*gets out the lotion*

*readies the music*

Yeah, only slightly better.

But I've been sold on the game's visuals for months, whatever you think of 2D/3D fighting games, I defy anyone to go look at a KOF from the last 5 years and form an argument this game doesn't look twice as good.

Seeing the Terry v Kim Kapwhan shot only makes me wonder when I'm getting a new Fatal Fury game, Garou or another variety (MoTW2 preferred of course) using this same art technique.

Increasingly crossing my fingers on this one, SNK Playmore has done a good job of getting me interested in a game that doesn't run on NG hardware (possibly the first time they've accomplished that with me personally), I'm hoping the issues I had with their other recent fighting games will be improves/resolved.

I love SNK fighters. I particularly enjoyed SNK vs Capcom 2D fighter and am looking forward to this one.

@Kyle81: @NES8bt: *lights up the candles*

aaah... KOF... good times, good times. wonder if it'll be ported to either the Wii or PC (my two gaming platforms)

I can't wait for more KOF. Especially when it's so well-illustrated.

Are you okay? BUSTER WOLF!

A return to form, eh? Kinda like SF4?
Maybe I'll give this KoF a shot. Was no good at them before.

@NES8bt: yea, me too. I was always a Street Fighter Fanboy (still am actually) and wasn't really a big fan of the series, even though i owned a couple of them. Some SNK vs. Capcom got me hooked and i went back and replayed the old games and i got a appreciation for the series. The new screenshots justs makes anticipate the game more :D

I'm not sure if this is unnatural, but the only SNK fighter I ever played was Fatal Fury, the SNES version, and the Mark of the Wolves version for Dreamcast(that was SNK right?). Never tried out any King of Fighters games. But this one looks so beautiful, I figure I'll get it.

if it ends up on wii ill go get me some classic controllers. though i figure it'll be on ps2/3 and such. we will see i guess. not like an arcade machine will show up around me at any point. a chinatown trip is in order when this is released.

Athena looks even more loli than usual.

@T16skyhopp: This thing will not be showing up on the Wii. Id be shocked if it did. And if it did it would be hurt by it. One of the biggest draws is the HD graphics. The Wii cant output this. And aside from that Hori fighter stick that came out awhile ago there isnt a controller for the Wii that can do this game justice. This isnt Smash this needs percise controls. The idea of even trying to make move with the Classic Controllers analog sticks gets me feverish.

Terry Bogard. Do want your games.

2D will never die! God, I hope SNK will make a new SamSho with this kind of art...

oh god that's so creamy !

i can't believe how long i've been playing king of fighters games for now... it was tricky in the early days when playing a game meant finding a working machine meant a trip to chinatown.

been playing kof XI more lately, and am always delighted when the game gets more refined with each release (with a few exceptions...)... and also delighted in the return of Orochi story, 10 years later as predicted in the end of 97'.

snk fighters are tops. it was a quite a scare when snk went kaput pre-playmore.

still... where's mark of the wolves 2 ?

oh, and i love 2D... and the recent hd 2d trend is pretty cool.
I'd love to see a new hd 2d metroid game! think with high quality 2d animations, like odin sphere or something.

I'm definitely interested in picking this up when it gets a home console conversion. I only hope it gets released in Europe a lot quicker than usual, it seems a good two years after release that we get them. Lets hope that SF4 helps reignite the genre so we can get this game quicker!

...on 360 please ^_^

@Modus_Operandi: I wouldn't say that it's not showing up on Wii, as it's just a matter of the Wii version not being at such a high resolution. Guilty Gear games easily have better animation, although I'd hafta say that the background animations in this game would probably need to be toned down a bit for a Wii release.

Oh man, this game is so pretty. Can't wait until it gets a home release.

2008 is definitely shaping up to be the year of the fighting game!

BURN KNUCKLE!!!

As a true fighting game nerd, I am eagerly awaiting this game.

Looks amazing

@kubevubin: But thats the whole point of the game. The HD visuals. Its still KOF but now with crispy creamy HD visuals. The same reason youre not seeing Bionic Commando Rearmed or SFTurbo HD on the Wii is the same reason you wont see this over there. Maybe theyll throw it a bone and release a KOF anthology series a la Metal Slug. And again the control issues are enough on next gen consoles without having to worry about the Wii. This is a hardcore fighting game with HD graphics. It doesnt fit anything the Wii markets for. And really why would you want to play a stripped down verison of this thing?

what have they done to athena?!?!?!

SHE'S EVEN CUTER

It looks like SNK Playmore will FINALLY step into it's own, rather than just riding the coattails of the past, a la Capcom. This is the first post-bankruptcy KOF I've been so excited about. I can't wait to see more.

Which begs the question why couldn't Street Fighter IV gone the same route with the HD 2D graphics?

@kubevubin: The game is going to run on a Taito Type X2 board in the arcades. Theres no way that the Wii can handle the specs needed without the sprites being lowered in resolution and they are being drawn natively in HD scale. 2D seems like its a few gens old but the processing power required for it can at times surpass 3D titles.

