There's no stopping the King o' Fighters, and thus now we get the next two installments, 2002, being a 'dream match' just like '98 and 2003, the harbringer of the new Ash Saga. Both games are very different in mechanics, which makes it a rather interesting package. One harkens to the old KoF games, while the other one is a step into the future.
First up is The King of Fighters 2002, a celebratory game of the NESTS saga, bundling up characters past and present, even dead characters return. Sadly, the roster is quite lacking. We get Yashiro, Shermie and Chris again, as well as a few old faces, but... it's missing characters like Ling and Jhun. How can you celebrate NESTS when you're missing some of its iconic characters? I was quite disappointed with the cast. For whatever reason they also did away with the neat Striker system, going back to the 3 on 3 team format, which once again, is a disappointment. There was no need to regress the series' evolution, specially considering that Striker fights were already 3 on 3, but with an added mechanic.
Modes are: Team, Team VS Player, Single, Single VS Player, Practice and Challenge. Challenge is a set of Survival mode, 40 time challenges and Team and Single survival modes. In these modes you can unlock 4 bonus characters, but be warned, they are tough unlocks! All in all, 2002 is a disappointing celebration to what I feel is the best saga in the franchise. Further down the line a much better release, The King of Fighters 2002 Unlimited March would be released that would get a much better character roster, so there's no need to bother with this one...
...if only it didn't come bundled with The King of Fighters 2003. The 3-on-3 battles return with a twist, now you can tag in-and-out with either partner in the midst of battle. It's a great addition, and something new to mark the introduction of the Ash Saga. We get fantastic new characters, like Ash(Fight me, he is my favorite charge character), Shen Woo, Duo Lon, Adelheid and also introduces great characters from Garou, like Tizoc and Gato. Terry gets his fantastic Garou redesign as well! There're a few neat things, like whoever character you picked first in the character select screen becomes the 'leader' and gains access to an exclusive 2-gauge super move.
The Modes are Tag, Tag VS Player, Team, Team VS Player, Single, Single VS Player, Practice and Survival. The King of Fighters 2003 was a top-notch addition to the series, although sadly the tag mechanics would get ditched in XII. Besides, as much as I enjoy 2003, the next game, XI, has a much better character roster, like seriously, where's Kula?, and perfected the Tag mechanics.
All in all, The King of Fighters 02/03 is a neat package, although 2002 is a bit disappointing and 2003 would be surpassed by XI. Not a bad purchase at all, I mean it's friggin' The King of Fighters, but there're better alternatives to both games available.
8.5 out of 10
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