The King of Fighters 2001
| The King of Fighters 2001 | |
|---|---|
Arcade flyer featuring K' | |
| Developer(s) | Eolith Playmore (DC, PS2) |
| Publisher(s) |
|
| Director(s) | Lee Sen Ho |
| Producer(s) | Chil Suk Choi |
| Designer(s) | H. Iga |
| Programmer(s) | S. Fujinuki |
| Artist(s) | Hiroaki Hashimoto Nona |
| Writer(s) | Teampow |
| Composer(s) | Kikuko Hataya Masahiko Hataya |
| Series | The King of Fighters |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release | November 15, 2001 |
| Genre(s) | Fighting |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
| Arcade system | Neo Geo MVS |
The King of Fighters 2001, also shortened as KOF 2001, is an arcade fighting game produced for the Neo Geo and originally released in November 2001. The eighth game in The King of Fighters series, it was the first to be produced following the closure of the original SNK Corporation. South Korea-based Eolith developed the game with assistance from BrezzaSoft, a company formed by former SNK employees. The King of Fighters 2001 uses the NESTS arc system of teams but introduces the freedom to designate the three of the four members as either fighters or assistants in order to create different types of combos.
Plot-wise, the game is the third and final part of the "NESTS Chronicles" story arc, as the NESTS organization hosts its own King of Fighters tournament with its agents aiming to bring a revolution to the world. The influence from the influx of Korean capital can be seen in the character roster. In 2002, the game was ported to the Dreamcast in Japan only and later to the PlayStation 2; a stand-alone PlayStation 2 version was published in North America and in Europe in a two-in-one bundle with the preceding game in the series, The King of Fighters 2000. Later ports of the game were released on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One consoles. Two novelizations were written by Akihiko Ureshino.
Critical response to the video game was mixed, with praise focused on the handling of the Striker system and the diverse yet balanced roster. However, the audiovisual presentation was the subject of more negative reception than its predecessors. Eolith also produced the subsequent game, The King of Fighters 2002, without a new story as a result of the NESTS arc ending and removed the Striker System due to negative feedback.