toned from previous MVS titles(I think the most noticeable is Tizoc from Garou, who looks much better now.) For the MVS Hardware, I give SNK/Playmore a lot of credit, because the game does look very good compared to it's previous incarnations. The character portraits are basically like KoF '01 and '02's, but a little smaller, but some are more detailed. Some of the characters have basically stayed the same, such as Iori, who hasn't been changed since he was first introduced in '95 or '96(I don't remember which.)


Play Time/Replayability: 8/10
The game time is almost entirely dependant on your skill level. If you're new to the series, it will naturally take some time to complete the game completely(around 30-45 minutes I'm imagining.) However, if you're well aware of the play system, and the way the game itself plays, you should be able to complete the game in 15 minutes or less without a problem. I found though, that as easy as the game seems, it's quite fun to play over and over again. There's a lot to learn in this game, which really boosts it up in this area.


Final Reccomendation:

This game is good. It's very balanced, and makes for great fun for a little while(as opposed to the 12 whopping minutes of fun I got from Matrimelee.) So much has improved with this game, and it's just absolutely worth playing. This is easily the best, and my personal favorite of the King of Fighters series. It's not as competitive as say, Marvel vs Capcom 2, but it's fun to play with friends, and I feel that that's what really counts in a fighting game.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/07/04