The King of Fighters '94

Poster for the Neo Geo.

**The King of Fighters '94** is the first game in The King of Fighters series. SNK released a Japan-only remake. ***The King of Fighters '94 Re-bout***, for the PlayStation 2 in 2004 to commemorate the series tenth' anniversary. The game was a cross-over event that featured characters from other SNK game series, including the likes of *Ikari Warriors* and *The Art of Fighting*. Even the tournament itself had been the basis of three titles prior; *Art of Fighting 2*, *Fatal Fury: King of Fighters*, and *Fatal Fury 2*. Though many characters originated from other SNK franchises, KoF '94 also starred several new characters, exclusive to this new series, including the face of the franchise, Kyo Kusanagi. The unique gameplay draw was the 3 vs 3 team combat, which veered away from the traditional 1 vs 1 of most fighting games of the time. The gameplay otherwise featured systems very similar to the previous SNK fighting games. The premise of KoF '94 is that the new villain, Rugal Bernstein, has taken on the mantle of host of the King of Fighters tournament with the new team rules in order to draw in fighters from across the globe.

## Gameplay

*The King of Fighters '94* consists of innovative 3 vs 3 team-based gameplay, a stark deviation from the common 1 vs 1 style of play in the majority of fighting games of the time, including earlier fighting games by SNK themselves. Though later games in the franchise would allow players to choose their own team members, this first installment had fixed teams and each team represented a specific world stage (i.e. Mai Shiranui, Yuri Sakazaki and King were the Women Fighters Team and their stage was Great Britain, despite none of the characters being British).

Rounds are won in a best of three format and victory is achieved either by knocking out your opponent or by having more health remaining when the timer runs out. The surviving combatant will regain a small portion of their health metre if they win and will the face the next character in the opponents team. The overall victor is the player with at least one surviving team member.

### Combat

Combat consists of light punch, light kick, heavy punch and heavy kick. Button combos allow characters to perform special moves (i.e. Benimaru Nikaido's Raijin Ken). Special throws can also be performed if the player is close to the opponent. Characters can also dash across the screen, forwards or backwards, to either lessen the distance between fighters swiftly or quickly widen the gap.

#### Attack Avoidance

Pressing light kick and light punch at the same time will perform an "Attack Avoidance". The character will step back into the background and avoid attacks (including projectiles), but will be left vulnerable to throws.

#### Max State

A fighter can reach their "Max State", which is achieved by filling the Special Gauge. When in Max State, the fighter will flash red and their attacks will deal a greater amount of damage. After a short time, the Max State will end and the gauge will be emptied again.

To fill the Special Gauge, the character must be taking damage, blocking damage or by manually charging it. Holding down the light kick, light punch and heavy punch will trigger the charging stance - however, this leaves the player vulnerable to attack. When at a distance, pressing the heavy punch button will cause the fighter to perform a taunt, which will lower the opponent's Special Gauge.

#### Desperation Moves

Desperation Moves (sometimes called 'Super Special Moves') are powerful attacks usually triggered when the fighter is low on health (indicated when the health bar begins flashing red). However, Desperation Moves can also be triggered when in Max State, which will bring Max State to a premature end.

#### Assist Attack

A very niche, circumstantial technique, the "Assist Attack" in KoF '94 sees one of your team mates jump in to assist you. In order for this to trigger, you would need to have been beaten consistently by your opponent so much that you enter a dizzied state. When in this state, you will be momentarily dazed and wide open to attack. However, if you are positioned on your side of the stage, where your team mates stand in the background, you can press light kick, light punch and heavy punch all at once to get one of your allies to jump in to save you. However, only undefeated allies can do this. If you have already witnessed both of your team mates fall to the enemy, they will be unable to jump in to assist you. You will be able to tell if your friends are downed by their character sprite's appearance where they stand in the background.

## Characters

### Team Japan (Hero Team)

* Kyo Kusanagi
* Benimaru Nikaido
* Goro Daimon

### Team Italy (Team Fatal Fury)

* Terry Bogard
* Andy Bogard
* Joe Higashi

### Team Mexico (Team Art of Fighting)

* Ryo Sakazaki
* Robert Garcia
* Takuma Sakazaki

### Team United Kingdom (Women Fighters Team)

* Mai Shiranui
* Yuri Sakazaki
* King

### Team Brazil (Team Ikari Warriors)

* Ralf Jones
* Clark Still
* Heidern

### Team Korea Justice

* Kim Kaphwan
* Chang Koehan
* Choi Bounge

### Team China (Team Psycho Soldier)

* Athena Asamiya
* Sie Kensou
* Chin Gentsai

### Team American Sports

* Heavy D!
* Lucky Glauber
* Brian Battler

## Story

The King of Fighters '94 is considered the "Prologue" game, with subsequent mainline titles grouped into several story arcs, whilst KoF '94 stands alone.

> "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. What type of battle with these magnificent fighters sure to go down in history show us? The voltage of the fan's excitement reaches a fevered pitch as the tournament finally approaches its beginning." ~ *The King of Fighters '94*, game introduction.
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Rugal Bernstein, a powerful and notorious criminal - a pervayor of illegal weapons and drugs - decided to host a new King of Fighters tournament. The previous tournaments had been hosted by Geese Howard and Wolfgang Krauser, but with Bernstein at the helm, he reinvented the tournament into a 3 vs 3 team battle. Invitations were sent out across the globe and invitees had to form teams in order to compete, each fighter signing up for their own goals.

## Video

Arcade Longplay 194 The King of Fighters 94Story Mode (longplay)