If you're unfamiliar with the KOF series, it's pretty cut and dry; Take all the well-known (and not so well-known) characters from the company's long line of franchises and throw them together in a huge fight to the finish! Using a modified engine derived from two of SNK's most famous fighters (Fatal Fury & Art of Fighting for the uninitiated), you can choose combatants from all over the world to slug it out in full 2D presentation. While the adventures of Ryu and Ken are still considered supreme atop the world of hand-drawn versus games, King of Fighters is always close behind, and some would even argue that it's better.
Much like Capcom's Street Fighter line, the KOF series has improved with age, and has added just enough of the right touches over the years to make each game more entertaining the last. But, before I delve into the refinements and extras found in the Dreamcast version, let me make one thing clear; Dream Match '99 is NOT the true sequel to KOF '98. In actuality, the true KOF '99 (and sequel to '98) can be found in arcades under the "Millennium Battle '99" moniker. Dream Match 1999 is more like King of Fighters '98 v1.5. While the year after the title is a new one, the content and subtitle remain the same from the last year. If you're still confused, read on...
Dream Match '99 is at it heart, the same game you played on the PlayStation and Neo-Geo in 1998. The only real differences are cosmetic. The first and most obvious change is the superbly-directed anime intro. Finding a way to show every single character in a lengthy (but still fast-paced) introduction really helps hype you up for the impending battle ahead. One interesting thing I noticed in the American cinematic that was different from the Japanese version was the scene with King. In the Japanese disc, King is shown in mid-shot, throwing a glass of red wine playfully towards the screen. In our version, all you're treated to is a quick close-up of King's face, and then a reverse-negative effect before she can do anything but look. It's strange, but true. I guess the impressionable youth of America can't handle the suggestion of an alcoholic beverage being consumed by one of the female leads. Even stranger is the fact that all of Mai's world famous bouncing is still here. Half-naked woman with bouncing breasts; Okay. Three second shot of a glass of wine. Heinous. Go figure.
Also new to the Dreamcast rev are the polygonal backgrounds. Most of them are used in such a way that, besides a little sparkle, you don't even notice they aren't two-dimensional. Some however are a little glaring (The boats in the Korea stage) while others are used quite effectively, (Rugal's backdrop, complete with realistic sharks in the glass behind him!). On the whole, the redone backgrounds are pretty cool looking and a step up from the old animated ones. Other added visual goodies not used before include the faces in the corner next to the power bar shaking when your character is hit, and shading on the power bars themselves. These new details make the game seem a bit sleeker than before, and the fact that none of the animation from the arcade is missing only ups the ante further.
To cater to the different styles individual players possess, KOF presents two ways to fight. The first is using the "Advanced" power gauge. With the Advanced gauge, your power bar at the lower part of the screen will grow with every special move you perform. Eventually it becomes full allowing you to use three-button charge presses to pull off super moves (which are powered-up versions of regular special attacks). The super moves can damage your opponent quite a bit, and raising your bar stock quickly (up to three or five, depending on the advantage setting) is a good idea.
The second way to throw down involves the "Extra" Power gauge. While it's similar to the advanced mode in that it will allow you to pull off super combos and chains, the method of attaining them is quite different. Instead of using all your specials to build the bar, you simply keep pressing the same three buttons over and over again to charge it manually. While this is an easier way to attain supers, I personally prefer the Advanced meter, as it allows you to fight normally, and go with the flow of battle without having to constantly press buttons to become stronger. Too bad there aren't customized chains similar to Street Fighter Alpha 3's V-ism though. It would have been a great third option to have.
If you dig multiple ways to kick peoples' asses, then you'll be more than satisfied here. Not only can you take the lone road and fight everyone the game has to offer one-on-one, but you can also join a snazzy three-person team and bully other alliances on the quest to be the best. The coolest part about the team mode, though, is that depending on how your characters get along with each other, your team's moves and energy levels at the end of a match can vary or change completely. There are also the standard survival and practice modes to toy around with as well.
But the real star of the show has to be the diversity in the characters. Using faces from most of its popular games (including folks from Athena and Ikari Warriors for you old school fans of '80s classics) SNK has created a cast where almost everyone has a unique battle style. While some fighters borrow moves from characters found in a certain Capcom competitor, a lot more of them have odd, yet effective maneuvers that will have you pressing every direction you can think of multiple times. With 38 characters and 13 alternate versions of some of these combatants, you have a lot of punching opportunities ahead of you.
For the most part I enjoyed Dream Match '99 quite a bit, but unfortunately there were some features left out, and a few little squabbles I have that keep it from getting an even better score. I would say the biggest problem for me was the lack of a story mode or some kind of plot-driven mission to traverse. Street Fighter Alpha 3 and Soul Calibur have increased expectations for every game in the genre. And with KOF's rich history of drama and the struggle against the power that is Orochi, it was a big disappointment to see that after a long development time, such a mode was left out. Bummer.
Also on the "nitpick list" is the pause between rounds when the music has to restart. I'll admit that the almost non-existent load times before a fight are great when compared to the Neo-Geo CD version of the game, but with such a fast GD-ROM on the Dreamcast, how did this musical stoppage become a reality? Another sound-related problem I noticed was in the voice samples. Certain quotes, phrases, and sound effects sound like they are in mono, while others appear to be stereo! What's worse is that there are no settings in the options menu to see what sound setting the disc runs in. Ah well, at least the soundtrack includes some nifty tunes (including a couple that rank as my top 20 favorite game songs).