The King of Fighters '95 | |
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Developer(s) |
|
Publisher(s) | |
Director(s) | Masanori Kuwasashi |
Producer(s) | Eikichi Kawasaki Takashi Nishiyama |
Designer(s) | Akihiko Nasu Akiko Yukawa Chikara Yamasaki |
Programmer(s) | Khozoh Nagashima S. Fujinuki |
Artist(s) | Toshiaki Mori |
Composer(s) | Akihiro Uchida Masahiko Hataya Pearl Sibakiti |
Series | The King of Fighters |
Platform(s) | Arcade, Game Boy, Neo Geo AES, Neo Geo CD, PlayStation, Sega Saturn |
Release | 25 July 1995 |
Genre(s) | Fighting |
Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Arcade system | Neo Geo MVS |
The King of Fighters '95 [lower-alpha 1] (KOF '95) is a fighting video game developed and published by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home consoles in 1995. It is the sequel to The King of Fighters '94 and the second game in The King of Fighters series. It is also the first game in the series to be ported to other home consoles besides the Neo Geo AES and Neo Geo CD with versions released for the PlayStation, Sega Saturn, and another on Game Boy by Takara and Nintendo.
The game features a similar cast to KOF '94 with the exception of the USA Team, which was replaced by the Rival Team. The plot features a new King of Fighters tournament once again promoted by the criminal Rugal Bernstein, who wants to take revenge against Kyo Kusanagi, who defeated him in last year's tournament. KOF '95 also introduces the fighter Iori Yagami, who becomes Kyo's rival in the series.
One of the main focuses in the creation of The King of Fighters '95 was the introduction of the Rivals Team, most notably Iori, who became one of the favorite characters of the staff. The game has received mixed reviews from various video games publications. Most writers have complained about the response from controls and long loading times from the PlayStation port. However, the introduction of the enhanced version of Rugal, Omega Rugal, as well as the differences among all the characters have been noted to be one of the best parts from the game.
The gameplay and rules are mostly unchanged from The King of Fighters '94 . The main addition is the introduction of the Team Edit feature, allowing the player to create a custom team from any of the game's twenty-four characters in addition to the pre-defined teams in the game. Through the main play mode, players must defeat all of the teams from the game in order to fight the bosses: the brainwashed Saisyu Kusanagi, followed by a stronger Rugal Bernstein. [3]
The King of Fighters '95 marks the beginning of a story arc that later became known as the "Orochi Saga". However, the only elements from the Orochi Saga known in this game is the introduction of Kyo's rival, Iori Yagami, and Rugal's use of the snake demon Orochi power. [4]
Rugal Bernstein, thought to have perished in an explosion in the previous game, had in fact survived and sent out invitations to the teams from the previous game signed simply ‘R'. Only one of the previous teams failed to attend the new tournament: the American Sports Team, as their invitations were stolen by the "Rival Team" consisting of Iori Yagami, Billy Kane (from Fatal Fury: King of Fighters ), and Eiji Kisaragi (from Art of Fighting 2 ). Saisyu Kusanagi, Kyo's father, appears as a fighter for the first time (having made a non-playable cameo in KOF '94) as a computer-controlled sub-boss character. After defeating Saisyu in the arcade mode, it is revealed that Saisyu was being brainwashed and that Rugal will fight once again as a boss character, but as an enhanced version named "Omega Rugal".
