• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

King of Fighters - Best and Worst

Sanjuro

Member
Alright there will be alot of years listed but I was curious out of all the King of Fighters you can recall I was wondering if you could rate them in order. For the first place one and last place one give a reason why you selected that one.

In all fairness exclude the 3D version because I have a feeling that would fill up the final spot too much. But if you did enjoy this one give a reason why as well.
 

Ferrio

Banned
KOF 98 - First dreammatch, tons of characters, classic gameplay, pulled everything good about the series together.
KOF 99 - I think SNK was off on a good start trying to move away from the usual (ie new Hero, new system), unfortunately afterwards it went wrong IMO. The music *is* the best original KOF soundtrack there is to offer, without having to resort to using old remixes. The gameplay still had a lot in tact from the usual, new characters were actually awesome, animation was pretty damn good, backgrounds were pretty good too (city street with the shadow of the guy chasing the dog). Strikers were neat, but they weren't abusive (see 2k).
...
...
lots of years here
...
...
...
KOF 2001 - First year after SNK's "death", enough said.
 

Sapiens

Member
KOF98 and 99 are when the series peaked. Though, 2K1 is probably the best I've played of the newer releases.

KOF94 (the original) on Neo CD stands as one of my favourite games, due to the classic gameplay and simply excellent soundtrack. I know its not as good as 98 and 98, but it's a good nostalgia piece.
 

dog$

Hates quality gaming
98 > 00 > 96 > 99 > 95 > 94 > 97 > 01 > 02

Haven't played 03, and 02 just seemed bland as hell.
 

Tain

Member
98 > 02 > 00 > 99 > 94 > 01

Those are the ones I've put time into, at least. Really want to try 03.
 

Baron Aloha

A Shining Example
In short, the even numbered years are generally the best ones IMO with two exceptions: 99 and 94. KOF XI (which would have been an even numbered year) looks like it will continue with this trend judging by what we know so far.

'94 - Good game for its time but probably one of the worst KOFs overall.

'95 - A better version of '94. Holds up a lot better than '94 IMO.

'96 - One of the best KOFs. This one changed the gameplay significantly (almost no fireballs, etc) and it really laid the foundation for a number of KOFs that followed it. It introduced Leona and Goenitz (two fan favorites) and it had the boss team.

'97 - Quite possibly the worst (and by far the most overrated) KOF IMO. The "feel" just isn't right, there is hardly any music, some of the art just plain stinks.

'98 - A drastically improved version of KOF 97. Dream Match. Still stands as the best KOF.

'99 - Excellent follow up to '98. Under-rated IMO because people wanted another dream match.

'00 - Not as good as '99 IMO. Striker overload. Doesn't live up to '98 or '99.

'01 - The worst KOF. The art and presentation are beyond terrible. Colors are washed out. The sprites for the new characters look bad. Striker overload again. Bad music.

'02 - Dream Match. The second best KOF ('98s roster is better IMO but this game's roster isnt' too shabby).

'03 - Crap. Overrated. The garou characters don't fit it. Looks like a Mugen game in that respect. Doesn't feel like KOF (and that's my biggest problem with it).

My ranking:

98, 02, 99, 96, 00, 95, 03, 97, 94, 01
 

robot

Member
Thanks for the breakdown - I'm about to take the plunge on one of the KOF games for ma neo-geo, but couldnt figure out which to get. Looks like 98 is the fan favorite, luckily its not ridiculously priced like the newer ones.

BTW, whats this dream match everyone keeps refering too?
 

Tain

Member
Just so you know, KoF 98 DC has some infinites removed from the Neo version, if I recall correctly. I like the backgrounds a bit more, too, though I could see how they could be ugly.
 

Baron Aloha

A Shining Example
robot said:
BTW, whats this dream match everyone keeps refering too?

A "Dream Match" KOF is a KOF where SNK tosses the story aside. These tournaments (98 and 02) never take place in the actual storyline. In the storyline the first KOF after 97 is 99 and the first KOF after 2001 is 2003.

