"A Series We Loved For Years"

Since the beginning in 1994, where we were introduced to King of Fighters 94, everyone's first impression was of course "A ripoff of Street Fighter" Even the last boss scene, you see SNK attack other gaming companies. Year after year after that, SNK has given their fans a better fighting system, memorable characters and moves that eclipse any other fighting game in existence. Now, in 2006, they have improved a lot by giving our favorite characters, a make over. But does this game really stay true to the series?

In my reviews, I like to start out with the story. Quite frankly, in a fighting game, I can care less, but there are some highlights to be mentioned. Story is straight forward just like the first one, a tournament is held and a mysterious girl appears where later you find out she is working for a familiar character in Maximum Impact. Who will win the tournament and be the King of fighters? That is you to determine.

Graphics. What can I say about the graphics, well first thing is the fact that this is in 3D and done very well. Seeing some characters, especially Mai Shiranui in 3D and improved assets is something very nice to see. The intro was beautifully done as well. The character designs has improved greatly and to be honest, the graphics is what got me hooked in this game in the first place. Backgrounds are still sort of bland, but when you are unleashing combos and moves, I don't think anyone notices it.

What do I like more than the graphics? The music. Ah yes, those familiar KOF tunes you hum and bought soundtracks to are back along as with some new tracks. Maximum Impact had some great tracks in their soundtrack and the sequel rivals the first, maybe in fact a little better.

Now comes the controls, if you are familiar with the KOF series and Maximum Impact, you will have no problems at all. Your basic 4 attack buttons with 2 punches and two kicks. One being weak and the other being strong. Of course there are the new features as well. One being the side step, where you can get behind your opponent or avoid moves. Another new feature is the Rising attacks. By pressing different buttons after being knockdown, you can make your character rise and attack. Another feature that is new to all is the Sabaki. What this does is, if you are being attacked, you can change the situation where you are attacking instead, sort of like a super evasive attack. Of course, there is the counter Sabaki, where you need to predict the attack of your opponent, ruining and stopping their attacks with your own. Last but not least is the Super cancel, taking away your power gauge, you can cancel out special moves and unleash combos.

Replay value. Like Pokemon says, "Gotta Catch them all" and same goes for here. There are a few number of secret characters to unlock and to me they are all worth it. Since unlocking these characters takes a few games to unlock, you will be finding yourself using basically everyone and learning each story line as you progress. There are also the missions and bonus missions. Those who played Maximum Impact remember these unlock more stuff in the game. Remember, once you are done with everything on your own, it is time to grab a friend and battle it out to see who is better and who can walk the walk and talk the talk.

Closing statements? Well, the price for this game isn't bad, $30 is affordable and I thought it was going to be more, so this is a steal if you are a KOF fan. Those who aren't will enjoy the game as well if you like fighting games. This is definately one of the best and most addictive fighting games I played since Soul Calibur 3. Reason this game didn't get a perfect score is that some of the characters you fight or very unbalance and some like to call them "cheesy". The CPU seems to unleash combos and evasive moves bringing you to your knees.

To choose to rent or buy this game, I didn't rent it or watched any videos on it and the element of surprise is there, definitely a buy in my book. And long live SNK and the KOF series.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/03/06