"At last, SNK have surpassed Capcom"

Now, it seems likely improbable that someone owns a Neo-Geo and hasn't ever heard of the King of Fighters series by the late SNK. I mean, c'mon, KOF is what made the Neo-Geo a must-buy when it came out and so, you must already know what this title is all about and what lies here. Still, I'll point out what makes KOF stand out from the rest of the beat-em-up series : you choose 3 characters and not a single one and there are various other new stuff that made its prequels a must-buy.

PLOT

The King of Fighters '97, episode 4, if you prefer (but why would you !?), begins where '96 ended. Goenitz is supposed to be dead but you never know…With Geese and Rugal always back after having being thought dead a couple of times, let's just be careful this time ! So, Goenitz is supposed to be dead and what a relief. However, invitations have been sent out once more and in this year, fighters from all over the world reunite once more to fight for different reasons. But who are these 3 people with those evil looks and what is Chizuru Kagura doing here since Goenitz is now supposed to be nothing more than a bad - very, very bad - dream. And what's up with Iori, Leona, and Ryuji acting like weirdos even if it's not much of a surprise concerning the insane Yamazaki who, we all know, would cut his mama's throat for a dollar.

Well, talking about the all plot here would be a HUGE spoiler so I will just let you find out for yourself. But it mustn't be forgotten that it was this title, KOF '97, that made SNK really popular and how even know, people are still talking of its storyline while some are discovering it just now and thus, wondering how they could have missed this for so many years. Why, even 4 fours after this game came out, people are still talking about Orochi and I won't talk about all the flames that could be seen on message boards just because players shared different views !

INNOVATIONS

'97 brings forward a very interesting feature with 2 modes concerning those damn desperation moves, Advanced and Extra. Actually, if you're playing '99 or 2000 now, then you should know that the system in those 2 is just a blend between Advanced and Extra. In Advanced, you cannot charge your power as you did for DMs in the previous titles. Instead, there is a gauge at the bottom of the screen which gets full with each action that you make or when you take tick damage. Your bar keeps increasing until you have a stock and you use this stock to perform moves like the Power Geyser or 8 Cups of Wine. So, no stock, no DM unless you have psychic powers just like Kensou !

For SDMs,, you now need to use one stock. Press ABC (i.e. your charge in previous KOFs) and a timer will appear. Do your DM during that time and it'll be a SDM. Sounds confusing ? Don't worry, you'll understand it well with time ! Extra is just like before with the red-life thingie but this time, taunting your opponent has no effect. What a shame ! There is also a cool feature concerning Advanced mode which determines whether your new character will have the last's one stocks or not. Thus, be careful when selecting your characters' order and try to make the most of this new feature.

GRAPHICS

As usual, excellent. Characters are well-drawn and although the game is pretty old, the details have been well thought and watching Kensou eat or Shingo acting like a dingo is a treat. The characters' facial expressions are fantastic specially scenes like Iori getting insane or when he does his Maiden Masher SDM which is a must-see if you like freakish things. The animation is smooth at all times even during the infinites. Good ol' cartridge, how do I cherish thou !? The only bad aspect graphically concerns the backgrounds which don't look too good. Considering how those in '96 had me completely amazed, I would have expected something better here.

MUSIC & SOUND EFFECTS

Slight better overall than in '96 but I'm still kinda disappointed. The themes are cool and I like Orochi's team as well as the band's team are great but there's really no title that stands out most and which you will listen to over and over again. While '96 had the kick-ass Esaka and Requiem Lv 6, '97 has nothing to compare to these. Sure, there's still Esaka in a slightly remix version but the original was way better IMO. The very good thing in here are the sound effects as well as the excellent voice acting. From Terry to Mary, with the insane Iori and kamikaze Yamazaki, the voice-acting is at its best level in this game. The screams and groans as the characters are thrown around mercilessly or as they unleash one of those desperations moves are a real beauty to the ears. Too good to be true ! Ha Hou Shokou Ken ! ! !

GAMEPLAY

OK, OK, I know where your complaints are…I know you're desperately searching the screen for Eiji, Vice or Mature but they've been left out. But hey, there are a bunch of new characters too…And here's the fun-living Shingo , Kyo's student. Don't let this guy's looks fool you, he is one hell of a character. And we now have Yamazaki and Yashiro ! ! Believe me, these guys alone are enough to make all the rest mere bystanders. The 3-player teams are bound to make the gameplay here excellent and with all the characters available including hidden versions for some of them, this game is bound to take all your time. The sub-bosses are selectable too with Iori now becoming Orochi Iori ! Oooh !

REPLAY VALUE

This is just how you should proceed : Give your sister the money she had been asking for the last 2 months, feed the fish, call your school saying that you'll be on one long safari tour, close your room's door and if by some kind of miracle, you had a life before, you can just forget about it…Because you are about to enter KOF '97…The biggest tournament…Where…Find out for yourself…*cough*

PLOT : 10

INNOVATIONS : 8

GRAPHICS : 8

MUSIC/SOUND EFFECTS : 8

GAMEPLAY : 9

REPLAY VALUE : 9

OVERALL : 8

Well, enough said! KOF '97 is a must-buy and one of the finest beat-em-ups to have graced the Neo-Geo!!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/06/01, Updated 11/09/02