The King of Fighters '94 invented a format that changed the genre forever: 3-on-3 team battles with no mid-fight switching — one fighter falls, the next steps in, and the epic comeback is always one round away. It was also the dream crossover: Kyo Kusanagi leads a tournament gathering the heroes of Fatal Fury, Art of Fighting, Ikari Warriors and Psycho Soldier, all invited by the mysterious Rugal Bernstein, one of the most ruthless bosses ever programmed. Fixed national teams (Japan, Italy, Brazil...) gave every match a world-cup flavour. With it, SNK's annual ritual was born: every year, a new KOF — a tradition that lasted a full decade. The AES cartridge was produced in abundance and is a reasonable buy today — the logical starting point for collecting the Neo Geo's longest-running saga.