The King of Fighters franchise holds a special place in my heart. It truly does. I remember the hours spent playing King of Fighters Neowave online. I remember the joy I felt when King of Fighters XI hit my PS2 after a painfully long hiatus. Hell, I remember calling my brother into the room to look at how King of Fighters 1998 had just been released to the Xbox Live Arcade. So naturally, the wait for King of Fighters XII was excruciating. I was teased at E3 by the Ignition Entertainment booth, which had the game on display. I preordered the game on both consoles and I snatched it the day it was available (which, as we all know, was four days sooner than it should have been). I had an encyclopedic knowledge of the game months before it had even come out…and the slight (I emphasize slight) disappointment I’m feeling right now is something I honestly should’ve seen coming.
Let me just say the disappointment does not stem from gameplay deficiencies. The gameplay in King of Fighters XII is exceptionally tight. While I gushed over Blazblue: Calamity Trigger and its relatively complex combat system, I am certainly not averse to something simpler. Even though Blazblue leaned more in the direction of Guilty Gear, King of Fighters XII has more in common with Street Fighter II (which I also loved). The combat in KOFXII is significantly more straightforward than modern-day fighters, using SNK’s traditional four-button combat (two punch buttons, two kick buttons), while maintaining a short list of special gameplay features, relying on character testing and the three-on-three combat to maintain balance. Obviously, there is typical movement and standard 2D fighting game controls, but KOFXII does feature a couple unique additions to a classic formula. It takes classic KOF gameplay, which includes three-on-three combat, and a universal dodge technique (in this installment, a roll), adds in a new universal auto-guard attack, and brings back the special “launch” attack, that sends an enemy flying horizontally, by pressing the strong kick and strong punch buttons. The other notable addition is the critical counter, a new gameplay feature that initiates a brief, Street Fighter Alpha-like custom combo that can lead to serious damage. The game still offers the intensity of any other fighting game, but KOF remains that happy middle ground between Street Fighter 2 and Guilty Gear.
The disappointment stems from the complete lack of bells and whistles that can be found in any other fighting game. KOFXII has an arcade mode, a versus mode, online battling, and that’s it. No story mode, no survival, no crazy “do this insane combo that has no practical use” mode. It is just you, the characters, and that’s it. And it doesn’t end there. Even the arcade mode doesn’t feel complete, lacking a boss character, and featuring a genuinely humble six stages to choose from. Also worth noting is that the game has no taunts and there are no special introductions between characters. Many of the series’ main characters missed the boat to KOFXII, with the short list including Yuri Sakazaki, Mai Shiranui, King, K’, Chang Koehan, Shingo Yabuki, and Blue Mary. Even the characters that are in the game don’t feel complete. Kyo, for example, lacks his special punch combos, which he had just in KOFXI. Likewise, Ryo doesn’t have his flying karate chop or his wind-up punch, Terry doesn’t have his power dunk or Buster Wolf, and Kim doesn’t have his kick super and his sweep special. Every character lacks one or two of their moves from recent KOFs, pruning down a character’s options in a way that makes the game feel circa 1996. The excuse for this is that they are tapping back into the “original” versions of the characters, but if this was the case, I don’t think we’d be seeing a fireless Iori or all those characters who were introduced in the series’ most recent installments. Honestly, it feels more like laziness than regrettable nostalgia. This isn’t to say the game is bad because it doesn’t have enough moves. After all, Street Fighter II remains a great game, with each character limited to just three (or fewer) special moves. It is just another thing that the game seems to lack.
The online mode is a bit rough around the edges. At this point, in terms of lag, the game is not bad, but falls well short of being good. Depending on the connections of the players, a game can bring back memories of the early Xbox Live-compatible fighters. Or they can be SF2 HD Remix-caliber great. And everything in between. There are also a few issues with things like problematic lobbies, lag spikes when spectators enter, inability to quit at certain times and a couple pesky glitches. The sum is subpar, but not atrocious and remains playable. It is entirely possible the game will be patched into greatness, and a lot of the bad buzz surrounding the game is because of retailer mismanagement, rather than any sort of failure by SNK and Ignition. All we can do on that front, though, is wait and see.
The game’s graphics top the list of differences between KOFXII and its predecessors, for good reason. The sprites themselves, to the dismay of some people, still look like sprites, and tend to have some seriously pointy corners if you’re playing on an HDTV (which many of us are). Still, they are seriously well done, and the dismay generally comes from people who don’t know what they’re talking about. The animations and effects are top-flight as well. The problem with the graphics, though, is how much they still lack. There are no taunts in this game, and special pre-match character introductions also got cut. Even though the game looks jaw-droppingly good, there are several areas left lacking.
Should you buy this game? It’s a tough call. Like I said, the game is very fun and has online compatibility, which gives it clear, inherent value. However, there is no shortage of great online-capable fighting games at this point, many of which can be had cheaply. There is a definite lack of content, which leaves the game feeling like a $60 downloadable title. Still, this is King of Fighters, the fun incarnate. The way it works out, the game is a good pickup for fighting game fans. All the cosplayers and people who try to translate the Japanese tie-in mangas will be frustrated, but people who buy the game to grind out combos, study the gameplay mechanisms and become a tourney-level player will be the ones who get their money’s worth.
