NEXON KOREA WITH SNK TO DELIVER SPECIAL THE KING OF FIGHTERS’ 98 CHARACTERS AND OTHER EXCLUSIVE CONTENT TO RETURNERS
Seoul – Sep. 6, 2018 – NEXON Korea Corporation, subsidiary of NEXON Co., Ltd. (“Nexon”) (3659.TO), a worldwide leader in free-to-play online and mobile games, partners with the renowned SNK Corporation to bring characters from SNK’s fan-favorite King of Fighters series to Nexon’s mobile role-playing game (RPG) Returners in the latest content update. The game is available now on the App Store and Google Play.
The latest content update features powerful THE KING OF FIGHTERS’ 98 characters and events, including:
- SNK ‘THE KING OF FIGHTERS’ 98’ Collaboration – 5 new characters released
- Introducing the distinguishing skills of each ‘THE KING OF FIGHTERS’ 98’ character
- A variety of events in commemoration of the collaboration
In this update, 5 representative characters from ‘THE KING OF FIGHTERS’ 98’, KYO KUSANAGI, TERRY BOGARD, IORI YAGAMI, MAI SHIRANUI, ATHENA ASAMIYA, of the acclaimed Japanese video game company, SNK, will be added; each character with their typical skills from the original game. Said collaboration will take place from September 6 to October 5 for 30 days.
Commemorating the collaboration with ‘THE KING OF FIGHTERS’ 98’, Nexon will open an Event Shop for 15 days, in which points obtained in Adventure and Special Dungeon will be tradable for the character, KYO KUSANAGI, as well as other in-game goods.
Furthermore, by clearing the Challenge Dungeon, whereby the collaboration characters will appear as bosses, users will be able to earn extra Energy, Gold, and Rare Scrolls, among other rewards.
Additional information for members of the press:
- Click here for the Official Returners Facebook page
- Check out the Returners Inven Global community page
About NEXON Co. Ltd.
NEXON Co., Ltd. (“Nexon”) (3659.TO) is a worldwide leader in free-to-play online and mobile games. Founded in Korea in 1994, Nexon developed one of the world’s first graphics-based massively multiplayer online games. Nexon also pioneered the concept of microtransactions and the free-to-play business model, setting a new standard in which play is free, and users have the option to purchase in-game items to enhance their experience. Nexon currently services nearly 100 titles in more than 190 countries. The Company is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan and its shares are listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
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The new Heart of Azeroth and Azerite items replace the artifact weapons from Legion. While the artifact weapons were initially really interesting, seeing so many max level characters in town wielding the same weapon could get visually boring. Instead, players will carry the same necklace throughout the expansion and will also be able to loot special items that offer class specific skills based on the player’s Azerite level. Since players will be able to use multiple Azerite items, players have a good bit of incentive to chase down that one item with the skills they really need.
Shenmue I is a bit of an odd game thanks to the way that its storyline is handled. Thanks to the fact that the game’s world is designed to feel as much like real life as possible players will need to track down NPCs as they all follow their own unique schedules, try and find various clues that will lead to dead ends, and much more. This means that the story, set in 80s Yokosuka, Japan, can progress at an incredibly slow and deliberate pace thanks to there being times players will need to wait almost an entire day to speak to a single character.
Once players progress to Shenmue II this personal touch is lost a bit as players leave the mainland and travel to Wan Chai, Hong Kong in search for Lan Di where the story moves at a brisker pace and the free exploration element dies down a bit. This is mostly due to the fact that, since Ryo isn’t familiar with his environment, players are helped out by a wide range of NPCs that are willing to assist and thanks to an expanded dialogue system not found in the first game players can easily access story points far easier than in the original game.
Even basic exploration is handled incredibly well as there are way more interactable objects than you ever need to actually bother examining in this game. This helps breathe life into the world and give it a more lived in feeling than what one would expect even today, let alone back when these were originally released. That being said, the movement mechanics do still rather rough even with some slight modifications made to them for release on these current consoles making them a bit more refined than they originally were, though the option to swap back to the original control scheme is available for purists..
Speaking of other modifications made to the title, players will now have the ability to save at any time they wish, making time management far more accessible in a game that can often make you wait for over an hour doing side activities to trigger the next plot point. There is also the, relatively new for most, ability to transfer your save from Shenmue I to Shenmue II and bring various bonuses along with you, such as items and new martial arts techniques that Ryo has learned, into the sequel to help make things a bit easier.
One thing that is quite unfortunate however is the fact that the audio tracks are incredibly poorly handled. While both the English and Japanese voice tracks are available for those who want to swap between them, either in an attempt to relive their memories or see how the other option sounds now that it is available, both of these tracks sound incredibly muffled in nature like they were recorded in very poor conditions. While it is understandable that redubbing the game would have been quite an undertaking, it is disappointing that the voice work is so poorly handled. As far as the soundtrack is concerned, players will be pleased to find that the music remains untouched and fitting for the theme of the game.