In KOF 98 UM ya have 3 modes to pick up:
- Advanced
- Extra
- Ultimate

The 1st two are from original 98 verison but have been tweaked a little. In Advanced for example, if ya wanna perform a MAX DM ya need 3 bars without Max Mode.

In Extra, once ya charge up your energy it will no longer decay over time and ya can go into MAX mode. Exclusively to this mode, ya can cancel your normal or special move by going Max Mode and makes some changes for some special moves.

In Ultimate ya basically customize your gameplay using mechanics from Advanced and Extra.

98 UM compared to 2002 UM has classic stages included and more EX characters.

[url=http://wiki.shoryuken.com/The_King_of_Fighters_%2798:_Ultimate_Match]http://wiki.shoryuken.com/The_King_of_Fighters_%2798:_Ultimate_Match[/url]
[url=http://wiki.shoryuken.com/The_King_of_Fighters_2002:_Unlimited_Match]http://wiki.shoryuken.com/The_King_of_Fighters_2002:_Unlimited_Match[/url]

Yes but I am one who thinks the other way on the way the game is. I love the game too hell but I cant see it being similar to street fighter.

THANK YOU! that is what I wanted to know. now I am on a 50/50 thinking mode on getting it just for that. Again thank you and +1000000 for the info and help.

Do I really need all of them? :P

Depends if you want to have them all for the sake of collection. but 2002 is pretty damn good and so far as from watching vids on 98 that one is good in it's own way. but if you are a first time player of KOF I'd stick with 2002 for the 66 character roster. and it's got amazing key rebinding options and supports up to 4k resolution.

Generally it's a good idea to look for a game wiki or guide in these situations. Here's what I found:

http://snk.wikia.com/wiki/The_King_of_Fighters_'98_Ultimate_Match

[url=http://snk.wikia.com/wiki/The_King_of_Fighters_2002:_Unlimited_Match]http://snk.wikia.com/wiki/The_King_of_Fighters_2002:_Unlimited_Match[/url]

I wasn't saying smash and streetfighter are different in those ways. I'm saying street fighter II to street fighter V are different in the same way, just as smash 1 is different to smash 4 in the same ways. I'm saying that if people can consistently have game preference within many serieses, it's reasonable to compare the logic. In other words, I prefer street fighter 2 because Ken is God tier, but he's shit tier in IV, but I like ken, so i'd rather play 2.

Is there any decent tutorials on this series assuming you don't know he basics of 2d fighters, to prevent the improper mixing of information? I remember having this trouble with DoA, and it took me a long, long time to learn how to poke, because everyone told me i "didn't know the basics, like poking" but when i asked how to learn them, they sent me to videos that covered everything but what I didn't know (the poking triangle, safety, etc). I noticed this seems to be a problem in most fighting game communities. Virtua Fighter did a good job for me, but the community's skill in teaching isn't enough to conqure the fact the community and game is more niche than nekopara.

The next is a mix of info too, but it covers the most basic and important concepts.It applies to 98 UM and 2002 UM too:
The Beginner's Incomplete Guide to KOF (part 1)
The Beginner's Incomplete Guide to KOF (Part 2)

Does nobody here mention about the story? I think '98 had proper storyline for the single-player campaign, whilst '02 didn't have one if I remember correctly.

Correction, 98 and 2002 are Dream Matches. They do not have any story. Interesting enough, 2002 UM has somewhat some story, least related to Nameless. A clone of Kyo and K' who cannot control his dark flame, anything it touches it dissolves. One girl though caused him to gain control over his power and later on learns that NESTS used her body to create a glove which keeps his left hand in control, because of that he went against the organization.

Nameless replaces K'9999 entirely as the latter resembles Tetsuo from Akira too much.


KOF 94 to 97 has a story related to Orochi,
KOF 99 to 2001 is related to NESTS Organization
KOF 2003 to XIII (Cept XII) is related to Ash Crimson.

Thanks I'll have to watch them later. I have them downloaded so i don't forget.

Both '98 and '02 are dream match titles. In other words, they both ditched the plot in favour of putting a ton of characters in the roster. There's no storyline to either of them.

Thanks GOG, i know i complain a lot sometimes but this is a great release that i have been waiting for.

98 is really damn good and having the superior version of 2002 which in itself is great too is one of the better releases in a while.

I'm betting it's The Last Blade 2 since the devs of these KOF ports did that one as well.

Anyone have any idea of these games are likely compatible with Steam's servers? I'd certainly consider picking them up here.