His other themes, Guitar, Omega, and Rugal in '95, The RR in '98, and Last Dance in 2002, have their fair share of fans too. Although "Last Dance", to be honest, has the smallest circle of fans compared to the other themes. Thank you, Eolith.
And there's the theme of Rugal's son Adel: Revolutionary Etude~R2. It starts out as a Chopin piece, and then goes into full-blown techno. His XI theme, King is even better.
In '98, this got expanded even further, with "Rhythmic Hallucination" being given to Orochi Yashiro alone. In its place, Orochi Shermie gets the subdued yet fitting Fanatic Waltz, and Orochi Chris gets the downright sinister Mad Fantasy.
And eventually culminated into this for KOF 2002: Unlimited Match. Fun.
The New Faces Team's non-Orochi forms also had pretty killer music (no pun intended) in the form of Bloody. Naturally, this too was remolded when Unlimited Match came along. The end result? Re:Bloody.
The Origin of Mind, for Orochi himself. Trippy, ominous, oddly serene, and hard to identify. It fits Orochi completely.
Tears and Sadistic Eyes are among two of the best boss themes in '99, used for the two "hidden" final bosses, Kyo Kusanagi and Iori Yagami.
Slasher Zero, for Clone Zero in 2000. Nearly all percussion and of an impossible-to-identify musical genre, it's one of the darkest themes in the series.
The arranged version features a very Indian-ish tune near the end of the song.
On the subject of Zero, both the clone and the original were given pretty slick tunes in 2002: Unlimited Match. Original Zero's theme is Testament of N.E.S.T.S., an imperialistic march that has a hint of undying duty and sadness while Clone Zero was given Dark Gravitation, a song that has split some fans on whether or not it's better than "Slasher Zero" (a song that was heralded as "pure evil in audio form".)
An Improvised Concerto, for Magaki. As classical piano, it's surprisingly subdued, but no less awesome.
The King of Fighters 2000, essentially the old SNK's swan song, has an appropriately awesome soundtrack. Nowhere is this exemplified more than in Kyo's theme, the appropriately titled Goodbye Esaka. You can pretty much feel all the emotions of SNK's (brief) demise.
The rest of the Esaka series is no slouch in terms of amazing muscial direction either. First up was Esaka in The King of Fighters '94. While Funky Esaka is usually passed over due to Soundtrack Dissonance, Esaka? in '96 is noted for being one of the most notable (if not the most notable) tracks in the series. In fact, it's so popular that it was reused several times over the course of the series: first in '99 for his clones Kyo-1 and Kyo-2 as Esaka ~Acid Mix~, as a part of the real Kyo's theme in the same game, again for his clone/evil magical doppelganger Kusanagi's theme in 2002 (Esaka '02) and 2003 (Esaka '03), as tworemixes for EX Kyo in XI, and most recently as Esaka!! in 2002: Unlimited Match. Finally, Esaka Forever in '97 memorably brought the Orochi Saga (and Kyo's stint as protagonist) to its fated conclusion.
If any of Kim's themes have the word "Seoul" in them, that song is usually guaranteed to be awesome. It began with Seoul ni Ikou! (Let's Go to Seoul!) in Fatal Fury 2/Fatal Fury Special. Then came Seoul Town in Real Bout Fatal Fury/KOF '98 (the '98version was bashed to the point that the music team one-upped the song into Seoul Town ~Ver. Justice in KOF 2002: Unlimited Match). Next was Seoul Road in KOF '96. Seoul'ssu followed in Real Bout Fatal Fury Special. Finally, Seoul Love in KOF 2003 rounds out the series.
While not "Seoul" per se, Attack Me! from Fatal Fury Wild Ambition stands out in a game where the music was probably the only remarkable feature.
The Way to Rebirth from '99 and Wild Party from 2000. Ever since "Seoul Road" in '96, Kim and his Korean cohorts have received a fair share of awesome.
