So this Xmas I had found myself in possession of the new King of Fighters.
First, a bit of history.
King of Fighters was my absolute shit back in the day. I used to be pretty impressive at locals(they were all locals back then, let's face it), coming across KoF '95 in a Neo Geo cabinet next to my college the year it came out. It managed to get it pretty damn quickly too, as I remember playing it that year. (I started college in '95 and remember playing it the first time in the winter.)
Through many years it sort of maintained a spot as my favorite 2D fighter, even over Street Fighter. I played SF semi-seriously, but I was really more of an SNK gal for a long time until Guilty Gear took over as my 2D game of choice later on down the line and moved into the favorite spot. I studied the game as well as we could back then with limited internet and no actual frame data(it was all just shared tech in those days), and was a fairly scary force in my time, if I could brag a bit. (this was long ago.)
I was heavily into it in the Orochi saga('95 to '97), played a lot of '98 and '99, but wasn't as serious by '99 and just played it more for fun. I played the others casually, but at that point I was in my 'light play' mode. XI I picked up again semi-seriously, having settled overseas finally, but I was left cold by XII like many, and when XIII-continuing the story-left out some of my favorites like Adel(my literal tied-with-Iori favorite in the damn series), Gato and such(even though it kept other favorites), I was a little salty. I shouldn't have been that salty since my absolute old favorite hasn't left(Iori), but somehow I missed Gato and Adel a whole lot(at least Duo Lon was back.) I think the salt came from them actively putting Adel in the background but not playable after buttering him up as the co-main along with Ash. I have no idea why this irritated me but it did. I think WoW raiding was taking it's toll on my usual patient personality or something at the time.
Anyway as time went on, my salt subsided, and I started to feel sort of dumb in the first place because who the hell gets salty at a game that keeps including their longtime favorite? An idiot, that's who. Ahh well, we all have our moments where we don't cover ourselves in glory. I mean, I wasn't real big on the NESTS saga but it didn't get me salty or anything. I think it came from the fact that as a writer, I felt Adel was a massively wasted opportunity and those tend to get me mad sometimes. Real mad. Real, REAL mad.
(my dislike of XII, however, I can't say too much there. Didn't work too much for me.)
With ALL of that out of the way, I wanted KoF for Xmas and I got it. Even got the steelbook edition!
And I gotta say short version: It's great, and if you like 2D fighters, I would absolutely suggest this. I mean, I'd say get this and Revelator over SFV for now. It's solid, it looks actually better than some of those pictures would make you think, it's fun, it has both competitive and casual content, and the developers really are taking care to make sure they take care of it. While some of the new cast are hit or miss, overall it's huge size and variety of content is well worth the money, and the game deserves more players and a bigger community.
So the longer version! This is going to be in my Azzy-style 'bullshit session' style of review than some technical thing, where I basically shoot around and sorta just chat about aspects of the game before wrapping it up. No numerical scores or anything like that. On that note...
For a rundown-50 fighters, teams of 3, two bosses(well, a sub-boss and THE boss), and there we go. It's got 3D graphics unlike the older games, though it's not Maximum Impact.
And the game looks a lot better than it did in the initial pictures. The game that had everyone afraid has improved a lot, and we haven't even gotten the patch; the patch demo looks absolutely lovely. Now, I do have a personal preference for more Guilty Gear styled 2D fighters, however, this indeed looks fantastic, and the backgrounds/stages are gorgeous.
Actually, there's a wonderful stage variety in general, and the music is solid as well. Personal favorites are probably the Industrial Area/Saxophone Under the Moon and The Neo Esaka/Yappari Esaka. (Respectively it's the Yagami Team and the Japan Team's stages/BGMs.) Love the amount of them too(19.) Here's a couple examples of their beauty:
And jesus that damn Follow Me song is catchy.
https://youtu.be/UC_2riCDgSc?list=PLQU_mk2ibrEYOvWThj-YaDlUYxdVvswCV
(You can also hear it in its instrumental version.)
The game does have it's ups and downs(more ups, but a few slight downs), but I'll get around to all of that.
