The King of Fighters 2001

So the port is lacklustre, yes. But the extras alone are worth the price and aggravation. Given my penchant for 2000’s gameplay, I find myself playing 2001 more for the puzzle mode than the fighting game. I’d even go so far as to say that puzzle fans who don’t care for KOF should get this. I could see this becoming a successful spin-off series for Playmore.

Arcade-game developer SNK officially went out of business in 2001, but that hasn't seemed to slow down what is apparently a new generation of games for the company's NeoGeo arcade hardware. One of the last projects the company was working on was The King of Fighters 2001, the latest edition in SNK's annual fighting game series, along with a new developer, Eolith. And while certain aspects of KOF 2001 may seem very different from previous games, spend some time with it and you'll eventually realize that it's one of the deepest, most technical 2D fighting games ever made.

Even if you're not the die-hard player who seems to dig into the game code to learn every intricate detail, this 2001 edition of SNK's premiere series has a lot to offer. The standard gameplay remains intact, and the engine used to power this one hasn't dated itself at all. It may not go over well with everyone, but this version shows there's plenty of room left to play with for the King of Fighters series.