Top 10 Stages In Early KOF Games

[@MarkLoweCEO]

KOF 99's Rainy Park stage is easily one of the best stages in the franchise. The sprite work in that level is top notch from the rain effects to the shifting times of day. A truly well done level and my personal favorite from the series. Couple that with the top level KOF 99 Arranged Soundtrack (Specifically 176th Street theme) and sheer perfection.

[@xYellowFlashx]

Came to the comments section for this. Really surprised to not see the rainy stage

[@man3k]

Was gonna mention this last night but thx, tbh i'm surprised he didn't (or forgot?) to even include this in the honorable mention that it troubles my mind.

[@malcovich_games]

The attention to detail in '99 stages is just next level. The rain in that stage is just comparable to the heat in the airport stage.

[@bluedragonninja6761]

Rainy Park >>>>>>>> all stages

[@philliplomax6839]

Yup Agree

[@DontKnowDontCare6.9]

The stage intros for KOF 94 and 95 gave those backgrounds a special touch that was only revisited in Capcom Vs. SNK. Mukai's stage in 2K3 was also beautiful, same with Orochi Team's/Orochi's stage in 97: the stage changes slightly depending on who you're facing.

[@TonyTheTGR]

It also ties back to the lore of the game REALLY STRONGLY

[@maverickhunter8755]

Kof 99's stages are some of my favorite in the series.The airport with the plane getting ready to take off. The alley that turns dark as the rounds progress and of course the elevator going down as you fight K's team.

[@duncan3998]

XV needs to add more DLC stages, i hate it when they share the same stages with other characters.

[@IndestructibleWill-sc1cu]

You and me both

[@shinjudatang1641]

Agree 👍🏻

[@sonnycouchy6418]

YES I WANT THE GEESE TOWER STAGE

[@winterice2022]

Agree. Cuz it's weird or annoying for other teams to share other team stages and they should get their own stage like team Garou SouthTown awakened Orochi and samurai shodown and Shingo Kim Sylvie Najd Goenitz ect.

[@shinjudatang1641]

I want terry train stage 😊

[@TheMeetymeet]

One stage I can't never stop thinking is Krizalid's stage 1 in 99. The setting, the dark background and the rotating image of what would be Krizalid's final improvements, nothing but "Mechanical Bliss".

[@tn-luna6915]

One of my favorites is the '99 Underground Sewer/Elevator, right before the match vs Krizalid. The soundtrack, KD-0079, is also one of the best in the game 🥰

[@joseurbina3835]

My all time favorite Stage will always be the "Museum" in KOF 99, the Details behind it was like that it came straight from the "Jurassic Park" Films.

[@nathanbalazonbautista418]

My favorite goes to the Boss Team stage in '96 and '98 Ultimate Match. Clearly it is one of the finest stage backdrop in early games once you played through rounds accompanied with Geese, Big and Krauser's themes respectively.

[@slightlytwistedagain]

For me personally, all the stages from KOF97 are my top picks. I just love the lively festive vibe that's going off, like you're sitting in the tournament crowd watching the fights. KOF2001 has been the only game that has fully captured that mood, with other entries only having a handful of stages that do this.

[@efimera9722]

Or like you're watching the tournament on TV!!! I just love all about KOF 97 😍

[@JoseHdEs]

96 left an impression so hard on me that I'll always be biased to evertything about it. The fact that each stage is asigned to a team and to certain music track created an ideal enviroment and it was the first time that the stages changed between rounds (at least for KOF). 97 is a close second giving more detailed backgrounds and the "international sports event" theme was a nice adition. From that point they tried to play it safe but the did never disapoint. La impresión que me dejó 96 fue tan grande que siempre la pondré por encima de otras ediciones. Esos escenarios que estaban ligados a cierto equipo y como tal a una canción en particular creaban un ambiente perfecto. Además de que era la primera vez que el escenario cambiaba entre rounds (al menos para KOF, sino me falla la memoria). 97 se le acerca con sus fondos mas detallados y el tema de "evento deportivo internacional" fue un toque agradable. Ya de ahí en adelante se iban a la segura pero nunca decepcionaban.

