The King of Fighters 2003

The King of Fighters 2003[lower-alpha 2] 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)	SNK Playmore Arcade KOR: Mega Enterprise PlayStation 2 JP/NA: SNK Playmore PAL: Ignition Entertainment Hamster Corporation (ACA)
Producer(s)	Eikichi Kawasaki Kazuya Hirata
Designer(s)	T. Mieno
Artist(s)	Tatsuhiko Kanaoka
Composer(s)	Masahiko Hataya Yasumasa Yamada Yasuo Yamate
Series	The King of Fighters
Platform(s)	Arcade Neo Geo AES, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Network, Xbox, Xbox One
Release	2003 Arcade WW: 12 December 2003 Neo Geo AES WW: 18 March 2004 PlayStation 2 JP: 28 October 2004 NA: 8 February 2005 EU: April 2006 AU: 16 January 2007 Xbox JP: 25 August 2005 NA: 31 August 2005 PlayStation Network TW: 15 April 2015 Nintendo Switch WW: 21 February 2019 PlayStation 4 JP: 21 February 2019 Xbox One WW: 21 February 2019
Genre(s)	Fighting
Mode(s)	Single-player Multiplayer
Cabinet	Upright
Arcade system	Neo 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

Ash Team (Hero Team) Ash Crimson (New Character) Duo Lon (New Character) Shen Woo (New Character) Fatal Fury Team Terry Bogard Joe Higashi Tizoc (New Character) Art of Fighting Team Ryo Sakazaki Robert Garcia Yuri Sakazaki Korea Team Kim Kaphwan Chang Koehan Jhun Hoon Ikari Team Leona Ralf Jones Clark Still Outlaw Team Gato (New Character) Billy Kane Ryuji Yamazaki Women Fighters Team King Mai Shiranui Blue Mary

Benimaru Team (New Japan Team) Benimaru Nikaido Shingo Yabuki Goro Daimon High School Girls Team (New Psycho Soldier Team) Athena Asamiya Hinako Shijou Malin (New Character) K′ Team K′ Maxima Whip Three Sacred Treasures Team Kyo Kusanagi (Single Entry) Iori Yagami (Single Entry) Chizuru Kagura (hidden character) Mid-Boss Kusanagi Main Boss Adelheid Bernstein (New Character) Hidden Bosses Maki Kagura (Sub-Boss with Chizuru Kagura) Mukai (True 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.[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

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.

External links

• Official website
• The King of Fighters 2003 at GameFAQs
• The King of Fighters 2003 at Giant Bomb
• The King of Fighters 2003 at Killer List of Videogames
• The King of Fighters 2003 at MobyGames
• The King of Fighters 2002/2003 at MobyGames