Developer: SNK Publisher: SNK Release: 09/09/99 Genre: Fighting
It was hard to be a King of Fighters fan growing up. King of Fighters ’94 showed up as arcades in my area were disappearing. Sony did us a solid bringing KOF ‘95 to the US. Otherwise the series was basically non-existent for console owners unless you owned a Neo Geo or bought pricey imports. The Dreamcast launch was the perfect opportunity to bring the series back and SNK picked the perfect game to start. The King of Fighters Dream Match ’99 is a great overall package with tons of features that holds up well against its stiff fighting game competition on the platform.
King of Fighters Dream Match ’99 is an “enhanced” port of King of Fighters ’98. This was the first dream match title in the series meaning it has no story arc. Dream Match is an excuse to bring back fan favorites from throughout SNK history whether they are dead or alive. Think of it as a reprieve between major story arcs if you will. If you want the further adventures of Kyo and friends look elsewhere. But if you want to have fun with a massive roster of characters of all play styles this is the game for you. While it sounds funny to talk about story in a fighting game SNK was one of the first to take it seriously.
At 38 characters with a further 13 alternate versions unlockable Dream Match ’99 has the largest roster of a fighting game of the time short of Marvel vs. Capcom 2. The roster brings back almost everyone from the previous four games outside of fan favorite Eiji from KOF 95, the bosses from KOF 96 (Goenitz and Orochi) and the boss team from the same game (Geese, Mr. Big, and Krauser). Personally that last one is surprising; who the hell was asking for the American Sports Team? Despite that being slightly disappointing the sheer size and variety of the cast is second to none. Undoubtedly there is at least one character everyone will glom on to.
Dream Match ’99 offers the same two gameplay systems from KOF ’97. Advanced mode is for aggressive players that like to rush down opponents. As you perform special moves and take damage the special meter fills and you build stocks. You can use a stock to activate max mode which increases attack power and defense. For those that are more defensive extra mode is identical to KOF ’95. The dodge move lets you move in to the background to avoid attacks. Your power gauge fills by blocking and taking damage or you can leave yourself vulnerable to manually charge it yourself. At max power you can use your character’s desperation move as well as receive the power and defense bonus. Anyone familiar with SNK will know that desperation moves require ridiculous finger gymnastics to execute so that bonus is moot.
With such a massive roster the game covers a wide variety of play styles. Characters like Kyo and Iori are heavily combo oriented while Goro and Yashiro are grapplers. Since King of Fighters pulls from so many SNK series it is hard to imagine most not being familiar with at least some of the cast in terms of mechanics. Part of the reason this installment remains a fan favorite to this day is because SNK have done an excellent job balancing the game. I will admit it is fun when designers throw out all the rules and allow mayhem to reign. The Marvel vs. Capcom games can attest. But that also means clear favorites emerge leaving a good chunk of the roster as dead weight. That is not the case here and the game is better for it.
The sole reason this game is titled Dream Match ’99 is due to its few graphical updates. The game has a cool animated intro of Kyo fighting Iori with the rest of the cast interspersed throughout. The backgrounds are 3d recreations of the pixel originals but whether they are better is a case by case basis. The streets of Japan features 3d buildings and cars that shift perspective as you fight. The Middle Eastern village is similar but lacks the fine detail of the pixel art. The Court of Lions in Spain benefits the most as the shifting perspective looks fantastic. It is admirable that they come so close to replicating the 2d art so well that you won’t notice. But in my opinion if you are going to go 3d do it all the way. It is kind of pointless to mimic the fine pixel art that already exists.
In Closing
The King of Fighters ’98 is one of the most beloved games in the series and Dream Match ’99 is a fantastic edition of that game. While its graphical enhancements are hit or miss the gameplay is what matters and in that the game excels. With so many characters and modes the game is endlessly entertaining. The only thing missing is online play but we were a few years too early for that.
