King of Fighters '99: Evolution
The King of Fighters makes one more return to the Sega Dreamcast. And with it comes a new feature known as "Extra Strikers". Borrowing a page from Capcom's VS. series, "Extra Strikers" is really a single helper character that you call in for a quick strike against your opponent. Anyone on the cast can serve as an "Extra Striker", but a Side Option gives you the chance to collect even more members. By earning points as you play and then buying additional members. Problem is, is that the "Extra Strikers" are pretty useless unless you find a character who can set up an air juggle for you. And earning enough points for to buy everyone takes more time than it's worth. Especially since the price increases from 800 all the way upto 2400 per character, and the average you can earn per game is only between 400 to 500 points.
Despite the flaws in the "Striker" System, the game play remains virtually untouched. With flashy moves, combos, and a technical side all it's own. Most of the popular characters return including a group of fresh faces. The most interesting new character is Whip, whom ironically uses a whip as her main weapon. Kyo fans also get about 4 different versions of the series' hero. The reason being that they are Clones (you'll see when you play through the Story Mode). When in actuality they are just all the different versions of Kyo that have appeared in previous KOF games. Still Evolution features a great cast. And you'll be sure to try everyone of them out.
The graphics are a step above Dream Match. Though the 2D graphics haven't changed much, the 3D backgrounds look a lot better. Featuring moving vehicles, different times of the day, changing weather, and multiple camera angles. They simply look great. In fact, the "School Yard" (pictured below) has a rain weather version were you can see rain bouncing off the fighting characters. It's definitely a neat touch.
King of Fighters '99: Evolution is a great game by itself. But as a sequel it's just marginally better than KOF '99: Dream Match. Regardless, I highly recommend this title to all 2D Fighting fanatics and series loyalists.
(pics by the pros at videogames.com)
| Category | Rating | How & Why? |
| Graphics | 9 | Great 2D Animation and Character Design / 3D Stages are Huge and Detailed / Multiple Camera Angels allow for "Different" Stage / Whip's whip is Pixelated... |
| Music | 8 | Lot's of Voice-Overs (though most are Japanese) / Decent Fighting Soundtrack |
| Gameplay | 8 | Traditional KOF Moves and Combos / Loads of Characters, Old and New / Too Many Kyo Clones / Extra Striker Option is Neat, but Pretty Useless... |
| Innovation | 8 | Extra Striker (Helper Character) Gives it a "Marvel vs Capcom" Feel, but is Ultimately a useless Feature / Classic KOF Gameplay that's enduring... |
| Replay | 8 | Interesting Story, but Always Plays Out the Same despite Different Characters / Good Variety of Styles between the Cast / Opening Extra Strikers is a Time-Waster... |
Overall 8.2
Written by ShinjZ for GameyPlace.com on February 28, 2000