The King of Fighters '97 Global Match Out Now

One of the most prominent entries into fighting game series The King of Fighters from SNK, The King of Fighters '97 was announced to be ported in 2018. This was a very exciting moment for the old-school KOF fans who now have moved to various other titles on modern day gaming platforms but still misses those nostalgic arcade moments spent playing those games over and over again. Their wait is finally over as The King of Fighters '97 Global Match is here now.

king of fighters ’97 global match
The King of Fighters '97 Global Match Out Now

RELATED: The King of Fighters '97 Global Match Announced

King of Fighters '97 adds some more excitement by entering the ring after more than two decades of its initial release. Because, this is not just port of the original game but it has improvements like online multiplayer feature added to it, which justifies the title "Global Match". You can also enjoy single player matches while waiting for the ongoing matchmaking process. Fighting games are made to participate with other players to test your skills and KOF '97 Global Match just made it more competitive than ever.

Initially we neither had an official release date or even a high-resolution picture during the announcement but now we are offered to take a look at the teaser trailer for King of Fighters '97 Global Match right here.




The world of SNK fighting game fans were already pretty hyped this year with King of Fighters XIV and SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy. Now, the title is just not a typical port trying to make its way to next gen consoles. Aside from newly introduced online multiplayer mode to KOF '97, there is a special Gallery Mode with concept arts and animations that is waiting to be unlocked. You are allowed to use soundtracks from the game as background music and customize in-game menus as you like.

snk king of fighters ’97 global match
The King of Fighters '97 Poster

RELATED: The King of Fighters '98 on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One

KOF '97 had a great significance for entire franchise as it saw the conclusion of "The Orochi Saga", which begins from King of Fighters '94 and paved way for future plotlines. It also saw introduction of characters Billy Kane, Blue Mary and Ryuji Yamazaki from another of SNK's fighting game series Fatal Fury. These three were actually draft picked as a result of a fan-voting on Japanese gaming magazines Famitsu, Gamest and Neo Geo Freak. Whereas Billy Kane already appeared on KOF '95, Mary and Yamazaki made their debut in this installment.

snk king of fighters ’97 neo geo
A Mainstream Appeal

The inclusion of Iori Yagami and Shingo Yabuki as single entry character in the middle of various fighters team was also an attraction for fans. Transformations of Iori Yagami and Leona Heidern into Orochi Iori and Orochi Leona were another superb aspect of the game that perfectly meshed with the actual plot of KOF '97. If they would have decided to just add those two personas as two different characters to pick from, things wouldn't have probably worked out like it did with their original plan.

RELATED: Art of Fighting Anthology on PlayStation 4

Back then, KOF series were generating less revenue for SNK on arcade systems than Fatal Fury and other fighting games. It was because of the 3V3 fighting system that increased the match duration but since that was the core game mechanics, they couldn't touch it. So, developers for the title did only little tweak to The King of Fighters '97 by removing little features that actually speed up things a bit. In term of gameplay, Advanced and Extra Modes were also added to the game to choose from.

snk king of fighters ’97 ps4
Advanced and Extra Mode Features

KOF '97 received a huge tonal shift in term of gameplay that separates it from previous KOF entries. The King of Fighters '97 Global Match is co-developed by Code Mystics, the same studio who worked on Samurai Shodown V. The title is charged on $14.99 and available for cross-buy as well as cross play on both PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita.

RELATED: Samurai Shodown V Special for PlayStation 4

The King of Fighters '97 has been ported on Android, iOS, Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 and PSP platforms. Now, it has made debut on PC, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita as The King of Fighters '97 Global Match. With SNK becoming more concern with their early arcade titles, so many have made it to consoles already and KOF '97 is the latest addition to that list. We are looking forward to see The King of Fighters '98 has the same treatment for the sake of fan-service.
Next Post Previous Post
No Comment
Add Comment
comment url