HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''The King of Fighters '98: The Slugfest'', known in Japan as ''The King of Fighters '98: Dream Match Never Ends (KOF '98)'', is a
fighting game A fighting game, also known as a versus fighting game, is a video game genre, genre of video game that involves combat between two or more players. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as Blocking (martial arts), blocking, grappli ...
released by
SNK is a Japanese video game hardware and software company. It is the successor to the company Shin Nihon Kikaku and presently owns the SNK video game brand and the Neo Geo video game platform. SNK's predecessor Shin Nihon Kikaku was founded in 1978 ...
for the
Neo Geo Neo Geo is a family of video game hardware developed by SNK. On the market from 1990 to 2004, the brand originated with the release of an arcade system, the Neo Geo MVS and its home console counterpart, the Neo Geo AES. The Neo Geo MVS was su ...
arcade and home consoles in 1998. It is the fifth game in ''
The King of Fighters ''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 plat ...
'' 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 (from '' KOF '94'' to '' '97''). ''KOF '98'' was also released for the
Neo-Geo CD The is the second home video game console of SNK, SNK Corporation's Neo Geo family, released on September 9, 1994, four years after its Neo Geo (console), cartridge-based equivalent. This is the same platform, converted to the cheaper CD format ...
in 1998 and for the
PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...
in Japan in 1999. A
Dreamcast The is a home video game console released by Sega on November 27, 1998, in Japan; September 9, 1999, in North America; and October 14, 1999, in Europe. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, N ...
version titled ''The King of Fighters: Dream Match 1999'' was released in 1999, featuring remade 3D backgrounds. The game was also made for the
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
as ''The King of Fighters '98: Ultimate Match (KOF '98UM)'', which expands the number of playable characters, further tweaks the gameplay and features a third fighting style option.


Gameplay

The gameplay does not differ much from the previous game, ''KOF '97''. Like in ''KOF '97'', the player has a choice between two playing styles: Advance and Extra, with a few slight modifications to Advanced mode (unlike in ''KOF '97'', the character will resume to normal if the player performs a Super Special Move in MAX state). This time when one character loses a round, the losing team is given a handicap in its favor. In Advanced mode, this means that the players stock capacity for Power Gauges is increased by one. In Extra mode, the time it takes to charge ones power gauge to maximum level is shortened, and the maximum remaining health requirement for a MAX Super Special Move is increased.


