KOF: Maximum Impact

KOF: Maximum Impact
Soiree, Alba Meira and Lien Neville on the Japanese PS2 cover of KOF: Maximum Impact — Maniax
Developer(s)	SNK Playmore Noise Factory
Publisher(s)	SNK NeoGeo
Producer(s)	Masahiro Maeda
Programmer(s)	Kazuaki Ezato Hiroshi Hishikawa Yasuhiro Kurahashi Nobuhisa Shinoda
Series	The King of Fighters
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2, Xbox
Release	JP: 12 August 2004 NA: 12 October 2004 NA: 6 September 2005 (Xbox) EU: 4 March 2005
Genre(s)	Fighting game
Mode(s)	Up to 2 players simultaneously

KOF: Maximum Impact is a fighting game developed by SNK subsidiary Noise Factory and published by SNK Playmore for the PlayStation 2 in 2004–2005. An enhanced version was released for Xbox and PlayStation 2 under the title KOF: Maximum Impact — Maniax. The King of Fighters: Maximum Impact Regulation "A" was released for Taito Type X2 on July 14, 2007 and for PlayStation 2 on July 26, 2007 and only in Japan.

Marketed as a spin-off of SNK's major fighting series The King of Fighters, whence many of its characters originate, KOF: Maximum Impact also contains elements of the Fatal Fury and Art of Fighting series. KOF: Maximum Impact is the first 3D fighter made by SNK since 1990s era's Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition and lastly, Samurai Shodown: Warriors Rage for the PlayStation. The game was followed by KOF: Maximum Impact 2.

While the version released in the U.S. featured an English dub that was met with much derision (with IGN's Jeremy Dunham going so far as to label it "piss poor"), further releases for the Xbox and European PS2 add a choice of English and Japanese language options. The Xbox version also includes an online match mode where matches can be fought between players via Xbox Live.

Unlike the 2D games from the series, Maximum Impact breaks the team system, causing all the fighters to fight alone. The story mode is experienced as a single character through the "Mephistopheles Fighting Tournament". For most characters, this consists of fighting six characters, with Duke's cronie / Consigliere Hyena announcing the next opponent between matches. For the final match, one faces Duke himself. For a few "featured" characters (Alba Meira, Soiree Meira, and Lien Neville), the story is more intricate and fleshed out.

The gameplay is similar to those of Tekken and Bloody Roar series, such as having a more combo command moves system and players being capable of executing juggle combos freely.