Just to recap, The King of Fighters World was first revealed back in January. With development led by China-based Ledo Interactive and IP owner SNK Playmore, the game recently entered the latest Android-exclusive Closed Beta phase in China. We decided to take a look at how the fighting game could fit into a mobile MMORPG, and if it is any good.
Basically, players get to choose from a selection of 4 starting characters who are exclusively designed for The King of Fighters World. After that, they are able to collect classic fighters to add to their team. While players can equip 3 fighters, most of the PVE fights only allow 1 AI-controlled fighter to take part in combat. However, their unique support skills can be activated. All 3 support fighters will only join players in PVP matches.
As expected, each fighter is graded different rarity, and the gacha system is only unlocked for players at level 35. This mechanism will somewhat deter the rich players from spamming the gacha system and obtain powerful fighters right at the start of the game. Players can also collect upgrade chips based on the fighters, which can then be slotted into gears to obtain bonus stats. This should be a staple feature in most MMORPG titles as well.
There are several open world maps, tons of stage-based instanced dungeons and a bevy of daily solo and group activities to take part in. I compiled a video on some of these activities, which you can find below this paragraph. Do not expect any revolutionary feature in The King of Fighters World, as it is really a cookie-cutter MMORPG for mobile devices. I am simply impressed how The King of Fighters IP apparently works to a certain extent in the MMORPG genre. Don’t expect the game to launch overseas any time soon though.
