SNK has brought another great Neo Geo Pocket Colo game to Switch with King of Fighter’s R-2 as part of the Neo Geo Pocket Color Selection. As the name suggests, this is a fighting game for the system, and is one that uses a super deformed or chibi art style and is an adaptation of King of Fighters 98, albeit with some variations to make things function a little better.
King of Fighters R-2 has most of the same style of gameplay as King of Fighters R-1 on the Neo Geo Pocket,, a game that was based on King of Fighters 97. We have Singleplay mode, which is a standard 1v1 arcade mode, and Teamplay which is 3v3. You can set your own teams as you like, or use pre-made teams and go all out in the arcade mode, or in local play against a friend in VS mode. The game play will be easy to figure out if you have played other Neo Geo Pocket Color games that SNK has brought to Switch so far, such as Samurai Shodown! 2 and Gal Fighters. The controls are simplified from the arcade games but easy to figure out and understand, and the game becomes very fun once you do so. King of Fighters R-2 has all the fighters of Rp1 with the exception of Chizuru Kagura and Kim Kaphwan and replaces them with Saisyu Kusanagi and Kasumi Todoh.
The game has a unique mode known as Making mode, which is a mode that lets you customize your character in various ways, such as equipping items and then going off to try and defeat Rugal. Its a neat addition I admit, and one that serves as a nice alternative to the main game. This functions as a neat single player mode, where you select a character, name them, then set them up for a unique playstyle. Its something I would not mind seeing in the new games to be honest and added enough replay value for me.
The controls are responsive as I said, and use two button inputs well. The controls depend on how you press the button and how long, in order to determine the type of attack. This is one of the easier fighters to get into on the Neo Geo Pocket Color that are available on Switch, as Samurai Shodown! 2 has a certain stiffness while Gal Fighters feels somewhat experimental. King of Fighters R-2 on the other hand, feels natural and smooth. The fighting is intense and fast and I enjoyed it immensely.
Of course there is the matter of DC mode that must be addressed. On the Neo Geo Pocket Color original, you could connect with the Dreamcast game King of Fighters ’99 Dream Match. That option had to be cut from the Switch version obviously, as working around that is not really possible at this time. Should Dreamcast games ever come to Switch, perhaps as part of Sega Ages, then maybe down the line something could be done to work that in.
Like with other Neo Geo Pocket Color ports to Switch, the game is not only emulated perfectly, but the emulator also includes some nice additions as well.. Almost every aspect of the Neo Geo Pocket Color was replicated, including the options for a system set up if you want, and a Neo geo Pocket Color appears on screen for you to play the game on. You can adjust the controls as you want, adjust display options, and there is even a rewind function included. In addition, there are a variety of skins for the on screen Neo Geo Pocket Color in the form of the various different models of the system. The manual for the game is also digital replicated here and that is a nice touch. As well, If you feel the screen is too small, then you can enlarge the image or zoom in to see better. I am happy that we are seeing more Neo Geo Pocket Color games come to Switch, because this emulator being used is amazing.
Overall, this is a great port and I have to highly recommend it. Now bring on more classics SNK!
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