So The King of Fighters EX - Neo Blood on GBA is basically a pocket-sized version of the classic SNK brawler—but don’t let the small screen fool you. You still get that same over-the-top energy, just with slightly chibi-fied sprites. The story’s your usual tournament setup: someone shady’s running the show, but everyone shows up anyway because, well, fighting.

Picking your team of three feels familiar if you’ve played any KOF before, though the roster’s trimmed down a bit. Iori’s still a glass cannon, Terry’s got those satisfying power waves, and Mai’s… well, Mai. The controls take some getting used to since it’s on a GBA, but pulling off supers isn’t impossible once you get the rhythm. Matches are fast, and the AI doesn’t pull punches even on normal difficulty.

It’s not arcade-perfect, but for a handheld port? Not bad at all. You can tell they tried to cram in as much of the vibe as possible—right down to the tiny victory poses.