The King of Fighters 2003

The King of Fighters 2003[lower-alpha 2] also known by fans as The King of Fighters X[lower-alpha 3] is a fighting game 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 and Xbox (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.

The King of Fighters 2003
Developer(s)SNK NeoGeo[lower-alpha 1]
Publisher(s)
Producer(s)Eikichi Kawasaki
Kazuya Hirata
Designer(s)T. Mieno
Artist(s)Tatsuhiko Kanaoka
Composer(s)Masahiko Hataya
Yasumasa Yamada
Yasuo Yamate
SeriesThe King of Fighters
Platform(s)
Release
Genre(s)Fighting
Mode(s)
Arcade systemNeo Geo MVS

The game uses a 3-on-3 Team Battle where players can change characters in the middle of the fight. Each team has one leader with access to a Leader Super Special Move. The narrative of the game involves new tournament set by "R" with two parallel bosses serving as final boss. The game is notable for starting the story arc of newcomer Ash Crimson who remains as a mystery. Falcoon served as main illustrator. Critical reception to this game has been mixed due to the major change of the regular gameplay associated with the series.

Gameplay
Gameplay screenshot showcasing a match between Ash Crimson and Ryuji Yamazaki.

The 3-on-3 Team Battle Format is applied in the game once again, just like the past editions. It also uses a Multi-Shift format that allows players to change characters during the middle of battle. 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.[1]

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 can have an 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.

Plot

The game revolves around The King of Fighters, an elite fighting tournament. The tournament at the center of the game is sponsored by an unknown patron, whose identity becomes a matter of public interest in the country. The narrative is divided when the player faces a single fighter named Kusanagi, a clone of the returning warrior Kyo Kusanagi. From one path, following Kusanagi's defeat, the player faces a young man named Adelheid who is accompanied by his sister Rose. Once Adelheid is defeated, Rose threatens the winner with locking him in the area. In other alternative road, it is revealed that Kusanagi was created by Chizuru Kagura as an attempt to test the winner. Chizuru and her undead sister Maki challenge the player to a boss fight. Following the Kagura sisters' defeat, a woman named Botan reveals herself as the true mastermind behind the 2003 tournament, having brainwashed Chizuru. Botan's partner, Mukai, becomes the final boss and despite being defeated, claims success for his superior, having weakened the seal of the ancient demon Orochi.

Characters

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.[2] In North America the game was released alongside The King of Fighters 2002 for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox.[3] The game was solely released for Switch on February 21, 2019.[4] The title was developed by . 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.[5] 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.[6] 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.[7][8] 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.[9]

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.[10] In July 2004, ComicsOne licensed the series with its first volume tying the release of a new video game and kept publishing it after their transition to DrMaster.[11][12]

Reception

The game got a 7.1 score by Famitsu.[13] DefunctGames gave it a B+ praising the new gameplay style gave the series a major change.[14] New character Tizoc was noted by Kotaku for appealing South American fans based on him being wrestler.[15] Eurogamer 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.[16] 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.[17]

Notes
  1. Ported to PlayStation 2 and Xbox by SNK Playmore
  2. Japanese: ザ・キング・オブ・ファイターズ 2003, Hepburn: Za Kingu Obu Faitāzu 2003
  3. Japanese: ザ・キング・オブ・ファイターズ X, Hepburn: Za Kingu Obu Faitāzu Ten

References
  1. "More King of Fighters 2003 details". GameSpot. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  2. "TGS 2003: King of Fighters update". GameSpot. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  3. "The King of Fighters 2002 & 2003 E3 2005 Preshow Report". GameSpot. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  4. "The King of Fighters 2003 is this week's NeoGeo game on Switch". Nintendo Everything. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  5. "Ash Crimson's KOF 10th anniversary profile". King of Fighters 15th Anniversary Official Website. Retrieved February 19, 2008.
  6. "Shen Woo's KOF 10th anniversary profile". King of Fighters 15th Anniversary Official Website. Archived from the original on July 9, 2011. Retrieved August 12, 2011.
  7. "Adelheid". King of Fighters 15th Anniversary Official Website. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  8. "Mukai". King of Fighters 15th Anniversary Official Website. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  9. "Kusanagi". King of Fighters 15th Anniversary Official Website. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  10. "このページの商品は全て です。". Hong Kong Manga. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  11. "THE KING OF FIGHTERS COMES TO COMICS". ICv2. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  12. "San Jose, CA – July 28, 2004". Comics One. Archived from the original on February 4, 2005. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  13. "Japanese Game Ratings". IGN. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  14. "The King of Fighters 2003". DefunctGames. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  15. "Why King Of Fighters Dominates Latin America's Fighting Game Scene". Kotaku. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  16. "King Of Fighters 2003". Eurogamer. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  17. "King of Fighters 2003, The". HardcoreGaming101. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
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