The KO #121 - KOF98UM (PS2) speed battles: The Yard is easy on the eyes

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smbhax 2000

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Published on September 29, 2018 4:33:00 AM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRMbBy_R3kc

Game:

The King of Fighters '98 (1998)

Duration: 58:54

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"USA Yard," a four-phase stage from The King of Fighters '98, is one of SNK's most gorgeous stages: you find yourself in the middle of a large city's vast train yard, with locomotives parked beside you (and even pulling up right in front of you in later rounds), tracks running far off into the distance toward the city's towering buildings, a colorful run-down section of buildings beside the yard, a jaunty rocky path cutting across the tracks at an angle to avoid the pressed-flat feel some 2D fighting game stages can have (the Korea stage in '98, for instance, or Ibuki and Elena's stages in 3rd Strike), and a creepy stray dog rummaging around in rounds two and three, all set in atmospheric lighting of what might be dawn (or late afternoon? but I like to think it's more like dawn) (in rounds 1 and 2) and sunset (in rounds 3 and on, I think).

It's a gorgeous, fantastic feat of orchestrated pixel art, and yet its a stage you don't see at all if you aren't kind of a hot-shot at '98, and only 1/3rd of the time, even if you are, because it only ever appears in arcade mode as the stage right before the boss stage, 1/3rd of the time (competing randomly with the ruined Japanese shrine in the forest, or the basketball court inspired by a stage in KOF '94).

Fortunately, in this weird way I play where you use custom settings to turn The King of Fighters '98: Ultimate Match's "Practice" mode into an endless series of one-round VS CPU matches between random combatants, you can pick just about any stage you want right from the training menu, including the four phases of USA Yard--so here I am battling away in USA Yard 4 (because I like the sunset, and I don't like that creepy dog : P).

And you know, I didn't used to like the fancy gray / silver new HUD '98 UM has in place of '98's simpler, more primary color HUD, but it actually goes pretty well with the steel and rocky grays in the stage.

Another plus of UM's presentation here is that the HUD elements don't flash a bright solid color in your face as they appear, as they tend to do in the original versions of the classic KOF games. So it's all pretty easy to look at, and I made it easier by turning off those flashy super moves. : P (The "Flash" setting, which governs most other full-screen flashing/strobing effects, such as happen on counter moves or KOs, is also off, of course.)

My King of Fighters series playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZO3OPzPjIzNvBWZPI5W7JycAiwsVbKgh



Recording: PS2 to Framemeister to Elgato HD60

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