The King of Fighters XIV Steam Edition... and what i'd like to see!

As The King of Fighters XIV Steam Edition approaches... I thought i'd speak on a few additions i'd like to see in the future.

In this newest installment... one of the most obvious things I've seen are the animated cut-scenes between matches and prior to certain fights. It truly adds more to this newest installment of The King of Fighters franchise. (Don't get me wrong.) I appreciate KOF XIII for the beautifully animated 2D fighting action... but the dialogue between fighters prior to matches, really annoyed the heck out of me. It wasn't because there was dialogue, it was more so the fact that you had to click and read... and read... and read... which could've had voice files in there to help it.

If you like to read... that's great, I have books I like to kick back and read... but I have to be in the mood (and that's not something I really care to do while gaming). So I like what I see in KOF XIV.

When it comes to a future installment or even an update... or mode, I want this fighter to truly feel like every team is on their own journey in a new way... not just fighting their way to the same boss character. The developer has the range and the ability to deliver more to this franchise, so I hope to see more (for now, this is a nice touch).

What i'd do is create branching paths, like a tournament set up that challenges the player while at the same time punishing the player for losing. So if you lose... you don't continue and fight the same character again, you go to the bracket where you belong until you work your way to the point of being the King Of Fighters. There would be more work invested in the victory then, because it would matter more vs being able to merely continue where you left off. SDGT Concepts anyone?! :p

What i'd also like to see done away with in KOF's next installment... is the removal of the fade to white effect after winning (feels like it rushes me out of the match and takes away the satisfaction of seeing my opponent on the ground). Instead... I'd like to see the winner strike a pose and their teammates come out and join them; defeated teammates can limp out. There are other things i'd add that would really take it to the next level, but i'll leave it at that. The King of Fighters XIV Steam Edition... drops June 15, 2017 (yep... that's during E3)!

King Of Fighters is back, brought to you by... ATLUS?!

SNK PLAYMORE X ATLUS action!

The King of Fighters XIV? Hmmm... there are plenty of fighters, and while this has served as one of the longer running competitors to the Street Fighter franchise... things went a bit cold (along with the interest in fighting games... beyond tournaments, as FPS games rose up the ranks). Don't get me wrong though... the 2D hand drawn animations in KOF were extremely beautiful, but at the same time it felt like the boss fights fell... flat in KOFXIII (for me).

I say all that to say... even if this game looks absolutely awesome, they have to make sure that the experience is on point. SNK Playmore is teaming up with the awesomeness that is ATLUS in this one... and how I hope they knock it out of the park. I do not want the type of dialog set up seen in KOFXIII... pretty please w/ a slice of extra cheese pepperoni pizza on top! Reading was not the problem in those pre-fight conversations... but it just wasn't good and it was drawn out (to me).

In addition to that... there was so much that could've happened in that game with the content, but I won't go into all that because i'd like to highlight the good things too in a review, versus just a rag-fest. I do want this to be awesome though and cut scenes would be appreciated over the back and forth dialog between characters... that I eventually began to skip past. According to ATLUS... the SNK PLAYMORE team will maintain the 3 vs 3 battle system... but there are notable updates to the fighting engine with streamlined controls to improve on things like the combos & max mode mechanics. I am curious what the story will be like, as well as the overall experience regarding the fights, but one thing I appreciate immediately is the 50 available fighters being available at launch... and we received no mentions of DLC.

The new party battle feature also seems like it could be pretty cool, and sounds as if it will be in the standard set up of people fighting it out with 3 vs 3, but... every character will be controlled by a different person. That would make for a pre-tty coooolllll tournament... because I've never seen one with that type of set up. Have you? Anyway, check out some of the images below and game on!

Oh... before I go, do you think that we will see a new Capcom vs SNK game? I think 2018 would be a great year for one (giving enough space for breathing room).

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