.(@ 12 ),(@ 4 MHz)Sound(@ 8 MHz)Display, 304 × 224 pixels (Horizontal), 4096The King of Fighters '99: Millennium Battle ( KOF '99) is a 1999 developed and published by for the and home consoles in 1999. It is the sixth installment in series, introducing a new known as the 'NESTS Chronicles' which is centered around a young man named, who is formerly associated with a mysterious yet threatening organization known only as. The game introduces several changes to the established KOF format, most notably an assisting character labeled 'Striker'. The game was ported to the and the. And versions were also released under the title The King of Fighters: Evolution whose stages were remodeled into.SNK had originally planned to remove and, who had previously appeared in earlier installments of the series, from The King of Fighters '99, but they ended up as instead.
The King of Fighters 2003 STORY: KOF 2003 begins a new story arc following the conclusion of the NESTS arc in KOF 2001. This story arc centers around a new lead character named Ash Crimson. Unlike the previous protagonists of the series, Kyo Kusanagi and K', Ash is a villainous character with a self-serving agenda, seeking to steal the powers of the Three Divine Vessels.
The popularity of Kyo's previous incarnations resulted in him being given 'clones' that wear his original clothes and perform his moves. SNK had difficulty balancing the age of the characters and teams. The and Dreamcast versions are both included in compilation released for the in Japan as well as other ports.Critical response to The King of Fighters '99 has generally been positive because of its fighting system and its use of Strikers. The Dreamcast porting of the game has had a more favorable reception than the PlayStation version thanks to its loading times and graphics.
The porting has garnered a similar response, with reviewers finding it modern and praising its gameplay. While the game has sold well, overall sales have been less than those of the series' previous game because of poor sales of the console versions.
Gameplay screenshot showcasing and calling their respective Striker to attack. The bottom bars indicate how many Strikers the player can use.Instead of the three-character teams from earlier ( KOF) games, each team now has four members. Before a match, the player chooses three of the characters to use in the fights. The fourth member becomes the Striker the player summons during battle to help their character by performing one of their Special Moves against the opponent. A Striker can be summoned only a limited number of times during a single match. This is determined by the number of 'Strike Bombs' at the bottom of the screen.The selectable fighting styles, Advanced and Extra, from have been removed. Instead, the game has a single playing style modeled after the Advanced mode from the previous game, where the player fills their power gauge by attacking the opponent or performing special moves.
This time, there are two powered-up states the player can choose during battle depending on the button combination used. Counter Mode increases the player's offensive strength and allows them unlimited use of their character's Super Special Move. There is also a combo that transitions from a Special Move into a Super Special Move by using a 'Super Cancellation Attack' or a 'Moving Attack'.
The other powered-up mode is Armor Mode, which increases the character's defensive strength, allowing them to take more damage from the opponent; however, the player cannot use Super Special Moves in Armor Mode.Depending on the player's performance, a score is given when the fight is finished. Should a high score be reached, the mode will offer the player an extra fight following the final.The Dreamcast version had different stages and a few new selectable Striker characters. The new Strikers had consisted of Kyo Kusanagi (in a different outfit), (in her school outfit),.
As well, the game can be connected to the game. Points won in Battle de Paradise can be transferred to The King of Fighters '99: Evolution to speed up the leveling process for the Extra Strikers. Plot and characters. Main article:Two years have passed since the last King of Fighters tournament. Nobody has seen Kyo Kusanagi or Iori Yagami since they defeated the evil being at the climax of the.
Invitations are sent to many characters inviting them to a new tournament, which this time around is more of a secretive affair and away from the public eye than the ones in both and '97, with each team now having an additional member. However, the tournament's host remains unknown.The increased number of characters per team, and the story element of the missing Kyo and Iori, lead to a reshuffling of the character roster. Is introduced as the game's new protagonist with his partner, who joins forces with Kyo's former teammates and to form the new Hero Team. Rejoins the Art of Fighting Team as its fourth member. Finally becomes an official member of the Fatal Fury Team for the first time in the series.
