The King of Fighters XI

"King of Fighters XI: Worth it?"

This is a review for the Japanese version of KOFXI. Well quite frankly, that is the only version out for now. American systems aren't able to play Japanese games but you can chip your system and get the games overseas or buy them online. However, is this game worth it? Read on to find out.
King of fighters debuted in 1994 with a introduction to what will later be the biggest franchise that SNK has. Rivaling Capcom's Street Fighter, over the years, it seemed almost that SNK was the winning company, until they were bought out by the very company that they went against. Now what made SNK"s KOF series better than Capcom's SF series? Well first, they had a lot of characters. In KOF you are to choose three characters and they are in teams, you can either choose the default teams or go custom and choose your favorites together.

Each character also had a huge move list and they just plain looked better. Characters were taken from other SNK games, for example, Ralph and Clark from the Ikari warrriors, a nes game and Athena, also a nes game. Giving them a makeover and a storyline, the KOF series comes to life with an array of colorful characters. Of course, you had your characters from the Fatal Fury series and Art of Fighting.

In KOF XI, you are introduced to over a span of forty plus characters. Each unique in their own way. They are once again split up into teams and beating the game with these teams net you their ending. Each ending shows what happens to each of the members of the team but because this is in Japanese, it is pretty hard to understand what is going on, thank god for pictures!

While we are on characters, the new characters are a great addition to the game. Few are completely new and while some are familiar faces. One of these familiar faces would be the sexy B.Jenet from the Mark of the Wolves series. She actually debuted in her first KOF game in Maximum Impact 2 (KOF 2006 in American). I absolutely love all the new additions except for one. That will be the final boss. He is so ridiculously cheesy (not fair) that it makes you want to throw the game out your window. The character design in my honest opinion was pretty lame, he looks like a alien and a insect combined. What ever happened to the cool final bosses in the other KOF games like Rugal, Igniz and even Orochi?

The graphics in the game sadly is still pretty toned down for this time of age. However, it was taken from KOF 2003 and that game actually has changed the KOF series forever. The smoothness of the characters, the better animation and the new Leader Super moves are impressive and I LIKE IT! The sprites have improved a lot over the years, Yuri and Mai for example, their face looks better and Mai's assets are still bouncier than ever.

One thing I always loved about the KOF series was their music. The amount of soundtracks I bought is unreal, but sadly, after KOF98, they got lazy and the music favoritism went down for me. Don't get me wrong though, there a few out there that is great, but they don't sound as good as they use to. Same for this game. Some characters have their own themes and some are even from old games. But the new ones make you want to stick a pencil in your ear so the pain will go away. The inconsistency of bad and good music is pretty annoying.

Now the game play, well, it is just your basic fighting game. Beat your opponent senseless and do it with style. Customize a team that consists of your favorite characters and either go online (Japan only) or fight your friends and brag when you beat them down. Just make sure your friends don't throw your controller across the room.

This game actually has a pretty decent replay value. To unlock everything single thing in the game, yes, including secret characters, you will have to beat the game with all the teams and complete all the challenges. Completing each challenge will either add something in the gallery or unlocks of the few secret characters. Only bad thing about this, is fighting that horrid last boss so many times. I mean, if you are in a good mood, fighting him will make you pissed off in seconds.

In closing, I suggest watching some videos over the Internet or even going to an arcade that has this game and try it out. If you are a die hard KOF fan like me you would buy it. The game is actually quite decent in price. I bought it for $36 brand new, but I looked at other places and they have higher prices, so it is a pretty hard gamble. Whether or not you think this game is worth is all depends on yourself and whether you want to spend money for chipping your system then finding a place that has the game not high in price. If you are to ask me if this game is the best fighter game out there, I would say no, but I will say that it is one of the best KOF games I ever played.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/18/07, Updated 07/18/07