''(KOF 2003, or KOF '03)'', also known by fans as is a

fighting game A fighting game, also known as a versus fighting game, is a video game genre, genre of video game that involves combat between two or more players. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as Blocking (martial arts), blocking, grappli ...

produced by SNK Playmore for the Neo Geo arcade and home platforms in 2003. It is the tenth game in '' The King of Fighters'' series and the last one released for the Neo Geo, which served as the primary platform for the series since '' The King of Fighters '94''. It was ported to 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 ...

and

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the na ...

(in North America and Japan only and it was not compatible with the Xbox 360), and was released in North America as a two-in-one bundle with the preceding game in the series, ''

The King of Fighters 2002 ''(KOF 2002, or KOF '02)'' is a fighting game produced by Eolith and Playmore for the Neo Geo in 2002. It is the ninth game in ''The King of Fighters'' series and the second one to be produced by Eolith and developed by Playmore (formerly Brez ...

''. The game uses a 3-on-3 Tag Battle format in which players can change characters in the middle of a fight. Each team has one leader with access to a Leader Super Special Move. The narrative of the game involves a new tournament set by "R" with two parallel bosses serving as final bosses. The game is notable for starting the story arc of newcomer

Ash Crimson is a video game character in ''The King of Fighters'' fighting game series developed by SNK Playmore. His first appearance was in ''The King of Fighters 2003'' as leader of its Hero Team. Ash, a teenager, participates in the series' fighting t ...

, with the story arc itself titled the "Tales of Ash". Falcoon worked as the main illustrator. Critical reception to this game has been mixed due to the major change of the regular gameplay associated with the series.

Gameplay

The 3-on-3 Team Battle format is used once again, just like in past editions. It also uses a Multi-Shift format that allows players to change characters in the middle of a fight. When the "Change OK" sign is displayed above the Power Gauge, the player can do a Quick Shift and change characters immediately, or perform a Switch-Off Attack against the opponent that will consume one Power Gauge stock. The game also features a Tactical Leader System, in which one of the members of the team is designated as the Leader. The chosen Leader has access to an exclusive move known as the "Leader Super Special Move" (in addition to the regular "Super Special Moves"). However, this usually requires two Power Gauge stocks to be able to perform it. As in the last game in the series, the players' Power Gauge can hold up to 3 stocks at the beginning of a match. Unlike the previous game, however, the player starts with a full gauge of three stocks right away. When one team loses one of its members, the maximum capacity of Power Gauge stocks is increased by one, giving the losing team a handicap against the opposing team. In addition, unlike the previous ''KOF'' games, each hit only earns the player 100 points. ''The King of Fighters 2003's'' sequel, '' The King of Fighters XI'' would go on to use its mechanics in its gameplay.

Plot

Taking place two years after the events of '' The King of Fighters 2001'', a new ''KOF'' tournament has been announced, being sponsored by an unknown patron whose identity becomes a matter of public interest in the country. The tournament establishes a new set of rules, including the Multi-Shift System that enables fighters to tag out at any given time and the competition itself, consisting of both veterans and newcomers once again takes place and being shown around the world. The narrative is divided depending on the player's actions against the mid-boss Kusanagi, a clone of the returning veteran Kyo Kusanagi. An alternate path following Kusanagi's defeat has the player facing off against a young man named Adelheid Bernstein who is accompanied by his young sister Rose, with the two of them being the children of the notorious

Rugal Bernstein ''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 fighti ...

. Once Adelheid is defeated, Rose threatens the winner, only to be stopped by Adelheid who tells her to let them go as they won fairly. Within the true ending path, it is revealed that Kusanagi was created by Chizuru Kagura as an attempt to test the winner. Chizuru and her undead sister Maki soon challenge the player to a boss fight. Following the Kagura sisters' defeat, a woman named Botan reveals herself as the one who had brainwashed Chizuru and that both Botan and her partner Mukai are the true masterminds behind the 2003 tournament, with the latter serving as the true ending final boss. Despite being defeated, Mukai claims success for his unknown superior, having weakened the seal of the ancient demon Orochi and while both Mukai and Botan escape, Ash Crimson attacks a weakened Chizuru and steals the Yata Mirror from her, warning Iori Yagami that he's his next target.

Characters

Ash Team (Hero Team) *

(New Character) *

Duo Lon ''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 fight ...

(New Character) *

Shen Woo ''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 ...

(New Character) Fatal Fury Team * Terry Bogard *

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 ...

Tizoc Tizocic or Tizocicatzin usually known in English as Tizoc, was the seventh ''tlatoani'' of Tenochtitlan. His name means, "He who makes sacrifices" or "He who does penance." Either Tizoc or his successor Ahuitzotl was the first ''tlatoani'' of ...

