The King of Fighters '96

Gameplay screenshot showcasing a match between Mature and Mai Shiranui.

KOF '96 makes significant changes to the gameplay of previous KOF games by introducing new techniques. The Dodge technique from the previous two games has been replaced with an "emergency evasion" or "attack deflector" technique, which allows the player's character to roll away or towards the opponent. In the latter case, the player has the opportunity to end up at the other side of their opponent. The player can also determine the height of their jumps and perform small or high jumps. Additionally, the graphics for all the character sprites have been redrawn and the commands for certain Special and Super moves have been changed from previous games. Super Special Moves can still be performed when the Power Gauge is filled up or when the player's life gauge is flashing red, but in addition to this, the player can also perform a more powerful version of their regular Super move if both conditions are met (i.e., the player has low energy and their power gauge has reached Maximum level). One other change to the gameplay system is that the player can now run instead of hopping forward in order to approach the opponent faster.

A new King of Fighters tournament is announced, though the letters of invitation sent out to the fighters are no longer sent by Rugal Bernstein. There are many changes in the tournament's approach. Since the previous year, the tournament's fame has grown immensely, turning it into a major international event. Huge corporations transform the King of Fighters tournament into something widely televised, commercialized, and celebrated, drawing in many crowds from around the world. The tournament is now held by Chizuru Kagura, a descendant of the ancient Yata Clan responsible for sealing the snake demon Orochi along with the Kusanagi and Yasanaki clans (the clans from Kyo Kusanagi and Iori Yagami, respectively). Chizuru uses the tournament in hopes of finding and recruiting Kyo and Iori in order to stop the upcoming Orochi threat, but Kyo and Iori aren't willing to work together on friendly terms.

The character roster underwent major changes since the previous game. The Rival Team was disbanded, with only Iori Yagami returning, while Heidern and Takuma Sakazaki retired from the tournament. Takuma's spot in the Art of Fighting Team is taken by his daughter Yuri Sakazaki, formerly with the Women Fighters Team. New characters include Kasumi Todoh from Art of Fighting 3, who takes Yuri's place in the Women Fighters Team; Leona, who joins the Ikari Team in place of her mentor and adoptive father, Heidern; Mature and Vice, two of Rugal's assistants who join Iori Yagami as members of the new Yagami Team; and the Boss Team, composed of Geese Howard, Wolfgang Krauser, and Mr. Big, all villains from the Fatal Fury and Art of Fighting series. The new boss character is Goenitz, a servant from Orochi who wants to stop Chizuru's plans of sealing his master.

The development period for KOF '96 dragged on right up to the time of its scheduled release. At the location test for the title, Mature and Vice were still not included in the game, since the staff did not have enough time to completely design them.[1] The King of Fighters '96 is the second game to break the technical limits of the Neo Geo platform by using a memory footprint of 362 mega bits (which is roughly 46 mega bytes).[2] The proposed theoretical limit of game sizes prior to this was 330 mega bits. Real Bout Fatal Fury, which released in 1995, was the first game to break the 330 mega bit barrier.

Kasumi Todoh was added to the cast since the coinciding release of Art of Fighting 3 had increased the character's profile.[3] Geese Howard from Fatal Fury was first meant to appear in KOF '95, but developers abandoned this idea. When KOF '96 began development, the staff decided to make Geese become a playable character. The Boss Team in which he starred along with Mr. Big and Wolfgang Krauser received "special treatment", such as music for each individual member (in comparison to other teams, who only had one). Due to memory restrictions, some of the special moves that were designed for Geese had to be left out of the game.[4] The sub-boss character, Chizuru Kagura, was the hardest one to create. Her pixelated image was completed in a month, and the designer in charge of her often worked until six in the morning.[5] The game also meant to introduce Whip into the Ikari Team. However, due to Leona's introduction in the same team, the developers waited until The King of Fighters '99 to add her to the cast.[6]

An extensive database for the game, titled The King of Fighters '96 Neo Geo Collection, was released on February 14, 1997 to promote the year's title. It was available only for the Neo-Geo CD. The database includes the game's intro, an interactive reenactment of the game's backstory, character profiles spoken by their voice actors, outtakes, an exclusive gallery section from the creators, a complete command list and a sound selection.[11] A similar version of this database, The King of Fighters '96 Perfect File, was also released for Windows and Macintosh computers. This version was released on June 18, 1997 and includes most of the features found in its predecessor.[12]

Ryo Takamisaki also wrote The King of Fighters G, a manga that retells the events of the game following Athena Asamiya.[13]

• Official website
• The King of Fighters '96 at GameFAQs
• The King of Fighters '96 at Giant Bomb
• The King of Fighters '96 at Killer List of Videogames
• The King of Fighters '96 at MobyGames