King of Fighters XII

Misc

There were a few other issues I had with the game that didn’t really fit with the rest of the headings, and were rather petty in some senses, so I’ll lay them out there.

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First up is that there are too many load screens in this game. They don’t last very long, but they pop up so often it makes me want to hurt myself. It is especially prevalent in the middle of fights which is even more irksome. Players fight in teams of 3, but every time one is defeated, a loading screen pops up to bring in the next fighter in the pack. This isn’t too bad if players are both on high health, but if one is on low health, defeats his opposite number – load screen – then the next fighter comes in, they fight for 2-3 seconds, and the original is defeated – load screen, it can get very irritating and there seems no need for it. Other fighting games incorporate tag teams fighting one another, and don’t require load times between each player entering, what gives?

Now I realise this seems silly to complain about, but I just don’t understand why it occurs. Almost all characters, are wearing something different in their portraits, to what they do when they fight. So how accurate are these portraits? Why even have them if half the picture – which is taken up with clothing – is different from the character you’ll eventually use? It just seems a waste of time since the first time you play you’ll pick the guy you think looks the coolest.

The final complaint I have with this is present in some titles, but this one has some of the most nonsensical phrasing when you defeat your opponent I’ve ever seen. You deliver the final crushing blow in what was quite a titanic fight, the camera cuts to your victorious team and they say: “I bet there’s plenty of dirt in your past, I’ll hand you over to the shanghai authorities.” Eh? If there’s no story in the game at all, stop giving these characters ideals or personalities, they’re just drones we’re fighting with.

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NB. Now, I’m also told that this game is missing some of the well known characters from the series. Having not played any of the previous KoF games this didn’t bother me but could annoy fans of the series.

Games