If you were lucky enough to own a Neo-Geo system back in the day, and could afford the expensive cartridges that were priced in the $300+ range, you were among the lucky few who could experience The King of Fighters in your home. For some gamers, the arcade was the only place to experience this series. As console system technology progressed, home ports of previous KOF games (i.e. KOF ’95, KOF ’96, etc.) began to appear on systems like the Sega Saturn and Playstation.
While these ports were decent representations of the originals, they had their flaws. The Sega Saturn versions of KOF had raspy, low sampled sound effects, while the original Playstation adaptions had missing frames of animation to compensate for system RAM limitations. Basically, if you wanted the arcade experience, you didn’t have too many options available to you at the time.
The King of Fighter’s ’95 for Playstation 3 is a perfect port of the Neo-Geo original. Terry Bogard and crew return for another year, and while the basic play mechanics are the same, the famous team edit mode is added based on enormous fan feedback received by SNK. Another surprise is the addition of new characters to the KOF ’95’s roster. Iori Yamgami – a rival of Kyo – forms a new American team with Eiji (Art of Fighting 2) and Billy Kane (Fatal Fury).
The mysterious Rugal from KOF ’94 also returns as Omega Rugal, with far more power than any single boss should wield. Kyo also encounters his father, Saisyu, in this sequel of KOF. Unfortunately, he is under the control of Rugal.
Gamers more familiar with KOF 2002UM may find KOF ’95 difficult to play. The ability to roll into an opponent was not implemented until KOF ’96, so instead of rolling into or away from danger, you must side-step it instead.
The combat system is unbalanced; a well-timed, 3-hit combo could easily eliminate a teammate. This was the beginning of the KOF franchise, so tweaks were made in later installments to balance out the gameplay. However, gamers unfamiliar with the series may find the combat system frustrating, especially in a competitive setting.
Gamers looking for a competitive edge can compete online. The issues that plagued KOF XII lucky don’t occur during an online match. During the online matches played, lag was only encountered once, and that was caused by the other player’s connection (which was shown in red). Even opponents from Japan were able to challenge me with no lag. If this is evidence of how KOF XIII will play online, KOF players are in for a real treat.
While the Neo-Geo’s graphics are still considered beautiful even by today’s standards, there is something about HD that makes them look blocky and dated. Thankfully, SNK-PLAYMORE included a smoothing filter to fix this problem. While it’s not nearly as noticeable on a TV, gamers using an HD display will notice it immediately.
The King of Fighters ’94 started the series, but The King of Fighters ’95 introduced most of the features we enjoy today. Even though it’s not perfect, KOF’95 still offers a competitive edge that hardcore gamers are looking for. Plus, with online competitive play, you can’t go wrong.
Mike Pittaro
Platform: Playstation 3 (Available on PSN via the NEOGEO Station)
Developer: SNK-PLAYMORE
Publisher: SNK-PLAYMORE
ESRB: N/A
Price: $8.99
| Review Score | |
|---|---|
| Graphics |   |
| The graphics are still beautiful, but in HD they look blocky. The smoothing filter takes care of this problem. | |
| Sound | |
| The classic KOF music and sound effects never disappoint. | |
| Gameplay | |
| The combat system is unbalanced, but the competitive gameplay allows you to forgive this shortcoming. | |
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| The King of Fighters '95 is still a great game. | |
