The King of Fighters EX2: Howling Blood

"If you have to own 1 GBA fighter......make this be it!"

Okay i know that this game hasnt gotten alot of publicity but i think it needs some. This IS the best fighting game on GBA. Nothing compares to this. Its extremly addicting and bump the score up .5 if you have someone to link up and fight with.

What is it?
King of Fighters EX 2:Howling Blood is a 2D fighting game. King of Fighters started back in the Street Fighter 2 days as the main competitor for the game. Over time there have been yearly installments of King of Fighters in arcades and on Playstation 2. And now we have 2 King of Fighters games on our GBA.

Graphics 9.5/10
This game has some of the prettiest graphics on GBA. Although 2D fighters dont really demand alot from a system the people over at Atlus had to make the games visuals that much better. The details in this game are imense. You can see the expresions on people faces when they fight. To add to all of this the backrounds in the levels are sweet. Detailsare aplenty in the backrounds, with everything from urban enviorments, to bus stations(???)! The great graphics in the game just make playing the game all that better.

Sound 9/10
Put on the earphones for this game! The sound in this game rocks. Great music(different for each level) and just overall cool sounds effects while kicking and punching and such. Plus, as an added bonus some charecters(as either a victory celebration, special move or intro.) say stuff. It sounds really amazing when you put it all together.

Control 8.5/10
This is where King of Fighters doesnt excel brilliantly. Of course the GBA isnt exactly the best platform for fighting game controls, it still could've done better. The only reason i docked 1.5 points was because i just hated trying to do special moves in this game. It felt so awkward and they are hard to pull off. Yet the computer pulls them off like nothing. Even after extensivly playing the game its still awkward.

Overall 9/10
This is by far the best fighting game on GBA. If you see this game then you should seriosly consider buying it, even if you generally dont like 2D fighters. With great charecters, awesome multiplayer(you wont belive it till you play it), and some of the best graphics on GBA. A must own for any fighting game fan.

Bottom line: Buy this game. Im almost sure you wont regret it.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/01/04