The game includes over 60 characters, meticulously coded. You get the standard KOF '97 team (Iori, Kyo, Chizuru) alongside deep cuts from Garou: Mark of the Wolves (Rock Howard), Art of Fighting , and Fatal Fury . Every character has a full movelist—no "placeholder" sprites.
Why it matters
: Later versions like the "Red Edition" add guest characters from Street Fighter (Ryu, Chun-Li, Akuma) and "God" versions of existing fighters.
The "King of Fighters" series, developed by SNK, is renowned for its fast-paced gameplay, memorable characters, and rich history in the fighting game community. Mugen, on the other hand, is a freeware 2D fighting game engine developed by Elecbyte, which allows users to create and play their own custom fighting games. This engine has democratized game creation, enabling fans to bring their favorite characters into the fighting arena, often with surprising results.