Neo Geo

The King of Fighters '96

Another minor annoyance is only having a mere 20 seconds to assemble your team. The "survival mode" is an interesting new addition, letting you face 29 opponents in rapid succession (with the option to save in progress). No question about it, KoF96 is yet another superb entry in a continuing line of amazing 2D fighters.

While it's certainly debatable which entry would be the best from a 10-year run, '96 has a lot going for it. This is a brilliant update for those who have played every piece of this series. It's also a great fighting game, easily matching the best the console has to offer. On the Geo, that means something.

Als Fazit bleibt zu sagen, dass KoF'96 sicherlich kein perfektes Prügelspiel ist, allerdings ist es auch keine Mogelpackung. Neuerungen gibt es in diesem Teil genug. Primäre Elemente, wie die verbesserten Animation, die neuen Supermoves und Specials tragen viel zum Prügelspass bei und werden von den eher zweitrangigen Elementen wie der guten Story noch unterstützt. Schade das die Hintergründe zwar gut aussehen, aber nicht die entsprechende Höhe auf der durch die Vorgänger extrem hoch angesetzte Messlatte erreichen.

Where King of Fighters excels is the massive amount of playable, diverse characters. Even before Capcom started teaming their fighters up to see who was the better (my bet will always be on Strider), SNK was teaming the Art of Fighting combatants and the Fatal Fury kids with the Ikari Troupe ... all representing a different game SNK developed. I must say, this was always intriguing, and I wished more companies would do things like this. However, as much as I like this game, it seems like they have missed a wonderful oppurtunity to cross some of the Samurai Shodown, or Last Blade characters into the King of Fighters universe. This series has just improved over time, however subtly. And while it's not Street Fighter II, it isn't Time Killers, either. I wish there was more to it, but each of the games is fun to play.

King of Fighters '96 is more than just a sequel with better graphics and more characters. By introducing a whole host of minute changes in character moves, the game presents you with a new system to explore and learn while keeping the familiar KOF feeling and storyline. First time gamers to the KOF series will find a polished and enjoyable fighting game. Veteran KOF gamers may be put off by how the game feels subtly different. But after investing some time in familiarization King of Fighters '96 will ultimately prove very rewarding.