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Return of the King

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 9 / 9
Date: November 16, 2007
Author: Amazon User

SNK's long running King of Fighters series makes a return to it's 2-D roots with King of Fighters XI, and be glad that it has. 3 on 3 tag team fighting is the name of the game here, as KOF XI is nearly arcade perfect in it's conversion to the PS2, so don't let the budget price fool you when questioning the quality of the game. The fighting system is surprisingly deep and varied, and the large roster of fighters from other SNK titles like Fatal Fury and Art of Fighting is nicely selected as well. The graphics are fluidly animated for the most part despite some moments of choppiness, and controls are pretty tight for the most part as well, even though tagging in isn't always as easy as it sounds. There are also a nice selection of bonuses to unlock, including extra characters, character endings, and artwork as well, which up's the overall replayability, and as mentioned before, the budget price doesn't hurt one bit either. If you're not into old school 2-D fighting though, KOF XI won't win you over. All in all, if you're a fan of the King of Fighters series or old school 2-D fighting in general, King of Fighters XI is definitely worth picking up, and the fact that it won't hurt your wallet only makes the deal all the sweeter.

Beautiful in some aspects flawed in others

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: April 12, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I finally decided to review King of Fighters XI. You could say I'm reviewing it again because my lost draft got eaten by the digital lurker beast never to be recovered again. Anyway let me start by saying this game has a lot of quantity. There are many galleries to unlock, modes to play, and hidden characters to find. Likely of any 2D KOF so far this one is the most generous with the sheer amount of content. However though this insane amount depth warms you up to the game at first you begin realizing more does not always equate to better.

I love SNK and as much as I love KOF things do not look as good now as they did a few years ago. When KOF first came out it only had Street Fighter as competition. However with games like Guilty Gear XX and Arcana Heart revitalizing the genre KOF once again has stiff competition. The aforementioned properties have introduced prettier sprites and new fighting game physics that are unique, fun, and far more balanced. (Though definitely not as fast. KOF has always been about the speed beatings.)

However not all is stuck in the dark ages . KOF XI does have new perks like the ability to assign a leader for your team that allows him or her to do a boosted desperation attack AND as expected you can switch characters in and out of the match as you string together devastating combos as tag teaming chaos ensues. There are also more ways at defense ,charging, and evasion through dream cancels and skill stocks.

The big thing going for KOF is it is the only 2D "team fighter" with a very intricate cohesive story-line. However villains such as Rugal Bernstein, NESTS, and Orochi have come and gone as have their intricate well laid schemes for world domination. KOF is not so friendly to fans who know nothing about the previous games. In this arch of the story a weird guy by the name of Ash Crimson with green flame energy is seeking the sacred treasures. He already got the orochi seal by back stabbing and murdering the last tournament's enigmatic female boss and now he is seeking the yata mirror held by a half Sephiroth half Marilyn Manson knock off named Magaki. What does that mean to you? A lot of confusion if this is your first KOF. SNK tries netting money off the whole "continuing series" ploy. Sadly it attempts to force you to play the other games or be left in the dark. However not all is lost. There is always Wikipedia. See it as the cheaper alternative to know KOF without having to have every game in the franchise on your
shelf.

As expected KOF is like a world spanning house party of the awesome and the weird. SNK always tried having at least one character that catered to each person playing their games thus you have a mixture of manly bristle-chinned karate masters, metro-sexual sharply dressed men, cutesy school girls, a goddess reborn pop singer, a bundle of super spies, a flock of leather clad clones, a sexy boxer girl, a merry band of hardened mercenaries, ninjas galore, angsty cursed immortals, part cyborgs, a beautiful yet tormented Wu-Shu mistress, a promiscuous hot pirate fem fatale, and a pro-wrestler bird guy. It's easier to put it in terms like that instead of listing every fighter because by the time you unlock every character you have close to 50. (The actual number of characters is 44 I believe.)

Of the characters the new comers are a hoot. You have Oswald, an English gentleman who uses razor sharp playing cards as his weapon of choice as he styles and profiles with crimson shades. There is the attractive black haired Elisabeth who is a woman of nobility and enigmatic origins that uses a riding crop as a negotiation device. Lastly there is Momoko, an adorable capoeria master who likes to butt bounce foes into oblivion as she shows off her cute blinking eyes and belly button piercing. It's odd Arcana Heart stirred up so much controversy. KOF XI is ten times more odd and has ten times the questionable content. I'd say if you are bored by the general audience fluff common in Arcana Heart you should consider this game a purchase. There are definitely more adult themes here symbolizing everything from alternative life styles to risqué fashion.

