Now with even MORE floating hands.
Well, as far as modes go, it's about what you'd expect: Story Mode, Team and Single VS, both CPU and Player, Mission Mode(combo trials), an admittedly decent tutorial and a training mode. The 'story' mode is as lackluster as it was in the previous game, every Team gets the same mid-tournament cutscene, and every team sans the Hero team and the Rival team get the exact same ending cutscenes. At least every team gets their own boring endings made up of voiceless dialogue and some artwork. Honestly, if they didn't play so slowly I might've been interested in them, but they are boring and, honestly, lazy.
The character roster is where things get interesting. Y'see... the previous game had over 50 characters, even at launch. This one has a paltry, in comparison, 39. Y'know, I could've been fine with that... but two full teams were announced before the game even released, including my favorite fighting game character of all time, Rock Howard, who WAS DLC in the previous game too, and another team made up of Geese, Billy Cane and Yamazaki.... y'know, characters that were in the previous game too. This is beyond egregious. These characters were in the previous game, they look pretty much identical and they were shown in full before the game released. No, I'm sorry, but I'll never be OK with these crappy DLC practices. On the other hand, since at the end of XIV a lot of dead people came back to life... some characters are back into the game, like the Orochi Trio, and one of my favorites: Ash Crimson.
That said, while I'm pretty sure the character models weren't made from scratch, which is why the DLC is so ridiculous, they took the graphics criticisms to heart, and this game is quite a looker. Character models are still rather simple, but some character models have been changed more than others. Terry looks almost completely different since they beefed up his arms to a hilarious degree, Ryo has lost his neck amidst all his new muscles. Yeah, some character models look.... weird. Most characters look as if their arms are a bit too long. That said, on the flipside, the game uses a new shading that makes every character look as if it was painted with water colors, it's quite colorful, and it has some of the best special effects I've yet seen on a fighter. The game is a spectacle of vibrant colors and shiny explosions.
On the technical side of things, hops and evasive rolls are back. There's a new ShatterStrike, which behaves similarly to SF IV's focus attack, albeit it costs meter. You get the MAX mode that gives you free reign on super, MAX supers are back as well as CLIMAX supers. It's fun. All the new added special effects ads extra crunch to 2-bar specials, ending a round with one of them feels SO GOOD. On the other hand, the camera work during CLIMAX supers makes them extra exciting. Basically, the game is as fun to play as it looks. Oh, I don't quite remember if they were in XIV, but EX versions of special moves are in! There are a lot of tools to get creative with. CLIMAX moves are universal between the entire cast, and you can tell that some of the tougher motions were simplified, making it more approachable.
Speaking of approachable... I've been a staunch detractor of this new obsession with Autocombos. I hate them as I can't play fighting games the way that I used to, and want to, since I can't mash weak standing punches without starting a combo String I don't want to use. That said... I think they did it rather well in this game. Basically, mashing weak punch will net you a 4 hit combo. Depending on your amount of stocked energy bars you'll get increasingly stronger enders: 1-bar means a super, 2 bars means a MAX super and 3 bars translates into a Climax super. But what makes this interesting, is that you can end the fourth hit with a different button to produce different results. Weak punch will always perform the strongest attack you can, Weak Kick will do a simple special move, Strong Kick will be a one-stock super and Strong Punch will be a two-stock super. I felt this was a fairly interesting take on the autocombo, as it adds a dash of strategy into the mindless mashing. I still wish it could be turned off, like you could in classic fighters that offered an easy mode, but this is something more tolerable since it gives you options.
The last thing worth mentioning is the soundtrack... You can unlock a TON of classic tunes, and you can customize which songs play on every stage.
I really enjoyed this new iteration of the King of Fighters. The new characters are pretty decent, while Isla is insufferable she looks kinda neat and plays decently, and while I don't like Dolores' fanservicey design she is fun to play, and I loved the returning characters, particularly, having Ash back into the mix. Even though it kinda cheapens his sacrifice. It's probably one of the easiest KoF entries to pick up, and it's quite pretty to boot. If anything, as great as the game is, the game still needs to do better with the character models, since some of them aren't quite there yet, and the slimey DLC practices is something I just can't condone.
8.0
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