Return of the king
I still remember when King of Fighters games were named like sports titles. Releasing a new entry each year and slowly building one of the most impressive rosters in all of gaming. It has now been over two decades since SNK built their answer to Street Fighter and the most recent entry is back in full force. King of Fighters XV is a culmination of everything the series has delivered over the years. The trademarked 3-on-3 battles featuring a laundry list of colorful characters with some of the tightest controls I have ever experienced. While the single player options are lacking, this is still the best the series has looked and played in years.
I want to start with the roster. Out of the box KoF XV features 39 characters, which breaks down into 13 distinct teams of fighters. SNK has already promised 12 more are coming in the form of DLC for a grand total of 51 characters when all is said and done. The initial roster includes the staples such as Terry and Andy Bogard, Mai Shiranui, and of course King of Dinosaurs. We are missing the Rock and Geese Howard, but they are set to appear in the first couple rounds of DLC. What I love about this roster is the diversity. So many characters with so many styles means players will inevitably find several they like. Newcomers like Dolores also add spice to an already diverse lineup. Few games can deliver this many characters with each one feeling unique, so KoF XV already nails that upfront.
MSRP: $59.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation
Price I’d Pay: $49.99
For those unfamiliar with the 3-on-3 matches in King of Fighters it works by players selecting three combatants, but there is no option to tag in and out. Instead you select the order before each match and play until their health bar is depleted. This entry also has an option for 1-on-1 matches in versus mode, but the meat of the game is designed around team composition. The mechanic of super is also factored in. As players lose combatants their super meter fills more frequently, so order is imperative. Picking characters that don’t rely on meter first is the wise move, but there is strategy involved. I enjoy the style, but I have always wanted them to add tag options across the board for every entry.
The core game play of KoF XV is mostly unchanged. This is still a four button fighter that focuses more on jump-in and counter attacks. Super meter has many levels that can be spent using auto combos, but also saved for more devastating moves. The big changes to this iteration are Shatter Strikes and a revamped Max Mode. The Shatter Strikes work similar to focus attacks in Street Fighter allowing players to punish incoming attacks while also dealing out their own damage. The new Max Mode moves more towards a risk/reward system. It now costs multiple meter bars, but allows fighters to perform EX moves without expending meter as well as dealing more damage.
When it comes to content, King of Fighters XV feels like a mixed bag. On one hand the roster is outstanding, even if most of it is carry-over from KoF XIV. Where it lacks is in single player content. The story mode is a half-hearted arcade mode with a quick six fights and two boss battles. Completing it rewards players with static images and text lines. No CGI endings here. The cut scenes are mostly recycled and it just feels a bit barren. The tutorial is also limited in scope and the mission mode disappointing. With other fighting games adding in multiple modes and deep story stuff KoF feels like a relic of the past in that regard.
Online fares much better and seems where SNK focused most of their efforts. KoF XV now features rollback netcode and it feels incredible. There were some matches that almost felt local. Of course King of Fighters is a very niche fighting game so the people I ran into online truly outmatched my skill set. So unless I had friends to play with, I usually got rolled online. Thankfully there are plenty of ways to setup private matches with friends and even training sessions. The online feature set is much more robust than the solo modes. This definitely feels like the focus of the game.
King of Fighters XV is a wonderful addition to the series. If you are like me and are hoping for an expansion of the single player modes though, you are going to be disappointed. Still the roster and game play are excellent and the online modes are robust. This is an outstanding entry to the series and I cannot wait for more characters to be added. Now if we could just get SNK to add in some proper single player modes I really feel like KoF could extend past its niche audience.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
