Review: King of Fighters ‘98: Ultimate Match (PS2)

May 12, 2009 by Jeffrey L. Wilson
Filed under: Fighters, Reviews 

kof98umcover Review: King of Fighters 98: Ultimate Match (PS2)

Created in in honor of the 10th anniversary of the most popular entry in SNK Playmore’s long-running fighting franchise, King of Fighters ‘98: Ultimate Match attempts to do what die-hard KOF ‘98 fans consider an impossibility: Honor SNK Playmore’s landmark fighter by actually improving upon the foundation laid by the near-perfect original.

Indeed, this release sounds quite appealing when one considers the new characters, revamped backgrounds, and new fighting system, but the hardcore want to know  one thing: is it at least as excellent as first KOF ‘98? In one word: Yes. In several words: It’s better than the original in nearly every aspect.

KOF ‘98:UM is, of course, based on the magnificent KOF ‘98, which I considered the last truly great series entry until I sampled the goodness that is King of the Fighters XII. A decade ago, KOF ‘98 was the culmination of the old SNK magic before the company’s bankruptcy and rebirth as SNK Playmore, and as such featured the classic 3-on-3 non-tag dynamic, lush backgrounds, and fantastic music. More importantly, it eschewed a storyline for a “Dream Match”, which was SNK’s way of cramming a crapload of characters into the game regardless of past plots.

Why is that important to know? KOF ‘98: UM adds a ton of extra characters (including several fan favorites left out of the original), which brings the grand total up to an incredible 64 fighters. Meet the cast.

  • Hero Team: Kyo, Benimaru, Goro
  • Ikari Team: Leona, Ralf, Clark
  • Kim Team: Kim, Chang, Choi
  • Yagami Team: Iori, Mature, Vice
  • Edit Team: Eiji, Kasmui, Shingo
  • Fatal Fury Team: Terry, Andy, Joe
  • Psycho Soldier Team: Athena, Kensou, Chin
  • Orochi Team: Yashiro, Shermie, Chris
  • Master Team: Heidern, Takuma, Saisyu
  • Art of Fighting Team: Ryo, Robert, Yuri
  • Women Team: Chizuru, Mai, King
  • ‘97 Special Team: Yamazaki, Blue Mary, Billy Kane
  • American Sports Team: Heavy-D!, Lucky, Brian
  • ‘96 Boss Team: Geese, Krauser, Mr. Big
  • Rugal

And that’s just the default lineup;  there are EX and hidden characters that add onto the sizable roster. With the return of Eiji and the ‘96 Boss Team, you have virtually every character to appear in a KOF game from ‘94 to ‘98, and unlike Neo Geo Battle Colesium where the mish mash of game characters produced an uneven, MUGEN-like feel, the returning fighters are right as home in terms of appearance and gameplay. Eiji looks right at home next to Geese, Billy Kane, and other South Town thugs.

Thankfully the remarkably tight gameplay of KOF ‘98 is in tact, and dare I say, made better in Ultimate Match. How so? Calm down, baby birds, Papa’s going to feed you.

kof98 ultimatematch screenshot Review: King of Fighters 98: Ultimate Match (PS2)

The original KOF ‘98 (like KOF ‘97 before it) utilized two gameplay modes: Advance and Extra. With Advance, your character dashes to quickly charge toward/retreat from an enemy, rolls to avoid incoming attacks, and unleashed MAX Super Special Moves when the power meter is in MAX condition and you have at least one power stock. Extra mode lets you do a short-hop toward/away from opponents, dodge attacks to avoid getting hit, hold down the attack buttons to charge the power meter, and unleash MAX Super Special Moves when the power bar reached MAX and the life gauge flashes red. In short, SNK included two very different, but balanced systems – - but blokes like me said that wasn’t enough. Surprisngly, SNKP listened.

KOF ‘98:UM’s dreamy Ultimate Mode lets you combine elements of Advance and Extra mode to create your own hybrid style. For example, when using a grappler like Clark, I like to stay all up in an opponent’s grill, so I use Ultimate Mode and cherry pick Advance’s dash, Extra’s dodge (so I can avoid blows and still stay within grapple range), and Extra’s power gauge (which lets you charge the super bar).  Combos flow effortlessly in the hard-hitting SNK style, but the “smiley face” team chemistry indicators are M.I.A. Included are Practice, Vs. Endless, and Challenge modes.

