King of Fighters R-1 review by substance J

When most people think of SNK, surely King of Fighters is one of the first images that come to mind. Or is it just me? Whatever the case, KOF is just the kind of high profile SNK needed to draw consumers to the NGP. It's a great game in it's own right, but comparisons to the Arcade and Saturn versions are inevitable. How does it compare? It holds its ground quite well.

Graphics -- A-
When I ordered my NGP, I was really curious, and maybe even a bit worried how a portable could handle a game like KOF. When I first took a look at KOF on NGP, I was a little blown away. The intro is very much like that of the arcade and Saturn versions, featuring lightly animated art screens and gameplay footage. The character select screen also looks very good. When you get to the actual gameplay, you'll see that the characters animate extremely well (some better than others, though). The animation rivals that of most Saturn 2D fighters, and the art, throughout the whole game is even better than KOF 97. Everything is well shaded and drawn. The backgrounds are better than expected, but nothing to get excited about. The KOF characters have really translated well into the Super Deformed style. And yes, Mai does bounce. It's hard to see, but it's there!

Sound -- B
Once again, for a portable, it's quite good. Nice hits and explosions, but no voices. The music may seem a bit flat at first, but I really dig it. Every character has their own song from their original KOF97 team, and they sound cool. I was so surprised to hear the Psycho Soldier team song play as I fought Athena. While they've been scaled down, they are very catchy.

Gameplay -- A-
No scaled down gameplay here, this IS King of Fighters! All the moves, strategy, depth, and fun you'd expect is here. While the NGP only has 2 buttons, it still plays just like the original. The NGP's mini joystick is perfect for the game, and is actually one of the best fighting controllers I've used. Hard and weak attacks depend on how you press the button, which may sound awkward, but works amazingly well. One of the great things about KOF R-1 is how SNK tied up the loose ends in the roster. Although only one or 2 members of each team are present, SNK has managed to match them up into new, effective teams that really work well. The only gameplay problem for me is the often cheap bosses like Orochi, and the Orochi team. It really annoys me to go unbeaten until I finally meet Orochi Chris, only to have him single-handedly take apart my whole team.

Replay Value -- A-
I know I'll continue to play KOF R-1 until I get Dreamcast and KOF98, but even then I'll probably go back to KOF R-1 quite a bit. All the gameplay is there, and all the modes of play you'd expect from SNK. The only negative in this category is the lack of so many other characters. While the ones that are in there are fine, what if you feel like playing as Billy Kane, or my favorite, Benimaru? What keeps replay so strong is that it is so easy to just pick up your NGP and play. No matter where you are.

Overall -- A
How can you possibly go wrong with this game? It's got all the gameplay, all the modes, all the fun, and you can play it whenever you want, where ever you want. Well, as long as there is sufficient light. *Ahem*…King of Fighters R-1 is really a must buy for every NGP owner. Actually, there's not much point in writing this review but just for my own enjoyment, seeing as how this game has undoubtedly sold a copy with almost every NGP order.