Where to start with this compilation which is based on the King of Fighters series circa 1994 – 1998? Would it be better to start with a witty comment like “SNK Playmore refuses to embrace the new century, prefers to live in the 90s”? Maybe not… Because as much as it annoys me to say this, this title is quite playable.

By taking the King of Fighters titles as a collective entity, I found that they hold a lot of value. Playing through what is called the ‘Orochi Saga’, beginning with KoF ’94, you can see how the series has taken steps to evolve over the course of the yearly entries. From the default teams to choose from in the ’94 edition to the ability to create your own in ’95 and the overall awesomeness of the ’98 edition, it seems like SNK Playmore realized year after year what fans wanted. See in the next edition. King of Fighters ’95 might start with the message “The event will take place as above”, implying that the title is exactly the same as ’94, but in reality I found that the experience far outweighs it. From the combat to the graphics, each year feels new compared to the last, and when you add in the many, MANY different characters contained in each version, then you have even more reason to play again. Even if you only play as Mai…

Another nice experience was the ‘Challenges’ mode, where you have arbitrary goals to meet, like ‘Win a battle blindfold, no energy bars, etc.'”. Add more replay value and unlock content from all titles, such as secret characters, illustrations and other in-game resources.Trying to beat all the challenges will probably keep you going for days!I keep playing them when I have time as time is a very important factor for this title as I will explain now.

Things I didn’t enjoy:

Charging times:

UMD once again proves to be a thorn in the side of developers regarding the PlayStation Portable. Getting from the main title select screen to an actual fight took exactly ‘1:02.05’. Long enough when you’re playing a quick round or two and end up waiting longer than a battle would normally last. Not only that, the charge times between rounds were ‘6.7’ seconds, again breaking the flow of combat. When a round can be over in less than 20 seconds for a REALLY good player, this becomes a problem.

Bugs, failures and errors.

There are random occasions where the sound randomly cuts out. The fight announcer can start talking and then stop mid-sentence, the same applies to in-game music. I wonder if it has something to do with the UMD format itself? Maybe there was a glitch in the transfer process and they just didn’t want to spend money to fix it. Who knows? However, all I know is that the problem is not limited to my PSP; I spoke to one Adam Gulliver over at GameStyle, and he was just as confused about the glitches as I was. Graphically, the title maintains the charm of the series, but I wish a proper 16:9 screen format had been included, as the default 4:3 looks like a screen waste. I know, but I want my entire screen to be filled with beautiful pixels, not overly stretched ones.

Result? While I can only speak for myself, I found myself thinking early on in my experience with this title that if you go into the title expecting a Street Fighter II, you’re going to end up disappointed. Expect something more technical, where luck and persistence must meet skill and remember the patterns of many a fighter to succeed. Give it a try, friends. It’s a great way to prepare for King of Fighters XII this summer. SNK Playmore – color me interested!

*Verdict: If you’re a King of Fighters fan, the rating is a BUY. But? Attempt.

* Completed: KOF 94, 95, 98.

* Players: 2

* Platforms: PSP, Wii

* Price: £29.99

* Launch: March 27, 2009.

* ESRB/PEGI: S/12+