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The King of Fighters XIV

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The King of Fighters XIV
North American cover art
Developer(s)SNK
Director(s)Yasuyuki Oda
SeriesThe King of Fighters
Platform(s)PlayStation 4
Arcade
ReleasePS4
Arcade
Genre(s)Fighting
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

The King of Fighters XIV (ザ・キング・オブ・ファイターズ XIV) is a fighting game in The King of Fighters series developed and published in Japan by SNK. It is developed for the PlayStation 4 and released in August 2016. Atlus USA and Deep Silver published the game in North America in Europe respectively. The game is notable as the first main-series The King of Fighters game rendered entirely in 3D, in contrast to previous installments which used 2D raster imagery.

The game started development in April 2014 when SNK's CEO announced the company should start designing new appealing video games. This entry in the series is being directed by Yasuyuki Oda who has previously worked on Capcom's Street Fighter IV as well as other titles by SNK. While working to make it as popular as The King of Fighters '98 and The King of Fighters 2002, the designers also decided to implement the "Rush" system in order to invite newcomers to the series.

Critical reception to The King of Fighters XIV has been generally positive with video game publications praising its fighting system that would appeal newcomers and experts of fighting games. However, it has also been criticized for its use of outdated 3D gaming models.

The game will also be available in Arcade sometimes between February 10 and 12, 2017.[1]

Gameplay

A fight between Terry Bogard (left) against Geese Howard (right).

The King of Fighters XIV features full 3D models like in The King of Fighters: Maximum Impact, but on a 2D plane like in Street Fighter IV and its updates, while keeping the same formula used in the previous installments. The Hyper Drive system from the last game is no longer present and has been replaced with a new version of "Max Mode" from earlier games in the series. In Max mode, the player can perform unlimited EX special moves for a short period of time, and the timer changes depending on what position their character is in.

The characters have three types of Supers: the returning "Super Special Moves" and "Max Super Special Moves" (the latter of which are only usable in Max mode), and a new type called "Climax Super Special Moves". Climax Super Special Moves are the strongest types in the game and will require a total of three power gauges (two with Max mode on). The game also features the "Just Defend" mechanic from Garou: Mark of the Wolves. The HD thrust system now makes the opponent hit the wall and crumple for follow up attacks.[2] The game is designed to play like The King of Fighters XIII, but just during Max mode where the player can use EX moves and three levels of Supers that can be canceled in their order of hierarchy. For beginners, there will be the automatic and simple "Rush Combo".[3] The online lobby has three modes: team VS, single VS, and party VS; up to 12 people can enter and also spectate.[4]

Plot

The game will have a story mode but the staff members stated that they would not comment about it yet, except to reaffirm that the new game begins a new storyline.[5] A man known as Antonov will host the new "The King of Fighters" tournament.[6] For the story mode, players can choose a team of three fighters and interact with others depending on their relationships.[7]

Characters

The King of Fighters XIV includes 16 teams of 3 fighters, plus a sub-boss and a final boss totaling up to 50 combatants:

Development

The decision to start making The King of Fighters XIV was made when SNK Playmore's CEO Eikichi Kawasaki decided the company should return to make appealing fighting games rather than Pachinko-Slot Machines and Mobile Apps. While it took some time, the game began full productions when more staff from Esaka joined the team in April 2014.[20][21] The staff wanted the game to be easy to play as well as popular as The King of Fighters '98 and KOF 2002.[3] While KOF XIII was a success, it was noted by the staff to be challenging to newcomers.[22] As a result, the game is intended to be combination of KOF '98's simplicity, KOF 2002's Quick Max and the way meters were managed in KOF XIII.[4] The game was first announced at the Sony Computer Entertainment Press Conference for the 2015 Tokyo Game Show[23] and was present at the PlayStation Experience 2015.[24] SNK Playmore chose the PlayStation 4 as its console due to high sales worldwide.[25] While SNK Playmore did not want to add a new system to the game, some changes were made in response to the system from The King of Fighters XIII. Whether the game will be given some updates (like Street Fighter IV) or it will be a single release followed by sequels was yet to be decided.[2] In August 2016, the staff decided to advance the new plot through a sequel.[26]