Basically the dream matches serve as an opportunity to bring back fan favorites who have been killed off (such as Vice, Mature, Chris, Shermie, Yashiro, etc) or otherwise written out of the story.
 

Sanjuro

Member
Tain said:
Just so you know, KoF 98 DC has some infinites removed from the Neo version, if I recall correctly. I like the backgrounds a bit more, too, though I could see how they could be ugly.

I thought 98 wasnt ported to DC?
 

Lyte Edge

All I got for the Vernal Equinox was this stupid tag
EDITED to include KOF Neowave.

Ranking the KOF games is always hard for me to do, but here goes. I'm not going to count The King of Fighters Maximum Impact, and I haven't played (only seen) The King of Fighters Neowave (comes out within the next two weeks on PS2!), so I can't place that yet, but I suspect it will end up replacing one of the games in my top three picks, likely 2002. 2003 will undoubtedly be replaced by KOF XI when that releases. I'm ranking these games more on how much fun I had with them at the time of release and/or how much play time I put into them even if I'm playing a lower-ranked game more at the present time.

1. The King of Fighters '98:

king%20of%20fighters%2098-2.jpg


I don't play this one as much anymore; KOF 2002,2003, and Neowave get all my play time, but this was easily the high point in the KOF series. Huge roster for the time, game play that improved on the already awesome KOF '97, alternate versions of characters with different move sets, great visuals (easily the most colorful of all the KOF games), music, etc. This one has it all. Without a doubt one of the best fighting games ever made.

2. The King of Fighters Neowave:

kofneo.jpg

(pic is from the arcade version; need a better pic to show off the detail!)

Neowave may have "rehash" written all over it, but when the game is a rehash of KOF 2002, that's not a bad thing. Although the arcade version of Neowave had some questionable roster omissions (some of which ended up as hidden characters), the PS2 version adds in five more fighters, giving the game everyone from 2002 save for K9999, plus Saishyu, Jhun, King, and Shingo. Even the game's one "new" character, the boss, the younger version of Geese Howard, is taken right from Art of Fighting 2. But Neowave breaks the game play system into three separate styles, including one that allows for Just Defends a la Garou Mark of The Wolves, making the game play even more in-depth than ever before. Neowave's backgrounds tend to be a little on the empty side, but there's no denying that these are the best backgrounds ever seen in a KOF game to date, and the filtering used on the sprites gives the game an incredibly clean, vibrant look. The music, a fusion of jazz and techno, is more like the soundtracks found in the older KOF games, and sounds far better than anything in KOF 2001-2003.

3. The King of Fighters 2002:

kof2002b.png


Also known as "KOF '98 Part 2." Another dream match game that was likely released only because they had no idea where they were going to take the series after the overall dismal KOF 2001. This is the game that basically replaced KOF '98 for me, but I still have to go with '98 over 2002 simply because the overall package is better; both play great, but I prefer the look and sound of '98. Some bonus points go to the home ports for adding more fighters, most notably for bringing back the strangely-missing KOF staple characters King and Shingo, but the game play is not quite the same as the original version.

4. The King of Fighters 2003:

1075459055.jpg


It's tough for me to decide whether or not this or 2002 should be in second place, and while I'm almost always a fan of change, and I love the new battle system introduced in 2003, it still needs some work. I was never a fan of the striker-based game play of KOF '99-2001; the way 2003 plays is the way all of those games should have played as well. I also should note that I much prefer the PS2 version of this game over the original; the new/redone stages and arranged soundtrack, combined with new modes of play including the classic 3-on-3 mode, make it the best home version of a KOF game ever released.


