The King of Fighters 2002 (NGM-2650 ~ NGH-2650) - MAME machine

SNK Neo-Geo MVS cart. published 22 years ago:

The King of Fighters 2002 - Challenge to Ultimate Battle © 2002 Playmore Corp.

The King of Fighters 2002: Challenge to Ultimate Battle is a one-on-one fighting game for one or two players and is the ninth game in the series.

The game discarded the 4-on-4 "Striker Match" format used in the previous three games in the series and returned to the 3-on-3 Battle format used prior to "King of Fighters '98".

The King of Fighters 2002 also revamped the Power Gauge system into a format similar to the one used in KOF '97. As with previous games in the series, the Power Gauge is filled as the player attacks their opponent or performs Special Moves. The number of Power Gauges the player can stock up is increased by one with each member of the team. For example, the first member of the team can stock up to three Power Gauges, while the third member can stock up to five.

A single Power Gauge stock can be used to either perform a Counter-attack and evasion technique while guarding against an opponent's attack, to use a Super Special Move, or to initiate the MAX Activation state. The same case also applies to the 1-on-1 format, in which the Power Gauge the player can stock up is also increased by one with each round loss (for example, on the first round, the player can stock up to three Power Gauges, while losing two rounds allows the player to stock up to five).

During MAX Activation, the player's offensive and defensive strength is increased for a short period. In this state, a Super Special Move can be used without consuming Power Gauge stock. There are also MAX Super Special Moves, which are Super moves that can only be performed during MAX Activation with one Power Gauge stock, and MAX2 moves, that require two stocks while low on health.

TECHNICAL
Runs on the SNK "Neo-Geo MVS" hardware.
Game ID: NGM-265

[SNK MVS Neo-Geo Controls]
2 players - 4 buttons per player.
[JOYSTICK] 8-way, [A] Light punch, [B] Light kick, [C] Strong punch, [D] Strong kick

TRIVIA
Developed by Eolith Co., Ltd.

Released in October 2002.

About Kusanagi: As the NESTS Chronicles began, Kyo's school uniform changed to a white outfit but his trademark was his black school uniform (even though he's over 20!). Because of some desired the return of the old Kyo, he was inserted into the game at the last moment. In KOF 2003, KUSANAGI was treated as phantom that Chizuru produced with the power of the Mirror of the Yata. But you can't have Kyo without a school uniform. Maybe in Chizuru's mind Kyo will always be a high school student.

About Orochi Yashiro: The characters commonly referred to as Shadow Yashiro, Shadow Shermie, and Shadow Chris were first formulated to balance out the Japan Team of Kyo, Benimaru, and Daimon. Needless to say, Yashiro was 'a character who used powerful body slams associated with the earth and earthquakes' in the same vein Daimon did. He's a dynamic guy who doesn't fret over tiny details, but his hobby is playing guitar in his band. The band's name has never been officially revealed, but it is known as 'C.Y.S.' He idolizes the guitarist Paul Gilbert, and has quite a detailed background story to him.

About Orochi Shermie: If Yashiro offsets Daimon, Shermie is Benimaru's counterpart who ''manipulates lightning and thunderclap attacks''. But the supervising planner made sure, through trial and error, Shermie would simply not become a ''female Benimaru''. Various ideas were added to make her a new, unique character. The ''Moonless Thundercloud'' Shermie heaves up with a belch is an example of this, as is the ''Willow Whip'' move she uses to mow down opponents with flailing arms. Incidentally, these moves were called the ''Explosive Belch'' and the ''Back off, You Beasty'' moves during development.

About Orochi Chris: Chris, of course, is Kyo's counterpart, 'a manipulator of flame'. At the inception of production, the plan was for Chris to use the 'Flame of Darkness (Black Flame)', but the black flames were hard to see so the designers settled for purple ones. When it came time to name Chris's arsenal of moves, we remember the director saying, 'The Dark Orochi Wave sounds good'. But other planners objected: 'It's dumb for an Orochi character to have 'Orochi Wave' as a move name. It's like saying, Call me Mr. Chris'. Regardless, the director won out.

The little kid that appears in Terry Bogard's win poses is none other than a young Rock Howard from "Garou - Mark of The Wolves". Since Garou takes place in 2008, Rock is still a young kid in training during this game.