Japan Team (Hero Team) Fatal Fury Team | Art of Fighting Team Ikari Warriors Team | Psycho Soldier Team Korea Team | Women Fighters Team Rivals Team
| Mid-Boss
Final Boss |
The KOF '95 project began with the concept of introducing Iori Yagami as Kyo Kusanagi's rival. As such, developers gave him traits to expand that relationship such as similar abilities and ancient rivalry between both of their clans. During the initial location tests to determine the popularity of the game, Iori was the character who stood out most, also becoming a favorite of the developers. [5] The creation of the Rival Team was one of the things developers worked the hardest, focusing in their moves and lines. [6] The character of Eiji Kisaragi was originally from Art of Fighting 2 and the staff had to adjust most of his moves to balance him with the other characters. Following this game, several Art of Fighting characters were removed from each sequel with developers saying it was "thanks to KOF jinx." [7] The sub-boss character, Saisyu Kusanagi, was never meant to appear in the game as the staff wanted to make so that he died in The King of Fighters '94 during one of the cut-scenes from the Hero Team. However, Saisyu was added at the last moment to the game, becoming the sub-boss character. [8] Fatal Fury boss character Geese Howard was meant to be playable in the game; various considerations at the time, however, led developers to abandon this plan. [9]
The King of Fighters '95 was one of the first titles from SNK to be ported to the Sony PlayStation system. Chad Okada, a former member from SNK, mentioned it was one of his first works. He commented that he had to improve its marketability to the North American market. As a result, he added new options to the game that were not present in the original Japanese version such as selection from stages and improve the grammar and spelling, which was one of the biggest issues from the Neo Geo version. [10]
The original Japanese arcade version was released on July 25, 1995 and it was ported to the Neo Geo AES and Neo Geo CD later that year.
In 1996, the game was ported to the PlayStation and Sega Saturn. [4] The PlayStation version was published on August 31, 1996 in North America and the PAL region by Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. It featured a remixed soundtrack which took advantage of the Redbook audio format. The Saturn version (which required a ROM cartridge that came packaged with the game disc) was also released in Europe by Sega. The bundled ROM cartridge contains the majority of the character animations. [11] It was the first video game to use a CD-ROM and a ROM cartridge in tandem. [12] The PlayStation version appeared in Europe ahead of the Saturn version due to a timed exclusivity deal between SNK and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. [13] The "Playstation the Best" version was also re-released on March 28, 1997. [14]
A Game Boy game based on The King of Fighters '95 (Nettō The King of Fighters '95 in Japan) was published by Takara in Japan and by Nintendo in North America. It featured compatibility with the Super Game Boy, as well as introducing Nakoruru from the Samurai Shodown series as a secret character. [15]
An emulated version of the game was released as part of The King of Fighters Collection: The Orochi Saga in 2008 for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable and Wii. [16]
The Neo Geo AES version was added via emulation to the Wii's Virtual Console service on April 26, 2010. It is slightly edited, however; the blood is removed and Mai lacks her signature bounce, both in her fighting stance and win animation. Both of these aspects can be activated with a code, however. [17]
The arcade version was emulated and released as part of the ACA Neo Geo series for the Xbox One on March 30, 2017 with releases for PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, iOS and Android following afterwards.
The game received a variety of licensed media released in Japan in 1994–1995: [18]
Publication | Score |
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Computer and Video Games | 93% (Neo Geo CD) [19] |
Electronic Gaming Monthly | 31.5/40 (Neo Geo) [20] |
GameFan | 286/300 (Neo Geo) [21] |
GamePro | 4.5/5 (Neo Geo) [22] |
GameRevolution | C+ (PlayStation) [23] |
GameSpot | 5.3/10 (PlayStation) [24] |
IGN | 5.0/10 (PlayStation) [25] |
Next Generation | (Neo Geo & PS1) [26] [27] |
Maximum | (Neo Geo CD) [28] |
Sega Saturn Magazine | 89% (Saturn) [29] |
Publication | Award |
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Electronic Gaming Monthly | Best Neo-Geo Game of 1995 [30] |
Upon release, Computer and Video Games magazine called it "arguably the greatest 2D fighting game ever" made. [31] The King of Fighters '95 was awarded Best Neo-Geo Game of 1995 by Electronic Gaming Monthly in 1996. [30]
The four reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly declared the Neo Geo AES version a solid improvement over the previous King of Fighters, particularly applauding the addition of the team edit feature. [20] Major Mike of GamePro agreed that this was the game's best feature, but also expressed approval for the replacement of the U.S. team with the new "Rival" team and the control modifications. He did criticize that the game "didn't improve '94's graphics, it just added to them", but concluded King of Fighters '95 to be "one of the best brawlers out there". [22] A reviewer for Next Generation was unimpressed, however, remarking that "The idea behind fighting as a three-person team ... adds an interesting flare to the game, but the final result is still a one-on-one fighting game with nothing much new to offer the seasoned fighter." [26]
