I swear I hear this from every site or magazine that does a review on the King of Fighters series. Am I the only person who is perfectly happy with the graphics and look of the characters the way they are?
It seems to happen w/ ever review. The first thing they say, "the sprites are dated but it still plays like KOF etc etc.....", as if they have to make an excuse for how they are.
They're fucking diabolical. Playing GGXX and then moving onto KOF2002 is painful. It's not that they're rubbish necessarily but that they have not changed despite the series nearing a decade in age.
I have every KoF game except 94 and 2k2 and it's way past time for a makeover.
The graphics are good for what they were... but they could be so much more now. There's a reason Capcom moved on after SFII, and KoF should follow. Preferably into MotW territory.
I don't mind the graphics as they are, but I would much rather see Playmore build up the next KoF on one of the newer consoles so we can really see what they can do with the overall look of the series.
It would be different if there were some gameplay updates, but there aren't. It might just be time to put KOF to rest.
Although the Street Fighter Alpha sprites annoy me much more than KOF's. At leat we see KOF's once a year...=)
The series has been around for EIGHT YEARS!!! The graphics need some kind of positive change in them. I enjoy the art style as much as the next guy, but c'mon.
The graphics are old. The graphics are dated. With that being said, I don't care. As long as the games continue to be fun that is all that matters to me.
I agree with all the others in here. I'll never stop loving KOF but it would be nice if they'd upgrade it to looking like Mark of the Wolves or something.
It's easy to look at step one of what's been keeping KoF, visually, in the same place it's been since it began. The MVS. Of course, MVS games can look better than KoF titles; Garou, for example. But that deals with just about 14 characters, where an average KoF uses 30-40, or so.
SNK/Playmore has needed to move on to new hardware for years now. I mean, I know the MVS/AES has legacy. I know it has a large installed base in arcades worldwide. I know SNK/Playmore has little resources with which to develop newer hardware. It's a shame, I like SNK games and KoF, but I can't deny how dated the series has looked for years now.
Though, doubting the viability of the MVS/AES, or feeling there's something "dated" looking about the hardware and it's games gets the Neo-Nazis breathing down your neck.
Yes they are.
They've been outdated for about 5 years now....
They say that with good reason. This series is BEGGING for a makeover. 2K2 is loaded with pixel madness.Quote:
Originally posted by FighterX
I swear I hear this from every site or magazine that does a review on the King of Fighters series. Am I the only person who is perfectly happy with the graphics and look of the characters the way they are?
It seems to happen w/ ever review. The first thing they say, "the sprites are dated but it still plays like KOF etc etc.....", as if they have to make an excuse for how they are.
The animation is lacking. Not ugly by a longshot, but way overdue for high res on a new system.
FighterX, your not the average gamer/reviewer. Yeah, I'm sure to my brother or just about any other gamer KOF looks like shit. But to a lot of us here, we've known about SNK/Playmore, know about the history of KOF and was probably playing 94' in the arcades. I can totally understand why a lot of people think the series looks crude, but to us it's just business as usual and we love it. I'd like to see an upgrade, but personally I still like the way it looks and I think 2k on the DC looks and plays fantastic, though the bg's were a bit bland. Like someone else said an upgrade to MOW graphics would be enough for me.
I still like the games, but fuck, their complacency with the tired ass sprites does get annoying. I can appreciate the gameplay, but sometimes you can't help but look at it and say "if only..."
I like the look. the sprites are detailed. I'd like to see it go higher-res(not "like Guilty Gear") and keep the same amount of detail to the sprites. Better animation is fine, but not something I'm bothered with. I don't check, but they've changed sprites for people. I like the style of the older versions of characters better anyways.
Even tho of course I'd love a new look for Iori (a new, more sexy look!) I think that if SNK.....and whatever company that happens to take them over on a daily basis wants it to look like something from '94, by god I'm not going to stop them. I personally think it's almost campy, like the way old cartoons are cool. You know what you're going to get, and you don't have to worry about there being anything you wont expect! A power wave will forever be, a power wave.
Why the fuck not?Quote:
Originally posted by rezo
(not "like Guilty Gear")
I hate the way reviewers always complain about something that's not there. Essentially, I could take ANY game and do that. "Why doesn't Rygar have flying robotic cocker spaniels" or "How come Ratchet and Clank didn't have the mascot a big chicken?" It's ridiculous. You rate what's THERE. A review of what's THERE. Not what you were expecting to be there. It's different if they compare it to Capcoms 2D sprite work and berate it, but because it's not 3D doesn't make it any less of a game.
I agree, Rezo.
If only SNK would use Naomi and retouch the sprites- they do have some good detail, but the 320x240 resolution does leave things a bit pixelly and there's a tad of graininess from the 4,096 color palette (I'd like at least 16-bit color).
Basically, I'd hope for something along the lines of what Capcom did to the SFII characters for Super SFII- but with a resolution boost. The backgrounds could use some extra parallax.
Better animation would be fine with me but it is not necessary... then again, if the developer goes to the Naomi they could add a few frames per character since they'd be free of the Neo-Geo limitations which the KOF series now finds itself up against.
