King of Fighters R-2

"My 150th review shall be for what is possibly the best Neo-Geo Pocket Color game ever made."

Ladies and Gentlemen reading this very review here I have a riddle for you. When is a series a highly reviled classic yet barely known all that well with the Mainstream public? Well for starters, no it's not bigger than a breadbox (Well this particular example game isn't anyways)… It is none other than SNK's very own King of Fighters series of course. Before you insert your own “Well DUH!” joke here please do read on anyways. Granted it's not the only example (Darkstalkers, Dragon Warrior in the US, etc.) but its one of the biggest examples of such an in-thought over the years in Video Game history. Then again that's obviously more due to its lack of strong appearance in games outside of the Neo-Geo consoles while the recent appearance of the more current KOF titles on the PlayStation 2 being the only remote exceptions. And as we all know the Neo-Geo consoles were never financial successes in the US but yet they have had a strong devoted fan-base over the years as well. And many of the KOF games have been strongly praised by fans over the years as well. And let me tell you now that this indirect re-release of KOF '98 on the all-too short lived Neo-Geo Pocket Color is not an exception at all. Does this quite praised cult classic deserve the praise it gets? Hmmmm… yeah I kind of think so…

Now some may say that I am a biased fanboy for this review. I understand after all I never did make it a secret that I am very much a fan of its genre namely 2-D fighting. But to be honest I've been not all that crazy about 2-D fighting games in Portable systems over the years. Not all of them went out badly but there has been more than one bad after-thoughts of ports such as Guilty Gear X for the GBA and for the most part the Mortal Kombat games in the handhelds as well. But this my fellow game players is a shining example of how to do a 2-D fighter on a handheld console RIGHT! Granted this may not be flawless but this is as close to a flawless 2D fighter you will probably ever going to get on a handheld consoler. For starters this gem of a genre game has tight control that utilizes the small amount of button on the NGPC masterfully. One of the problems that have plagued various 2-D fighters in the past in handhelds is on they generally utilize the buttons rather poorly. (Granted this is a first party game on a console made by a company that is highly known for Fighting games but still.) The way this game uses the NGPC's A and B buttons are an exceptionally nice balance of simplistic but yet never TOO simplistic. Its also one of the few fighters you'll ever play that barely has ANY control problems whatsoever at all. That only adds to the appeal especially on how many fans will most likely love this but its so nicely easy to get into for anyone else as well.

King of Fighters R-2 does indeed have some of the aspects that become routine but understandably so in its genre. I mean 1-on-1 fighting, boss character in the end of regular singe player mode, a special meter that lets you do devastating special attacks when full and more. (Though unlike most other games in the genre the “Super Special” moves are not hard to pull off at all really.) Not too mention certain aspects that are quite common in the series such as being able to play the game either by yourself or one at a time in a team of 3. (And while there are certain already planned out team listings you can make one of your own by either manually or do it randomly. And one nice extra feature regarding the latter is that you get a randomly different team after each completed battle in single-player mode.) Rugal is the main evil bad guy here and for those not already in the know he is kind of like the evil illegitimate lovechild of Donald Trump and Street Fighter's M. Bison. (But to be fair at least Rugal's hair actually looks like its real.) The Graphics alike other fighters on the NGPC are Chibi-like in structure and not bad at all. And the music while nothing absolutely special is pretty decent to listen to as well. One slightly interesting other detail is that not only can you do 2-player mode with connecting cables but also can unlock certain material via the KOF '98 games for the Dreamcast. (Though the unlockables are alright-at-best so your not missing out that much.)

And one of this game's most ABSOLUTELY fascinating & downright original aspect is its “Create-a-Fighter” aspect. Sure the very CONCEPT itself is not original in the 2-D fighting genre but in general it's basically single-player mode all over again only without the end boss character and you can make customize their sprite's color. But in here you try to make them as your own character as a secret agent out to defeat Rugal and various fighters and their clones. I mean yes your still playing as a certain already made character sprite and for the most part your still using their moves. (But you can equip them with weapons such as Handguns, yeah you read that right Handguns.) Tis' DEFINITELY something that SNK let alone others should've developed upon over time. I mean the ONLY game that does it remotely better is the recent 3-D fighter from EA namely “Def Jam II: Fight for NY”.

Overall if there was ever a reason why should anyone try to pick up a Neo Geo Pocket Color THIS is undeniably one of them. It is no where near as uncommon as most of the other games for the system. (And are usually in Bundle Paks sold with the system for a great price for 65$ at online shops like eStarLand and the like.) Its biggest flaw is pretty much the same as the very console its on. It would've been even better if only it wasn't so technologically limited in its internal structure…

+ Quite possibly the best game for its console and an overall just simply great game.
+ Currently has the best “Create-a-Fighter” mode in a 2-D fighter yet.
+ Uses its button layout quite well
+ Excellent Control
+ Very easy to get into
- Unlockable content is not that great
- Its limited by the NGPC's technological limitations
- It'll probably never get a great remake in the future as well…

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/14/05