Let’s be honest, The King of Fighters has never truly been royalty as far as fighting games go. Despite the bluster of the title, it’s been more of an attendant, or at best, a court jester, in the wake of the Street Fighters, Mortal Kombats, SoulCaliburs and Tekkens of the world. That’s not to say the series hasn’t been beloved — and in recent years as the genre has resurged and captivated an entirely new generation that never knew the quarter-popping arcade days — missed. The long-distance sequel, The King of Fighters XIV, straddles the line between relic of the past and fresh new directions.
Game: The King of Fighters XIV
Consoles: PS4 (reviewed)
Publisher: Atlus
Developer: SNK
Release Date: August 22
The 2D Korean fighting series has never been accommodating toward outsiders, with its high-end combos guarded in pre-internet days with the ferocity of frathouse secret handshakes. That sort of defiance remains true in the new game with a punishing tutorial that refuses to grant you access to the game’s goods until you’ve mastered its exhaustive basics. A pro will slash through the phase within 15 minutes, but a casual gamer could take an hour or more to stumble through the more difficult special attacks, some of which require the coordination to hammer out 10-or-more button combos with exquisite timing. The message: This is is no game for tourists, and developers would rather have casual button-mashers stick with Street Fighter V rather than enter its sacred halls. It’s a tough barrier to entry, but the result is a refined community that respects the game and its online opponents.
Once you break down the front door, you will feast on a creatively designed array of fighters that is as deep and varied as any cast of better-known characters from the more popular fighters. Its 48 fighters are divided into 16 regionalized teams, each of which boasts a distinctive arsenal of specials, combos and flourishes. Once you master the basic language of throw cancels, dashes and special meter currency, it becomes easier to switch among several fighters and learn enough nuances to hold your ground as well as you did with your previous character. That leads to a certain blandness, but levels the playing field to weed out any cheapness.
The major weaknesses, the milquetoast visuals, are the one developers seemed to try hardest to combat. Past games in the series were always 2D slugfests with animations and character detail that were close relatives of 1970s Saturday morning superhero cartoons. Now the fighters are granted 3D definition and shading while sticking on a 2D plane, but it doesn’t take much blurring of your eyes to imagine the game on the original Xbox. Even worse, what’s there is not only choppy but boring, as though the animators couldn’t be bothered to give the characters and backgrounds some polish. It could be that they were going for a throwback feel, but whatever the case, this game is the DUFF of fighters.
The King of Fighters XIV may not win any beauty contests, but its bones are as solid as they come, and fans of the series won’t find much to grouse about. There’s an OG grit and fierce determination to stick with the fundamentals that grants its fights a heft and resonance that more popular fighters tend to lack. When you take a severe beatdown, you feel owned in every sense by someone smarter, faster and more clever than you. And when you manage to eke out a victory, you well up with a sense of pride that proves your determination and resolve to put in the work to become a hardened warrior. But even if you almost never find victory in the online arena, take heart and know that by even managing to make it through the tutorial, you’re tougher than the average bruiser.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1anpA7ZTvQ
ORDER: The King of Fighters XIV here
The King of Fighters XIV Reviews Around The Web:
“fans of of the series should be relieved to know that the rock solid gameplay that the series is known for has remained intact.” –SmashPad
“Through extensive play-testing and balancing, the controls have been streamlined, and the combo and Max Mode mechanics have been overhauled to create the most competitive fighter in SNK’s history.” –Fighters Generation
“King Of Fighters XIV sorely lacks the visual polish of its peers.” –PushSquare
The King of Fighters XIV Screenshots
The publisher provided a review copy.
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