King of Fighters 12 Review
The Short Version: King of Fighters 12 the first entry from the series on the next gen consoles offers an Excellent Core Fighting Experience but is seriously lacking in every other department leaving us ultimately unsatisfied.
Video Review
The Review:
What you’ll Like:
• The Fighting System is Excellent. Responsive, Fluid and Easy to Learn. In the Perfect world this is the only thing that should matter, and this game gets this right – unfortunately this isnt the Perfect world.
• The Hand Drawn Sprites (while they dont look as good as HD BlazBlue) have their own Charm.
• Clan Support Seems Awesome, more games should have this. (only on the PS3)
What you’ll Hate:
• Where the Hell is all my Content? No Story Mode. Only 5 Levels in Arcade? The Single Player is a Joke.
• There are no character videos or anything of the sort that helps to get to know ANY of these Fighters. Inexcusable since this is the first entry into the Next-Gen Consoles and many of us aren’t familiar with the series.
• At the time of Review there are Serious Online Lag Issues.
• The level backgrounds could be alot better (only the fat ladies and the fireworks were interesting to look at).
• Clan Support Only on the PS3. WTF! Assholes!
Final Verdict:
6/10
Above Average (6′s are games that are slightly above average, but for whatever reason they dont merit their Full Purchase Price. Fans will likely love the title enough to overlook its many flaws, but Non-Fans will be slightly disappointed.)
Pick up KOF XIII and there will be many smiles! Its even the “FIGHTING GAME OF THE YEAR”! (2011) God bless Angry Joe and have a happy new year. I hope you all had an awesome HOLIDAYS!
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I do the same thing as you Joe. I pick a character that looks cool to me, and refuse to switch.
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Hey joe i that was a very good review i do own this game bought it because it was a kof game i have been a fan for years. please review the console version of kof 13 when it hits
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I actually know all the people that joe is talking about…wow
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I get people anting sex apeale in the gamer but if that becomes a motive for a buy, especiley if its a fighter. I like boobies but im not the kind of guy who drools over a girl who wares a skimpey outfit. I bought then and then sold it for a full money return the day i got it once i beat the game a hour after i got it.
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Well, Ash is a guy…
but Bridget (Guillty Gear XX -> ACP)…
without the story mode we havent noticed this…
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I think the biggest problem with the entire series is SNK-Playmore’s inability to market itself out of a paper bag in the U.S. King of Fighters isn’t widely known outside of hardcore fighting game fans. So every release in the U.S. does sparse in sales at best. It’s pretty much why a lot of people never picked up on the Capcom vs. SNK series. Most of my friends were like “Who the hell are these SNK characters and why should I care about them?”
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theres a shop in my area that sells this game for £5… do you think its worth it? i’ve watched many many reviews on this game but im still unsure
i really enjoy the King Of Fighters series (althought i dont know the story) however i dont want to waste my money or begin to get bored due to lack of content (Marvel Vs Capcom 3…im looking at you right now)
whats yoru opinion guys? do you think i should give it a try or give it a miss?
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well imo a fighting game that has solid fighting but lacks content is a game that you buy when the price has droped down to like 50% or less. because at the end of the day i dont know about other people but having friends around for playing games is something i do at most once a month. so yh if the game isnt gonna keep me entertained when its just me playing then its NOT worth full retail (60$) price. which is why i regret buying MvC3 on release day cause after just 3 days its sitting with my other old games
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i regret buying MvC3 at full price as well…
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Well joe u asked us what characters we use and im gonna be dead serious abou this i mastered every single move and many of the timings with the so hated character ASH CRIMSON and and by the way he is a dude snk confirmed it
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A game with excellent fighting controls but nothing else is more or less on par with arcade games. By which I mean, most suited for arcades (or tournaments) and not so much suitable for playing at home by yourself (or with people watching).
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fuck this, I WANT KING OF FIGHTERS 13 ON CONSOLES!! PLEASE MAKE IT HAPPEN SNK!!!!
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Good review here, Joe, and I’ll admit while I haven’t bought the game, I am also surprised by the lack of story and content.
Just a bit of info if you haven’t looked it up on the wiki yet: Ash is the main protagonist of the Ash saga, and is in fact a guy. If you wanna be confused even further, take a look at his twin. He looks even more feminine. A lot of people hate him, but I honestly gotta give kudos to SNK for experimenting rather than just making Kyo or K’ the main character again. Plus, he may be effeminate, but I actually kinda like him. I dunno, I suppose I find him cool for some reason. But I digress.
It seems like SNK decided to make 12 as a non-canon game much like the 2002 installment. KoF fans agree that 2002 was total garbage, but it was more the fault of Eolith than SNK, whom they broke off from shortly before Kof: 2003. That means this installment is all SNK’s fault, sadly.
Still, I personally hope you take a look at 13 or the KoF Orochi saga for the wii sometime. They will most likely have a lot more content to them than this, and surely will not disappoint you.
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i like playing Terry Bogard
ARE YOU OK?! BASTA WOLF!
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I did Rent this game with some friends once out of curiosity and ive been playing king of fighters for a long time now and I was disappointed in the fact that there was virtually no unlockables in this game. For me I always have the funnest in fighting games by unlocking all the new characters and now it seems like theyre starting to take that away.
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I know it’s been a while since this review, but I had to toss my two cents in.
No Mai? Really? I don’t even PLAY this game and I know who she is! Plus, she jiggles. A lot.
Also, is it me or is Joe Higashi kind of a Sagat ripoff (shorts, fighting stance…)? He even throws a CRIMINAL UPPER! How can he get away with that?!
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Actually, Joe uses Hurricane Upper WAY BEFORE Capcom even dreamed of the Street Fighter Alpha series, let alone having Final Fight characters in a SF game.
Joe was created in 1991 while Cody started using Criminal Upper in 1998.
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I have to agree with almost everything that Joe said, this game feels great when you pick it up, but your done with it so fast due to the lack of content. I love King of Fighters, but unlike Joe, I would rate this only a 5 out of 10, because the roster is so much smaller then the other KoF games, and I miss the Team battles of 4 on 4. Also, my favorite character is, has, and forever will be Terry “Lone Wolf” Bogard.
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SNK always had the ability to make arcade games such metal slug,samurai showdown,the king of fighters. But a new game for the next generation of consoles? Samurai Showdown Zen is a good one, metal slug XX for XBLA and PSN excellent game, but not all are good like this one KOF 12 i think it was a test for the new kof game release King of fighters XIII. i am a big SNK fan i want this game is not a good veredict i know but i always gonna follow SNK. My favorite character is Kyo Kusanagi is badass.
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It was so fun to see ya kick Venom’s ass, dude!
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AHHHH. WWhy you make me do that lol
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If you think about it. That fighter who people think is a girl but is actually a guy reminds me of Luppi from Bleach, he looks like a girl but it’s a guy who’s a badass poof. if you don’t watch it then don’t bother asking who the f*ck he is. But if you do you’ll know what i mean.
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I am a big fun of this movie I watched on the movie theater and now I have it on DVD
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