July 30, 1996: Violent Fighting to Come Again
by Diamond Feit
Say what you will about the finite nature of time and the perils of an overcrowded market, but back in the 90s I viewed the explosion of the fighting game genre as a net positive. In the context of the famous cartoon about how artists and the audience view commercial abundance differently, my friends and I would visit arcades and (metaphorically) shout \"holy shit, 18 cakes!\" Could we play every game every day? Certainly not, but the games that we did play became treasured experiences.
Thanks to their efforts in building a memorable and deep roster of characters, we held a special level of admiration for SNK fighting games. Once the company pivoted towards gathering its biggest stars in the annual King of Fighters series, it created a \"one-stop shopping\" aura; instead of keeping up with multiple franchises and different mechanics, we could enjoy one umbrella release each year that offered an overview of everything SNK could muster.
When KOF kicked off in 1994, it took over our lives for many months. We still checked out newer games in arcades, but Kyo, Terry, Ryo, and the rest of the gang dominated our hangout time at home thanks to one NEO\u2022GEO-owning friend. The blend of brand-new brawlers pit against familiar faces from Fatal Fury, Art of Fighting, Ikari Warriors and more proved impossible to put down.
I suppose the inclusion of '94 in the title should have told us that SNK planned to create a follow-up, but I still recall the shock I felt when I spotted The King of Fighters '95 the following summer. However, my excitement for the new game was tempered by how few changes it made to its predecessor. '95 looked and played nearly identically to '94, and while the new Rival Team represented a major upgrade over the omitted American Sports Team, I came away unconvinced that we should trade up.
One summer later and 30 years ago this week, SNK released a third iteration in their budding crossover franchise. With multiple mechanical modifications, several roster substitutions, and overhauled visuals, The King of Fighters '96 represented a huge step forward.
For those just joining us, The King of Fighters asks players to select three characters and outlast nine other trios to reach the end of the tournament. Fights are still one-on-one but the first team to knock down three opponents wins and moves on. KOF '94 only allows players to pick one of eight prefab teams but '95 opened the door to custom teams, a tradition '96 embraces with over 3600 potential partner combinations.
KOF '96 introduces four new combatants and spotlights each one during the game's attract mode. Art of Fighting fans will recognize Kasumi as a new member of the Women's Team as Ryuhaku Todoh's daughter debuted just months earlier in The Path of the Warrior. Likewise, the mysterious commander of the Ikari Team departs but has his daughter, Leona Heidern, take his place.
'95 introduced the world to Iori Yagami, a sexy bad boy rival to KOF protagonist Kyo Kusanagi. Initially Iori was saddled with two also-rans from older SNK games but '96 drops those dudes in favor of Vice and Mature, two adult women in business suits. This duo of brutal beauties made brief appearances as secretaries to boss Rugal Bernstein in KOF '94 and '95, a villain who definitively died at the end of the previous game and will not return for at least two more years.
Speaking of villains, KOF '96 imports three heavies from Fatal Fury, Fatal Fury 2, and Art of Fighting to form a Boss Team. Players climbing the arcade ladder will always confront Geese Howard, Wolfgang Krauser, and Mr. Big in the ninth and penultimate conflict. While other teams make do with one signature background tune, each member of the Boss Team retains their imposing theme music from their respective games\u2014just one more example of these guys not following the rules.
Larger than any personnel changes, KOF '96 makes significant alterations to series lead Kyo Kusanagi. In '94 and '95, Kyo used similar moves to other fighting game poster boys with a projectile attack, a rising anti-air attack, and a flying kick. This year, Kyo swaps his signature long-range flames for a sequence of strikes that players can control via a string of inputs. This shift from user-friendly to highly specific offers Kyo more depth at the cost of adding a learning curve to fully understand his new repertoire.
Kyo wasn't the only KOF veteran returning in '96 with a new bag of tricks. Since their inception the Art of Fighting team has always sported too many moves when compared to any other team, and in '96 they finally get their wings clipped. Ryo, Robert, and Yuri all lose their projectiles, with their famous Ha\u014dsh\u014dk\u014dken changed to a meter-based super instead of a free-to-use regular attack. Ikari Warriors' Ralf and Clark began their martial arts careers as literal duplicates of one another to save on memory, but '96 finally grants Clark independence as he transitions to full-on grappler.
