/vr/ - Retro Games

The Orochi Saga
King of Fighters 94: Humble beginnings. Introduced identifiable characters we know and love, but the limited gameplay, lack of customizable teams and dull soundtrack kill any replay value. At best, it's an artifact for curious players.

King of Fighters 95: A marked improvement on its predecessor. Kyo's rival Iori was introduced as well as some other characters from SNK fighting games. Soundtrack is far superior with several memorable songs, including the fearsome Desert Requiem. A good fighter, but you will be left yearning for more. In spite of the customizable teams, gameplay still leaves a little to be desired.

King of Fighters 96: Oh, boy. A missed opportunity. Introduced even more cool characters, including Leona, Vice and Mature. The improved gameplay, slick sprites and rockin' soundtrack almost outdoes the predecessor. Unfortunately, the multiplayer wasn't improved, and the distinct lack of extras was sorely disappointing.

King of Fighters 97: The end of the Orochi saga. The New Face/Orochi Team is introduced, including the suave bruiser Yashiro and sexy Shermie. Despite the greatly limited soundtrack, the few tracks are quite rockin'. A step up from 96 and on par with 95.

King of Fighters 98: Everyone's favorite. An all-star cast including every playable character from 94-97. The remade American Sports Team fits into the game neatly. The soundtrack compiles the best songs from 94-98, including a remade Esaka. Customizable gameplay, a plus.

The NESTS Saga
King of Fighters 99: A favorite in part due to nostalgia and the soundtrack, which outshines the others. Slick and stylish graphics and cool character introductions, including, combo king K' and ultra chic final boss Krizalid.

King of Fighters 00: Enter Vanessa, sexiest boxer ever. 99 without the cool soundtrack, but that's hardly an issue.

King of Fighters 01: What a mess! Aside from the inexcusably lame new characters, the gameplay is generic and the soundtrack is shit. Wasted opportunity and a disappointing end to the NESTS saga.

King of Fighters 02: KOF98, NESTS style! No complaints here, although the soundtrack does leave a little to be desired. A pleasant surprise considering the shit predecessor.

>>2332889
>99 better than anything
You just went full retard.

>>2332941
What's wrong with it, mi amigo? The substance is still very KOF. The gameplay still retains the fundamentals.

2002 > all

>>2333113
It's okay. Just not the best

Personally I thought 2002 was way better than '98 even without beard fu.13 is probably the best mechanically, and I really admire all the dialogue they put in (take a hint, capcom).

Robert Garcia, gato, Hwa jai and Kim Kaphwan are some of my best.
Outlaw team is usually my favorite character wise.
Vice best girl.

>>2332989
A ton of infinites, strikers being more or less useless, everyone gimped compared to '98. No KoF games are competitively viable except XIII and the UM series, but '99 is probably the least viable of all.

>>2332891
>>2332894
These assessments make it unbearably clear that you just knock around the CPU while drooling over the sprites and their OMG DEEP backstories. You are quite likely a JRPG player. At most, you've played against a few of your friends, tried out GGPO, gotten your ass kicked, and run back to the CPU.

>>2333679
you probably right about this dude but
>You are quite likely a JRPG player.
JRPGS are actually cool, bitch?

Always been a big fan of how characters in kof change over time but still "feel like the same character." The way vice plays in 13 with her ex decide having juggle anywhere feels pretty different from her 2002 or 98 incarnation but she's still the same sexy snake lady with mixups and more command grabs than you can shake a stick at.

pic not related

Blue Mary is best

SNK for tits
Capcom for ass

>>2332989
'99 is the year that almost everyone got depowered, so they feel like they suck ass compared to '98. They added some new characters, some of whom are cool but except for K' don't get good till later years. Whip and Maxima especially. On top of that it's terribly balanced and the strikers break it even further.

XII and XIII are the only ones I hate more than '99 but that's more a personal thing against the atrocious art style change.

>>2333768
>JRPGS are actually cool, bitch?
Nothing against the genre, but there are a few too many JRPG players who try out fighting games because, hey, they're also Japanese, develop no skills at all, and then maybe drool over Third Strike and some posters of Ken. They're a pox on the community, and this guy screams of being one of them.

Anyway.
'98 is the best for competitive purposes, aside from the absurd dominance of Iori. The sheer power of a good Iori is annoying, but a big part of learning your characters in that game is learning how they can beat Iori at this point, so it's sorta balanced out. Plus, there are now far more horrible Ioris out there than good ones.
2002 is the best if you're really into crazy combos. The balance is terrible, it looks and sounds incredibly ugly, and it's a game where infinites are actually used in high level matches, but it has a lot going for it when you consider the sheer amount of options you have with any given character at any given time. Of course, few of those options and characters are actually viable, but that's just how it goes. 2002 UM is far, far better and maybe better than '98, but it's not retro.
'95 is the best if you're tripping on nostalgia. Not much going for it compared to later games. Still, the aesthetics are super arcade-kitschy, and it might just be the most 90's fighter ever. Also, everyone has a 60+% damage combo, and even the worst character in the game (probably either Billy or Saisyu) can do ridiculously broken things.
2000 is the best if you're Korean. The striker system is interesting as hell if you ignore the fact that only Joe and alt Iori are viable strikers. Still, good use of strikers can totally change the playstyle, making it far more cat-and-mouse like and heavily increasing the prominence of frametraps.

