"This would have been perfect except for a glaring problem"

Okay, we’re now a whopping four years into the King of Fighters series. They’ve come out with each one topping the other in some way shape or form. King of Fighters 97 would end the first story saga and point the way to how future incarnations of the series would play.

First things first, it wouldn’t be KoF without some roster adjustments. Gone are the Boss Team (Geese Howard, Wolfgang Krauser and Mr. Big), Vice, Mature, and Kasumi Todoh. Taking Kasumi’s place in the Joshi team is the first boss of the last game, Chizuru Kagura. Her, King and Mai are my favorite Joshi team line-up in the series up to this point, I might add. Iori isn’t even leading a team this year, so instead we get two totally new teams. The first was voted into the game by the fans, and are affectionately known as the “Real Bout Team,” consisting of the insane criminal Ryuji Yamazaki, sexy Southtown undercover cop Blue Mary, and Geese Howard’s right hand man Billy Kane, who is making his second appearance in the series. The other new team are three completely new characters, referred to alternately as the “Band Team” (since they’re all musicians) and as the “New Faces Team.” Individualy, they’re Yashiro Nanakase, an athletic Japanese man with platinum blonde hair and fashion sense you’d only expect in anime, Shermie, the requisite hyper sexy female (from France no less), and Chris, a Sweedish youth who is also the youngest KoF participant to date. Finally, there is Shingo Yabuki. He absolutely idolizes Kyo, wants nothing more than to be trained by him, and imitates his moves sans the Kusanagi fires. Along with Iori, Shingo is an edit character in the game, and appears without a team.

Though the host of the tournament is unknown, one thing hasn’t changed, and that’s the media feel that snuck into last year’s game. There’s now card girls that will strut around holding “Round 2” etc. cards. There’s also cameras around and about, and even a televised feel to the short segments between the matches.

Anyhow, the game plays the same as previous years, with one noticeable difference: two separate modes of play. You can opt for “Extra Mode” which mostly resembles the gameplay of previous years with charging up a super bar by holding down the first three buttons, or from “Advanced Mode” which allows for the super bar to be built up through attacking, and stores of power for multiple (and more powerful) super moves. This change affects the whole dynamic of the game, and finally gives you a reward for going on the offensive. The flexibility of choosing a style that fits the way you play the game makes this one of the deepest KoF titles to date.

Graphically, this isn’t the step up that 96 was from 95, but it doesn’t have to be. The new characters are some of the best looking yet, though. And of course, the evolution of the characters continues as they gain even more new moves, like Terry’s Power Charge, or updated aspects, like Chizuru’s much improved “dancing” poses. And, yes, Athena has a new outfit. The backgrounds are as active as they’ve ever been, with a Disneyland-styled theme park in the US, worshipping natives in Bali, and a wild bunch of cheering fans in Japan. The China stage has become the haven for cameos, with a different one each play, ranging from the 94 Sports team, to Jubei Yamada, Tung Fu Rue and Lee Pai Long, to the Top Hunter cast, to even King’s waitresses and Rugal’s panther!

For the sounds, once again Athena has a new voice actor, while the new characters are all well acted. But there’s a very glaring problem. Where is the music? Seriously, where is it? The “New Faces” team has a theme, the “Real Bout” team members have their individual themes, and Kyo, Iori, Shingo, Terry and Athena all have their own music. Also, you’ll get themes once you start to hit the boss cycle. But other than that? Crowd ambiance, chanting, and other bland effects that do nothing to get you into the fight. I’m sorry, but in this instance SNK dropped the ball. One of the best parts of King of Fighters has always been the music, and to cut it in half like this is a travesty.

As well, there are no win quotes in the game. This seems small today, since this isn’t the last fighting game to omit them, but for a game series that is so rich in personality like King of Fighters, it just feels wrong to not hear what’s on the minds of the characters after the match.

But I digress. In spite of these shortcomings, this is still King of Fighters and it’s still an excellent game. It may not be one of my favorites, but I’ll still drag it out to play every now and again. If you see it, give it a shot by all means.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 09/25/02, Updated 09/25/02