Joins forces with (formerly a member of the '97 Special Team') to form the new Women Fighters Team with (last seen in KOF '96) and (from ). The three returning teams also gain a new member: for the Ikari Warriors Team, for the Psycho Soldier Team, and for the Korea Justice Team. The game also introduces two clones of Kyo Kusanagi, Kyo-1 and Kyo-2, as Team Edit characters based on previous playable incarnations of the character. The real Kyo also returns with his rival, Iori, but they are only.The game's antagonist is, an agent from the mysterious organization who uses the data he obtained from his enemies to activate an army of Kyo clones that NESTS themselves had created after the fight against Orochi.
He is faced in two states: first he appears with a special coat that analyzes an opponent's data. Once he's defeated, he burns away his coat and increases his strength while having stronger moves. After Krizalid's defeat, his superior kills him via falling debris while other members of NESTS attack K' and Maxima, who are revealed to be former NESTS agents and that the duo succeed in defeating their enemies before making their escape from the collapsing location of their battle against Krizalid. It's also revealed that K' is a test subject designed to replicate Kyo's techniques.
Development With the introduction of a new lead character, K', SNK had originally planned to remove main characters Kyo Kusanagi and Iori Yagami, who had previously appeared in earlier installments of the series, from The King of Fighters '99. Instead, they ended up as unlockable hidden characters after fans responded negatively to their removal at. Kyo was redesigned for this game, but the developers still liked his. As a result, based on the practice of adding earlier versions of various characters to games, the staff created the Kyo clones that featured him with classic movesets: Kyo-1 uses Kyo's movesets from the first two games, while Kyo-2 uses his movesets from KOF '96 and KOF '97.
To contrast with the previous series' protagonist, Kyo, K' was designed to be the 'dark hero'. The staff wanted to create a Robo Army Team. This idea was abandoned, but they later created a tribute to it in by introducing, a character from, as a Striker for Maxima. The character Whip was originally meant to appear in KOF '96, but due to 's introduction in that game, the staff decided to wait until KOF '99.Like the earlier games the artwork was done. The large number of young characters appearing in the game represented a problem for the developers; as a result, the staff introduced older characters such as Seth and Vanessa (who appeared only in the version as Strikers and would not officially debut until the following game) to balance the game. Bao was added to reduce the average age of the Psycho Soldiers Team from 42 to 34. The boss character, Krizalid, was designed 'with a straight, stylish appearance and earnest strength'; however, the designer in charge mentioned he 'overdid it'.
Due to the large number of unused accumulated on the version, some of Krizalid's graphics were removed. With the release of the Dreamcast porting, the staff could add Krizalid's graphics because of the 's capacity. Vanessa was meant to be a playable character, but due to time constraints, she was only a Striker in the Dreamcast porting. Release KOF '99 was originally released for the on July 22, 1999. A porting to the Neo Geo and consoles was released on September 23, 1999, and December 2, 1999, respectively. The porting was published on March 23, 2000, in Japan, and on April 22, 2001, in North America.
In Japan, it was later republished for the PlayStation SNK Best Collection on March 29, 2001, and once again on July 25, 2002. The North American port was the subject of censorship and blood was omitted. Whip's firearm is edited out of the game's American arcade release, but is uncensored in home release versions. After being released on between 2012 and 2013, the game was released as a part of the range on the on May 25, 2017, adding an online mode.The game was remade for the Dreamcast as The King of Fighters '99: Evolution. It was published in Japan on March 30, 2000, and reprinted on October 25, 2001, with the 'SNK Best' logo. In North America, published it on May 10, 2001. In this port, players can change the audio to listen to arranged tracks of the soundtrack.
The game was released during the PlayStation 2's launch and the Dreamcast's ending, and it did not achieve very good sales. On its release week, the Dreamcast porting sold 41,387 units, later reaching 67,833 in Japan in 2000. The PlayStation port sold 96,484. Two CD soundtracks and a drama CD were also released.The Neo Geo and Dreamcast versions are included in the compilation released for the in Japan. The game was also made available for the but only in Japan. Reception and legacy ReceptionReview scoresPublicationScore6.1/10 (PS)6.6 (DC)8.5/10 (DC)7/10 (Switch)GameSpew8/10 (Switch)Bonus Stage9/10 (Switch)Uvejuegos80/100 (DC)Gaming AgeB+ (PS)Video Games80% (Neo Geo)The King of Fighters '99 was very popular after its release.
