The King of Fighters 2003

"Finally something different"

The King of Fighters has been a popular fighting game series since the first title came out in 1994. At that time, the graphics, controls and game play were unrivalled, being powered by the neo-geo MVS hardware (which was really advanced for the time) As the years dragged on, however, the game play stayed similar and the graphics only experienced minor improvements every year. By 1999, the neo-geo was severely outdated and the series was beginning to suffer, not only because of the graphics, but because of the reused game play. The King of Fighters needed a change to return to its former glory days, and KOF 2003 is that change.

GRAPHICS 8/10

The graphics are not great, but they are truly exceptional for a 16-bit MVS system. Many characters have experienced changes in their appearance such as Robert, Kyo, Yamazaki, Billy, Terry, Athena, K ', Benimaru and more) and most of these changes are excellent (Benimaru excluded) The backgrounds are exceptional for the most part,
and each background has different times of day that are available (night, morning, afternoon) This is a great improvement over KOF 2002's dull backgrounds. Also, the game play has been sped up substantially, and this helps give KOF 2003 a new look. The graphics will please any KOF fan who doesn’t think that the MVS is dead yet. However, a new graphics engine will have to be used for 2004, as fans were already let down by the false hopes of Atomiswave hardware for KOF 2003.

SOUND-7/10

The sound is pretty much the same as in the other games, with the characters using recycled voices. However, KOF 2003 has good music, unlike 2001+2002, which makes the game much more enjoyable.

GAMEPLAY-9.5/10

The gameplay is the aspect of KOF that has kept fans attached to the series (it sure as hell isn’t the graphics) and this game has a new unique game system, which is different to any of the other games. Now, instead of fighting a match where you can’t switch your players during the round, you can now switch to your other characters freely. This makes it so the game is now only 1 round as opposed to 3 or more, but it also adds intensity to the game. There is also a “switch attack” (qcf BC/CD) which will cost one power gauge and make your team mate jump out and attack, allowing you to combo wit the new team mate. This system is overly cheap and overused, as someone can easily pull a “switch attack” and then combo almost anything after they hit the opponent. However, the “switch attack” is not too broken ( like guard cancel dash in SVC) and it is the only real detriment to the gameplay, so it doesn’t affect the game adversely. In the new system, the first character you choose will be your “team leader” and will have access to the LDM, a more powerful version of an SDM(super move). The fact that only one character on your team will have access to an LDM adds extra strategy to the game. The game speed has been sped up, and combos are now significantly easy to do, making the game a lot more intense. This gives the game a feel different from the other KOF’s, which can be viewed as a good or a bad thing. Overall, the gameplay is excellent, even if it does stray away from the traditional KOF style.

CONTROL 7/10

The control is very much the same, but SNK Playmore seems to have needlessly screwed with the grappling characters. It is now much more difficult to command grapple unless you put the grapple in a combo. For example, Goro’s command throws are virtually impossible to perform, but if you punch and then cancel into a grapple, the joystick movement actually works. Since I play at an arcade, it is impossible to give a full review of control due to the fact that the control is affected by how well the joystick is working on the ancient MVS cabinets.

OVERALL 9/10

This game rocks, a few minor mistakes were made (Benimarus outfit, grappling controls, switch attack) but the game still comes out a winner, much more playable than any crappy 3-D fighter, and with gameplay equal (if not better than) Street Fighter 3: TS. If you are a fan of KOF whose interest was suffering, go to your arcade and demand they order this game. It will make you a fan of KOF again, guaranteed. (Note: guarantee not actual, I just made it up)

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/11/04