Reviewing the Neo Geo CD version, Maximum deemed that "SNK remain masters of the sprite-based one-on-one fighting genre, leaving all competitors way behind with King of Fighters '95." They elaborated that the team combat makes for greater variety than the average fighting game, the team edit feature greatly increases the game's enjoyability and longevity, the unusually high difficulty of executing combos makes pulling them off more satisfying, and the animations are greatly improved from The King of Fighters '94. [28]
The PlayStation version, however, was much less well received, as reviewers stated it has poor design in comparison to other fighting games from the same year. IGN criticized that the characters are not very responsive to controls and "even though these are difficult hurdles to jump, they're not impossible". However, they noted it to be a likeable game, saying it has "that 2D anime look that everyone loves". [25] A reviewer for Next Generation said that the PlayStation version compounded the game's lack of fresh and original gameplay with long load times. [27] Jeff Gerstmann from GameSpot also criticized the long loading times from the PlayStation version as well as how frequent they are since every round requires loading time. [24] Game Revolution noted the game to be very entertaining but still not as good as other fighting games from the year it was released in North America. They criticized that the fighting system is very similar to other SNK games such as Fatal Fury and Art of Fighting . [23] However, Scary Larry defended the PlayStation version in GamePro, saying it "plays well, looks good, and sounds the same as the arcade version. You could do worse." [32] 1UP.com praised the introduction of Omega Rugal, noting him to be "one of the most stylish boss designs in fighting history", although players could hate him due to how difficult it is to defeat him. [3]
Rich Leadbetter of Sega Saturn Magazine stated that the Saturn port is nearly arcade perfect, the ROM cartridge enabling it to recreate the look of the arcade version with only brief load times. He found the level of skill and technique involved in the game to be both its strongest point and the main limiting factor on its appeal: "SNK fans swear blind that King of Fighters is far superior to Street Fighter Alpha (and its sequel) simply because the element of skill required is that much tougher - making the rewards that much sweeter. The majority of us are unlikely to reach that pinnacle of skill ... but the fact is that if you're good enough, it remains one of the greatest fighting games of all time." He added that while The King of Fighters '96 was already out for the Saturn in Japan, the two installments are different enough from each other that it is worth getting both. [29]
IGN commented that the characters' designs and abilities are very similar to the ones from Street Fighter Alpha. [25] Jeff Gerstmann complained that the characters have unattractive moves as well and over pixelated sprites. [24] 1UP.com praised SNK's characters designs and the addition of the team edit option, making the game a good competition for Street Fighter Alpha. [3] However, Game Revolution liked the large number of playable characters and the several options featured in the game such as the team fights and special moves. [23]
Game designer Masahiro Sakurai regarded the game as one of his favorite competitive experiences when being young. However, after realizing he had been defeating rookies, Sakurai decided that fighting games should also be accessible to newcomers. [33]
In Japan, Game Machine listed The King of Fighters '95 on their September 1, 1995 issue as being the second most-successful arcade game of the month. [34] The Neo Geo AES version sold 108,883 cartridges in its first week of release in Japan, [35] at a price of £160–200 ($250–320 at the time, or $500–640 adjusted for inflation) per cartridge. [19] The Neo Geo CD version also sold 142,825 copies in its first week on the market. They sold a combined 310,060 units in Japan. [35]
During its release week, the Sega Saturn port of the game sold 135,214 copies in Japan. As of 2004, the game sold 257,294 copies. [36] The game also sold 145,389 units for the PlayStation in Japan, adding up to a combined total of 712,743 units sold in Japan. [35]
The King of Fighters (KOF) 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.
Iori Yagami is a character from SNK's The King of Fighters video game series. The character first appeared in The King of Fighters '95 as the leader of the Rivals Team, as the initial enemy and later rival of Kyo Kusanagi. Iori is the heir of the Yagami clan, who use pyrokinetic powers and sealed the Orochi devil along with the Kusanagi and Yata clans. Iori suffers from a curse – "The Riot of the Blood" – under which he becomes faster, stronger and wilder, exhibiting a deadly tendency to indiscriminately attack everyone in close proximity. In this state, Iori is commonly called "Wild Iori" or "Orochi Iori". Aside from the main series, Iori appears in several other media series, including spin-offs, crossover video games and comic adaptations of the series.
