The King of Fighters Dream Match 1999
Score: 100% ESRB: Teen Publisher: SNK Playmore Developer: SNK Neogeo Media: CD/1 Players: 1 - 2 Genre: Fighting/ Arcade
Graphics & Sound: The King of Fighters Dream Match 1999 sports an arcade perfect translation of the ‘98 counterpart, yet adds a new dazzle with freshly designed and extremely crisp backgrounds running at a blazing 60 fps. Smooth character animation, which in my opinion greatly surpasses that of the Street Fighter series. Cool super effects and ultra-style combos give players the ability to talk trash while beating your opponent to a nice, bloody pulp. No slacking in the sound department as KOF 99 kicks some great tunes from past versions of KOF and Art of Fighting, yet adding some completely new background beats that will keep your adrenal glands pumping into overtime. I especially love the cool KI breathing effect that Andy Bogard uses right before he unleashes his Super move.
Gameplay: King of Fighters features sound and smooth gameplay that has been tried and tested since the incarnation of the series back in ‘94. There’s a fairly steep learning curve for those unfamiliar to the series, but nothing new for anyone who has been playing fighting games for the last uummpteenth years. I must admit that the Dreamcast controllers do take some getting used to, but most people by now should have gained some comfort since trying to learn to use the pads for Marvel vs. Capcom.
Difficulty: This is nowhere near the difficulty of per say any of the SF games, yet some of the motions for super moves are slightly more exhaustive. Many options are available to the player in the Options menu to allow gamers of all ages and skill levels a chance to get a crack at the action. Most matches are slightly more tiring since you fight with multiple characters per fight, but nothing that anyone who has played a KOF game isn’t used to.
Game Mechanics: Overall, King of Fighters ‘99 has strong and smooth gameplay, with all the pulse pounding action of an SNK arcade machine. Perhaps the most appealing part of the KOF and Fatal Fury series are the incredibly deep storyline and backgrounds that all the characters of the game have. It is almost like keeping up with a soap opera with kung-fu flare. Needless to say, if you are interested in a well-designed 2D fighter where well-thought strategy may be more useful than the strength of your fists, then run to your nearest gaming retail establishment, scream ‘Burning Knuckle’ and feed the lowly salesperson a flailing fist sandwich, and don’t forget to buy the game.
-Sabumnim, GameVortex Communications AKA Larry Callier
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