A quick rundown of the systems:
Max Mode, which allows you to access EX Special moves
Climax DMs, which are the Super Powered DMs
Super Cancels. You can cancel a normal DM into an EX or Climax DM, or an EX DM into a Climax DM(yeah, I won't get terribly deep here in the review, just running it down).
Rush combos, an autocombo that a beginner can use. Good for folks starting out but of course non-optimal. (They'll even tack on a special with meter.)
You have your other fare as well(Blow backs, rolls, run, a multitude of jumps and hops, and so on.)
Modes offered are fairly varied: Story, Arcade, Versus, Tutorial, Training, Missions(which include Trials for each character, Time Attack, and Survival), a Gallery of stuff to unlock, and of course Online.
This is a nice load of stuff to keep anyone busy I have to say. Casual players will appreciate the giant cast, the big gallery of unlocks, and the arcade/story mode.
Now I mentioned the game has its ups and downs. I'll go into some of both here!
-The new cast, IMO, is a mixed bag. Some standouts, but also many kinda boring/dull.
While I get this is very subjective, for my money, the new cast, compared to OTHER new casts of the other sagas, its more middling I feel. So while I don't feel anyone is offensively bad(okay; Sylvie is a very polarizing character-I'm pretty indifferent though, so it's not an issue with me), I feel that there are only a few cool standouts. For some of the more 'meh':
-The Pachislot characters are just sorta...there. Like they don't really have much. I think Love Heart's pirate gig is kinda fun and she at least has a cool visual design and uses the rapier which is neat, and all but generally speaking they're...there. Like they are just sort of 'Playable Characters.'
-Kim's new team members are two of the most generic characters like ever. He literally ended up with 'A Fighting Man Who Fights mixed with Dirty Old Man' and 'A Generic Kick Chick Who Flies Crotch First At People.' Yep, that's it. I mean the Fighting Man Who Fights(Gang-Il) has an iota of humor to him but he's still screamingly generic and the Generic Chick(Luong) is...like...that, a little flirty, that's it. They make '90s characters look vanilla.
-Alice(another Pachislot character actually) is also 'Generic Idol Worshipper.' You all know the type. Nothing much else to say. Another generic trope that doesn't go much of anywhere. (And I'll get to something down the list: you CAN have more 'generic' tropes work, and I'll show you what I mean, since there IS a more 'generic trope' that I feel they nailed.)
-As said, I'm neutral to Sylvie but I at least give her the credit of causing emotion with the playerbase one way or another. Definitely the polarizing character of the bunch. I don't care she's there, I'm not quite into that sorta design, I wouldn't miss her if she's gone but she doesn't raise my hackles or anything like that.
-The end boss, Verse, for my money, is one of the more lame. I mean, in the story he definitely has a neat aspect about him(won't spoil it), but as a character? He's just Big Scary Monster Dude Thing who...isn't even that impressive in battle. This is KoF. An SNK game. Damint, I expect an impressive boss and he just sorta deflated. Plus he's pretty damn dull to boot except for the one interesting story aspect, so I felt this was a loss overall.
-The South American Team is all fun, though doesn't really stand out to me. I think they're well designed visually(bright colors and cool outfits, okay save Banderias but he's a ninja, and Zarina has a pet toucan which is pretty adorable), and personality(they're definitely some of the more charismatic of the newcomers but still...not QUITE there for me.)
As for some more:
-Shun'ei, the new sorta 'Kyo' of the game, is alright, pretty cool, decent design, though nothing super-impressive. I like his hair, and he does have a very 'Persona' like vibe to him I guess? I can definitely see him being attractive to some of those fans. He's inoffensive, but he definitely doesn't have Kyo's charisma IMO. Fighting style is pretty cool. Overall decent, nothing exceptional design wise. Pretty fun to play.
-Mian is the role of 'Mysterious Shy Person.' I think Kyoshiro did the actor-fighter thing cooler in SamSho but she's alright. Nice outfit design though, and the shy/mask thing is kinda neat. Not someone whose my style to play but probably one of the more creative ones of the list. Also I think she'll fill in a spot on the Weirdo Team Fans(along with another newcomer. I don't necessarily mean like 'stancy complex weird' but 'yeah this characters kinda weird' weird.)