The King of Fighters franchise holds a special place in my heart. It truly does. I remember the hours spent playing King of Fighters Neowave online. I remember the joy I felt when King of Fighters XI hit my PS2 after a painfully long hiatus. Hell, I remember calling my brother into the room to look at how King of Fighters 1998 had just been released to the Xbox Live Arcade. So naturally, the wait for King of Fighters XII was excruciating. I was teased at E3 by the Ignition Entertainment booth, which had the game on display. I preordered the game on both consoles and I snatched it the day it was available (which, as we all know, was four days sooner than it should have been). I had an encyclopedic knowledge of the game months before it had even come out…and the slight (I emphasize slight) disappointment I’m feeling right now is something I honestly should’ve seen coming.
Let me just say the disappointment does not stem from gameplay deficiencies. The gameplay in King of Fighters XII is exceptionally tight. While I gushed over Blazblue: Calamity Trigger and its relatively complex combat system, I am certainly not averse to something simpler. Even though Blazblue leaned more in the direction of Guilty Gear, King of Fighters XII has more in common with Street Fighter II (which I also loved). The combat in KOFXII is significantly more straightforward than modern-day fighters, using SNK’s traditional four-button combat (two punch buttons, two kick buttons), while maintaining a short list of special gameplay features, relying on character testing and the three-on-three combat to maintain balance. Obviously, there is typical movement and standard 2D fighting game controls, but KOFXII does feature a couple unique additions to a classic formula. It takes classic KOF gameplay, which includes three-on-three combat, and a universal dodge technique (in this installment, a roll), adds in a new universal auto-guard attack, and brings back the special “launch” attack, that sends an enemy flying horizontally, by pressing the strong kick and strong punch buttons. The other notable addition is the critical counter, a new gameplay feature that initiates a brief, Street Fighter Alpha-like custom combo that can lead to serious damage. The game still offers the intensity of any other fighting game, but KOF remains that happy middle ground between Street Fighter 2 and Guilty Gear.
The disappointment stems from the complete lack of bells and whistles that can be found in any other fighting game. KOFXII has an arcade mode, a versus mode, online battling, and that’s it. No story mode, no survival, no crazy “do this insane combo that has no practical use” mode. It is just you, the characters, and that’s it. And it doesn’t end there. Even the arcade mode doesn’t feel complete, lacking a boss character, and featuring a genuinely humble six stages to choose from. Also worth noting is that the game has no taunts and there are no special introductions between characters. Many of the series’ main characters missed the boat to KOFXII, with the short list including Yuri Sakazaki, Mai Shiranui, King, K’, Chang Koehan, Shingo Yabuki, and Blue Mary. Even the characters that are in the game don’t feel complete. Kyo, for example, lacks his special punch combos, which he had just in KOFXI. Likewise, Ryo doesn’t have his flying karate chop or his wind-up punch, Terry doesn’t have his power dunk or Buster Wolf, and Kim doesn’t have his kick super and his sweep special. Every character lacks one or two of their moves from recent KOFs, pruning down a character’s options in a way that makes the game feel circa 1996. The excuse for this is that they are tapping back into the “original” versions of the characters, but if this was the case, I don’t think we’d be seeing a fireless Iori or all those characters who were introduced in the series’ most recent installments. Honestly, it feels more like laziness than regrettable nostalgia. This isn’t to say the game is bad because it doesn’t have enough moves. After all, Street Fighter II remains a great game, with each character limited to just three (or fewer) special moves. It is just another thing that the game seems to lack.
The online mode is a bit rough around the edges. At this point, in terms of lag, the game is not bad, but falls well short of being good. Depending on the connections of the players, a game can bring back memories of the early Xbox Live-compatible fighters. Or they can be SF2 HD Remix-caliber great. And everything in between. There are also a few issues with things like problematic lobbies, lag spikes when spectators enter, inability to quit at certain times and a couple pesky glitches. The sum is subpar, but not atrocious and remains playable. It is entirely possible the game will be patched into greatness, and a lot of the bad buzz surrounding the game is because of retailer mismanagement, rather than any sort of failure by SNK and Ignition. All we can do on that front, though, is wait and see.
The game’s graphics top the list of differences between KOFXII and its predecessors, for good reason. The sprites themselves, to the dismay of some people, still look like sprites, and tend to have some seriously pointy corners if you’re playing on an HDTV (which many of us are). Still, they are seriously well done, and the dismay generally comes from people who don’t know what they’re talking about. The animations and effects are top-flight as well. The problem with the graphics, though, is how much they still lack. There are no taunts in this game, and special pre-match character introductions also got cut. Even though the game looks jaw-droppingly good, there are several areas left lacking.
Should you buy this game? It’s a tough call. Like I said, the game is very fun and has online compatibility, which gives it clear, inherent value. However, there is no shortage of great online-capable fighting games at this point, many of which can be had cheaply. There is a definite lack of content, which leaves the game feeling like a $60 downloadable title. Still, this is King of Fighters, the fun incarnate. The way it works out, the game is a good pickup for fighting game fans. All the cosplayers and people who try to translate the Japanese tie-in mangas will be frustrated, but people who buy the game to grind out combos, study the gameplay mechanisms and become a tourney-level player will be the ones who get their money’s worth.