KOF's so great.
Here's my favorites list:
98 > 2002 > 2000 >= 97 > 95 >= 96 >> 99 > 94 > 2001 > 2003
some of that list might be weird, because I have no idea where to place 96 and 94
I actually do like to play 2001 sometimes, but it's dumb as fuck.
2003 is literally unfinished.

There's almost no reason to play the non-UM versions of 98/2002 these days though. They're so much better on a fundamental level, it's depressing. 2002 in particular, there's so much bullshit in that game, even at lower level play.

when I was young, 96 was my favorite for some reason
it's not actually a great game at all (also, why is Leona allowed to be so stupid, fucking wow), but it holds a special place in my heart

>>2333540
I enjoy 2002 more than 98 (mostly for the characters -- I like playing as K' and Kula), but when it comes down to it, 98 is the better game, and I think everyone has better movesets in 98.

>>2335132
I don't really like how '98 UM tries to turn '98 into 2002, the lower damage and MAX Canceling in particular. A big part of '98's appeal is the high damage and simple, succinct combos. Adding MAX Canceling and lowering the damage makes matches go on for a bit too long, and makes vortexes even more powerful than they were in OG 98 -- cue an exponential increase in Brian, Heavy D and Mary players. Also, while OG '98 ran the risk of turning into Try to Beat Iori: The Game, UM outright was Try to Beat Krauser: The Game. UMFE fixed that a bit, but it buffed everyone else so much that Krauser is now useless and UMFE is Try to Beat Geese: The Game. '98 vs. UM vs. UMFE is a legitimate discussion with no easy answer.
2002 UM is just outright, unambiguously better, though. It's probably the best in the series, but not retro.
And I really, really like '95 for some reason. I'd rank it fourth after 98, 2002 and 2000. There's something perversely amazing about a game where everybody has a 60+% stun combo.

>>2333658
'98, '97 and 2002 and XI are competitive dude, you are talking straight out of your ass.

>>2334060
Her Real Bout Fatal Fury 2 moveset is ballin, wish she was like that in the other games. That game itself is fantastic as well.

>>2335829
98 UM and UMFE have RBFF2 Mary. I find RBFF2 Yamazaki really fun myself.

>Orochi Shermie (for music and hard reads)
>Krauser (for cheap fun)
>Mr. Big (for fiber)

How'd I do

>>2335096
Never cared for RPGs at all, especially turn-based combat (Pokemon is exempt for nostalgia).

I was one of three kids to own an NGPC, which forged my undying infatuation with the KOF series, eclipsing even my love for Street Fighter. An arcade I'd hit up had KOF99 on the NeoGeo cabinet, so I'd spend gobs of tokens playing through it several times over.

Never had the chance to GGPO, and none of the people in my immediate circle know shit about KOF. If I ever find the time, I might try my hand at it.

>>2335915
People use Fightcade instead of GGPO these days.

>>2335978
For a complete ignoramus, how the hell do those things work anyway?

>>2335998
Fightcade is an emulator that allows you to play/spectate classic fighting games over the internet. You make an account, download the free client, then "acquire" the roms for whatever games you want to play. The benefit of using fightcade rather than say steam, is that the fightcade uses rollback based netcode and has a chatroom client integrated into it.

>dat King
mmph!

Wish they'd bring back Heavy D!. He was a cool character.

>>2336584
>That Athena
every teim

>>2335998
Fightcade is quite literally a modified FBA. You make an account, use the client to make matches, use the emulator same way you would use FBA, and get your ass kicked by Brazillian and Korean gods.

Saisyu Kusanagi needs more love and more appearances. He sucks in '95, but he's one of my favorite characters to use in '98. Standing C is such a great normal.

>>2336879
Indeed.
I mean look at this guy,and his similar,yet ACTUALLY different moves and gameplay in comparison to his kid.
It's shit like this that makes me love SNK so much,if he was made by Capcom,he'd likely be a Kyo headswap that played the same but with an extra move.

>>2336935
I just enjoy his high damage output and strong meaty and overhead games. cl. C has an amazing hitbox and a ton of options off of it, f + A and f + B are both excellent command normals that nobody sees coming, and while qcb + B/D is really punishable, it's great to use against turtles. All Saisyu really needs is some way to make qcb + A/C useful and he's golden. Makes one wonder why he's only in two entries, three if you count goddamn NeoWave.

>>2335096
>They're a pox on the community, and this guy screams of being one of them.
Nope. The pox on the community is the HARDCORE (allegedly) PROFESSIONAL TOURNAMENT PLAYERS who alienate normal gamers.

>>2336952
He's also in KOF R-2, if you count that. It's just a chibi version of KOF 98, but still fun.

>>2337008
The HARDCORE PROFESSIONAL TOURNAMENT PLAYERS barely even exist, and the community is more welcoming now than ever. "Normal gamers" getting alienated is pretty similar to skinny-ass nerds freaking out near people with decent bodies. They're doing jack shit -- you're just intimidated.

>>2337008
Outside of Marvel and Smash, tournament players are a relatively friendly bunch as far as I can tell though. Generally with skill comes fun, and playing to win isn't "alienating normal players" assuming that's what you meant by that (correct me if I'm wrong). The only exception imo is where the game is junk and playing to win = playing lame.