-Kukri. This guy is major edgelord. However, he turns it up to Reaper levels of 15+ on the control past 10. In other words he's fucking hilarious in his edginess. You don't take him seriously at all. He throws shade at everyone all day.
-Hein is, IMO, the best newcomer. Now see; here's where they take a generic idea(Battle Butler), but actually manage to give him personality and charisma through use of little things; animation(just the way he walks is wonderful), his moveset(a bit sadistic at times for his appearance), his win quotes, and even the move names(they're all after chess pieces and moves, which gives you some insight.) It's possible, again, to take something generic and add to it. Lots of fun too.
-Antonov is Big Loud Fun. Cigar-smoking over the top kinda guy who nonetheless displays some heart too. He's another trope that while I won't call him the most interesting man in the world, he is, again, at least fun in his design and writing.
-Meitenkun is sort of my dark horse. He's usually not a type of chracter I play but something about the sleepy fella is pretty damn fun. I dunno what it is but he's just some apparently very powerful fighter(Tung Fu Rue says as much), who just loves his sleep. Like mid battle? Sure why not. (I think my current FFXV obsession is leading me to like sleepy people.) He's got a cool style about him and he's pretty fun in game too. (Arguably he might be another contender for a 'Weird Team Slot', even if he's not TOO weird. He's different.)
-Xanadu is just weird, but I can totally see him being the Weird Character Player magnet for sure. He has some pretty funny moves. Like, this guy is likely going to lead many a Weird Character Player's teams. That said, not my bag.
-The returning cast is solid, though not perfect. They nailed lots of classics. From of course the guys who will never go away(Iori, Kyo), the Fatal Fury team, the AoF team, Mai, King, the intact Psycho Soldiers team, Ikari Team, the whole nine. Mature and Vice apparently take form again to haunt Iori through yet another tournament(they're apparently spirits, remember, having been dead since '96....check out XIII sometime), Team Mexico is a lot of fun in their interactions(even if Tiz-ehm, King of Dinosaurs is the worst rudo ever), K's back in his grumpy glory, Benimaru is still over the top(give him back his belly shirt!), and you get the idea. That said, no Adelheid is a big minus(for me), and it IS still missing some good old favs, like Yashiro, Shermie and Chris.
I've been running Iori as my anchor of course-I did it in '95 to '98 in locals, I did it casually for ages even though I moved heavily into Adel and Gato as team-mates(it worked out, Adel was a boss leader and I wasn't terribly serious anyway then), and that isn't likely to change anytime soon. Also-it's pretty awesome, as during his Climax Special(snerk), he seems to actively tap into the Riot of the Blood...voluntarily. Could this mean he actually has some measure of control of it? This is like when the Hulk gets control of his powers you realize. Keeping in mind Iori with his Yagami clan ties is far more powerful than the other Orochi tainted folks for a minute. This is scary.
In addition I've been enjoying my usual K', Benimaru, Kyo, Kim, Terry and Robert, and out of the new characters as said Hein is amazing, and I quite like Meitenkun. Ramon is a lot of fun in this as well.
I should say they've even done great with the win phrases here...to the point where they actually paid attention to a plot point from ages back from a manga in one of Iori's, which gets a big ol' kudos nod from me; it's little things like this(another example is in the new Tekken, Harada coming back to that old carving on the floor of the dojo), that make me smile in game lore. Hell, in the case of this, it's something you had to be a pretty heavy fan to even know about. In general though the returning characters keep well to their respective personalities, so no big changes here or anything.
Something to note: many characters have new VAs. I have to say they do a hell of a job. It's not easy taking over for people who have voiced characters, in some cases, for two decades, especially some very iconic ones. That's got to be some pressure, and the performed admirably.
That basically sums up my characters thoughts. I kinda feel if they had dropped a few of the snoozers/meh characters and added in some more returning folks it could have been like the best roster ever. I'd love to have had Jhun Hoon on the Kim team instead, to trade off a couple of say the Pachislot folks for Vanessa and Elisabeth, I'd love Duo Lon and I'd give my left goddamn kidney for Adelheid.
