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King of Fighters XII, The

EMAIL PRINT xbox360

4.0 User Score:

Mixed or average reviews

Based on 56 critic reviews
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Based on 25 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: Ignition Entertainment / SNK Playmore

Developer: SNK Playmore

Genre(s): Fighting

Players: 4

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Release Date: July 23, 2009

Summary

The legendary 3-on-3 fighting game series that united rival brawlers from SNK Playmore's classic arcade franchises celebrates its 15th Anniversary in style with the release of The King of Fighters XII. For the first time in its history, this epic martial arts showdown has undergone a complete graphical overhaul. The antiquated character sprites used over the past 14 years have been dropped in favor of all-new, high-resolution fighters fluidly animating across painstakingly detailed, 100% hand-drawn backgrounds. [SNK Playmore]

Cheat Codes & Hints: Cheat Code Central

Also On The Web: Official Website

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Planet Xbox 360

King of Fighters XII is a balanced, beautiful game to witness and a fun start for the franchise's next generation, but it absolutely is a case of unfulfilled potential, especially considering it's supposed to be "the year of the fighter."

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Destructoid

The core game is spectacular, even if the presentation framing it is awful, and it's got the potential to be well worth the money. So should you buy it? That depends on what's most important to you, but I'm going to say you most certainly should.

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My Gamer

There is a definite lack of content, which leaves the game feeling like a $60 downloadable title. Still, this is King of Fighters, the fun incarnate. The way it works out, the game is a good pickup for fighting game fans.

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Official Xbox Magazine UK

A great series addition for fans and newcomers. [Sept 2009, p.79]

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XboxAddict

All in all, SNK PLAYMORE has more than fulfilled expectations of what would be expected from this series.

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GameTrailers

Though the game is lacking from a strictly consumer perspective, there's lots of value is in the fighting itself.

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Games Master UK

A superb fighter, but it's too easy and there just isn't enough to do to recommend this. [Oct 2009, p.71]

Da Gameboyz

Sadly, while King of Fighters XII shows shades of brilliance now and then the game manages drops the ball a few times too many.

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GamingXP

The arcade mode gets a bite boring after a while and the game generally offers few gameplay options. The online mode is nothing more than a small addition.

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GameFocus

While the game is a bit thin on play modes and the online battles are a complete write-off at the moment, the fundamental gameplay is still fun and true to the series.

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Cheat Code Central

If you like online play, King of Fighters does it extremely well. However, with only one single-player offline mode, this title feels a little empty overall.

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InsideGamer.nl

King of Fighters XII looks good, has great sounds and plays really good, but isn’t a top game. The arcade mode is entertaining, but a little to short. The rest of the modes are boring or missing. In the end we can say that King of Fighters XII is only interesting for the few hardcore players who aren’t satisfied with Street Fighter IV.

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Eurogamer Portugal

KOF XII isn’t a unanimous game, and it isn’t really the reborn of the series that most devoted fans would expect. Although amputated, it's beautiful to see and plays well.

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Eurogamer

The biggest problem with The King of Fighters XII is that it feels unfinished. The combat is fun and robust but not particularly innovative.

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Game Over Online

Right now, there’s way too little here to recommend a full-price purchase to anyone. Die-hards should only buy it when it hits the $20-30 range, and everyone else will likely be satiated by a rental. What’s here is done quite well, but there just isn’t enough of it.

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GamePro

Most gamers may not want to pay full retail price for only a handful of light features, despite how pretty the game is, but if you love your fighters old-school and 2D, The King of Fighters XII is probably worth checking out.

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Game Informer

In the end, the sparse content maims Kof XII. Next time around there better be more stages, characters, modes – more everything. You can’t just rip the five-minute-per-play arcade code straight to consoles and expect people to invest the full $60 over a few coins.

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Deeko

King of Fighters XII is still a beautiful looking game, that will easily keep fighting fans satiated if only for some couch fisticuffs, but those looking for King of Fighters XII to be the best KOF yet are going to be disappointed.

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X360 Magazine UK

Yes, it feels disappointing when compared directly to "Street Fighter IV," but the fighting feels fresh and exciting, while the new characters will please fans of the arcade original. [Issue#49, p.86]

Vandal Online

King of Fighters XII proposes to be a new start for the series, and it manages to do it half and half. The graphical change is positive, but it stalls midway, and the price to pay has been losing characters, scenarios and music.

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ZTGameDomain

King of Fighters XII is not a bad game; it just came out at a bad time. The re-birth of the franchise really feels like ten steps backwards, and it wouldn't be so bad if the competition wasn't so stiff right now.

