The King Of Fighters 94 / ザ・キング・オブ・ファイターズ'94 / Za Kingu Obu Faitāzu '94

The King of Fighters '94 (KOF '94) is a fighting game released by SNK for the Neo Geo-based arcade system in 1994, as the first in The King of Fighters series. The game was also released for the Neo Geo home console systems, including a Neo Geo CD version. In 2008, KOF '94 was one of sixteen games included in SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1 for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable and Wii.Show more

KOF '94 is a crossover featuring characters from SNK's fighting game properties Fatal Fury and Art of Fighting. It also includes revised versions of characters from their pre-Neo Geo games Ikari Warriors and Psycho Soldier, as well as original characters created specifically for the game. The plot features the creation of a new King of Fighters tournament created by the criminal Rugal Bernstein and is the only game to take place during the pre-Orochi Saga of the series.

SNK developed KOF '94 with the initial idea of using several games from the company in order to attract gamers who played these games. The characters' designs, as well as its innovative gameplay system based on using teams of three members, were both well received. The success of the game allowed SNK to produce a series of sequels in The King of Fighters series and the series itself eventually became the flagship series of SNK.

In 2004, to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the series, SNK released a remake titled The King of Fighters '94 Re-Bout. It features the original game and a new version with higher resolution graphics and 3D environments.
Gameplay
The basic gameplay system of KOF '94 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 similar to Fatal Fury 2 and Fatal Fury Special, that consists of light punch, light kick, strong punch and strong kick. Like in Fatal Fury 2, specialized techniques are performed by pressing combinations of buttons, 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 that can be performed by the player with a specific series of joystick and button inputs.

Each player has a power gauge at the bottom of the screen which charges when the character is blocking or taking attacks. It can also be filled manually, although it leaves the character vulnerable to an attack, by pressing and holding three buttons at the same time. Once the power gauge is filled, the player's basic attacks become stronger for a short period. When the characters are in this state, their players can also perform the character's Super Move, which immediately consumes the entire power gauge. The players can also access their character's Super Move when the life gauge is 75% empty and flashing red like in Fatal Fury 2. Taunting an opponent can reduce their power gauge, slow down their manual charging, and stop them from reaching the maximum level.

KOF '94 innovated the 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 player chooses 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 following 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.

Plot
"The year, 1994. Once again the invitations to the King of Fighters find their ways to the world's most wicked warriors. But the patron of this little party remains unknown. It cannot be Geese, nor can it be Krauser. So who could they be from...? Among all the hopes and doubts, the legendary superstars of the fighting world begin to form their mighty teams.

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Developer(s) SNK
Publisher(s) SNK
Director(s) Masanori Kuwasashi
Producer(s) Takashi Nishiyama
Eikichi Kawasaki
Designer(s) Toyohisa Tanabe
Haruo Tomita
Yosisi Hashimoto
Artist(s)
Mitsuo Kodama
Shinkiro
Composer(s) Masahiko Hataya
Series The King of Fighters
Platform(s) Arcade, Neo Geo, Neo Geo CD
Release Arcade
WW: August 25, 1994
Neo Geo
JP: October 1, 1994
NA: October 1, 1994
Neo Geo CD
JP: November 2, 1994
NA: November 2, 1994
Rebout
PlayStation 2
JP: December 28, 2004
Genre(s) Fighting
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer
Arcade system Neo Geo MVS

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