KOF96.png

Hamster is giving the ACA Neo Geo series a 2017 sendoff with none other than The King of Fighters '96 hitting Nintendo Switch on 28th December. The third entry in SNK lead fighting series saw some major improvements, namely the ability to fake smaller jumps, a perfect way to trick your opponents and avoid committing your fighter to a precarious situation. 

Also, for the first time you are also able to power up by holding A+B+C, enabling you to make the most of any downtime to charge up your POW bar and unleash one of your deadly super moves without the need to have your health in the red. And that's not all, because TKOF'96 introduced the dodge roll before it was cool! A retro trend setter, indeed.

As per annual tradition, the roster got shifted about, removing a few characters while adding fresh faces to the mix. With Rugal gone, it's up to the new (and slightly too powerful for comfort) new boss team composed of Geese Howard, Wolfgang Krauser and Mr. Big to take up the slack for evil doers everywhere. Oh, and this was the entry where Heidern substitute - and long time series fan favorite - Leona joined Ralph and Clark on the Ikari Team.

ikari_warriors_team_by_kainrv1-dak7bat.jpg
Image: KainRV1

Were you a fan of TKOF back in the day? Or are you discovering this awesome series on Switch for the first time? VIOLENT POSTING TO COME AGAIN in the comments section below.