Some characters move sets have been tweaked, mostly for the better.  For example, Andy’s fireball is now a large globe of energy similar to what came in KOF ‘99, which makes for a decent anti-air; Geese has the Fatal Fury: Real Bout version of his Raging Storm super, which is different from the version seen in KOF ‘96, his previous KOF appearance.

The old school character designs (“rugged sprites” as I like to call them) are still some of the best in videogamedom despite being a decade old.  The cast of characters move fluidly for the most part (Goro is admittedly a bit stiff), and the special attacks and supers provide the flash that a fighter needs.  It should be noted that Athena is still a pain in the ass after all of these years; she counters absolutely everything and has the single most annoying and shrill voice actor in gaming history.

The one area that KOF ‘98: UM disappoints is in backgrounds. They’re not bad per se, but the mix of 2D and 3D just doesn’t gel with me. Some areas, such as the stage with the hydraulics-powered cars all a-bouncin’ look awesome, but the others range from “decent” to “meh” on the internet mood meter.

Ultimately, King of the Fighters ‘98: Ultimate Match is one of the ballsiest games available on any console. SNK Playmore took its much revered title and went a-tinkerin’, and produced a game so thoroughly enjoyable that I find it difficult to return to the original (which is included here in “Neo Geo” mode), a testament to a job well done. The appetite is officially whetted for King of the Fighters XII.


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Comments

7 Comments on Review: King of Fighters ‘98: Ultimate Match (PS2)

  1. New King of the Fighters XII Site Is Live | 2D-X on Wed, 13th May 2009 8:19 pm

    2. [...] when the news initially broke regarding SNK Playmore’s decision to revamp its long-running King of the Fighters franchise with gorgeous, high-resolution graphics, fighting fans began salivating (heck, [...]

  2. Replica Neo Geo Stick Japan-Bound; America Stiffed Again? | 2D-X on Thu, 14th May 2009 6:43 pm

    3. [...] endure rigorous arcade competition back in the heyday of arcades, and 2) my Geese Howard in King of the Fighters ‘98: Ultimate Match will totally beast you. [...]

  3. Heavy Metal Kings: The Six Most Bad-Ass Military-Action Games | 2D-X, Where old school gaming is new school. on Fri, 22nd May 2009 12:05 am

    4. [...] Slug 3 (SNK, Neo Geo) Along with Garou: Mark of the Wolves, King of the Fighters ‘98: Ultimate Match, and Samurai Shodown 2, Metal Slug 3 is one of SNK’s crown achievements. Metal Slug 3 is the [...]

  4. Review: Hokuto no Ken (PS2) | 2D-X, Where old school gaming is new school. on Wed, 17th Jun 2009 12:06 am

    5. [...] as King of Fighters XII, Street Fighter IV, or even a game running on an older engine such as King of Fighters ‘98: Ultimate Match. Once again, Arc System delivers killer sprites that lack the few extra frames that would give its [...]

  5. King of Fighters '98: Ultimate Match Comes to XBLA | 2D-X on Wed, 1st Jul 2009 9:12 pm

    6. [...] the best fighter on the PlayStation 2 makes a cross-platform jump to Microsoft’s turf. King of Fighters ‘98: Ultimate Match builds upon the rock solid gameplay and old school “rugged sprites”  for which the [...]

  6. Review: Neo Geo Battle Coliseum (PlayStation 2) | 2D-X on Fri, 17th Jul 2009 10:16 am

    7. [...] nature of the game, which gives it, unfortunately, a MUGEN-like air. Play this at parties. Play King of Fighters ‘98: Ultimate Match with [...]

  7. Review: King of Fighters XII (Xbox 360) | 2D-X on Thu, 30th Jul 2009 2:04 am

    8. [...] at the roster size. There isn’t a sprawling 60+ cast of characters such as the one found in King of Fighters ‘98: Ultimate Match, but it’s solid, despite a few notable omissions. We [...]

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