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Last Update: 7/04/98

This article written in collaboration with-

King Of Fighters 98 Let's Go Gorgeous! - The KOF Series all United!! -The All-Star Dream Battle!!!-

NOTE: Again to viewers, Leona's Costume is the same as before, no changes.

Pictures of KOF98' Have Been Finally Released, confirming details to what were previously rumors. The info on Alternate characters, Startup demos and characters in this article have been provided by Gebe's Asia De Pop.

38 Main Characters, 10 Alternate Characters and More?
Alternate Characters (Press start when selecting)

94' Kyo	Similar to 94' kyo hidden in 97'.
RB2 Terry	Has Fire Kick, lost power charge. Projectile reaches edge of screen.
RB2 Andy	Has the new DM "Dadandan", projectile reaches across screen.
94' Joe	Projectile reaches across screen, no Golden heel. Explision punches become the 95' version, and the same with his taunt and victory pose.
94' Ryo	Projectile reaches end of screen, etc (Has Illusuin punches)
94' Robert	Projectile reaches end of screen, has illusion kicks
94' Yuri	Projectile and Raikou-en are like 95', Sai-fa is back. No spin kick no Burn knuckle, has a new "shinryu-ken" like super.
Orochi Yashiro	Middle Boss from 97' -Note: their colours, order select shots and victory pics are different from their normal versions.
Orochi Shermie	Middle Boss from 97'
Orochi Chris	Middle Boss from 97'

Shots from the Demo Screen

The New Order Select Screen Storyline In KOF98' there is no storyline- (much of a dream match like RB2) But, unlike KoF97' there is actually a Winner-message. As bosses, Shingo comes out after the 3rd team if the player's characters are related to him (Kyo, Iori, etc), and Rugal comes out after the 6th team. The Game System There is a miss pose when a special throw fails or is done out of range ( like SF2's Zangief) There are no abbreviation commands like KoF97' ( ie: Backdown, Forward + Attack instead of HCF + Attack) Character colors can be selected out of a choice of 4 by their buttons- A,B,C, D. There is a random select in which the team members change every match, instead of being picked once only in the beginning.

1st Character

2nd Character

3rd Character

Advanced Mode The First fighter has 3 stocks in the beginning of the fight. The second character has 4 stocks and the third character has 5. This means that the more the player loses, the more advantage the player has. DMs done during when the player has POWered up will kill off the remining meter.

ABC does different things for the two modes like in 97'.

The friendship system still exists as well. Extra Mode Likewise to the Advanced mode, the POW meter in Extra mode is long at the beginning but shortens each time a character loses. Also, counter attacks can be done from the AB dodge, and the middle jump which was only available in Advanced mode for 97' is useable. The AB dodge can be canceled into a combo.

Pre-Fight Demos Thanks to Gebe

While Storylines may not be present, many special demos are. Kyo Vs Iori Both flare up their hands and raise them down after saying ther lines. Kyo- "The flames are calling for you!" (Honoo ga omae o yonderuze!) Iori- "Then burn down, respectively!" (Nara moetsukiro, isagiyoku na) Kyo Vs Shingo Shingo- (pointing at his glove) "This this! 'Moetaro?' Just kidding!" Kyo- "Why you..." Benimaru & Female Fighter Benimaru- "Let's go, Cutie!" Billy & Iori Eiji appears secretively in Billy's back, taunt together with Billy and flys away. Billy looks around, wondering what had just happened. Yashiro VS Iori Fools around doing Chrises' intro "Oh no, he looks strong! Just kiddin' " Kensou & Athena Kensou "Ooooh Athena!" (Throws heart mark to Athena) Mai & Andy Mai does a cute bow to Andy, Andy greets Mai by holding his hands together. Takuma & AOF Members Takuma appears with his Tengu mask, Ryo, Robert or Yuri gets upset at him. Takuma then throws his mask into the air and kicks it apart while shouting out "chest--o!" Yamazaki & Orochi Member Yamazaki just keeps on laughing-- a riot of the blood? Et Cetra Kyo & Benimaru, Kyo & Saishu, Heidern & Rugal, Band Team members against each other, Heidern & Ikari Team members, Ikari Team members with each other, Robert & Kensou, Kim & Anyone Evil,Chizuru & Orochi member

