The King of Fighters '98 (Mega Drive)

This article is about the Mega Drive version. For other games with the same name, see The King of Fighters '98.

The King of Fighters '98 is an unlicensed fighting game published for the Sega Mega Drive console by X Boy, based on the game of the same name.

A sequel, The King of Fighters '99, was released the next year.

Overview[]

King of Fighters '98, The (Unl) -p1--!-000 — Gameplay.

The game consists of 3-on-3 matches, with various characters, sound samples, & backgrounds taken from various sources such Street Fighter, Fatal Fury, and Art of Fighting.

The controls in game are simple: The A button blocks, B, & C punch and kick respectively. Standing and crouching normal attacks are strong attacks if the back direction is held down, otherwise they are weak attacks. In addition, pressing C while holding forward + B will unleash another normal attack. A super move can be done whenever the MAX icon flashes below your lifebar or if "Maximum" is set on the options menu. Throws are not implimented.

The endings are minimal, with a simple "Congratulation" screen.

Characters and Move List[]

There are nine playable characters in this game: "Treey" (Terry), Andy, Joe, "Canme" (Cammy), Ryu, Guile, Ryo, Takuma, and "Lobaut" (Robert). In addition, each character has an alternate version with toxic colors, for a total of 18 characters to choose from. In this article, the latter will be referred to as the "Orochi" version, based on the official KOF series.

The Orochi versions are often thought of as simple recolors to pad the roster out (a technique used in many Famicom fighters), however on this game they are true alternate versions, and most special moves and standing normal moves are completely different from the normal version. However, the Orochi version tends to be less capable than the normal version overall, with only one special move each (only Canme has two), and the start-up and end lag of standing and crouching normal moves is generally worse. In addition, most of their super-special moves are continuous attacks like Ryuuko Ranbu.

Treey

Power Wave - QCF + B
Burning Knuckle - HCF + B or C
Rising Tackle - Forward, QCF + B or C
Power Geyser - QCF, QCF + B

Orochi Treey

Crack Shoot - QCB + B or C
Ryuuko Ranbu (pseudonym) - HCF + B

Andy

Hishou Ken - QCF + B
Shouryuu Dan - QCF, QCF + B or C
Zan-ei Ken - Forward, Back, Forward + B or C
Chou Reppa Dan - HCF + C

Orochi Andy

Kuuha Dan - QCB + B or C
Ryuuko Ranbu (pseudonym) - HCF + B

Note: Ryuuko Ranbu does not connect to the end because the opponent goes down in the middle of the move.

Joe

Hurricane Upper - QCF + B or C
Tiger Kick - Forward, QCF + B or C
Bakuretsuken - B, B, B or C, C, C
Screw Upper - QCF, QCF + B

Orochi Joe

Slash Kick - QCB + B or C
Ryuuko Ranbu (pseudonym) - HCF + C

Canme

Spiral Arrow - QCB + B or C
Cannon Spike - Forward, QCF + B or C
Quick Spin Knuckle - HCF + B or C
Spin Drive Smasher - QCF, QCF + C

Note: Spin Drive Smasher does not connect to Cannon Spike because the opponent is downed by Spiral Arrow.

Orochi Canme

Spiral Arrow - HCF + C
Cannon Spike - QCF, QCF + C
Ryuuko Ranbu (pseudonym) - QCF, HCB + B

Ryu

Hadoken - QCF + B or C
Shoryuken - Forward, QCF + B or C
Tatsumaki Senpukyaku - QCB + B or C
Shinku Hadoken - QCF, QCF + B

Note: Unlike Orochi Ryu, Normal Ryu does not move forward in Tatsumaki Senpukyaku.

Orochi Ryu

Tatsumaki Senpukyaku - QCB + B or C
Shoryureppa - QCF, QCF + C

Note: Orochi Ryu is the only character with super special move other than Ryuuko Ranbu.

Guile

Sonic Boom - QCF + B or C
Somersault Kick - QCB + C
Super Sonic Boom (pseudonym) - QCF, QCF + B

Orochi Guile

Flash Punch (pseudonym) - HCF + B or C
Ryuuko Ranbu (pseudonym) - QCF, QCF + B

Ryo

Ko-Ou Ken - QCF + B
Built Upper - Forward, QCF + B or C
Zanretsuken - B, B, B
Haoh Shoukou Ken - QCF, QCF + B

Orochi Ryo

Hien Shippuu Kyaku - QCB + B or C
Ryuuko Ranbu - QCF, HCB + B

Takuma

Ko-Ou Ken - QCF + B or C
Roundhouse Kick (pseudonym) - F, QCF + B or C
Haoh Shikou Ken - QCF, QCF + B

Orochi Takuma

Hien Shippuu Kyaku - QCB + B or C
Ryuuko Ranbu - QCF, HCB + B

Lobaut

Ryuu-Geki Ken - QCF + B
Built Upper - Forward, QCF + B or C
Gen-ei Kyaku - C, C, C
Haoh Shoukou Ken - QCF, QCF + B

Orochi Lobaut

Hien Shippuu Kyaku - QCB + B or C
Ryuuko Ranbu - QCF, HCB + B

Music[]

All music used in this game was stolen from the unlicensed Sega Genesis version of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Fighting Edition.

The King of Fighters '98	Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Fighting Edition
Title	Title (GO GO Power Rangers)
Treey / Ryo	Thunder Megazord / Lord Zedd
Andy / Takuma	Ninja Megazord / Silver Horns
Joe / Lobaut	Shogun Megazord
Canme	Mega Tigerzord
Ryu	Lipsyncher
Guile	Goldar
Victory	Victory

SNES version[]

Main article: The King of Fighters '98 (SNES)

A SNES version is known to exist, it is much rarer than the Mega Drive version, It has Ioro (Iori) instead of Canme (Cammy) and uses the same fighting engine and music from 2000.

Trivia[]

Kof98009 — *The King of Fighters 2000*'s title screen.

There are many misspellings in the game. Terry, Cammy and Robert become Treey, Canme, and Lobaut respectively. This is fixed in the SNES version.
Treey / Ryu's stage (fog) and Joe / Takuma's stage (everything in the stage minus the clouds and building) are the only stages animated.
A hack of this game titled "The King of Fighters 2000" is also available. This is a title screen hack only, it does not change any other aspect of the game, nor does it contain anything from the actual The King of Fighters 2000 unlicensed fighter game for SNES.
The options screen contains the "98" from the "real" The King of Fighters' 98, suggesting this game was released around the same time or possibly after it.