The King of Fighters Collection: The Orochi Saga

"Filling a void in a genre SORELY neglected by the Big N"

Ahh... The Orochi Saga of the King of Fighters series. As you very well may know, the 90s were the final hey days of arcades... at least here in the US. Japan still gets arcade games, though not many, but they do. At a time when arcade titles were far and few, fighting games rejuvenated the industry and influenced games for years to come.

The King of Fighters games are products of that era, and this collection of the first 5 games in the series is a testament to what a great time in video gaming it was.

For 20 bucks you get 5 games. Here are BRIEF reviews for each game:

KOF '94:
The first in the series. You may actually just pass this one up since it is so primitive. Playing KOF '98 then playing this game doesn't help it much, as you see how far the series has come since '94.

KOF '95:
The second game in the series advanced the overall narrative of what is actually a DECENT story (for a fighting game) as well as added the ability to choose your own teams (instead of set teams as in the previous title).

KOF '96:
This game was the beginning of the modern KOF, as it received a nice graphical overhaul.

KOF '97:
The big climax to the Orochi story. This game, besides being an awesome and well-balanced fighting game, has one of the best (if not THE best) boss encounters ever in a fighting game. If you don't know about it, I'll let you find that out by yourself =)

KOF '98
This, my friends, is was many fans (as well as non-fans) to be the most well balanced and most memorable KOF there is. With it's huge roster of characters, this is easily the most replayable of the entire package. It's especially nice to see this game released since the only other version of this out on US consoles is the enhanced Dreamcast version from 10 years ago.

Considering how much Neo Geo titles cost on Nintendo's Virtual Console... that's 4 dollars a game as opposed to the 9 dollars you'd pay for a single SNK title. As a bonus for this US version, you get The King of Fighters 94 AND 98; two titles which did NOT appear on the original Japanese release a couple years back.

Control:

There IS one thing I must stress as I continue this review... A CLASSIC CONTROLLER IS NECESSARY TO PLAY THIS GAME (unless you invest in the Hori joystick, which is another good option). KOF Collection: The Orochi Saga uses the same multiple controller scheme like other games on the Wii (Mario Kart, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, etc.).

Let's compare:

Wii Remote:
The game will automatically start you off with this control scheme. While the button mapping actually seems to work, you'll need something MUCH more accessible to fully appreciate this game.

Wii Remote w/ Nunchuk:
This control scheme doesn't do any better than the prior. Fighting games need a digital input for on-point response time. The joystick just doesn't offer that type of control.

Classic Controller:
As I said, this is a necessity to enjoy this game. 'nuff said. There is other way to play unless you have the Hori arcade stick.

GameCube Controller:
While it's nice that this is actually an option for a controller, the GameCube controller was not made for fighting games (other than Smash Bros., which was designed for it). It didn't work with Capcom vs SNK 2 EO, and it doesn't work here. Even if you DID try, the D-pad is too small to offer you anything more than frustration.

Gameplay:

The emulation of each title is spot on. There are only two gripes I have: the long load time to get into each game (about 10-15 seconds, but no loading at all during gameplay) and there is no widescreen support for this game. These are VERY minor issues which do not detract from the overall gameplay experience.

Options are bare bones. The only things you can customize are your button layout, change your controller preference, and adjust the sound volume. Other than that, no time options, no difficulty options. Also, there is NO single VS, which is quite a letdown since that's pretty standard in the King of Fighters home versions. But, I suppose you can consider these arcade ports, which in THAT aspect, are perfect.

As for extra content, there is a Challenge mode in which you unlock stuff for your Media Gallery (artwork, remixed music, etc.).

So there you have it. Just as the title of my review says, this is one game that fills a void that Nintendo hasn't cared to fill since the SNES days. Fighting game fans should look to the PS3 or XBOX 360 for their fill, as all the Wii has is SSB Brawl, a Guilty Gear Port, the shoddy Castlevania Judgement, and those shallow DBZ/Naruto titles. Sadly you can count all that on one hand, and the only other interesting fighting game exclusive to the Wii is a Japan-only game (and don't argue with me about it coming to the US, since it's a sure thing it won't happen)

But, if you feel it necessary (as I did), this is a title worth checking out if you didn't already get the CHEAPER PS2 version.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/12/09

Game Release: The King of Fighters Collection: The Orochi Saga (US, 12/02/08)