''(KOF 2000, or KOF '00)'' is a
fighting video game
A fighting game, also known as a versus fighting game, is a genre of video game that involves combat between two or more players. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as blocking, grappling, counter-attacking, and chaining attac ...
that was produced by
SNK
is a Japanese video game hardware and software company. It is the successor to the company Shin Nihon Kikaku and presently owns the SNK video game brand and the Neo Geo video game platform. SNK's predecessor Shin Nihon Kikaku was founded in 1978 ...
for the
Neo Geo
Neo Geo is a family of video game hardware developed by SNK. On the market from 1990 to 2004, the brand originated with the release of an arcade system, the Neo Geo MVS and its home console counterpart, the Neo Geo AES.
The Neo Geo MVS was su ...
arcade and home consoles in 2000. It is the seventh installment in ''
The King of Fighters
''The King of Fighters'' (''KOF'') is a series of fighting games by SNK that began with the release of ''The King of Fighters '94'' in 1994. The series was developed originally for SNK's Neo Geo MVS arcade hardware. This served as the main plat ...
'' series for the Neo Geo and the final game in the series SNK produced before the original company's bankruptcy. The game was ported to the
Dreamcast
The is a home video game console released by Sega on November 27, 1998, in Japan; September 9, 1999, in North America; and October 14, 1999, in Europe. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, N ...
(in Japan only) and the
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
in 2002. The game's story, a sequel to ''
The King of Fighters '99
''The King of Fighters '99: Millennium Battle'' (''KOF '99'') is a 1999 fighting game developed and published by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home consoles in 1999. It is the sixth installment in ''The King of Fighters'' series, introducing a ...
'' and the second part of the "NESTS Chronicles"
story arc
A story arc (also narrative arc) is the chronological construction of plot in a novel or story. It can also mean an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, board games, vide ...
, focuses on a new tournament held by the commander of the Ikari Warriors, Heidern, who seeks to capture and interrogate former NESTS agents
K' and
Maxima into revealing crucial and critical information about the
NESTS cartel. The gameplay retains the Striker system of the previous games in the series, but the assisting character can also cooperate with the playable character to generate
combos
Combos, officially called Combos Stuffed Snacks, are cylindrical tubes of cracker, pretzel, or tortilla, available with various fillings.
History
Combos Snacks, created in the early 1980s, are a snack food distributed by Mars, Incorporated, and ...
.
SNK entered into bankruptcy while ''The King of Fighters 2000'' was still in development, resulting in glitches and bugs remaining in the game because staff members—most notably producer
Takashi Nishiyama
is a masculine Japanese given name.
Possible writings
The name Takashi can have multiple different meanings depending on which kanji is used to write it. Some possible writings of the name include:
*江詩 - "estuary , inlet, poem"
*隆 - "prospe ...
—left the company before the game was complete. SNK attempted to add further depth to the NESTS cast with K's new enemy
Kula Diamond; other new characters like Vanessa and Seth were intended to attract different audiences. The PlayStation 2 version of the game was released in North America and in Europe in a two-in-one bundle with its immediate sequel, ''
The King of Fighters 2001
''(KOF 2001, or KOF '01)'' is a fighting game produced by Eolith for the Neo Geo. It is the eighth game in ''The King of Fighters'' series, the third and final part of the "NESTS Chronicles" story arc, and the first game produced following the c ...
'', as the first two games to be published by SNK Playmore USA. In Europe, the bundle was published by Ignition Entertainment.
Critical reception to the game's fighting system and characters has been mostly positive due to the improvements SNK brought to the franchise. There were mixed reactions to the company's handling of the graphics and backgrounds, which divided reviewers opinions about its status as one of the best games of the series. Two novelizations and an
audio drama
Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine t ...
have also been published in Japan.
Gameplay
The gameplay in ''The King of Fighters 2000'' is based on that of ''
The King of Fighters '99
''The King of Fighters '99: Millennium Battle'' (''KOF '99'') is a 1999 fighting game developed and published by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home consoles in 1999. It is the sixth installment in ''The King of Fighters'' series, introducing a ...
''; it expands on the "Striker Match" format introduced in its predecessor. The game has an ''Active Striker System'', which allows the player to summon a Striker member in any situation, whether the player is attacking or being attacked by the opponent, allowing the player to use his or her strikers in combos. The player can also replenish Strike Bombs by either losing rounds or taunting the opponent.
