The King of Fighters EX2: Howling Blood

"The King of all Fighters... for the GBA, anyways."

1st of all, I'm a fighting game fan. If you're reading this review, than you probably are, too. I have always loved SNK's character designs, and the King of Fighters series is no different. You'll have all the favorites: Terry Bogard, Kyo, Iori, etc. As well as some new faces: Reiji, Miu, and Jun (more on them later). If you like the series, but are wondering how well this game holds up to the name, you don't really even need to read the rest of this; buy it. Buy it now.

Gameplay - 9/10

It's all good. The AI is respectable, the moves are easy to pull off, and teh supers are damn pretty. The characters handle very well for the small portable console, but the drawback is the lack of buttons. I really wish that there were 6 buttons, but there aren't. I got over it.

On default controls, L button calls out your striker - the team member who is going to fight for you next - who attacks in an assist sort of like in Marvel vs. Capcom 2. Except here you only get a set # of striker assists. The R shoulder button covers your roll (forward and backward) and your level 3 supers. Rather than pressing the super commands and the punch button for a level 1/2 super, with R you get the full she-bang. Here's where it gets tiresome. Your A button controls all punches. This means that depending on how long u hold the button, a stronger/weaker punch comes out. Same for B button being assigned to kicks. It's easy to mess up but not a big problem.

There is a roster of 21 characters - not too shabby. Now, onto the matter of the 3 new characters. Reiji is a cool looking, decent character. I don't like him, but he fits, and that's what's important. Miu... Avril Lavine wannabe (which is definitley a bad thing). She doesn't even have a good fghting style. Same can be said for Jun (the poor character part).

Graphics - 9/10

The graphics definitley have the KoF art style to them. A plus in anyone's book. However, the small screen is hard. It doesn't have the power graphics of an arcade 2D fighter, but really won't bother you much.

Sound - 7/10

The sound is good. Some of the soundtracks are catchy. But some of the character noises are annoying.

Difficulty (1 being easiest, 10 being hardest) - 9/10

The difficulty has been upped. That's very good. Difficulty can be adjusted, but it's definitley a good challenge.

Replay - 7/10

Plenty of things to unlock. Good old fighting action. Will keep you occupied for awhile, but not forever. Playing the CPU gets old.

Overall - 9/10

Mainly because of the lack of good GBA fighters (with Street Fighter Alpha 3 and Street Fighter II: Turbo being the only others), this is a must pick up for fighting game fans. Enjoy!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/24/04