ART OF FIGHTING 2
by Lord_Krauser
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Art Of Fighting II Review
By Lord_Krauser
The first time I played this game, I was not impressed to say the least. The
game's controls seemed very clunky to me and I was not used to this sort of
difficulty. I refused to play this game anymore, calling it impossible on
several occasions. A few weeks ago, though, I felt that I wanted a ridiculously
hard challenge, so I picked up the controller and decided to give it another
chance. And, boy, am I glad that I did!
GRAPHICS- 9/10
The characters are very large and have a surprising amount of detail for a 1994
game. Most of the backgrounds are done very well, such as Temjin's stage on the
docks (For some reason, King's level just looks stupid to me, though). A nice
touch, that was also present in Art Of Fighting I, is the fact that the
characters will become more bruised as they sustain more hits to the face. Other
small details that are nice are the different ways in which an opponent can be
knocked out. For example, if you knock your opponent out with a certain special
move, their clothes may rip or they will fall over in a painful way. My
favourite of these is when Temjin goes flying across the screen, then keels over
slowly. It's realistic in a very strange way.
SOUND/AUDIO- 9/10
The sound effects used in this game have a very classic feel to them. The
slicing of Lee's claws or the loud hit sound that any Art Of Fighting fan will
recognize instantly. One problem that plagued Art Of Fighting I was the quality
of the voices, which were very muffled and quiet. Those problems are no more in
Art Of Fighting II, as all of the voices are loud and clear. One interesting
note is the fact that some characters have different voices depending if you
have it in English or Japanese. This holds true for John, King, and Robert. It's
sort of distracting if you're used to their original voices, but it can be
overlooked. Sometimes, it actually sounds quite funny! Just listen to John and
you'll see what I mean.
CONTROL- 10/10
Let me make one thing perfectly clear: THIS IS NOT A BUTTON MASHING GAME!! Like
Art Of Fighting I, there are two separate bars, one for life and one for spirit.
If you use a special move, your spirit meter will deplete. Holding down either
the A, B, or C button will charge your spirit meter, but will leave you open for
an attack. By pressing the D button, your character will taunt and deplete your
opponent's health. There are Super Moves in this game that you earn by
completing a bonus game. Also present are Super Desperation Moves. When your
health meter is low, it will flash, enabling you to do one of these damaging
moves if your spirit meter is full. It sounds kind of confusing, but if you take
the time to figure out the control scheme, it is actually quite a brilliant
layout.
GAMEPLAY- 10/10
This game is very difficult and requires strategy (and sometimes cheapness) to
win. Do not play this game if you expect to beat it easily and without trouble.
There are several characters to select, some which are easier to play as than
others. Each character has their own strength and weakness, such as Lee for his
good speed and bad defense capabilities. You're sure to find a character that
will work for you.
OVERALL- 9/10
This title may take more than one try to get hooked and it is very difficult, so
don't say I didn't warn you. However, I used to lose every round, I mean round,
against the CPU and now I can beat it with a couple of credits! Just give it
some time and you'll soon be an expert at this great game! I definitely
recommend this to anyone who has either a Neo Geo, Neo Geo CD, or a computer and
would like to play an underappreciated masterpiece of the great company known
only as SNK.
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More Reviews of This Game:
by Kazuya_UK - Courtesy of Kazuya's
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