This is the first game of the series that conquered legions of fighter fans from all over the world. The King of Fighters ’94 joins together fighters from other SNK Corporation franchises: (Ryo Sakazaki, Robert Garcia, Takuma Sakazaki, Yuri Sakazaki, King), Fatal Fury (Terry Bogard, Andy Bogard, Joe Higashi, Mai Shiranui, Kim Kaphwan) and Ikari Warriors (Ralf Jones, Clark Steel, Heidern), as well as totally new fighters such as Kyo Kusanagi, Benimaru Nikaido, and Goro Daimon (from the Japanese team).
The King of Fighters ’94 is notable in that it is one of the first known fighting games that pits a team of fighters against each other in single combat. Each team consists of three fighters for each player, the winner being the player who is able to eliminate the other team first. Each active character can charge up “Art of Fighting” style in order to gain access to “Desperation Moves”, or “DMs” (moves which operate very much like Street Fighter‘s Super Combos). Playing against the computer, the player must defeat all 8 teams in the game in order to reach the final boss, Rugal Bernstein.