Additional Character Info Kyo Has a new victory pose where he faces back, takes his hand behind him and kills his flame His words has changed in his Rapid punch DM. Goro Still has a good CD attack and firece punch, Earthquaker seems to hit opponents lying on ground. Benimaru Nowhere as strong as before, and his Electric Jolt DM has gotten much weaker as well -no invincibility. Terry No infinite Juggle. Andy Can't seem to hit opponent with his press kick after the unguardable punches. Joe Comes out with the Champ's garment when the 1st character. Yuri Taunt has changed back to 95' style "kocchi kocchi!" Has a new fighting stance, leaning a tad forward. Spin kick has a different curve now. Kensou Anti-air special (normal one) is a lot easier to counter and sometimes drops opponent off in middle. Pants drop off in his new victory pose. Athena Voice is now done by the cast of "Mary's Atrium" (game). She also does a voice cast for "Lets & Go" (anime) When the first chracter, she comes out with her Sailor clothings and then takes them off, revealing her costume from KOF94, then KOF95, KOF96, KOF98, and finally KOF98. Mai Has a new Lever + button move where she jumps into the air to attack. Has a new victory pose where she fits in a fancy kimono and has a hellishly big pair of fans in both hands. Her Dance of Fury is weakend and can now be countered. King Waitresses comes out in Demo Chizuru Has new victory dance, no longer looks like a mid-aged lady in victory shot. Kim His new special kick seems to shake the ground, effects not well known. Chang When first character, comes out singing with a special BGM. Leona Something happens when the Rebel Spark is done at Max. Clark When first character, has his sunglasses off. Yashiro Million Bash Stram ends pitifully unless the punch is rapid repeated. Comes out upside-down on his hands, doing pushups. Mr. Macho. Two new victory poses- one where he takes out a plastic bottle and splashes it across his face, and another where he looks back and waves his hand. Shermie Shermie Clutch seems to be a anti-air throw like Clark's Napalm stretch. Shermie Spiral is fast enough to use in a combo. Has a new victory pose where she throws kisses around. Mary Cannot snatch after the splash rose. Billy Has trademark sparrow killer move from 95'. Takuma Projectile or Illusion punches can be comboed/juggled from his flying double kick. Shoots 3 Haoh-shikou Kens in his Max Dragon Dance. Seems to have a Counter attack throw. Saishu Voice (tone?) has changed His new DM seems to be a "Burning Shingo" with flames. Has a new special move similar to Kyo's air kick. Has an additional input special like Kyo. Heidern When the first character, comes out of the dark with his eye glowing. Moves much faster than 95 and is much more tricky. Storm Bringer probably afflicts more damage when pressed rapid. Has a counter attack Storm Bringer. Heidern's End is similar to Leona's Rebel Spark, except its attack point is high so characters dodging may be missed. Wears a coat in new victory pose. Mature Metal Massacre slices sideways now. CD attack has more frames and is slower. All three Death Claw hits unlike in 96'. Has a projectile similar to Eiji's huge attack. New DM is a rush combo of air blades. has her hip moving around in her new fighting pose, and her leg shows time to time. Vice DeSide is very fast now. Her new thor "Black end" make the opponent fly vertically into the air. Has a new move where she tacklye the opponet like Terry's Power Charge. Has a new fighting pose which looks a bit like Riot Iori's. Iori His voice has gotten even lower. His DM voice "Cry, scream and die!" 's last part is a lot longer now, making him sound as he really hates the opponent. His Anti-air now always makes the opponent fall down. His Max Dm has more motion and is thus slower. There is a possibility that it cannot be used in combos. Still grabs opponents from air. His new move "nail gale" is similar to a petite version of Orochi Chrises' cecent lundge attack. Shingo The laughingstock of KOF98', but unlike SFA's Dan Shingo is still strong. Says out loud the "sound effects" of his moves when he executes them, like "boom!" "Slash!" (in Japanese) Has a new attack "Elbow Drop" which is an unguardable attack. When Maxed up, his normal special anti-air move can take up 1/3 the oppoennt's life bar at times. Rugal His new DM "Dead End Screamer" is said to have very bad taste and was being called "The Rugal Dance" by beta testers. His Gigatech Pressure is extremely fast now, but can easily be counter once guarded.

Pictures, Pictures and More Pictures

94' style Rugal Is Back and Heidern is AB Dodging.

Heavy D! rolls back in advanced mode, now with shadows.

Death Claws (or Sacredge) versus the Dark Barrier

Character Sprites are much bigger than from any of the previous in the series.

No Longer Bryant , Brian Battler is back with even fancier moves.

Still with their good ol' projectiles.

The classic RSD from Heavy D! .

In the ultimate duel, Iori's Nails lunges at Kyo.

Kensou tries out his new taunt on Joe.