In the end KOF XI is a great 2d fighter. It is not the best looking 2D fighter but it is the fastest, most brutal, and most combo-centric brawler of the bunch. While I have to somewhat frown on it for corner trapping exploitation, a few unbalanced characters, certain glitches, and a cheap as hell Boss these are things fans of the franchise expect. However a little evolution would be nice and it looks like KOF XII is keeping that in mind based on the trailers I have seen!

Break down

Pros

-Many characters.

-A good story line

-New fighters

-Introduction of dream cancels and assigning team leaders

-A lot of fan content to unlock

-Endings are worth seeing.

Cons

-Unforgiving to those who are not caught up on their KOF lore

- Dated sprites

- After you unlock everything you feel bored and overwhelmed simply because it takes true commitment and multiple play through to get everything. See it as over-dosing on KOF crank. There is too much of even a good thing.

- Cheap boss (Yes Magaki is cheaper then Mildred Avalon and M Bison. However he's not as bad as I-No at her worst.)

- A few unbalanced characters (So unbalanced in fact some are not allowed to be selected in legitimate KOF XI tournaments.)

-Some heroes and villains may seem "fruity" to more abrasive traditionally conservative players.

You might also like: SF Alpha Anthology, Arcana Heart, Guilty Gear Accent Core, Melty Blood Act Cadenza, Street Fighters anniversary (which incudes 3rd Strike), Garou Mark of the wolves, Neo Geo Battle coliseum, Dark Stalkers Vampire Savior, Samurai showdown series

KOF in perfection

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: December 10, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This is the best KOF in years, KOF 2003 was definitely a step in the right direction, now KOF XI while utilizing the Atomiswave hardware can make the old sprites look better, and basically make KOF play better than ever before. This game isn't for beginners, let the beginners play Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 (Which still is a fun game, but you basically press 2 buttons to do a Super Combo; not too much skill or effort needed). The fighting system is very advanced and should make 2D fighters live longer.

Also, there is tons to do in this game, probably the deepest KOF out there, with challenges, galleries and such, to extend the replay value. I wish they would have left the online component in the US release.

Overall, awesome 10/10

Not bashing MVC2 which I Give a 10/10

The King of Kings

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: December 13, 2007
Author: Amazon User

King of Fighters XI is a great installment in the long running KOF series.

Whereas previously the King of Fighters series were released yearly, with the year released being in the game's title. However, SNK-PLaymore made the decision to break from that habit to have more liberty with what they can do with the franchise. As such, a much more detailed, in depth, and rewarding King of Fighters game was born.

This game adds a lot of new gameplay features, such as the judgment gauge, where during a battle that ends in Time Over, the winner is judged based on performance rather than by who has the most health. The game also has a great challenge mode that unlocks characters and galleries.

New additions to the roster are the overly impressive Oswald, who fights with playing cards (not like Gambit. Whereas Gambit in the Marvel/Capcom games was a projectile fighter, Oswald is a combo king with only one projectile attack which most people don't use). Momoko joins Athena's team as their resident Capoiera master. Elisabeth is a french femme fatale who has a past with anti-Hero Ash Crimson. And many more.

The game is the best installment of the franchise, with crisp 2D graphics, a revamped fighting engine, and as usual, many great characters.

The game is good, there's only one problem...

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 1 / 6
Date: December 25, 2007
Author: Amazon User

The game is good, the fighting style has never been better. The problem is I have no one to fight but me myself and I or if I go stalk a King of Fighter's enthusiast since there are so many fighters out now days, its difficult without online play to find people good in your fighting game of choice and playing the computer gets borring real fast- but you already knew that. Don't buy fighting games unless you got a bunch of buddies playing the same one or its online- that's why I'm having a blast playing online foes in Mortal Kombat DS even though technically, this game is way superior.

there's still room for improvement..............

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 38
Date: December 14, 2007
Author: Amazon User

True this game is fun, but is not a 5 star game. the reasons are:

1.graphics= why do the backgrounds look better than the fighters??? i spent most of the time staring at the backgrounds rather than the fighters, when it should be the opposite. a little more animation please!!! ( ala mvc2 )..;)

2. too many female fighters: from women with wips, to wearing skirts, looking like they got out of the beauty parlor, its not the way a fighter should look......