London March, Billy's theme from KOF '97 (and a majority of Billy's other appearances) also sounds like it'd go hand-in-hand with Guilty Gear. N.D.R., his theme from Real Bout Fatal Fury, is also rocking.
In Spite Of One's Age, the theme of the Oyaji/Master Team from KOF '98. And if you thought that was good, wait until you hear Ver. Immortal from 2002: Unlimited Match.
In a series filled to the brim with rock, jazz, and pop, Slam No. 5 (or is it Slum No. 5?) from KOF '94 stands out as a cool hip-hop track. Also, make sure to catch the '98version.
K' seems to have his own string of pure, unadulterated awesome. Aside from the aforementioned "KD-0079", there's KD-0084 in 2000, KD in 2003, and KDD-0075 in XI.
New Order, Rinrin, and Secret Circumstances, all from XI. The first is a essentially a fusion of "Esaka" and "Arashi no Saxophone" (see above); the second is jazzy; the last one sounds like the score for the next James Bond.
While it might not have the staying power or nostalgic value of "Esaka" or "Tears", Blaze, Kyo's other solo theme from KOF 2003, has its own merits.
Lovehim or hate him, Ash Crimson's themes are deliciously sinister, a testament to just how far he's strayed from the typical protagonistic mold. Splendid Evil in KOF 2003 kicked it off and Joker in XI eventually becomes something akin to Guilty Gear-lite (thanks in part to a killer guitar).
Zhe Prime, the riveting and yet melancholic theme of Nameless. Fitting doesn't even describe it.
The Women Fighters Team were not without great music either, which usually either fell into the category of catchy (think club-type beats) or soothing. See Ne! from KOF '94, Tsuchi o Hau Bass (Ground Creeping Bass) from '95, Sha-La-La from '99, Come up Smiling from 2000, and Destiny from 2002: Unlimted Match.
Antinomy ~Mutually Exclusive Dichotomy~, the theme of the Kyo Clone Team from KOF 2002: Unlimited Match. It starts out a contender for the darkest BGM you'll ever hear in a fighting game (which is fitting considering that evil, magical doppelganger Kusanagi is depicted as looking downright Ax Crazy with a Slasher Smile that would put Yamazaki to shame). Then, around the post-1:00 mark, the song picks up and starts to feel... oddly heroic. Of course, you're right to back to square one after that brief moment of uplifting.
Probably a Fridge Brilliance moment for me; they're clones of the hero, after all. Then just when you think they did something heroic, it turns sinister once more.
The latest game, The King of Fighters XII also had a very well-done soundtrack. Unlike previous games, the music used is based on the stage rather than the team or character. There are two versions each as well with one only slightly differing from the other. However, the real eye (or ear) opener is the supposedly upcoming AST versions of the soundtrack. Pity it's only a preview.
And how else to bring the latest saga to a close than with Diabolosis, the theme of Dark Ash? It's a very chilling, atmospheric piece, fitting of the final battle's nature.
Similarly, the menu theme for KoF-i, as heard here. It's also the Main Menu theme to XIII.
While 2002's soundtrack was somewhat lacking due to SNK's financial crisis at the time, Napolitan Trance, the theme of K9999 and the NESTS Team, was quite good, despite the repetitiveness.
For some people, it may also be the intro and player select themes, even if one's based on the other.
All the music in Garou: Mark of the Wolves qualifies. Take a good long listen to Invincible Mask and tell me it doesn't fit the awesomely heroic pro wrestling phenomenon that is Tizoc, the Griffon Mask.
The apple apparently doesn't fall far from the tree, as Kim's sons also get in on the action, especially Jae Hoon. Listen to Too Honest and experience the awesome.
Slacking off can be awesome, especially with more rocks on Loose Genius, Dong Hwan's theme.
For something more heartfelt (no pun intended) and relaxing, there's Full Moon: Heartful, Hotaru Futaba's theme.
