The King of Fighters '96



The King of Fighters '96 is the third game in The King of Fighters series by SNK. It continues the three-part storyline arc known as the "Orochi Saga," which began in The King of Fighters '95. The King of Fighters '96 was ported to the PlayStation and Sega Saturn in Japan. The Saturn port requires a memory expansion cartridge to run. This game was also released on the Nintendo Game Boy in Japan only.

This is the first game to achieve KOF's distinct look; its graphics and sound more closely resemble the newer King of Fighters games than they do those of KOF '95.

Storyline
The King of Fighters is an annual tournament uniting fighters from across the world, starting in 1994. Those deemed worthy of entry into the King of Fighters receive a letter of invitation from an anonymous sponsor of the tournament. Fighters are divided into teams of three and battle other teams in order to advance to the finals.

In The King of Fighters '94 and The King of Fighters '95, the sponsor of the King of Fighters tournament turned out to be Rugal Bernstein, a notorious criminal and fighter who held the tournament in order to satisfy his thirst for competition. He was consequently defeated at the end of the first two tournaments by the team from Japan, consisting of the story's main protagonists, Kyo Kusanagi, Benimaru Nikaido, and Goro Daimon.

In 1996, the King of Fighters tournament was announced again, though the letters of invitation sent out to fighters were no longer sent by Rugal. The letters also announced many changes, the first of which being a massive overhaul of the tournament's approach. During the time that had passed between the tournaments in 1995 and 1996, and the King of Fighters tournament's fame had grown immensely, to the point that it turned into a major international event, which had not happened before. Huge corporations transformed the King of Fighters tournament into something widely televised, commercialized, and celebrated, drawing in many crowds.

The Japan Team reached the finals of the tournament again, where the sponsor turned out to be a woman named Chizuru Kagura. Her intent was to make contact with Kyo Kusanagi, as well as his rival and enemy, Iori Yagami. After fighting Kyo and a tie, Chizuru revealed to him that a larger power was afoot, known as the Orochi, and that he would soon have to battle against it.

However, Kyo's battle against Orochi would get an unexpected head-start when a mysterious man named Leopold Goenitz appeared from out of nowhere and confronted both Kyo and Chizuru, telling them that the revival of Orochi would soon come to pass and that no one would be able to stop him from within his appearance. To the surprise of both Benimaru and Goro, Kyo reveals to them that Goenitz had defeated him a few weeks before the start of the tournament and that it caused Kyo to re-evaluate his own moves before the competition (This explains the fact of why Kyo's ground fire spark was replaced by his new flame fist combo attack)

After a grueling fight upon the ruins of the damaged stadium, the Hero team defeats Goenitz and celebrate their hard-earned accomplishment in the tournament, but their victory however is short-lived when a dying Goenitz tells them that in one year, Orochi will return to the Earth and that he'll wipe out the entire human race in an instant. Upon saying this statement, Goenitz transforms himself into a gale tornado and disappears upon everyone's own sight, confirming the fact that he had indeed died. With this revelation in his mind, Kyo now wonders on what will happen to him when he confronts the mysterious Orochi from within the destined battle.

New characters introduced in this episode include Kasumi Todoh, who became a member of the Ladies' team and acts as a rival to the Art of Fighting Team (most in particularly Ryo Sakazaki); Leona Heidern, who joins the Ikari Team in place of her mentor and adoptive father, Heidern, to investigate Geese Howard; Mature and Vice, two of Rugal's assistants who join Iori Yagami and aid him; and the Boss Team, composed of Geese Howard, Wolfgang Krauser, and Geese's right-hand-man, Mr. Big.

Hero Team

 * Kyo Kusanagi
 * Benimaru Nikaido
 * Goro Daimon

Fatal Fury Team

 * Terry Bogard
 * Andy Bogard
 * Joe Higashi

Art of Fighting Team

 * Ryo Sakazaki
 * Robert Garcia
 * Yuri Sakazaki

New Ikari Team

 * Leona Heidern
 * Ralf Jones
 * Clark Still

Psycho Soldier Team

 * Athena Asamiya
 * Sie Kensou
 * Chin Gentsai

New Women Fighters Team

 * Kasumi Todoh
 * Mai Shiranui
 * King

Korea Team

 * Kim Kaphwan
 * Chang Koehan
 * Choi Bounge

Yagami Team

 * Iori Yagami
 * Mature
 * Vice

Boss Team

 * Geese Howard
 * Wolfgang Krauser
 * Mr. Big

Bosses

 * Chizuru Kagura (Sub-Boss; Tournament Sponsor)
 * Leopold Goenitz (Main Boss)

Gameboy Exclusives

 * Mr. Karate
 * Wild Iori - as "Iori!"
 * Wild Leona - as "Leona!"
 * Maki Kagura - as "Kagura"

Related Media
An extensive database for game, titled The King of Fighters '96 Neo Geo Collection, was released on February 14, 1997 to promote the year's title. It was available only for the Neo Geo CD. The database included the game's into, an interactive reenactment of the game's backstory, character profiles spoken by their voice actors, outtakes, an exclusive gallery section from the creators, a complete command list and a sound selection. A similar version of this game, The King of Fighters '96 Perfect File, was also released for Windows and Macintosh computers. This version was released on June 18, 1997 and included most of the features found in its predecessor.

Trivia

 * In order to preserve their characters' images, SNK ceased to age their characters and they have remained the same ages since The King of Fighters '95. To stay true to this theme, newer characters following this year also keep the same age they have when introduced.