Not everyone likes competition and there's absolutely nothing wrong that, but Arcade Mode with multiple difficulty settings and so on is there for those people to play instead of vs mode.

How much harder is the king of fighters than street fighter?

>>2337123
About the same, in some senses it's easier. On the one hand, there's only 4 buttons as opposed to 6 and grapples only need a half circle input rather than a full 360. On the other hand, Supermoves tend to be harder in puts and some specials need another input for full damage.

>>2337123
Easier. You generally have far more safe options. This, however, has the side-effect of making getting in for a combo and mixing up substantially harder. I'd still consider it easier overall due to short hop and guard cancel.

>>2337154
>>2337157
Thanks. Where should I start with the series? What do most people play?

>>2337173
98 or 2002
98 is infinitely better in my honest opinion.

>>2337173
If you're going to get the Steam version, go for 2002 UM.

The 98 UM Steam version is a shit port. Find a PS2 copy if you can.

>>2337350
Not that anon,but the 2k2 UM steam is good then?
If so,that''s really good to hear,I recently got 98um on steam and was heavily disappointed

>>2337350
>>2337361
What's wrong with the steam version of 98UMFE?

>>2337369
No arranged soundtrack

>>2337068
>Don't hate me because I'm beautiful! ;)
christ

>>2337448
Is that the only thing wrong with it?

>>2337448
Who gives a fuck about that? '98's soundtrack was already awesome.

>>2337761
The net code sucks ass, that's the real problem with it. PS2 version won't help with that though and you have to play fighting with a PS d-pad with is thumb torture. (to me anyways, some people are apparently fine with it though I can't understand how)

>>2337780
I play more offline with mates anyway so that's not too bad, sucks that SNK are struggling to get good online netcode for any of their games though

>>2337792
It's weirdly ironic, aside from XIII which sucks anyways, all the official releases of KoF have terrible net code.

However, GGPO does a very good job so anyone who plays them competitively online just emulates

>>2337780
Finally, someone else that hates the dual shock dpad too. Who the hell makes a dpad recess between pieces of hard plastic? ONLY SONY

>>2337854
It's the worst d-pad in all of gaming. Especially for anything frantic like fighters, trying to do qcf-hcb motions is torture on that fucking thing.

>>2337819
XIII has a terrible netcode too.

I tried all of them, but pretty much you only end up playing the one you like the most, and that's 2002 for me. XIII is incredibly good too
The characters I use for my team are Angel, Yamazaki and Atena


>Sexiest characters not including Angel
dun goofed, negro

>all this hate on dual shock d-pads, the bests of all controllers
>when you are supposed to use the joystick for fighting games anyway
oh god, I bet you fuckers put the milk before the cereal

>>2338096
>Analog stick
>fighters

Be real, dual shock's Dpad is lame as fuck. Inputs are way easier with most Dpads.

>>2337350
98UM PS2 or 98UM 360 don't have the 98UMFE changes.
which are actually important and bring the damage level a bit closer to original 98 compared to 98UM

>>2337780
depends on which one
PS1 dualshock is pretty responsive. It hurts your thumb though. You get used to it.
PS2 dualshock is hilariously bad, I don't know anyone who can consistently do inputs on it.
PS3 dualshock is okay, but still a bit unresponsive.

>>2336592
I fucking wish. The 94 US sports team needs to return.

>>2336584
ATHENA'S FACE

What's the best gear for KoF? I use the LS-40 for the older games. It's the same one used in the Neo Geo cabinet, and it just feels like a better LS-32 to me. I think Korean parts are good for the later series, with all the crazy canceling. I know that most people use the JLF, but I don't find it very good for faster games, with its slow recenter and long throw.

>>2336584
I love Terry's look there. Everyone else is all suited up and he's just in jeans and converse. So emblematic of his character.

>>2338261
And Ralf is still wearing a bandana.
I honestly can't tell if Shinkiro made this is so silly on purppose,but it's hilarious.
And I love it.

>>2337013
the NGPC was really full of cool fighting games
I kind of wonder what the balance is like on them, heh.

also, I want to know if there's any NGPC emulator that supports link play (kind of like how no$gba does, where it emulates multiple systems on a machine and you can map controls for each)
would be nice to play Gals Fighters against an actual person, for example, without needing to get 2 NGPCs, a cable, and two copies of the game

>>2338653
it seems deliberately silly
like, at first glance, it seems like a fairly serious "fancy party" pic, and then you look more and more at it and you see all the characters personality showing through

It's such a great picture.

>>2338653
That's Billy, isn't it?
KoF's art is so great.

>>2337350
>>2337361
>>2337369
>>2337780

KOF98UMFE had really bad netcode on launch, but it's since been patched to be about as good as the others; which is passable. If you can tolerate KOFXIII's netcode, you can probably make due with KOF98UMFE's.

I can't seem to get all of Iori's rekkas out in '98. I know that the motion is simple and I can do Kyo's fine, but the timing seems so strict. Is there a trick or something that I just don't know?

>>2338835
XIII and the UM games lag out for me while I can play on FC with no lag. I'll stick to vanilla for now.

98 is just so good. It's one of my favorite fighting games along with Garou and LB2. I just love the SNK games, they got taste

Teams?

