The King of Fighters 2002

The King of Fighters 2002
(KOF 2002, or KOF '02) is a fighting game developed by Eolith and published by Eolith and Playmore for the Neo Geo in 2002. It is the ninth game in The King of Fighters series and the second one to be produced by Eolith. The game was ported to the Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, and the Xbox, where in the PS2 and Xbox versions were released in North America in a two-in-one bundle with the following game in the series, The King of Fighters 2003. The Dreamcast port was released only in Japan, it was also the last game in the series to be officially released for the Japanese Dreamcast.
SNK Playmore produced a remake titled The King of Fighters 2002 Unlimited Match (KOF 2002UM) for the PlayStation 2, which was released on February 26, 2009, in Japan only, the last in the series for the Japanese PlayStation 2, and the game later received its first worldwide release on Xbox Live Arcade on November 3, 2010. A port of the Xbox Live Arcade release was later released on Steam on February 27, 2015.
Gameplay
The King of Fighters 2002 discards the 4-on-4 "Striker Match" format used in the previous three games in the series and returns to the 3-on-3 Battle format originally used in the series up until KOF '98.
The game also revamps the Power Gauge system into a format similar to the one used in The King of Fighters '97. Like the previous games in the series, the Power Gauge is filled as the player attacks the opponent or performs Special Moves during a battle. The number of Power Gauges the player can stock up is increased by one with each member of the team. For example, the first member of the team can stock up to three Power Gauges, while the third member can stock up to five. A single Power Gauge stock can be used to either perform a Counterattack and Evasion technique while guarding an opponent's attack, use a Super Special Move, or initiate the MAX Activation state. The same case also applies to the 1-on-1 format, where the Power Gauge the player can stock up is also increased by one with each round loss. For example, on the first round, the player can stock up to three Power Gauges, while losing two rounds allows the player to stock up to five.
During MAX Activation, the player's offensive and defensive strength is increased for a short period and can cancel any attack into another player. In this state, a Super Special Move can be used without consuming a Power Gauge stock. There are also MAX Super Special Moves, which are Super moves that can only be performed during MAX Activation with one Power Gauge stock, and MAX2 moves that require two stocks while low on health.
Characters
Just like The King of Fighters '98, the game has no storyline since the NESTS story arc has already concluded in the previous game, The King of Fighters 2001. Instead, a "Dream Match" is included featuring characters from all the previous games in the series. In addition to the recurring teams from the series, including the original Japan Team, the game also features a series of teams representing each of the previous game series from The King of Fighters '96 to The King of Fighters 2001. Omega Rugal returns as the final boss as well. However, not all the characters from the previous games are featured, and series' regulars such as King and Shingo Yabuki are absent from the Neo Geo version for the first time since their first appearance. The Dreamcast version of the game, nevertheless, features King and Shingo, while three additional characters from SVC Chaos: SNK vs. Capcom, namely Geese Howard, Goenitz, and Orochi Iori, are included in the PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions. Several characters have been redrawn, most notably the Orochi Team, representing The King of Fighters '98.
Japan Team
Kyo Kusanagi
Benimaru Nikaido
Goro Daimon
Fatal Fury Team
Terry Bogard
Andy Bogard
Joe Higashi
Art of Fighting Team
Ryo Sakazaki
Robert Garcia
Takuma Sakazaki
Ikari Team
Leona Heidern
Ralf Jones
Clark Still
Psycho Soldier Team
Athena Asamiya
Sie Kensou
Chin Gentsai
Women Fighters Team
Mai Shiranui
Yuri Sakazaki
May Lee
Korea Team
Kim Kaphwan
Chang Koehan
Choi Bounge
Yagami Team
Iori Yagami
Mature
Vice
Outlaw Team ('97 Special Team)
Ryuji Yamazaki
Blue Mary
Billy Kane
Orochi Team / Awakened Orochi Team
Yashiro Nanakase / Orochi Yashiro
Shermie / Orochi Shermie
Chris / Orochi Chris
K' Team
K′
Maxima
Whip
Agent Team
Vanessa
Seth
Ramón
NESTS Team
Kula Diamond
K9999
Ángel
Single entry
Geese Howard
Goenitz
Orochi Iori
King
Kusanagi
Omega Rugal
Shingo Yabuki
Unlimited Match
A remake of KOF 2002, The King of Fighters 2002: Unlimited Match (KOF 2002UM) was released on February 26, 2009 for the PlayStation 2 in Japan and on November 3, 2010 for Xbox Live Arcade. The PlayStation 2 version also includes a port of the original The King of Fighters 2002 Neo Geo version. The game was later ported to Steam on February 27, 2015, and PlayStation 4 on February 8, 2021. A physical release was set for late Spring 2021. This remake features new characters, stages, music and artwork, as well as system and roster rebalancing.
