The King of Fighters 2002 - TFG Review (2024)

REVIEW:King of Fighters 2002 discards the 4-on-4 "Striker Match" format used in theprevious three installments and returns its 3-on-3 roots. The theme of this year's team format are teams that represent "eachyear ofthe KOF series," and is considered a "Dream Match" (like The King ofFighters '98)... and once again, there's no official storyline.

This time around, there are actually no newcharacters introduced. However, classic and fan-favorites make their epicreturn, including: Yashiro, Shermie, Vice, and Yamazaki. They aren't just oldrehashed sprites either, and have a slew of new animations & moves. Thenewcomers introduced King of Fighters 2001 (Angel & K9999) also make theirreturn. Besides tweaked character priorities and movelists, the main differencefound in KOF 2002's gameplay lies in its Power Gauge system.

Theamount of Power Gauges the player can stock up is increased by one with eachmember of the team, with the first member of the team being able to stock up to3 Power Gauges, while the third member can stock up to five. A single PowerGauge stock can be used to perform a Counterattack and Evasion technique whileguarding an opponent's attack, use a Super Special Move, or initiate the MAXActivation state, in which the player's offensive and defensive strength isincreased for a short period and can cancel any attack into another. A superspecial move can also be unleashed without using a power stock while a characteris in the MAX Activation state. Max Super Special Moves (requiring 1 stock) andMax 2 moves (requiring 2 stocks) can also be unleashed during Max Activation.

As always, the new installmentcontains brand new backgrounds and some "fan service" cameos as well. KOF2002 still uses the same old engine... so one might say it's visuallylacking when compared to other fighting games of the era. There's still acertain charm to the classic 2D sprites, and while some have been updatedsignificantly, others look ancient (that's bad). Aremake of KOF2002 entitled Kingof Fighters 2002: Unlimited Match was released in 2009, adding additionalplayable characters, moves, and backgrounds.

Page Updated:	August 20th, 2022
Developer(s):	Breezzasoft
Publisher(s):	Playmore / Eolith
Artwork by:	Nona, Hiroaki, Falcoon
Platform(s):	NeoGeo, Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, Xbox, XBLA
Release Date(s):	Oct. 10th, 2002 Arcade Dec. 18th, 2002 NeoGeo June 19th, 2003 Dreamcast Mar. 25th, 2004 PS2 Mar. 24th, 2005 Xbox
Characters:	Kyo,Benimaru,Daimon,Terry,Andy,Joe,Leona,Ralf,Clark,Kim,Chang,Choi,Ryo,Robert,Takuma,Athena,Kensou,Chin,Mai,Yuri,MayLee, Iori,Mature,Vice,Yamazaki,Mary,Billy,Yashiro,Shermie,Chris,K',Maxima,Whip,Vanessa,Seth,Ramon,Kula,K9999,Angel,Rugal, Omega Rugal, Orochi Chris, Orochi Shermie, Orochi Yashiro, King (PS2), Shingo (PS2), Orochi Iori (PS2), Geese (PS2), Goenitz (PS2)
Featured Video:
Related Games:	The King of Fighters 2002: UnlimitedMatch, KOF '94, KOF '94: Re-bout,KOF '95,KOF '96, KOF '97, KOF '98, KOF '98 Ultimate Match, KOF '99, KOF 2000, KOF 2001,KOF 2003,KOF XI, KOF XII, KOF XIII, KOF XIV, KOF XV, KOF:Maximum Impact, KOF:Maximum Impact MANIAX, KOF:Maximum Impact 2, KOF: Maximum ImpactRegulation A, KOF: Neowave, KOF EX Neo Blood,KOF EX2 Howling Blood,KOFR1, KOF R2, KOF Collection: Orochi Saga , Garou: Mark of the Wolves, Tekken 4
GameplayEngine 7.5 / 10 Story/ Theme 7.5 / 10 OverallGraphics 7.5 / 10 Animation 7.0 / 10 Music/ Sound Effects 7.5 / 10 Innovation 7.0 / 10 Art Direction 9.0 / 10 Customization 8.0 / 10 Options / Extras 6.0 / 10 Intro / Presentation 7.0 / 10 Replayability / Fun 7.5 / 10 "Ouch" Factor 7.5 / 10 Characters 9.0 / 10 BOTTOM LINE 7.9 /10 Review based on Arcadeversion
Final Words:	I actually enjoyed vanilla KOF 2002...the character selection was pretty solid, and the stages had lots of cameos with cool "time of day" changes between rounds. Gameplay-wise, KOF2002 was a pretty honest fighting game. However, I still preferred many other2D fighting games over 2002... in 2002. The 8-year old graphics engine & traditional gameplay was definitely showing its age, easily outshined by other modern 2D fighters of thetime period (and years prior). At least diehard SNK KOF fans had another interestingly new installment of KOF to play. KOF2002 was indeed one of the most playable and arguably balanced installments in a while. I remember a ton of people were playing KOF2002 in Hong Kong arcades when I visited in 2010... In 2010! Even though some of KOF2002's character animations show slight improvements over previous versions, in the eyes of many, the KOF series definitely needed"something else" to remain visually competitive in the fighting genre(outside of the hardcore fans). Furthermore, maybe KOF as a series needs something more than just a visual upgrade. It seems SNK thought so as well, as they introduced a fresh 3-on-3 tag team gameplay systemin the next installment, The King of Fighters 2003. ~TFG Webmaster | @Fighters_Gen
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