The PSP is no
stranger to titles that contain more than one game packed into a single UMD and
retro gaming fans certainly appreciate seeing classic games restored in its
original format on a handheld. Among the list of games, fighting fans have been
waiting for a chance to have a portable version of some of the later entries in
The King of Fighters franchise. Thankfully, SNK Playmore brings us The King of
Fighters Collection: The Orochi Saga for the PSP with five of the best games in
the series.
The Orochi Saga
chronicles the series’ mid to late 1990s The King of Fighters games that begins
with KOF ‘94 and ends with the great ‘98 edition. The highlight, of course, is
that this collection includes the Orochi Saga trilogy that began with The King
of Fighters ‘95 and closes with KOF ‘97 and that sees the return of an old foe who
all the fighters thought was dead. The trilogy also brings together just about
every fighter found in SNK Playmore’s other fighting franchises and pits them
against returning favorites such a Mai and Terry.
The King of the
Fighters ‘94 introduced us to a crime boss named Rugal Bernstein who got the
best fighters around the world together for another King of Fighters tournament.
It’s a tournament that brought together fighters from the Fatal Fury and Art of
Fighting games in a true competition with enough fighters to make things a lot
more challenging and in the end your chosen fighter will have to go up against
Rugal himself. It’s a faithful translation with a few changes to the lineup but
it’s certainly great to see this one and even more so on the PSP.
While KOF ’94
was a fun game that piled on the characters, it’s the Orochi Saga trilogy that
truly made gamers feel like they were part of a major King of Fighters
tournament. It is here that Rugal – thought dead – hosts yet another tournament
as a more formidable half-cyborg opponent. The series brings back favorites such
as Bloody Mary and Billy Kane among so many others. The locations have become
more diverse and the opponent AI is even more challenging. In the trilogy, KOF
’96 brings specialized attacks and new foes known as the Orochi. In KOF ’97, the
finally chapter in the trilogy, Howard Geese sets up a tournament that has
three-member teams take on other teams in this new kind of tournament.
Finally,
there’s King of Fighters ’98 that continues the three-member teams in a dream
match-up with up to a total of up to 50 fighters that does not include the bonus
characters you can unlock while playing the game. The competition is fierce even
in the normal difficulty setting you can change in the Options menu. Aside from
the five KOF games, Challenges mode offers a number of fun challenges that
reward you with a number of great extras such as bonus fighters, art and new
music. The challenges offer a variety of interesting fighting scenarios such as
going up against a super-powered Howard Geese or beat a three-man team with only
half your life bar depleted.
As far as the
controls are concerned, The Orochi Saga does a decent job with the PSP hardware.
You can use the D-pad if you like but I found the analog stick far more
effective in unleashing each character’s unique individual attack. For example,
complex special attacks such as Yuri’s The 100 Blows attack that isn’t so easy
to perform using the D-pad. The framerate is rock steady as a single-player game
but not so much playing against a friend via Ad Hoc. My biggest complaint,
however, is the extra long load times that frequently occur.
Visually, The
Orochi Saga features some crisp and sharp graphics that look good even on the
PSP. Nothing has changed visually for this collection and that’s not a bad thing
considering the fact that all five of these games looked good even back in the
day. Even the visual effects are straight out of the arcade version of the
games. Meanwhile, the game’s sound isn’t so bad either although the soundtrack
isn’t always good. While there are a number of cheesy tunes with heavy guitar
riffs, there are tunes that bring out the old-school funk that is far better.
All the sounds you’d expect from the series are also present.
It’s great to
see The King of Fighter franchise on the PSP and even more so when it is part of
a collection with enough good things going for it. The King of Fighters
Collection: The Orochi Saga is a great compilation of classic fighting fun that
might not be completely perfect but does a decent job of doing justice to the
series’ fight style. If you’re a fan of the series or like a good classic fight
game, do pick this one up.
Review Scoring Details |
Gameplay: 7.5
The games feel
comfortable enough on the PSP whether you like to use the D-pad or the analog
stick. As a single-player game, all five of the games have a lot to offer and
with the extras you will find yourself having a blast unlocking them. The
multiplayer mode suffers from some framerate problems, though.
Graphics: 7.5
All five of the
games look good on the PSP and it’s good to see all the flashy effects from the
arcade versions are intact. The overall presentation looks really good as well.
Sound: 7.0
The heavy guitar
riffs are definitely on the cheesy side but there are also some decent tunes
that sound good coming out of the PSP speakers. Even the sound effects are good
and will bring back good memories.
Difficulty: Medium
The solid AI makes
for some really challenging fights that will have you going up against some real
powerhouses. The difficulty setting can be changed for even more punishment but
the medium setting offers more than enough challenge for even experienced
fighting fans.
Concept: 7.5
Five complete King
of Fighters games in one portable package is a brilliant idea and it’s even more
enticing to have all the extras found in the console version of this collection.
There are also plenty of characters to pick. You can also play the game with a
friend via Ad Hoc.
Multiplayer: 6.5
There’s no online
multiplayer fun to be had here and that’s a real shame. Then again, seeing how
there is some framerate issues that pop up in Ad Hoc, it’s probably a good thing
these wasn’t an online option. There are plenty of fighters to pick in the game,
though, and some good fights to be had with a friend.
Overall: 7.5
While it doesn’t
quite reach the level of fighting game goodness that you would find on the
console version, The King of Fighters Collection for the PSP is not a bad
alternative for portable gamers. It’s good to see quite a collection of games
that make up this great franchise in one UMD and even more so with a few extras
tossed in as well.