<s>
(	O
KOF	B-Application
2003	I-Application
,	O
or	O
KOF	O
'	O
03	O
)	O
,	O
also	O
known	O
by	O
fans	O
as	O
,	O
is	O
a	O
fighting	O
game	O
produced	O
by	O
SNK	O
Playmore	O
for	O
the	O
Neo	B-Application
Geo	I-Application
arcade	I-Application
and	O
home	O
platforms	O
in	O
2003	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
the	O
tenth	O
game	O
in	O
The	B-Application
King	I-Application
of	I-Application
Fighters	I-Application
series	O
and	O
the	O
last	O
one	O
released	O
for	O
the	O
Neo	B-Application
Geo	I-Application
,	O
which	O
served	O
as	O
the	O
primary	O
platform	O
for	O
the	O
series	O
since	O
The	B-Application
King	I-Application
of	I-Application
Fighters	I-Application
'	I-Application
94	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
ported	O
to	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
2	I-Device
and	O
Xbox	B-Application
(	O
in	O
North	O
America	O
and	O
Japan	O
only	O
and	O
it	O
was	O
not	O
compatible	O
with	O
the	O
Xbox	B-Application
360	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
North	O
America	O
as	O
a	O
two-in-one	O
bundle	O
with	O
the	O
preceding	O
game	O
in	O
the	O
series	O
,	O
The	B-Application
King	I-Application
of	I-Application
Fighters	I-Application
2002	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Application
King	I-Application
of	I-Application
Fighters	I-Application
2003	I-Application
's	O
sequel	O
,	O
The	B-Application
King	I-Application
of	I-Application
Fighters	I-Application
XI	I-Application
would	O
go	O
on	O
to	O
use	O
its	O
mechanics	O
in	O
its	O
gameplay	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Taking	O
place	O
two	O
years	O
after	O
the	O
events	O
of	O
The	B-Application
King	I-Application
of	I-Application
Fighters	I-Application
2001	I-Application
,	O
a	O
new	O
KOF	O
tournament	O
has	O
been	O
announced	O
,	O
being	O
sponsored	O
by	O
an	O
unknown	O
patron	O
whose	O
identity	O
becomes	O
a	O
matter	O
of	O
public	O
interest	O
in	O
the	O
country	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
the	O
Kagura	O
sisters	O
 '	O
defeat	O
,	O
a	O
woman	O
named	O
Botan	O
reveals	O
herself	O
as	O
the	O
one	O
who	O
had	O
brainwashed	O
Chizuru	O
and	O
that	O
both	O
Botan	O
and	O
her	O
partner	O
Mukai	O
are	O
the	O
true	O
masterminds	O
behind	O
the	O
2003	B-Application
tournament	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
latter	O
serving	O
as	O
the	O
true	O
ending	O
final	O
boss	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
first	O
revealed	O
in	O
Tokyo	O
Game	O
Show	O
2003	B-Application
,	O
originally	O
planned	O
to	O
be	O
developed	O
on	O
the	O
Atomiswave	O
hardware	O
before	O
settling	O
on	O
the	O
Neo-Geo	B-Application
MVS	I-Application
hardware	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
North	O
America	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
released	O
alongside	O
The	B-Application
King	I-Application
of	I-Application
Fighters	I-Application
2002	I-Application
for	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
2	I-Device
and	O
Xbox	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
solely	O
released	O
for	O
Switch	O
on	O
February	O
21	O
,	O
2019	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
Ash	O
's	O
late	O
appearance	O
in	O
The	B-Application
King	I-Application
of	I-Application
Fighters	I-Application
2003	I-Application
,	O
the	O
staff	O
joked	O
that	O
teammate	O
Shen	O
Woo	O
seemed	O
more	O
like	O
the	O
series	O
 '	O
main	O
character	O
than	O
Ash	O
did	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
China	O
the	O
series	O
was	O
divided	O
into	O
two	O
halves	O
:	O
The	B-Application
King	I-Application
of	I-Application
Fighters	I-Application
2003	I-Application
composed	O
of	O
five	O
issues	O
,	O
and	O
The	B-Application
King	I-Application
of	I-Application
Fighters	I-Application
03	O
:	O
Xenon	O
Zero	O
( 拳皇	O
XENON	O
ZERO	O
)	O
composed	O
of	O
eight	O
issues	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
two	O
series	O
were	O
combined	O
for	O
the	O
North	O
American	O
release	O
under	O
the	O
name	O
of	O
The	B-Application
King	I-Application
of	I-Application
Fighters	I-Application
2003	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
July	O
2004	B-Application
,	O
ComicsOne	O
licensed	O
the	O
series	O
with	O
its	O
first	O
volume	O
tying	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
a	O
new	O
video	O
game	O
and	O
kept	O
publishing	O
it	O
after	O
their	O
transition	O
to	O
DrMaster	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Eurogamer	O
was	O
negative	O
believing	O
,	O
previous	O
SNK	O
fighting	O
game	O
like	O
The	B-Application
King	I-Application
of	I-Application
Fighters	I-Application
2002	I-Application
offered	O
a	O
better	O
cast	O
and	O
that	O
the	O
new	O
gameplay	O
system	O
would	O
confuse	O
newcomers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nevertheless	O
,	O
the	O
reviewer	O
commented	O
that	O
the	O
new	O
Garou	O
:	O
Mark	O
of	O
the	O
Wolves	O
fighters	O
introduced	O
in	O
2003	B-Application
would	O
also	O
appeal	O
to	O
players	O
similar	O
to	O
Kotaku	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
HardcoreGaming101	O
believed	O
the	O
new	O
gameplay	O
features	O
,	O
cast	O
and	O
artwork	O
were	O
interesting	O
but	O
the	O
sequel	O
,	O
The	B-Application
King	I-Application
of	I-Application
Fighters	I-Application
XI	I-Application
,	O
easily	O
fixed	O
most	O
of	O
its	O
issues	O
.	O
</s>