3. overall, the fighters look like supermodels: the only thing kof needs is a catwalk....the way they strike a pose, dress, and fight, its all just too fruit, not too manly....( just compare ryu and akuma to these panses)...

i would pick the streetfighter/x-men/darkstalker franchise anyday over kof......

but then again, if youre looking for lame combos, bad tag teaming, and fruits, then this is your game...its not that bad anyway...;)

KOF's master piece

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: November 26, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I have always loved kof games and this one is no exenption the grapix better than ever new caracters witch i love same great conbos and new leader moves lova them too if you are a fan of 2d games you should get this game fast and start traning cus you will find people like me hard to beat in any 2d games out there and i just master this one so buy it and train i hve will you.

The King Of Fighters XI: Over View

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: December 18, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Another great 2D chapter from SnkPlaymore.
Simply one of great top notch game to play if your a fan of old school 2D
action fighting.
The background stages is marvelous this time around in terms of graphics. The tag team system is awsome in battles,switching between characters at your pace for tag play is the best formula SnkPlaymore has created for team matches.
With characters from recent instalments like "Mark of The Wolves", this
game will give you an excelent roaster to choose from as well as unlockable hidden characters.
All in all, a sure fire hit blckbuster to your Snk library games.Awsome.

The Best KOF in Years

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: December 23, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Street Fighter was no longer the undisputed king of the hill when SNK married Fatal Fury and Art of Fighting (a great idea) into KOF. KOF really hit it's stride in '94-'95 and those editions are still highly regarded as some of the best for 2D fighting. I've always liked this series, and have followed and played it steadily ever since. The last KOF games I played were the 2002/2003 editions and they just didn't feel right. The gameplay felt stiff, a little slow and as if KOF was starting to really show it's age. And basically, the only way fighting fans have been able to overlook SNK's sprite based graphics is the killer gameplay, and after just receiving KOF XI, I have to say that KOF is back and better than ever.

The gameplay is fast and smooth. The controls are accurate and the combos are fairly easy to pull off because of it. The backgrounds are very nicely drawn and look better than they have in years. But again, we still have the sprite based characters. Now I like SNK's art style but it really is time for an upgrade for the characters. They look almost out of place in front of the smooth backgrounds, especially when they're standing still. Fortunately, when you get playing, you don't notice it alot and they seem to look alot better when they're moving. The soundtrack sounds great. As if they're using real instruments. The stages are varied and interesting to look at, with nice music pieces to accomodate them.

Also on the plus side, there is a nice option to help the screen size and graphics clarity in the options menu. SNK also included this option in their recently released NeoGeo Coliseum (which I also like alot). This is a nice feature, especially for those of us who are playing on lcd tv's. As those of us know by now that PS2 games can look like crapola on them. But I found this feature to help with that some. Another bonus is that Duck King has returned and he's never been so much fun to use, and Mai Shiranui IS in this game. When I started playing, I saw that she wasn't in the character selection and I was thinking, what the hell? How can you have a KOF game without Mai? But on the back of the box, she is listed along with Tung Fu Rue and EX Kyo Kusanagi. They unlock but I'm not sure how yet, which brings me to some negatives.

The boss Magaki is really cheap and will really test your patience. He just stands back most of the time and throws all kids of projectiles at you, then unloads with a super long special. It's hard to get in close to even get a hit on him. I also don't like the fact that when you lose, you go to the name input screen, then the countdown continue screen, then back to the character selection screen, just to keep going and pick up where you left off. That's pretty annoying. I also have to add the lack of a graphical upgrade for the characters as a negative. C'mon SNK, it's time already, Guilty Gear and Street Fighter have shown you the way. OH, and I should also mention that Andy Bogard, Joe Higashi, the little Freddy Kruger dude and the big guy with the ball and chain (I don't know those 2 guys names obviously)are missing from this edition.

Overall though, the gameplay is very satisfying and SNK has injected new life into the series with KOF XI. The single player is ok, but everyone knows that fighting games shine in 2 player and this ones no different. If your new to the series, this is a great place to start. For those of you already fans, you'll really enjoy this one as the game seems to feel almost fresh again.

Old School Fun

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: December 25, 2007
Author: Amazon User

The game, in short is excellent, and it achieves what it set out to do. Plenty of characters, and intricate fighting system, and all of the different modes to play keep it fresh. Honestly, it would've been nice for some of the sprites to be done over, but i guess KOF XII will take care of that. Not for the fighting game newcomer, but still highly recommended.

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