Taito Type X2 specs:
* OS: Microsoft Windows XP Embedded SP2 [2]
* CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6400／Pentium 4 651／Celeron D 352 (up to latest Core 2 CPUs supported by the chipset)
* Chipset: Intel Q965 + ICH8
* Monitor: 720p/1080p/1440p HD LCD Monitor
* RAM: DDR2 667/800MHz (512MB/1GB, up to 4GB)
* GPU: PCI Express x16-based graphics. Support cards include ATI RADEON X1600Pro/X1300LE or nVIDIA GeForce 7900GS／7600GS／7300GS, up to latest graphic cards (Radeon HD 3800 or Geforce 9800 series)
* Sound: Onboard Realtek HD 7.1 channel Sound (supports add-in sound cards)
* LAN: 10/100/1000 BASE-T
* I/O ports: 1x JVS, 4x USB 2.0 (up to 8), 1x serial (max 2), 1x parallel port, 2x PS/2, 2x SATA
* Audio inputs: AKG C535EB Stage Microphone, line-in (Surround 7.1)
* Audio outputs: 7.1, SPDI/FX
* Expansion Slots: 1x PCI Express x16 (used by video card), 1x PCI Express x4, 2x PCI
* Storage: 2x 80 GB 10k RPM SATA Hard Drives
* Media: 80 GB 10000 rpm Hard Drive

This board is brutally powerful and its titles are going to need serious hardware for console versions.

@theCornerinvasion: I guess that's why there is SF2 Hyper Turbo HD (whatever it's called).

please tell me this game is coming out on the 360. I've been missing the fighting games we used to have back in the day when they were all the craze. We simply don't get enough of them anymore. However this game looks seriously amazing, it's simple and pretty and we all know the characters are going to have some weird ass attack movements that SNK has always had. When is this coming out now? I need to mark my calander.

Why is Athena short and fat?!?!?

@DataScream: My guess is 360 and PS3 since the man hours spent on this game. They're gonna whore it out to both parties to maximize profit east and west. Then again we may not see it state side on the PS3 with the way SCEA has kicked around SNK/Playmore on the PS2 in the past.

Info from scan:
Orthodox 3 on 3, no more tag team during game.
Location test from 4/18-4/20 at 2 locations, Tokyo Akihabara's Hey Arcade　[www.taito.co.jp] and Osaka Namba Hills [www.asmo-am.co.jp]

@DaiMacculate: Ehh.. I thought XI looked decent. But this definitely looks better.

Also, I really liked the art in Garou: Mark of the Wolves.

@Kyle81: @Soulgenesis: @jun581: *loosens belt*

I still like how it looks, but Athena's new design shakes me. It's mostly the really exaggerated anime styled eyes.

Wow.. Can't wait for this to land on consoles. Might have to import this on my PS3 if it gets an early japanese release.

What bugs me most about Athena is the dropping of her 'Idol' design into a more standard, and to be honest, boring, Schoolgirl look. Bring back the Idol!

@RemyDuvalle: Yeah, I mean you're right XI was decent looking, but I still think this looks better; of course we'll have to see it in motion first hand to get the whole story.

Yeah, this reminds of the MoTW art style in some ways, but even better, so thats why I'm hoping we'll eventually get a sequel done with this technique.

chubby little athena:(

It must have Yuri... who needs to teleport when you can move like that?

...and it's so fun humiliating people with Yuri/Benimaru/Bao :p

I realize that 2D graphics can be taxing on hardware. That's why there are ports. You certainly couldn't emulate this game on Wii, but you could certainly port it and reduce the graphical resolution. Even at 480p, Guilty Gear looks pretty freaking sweet.

POWER DUNK!!!!

yes this will get copped on site. when is it coming to consoles?

blah blah boobs blah blah 2d fighting blah blah sequels blah blah stal franchise

Wow, I'm a huge SF dork and even I can admit this is looking pretty sexy. As long as it comes to the PS3, has online play, and ridiculous physics (Mai), I'm so there.

Now will they care about the gameplay for once? SNK games are known to be a very mixed bag of quality in that area- and that's my big concern- and KOF is especially prone to quality issues.

@arstal:
I didn't pay much attention to the newest games, but through the 90s that's why I left Capcom for SNK. I saw Street Fighter going the Alpha route, while SNK offered fast, slick gameplay that worked well. That, and I like the overall speed, sidestep/dodge, and desparation attack systems.

Not speaking for the last several years worth though as they didn't really get my attention for the most part. :/

Time to don my SNK Limited Ed. Fatal Fury cap and to start practicing my Terry, Kyo, Iori and K'. I love this game.

I want Rock in this game so bad.

i've bashed SNK ever since the whole KOF vs SF. But i gotta admit this game looks DAMN good.

@ashjaw: Bash SNK!?!? For what, making the greatest 2d fighting series ever?

I wouldn't be surprised if this ended up on ps2 while looking very close if not the same(ps2 does well with modern 2d, odin sphere looks gorgeous), many of the people that have yet to move onto the next gen systems are hardcore fighters(u.s. and japan) so there are quite a few sales to be done on that system for that market alone, heck i remember 2d fighters being released for saturn and dreamcast long after they died. When they do move on they'll probably buy ps3 for tekken 6.