first impressions from the alledgadly secret alpha test

- game speed back to 02 standars, the tag is the only fast stuff
- tag still the same rules than 03, no health recovery
- chars portraits appear next to life bar. if kim is active then the kim portrait will be shown.
- life bars are the same as 03
- choose between 2 game modes: the SDM mode with no cancelling, dash nor CD attack; and the super cancelling mode with only LDM for the leader, dash, CD attack and just defended.
- even though big part of the sprites were cut from 03, they don't look as pixelated as neowave.
- fifth button is for the tag function
- very flashy intro beginning with the new chars (kashmiur, tania, rock, hotaru, soiree,alba,mignon,lien), the returning (geese, kensou, bao). resembles the 99 intro. Then a collage with kyo, iori , ash, soiree and alba. intro is kinda long, the longest in all kof's.
- there's one stage ripped from svc chaos, the last one before the boss fight.
- you fight against a 03-standars-under-powered kusanagi for the 4th match. it's a subboss fight like the angel-k9999-kula in 2002. u fight between the special team of kusanagi, rose and adel. the three hidden chars.
- music is a bunch of remixes from previous OST specially from 00 and 03
- nothing changed for the sound department. voices remains the same
- nice select screen with a card style like in 96 with a blue background. portraits are gettin' smaller but the chars draws are well done with the same style as 02.
- lots of special intros, chang and choi hit kim in his intro with jhun. ryo has special intros with yuri,robert,king and terry. kyo and iori regain their 01 intro with more and new dialogues. k' has special intro with kyo, ash, kula and tania. Kensou and Bao have a very and "must seen" intro against Ash.
- if you defeat kusanagi/adel/rose with DM, SDM or LDM you'll fight Malka. if you don't, then you'll fight mukai for the bad ending (what happened to me lots of times and didn't catch the story of every team).
- chizuru is insanely overpowered and lost her reflection move. she got slower and it's a fortune she made team with kyo and iori again
- game finished with the k' team. before the boss fight malka and mukai say about chizuru's power in ash's control and leona and whip strange dissapearence.
- tania has two k's trademark moves, is she a clon or something?
- kashmiur is a charge and motion char, a mixure just like kim. she has a counter dm similar to the royalty test for the liberalist (angel)
- consider rock howard as an old terry bogard. he's small as chris, no neo deadly rave DM and no double repuken, just repuken.
- hotaru has all her powers from garou except the DM where she absorbs energy from the oponent. she is like malin's size.
- hokutomaru is the same as garou with less speed. he is the size of malin.
- geese has new sprite, clothes same as svc but face has less hair and aging signs, he is getting old.
- Duolon doesn't have his 03 infinite, Lin is the same from 01 and didn't play with Lan.
- didn't play with Jae Hoon, Soiree, Alba, Mignon, Lien, Kensou, Bao, Geese, Kusanagi, Adel, Rose. KOF MI chars are more framed than the rest. imagine kim kaphwan in 2002 compared to the rest of the chars.
- teams and chars as appearing in the select screen:

Soiree, Alba Mignon Ash, Shen, Lien Kyo, Chizuru, Iori
Terry, Joe, Mary Ryo, Robert, Yuri King, Kashmiur Tania
Athena, Kensou, Bao Duolon Lin Lan Kim, Jhun, Jae
K' Kula Vanessa Beni Daimon Shingo Rock Hotaru Hokuto
Geese Billy Gato Empty Card Empty Card Empty Card Roulete

obviously the empty cards will show the hidden chars if you enter the code to unlock kusanagi, adel or rose.
- why to make an alpha test? it's a marketing strategy that goes from down to top. a very exclusive selection of people was made to play the alpha test (30 guys). according to the results from the alpha, snk will fixed the last details to make beta test just in time because as we know beta test not always have changes for the final version. Beta test will serve as a mere intro for the release of the sammy game

i don't think the game would feature old SNK backgrounds in game again.

and this is the roster supposed to go with it :

The released team list for KOF 2004 (a.k.a KOF: The new oncomers)

KOF Fatal Fury: Terry, Joe, Mary
KOF Heroes: Soiree, Alba, Mignon
KOF Anti Heroes: Ash, Shen, Lien
KOF Hizokus: Lin, Duo Lon, Lan
KOF Mark of the Wolves: Rock, Hotaru, Hokutomaru
KOF Korea: Kim, Jhun, Jae Hoon
KOF The art of Fihgting: Ryo, Robert, Yuri
KOF Women: King, Kashmiur, Tania
KOF Divines: Kyo, Chizuru, Iori
KOF Outlaw: Geese, Billy, Gato
KOF Millenium: K', Kula, Vanessa
KOF Psycho Soldiers: Athena, Kensou, Bao
KOF Japan: Shingo, Benimaru, Daimon
KOF Hidden chars: Adelheid, Rose, Kusanagi