GameSpot may receive revenue from affiliate and advertising partnerships for sharing this content and from purchases through links.

Space World 2001 Hands-on: King of Fighters GBA

SNK's long-running fighting series is going portable, and this time the characters aren't superdeformed.

Comments

While the King of Fighters series has appeared on portable systems like the original Game Boy and the NeoGeo Pocket, the characters have always appeared in a cartoony, superdeformed state. The Game Boy Advance KOF game, currently going by the working title of King of Fighters GBA, is a little early, but it already feels like a King of Fighters game.

Only two teams were selectable in the 35-percent complete version of the game shown here at Space World 2001, and there was no edit team option in place. The super meter works off a stock-based system that lets you store up to three super moves at once. It appears to work similarly to the system used in KOF 2000, but we were unable to get the armor and counter modes from KOF 2000 to work, so it may change as the game gets closer to release. The game uses all four GBA buttons, putting light attacks on the face buttons and heavy attacks on the triggers. The control is responsive, though performing some of the more complex SNK-style super moves may prove to be a little difficult on the GBA.

Graphically, the game is currently in a state of flux. The characters look great and move well. The backgrounds, however, are extremely bland and nondescript. Let's hope that the backgrounds are spruced up a bit before the game's release.

Not much is known about the game's modes or character lineup, beyond the fact that popular characters like Terry, Andy, and Mai were playable in the demo version and the game is currently scheduled to have multiplayer support via link cable. King of Fighters GBA is scheduled for release in Japan this year. No North American release plans have been announced.

Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com

Join the conversation
There are no comments about this story