When SNK showed off The King of Fighters XII at arcade show AOU in Japan and industry event GDC in San Francisco, the unanimous reply was: Nice cell shading. Thing is, that's totally incorrect. Today, Kotaku checked out the game's latest build at SNK's Osaka office and saw a few stages that haven't been revealed. Screens weren't available, but there was a French stage, complete with fat, rich women and an Egyptian one that had loyal subjects worshiping before the Pharaoh. Colorful stuff and classic SNK. The company set out to make the ultimate 2D fighter - unparalleled by anything else out there, attempting not only to raise the bar, but snap it in half. KOFXII producer Masaaki Kukino tells Kotaku:
"The game is one hundred percent hand drawn. There is zero cell shading in The King of Fighters XII."
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Golden Axe is a great game I enjoyed it on the SMS, Genesis and in the arcade. Great game but it truly was a quarter eater back in the day. I wish Sega could get the rights to the arcade port of Moonwalker another great arcade game I enjoyed. Collect so many monkeys and become Robo Michael lol.
Explore the dwindling world of arcade centers in Japan and the rise of crane games. Stay updated with the latest retro gaming news.
Insert a (What’s an arcade center?) JK here
With the current state of gaming it’s almost a miracle there’s arcade centers open anywhere as gaming has became as common as flies on a dead rat with all mobile games available on phone that would had been a massive coins drainage 30 years ago
This is in contrast with the arcade industry in America which is coming back from Japan is just now going through. With the 80s nostalgia and Stranger things romanticizing it for a new generation. Also, at least around me, a lot more arcade machines in bars and barcades for the generation(s) that had arcades.
For reference Im 27 and got into arcades more as an adult than a kid
if i was bezos ballin id open an underground arcade and make it free. dark and dingy with neon lights everywhere. Host tournaments for all the classics and sit in a big chair like an Outworld emperor.
These groundbreaking video games changed gaming forever and drew in scores of fans in the process.
Thats exactly what i was hoping would happen with Street Fighter 4. Oh well, guess ill just have to pick up both : ) (if this comes to consoles of course).
... imagine a Street Fighter Alpha 4, completely 2d and sprite-based, in gorgeous, highly detailed and animated HD!
Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix (sigh) is KINDA doing it, but they havent done proper animations, and the backgrounds still look bland as hell. Sadly.
Street Fighter 4 looks to be cool, gameplay-wise and some models are outstanding (while other are horrible (Ken and 'blue-eyed' Ryu)), but i really would have preferred a highly detailed 2d spritebased fighter with a huge character-roster.
Looking forward to King of Fighters now. Hopefully it wont disappoint.
can't wait!! new engine. i hate the old engine.
I hope its just as fun as KoF XI. My tournament buddies and I played the last one to death. I hope they add Hanzo or Fuuma, because that'll be sick.
But I cannot stand thier androgenous guile character, he looks like a rip-off of an inuyasha character, imho.
SNK really picked up the ball where Capcom dropped it in my eyes, hopefully they'll go back to 2D in SFV (yes they will be making it).