[@MidnightGarou94]

i loved 97 too as Shermie , Yashiro and Chris inroduction was nice but for me, i loved seeing the contrast of Chizuru /Goenitz's stage most. the KOF jovial tournament celebration setting of Chizuru to the apocalyptic death and destruction on Goenitz's stage. what tops this stage for me above the others is that as we are also introduced to 2 iconic boss characters for KOF , the classy beauty of Chizuru and the Regal presence look of Goenitz

[@TonyTheTGR]

Legit... kid me was super hype when '96 dropped and you can finally fight the old bosses in it... only to be absolutely SHOOK when I saw that transition! I think it's so strongly loved because it was the first stage/transition to ever be so DRAMATIC. I half expected my own characters to blow off the screen!! XD

[@Greyreich]

KoF 98 china stage is my favourite. Fighting on a river boat and relaxing music.

[@Lanzetsu]

To me the 99 Rainy one as well as the jungle from XI are two of my favourites from older games and wasn't here =(

[@jaderabbit898]

The Heavenly Kings stage in 97 gets even better if you go for a full 6-round battle, as the stage evolve than just the base CYS, hinting towards Orochi's eventual arrival.

[@borkborkimashork]

some of my personal favorites are the hong kong stage from kof '03(the one with the neogeo logo), factory and frozen factory, and shipyard stags from kof '00

[@elgatofelix8917]

A recurring stage that I love in KOF is the Pao Pao Cafe! But there are MANY other stages I love also!

[@vanor_]

I love this type of videos, pure enjoyment of what makes these games so special

[@duncan3998]

My personal favorite stages are the junkyard 2000, Chinese restaurant in 2002UM and the Spain one in 98'.

[@azureawe]

i love krizalid's stage (either game), kof2003 czech, kofxi japan stage and kof99 rainy park

[@guillermo4687]

Love your vids, Shoryu! The US stage in 2002UM is so lovely and ''Destiny'' fits incredibly well! Nice video! Do you have a video of your favorite supers? Also, a top 10 forgotten characters would be great! The NESTS saga has a lot to offer.

[@ShoryuGame]

Not yet! I have one for the hardest supers execute though!

[@eonsonny5540]

hahah, the number one actually surprised me but not by much, I was sure it would be the red-tinted stages you can fight Orochi Iori and Leona I'm also glad to see some love for '99 stages, the garden one where the rain breaks out is my personal favorite in that game

[@Draconated]

Really surprised there was no 02 Rugal stage on this list. I thought it would have to be number 1. I always found it to be very memorable and striking visually, not to mention accompanied by suck a good stage theme.

[@meganinten0078]

I agree. Rugal's stage in vanilla 2002 is much better than the one in 2002UM I personally prefer the stages of vanilla 2002 than the ones in 2002UM China, Korea, Mexico, Italy and Rugal's Stages are excellent!

[@davidtorres5500]

Some of My favorite scenes in Classic SNK games (no order): 1. Italy (Fatal Fury 2/Sp.) 2. Pao Pao café (KOF 94) 3. AOF stage (KOF 95) 4. Italy stage (KOF 95) 5. Bosses team (KOF 96) 6. Mission 2-2 (Metal Slug X) 7. Mission 4 (Metal Slug 3) 8. Spain stage (KOF 98) 9. Hong Kong (Fatal Fury Real Bout Special) 10. Desert (KOF 2000) Mentions: Mission 1 (Metal Slug 1), Final Mission (Metal Slug X), China stage (KOF 95) and México stage (KOF 2003). Great video! Greetings 👍🎮

[@chedysouilhi7408]

Ancient forest (kof98um with ps2 3d graphics) cloister of judgment (kof2002um with ps2 3d graphics GOD i love that scenery) sound beach-evening time (kof xv) boat party (kof96) pao pao cafe (kof xiii) desert (kof xiii) polar mountain (kof xv) orochi dimension (kof98 um ps2 graphics) dragon temple (kofxv) festival tower (kof max impact2 ) honorable mentions : ghost amusment park (kofxv) , waterfall (kofxiv) , tribal ground (kof2003) , space fortress (kof2002um) These are my favourite picks (no order) for the best stages in kof , nice list you ve got there too shoryu

[@davidnoimporta7668]

I really expected than the Korean Stage of KoF'96 would be mentioned at least, since I really like how luminous it is, and its vibrant music theme. Though I gues that's always subjetive. However, I think it's unfair include in the comparison the stages of the KoF'98 UM and KoF'02 UM, since those stages are designed in 3D. I believe that comparing Original Zero's background in KoF'02 (that looks really nice) with its the original stage in KoF'01, can show us unfair is comparing them with the total 2D stages.

