Sometimes you get better by taking things away — not adding more.
The King of Fighters had spent four years building a story — the Orochi Saga — with recurring characters, narrative threads, and escalating stakes. By 1998, that story had reached its conclusion. SNK could have started a new saga immediately. Instead, they paused. They called King of Fighters '98 a 'dream match' and removed the story entirely. No new narrative. No constraints. Just the characters people wanted to see, the mechanics refined to their sharpest, and a boss who represented what the series had always been about. The development team later said that without the story holding them back, they could finally focus on what players actually came for: the fight itself. Sometimes the best next step isn't forward. It's stripping away what you've been carrying and remembering why you started.
— inspired by SNK development team
After '98, SNK made one big bet after another. In 1999 alone it started a new KOF story, launched a new handheld, the Neo Geo Pocket Color, and released Garou: Mark of the Wolves. In money terms, every one of those bets backfired. The games stayed excellent to the end. The money ran out first.
So '98 looks different to me now. It came out the year before those bets. With only what it already had, the team brought back every fighter players had asked for. You do not always need something new to make something people remember.
About this game
On July 23, 1998, SNK put The King of Fighters '98 into arcades with no story at all. The Orochi Saga had run from KOF '94 to KOF '97, and it was finished. SNK did not start a new one. It brought back the fighters from all four earlier games, chose the roster with player feedback gathered through the magazine Neo Geo Freak, and made Rugal Bernstein the final boss again. The subtitle said what the game was: Dream Match Never Ends.
Gallery
The Story Behind
Released on July 23, 1998, for the Neo Geo MVS arcade system, The King of Fighters '98 arrived after the conclusion of the Orochi Saga (KOF '94–'97). SNK marketed it as a 'special edition' with no storyline, allowing fan-favorite characters from all previous games to return. The development team consulted player feedback from Neo Geo Freak magazine when deciding the roster. The game was later ported to Neo Geo AES (September 1998), Neo Geo CD (December 1998), and PlayStation (March 1999).
The next three years were hard for the company that made it. SNK spent heavily on new ventures. The people could still make great games, but the money could not keep up. In January 2000 the pachislot maker Aruze took control of SNK, and twenty-one months later the company was declared bankrupt.
Tricks & Tales
The game features no storyline — a deliberate choice by SNK to focus on gameplay after the Orochi Saga concluded. Rugal Bernstein returns as the final boss; the development team chose him because 'he's the only character who truly represents the ultimate KOF boss.' His moves were redesigned, making this version the strongest Rugal in the series. The game includes alternate versions of popular characters (such as Kyo '94 and Kyo '95 movesets), a feature that became so popular it was expanded in later KOF titles.
Collector's Guide
Region & Compatibility
The Neo Geo AES has regional variants (Japan and international / English) but is notably more region-tolerant than most consoles of its era. Many AES cartridges contain both Japanese and English text and will display the language set by the console's BIOS chip (Japanese on a Japanese AES, English on an export AES). The Japanese and international versions of most games are functionally identical; some late-era games have minor content differences. On the MVS arcade board, the operator sets region and language through the board's settings; the AES has no switch for this. Collectors who prefer the Japanese text of the original releases should note that importing a Japanese AES requires a step-down converter for European 220–240V outlets; on North American 120V outlets it is often run without one.
Maintenance Tips
The Neo Geo AES console has no save battery. Game saves and high scores are kept on a separate memory card, and an original SNK memory card holds them with a battery inside the card. After thirty-plus years, many original cards have a dead or dying battery. The 3.6V battery often mentioned in repair guides sits on the MVS arcade board, not in the AES. The edge connector that receives cartridges can develop oxidation over thirty years; cleaning the cartridge PCB contacts and the console's cartridge slot with 90%+ isopropyl alcohol on a cotton swab restores reliable contact. The cartridge PCB contacts are gold-plated on most AES cartridges and resist oxidation well, but the connector can accumulate dust and debris that causes intermittent recognition failures before genuine oxidation sets in.
Going deeper
Explore the machine this game ran on, and what to check before you buy or care for one:
What to Watch Out For
Before buying, these are the points worth knowing — from someone who handles original Japanese The King of Fighters '98 copies regularly.
Will a Japanese Neo Geo cartridge of King of Fighters '98 work on a non-Japanese console?
For the MVS (arcade) version, yes — MVS cartridges are region-free, and the BIOS of the arcade board determines the language. For the AES (home console) version, Japanese and international cartridges are also functionally identical and work across regions, though packaging and labels differ. The Neo Geo has no region lock on the cartridge level.
Does King of Fighters '98 save any data?
No. The King of Fighters '98 is a one-on-one fighting game that stores no save data — no unlockables, no progress, no high scores. Each session is self-contained. This means there's no internal battery to worry about replacing, unlike some Neo Geo games that do save.
How should I clean a Neo Geo cartridge?
Apply 90% or higher isopropyl alcohol to a cotton swab and gently wipe the edge connector pins on the bottom of the cartridge. Let it dry completely before inserting it into the console. Never blow into the cartridge — moisture from your breath corrodes the contacts over time. If the game still won't boot after cleaning the cartridge, clean the console's slot separately; oxidized slot contacts are a common cause of boot failure on Neo Geo hardware.
Unexpected Discoveries
Games you weren't looking for — but might be glad you found.
Rooms this game lives in
Wander deeper — explore the themed rooms where The King of Fighters '98 sits alongside its kin.
Memories from around the world
This is a young museum, and this page is still waiting for its first voices. The memories people send reach Taisei personally, and the ones that move him find a home here over time — always with the writer's blessing. Yours could be the very first for this game.
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