Line #8 VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters94


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kof94.jpg]]
2
3	->''"We are opening\
4	King of Fighters\
5	Following the time honored custom.\
6	This year, we will adopt a special rule\
7	Of competition between teams of 3 fighters\
8	That's all..."''
9	-->-'''[R]'''
10
11	''The King of Fighters '94'' is an arcade fighting game developed by Creator/{{SNK}}, and the first game in ''Franchise/TheKingOfFighters'' series, released on August 25, 1994 for the Platform/NeoGeo systems.
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13	The 1994 King of Fighters Tournament is under way, with a mysterious new sponsor to boot. Twenty four fighters from around the world gather in teams of three to compete for the eponymous title, all while something darker festers in the shadows.
14
15	The cast of fighters features both original characters and fighters from across other SNK series including ''VideoGame/FatalFury'', ''VideoGame/ArtOfFighting'', ''VideoGame/IkariWarriors'', and ''VideoGame/PsychoSoldier''. This is also the debut of ''KOF'''s OriginalGeneration protagonist, Kyo Kusanagi, and his long-standing partners, Benimaru Nikaido and Goro Daimon, as well as the legendary SNKBoss Rugal Bernstein.
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17	In terms of gameplay, it can be said ''KOF '94'' is a mashup of ''Fatal Fury'', ''Art of Fighting'', and ''VideoGame/SamuraiShodown'', as all of their fighting systems can be found here. Both the evasion move and the strong "Blow Back" attack from ''Fatal Fury'' are here, so are the quick dash and the power gauge from ''Art of Fighting''. Maxing out the gauge gives your move an extra damage boost, just like ''Samurai Shodown''. Then there's ''KOF'''s own innovation – introduced in this title was the series' signature 3 Vs. 3 system, as opposed to the classic 1 Vs. 1 format. Players have to select a team of three fighters, each with a different set of Special Moves, and each round is won by defeating a different fighter from the opponent's team. Understanding the dynamics between all these characters, as well as picking a proper order to send them in a match, has remained integral part of the series ever since.
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19	In 2004, a remake was release called ''The King of Fighters '94: Re-Bout'' for the Platform/PlayStation2, which retroactively added Team Edit to the game, along with new 3D stages, upscaled sprites and the addition of Saisyu Kusanagi to the roster. The original game can also be played on modern consoles as part of the ''ACA Neo Geo'' lineup.
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21	[[folder: Teams in this game]]
22	* '''Team Japan:''' Our heroes for this saga, and much of the franchise: high school student Kyo Kusanagi and his best friends Benimaru Nikaido and Goro Daimon.
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24	* '''Team Italy:''' Comprised of the original three ''VideoGame/FatalFury'' protagonists; [[Characters/FatalFuryTerryBogard Terry Bogard]], his brother Andy, and their friend Joe Higashi.
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26	* '''Team Mexico:''' Comprised of the Kyokugenryu duo from ''VideoGame/ArtOfFighting''; Ryo Sakazaki and Robert Garcia, alongside their master Takuma Sakazaki.
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28	* '''Team Brazil:''' Comprised of the protgaonists from ''VideoGame/IkariWarriors'', Ralf Jones and Clark Still, joined by their commander Heidern.
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30	* '''Team China:''' Comprised of the protagonists from ''VideoGame/PsychoSoldier'', [[Characters/{{Athena}} Athena Asamiya]] and [[Characters/PsychoSoldierSieKensou Sie Kensou]], joined by their master Chin Gentsai.
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32	* '''Team England:''' The first incarnation of the Women Fighters team, comprised of of King and Yuri Sakazaki from ''Art of Fighting'' and Mai Shiranui from ''Fatal Fury''.
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34	* '''Team Korea:''' Led by ''Fatal Fury'' alum Kim Kaphwan, who's inducted two former criminals, Chang Koehan and Choi Bounge, into his rehabilitation program.
