KOF: Maximum Impact 2

KOF: Maximum Impact 2
Developer(s)	SNK Playmore
Publisher(s)	SNK Playmore Ignition Entertainment
Series	The King of Fighters
Platform(s)	Arcade, PlayStation 2
Release date(s)	[1] JP April 27, 2006 NA September 19, 2006 EU March 23, 2007
Genre(s)	Versus fighting
Mode(s)	Up to 2 players simultaneously
Distribution	DVD-ROM

KOF: Maximum Impact 2, released in North America as The King of Fighters 2006, is a 3D competitive fighting game produced by SNK Playmore and released for the PlayStation 2 in 2006. It is also released for the Arcades under the title The King of Fighters 2006: Regulation A. It is the sequel to The King of Fighters: Maximum Impact, which itself was a spinoff of The King of Fighters series.

Plot

Many contended that the illegal fighting tournament in Southtown was sponsored by the gangland syndicate "Mephistopheles" to achieve the annihilation of their rivals and procure some operating capital. After its "King," Duke, suffered defeat at the hands of Alba Meira in the finals, he and his organization vanished from Southtown. Meanwhile, the media, firmly under Duke's control, released a fusillade of sensational exposés based on information from confidential sources regarding their former oppressors. In spite of this new torrent of "information," almost no one knew that an even larger entity had been pulling Mephistopheles' puppet strings.

The truth behind the Addes organization name was only known throughout the dark recesses of the underworld. No one really had an inkling as to what this organization truly entailed. Now, another of Addes was to reveal a new battle royale. Invitations in white envelopes were sent to the world's mightiest, who will find the call to the battle by Addes irresistible.

As stated in Alba Meira's private novel by Akihiko Ureshino on the official KOF Maximum Impact 2 site (which serves as an official follow up to the story of KOF Maximum Impact 2), Alba was in fact the one who defeated Jivatma and Luise.^[2] Soiree was kidnapped as a result of that and Alba has not seen him since then.

Characters

The game features 24 initially selectable characters, as well as 14 secret characters (including the final boss), for a total of 38 playable characters.

Returning characters

New characters

Alternate hidden characters

• Kyo Kusanagi Classic – Kyo Kusanagi with a moveset based on KOF '95, and is wearing his outfit from the Orochi and NESTS saga.
• Wild Wolf – Terry Bogard's Garou: Mark of the Wolves version.
• Mr. Karate II – Ryo Sakazaki's Buriki One version.
• Armor Ralf – A version of Ralf who doesn't flinch when hit, and whose attacks do greatly increased guard damage. According to his backstory, he is wearing some experimental armour he was originally hesitant to use.
• Hanzo Hattori – From Samurai Shodown, he shares most of his moves (and a special intro) with Nagase. According to his backstory, he met Jivatma once in the past.

Final boss

• Jivatma – As Duke lost the match to Alba in the last Tournament, Jivatma runs this Tournament for Addes, but after his defeat in the Tournament by Alba Meira he takes Soiree with him.

Revisions

Regulation A

It was released for the Taito Type X2 arcade system in July 2007. It is the only arcade release made for the KOF: MI series and has the inclusion of Ash Crimson, Blue Mary, Makoto Mizoguchi from Fighter's History, and newcomer Xiao Lon, who is a Hizoku Assassin like her agnate brother, Duo Lon, into its character roster. Regulation "A" is a remake of Maximum Impact 2, but with the classic 3 on 3 gameplay added from the 2D KOF series added in hopes of winning over the series fanbase as well as new players. Regulation "A" does not feature a story mode.

Despite the addition of four new characters, Armor Ralf has been removed, as have several stages, as well as the story and challenge modes from Maximum Impact 2. In addition, all of the characters have lost half of their outfits in both normal and alternate types. Some new music, including songs from the original Maximum Impact and Sengoku 3, have been added, in addition to new alternate versions of stages and a new level for Makoto Mizoguchi.

The game was also released for the PlayStation 2 in Japan, on July 26, 2007. It was planned for release in the U.S. along with RA2 but was cancelled due to the timing of KOF XII.

Regulation A2

A sequel to KOF: Maximum Impact Regulation "A" was announced for the PlayStation 2 and Taito Type X2 at the Tokyo Game Show 2007. Many believed that the game was put on hold due to the development of The King of Fighters XII, but it was later canceled for PS2. However, it was released in arcades for Taito Type X2 in 2008.^[3]

The King of Fighters: Another Day

The King of Fighters: Another Day is an animated series based on popular fighting game series The King of Fighters. It was produced by Production I.G, and revolves around the plot of KOF: Maximum Impact, along with some touches of the current storyline about Ash Crimson, who joined the MI gang in the arcade game, The King of Fighters: Maximum Impact Regulation "A".

Reception

The game was nominated to the "PSXE's 2006 Game of the Year Awards" in the category Best Fighting Game, but it lost to Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection.^[9] Greg Kasavin from GameSpot ranked the game as good, giving it a score of 7.3 over 10. He commented while the game was highly improved from its prequel, it had many issues. Use of 3D graphics, although being praised too for being "good in most cases", did not make changes to fights in comparison to 2D games from the series. However, he praised the variability of playable characters with different moves as well as their alternative costumes.^[8] 1Up.com reviewer Richard Li rated the game as B+. He also praised the use of alternative costumes, commenting they "make even the most seasoned fan chuckle." He praised the mechanics from fights by saying they are much better from the first Maximum Impact, allowing the players to use new tactics to defeat his/her opponent.^[6]

References

External links

• KOF: Maximum Impact 2 at the official Japanese website of SNK Playmore
• KOF: Maximum Impact Regulation "A" Official Site