The
King of Fighters '94
STORY:
Rugal Bernstein is an incredibly rich and notorious arms and drugs trafficker, as
well as an incredibly skilled and ruthless fighter. Having become bored with the
lack of competition, Rugal decides to host a new King of Fighters tournament.
Rugal has his secretary travel to eight destinations around the world and invite
fighters to his new tournament.
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The
King of fighters '94 character selection screen.
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REVIEW: The King of Fighters '94 is the first
installment of what would later become SNK's longest-running and most successful
fighting series. KOF
94's premise alone is simply epic, especially for fans of SNK's earlier hand-to-hand 2D
fighting games. "The Future is Now"... 3-on-3 battles
featuring SNK's most well known characters from arcade hits such as Fatal
Fury and Art of Fighting. 
In addition, "reimagined"
versions of characters from other classic Neo Geo games (such as Psycho Soldier and
Ikari Warriors) also make their fighting game debuts in '94.
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Team
Fatal Fury is here to
represent!
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Players can choose
from one of 8 different teams (representing a different country), each consisting of 3 members. King
of Fighters '94 plays like a staple 2D fighting game, using a simple 4-button control scheme with
the staple punch and kick commands. However, KOF '94 offers up some unique gameplay mechanics,
including:
Evading, Bop Attacks and Super Meter Charging.
Comparably to Capcom's latest hit arcade fighting game in
1994, Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo, KOF '94 offered
something distinguishable and different in the fighting genre. Although KOF '94's gameplay definitely
feels somewhat "stiff" compared to Capcom's polished and refined
iteration of Street Fighter II (among other
2D fighting games of the era). However, what KOF '94 lacked in gameplay
refinement made up for in
"style" and its advanced / interesting gameplay engine for
the time. Flaws aside, KOF '94 was definitely ahead of its time!
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Learn
How to Play and get good.
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In addition to traditional and interesting gameplay elements, KOF
'94 offers some pretty fun 3-VS-3 match-ups (non tag). Each team of three has their
individual strengths and weaknesses, and unlike in the KOF sequels to
come, players cannot pick
individual characters... only pre-set teams. KOF 94's roster was an
impressive size for the time, although the fact that
players couldn't "customize" their teams was a definite flaw and hurt
the game's overall replayability (something that was fixed in The
King of Fighters '95).
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"Must
see" 2D sprites and stages.
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Graphically, KOF '94
presents "realistically proportioned" 2D character sprites, which
actually brought something unique (and possibly refreshing to the fighting genre at the time.
On the flipside, you could also say KOF 94's graphics were a bit drab and
heavy on pixels. Any way you shake it, KOF '94 definitely wasn't the prettiest 2D fighter around in the mid 90's. 
The sound and music quality is also fairly mediocre. As a big fan of Samurai Shodown and Art of Fighting at the time, KOF
94's art style and (arguably) "gritty" in-game graphics and sound didn't
really manage to impress me. (However, I later became a big fan of the
series, after KOF '97 and KOF '98 arrived). 
On certain backgrounds in KOF '94, the sharp pixels of characters and backgrounds
don't quite mesh together well. In short, the game isn't as "easy on the eyes" as other
comparable 2D fighters of the era. Nonetheless, the iconic and stylish 2D character sprites and hand-drawn
backgrounds have a unique flair and paved the way for major improvements in
future installments. One of the
coolest and most unique visual aspects of KOF '94 is that your eternally
supportive teammates are seen in the background during the fight, cheering
you on when you land attacks. This subtle detail alone definitely added a ton of
personality to
the game, and would later carry on to future sequels.
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| Page Updated: |
July
9th, 2023
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| Developer(s): |
SNK |
| Publisher(s): |
SNK |
| Artwork
by: |
Toshiaki
Mori (Shinkiro)
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| Platform(s): |
Neo
Geo, Neo Geo CD, PlayStation, PSN, PS4
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| Release Date(s): |
Aug. 25th, 1994
Arcade
Oct. 1st, 1994
 Neo Geo
Nov. 2nd, 1994
Neo Geo CD
Dec. 21st, 2010
PSN
Oct. 27th, 2016
PS4
via PSN |
| Characters: |
Kyo
Kusanagi,
Benimaru Nikaido, Goro
Daimon,
Andy Bogard,
Terry Bogard,
Joe Higashi,
Ryo Sakazaki,
Robert Garcia,
Takuma Sakazaki,
Mai Shiranui,
King,
Yuri Sakazaki,
Ralf Jones,
Heidern,
Clark Still,
Athena Asamiya, Sie
Kensou,
Chin Gentsai, Chang
Koehan,
Kim Kaphwan,
Choi Bounge, Lucky
Glauber,
Heavy
D, Brian Battler,
Rugal Bernstein |
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Featured Video:
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| Related Games: |
The
King of Fighters '94: Re-bout, The King of
Fighters '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, KOF
EX Neo Blood,
KOF EX2 Howling Blood,
KOF R1, KOF R2, KOF
Collection: Orochi Saga, Super Street Fighter II
Turbo, Mortal Kombat 2, Fatal
Fury, Samurai
Shodown 2, Art of Fighting, Art
of Fighting 2 |
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Gameplay
Engine
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6.5 / 10
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Story
/ Theme
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8.5 / 10
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Overall
Graphics
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7.5 / 10
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Animation
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6.5 / 10
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Music
/ Sound Effects
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7.0 / 10
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Innovation
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8.0 / 10
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Art Direction
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7.0 / 10
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Customization
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2.5 / 10
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Options / Extras
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3.0 / 10
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Intro / Presentation
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7.0 / 10
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Replayability / Fun
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5.5 / 10
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"Ouch" Factor
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7.0 / 10
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Characters
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8.0 / 10
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BOTTOM LINE
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7.3
/
10
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Review based on Arcade
version
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| Final
Words: |
KOF '94's 3-VS-3 match-ups were
definitely innovative for the time, but the sluggish and
slightly "stiff" gameplay was no doubt the biggest flaw of the game.
An inexperienced fighting game player might not notice this
"stiffness" I speak of... but comparing KOF '94 to other hit
1994 fighting games, such as: Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo, Mortal Kombat 2, or
even SNK's own Samurai Shodown 2... King of Fighters '94 clearly
wasn't the cream of the crop at the time (no matter how thick your nostalgia
glasses are).
Even though KOF '94 wasn't the smoothest or best-looking fighter at the arcades,
this brave new take on the traditional arcade fighting game opened the door for many amazing
sequels down the road. KOF '94 was also the first ever "crossover"
fighting game, a concept which became increasingly popular in the
fighting genre, many years later.
~TFG Webmaster | @Fighters_Gen
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