The King of Fighters 2002: Unlimited Match

The King of Fighters 2002 Unlimited Match is a remake of 2002’s then Neo Geo exclusive King of Fighters 2002, which was the ninth entry in SNK’s most famous fighting franchise. The original game was also ported to the Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, and Xbox. The Unlimited Match edition first released in 2009 for PS2 back in Japan. The game’s first worldwide release occurred in November 2010 and landed digitally on Microsoft’s Xbox 360. This brings us to February 2021 where SNK released The King of Fighters 2002 Unlimited Match for PS4/PS5. How does this game hold up by today’s standards? Let’s find out.

With its upgrades and online functionality, The King of Fighters 2002 Unlimited Match represents the best KOF has to offer on a 2D axis. While it must be said that there are more accomplished 2D fighters available, for those looking for deeper combat and a more involved experience there are few better alternatives.

As a 2D beat ’em up, King of Fighters 2002: Unlimited Match excels in that field. If you’ve got someone for couch combat, then you’re in for a good time. There’s just little else in the way of extras to suggest this to anyone unfamiliar with the franchise.

The King of Fighters 2002: Unlimited Match lives up to its heritage and still stands as one of the best entries if not the best entry in the franchise. While there isn’t a ton here for modes or extras, what you do get is a brilliant 2D fighting game with a huge roster of characters and a deep combat system.

The King of Fighters 2002 Unlimited Match is one of the best games in the KOF series and offers an excellent online with rollback netcode. There are some small problems, but they don't diminish the brilliance of the work.

The sole purpose of this iteration of The King of Fighters game is to fully extend and evolve the possibilities and limits of the original ‘KOF 2002’ to its maximum potential. Rightfully so, KOF 2002 UM is one of the hardest KOF titles to master. Compared to many of the modern fighting games, the physical execution of special moves and combos have a very tight window to accurately pull off. For the serious competitors, the most difficult discipline is to try and play all of the 66 available characters, recognize each and every attack and defensive pattern, then improvise their capabilities until you can mix them into a psychological battle once you get to play against another human player. The PS4 version of the game has an improved online netcode which technically tries its best to emulate an offline gameplay experience, hence minimizing any input response delays. Out of all the available platforms, the PS4 version of the game is the most optimal version to play on.

The King of Fighters 2002: Unlimited Match has always been considered the best game in the franchise, and this brand new PS4 port is its best version so far.

Featuring a huge roster, revamped graphics and sound, and addicting combat, The King of Fighters 2002 Unlimited Match is one of the best fighting games for PCs, despite some omissions.