The game is pretty cool and I like the presentation a lot (the intro goes bonkers). I think the team choices for these games, while weird, give each of them a very cool dynamic to play with. Having Kyo, Iori and Shingo in the same team remains as one of the most badass formations in any KoF, and the game really brings out some hidden gems to the spotlight with characters from Buriki One and Kizuna encounter making an appearance. We need more freaks in fighting games!
The biggest problem out of the gate is that watching the game in motion is sickening, they did a super poor job in putting the sprites properly into the Atomiswave, and for some reason the camera is very wonky in some places.
The team building and combo aspect in this game is peculiar. Like in 2003, this is a tag fighter instead of team based fighter. I have mixed feelings about this because I think KoF is very unique in the fact of how it's pretty much the only game with multiple characters that aren't in a tag fighter, but I can understand that, by 2003, it was getting a bit old. From the 3 characters, you choose a leader, and from that, your meter management and super options change accordingly, making each formation play in at least 3 different variations that, while minor, adds a cool aspect when character order isn't nearly as decisive like in older games thanks to the tag mechanic. My biggest problem is the Tag save system, I really don't think that KoF is a game where a burst mechanic is warranted, specially when good combos from lights are very rare now. Otherwise, the game's combo game is very unique when compared to the rest of the KoF series, which is cool to see, but some characters' combo game can feel very limiting if you don't have a partner on stock, which is probably intentional, but still a bit sad.
Overall, very cool game, I would like if they mixed up the roster and mechanics more with each new KoF, it seems like Max mode is here to stay now, and while I like it, it can feel too iterative
The biggest problem out of the gate is that watching the game in motion is sickening, they did a super poor job in putting the sprites properly into the Atomiswave, and for some reason the camera is very wonky in some places.
The team building and combo aspect in this game is peculiar. Like in 2003, this is a tag fighter instead of team based fighter. I have mixed feelings about this because I think KoF is very unique in the fact of how it's pretty much the only game with multiple characters that aren't in a tag fighter, but I can understand that, by 2003, it was getting a bit old. From the 3 characters, you choose a leader, and from that, your meter management and super options change accordingly, making each formation play in at least 3 different variations that, while minor, adds a cool aspect when character order isn't nearly as decisive like in older games thanks to the tag mechanic. My biggest problem is the Tag save system, I really don't think that KoF is a game where a burst mechanic is warranted, specially when good combos from lights are very rare now. Otherwise, the game's combo game is very unique when compared to the rest of the KoF series, which is cool to see, but some characters' combo game can feel very limiting if you don't have a partner on stock, which is probably intentional, but still a bit sad.
Overall, very cool game, I would like if they mixed up the roster and mechanics more with each new KoF, it seems like Max mode is here to stay now, and while I like it, it can feel too iterative