>'95
Eiji
Kyo
Kensou

>'98
EX Kyo
Kensou
Saisyu

>2000
Kasumi
Vanessa
Robert
Joe (Striker)

I haven't ever seriously played 2002 and beyond. A few casual matches with friends, sure, but I don't know the ins and outs of the later series nearly as well, so my teams don't really stay constant. I do like Kusanagi in 2002/UM, though.

>>2337173

XIII also works well - at a competitive level the hyper drive combos become more important, but if you're experimenting, the general principles still apply, and it has a lot of leads on story stuff if that interests you.

>>2339586
I disagree. Everyone's movesets are a lot less representative of the characters as a whole than they are in 2002 or 98.
I'm a big fan of the Vanilla 98 to 2002 UM approach.

>>2339595

Less representative, when Ralf and Clark's moves are as different as they've ever were.

Same for Ryo and Robert, where the former leans more toward the KoF versions of the moves and the latter to the AoF versions.

Ash's moveset pretty much reflects his attitude and story: http://art-eater.com/2011/12/king-of-characters/

>>2339710
I'm talking about how they play for the majority of the franchise, not some weeaboo "deep anime character" shit. If you want to oggle anime art, then it really doesn't matter where you start with the series. I'm trying to give a good entry point to playing against human beings, and you're spouting nonsense about "moves reflecting characters," as if the moves didn't actually define the characters. Jesus. Play some games instead of using them as vehicles for weeaboodom.

My joystick is broken,and it's fucking impossible to do half circle motions on the keyboard on 98UM Steam.
Anybody knows if the steam version of 2002UM is any better?

I know fighting games aren't supposed to be played on keyboard,but I can get by it perfectly fine on MAME,and even the original 98 port that's icluded with 98um.

>>2337084
>playing to win isn't "alienating normal players"

Last time I played to win with friends, they dropped their controllers and told me to pick another game.

>>2337173
98 on Fight Cade.

>>2340406
Show me someone who likes to lose and I'll show you a loser.
That's why I think it's best to learn alongside a group of people. You constantly get better to one-up each other, but you remain around the same level.

>>2340573
Only way to play, hard to do that now tho.

>>2340573
>Show me someone who likes to lose and I'll show you a loser.
I'd rather lose a good match than win a bad won.

>>2340573
It's a good way to have fun, and if you have a dedicated group you can stick with then it's a great time. Fighters are the most fun when you're up against opponents of a similar skill level. But if you actually want improve your skills, it's not going to help much. In those situations you really just get better at fighting other middling players.

The best and fastest way to get better overall is to fight significantly more skilled opponents until you begin to pick up on how they're playing and learn to adapt to it. It sounds rough but it's really not. If you accept that you're probably going to get bodied but are playing to learn as opposed to playing to try and win and stroke your ego you will learn much faster.

The problem with that is finding players to fight against. Most decent players have little interest in wasting their time fighting bad players. Fighting games are most fun when you're up against people of a similar skill level.

How 'bout some favorite KOF songs? Some of the most underrated soundtracks I've laid ears on.

Favorite team theme(s)?

Favorite Kyo theme(s)?

Favorite Iori theme(s)?

Best boss theme(s)?

My all-time favorite team themes belong to the Ikari Warriors. W.W.III and Desert Requiem particularly stand out from the rest, but Rumblin' on the City kicks just as much ass:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSWFp2kEcEM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PddekUUb00g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKigbfYXQ4w

The later Korea Team themes ain't half bad, either:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNK9MA7NUiM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuMspVWT9Eo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71liEZ351k4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYK0Bw21OTQ

Kyo's two best themes are a toss up between "Esaka?" and "Tears":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifG376LtUiM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x61w5mSqlic

Not much of a jazz guy, but Iori's "Arashi no Saxophone" '95 and "Sadistic Eyes" are worthy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nk2mBSt7NsA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXPcDwqTtlM

Goenitz is a cheap bastard, but hot damn if "Trash Head" isn't a worthy epic for a final battle:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MkPA1lRWyg

Omega Rugal's "Showdown R&D" '98 rules. It certainly kicks the shit out of the piss-poor '94 version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVtsAFOm_1w

"HAL, Guitar and Melody" from '95 is cool, too:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzNVjKPVU4M

"Dear Falling Angel" suits the final battle with Krizalid well:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVyj3xDWMXA

With the sole exception of Shuddering Gong, everything by Athena or any of the other Psycho Soldiers is tripe.

Which one, /vr/? "Bloody" '97 or "Bloody" 2002?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrjondjCLEc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDBuFmfFkZg

>>2341037
>Not much of a jazz guy, but
I feel really bad for you if that's your definition of Jazz. Seriously.
It's all the same genre, VGM.

I like the Esakas.

>>2341046
I like Bohren und Der Club of Gore, but that's a whole 'nother kind of jazz.

>>2341037
Holy fuck, I just butchered that song title for Omega Rugal. It's "Guitar, Omega and Rugal".

>>2338234
>The 94 US sports team needs to return
They'd be a hell of a lot more fascinating than the uninspired anime rejects SNK introduces every now and then (K9999?).

>>2342428
>tfw Sinclair will never be in KoF

When indian girls are cute, they're cute.

>>2342516
We can always hope. They brought back Hwa Jai, for fuck's sake.

