First Impressions: King of Fighters XII (Xbox 360)

May 20, 2009 by Jeffrey L. Wilson
Filed under: Fighters 

ryo First Impressions: King of Fighters XII (Xbox 360)

Much like taxes, the slow march toward death, and knowing sweet love from a fine woman, there’s one there’s only one true inevitable in my life: I will drool in a Pavlovian manner with the release of a new King of Fighters game.

I’ve been a die hard since the Neo Geo’s  King of Fighters ‘94, and followed it until well-after the death of SNK’s dream machine. Over the course of the series, I grew to love the insane mix of newcomers (Kyo and Iori), classic characters pulled from older, non-Neo Geo properties (Ralf and Clark), and fighters siphoned from other Neo Geo hits (Terry Bogard, Ryo).

Few long-time King of Fighters players would challenge this statement: The franchise’s graphics and music peaked with King of Fighters ‘98. A a decline in quality soon followed as SNK declared bankruptcy, was purchased by Aruze,  and eventually reborn as SNK Playmore. Although the King of Fighters games of recent years were quite fun with the added tag factor (King of Fighters 2003, King of Fighters XI), they were becoming increasingly archaic as SNK Playmore recycled sprites (or tweaked them slightly) on an annual basis. The company attempted to compensate by placing its 2D characters against slick 3D backgrounds on the home consoles – - a jarring mishmash that didn’t sit well with many. It was just a stepping stone; we long time fans wanted fresh sprites.  And the company stepped it up big time with King of Fighters XII.

King of Fighters XII marks a wonderfully dramatic turn for the franchise. The visuals, of course, are the meat in this tasty sandwich: Each of the 22 characters have been redrawn from scratch to bring them into the new millennium – - no recycled sprites here. Art director Nona loves the 2D medium and King of Fighters XII is his love letter. The animation is fluid down to clothing movement, the shadow/lighting effects are awesome, and the backgrounds bristle with a life not seen in a fighting game in some time.


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More 2D-X Goodness:

  1. Review: King of Fighters XII (Xbox 360)
  2. King of Fighters XII Online Details Revealed: Lots of Options, PS3 and Xbox 360 Exclusives
  3. SNK Playmore announces King of Fighters XIII
  4. Review: King of Fighters ‘98: Ultimate Match (PS2)
  5. King of Fighters XII Gets a Release Date: 7/28/09

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Comments

10 Comments on First Impressions: King of Fighters XII (Xbox 360)

  1. Tom Stanley on Wed, 20th May 2009 9:45 am

    2. I was on Yahoo and found your blog. Read a few of your other posts. Good work. I am looking forward to reading more from you in the future.

    Tom Stanley

  2. Jeffrey L. Wilson on Thu, 21st May 2009 8:47 am

    3. Thanks for the kind words, Tom. Let’s keep the 2D movement alive!

  3. King of Fighters XII Online Details Revealed; Lots of Options, PS3 and Xbox 360 Exclusives | 2D-X, Where old school gaming is new school. on Tue, 26th May 2009 7:12 pm

    4. [...] Ingnition unveiled new King of Fighters XII info that’s sure to please fighting fans that miss the aracde expereince of days past. [...]

  4. 6 Minutes of A Boy and His Blob (Wii) | 2D-X, Where old school gaming is new school. on Thu, 4th Jun 2009 1:14 am

    5. [...] with King of Fighters XII, A Boy and His Blob is one my most-anticpated releases. 2009 is shaping up to be a great gaming [...]

  5. Review: Hokuto no Ken (PS2) | 2D-X, Where old school gaming is new school. on Wed, 17th Jun 2009 12:02 am

    6. [...] fighting action is tight and the combos flow nicely, but it isn’t as smooth as King of Fighters XII, Street Fighter IV, or even a game running on an older engine such as King of Fighters ‘98: [...]

  6. Vanguard Princess: A Cute, Free 2D Fighter for Windows PCs | 2D-X on Sun, 5th Jul 2009 1:39 am

    7. [...] gets teenaged anime-inspired females excited. It’s as though someone yanked Athena out of King of Fighters and cloned her multiple times. You’ll find this either orgasmic or the single greatest [...]

  7. Marvel vs. Capcom 2 Coming to XBLA on July 29th | 2D-X on Fri, 10th Jul 2009 3:36 am

    8. [...] genre saw the release of BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger, and they’re eagerly waiting the upcoming King of Fighters XII. Now you can add Marvel vs. Capcom 2, which will be available for download on XBLA for 1200 [...]

  8. Review: Neo Geo Battle Coliseum (PlayStation 2) | 2D-X on Fri, 17th Jul 2009 1:59 am

    9. [...] are cold and lifeless, which was (sadly) the trademark of the SNK Playmore era until the King of Fighters XII revamp. Audio is satisfying, but ultimately forgettable. None of the game’s tunes are [...]

  9. Pedant on Fri, 24th Jul 2009 12:12 pm

    10. It’s Pavlovian. As in Pavlov. Not Pavolian.

  10. Review: King of Fighters XII (Xbox 360) | 2D-X on Thu, 30th Jul 2009 1:53 am

    11. [...] game. Really, there’s no other place to start than the new sprites. As I stated in my initial hands-on with King of Fighters XII, art director Nona loves the 2D medium and King of Fighters XII is his love letter. Each of the 22 [...]

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