One interesting change made across the board for '96 is the dodge roll. From the very beginning KOF has always sought to offer players the means to get out of harm's way \u00e0 la the lane changes of Fatal Fury. In '94 and '95, pressing the A and B buttons together triggers a stationary sidestep which grants a few frames of invincibility. For '96, the dodge roll does the same thing only with added mobility, allowing players to safely advance by passing right through any obstacle. You can even roll while blocking at the cost of some meter if you're pinned down and need room to breathe.
KOF '96 also expands the movement potential of jumping with the Super Jump and Short Hop. Leaping in 2D fighting games has always paired risk with reward: Going airborne lets you get the drop on opponents but if they see you coming, they can always counter while you're helpless in mid-air. By adding two new jumps of varying height and speed, this decreases the odds that opponents will read your movements correctly.
Outside of gameplay, KOF '96 greatly expands the lore driving all these fisticuffs. '94 didn't have much story to tell beyond \"wealthy maniac hosts fighting tournament.\" '95 slightly added more details by means of Iori Yagami and his family's grudge against the Kusanagis. Yet '96 leans into the supernatural with a pair of bosses powered by magic. The host of the tournament, Chizuru Kagura, explains that her family exists to restrain an ancient evil known as Orochi, something that Rugal tried but failed to unseal. Players fight her three-on-one but it's no cakewalk as she can project duplicates of her body.
Upon her defeat, a man named Goenitz appears as if carried by the wind. He too speaks of Orochi but while Chizuru used that name as a threat, he boasts of unsealing it for his own gain. The fight against Goenitz can be trying as he summons tornadoes in an instant and his devastating super moves do not require any meter. Should he fall, he blinks away to \"heaven\" leaving players with more questions than answers.
The King of Fighters '96 premiered in arcades in summer, followed by NEO\u2022GEO home versions in the fall. Ports for PlayStation and Saturn launched in 1997 but only in Japan, not in any other markets. Critics approved of the roster shake-up and attempts at painting a larger narrative to connect all these characters. Electronic Gaming Monthly picked '96 as the Best NEO\u2022GEO Game of the Year ahead of Samurai Shodown III and Metal Slug. In their 10th annual awards issue, Gamest ranked '96 very high across multiple categories, including first place for Best Direction and third place overall in their Game of the Year rankings.
Personally I clocked '96 as a major improvement, even if the now-established annual nature of the series meant its arrival came as no surprise. I was disappointed that Heidern left because I like picking weirdos, but Leona proved an exemplary substitute who quickly grew into her own woman. Speaking of women, Vice and Mature completely matched Iori's freak and maintain a presence on my all-time list of KOF favorites.\u00a0
Yet in the larger scheme of things, KOF '96 did not capture my attention for long thanks to ever-increasing competition at the arcade. Even just looking at Capcom's output that year, the company released a vastly-refined Street Fighter Alpha sequel and followed that with the sensational X-Men vs. Street Fighter. KOF had codified the crossover fighter but also opened the doors to an arms race and SNK's rival in Osaka began pulling out the big guns.
Three decades later with all of these quarter-munchers now available to anyone with an internet connection, I still really appreciate KOF '96 in a middle child kind of way. It's got plenty to be proud of, but it didn't break new ground like its older siblings nor did it take the franchise in new directions like future iterations would. Unfortunately, this also means I'm a lot less inclined to revisit '96 for more than a few minutes.
To circle back to the cake metaphor above, 1996 might have been the first year I started to realize that I could only eat so much dessert. I still lived at home but I had a job and a girlfriend and suddenly I had to become choosy when it came to appeasing my sweet tooth. KOF '96 features all the ingredients I crave and I had the utmost respect for the baker, but I only managed to make room for a few slices after gorging myself on other treats.
Writer/podcaster/performer Diamond Feit has written professionally since 2009 and contributed to Retronauts since 2018. Look up feitclub on social media or visit Diamond's lofi website. By the time you read this, Diamond will already be in New York prepping for Long Island Retro and taking a break from Japan's summer heat. Xe'll be back with the monthly community podcast on August 30, followed by xyr next column in September. Good night!
