How do you rate KOF 2000?

Hi. Hopefully by now, most of you guys probably got a copy, and had chance to play a bit. I know it's still early, but from your initial impression, from a scale of 1 to 10, how would you grade?

I still have to play more, but my initial grading would be 7.5-8.

My favorite KOF is still 96

I would give it a 9 just because the animation is really good, I play it all the time. The replay is through the roof. I love the new Characters. The combos are all there and, SNK has done something that no other company has done before. The Neo is over ten years old!

Bryan -FUCK NGF-

I would give it around a 7, 7.5 if I'm being generous. I only played the home version once, when we had our KoF Christmas party (25 Dec. from 1:00 ~ 4:xx a.m.) where we played 2000 and '97. Otherwise I play the MVS, and it's oddly fun, though not so much that I want to keep putting quarters in over & over.

I fear my opinion may be clouded by the shiny-newness of playing this game at home, but I think it is a 9. Great graphics, good new characters (but I miss Xiangfei) and great gameplay (although the jurys still out on the new striker system). I really like the new Egypt and aquarium backgrounds, and the end boss (Zero) is quite a piece of eye-candy. I haven't touched any of my other carts since last Thursday when I got it. Only time will tell if KOF 2000's charm wears off.

KULA IS INSANE!!!!!!HER ANIMATIONS ARE SO WICKED!!! ALSO ZERO IS JUST ONE BAD MTHAFKR!!! THE ONLY THING THAT DISAPOINTS ME IS THE SHORTAGE OF BGS AND THE SHORTNESS OF THE GAME..OTHER THAN THAT ITS ONE WICKED GAME!!!

Overall-9
I've also noticed how Zero does not have the standard case of "SNK Boss Syndrome" as his ass is easy to kick, that DM of his is sweet.
Endings-8
Girl Team ending dumb as always
Psycho Soldier ending is excellent, BAO CROAKS.
Kim Team ending kinda cheesy
AOF ending is a riot
Kyo's ending & Edit Ending cool too.
Gameplay-9.5
Absolutely wonderful, still wish Iori had his old Maiden Masher SDM, but his new DM makes up for it. Kula is cool, but I still like K' better.
Favorite Strikers-Yashiro Nanakase
Mature & Vice
Another Iori

I think it's pretty great. 9/10
Seems like they put alot of effort into the animation of lesser characters this tear such as Choi, Chin etc.. and the new characters animate pretty excellent too! (Zero, Kula) My only gripe so far is you can't play as Kula and have Candy or Foxy be your striker. Why is that? Well hopefully I'll come across the dip setting. All in all, a great presentation this year.

Hmm well 7-7.5 not more.
Its pretty disapointend for that mutch money.
I played it 6 times completly through.
Music is not bad but i like the Char Themes more for each Char. Grafiks are almost the same like in KoF99. The new Fighters are pretty bad looking. Backgrounds are good but hey not that mutch. Well the alternate strikers are pretty nice but thats all.
Well the best KoF is 96 and 98 ..... yes and 94&95 are good too.

Tough call.. I have yet to write a review of it. So far, it deserves a 7.7. I like the character artwork on the selection screen (reminds me of Real Bout Special), I love all the camero strikers from old SNK games (Burning Fight, Robo army), and I like the game's music, especially at the character selection and demo screen. What I don't like are the new characters. While there is a balanced group of fighters with new types of moves, I don't think any of them are real spectacular except for Lin. Vanessa would be real good, but her moves seem limited. Ramon is just plain useless and gay; Seth uses brute force, wrestling, and counter moves with mixed results - kind of reminds you of Blue Mary. Who knows? Maybe he'll prove better as you master him. Hinako's sumo wrestler moves and limited reach don't work too well, and Kula is a cool character, but she needs more moves. Overall, a decent game, but not quite worth the $300+. Then again, I said the same thing of KoF '99 and ate my words later..

