The King of Fighters EX: Neo Blood

"With baited breath we waited.. but, was it worth the wait?"

I simply couldn't believe my eyes when I saw that there was a KOF game being made for the GameBoy Advance. Then I saw the first screen shots and drooled at how close they were to the arcade version of KOF'99. Patiently I waited and vowed that I'd finally treat myself to a GBA when it came out. (Sounds silly? Yes, but I'm a SNK-junkie!) So, after a fairly major delay from the 22nd of November to the 26th of December I ran down to my local importers, cash clenched in hand with the intention of getting the game or blood.. whichever was the most desirable at the time...(They love me there, I just know it!) and purchased a GBA and a brand spanking new copy of KOF EX:NeoBlood.

But, you're not reading this to find out how the rest of my day went... so, how does it fare?

The Truth
If you're reading this review and still have no idea about what KOF (King of Fighters) is, then don't worry. Started in 1994 by a little company called SNK, KOF quickly became somewhat more fun to play than the countless Street Fighter games that were churned out. Featuring 3 members to a team, you picked your team as opposed to just one character and took them all the way to victory. Each character was different from the others in their team (Yes, even the supposed 'Ryu+Ken' clones, Ryo and Robert were different). As the years passed, you gained many abilities. 95' allowed you to make your own teams instead of using pre-canned ones. KOF'96 introduced the 'run' and MAX Supers. With KOF'97 we saw the arrival of command chains and the vaunted EXTRA and ADVANCED systems. '98 was a huge dream battle and '99 brought us the COUNTER and ARMOR modes as well as the STRIKER system. KOF 2000 added more yet more characters, a better (And somewhat more annoying) STRIKER system and POW MAX Supers.

KOF EX:NeoBlood is a spawn of KOF '99/2000. Adding a new character, Moe Habana to the Hero Team, it's time to get down and dirty!

Gameplay - 7
Those expecting this to play exactly as the NeoGeo versions had better sit down now. The game uses the same system as KOF'99, as well as the Striker System. Nearly all of the arcade combos work.. with a little tweaking. Hit collision isn't as heavy-handed as is was on the parent games, and just because this game is on a handheld, it's no excuse. (KOF R-2 had excellent collision as well and a good 'feel') However, I'm not going to damn the game just because of that. It's still KOF, just a slightly looser version. One feature however that instantly drops the score down a notch is the complete lack of redefinable buttons! I was never much a of a SNES player, but playing a fighting game where one of the most used buttons (Heavy Punch, in this case) is on the L shoulder button makes it rather hard for me to pull off decent combos. And as for using MAX Supers (Which require two buttons to be pressed at the same time..) forget it. Thankfully, there's a '3 button' mode, where all heavy attacks are shoved on to the R button. This sounds ok, apart from the fact that you get a Heavy Kick to must press forwards and R. Oh, and I forgot to mention that you end up losing at least one move due to the awkwardness of sharing a button between two different attacks.

Graphics - 9
All things considering, the graphics are a good rendition of it's Arcade parent. Each character has a decent amount of detail as well as a certain amount of conveyed charm. Backgrounds, although static are crisp and well done. There are a few nice touches to the game too. Such as when you pull off a MAX Super, the background switches to somewhat negative colours whilst the Super is carried out. Also of note are the little 'shadow' effects that are used upon dashing supers, tech rolls and other such malarky.

Sound - 7
First things first, for a handheld I'm not expecting an aural feast of delights but the soundtrack is quite memorable and I was quite surprised to hear little speech samples emanating from my little GBA!

Extras - 5
Extras? What's that? Well, look at it as other modes that the game has to offer besides the standard game. Besides the now-standard 'Team Game' and 'Single Game' you have a handy 'Practice' mode to hone your skills, combos and learn more about the game engine. Next up is 'Survival: Time Battle' in which you take on every character in a bid to beat them all in the fastest time. Then you have 'Survival: Endless Battle' which is.. well, endless. (D'OH!) See how many characters you can beat, set the record! You then have 'Team Vs' as well as 'Single Vs', but as I haven't played this in versus yet, I couldn't tell you about it.

Secrets - 6
Ok, how much hidden stuff is in here? You obviously want to be able to have a little more than just the basics, right? Well, KOF doesn't have masses of stuff but the two hidden characters and 3 extra strikers are a nice little bonus. If there's anything more yet, I haven't a clue. Although I haven't completed Survival: Time Attack yet.

Overall - 8
KOF EX: NeoBlood is a decent extention to the KOF legacy. It's a fairly solid fighting game that has the added bonus of being 'on the go'. The annoying button system will either cause you to go mad, or switch to the 3 button method for a short while. It's by no-means a classic, but it's a good blast that I can recommend to fans of the KOF series. Other fighting game fans may want to play before they think about buying, or stick to Street Fighter 2 Turbo Revival.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 12/30/01, Updated 12/30/01