The King of Fighters Neowave

The game reverts to the 3-character elimination system from ''The King of Fighters '94 to The King of Fighters '98, ignoring gameplay features from later games such as the "Striker" system used from The King of Fighters '99 through The King of Fighters 2001 and tag team system in The King of Fighters 2003''. With the change of hardware from Neo Geo to Atomiswave, the number of buttons is now increased to five. In addition to the standard four attack buttons used in the previous games, a fifth button is now added which is used to activate the Heat Mode. Heat Mode will cause the character to blink red and increase their offensive strength, with the side effect being that the character's health will begin to drain. The player will return to normal after getting hit by the opponent or by pressing Heat Mode button again to deactivate it, and the player must wait until you lose a round to activate it again. The player cannot use Heat Mode when the life gauge is low. In Guard Break Mode (GB Mode), the player has a two stock Power Gauge. Like in SC Mode, the player can perform Super Special (one stock) and MAX Super Special Moves (two stock). The player can parry an opponent's attack using the "Just Defend" technique, guarding against an opponent's attacks at the precise moment it makes contact with the character, allowing the player to follow it up with a counterattack. Using one Power stock, the player can guard cancel into an Emergency Escape or do a Quick Emergency Escape. The player can also perform a Guard Break attack with one Power stock, which is an unblockable version of a character's Knockdown Attack. In MAX2 Mode (M2 Mode), the player has a single stock Power Gauge. The player can perform Super Special Moves with one stock, as well as MAX Super Special Moves. However, MAX moves can only be performed when the player has 25% or less of their life gauge remaining. Additionally, an exclusive MAX2 move can be performed under these conditions as well. In M2 Mode, the player can guard cancel into a Knockdown Attack. ==Characters==

Like ''KOF '98 and KOF 2002, Neowave has no actual storyline, but is instead a "Dream Match" which gathers numerous characters from various past KOF games, regardless of their status in the overarching storyline. The character roster of the arcade version is similar to the Neo Geo version of KOF 2002, with a few differences in the team placement. The KOF 2000 Team and the KOF 2001 Team are eliminated from the lineup, and a Mixed Team is introduced, composed of Saisyu Kusanagi, Kula Diamond, and Shingo Yabuki from both KOF '98 and KOF '99. Vanessa and Ramón, are still featured in the arcade version as hidden characters, along with the Orochi versions of the Orochi Team. Geese Howard appears in the game as the main boss character, with this incarnation of the character being based on his younger self from Art of Fighting 2''. The PlayStation 2 version of the game brings back five characters from KOF 2002: Seth, May Lee, Angel, the Kusanagi clone, and Omega Rugal (with K9999 being the only character from KOF 2002 missing in this version). The Xbox version, due to licensing issues with Eolith, includes all the characters from the PS2 version with the exception of Ángel and May Lee. ;Japan Team • Kyo Kusanagi • Benimaru Nikaido • Goro Daimon ;K′ Team • K' • Maxima • Whip ;Iori Team • Iori Yagami • Mature • Vice ;Orochi Team / Awakened Orochi Team • Yashiro Nanakase / Orochi Yashiro • Shermie / Orochi Shermie • Chris / Orochi Chris ;Fatal Fury Team • Terry Bogard • Andy Bogard • Joe Higashi ;Psycho Soldier Team • Athena Asamiya • Sie Kensou • Chin Gentsai ;Outlaw Team AKA 97 Special Team • Ryuji Yamazaki • Blue Mary • Billy Kane ;Art of Fighting Team • Ryo Sakazaki • Robert Garcia • Takuma Sakazaki ;Ikari Team • Leona • Ralf Jones • Clark Still ;Rival Team • Kula Diamond • Saisyu Kusanagi • Shingo Yabuki ;Korea Team • Jhun Hoon • Choi Bounge • Chang Koehan ;Women Fighters Team • Mai Shiranui • Yuri Sakazaki • King ;Hidden single entry characters • Ángel • Geese Howard • Kim Kaphwan • Kusanagi • May Lee • Omega Rugal • Ramón • Seth • Vanessa ==Development and release==

SNK Playmore promoted Neowave since early 2004, promoting the arcade in during April in Japan with the promise of returning characters from The King of Fighters 2002 but also new type of backgrounds. By the mid-2000s, SNK's in-house Neo-Geo hardware had become quite dated. After The King of Fighters 2003, SNK Playmore looked for newer substitute platforms for future development. The Atomiswave, a cartridge-based multi-arcade system like the Neo-Geo and based on Sega's Dreamcast hardware, with which SNK was already familiar, was an obvious candidate. Rather than commit a new major game blindly, SNK instead chose to "test the waters" with a remix of The King of Fighters 2002, tweaking the game's systems; reskinning the game with high-resolution backgrounds, character art, and interface elements to take advantage of the more advanced hardware; and removing characters originating with the Eolith-developed KOF2001 and KOF2002, replacing them with other SNK-originated characters. The game was also made on the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. The PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions of the games graphics consist of polygonal 3D backgrounds overlaid with 2D character sprites (similar to the 3D stages featured in the console versions of previous games in the series such as the Dreamcast versions of ''KOF '98 and KOF '99''), whereas the Arcade version has 2D backgrounds. The PS2 version was released only in Japan and the PAL region, the Xbox version was released both in Japan and North America; additionally, the Xbox version was the last game released for the console in Japan. The North American version was released on April 18, 2006. In 2020, a Dreamcast homebrew adaptation of the arcade version was also made possible due to the Dreamcast sharing almost identical hardware with its Atomiswave cousin. ==Reception==

The King of Fighters: Neowave met with mixed reviews upon release. Reviewers noted the updated graphics and traditionally solid mechanics, and were pleased with online play in the console versions. They also commented on the game's drab presentation and overly familiar design. Charles Onyett wrote for IGN, "Sure it's got updated graphics, a few different styles of play, and a huge roster of fighters, but it does little to entice any non-KoF fans into the mix, something this genre desperately needs." VideoGamer.com found both visuals and content repetitive for the series but it still felt like a solid game for casuals who have not played previous installments. In retrospect, Time Extension claimed there are multiple people who believe Neowave is an inferior take on The King of Fighters 2002 Despite praising the character artworks, HardcoreGaming101 lamented that Neowave removed all of 2003 characters in favor of 2002 with Geese's notable exception and how characters have no victory lines. Both ports were also criticzed for it reliance of notable loading times. ==Notes==