Because he wants high-res more like... some other 2D game that uses high-res sprites that aren't 640x480. I think. Who knows.Quote:
Originally posted by 88mph
Why the fuck not?
It's not that the KOF games are not 3D is why their visuals are criticized, but rather that they're well outdated by 2D standards as well. While I agree, it is proper to rate the games based on what they are and not what they could be, it gets harder each year to give KOF's visuals a passing grade when it hasn't made any huge leaps since 1994.Quote:
It's different if they compare it to Capcoms 2D sprite work and berate it, but because it's not 3D doesn't make it any less of a game.
It still makes no sense to me.Quote:
Originally posted by MechDeus
Because he wants high-res more like... some other 2D game that uses high-res sprites that aren't 640x480. I think. Who knows.
Quote:
Why the fuck not?
Because I might as well say "I'd like to see it hi-res, like the 640x480x16 screen mode in windows". Guilty Gear isn't the only series that has hi-res games, and more importantly, I would not like to see the game adopt Guilty Gear's style while making a change in resolution/palette/whatever.Keep the same style, with a higher resolution and more color. If there was some hi-res game that I was aware of that seemed to be how I imagine a hi-res KOF to look, then I might say "like that game."
Sure, the series could use a higher resolution and the ability to display a lot more colors; but the gameplay is still great and that's what matters to me.
If you can find another console fighting game with high-res sprites, feel free to point it out (really, any console game). When people say, "Like Guilty Gear X," they mean the resolution and detailed sprites, not to make another series adapt its style. Hence the statement, "It should be in high-res like Guilty Gear X," not "It should be in high-res with characters that use the same style as Guilty Gear X."Quote:
Guilty Gear isn't the only series that has hi-res games [...]
i like the sprites in kof. they have evolved over the years. the characters were hella stiff back in '94, but with each game the animation and smoothness of teh character movements has improved. high res would be nice, but i don't mind them the way they are. the game's still great in my eyes.
The pseudo-cg rendered look of the KoF characters is beginning to get on my nerves. It was awesome in '94, it's old and tired in 2k2. Seeing the remakes in Capcom vs SNK makes the game that much more difficult to watch. A more cartoonish style (but not cel-style, with black outlines) akin to Mark of the Wolves would be a welcome upgrade.
Problem is, I have no confidence that Playmore will do anything more to KoF aside from running the series into the ground, until people don't care about the series. Just my feeling.
aww. . .I was going to say battle beast. . . but that was on the PC. Eh, but I'm getting shades of Capcom vs. SNK whenever I think of "like Guilty Gear X." people ought to be familiar enough with what hi-res is to not need the popular example pointed to them.Quote:
If you can find another console fighting game with high-res sprites, feel free to point it out (really, any console game).
I liked KOF's graphics, up until KOF 2000 came along. Brezzasoft seem to have hired some inept artists to do the new artwork for KOF 2001 and 2002. They've added some nice new animation to the older characters like Iori and Kim, but they never bothered to make sure it matches the appearance of the old animations. It looks really weird seeing Iori change appearances when he goes from standing to walking forward. That's just the result of laziness on the part of KOF's current graphics team. Finish what you start, please! :(
:D I think I can find at least a few more high-res fighters on the PC, all fan-made Japanese stuff (like Eternal Fighter Zero).Quote:
Originally posted by rezo
aww. . .I was going to say battle beast. . . but that was on the PC.
Companies ought to be familiar enough with what high-res is so that we don't only have one example.Quote:
people ought to be familiar enough with what hi-res is to not need the popular example pointed to them.
I agree with that. I've always thought it was because of the amounts of memory on consoles(which shouldn't be much of a limit anymore). I wouldn't be surprised if 2D games on PCs now are using 16-bit sprites, just because they can. Although, the playstation should have been able to have the amount(or more) of graphics an SNES game would have in memory, albeit in a higher resolution. =\
Considering the MVS hardware they use is about as old as I am, yeah. :p
I like it, but yeah, there is plenty of room for improvement, and making it look actually nice would attract a new crowd to it.
Man, If they managed to make it look like garou, I'd jizz everywhere...
You have very low standards if Garou is enough to make you cream yourself.Quote:
Originally posted by arjue
I like it, but yeah, there is plenty of room for improvement, and making it look actually nice would attract a new crowd to it.
Man, If they managed to make it look like garou, I'd jizz everywhere...
well, its the prettiest fighter I've ever seen, with excelent, bright, well designed and well animated characters. If they combined KOF gameplay with visuals like Garou, it would truly be blissful (although I prefer Garou's game play style).
I'd have to agree with Arjue, to an extent. It's certainly the prettiest MVS fighting game I've ever seen. I think Guilty Gear X is probably the best looking 2D fighter of all, though. It's amazing what a resolution and colour depth boost can do.
Yeah, but Guilty Gear's character design is totally yuck.
Actually, I was never impressed by GGX's visuals. GGXX looks nice though. Right now, Mark of the Wolves, with its Metal Slug-like explosive FX, fluid character animation and palatable character designs, gets my vote for overall best-looking 2D fighter.
