Review: The King of Fighters XI (PS2)

Sometimes, it must be terrible being a video game developer. No, really. Knowing that the game you’ve slaved away on making for months or maybe years will potentially be savaged by critics or, even worse, simply ignored by the public must be a terrible burden. The latter, Gamestyle imagines, is the fate of The King of Fighters XI, given the series has never quite enjoyed the popularity of others in the genre and the declining interest in the beat 'em up realm as a whole. This would be a great shame indeed, given that this is one of the best 2D fighters that Gamestyle has played for some time.

However, when initially getting to grips with KoFXI this certainly isn’t the impression you’ll be presented with. As with other recent titles from this developer, notably NeoGeo Battle Coliseum, the presentation of this title feels horribly low rent. Clunky text, lurid colours and an awful soundtrack all try and dissuade you from playing the game before you’ve even started. In addition, KoFXI has also been landed with a shoddy 50hz conversion. Although the title supports both 50hz and 60hz modes, the 50hz is lumbered with some horrible black borders at the top and bottom of the screen. The limited voiceover can be unintentionally hilarious. Gamestyle was particularly tickled at being asked if we were “leady” before each battle.

It’s not as if KoFXI even makes a huge leap forward visually when you start playing the game proper. Some of the backgrounds to the fights really wouldn’t look out of place in the SNES version of Street Fighter 2. They’re lacking in detail, often feature drab colour palettes and the animations are crude. The fighters themselves don’t look much better, being distinctly low-res in appearance. That said, they’re well animated and memorably designed. But, while this lo-fi, almost deliberately retro appearance might be in-keeping with title’s roots and keep the game’s core audience happy, Gamestyle wonders whether a fresher look wouldn’t broaden the title’s appeal now that the “next generation” is a firm reality. Further limiting the likelihood of KoFXI appealing to a wide audience is the almost incomprehensible plot. Continuing the story started in the first KoF game in 1994, you’ll need to have played all the games since the series began to be able to follow it properly. Not that it’s necessary to though, as the plot bears little relation to the fighting and is little more than excuse with which to shoehorn incredibly cheap and difficult to beat bosses into the game.

But the important thing in any 2D fighter isn’t really the plot, the presentation or even the graphics. It’s how well the fighting works. After the sloppy start, Gamestyle is happy to report that the fighting mechanics of KoFXI exceed all expectations. The combat on offer here is the result of over a decade’s worth of improvement and refinement. And it shows. There are over 40 characters in total and each of them feels well balanced, with none of them enjoying an unfair advantage over the rest.

KoFXI revolves around 3 on 3 tag battles, a pared down version of which was seen in the developer’s other recent effort, NeoGeo Battle Coliseum. Fights are fast-paced and action heavy, with the characters perfectly weighted and you soon get a feel for each character’s abilities and moves. The special moves look special, just like they should and the completion of those that are difficult to perform is immensely satisfying. Everything is razor sharp and defeat will only be accompanied by the acknowledgment of the need to improve your own skills, rather than blaming the AI or the way the game is programmed. Apart from the grating, cheap bosses, the presence of whom; along with their overly powerfully, too frequently repeated special attacks; spoils the flow of the game.

Further enhancing the game’s mechanics is the introduction of the skill gauge. Running concurrently to the normal power gauge, the skill gauge is comprised of two blocks which constantly recharge when drained and which need to be full in order to execute special non-offensive moves. Most notably there are three new types of “shift” (that’s tag to you) whereby team members swap places. A well timed shift can be the key to winning or changing the tide of a battle as each has offensive connotations, despite not being an offensive move per se. For example, performing a saving shift allows you to change characters whilst being hit by your opponent, allowing you to dodge the full effects of a special move or a combo and the ability to retaliate whilst your enemy’s guard is down. A “judgment indicator” has also been added, which will hopefully prevent any fight from turning into a dull draw. Instead of measuring the amount of health left when time expires, the game determines who will win by measuring aggression, number of combos, special moves performed and so on, with the more offensively minded fighter likely to win the match. The judgment indicator is a visual measure of who is ahead and can turn the dying seconds of a fight into a tense and thrilling affair as both sides vie to swing the indicator in their favour.

There’s a decent selection of game modes on offer for a 2D fighter and a solid two player mode (but when does a 2D fighter ever get this wrong?), offering longevity above that which one might normally expect from a title in this genre. Of particular interest is the challenge mode. Instead of being asked to simply defeat all the opponents each level, the player is asked to complete a number of increasingly difficult challenges, such as performing a specific number of hits in a combo or a particularly difficult special move. Progress through the levels is rewarded with the unlocking of extra characters, so it’s well worth persevering with. Sadly, only the game’s Japanese audience have been deemed worthy of being allowed to play online, with the feature being removed from both the American and European releases.

KoFXI is a curious beast then. It does its best to dissuade you from playing, looking like it was put together on a budget of about 50p, yet offers one of the most superlative and complete 2D fighting experiences Gamestyle has had the pleasure of playing in recent years. With an RRP of just £15.00, KoFXI becomes an even more attractive package. So, think of the developers - don’t let KoFXI become one of the latter.

Rating: 8 / 10

Words by Andy Lucas