SNKP's Interview with Dr. Neo Geo

SNKP has published a short interview with Neo Geo Hakase (Dr.Neo Geo), the producer of KOF02UM, on their Facebook page.

Considering Dr.Neo Geo's blog is normally in Japanese this is a rare chance to read an interview with him in English.

See below for the interview c&p from the SNKP on XBLA facebook page, and enjoy!

INTERVIEW WITH NEOGEO HAKASE THE PRODUCER OF KOF 2002 UM

Being the fruits of endless 3-on-3 versus fighting game development for almost two decades, KOF 2002 comes back to the fighting gaming scene by offering the most playable character roster ever in the history of the series, a game balance of high quality, new moves and recovery ...moves, enhanced graphics, new soundtracks and many more. With its recent release on Xbox LIVE, THE KING OF FIGHTERS 2002 UNLIMITED MATCH becomes finally "online-playable" for all KOF fans worldwide !!Ready, Fight!!

In order to understand the reasons of this fighting game success, we asked some questions to NEOGEO HAKASE, who was producer of the game and also an eminent specialist of the NEOGEO system and the KOF series. We hope you will enjoy the reading!

-Hi, Mr. NEOGEO HAKASE! First off, could you present us briefly KOF 2002 UM?

KOF 2002 UM is a fully upgraded version of KOF 2002 (a very popular KOF title praised for its game balance of high quality which has contributed deeply to the “Versus Fighting Games” boom on NEOGEO), featuring all the characters of the NESTS Saga and a even better game balance !!

-What was your role during the development of the game? What were the things you cared the most?

As the producer of KOF 2002 UM and in order to satisfy all KOF fans, I have attached great importance to understand which points of the game the players wanted to change or not.

Also, concerning the other contents of the game, we worked hard to offer totally new stages, BGM, character artwork and many more features.

-Did you have any difficulties during KOF 2002 UM’s development?

Indeed, we spend a lot of time to adjust the game balance between the characters. We had also to think about creating a MAX2 to the characters added in KOF 2002 UM and to make a lot of adjustments to fit to the game balance.

-Could you tell us what are the interesting features of KOF 2002 UM, and particularly for the Xbox LIVE Arcade Version?

As this is the first time that KOF 2002 UM is playable online, I would like to invite all KOF fans worldwide to fight each other and show their skills! Also, KOF 2002 UM can be enjoyed on Xbox LIVE by the beginners via the TRAINING and CHALLENGE modes.

-Could you recommend some characters for the beginners and tell us if you have any favorite characters in KOF 2002 UM?

I’d like to recommend “NAMELESS” for the new players. As his normal attacks hits many times, the beginners could learn easily how to perform combos. However, “NAMELESS” becomes a character for advanced players if you want to master fully his techniques. How about starting your training with him?

For the already advanced players, I’d recommend “K’”. As an extremely strong character when he is mastered, I’d recommend to train and improve with him by playing with “K’s” advanced played on Xbox LIVE!

About my favorite characters, as a fan of the “grappler characters”, I often use “DAIMON”, “RAMON” and “CLARK”.

-To conclude our interview, would you like to send a message for all the KOF fans worldwide?

First of all, I would like to thank all KOF fans worldwide for playing and supporting the series since many years! Along with KOF’98UM, KOF 2002 UM is finally available for download on Xbox LIVE Arcade. As a title developed with meticulous care, I hope that KOF 2002 UM will be played and beloved by a lot of players! In conclusion, I would like to say that the KOF Development Team never forgets that the series is supported by fans around the world, and I wish we will continue to create great KOF titles in the future.

-Thank you for your cooperation and your great work, Mr. NEOGEO HAKASE!!