The King of Fighters '99: Millennium Battle (KOF '99) is a 1999 fighting game developed and published by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home consoles in 1999. It is the sixth installment in The King of Fighters series, introducing a new story arc centered around a young man named K' associated with a group known as NESTS. The game introduces several changes to the established KOF format, most notably an assisting character labeled "Striker". The game was ported to the Neo-Geo CD and the PlayStation. Dreamcast and Microsoft Windows versions were also released under the title The King of Fighters: Evolution whose stages were remodeler into 3D.
SNK originally planned to remove main characters Kyo Kusanagi and Iori Yagami, who appear in earlier versions of the game, from The King of Fighters '99, but they ended up as hidden characters instead. The popularity of Kyo's previous incarnations resulted in him being given "clones" that wear his original clothes and perform his moves. SNK had difficulty balancing the age of the characters and teams. The Neo Geo and Dreamcast versions are both included in The King of Fighters NESTS Hen compilation released for the PlayStation 2 in Japan as well as other ports.
Critical response to The King of Fighters '99 has generally been positive because of its fighting system and its use of Strikers. The Dreamcast porting of the game has had a more favorable reception than the PlayStation version thanks to its loading times and graphics. The Nintendo Switch porting has garnered a similar response, with reviewers finding it modern and praising its gameplay. While the game has sold well, overall sales have been less than those of the series' previous game because of poor sales of the console versions.
Metal Slug References[]
Fio Germi appears as an exclusive Striker in The King of Fighters '99: Evolution for the Dreamcast. Her Justice Striker Art is the same as featured in The King of Fighters 2000, while her Dark Striker Art has her carry a Vulcan cannon to smack onto an opponent, both of which and with her saluting and jumping away.