Engine

In October 2015, it was confirmed that Street Fighter IV battle designer Yasuyuki Oda, who previously worked for SNK R&D Division 1 which includes staff members from the Fatal Fury and the Art of Fighting series, would be the director of The King of Fighters XIV [27] and it will be his first contribution to the franchise. Additionally, a younger staff is also contributing for the game. During Oda's time in SNK there were other games like Virtua Fighter which amazed Oda and motivated him to make a 3D game after his departure. When Oda returned to SNK, there were never any debates about making the series transition from 2D to 3D. Some characters' changes proved difficulties whereas some felt easier.[28] The team received negative feedback to early trailers of the game were working on it to please the fans.[5] The staff originally planned using cell-shaded graphics in the Unreal Engine but they later discarded such ideas. The game engine was developed by SNK. The original game had more realistic visuals but due to how it clashed with the characters' model like Kula Diamond and Athena Asamiya's design, they opted for the current look.[4] Additionally, the staff found the development of the game difficult due to demand of it running at 60 frames per seconds as well as doing it in high definition. The demand for 60 frames per second over more appealing graphics was made so that the game worked well in online mode.[26] Nevertheless, the members were still insecure with the characters' face models, so they decided to add masks, glasses or other stuff to make them look good.[26] Sound director Hideki Asanaka also found problems into making all the sounds for the 3D game in contrast to previous titles. The team used camerawork in every MAX Super Desperation Move as well as Climax in order to make them look stylish.[6] The battle design was made by Hayato Watanabe whereas Eisuke Ogura is the main artist.[4]

Cast

Known for having a large character roster,[22] on December 5, 2015 at PlayStation Experience, SNK Playmore confirmed a 50-character roster for The King of Fighters XIV.[14] As a result of having few designers, art director Nobuyuki Kuroki found this "unfair".[26] SNK also expressed satisfaction with the way the game is being received by the Chinese market. However, China's release of the game had some cases of censorship.[29] One roster was composed almost entirely of all old characters, while another one was nearly made-up of new characters only, so the staff selected from all of them, putting into consideration the market, which has become global. They wanted give the roster some regional colors, teams by countries and teams by concepts (like the female fighters team).[28] They also confirmed the game was 70% completed.[2] The staff used all of their sources to make these characters so they do not have plans to make more characters.[4]

Despite speculations that King of Dinosaurs was just Tizoc from Garou: Mark of the Wolves with a different design, Ogura maintained that the two were different characters despite their similar fighting styles at first, until the game's release revealed both King of Dinosaurs and Tizoc were one and the same. Back in the Neo Geo's era of the series, developers were unable to add Nakoruru from Samurai Shodown to the series due to the engine limitations. When she was revealed in KOF XIV, the staff was surprised by her popularity. The staff also noted that despite the Orochi clan members dying in the series' first story arc, they might consider adding them depending on thoughts regarding the storyline.[4] Blue Mary and Ryuji Yamazaki from the Fatal Fury series were also considered to be playable but the staff wanted the game to feel more like The King of Fighters. On the other hand, they noted this game lacked characters from Art of Fighting and attempted to add Jack Turner and John Crawley but Oda declined due to their lack of popularity. Rock Howard from Garou: Mark of the Wolves was also considered to be included but due to Geese's appearance, they found it complicated as Mark of the Wolves took place years after Geese's death in the Fatal Fury series.[26]

Demos and release

In July 13, 2016, SNK "The King of Fighters XIV World Premiere Tour" where they would go through different parts of the world to let the players try 48 characters of the game. The demo would last from July 15 to August 21.[30] The demos served to balance the characters' cast and avoid overpowered characters.[26] Whereas SNK is releasing it in Japan, Atlus USA and Deep Silver will publish it in North America and Europe respectively.[31][32] Demos of the game have been shown in various countries such as Japan, Korea, and the United States.[33][34][35]

In the Americas, some copies of the game have been shipped earlier than their official date. As a result, SNK asked players to avoid spoiling the game.[36] Kyo Kusanagi's classic form will appear as a pre-order bonus and downloadable content.[37] Additionally, a new design of "Nightmare Geese" will also be DLC.[38] For Japan's release, SNK will sell the game alongside an artbook.[39] Atlus USA announced that for their limited edition, the game will include a three-CD soundtrack as well as an artbook.[40] A patch to fix the game's issues with the online mode is planned to be released by SNK too.[41]

Reception

The King of Fighters XIV received generally positive reviews by video game media with Metacritic having an average of 81 out of 100.[42] Gaming Age's Chris Dunlap gave it a perfect score believing it is the best The King of Fighters game in the entire series recommending it to fans of the fighting game genre due to its appealing traits.[49] GameSpot writer Matt Espineli praised the fighting system due to how would appeal to newcomers but criticized the 3D characters models.[46] Despite also criticizing its design as well as the difficulties of mastering a character's moves without the Rush system, Game Informer writer Suriel Vazquez praised the game's online mode despite some slow downs.[45] Lucas Sullivan from GamesRadar was more positive; finding the 3D models to be more likable and enjoying the game's mechanics, he did criticize the story mode for its similarities with the ones from the arcades.[47] EGM said "The King of Fighters XIV revives the glory of the franchise where it counts most: gameplay and core mechanics."[43] Metro summarized it as "A successful soft reboot for the venerable fighting game series, and a great jumping on point for those dissatisfied by Street Fighter V."[50]

The game reached number 20 in the UK physical sales chart.[51]

References

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  51. ^ http://www.chart-track.co.uk/index.jsp?c=p%2Fsoftware%2Fuk%2Farchive%2Findex_test.jsp&ct=110042&arch=t&lyr=2016&year=2016&week=34