Labolas
Member
In fact, it's on-par with Street Fighter and even beating SF in terms of story and characters. But back on topic, it always seems like KOF's legacy doesn't get enough respect here in the states and MK has most of the time been put on a pedestal especially currently. The fact that KOF has so many games that are not straight out shit should automatically solidify its legacy, but there are other things that usually separate the good fighting games and the great ones.
The characters:
Almost every character in KOF's rosters oozes with personality. Hell, you can tell every character's personality off of their short introduction before the fight starts off. You really couldn't distinguish the ninjas in the MK games until the later games. MK's cast, a lot of the time, lacked personality and character and were practically know by their colors and that's it. You could tell Terry Bogard was the carefree and fun-loving character or Kyo was the serious/hot-headed character and main lead of the series or Mai was the series's resident sexy lady or Leona was the serious badass female character. Hell, you don't even need their introduction to you what kind of character you're selecting, just looking at the character select screen would just tell you. Point is you could tell that SNK cared enough to give every character something that them distinguish from one another.
The Presentation:
When you start up the game and see the game's intro, you can get really hyped over it and makes you wanted to play it. The character select is something to go off as well. And it's not to say that MK hasn't a few good intros to their games, I always thought that Armageddon's intro was pretty cool and MK9's menu select screen was the series' highlight but that was it for me. KOF's intros were good but their characters' intros were definitely legendary and something that even Capcom mimicked with their games. The Kyo/Iori flame intro, Andy/Mai intro, Leona/Heidern intro, and many more I'm forgetting sold me on their games and characters.
The Music:
Boy, I don't think there's much of an argument to be had here. Arashi no Saxophone alone blows away anything that MK has. From Esaka to Tacos Dance, there's something that's banging from one of their games. There's even orchestral music like Krauser's theme. Wait does MK even have music?
Fighting Styles/Animation:
You can tell the effort SNK in their animations, their idle animations alone sell the characters' fighting style. Selling the character's fighting style and playstyle always come down to their animations. Look no further than Kim Kaphwan. You can tell he's Taekwondo fighter just based on his gi and his idle stance. He's about flashy speedy kicks. Hell, there's a difference in the muay tai fighters', Joe and King, playstyle and animations. Joe has a more shoto playstyle and King is more reserved in her playstyle. The animation in SNK's sprite work has always been fluid, bombastic, and impactful. MK, on the other hand, not so much. MK's animations are stiff and look awful. The character's fighting styles are no better. I think the only fighting style/martial art that is implemented somewhat decent: ninjutsu and even then the characters that are ninjas don't look cool and memorable.
So yeah, I will say I never really cared too much about the MK games. But their best games to me were UMK3, MK9, and MKX. King of Fighters has always been big in other countries but not here. But I think SNK has proven why they're the king of 2D fighters.
The characters:
Almost every character in KOF's rosters oozes with personality. Hell, you can tell every character's personality off of their short introduction before the fight starts off. You really couldn't distinguish the ninjas in the MK games until the later games. MK's cast, a lot of the time, lacked personality and character and were practically know by their colors and that's it. You could tell Terry Bogard was the carefree and fun-loving character or Kyo was the serious/hot-headed character and main lead of the series or Mai was the series's resident sexy lady or Leona was the serious badass female character. Hell, you don't even need their introduction to you what kind of character you're selecting, just looking at the character select screen would just tell you. Point is you could tell that SNK cared enough to give every character something that them distinguish from one another.
The Presentation:
When you start up the game and see the game's intro, you can get really hyped over it and makes you wanted to play it. The character select is something to go off as well. And it's not to say that MK hasn't a few good intros to their games, I always thought that Armageddon's intro was pretty cool and MK9's menu select screen was the series' highlight but that was it for me. KOF's intros were good but their characters' intros were definitely legendary and something that even Capcom mimicked with their games. The Kyo/Iori flame intro, Andy/Mai intro, Leona/Heidern intro, and many more I'm forgetting sold me on their games and characters.
The Music:
Boy, I don't think there's much of an argument to be had here. Arashi no Saxophone alone blows away anything that MK has. From Esaka to Tacos Dance, there's something that's banging from one of their games. There's even orchestral music like Krauser's theme. Wait does MK even have music?
Fighting Styles/Animation:
You can tell the effort SNK in their animations, their idle animations alone sell the characters' fighting style. Selling the character's fighting style and playstyle always come down to their animations. Look no further than Kim Kaphwan. You can tell he's Taekwondo fighter just based on his gi and his idle stance. He's about flashy speedy kicks. Hell, there's a difference in the muay tai fighters', Joe and King, playstyle and animations. Joe has a more shoto playstyle and King is more reserved in her playstyle. The animation in SNK's sprite work has always been fluid, bombastic, and impactful. MK, on the other hand, not so much. MK's animations are stiff and look awful. The character's fighting styles are no better. I think the only fighting style/martial art that is implemented somewhat decent: ninjutsu and even then the characters that are ninjas don't look cool and memorable.
So yeah, I will say I never really cared too much about the MK games. But their best games to me were UMK3, MK9, and MKX. King of Fighters has always been big in other countries but not here. But I think SNK has proven why they're the king of 2D fighters.
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