The King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match

Lore & Background

The King of Fighters '98: Ultimate Match was released in 2008, ten years after the original game. It includes additional characters not featured in the original version, such as Eiji Kisaragi from KOF '95, Kasumi Todoh and the Boss Team (Geese Howard, Wolfgang Krauser, Mr. Big) from KOF '96, and final boss characters Goenitz and Orochi. New moves were added to the USA Sports Team, and EX versions of certain characters were included, such as King with her Art of Fighting 2 moveset and Ryuji Yamazaki, Blue Mary, and Geese Howard with their Real Bout Fatal Fury 2 movesets. Orochi versions of Leona and Iori Yagami are hidden characters unlocked separately, not mid-bosses, alongside Eiji, Kasumi, Shingo, and the original version of Rugal in Arcade Mode.

Reader's Guide

The King of Fighters '98: Ultimate Match is significant as a comprehensive remake that essentially includes all characters featured in the KOF series prior to KOF '98. It introduced a third fighting style, Ultimate mode, which allows players to customize features from Advance or Extra mode. The game added new stages, including China and Hong Kong to acknowledge KOF's popularity in those regions, and was the first SNK fighting game to feature an accurate representation of Saudi Arabia. Reception was mixed: Metacritic gave it a 73 out of 100 for both PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360 versions. IGN rated it 7.8, recommending it only to fans due to dated graphics and balance issues with 60 characters. 1UP.com noted its similarity to the original but praised controls, while GameZone found gameplay and sound compensated for graphics. In 2013, Complex ranked it the 15th best arcade game of the 1990s and called it 'possibly the greatest SNK fighting game of them all.' An updated version, Ultimate Match Final Edition, was released in 2011 with balance changes.

Did You Know?

• The game includes a 'Neo Geo' mode directly ported from the Neo Geo AES.
• A China-exclusive version for the PolyGame Master 2 arcade hardware was released in 2009, titled The King of Fighters '98: Ultimate Match Hero.
• A mobile RPG based on Ultimate Match, called The King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match Online, was released by Chinese company Ourpalm in 2016.
• No SNK fighting game has featured an accurate representation of Saudi Arabia in a stage.