Index
Page 1 - Characters
The King of Fighters: Maximum Impact - Playstation 2 / Xbox (2004)
Calling this game "King of Fighters" is a slight misnomer. The single player game focuses on choosing only one character, and the gameplay is a bit closer to a 3D version of Real Bout Fatal Fury. Even the plotline - two brothers fight against an evil syndicate in their hometown - is basically a retelling of the original Fatal Fury but with new characters. Of course, in addition to the six new characters (aforementioned brothers Alba and Soiree Meira, sexy assassin Lien, bubbly magical girl Mignon, tae-kwon-do student Chae Lim and nefarious crimelord Duke), there's a healthy number of characters from the main series, including Terry, Mai, Ryo, Yuri, Leona, the Ikari Warriors, and a few others - in other words, the most popular characters. This also marks the first time Rock Howard has officially appeared in a King of Fighters game. There are twenty characters total, which is a little low for the series but pretty decent for a start-up 3D fighting game.
Although the graphics are 3D, the gameplay is all 2D, except even faster. It's perhaps a little too fast, especially when characters execute jumping uppercuts far quicker than they normally would. Power bars replenish quickly, allowing you to use special moves with great abandon, combos are easy to pull off, and the whole game feels much tighter than any other 3D fighter ever made. The tradeoff is that it might be a bit too simple and cheesy for those who take their fighting games too seriously.
While they were reinventing the series for 3D, artist Falcoon drafted an alternate costume for each of the characters. More than simply new outfits, these are entire redesigns of known and loved fighters, and more than a few of them are a bit weird. Still, you needn't bother with them if you don't like them, and the regular character's costumes and animation are replicated almost perfectly. The music is composed by Toshikazu Tanaka, also known for Rage of the Dragons, Matrimelee and Metal Slug 5. The furious pace of the soundtrack fits the game brilliantly, even if it relies too much on goofy English (and occasionally Korean) rapping.
King of Fighters Maximum Impact for the Playstation 2 was released in a double disc package with a bonus DVD featuring interviews with the developers. Unfortunately, the American version only features English voice acting for all of the characters. While some of the voices are pretty good, most aren't, and it's a bit strange to hear fighters yell out their attacks in English. The European release adds dual language tracks. SNK also released King of Fighters Maximum Impact Maniax for the Xbox, which features both language tracks, as well as a picture-taking mode and online play. Unfortunately, it's missing the bonus DVD.
MP3s
Rooftop Realism
King of Fighters Maximum Impact
King of Fighters Maximum Impact
King of Fighters Maximum Impact
The King of Fighters: Maximum Impact 2 / The King of Fighters 2006 - Playstation 2 (2006)
But the best aspect of MI2 is the extraordinary amount of cool unlockable bonuses. There are several characters to unlock, including Kim Kaphwan, Richard Meyer (from the first Fatal Fury), Hanzo Hattori (from Samurai Shodown of all places), Fio (from Metal Slug), and more. Additionally, each has a huge number of costumes, many based on other characters. Geese cosplays as famous SNK bosses (like Goenitz and Krauser), while Ralf can dress up like Marco from Metal Slug or Chae Lim puts on May Lee's cute blue frog shirt. There's tons and tons of SNK love, including a rendition of long closed Neo Geo Land arcade, which features music directly from all kinds of classic Neo Geo games. Maximum Impact 2 is the first game directed by Falcoon, and it's obvious that he knows what the fans want.
MP3s
Feeling Like a Celebrity
King of Fighters Maximum Impact 2
King of Fighters Maximum Impact 2
Alternate Designs
Iori
Kyo
Mai
Yuri
K'
Cosplays
The King of Fighters: Maximum Impact Regulation A - Arcade / Playstation 2 (2007)
The Story or Challenge mode are gone, leaving just the single player Time Attack and Versus modes. All matches are 3-on-3, channeling the spirit of the 2D fighters, although each battle ends with some annoying wait times as it loads the new character data. All characters are unlocked from the beginning, which is nice.
Unfortunately, nearly all of the extra content for Maximum Impact 2 has been cut, including a good majority of the crazy costumes. Armor Ralf is completely gone, mostly because he was totally broken, but there are now four new additions to the roster. Ash Crimson and Blue Mary both make their 3D debuts, although like all of the other characters, their movesets has seen some changes. Ash's fruity costume is what you'd expect, but Mary looks like a Brazilian stripper. The other two characters are Xiao Lon, the sister of Duo Lon who uses similar attack; and Makoto Mizoguchi, a Japanese fighter who originated from the old Data East game Fighters History. There's also a brand new announcer, who ranks up as one of the worst in fighting game history.
The new characters are welcome, and the core game is still fairly solid, but the removal of all of the bonus content, with nothing to replace it, makes this entry feel rather thin. Furthermore, attempting to balance Maximum Impact to appeal to the hardcore crowd may have been a bad idea to begin with, because it would necessitate a total overhaul of the mechanics, whereas this just contains minor tweaks. As such, it's a needless cash-in and is recommended only for completionists.
King of Fighters Maximum Impact Regulation A
King of Fighters Maximum Impact Regulation A
King of Fighters Maximum Impact Regulation A
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
American Xbox Cover
King of Fighters Maximum Impact
King of Fighters Maximum Impact
In years prior, SNK didn't exactly have the greatest of luck with 3D games. The Hyper Neo Geo 64 tanked, and the two Playstation ports - Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition and Samurai Shodown: Warriors Rage - weren't exactly what one would call good. But SNK gave 3D another shot with King of Fighters: Maximum Impact for the Playstation 2, and it actually turned out pretty well.
Unbreakable Stained Glass
At Toyotsu-chou Suita City
Japanese Cover
King of Fighters Maximum Impact 2
King of Fighters Maximum Impact 2
King of Fighters Maximum Impact 2 (known as King of Fighters 2006 in the West to due bizarre marketing reasons) remains pretty faithful the original game, but adds a lot of extra cool stuff. You can now sidestep and super cancel certain moves, but otherwise, it's pretty much business as usual. Three new characters are introduced - Nagase, an oddly dressed girl; Luise Meyrink, a silver-haired witch, and Jivatma, the final boss. There are also a few other characters that make their first 3D KoF appearance, most notably Kula and Billy Kane. The graphics are on roughly the same level as the original, although some of the modeling has been improved, which results in some much better looking faces. The music is much the same style, and while it removes most of the rapping, overall it's not quite as good.
Gloom of the Cow Man
Japanese Cover
King of Fighters Maximum Impact Regulation A
King of Fighters Maximum Impact Regulation A
The Maximum Impact series was designed for the console audience, but SNK realized that most fighting game fans don't games seriously unless they show up in the arcades, fueling the competitive atmosphere. To answer this, SNK developed Regulation A, an arcade version of Maximum Impact 2 released in 2007 with some minor modifications. Although initially developed for the Taito Type-X2 Arcade board, it was then ported back for home release on the Playstation 2, although this was only released in Japan. Some of the balance was tuned a bit to feel a bit less cheap, although very few outside of the expert players will notice. Most of the arenas are taken from Maximum Impact 2, with only one new addition. The soundtrack is a mixture of both games with a handful of new songs.