Characters

All the regular characters from the previous game return, along with several characters from preceding installments such as Vice and Mature (Iori's teammates from '' KOF '96''), the American Sports Team (Heavy D!, Lucky Glauber, and Brian Battler) from '' KOF '94'', and the Old Men Team (or Veteran Fighters Team) composed of Heidern,
Takuma Sakazaki is a fighting game, fighting video game trilogy that were released for the Neo Geo (system), Neo Geo platform in the early 1990s. It was the second fighting game franchise created by SNK, following the ''Fatal Fury'' series and is set in the s ...
, and
Saisyu Kusanagi ''The King of Fighters'' fighting game series, produced by SNK, includes a wide cast of characters, some of which are taken from other SNK games. The story takes place in a fictional universe in which an annual series of 3-on-3 or 4-on-4 fightin ...
, all characters whose last appearances were in '' KOF '95''.
Rugal Bernstein ''The King of Fighters'' fighting game series, produced by SNK, includes a wide cast of characters, some of which are taken from other SNK games. The story takes place in a fictional universe in which an annual series of 3-on-3 or 4-on-4 fighti ...
from ''KOF '94'' also returns as a Team Edit character, with his alter-ego Omega Rugal (the cyborg version of Rugal from ''KOF '95'') serving as the game's final boss in the Single Player Mode. Shingo Yabuki (who originally appeared in ''KOF '97'') continues as a Team Edit character, but also appears as a mid-boss character during the Arcade Mode. Additionally, the game includes EX versions of certain characters, i.e., alternate versions of characters who use movesets from previous games:
Joe Higashi is a video game character created by SNK. He makes his first appearance in the fighting game '' Fatal Fury: King of Fighters'' as one of the three playable characters from the game. The ''Fatal Fury'' series introduce Joe as a goofy Muay Thai fi ...
,
Ryo Sakazaki is a video game character developed for the 1992 fighting game ''Art of Fighting'' from SNK. His name is most often written in kana, although in some games, kanji is used to write parts of his name. In the series, Ryo is a skilled martial arti ...
,
Yuri Sakazaki is a fictional character from SNK's ''Art of Fighting'' series of fighting games. She first appears in the original ''Art of Fighting'' being kidnapped by Mr. Big, a criminal from the city of South Town. The players, Yuri's brother Ryo and his ...
and Robert Garcia are based on their ''KOF '94'' movesets, whereas
Kyo Kusanagi is a fictional 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 Japanese team from the series' title tournament. Ky ...
is based on his ''KOF '95'' moveset and
Terry Bogard is a Player character, video game character created by SNK as the protagonist of their ''Fatal Fury'' series. Introduced in ''Fatal Fury: King of Fighters'' in 1991, he is an American fighter who enters the worldwide "The King of Fighters" tourn ...
,
Andy Bogard The following is a list of video game characters featured in the ''Fatal Fury'' fighting game series developed by SNK. The series consists of the original ''Fatal Fury'', ''Fatal Fury 2'', ''Fatal Fury Special'', '' Fatal Fury 3'', ''Real Bout F ...
,
Mai Shiranui (alternatively written しらぬい まい) is a fictional character in the ''Fatal Fury'' and ''The King of Fighters'' series of fighting games by SNK. She has also appeared in other media of these franchises and in a number of other games since ...
and
Billy Kane is a player character, video game character created by SNK. He makes first appearance in the fighting game ''Fatal Fury: King of Fighters'' as the sub-boss from the game. In the ''Fatal Fury'' series Billy is the right-hand man from Geese Howard, ...
are based on their '' Real Bout Fatal Fury 2: The Newcomers'' movesets.
Japan Team *
Kyo Kusanagi is a fictional 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 Japanese team from the series' title tournament. Ky ...
* Benimaru Nikaido * Goro Daimon Fatal Fury Team *
Terry Bogard is a Player character, video game character created by SNK as the protagonist of their ''Fatal Fury'' series. Introduced in ''Fatal Fury: King of Fighters'' in 1991, he is an American fighter who enters the worldwide "The King of Fighters" tourn ...
* Andy Bogard *