Exceed the Limits, Rick Strowd's theme from Real Bout Fatal Fury 2 fits the character well; that is to say it's pure awesome.
Finally the twin's theme in Real Bout Special and Real Bout 2.
One word: Kurinkinton (Well, actually, it's four: "Chestnuts and Mashed Potatoes"). Odd name aside, Terry's peppy and upbeat trademark theme is always a great addition to any game. The KOF 2002 version deserves special mention, as do Kuri To Itsu Made Mo ("Chestnuts and Forever") from Real Bout Fatal Fury Special/Real Bout Fatal Fury 2/KOF '97 and Kurikinton ~Gomame Guitar Ver.~ from KOF '98.
Most of Terry's other themes are of equal caliber. His list of greats includes Big Shot! from Fatal Fury 3/Real Bout Fatal Fury/KOF XI (complete with an acoustic version in KOF '96), 11th Street from Fatal Fury Wild Ambition, Sunrise on the Train from Garou: Mark of the Wolves, 176th Street from KOF '99, and Terry 115 from KOF 2000.
Napolitan Blues from '94, Club M ~ Flute Under Blue Sky from '95, and Prolongnation from 2003 weren't too shabby either. Honestly, Terry really can't do any wrong and his teammates (who sometimes drew the short end of the stick when it came to music, especially Joe) benefitted from being grouped with him.
Blue Mary's Blues from Real Bout Fatal Fury Special/Real Bout Fatal Fury 2 and KOF '97. Not only it is a soothing yet melancholy song, but Harumi Ikoma, Blue Mary's seiyuu, actually provides the vocals. (For those who want to hear the non-vocal version, here you go.)
Blue Mary also has Kiss Me from Fatal Fury 3 and Real Bout. Not as good as "Blue Mary's Blues", but still good. Here's the arranged version.
Much like the refreshingly good hip-hop provided by the American Sports Team, a similar case can be made for the themes of everyone's favorite Southtown DJ, Duck King. Whether it's Shitamachi no Abarenbou (The Wild Boy from Downtown) from the original Fatal Fury, Duck Dub Dub from Fatal Fury Special/KOF XI, or Duck Duck Duck! from the Real Bout series, the sound team knows how to churn out snazzy tracks. Props to Kong Kuwata (as in the seiyuu of Duck King and Geese) for actually rapping in a few of Duck's themes.
Pangyago Houho, the Fatal Fury 2/Special theme of Acrofatic Chinese brawler Cheng Sinzan. It even gets a remix in the form of Hapushu! Fuuu in the Real Bout series.
Gori-Rock, Franco Bash's theme from Real Bout Fatal Fury Special/2. What do ya know? The guy wasn't lying when he said he was a "DYNAMOOOOOOO!". OH MY GAWWWD!
Fatal Fury Wild Ambition is a bad game with even worse graphics... and awesome music. The themes for Billy and Raiden for example.
Mickey Rodgers's theme in the first game perfectly captures his design as an gritty underground boxer, while his theme in the second game does so again with more Rocky atmosphere.
An ethnomusicologist actually wrote a thesis regarding the music of the franchise. The fourth game, in particular, is said to have a unique blend of Western and Japanese scales for a stylistic result that might have literally never been heard before in video games.
Samurai Shodown Warrior's Rage has a brilliant arranged soundtrack and may be the single greatest music SNK has has ever done. First off, there is Asura's theme which is very dark, yet very tragic sounding. Then we have Haohmaru's appropriately named theme which probably suits him as a character as well as any theme can possibly suit a character. Galford and Nakoruru get probably the best versions of their themes to date, and to say nothing of the boss themes... Gandara has a fittingly ominous track for a giant... THING and Yuga's theme has a dark and terrifying sound that lets you know what kind of being you are up against.
The arranged version of Demon's Song -Revised-, notable for being the only other hard rock track in the game next to Tuna, and actually being better than the original version.
From the fifth game, Yoshitora's theme is best described as "Tuna + Shamisen + Awesome."