Well everyone. I am of a different opinion than most of you about how KOF 2000 rates. I just don't think 2000 was a good year for KOF. The game is better than some KOF versions, but not the best. I don't like the new striker system and really don't like the new characters. Zero is not that wicked for a final character IMO. I still like this game but I find myself playing Street Fighter 3 on a more consistent basis than KOF 2000. The endings are okay for KOF, but I wouldn't give this game anything higher than a 7. Seriously. It just didn't deserve to have 2000 on the end of it. I expected a lot though, so maybe my opinion is a little harsh.

I think KOF 2000 is insane! I love ALL of the new character designs, especially Vanessa and Lin. The animation is very impressive, and all the character portraits are great. I still think Kyo's new outfit from 99 is the sickest thing SNK has ever done. Duck King is by far the coolest striker...bust'N in brak"N like nobody's business. (I like Techno)The game is very deep and envovled, and it should take a long time to master even a few characters. I only wish that SNK re-drew Iori in his new "Another Iori" outfit. Love the music...picked up the OST when I was in N.J.(Which by the way, has all the official art in full color in the insert). It easily gets a 9. Does anyone have the KOF 2000 "ALL CHARACTER BIBLE" ? How is it?

okay I have played it awhile and here it goes.

I like KOF 2000 but it still does not match up to 98.

I was a little dissappointed in the backgrounds. with all the talk of it using the same tech as mark of the wolves I was expecting more of a better background look.

OK 1/2 and 1/2 on the new characters. Vanessa is awesome but what is up with the sumo girl, she just looks weird. especially when she jumps. The other boxer is cool also but the eye patch guy has gotta go.

Gameplay I like, it does seem a bit smoother and the animation is top notch.

So over all though KOF 2000 was a little bit of a let down for me. I do like the game but after mark of the wolves and metal slug 3 I was hoping the next KOF2000 would be a mark of the wolves tag match with the nicer backgrounds and that is was not. I also was disappointed in the ending pictures and main story line. who is zero suppose to be? A in shape saddam Hussan that can fight

take it for what it is worth. I personally always have prefered the weapon fighters over the traditional ones but mark of the wolves made me take a second look at them.

[This message has been edited by Big Bruno (edited January 03, 2001).]

[This message has been edited by Big Bruno (edited January 03, 2001).]

I've beaten the game with 4 of the teams so far. The main hero team, Carlos, Vanessa, K and Maxima seem to have the best ending so far. The Korea Team ending seems more like a throw away funny one. The Psycho soldier ending is also pretty good. The gal fighter ending was also very funny. So far, I have to say I'm happy with the way the endings are turning out. I think it's agreed that 2000 is not the best in the series, but it's not a bad way to go out either. Hopefully, the new KOF will be the revamp that everyone is waiting for. Fingers crossed that it actually comes out. I guess if the original team is sorta working fro Capcom, it'll probably be Naomi based. Who knows.

Heya Bruno, you didn't like Ramon (the eye patch dude)? My opinion, but I think he kicks ass, as do Seth and Vanessa. You're right, sumo girl plain sucks, and why do they keep bringing Bao back into it? The kid is WEAK.

Better save my other comments for my review

Lee (garg7) http://www.neogeotemple.com

Garg, let us celebrate to the fact that Bao is now DEAD! I loved it how his soul and body disincorporated in the KOF2000 ending. We won't see him no more. Isn't it funny how his Psycho Ball MAX SDM is only as powerful as K's Chain Drive DM? 1 down, 3 to go.

No offense, but I hate Psycho Soldier team also. And, what is wrong with Zero? He tries so hard to fight like Rasputin (from WH), but he has nothing on him.

I also thought the Hinako was lame. Isn't she...uh little underweight and underpowered? She should change her discipline. Granted, I don't know alot about sumo, but this is weird.



[This message has been edited by Master Terry Bogard (edited January 03, 2001).]

speaking of Rasputin, have the Russians finally killed him yet?

What is the deal with KOF98? I dunno, but that is one KOF I never got into. Dunno why, but I would probably say it was the least one I played.

KOF2000, now Ive had more time to give it a few tries. Personally, I think Vanessa is the #1 new character, very cool. Most everyone likes her too from what I see posted her. I think Lin is lame, bring back Eiji damit. Bao sucks, cant stand him either. Duck King needs to be a full character next time too. That little sumo girl is strange to say the least, and Ramon needs more moves to be more of a serious grappler. Seth I'm not able to give a good opinion about since I havent tried him much. Zero is damn cool to look at, they did an awesome job on his animation, although he is nothing of a boss compared to Rugal or Geese, who have to stand on top of all SNK bosses. (He's a whole lot better than that stupid useless Kryzalid though, what a waste...)