5. The King of Fighters '97:


king%20of%20fighters%2097-2.gif


KOF '96 was the first time in the series' history that game play was noticeably changed over previous versions, yet there was something that felt missing. KOF '97 solved this problem and also introduced some great new characters including bringing in more Real Bout characters (always a good thing); the only thing about it I never really liked was the attempt at going "Samurai Shodown" in the sound department by using ambient/background noise instead of music; only a handful of characters got music. I went absolutely NUTS over this game when it first came out, so you can imagine my reaction to KOF '98 when it came out and was even better!

6. The King of Fighters '95:

king%20of%20fighters%2095-2.gif


The best of the "old school" KOF games. Added the much-needed team edit feature, more moves per character, introduced Kyo's rival Iori, and just felt like an overall more complete game compared to the original.

7. The King of Fighters '96:


king%20of%20fighters%2096-2.jpg


Loved it, but there were some things about KOF '95 that I preferred over this version of the game. KOF '96 still has the best background in the series with the "boss team" stage, I really would have liked to have seen Geese (finally returned as a bonus character in KOF 2002 PS2/Xbox), Krauser, and Mr. Big appear in more KOF games.

8. The King of Fighters 2000:


kof2000b.jpg


The striker-based KOF games are without a doubt my least favorite out of the series as far as game play goes, and I actually prefer 2001's game play over 2000's, but this one introduced some more great character designs, and I did like seeing all the extra SNK characters showing up as strikers.

9. The King of Fighters '99:

king%20of%20fighters%2099-2.gif


Loved the new characters/sprites, loved the look of the game, but just wasn't feeling the whole armor/counter mode and striker game play features. The lack of characters as well as moves per character compared to KOF '98 was also disappointing. This game felt very similar to '96 in that it was obvious SNK was trying something new, and that the follow-up game would likely expand the roster, add more moves, and flesh out the newer game play features.

10. The King of Fighters '94:

king%20of%20fighters%2094-2.gif


I actually considered ranking this one last as I usually do, but I've been playing a good bit of KOF '94 Rebout lately. :) The original game was an awesome idea, but feels very dated now. I never understood why they didn't have team edit as a feature from the start.

11. The King of Fighters 2001:

screen.jpg


Game play is the most important part of any fighting game, and I did say that I prefer the game play of 2001 over the other two striker KOF games, but the look, sound, and overall feel of this game was just so dull that it made me go back and play the older games instead. I did like Angel and K9999 quite a lot, though.
 
Shouta said:
98, 00, 02, 03, 97, 99, 96, 95, 94, 01 from Best to Worst. IMO
Nice, pretty close

98, The original 'best KOF' most balanced fixed alot of stuff wrong with 97
00, Very broken but so much fun engine fixed for combability Random Team + Random Striker is how we played.

NeoWave, Possibly the new 98 with grooves

02, Eolith's version of 98 with customs which people didn't really use

03, Team Tag system.. (?)

97, First real KOF game with decent juggles, Orochi story

99, Intro of striker system armor/counter mode good new characters and music

96, Inclusion of the 2 modes and running/hopping?

95, Iori and free team select

94, the original meh besides AOF, Fatal Fury Teams and other SNK characters

01, Crap Eolith Crap.. SNK death result in this game. Weaker striker system + (cvs2) ratio system.
 

Sanjuro

Member
I just bought "KOF: Dream Match '99" for the Dreamcast on eBay for $7.99. Is this the same as 98 in terms of being the best in the series? Most people say they are identical.
 

Sanjuro

Member
Ferrio said:
It is the same game, well it's a port of the same game.

Alright look foreward to playing it soon. Only thing was the guy sent me a shady email today. I purchased it and paid for it on Thursday via PayPal. I sent an email on Sat. just asking for the status of the item. I got this in response a few hours ago..

"This was sent awile ago. Have you still not received it?
Thanks,
Chris "

I dont really consider shipping it USPS on Friday from CA to MA and today being Monday a while ago. Dunno just sounded werid to me, got ripped off few weeks ago too so maybe acting too concerned.
 
Not coming to the PS2 in the US? SCEA thang, eh?