On another side note, there are only four colors per character at the time of this writing-a bit low-but the upcoming graphical upgrade patch will be adding two more each. I can see more being added over time. In a time of many different outfits and colors it feels low but I'm confident we'll get more. It's nice to see they're listening.
The tutorial is okay, but could use some fleshing out.
I feel it does a decent job of shooting people into the game, but some tips on timing cancels would have been nice for new players for sure, as well as explaining the concept of Battery, Middle, Control, and Anchor to people. That latter thing I think would have been really nice. New players going into a team game, while at first I imagine this won't affect, when they want to get in more, I dunno, I sorta feel like it would be nice to explain the concepts. (Now, as for what characters are excellent at what, some are cut and dry, some get debate, etc.) Just more explaining the basic concept of it could help out a bit with maybe a few tidbits on characters who are known at certain roles. Gods know with some of the personality the characters have they could have some fun with them explaining their spots.
I do realize I'm spoiled by tutorials like VF4 EVO and GGXrd:R, so I tend to have very high expectations with these. For some this could be adequate(it does have good damage settings and such.) It's not bad at all I feel, but it could just cover some more.
The game does not have the lowest learning curve. While casuals can pick it up and have a blast, getting more nuances down will take some time. I don't think it's that game that you have to devote to above ALL others(indeed, there are several people who play KoF with more games competitively), but be prepared to do some real drilling and muscle memory stuff cracking some of the harder stuff, and the game has different nuances than other 2D games to get used to and so on. But I definitely feel it's reasonable to get into, and even low level players can find some success in online matches after they learn some basics. There is a whole lot to dig into when it comes to high level play.
Like most games some characters are simple to get into(Robert, Andy, Athena), some have 'easy to learn, harder to maximize'(Ryo, Iori-they at their core are not difficult, but to really get the most out of Ryo you need to master parries which will take some time to get right, and Iori is a rekka character which there are people who find them difficult to perform at will under duress), and then you have up to the tougher characters like Team Mexico in general(KoD isn't the easiest, Ramon is rather difficult and Angel is in with some of the other 'Nightmare to learn' characters) some like Chin are more on the difficult side, etc. (Psycho Soldiers IMO is a well-spread team, with Athena being the easier character, Kensou being a step up and Chin being the harder one.) This is, of course, fairly subjective, but it's an idea. There are plenty of resources around for new players looking to pick up folks. The KoF Reddit has plenty of info.
On the competitive side, game balance is definitely more solid than XIII.
While certain characters certainly show up more often than others in top 8s and top 16s, there's a lot more variety in general. most top 8s see 12-16 different characters and most top 16s show off around half the cast. This is not bad, IMO. While it still has some bumps, the game on a competitive angle is a far cry better than the Mr. Karate/EX Iori/EX Kyo/Kim/Chin/Benimaru combos you saw all the time. It's perfectly okay I feel to see that common Benimaru or Robert, or that Iori anchor, and this still all happens, but the teams in general have a lot more variety at the moment. THAT Being said, it's not quite at, say, Tekken's level of balance. But it does well. Over time, I suspect they're going to keep an eye on things so it doesn't become the *X Character Show*(though, let's be frank, I suspect Kyo and Iori are going to stick. As well they should, damnit.)
Balancing team games, IMO, is pretty damned hard. I mean besides individual balance, certain characters are more or less powerful in certain positions, and so on. Iori and Terry can absolutely ruin your life bar with 800+ damage combos if they have meter to blow(like, not combo video material which like anyone can do a full life bar on but aren't particularly practical, like Chin needing six drinks, etc, but stuff that you see in tournament) and even with LOW meter they can do dangerous levels. But then there are others who might be able to do more impressive low meter combos...but not improve all that much. Or others who gain meter like it's water, etc. Others yet suck at meter gain. There are so many factors that actually nailing that balance is really tough, so again, I'm a little more forgiving here I think than I am in 1v1 games. (Especially when, say, even if you might see a lot of said Beni or Iori or K' or whatnot, they only take up 1 of three slots, and when you have a top 8 and most of the other characters are different? It's much different than seeing 4 Paul Phoenixes in 1v1.)