KOF2002 contains pieces of music from older KOFs. Here's a complete list of themes, the teams (or individuals) they belong to and the games they were taken from:
Tears (Kyo Kusanagi) - "The King of Fighters '99 - Millennium Battle" (Kyo Kusanagi's theme music).
Kurikinton (Fatal Fury Team) - "Fatal Fury 2" (Terry Bogard's theme music).
Beauty & The Beast (Art of Fighting Team) - "The King of Fighters 2000" (Art of Fighting Team's theme music).
Jungle Bouncer (Ikari Team) - "The King of Fighters '94" (Ikari Team's theme music).
Psycho Soldier (Athena Asamiya) - "Psycho Soldier" (what part of the game?).
Diet (Gals Fighters Team) - "Art of Fighting 2" (Yuri Sakazaki's theme music).
Arashi no Saxophone 2 (Iori Team) - "The King of Fighters '96" (Iori Team's theme music).
Bloody (New Face Team) - "The King of Fighters '97" (New Face Team's theme music).
KD-0079 (Hero Team) - "The King of Fighters '99 - Millennium Battle" (Hero Team's theme music).
KD-0084 (2000 Team) - "The King of Fighters 2000" (Hero Team's theme music).
Seoul ni Ikou (Kim) - "Fatal Fury 2" (Kim theme music).

Soundtrack releases:
[JP] Nov. 20, 2002; The King of Fighters 2002 Original Sound Trax [SCDC-00221] - Scitron

Some known hacks of this game are known as:
"The King of Fighters 10th Anniversary - All Team Battle"
"The King of Fighters 10th Anniversary 2005 Unique"
"The King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Extra Plus"
"The King of Fighters Special Edition 2004"
"The King of Fighters 2002 Plus"
"The King of Fighters 2002 Magic Plus"
"The King of Fighters 2002 Magic Plus II"

Leona, Ralph and Clark are playable characters in the Foma 90x Series Mobile Phones game 'Metal Slug Survivors'.

UPDATES
If you put the game in 'Korea territory' via the MVS bios setting, all Korea Team's voices changes.

TIPS AND TRICKS

• Play as Kusanagi: at the character selection screen, highlight Kyo and press Up, Down, Right, Left, Down, Up, Left, Right.
• Orochi versions of Sherimie, Chris And Yashiro: just hold down Start on them at the character selection screen. This is better than having to use some power stocks to transform in battle with the normal versions.
• Choose your winning pose: to get a specific winning pose, simply press any button just after beating the opponent.
• Alternate costume colors: all characters have 4 alternate costume colors (by pressing A, B, C or D).
• Roulette: press and hold Start at the character select screen and push any button (Press any direction on the joystick before pushing the button to select a random team).

SERIES

• The King of Fighters '94 [Model NGM-055] (1994, Arcade)
• The King of Fighters '95 [Model NGM-084] (1995, Arcade)
• The King of Fighters '96 [Model NGM-214] (1996, Arcade)
• The King of Fighters '97 [Model NGM-232] (1997, Arcade)
• The King of Fighters '98 - The Slugfest [Model NGM-242] (1998, Arcade)
• The King of Fighters '99 - Millennium Battle [Model NGM-251] (1999, Arcade)
• The King of Fighters 2000 [Model NGM-257] (2000, Arcade)
• The King of Fighters 2001 [Model NGM-262] (2001, Arcade)
• The King of Fighters 2002 - Challenge to Ultimate Battle [Model NGM-265] (2002, Arcade)
• The King of Fighters 2003 [Model NGM-271] (2003, Arcade)
• The King of Fighters NeoWave (2004, Arcade)
• The King of Fighters Maximum Impact (2004, PS2)
• The King of Fighters XI (2005, Arcade)
• The King of Fighters Maximum Impact 2 [Model SLPS-25638] (2006, PS2)
• The King of Fighters Maximum Impact - Regulation A (2007, Arcade)
• The King of Fighters Maximum Impact - Regulation A2 (2008, Arcade)
• The King of Fighters '98 - Ultimate Match (2008, Arcade)
• The King of Fighters XII (2009, Arcade)
• The King of Fighters XIII (2010, Arcade)
• The King of Fighters XIII Climax (2012, Arcade)
• The King of Fighters XIV (2016, Arcade)
• The King of Fighters XV (2022, PS4)

STAFF
Executive producer: Jeon Ju Young
Producer: Chil Suk Choi
Director: Lee Seon Ho
Demo designers: Ogura, Norisato, Asuka
Planners: T-2000, Uri Uri, M. Ruyun, Ume-Zono
Music & Sound designers: Tate Norio, Masahiko Hataya (as WBM M. Hataya)
Adjusters & Bug checkers: T-2000, 4F01 Kuroemon, 4F02 Oomae, C>B K Kuboken, Yuta Lix Sawad, Yamachan Rakira, Ume-Zono
Main engineer: S. Fujinuki
Programmers: Narutaki, T. Hayashi, M. Yusuke

