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Review: King of Fighters NESTS collection |
Where were you when SNK died? I remember reading about it, on this site and on forums like Orochinagi and Fighters.net back in mid-2000, and I also recall seeing the first crowd reaction reports of KOF2001 (specifically, laughter at the spaceship-zeppelin cutscene) at my desk in my old job, back in what must have been early 2001.
And it’s quite true to say that the behind-the-scenes antics of SNK, Aruze and Eolith during this time were subject to so much uninformed rumour-mongering, that only recently, with SNKP turning much more talkative and high-profile, the existence of the splendid KOF 10th Anniversary website as well as the ubiquitous Wikipedia, the events that defined this period are now anything like clear.
There’s no getting away from it, the NESTS saga killed SNK. And the events of that time continue to cast a considerable shadow over the games themselves, even seven years after it’s still hard to see them in a totally detached and critical light, as opposed to the public face of a private tragedy that they’ll always be.
As a follow-up to 2006’s PS2 KOF OROCHI collection, this release compiles King of Fighters ‘99, 2000 and 2001 together onto a single DVD, using the same intro, GUI and options as its predecessor. The most surprising, and disappointing news is that even though there are two versions of each game available, ‘arranged’ and ‘original’ the arranged versions are direct ports of the Dreamcast releases, not the more recent, more feature-packed and advanced PS2 ports. Which all in all makes it a bit of a confusing package. In typical compilation fashion it is also far from the complete, accurate and perfect collection it could have been - and the omission of really basic, fundamental things, like the ability to redefine the keys in the ‘original’ modes, and small annoyances like the muffled sound effects (AGAIN), the lack of language options in the arranged versions (despite ‘English’ being available on all three of the originals) and the lack of arranged soundtrack in original mode - it’s shoddy, and at times clueless. Didn’t anyone think that people might prefer to mix and match these features?
Still, here son, let’s look at the individual games themselves.
KOF ‘99: Evolution
A remix of KOF’99, Evolution features totally overhauled presentation that brings it more in line with the high-tech, genetic fuckery of the games’ story, albeit at the cost of the originals’ simplicity. There are a handful of what were then-exclusive, non-playable strikers, including the debut of both Seth and Vanessa, which served as a snazzy taster of how they looked, spoke etc. in preparation for their selectable debuts the year after. There are a couple of extra play modes, a rescored arranged soundtrack and 3D backgrounds.
The arranged soundtrack is as grand as ever, the 3D backgrounds less so. Passable at best at time of release, the years have not been kind to them, these clunky, jaggy renditions of backgrounds that were dull and empty to begin with, and the silly stage intros, some of which do little more than move the virtual camera slightly back or forward do nothing but highlight their uninspired look. A couple of nice features - the plane taking off in the fifth round on the airport stage, and the huge firing energy beam in Krizalid’s final fight are nice, in that ‘couldn’t be done on the MVS’ way, but that’s all.
As for the game itself, it’s alright, kind of. Anything that comes after the dual towering triumphs of KOF’97s story and ’98s gameplay has huge boots to fill, and it’s safe to say it fails massively at both. The character roster is poor (why are there THREE Kyos to choose from!?) though K’ and Maxima are both decent characters and fun to play, and the much-hated ‘Striker’ system speeds up the action and is interesting for a while. The new ‘offensive’ back rolls and the Armour and Counter modes all seem hugely arbitrary additions, the art is poor and the backgrounds are hugely uninteresting. The hastily-curtailed NESTS story is probably at its best here, because so much is left to the imagination, and this evil, world-spanning secret cartel operating out of the shadows, with fingers in all sorts of genetic, technological pies still manages an air of menace to it. Rest in peace Krizalid, you ludicrous little man, you.
Despite all this it’s worth a look, and it’s the most obscure of the three games on the disk, available for the first time since 2001 on a system that isn’t the Dreamcast, PSX or NeoGeo CD. Unfortunately the ever-present disk access is still there, not hugely intrusive, but enough to break the feel of flawless transitions that the cart version managed.
King of Fighters 2000
The last KOF that SNK would put out for a couple of years, 2000 is the best game on the disk (which is damning with faint praise I know) - with its even more fast and flexible ‘active striker’ system, a decent, surprising twist on last year’s story, fabulous artwork and an excellent roster.
The 3D backgrounds finally abandoned, DC KOF2000 was a lot, lot closer to the arcade versions. Again there’s a great arranged soundtrack, although they were just starting to show signs of musical self-cannibalisation by this point, and a sprinkling of extras, such as the dubious sliding picture puzzle mode. Handy changes like the Maniac Strikers, Kula and Zero being unlocked from the start make things easier, although sadly absent are the PS2-exclusive strikers, the hidden classic SNK backgrounds, the Party Mode and the intro gallery.
King of Fighters 2001
Well here it is, the ugly stepchild of the series, derided by casual fans for the dreadful aesthetics and serious players for the nigh-untested, infinite-addled nonsense gameplay. As a fighting game it’s above-average. As a King of Fighters game it’s dire, as the climax of the NESTS saga it’s an absolute travesty. Even now, six years on, can anybody say with any sort of confidence what actually happens? Who won? What the big plan was? Aside from giving us the comedy stylings of Igniz and Angel’s spectacular bosom, creatively it’s absolute shite, a dream match conceived after eating too much cheese.
Again it’s the Dreamcast port, with Dreamcast options (gallery, and a bizarre Tetris/Puzzle Fighter clone) however there’s one feature that wasn’t in the DC one, or the PS2 single release and debuts on this collection. Yes, lady and gentlemen;
KOF 2001 has an arranged soundtrack.
Not just the stereo-enhanced mix of the old DC version, but a real redone score. It works too, it’s far punchier, livelier, more varied and interesting, and helps lift the ‘feel’ of the game no end; the original soundtrack’s grating, burbling synthesised score, coupled with the ugly backgrounds, sickly colour schemes and heinous character art lent the game a scuzzy, turgid feel, and while it’s an absolute crying shame that the redone Nona artwork, hi-res GUI/portraits and 3D backgrounds of the stand-alone PS2 release haven’t been used to give the visuals a similar boost, it does feel a lot more professional. Still it’s a nice touch, and interesting that it has been done at all, perhaps as a belated apology for the original.
It all could have been better - there really is little reason why these versions are the ones to own, when there are other, better versions of two of the three games already in circulation, available both legally and, not. The lack of extras and incentives and the continually recurring technical problems make it another frustratingly incomplete, hastily thrown-together compilation that really isn’t worth your time or money. Even KOF diehards should think perhaps nine or ten times before considering obtaining this.