I can wait till November, as KOF has never been anything but a novelty to me. Rather not have to get an Xbox copy... but what are ya gonna do?


Is Vanessa in Neowave perchance?
 

Brandon F

Well congratulations! You got yourself caught!
96-99 were the glory days. '96 on Saturn was wonderful with arranged audio and the detailed backdrops. '97 fixed up the gameplay very nicely, but the aesthetics suffered. '99 was a nice twist.

I found 2000 and 2k1 utterly abysmal and damn near unplayable. Haven't played much of 2002, but 2003 is sorta delightful except for the retarded music.

94 and 95 are just too ancient to bother with.
 
98 (Dreamcast), 2003, 2002, 1999, 1997 And it maybe brken but 2001 was real cool in style and the system (Except for taking Kims sweep kick...argh).
 

G-Fex

Member
03's my favorite followed closely by 98 and then 2001, I loved 2001 cause you had three strikers or a team of four at your disposal and it made for some awesome combo videos and tricks and such.
 

Lyte Edge

All I got for the Vernal Equinox was this stupid tag
ArcadeStickMonk said:
Not coming to the PS2 in the US? SCEA thang, eh?

I can wait till November, as KOF has never been anything but a novelty to me.

You're not going to see Neowave in the U.S. this year. I'd bet on seeing it released in spring of next year at the earliest. They still have to release the KOF 2002/2003 pack for Xbox in the fall, then there's KOF '94 Rebout and SS5, which still have yet to get release dates.

Rather not have to get an Xbox copy... but what are ya gonna do?

YOU don't have a modded or Japanese PS2 and you like fighting games? o_O


Is Vanessa in Neowave perchance?

Every character from KOF 2002 is in Neowave on Playstation 2, minus K9999. In addition to the 2002 cast, there's also Jhun, King, Saishyu, Shingo, and new boss/playable character Geese Howard. Not the regular Geese, but the younger version that was a hidden boss in Art of Fighting 2.

The real difference in KOF 2002 and Neowave is in the game play. This from one of the FAQs from Gamefaqs:

SYSTEM, Glossary and CONTROLS

System

You choose 3 fighters then fight through 7 matches before you face
the final boss who is a young Geese Howard.

Since we modified this FAQ from our KOF2002 PS2 FAQ, we'll keep the
notation of LP, LK, etc.. There is now a fifth button called Heat and
the button layout has been changed.

A C E
B D

but here we will consider them

LP HP Heat
LK HK

When Heat is activated, your fighter flashes read and has an attack
increase but the fighters energy depletes. Hitting the Heat button,
getting hit or after some time has passed by, will cause Heat to
deactivate.

You have 3 modes to choose from: super cancel mode, guard break mode,
and MAX2 mode

During Super Cancel mode, you get a maximum of 3 stocks. You have the
ability to cancel special moves into other special moves. Canceling
special moves requires one stock for each canceled special move.
Canceling a special move into a DM reqires 2 stocks and 3 stocks for
canceling into a SDM or HSDM. SDMs and HSDMs cost 2 stocks and HSDMs
require the fighter to have 1/6 life left in order to perform.

During Guard Break mode, you have the ability to "Just Defend" and
do a Guard Break attack which is unblockable but takes one stock to
use. You lose the Guard-Cancel Blowout Attack and have a maximum of
2 stocks.

During Max2 mode, your power guage increases automatically. You have
the ability to do a HSDM when your fighter is down to 1/4 in life.
You lose the ability to use Emergecy Evasions but you can do still
do the recovery rolls when getting up from a knockdown.
 
Lyte Edge said:
YOU don't have a modded or Japanese PS2 and you like fighting games?
So far I haven't needed one.

I prefer to stick with a handful of solid titles that I really, really enjoy rather than try and play everything that Japan comes up with.

I really doubt I'm missing anything.
 