Unlimited Match has 66 characters in total, making it the series' largest roster to date. There are 44 characters from The King of Fighters 2002, 16 characters from the NESTS arc, including King and Shingo, and six hidden characters, including additional characters from the previous console versions with the exception of Orochi Iori and particularly K9999, which is a character conceived as a pastiche of Tetsuo Shima from the manga Akira. Instead, a new character called was designed to take his place in the game and features most of K9999's special techniques with altered effects.
In November 2020, the Steam version of the game was updated with rollback netcode, allowing for higher quality online play. The PlayStation 4 version was released with this same rollback netcode. In January 2022, the PC version was patched with spectating lobbies and additional improvements.
Several teams have been re-arranged for Unlimited Match to account for the additional characters, as indicated below; characters added to this version are marked in italics.
Art of Fighting Team
Ryo Sakazaki
Robert Garcia
Yuri Sakazaki
Psycho Soldier Team
Athena Asamiya
Sie Kensou
Bao
Women Fighters Team
King
Mai Shiranui
Kasumi Todoh
Masters Team
Heidern
Takuma Sakazaki
Chin Gentsai
NESTS Team
Kula Diamond
Ángel
Foxy
East Asian Triple Alliance Team
Jhun Hoon
Shingo Yabuki
Lin
Pretty Girl Fighters Team
May Lee Jinju
Hinako Shijo
Li Xiangfei
Cloned Kyo Team
Kusanagi
Kyo-1
Kyo-2
Bosses
Krizalid
Cloned Zero
Original Zero
Igniz
Single Entry
Nameless
Sie Kensou (99 - 2000 "Psychic Powerless" version)
Takuma Sakazaki ('''99 - 2001 "Classic" version)
Robert Garcia (99 - 2000 "Charge" version)
Nightmare GeeseReception and legacy
During its release week, the game sold 19,000 copies in Japan. In Issue 114 from Arcadia, the game was featured at ninth in its Top Ten Video Games'' list. Critical reception to the game was positive due to its large number of playable characters, although mixed opinions were given to its aging graphics. In addition, despite lacking a plot, the large interaction between characters was praised for adding depth to the game. The game has generally been considered one of the most popular games in the franchise in Latin America.
Notes
References
External links
Official website
Official The King of Fighters 2002 Unlimited Match website
Official The King of Fighters 2002 website
2002 video games
2D fighting games
ACA Neo Geo games
Arcade video games
Dreamcast games
Fighting games
Fighting games used at the Super Battle Opera tournament
Linux games
MacOS games
Multiplayer and single-player video games
Neo Geo games
NESiCAxLive games
Nintendo Switch games
PlayStation 2 games
PlayStation 4 games
PlayStation Network games
SNK Playmore games
The King of Fighters games
Video games developed in South Korea
Video games scored by Masahiko Hataya
Video games set in Cambodia
Video games set in China
Video games set in Greece
Video games set in Italy
Video games set in Japan
Video games set in Mexico
Video games set in South Korea
Video games set in Taiwan
Video games set in the Netherlands
Video games set in the United States
Video games with AI-versus-AI modes
Windows games
Xbox games
Xbox 360 Live Arcade games
Xbox One games
UTV Ignition Games games
Hamster Corporation games
Dotemu games