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GamesNation

King of Fighters XII would be a great game had it been made a few years back. Unfortunately, sleek and very well-drawn characters are not enough to make up for a 2D fighting game nowadays. Yet if you like this kind of gameplay, you’ll most definitely appreciate the huge list of attacks and combos, and the rich backgrounds.

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Official Xbox Magazine

Problem is, the aesthetics are disconcerting. [Aug 2009, p.76]

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AtomicGamer

King of Fighters XII is just not ambitious enough of a project. If this were a highly successful series with millions of sales, maybe SNK could get away with this middling revival of classic action.

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Gamers' Temple

King of Fighters XII attempts a new fresh start for the series, but beyond the new character sprites, not too much else has changed.

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Strategy Informer

So when it’s all said and done, The King of Fighters XII isn’t going to be placed on a mantle above all other fighting games. It lacks proper net code and not everyone is going to enjoy the pixilated graphics.

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Console Monster

With a little extra love in the practice mode, some online love and character development, KoFXII could have been a charming fighter for old and new fans alike.

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GameZone

At the price point of $60, The King of Fighters XII is a hard sell to anyone outside of the fanbase. Renting or borrowing is the best entry point for the series as a blind purchase may lead to one angry gamer.

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Xbox World 360 Magazine UK

Get Street Fighter IV first. If you love that but want a change, get this. Cheap. [Oct 2009, p.91]

MEGamers

KOF XII is a bad attempt to bring a fan favourite onto next-gen consoles.

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Totally360

Die-hard fighting game fans only need apply.

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WonderwallWeb

Whilst this game seems an improvement on the PS3 version it is still unplayable online, which is disappointing really.

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Level7.nu

It contains a very competent and entertaining fighting mechanic and appealing graphics. But the content is extremely limited with only 20 characters, no career mode, few alternative game modes and the online mode barely works.

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DarkZero

Although a competent beat ‘em up, it lacks not only the accessibility but the depth of Street Fighter IV, the classic gameplay of Mark of the Wolves or Marvel vs. Capcom 2, and the hardcore technical side of Blazblue.

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VideoGamer

KOFXII's biggest problem is that the fighting game bar has been raised considerably in the last 12 months, with the release of Street Fighter IV in particular showing how reboots should be done.

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Giant Bomb

The fighting at the center of King of Fighters XII is totally fine, but with everything surrounding that action coming off so half-cocked, there are a lot of annoying little barriers to enjoying that fighting.

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GameDaily

As it stands, it's just another fighter that tries – and fails – to knock Street Fighter IV off its mighty throne.

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Gamer Limit

KoF XII is a bold step in animating 2D fighters but completely average everywhere else.

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IGN

King of Fighters XII is fun to play when you're fighting a buddy locally, but everything else about the game is seriously lacking.

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TeamXbox

It’s $60 hors d’ouvres passed off as a main course.

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Gaming Age

It's neither as interesting as Street Fighter IV or BlazBlue, or as infinitely playable as Marvel Vs. Capcom 2.

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Hardcore Gamer Magazine

In the end, calling this a "rebirth" or even a "reboot" just doesn’t cut it. If one looks hard enough, they can see the ambitions SNK had with this game, sadly outstripped by time and budget.

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Multiplayer.it

A lot of fans were probably waiting for The King of Fighters XII with open arms, but lag during the online matches, the small number of available fighters and stages ruined what could have been a really nice and welcome addition to PS3 and Xbox 360's libraries.

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PALGN

The King of Fighters XII is a brilliant fighting game at the core, courtesy of its fantastic new graphics engine and a solid 2D combat mechanics but the home version really could have been so much more.

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SpazioGames

The years go by, and unfortunately The King of Fighters brings them really bad. Certainly the developers have not focused on quantity to entice the user, but even then the quality seems so bland. The graphics, which, if although renovated, it has become obsolete, goes hand in hand with a longevity virtually nonexistent, if the multiplayer could salvage something, everything is thwarted by an unstable Netcode. We recommend it only to fans of the series.

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MS Xbox World

King of Fighters XII isn't a bad game per se but and should please die hard fans of the series who will lap up anything SNK throw at them. Yet anyone else is going to perhaps look at the game in disgust and see a title that should have been placed on the XBLA at a low price point and been done with it.

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Everyeye.it

Thinking positive The King Of Fighters XII is the first, timid, step of SNK in the next generation and ony a launch platform for a better future. Despite that the game offers really poor game modes, bugged online playing and the worst graphic design of this generation.

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Eurogamer Italy

The King of Fighters XII deserves to be in stores, specially if you are fan of the series. The only hope for the future is a good number of patch and DLC (with new characters and arenas), to improve the game to reach at least an average level of quality.

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1UP

KOF12 fails to seize the windfall in online matchmaking. It uses an archaic, even backwards, system that serves only to frustrate the player.