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36	* '''Team USA:''' An American sports-themed team, comprised of boxer Heavy-D, baskeball star Lucky Glauber, and football star Brian Battler.
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38	* '''Final Boss:''' Rugal Bernstein, the sponsor of this ''KOF'' tournament with less than noble intentions.
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40	[[/folder]]
41
42	!!This work provides examples of:
43	* AdaptationalEarlyAppearance: ''Re-Bout'' adds Saisyu as a playable character, who originally appeared as a one-off in Team Japan's story, using his graphics from ''KOF '95''.
44	* AIBreaker: While the AI remains as difficult in ''[=ReBout=]'' as it was in the original game, it somehow has a lot of trouble dealing with Saisyu's Shiki En Jou special, taking it full on without fail.
45	* AmazingTechnicolorBattlefield: In the second round of Rugal's fight, the ocean in the background starts to flash red.
46	* BigBad: Rugal Bernstein, the sponsor of the KOF tournament.
47	* TheCameo:
48	** The Italy stage has a crowd of characters from the ''Fatal Fury'' series. From left to right: Cheng Sinzan, Raiden (Big Bear), Tung Fu Rue, Duck King, and Jubei Yamada.
49	** The Mexico stage has Ryuhaku Todoh from ''Art of Fighting'', as well as Roddy and Cathy from ''Top Hunter''.
50	** The 3D stages from ''Re-Bout'' add tons of SNK characters, including the ''KOF'' cast that'd appear in future games.
51	** Both Geese and Krauser make a cameo in Team Italy's ending, conversing about Rugal's failure to defeat the team.
52	* TheComputerIsACheatingBastard: Besides being an SNKBoss, obviously, Rugal in his second form never gets stunned no matter how many hits you land on him.
53	* EarlyBirdCameo: Saisyu (Kyo's father) and Mature (Rugal's secretary at the moment, later a part of Iori's team) briefly show up in this game, before their proper debut in ''KOF '95'' and '''96'', respectively.
54	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness:
55	** No Team Edit at all in the original version; you were stuck to picking a pre-planned team and nothing else.
56	** Said teams had more of a link to the countries they represented in some fashion (Team Italy's stage being Andy's from ''Fatal Fury 2'' and featuring numerous cameos or Team Brazil, the Ikari Warriors, named as such since they were in a Brazilian jungle.)
57	** Every single individual member had a win quote for every opposing team. Later games only gave them special winquotes to certain fighters.
58	** Storywise, the game had no links to the Orochi or NESTS plot as a whole, and was simply Rugal running a tournament. Iori Yagami is also nowhere to be seen.
59	** All four Kyokugen fighters' Haoh Sho Koh Kens were specials rather than [=DMs=], though with long startup to offset them.
60	* ExecutiveSuiteFight: You fight Rugal in his aircraft carrier, but its interior looks like this trope, complete with red carpets.
61	* TheHero: Kyo Kusanagi, the leader of Team Japan. He's the one that goes on to canonically defeat [[BigBad Rugal]].
62	* HeroOfAnotherStory: The protagonists of several other SNK titles appear as the leaders of their respective teams; this includes [[Characters/FatalFuryTerryBogard Terry Bogard]], [[Characters/ArtOfFighting Ryo Sakazaki]], [[Characters/{{Athena}} Athena Asamiya]], and [[VideoGame/IkariWarriors Ralf and Clark]].
63	* IAmNotLeftHanded: Rugal Bernstein spends the first round sparring without any kind of special move. If you beat him, he'll declare he shall "fight you with full strength," [[TheCoatsAreOff throwing his coat off]] and initiating the second fight.
64	* KidHero: The protagonist, Kyo Kusanagi, is a high schooler competing in a worldwide martial arts tournament. Along with him there's also [[Characters/{{Athena}} Athena Asamiya]] and [[Characters/PsychoSoldierSieKensou Sie Kensou]] who are part of Team China.
