3RRDC KOF Evolution

We all remember when the hardest of the hardcore, SNK, was going
through rough times. After being shuffled around and changed and
sold, it seemed that the future of the 2D powerhouse was uncertain.
But now, here we are in the year 2004 and SNK is back in full force
with Playmore helping it along the way. Finally, SNK games are being
brought over stateside again and all is well with the world. But let's go
back a few years, when SNK seemed to be on its last leg in America.
King of Fighters Evolution would be the last KoF game to be released
in the states until much later with the KoF 2000/2001 combo pack for
PS2, so let's see what this installment had to offer.

First, Evolution is actually the real KoF 99. KoF Dream Match 99 was
actually 98 with some bonus stuff. Evolution starts the all new Nests
saga, the story of a mysterious organization that isn't really made all
that clear to start with. We do learn that the KoF story takes a turn for
the weird with cloning and enhanced humans. A far cry from the Orochi
saga of yesteryear, but an interesting one. This KoF also introduces
the much debated striker system, something that has caused conflict
among KoF fans for some time now. But KoF stands up for having some
of the best characters in any game, so let's see how this one did.

The new characters in Evolution are for the most part great. We are
introduced to K' a bad ass with a mysterious past and some weird
connection to Nests. He is joined by Maxima a not so interesting
character, but oh well. Joining Leona and her Ikari warriors team is
Whip, one of my favorite KoF fighters ever. Her awesome character
design is great, and really is one of the best looking characters in the
game. Joining the psycho soldiers is Bao a little kid with psychic
powers. Ok, so a little kid going up against grown adults is a bit silly,
but who said KoF was perfectly serious? Other new characters such
as Jhun, and the kyo clones are also introduced. To me, there have
been few new KoF characters after Evolution that I liked. So this really
represents SNK at their character creating best.

The KoF series has always been about getting a group of three
fighters, and going against another team of three fighters. Now
though, the striker is introduced. Kind of like in Marvel vs Capcom 2
where you could call out one of your team members to help you deliver
a cheap shot-that is the striker. Every character does something
different as a striker, but most of the time it's just a quick cheap little
shot used to knock the opponent off guard. Does this make the game
cheaper then? Some say it does, and some argue that KoF needed this
new little piece of strategy. I think the striker system is ok, it adds an
extra layer to the game play.

As for modes, there is the standard Team Play, Team Vs, Single Play,
and Single Vs. There is also the Survival Time Attack and Survival
Endless to keep you busy, as well as a Single mode where you fight all
the computer characters in a row. Of course, Options and Training are
in there as well. The Neo geo pocket support is no where to be seen in
this one (as Agetec released it, not SNK) but at least the options mode
is great. For one it keeps track of the amount of time you have played
the game (hurray, 112 hours for me) and it keeps records of the
characters you have used the most and the percentage each
character is used. Very cool feature.

Playing KoF is a breeze. It's not as flashy per say as some other over
the top fighters, but it does have style. You get two punch buttons and
two kick buttons as well as all the blocking, dashing, taunting,
escaping and all the other goodies. There are a load of special moves
to be performed and all in all the fighting system of the KoF games is
one of my favorites ever. It's just good pure fun to play.

Keeping with the tradition set by the Dream Match, the backgrounds
now have added 3D elements. This time, though, things look way
better and the graphics are integrated much nicer. The stages in this
one are great. A museum, a town, a park, and more await you. Much
more varied and overall better looking then the Dream Match.
Character sprites also look a bit better and some character have new
sprites, like Athena (who gets new sprites each year) and Robert. The
art style is anime-ish in the game, but realistic in the manual. Much
more simple then the weird more abstract styles that would later
manifest the series. So all in all, sure still a little jaggy, but a beauty
none the less. Excellent 2D goodness from the pros.

The sound track doesn't reach the same levels of greatness as the
Dream Match did, but it does still offer up a very impressive score.
Also, I'll note that I liked this soundtrack better then the ones after it.
This one is memorable unlike the ones in KoF 2000 and 2001 which
only really have a few good tracks. Also all the character voices are
great, from the classic Kyo and Lori screams to the bumbling shingo.
Every character is unique and distinct and the voices reflect that.

The game was also released on the PS1, and both have different
bonuses. First the PS1 had an art gallery and sound test mode I
believe. The DC one gets the final boss as a playable character, and
extra striker mode. This is where you spend points earned from game
play on extra strikers of characters that aren't playable, like Yamazaki
and Chizuru. The more you play, you can also latter unlock justice and
dark versions of all the extra strikers, and then they look different and
do different things. Very cool.

Replay-wise, each team has their own little ending, and some of the
characters have secret ones (like beating the final boss with Mai will
get her secret one). With all the good 1 player and 2 player action this
is one fighting game that will keep you busy for a very long time just
trying to master all the characters. There are 33 playable characters,
so a few less then Dream Match, and some of my favorites like the
Orochi Team are gone (but that's because of the story), but, overall, a
nice selection.

So if you have to choose between this one and the Dream Match on the
Dreamcast, you really can't go wrong either way. Both are fun great
games with loads of replay in the game play. But KoF Dream Match had
the awesome sound track, and the impressive character roster. Dream
Match also featured the DC exclusive anime opening intro, and the one
here is much closer to the arcade version opening. This one is the
prettier of the two, and it also has great characters. It's all up to which
ever one you track down really.

If you haven't been playing KoF then you haven't been playing true
fighting games. The series has managed to stay popular for over 10
years now with new additions coming out on the Neo Geo. KoF 2003
was the last one to use the Neo hardware and now they will be done
on the atomiswave with Sammy. Whatever happens to SNK and KoF
from here remains to be seen, but enjoy this little comeback while you
can with some old school goodness from one of my favorite developers
in the business.

Review by: Orochi Sonic