The player now has two choices after selecting the Striker member of the team; he or she can choose to use the regular character or an alternate character officially known as Another Striker, a character used exclusively for striker attacks. These alternative Strikers are characters from previous ''KOF'' games and other SNK titles such as Fio Germi from ''
Metal Slug 2
is a Platform game#Run and gun platformers, run and gun video game developed by SNK. It was originally released in 1998 for the Neo Geo (system), Neo-Geo MVS arcade platform as the sequel to the 1996 game ''Metal Slug (1996 video game), Metal Sl ...
'',
King Lion from ''
Savage Reign
''Savage Reign'' is 1995 weapon-based versus fighting game released by SNK for their Neo Geo (console), Neo Geo arcade and home platform. It was ported to the Neo Geo CD, as well as for the PlayStation 2 along with its sequel ''Kizuna Encounter'' ...
'', Kim Kaphwan's grandson
Kim Sue Il from ''
Kizuna Encounter
''Kizuna Encounter: Super Tag Battle'' is a 1996 weapon-based fighting game produced by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home platform. It is the sequel to ''Savage Reign''. The European Neo-Geo homecart PAL release was rare, with only five known c ...
'', Gai Tendo from ''
Buriki One
''Buriki One: World Grapple Tournament '99 in Tokyo'', otherwise known simply as ''Buriki One'', is a 3D competitive fighting game produced by SNK and released as a coin-operated arcade game in 1999. It is the seventh and final game developed ...
'',
Kaede from ''
The Last Blade
''The Last Blade'' is a fighting game developed and released by SNK for the Neo Geo (console), Neo Geo system in 1997. It was also ported to several home systems. A sequel, ''The Last Blade 2'', was released in 1998.
The game takes place during t ...
'', Rocky from ''
Robo Army
is a beat 'em up video game developed and published by SNK that was released for Neo Geo arcades and home consoles in 1991 and the Neo Geo CD in 1995.
Gameplay
There is no character selection in '' Robo Army '': Player 1 controls Maxima and ...
'', Duke Edwards from ''
Burning Fight'' and Kim Kaphwan's son
Kim Dong-Hwan and Kim Jae-Hoon from ''
Garou: Mark of the Wolves'', as well as alternative versions of in-game characters such as
K',
Iori Yagami
is a fictional character from SNK's ''The King of Fighters'' video game series. The character first appeared in ''The King of Fighters '95'' as the leader of the Rivals Team, as the initial enemy and later rival of Kyo Kusanagi. Iori is the he ...
and
Robert Garcia. There is another set of alternative Striker characters known as Maniac Strikers, which are selected in the arcade version by entering codes for notable characters only. The console versions includes additional Maniac Strikers by completing a certain number of matches in the "Party Mode".
Plot and characters
After an incident at the previous tournament, the commander of the Ikari Warriors Team, Heidern, is determined to investigate the objective of the NESTS cartel and stop it from achieving its ruthless ambition. Ling, a fellow commander and long-time friend of Heidern, tells him that K′ and Maxima were once NESTS operatives and that they may hold the key to locating the whereabouts of the mysterious organization. Using this information, Heidern decides to focus his efforts into using the next KOF tournament to lure both K′ and Maxima out of hiding so that they can be captured and interrogated by him for crucial and critical information about the NESTS cartel.
Depending on the player's performance during the tournament,
Kula Diamond might appear to eliminate K', but fails from within her mission. Shortly afterwards, Ling and a couple of his associates suddenly attack and betray Heidern near the end of the tournament, the former revealing himself to be a clone of the real Ling who was murdered in the past and being replaced via the machinations of a high-ranking NESTS member named Zero, who seeks to destroy NESTS itself and create a new world order under his own rule. Through the accumulated fighting power he had gathered during the tournament, Zero initiates and utilizes a space-based satellite weapon named the "Zero Cannon", with which he sends a powerful energy blast from it straight towards Earth, destroying most of
South Town via the energy blast's explosive impact upon it. After Zero's defeat in combat, he attempts but fails to use the cannon again while Heidern swiftly and forcibly removes the clone Ling's remote control of the cannon while dispatching him in the process. If the player defeats Kula previously, her supporters Diana and Foxy stop Zero while Kula destroys the Zero Cannon herself.
Here are the list of the fighters with their corresponding Striker, Another Striker and Maniac Striker.
