Pads & Panels

Title: The King of Fighters ’98 Ultimate Match

Platform: PS2 (Also on XBLA)

ESRB Rating: T

Publisher: Ignition

Developer: SNK Playmore

Rating:

Review by: John Gustafson

Fans of The King of Fighters series will immediately recognize this re-release of the original PlayStation and Dreamcast game King of Fighters Dream: Match 1999. Those questioning which version has made the console generation jump can breathe a sigh of relief as the superior Dreamcast version has been ported to the PS2 and Xbox Live Arcade.

For those players unfamiliar or marginally acquainted with SNK’s mash-up series, King of Fighters ’98 Ultimate Match collects fighters from the company’s previous series, such as Fatal Fury and Art of Fighting. What makes ’98 unique to previous installments is the dynamic roster populated with just about every character to grace past games. With all of these fighters available for 3-on-3 and 1-on-1 match-ups, players can enact dream fights that were previously unavailable due to silly things like death and the need for story. Both elements are thrown out the window, giving fans exactly what they’ve craved without limitations. And SNK has also gone out of its way by adding a handful of new pugilists, stages and a third fighting style to the mix, making this more than a simple re-release.

The new fighting style, dubbed “Ultimate” mode, is a hybrid of the established “Advanced” and “Extra” styles. Fighting styles essentially dictate how the player dashes or hops across the screen. While at the same time the power gauge systems are set to a gradual fill or determined by the damage system. Ultimate lets the player select his movement preference and power gauge system, which caters well to the dedicated player looking to refine his play styles to preferred modes.

Graphically, ’98 is nothing to write home about, but this is a 10 year old game we’re talking about. For all the time that is passed, this game has aged well because of its detailed sprites and above-average animations for its time. It would have been nice if SNK smoothed out the character edges and updated the colors to a more vibrant level, but overall the game looks nice.

King of Fighters ’98 Ultimate Match is easily the very best of the series in all of its updated glory. Sure the complex combos and technical prowess can be intimidating to newcomers, but like all fighters, time and dedication are a sacrifice that must be made for superiority on the 2D playing field. Yet, with Capcom’s juggernaut of a title already released this year, ’98 might not find the crowd it deserves. Hopefully it garners enough attention to attract gamers to the release of King of Fighters XII scheduled for this July.

For more info, www.snkplaymoreusa.com