Street Fighter 3: Third Strike is the most beautiful 2D fighter… EVER!Quote:
Originally posted by arjue
well, its the prettiest fighter I've ever seen, with excelent, bright, well designed and well animated characters. If they combined KOF gameplay with visuals like Garou, it would truly be blissful (although I prefer Garou's game play style).
2nd Impact looks better . . .Quote:
Originally posted by MajinRyu
Street Fighter 3: Third Strike is the most beautiful 2D fighter… EVER!
I don't think so...maybe better backgrounds but don't look better, and I like more the ones in 3rd Strike
The first KoF I played was 2000 on the DC, and the animation hurt my eyes.
Flame me up, Johnny!
Barring ram issues,It would look beautiful If they used Mark of the wolves style sprites and animation. They also should return to the highly detailed backgrounds and stage openings.
Who gives a damn what other people think about koF.
You like it?
Good for you.
They don't like it?
Good for them.
Now if you'll excuse me, KoF 2K2 is calling....
Actually BonusKun, you are right, because if someone else posted what I did, I'd probably have said what you just did, but for once, I wanted to get the feelings of others here. Just wanted to see where everyone stood, kinda. :)
Oh, and this is coming from me, who usually doesn't give a damn about anyone's review, save my own.
NO! I like the KoF graphics and animation. Never seen one I didn't like.
And 3rd Strike definitely looks nicer than the two that came before it. I liked the old air parrying better and Sean's uppercut is wack in 3rd Strike but the first two do not look as good in my opinion.
Pa
What is sad is that I think some of the KOF characters saw their best day not thanks to SNK, but thanks to Capcom, by way of Capcom vs. SNK. SNK should have been ashamed that their old rival outdid them when it came to their own characters.
As I said in a previous thread, I LOVE King of Fighters, but good lord, it has gone on for long enough. Either give it an update or just put it out of its misery. Those sprites, the half-assed character animation, it has gone on for too long. If it is the NeoGeo hardware causing all of this, toss it out the window. The binds that tie these games to that hardware need to be gotten rid of. The NeoGeo has survived for a LONG DAMN TIME. If anyone who owns a system bitches about not getting future versions of KOF released for it, they are whiny brats. NeoGeo owners have already gotten more support for the system in terms of years than any other company would have given to that system.
Move to Naomi, move to ANYTHING, and remake this game from the ground up. Bitching in '97, '98 about the "same old graphics" was indeed annoying - bitching EIGHT YEARS LATER is a God-given right.
Like 3rd's presentation if you want, but 2nd's backgrounds definitely have more detail, animation and personality. Most of 3rd's bgs are near-static. There's no denying that. the outlying VS and victory artwork screens in 2nd are superior to 3rd as well.Quote:
Originally posted by MajinRyu
I don't think so...maybe better backgrounds but don't look better, and I like more the ones in 3rd Strike
Not a big deal, I'm just a one-man 'Remember 2nd Impact!' advocate. Don't mind me.
I prefer the stages in Street Fighter III: New Generation the best out of the three. Like Alex's NYC alley backdrop. The game still gets my vote for best looking fighter to date.
Yeah, the game looks like it runs on 10 year old 16 bit hardware.
All I'm going to add is this:
I just got KoF 95 and 96 for ye olde Neo cab today.
Woo!
True, NG's backgrounds were more or less put together better than the other two. Alex's graffitti-scrawled background in NG still looks great, and Ibuki's stage did look nicer with her ninja clan standing behind her for support. I just like 2nd's minor updates and color changes made to NG's backgrounds (like Necro's and Oro's, for example). And Gill's bg in 2nd was just badass.Quote:
Originally posted by Wilykat
I prefer the stages in Street Fighter III: New Generation the best out of the three. Like Alex's NYC alley backdrop. The game still gets my vote for best looking fighter to date.
Rocketh on, Nemo! I'm still kicking myself for missing that MVS unit for $100 when I was 15 years old. Oh, if I only had the money and space. :(Quote:
Originally posted by Kidnemo
All I'm going to add is this:
I just got KoF 95 and 96 for ye olde Neo cab today.
Woo!
KOF has its own style aesthetic that works well on the MVS. Sure some other fighting games look prettier than KOF, but does sthat make KOF awful or inferior or bad? Its all opinion i guess...
2k2 has the most animation I've seen in a KOF game to date. Granted its not a whole lot more animation, if you pay attention you can see just about all the characters were tweaked a little animation or frame-wise (and some where completely overhauled like Athena). I always liked SNK cause these little things game their characters personality.
Yuri has one start-up frame where she shuts her eyes and mouth when blocking a hard attack in 2k2. Sure a lot of people don't notice stuff like that, but some people do and learn to appreciate it. Its one lousy stinking frame, but it wasn't there in KOF2k1.
If SNK does decide to move on to new hardware and redesign the game, then more power to them. When they decide to change they'll do it right. The games they make right now are still high quality in my book, even on ten year old hardware. You don't need the best hardware or the best system to play or make the some of best games around. KOF still satisfies me and that's all i care about.
My favorite thing about KOF is the fact that the characters look "realistic", not cartoony and muscley compared to Capcom's characters.