Re: Download The King Of Fighter 98
Laverne Levenstein
The King of Fighters (KOF)[a] is a series of fighting games by SNK that began with the release of The King of Fighters '94 in 1994. The series was developed originally for SNK's Neo Geo MVS arcade hardware. This served as the main platform for the series until 2004 when SNK retired it in favor of the Atomiswave arcade board. Two King of Fighters games were produced for the Atomiswave platform (The King of Fighters Neowave and The King of Fighters XI) before SNK decided to discontinue using it for the series. The series' most recent arcade hardware is the Taito Type X2, first used with the release of The King of Fighters XII. Ports of the arcade games and the original The King of Fighters games have been released for several video game consoles. The latest entry in the series, The King of Fighters XV, was released in February 2022.
The games' story focuses on the title tournament where fighters from multiple SNK games take part. SNK also created original characters to serve as protagonists from each of their story arcs while still interacting with fighters from Art of Fighting and Fatal Fury, among others. Multiple spin-off games, such as the R duology for the Neo Geo Pocket and Maximum Impact for the PlayStation 2, for example, have also been released. There have been multiple cross-over games where the SNK cast interacted with characters created by Capcom, while some characters have been present as guest characters in other games, such as Mai Shiranui in the Dead or Alive games, Geese Howard in Tekken 7, Kyo Kusanagi in Fighting Days, Kula Diamond in Dead or Alive 6, and Terry Bogard in Fighting EX Layer and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
The King of Fighters was originally conceptualized as a side-scrolling beat 'em up until SNK changed it to a fighting game that took its subtitle from the first Fatal Fury game: Fatal Fury: King of Fighters. Though originally released yearly from its first inception, the company decided to take more time to develop their games after 2004. Critical reception of the video games have been generally positive with their use of teams and balanced gameplay often cited.
The King of Fighters '94 was remade and released in 2004 for the PlayStation 2 as The King of Fighters '94 Re-Bout in Japan. This version has several new features like hi-res graphics, online play, team edit, a playable Rugal Bernstein, and the addition of Saisyu Kusanagi.[17] A remake of KOF '98 titled The King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match was released in Japanese arcades in 2008 and later on some video game consoles expanding the character roster and improving the graphics.[18] A remake of KOF 2002, titled The King of Fighters 2002 Unlimited Match was released for the PlayStation 2 in 2009 in Japan. SNK also produced a game titled The King of Fighters: Battle de Paradise which could be connected to the Japanese Dreamcast port of KOF '99.[19] Yumekobo also developed the visual novel game with strategy elements for fights known as The King of Fighters: Kyo (ザキングオブファイターズ 京). The game follows Kyo's daily life as he prepares to fight in the tournament in KOF '97 while interacting with other rivals.[20] For the Neo Geo Pocket, an adaptation of KOF '97 titled King of Fighters R-1 was released on October 28, 1998.[21] A sequel for the Neo Geo Pocket Color, King of Fighters R-2 an adaptation of KOF '98, was released on March 19, 1999.[22]
In 2004, SNK produced the first 3D installment of the series, The King of Fighters: Maximum Impact.[23] The game and its sequel KOF: Maximum Impact 2, and its upgraded version Maximum Impact: Regulation A, revises much of the backstory for the characters and settings from previous games.[24] A second update called Regulation A2 was planned but cancelled. The producer of the Maximum Impact series, Falcoon, stated that the Maximum Impact games are in a different continuity from the original series of games.[25] Another spin-off video game, The King of Fighters Neowave, was released for the Xbox, PlayStation 2 and Arcade during 2005 and 2006. Neowave is essentially a remix of KOF 2002, with a new presentation and a few roster changes. Like KOF2002, Neowave has no storyline and is considered a "dream match". Tomokazu Nakano created the character artwork.[26] Two video games were released for the Game Boy Advance titled The King of Fighters EX: Neo-Blood and The King of Fighters EX2: Howling Blood featuring characters and backgrounds from KOF '99 and 2000, respectively.[27][28] The GBA games featured some exclusive content such as new stages and exclusive characters such as Moe Habana, introduced in EX: Neo-Blood, while EX2: Howling Blood featured more exclusive characters, including a new end boss. A role-playing video game was also created exclusively for the PlayStation under the title The King of Fighters: Kyo, adapting a manga with the same name.[29] An N-Gage version of the second Game Boy Advance game was released in 2005 titled The King of Fighters Extreme, which added Bluetooth multiplayer capability.
