The King of Fighters ’95 is a 1995 fighting game produced by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home console. It is the sequel to The King of Fighters ’94 and the second game in The King of Fighters series. It is also the first game in the series to be ported to other home consoles besides the Neo Geo AES and Neo-Geo CD thus making SNK a second-party developer, with versions released for the PlayStation, Sega Saturn and Game Boy. It was also rereleased in The King of Fighters Collection: The Orochi Saga in 2008 for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable and Wii.
The game features a similar cast to KOF ’94 with the exception of the USA Team, which was replaced by the Rival Team. The plot features a new King of Fighters tournament once again promoted by the criminal Rugal Bernstein, who wants to take revenge against Kyo Kusanagi, who defeated him in last year’s tournament. The game also introduces a sub-boss character, Saisyu Kusanagi, who is the father of Kyo. KOF ’95 also introduces the fighter Iori Yagami, who becomes Kyo’s rival in the series.
One of the main focuses in the creation of The King of Fighters ’95 was the introduction of the Rivals Team, most notably Iori, who became one of the favorite characters from the staff. The game has received mixed reviews from various video games publications. Most writers have complained about the response from controls and long loading times from the PlayStation port. However, the introduction from the enhanced version of Rugal, Omega Rugal, as well as the differences between all the characters have been noted to be one of the best parts from the game.