I would say 98 is the best with 02 following behind it

neowave is out in japan on ps2? shit man wish I had the money to get it

really liked 94 rebout as well

hopefully neowave it's the US PS2 and I can pick it up then
 

Kumiko Nikaido

Vindication...sweet.
anotheriori said:
import ps2 i believe, looks like online play too (probably japan only?) it comes out in the US on xbox in Nov.

The Xbox version of KOF: Neowave won't see U.S. release until February 2006 at the earliest.
 

Lyte Edge

All I got for the Vernal Equinox was this stupid tag
Yeah, it's going to be some time before you see Neowave in the U.S., and that's only on Xbox.

I got Neowave last week and have been playing the crap out of it; I plan on writing a double review with Twinkle Star Sprites La Petite Princess once I get that tomorrow and play it for a few days. I have everything unlocked in Neowave except for Geese' pic in the art gallery. The #$$#er keeps getting me when I get to him (#47) in Endless Mode. :)

Anyway, IMO KOF Neowave > KOF 2002, so I need to change my KOF rankings.
 

Finaika

Member
Lyte Edge said:
I got Neowave last week and have been playing the crap out of it; I plan on writing a double review with Twinkle Star Sprites La Petite Princess once I get that tomorrow and play it for a few days. I have everything unlocked in Neowave except for Geese' pic in the art gallery. The #$$#er keeps getting me when I get to him (#47) in Endless Mode. :)

Anyway, IMO KOF Neowave > KOF 2002, so I need to change my KOF rankings.
Sweet, I'm looking forward to your Twinkle Star Sprites review :)

Also, I dunno if I should buy Neowave or not... I mean I'm a big KOF fan, but it looks too similar to KOF2002 for me...
 

Lyte Edge

All I got for the Vernal Equinox was this stupid tag
Finaika said:
Sweet, I'm looking forward to your Twinkle Star Sprites review :)

Also, I dunno if I should buy Neowave or not... I mean I'm a big KOF fan, but it looks too similar to KOF2002 for me...

If you're a big KOF fan, don't even hesitate. You'll never touch 2002 ever again. :)
 

Finaika

Member
Lyte Edge said:
If you're a big KOF fan, don't even hesitate. You'll never touch 2002 ever again. :)
Yea I guess... Neowave sounds awesome for competitive play what with the 3 different fighting modes and the huge roster of characters + the exclusive PS2 ones... but the single player mode sucks coz it has no story and win quotes and similar endings to all teams/characters and what not... plus all the ppl I know either mysteriously stopped playing 1-on-1 fighting games or hate it... damn I seriously need some competition...
 

Anyanka

Member
Best: 95. Very nostalgic. Classic roster and simple gameplay.

Worst: 2000. Just overall boring and stale. Lame boss, who looks like Mike Haggar with a sci-fi trenchcoat. I do like the alternate strikers though.
 

Lyte Edge

All I got for the Vernal Equinox was this stupid tag
Finaika said:
Yea I guess... Neowave sounds awesome for competitive play what with the 3 different fighting modes and the huge roster of characters + the exclusive PS2 ones...

For me it's the Just Defend system; really changes things IMO. The other two systems are basically things that have been in KOF before (super/normal cancelling and max 2 mode) in one way or another, plus the look and sound of the game. MUCH better than the last few entries.

but the single player mode sucks coz it has no story and win quotes and similar endings to all teams/characters and what not... plus all the ppl I know either mysteriously stopped playing 1-on-1 fighting games or hate it... damn I seriously need some competition...

Eh, single player is no worse than any other game as far as I'm concerned. It's got practice and endless (survival) mode, so it's good enough.
 

DCharlie

And even i am moderately surprised
KOF series - another 1.0/1.5 vs 2.0 victory point! ;)

I've been playing a fair bit of KOF99 on the way to work - not ideal on the PSP due to the pad, but still great fun.
 

Lyte Edge

All I got for the Vernal Equinox was this stupid tag
DCharlie said:
KOF series - another 1.0/1.5 vs 2.0 victory point! ;)

I've been playing a fair bit of KOF99 on the way to work - not ideal on the PSP due to the pad, but still great fun.