• Front Designers:

Seth, Maxima, Benimaru, Billy, Chris, Andy, Mai, Yamazaki, May, Rugal: C.A.C. Yamasaki
Ryo, Robert, Vanessa, Kensou, Takuma: Kamada
Angel, Kyo, Iori, Kim, Vice, Yashiro: Kaori
Athena, Ramon, Joe, Chin, Chang, Choi: Taku & Takukko
Leona, Ralf, Clark, Shermie, Whip, Kula: ('_')

• Back Designers:

Italy, Mexico, Nests stage: Nobuyuki Kobayashi (as Koba)
Cambodia, Boss stage: ???
Holland: Masae M.
China: Guttyon
Korea: ???

• Voice Actors:

Kyo Kusanagi: Masahiro Nonaka
Benimaru Nikaido: Monster Maetsuka
Ralf Jones: Monster Maetsuka
Choi Bounce: Monster Maetsuka
Goro Daimon: Masaki Usui
Ryo Sakazaki: Masaki Usui
Terry Bogard: Satoshi Hashimoto
Kim Kaphwan: Satoshi Hashimoto
Andy Bogard: Keiichi Nanba
Joe Higashi: Nobuyuki Hiyama
Chang Koehan: Hiroyuki Arita
Athena Asamiya: Haruna Ikezawa
Kensou: Eiji Yano
Chin Gentsai: Toshikazu Nishimura
Leona: Masae Yumi
Vice: Masae Yumi
Clark Steel: Yoshinori Shima
Robert Garcia: Mantaro Koichi
Takuma Sakazaki: Eiji Tsuda
Mai Shiranui: Akoya Sogi
Yuri Sakazaki: Kaori Horie
May Lee Jinju: Tomoko Kawakami
Iori Yagami: Kunihiko Yasui
Mature: Hiroko Tsuji
Yamazaki: Koji Ishii
Blue Mary: Harumi Ikoma
Billy Kane: Atsushi Yamanishi
Yashiro Nanakase: Makoto Awane
Shermie: Hazuki Nishikawa
Chris: Rio Ogata
K': Yuuki Matsuda
Maxima: Katsuyuki Konishi
Whip: Shiho Kikuchi
Vanessa: Kaori Minami
Seth: Hidetoshi Nakamura
Ramon: Eiji Takemoto (as Hidehumi Takemoto)
Kula Diamond: Yumi Kakazu
K9999: Nozomu Sasaki
Angel: Mayumi Shintani
Kusanagi: Mitsuo Iwata
Rugal Bernstein: Norio Wakamoto
Athena's friend 1: Masae Yumi
Athena's friend 2: Hazuki Nishikawa
Candy: Masae Yumi
Diana: Haruna Ikezawa

Announcement: Eiji Yano

PORTS

• CONSOLES:

[JP] SNK Neo-Geo AES (Dec. 18, 2002; "The King of Fighters 2002 - Challenge to Ultimate Battle [Model NGH-265]")
Sega Dreamcast [JP] (june.19, 2003; "The King of Fighters 2002 - Challenge to Ultimate Battle [Model T-47305M]")
[JP] Sony PS2 (Mar. 25, 2004; "The King of Fighters 2002 - Challenge to Ultimate Battle [Model SLPS-25347]")
Sega Dreamcast [JP] (Nov. 11, 2004; "The King of Fighters 2002 - Challenge to Ultimate Battle [Dreamcast Collection] [Model T-47305M-1]")
[JP] Microsoft XBOX (Mar. 24, 2005; "The King of Fighters 2002 - Challenge to Ultimate Battle [Model ZQ6-00003]")
[JP] Sony PS2 (Nov. 23, 2005; "The King of Fighters 2002 - Challenge to Ultimate Battle [SNK Best Collection] [Model SLPS-25573]")
[JP] Sony PS2 (Feb. 26, 2009; "The King of Fighters 2002 - Unlimited Match [Model SLPS-25915]")
[JP] Sony PS2 (june.24, 2010; "The King of Fighters 2002 - Unlimited Match [Tougeki ver.] [Model SLPS-25983]")

• OTHERS:

Arcade [JP] (Jan. 24, 2011; "The King of Fighters 2002 - Ultimated Match for Nesica Live")

CONTRIBUTE
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