Faves
-Terry
-Billy
-US Team
-Robert
-Ikari Team
-Blue Mary
-Vanessa
-Seth
-Joe
-Duck King
-Takuma
-Rugal
-Krauser
-Kim
-K'
-Maxima

Something about SNK's style. Capcom's crew are well know but, SNK has some stylish people. Example, Vanessa. Sure she's sexy but she looks like a pro and can fuck you up.

Shermie > alle

>>2342971
Shermie's sexy as fug, but her fans are pretentious as fuck.

>>2340573
Losing to someone who plays something all the time, is serious about it, and you don't even understand the game at all, you can't even do moves right, all you wanted to do is have some quick fun and waste some time with your friend... It's pretty discouraging and not fun at all. I can understand my friend's point of view.

>>2340924
>Fighters are the most fun when you're up against opponents of a similar skill level.

That's the problem. Most people I know and on the Internet are either much worse than me or much better than me.

I put up with losing all the time, trying my best to learn, change my game and win. But then the other guy rage quits on me. Let that sink in. The winner rage quits. How am I supposed to improve if I'm so bad nobody will play me? This is even worse because the games I like are mostly dead, like Last Blade 2.

I can't find anyone with a similar skill level anywhere.

>>2338096
I play on my keyboard.

>>2343021
my advice for really any fighting game that isn't street fighter 4 is to network the fuck out of the game. Find players that you enjoy playing against online, then hit them up to play longer sets whenever you see them.

If you get absolutely bodied by a player in netplay, send the guy a message and say that your a new player asking for help. They might be able to highlight your weaknesses or even point you towards other players at your skill level. If you genuinely want to improve as a player, I have found that people will bend over backwards to help you out. Kof community is pretty chill.

>Vice and Mature
Boneriffic/10

>>2343080
meanwhile at snk
>these new characters are really popular
>OH I KNOW LET'S KILL THEM OFF

>>2343085
At least they returned as apparitions in KOFXIII. One of the few redesigns I approved of.

do you think chapter ash saga was suck?

>>2343503
Yes. I hate Ashe. And though XI was decent, it was the start of the serie's downhill slide.

>>2343090
I don't know how you can think that looks good. I'll grant you it's not as hideous as Yuri or Athena (still drives me mad you have to buy DLC just to get a traditional color scheme for her). But holy shit does that eyepatch look retarded on Mature, and her expression makes it look like she just shat herself.

>>2343080
Muh dick.

vice is the only character in a game to give me a Boner as I play her

>>2343650
This website is for people 18 years and older. If you're above 13 and getting boners from her sprite I feel pretty bad for you.

>>2343534
It's simple yet stylish. The eyepatch is a bit superfluous, but on the other hand, the flair reminisces of Elle Driver.

>>2343659
Hey, I was pubing out when I discovered Saigado's work. Many a good fap was had.

>>2343686
It's simple and stylish because it's close to her original design which also hit those notes but better. The eyepatch looks retarded and the drawing is bad.

98 UM is my favorite by a mile. Usual team is Krauser, Eiji, and Kasumi.

Any love for the NGPC titles?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d32QfNM8-dE

>>2343689
Ohh for sure, his original art is still hot. I wish they'd kept him on. But the sprite? ehhh...

>>2342953

Hwa Jai's sprites being 90% Joe helped.

With that sword, at most Sinclair could make it to a future NeoGeo Battle Coliseum with the Samurai Shodown and Last Blade characters.

>>2343503

At most it was incomplete, since they never got to make Adel playable.

It was a pretty nice setup, introducing a new protagonist they knew would mess with players, then giving story fans reasons to actually hate his guts, building up the situation further in XI, and then the big payoff at the end.

It was also pretty neat the the poem in the true ending was something Ash actually quoted in his background story for 2003: http://kofaniv.snkplaymore.co.jp/english/history/kof2003_story/index.php - they really planned ahead, and took 7 years to finish.

With the whole time shenanigans, they can pretty much explain away stuff like characters not aging, SS and LB characters appearing in the background, K9999 no longer existing and being replaced with Nameless.

Can't help but respect the work put into it.

>>2343534

What do you mean DLC? You can unlock all colors just by playing the game.
The only DLC that must actually bought for consoles consists of male characters...

>>2343807
Amazing how early editions of "The Yuri & Friends" imitated Shinkiro's style to a T. Not to say Cammy, Juli and Juni didn't get my ball butter flowing, but Saigado's renditions of the KOF cast were somethin' else.

>>2343839
I still have all those on my hard drive. So many good times were had.

>>2343834
My bad, I was remembering a little wrong. I actually despise playing fighting games single player, I only play online or versus friends. So when I first got the game it really irritated me how ugly all the default colours for Athena were. I didn't want to slog through the single player a bunch just to get them so I shelled out to unlock them and it always left a sour impression on me.

As was though, I ended up barely playing it because I hated the art style so much even with the other colour schemes and something about the gameplay felt off as well. I spent maybe a week with it and never went back. The older ones are plenty good for me.

>>2336584
Noticed Choi and his claws.

>>2335096
>there are a few too many JRPG players who try out fighting games because, hey, they're also Japanese, develop no skills at all, and then maybe drool over Third Strike and some posters of Ken. They're a pox on the community, and this guy screams of being one of them.

a. That's all hearsay
b. There's no one "correct" way to enjoy any type of game and thus no one "correct" type of "community" member
c. I'd say elitist assholes like yourself who have to invent an imaginary sect of the community you subscribe to in order to feel like you are superior to someone are the real poxes.