", "contentSnippet": "July 30, 1996: Violent Fighting to Come Again\nby Diamond Feit\nSay what you will about the finite nature of time and the perils of an overcrowded market, but back in the 90s I viewed the explosion of the fighting game genre as a net positive. In the context of the famous cartoon about how artists and the audience view commercial abundance differently, my friends and I would visit arcades and (metaphorically) shout \"holy shit, 18 cakes!\" Could we play every game every day? Certainly not, but the games that we did play became treasured experiences.\nThanks to their efforts in building a memorable and deep roster of characters, we held a special level of admiration for SNK fighting games. Once the company pivoted towards gathering its biggest stars in the annual King of Fighters series, it created a \"one-stop shopping\" aura; instead of keeping up with multiple franchises and different mechanics, we could enjoy one umbrella release each year that offered an overview of everything SNK could muster.\nWhen KOF kicked off in 1994, it took over our lives for many months. We still checked out newer games in arcades, but Kyo, Terry, Ryo, and the rest of the gang dominated our hangout time at home thanks to one NEO\u2022GEO-owning friend. The blend of brand-new brawlers pit against familiar faces from Fatal Fury, Art of Fighting, Ikari Warriors and more proved impossible to put down.\nI suppose the inclusion of '94 in the title should have told us that SNK planned to create a follow-up, but I still recall the shock I felt when I spotted The King of Fighters '95 the following summer. However, my excitement for the new game was tempered by how few changes it made to its predecessor. '95 looked and played nearly identically to '94, and while the new Rival Team represented a major upgrade over the omitted American Sports Team, I came away unconvinced that we should trade up.\nOne summer later and 30 years ago this week, SNK released a third iteration in their budding crossover franchise. With multiple mechanical modifications, several roster substitutions, and overhauled visuals, The King of Fighters '96 represented a huge step forward.\nFor those just joining us, The King of Fighters asks players to select three characters and outlast nine other trios to reach the end of the tournament. Fights are still one-on-one but the first team to knock down three opponents wins and moves on. KOF '94 only allows players to pick one of eight prefab teams but '95 opened the door to custom teams, a tradition '96 embraces with over 3600 potential partner combinations.\nKOF '96 introduces four new combatants and spotlights each one during the game's attract mode. Art of Fighting fans will recognize Kasumi as a new member of the Women's Team as Ryuhaku Todoh's daughter debuted just months earlier in The Path of the Warrior. Likewise, the mysterious commander of the Ikari Team departs but has his daughter, Leona Heidern, take his place.\n'95 introduced the world to Iori Yagami, a sexy bad boy rival to KOF protagonist Kyo Kusanagi. Initially Iori was saddled with two also-rans from older SNK games but '96 drops those dudes in favor of Vice and Mature, two adult women in business suits. This duo of brutal beauties made brief appearances as secretaries to boss Rugal Bernstein in KOF '94 and '95, a villain who definitively died at the end of the previous game and will not return for at least two more years.\nSpeaking of villains, KOF '96 imports three heavies from Fatal Fury, Fatal Fury 2, and Art of Fighting to form a Boss Team. Players climbing the arcade ladder will always confront Geese Howard, Wolfgang Krauser, and Mr. Big in the ninth and penultimate conflict. While other teams make do with one signature background tune, each member of the Boss Team retains their imposing theme music from their respective games\u2014just one more example of these guys not following the rules.\nLarger than any personnel changes, KOF '96 makes significant alterations to series lead Kyo Kusanagi. In '94 and '95, Kyo used similar moves to other fighting game poster boys with a projectile attack, a rising anti-air attack, and a flying kick. This year, Kyo swaps his signature long-range flames for a sequence of strikes that players can control via a string of inputs. This shift from user-friendly to highly specific offers Kyo more depth at the cost of adding a learning curve to fully understand his new repertoire.\nKyo wasn't the only KOF veteran returning in '96 with a new bag of tricks. Since their inception the Art of Fighting team has always sported too many moves when compared to any other team, and in '96 they finally get their wings clipped. Ryo, Robert, and Yuri all lose their projectiles, with their famous Ha\u014dsh\u014dk\u014dken changed to a meter-based super instead of a free-to-use regular attack. Ikari Warriors' Ralf and Clark began their martial arts careers as literal duplicates of one another to save on memory, but '96 finally grants Clark independence as he transitions to full-on grappler.