Release Date: November 13, 2007
Rating: Teen - Alcohol Reference, Animated Blood, Mild Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, Violence
Available On: Sony Playstation 2
Genre: Fighting
Number of Players: 1-2 (local)
Strong Points: Incredibly deep and highly responsive fighting system; great and varied cast of characters; great visual direction
Weak Points: Tag mechanic isn't very exciting; graphics are rather low-res and aged; boss battles are overly challenging relative to other battles
Technical Score: B
Artistic Score: B+
Final Score (not an average): B+
Moral Warnings: Game revolves around all kinds of hand-to-hand (and occasionally weapon-based) combat (including some blood sprays); several female characters characters are immodestly dressed; one character seems to be a necromancer; story involves supernatural evils
For those of us who have been into gaming for a while, there is a certain genre that seems to be (at least until recent years) associated most commonly with a single title: Street Fighter II. Capcom has long held the spotlight, and reverence of fans, for creating some of the best fighting games ever made. Unfortunately, this has often left SNK's King of Fighters series as the sideshow in the mainstream. Make no mistake, Capcom has earned its reputation, but it is sad that King of Fighters has never really reached the same level of renown as its contemporary.
King of Fighters has been around since its first release in 1994 with the aptly titled King of Fighters '94. Since then, the game has seen a new release nearly every year (not all of which have made it Stateside), each with new improvements to the fighting system and new characters. By the time the series has gotten to its eleventh official iteration, the fighting system has become so refined that it outshines just about every other system on the market for those willing to learn its intricacies.
And those intricacies will have to be learned to succeed in KoFXI. Even as a fan of fighting games, the demands of the system seemed daunting even to me. This isn't a simple game of hitting punch and kick buttons; it's not even a game of hitting the punch and kick buttons at the right time. This is a game that will devastate players who don't take the time to read the manual and go through the game's mission mode (which practically doubles as training), with no apologies. Button combos, direction-pad inputs; the system runs even deeper than these. The game makes use of a variety of move "cancels" that allow for massive chains of powerful strikes and super moves to take place. Precise guards and counters quickly become key in the game's arcade mode. And this doesn't even speak for the level added complexity (and damage potential) of the tag-based mechanics.
See, the King of Fighters series has always revolved around three-person teams duking it out instead of the standard one-on-one matches of many other fighting games. In earlier versions of the game, fighters only switched once one got knocked out. In KoFXI, fighters can be tagged out at any time with the press of a button (well, two buttons together, strictly speaking). Tagging causes characters in the waiting to slowly regain a little bit of life. This brings an element of strategy into the game. However, there's even more to tagging. Tagging at the right time during an attacking combo allows the combo to continue even longer through the newly tagged-in character. Tagging at the right time during an opponent's assault results in a counter-attack, assuming that you have enough of your energy bar filled up.
And the energy bars are important. There are two bars, actually. One that is used for super moves, and one that is used for technical moves (like evasions and cancels). Knowing how to fill up these bars quickly, and how to use them efficiently, becomes important in no time.
The move catalog is expansive, to say the least. Each character has a fairly unique moveset (though some characters are similar to others), and each moveset has a lot of detail to it. Ranging from simple attacks, to throws, to combination attacks, to Super Specials, I can tell you that this game gave me more in the way of thumb callouses than any other game I've ever played. Special moves are activated most commonly with variants of quarter/half-circles and pressing the correct attack button. Still, to become efficient, you will need to spend a lot of time looking through a chosen character's moveset (which is easily accessed in the game's pause menu) and getting the correct patterns committed to memory. Also, due to the very precise nature of the game, you're not going to want to use any second-rate gamepads.
In case if I haven't made it clear already, the game can have a punishingly difficult learning curve. True, the game is extremely rewarding to those who take the time to learn, but it's easy to imagine everyone else walking away disappointed. As if the system itself were not difficult on its own, the few boss battles within the arcade mode are incredibly stacked against the player, and they practically demand that the player use one of the grace options (such as decreased opponent life) that become available after choosing to continue your game.
Visually, the game is a mixed bag. On the one hand, the 2D sprites are excellently animated, and I love the overall art direction. On the other hand, the 2D sprites look very low resolution. It's fairly easy to overlook this when remembering that the game isn't on the 360/PS3, especially when the pure charm of the characters is as great as it is. The variety in the characters (both technically and visually) is very impressive. Special effects are limited in scope, but are pleasantly varied and animated, keeping up the pace with the characters themselves.
The sound, like the visuals, is a mixed bag. The music just doesn't stand out. Few melodies, if any, managed to get stuck in my head, and that's not a good thing. The music is passable, but certainly isn't exceptional. Then again, and thankfully, the music doesn't drive the game. As far as the sound effects are concerned, they fare much better than the music. Though they don't exactly stand out, the sound effects satisfy the needs of the game.
KoFXI is a very minimalistic package beyond these things. Game modes are limited to arcade, tag, and single modes (both having versus support). Arcade and tag modes are practically identical, and make up the core experience. Single mode gives players the ability to choose a single fighter for a more traditional brawl. There's also a mission mode that doubles for training, requiring specific things to happen in battles. The options menu houses a surprising (though generally insignificant) ability to change the colors of any given character. There is also a variety of unlockable art. The story mode is short, but will take a while to beat due to its challenge. If you happen to have friends or family who enjoy fighting games, KoFXI could become a social addiction due to its competitive nature.
Morally, the game is pretty standard fare for a 2D fighter. Violence is fundamental. Kicks, punches, throws, and special moves, are all present to best an opponent. There are blood sprays associated with some attacks, but there are no brutal fatalities. Generally speaking, the source of power for super-moves are unknown. An exception is one character who seems to be a necromancer (one who employs the dead) and a boss character who also possesses strange power. One of the key story elements in Arcade mode involves stopping enemies from unleashing a great evil. Many female characters have visible cleavage and exposed midriffs. Though limited to a couple of characters, some have a little bit of bounce in the animation. So far as I can recall, alcohol consumption is limited to a fighter who uses a fighting style similar to drunken boxing. Though the ESRB warns of mild language, I don't recall any, so my best guess is that "da--" or "b------" may show up in a victory/defeat screen.
On the whole, King of Fighters XI is a great fighting game. It's very no-frills in its design, but that is easy to forgive when keeping in mind that fighting games revolve around the fighting engine, and that this fighting engine is one of the best. On top of that, the game released as a bargain title and is easy to find on the cheap today. As much as I love the game, it really isn't perfect. The audio and video departments are very much last-gen. It's a step up from the late 90's Street Fighter Alpha games, but it's not impressive in terms of production. Still, those looking for an extremely solid fighting game to add to their collection really need look no further. The game is thoroughly enjoyable and rewarding. It's not for everyone, but those of us who "get" hardcore fighting games would be wise to get this one.
-Kenny Yeager (kenny@revolve21.com)
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