K’ Team (Hero Team)
*''
K'''
**Another K’
**Krizalid
*''Maxima''
**Rocky
*''Vanessa''
**Fio
*''Ramón''
**Duke Edwards
**Neo & Geo
Benimaru Team
*''Benimaru Nikaido''
**Another Benimaru
**Orochi Iori
*''Shingo Yabuki''
**Cosplayer Kyoko
*''Seth''
**Goro Daimon
*''Lin''
**Eiji Kisaragi
Fatal Fury Team
*''
Terry Bogard
is a Player character, video game character created by SNK as the protagonist of their ''Fatal Fury'' series. Introduced in ''Fatal Fury: King of Fighters'' in 1991, he is an American fighter who enters the worldwide "The King of Fighters" tourn ...
''
**
Geese Howard
is a fictional boss character and the main villain in SNK's ''Fatal Fury'' fighting game series. Debuting in '' Fatal Fury: King of Fighters'', Geese is the local crime boss of the fictional city of South Town. Geese created and hosts a fighting ...
**Brian Battler
*''Andy Bogard''
**
Billy Kane
is a player character, video game character created by SNK. He makes first appearance in the fighting game ''Fatal Fury: King of Fighters'' as the sub-boss from the game. In the ''Fatal Fury'' series Billy is the right-hand man from Geese Howard, ...
**Lucky Glauber
*''
Joe Higashi
is a video game character created by SNK. He makes his first appearance in the fighting game '' Fatal Fury: King of Fighters'' as one of the three playable characters from the game. The ''Fatal Fury'' series introduce Joe as a goofy Muay Thai fi ...
''
**Duck King
**Heavy-D!
*''
Blue Mary
, better known as , is a fictional character in SNK's ''Fatal Fury'' and ''The King of Fighters'' series. She made her first appearance in '' Fatal Fury 3: Road to the Final Victory'' which introduced her as a special agent who investigates two cri ...
''
**Ryuji Yamazaki
Art of Fighting Team
*''
Ryo Sakazaki
is a video game character developed for the 1992 fighting game ''Art of Fighting'' from SNK. His name is most often written in kana, although in some games, kanji is used to write parts of his name. In the series, Ryo is a skilled martial arti ...
''
**Kaede
**G – Mantle
*''
Robert Garcia''
**Another Robert
*''King''
**King Lion
*''Takuma Sakazaki''
**Gai Tendo
**Mr. Big
Women Fighters Team
*''
Mai Shiranui
(alternatively written しらぬい まい) is a fictional character in the ''Fatal Fury'' and ''The King of Fighters'' series of fighting games by SNK. She has also appeared in other media of these franchises and in a number of other games since ...
''
**Chizuru Kagura
**Wolfgang Krauser
*''
Yuri Sakazaki''
**
Nakoruru
is a fictional character in the ''Samurai Shodown'' (''Samurai Spirits'' in Japan) series of fighting games by SNK. She is one of the series' best known and most popular characters alongside its main protagonist Haohmaru, and has been introduced i ...
*''
Kasumi Todoh''
**Li Xiangfei
**Unknown
**Ryuhaku Todoh
*''Hinako Shijou''
**Lilly Kane
Ikari Warriors Team
*''
Leona Heidern
, who is also known as is a fictional character from SNK's ''The King of Fighters'' series of fighting video games. Leona is Heidern's adopted daughter, who is introduced in ''The King of Fighters '96''; she replaces him because he accepts a mo ...
''
**Goenitz
**Orochi
*''
Ralf Jones
is a video game character created by SNK. Ralf has made appearance in several games from the company, premiering in '' TNK III'' as a military tank driver. The '' Ikari Warriors'' series also emphasized Ralf's role as a soldier with him becomin ...
''
**Yashiro Nanakase
**Orochi Leona
*''Clark Still''
**
Shermie
''The King of Fighters'' fighting game series, produced by SNK, includes a wide cast of characters, some of which are taken from other SNK games. The story takes place in a fictional universe in which an annual series of 3-on-3 or 4-on-4 fightin ...
*''Whip''
**Chris
**Heidern
Psycho Soldier Team
*''
Athena Asamiya''
**
Athena
Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of ...
*''Sie Kensou''
**Sie “Psycho Soldier” Kensou
*''Chin Gentsai''
**Baitang
*''Bao''
**Kaoru Watabe
Korea Justice Team
*''
Kim Kaphwan
Kim Kap-Hwan (, ''Kimu Kaffan'', sometimes written as (''Kim Kap-hwan'')), usually written as Kim Kaphwan, is a fictional character in both the ''Fatal Fury'' and ''The King of Fighters'' series created by SNK. He is credited as the first ever f ...
