Index
Page 1 - Characters
Page 2 - KoF 94/Rebout, 95, 96
Page 3 - KoF 97, 98, 99
Page 4 - KoF 00, 01, 02
Page 5 - 03, Neowave, XI, XII
Page 6 - Portable Versions
Page 7 - Maximum Impact
Page 8 - Spinoffs / Media
The King of Fighters 2000 - Arcade / Dreamcast / PlayStation 2 (2000)
Dreamcast Cover
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King of Fighters 2000
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King of Fighters 2000
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King of Fighters 2000 expands greatly on Striker system from the previous game. Now each character has an alternate partner that can be chosen as a Striker. These alternates aren't actually playable characters, but SNK took this opportunity to include a ton of fan service by taking characters from other games. Included are Kim Sue Il from Kizuna Encounter, Fio from Metal Slug, Kaede from Last Blade and Duke from Burning Fight. Some older characters like Vice, Mature and various members of the Orochi team also returns as Strikers. Amongst the new characters are Vanessa, Seth, Ramon, Lin and Hinako. Kula makes her first appearance as well, although she's initially a mid-boss. The final boss is Zero, who attacks with an astoundingly well animated cape. King of Fighters 2000 also has one of the best soundtracks of the series, including Goodbye Esaka, one of Kyo's coolest theme songs. Unfortunately, Whip's gun move is still gone in the American versions of the game, plus Mai's boob jiggling has been removed, but only in her idle pose. How strange.
King of Fighters 2000 was ported to Dreamcast, and was released twice for the PlayStation 2. The Dreamcast version features sliding tile puzzles, which are pretty lame. This is missing from the initial PlayStation 2 version, but instead has unlockable videos of all of the intros up until 2000, but the requirements for obtaining them are absurd. It also fixes up some of the minor slowdown experienced in certain areas from the Dreamcast version. Both ports contain extra Strikers and lots of backgrounds from old SNK games, including Samurai Shodown, Metal Slug, and various King of Fighters. The second release for the PlayStation 2 is included in the NESTS Pack, with both the original arcade version and the Dreamcast version. Other than the online play, there is little to differentiate this from the original PS2 release.
MP3s
Inner Shade
Goodbye Esaka
Wild Party
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King of Fighters 2000
King of Fighters 2000
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The King of Fighters 2001 - Arcade / Dreamcast / PlayStation 2 (2000)
PlayStation 2 Cover
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King of Fighters 2001
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King of Fighters 2001
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Around this time in 2001, SNK had gone belly up, and handed development over to Korean studio Eolith. Unfortunately, it was pretty clear that they were new to fighting games, and the result is one of the weakest entries in the series. For starters - the character artwork is terrible, to the point where some fighters actually look mentally disabled. The artist this time around is Nona, who thankfully improved in later installments. The backgrounds are incredibly ugly, consisting of garish colors that hurt the eyeballs. The music is a horrendous collection of unmelodic cacophony, a mixture of techno and drum and bass, mixed with some truly awful distorted guitar samples. Trust me when I saw it's one of the worst fighting game soundtracks in existence.
King of Fighters 2001 also introduces a ratio system similar to Capcom vs SNK 2. You're given the option to select between one and four fighters. The less characters you choose, the more powerful they'll be, and the more power stocks you can obtain. Any unused characters are designated as Strikers. It's a weird system, and isn't exactly a welcome change, especially since 4-on-4 matches can drag on. The midboss this time is Original Zero, who has three of his own Strikers - including Krizalid, the evil ninja Ron, and a nasty looking lion. But the main boss is the massively overpowered Igniz, who at least looks really cool. The new characters - Angel, May Lee and K9999 - are also pretty strange to play as, although they offer some new combo-based techniques. There are also new moves called "Wire Attacks", which will cause your foe to be launched to the side of the screen and then bounced back so you can continue a combo. The American version of the game is censored much like KoF 2000.
King of Fighters 2001 also appears on both the Dreamcast and PlayStation 2. The Dreamcast version, only released in Japan, features a strange puzzle minigame. The object is to match up blocks by punching them, which then strengthens your power meter. After you build enough, you can attack your opponent. In order to win, either you need to clear your screen or your opponent needs to lose. Unlike most puzzle games, the screen is horizontally oriented. The matches go on far too long to be considered worthwhile. The initial PlayStation 2 release loses the puzzle mode, but addresses some of the original complaints by using completely new character artwork for everything. All of the backgrounds have been redrawn and recolored to look less garish, and the whole game looks much better as a result. There's also a whole new intro, rendered in FMV, which features plenty of hilarious Engrish. Both ports use the same crappy music as the Neo Geo version.
KOF 2001 is also included in the NESTS Pack, with both the origianl arcade version and the Dreamcast version, which includes the puzzle mode. There is also a brand new arranged soundtrack especially produced for this anthology, as there had never been one during the time of its initial release. It's definitely a step up from the original music, with much higher quality instrument samples, although it's still lacking compared to the other installments. However, neither version includes the updated character portraits or redrawn backgrounds found in the initial PlayStation 2 release. As such, there is no "definitive" version of this game.
