The King of Fighters XI

Infobox VG
title = The King of Fighters XI


caption = Promotional arcade poster for The King of Fighters XI.
developer = SNK Playmore
publisher = Sega (AW) / SNK Playmore (PS2)
designer =
release =
AW: flagicon|Japan October 26, 2005flagicon|USA May 2007
genre = Gaming crossovers/Versus fighting
modes = Team Battle, One-On-One; Up to 2 players simultaneously
cabinet = Upright
arcade system = Atomiswave
display =
input = 8-way Joystick, 5 Buttons
platforms = Arcade, PlayStation 2

"The King of Fighters XI" ("KOF XI") is the latest installment of "The King of Fighters" series. The game continues the story of "The King of Fighters 2003". The numerical distinction for the series now is based primarily on SNK Playmore wanting to avoid being locked into a rigorous yearly schedule of releases. A North American version was released on the PlayStation 2 on November 13, 2007, as stated on the SNK Playmore USA official site.

toryline

Mukai, a member of a mysterious group known as "Those from the Distant Land", stole the Orochi seal in the last tournament and broke it, causing confusion and destruction to happen from within sight. Taking advantage of the situation at hand, Ash Crimson attacked Chizuru Kagura in her weakened state and stole the Yata Mirror from her while draining her powers from within the process. In the advent of a new KOF tournament, new faces are handed invitations, while old faces, such as Eiji Kisaragi, return to the ring. Among the new KOF participants are Oswald (an Irish card player who seeks the whereabouts of a powerful new drug), Duck King (a South Town veteran fighter himself), Momoko (a cheerful Capoeria-using girl), and Elisabeth Blanctorche (a young French woman who seems to have a connection to Ash Crimson). All these fighters will find themselves in a tournament full of mysteries and secrets started by motives that they’d ignored before. Behind this healthy competitive tournament hides a hidden force called "People from the Past" with a mysterious goal.

Game mechanics

The four largest innovations "KOF XI" brings to the franchise are the "Quick Shift", the "Saving Shift", the "Skill Bar" and the "Dream Cancels". The Power Stocks that existed previously are still present, and are filled in the usual fashion. Nevertheless, there are now Skill Stocks as well, which gradually build up over time. Each team begins a match holding the maximum of two Skill Stocks. Offensive maneuvers, such as Desperation Moves, Guard Cancels, and Tag Attacks, continue to use Power Stocks. However, more defensive or tactical maneuvers, such as Guard Evasion, Saving Shift, and Quick Shift, use Skill Stocks.

"KOF XI" utilizes the Tactical Shift System from "KOF 2003". The Quick Shift allows to change into another character in the middle of any combo, prolonging it, or in the middle of any attack, canceling the frames of animation of the attack, if it's needed. The Saving Shift allows to take out a character when he is being hit as soon as he is hit, at the cost of both skill bars. The last new feature of "KOF XI" is the "Dream Cancel". Like the "Super Cancel" that first appeared in "KOF '99", Dream Cancel allows players to use stocks to interrupt a move in the midst of its execution with a more powerful move, allowing devastating combos.

Should the timer run down in a match, the winner is no longer decided based upon who has the most life remaining. Instead, the judgment bar, a new bar of circular shape composed of two colors, each one representing one player acts as a quantifier of the skill of each player. Whichever player has the judgment bar towards his or her side will be the victor if none of the teams win defeating all three characters from the opposite team; rarely, if the bar is exactly in the center, the match will end in a draw and both sides will lose. The bar is affected by each attack that the players get in, combos affect progressively more, and when a character of the opposing team is defeated, the bar suffers a big change against that player.

Characters

The character roster for the game receives a major shake-up, with no returning team remaining unaltered from the previous year, and with five long-time regular characters (Chang Koehan, Joe Higashi, Mai Shiranui, Leona Heidern & Robert Garcia) absent. However, Eiji Kisaragi returns after a long absence. Also, Robert and Mai, as PS2 only characters, appear on the roster in their "Neo Geo Battle Coliseum" versions albeit with some minor changes so to fit into the game.

Teams

;Hero Team
*Ash Crimson
*Oswald
*Shen Woo

;Fatal Fury Team
*Terry Bogard ("" outfit)
*Kim Kaphwan
*Duck King

;Rival Team
*Elisabeth Blanctorche
*Duo Lon
*Benimaru Nikaido

;Ikari Team
*Ralf Jones
*Clark Steel
*Whip

;Agent Team
*Vanessa
*Blue Mary
*Ramon

;K' Team
*K'
*Maxima
*Kula Diamond

;Anti-Kyokugen Ryu Team
*Malin
*Kasumi Todoh
*Eiji Kisaragi

;Kyo & Iori Team
*Kyo Kusanagi
*Iori Yagami
*Shingo Yabuki

;Art of Fighting Team
*Ryo Sakazaki
*Yuri Sakazaki
*King

;Garou MOW Team
*Bonne Jenet
*Gato
*Tizoc

;Psycho Soldier Team
*Athena Asamiya
*Sie Kensou
*Momoko

Bosses

;Mid Bosses
*Gai Tendo: The main hero from Buriki-One.
*Sho Hayate: The main hero from Savage Reign/Kizuna Encounter.
*Adelheid Bernstein: The bad ending boss from KOF 2003 and Rugal Bernstein's son.

;Hidden Mid Bosses
*Jyazu: The Final Boss from Kizuna Encounter.
*Silber: The final boss from Buriki-One

;Sub Boss
*Shion: An assistant of Magaki skilled in the use of martial arts and weapons, particularly a long spear and Flying Dart.

;Final Boss
*Magaki: The final boss of the game and a herald of Orochi.

PlayStation 2 exclusive characters

*Mai Shiranui ("Fatal Fury")
*Robert Garcia ("Art of Fighting")
*Geese Howard ("Fatal Fury")
*Tung Fu Rue ("Fatal Fury")
*Mr. Big ("Art of Fighting")
*Hotaru Futaba ("")
*EX Kyo Kusanagi (KOF: NESTS Saga)

External links

* [http://game.snkplaymore.co.jp/official/kof-xi/ "The King of Fighters XI"] at the official Japanese website of SNK Playmore
* [http://www.ignitionent.com/kofxi/main.htm "The King of Fighters XI"] Official European website of Ignition Entertainment.
* [http://snkplaymoreusa.com/pr-11-13-2007.php "The King of Fighters XI"] Press release announcing the official North American release
* [http://www.snkneogeousaconsumer.com/mb/index.php?c=2&sid=52c75504acfb5725c26309dc14af258f "SNK NeoGeo USA Consumer Message Board] features KOF board