[@bananabike279]

Pretty fun idea list! You could do a top 10 for the stages for each game because they're all so gorgeous!

[@DaPhenomAce]

I hope we get some of these stages remastered in KoF XV or KOF XVI in the future. Definitely was expecting the waterfall stage to make the list

[@Ai-Saika]

I THINK I already saw this vid, but watching the honebral mentions 99 stage bring back my nostalgia. I SUCK at fighting games when I was small and my uncle and cousin's use to go to the arcade and they play 99 vs each other for hours. It's s font memory that I have with my siblings since we can't do that anymore do to irl, but u gave me back a LOVELY memory.

[@ragenstorm6464]

Wow, that was quite the lesson for that Japan stage! I honestly never knew any of that lol. That Korea stage really did knock it out of the park too. Nothing was going to beat Orochi stage though. Not with that them song playing lol. I hope this video gives SNK that hint that they truly need more stages. It's not something gamers don't pay attention. Thanks for the vid Shoryu!

[@IncognitaEX]

Love the stages in the classic KoF games. The AST adds a special flavor and the 3D upgrades are a nice touch too.

[@ViktorVaughn270]

Look at that beautiful transition on 5:58 when Oswald turns into Kensou

[@winterice2022]

I like your list of your favorite stages in the early games in KOF. Honestly some of the stages in your list are my favorite to. Though I also love the live house old line(Rock Howard stage) fright express(Terry stage) and philanthropy belfry(Hotaru futaba stage) I love how well designed it is for each character and nice additions plus their theme that goes with their stages.

[@shinra2755]

Cool list. I would have personally put #9 at #1!! A truly magnificent level 😎

[@raijin6717]

As much as I love the stages of 15, I would love to see more unique and dynamic stages that interact with you the longer battles go.

[@neonthunder3261]

they're all dull in 15, sadly.

[@nocturnalscotsman]

@@neonthunder3261 I at least give the stage the Ikari warriors have a pass for making reference to Metal Slug. I like the colours on some XV stages but not much is going on in them to wow anyone🥲

[@neonthunder3261]

@@nocturnalscotsman Yeah. 02 vanilla and 03 nailed stages imo. Cambodia from 02 is a moody, but gorgeous stage. The nighttime stage that Shoryugame pointed out is easily one of my fav stages in 2003, along with the stage set on a wharf. If he was going to give 02um TWO spots though, could've at least gone for 99 Evolution's stages as well instead of the Neo Geo version.

[@valter_mota141]

#Like!! Rival's team stage in 95 is pure art!! Osaka stage from 96 is a work of art, specially with Kyo's theme!! 99's Park stage is beaultiful, specially when starts raining, fit Kyo's Tears theme so well. Chizuru's and Mukai's stage from the PS2 version of '03 peak perfection. The korean stage of '96 is alsom memorable. But, the best for sure is the remade Pao Pao Cafe from KoF 94 Re-bout is simply amazing!!

[@jesusdelcanto9715]

Thanks for this video! My favourite stages are the restaurant (women team '96), Bali ('97), aquarium (''00), Egypt (Kyo, '03), Greece (2002 UM) and Cambodia (XI).

[@jimdino77]

Great top 10 sir!

[@ShoryuGame]

Thank you!

[@RasenRendanX]

I'm incredibly biased to KOF 13 stages due to cameos. I'm very excited if you do that

[@Goatgeta2000]

My favorite stage is rainy park from 99,it's beautiful stage

[@moegooner88]

No rainy park from 99? Surprised tbh

[@tpatt513]

Definitely agree with 1, 2, 9, and 10. Need to check out thar KOF '94 Rebout. Pao Pao Cafe and Ikari Warriors stages in that game are top notch.

