The King of Fighters 2000
Encyclopedia
The King of Fighters 2000 is a competitive fighting game
produced by SNK
for the Neo Geo
arcade and home platforms. It is the seventh installment in The King of Fighters series for the Neo Geo, as well as the final one produced by SNK before the bankruptcy. The game was ported to the Sega Dreamcast (in Japan only) and the PlayStation 2
in . The stand-alone PlayStation 2 version of the game was released in North America in a two-in-one bundle with its immediate sequel, The King of Fighters 2001
. The Neo-Geo and Dreamcast versions of the game were also included in The King of Fighters NESTS Hen, a compilation released for the PlayStation 2 in Japan.
and expands on the "Striker Match" format introduced in that game. The game now has an Active Striker System, which allows the player to summon the Striker member during any situation, whether the player is attacking or being attacked by the opponent, allowing the player to use their strikers in combos. Additionally, the player can now replenish Strike Bombs by either losing rounds or taunting the opponent (at the expense of one filled stock of the Power Gauge).
The player now has two choices after selecting the Striker member of the team. The player can choose to use the regular character or an alternate character officially known as Another Striker, a character used exclusively for striker attacks. These alternate Strikers are characters from previous KOF games and other SNK franchises (such as Fio Germi from Metal Slug 2
and Duke Edwards from Burning Fight
), as well as alternate versions of characters in the game such as Iori and Robert. There's also another set of alternate Striker characters known as Maniac Strikers, which are selected in the arcade version by inputting specific codes for notable characters only, such as "Neo&Geo", "Cool Choi" and "Smart Chang". The console versions includes additional Maniac Strikers by completing a certain number of matches in the "Party Mode".
The Hero Team from the previous game was split into two, with K′ and Maxima now joining forces with female agent Vanessa and Mexican wrestler Ramon, while Benimaru Nikaido formed his own team which consisted of Shingo Yabuki, agent Seth, and assassin Lin. The Fatal Fury Team replaced Mai Shiranui
with Blue Mary
, while Yuri Sakazaki
left the Art of Fighting Team, with King taking her spot. Mai and Yuri returned to the Women Fighters Team, this time being joined by Kasumi Todoh and high school student Hinako Shijo, who uses her own Sumo Wrestling style. Kyo Kusanagi
and Iori Yagami
once again returned as Team Edit characters. A third Team Edit only character also appears in the form of Kula Diamond, a young girl genetically engineered by NESTS to be the "Anti-K′".
Fighting game
Fighting game is a video game genre where the player controls an on-screen character and engages in close combat with an opponent. These characters tend to be of equal power and fight matches consisting of several rounds, which take place in an arena. Players must master techniques such as...
produced by SNK
SNK Playmore
SNK Playmore Corporation is a Japanese video game hardware and software company. SNK is an acronym of , which was SNK's original name. The company's legal and trading name became SNK in 1986....
for the Neo Geo
Neo Geo (console)
The is a cartridge-based arcade and home video game system released on July 1, 1991 by Japanese game company SNK. Being in the Fourth generation of Gaming, it was the first console in the former Neo Geo family, which only lived through the 1990s...
arcade and home platforms. It is the seventh installment in The King of Fighters series for the Neo Geo, as well as the final one produced by SNK before the bankruptcy. The game was ported to the Sega Dreamcast (in Japan only) and the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
in . The stand-alone PlayStation 2 version of the game was released in North America in a two-in-one bundle with its immediate sequel, The King of Fighters 2001
The King of Fighters 2001
The King of Fighters 2001 is a competitive fighting game produced by Eolith for the Neo Geo. It is the eighth game in The King of Fighters series and the first game produced following the closure of the original SNK. The game was produced by the Korean-based company Eolith and developed by...
. The Neo-Geo and Dreamcast versions of the game were also included in The King of Fighters NESTS Hen, a compilation released for the PlayStation 2 in Japan.
Gameplay
The gameplay is based on The King of Fighters '99The King of Fighters '99
The King of Fighters '99: Millennium Battle is a head-to-head fighting game by SNK released for the Neo Geo arcade and home platform. It is the sixth installment in the companys The King of Fighters series. The game was ported to the Neo-Geo CD and the PlayStation as the final KOF game released...
and expands on the "Striker Match" format introduced in that game. The game now has an Active Striker System, which allows the player to summon the Striker member during any situation, whether the player is attacking or being attacked by the opponent, allowing the player to use their strikers in combos. Additionally, the player can now replenish Strike Bombs by either losing rounds or taunting the opponent (at the expense of one filled stock of the Power Gauge).