>>2337068
>They're doing jack shit
Except when they're trash talking like >>2335096

>>2343829
>With the whole time shenanigans, they can pretty much explain away stuff like characters not aging, SS and LB characters appearing in the background, K9999 no longer existing and being replaced with Nameless.
I didn't look at it that way.

I hope for the next game they fix the timeline and merge it with the original FF/AOF timeline.
I like that timeline much better,but I doubt we'll see new games on that,so a merge with kof would be the way to go,I guess.

>>2344023

The Maximum Impact games exist as a compromise - they're in their own continuity and focus more on their original characters, but I figure they were still worthwhile experiments.

I don't blame SNKP for focusing on KoF, but I hope eventually they'll financially reach a good enough place to refocus back on a Garou sequel or other South Town game(s).

Still, some characters have pretty much continued their stories in KoF, like the Sakazakis and King, who by now have more story there than in AoF.

For versus fighting I like 2002 the most. I used to play 98 years ago but I got so sick of facing Iori that I want to vomit every time I see his rekka combo. I feel people choose more varied characters in 2002. In single player I like '96, great music and stages featuring one of my favorites: the boss team.

May Lee is best girl

>>2344236
kamen rider wannabe

>>2344859
>not wanting to be rider

get a load of this pussy

>>2343503
Orochi = Freiza
NESTS = Cell
Ash = Boo
MI = GT

They should have finished it at Orochi Saga, but the entire series have became too important for SNK to let go. Then, they noticed a little bit of plot holes in the past settings, and made a new bit out of it which was the NESTS saga. Afterwards, they scourged what they thought worked from NESTS saga and make a similar villain, but it just didn't end up that great. Then the original staff and creators pretty much left the series, and new staff tried to get something which resulted in Maximum Impact, and it's ended up being pretty damn horrible. So yeah, absolutely, I hate the Ash Saga which overlaps into Maximum Impact as well.

>>2338178
No and no
Dual shock of the ps3 is considered to have the best d-pad an thus be the best controller for retro games. Even with that, fighting games are supposed to be controlled with a movable joystick like in the arcades.
>inputs are easier with d-pad
>BUAA! trying to do motions is a torture on that thing >>2337923
>meanwhile, never had problem doing motions with the joystick

>>2343023
that's great for you

>>2345207
Everyone says sticks are the way to go, but I think I've just built up way too much muscle memory on pads over the years since there weren't big arcades near me we always just played on consoles.

I bought a pretty high end stick when SFIV came out to get used to but after 6 months or so switched back to a pad because I just like the feel better and I can play about as well on both.

All that said, my point was that being a fighting games player who prefers pads, I think the ones on the PS controllers are horrible. Doing fast motions really is terrible on the thumbs. I do know people who love them though, so whatever.

My favorite pad of all time was actually the Dreamcast one. It's small but accurate and qcf-hcb type motions are easy and fast to pull out. I actually had a modified 360 controller for a while where I replaced it's weirdo d-pad with a DC one and it worked pretty well. These days I use a hori gem pad which I love.

>>2344073
I really, really want a new Last Blade.

TFW American team Kof'94 is the lamest fighting team of all time.

>>2345369
fair enough with the d-pad, I've just realized that I actually do not use the d-pad of my ps3 controller at all and all my emulated games are controlled with the joystick

on another note, I really want a new Last Blade as well

>>2345397
Pfft no way. Heavy D is plain awesome, Lucky has the balls to go up against Orochi powered super villains with just his basket balls and Brian is... well... he's big!

The lamest team of all time is any team that Lin is on. Even when he's on Benni's team, Lin is to atomically lame that he can even make them uncool.

>>2345397
*the strongest and best

>>2345409
And they were dropped in most KOF games afterwards because.......

>>2345406
Did you play a lot in arcades growing up? It's weird, I realize I've never really liked sticks for everything. Our first "controller" was a little PC joystick thing similar to pic relared and it worked and everything, but the first time I held an NES pad it was like everything changed. THEN I held a Master System pad!

>>2345426
They were too Americanized and out-of-place in a tournament of martial artists, wrestlers and assassins. The only professional athletes that would make sense in that setting would be boxers, which is why Heavy D! merits a return. If fucking Hwa Jai could get in, why not Mr. D!?

>>2345207
Yeah, it's great. It's like a hitbox. The hitbox was there for us all along.

>>2345409
>Bulge

>>2345439
Nope, Inever played arcades and I grew up with nes. But afterwards it was the n64 and the ps1 with a dualshock controller with joysticks, most likely then was when I developed preference for joysticks

>>2345536
Interesting! I'm glad there are controls we all love to use.

>>2342964
SNK > Capcom for one reason above all: SNK didn't reuse sprites completely unchanged to nearly the same extent.

>>2345542

well honestly anyone who's not a rere will tell you outright to use what you're comfortable with

>>2345397
TFW 2 out of 3 from American team are literally niggaz, and third one looks like a dumb jock.

>>2345936
this

>>2345936

still a good deal less offensive than most of SF's brothers

>>2345953
Let's not forget MK's shameless orientalism.

>>2346000

Eh Im to busy being distracted by the lame ass special forces shit.