The game itself is a finely tuned KOF99, worth owning more than 99 too. I dont regret it, and I dont think you would either if you havent bought it.

Thats funny, 98 is my favorite.

Hmmm…

I warn you, this is going to be long…
And don’t get upset if you don’t agree, this is just my opinion.

Rating King of Fighters 2000.


-As a Neo Geo game: 8.5-9

Once again it’s amazing what SNK can get the aging system to do. In my opinion Last Blade 2 and Garou MotW have better graphics and animation, but the marvel of KOF 2K is the striker system. If someone had shown me this game 5 years ago I wouldn’t have believed it was running on a Neo. Some of those strikers, namely A. Iori, fly out extremely fast; I would have never thought a Neo could handle that and still maintain graphics of this level.

It also rounds out the KOF series decently in it’s own way. With Azure buying SNK, the future of the KOF series is unsure. This could end up being the last KOF game on the MVS and AES systems. The addition of all the different strikers allows a lot of classic SNK characters to make cameos. So while you may not be able to play as Geese or Billy, they are a least present in the game.

Lastly, there is something in the presentation of the game that is appealing. Even the insert art has it’s own charms, although Maxima looks kinda dumb on it.


-As a Fighting game: 7-7.5

KOF 2K has its merits, but, in my opinion, KOF 98 was a better fighting game. 2K’s biggest problem is the abusive striker system and abundant infinites. All the traditional elements of a KOF game are present, but not all the changes are beneficial. Counter mode is improved over 99, but armor mode is a waste of your three power stocks (it’s not without it’s uses, but three power stocks are more useful). Personally I liked the DM/SDM power stock system from 99 better, in 2K most characters only have one SDM. To me this feels a little constricting, most of the time I’ll use DMs rather then risking all three stocks on one SDM.

In a strange and twisted sort of way, 2K is both more and less balanced than previous KOFs. As is the case with every year, there are character tweaks. Some characters simply get modified; K’ is a hair faster, but less powerful and his Heat Driver has been altered. Others get toned down; compared to previous KOFs Terry seems weakened. And unfortunately some characters get over powered; Takuma was tough enough in 99, but he’s a monster in 2K. The twisted part is that the abusive striker system helps balance things out a bit. Even lower end characters can cause big damage with the right striker. As a result, there are several excessively used strikers (such as Seth, A. Iori or Joe) that help contribute to these combos or have great priority. Some high level games turn into poking matches, each player trying to bait the other into big damage striker combos. To say the least, the game is unreasonably unbalanced.


-As a King of Fighters game: 8-8.5

Not the greatest of the KOF games, but not an embarrassment to the series. The new characters are a mixed lot. Aesthetically, Ramon, Hinako (a Karin lookalike), Zero and Seth seem a little less then inspired. They have uses, but they could have been better designed. On the other hand, Lin, Vanessa and Kula, are great additions to the KOF universe. The biggest complaint character-wise is the exclusion of old favorites. Yamazaki, Geese and Saishu are just strikers and not playable. It’s to 2K’s credit that they are included, still it would be better if you could play as them.

The story, well, if you hated the Nests story, it’s not likely you’ll change your mind. The Orochi story line was better then what we’ve seen of the Nests story line so far. While 99’s story introduced K’ and Maxima as new heroes, it was disappointing (c’mon, Kyo clones?). 2K advances the Nests story and improves on it, but it is still a bit weak and not as original as the previous story arc. The Hero, Benimaru, Kula and Kyo/Iori endings are pretty good, after watching them there seems to be some promise for the Nests story. K’ and Maxima team up with Whip (K’s sister!), Lin’s clan betrays themselves to Nests (Ron has got to be at least a mid-boss in 2001) and Zero is actually a traitor that wants to destroy Nests and rule the world. With all that in place, 2001’s plot has potential. That is if SNK/Azure can keep away from lame plot ideas like multiple clone and orbital lasers.