Joe Higashi is a video game character created by SNK. He makes his first appearance in the fighting game '' Fatal Fury: King of Fighters'' as one of the three playable characters from the game. The ''Fatal Fury'' series introduce Joe as a goofy Muay Thai fi ...
Art of Fighting Team *
Ryo Sakazaki is a video game character developed for the 1992 fighting game ''Art of Fighting'' from SNK. His name is most often written in kana, although in some games, kanji is used to write parts of his name. In the series, Ryo is a skilled martial arti ...
* Robert Garcia *
Yuri Sakazaki is a fictional character from SNK's ''Art of Fighting'' series of fighting games. She first appears in the original ''Art of Fighting'' being kidnapped by Mr. Big, a criminal from the city of South Town. The players, Yuri's brother Ryo and his ...
Ikari Team *
Leona Heidern , who is also known as is a fictional character from SNK's ''The King of Fighters'' series of fighting video games. Leona is Heidern's adopted daughter, who is introduced in ''The King of Fighters '96''; she replaces him because he accepts a mor ...
*
Ralf Jones is a video game character created by SNK. Ralf has made appearance in several games from the company, premiering in ''TNK III'' as a military tank driver. The ''Ikari Warriors'' series also emphasized Ralf's role as a soldier with him becoming t ...
* Clark Still Psycho Soldier Team *
Athena Asamiya is a fictional character originally from the former SNK's 1987 video game ''Psycho Soldier''. An esper, Athena is a descendant of Princess Athena from the earlier ''Athena'' game. She later appears in ''The King of Fighters'' series of fighting ...
* Sie Kensou * Chin Gentsai Women Fighters Team * Chizuru Kagura *
Mai Shiranui (alternatively written しらぬい まい) is a fictional character in the ''Fatal Fury'' and ''The King of Fighters'' series of fighting games by SNK. She has also appeared in other media of these franchises and in a number of other games since ...
* King Korea Team *
Kim Kaphwan Kim Kap-Hwan (, ''Kimu Kaffan'', sometimes written as (''Kim Kap-hwan'')), usually written as Kim Kaphwan, is a fictional character in both the ''Fatal Fury'' and ''The King of Fighters'' series created by SNK. He is credited as the first ever f ...
* Chang Koehan * Choi Bounge
Orochi Team / Awakened Orochi Team * Yashiro Nanakase / Orochi Yashiro * Shermie / Orochi Shermie * Chris / Orochi Chris Outlaw Team ('97 Special Team) *
Ryuji Yamazaki The following is a list of player character, video game characters featured in the ''Fatal Fury'' fighting game series developed by SNK. The series consists of the original ''Fatal Fury: King of Fighters, Fatal Fury'', ''Fatal Fury 2'', ''Fatal F ...
*
Blue Mary , better known as , is a fictional character in SNK's ''Fatal Fury'' and ''The King of Fighters'' series. She made her first appearance in '' Fatal Fury 3: Road to the Final Victory'' which introduced her as a special agent who investigates two cri ...
*
Billy Kane is a player character, video game character created by SNK. He makes first appearance in the fighting game ''Fatal Fury: King of Fighters'' as the sub-boss from the game. In the ''Fatal Fury'' series Billy is the right-hand man from Geese Howard, ...
Yagami Team *
Iori Yagami is a fictional 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 he ...
*
Mature Mature is the adjectival form of maturity, as immature is the adjectival form of immaturity, which have several meanings. Mature or immature may also refer to: * Mature, a character from ''The King of Fighters'' series *"Mature 17+", a rating in ...
*
Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character tra ...
Masters Team * Heidern * Takuma Sakazaki * Saisyu Kusanagi American Sports Team * Heavy D * Lucky Glauber * Brian Battler Single Entry *
Rugal Bernstein ''The King of Fighters'' fighting game series, produced by SNK, includes a wide cast of characters, some of which are taken from other SNK games. The story takes place in a fictional universe in which an annual series of 3-on-3 or 4-on-4 fighti ...
* Shingo Yabuki Boss *
Omega Rugal ''The King of Fighters'' fighting game series, produced by SNK, includes a wide cast of characters, some of which are taken from other SNK games. The story takes place in a fictional universe in which an annual series of 3-on-3 or 4-on-4 fightin ...
(New Character)


