The King of Fighters '96 cover

The King of Fighters '96

First release
Jul 30, 1996
Genres
Fighting · Action

The King of Fighters '96 is a 1996 fighting game. It is the third game in The King of Fighters series, following The King of Fighters '95. SNK's flagship series returns for another year. Many of the changes in this year's KOF release come in the form of improved graphics, sound effects, music and totally redone character sprites. The gameplay of the system has been altered with the addition of "Rush" multi-hit combos and new moves for practically every character. The storyline of the series receives heavy focus in this release with the Orochi Saga swinging into high-gear. The King of Fighters '96 has 27 regular characters plus 2 boss characters (who can be unlocked with the use of a code). Newcomers to the tournament include Mr. Big from the Art of Fighting series, the bosses from Fatal Fury (Wolfgang Krauser and Geese Howard), and completely original characters like Leona Heidern, Mature and Vice. Other features carried over from the previous year include the ability to choose between the default "Team Fighting" mode or the traditional "Single Fighter" style of gameplay, plus the "Versus" and "Survival" gameplay modes.

Also known as KOF '96, 拳皇96, The King of Fighters III, The King of Fighters 3

Attributes

No Attributes added.

Details

Storyline, release dates, time to beat, age ratings, modes, links, keywords

Release dates
Arcade
Jul 30, 1996
Neo Geo AES
Sep 27, 1996
Neo Geo CD
Oct 25, 1996
All 12 release dates
Sega Saturn
Dec 31, 1996
PlayStation
Jul 04, 1997
PlayStation 3
May 31, 2007
PlayStation Portable
May 31, 2007
Wii
Feb 15, 2011
PlayStation 3
Oct 11, 2011
PlayStation Portable
Oct 11, 2011
Wii
Jul 12, 2012
Wii
Nov 22, 2012
Age ratings
ESRB TCERO B
Game modes
Split screen, Multiplayer, Single player
Perspective
Side view
Keywords
martial arts, hand-to-hand combat, karate, high score, playstation network
… All 16, shared screen, digital distribution, psone classics, special attacks, year in the title, tag teaming, playstation tv support, team deathmatch, adapted to - movie, backwards compatibility, wii virtual console

How it plays

Languages

  • Englishinterface, subtitles
  • 日本語interface, audio, subtitles
IGDB · recorded 24 Oct 2026

Language data: IGDB · recorded 24 Oct 2026