Nettou King of Fighters '97 on Game Boy is a weird little time capsule—it's not the prettiest port, but man, does it nail that classic KOF feel. The sprites are chunky, the animations are stiff (it is Game Boy, after all), but landing Terry’s Power Geyser or Iori’s flame combos still feels stupidly satisfying.

You’ve got a solid roster here—Kyo, Mai, Ryo—though some moves are way harder to pull off than in the arcade version. The AI’s brutal even on normal, so expect to get wrecked a few times before you figure out the timing. It’s got that old-school "quarter-munching" energy, just without the actual quarters.

If you’re into retro fighters, this one’s a fun curiosity—just don’t expect it to replace the arcade original. Still, there’s something charming about playing KOF on a tiny screen during a bus ride.