King of Fighters 2002 discarded the 4-on-4 "Striker Match" format used in the previous three games in the series and returned to the 3-on-3 Battle format originally used in the series up until KOF '98. The game also revamped the Power Gauge system into a format similar to the one used in King of Fighters '97. Like the previous games in the series, the Power Gauge was filled as the player attacked the opponent or performed Special Moves during a battle. The number of Power Gauges the player could stock up is increased by one with each member of the team. For example, the first member of the team could stock up to three Power Gauges, while the third member could stock up to five. A single Power Gauge stock could be used to either perform a Counterattack and Evasion technique while guarding an opponent's attack, use a Super Special Move, or initiate the MAX Activation state. The same case also applies to the 1-on-1 format, where the Power Gauge the player could stock up is also increased by one with each round loss. For example, on the first round, the player could stock up to three Power Gauges, while losing two rounds allows the player to stock up to five. During MAX Activation, the player's offensive and defensive strength is increased for a short period and could cancel any attack into another player. In this state, a Super Special Move could be used without consuming a Power Gauge stock. There are also MAX Super Special Moves, which are Super moves that could only be performed during MAX Activation with one Power Gauge stock, and MAX2 moves that require two stocks while low on health.
Characters
Just like King of Fighters '98, the game had no storyline since the NESTS story arc had already concluded in the previous game, The King of Fighters 2001. Instead, a "Dream Match" was included featuring characters from all the previous games in the series. In addition to the recurring teams from the series including the original Japan Team, the game also featured a series of teams representing each of the previous game series from The King of Fighters '96 to King of Fighters 2001. Omega Rugal returned as the final boss as well. However, not all the characters from the previous games were featured, and series' regulars such as King and Shingo Yabuki were absent from the Neo Geo version for the first time since their first appearance. The Dreamcast version of the game, nevertheless, featured King and Shingo, while three additional characters from ' namely Geese Howard, Goenitz, and Orochi Iori, were added with them in the PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions. A number of the characters had been redrawn, most notably the King of Fighters '98 Team which was actually first introduced in The King of Fighters 97.
The Unlimited Match version of the game was released on February 26, 2009 for the PlayStation 2 in Japan and on November 3, 2010 for Xbox Live Arcade and on February 27, 2015 for Steam on the PC. New features have been added, such as the new stages and artwork. In addition, additional characters have been added as well as the changes to the team roster with the number of default teams increased to 18 including the regular and alternate versions of the Orochi Team. Moreover, all of the characters featured in the series between The King of Fighters '99 and King of Fighters 2002 were included with the exception of K9999, which is a character conceived as a pastiche of Tetsuo Shima from the manga Akira. Instead, a new character called Nameless was designed to take his place in the game and featured most of K9999's special techniques with an added touch. The game has 66 characters in total, making it the series' largest roster. There are 44 from King of Fighters 2002, 16 characters from the NESTS arc including King and Shingo, and 6 hidden characters, including additional characters from the previous console versions with the exception of Orochi Iori. The game also has the original King of Fighters 2002 port from the Neo Geo to play. Unlimited Match Exclusives
During its release week, the game sold 19,000 copies in Japan. In Issue 114 from Arcadia, the game was featured at ninth in its Top Ten Video Games list. Critical reception to the game was positive due to its large number of playable characters, although mixed opinions were given to its aging graphics. In addition, despite lacking a plot, the large interaction between characters was praised for adding depth to the game.