In 's article 'The History of SNK', KOF '99: Evolution was described as one of the best fighting games on the Dreamcast with. Various video game publications have commented on the game.
While the fighting system has been well-received, critics have expressed mixed feelings about the Striker system.A Gaming Age writer viewed the sequel's changes as a step in the right direction despite finding assisting characters useless. He said that SNK had created proper balances such as making Kyo Kusanagi less overpowered than in previous games. The inclusion of K', the new lead, has been well-received because of his distinct fighting style. 's Anthony Chau commented that although 'people are probably tired of fighting games, saying that they all play the same', he found KOF '99: Evolution to be very distinct. He found the new gameplay very entertaining despite knowing that some ' KOF purists hate the Striker system'. A GameSpot reviewer described the Striker system as 'clearly derived from the tag system from 's '. They complained there were popular characters who only appeared as Strikers, and wished they were fully playable.
Criticized the game because the Strikers' new gameplay 'simply does not fit in the King of Fighters series' and 'is more of a novelty than a game mode'.There were mixed responses to the ported versions. German magazine Video Games praised the Neo Geo porting, giving it a score of 80%. There have also been multiple comparisons between the Dreamcast porting and the PlayStation porting, with the Dreamcast version being regarded as better. The use of backgrounds in all versions has been praised. A GamePro writer felt that the Neo Geo's quality was not handled well by the PlayStation, resulting in issues with the graphics and long loading times. Nevertheless, he found the additional material to be pleasing for series' fans.
Andrew Seyoon Park of GameSpot found the PlayStation porting very good considering the console's limitations. Despite this, he complained about the and the voices, and found the reduced number of characters from KOF '98 disappointing. He felt that the boss Krizalid is very hard to beat. HardcoreGaming noted that while the Dreamcast port of the game was superior based on its graphics and loading times, the PlayStation version was still worth playing. Both Uvejuegos stated that while the game did not have a major update of its characters, except Kyo Kusanagi's redesign, it still managed to maintain its quality due to its fighting system.
The new lead, K', and the final boss, Krizalid, were described as entertaining. Gaming Age felt the graphic update was more noticeable than the Uvejuegos did but was critical of Krizalid.
Gaming Age found him so difficult to defeat they characterized the previous bosses— and Orochi—as easy by comparison. GameSpot agreed, feeling that the boss fight removed the entertainment value from the game due to its difficult challenge.Greg Orlando reviewed the Dreamcast version of the game for, rating it two stars out of five, and stated that 'This King of Fighters should consider abdicating the throne.' The game's Nintendo Switch porting received positive responses with critics saying its gameplay and graphics were ahead of their time. Praised the varied cast and the new gameplay mechanics but did not find it as appealing as its predecessor. GameSpew felt the porting's mechanics, and multiple options prevented the game from being dated. The combat was described as fast enough to appeal to gamers.
Bonus Stage found the graphics appealing and praised SNK's focus on giving the game a storyline, despite it being an arcade fighting game. In retrospect, said that while players were bothered by Kyo and Iori's exclusion from teams, and by the Striker system, K's inclusion was one of SNK's best decisions due to his fighting style.The series' writer, Akihiko Ureshino, wrote a novelization of the game titled Beyond the 'K'.
It was released in November 1999. SNK also released a sequel titled a year after KOF '99 's release for multiple consoles. In the game, Kyo's character theme, 'Tears', was used for the game to work as a. Retrieved 2020-03-17. ザ・キング・オブ・ファイターズ'99 Evolution. ^. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
Neo Geo Kult. Retrieved October 16, 2018. Lupton, Jonny (March 5, 2018). Retrieved November 3, 2018. (in Japanese).
From the original on August 8, 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2018. ^ SNK (July 22, 1999). The King of Fighters '99. Krizalid: I used KOF, you fools! A ploy, to lure you in /./ Krizalid: Activate our clones.
In one unified attack! / Benimaru: Why, it's? / Shingo: Kyo Kusanagi!!! / Krizalid: Actually, he's a clone.
Taken after the Orochi Battle. The real one eluded us. ^. King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website. From the original on May 2, 2009. Retrieved June 13, 2009.
