The Orochi Saga - Chapter 2
KOF is once again back and better then ever, with this being where the series started to form into the gameplay style it's known for today. This was my first time actually playing this game all the way through, thanks to this retrospective, and I'm quite glad I did. KOF 96 compared to later entries seems like a rather vanilla and standard game to the average player, and you're probably right for thinking so, but going off of the last two games this entry is a phenomenal step forward in so many aspects.
The gameplay has been massively revamped here. The game speed has tremendously increased, and encourages a much more combo focused and offensive play style. Characters can now run when double tapping forward rather then a simple dash, which is one of my favorite things about the gameplay in this series. Seeing my team members run the length of the entire screen is just so satisfying to me. Short hops are also introduced here rather than having one fixed jump height, and when combined with a running jump forward offers plenty of combo opportunities. Sidestepping has been replaced with dodge rolling, which fits with the heavily movement focused gameplay this entry is going for. Hitting things also seems to just flow much smoother, and to say that this game feels fun to play would be an understatement. The charge meter from the last two games still remains, which feels counterintuitive since the new movement options are about going all out, and I think SNK realized that. This would be the last game in the series to have the charge meter (at default anyway).
This game visually is still good, but I think the stage quality has dipped some from '95. Even so, areas such as Osaka and both versions of the stadium I like very much. The stage quantity here has also decreased, with characters just sharing them (however for some teams the stages will slightly vary). However, the noticable change here is the character sprites. This is where KOF would get it's sprite art style all the way until KOF XI. The amount of detail is still present and they definitely are less goofy looking compared to the last two games.
This is, without a doubt, one of the most important and iconic soundtracks in KOF history. The debut of songs such as "Esaka?", "Arashi no Saxophone 2", and "Fairy" are attributed to this game, and their impact on the series musically is profound. While I obviously prefer the arranged soundtrack, the arcade ost is still absolutely bopping at using the instruments given, definitely listen to both if you can.
The plot of this game is pretty interesting, as many of it's plot threads are spread throughout multiple team stories: Sacred Treasures team, Hero team, and Yagami team. The main ending is the Sacred Treasures one, but the other two endings help add context to the overall narrative. And I have to say, I love this concept! It shows how ambitious SNK was with this series, they put very much work into building the lore and plot threads to make it all come together. I think this also works as it encourages players to play with different teams, maybe it could end up having a character you find really fun to play as!
Before I bring up the final boss, I thought I'd mention the villains team. As the penultimate battle for the sub and final bosses, this stage really feels like an endurance test of everything so far. Instead of having a single theme tying the team together, the three members use their boss themes from the source material, and it's really effective. It's one of the more memorable things in this game for me.
The final boss is a dick, no surprise here. I normally play overly defensive and sweep when I can, but he definitely can cheaply command grab you which does ALOT of damage. Reddish beat the SNK boss by timing it out, what a surprise! I'd say he's easier then the last two but he is still really cheap.
KOF 96 is such an important game to this series, and I can't appreciate it enough for establishing the series standards for the games to come. While it ends up losing identity because of later games doing the same things but better, this is still worth playing- possibly even a good KOF for newcomers. We'll be wrapping up the Orochi Saga in the next review with The King Of Fighters '97.
KOF is once again back and better then ever, with this being where the series started to form into the gameplay style it's known for today. This was my first time actually playing this game all the way through, thanks to this retrospective, and I'm quite glad I did. KOF 96 compared to later entries seems like a rather vanilla and standard game to the average player, and you're probably right for thinking so, but going off of the last two games this entry is a phenomenal step forward in so many aspects.
The gameplay has been massively revamped here. The game speed has tremendously increased, and encourages a much more combo focused and offensive play style. Characters can now run when double tapping forward rather then a simple dash, which is one of my favorite things about the gameplay in this series. Seeing my team members run the length of the entire screen is just so satisfying to me. Short hops are also introduced here rather than having one fixed jump height, and when combined with a running jump forward offers plenty of combo opportunities. Sidestepping has been replaced with dodge rolling, which fits with the heavily movement focused gameplay this entry is going for. Hitting things also seems to just flow much smoother, and to say that this game feels fun to play would be an understatement. The charge meter from the last two games still remains, which feels counterintuitive since the new movement options are about going all out, and I think SNK realized that. This would be the last game in the series to have the charge meter (at default anyway).
This game visually is still good, but I think the stage quality has dipped some from '95. Even so, areas such as Osaka and both versions of the stadium I like very much. The stage quantity here has also decreased, with characters just sharing them (however for some teams the stages will slightly vary). However, the noticable change here is the character sprites. This is where KOF would get it's sprite art style all the way until KOF XI. The amount of detail is still present and they definitely are less goofy looking compared to the last two games.
This is, without a doubt, one of the most important and iconic soundtracks in KOF history. The debut of songs such as "Esaka?", "Arashi no Saxophone 2", and "Fairy" are attributed to this game, and their impact on the series musically is profound. While I obviously prefer the arranged soundtrack, the arcade ost is still absolutely bopping at using the instruments given, definitely listen to both if you can.
The plot of this game is pretty interesting, as many of it's plot threads are spread throughout multiple team stories: Sacred Treasures team, Hero team, and Yagami team. The main ending is the Sacred Treasures one, but the other two endings help add context to the overall narrative. And I have to say, I love this concept! It shows how ambitious SNK was with this series, they put very much work into building the lore and plot threads to make it all come together. I think this also works as it encourages players to play with different teams, maybe it could end up having a character you find really fun to play as!
Before I bring up the final boss, I thought I'd mention the villains team. As the penultimate battle for the sub and final bosses, this stage really feels like an endurance test of everything so far. Instead of having a single theme tying the team together, the three members use their boss themes from the source material, and it's really effective. It's one of the more memorable things in this game for me.
The final boss is a dick, no surprise here. I normally play overly defensive and sweep when I can, but he definitely can cheaply command grab you which does ALOT of damage. Reddish beat the SNK boss by timing it out, what a surprise! I'd say he's easier then the last two but he is still really cheap.
KOF 96 is such an important game to this series, and I can't appreciate it enough for establishing the series standards for the games to come. While it ends up losing identity because of later games doing the same things but better, this is still worth playing- possibly even a good KOF for newcomers. We'll be wrapping up the Orochi Saga in the next review with The King Of Fighters '97.