By late 2000s, at least three pachislot games were developed for the series. The first, The King of Fighters, is based on the Orochi storyline; the second, The King of Fighters 2, is based on the fight of K' against the NESTS cartel;[30][31] and the third, Maximum Impact focuses on the series' 3D titles. None of these was released outside Japan.[32] At least six games for Japanese mobile phones have also been developed. While a few of them are fighting games, others are mini-games like volleyball and quizzes.[33]
Several characters from the series also appear in crossover video games. NeoGeo Battle Coliseum is a 2-on-2 tag team fighting game for the Atomiswave arcade board, and SNK Gals' Fighters is a fighting game for the Neo Geo Pocket Color. Along with the KOF, characters from other SNK series also star in both of these games.[34] A rhythm game titled The Rhythm of Fighters was released for mobile phone games during 2015.[35] Capcom also produced a series of similar crossover fighting games with SNK. The SNK-produced fighting games of this crossover include the Dimps-developed portable fighting game SNK vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium for the Neo Geo Pocket Color in 1999 and SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos for the Neo Geo in 2003. The games produced by Capcom are Capcom vs. SNK in 2000. This was followed by a minor upgrade, Capcom vs. SNK Pro, and a sequel titled Capcom vs. SNK 2, both released in 2001.[36] The three games were produced for NAOMI hardware and later ported to various consoles. SNK also produced SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos,[37] and the video game card game titled SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters DS.[38]
Multiple mobile phone games have also been produced including The King of Fighters All Star,[39] Kimi wa Hero,[40] Clash of Kings,[41] KOF X Arena Masters,[42] KOF: WORLD,[43] The King of Fighters Orochi Go, The King of Cyphers,[44][45] and a crossover with Fatal Fury.[46] An otome game King of Fighters for Girls is also in development.[47] The characters have also been guests in other mobile games such as Kyo in Fighting Days.[48]
A separately produced compilation titled The King of Fighters Collection: The Orochi Saga was released for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable and Wii outside of Japan. This compilation has the same lineup of games as the Japanese Orochi Hen, along with KOF '94 and KOF '98. The extra features are different. There is an added Challenge Mode where the player must win certain matches against the CPU in KOF '98 under specific conditions, a media gallery featuring listenable tracks from each game, and a collection of official illustrations.[49]
The basic gameplay system of KOF is similar to SNK's previous games like the Fatal Fury series, Art of Fighting and Samurai Shodown. The game uses a four attack button configuration like Fatal Fury 2 and Fatal Fury Special, that consists of light punch, light kick, strong punch and strong kick. Like Fatal Fury 2, specialized techniques are performed by pressing buttons in combination, allowing the player to dodge an opponent's attack or to launch a character's powerful knockdown attack. As with most other fighting games, each character has a set of basic, unique, and special moves the player can perform using a specific series of joystick and button inputs.[53] Each new installment provides new ways to create stronger attacks such as The King of Fighters '97. Instead of charging the Power Gauge it is now filled when the player strikes the opponent or by performing Special Moves. The player can stock up to three Power Gauges. The player can use one stock of the Power Gauge to perform a Super Special Move or enter a "MAX" mode, in which the player's defensive and offensive strength are increased. Performing a Super Special Move while in MAX mode allows the player to perform a more powerful Super Special Move.[54]
The franchise is known for innovating the fighting genre by replacing a traditional round-based format used in preceding fighting games with a format consisting of 3-on-3 team-based matches dubbed the Team Battle System. Instead of choosing a single character, the player selects from one of eight available teams, each consisting of three members. Before each match, the players choose the order in which their team members enter the battle. When the match begins, the members chosen to go first on their respective teams will fight. When one character is defeated, the next member of the same team will take his or her place, while the character on the other team will have a small portion of their life restored (if energy was lost during the previous round). If a character is losing a match against the opponent, then the player can call one of the remaining teammates standing on the sidelines to jump in and perform a support attack. The match ends when all three members of either team lose.[55]
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