Development

In ''
The King of Fighters '96 ''(KOF '96)'' is a fighting game released by SNK Playmore, SNK for the Neo Geo (console), 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 predeces ...
'', several moves from
Kyo Kusanagi is a fictional 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 Japanese team from the series' title tournament. Ky ...
were changed in order to adapt him to the new game system. However, the original moveset was still popular among gamers and as such, an alternative version of Kyo was added to ''
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 ...
''. The introduction of this version was noted to be "a hit" within gamers, the staff kept adding new alternative versions of other characters in ''KOF '98''. Since this game did not have a storyline, the SNK staff decided to return
Rugal Bernstein ''The King of Fighters'' fighting game series, produced by SNK, includes a wide cast of characters, some of which are taken from other SNK games. The story takes place in a fictional universe in which an annual series of 3-on-3 or 4-on-4 fighti ...
as the boss character noting that "he's the only character who truly represents the ultimate ''KOF'' boss." Additionally, some of his special moves were redesigned, which the staff found to have made him the strongest version of Rugal as well as one of their favorites.


Release

''KOF '98'' was originally released for arcades on July 23, 1998. It was also released for the Neo Geo AES on September 23, 1998, the
Neo-Geo CD The is the second home video game console of SNK, SNK Corporation's Neo Geo family, released on September 9, 1994, four years after its Neo Geo (console), cartridge-based equivalent. This is the same platform, converted to the cheaper CD format ...
on December 23, 1998, and the
PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...
on March 25, 1999. The PlayStation version was published in
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
by
Agetec Agetec Inc. ("ASCII Game Entertainment Technology") is an American video game publishing company that is best known for bringing Japanese titles to the United States. The company was formed through ASCII Corporation, spinning off their American di ...
, becoming the first PlayStation installment in the series to be released outside Japan since ''
The King of Fighters '95 ''(KOF '95)'' is a fighting game produced by SNK for the Neo Geo (console), Neo Geo arcade game, 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 als ...
''. The original game is also included in ''The King of Fighters Collection: Orochi Saga'' compilation released in North America and the PAL region for the
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
,
PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...
and
Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...
(the game was not included in the Japanese ''Orochi Hen'' compilation). The game was later re-released for iOS and Android.