MP3s
Whip of Atashi Original
Whip of Atashi Arrange
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King of Fighters 2001
King of Fighters 2001
King of Fighters 2001
King of Fighters 2001
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Puzzle Mode
PS2 Intro
Screenshot Comparisons
The King of Fighters 2002 - Arcade / Dreamcast / PlayStation 2 / Xbox (2002)
Dreamcast Cover
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King of Fighters 2002
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King of Fighters 2002
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Although once again made by Eolith, King of Fighters 2002 is a drastic improvement over its predecessor. With the NESTS storyline finished, this installment is another Dream Match, mixing up both old and new characters. While not as comprehensive as KoF 98, it includes a fair representation of the series most popular fighters, including the return of Yashiro, Chris, Shermie, Vice and Mature, as well as new characters like Angel, May Lee, Kula, K9999 and K'. Rugal once again returns as the final boss. The graphical presentation is much better, especially the backgrounds, which include plenty of cameos from other SNK titles. The Striker system has been ditched entirely, so it plays much like KoF 98. The soundtrack also includes a bunch of music from older games like Seoul de Ikou (Kim's Theme) Fatal Fury 2 and Diet (Yuri's Theme) from Art of Fighting 2, but they suffer due to poor sound quality. New to the game are Hidden Super Desperation Moves (HDSM) or MAX2 moves, which are even more complex and more powerful.
Due to its character roster and lack of gimmicks, KoF 2002 is also regarded as a high point for the series. It's also the first instance of Mai nudity in the entire series, as she shows off her behind during her Hidden Super Desperation Move. Once again, the American arcade version removes Mai's jiggling, but this was restored in the home console releases.
King of Fighters 2002 was also ported to the Dreamcast, PlayStation 2 and Xbox. The Dreamcast version adds in Shingo and King (who were sadly missing from the arcade version). The PlayStation 2 version features both of these characters, as well as Geese Howard, Orochi Iori and Goenitz. As usual, 3D backgrounds have been added. The Xbox port is the same as the PS2 version along with Xbox Live online play.
MP3s
Character Select
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King of Fighters 2002
King of Fighters 2002
King of Fighters 2002
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Screenshot Comparisons
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Arcade
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PlayStation 2
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The King of Fighters 2002: Unlimited Match - PlayStation 2 / Xbox 360 (2009)
PS2 Cover
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The King of Fighters 2002: Unlimited Match
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The King of Fighters 2002: Unlimited Match
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Much like KoF 98: Ultimate Match, SNK went back and retooled KoF 2002 and rereleased it for the PlayStation 2 in 2009. Compared to that revamp, though, which just added some characters, moves and touched up a few things here and there, Unlimited Match is practically a whole new game. Added characters (compared to the arcade version) include Foxy, Hinako, Lin, Jhun Hoon, Xiangfei, Bao, the Kyo clones, Kasumi, Heidern, Krizalid, the Zeros, Igniz, Shingo, Goenitz, Geese and King, along with EX versions of Kensou, Robert, Takuma and Geese. Additionally, someone in SNK must've felt that K9999 was ripping off Akira just a little bit TOO much, so they changed his design and remade him into a "new" character called Nameless. This brings the total roster to 66 characters.
It's more than just that though, Like Ultimate Match, many of the characters have new moves, including some for regulars like Terry and Mai, as well as new HSDM/MAX2 attacks. All of the backgrounds have been completely redrawn in 3D, with even more cameos to pick up, and the soundtrack is completely new too. In addition to several new themes, there are also new remixes, like K's 99 theme, Krizalid's theme, and, of course, Geese's theme. All of the character artwork has been redone by Hiroaki. Additionally, there are tons of new ending pictures, most of them kinda cutesy, done by several different artists. It's a completely fantastic package, and even if you still want to play the original KoF 2002, it's included on the disc too.
Unlimited Match received a small revision, and was released for the PS2 with the subtitle Tougeki Version. It only fixes various bugs and glitches, as there is no actual change in content. It was also released on the Xbox Live Arcade, much like KoF 98. It removes the 3D backgrounds and the gallaery, and the bosses need to be unlocked, plus the original KoF 2002 is no longer available, but it is a much cheaper alternative to the PS2 release, and has been released worldwide. It also has online play too, and while it's better than the XBLA releases of KoF 98 and Garou: Mark of the Wolves, it's still far from perfect.
MP3s Download here
Antimony ~Mutually Exclusive Dichotomy~
Decision of Fate
Destiny
Falling of the Nightengale
KD-0079+
Masquerade
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The King of Fighters 2002: Unlimited Match
The King of Fighters 2002: Unlimited Match
The King of Fighters 2002: Unlimited Match
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