The King of Fighters 2003

The King of Fighters 2003
Developer(s)	SNK NeoGeo
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
Arcade system	Neo Geo MVS

The King of Fighters 2003 (KOF 2003, or KOF '03), also known by fans as The King of Fighters X 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 (in North America and Japan only and it was 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 game uses a 3-on-3 Tag Battle format in which players can change characters in the middle of a fight. Each team has one leader with access to a Leader Super Special Move. The narrative of the game involves a new tournament set by "R" with two parallel bosses serving as final bosses. The game is notable for starting the story arc of newcomer Ash Crimson who remains as a mystery. Falcoon worked as the 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 used once again, just like in past editions. It also uses a Multi-Shift format that allows players to change characters in the middle of a fight. 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.

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 has 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 Heidern
• 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 in Arcade and Neo-Geo AES version; True Ending Sub-Boss with Maki Kagura)

Bosses

• Kusanagi (Mid Boss; hidden in Arcade version)
• Maki Kagura (NPC in Arcade version; True Ending Sub-Boss with Chizuru Kagura)
• Adelheid Bernstein (New Character; Final Boss)
• Mukai (New Character Hidden 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. In North America the game was released alongside The King of Fighters 2002 for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. The game was solely released for Switch on February 21, 2019. 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. 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. 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. 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.

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. 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.

Reception

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

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