The King of Fighters '96
STORY:Unlike the mystery surrounding previous KOF competitions, KOF '96 has become a major international event sponsored by a number of huge corporations.Preliminarycontests have been held in various areas throughout the world, and among the topnine teams are, naturally, the usual KOF contestants who have been lookingforward to test their abilities in an official competition.Thistime, however, there is a team among them who cannot fail to raise eyebrows,composed of Geese Howard, Wolfgang Krauser, and Mr. Big. The three who onceattempted to conquer the world are now but mere contestants in this tournament.
Is their object, perhaps, to do away with theBogard brothers or the disciples of Kyokugen karate?Ifthat weren't enough to surprise...Iori Yagami appears once again, teamed up witha pair of mysterious women.How will therivalry between Iori and Kyo Kusanagi that has cursed their two families sinceancient time play out this time around?Thisis KOF '96, held as an official recognized sporting event, over which darkclouds have already started to gather....'
One of the biggest character selection screens in '96! |
REVIEW: KOF '96 introduced a couple new faces to the series: Mature & Vice, as well ashosting the debut of the badass 'boss team' consisting of GeeseHoward, Krauser, andMr. Big. The newcomers bring the roster to an impressive 27 combatants. A few returning characters were updated visually with re-drawnsprites and new animations. Following series tradition, many new hand-drawnbackgrounds werealso introduced, keeping the graphics engine looking fresh. Worth mentioning, KOF'96's stages were definitely the best looking stages of the KOF seriesthus far.
As many players expected, '96 had same core gameplay mechanics as the two previous installments,but there were also some memorable new features added this time around. The 'Dodge'technique from the previous two games was replaced with the 'EmergencyEvasion,' which allows fighters to 'roll' away or towards theopponent. (This gameplay element would remain a staple in many future games.) Players could also perform 'small jumps' as well as highjumps, enabling a variety of new ways to mix up / cross up your opponents! These two gameplay elements alone helped tospeed up KOF's gameplay system, keeping it competitive with other 2Dfighters at the time.
Go Team Korea! Err... you wore the wrong colors Chang. |
Along with some new attacks, commands for several classic special and super moves werechanged for a variety of characters. Along with the classic super moves, characterscan now perform amore powerful version of their regular super move if the character has lowenergy and Maximum level power gauge.
| | Page Updated: | July 16th, 2021 | | Developer(s): | SNK | | Publisher(s): | SNK | | Artwork by: | Shinkiro | | Platform(s): | NeoGeo, Neo Geo CD, Sega Saturn, PlayStation, Game Boy, PSN | | Release Date(s): | July 30th, 1996 Arcade
Sept. 27th, 1996/ NeoGeo
Sept. 27th, 1996 Saturn
Oct. 25th, 1996 / NeoGeo CD
July 4th, 1997 PlayStation
Aug. 8th, 1997 Game Boy | | Characters: | Kyo Kusanagi, Iori Yagami, Benimaru Nikaido, Goro Daimon,Andy Bogard,Terry Bogard,Joe Higashi,Ryo Sakazaki,Robert Garcia,Mai Shiranui,King,Yuri Sakazaki,Ralf Jones,Leona Heidern,Clark Still,Athena Asamiya, Sie Kensou,Chin Gentsai,Geese Howard,Chizuru Kagura,Mr.Big,Kasumi,Mature,Vice,Chang Koehan,Kim Kaphwan,Choi Bounge, Goenitz, Wolfgang Krauser | Featured Video: | | Related Games: | KOF '94, KOF '94: Re-bout,KOF '95,KOF '96, KOF '97, KOF '98, KOF '98: Ultimate Match, KOF '99, KOF 2000, KOF 2001, KOF 2002, KOF 2002: Unlimited Match, KOF 2003,KOF XI, KOF XII, KOF XIII, KOF XIV, KOF XV, KOF: Maximum Impact, KOF: Maximum Impact MANIAX, KOF: Maximum Impact 2, KOF:Maximum Impact Regulation A, KOF:Neowave, KOFEX Neo Blood,KOF EX2 Howling Blood,KOF R1, KOF R2, KOF Collection: Orochi Saga, Street Fighter Alpha 2, Street Fighter Alpha 3 | GameplayEngine | 7.5 / 10 | Story/ Theme | 8.0 / 10 | OverallGraphics | 7.5 / 10 | Animation | 6.5 / 10 | Music/ Sound Effects | 6.5 / 10 | Innovation | 7.5 / 10 | Art Direction | 9.0 / 10 | Customization | 7.0 / 10 | Options / Extras | 6.5 / 10 | Intro / Presentation | 7.0 / 10 | Replayability / Fun | 7.5 / 10 | 'Ouch' Factor | 7.5 / 10 | Characters | 8.0 / 10 | BOTTOM LINE | 7.8/10 | Review based on Arcadeversion |
| | Final Words: | KOF 96's new gameplay elements nicely sped up the classic gameplay. Emergency Evasion and Small Jumps definitely improved KOF's overall replayability and fun.Presentation-wise, KOF' 96 also made a bigger and bolder statement over the prequels. One of the game's coolest visual aspects might bethe character win poses, as the 2D sprites perfectly match the win portraits (drawn by Shinkiro). FUN FACT: This technique even inspired Capcom - as they used the same technique in Street Fighter Alpha 3.
KOF '96 made solid progress for the series with great new characters, new moves, and beautifully hand-drawn stages (easily some of the best in the series to date). Even so, KOF '96 still felt slightly behind the times in terms of visuals and overall presentation, in some ways. However... the sequel, KOF '97, was a title that wouldtruly put KOF on the map.
~TFG Webmaster | @Fighters_Gen
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