To say that The King of Fighters and SNK in general have a large cult following would easily be an understatement; any company that can continually produce similar products each year on a system as old as the Neo Geo for more money than your average next generation system, must have some sort of underground fan base. Much like the 2000 and 2001 editions of The King of Fighters, the 2002 and 2003 instalments have been bundled together and ported over to the PS2 for a measly price compared to what you'd be paying to get them separately on the Neo Geo. Though the graphics and mechanics may be dated, The King of Fighters 2002/2003 offers solid old school gameplay and the two games differ enough from each other to make this a worthwhile investment.

Armed with low resolution graphics and animations that haven't changed much since 1994, King of Fighters 2002 brings back characters from the '96 version all the way through the 2001 instalment - no new fighters are offered but the fact that some of these guys have not been seen for some time may make up for that. The game plays in a 3-on-3, one at a time style with three characters each representing every year of the series (though you can mix and match years as you please.) Strikers, which were introduced a couple of versions back, have been removed, giving the game a back-to-its-roots feel. In fact, the entire 2002 package almost feels like a shout out to the old school fans of SNK and King of Fighters, which makes plenty of sense, as 2003 opens a brand new chapter for the series.

In the 2003 edition the battles are still 3-on-3 but this time they've finally taken note from Capcom and added the ability to switch characters at any time during the battle. The rounds are gone now and instead when you lose health as one character, another quickly jumps in, with no pause in gameplay. Once all three fighters from one side are gone, the match is over. Matched with a more responsive control system, it makes for a much faster paced experience than 2002. Though a lot of animations remain the same, the graphics also feel a bit crisper and smoother overall, especially the backgrounds, which are packed full of variety and motion, such as battling on top of a moving train. 2003's roster is considerably smaller than 2002's, but offers some great new fighters, as well as some characters from the highly acclaimed SNK title Garou: Mark of the Wolves (which was basically a follow up to Fatal Fury for Neo Geo and the Dreamcast.)

As expected, both 2002 and 2003 feature a plethora of great, memorable characters with completely different fighting styles. 2002 has almost everybody's favourite fighters and though 2003 lacks some of my personal favourites, the new characters make up for that. Between 2002 and 2003, they mostly fight the same with the exception of a couple new moves, stances and animations - die hard SNK fans will really enjoy the seemingly built for fans 2002 version and though the changes in 2003 may put some off at first, it still plays just like it should and will keep fans happy. It may even help attract players who previously strayed from King of Fighters but enjoyed the likes of Marvel vs. Capcom, or X-Men vs. Street Fighter.

I basically grew up on 2D fighting games such as this, so the fact that SNK still remains true to their roots and puts out truly classic playing games like KOF is great; it isn't hard to figure out why they have such a large following, even despite recently taking the series into 3D. Outside of rock-solid retro gameplay, there isn't much to either game, but the differences between the two make alternating a lot of fun and will probably make the games last longer than they would as stand alone titles. The learning curve for both games isn't steep and it is very easy to jump in there and get into it, especially if you play or once played a lot of similar games like Street Fighter, Fatal Fury, Guilty Gear or Samurai Showdown - though, like any game, mastering them will take a lot longer and both offer a good dose of challenging levels (if you lose you do however have the handy option of choosing a handicap for the computer player.)

Story wise, 2002 has very little to offer but 2003 actually introduces some new, intriguing characters, complete with their own storylines. Unfortunately the story sections are a bit brief and you're probably better off looking up the plot online or in the instruction manual than waiting for the game to give it to you. Another major difference between the two is the sound: while the character voices and announcer doesn't vary drastically, the music does. 2002 features very retro music that you found in these fighting games years ago, before the concept of games on CDs and certainly not on DVDs, while 2003 features some great CD quality tunes that really are memorable and well done. Both soundtracks are good in their own rights and both accomplish a lot and capture the separate moods great. Old-school feeling for 2002 that really ties everything up and hard-rocking epic tracks for 2003 that matches the incredibly fast and frantic pace of some of the matches perfectly.

The King of Fighters 2002/2003 won't turn anybody who isn't a fan of the genre into one and it isn't likely it will appeal to players who don't enjoy KoF already. However, for those who do, this package is easily worth the price. 2002 and 2003 vary just enough to make them feel quite a bit different from each other, whilst still both retaining the gameplay that made the series famous in the first place. If you enjoy 2D fighters you should definitely look into this and I don't need to tell SNK fans it's worth buying, because they should already have it. 2003 is definitely a step in the right direction for the series and escapes being marked down as another recycled game; if they keep it up with 2004 then KoF may just become the king of 2D fighters after all.

Reviewed by Christopher Martin for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).