King of Fighters 98 Ultimate Match

[KFCrispy]

hurrah, what a game.. the best King of Fighters game (98) with even more characters? i'm hoping the additional characters were designed to be just as balanced as the others. KOF 98 is pretty much the most balanced fighting game i've ever seen, and it's real fighting, not like MvC or later KOF games where you can completely abuse certain setups or characters. there are a few bugs in 98, but nothing game-breaking... as long as you are aware of certain bugs, you can play with the best of the best without being cheaped to death (you might still be p0wned but usually in a skillful way).

[LTM]

I don't think it was announced for NA release yet. Did you import? I loved the original 98 (RB2 Terry FTW). I'm actually a big fan of KoF. Maybe if you have mame I can fight you sometime.

[KFCrispy]

i don't import games, but it's likely to come out considering the other random stuff they've been leaking into the US...

yeah i loaded up mame yesterday and had so much trouble adjusting to the delay (plus my controller is no good.. got a recommendation?). i used to play on kaillera like 4-6 years back and was pretty good.

[LTM]

Ahh I see. Well I found out from the SNK boards that the Orochi collection is coming here, so I'm hoping this, Nest collection, and Battle Archives 2 come. I think it will, but time is short...

As far as finding out any info you want on 98, I can check around SNK's boards, there's a guy there that imports all the games so he should be able to tell ya if its even better. I think the music is more Mp3 quality.

Delay eh? Hmmm. I dunno, I actually haven't been on kaillera lately cause this comp is garbage. About the end of the month I'll have access to a new one, so I'll be playing a lot more. There's finally a new mame32k that can run Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike so if you haven't gotten that one yet, do so cause its pretty cool.

As far as controller recommendations? Well, a joystick is the best for arcade fighters, hands down. So if you aren't using one of those, get one and adjust yourself. If you do? Well, the best sticks are made by Horii, hands down they are the best at making game accessories like controllers etc.

I bought a Horii Fighting Stick 2 for about 50, though I imported it from China via Lik-sang.com. Unfortunately it was rather pricey, a hundred bucks. It also requires you to take good care of it, more so than a normal controller. Joysticks usually need to be kept FAR away from dirt and dust and cleaned regularly (opening it up and spraying a can of air works for this, just be careful. I've taken mine completely apart and put back together, and it can be damaging if you make a mistake). Horii is pretty much always expensive, the best joysticks are and require work to keep protected. If thats a little pricey, I can suggest a Gamester stick. They're about 20 bucks, and are pretty solid with two inter-changeable stick types (round ball Japan type and the American standard type). The only downside is its kinda small, so it doesn't fit in your lap easily or fit comfortable on a table. Not bad, totally worth the money. Usually the bigger the buttons the better, and if the sticks makes clicking sounds in every direction, it helps so you can know if it moved a certain way.

If you don't use console sticks/controllers, I highly recommend you do as PC controllers tend to suck for fighters. You can buy a converter from amazon.com for about ten dollars. Just do a search for smartjoy.

[KFCrispy]

i don't like joysticks and i'm not going to spend time and money learning them just to play fighting games.. i actually love the old game port version of the Sidewinder (the USB version sucks). The d-pad is great for me.. but my PC died a while ago and i got a laptop over a year ago, which doesn't have a game port.. so i'm using a PS2 controller but the d-pad isn't as good as the original PSX pad (w/out analog).

[LTM]

Don't really remember what the sidewinder is. Well um..not using a joystick imo is a bit of a moot point, the games were made FOR joysticks but hey whatever you want. If you ever feel like it like I said, a Gamester is like twenty bucks. But if you refuse to ever try and learn how to use one, you could always just keep using a PS2 controller, thats what most people who use controllers like. Uhh...Capcom came out with those fighting game controllers for X-Box and PS2, I heard they work pretty well. Most people I run into always say the Saturn controller was the best for fighting games (other than a stick) and I've heard the Dream Cast controller was pretty much the same thing. So hope that helps.

[KFCrispy]

Microsoft Sidewinder: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_SideWinder

i am using a PS2 controller but the d-pad is not very good on mine. i used to use a non-analog PSX controller which was much better.

[LTM]

Oh lord the sidewinder I have one of those. The USB version is the only one I ever used, but it SUCKS A LOT. Its horrible for fighting games.

Yeah the old style PSX controllers were better imo. I don't really see the need to have the analog sticks and the d-pad but its whatever. If I were you, when it came to fighting games I would totally pick up one of those fighting game controllers capcom made. They are designed specifically for fighting games, so they might feel better for you.

http://amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/102-39 ... .y=0&Go=Go

They're pretty cheap, and have SF characters on them. Choose your favourite

[KFCrispy]

wow that's pretty neat, i didn't know they had pads made for fighting games!
the button layout may or may not work for me.
i've gotten used to a 6-button layout for King of Fighters (using 2 of the front and the 2 shoulder buttons as shortcuts like A+B, A+B+C), but for the Xmen vs SF type of games, I like having more shoulder buttons because it's easier for me to press all the buttons faster by using different fingers than forcing my thumb to go through so many at a time.

[LTM]

I hear ya, its a pain. Thats another reason I found a joystick easier, hitting multiple attack buttons at once is more easily done with the fingers than with thumbs. But shoulder buttons helps (I never could do it properly using shoulder buttons). I've never used those fighting pads before, but I haven't heard too many complaints. I thought about grabbing one or two just to try them out. If anything though they are good for at least the collectible purpose.


Edit: I found out some info on the new 98 which might intrigue you. The Boss team from 96 is coming back to this title (Geese, Krauser, Mr. Big). Kasumi and Eiji as well. And it looks like its rumored that Orochi and Goenitz will be appearing. The game is supposed to use much better quality music, actual album stuff. Maybe remixes. And I think it'll use the 3D backgrounds from 1999 Dream Match.

[KFCrispy]

there are some tweaks in the game to keep characters more balanced... but why did they have to snuff Yashiro's nice far C? it wasn't really broken or anything - if you miss with it you're still screwed.. they are using his 2k2 version.