''Dream Match''

A
Dreamcast The is a home video game console released by Sega on November 27, 1998, in Japan; September 9, 1999, in North America; and October 14, 1999, in Europe. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, N ...
version was also released on June 24, 1999, under the title ''The King of Fighters: Dream Match 1999'', reflecting the year the version was released. It came out in North America on September 30, 1999. It features remade 3D backdrops and runs at 60 frames per second. This version also featured its own anime style intro, produced by the studio; Digimation K.K., before it merged to become part of the studio
Gonzo Gonzo may refer to: People * Gonzo (nickname), a list of people with the nickname * Radislav Jovanov Gonzo (born 1964), Croatian music video director Radislav Jovanov, also known as Gonzo * Matthias Röhr (born 1962), German musician whose stage ...
, a few years later.


''Ultimate Match''

''KOF '98'' was updated under a standalone title of ''The King of Fighters '98: Ultimate Match (KOF '98UM)'' released in
2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
, ten years after the original games release. It was released in Japan as an
arcade game An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily games of skill and include arcade v ...
for the
Taito Type X The Taito Type X is an arcade system board released in 2004 by game developer and publisher Taito. Based on commodity personal computer hardware architecture, Type X is not a specification for a single set of hardware, but rather a modular platfo ...
hardware in March 2008. The PlayStation 2 version released on June 26, and was also published on the ''
NeoGeo Online Collection The ''NEOGEO Online Collection'' is a series of classic Neo Geo video games, re-released by SNK Playmore for the PlayStation 2 in Japan. These games allow you to fight against other players over the Internet by way of KDDI's MMBB matching service ...
The Best'' on June 18, 2008. The game was released in North America by
Ignition Entertainment Ignition Entertainment Limited, doing business as UTV Ignition Games, was a video game publisher of Indian media conglomerate UTV Software Communications. After The Walt Disney Company acquired UTV Software Communications as a wholly owned subsi ...
on March 3, 2009. It was released in Europe on June 10, 2009. A version for the IGS PolyGame Master 2 arcade hardware was also released in 2009, which was called ''The King of Fighters '98: Ultimate Match Hero''. ''Ultimate Match'' includes additional characters not featured in the original version of the game, such as
Eiji Kisaragi is a fighting game, fighting video game trilogy that were released for the Neo Geo (system), Neo Geo platform in the early 1990s. It was the second fighting game franchise created by SNK, following the ''Fatal Fury'' series and is set in the s ...
from ''KOF '95'', along with
Kasumi Todoh is a fighting game, fighting video game trilogy that were released for the Neo Geo (system), Neo Geo platform in the early 1990s. It was the second fighting game franchise created by SNK, following the ''Fatal Fury'' series and is set in the s ...
and the Boss Team (composed of
Geese Howard is a fictional boss character and the main villain in SNK's ''Fatal Fury'' fighting game series. Debuting in '' Fatal Fury: King of Fighters'', Geese is the local crime boss of the fictional city of South Town. Geese created and hosts a fighting ...
,
Wolfgang Krauser The following is a list of player character, video game characters featured in the ''Fatal Fury'' fighting game series developed by SNK. The series consists of the original ''Fatal Fury: King of Fighters, Fatal Fury'', ''Fatal Fury 2'', ''Fatal F ...
, and Mr. Big) from ''KOF '96'', as well as the final boss characters
Goenitz ''The King of Fighters'' fighting game series, produced by SNK, includes a wide cast of characters, some of which are taken from other SNK games. The story takes place in a fictional universe in which an annual series of 3-on-3 or 4-on-4 fight ...
and
Orochi , or simply , is a legendary eight-headed and eight-tailed Japanese dragon/serpent. Mythology Yamata no Orochi legends are originally recorded in two ancient texts about Japanese mythology and history. The 712 AD transcribes this dragon name ...
, essentially including all the characters featured in the ''KOF'' series prior to ''KOF '98''. New moves were added to the USA Sports Team to improve their playability, and EX versions of certain characters not featured in the original version were added, namely King with her ''Art of Fighting 2'' moveset, and Ryuji Yamazaki, Blue Mary and Geese Howard with their '' Real Bout Fatal Fury 2: The Newcomers'' movesets. The Orochi versions of Leona and
Iori Yagami is a fictional 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 he ...
are also playable, and both also appear as optional mid-bosses alongside Eiji, Kasumi, Shingo and original version of Rugal in the Arcade Mode. New stages were added to the game such as China and Hong Kong to show appreciation for ''KOFs high popularity in such regions; it is also the only fighting game to feature an accurate representation of Saudi Arabia in one stage, as the country was a major market for the NEO GEO line in the early 1990s. A third fighting style is also introduced in addition to Advance and Extra, dubbed "Ultimate" mode. Ultimate mode is a customizable style that allows the player to choose between features from Advance or Extra mode, such as which kind of Power Gauge to use. It also includes a 'Neo Geo' mode, directly ported from the Neo Geo console. A
mobile game A mobile game, or smartphone game, is a video game that is typically played on a mobile phone. The term also refers to all games that are played on any portable device, including from mobile phone (feature phone or smartphone), tablet, PDA to ...
based on ''Ultimate Match'', called ''The King of Fighters '98UM OL'', was released by Chinese company Ourpalm for the
iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...
and
Android Android may refer to: Science and technology * Android (robot), a humanoid robot or synthetic organism designed to imitate a human * Android (operating system), Google's mobile operating system ** Bugdroid, a Google mascot sometimes referred to ...
platforms on July 9, 2016. An updated version titled ''The King of Fighters '98: Ultimate Match Final Edition'', featuring balance changes for most characters, was released for
Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
on
Steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...
on December 16, 2014, and on
GOG.com GOG.com (formerly Good Old Games) is a digital distribution platform for video games and films. It is operated by GOG sp. z o.o., a wholly owned subsidiary of CD Projekt based in Warsaw, Poland. GOG.com delivers DRM-free video games through its ...
on June 1, 2018. This version came to the PlayStation 4 on June 21, 2022.