>>2344859

Considering the original concept was supposed to be "Korean Athena", I rather welcome the tokusatsu stuff she brings to the table: http://kofaniv.snkplaymore.co.jp/english/character/index.php?num=maylee

>>2344942

NESTS was the bigger mess - introducing high-end tech in the setting just makes the fighting irrelevant, because anything from handguns to satellite lasers becomes a bigger track.

I personally prefer the FF/AoF setting, but using teams of characters means the power and scope of the threats at hand must also escalate, but NESTS just went too far and too weird.

Ash's arc was controversial, but refocused on the strengths of the Orochi arc, playing to theme of ancient threats and the legacies left to deal with them.

And MI is in a continuity of its own, although Ash is in KOF MIRA.

>>2345397

Heavy D! is great.

I like how they keep teaming him up with Todoh and Duck King in the backgrounds - I hope they become an actual playable team one day.

>>2345936

Lucky was going to be more of a Kareem Abdul-Jabbar reference, but they adjusted his design since he felt too plain then.
He changed a bit between 94 and 98, so maybe if he returns he'll look closer to the original concept.

>>2346125
forgot to add my source: http://kofaniv.snkplaymore.co.jp/english/character/index.php?num=lucky

>>2346110

well in all frankness, whenever clones get involved things get a bit hairy, quality wise. Though for what it's worth I think K' team is a good addition to the roster.

Though I forget, is Whip a clone of K's sister or K's actually sister or was K' the actual Clone or...yeah fucking clones

>>2346110
>>2346138
>Though I forget, is Whip a clone of K's sister or K's actually sister or was K' the actual Clone or...yeah fucking clones
This is why I fucking hate the NESTS arc,it could have been cool if it wasn't for this whole clone nonsense that often gets much more convoluted than necessary.
Only (big name) fighting game story that manages to somehow be worse than NESTS is the ridiculousity that was SFA3.

>>2346150
>Only (big name) fighting game story that manages to somehow be worse than NESTS is the ridiculousity that was SFA3.

nah @3 is fine. Especially when you take a look at fucking Blazblue or to a lesser extent guilty gear. Those games are so bloated with jargon and exposition it's a wonder why they didn't just make a fucking RPG series

Fighting game lore is always confusing.

I mean, usually I beat the arcade with like 2-3 characters and see a 1 min ending, but then I see pages and pages of exposition on wikis. I could into it it's just I wish it was presented in a way that made sense.KoF 13 did it well but I had no idea what the fuck was going on.

>>2346157
>Blazblue or to a lesser extent guilty gear
Sorry,haven't played any games from either series.
Though looking at the characters and all,didn't the series already start as super fantasy like from the get go?

It pisses me off when a series like KOF or SF start out relatively simple and "pseudo realistic" and then get derailed into nonsense.
Like how it goes from the FF/AOF stories to the NESTS nonsense.
Or Ryu beating Sagat because King of the Hill,to Bison having a nonsensical power up machine factory thing device that to this day,nobody fully understands what it really is,and then kidnapping underaged girls from all over the world,only for Ryu to punch him with the "Super Shoryuken of Magical Friendship",and then Bison...BLOWS UP.
Oh yeah,and Cammy is his clone too.
smh...

>>2346174
>Though looking at the characters and all,didn't the series already start as super fantasy like from the get go?

the story mode in the first game starts with like a 5 minute pure exposition dump. There are light novels worth of back story. Multiple.

>>2346169
It's usually expanded in audio dramas, game manuals, manga and other Jp. exclusive shit.

Not too different from Modern Games like Gears of Madden that had their lore expanded in comic books and novels, I guess.

>>2346315

this isn't expansion though a lot of this is important shit

>>2346174
AoF is a pastiche of 70's Hong Kong action films.
FF is a pastiche of 80's American action films and Miami Vice.
KoF is basically an anime.
Don't fret over "storyline." It more than serves its purpose in each series.

>>2343829
These two characters (who appear in the intro and that final story cutscene with Shion) were supposed to be playable too. Hwa Jai, Vice and some others were actually intended for XII but weren't finished in time or something.

>>2342516
>Art of Fighters dream match never
>Final Fight/Garou dream match game never
They'll never be able to bring back enough characters, there are too many cool ones.

>>2348908
RBFFSP and RBFF2 are dream matches.
The AoF games are trash.

>>2346138
K' is infused with Kyo dna, and is the original, krizalid was the clone.
Whip is K' sister.

>>2348947
>>2348908
Fatal Fury Special is a dreammatch too.

And thank god Shroom and Rimelo never made it into the playable cast,they look hideous.

Vanessa team back when

>>2348947
>>2349256
By Dream Match I meant one with characters from all over the saga. To be honest I just want Jubei, Franco and Butt all in the same game.

and yeah Shroom & Rimelo look bizarre (as do a lot of the later SNK designs), just curious about what their movesets would've been.

Garou MOTW2 when

>>2350357
Anon, pls don't make me cry over a dead game

>>2350218

Speaking of Dream Matches, if they put out a 14 it's around this point where they'd make a dreammatch game between arcs

94 DM
95-97 Orochi
98
99-01 Nests
02 DM
03 1113 Ash

12 was a bit weird

>>2351418
Next one will be 3D evidently so probably not a dream match.

>>2351462

Actually, the next KOF game's going to be a damn pachinko machine.

>>2343860
>>2343839
>>2343807
>>2343689
Saigado is love. Saigado is life.

