The King of Fighters '98 : The Slugfest

The King of Fighters '98: The Slugfest is SNK’s 1998 Neo Geo fighting game and the fifth main entry in The King of Fighters series. Known in Japan as The King of Fighters ’98: Dream Match Never Ends, it follows the conclusion of the previous game’s Orochi story arc with a standalone “dream match” rather than a new canonical tournament plot. The Neo Geo release brings together a broad selection of combatants associated with KOF ’94 through KOF ’97, making it a cross-section of SNK’s fighting-game cast built around competitive three-on-three battles.

Each match begins with assembling a team of three fighters and choosing their order. Teams fight one character at a time; a combatant stays in until defeated, and the side with surviving members takes the match. The King of Fighters ’98 uses the series’ four-button attack layout, with punches and kicks at two strengths, alongside jumping, dashing, evasive movement, throws, special moves, supers, and combo opportunities. Its rules reward both character knowledge and the practical decisions that come with team order, meter use, and switching strategy from one bout to the next.

A central choice is between the returning Advanced and Extra systems. Both govern the Power Gauge used for stronger techniques, but they handle meter building and MAX-state options differently. Advanced mode emphasizes stocked power, while Extra mode retains a manually charged gauge and a different rhythm for managing it. This gives players a way to tailor the familiar KOF ’97-based foundation to their preferences. The game also includes EX variations for selected fighters, allowing alternate move sets based on earlier appearances and widening the strategic possibilities without abandoning the series’ established identities.

The roster is the attraction. Familiar KOF teams and figures from other SNK series meet in one place, including Kyo Kusanagi, Iori Yagami, Terry Bogard, Ryo Sakazaki, Mai Shiranui, Leona, and many returning teammates and rivals. Characters who had disappeared from the immediately preceding installment return alongside the regular cast, while Team Edit permits freely constructed squads instead of restricting players to preset groups. In the arcade-style single-player path, Shingo Yabuki appears as a special mid-boss encounter and Omega Rugal serves as the final challenge, even though the game deliberately avoids a new story campaign.

On Neo Geo, The King of Fighters ’98: The Slugfest retains the crisp 2D sprite work, animated stages, character introductions, and round-based presentation associated with SNK’s arcade hardware. It first arrived in arcades in 1998, followed by Neo Geo AES and Neo Geo CD home releases that year. SNK later brought the original game to PlayStation, while the 1999 Dreamcast edition, The King of Fighters: Dream Match 1999, added remade 3D backgrounds. Those later versions are distinct releases; this Neo Geo game is the original 1998 Dream Match foundation.

The King of Fighters ’98 sits between the completed Orochi-era storyline and The King of Fighters ’99, which began the NESTS arc. Its focus on a large returning cast, selectable fighting systems, and refinements to the prior game’s mechanics made it an enduring competitive entry in the series. SNK revisited the concept with The King of Fighters ’98 Ultimate Match in 2008, an expanded remake rather than the same Neo Geo release. For players exploring the original Neo Geo library, The Slugfest is a focused showcase for SNK’s team-fighting format and its long-running cast of fighters.