[@Golgottha]

Lets hope this gets trending and SNK catches on to bring us some new stages for KOF15

[@foxmind2490]

Be they Side Scrolling Beat-‘em Up’s or Fighting Games, I feel like an Airport stage is almost mandatory

[@jonathanmba2498]

Kof 96 art of figthing stage deserves to be there

[@kailidis103]

My favorite stage is definitely Rugal 98. Strange instrument, blood line and underwater scenery...

[@nemoisnobody]

I felt the stages in XIV were largely underwhelming compared to past games. There were a couple that I liked a lot, but over all my favorites were actually the ones that were rehashed from older games. Something that's pretty common in the franchise, actually. Might be another good video idea.

[@BrandonJXN2]

One of my favorite KOF stages was the Mexico stage in 94. The underground club and that awesome beat.

[@limitdude]

That Mediterranean Stage in 95 looks like a call back to the 3rd Fatal Fury Movie since Terry and co. had to go there on a mission.

[@casualtom82]

Fun list. Yeah, too many stages to mention, though for some reason I'm partial to the Aqueduct stage in XI. I guess I just like the roof tiles, though the stages in KoF '94 Rebout are all in a class of their own.

[@Mateoski97]

The Aquarium stage in 2000 should've been somewhere on this list. That stage was beautiful too.

[@CCXjapan]

For me all you mentioned in "honorable mentions" are my favorites Italy 95 is my favorite of all

[@bhlakbatosai]

Don't forget the hidden FINAL transition of the Orochi Alter Stage. If you beat the game with Sacred Treasures Team Iori & Kyo. They have their grudge match on the Stage & it lost its Heavenly Light.

[@88majestik]

What about kof 96 ikari team ralf clark leona stage....

[@sumedhkhaire]

Kof 95 Tokyo road was so epic and one of top ten stage

[@Astigos]

I think the 02UM stages are a little out of place on this list because they dont look fully pixelated. Theres some 3d in it.

[@ShoryuGame]

I used some footage from the PS2 version of the game, which had some 3D effect. The other versions didn't have 3D in the background.

[@conradojavier7547]

​@@ShoryuGame they Remoce the Epic Camera when tlit got ported to Xbox 360 & PS4.

[@SchwarzAnthonyBoys18]

In Spite Of One's Age (Arranged)" from The King of Fighters 98 is one of my favorite ost from the whole kofverse with Slushy Road and Secret Circumstances (secret agent team in kof 11 or DLC Vanessa in kof 14...how I love this version). The cloister of judgement is a beautiful level I agree but my favorite is underground metro station from kof 15

[@pokeczarelf]

Top 5/10 idea, do like Top Menaces in KOF history, probably reflecting both either their gameplay and lore itself. (Think of it as Top Black Air Force Energy in KOF history.).

[@dandiaz19934]

I like the backgrounds for '94 and '95 the best in terms of their attention to detail and their use of background and foreground. My favorite stages are al-Hamra in Spain and the Yemeni market of '98.

[@corpsedesecrator2612]

Really hard list but my favorites are Team Fatal Fury South Town Railroad throughout the series, the Osaka Stages but my favorite is from KOF 96, The Altar Of Orochi’s Heavenly Kings as well as Orochi’s Stage same stage with slight difference in KOF 97 and I also LOVE the eerie Soundtrack to capture that sort of crazy Horror like you walked into a crazy Cult, Korea Forest in KOF95, NEST Lab in the Mid Boss stages in KOF 2002 UM, Italy the mid boss stage also in KOF 2002 where it has cameos of Wolfgang Krauser and Mr Big really nice stage, Holland in KOF 2002 during the Evening looks freakin beautiful, the AOF Dojo in KOF 95, Amazon Rainforest Ikari Team in KOF 95 and I also like the Middle East stage in 95 also their stage, Pao Pao Cafe throughout the series.

[@tweety2247]

Ice festival are the best Kula like Stage

[@YonCyclops3965]

Don't forget the frozen factory in kof 2000. SNK should really have Moore ice stages. Fun fact, in the making of the ice stage in KOFXV, the ICE DEER you see now (in the stage) was at first, a bug, how no idea, but SNK DECIDED TO LET IT BE, CAUSE IT WAS COOL (,!9 pun intended) And that's just a tip of the iceberg. Sorry about the puns, just trying to break the ice.