SNK (July 22, 1999). The King of Fighters '99. SNK.???: Meet you clone, Kusanagi. Unfortunately, he wasn't told.
That's man-made life, huh K'? The choice is yours./ K': Shut up! I'll do as I please./???: Very well, we'll meet again. If you manage to survive.
You too, Kyo Kusanagi./ Kyo: I'll ruin you!/???: Yeah, right. Do as you like. That is, die trying. SNK (July 22, 1999). The King of Fighters '99. SNK.???: Krizalid's death confirmed.
Kusanagi, escaped. Do we pursue? /???: Unnecessary. K' has his data. Then begin Phase 2. ^. King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website.
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King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website. From the original on May 4, 2009. Retrieved June 6, 2009. ^ Kalata, Kurt (August 17, 2017). Retrieved October 31, 2018.
King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website. From the original on April 10, 2008. Retrieved March 3, 2008. ^.
King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website. From the original on March 29, 2009. Retrieved June 6, 2009. King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website.
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at. at. at.
The King of Fighters 2003 | |
---|---|
ComicsOne edition of The King of Fighters 2003 featuring K' (left), Whip (middle) and Maxima (right) | |
Genre | |
Author | Wing Yan |
Illustrator | King Tung |
Publisher | SNK |
English publisher | |
Volumes | 13 (original) 5 (English release) |
The King of Fighters 2003 is a manhua by Wing Yan and King Tung. It is based on SNK's video game with the same title. Originally divided in two versions in China, ComicsOne published the two series combined in North America. The plot of the series follows a new fighting tournament whose sponsors appear to be related with the legendary creature known as Yamata no Orochi and multiple combatants are summoned to investigate it. The comics generally focus of the reluctant hero K' and the mysterious newcomer Ash Crimson.
Critical reception to the manhua has been mixed. While the art and translation were praised for the way fight scenes are drawn, the lack of backstories for most characters were criticized as casual readers would not understand who are them. Nevertheless, the final issues were well received for the way the plot was handled.
Plot[edit]
The plot begins with a fight between K', a teenager with pyrokinectic abilities facing a clone from the fighters Kyo Kusanagi. Following K'' victory, a woman named Chizuru Kagura revives the clone and renames him 'Kusanagi'. Shortly afterwards, Kagura is attacked by an unknown opponent and a new fighting tournament known as 'The King of Fighters' is announced. A young man named Ash Crimson also capable of producing flame starts forming his own team with Shen Woo and Duo Lon, but forms multiple enemies in the process with another clone of Kyo attacking him in one moment. However, Ash defeats him. The original Kyo Kusanagi is summoned by Chizuru alongside his rival Iori Yagami for a mission: Chizuru senses the power of the legendary creature Yamata no Orochi stronger and requests their aid to oversee the tournament behind the shadows to learn if the sponsor is related to Orochi. While Kyo and Iori accept the mission, K' and his friends Maxima and Whip are requested by the elder Chin Gentsai to participate in the tournament for a similar mission with K' undergoing new training in the process.
As the tournament starts, Ash's and K''s teams become one of the leading competitors. The final is a fight between Ash's team and K''s. While Ash take the upperhand, K' wins the final battle due to a time limit. Shortly afterwards, K' is kidnapped by the sponsors Adelheid and Rose Bernstein. K' faces Adelheid but the two are separated in the area's destruction. Kyo and Iori are then betrayed by Chizuru who attacks them alongside her twin sister Maki Kagura. As Kyo and Iori defeat the Kagura sisters, it is revealed Maki is an undead fighter revived unintentionally Chizuru's power, the Yata Mirror. Chizuru had been brainwashed by Botan, a woman from an organization known as 'Those From the Past'. Kyo and Iori are then attacked by Botan's superior, Mukai, who also kills Kusanagi while the clone attempts to save Chizuru. K' faces Mukai and uses the power of Orochi to defeat him alongside Ash's help. Following Mukai's escape, Ash attacks Chizuru, and steals the Yata Mirror, promising Iori to be his next victim. A frustrated K' reunites with his friends as he remains taunted by Mukai.