>>2352043
I think they've straight up stated that it's going to be a fighting game.

>>2352702
Citation needed

>>2352702
>>2352704
The original recruitment ads asked for people with expertise in fighting games or something + Kukino, the producer for KoF12&13 is heading this upcoming project up but aside from that we don't actually know for sure if it's a fighting game or not.

I played the shit out of KOF from 97 up until 01-02. Hated the art direction after that. And all the arcades had closed down at that point.

Terry, Ryo, and Joe were my bros.

>>2346169

Well, the pages of exposition on wikis do tend to reference evens from past games to help put things into context - for example, the KoFXIII story is inseparable from events in 2003 and XI, and references concepts from the Orochi saga (mostly 96 and 97).

Long story short, the story's about a group with time-travelling capabilities who require power to use those abilities - and what they intend to use as a power source is Orochi.

Orochi was sealed in the KoF97 events, so they want to awaken it again, but to make sure the plan isn't interfered with, they start by trying to take down the people who can and did take down Orochi - this was Ash's task, as he's able to steal the power that made that sealing possible (which is why Iori has no flames and Chizuru is out).

Ash is a descendent of Saiki, who leads that group, and while Saiki comes from a more distant past, Ash is from the modern era. Both are based on Europe, mostly France - the antagonist group is referred to as "Those From the Distant Land", but that seems to be something of a Japan-centric view, since Europe's distant from that - there's some interesting info in the background story for Magaki, the XI final boss: http://kofaniv.snkplaymore.co.jp/english/history/kofxi_story/index.php?num=magaki

Despite the Ash ancestry bit, it seems he got involved with Elisabeth and her family, who've upheld the duty to contain TFTDL's group - when she's introduced in XI, she calls out Ash for not straying from that task as well, so it looks like he was meant to infiltrate hsi family's enemies - but based on how XIII ended, he ultimately chose to join them while pretending not to do so, sacrificing himself to save Elisabeth and the world he grew with.

>>2346174

The problem with the transition from FF/AoF to KoF is that the team-based structure pretty much forces threats to be more powerful and stakes higher - the first set of stories tend to be about South Town and family stuff, where supernatural abilities are rarely important (the closest to that would be the FF3 story), while KoF leans more toward world-scale threats, and special abilities and tech are kind of necessary to justify why it takes 3 characters to take down a single final boss.

KoF can work in its own tone, but I miss some progress on the South Town stories.

>>2348908

Considering that ending sequence with Shion, I figure they might be a new team ina future game - although I wonder if they'll manage to be more relevant than K's gang was during the Ash saga.

Then again, with the Kensou dragon power and Hizoku thing lingering since 99, I figure the focus of the next game might lean toward a Chinese theme, and Shion fits that nicely, which is a start...

>>2348947

RB2 as a whole may be a dream match, but I like the way the Tung and Chonrei endings match, with Kim and Chonshu's fitting in with them a bit too - I hope a future game, like a Garou 2, manages to follow up on the training shown there.
Geese's ending with the scrolls there also hints at interesting things...

And AoF might have had gameplay flaws, but that game helped to establish more features to modern fighting games since SF2 than any other I can think of:
http://ikariloona.tumblr.com/post/108760296022/why-art-of-fighting-matters

>>2350218

I wouldn't be surprised if they gave them specials based on those jumping slashing attacks they attempt on Kyo in the XIII opening.

>>2351418

94 wasn't a dream match - it may have been the start and rough around the edges, but it had some story to it, especially if you used Kyo's team - he'd meet his dad at Rugal's place there.
I liked that way to subtly establish him as the protagonist of the new series - the whole thing was promoted as FF vs AoF, so those 2 games got the default player 1 and 2 slots on the select screen, but Kyo had a distinct place in the intro, and actual story if you used his team.
They're rarely that subtle with modern games, but I get the impression they sort of established Elisabeth as the XIII protagonist to similar subtle means.

so how many fighting tournaments have NOT been a front for something evil.

Cuz at this point I can only see people getting invitations and reacting with a loud groan

>>2353732
Stop linking tumblr posts by people who don't even play competitively.
Nothing directly took from AoF. SNK built on concepts from AoF, and the games that built on these were influential. These things would have happened without AoF.

>>2338261
And then, there's Iori sulking in the the background, wishing he'd be somewhere else.

>>2354416
>so how many fighting tournaments have NOT been a front for something evil.
The Kof tournament in FF2 wasn't really evil, Krauser just wanted to face the man who defeated Geese Howard.
SF1 wasn't evil either, Sagat just wanted challengers for the sake of competiotion.

From the top of my head,those are the only ones I can think of.

>>2354505

Not all of us had or have the benefit of a competitive scene for every single fighting game out there - that doesn't mean we still can't explore and enjoy their mechanics, although there's little drive to optimize their use beyond being able to finish the single-player more.

It's almost like saying a single-player game can't be enjoyed or understood without being an accomplished speedrunner at it.

And considering AoF basically created supers, among other things, by that alone it created a precedent - it already is a part of FG history, so there's no way to figure out how things would have developed in the genre without it.

>>2354505
Don't be a bummer.

>>2356261
>Not all of us had or have the benefit of a competitive scene for every single fighting game out there - that doesn't mean we still can't explore and enjoy their mechanics

So much this. Tournament level fighting is actually a pretty small part of the scene for this genre.