The King Of Fighters 99- No Subtitle as of  Yet.

SNK released first official news of their Sequel to the hit series "The King Of Fighters". 
  
  
Appropriately named "The King Of Fighters 99", the game will be released in MVS format for the arcades, not NeoGeo 64.  Thus so, the game will be based on 2D flat sprites, and not 3D polygon.  
  
Likewise to every year, KOF99 is scheduled for release in the summer for the arcades. The graphics in KOF99 is currently completed, and the development is concentrated on the game's system as of the current. 
 
 
 

  

Hiroyuki Kawano

    
Official illustrations nor game images are available as of yet.  
However, KOF99's Producer Hiroyuki Kawano has released the following information concerning the game. 
   
   
  
    
New Characters, New Storyline 
While the Title of the game is "The King Of Fighters 99", Orochi storyline has concluded, and thus the game will begin from a new beginning, and a new storyline.  The main character is likewise new- and as of the current his/her name cannot yet be revealed due to it being carefully connected to the storyline.  
  
The New Storyline will be centered on the main character as usual,  with other characters from the series' past pertaining to it. However, the storyline will not be complex  to understand. Similar to the past series, the game itself takes place within the "King Of Fighters" tournament, but the new character's will have new  relations and rivalry, and the reason of the tournament will be different from the past. 
  
  
  
   
30 Characters: 7 Teams- 2 Edits  /  4 Characters per team 
The main character is not the only new character in KOF99. Additional new characters will be in the game as well. Thus so, while the popular characters from other games will still stay in KOF99, they will be fairly reduced compared to KOF98'.  

In total, there will be 30 Default characters playable, which consists of 7 teams and 2 edit only characters. Different from the past KOF series, each team will consist of 4 characters, not 3. Likewise, the teamups will not necessarily be the same as from the past. However, this does not mean the game will be based on a 4-on-4 battle. The game will still be based on a 3-on-3 battle, and the fourth character- appropriately called a "Striker", will be dedicated to assistance. Players can chose who to make into the striker character in a team, and is not pre-designated. 
  
  
  
   
The New Assistance System -Striker System 
The Assistance system in KOF 99 (aka the Striker system),  is an upgraded version of the assistance system from the previous KOF series. Unlike the previous KOF assistance where the awaiting members only hit the opponent once during tight moments of the game, in KOF99 the Striker can be called out at any moment, and  will battle together with the main character for a designated time. This can cause the game to have moments where the battle scene is 2-on-1, or 2-on-2 in the same screen.  
  
The attacks of the striker is computer automated, and may fight normally together with the player, or in combination moves with the player. In addition, there are striker-only moves designated in the game.   The number of times the striker can be called out is dependent on stocks, similar to the Advanced mode's Super moves in KOF98'.  
  
  
  
    
Only one Mode- Based on Advanced 
Due to system complications from the Striker system, in KOF99 the game will  be based on  one system- the Advanced mode. There will be additional features to the Advanced mode, but as of the present this is still in development. Likewise the friendship system is still in development, but is planned to pertain the the striker system.  
  
  
  
    
CPU Battles to be Improved 
Unlike KOF98, the CPU battle will be enhanced in KOF99. While not much detail has been released as to how this will be done,  demo scenes and differences in the fighting background depending on the storyline, will be some of the changes. 
   
 
 
 
 
   
The Madman's Cafe, always the first to bring King Of Fighters news to the internet public, will keep track on any movements on this year's KOF99, as usual. 
 
(Note: this KOF99 article pertains to the  Arcade version, and is different from the DreamCast version of King Of Fighters 99 scheduled for release on 6/24. The DreamCast version is based on the MVS KOF98.)