SNK-Playmore returns to KOF/Orochi roots

If you've followed my rantings about SNK-Playmore's horrendous continuations of the Fatal Fury and King Of Fighters series (see here and here), you would know by now that I'm very much let down by the Playmore people who've taken over the old SNK company. The subsequent translations of gameplay, graphics, voice-acting and storyline of said games series aren't likeable anymore.

With that said, I was skeptical at first when I saw another SNK-Playmore game released just recently - The King Of Fighters: Orochi Version for the PlayStation 2. Basically, this is a compilation of King Of Fighters '95, '96 and '97 which deals with with Orochi storyline. In my humble opinion, these three episodes were the most thrilling games as the story itself was very engaging. Mystical and mysterious, even.

I couldn't resist the urge to get this compilation, no matter how bad the previous games released by SNK-Playmore were. And hence the greatest journey begun...

I got home, loaded the game and kept my fingers crossed. For what felt like an eternity, I finally got to the menu screen. From the looks of it, The King Of Fighters: Orochi Version lets you choose one of the three games to play. Other than that, you can also tweak some settings such as Sound, Control and do a bit of Character Editing. There's even an Online Battle network available for those with a network card on their PS2. Despite of the previous experience I had with SNK-Playmore's games, the menu system looks clean, properly arranged and easy to navigate.

As for the games themselves, each one seems to be a direct port of the Neo-Geo 64-bit home console. The character sprites are sharp, the character animation and frame-rate fluidity is just as I remembered, and the sound effects rock. The punches, kicks and super attacks sound satisfyingly crunchy when you land blow after blow on your opponent (or otherwise). The King Of Fighters: Orochi Version is definitely unlike the other previous home console ports (Sega Saturn and PSOne), and this was how I came to the conclusion SNK-Playmore did a direct Neo-Geo home machine port to the PS2. To say I'm elated is an understatement.

You can also choose to have the original game background music for each game from the main menu (under Sound setup) or opt for the arranged version - the latter gives more 'oomph!' and enjoyment during character selection, intros and battles.

Having said that, my all-time favourite was King Of Fighters '97 which I would play endlessly on my Sega Saturn. However, this new version seems to boast tweaked AI -- I had trouble beating even Terry on Normal difficulty settings! Of course, this is a good thing, and I'm very satisfied with this compilation. Period. With this compilation, secret characters are now selectable on-the-fly as well.

The controls can be customised too, though you can't set the shoulder buttons (L1, L2, R1, R2) to activate super attacks or special moves. Not a problem for me, but my close buddies tend to use the Special setting on the Saturn machine so that they could put up a fight against me. Without a network card, I guess I'll be playing this game alone for the moment. Meh.

The formula to creating a great game doesn't just lie in the hands of professionals; it also depends on the passion in creating gems such as the classic King Of Fighters, namely '96 and '97, which makes people want to go back for more button mashing sessions. The storyline also plays an important role too, which got yours truly really hooked - line, sinker and all.

The King Of Fighters: Orochi Version is currently out in Japanese, but you can change the language option to English with KOF'96 and KOF'97. The English version has not been dated, but I'll keep you posted on it. This a gem of a compilation of SNK's best fighting games ever, and I would never thought SNK-Playmore would leave all three KOFs intact. But here they are, in their intended form with arranged and original music tracks to choose from.

My recommendation? This is an excellent compilation of three KOF games not to be missed!