Garou MotW > King of Fighters XI

I've sung the praises of King of Fighters XI before, but today I feel that King of 2D Fighting Games, in my estimation, has been dethroned by my recent adventure into the library of SNK. What game could possibly accomplish this feat? Why, none other 1999's Garou: Mark of the Wolves.

About a month ago, I noticed that a version of the old Dreamcast game was soon to be available of the PS2 in Japan via Play-Asia, and having heard that it was one of the best 2D fighting games around, I figured for $30 I could hardly go wrong with importing it. Besides, it featured my favorite character from KoFXI, B. Jenet, which was practically enough to seal the deal. So last Wednesday the game arrived in the mail and I quickly booted up the disc for a quick play session after work. My impressions during that initial play session were less than favorable compared to KoFXI, mainly because I could no longer control characters via the analog stick, as I am wont to do after a year of playing the aforesaid game. Being forced to use the d-pad presented a bit of a learning curve at first, one which somewhat negated my familiarity with the controls and moveset of B. Jenet (who was my obvious choice when selecting a fighter in story mode). I found that I could hardly move beyond the first challenger without losing, which I suppose contributed to my negative first impressions. However, I resolves to overcome these difficulties given the overwhelming positive reception the game received from reviewers.

So this past weekend I invited my friend and fellow fighting game fan Hector over for a play session. We had previously enjoyed the likes of Super Smash Bros. Melee, Naruto Clash of Ninja, Soul Calibur 2, and (of course) King of Fighter XI. We popped the game in my PS2 and started playing, and it was then that I learned why Garou MotW is so highly praised in the fighting game community. Besides the excellent balance between fighters, the game is easy to play, challenging to master, and fun as hell. I say it's easy to play because Hector, who had not yet learned of the "quarter turn," was still able to best me at several rounds in the game. We discovered together the purpose of the TOP set bar, how to pull of specials (both light and strong types), adjusting the handicap to maximize play time, and just how catchy that old-school level select music is. The more we played, the better we each got, and though he lost more often than not, he was still holding his own and maintaining a relative status quo compared to my progress. I think if we make these play sessions a habit, we both could easily become fairly high-level players. I've already noticed marked improvement in my own skills (thanks in part to a mastery of the d-pad setup) when playing the single player mode.

As much as I enjoy King of Fighters XI, I'll readily admit that certain aspects of the design make it a bit complicated for a beginner, especially one who doesn't own the game themselves (like my friend Hector). For starters, the 3-character team setup really hinders novice play. It take time to find a character that suits your play style and master their moveset, let alone three. It took me at least a month to finalize my standard team if KoF, and that was only after many play sessions and many team combinations. With Garou, Hector was able to cycle through the small cast of fighters and find one he found enjoyable, then proceeding to learn his moveset. The process was no more complicated than that, and in the end it helped keep the two of us on a fairly equal level of skill. Admittedly, the graphics and audio in Garou aren't near as polished as in KoFXI, but they hardly detract from the experience. If I need to play something with some extra depth and style, I can play KoF, but if I've got a friend over and want a simpler experience, Garou MotW is definitely the way to go.

The one thing I've learned from playing these SNK fighting games though is that now I really require more depth from the controls in a fighting title. Whereas I used to thoroughly enjoy the simplicity of Naruto Clash of Ninja, I now find it to basic. They aren't really a game of skill, but rather an exercise in button-mashing. There are no combos to speak of, and the lack of control depth is ultimately frustrating in the face of Garou or KoF or even other 3D fighters like Soul Calibur or Virtua Fighter. I've also learned that Fighting games are one of my favorite genre's of video games (along with Rhythm, Action, and RPG). I hope it sees a revival in the near future, as aside from the big name franchises there aren't many available on the US market currently.

Retrospective: King of Fighters XI

Five years ago, when I was still a fledgling member on the internet gaming community, the idea of importing games directly from Japan seemed like a practice reserved only for the hardest of hardcore gamers. At that time, I only knew one person who imported games, but he was a huge Bemani fan so it made sense for him. Maybe times were different back then, but as I got older the practice seemed to become more prevalent. By the time Nintendo released the original DS, websites like (the now defunct) Lik Sang had become common knowledge among gamers I knew. Still, the thought of importing a game was not one I considered often, what with the risks.

That was before King of Fighters XI though.

Gaming Blog Kotaku had just posted an article and interview with SNK character designer Falcoon about the future of the company and the King of Fighters series. Of course, I had heard of KoF, but being a child of Street Fighter 2 I never really paid much attention to SNK's offering. Well, for whatever reason, the article prompted me to look into the series. The more I read, the more interested I became and the more I wanted to play a KoF title. Low and Behold, a couple months prior SNK Playmore had released a PS2 port of arcade hit King of Fighters XI. I considered waiting for an American release, but upon further investigation come to the conclusion that such a release was unlikely. That left only one option left: importing. At the time, I was understandably reticent:

The problem is, word has it that this most recent title is unlikely to reach American shores. If the last few games were any example, this will probably be true (KoF 2003 arrived here in 2005, I believe). With this in mind, I'm considering (seriously) importing these titles and modding my PS2 to play them (via Swap Magic).

I'm still debating the whole issue, since right now the $100 endeavor (which includes the cost of the game) is essentially for a single fighting title. However, I should also consider that I don't know what other games from Japan I'll want down the road. Something like Ikaruga (Gamecube) probably shouldn't have ever been released in the States, so who knows what other niche titles may come along. For now, my plan is to get the opinion of a couple other people, and then thoroughly think about the subject this weekend. If by Monday it still sounds like a good idea, I'll do it.

And by Monday, the idea still sounded good, so I purchased the game and the necessary equipment. Six months later, I've never been happier with my decision. KoF XI turned out to be better than I could have ever hoped. The 2D graphics, while not as detailed or fluid as Guilty Gear, are still very attractive and have a very classic look in my opinion. The character roster is numerous and varied. Best of all tough, the fighting system is so finely-tuned that it's difficult sometimes to play other fighting games. As enjoyable as something like the Naruto Clash of Ninja series is, the games lack the depth and require less skill than KoF, which makes them boring to play for extended periods.

SNK announced this past Fall that they're working hard on King of Fighters XII, which among other things will include completely redrawn sprites (for the first time in ages). I don't know about anyone else, but I'm really excited. At this moment, there is absolutely no information, screenshots, or release date for the title, but hopefully soon some info will come to light.
Until then, if you haven't ever seen KoF in action, be sure to watch to YouTube video below and see what American gamers are missing out on.