\nOne interesting change made across the board for '96 is the dodge roll. From the very beginning KOF has always sought to offer players the means to get out of harm's way \u00e0 la the lane changes of Fatal Fury. In '94 and '95, pressing the A and B buttons together triggers a stationary sidestep which grants a few frames of invincibility. For '96, the dodge roll does the same thing only with added mobility, allowing players to safely advance by passing right through any obstacle. You can even roll while blocking at the cost of some meter if you're pinned down and need room to breathe.\nKOF '96 also expands the movement potential of jumping with the Super Jump and Short Hop. Leaping in 2D fighting games has always paired risk with reward: Going airborne lets you get the drop on opponents but if they see you coming, they can always counter while you're helpless in mid-air. By adding two new jumps of varying height and speed, this decreases the odds that opponents will read your movements correctly.\nOutside of gameplay, KOF '96 greatly expands the lore driving all these fisticuffs. '94 didn't have much story to tell beyond \"wealthy maniac hosts fighting tournament.\" '95 slightly added more details by means of Iori Yagami and his family's grudge against the Kusanagis. Yet '96 leans into the supernatural with a pair of bosses powered by magic. The host of the tournament, Chizuru Kagura, explains that her family exists to restrain an ancient evil known as Orochi, something that Rugal tried but failed to unseal. Players fight her three-on-one but it's no cakewalk as she can project duplicates of her body.\nUpon her defeat, a man named Goenitz appears as if carried by the wind. He too speaks of Orochi but while Chizuru used that name as a threat, he boasts of unsealing it for his own gain. The fight against Goenitz can be trying as he summons tornadoes in an instant and his devastating super moves do not require any meter. Should he fall, he blinks away to \"heaven\" leaving players with more questions than answers.\nThe King of Fighters '96 premiered in arcades in summer, followed by NEO\u2022GEO home versions in the fall. Ports for PlayStation and Saturn launched in 1997 but only in Japan, not in any other markets. Critics approved of the roster shake-up and attempts at painting a larger narrative to connect all these characters. Electronic Gaming Monthly picked '96 as the Best NEO\u2022GEO Game of the Year ahead of Samurai Shodown III and Metal Slug. In their 10th annual awards issue, Gamest ranked '96 very high across multiple categories, including first place for Best Direction and third place overall in their Game of the Year rankings.\nPersonally I clocked '96 as a major improvement, even if the now-established annual nature of the series meant its arrival came as no surprise. I was disappointed that Heidern left because I like picking weirdos, but Leona proved an exemplary substitute who quickly grew into her own woman. Speaking of women, Vice and Mature completely matched Iori's freak and maintain a presence on my all-time list of KOF favorites.\u00a0\nYet in the larger scheme of things, KOF '96 did not capture my attention for long thanks to ever-increasing competition at the arcade. Even just looking at Capcom's output that year, the company released a vastly-refined Street Fighter Alpha sequel and followed that with the sensational X-Men vs. Street Fighter. KOF had codified the crossover fighter but also opened the doors to an arms race and SNK's rival in Osaka began pulling out the big guns.\nThree decades later with all of these quarter-munchers now available to anyone with an internet connection, I still really appreciate KOF '96 in a middle child kind of way. It's got plenty to be proud of, but it didn't break new ground like its older siblings nor did it take the franchise in new directions like future iterations would. Unfortunately, this also means I'm a lot less inclined to revisit '96 for more than a few minutes.\nTo circle back to the cake metaphor above, 1996 might have been the first year I started to realize that I could only eat so much dessert. I still lived at home but I had a job and a girlfriend and suddenly I had to become choosy when it came to appeasing my sweet tooth. KOF '96 features all the ingredients I crave and I had the utmost respect for the baker, but I only managed to make room for a few slices after gorging myself on other treats.\nWriter/podcaster/performer Diamond Feit has written professionally since 2009 and contributed to Retronauts since 2018. Look up feitclub on social media or visit Diamond's lofi website. By the time you read this, Diamond will already be in New York prepping for Long Island Retro and taking a break from Japan's summer heat. Xe'll be back with the monthly community podcast on August 30, followed by xyr next column in September. Good night!", "guid": "165145103", "isoDate": "2026-08-02T11:00:05.000Z", "itunes": { "duration": "870", "image": "https://c10.patreonusercontent.com/4/patreon-media/p/post/165145103/ece8245be0914172b335f626780db420/eyJkIjo3MiwiaCI6MzAwMCwic3RyaXBfYWxwaGEiOjEsInciOjMwMDAsIndlYnAiOjB9/1.jpg?token-hash=juLcfTJXVbIG17mY2DiikXAiUIAL1zs-ajjIOSvwM9A%3D" }, "itunes_duration": "0:14:29" }