''
**Kim Sue Il
*''Chang Koehan''
**Kim Dong Hwan
**Smart Chang
*''Choi Bounge''
**Kim Jae Hoon
**Cool Choi
*''Jhun Hoon''
**Kang Baedal
Single Entry
*''
Kyo Kusanagi
is a fictional character in SNK's ''The King of Fighters'' series of fighting games. The character was first introduced in the 1994 video game ''The King of Fighters '94'' as the leader of the Japanese team from the series' title tournament. Ky ...
''
**Syo Kirishima
**Saisyu Kusanagi
*''
Iori Yagami
is a fictional character from SNK's ''The King of Fighters'' video game series. The character first appeared in ''The King of Fighters '95'' as the leader of the Rivals Team, as the initial enemy and later rival of Kyo Kusanagi. Iori is the he ...
''
**Mature & Vice
**Another Iori
Mid-Boss
*''
Kula Diamond''
**Candy Diamond
**Foxy
**Rugal Bernstein
Final Boss
*''Cloned Zero''
Development and release
SNK began making plans for ''The King of Fighters 2000'' in June 1999. Former producer
Takashi Nishiyama
is a masculine Japanese given name.
Possible writings
The name Takashi can have multiple different meanings depending on which kanji is used to write it. Some possible writings of the name include:
*江詩 - "estuary , inlet, poem"
*隆 - "prospe ...
was absent from the team for the first time in the series. Because previous regulars from ''The King of Fighters'' games were not playable, SNK took advantage of the striker system and give players the choice of using Goro Daimon among others as alternative assisting characters. SNK found the Bogard brothers, Terry and Andy, unbalanced in the previous game because one of them was overpowered as a striker; the company joked that this was also a result of the love between the siblings.
One of the game developers said the team originally wanted to use more of the characters from ''The King of Fighters '99'' but due to licensing issues it was not possible.
The arcade version was nearing completion in mid-2000, with the staff becoming excited at the quality of the game. Despite early negative thoughts about the game's state, SNK was pleased with the completed title, citing the arcade as an appealing game. Following its release, SNK thanked the fans for their support. During the game's development, SNK went bankrupt, leading to the designers of the game causing multiple glitches, extra animations, and balancing issues.
Some of the developers left the company, which resulted in the team in charge of the game becoming smaller.
New characters were created to appeal to different audiences. The Mexican wrestler Ramon was made to appeal to South Americans because the Neo Geo was very popular in South America. Ramon's designer loved pro-wrestling fighting moves but the character's techniques were made unrealistic. Vanessa and Seth were originally set to appear in ''The King of Fighters '99'' but they debuted on its Dreamcast port as strikers, while becoming playable in ''2000''. Vanessa was created to appeal to women; she is slightly older than the other characters, which players found appealing. Both the debuting Lin and the unplayable Ron generated a major surprise to the SNK staff because their addition to the story was not overlooked. Kula Diamond was created to give a major expansion to the NESTS cartel, while Zero was made to contrast with the NESTS agent Krizalid from ''The King of Fighters '99'', who had a darker personality. SNK, however, was disappointed with Zero, leading to the creation of stronger new character connected with him in the next game.
The arcade version of the game was released on July 26, 2000, for the
MVS Circuit Board. The game was then ported to the Neo Geo and released on December 21 of that year. The Sega Dreamcast port was released on August 8, 2002, while the PlayStation 2 version was made available on November 28 that year. The ports included new striker characters and new backgrounds. For the North American version, the game was not available to the public until 2003 and released the PlayStation 2 game alongside ''The King of Fighters 2001'' was the one of the first games published by SNK Playmore USA. There has been censorship, including the removal of Whip's gun and the movement of Mai Shiranui's cleavage.
The Neo-Geo and Sega Dreamcast versions of the game were included in ''The King of Fighters NESTS Hen'', a compilation released for the Sony PlayStation 2 in Japan. The PlayStation 2 version was re-released on May 3, 2016, for the
PlayStation 4
The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...
through the
PlayStation Network
PlayStation Network (PSN) is a digital media entertainment service provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Launched in November 2006, PSN was originally conceived for the PlayStation video game consoles, but soon extended to encompass smartp ...
. The game was later released on the
Nintendo Switch
The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...
through the Nintendo eShop service on August 10, 2017.
Reception
In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed ''The King of Fighters 2000'' on their September 1, 2000, issue as being the second-most-successful arcade game of the month.
The PlayStation 2 port of ''The King of Fighters 2000'' sold 37,316 units in Japan during 2002. In 2017, it became one of the most downloaded games of the PlayStation Classic collection.
Critical reception for the game's fighting system has been mostly positive.