Kyo Kusanagi is a character in SNK's The King of Fighters series of fighting games. The character was first introduced in the 1994 video game The King of Fighters '94 as the leader of the Japan team from the series' title tournament. Kyo, heir to the Kusanagi clan, is first introduced as a cocky, delinquent high-school student who has pyrokinetic powers. His clan is one of three who banished the legendary snake demon entity Yamata no Orochi. During the series' story, Kyo meets rivals and enemies who seek to take his flame abilities. Aside from the main series, Kyo appears in several crossovers and spinoffs with other games. He is also the central title character of the manga The King of Fighters: Kyo and video game adaptation with the same name which center around his daily life.
Rugal Bernstein is a video game character created by SNK. First introduced in The King of Fighters '94, he is a recurring boss in The King of Fighters fighting game series, appearing in some titles as an enhanced version called Omega Rugal. As the host of the tournaments from The King of Fighters '94 and '95, Rugal plans to turn all the competitors from the tournament into stone statues as part of his collection. Despite his death in '95, Rugal is still featured in The King of Fighters titles which do not contain a storyline. He has also been featured in the Capcom vs. SNK series as a boss character.
The King of Fighters '97(KOF '97) is a fighting game produced by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home console in 1997. It is the fourth game in The King of Fighters series. It was ported to the Neo Geo CD, as well as the PlayStation and the Sega Saturn in Japan only. It is last game in the "Orochi Saga" storyline, that began in The King of Fighters '95.
The King of Fighters '98: The Slugfest, known in Japan as The King of Fighters '98: Dream Match Never Ends , is a fighting game released by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home consoles in 1998. It is the fifth game in The King of Fighters series. It was advertised by SNK as a "special edition" of the series, as it featured most of the characters who appeared in the previous games.
The King of Fighters '99: Millennium Battle is a 1999 fighting game developed and published by SNK for the Neo Geo MVS arcade and home consoles in 1999. It is the sixth installment in The King of Fighters series, introducing a new story arc known as the "NESTS Chronicles" which is centered around a young man named K', who is formerly associated with a mysterious yet threatening organization known only as NESTS. The game introduces several changes to the established KOF format, most notably an assisting character labeled "Striker". The game was ported to the Neo Geo CD and the PlayStation. Dreamcast and Microsoft Windows versions were also released under the title The King of Fighters' 99: Evolution whose stages were remodeled in 3D.
The King of Fighters: Kyo is Japanese manga written and illustrated by Masato Natsumoto. It was published by Kodansha in 1997. Inspired by the fighting game series The King of Fighters developed by SNK, the manga follows the life of the martial artist Kyo Kusanagi since the climax of the The King of Fighters '95 as well as his daily life as he attacked by his rival Iori Yagami who seeks his death. The manga inspired a visual novel by Yumekobo and SNK with game with fighting sequences based on turns that replicate the fighting game.
The King of Fighters XI(KOF XI) is a 2D fighting game produced by SNK Playmore. It is the eleventh installment in The King of Fighters series following The King of Fighters 2003. It was originally released as a coin-operated arcade game for the Atomiswave platform in 2005. A home version for the PlayStation 2 was released in Japan in 2006, followed by releases in the PAL region and North America in 2007. It is the second The King of Fighters game to not run on the Neo Geo following its predecessor, The King of Fighters Neowave and also the first major canonical entry to not be named after its year of release.
King of Fighters R-2 is a fighting game released by SNK in 1999 for the Neo-Geo Pocket Color handheld system, part of The King of Fighters series. It is the sequel to King of Fighters R-1 for the Neo-Geo Pocket, the previous generation of the handheld. A port for Nintendo Switch was released on August 7, 2020, which was included as part of Neo Geo Pocket Color Selection Vol. 1 in 2021.
The King of Fighters '96(KOF '96) is a fighting game released by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home consoles in 1996. It is the third game in The King of Fighters series, following The King of Fighters '95. Like its predecessor, the game was ported to the Neo-Geo CD, as well as the PlayStation and Sega Saturn. Unlike the previous game, the PlayStation and Saturn versions were released only in Japan, with a language setting allowing the player to set the game to English.