Wrapping it up:
While this 'review' was more of a discussion as I pointed out in the title, I figure I'll wrap up some thoughts here.
The developers are really putting a lot of love into this game. What at first looked like a worrying PS2 level game made by people who may not get the game, is now a solid current-gen fighter which will be getting much prettier in January, for one! Look at these screenshots from the demo they have over in Japan:
https://twitter.com/arin_k_o_f/status/813363436545417216
https://twitter.com/SNK_Lover/status/813229342645960704
On top of this, there is plenty of content; you're getting your money's worth right away. And they're adding more outfits(classic outfits for some characters are already in), and they have stated they want to continue to strongly support this game for time to come with more. What that is? We won't know, but I'm almost expecting some character DLC down the line, more colors, more stages, who knows! I also like how the developers said they want to support the smaller tournaments and communities too.
Really, grab it. It's more than worth it. I sorta wished I had grabbed it sooner at this point, though I'm glad I wasn't too late to get it. It's probably made it's way into my top 5 KoF games(keeping in mind my favorites are the '95-'97 years), one of my favorite games of 2016 and all of this time me chiming that I'll DEFINITELY be going casual with it, MOST definitely, since like, can I really play a whole THREE games competitively?
...Well, now I'm sort of being beckoned(re: ordered) over to the game now to start practicing my rekkas and hit confirms again on threat of being killed by a nasty clawing Climax Super Special. I can do 3 competitively with a family, right?
So yeah, go buy it. Feed the community. Join the community. There are lots of great resources to get into it with. It deserves it.
As for some more:
-Shun'ei, the new sorta 'Kyo' of the game, is alright, pretty cool, decent design, though nothing super-impressive. I like his hair, and he does have a very 'Persona' like vibe to him I guess? I can definitely see him being attractive to some of those fans. He's inoffensive, but he definitely doesn't have Kyo's charisma IMO. Fighting style is pretty cool. Overall decent, nothing exceptional design wise. Pretty fun to play.
-Mian is the role of 'Mysterious Shy Person.' I think Kyoshiro did the actor-fighter thing cooler in SamSho but she's alright. Nice outfit design though, and the shy/mask thing is kinda neat. Not someone whose my style to play but probably one of the more creative ones of the list. Also I think she'll fill in a spot on the Weirdo Team Fans(along with another newcomer. I don't necessarily mean like 'stancy complex weird' but 'yeah this characters kinda weird' weird.)
-Kukri. This guy is major edgelord. However, he turns it up to Reaper levels of 15+ on the control past 10. In other words he's fucking hilarious in his edginess. You don't take him seriously at all. He throws shade at everyone all day.
-Hein is, IMO, the best newcomer. Now see; here's where they take a generic idea(Battle Butler), but actually manage to give him personality and charisma through use of little things; animation(just the way he walks is wonderful), his moveset(a bit sadistic at times for his appearance), his win quotes, and even the move names(they're all after chess pieces and moves, which gives you some insight.) It's possible, again, to take something generic and add to it. Lots of fun too.
-Antonov is Big Loud Fun. Cigar-smoking over the top kinda guy who nonetheless displays some heart too. He's another trope that while I won't call him the most interesting man in the world, he is, again, at least fun in his design and writing.
-Meitenkun is sort of my dark horse. He's usually not a type of chracter I play but something about the sleepy fella is pretty damn fun. I dunno what it is but he's just some apparently very powerful fighter(Tung Fu Rue says as much), who just loves his sleep. Like mid battle? Sure why not. (I think my current FFXV obsession is leading me to like sleepy people.) He's got a cool style about him and he's pretty fun in game too. (Arguably he might be another contender for a 'Weird Team Slot', even if he's not TOO weird. He's different.)
-Xanadu is just weird, but I can totally see him being the Weird Character Player magnet for sure. He has some pretty funny moves. Like, this guy is likely going to lead many a Weird Character Player's teams. That said, not my bag.