[@nocturnalscotsman]

Lmao, I didn't even notice the guy that gets blown away in Goenitz stage was dressed as Athena & was shown in the previous stage🤣 Kof stages rarely fail to impress in my opinion, if I had to pick one it would be the "Rainy Park" stage in KOF 99, the way it goes from bright sunny colours into an atmospheric heavy downpour looked incredible

[@saulstryver836]

I like a stage from kof 99 where it starts to rain. Combine it with tears theme and it becomes perfection.

[@MarioUcomics]

6:30 that stage actually based on Carnegie Hall In New York

[@toryficarola]

#9 is by far my favorite background in all of KoF 98, even over Omega Rugal's stage.

[@Vash16xli]

There's quite a few stages from the maximum impact series that are great too.

[@meganinten0078]

Too bad there wasn't any vanilla KOF 2002 stages in this list , I personally prefer them over the ones of 2002UM For example, Korea, Mexico, China, Italy and Rugal's Stages are excellent. Something tha vanilla 2002 did it better than 2002UM is the VS Mode, the music changes each round depending of the character who appear. That is actually a great idea and is something I wish modern KOF games bring back

[@IndestructibleWill-sc1cu]

I like the background peeps in the stages

[@RexVergstrong]

No 99 Rainy Park or 00's Museum? Are you for real? Those are peak sprite work.

[@neogiu000]

Not even a mention to KOF 99 rainy stage? That's one of the best in the series and some of the best pixel art in gaming! 😞

[@meganinten0078]

Looks like Shoryugame likes stages with sunset and at night 😁 I would like to see some stages from the Maximum Impact games in KOF XV The Southtown, Downtown, Iron Hell, Live House and Show Time (Duke) stages are my favorites from MI1 Sacred Garden (Luise), Grand Mosque (Jivatma), Cyber Space are my favorites in MI2 Also, if we got some World Heroes characters in KOF XV, would be cool to have Geegus (WH1) or DIO's (WH2) stages.

[@gigawhopper]

Can we get a Top 10 cameos from SNK? KOF is full of cameos along with going onto OTHER snks. We loved Clark n Ralf in metal slug ❤️

[@hasi706]

99 is generally a really nice looking game with great production values, I heard they actually let their younger staff have more input on the game. I feel like SNK was really on the cusp of revolutionizing fighting game presentation after years of experimentation and then they just went bankrupt.

[@thecommentor6870]

My favorite is either the clone team stage from 2002 UM or Igniz stage

[@SpectralSound.]

Only top 10? Damn they way snk just makes the stages,so full of personality and many times full of cameos,i find it so hard to just pick 10.Imo all of them are "top" .great video tho.

[@NoNicknameRequired]

I'm probably in the minority here but from all the stages in KOF XI Aqueduct is my favourite one - there's just something about fighting on the rooftops...

[@umarumar8951]

My favorite stage in KOF is "Dark Arena" in KOF 96 and 98 UM.

[@therealdeeves]

They should find a way to make the players not use the Asylum (Grid Stages). I just immediately ignore it when I see gameplays with stages like that. I know their reasons but just like what you said, this is one of the important elements to success of Fighting Games.

[@blaze6477]

The XI stages are good. Anyone who says they are boring don't know what they are talking about

[@rurouni_xyz]

this feeling nostalgic, its as if i used to live there

[@yukkikana]

My fav stage is Back Alley from KOF 99.

[@mariocraft3067]

You didn’t even mention the London stage from ‘99! I feel betrayed!! I also love the AoF stage from ‘96, the desert stage from 2000, and the Kusanagi stage from 2003. This should have been a top 20, too many awesome stages!

[@TonyTheTGR]

AoF/Fatal Fury Railroad Crossing stage is iconic as heck! The only reason I think it isn't higher rated is in comparison to '96 as a whole... but certainly mentionworthy!

[@mariocraft3067]

@@TonyTheTGR The Fatal Fury variant is good as well, but the AoF stage has awesome lighting, the sky is gorgeous, there aren't as many people around, and the music is more fit for a fight. It truly feels like a western showdown! 😁

[@nintendolife25]

It’s honestly tiring to see players always choosing the training stages in Fighting games. I don’t understand why….

[@ShoryuGame]

The grid is useful for accurate spacing. But you're right, it's very annoying.

