Kyo and Iori were initially planned to not appear in this game, as the developers wanted them removed in favor of K'[1]. However, there are multiple ways to make them appear in him:
After the fight with Krizalid, the player can have a chance to fight Kyo or Iori depending on their Battle Points. To fight Kyo, you must score a minimum of 280 points to fight him. To fight Iori, you must score a minimum of 200 points to fight him. This is possible only if you're playing with an Official Team, and they do not appear if you use an Edit Team or Special Team.
To unlock Kyo Kusanagi: Start a game (Arcade or VS. mode), and let the Roulette do the character selection for you. If you end up with at least three of the following characters (Benimaru, K', Kyo-1, Kyo-2, Maxima, Shingo, Whip), win that match (VS. mode), or beat the game (Arcade mode). Either way, it will unlock a portion of the Kyo code. Once the Kyo code has been fully revealed, it will be indicated by the appearance of a "K" initial on the title screen. When this happens, go to the Character Select screen, highlight the Roulette box, then press and hold the Start button. While holding the Start button, quickly do the following combination with the control stick:, , , , , . A picture of Kyo will appear in place of the Kusanagi Sun symbol to the left of the Roulette box, and he will be selectable.
To unlock Iori Yagami: Start a game (Arcade or VS. mode), and let the Roulette do the character selection for you. If you end up with at least three of the following characters (Athena, Bao, Jhun, Kasumi, Kim, Leona, Xiangfei), win that match (VS. mode), or beat the game (Arcade mode). Either way, it will unlock a portion of the Iori code. Once the Iori code has been fully revealed, it will be indicated by the appearance of a "I" initial on the title screen. When this happens, go to the Character Select screen, highlight the Roulette box, then press and hold the Start button. While holding the Start button, do the following combination with the control stick: , , , , , . A picture of Iori will appear in place of the Yagami Moon symbol to the right of the Roulette box, and he will be selectable.
This game (and its updated version The King of Fighters '99 Evolution) and The King of Fighters 2000 are the only games in the series to use the system point-up and point-down (A.K.A. Battle Ability), a system in which the points earned by the player increase or decrease according to performance during the game, and is only available in the Story Mode of each game. This system is abolished in the last canonical game of the NESTS Chronicles, and the series goes back to the system accumulation system, in which the player accumulates points according to his performance in Story Mode.
In this game, the strikers are automatic, i.e., when the player choose the order of his team, the 4th character is the striker.
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