The King Of Fighters 95

Title
Publisher The King Of Fighters 95 / Takara - SNK

Genre Arcade Fighting

Features 2 Player Link-Up

Reviewer Madmoz

Summary
Gameplay
kof 95 Anyone who's stepped into an arcade these past few years would have at least seen KOF in one of its many incarnations. KOF was the very first fighting game to feature 3 on 3 tag team action. Pick three fighters, bash away and the team with the last man standing wins. Simple. The arcade version included a whole slew of characters from past SNK games as well as some pretty cool newcomers. This GameBoy version, reprogrammed by Takara, initially has 15 playable characters. There are a further 3 hidden characters, including Nakoruru from Samurai Showdown! The characters ported over are:

Kyo Kusanagi
Benimaru Nikaido
Terry Bogard
Joe Higashi
Ryo Sakazaki
Billy Kane
Sie Kensou
Yuri Sakazaki
Mai Shiranui
Athena Asamiya
Eiji Kisaragi
Heidern
Ralph
Kim Kaphwan
Iori Yagami
Saishu Kusanagi*
Omega Rugal*
Nakoruru*

As the arcade version had nearly 30 characters, some of your favorites are bound to be missing. Some familiar names like Goro Daimon, Robert Garcia and Andy Bogard were unfortunately dropped to make way for some villains. Can't have two teams of do-gooders beating the crap out of each other...
Surprisingly, all the moves and special attacks have been retained in the GameBoy version. The characters can dash, dodge, counter, charge up and even taunt. Keep those power meters charged! If it weren't for the minuscule monochrome screen, you'd even swear that you're playing on an arcade machine. The link up option available for vs. games. Furthermore, like the other home versions of KOF, a single battle (or one on one) option has been added. Although the controls have been somewhat simplified, with the GameBoy having only two buttons, it remains tight and responsive. The many special attacks can easily be executed. No problems at all.

* Press Select about 25 times at the 'Takara' screen to access these characters. You'll hear two different 'beeps' to show that the code has worked.

Verdict As we are talking about portables here, the graphics are as expected a bit on the small side. Characters have been given that Japanese 'Super Deformed' look to make them fit the screen better. However, the animation is top notch. Backgrounds are sparse but based on the original game. The music and sound effects are passable if somewhat repetitive and you really can't hope for any speech in a GameBoy game.

As for the difficulty level, well it is almost harder than in the arcades! The normal and hard modes are definitely for the seasoned experts only. The action is fast and furious.

KOF 95 is miles better than Killer Instinct and Street Fighter II. Keep an eye out for this one. A sequel has been released. Get that too.

Title Publisher	The King Of Fighters 95 / Takara - SNK
Genre	Arcade Fighting
Features	2 Player Link-Up
Reviewer	Madmoz
Summary Gameplay	Anyone who's stepped into an arcade these past few years would have at least seen KOF in one of its many incarnations. KOF was the very first fighting game to feature 3 on 3 tag team action. Pick three fighters, bash away and the team with the last man standing wins. Simple. The arcade version included a whole slew of characters from past SNK games as well as some pretty cool newcomers. This GameBoy version, reprogrammed by Takara, initially has 15 playable characters. There are a further 3 hidden characters, including Nakoruru from Samurai Showdown! The characters ported over are: Kyo Kusanagi Benimaru Nikaido Terry Bogard Joe Higashi Ryo Sakazaki Billy Kane Sie Kensou Yuri Sakazaki Mai Shiranui Athena Asamiya Eiji Kisaragi Heidern Ralph Kim Kaphwan Iori Yagami Saishu Kusanagi* Omega Rugal* Nakoruru* As the arcade version had nearly 30 characters, some of your favorites are bound to be missing. Some familiar names like Goro Daimon, Robert Garcia and Andy Bogard were unfortunately dropped to make way for some villains. Can't have two teams of do-gooders beating the crap out of each other... Surprisingly, all the moves and special attacks have been retained in the GameBoy version. The characters can dash, dodge, counter, charge up and even taunt. Keep those power meters charged! If it weren't for the minuscule monochrome screen, you'd even swear that you're playing on an arcade machine. The link up option available for vs. games. Furthermore, like the other home versions of KOF, a single battle (or one on one) option has been added. Although the controls have been somewhat simplified, with the GameBoy having only two buttons, it remains tight and responsive. The many special attacks can easily be executed. No problems at all. * Press Select about 25 times at the 'Takara' screen to access these characters. You'll hear two different 'beeps' to show that the code has worked.
Verdict	As we are talking about portables here, the graphics are as expected a bit on the small side. Characters have been given that Japanese 'Super Deformed' look to make them fit the screen better. However, the animation is top notch. Backgrounds are sparse but based on the original game. The music and sound effects are passable if somewhat repetitive and you really can't hope for any speech in a GameBoy game. As for the difficulty level, well it is almost harder than in the arcades! The normal and hard modes are definitely for the seasoned experts only. The action is fast and furious. KOF 95 is miles better than Killer Instinct and Street Fighter II. Keep an eye out for this one. A sequel has been released. Get that too.