-The returning cast is solid, though not perfect. They nailed lots of classics. From of course the guys who will never go away(Iori, Kyo), the Fatal Fury team, the AoF team, Mai, King, the intact Psycho Soldiers team, Ikari Team, the whole nine. Mature and Vice apparently take form again to haunt Iori through yet another tournament(they're apparently spirits, remember, having been dead since '96....check out XIII sometime), Team Mexico is a lot of fun in their interactions(even if Tiz-ehm, King of Dinosaurs is the worst rudo ever), K's back in his grumpy glory, Benimaru is still over the top(give him back his belly shirt!), and you get the idea. That said, no Adelheid is a big minus(for me), and it IS still missing some good old favs, like Yashiro, Shermie and Chris.
I've been running Iori as my anchor of course-I did it in '95 to '98 in locals, I did it casually for ages even though I moved heavily into Adel and Gato as team-mates(it worked out, Adel was a boss leader and I wasn't terribly serious anyway then), and that isn't likely to change anytime soon. Also-it's pretty awesome, as during his Climax Special(snerk), he seems to actively tap into the Riot of the Blood...voluntarily. Could this mean he actually has some measure of control of it? This is like when the Hulk gets control of his powers you realize. Keeping in mind Iori with his Yagami clan ties is far more powerful than the other Orochi tainted folks for a minute. This is scary.
In addition I've been enjoying my usual K', Benimaru, Kyo, Kim, Terry and Robert, and out of the new characters as said Hein is amazing, and I quite like Meitenkun. Ramon is a lot of fun in this as well.
I should say they've even done great with the win phrases here...to the point where they actually paid attention to a plot point from ages back from a manga in one of Iori's, which gets a big ol' kudos nod from me; it's little things like this(another example is in the new Tekken, Harada coming back to that old carving on the floor of the dojo), that make me smile in game lore. Hell, in the case of this, it's something you had to be a pretty heavy fan to even know about. In general though the returning characters keep well to their respective personalities, so no big changes here or anything.
Something to note: many characters have new VAs. I have to say they do a hell of a job. It's not easy taking over for people who have voiced characters, in some cases, for two decades, especially some very iconic ones. That's got to be some pressure, and the performed admirably.
That basically sums up my characters thoughts. I kinda feel if they had dropped a few of the snoozers/meh characters and added in some more returning folks it could have been like the best roster ever. I'd love to have had Jhun Hoon on the Kim team instead, to trade off a couple of say the Pachislot folks for Vanessa and Elisabeth, I'd love Duo Lon and I'd give my left goddamn kidney for Adelheid.
On another side note, there are only four colors per character at the time of this writing-a bit low-but the upcoming graphical upgrade patch will be adding two more each. I can see more being added over time. In a time of many different outfits and colors it feels low but I'm confident we'll get more. It's nice to see they're listening.
The tutorial is okay, but could use some fleshing out.
I feel it does a decent job of shooting people into the game, but some tips on timing cancels would have been nice for new players for sure, as well as explaining the concept of Battery, Middle, Control, and Anchor to people. That latter thing I think would have been really nice. New players going into a team game, while at first I imagine this won't affect, when they want to get in more, I dunno, I sorta feel like it would be nice to explain the concepts. (Now, as for what characters are excellent at what, some are cut and dry, some get debate, etc.) Just more explaining the basic concept of it could help out a bit with maybe a few tidbits on characters who are known at certain roles. Gods know with some of the personality the characters have they could have some fun with them explaining their spots.
I do realize I'm spoiled by tutorials like VF4 EVO and GGXrd:R, so I tend to have very high expectations with these. For some this could be adequate(it does have good damage settings and such.) It's not bad at all I feel, but it could just cover some more.
The game does not have the lowest learning curve. While casuals can pick it up and have a blast, getting more nuances down will take some time. I don't think it's that game that you have to devote to above ALL others(indeed, there are several people who play KoF with more games competitively), but be prepared to do some real drilling and muscle memory stuff cracking some of the harder stuff, and the game has different nuances than other 2D games to get used to and so on. But I definitely feel it's reasonable to get into, and even low level players can find some success in online matches after they learn some basics. There is a whole lot to dig into when it comes to high level play.
