Here in the west, King of Fighters has always had to live in the shadow of the illustrious Street Fighter franchise; despite having a cult trying to follow, the game has never been as well-known as Capcom’s game. King of Fighters was created by combining two of SNK’s notable coin-op series, Fatal Fury and Art of Fighting. The situation is slightly different in Japan, where KOF is still very popular and draws large crowds to the arcades. With the highly anticipated release of KOF XII just around the corner, there has never been a better time to relive some of the franchise’s classic games. Fortunately, we can do this thanks to the King of Fighters Collection: The Orochi Saga.
KOF Collection is, at least on paper, an excellent value for the money. It includes five different games, running from ’94 (the original) through ’98 (which many fans still consider the series’ high point). All of the games included here are expertly recreated and still have all the characteristics that made them so popular as coin-operated arcade games.
