![]() Some models still remind me of PS3-era Dead or Alive cutscenes during Story Mode sequences, but overall, the stages and visual effects look fantastic. Graphically, I’m not sure King of Fighters XV lives up to the full potential of the PlayStation 5. (I recommend starting by beating Story Mode with Team Hero, Team Ash, and Team Rival before moving on, for optimal effect.) “I may expect too much narrative meat from fighting games, but it’s not too much to ask that we have a vague inkling of our team’s motivations…” ![]() Without spoilers, the final bosses were genuine challenges I may be picking on Street Fighter again, but I appreciate that the final boss was an actual obstacle, and not just one boss with all the series’ iconic, cheapest moves at its disposal. What story was present was interesting even without experiencing the previous game’s setup. While it continues to perpetuate gripes that I’ve had with the genre for decades, King of Fighters XV does manage to handle these shortcomings with grace. It’s the bare minimum they could have done, and with the long development time, I was hoping for at least an appetizer to sink my teeth into, not a Costco sample. I may expect too much narrative meat from fighting games, but it’s not too much to ask that we have a vague inkling of our team’s motivations, especially when bitter rivals like Iori and Kyo are working together. You also see a short pre-bout intro if your active fighter is matched against their rival, like Isla with Shun’ei. Only a handful of the characters have anything to do with the big picture story if you don’t pick certain teams, the story mode is simply a gauntlet of fistfights, a showdown with the final boss, and one simple cutscene. “If you’re playing solo, Story Mode is likely your first destination, and here is where the game begins to falter in its mission to “shatter all expectations.”” Then the typical calamities ensue, with your team being the one to defuse the situation, and your reward is a non-voiced epilogue scene featuring your heroes returning to their daily lives. There’s one intro movie and one midway scene that plays on every run, and no other story until you reach the end. If you’re playing solo, Story Mode is likely your first destination, and here is where the game begins to falter in its mission to “shatter all expectations.” It’s a very serviceable Story Mode, but it’s bare-bones. SNK has been revealing each playable fighter in regular YouTube updates for the last year, and I was pleased to find that each is as much fun to play as their reveal trailer suggested. Some of the individual characters may not be as charismatic or memorable as Street Fighter’s iconic lineup, but each of King of Fighters XV’s contestants is unique and well-honed. Sadly, after Dead or Alive’s last two outings, it feels applaudable to see a fighting game launch in a complete form.īetter still, almost every character has their own distinct style, a refreshing change from the likes of the clone-riddled Street Fighter. It’s worth noting, too, that the launch roster is fully fleshed out, including practically all the major faces we should expect to see. “Overall, King of Fighters XV’s launch roster feels very well-balanced, walking the line between real-world fighting styles and the supernatural with considerable aptitude.” Even though I haven’t played this series in years, most of the roster was recognizable, and each familiar face brought a wave of pleasing nostalgia. Of course, some of the fantastical powers, like Dolores’ sand coffin grabs, can feel a little unfair when the AI is grabbing your traditional fighter out of the air-but this is inevitable when you mix karate with magic powers, and it feels less malicious overall than other games in this vein. Overall, King of Fighters XV’s launch roster feels very well-balanced, walking the line between real-world fighting styles and the supernatural with considerable aptitude. I’ve always liked this approach over the traditional 1v1, best-of-3 format most of the genre uses and returning to this tactical character selection was invigorating. ![]() True to series tradition, players pick one of these teams or draft their own, and head into battle fights are handled survival-style with no tagging out, and the last team standing wins the round.
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