Neo Geo

The King of Fighters '98: Dream Match Never Ends

The three-on-three team gameplay is basically the same, but a new "advantage system" gives the second and third fighters an edge to keep things exciting. The character selection screen now gives you more time to assemble you crew (forever, to be exact), and a "roulette" function lets you select random characters (for every match!). A new practice mode is included to hone your skills. The high score screen isn't presented immediately after you enter your initials, but that's a minor inconvenience. King of Fighters 98 got the series back of track, and despite the lack of razzle-dazzle it's hard to find fault with this well-crafted fighter.

King of Fighters 98 fait partie des meilleurs jeux de combat et rivalise facilement avec les Street Fighters de Capcom. Bien-sûr tout dépend des goûts, mais les joueurs amateurs de ce type de jeux seront aux anges et si vous jouez à deux cela devient extraordinaire! Il est déjà difficile de s'en lasser seul, alors à plusieurs c'est quasiment impossible.

King of Fighters 98 – The Slugfest stellt neben dem 2002er Teil ganz klar den besten Teil der Reihe dar. Hier passt einfach alles und es ist wirklich nahezu perfekt. Schon der Single Player Modus macht viel spaß, aber im Multiplayer zeigt das Spiel alle seine Stärken

Where King of Fighters excels is the massive amount of playable, diverse characters. Even before Capcom started teaming their fighters up to see who was the better (my bet will always be on Strider), SNK was teaming the Art of Fighting combatants and the Fatal Fury kids with the Ikari Troupe ... all representing a different game SNK developed. I must say, this was always intriguing, and I wished more companies would do things like this. However, as much as I like this game, it seems like they have missed a wonderful oppurtunity to cross some of the Samurai Shodown, or Last Blade characters into the King of Fighters universe. This series has just improved over time, however subtly. And while it's not Street Fighter II, it isn't Time Killers, either. I wish there was more to it, but each of the games is fun to play.

That makes this an easily skipped entry. However, like the Madden series, it still plays great, regardless of new additions. The engine is still strong, and the appeal of the hardware is always here. Considering the cost of these carts, it's best to just go right for King of Fighters '99, with the game changing Striker system.