The King of Fighters XIV is a stellar fighting game that, despite its disappointing visuals, provides players with a ton of characters and content that will keep them busy for ages.
The King of Fighters XIV
Developer: SNK
Price: $59.99
Platform: PS4 (reviewed)
MonsterVine was supplied with a PS4 code for review
The King of Fighters has always been a franchise that really resonated with me. To me, Terry Bogard, Joe Higashi, and the countless other iconic characters represented in the series are as memorable as Ryu and Ken, and the series’ gameplay has always felt simultaneously accessible and intricate. Naturally, I went into The King of Fighters XIV with high expectations, and amazingly, almost all of them were met.
The story mode for King of Fighters XIV is nothing ground-breaking, but as with almost any fighting game, it’s not expected to be. The main gist of the story is that a particularly hairy, muscular man named Antonov is now hosting the titular King of Fighters tournament. After a few humorous, though largely inconsequential, cutscenes, your characters fight Antonov for the title match. Things happen, leading to a more visually stimulating final boss, and eventually, you receive an arcade ending.
These endings depend on the characters you use, with each team (i.e. Team Fatal Fury or Team Yagami), receiving their own unique cutscene. Some of these are comical, others are more plot-driven, but it’s fun to see them either way. It’s fun to see different sides of these characters and the endings provide some progress-driven entertainment for players.
The true appeal of The King of Fighters XIV is its fantastic and fun gameplay. Keeping with series tradition, the game has a deep, but accessible combat system. You pick a team of three fighters from the enormous 50 character roster, then use them in 1-on-1 matches against the computer or a friend. Using a variety of punches and kicks, you execute special and ultimate attacks in order to take down your opponent in a flashy and satisfying manner.
The fighters all feel unique, which is quite a feat, considering the game’s huge roster. With a number of different game modes, such as Arcade/Story and VS mode, there’s plenty to do in the game, even if online multiplayer isn’t your thing. The new “Rush” mechanic is plenty of fun as well, as it’s easy to use, and adds enough to the basic gameplay to make it feel like a worthy addition.
The biggest problem for The King of Fighters XIV is in its visuals. As the first game in the series not to feature gorgeous 2D sprite-based visual style, The King of Fighters XIV instead focuses on a more common 3D model based style, while still on a 2D plane. Unfortunately, this shift in style works against the game, as it looks more like a smooth PS3 game than a slick PS4 game. The backgrounds are nice, but the character models in particular are disappointingly basic. This lack of detail is frustrating, especially when compared to the series’ typically beautiful spritework, but as the first 3D game in the series, there’s only room for SNK to improve.
The music featured in King of Fighters XIV is as fast and fun as its gameplay. Each stage has a memorable track accompanying it, which adds to the energy and excitement the game exudes. The techno beats in particular make King of Fighters XIV feel like a true arcade game, minus the token-taking.
The Final Word
The King of Fighters XIV is almost everything you could ask for from a fighting game. It’s fast, flashy, full of content, and most importantly, fun. Despite its disappointing visuals, hardcore fighting game purists and casual players alike will find something to enjoy. It’s no stretch to say that the newest installment is very much THE King of Fighters.
– MonsterVine Review Score: 4.5 out of 5 – Great