''
GameSpot
''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
'' said SNK improved most of the problems of its predecessor ''The King of Fighters '99'' by adding more gameplay features such as new attacks and new additions to the Striker system. The reviewer said fans might either like or dislike the new characters based on the differences between them and the characters from ''The King of Fighters '99'', and said the boss Zero is less overpowered than Krizalid but lacks his appeal.
''
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'' agreed with ''GameSpot'' in terms of the Striker system and liked the additional characters, making it one of the best games of the franchise.
In another review, ''IGN'' stated that the game offered many good new characters, particularly Lin. ''
Nintendo Life
Gamer Network Limited (formerly Eurogamer Network Limited) is a British mass media company based in Brighton. Founded in 1999 by Rupert and Nick Loman, it owns brands—primarily editorial websites—relating to video game journalism and other ...
'' also liked the addition of the Striker system because of the newly possible combos but said the game did not live up to the previous games.
''Pure Nintendo'' compared it negatively with
Capcom
is a Japanese video game developer and video game publisher, publisher. It has created a number of List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil' ...
's fighting game ''
Street Fighter II
is a fighting game developed by Capcom and originally released for arcades in 1991. It is the second installment in the ''Street Fighter'' series and the sequel to 1987's ''Street Fighter''. It is Capcom's fourteenth game to use the CP Syst ...
'' but still said ''The King of Fighters 2000'' provided enough depth thanks to its character roster and gameplay mechanics, making it a good addition to Nintendo Switch's games.
''Bonus Stage'' regarded it as one of the best games from SNK, saying it might appeal to gamers who previously enjoyed the predecessor and ''
Garou: Mark of the Wolves''.
The game's presentation drew mixed reactions. While ''Pure Nintendo'' enjoyed the character designs, backgrounds, and theme songs,
''IGN'' said these elements appeared dated due to similarities with those of previous installments and the improved graphics of new consoles.
''GameSpot'' said while SNK attempted to improve the designs of the characters, the quality was still not as appealing as it should have been and that the background stages felt hollow.
Echoing ''IGN'' comments, ''Bonus Stage'' stated that despite being a fighting game, the plot amazed fans because of the further exploration of NESTS organization, which is briefly explored in ''The King of Fighters '99'', and said the game's storyline offers such an appealing dark ending that most of the fans wanted to play the following and final game from the NESTS saga to see its conclusion.
''HardcoreGaming'' found the PlayStation 2 port of the game superior to the Dreamcast version because the former fixed some slowdown issues and said Kyo Kusnagai's theme "Goodbye Esaka" was one of the best themes performed by SNK.
An audio drama CD was released by
Scitron Digital Contents on September 20, 2000. It features two storylines: one exploring the first encounter between K' and Kula Diamond; the second story focuses on Athena Asamiya as she meets rivals in an airport. Series' writer Akihiko Ureshino wrote two
light novel
A light novel (, Hepburn: ''raito noberu'') is a style of young adult novel primarily targeting high school and middle school students. The term "light novel" is a ''wasei-eigo'', or a Japanese term formed from words in the English languag ...
s published by
Kadokawa Shoten
, formerly , is a Japanese publisher and division of Kadokawa Future Publishing based in Tokyo, Japan. It became an internal division of Kadokawa Corporation on October 1, 2013. Kadokawa publishes manga, light novels, manga anthology magazines su ...
. The first novel, ''Strikers Strike Back'', acts as a self-parody of the game's storyline and was released on February 19, 2001. The second novel, ''Icicle Doll'', was released on December 20 the same year and features a more serious storyline.
Notes
References
External links
*
''The King of Fighters 2000''at
GameFAQs
GameFAQs is a website that hosts FAQs and walkthroughs for video games. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff Veasey and was bought by CNET Networks in May 2003. It is currently owned by Fandom, Inc. since October 2022. The site has a databa ...
''The King of Fighters 2000''at
Giant Bomb
''Giant Bomb'' is an American video game website and wiki that includes personality-driven gaming videos, commentary, news, and reviews, created by former ''GameSpot'' editors Jeff Gerstmann and Ryan Davis. The website was voted by ''Time'' mag ...
''The King of Fighters 2000''at
Killer List of Videogames
Killer List of Videogames (KLOV) is a website featuring an online encyclopedia devoted to cataloging arcade games past and present. It is the video game department of the International Arcade Museum, and has been referred to as "the IMDb for pla ...
''The King of Fighters 2000''at
MobyGames
MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes nearly 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms. The site is supported by banner ads and a small ...
*
The King of Fighters 2000/2001' at
MobyGames
MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes nearly 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms. The site is supported by banner ads and a small ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:King of Fighters 2000, The
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