The player now has two choices after selecting the Striker member of the team. The player can choose to use the regular character or an alternate character officially known as Another Striker, a character used exclusively for striker attacks. These alternate Strikers are characters from previous KOF games and other SNK franchises (such as Fio Germi from Metal Slug 2
Metal Slug 2
is a run and gun video game for the Neo-Geo console/arcade platform created by SNK. It was released in 1998 for the MVS arcade platform and is the sequel to the popular Metal Slug. It is the second title in the Metal Slug series. The game was later re-released in a slightly modified/remixed form as...
and Duke Edwards from Burning Fight
Burning Fight
is an arcade game created by SNK in 1991 for the Neo Geo MVS system. This game is a beat 'em up, very similar to Crime Fighters. Three years after its release in arcades and on the Neo Geo AES, it was released in the Neo Geo CD as the only other home version of this game.The producer of this game...
), as well as alternate versions of characters in the game such as Iori and Robert. There's also another set of alternate Striker characters known as Maniac Strikers, which are selected in the arcade version by inputting specific codes for notable characters only, such as "Neo&Geo", "Cool Choi" and "Smart Chang". The console versions includes additional Maniac Strikers by completing a certain number of matches in the "Party Mode".
Story
After the incident at the previous tournament, the commander of the Ikari Team, Heidern, is determined to figure out the objective of the NESTS cartel so that he can stop them from achieving their ruthless ambition. A fellow commander and long-time friend of Heidern, named Ling, tells the veteran fighter that K′ and Maxima were once operatives of NESTS and that they may hold the key to locating the whereabouts of the mysterious organization. Using this information, Heidern decides to focus his efforts in using the next KOF tournament as a way to lure both K′ and Maxima out so that they can be captured and interrogated into telling the authorities about the NESTS cartel. Unknown to Heidern, however, Ling has his own agenda.The Hero Team from the previous game was split into two, with K′ and Maxima now joining forces with female agent Vanessa and Mexican wrestler Ramon, while Benimaru Nikaido formed his own team which consisted of Shingo Yabuki, agent Seth, and assassin Lin. The Fatal Fury Team replaced Mai Shiranui
Mai Shiranui
is a player character in both the Fatal Fury and The King of Fighters series of fighting games by SNK and in related media, also appearing in a large number of other games...
with Blue Mary
Blue Mary
, real name , is a video game character from both the Fatal Fury and The King of Fighters series of fighting games developed by SNK Playmore . Blue Mary's first appearance was in the arcade and console game Fatal Fury 3: Road to the Final Victory which introduced her as an agent who investigates...
, while Yuri Sakazaki
Yuri Sakazaki
is a video game character from SNK Playmore's Art of Fighting series. She first appears in the original Art of Fighting being kidnapped by Mr. Big, a criminal from the fictional city of Southtown. The players, Yuri's brother Ryo and his friend Robert Garcia spend the game searching for her...
left the Art of Fighting Team, with King taking her spot. Mai and Yuri returned to the Women Fighters Team, this time being joined by Kasumi Todoh and high school student Hinako Shijo, who uses her own Sumo Wrestling style. Kyo Kusanagi
Kyo Kusanagi
is one of the main characters in SNK Playmore's The King of Fighters video game series; he was first introduced in The King of Fighters '94 as the leader of the Japan team. He is one of the iconic characters of the series and regularly appears on publicity material and merchandise. His name and...
and Iori Yagami
Iori Yagami
is a character from the SNK Playmore's The King of Fighters video game series that first appeared in The King of Fighters '95 as the leader of the Rivals Team. He is an iconic character of the series, and regularly appears on publicity material and merchandise. Iori is a central character to the...
once again returned as Team Edit characters. A third Team Edit only character also appears in the form of Kula Diamond, a young girl genetically engineered by NESTS to be the "Anti-K′".
External links
- KOF2000 Official Homepage (archived original SNK version)
- The King of Fighters 2000 at the official Japanese website of SNK Playmore