[@nintendolife25]

@@ShoryuGame Oh, that makes sense. Sorry, I’m no expert in fighting games. It’s just a waste to see such beautifully designed stages be unselected.

[@hasi706]

There's also a lot of stages, mostly in modern fighting game that can cause slowdown which is seen as unfair. It's not very exciting to see the same boring stage over and over, but I get why they do it.

[@haveagreeenday]

#10 is gonna always be #1 in my heart

[@SimphiweRadebe135]

Surprised kof 2002 deserted town didn't even make it to the honorable mentions

[@sonicsega1699]

i don't think people pay enough attention to stages like we do. i love a good stage as well as the soundtrack that comes with it.....idea for a next video???winkwink?????

[@ShoryuGame]

I already made a video of the best soundtracks. 2 actually!

[@shadowtucker160]

The ice festival from kof 11 also made confused because I always think there's a guy with white hair and a patter on his chest similar to orochi and I always thought to my self is that orochi

[@davidolivier1983]

SNK has always given us more beautiful stages than Capcom's fighting games. That's one of the reasons why I've always preferred SNK games.

[@khal3121]

To me 1996 has best stages overall. Yeah the background NPC's seems but dull but, it's super unique. My favs will always be Team Boss stage & Korean team.

[@ahmarash9]

1.mature 2.vice 3.sharmie 4.leona 5.angel 6.whip 7.foxy 8.diana 9.elizabeth my favorite kof waifus ❤ btw i like team orochi and orochi stage from kof 97 also there theme musics

[@M.b940]

For me: bali stage 97' i like the ambiance and traditional music, spain 98' with the famous cat 🐈 and the omega rugal level .

[@RasenRendanX]

I love love love stages In fighting games and I think KOF has the best ones. These were all amazing. I honestly prefer over 14/15. They just seem more lively.

[@TonyTheTGR]

XIV/XV are.... "scaled for performance reasons." It's not like they aren't trying to make the stages exemplary... but all the processing power is being eaten by the player models and the backgrounds have to take kind of a back seat. Final Arena is still really impressive, although it slows my battles to a crawl (which sucks), and I love Concert Hall XV a lot too. Creepy Amusement Park is a great comparison to Team Krohnen's personalities, too.

[@estebangardila]

I, for one, disagree with the inclusion of 2002UM stages because those bring in 3D elements that the other early games (94- 2002) don't have so of course they will look better. Also, I'm very surprised by the lack of representation of KOF 97 in this list, my case in point being the Bali stage. The contrast of modern v. tribal in lightning and setting is outstanding: the modern/tourism look on the left and a red "tribal" look on the right, the Kecak Dance elements on the right side mixing with the modernity of the cameramen, easily the second best song of KOF 97' with the polyrhythms mixed together, the purply/orange sky... basically perfect.

[@joshualedesmasegovia]

I would love to see Abandoned Factory Stage from The King of Fighters 95 and The NEST Bosses Stages to return in The King of Fighters XV

[@ShoryuGame]

The abandoned factory did return in XIII.

[@joshualedesmasegovia]

@ShoryuGame I know that already but I want to see the stage to return in The King of Fighters XV

[@musicisfun15]

i always knew the airport stage in 99 was goated

[@jorbu1423]

I hope SNK can give us at least 3 Stages for KOFXV that is all I want

[@bilelsmith6333]

I like the stage of kof new wave it have fan moving & the light effect on it 😁

[@GameByExperience]

Kof 97 Flames of Destiny / Insanely Violent Lightning / Parched Earth + rhythmic hallucination Kills them all

[@awesomeguy9115]

@shoryu what do you think about heavenly kings vs those from the past who will win ?

[@ShoryuGame]

I think Orochi is the strongest character in the two groups. As for the rest of the clan members, I think TFTP are stronger overall.

[@awesomeguy9115]

@@ShoryuGame so you mean geonitz is weaker than igniz and all those ? Hm that hurts to be a trash head fan 😢

[@ponderosa1873]

One of the best stages ever is cvs1 the back alley with the shadows.

[@mr.sol6666]

Some of the kof 13 stage's would look good in 3d/kof15 like the stadium stage at night and day to.

[@EasyRvnge]

Another top 20 soundtrack please 😭🙏