SNK's King of Fighters series has a long and illustrious history, establishing itself in the hearts of many fighting game enthusiasts. Originally released on the Neo Geo in 1994, it has faithfully evolved ever since. However, 14's KoF 2016 was the series' first time going 3D, and the results were impressive.
In fact, the game is still quite impressive almost four and a half years later. Presumably to whet the appetite for KoF 15 later this year, the entire package of 14, complete with all DLC, is being re-released as the Ultimate Edition.
From a purely statistical standpoint, he's a massive fighter. Fifty-eight characters, including the eight additional DLC fighters, make for a wide variety of fighting styles, and the horde of arenas to match is equally remarkable. Additionally, 10 DLC costumes are included with 10 KoF PS4 themes.
King of Fighters 14 Ultimate Edition: A Modern Fighting Classic Returns to the Ring
There is also plenty to do here. The arcade story mode tells the latest saga of the King of Fighters tournament, where everyone fights to be the best and beat the champion. It's not a huge spoiler to say that beating this big generic fight dude unlocks the real boss who appears to be a demonic-looking alien traveling the universe in search of kicks (and punches) .
There are cutscenes and dialogue scenes between fighters at various points, and while nothing here is in any danger of being high (or well-written) drama, it's fun. Tutorials, practice, and survival modes help players hone their skills, but, of course, the meat of KoF 14 is online play.
Two players can fight locally, but up to 12 can participate in actual tournaments, which is a distinctive sell for the most hardcore fighters. King of Fighters has always been distinctive because of its take on three-member team combat. You don't have to use the predefined teams, however, and can choose any three you want.
Like most SNK fighting games, KoF uses a basic four-button fighting style of light and heavy punches. Although some fighters focus entirely (or almost) on punching or kicking depending on their fighting art. Upon initial play, the game seems to work much like Street Fighter or other popular fighters, but there are enough distinct differences to make KoF feel more unique.
Items such as rush, dash, guard crush, and super meter, as well as the different types of jumps, all combine in different ways with a specific character's abilities. The result is a system that takes practice to become adept at, but still feels relatively familiar and intuitive for newcomers. The extended practice mode is a great aid for leveling up and a necessity if you plan to spend a lot of time battling online.
The previously 2D art style is making a smooth transition to 3D. The characters have a fun cartoon look and are sharply defined, brightly colored and extremely well animated. Beyond that, the score is bouncy battle rock, the loud narrators, and the character's voice works entirely Japanese.
If you've grown up with fighters, since the original Final Fight and Street Fighter 2, King of Fighters has some other notable, albeit sadly expected, things worth noting.
Mai, the classic Final Fight ninja so over-endowed she seemingly can barely stand has always been a bit of a sinister and evil design, but so many of the female fighters here are just as obnoxiously oversexualized. Granted, SNK is far from the other fighting game maker stuck in the era of ridiculous character designs that seem purely aimed at sad teenagers. The problem is that for more mature players who love the gameplay, it actually distracts from an otherwise excellent fighter.
King of Fighters 14 Ultimate Edition – The Bottom Line
Benefits
- Incredible roster of 58 characters
- Deep combat system that rewards skill without being hostile to newcomers
- Large online tournament modes and generally robust multiplayer
The inconvenients
- Admittedly, the game is still five years old and KF 15 is coming
- Too many female characters are just too sexualized and scary
King of Fighters 14 Ultimate Edition is really just the original game with all DLC added automatically. There are no other changes to the base game. If you missed it the first time around, it's still a good way to get into the series.
The online tournament play is robust, and the battle system has plenty of subtlety and nuance. The massive roster of characters offers incredible amounts of experimentation, although we personally want the developers to grow when it comes to their portrayal of female characters.
[Note: SNK provided the copy of King of Fighters 14 Ultimate Edition used for this review.]
