Review – King of Fighters: The Orochi Saga

Beat ’em Up

Mid-90s violence overdose.

Colin

PSP: Shelling out coinage to plug into a big wooden cabinet in a big room filled with bright lights and sweaty adolescents just doesn’t sound like the kind of thing anyone would enjoy but for many modern gamers it was a way of life that is certainly less prevalent nowadays – The King of Fighters series was one of many game series that played a part. With this collection of series entries out now it will be interesting to see how well the games have fared over the years and whether any newcomers will be interested in it.

For those not familiar with the series the KoF games were almost like a combination of other established SNK fighting games (namely Art of Fighting and Fatal Fury). You could say that this inspired many other games to have similar mash –ups (Marvel vs. Capcom etc etc) but I won’t. KoF: The Orochi Saga contains King of Fighters ’94-’98 and a few extras too.

I'm not sure who that'd hurt more.

As you would expect the aim of the game was always to beat the juice out of your opponent but again a slight twist is thrown into the mix with the addition of three man teams, either a set team (like team USA) or in certain modes – making your own three man squad. Some would say it adds a certain strategy being that each character is different, but frankly you should always just play with who you like best, not putting too much thought into it. Once your line-up is ready you fight your opponent, one by one until one player looses all their health and then the next in the line-up steps in to take on the victor. You’re basically stuck with a fighter until they are defeated, which thankfully rules out the possibility of cheap “tagging in” and “tagging out” during certain points in a fight (it’s a form of cheating you know).

Hardly seems fair.

You can take your squad through the arcade modes of each of the five games which is as you would expect involves you fighting increasingly difficult teams, or try out the training mode. The standard options of attacking a stationary opponent or someone that can fight back are present but also a more easy to navigate moves list and the option to have button combinations for moves displayed at the top of the screen – so you don’t have to memorise everything. This was a very useful feature that either I haven’t seen before – or have just missed.

Mark Wii Review Now these games are my kind of beat ’em ups, never mind all this spending six months learning combo chains and counter-moves bollocks only to get beasted by someone mashing buttons. Two buttons, easy to execute special moves and a big roster filled with interesting and more importantly varied characters make this collection a must have party game for when the beers come out and you need something fun but not too taxing to play. The games might look simplistic and basic put aside today’s titles like VF5 or SF4 but don’t fooled by the (now) retro presentation and garbled engrish of the early games, there’s plenty of depth to be had here with the whole three fighters per team mechanic giving you great scope for tactics and alternate strategy’s along with the later game’s super move system. If your idea of a good beat ’em up is less Tekken and more Body Blows get this as despite showing its age can more than hold its own with the rest of the genre. Secondary Score: 7/10

In addition to the arcade modes from the ’94-’98 games a challenge mode has been included which is exactly as it sounds. Fighting opponents with certain limits and constraints ranging from not being able to see the timer or power gauge to fighting enemies who randomly flicker between being normal to invulnerable – so never a dull moment. Each challenge its self does have an AI difficulty rating ranging from easy (never as easy as you’d think) to advanced (Jedi Master more like). Never once do you feel helpless however, with each characters moves list only a button press away and a genuine sense of getting better at the game.

Completing challenges rewards you with the usual artwork and soundtrack unlockables, not to mention bragging rights.

The graphics have been really well represented and are as good as they were well over 10 years ago, the controls work well and the characters animations and moves are very fluidic, unlike certain other 2D fighting re-releases. Being that the ’94-’98 games were quite similar to each other it does seem a bit unusual to cram them all into one game but I don’t think anyone ever complained of having too much choice. King of Fighters: The Orochi Saga is a fine 2D fighter which was as fun to play now as it ever was. Aimed more at fans of the series than newcomers I’d still recommend it to anyone who likes the genre.

Rating: 7/10