Switch to KOF '98 (or lower). It works better on PSP since you don't need to hit the B and C buttons to call out strikers. :)

Also make sure you got the latest Neo CD emulator update....you can actually do moves on it now!
 

DCharlie

And even i am moderately surprised
yeah, i missed the dev's boycot of pspupdates until last night! lol

i shall update.

Metal Slug has been taking up most of my time - but that's a completely different thread...
 

ourumov

Member
I am amazed at how many of you do have the original NeogeoCD games :p :p :p Ah...shitty wireless-stolen connection from the neighbour !!! It doesn't allow me to "order" them...

I would like to try 99 and 96 on the PSP:)
 

Finaika

Member
You're probably right Lyte Edge, maybe I'll check out Neowave after reading ur review... but only after I get PS2 MOTW! The DC version sucks because of the lagging voices so I'm getting this for sure!

Oh for the actual topic itself its pretty hard for me to rate the KOFs so I just give my comments on every KOF I've played based on the time I've played them...

KOF99 Dream Match - KOF98 for the DC in other words, my first KOF title :) Everything was new to me, and the thing I like most abt KOF is its combos... damn they're great. Nice anime intro... but the music starts again between every round so its kinda annoying.

KOF99 Evolution - KOF99 for the DC. Perhaps my most played KOF... and the one that made me into a KOF fan by studying the game systems, combos etc in detail and challenging ppl at the arcades. I just love the atmosphere of this one, and the music is one of the best, if not the best for KOF. The downside is its slower than its arcade counterpart.

KOF2000 - One of my favourites too... I too like the atmosphere of this one... the character portraits/art is still the best for KOF imo. Music is awesome too... dunno if it is better or worse tha 99 though. But the strikers bring down the game, especially the infinites if playing at the arcades. But the combos possibilites u can achieve with the strikers... oh my...

KOF2001 - Ummm probably my least favourite KOF. Atmosphere and music sucks... art is... different. Gameplay is good though.

KOF2002 - Most balanced/competitive KOF, along with 98. Its still being played at the arcades here! Perfect gameplay, improved music (but still not that good), nice-ish art.

KOF2003 - Nice tag-system which brings a breath of fresh air to KOF. Very nice character art and music too. But it feels... I dunno feels different from previous KOF... rather "clunky"... but u just have to get used to it. Not too popular at the arcades here though, because Duolon is a broken bastard :p

KOF94 Rebout - Uh haven't played the original 94 (if u don't count the PC bwahaha :p), but nice (if cheesy :p) animated intro. Hi-res sprites!!! Basic gameplay though... and beating Rugal at level 8 is almost impossible! :(
 

Lyte Edge

All I got for the Vernal Equinox was this stupid tag
Finaika said:
You're probably right Lyte Edge, maybe I'll check out Neowave after reading ur review... but only after I get PS2 MOTW! The DC version sucks because of the lagging voices so I'm getting this for sure!

Yeah the PS2 Garou doesn't have that problem, although the image quality sucks in comparison to KOF '94 Rebout, Neowave, and even KOF 2002/2003. Looks VERY jaggy/pixellated. Neowave and Rebout look very clean and really spoil you. :)

BTW I'm kind of underwhelmed at how Twinkle Star Sprites turned out. Same game play, but it looks like a budget release Dreamcast game with its simplistic 3D graphics. You can unlock the original Neo-Geo version though.
 

robot

Member
I recently picked up King of the Fighters 99, dropped $120 on it making it my most expensive game ever purchased. Great game - I never really got into the series before. I like the strikers, the ability to power up defense or offense, and the handicap option when you continue (since I suck thats a definite bonus).

Unfortunately I no longer have any use for it now since I just bought a MVS 4 slot arcade cabinet and the kof 98.

Someone buy it from me (along with the rest of my neo geo collection)!
 
Top Bottom