(LAST UPDATE: 3/8/2010)
Developer(s): SNK
Publisher(s): SNK
Platform(s): Neo Geo, Neo Geo CD, Super Nintendo, Wii Virtual Console, PS2 (Art of Fighting Anthology)
Release Date(s): February 2nd 1994 (
/
Arcade), July 28th 2008 (Wii Virtual Console)
Characters: Ryo, Robert, Jack, Lee, King, Mickey, John, Mr. Big, Takuma, Yuri, Temjin, Eiji, Geese
Related Games: Art of Fighting, Art of Fighting 3, Super Street Fighter 2
Story: "Mr. Karate, the undefeated martial artist, was revealed as Ryo's missing father, Takuma Sakazaki. 10 years ago, he knew that Ronnet's death was intentionally planned by someone. Fearing that the rest of his family would be targeted if he stayed, he disappeared. However, 10 years after Ronnet's accident, he learned that an organization had targeted his daughter Yuri. Learning that Mr. Big was behind this, Takuma was forced to work with him. However, Mr. Big's ambitions were foiled by Ryo, Robert, and King's revolution, the latter being one of his former subordinates. Yuri and Takuma safely returned home.
A year after Yuri's kidnapping, while Ryo was training in the mountains, he received a letter. The letter was an invitation for a new tournament in Southtown. Fighters from every corner of the town were gathering there. It was a test to decide who was the "strongest"... a tournament for the chosen and for the real fighters. The strongest of the strong, each aspect applies to the dragon and the tiger. Southtown would be split in twain by their instincts.
...But, this event was only the beginning for a
certain man filled with ambition. "King
of Fighters"... the birth of a man's legend and the prologue for an even
greater story." Art of Fighting 2's
story is set a year after the original. Geese Howard, a rising star in
Southtown's criminal underworld, calls fighters to the city for a new
tournament, "The King of Fighters".
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Review:
By 1994,
SNK was gaining popularity and trying it's best to keep up with Capcom's
ever evolving Street Fighter 2 series, now with CE, Turbo,
and Super versions dominating the arcades.
SNK decided not to join the trend and "re-hash" the original
Art
of Fighting. Instead,
they actually made a true sequel, "re-drawing" all of the character sprites,
something Capcom wasn't doing. It was a bold move, and for the most part
really pleased fans of the original game.
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AOF2 was
similar to the first AOF in many ways, but still failed to
match up to Capcom's SF2 series in terms of gameplay (and popularity). As a
casual fan of the first game, I was pleased with the gameplay tweaks and new features.
My favorite new feature was the fact that all characters were selectable in
the regular arcade / story mode, allowing for a deeper story
and cool character interactions! Character to character dialogue for every
character was definitely a plus, and something that no other 2D fighting
games were really doing. All of the fighters from the first AOF made their
return with the exception of Todo. A
few characters got updated looks and some new moves too. Overall, a quality
sequel, but once again, the gameplay was a bit slow.
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7 / 10 |
Closing Comment: AOF2 wasn't nearly a bad effort from SNK at the time. The gameplay was still on the sluggish side, especially when compared to the likes of Street Fighter 2: Turbo, a fan favorite in the arcades. Super Street Fighter 2 also came out the same year as AOF2, so any success that AOF2 may have had was more than likely diverted to yet another new version of SF2. Capcom knew how to keep them coming back in the day. ~F.Yagami, Webmaster of TFG
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