Being a big fan of IGS I was doing some research into their PGM 2 arcade hardware today and found out something interesting that I think no one here has mentioned yet. King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match 'Hero' is set to be released for the PGM 2 system. The game has been undergoing location testing but I'm not sure when it'll be released.
According to a post by 'Hayama Akito' in a thread at SRK the game will feature some changes:
No more loading times and slowdown.
The game balance will be improved.
New 'skills' and some original moves will be more 'efficient'.
Zakatek wrote:
Has pgm 2 been emulated? If so playing this game online via kaillera or 2df would be great.
NOT SURE...
if that was quite the response Merlin was looking for Zak! I'm not a fan of emulation myself and TBH, news of an SNK KOF on IGS hardware is pretty damn cool. Can't say that emulating (in effect, 'pirating' it) was the first thing that sprung to mind to be honest. I don't know, I think I took that comment in a negative way of sorts (I'm not offended or anything )
I HAVE TO SAY THOUGH...
that having the latest KOF (improved version of) on a PGM cart based system is pretty damn awesome! It's nearly 'old-school' once again. I wonder what else we'll see on PGM2! Hell, I didn't even know there was a 2nd one! you have the 1st one though right Merlin (PGM...er, 1?). Can you use PGM1 carts on a PGM2 - out of curiosity - as I'm a bit out of my depth here (without checking the internet... as that defeats the challenge!!!)
Zak I do hope eventually PGM 2 games are playable using emulation but being pretty new I hope it isn't for a while. I don't want anything to jeopardise the revenue IGS get from these games. It's also worth pointing out that IGS games are not easy to emulate. Some of the PGM games still aren't emulated e.g. The Gladiator, Demon Front and with others the emulation is imperfect. The encryption IGS use in their games is hard to crack from what I've heard.
NeoGeoNinja wrote:
I HAVE TO SAY THOUGH...
that having the latest KOF (improved version of) on a PGM cart based system is pretty damn awesome! It's nearly 'old-school' once again. I wonder what else we'll see on PGM2! Hell, I didn't even know there was a 2nd one! you have the 1st one though right Merlin (PGM...er, 1?). Can you use PGM1 carts on a PGM2 - out of curiosity - as I'm a bit out of my depth here (without checking the internet... as that defeats the challenge!!!)
It's very interesting news especially because of the reported changes to the game e.g. some new stages, improved balance, changes to moves etc. I certainly never expected to see a KOF game appear on IGS hardware. Yes Ninja I have the first PGM system and to answer your question no you unfortunately can't use PGM carts on a PGM 2.
NeoGeoNinja wrote:
I wonder what else we'll see on PGM2!
Well so far there is already Oriental Legend 2 which looks amazing and also Knights of Valour 2 - New Legend which is an enhanced version of the existing PGM game with some new enemies, different routes etc. I've heard people describe Oriental Legend 2 as one of the best side scrollers ever created. Completing the game takes a minimum of 2 hours possibly significantly longer depending on your chosen route.
IGS are also currently working on Knights of Valour 3. It's pretty awesome that in this age of 3D gaming the 2D side scroller is alive and well. If IGS can make money from these kind of games then why doesn't a company like Capcom make a new 2D side scroller?
Edited by merlin on 25. November 2009 19:23
Oh man... if IGS and SNK were to team up PGM2 could be the new NeoGeo! It'll probably never happen, but how awesome would that be?
Oh, and I'm hoping they make these changes a downloadable update for those of us who have the XBLA version of the game. They sound like good changes, but not big enough for me to buy the game again.
Contrary to what I said in my first post it seems that the game has actually already been released. If the game does really well it's quite possible that we might see '02 UM Hero too. Here's a video of '98 UM Hero in action. There are supposed to be some new stages but I can't see any in this video.
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