It’s hard to imagine that the first King of Fighters game was released in 1994. Way back in the day I had a huge obsession, as did many gamers at the time, with all things fighters. Not just any fighters but the classic 2D fighters from SNK and Capcom. Of course, Street Fighter II was the king of the hill but SNK sure was pumping out plenty of fighters. Fatal Fury and Art of Fighting were two series developed by SNK that tried to compete with the Street Fighter juggernaut. But, in my opinion, it wasn’t until the King of Fighter series came out that SNK really had a fighter on their hands that could compete with Street Fighter.

Instead of being just another fighting game King of Fighters (KOF) was a dream match for SNK fans. The game included many of the same characters they’ve played before in Art of Fighting, Fatal Fury and other SNK games. The core gameplay was no longer just a one-on-one battle; instead KOF offered something new, a 3-vs-3 setup. You selected a team that was composed of three fighters who could compete against other teams across the globe. One fighter would battle against another fighter from the other team. The defeated character would then be replaced by one of the remaining characters left on the team. For a fighting game in 1994 the huge collection of characters and 3-on-3 combat really was something unique and it did create some considerable buzz for many of us addicted to 2D fighters at the time.

Now here we are in 2008 and SNK Playmore has graced us with The Orochi Saga Collection. This collection contains KOF 94, 95, 96, 97 and 98 all on one disc. For gamers today that might not seem like a big deal but for me it’s almost unimaginable that all of these games could be squeezed onto one disc. The Neo Geo system was the system at the time when it came to games that were unbelievably large in size. It was the only system that provided gamers an opportunity to play the same exact game as the arcade version. There wasn’t a difference between the arcade version and the home version, no ports; these were 1:1 games. Now in 2008 we get all of the games stuffed onto one DVD disc; Ahh….the marvels of technology.

What we get with the Orochi Saga is a very spot-on reproduction of the original games. The entire signature moves and characters you might remember are all included. Just as many sequels do the improvements from each version are sometimes minor and sometimes substantial.  The team rule introduced in the 94 version was expanded in KOF 95 by allowing you to select from any three characters to form your team. Old and new characters were constantly introduced and rotated from version to version. Graphically the games are all very similar but the visuals do seem cleaner and with smoother animation starting with KOF 96. 

Now the almost perfect reproduction might be where some of you might jump ship. Considering this is a collection based upon a game originally released in 1994 and all subsequent versions used almost all of the same sprites and visuals the game does look at little rough. This isn’t a remixed version with all new visuals, instead these are the original games replicated for the PS2, warts and all. If you’re playing on a large television you might even question why the visuals look so bad. In today’s age of large flat-panel HD televisions many of our older games get blown up to a point where they show all of the imperfections you wouldn’t have seen on a small, standard definition television. My PS2 isn’t hooked up to a monster TV but its still is much larger than the old 19-inch TV I used to play by Neo Geo CD on years ago. Just be prepared to see the games just as they were years ago.

The extra features in the game are a nice touch. The game includes a training mode that allows you to practice all of the moves for any of the characters in each game. Each game allows you to select either the arcade mode or training mode before you begin. Getting used to all of the controls is definitely a nice idea since SNK fighters have always controlled a little bit differently than Street Fighter. The challenge mode is another feature that allows you to unlock media content from all of the games. The media is a nice assortment of art and sound tracks from the various games that will really please hardcore KOF gamers. 

The Orochi Saga is a worthy collection for any die-hard fighter fanatic looking to relive the glory days of the arcades. The KOF games usually felt like the yearly All-Star game where everyone finally gathered in one spot. Now with this collection we get the All-Star treatment by getting all of these games on one disc. For those that want to take that trip down memory lane you won’t be disappointed. All of the same intense gameplay is still intact with all of the classic SNK flair from years ago. For gamers new to KOF the Orochi Saga is a great way to introduce you to a legendary series. 

Gameplay: 8.0
Everything you played from years ago is still intact with The Orochi Saga. For anyone that never played a SNK fighter before should be warned that these games do not control the same as a Capcom fighter. Please understand this and don’t have the same expectations I did when I started playing these games years ago. Spend some quality time in the training mode to get use to the sometimes extravagant maneuvers you will need to perform.

Graphics: 7.4
Visually these games look identical compared to their original versions. Yet keep in mind that we are talking about games almost 10-years old so don’t expect any modern day 2D visual treatment we see now.

Sound: 7.0
The game includes the all of the vintage tracks and voiceovers you might have purged from your memory years ago. Yes, some are great while others are not so great.

Concept: 7.5
The training mode and challenge mode are great features to spruce up these games. Unfortunately the core game mechanics are still the same 2D fighting we’ve been playing for years now.

Multiplayer: N/A
I’m only grading this on the lack of online multiplayer. Of course, the game still supports two players so you and a buddy can relive your glory days together. 

Difficulty: Medium
Even on the level 1 difficulty I was having a hard time getting used to just how precise (cheap?) the computer was in certain battles. Some games in the collection I would lose the first battle while others I would get near the end without losing once.  

Overall: 7.5
The Orochi Saga is just the collection to give KOF gamers this holiday season. The first five games in the series are faithfully duplicated for the PS2 in all of their glorious, if not aging, splendor. But gameplay is really the key for any fighting game and this collection will not disappoint.