King of Fighters R-2
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Critic Reviews for King of Fighters R-2
It may be a handheld game from the late '90s, but there's a solid fighting system in King of Fighters R-2 and genre fans should check it out if it passed them by the first time around. It may be a tad pricey given that it's lacking in the sort of special features many other retro releases get these days, but gameplay's where it counts and in that respect we have no complaints.
Overall, I think that this might be my favorite re-release on the Nintendo Switch so far. King of Fighters R2 has a fun fighting scheme, features unique and fun personalities renown for the series, and preserves most of what made King of Fighters great — cool moves to pull off during fights. If the screen size could be fixed, we would be golden.
While I'm certainly hoping to see further Neo Geo Pocket Color games eventually come to the Nintendo Switch, maybe pick from a different genre for the next release. KING OF FIGHTERS R-2 is still decent for what it is, but only big fans of 2D fighters need to experience it on the Switch.
I enjoyed King of Fighters R-2, mostly for historical purposes. It's interesting to see KOF gameplay shrunken down and still very playable, and the Chibi aesthetic works, somehow. Samurai Shodown isn't for me, but I sure hope that this series continues.
These are the good vintage fighting games, in other words, and you'll probably find yourself coming back to them more often than you'd think because they're just that playable and charming in their highly-refined and precise simplicity.
For what is a simplified and chibi-fied version of The King of Fighters '98, this is pretty neat. There are better alternatives in the world of retro game collections, though. In other words, since this has more of a collector's value, if SNK had included a few more titles from the Neo Geo Pocket Color, it would be a stronger recommendation, as this is somewhat to pricey for what's on offer.
Fighting games have come a long way since 1999 and this portable fighter is fun but King of Fighters R-2 can't help but feel dated.
With impeccable gameplay, 23 characters, various game modes, great local multiplayer, several improvements over the original console and a virtually infinite replayability factor, King of Fighters R-2 is highly recommended for fighting fans and a must-have game for enthusiasts of The King of Fighters franchise, not only for its historical value, but for the hours and hours of fun that the port provides.
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