The King of Fighters 2001(KOF 2001, or KOF '01) is a fighting game produced by Eolith for the Neo Geo. It is the eighth game in The King of Fighters series, the third and final part of the "NESTS Chronicles" story arc, and the first game produced following the closure of the original SNK. The game was produced by the South Korea-based company Eolith and developed by Eolith and BrezzaSoft, a company formed by former SNK employees. For this reason, the SNK logo is displayed at the opening, but SNK's development staff is not involved in the production of the game itself at all, except for the game sound. Due to the influx of Korean capital, its influence can be seen in the participating characters. The game was ported to the Sega Dreamcast in Japan only and PlayStation 2. The stand-alone PlayStation 2 version was released in North America and in Europe in a two-in-one bundle with the preceding game in the series, The King of Fighters 2000. Both the original Neo Geo version and the Sega Dreamcast version were included in The King of Fighters NESTS Hen compilation released for the PlayStation 2 in Japan.
The King of Fighters 2002: Challenge to Ultimate Battle(KOF 2002, or KOF '02) is a fighting game developed by Eolith and published by Eolith and Playmore for the Neo Geo in 2002. It is the ninth game in The King of Fighters series and the second one to be produced by Eolith. The game was ported to the Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, and the Xbox, where in the PS2 and Xbox versions were released in North America in a two-in-one bundle with the following game in the series, The King of Fighters 2003. The Dreamcast port was released only in Japan, it was also the last game in the series to be officially released for the Japanese Dreamcast.
The King of Fighters 2003(KOF 2003, or KOF '03), also known by fans as The King of Fighters X, is a fighting game produced by SNK Playmore for the Neo Geo arcade and home platforms in 2003. It is the tenth game in The King of Fighters series and the last one released for the Neo Geo, which served as the primary platform for the series since The King of Fighters '94. It was ported to the PlayStation 2 and Xbox, and was released on both consoles in North America in a two-in-one bundle with the preceding game in the series, The King of Fighters 2002.
The King of Fighters Neowave(KOF Neowave, or KOF NW) is a 2D fighting game produced by SNK Playmore and released as a coin-operated arcade game for Sammy's Atomiswave hardware in 2004. It was the first game SNK Playmore produced for the Atomiswave. This is a remake of The King of Fighters 2002 with a major change of roster and stages, the game was also made on the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. The PS2 version was released only in Japan and the PAL region, the Xbox version was released both in Japan and North America; additionally, the Xbox version was the last game released for the console in Japan. The North American version was released on April 18, 2006. In 2020, a Dreamcast homebrew adaptation of the arcade version was also made possible due to the Dreamcast sharing almost identical hardware with its Atomiswave cousin. The character artwork was done by Tomokazu Nakano. In Japan, it was the last game to be released for the Xbox.
The King of Fighters '94 is a fighting game released by SNK for the Neo Geo MVS 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 the Neo Geo AES and Neo Geo CD. In 2008, KOF '94 was one of sixteen games included in SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1 for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable and Wii.
The King of Fighters, known specifically as Gordon Chan's The King of Fighters is a 2009 science fiction martial arts film directed by Gordon Chan from a screenplay by Rita Augustine and Matthew Ryan Fischer, based on the video game series of the same name published by SNK Playmore. The film stars Maggie Q, Sean Faris, Ray Park, David Leitch, and Will Yun Lee. In the plot, the last surviving descendants of three legendary clans are continuously transported to other dimensions to test their martial arts skills during the King of Fighters tournament against an evil force that seeks to invade and infect the real world.
King of Fighters R-1 is a fighting game developed and released by SNK in 1998 for the Neo-Geo Pocket handheld system. It is based on The King of Fighters '97, sharing the same storyline. A sequel, King of Fighters R-2, was released the following year.
The King of Fighters XIII(KOF XIII) is a fighting game in The King of Fighters series, developed and published by SNK Playmore originally in 2010. King of Fighters XIII was released for Japanese arcades on July 14, 2010, while ports for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 were released during late 2011 in Japanese and English regions, with Atlus USA and Rising Star Games being in charge of releasing them in the United States and Europe respectively. Versions for iOS and Android followed in 2011 and 2012. A PC version was released on Steam on September 13, 2013.