Reception

In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed ''The King of Fighters '98'' on their September 1, 1998 issue as being the most-successful arcade game of the month. According to ''
Famitsu formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the fo ...
'', the AES version sold over 22,651 copies in its first week on the market. During its release week, the Dreamcast version of the game sold 58,354 copies in Japan. As of 2004, the sales increased to 104,049. ''
Famitsu formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the fo ...
'' magazine scored the Dreamcast version of ''KOF '98'' a 30 out of 40, and
GameRankings GameRankings was a video gaming review aggregator that was founded in 1999 and owned by CBS Interactive. It indexed over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 video games. GameRankings was discontinued in December 2019, with its staff bei ...
gave it a 71% based on a total of 18 reviews. Various reviewers from video game publications have commented on ''KOF '98''. While reviewing the compilation ''The King of Fighters: The Orochi Saga'', Matt Edwards from
Eurogamer ''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 and owned by alongside formed company Gamer Network. Its editor-in-chief is Martin Robinson. Since 2008, it is known for the formerly eponymous games trade fair EGX ...
noted ''KOF '98'' to be the most enjoyable game from the collection as well as the most famous game from the series "that really made people stand up and take an interest in the series. We'd disagree in favor of some of the later games, but for its time ''KOF '98'' was reasonably well balanced for a 2D fighter. And there's no denying it was a blast." The game also received praise by
1UP.com ''1Up.com'' was an American entertainment website that focused on video games. Launched in 2003, ''1Up.com'' provided its own original features, news stories, game reviews, and video interviews, and also featured comprehensive PC-focused conten ...
writer Richard Li who found it to be the most balanced game from the ''KOF'' series due to the fact it improved the game mechanics from the previous titles. Jeremy Dunham from
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
gave the game an 8.4, praising, apart from the gameplay and characters, the graphics, the music as well as the background designs added for the Dreamcast version. However, he was disappointed with the lack of story in the game, noting the ones from previous games to be very entertaining.
GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
's Jeff Gerstmann found it to be one of the best 2D fighting games, noting that although new players may find it hard to play due to the difficulty in executing various special moves and how difficult the opponent AI is. Although Andy Chien from Gaming Age found that the Dreamcast port of the game was well done since it does not have the disadvantages that it had in other consoles, he noted it "could have been a lot better." He also found that the game had a bug when he tried to perform a special move from
Mai Shiranui (alternatively written しらぬい まい) is a fictional character in the ''Fatal Fury'' and ''The King of Fighters'' series of fighting games by SNK. She has also appeared in other media of these franchises and in a number of other games since ...
, which unlike the other versions, is very inconsistent. Tom Russo reviewed the Dreamcast version of the game for ''
Next Generation Next Generation or Next-Generation may refer to: Publications and literature * ''Next Generation'' (magazine), video game magazine that was made by the now defunct Imagine Media publishing company * Next Generation poets (2004), list of young ...
'', rating it two stars out of five, and stated that "Not bad, but with so many other high-quality fighters available, this one only makes sense for players nostalgic for old NeoGeo fighting games." GameRankings gave ''Ultimate Match'' a 77% based on 14 reviews for the PlayStation 2 version and 74% based on 5 reviews for the Xbox 360 version.
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
gave it a 73 out of 100 for both the PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360 versions based on 11 reviews and 4 reviews respectively. Various publications for video games and other media have commented on ''Ultimate Match'' with
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
writer Ryan Clements giving it a 7.8, saying that probably this game should only be recommended to fans of ''The King of Fighters'' due to how old its graphics are as well as the little balance it has with 60 characters being playable. James Mielke from
1UP.com ''1Up.com'' was an American entertainment website that focused on video games. Launched in 2003, ''1Up.com'' provided its own original features, news stories, game reviews, and video interviews, and also featured comprehensive PC-focused conten ...
complained on how the game is very similar to ''KOF '98'', but found the controls to be comfortable and intuitive for any fans of 2D fighting games. However, Heath Hooker from GameZone found that the gameplay and sound from the game make up for the graphics even though there is not much difference between ''KOF '98'' and ''KOF '98: Ultimate Match''. In 2013, ''KOF '98 Ultimate Match'' was ranked as the 15th best arcade game of the 1990s by ''
Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
'', who also called it "possibly the greatest SNK fighting game of them all," and included it on their list of 25 best 2D fighting games of all time in 2013. In 2017, the Chinese mobile game ''King of Fighters '98UM OL'' grossed () in Japan.


Notes


References


External links

*
''The King of Fighters '98''
at
GameFAQs GameFAQs is a website that hosts FAQs and walkthroughs for video games. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff Veasey and was bought by CNET Networks in May 2003. It is currently owned by Fandom, Inc. since October 2022. The site has a databa ...

''The King of Fighters '98''
at
Giant Bomb ''Giant Bomb'' is an American video game website and wiki that includes personality-driven gaming videos, commentary, news, and reviews, created by former ''GameSpot'' editors Jeff Gerstmann and Ryan Davis. The website was voted by ''Time'' mag ...

''The King of Fighters '98''
at
Killer List of Videogames Killer List of Videogames (KLOV) is a website featuring an online encyclopedia devoted to cataloging arcade games past and present. It is the video game department of the International Arcade Museum, and has been referred to as "the IMDb for pla ...

''The King of Fighters '98''
at
MobyGames MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes nearly 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms. The site is supported by banner ads and a small ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:King of Fighters '98, The 1998 video games 2D fighting games ACA Neo Geo games Android (operating system) games Arcade video games D4 Enterprise games Dreamcast games Fighting games used at the Super Battle Opera tournament IOS games Multiplayer and single-player video games Neo Geo games Neo Geo CD games NESiCAxLive games Nintendo Switch games PlayStation (console) games PlayStation 2 games PlayStation 4 games PlayStation Network games SNK games SNK Playmore games The King of Fighters games Fighting games Video games set in Japan Video games set in China Video games set in Spain Video games set in the Middle East Video games set in the United States Video games set in South Korea Video games set in Hong Kong Video games set in Taiwan Video games with AI-versus-AI modes Virtual Console games Windows games Xbox 360 Live Arcade games Xbox One games Video games developed in Japan Hamster Corporation games Agetec games