The King of Fighters 2003 (PlayStation 2)

The tenth installment in SNK’s long running King of Fighters series, and the last KOF to appear on the Neo Geo system. This game’s storyline focuses on the unexpected return of the Orochi power, who was thought to have been permenantly sealed away back in 1997 by Kyo Kusanagi, Iori Yagami and Chizuru Kagura. It appears that someone has been tampering with the seal, however…

This year there are 30 characters, 2 edit characters (Kyo Kusanagi and Iori Yagami) and 2 hidden characters (Kusanagi from KOF ’02 and Chizuru Kagura) to choose from. There are several returning characters (Jhun Hoon, King, Shingo Yabuki, Hinako Shijou, Billy Kane and Ryuji Yamazaki) and few new fighters as well (Ash Crimson, Shen Woo, Duo Lon, Malin, Adelheid Bernstein and Mukai).

Like The King of Fighters 2002, this game reverts back to the old 3-on-3 format used from KOF ’94 to KOF ’98. A new feature to this game that old-school KOF fans might have trouble getting used to is the new interchangeable team system. You still pick three characters and decide your character order before a match, but now you have the option to change to another character during a match. For example, if your character is low on power during a match, you can have either one of the other two characters at your disposal step in and take their place. It also works if you do not like the character that you have selected, or if you are having trouble using that character. You can change at any time during a match, but you cannot when two of your teammates have been taken out, and only one character is left in reserve.