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Worth Playing

KoF XII is exactly as average as you can be, being neither wholly unplayable, nor the best of the best.

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GameSpot

The King of Fighters XII is the latest chapter in 15 years of fighting game history. It's also a disappointment.

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XGN

The King of Fighters XII doesn't offer you enough for the price of 60 euros. It feels like an old arcade game, that could have been downloaded from [XLA] for a cheaper price. The game should have taken an example to Street Fighter IV, but unfortunately it doesn't.

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GameShark

This is a sad day for The King of Fighters. The combat is as taught as ever, but everything else is a comedic misinterpretation of “less is more.”

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Game Revolution

Don't get me wrong, the game does handle fairly well, and with friends this could be a fun one to share, but single-player is worse than most. Combine a three-player team with the smallest roster KoF has ever had, and you'll have your faves chosen like a routine in no time

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Gamervision

With only 22 characters, no unlockables, and a broken multiplayer component, King of Fighters isn’t just a feature-poor package, it’s an unfinished product.

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GameSpy

KoF12's online play is (to put it mildly) atrocious.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 4.0 (out of 10) based on 25 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Nathan K gave it a5:
After I played this game, I cried on the inside. Not because of the lack of Mai, not because of the lack of Story Mode, NOT because of the lack of a final boss, but that SNK is going dowhill and it's taking KOF with it. The graphics are great and the gameplay has that solid, classic feel to it. But seeming as There's no final boss at the end of the 5 level Arcade mode, the gallery has barely any pictures in it, and every Character has only 1 SUPER MOVE, it ruined it. The online lags like a motherf**ker . The roster cut all of KOF's cast down to size. Plus there's a lack of a certain MAI SHIRANUI!!! I mean WTF? She's like the best female character in the game, boobage and ass aside. Anyways, I recommend this only for rental and not straight up buy.

Rod C gave it a3:
The worst disappointment I've had in YEARS. They wasted a ridiculous amount of time drawing each frame of the characters' animation, and even though animation itself looks fluid, the sprites look AWFUL on a decent HD screen. All that energy could've been better used into content for the game itself... I mean, what's wrong with modern animation techniques?

Guy gave it a4:
This has to an insult to any kof fan around. They've changed a fast-paced game into a touch-of-doom turtlefest because of critical counters. Duo Lon became a zoning character and many characters lost at least one DM (which could be attributed to it being a throwback to kof 94-95). Playing most of these characters will make you feel like they've been raped from their older versions, like Leona from 2002 to 2003. Because of the lag, nobody would really want to be playing online, which then comes the offline mode. The computer is too easy to beat, throwing random moves and generally standing still, even if you chose "hard". For the first time in kof history there's not even a boss or a survival mode. They did what they could, but even hardcore kof fans will find it hard to pay so much for so little. Get 98 UM or XI or even the 02/03 bundle instead.

adam s gave it a0:
Kof 12 long awaited , expected to be more dynamic than , kof 2002 and more tactic than kof 98 with nice GFX , and what we get a Mugen like game , yes the characters are cute but did ask your self where is the Moves and characters , even KOF 94 are more riche than this , also The AI of CPU is so stupid random click and dodge and lake of special players move , kof hardgamers trained hard for using cancel and moves and what we get a Street fighter 4 focus , whats wrong with SNK playmore , to understand me more just imagine this game without HD GFX , it will the badest KOF even worst than KOF 94.

Fab G gave it a2:
Single player more is really short, and doen't have a final boss!!! my god how lazy are these people. One of the good things of the KOF games was the variety of characters, something this game also doesn't have!! This game was a waste of my time downloading it. Please please people do not spend money on this game.

Mark H gave it a2:
I really wish I had something a little more positive to say about the King of Fighters XII, but this one falls way short from calling itself "The King." The backgrounds, while lavish and bright, are sold short by the highly pixelated characters. While they are supposedly hand-drawn, they are still choppy and look extremely dated. Lack of single player options don't do the game any justice either...and one can only assume that they are going to bribe gamers by selling certain trademark characters that do not currently appear in game later down the line as DLC. Combo system is not nearly as complex and intuitive as it could be; easy for beginners, but not really a challenge, nor is it entertaining for fighting game vest. I'd maybe...maybe recommend this as a rental. Stick with BlazBlue.

J. R gave it an8:
Anyone saying it looks like a Super Nintendo game, is clearly lacking in intellect and is grossly misinformed. I'd be surprised if a person who knew so little about 2D art and animation actually bought the game they are comparing to a 16 bit system. If you are a legitimate fan of fighters, be it 2D or 3D and already have a KOF game in your collection, buy this game, it's really that simple. Support the companies that make great games!!!

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King of Fighters XII, The

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