Publication[edit]
In China the series was divided into two halves: The King of Fighters 2003 composed of five issues, and The King of Fighters 03: Xenon Zero (拳皇 XENON ZERO) composed of eight issues. The two series were combined for the North American release under the name of The King of Fighters 2003.[1] In July 2004, ComicsOne licensed the series with its first volume tying the release of a new video game and kept publishing it after their transition to DrMaster.[2][3] They were published in five issues of 128 pages from May 25, 2005 to June 26, 2008.[4][5]
- Volume 1: May 25, 2005[4]
- Volume 2: September 25, 2005[6]
- Volume 3: January 25, 2006[7]
- Volume 4: March 28, 2008[8]
- Volume 5: June 26, 2008[5]
Reception[edit]
The comic has received positive mixed critical responses. Atomicavanue enjoyed the way fights were displayed as due to how faithful they are to their video game incarnation citing Kyo Kusanagi's moves as an example.[9] Karl Lam from Comic Book Bin agreed, feeling the artwork was good in general and the translation from Chinese to English was well executed. Since the reviewed first issue was mostly centered around the characters' introduction, Lam noticed there was not many interactions. However, he gave the comic an overall score of 9 out of 10.[10] In a more critical review, IGN was bothered by the new main character, Ash Crimson, feeling he was not as appealing other characters based on his characterization and also found it issues in the lack of backstories of the cast. Nevertheless, IGN felt the comic might be suitable for The King of Fighters and agreed the fight scenes were also enjoyable.[11]
A similar response in regards to the storyline was given by Genji Press' Serdar Yegulalp in regards to whether fans of the franchise might enjoy the comic more than casual readers. While praising the fight scenes, Yegulalp felt Ash would not come as very likable and that the relationships between characters like K' and Maxima were left in mystery to casuals.[12] In contrast to the negative review from the initial review, IGN found the fourth issue of the story more enjoyable based on the characters' fight scenes, as well as the fact that the story's tournament is not the end of the story because of the sponsor hiding something which might surprise the readers. IGN also enjoyed how the characters were given their unique traits such as Ash's 'jerkass' attittude or K''s heroic personality. In general, IGN found the manwhua more enjoyable than the adaptation of the game SVC Chaos: SNK vs. Capcom.[13] In a review of the final volume, Ben Leary from Mania Entertainment said that while the battle sequences were appealing, some of them did not have a satisfying conclusion or were not elaborated well such as the final fight between K' and Mukai due to how the former is found in a conflict related to Japanese mythology while some scenes felt repetitive. Giving the final issue a C+, Leary that while the comic tried giving coherency to the plot, it failed to do it.[14]
References[edit]
- ^'このページの商品は全て です。'. Hong Kong Manga. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
- ^'THE KING OF FIGHTERS COMES TO COMICS'. ICv2. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
- ^'San Jose, CA – July 28, 2004'. Comics One. Archived from the original on February 4, 2005. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
- ^ ab'The King of Fighters 2003 volume 1'. Dr. Master Books. Archived from the original on September 18, 2010. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
- ^ ab'The King of Fighters 2003 volume 5'. Dr. Master Books. Archived from the original on September 18, 2010. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
- ^'The King of Fighters 2003 volume 2'. Dr. Master Books. Archived from the original on September 18, 2010. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
- ^'The King of Fighters 2003 volume 3'. Dr. Master Books. Archived from the original on September 18, 2010. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
- ^'The King of Fighters 2003 volume 4'. Dr. Master Books. Archived from the original on August 15, 2010. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
- ^'The King of Fighters 2003'. AtomicVanue. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
- ^'The King of Fighters 2003'. Comic Book Bin. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
- ^Thomas, Lucas M. (March 8, 2008). 'The King of Fighters 2003 Vol. 1 Review'. IGN. Retrieved July 29, 2008.
- ^'External Book Reviews: The King of Fighters 2003: The Comic, Volume 1'. Genji Press. April 4, 2007. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
- ^Sparrow, A.E. (May 27, 2008). 'King of Fighters 2003: Volume 4 Review'. IGN. Archived from the original on October 3, 2015. Retrieved August 23, 2008.
- ^Leary, Ben (October 15, 2008). 'King of Fighters 2003 Vol. #05'. Mania. Demand Media. Archived from the original on October 18, 2012. Retrieved November 12, 2010.
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