''King of Fighters R-2'' 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 ...

released 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 ...

in 1999 for the

Neo-Geo Pocket Color The is a 16-bit color handheld video game console manufactured by SNK. It is a successor to SNK's monochrome Neo Geo Pocket handheld which debuted in 1998 in Japan, with the Color being fully backward compatible. The Neo Geo Pocket Color was re ...

handheld system, part of ''

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. It is the sequel to ''

King of Fighters R-1 ''King of Fighters R-1'' is a fighting game developed and released by SNK in 1998 for the Neo-Geo Pocket handheld system. It is based on ''The King of Fighters '97'', sharing the same storyline. A sequel, '' King of Fighters R-2'', was release ...

'' for the

Neo-Geo Pocket The Neo Geo Pocket is a monochrome handheld game console released by SNK. It was the company's first handheld system and is part of the Neo Geo family. It debuted in Japan in late 1998 but never saw an American release, being exclusive to Japan ...

, the previous generation of the handheld. A port for

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 ...

was released on August 7, 2020. Like most other ''King of Fighters'' games, ''King of Fighters R-2'' features various SNK characters. This game, based on

The King of Fighters '98 ''The King of Fighters '98: The Slugfest'', known in Japan as ''The King of Fighters '98: Dream Match Never Ends (KOF '98)'', is a fighting game released by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home consoles in 1998. It is the fifth game in ''The Kin ...

, has the main character going up against

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 ...

as Rugal is creating clones of the main characters.

Plot

The game shares the same story as ''

''.

Gameplay

''King of Fighters R-2'' brings back most of ''King of Fighters R-1s gameplay, bringing back Singleplay and Teamplay, and the VS mode using a link cable. The Making mode is a new mode which lets the player customize their fighter and send them on a quest to defeat Rugal Bernstein. Also the player can connect with 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 ...

game ''King of Fighters '99 Dream Match''. It has all the starting characters from ''King of Fighters R-1'' except

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 ...

and

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 ...

, replacing them with

Saisyu Kusanagi ''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 ...

and

Kasumi Todoh is a fighting game, fighting video game trilogy that were released for the Neo Geo (system), Neo Geo platform in the early 1990s. It was the second fighting game franchise created by SNK, following the ''Fatal Fury'' series and is set in the s ...

Characters

Starting characters

1.Team Kusanagi:
:*

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 ...

:*Shingo Yabuki 2.Team Psycho:
:*

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 ...

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 ...

3.Team Fatal Fury:
:*

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

4.Team Orochi:
:*Yashiro Nanakase :*Shermie :*Chris 5.Edit Member:
:*

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 mor ...

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 ...

Unlockable characters

*Classic Ryo *Classic Kyo *Classic Terry *Orochi Yashiro *Orochi Shermie *Orochi Chris *Classic Mai *Omega Rugal *Classic Yuri *Orochi Iori *Orochi Leona

Reception

''King of Fighters R-2'' on

received "mixed or average reviews" according to

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

References

External links

* 1999 video games 2D fighting games Neo Geo Pocket Color games Nintendo Switch games The King of Fighters games Video games developed in Japan Video games scored by Takushi Hiyamuta Video game sequels {{fighting-videogame-stub