The King of Fighters '97

About The King of Fighters '97

The King of Fighters '97 (1997) is SNK's conclusion to the Orochi saga, letting players choose between Advanced and Extra fighting styles as the servants of Orochi try to revive their master.

The King of Fighters '97 in Depth

The King of Fighters tournament has sparked a worldwide fighting craze, and the servants of the demon Yamata no Orochi, the "Will of Gaia", plan to revive their master with energy and sacrifices gathered from its fighters. The story focuses on Kyo Kusanagi, whose design was inspired by Japanese myth, notably the sword Kusanagi no Tsurugi won by the god Susanoo-no-Mikoto in his encounter with the mythical beast, and whose move Orochinagi was conceived to defeat it. The team behind it concentrated on creating bosses, above all Orochi, who faces the Sacred Treasures Team introduced in KOF '96.

Three-character teams return, and before choosing a team players select one of two styles. Advanced builds on KOF '96, with dodges, counterattacks and controllable jumps, but its Power Gauge fills when the player lands hits or performs special moves, storing up to three stocks; one stock powers a Super Special Move or activates MAX mode, boosting attack and defence, and a Super used in MAX mode becomes stronger still. Extra is based on KOF '94 and '95: the gauge is charged manually or filled by defending, entering MAX mode when full, Supers are available only in MAX mode or with life flashing red, and the side-step replaces the emergency roll. Hardcore Gaming 101 praised its new characters and seamless story but found it unbalanced.

Making The King of Fighters '97

Masanori Kuwasashi, under pressure from the yearly release schedule, stepped down after KOF '96, and battle designer Toyohisa Tanabe took over, balancing the characters with the main aim of ending the Orochi arc, planned since the series began, by revealing its title villain. KOF '97 set out to improve the experimental systems of the previous game and to give players many combos, which led to the Advanced and Extra styles. Released in arcades and on Neo Geo CD, with Japanese PlayStation and Saturn ports, it received positive reviews for its characters and narrative: AllGame called its presentation the series' best, and Sega Saturn Magazine called it a return to form. It sold well and was followed by KOF '98 and the visual novel The King of Fighters: Kyo.