Another new era begins - A step in the right direction was taken with the new tag team system.
At the time, there may have been some resistance to seeing KOF use a tag team system like the Marvel vs series. I say "screw that" - after Marvel vs. Capcom 2, it was fair game, in hindsight. Marvel vs. Capcom 3 wouldn't come out for a long, long time. Enabling players to switch members of their team in and out was a major game changer. It's a shame that the series would get rid of this feature after KOF XI.
On top of that, the teams would now have leaders. The first character a player picks is the leader, and this character is the one that gets the additional super move to use. There's no MAX mode from the previous game.
With all that said, is the game fun? Of course it is. The fighting feels smoother and with a faster pace. Players can also do special attacks where they hit their opponent and then switch out with a partner. Really, the only problems I have with this game are superficial.
For instance, no portraits on the lifebars? Detailed, but ultimately bland stages? Mediocre original new characters? Sorry, but I was never a fan of Ash. Duo Lon is okay, and Shen Woo is just Krizalid with another coat of paint, so the protagonists of this game are mostly not good enough for me. Tizoc and Gato are decent additions to the series, they come from Garou: Mark of the Wolves. Malin is...cute, but I'm not sure what audience they were going for with this, and frankly, I just never cared that much for her.
Some of the character removals are questionable, at best. Andy Bogard's out, as are Takuma, Kensou, among others. I understand that the New Faces team was unlikely to return, but those 3 I mentioned? Strange choice.
But, hey, Hinako and Jhun Hoon are back. Hooray.
Chizuru can be unlocked with a cheat code, and she can be part of a team with Kyo and Iori.
Kusanagi is the sub-boss, and depending on how you beat him, you can face Adelheid, the son of Rugal, or the true bosses: Chizuru & Maki in another sub-boss battle, and then Mukai as the real final boss. Kusanagi is midly annoying, but not too bad to deal with, from my experience. Ditto for Adelheid. Chizuru and Maki can be very annoying, and Mukai is more like the standard asshole SNK boss character. His gimmick is controlling the earth, and thus, he can throw big stones at you, use big pillars to hurt you, and of course, use a full screen super move that forces you to block. Else, you'll get turned to stone.
I feel like this game could have set the stage for the rest of the series, but as stated earlier, this tag team system did not last long in the series. Well, at least I had fun with it while it lasted.
