I’ve been a casual fan of the 2D King of Fighter series since the 1st installment on Neo Geo.
Casual, as in I know the characters that were in most other SNK fighting series, I can play the game relatively well against moderately skilled opponents, I’ve collected most games in the series on home consoles, and beaten most of them with most of the characters.
And, while I know that the series has some hardcore fans … even for a fan that considers himself to be “casual” yet “a fan” … I’m absolutely KICKING myself for not playing KOF XI in any incarnation prior to it’s recent release on PS2 in the US last week.
HOLY CRAP this is by far the BEST iteration of the series I’ve ever played, possibly one of the most technically brilliant, stylish and beautiful 2D fighters I’ve ever had the pleasure to display on my TV … and hell, it’s $20 MSRP doesn’t hurt either.
If you’re a fan of the series, there’s no reason not to own this one. Looks great on a PS3 in PS2 mode with screen smoothing on too.
My only gripe is that it doesn’t have online play, but, even if it did, it’s rooms would be populated with more “hardcore” players than I’d likely be able to last a minute with…so, no big loss there.