That’s my rant, I warned you it’d be long. A great game for KOF fans, but not a great fighting game (a bit of a disappointment to boot). Nonetheless, I’m glad I bought it.

FYI: I got a lot of this info from the forum at www.orochinagi.com


[This message has been edited by Cros (edited January 03, 2001).]

After a few more days with KOF2000 a few new impressions hit me. I think it is important to look at this game as a sequel to '99, as opposed to judging it as compared to the rest of the series ('96, '98 etc.). It was designed and programmed by the same team as '99, and it is a direct sequel (Graphics, gameplay etc.). If you thought '99 was a step in the wrong direction, then it is unlikely that you will like 2K much more than '99. I think the improvements are as follows:
1) Slightly improved, slicker graphics (Especially the touched up, more subtle colors - look at the difference on Jhun - WOW)
2) Slightly more responsive gameplay (Just a little)
3)MUCH easier strikers
4)Much larger KOF feel (Alternate strikers from other SNK games)
All in All a better game than '99, with the exception of the graphics on the "Downpour in the Courtyard" stage.
After having played most all of the best 2D and 3D games out there, I have to say KOF 2000 was worth every penny of the $332 I payed NCS for it.

My personal favs would have to be......ALL OF THEM!!!!!!!!
Every year SNK adds a little something to change things up, and with KOF 2000, the same applies. Althouth I have to agree with everyone who thinks sumo girl, and eye patch dude really suck major ass!! I like the new striker system, although it would have been even cooler if you could do team supers like the capcom VS. games.
An Iori/Kyo team super would sweet... I can only dream....

I like how Cros did it so I'm a bite his flow. (Long and maybe controversial)

Graphics: Pretty good. I would like redrawn sprites but that'd probably be crazy at this stage in the game.

Music: This is the lamest music I've ever heard on a KOF game. It's not bad, but it's not up the standards of the previous years. Iori's theme is an utterly lame shell of it former selves.

Backgrounds: Very weak this year also. After 7 years I guess it's hard to come with cool places to fight in. Bah, it was all downhill after '96 anyway.

Boss: Has some cool moves but he's way too easy for an SNK boss.

New Characters: Pretty good. The only real duds are Ramon and Hinako. Hinako is the lamest character SNK put out in years (even worse than Bao). Lin looks MK-ish and Kula needs more (and slightly more original) moves but they're are okay. Seth is pretty cool and has interesting moves and story. However, the real shining star is Vanessa. She's almost like the second coming of Iori. SNK knew she'd be the bomb. Cool and interesting moves to boot.

Old Characters: I think I'm at the point now where I want changes. It just helps the games to seem fresh. So what if they turned Robert into poor man's Guile, at least I'll have to relearn my strategies. And if you're not gonna change the moves do aestetic changes like what was done to Benimaru. More change in 2001.

Story: Confusing, not as interesting as the O. Saga, but it's shaping up. 2001 should have interestin' plot twists. It just hurts to see Kyo and Iori reduced to bench warmers in story terms.

Extras/Cool stuff: Cool secret strikers, lame intros, missing intros, some special win poses, cool defeated phrases, no special edit endings. The only kick-ass intros this year were Kensou/Athena and Kyo/Iori, everything else is ho-hum.

AI: Utterly lame. The CPU has no clue how to play the game even on Level 8 (it can't even use the Strikers properly). This game would have benefitted from LB2 type difficulty where the game taught you shit.

Gameplay: It's a complex game, with a shitload of options and tactics, but the question is it fair? The Active Striker System gives the game whole other dimension. Counter and Armour Modes are have there uses as well, and there's a ton of stuff to blow meter on. 2000 seems like it could be a really good game if the dumbass infinites and bugs can be outskilled. Your mileage may vary.

Replay Value: Just finding all the combos would take months, not to mention all the Striker Thug Tactics.

Overall: 8

Competitive Arcade Game: 7 (with hope 8.5)

The gameplay is still excellent
But the intro and some of the backgrounds are below the KOF standart.
I'd give it 8

I still think 98 is the best KOF.

Pedu