(New Character) 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 ...

* Robert Garcia *

Yuri Sakazaki is a fictional character from SNK's ''Art of Fighting'' series of fighting games. She first appears in the original ''Art of Fighting'' being kidnapped by Mr. Big, a criminal from the city of South Town. The players, Yuri's brother Ryo and his ...

Korea 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 ...

*Chang Koehan *Jhun Hoon Ikari Team * Leona Heidern * Ralf Jones *Clark Still Outlaw Team *

Gato Gato (Spanish for cat) may refer to: People * Gato (given name) *Gato (surname) Places * Gato Island, in the Visayan Sea, Philippines * Gato Island, in the Mochima National Park on the northeastern coast of Venezuela * Gato, Orocovis, Puerto ...

(New Character) *

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, ...

* Ryuji Yamazaki Women Fighters Team *

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

* Mai Shiranui *

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 ...

Benimaru Team (New Japan Team) *Benimaru Nikaido *Shingo Yabuki *Goro Daimon High School Girls Team (New Psycho Soldier Team) *

Athena Asamiya is a fictional character originally from the former SNK's 1987 video game ''Psycho Soldier''. An esper, Athena is a descendant of Princess Athena from the earlier ''Athena'' game. She later appears in ''The King of Fighters'' series of fighting ...

*Hinako Shijou * Malin (New Character) K′ Team * K′ * Maxima *Whip Three Sacred Treasures Team * Kyo Kusanagi (Single Entry) * Iori Yagami (Single Entry) *

Chizuru Kagura ''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 ...

(hidden in Arcade and Neo-Geo AES version; ''True Ending Sub-Boss'' with Maki Kagura) Bosses *

Kusanagi is a legendary Japanese sword and one of three Imperial Regalia of Japan. It was originally called , but its name was later changed to the more popular ("Grass-Cutting Sword"). In folklore, the sword represents the virtue of valor. Legends ...

(hidden in Arcade version; ''Mid-Boss'') *Maki Kagura (NPC in Arcade version; ''True Ending Sub-Boss'' with Chizuru Kagura) *

Adelheid Bernstein ''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 ...

(New Character; ''Alternate Ending Final Boss'') * Mukai (New Character; ''True Ending Final Boss'')

Development

The game was first revealed in Tokyo Game Show 2003, originally planned to be developed on the Atomiswave hardware before settling on the Neo-Geo MVS hardware. In North America the game was released alongside ''The King of Fighters 2002'' for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. The game was solely released for Switch on February 21, 2019. As the first chapter of a new story arc, Ash was designed as an "attractive evil character", in contrast to previous ''King of Fighters'' heroes. Due to Ash's late appearance in ''The King of Fighters 2003'', the staff joked that teammate Shen Woo seemed more like the series' main character than Ash did. The two boss characters, Adelheid and Mukai, had no problems during their designs with the former being the last added to expand the narrative of the series. While Kusanagi was first introduced in ''The King of Fighters 2002'' without a plot focused around him, ''KOF 2003'' gave him the idea of being a clone of Kyo Kusanagi created by Chizuru Kagura while also intending to include his school uniform highly popular within Kyo's fans. The series inspired a manhua with the same name. In China the series was divided into two halves: ''The King of Fighters 2003'' composed of five issues, and ''The King of Fighters 03: Xenon Zero'' (拳皇 XENON ZERO) composed of eight issues. The two series were combined for the North American release under the name of ''The King of Fighters 2003''. In July 2004,

ComicsOne ComicsOne Corp. was an American distributor of Asian Comics (manga, manhwa, and manhua), established in 1999. ComicsOne was based in Fremont, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. ComicsOne also served as the distributor for videos and merc ...

licensed the series with its first volume tying the release of a new video game and kept publishing it after their transition to DrMaster.

Reception

The game got a 7.1 score by ''

Famitsu formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the fo ...

''. DefunctGames gave it a B+ praising the new gameplay style gave the series a major change. New character Tizoc was noted by Kotaku for appealing South American fans based on him being wrestler.

Eurogamer ''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 and owned by alongside formed company Gamer Network. Its editor-in-chief is Martin Robinson. Since 2008, it is known for the formerly eponymous games trade fair EGX ...

was negative believing, previous SNK fighting game like ''The King of Fighters 2002'' offered a better cast and that the new gameplay system would confuse newcomers. Nevertheless, the reviewer commented that the new ''Garou: Mark of the Wolves'' fighters introduced in ''2003'' would also appeal to players similar to Kotaku. HardcoreGaming101 believed the new gameplay features, cast and artwork were interesting but the sequel, ''The King of Fighters XI'', easily fixed most of its issues.

Notes

References

External links

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''The King of Fighters 2003''
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