65	* LostInTranslation: The English script in ''KOF '94'' loses a lot from the Japanese version, because the huge size of English fonts forced it to cut down the lines. One example is that, if Athena wins against the Team England, she broke the fourth wall by declaring she's the original SNK heroine, referring to that her game (''Psycho Soldier'') is older than Team England's (''Fatal Fury'' and ''Art of Fighting''). This line was changed in the English version to "I'm sorry, sisters," which doesn't make sense without knowing this.
66	* MisplacedWildlife: The Brazil stage has a mandrill roaming in the foreground, but the species is native to Africa.
67	* MythologyGag:
68	** All ''Fatal Fury'' characters retain crounch-moving from their home series.
69	** Yuri and King will suffer ClothingDamage when KO'ed with special moves, like in ''Art of Fighting''.
70	** Playing as Team Italy will have Rugal remark how they had previously beaten [[VideoGame/FatalFury Geese and Krauser]], who both hosted the King of Fighters Tournament previously.
71	* PowerTrio: Every team in the game is comprised of three powerful fighters. More enforced in this installment than the others, as there's no Team Edit.
72	* PracticalTaunt: Doing a taunt depletes the opponent's power gauge unless it's already maxed out, a feature that'd stay in the ''KOF'' games that use the ''Art of Fighting'' gauge system, all the way up until ''KOF '98''.
73	* SequentialBoss: The match against Rugal is a two-phase boss fight, starting with him in tuxedo that only uses basic moves, before showing his true colors as the SNKBoss. Each phase is treated like a battle against individual team member, and you only get a small portion of your current character's health restored between them.
74	* SpritePolygonMix: By default, ''94 [=ReBout=]'' mixes filtered ''94'' (and Saisyu from ''95'') character sprites with full 3D backgrounds that are fully rendered from back to front. Using dodges changes the angles, giving a surprisingly good look at how intricate each stage is.
75	* TakeThat: Rugal's TakenForGranite room has a statue of Guile from the ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' series. This was acknowledged in BattleIntro between them in ''VideoGame/CapcomVsSNKMillenniumFight2000''.
76	* TakingYouWithMe: Rugal sets his ship to detonate after losing both fights. It fails no matter which team you choose, as the heroes are alive and well in all endings.
77	* ThreeRoundDeathmatch: One of the first notable aversions in the genre. The team-based gameplay of '''94'' ensured fights always lasted at ''least'' three rounds and can stretch to five.
78	* UnbuiltTrope: ''[=The King of Fighters '94=]'' is the first arcade fighting game to feature 3-on-3 team matches, followed by games like ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom2'', ''VideoGame/GuiltyGearXX'', and ''VideoGame/{{Skullgirls}}''. However, ''[=KOF '94=]'' is very different from the games that followed it in terms of how it's designed around it. You don't customize the player characters for yourself, but pick one of the preset teams (thus there are only eight "player characters" in a sense), forcing the player to learn their entire dynamics to get good at it. Non-gameplay aspects are also designed around this, as each team gets unique cutscenes in the Story Mode and its members have a unique VictoryQuote for every team against them. You'd be hard pressed to find a modern fighting game that intentionally limits the player's choice like this. Similarly, the ''KOF'' series itself would retract this in the next game ''[=KOF '95=]'' by allowing custom teams, reducing this aspect into "canon" teams that get a special treatment in the Arcade Mode.
79	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: In Team Japan's story, Kyo meets his father in Rugal's ship, bloodied from his failed attempt at taking on Rugal, but he doesn't appear or get mentioned in the ending. You get to learn what happened to him in ''KOF '95''.
80	* WolverinePublicity: As seen in the cover above, the ''VideoGame/FatalFury'' team gets as much focus as [[OriginalGeneration Team Japan]], this in spite of the former not being any more important than the other SNK-series based teams found in the game.

Context VideoGame / TheKingOfFighters94