Like most games some characters are simple to get into(Robert, Andy, Athena), some have 'easy to learn, harder to maximize'(Ryo, Iori-they at their core are not difficult, but to really get the most out of Ryo you need to master parries which will take some time to get right, and Iori is a rekka character which there are people who find them difficult to perform at will under duress), and then you have up to the tougher characters like Team Mexico in general(KoD isn't the easiest, Ramon is rather difficult and Angel is in with some of the other 'Nightmare to learn' characters) some like Chin are more on the difficult side, etc. (Psycho Soldiers IMO is a well-spread team, with Athena being the easier character, Kensou being a step up and Chin being the harder one.) This is, of course, fairly subjective, but it's an idea. There are plenty of resources around for new players looking to pick up folks. The KoF Reddit has plenty of info.
On the competitive side, game balance is definitely more solid than XIII.
While certain characters certainly show up more often than others in top 8s and top 16s, there's a lot more variety in general. most top 8s see 12-16 different characters and most top 16s show off around half the cast. This is not bad, IMO. While it still has some bumps, the game on a competitive angle is a far cry better than the Mr. Karate/EX Iori/EX Kyo/Kim/Chin/Benimaru combos you saw all the time. It's perfectly okay I feel to see that common Benimaru or Robert, or that Iori anchor, and this still all happens, but the teams in general have a lot more variety at the moment. THAT Being said, it's not quite at, say, Tekken's level of balance. But it does well. Over time, I suspect they're going to keep an eye on things so it doesn't become the *X Character Show*(though, let's be frank, I suspect Kyo and Iori are going to stick. As well they should, damnit.)
Balancing team games, IMO, is pretty damned hard. I mean besides individual balance, certain characters are more or less powerful in certain positions, and so on. Iori and Terry can absolutely ruin your life bar with 800+ damage combos if they have meter to blow(like, not combo video material which like anyone can do a full life bar on but aren't particularly practical, like Chin needing six drinks, etc, but stuff that you see in tournament) and even with LOW meter they can do dangerous levels. But then there are others who might be able to do more impressive low meter combos...but not improve all that much. Or others who gain meter like it's water, etc. Others yet suck at meter gain. There are so many factors that actually nailing that balance is really tough, so again, I'm a little more forgiving here I think than I am in 1v1 games. (Especially when, say, even if you might see a lot of said Beni or Iori or K' or whatnot, they only take up 1 of three slots, and when you have a top 8 and most of the other characters are different? It's much different than seeing 4 Paul Phoenixes in 1v1.)
Wrapping it up:
While this 'review' was more of a discussion as I pointed out in the title, I figure I'll wrap up some thoughts here.
The developers are really putting a lot of love into this game. What at first looked like a worrying PS2 level game made by people who may not get the game, is now a solid current-gen fighter which will be getting much prettier in January, for one! Look at these screenshots from the demo they have over in Japan:
https://twitter.com/arin_k_o_f/status/813363436545417216
https://twitter.com/SNK_Lover/status/813229342645960704
On top of this, there is plenty of content; you're getting your money's worth right away. And they're adding more outfits(classic outfits for some characters are already in), and they have stated they want to continue to strongly support this game for time to come with more. What that is? We won't know, but I'm almost expecting some character DLC down the line, more colors, more stages, who knows! I also like how the developers said they want to support the smaller tournaments and communities too.
Really, grab it. It's more than worth it. I sorta wished I had grabbed it sooner at this point, though I'm glad I wasn't too late to get it. It's probably made it's way into my top 5 KoF games(keeping in mind my favorites are the '95-'97 years), one of my favorite games of 2016 and all of this time me chiming that I'll DEFINITELY be going casual with it, MOST definitely, since like, can I really play a whole THREE games competitively?
...Well, now I'm sort of being beckoned(re: ordered) over to the game now to start practicing my rekkas and hit confirms again on threat of being killed by a nasty clawing Climax Super Special. I can do 3 competitively with a family, right?
So yeah, go buy it. Feed the community. Join the community. There are lots of great resources to get into it with. It deserves it.
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