I didn't get any netplay issues, so I recommend the game.

EDIT: Netcode issues have been worked thru by Code Mystics, so the game is SAFE TO BUY! I can play with people from US East Coast (~200 ms ping) very smoothly. By the way, I'm from Brazil, so naturally I can play smoothly with pretty much anyone in South America.

Just keep in mind that you shouldn't be playing with someone whose ping is 250ms+, because even if the netcode is wonderful, miracles won't happen. Don't expect to get a smooth gaming experience when playing someone from Mars.

IMPORTANT: Check out this thread if you're having any problems: http://steamcommunity.com/app/222420/discussions/0/626329820792416671/

Note that I had been playing the original version @ GGPO for aeons. These are words from a very experienced player.

Buy this game already, experience the best and most balanced fighter around and...

...LET'S BURN IT UP! *removes cape*

Awesome game. The netcode isn't perfect, but the dev team seems driven to make further improvements while taking advantage of community feedback. They've already made a lot of progress, and it runs quite nicely when playing against friends.

The King of Fighters 98 Ultimate Match Final Edition is an amazing game for both the casual fighting game player and the hardcore fighting game player.

The gameplay holds up very well, amazing soundtrack, awesome characters (64 in total), training mode, challenge mode, arcade mode and so on.

While the Netcode isn't GGPO or rollback based as we would all like in all fighting games, it is still very good for input delay netcode.

I would say the Netcode is better or on par with KOF XIII: Steam Edition from the online matches i have played with friends. Expect to get input lag if you play with players who are far way from you.

Sure it doesn't have the 3D stage backgrounds & AST that were added in the PS2 version of 98UM which is a bummer. But it's still a very good arcade port and is the only way to currently play 98UMFE atm unless you are in Asia.

9/10 - I highly recommend this game.

This game's still as epic as in the old days! The online feels like I'm fighting the guy in local.
Didn't try with out of EU players but, it's clean so far. :)

A great fighting game and a great beta-test for 2002UM.
Stop playing Ultra Casual Fighter IV to get this and play a real fightan.

It all began in '94
kept on rollin' in '95
the pieces were in place in '96
and it came to an end in '97
and now it comes and here we go
K O F is here again
nothin's gonna stop it cause it's 1 9 9 8

As others have said, this is indeed the Final Edition of King of Fighters 98UM. However, that means it's the final rebalancing. It doesn't include the features the PS2 one does because that's not the version that was ported. It's a port of the XBLA version with all the balance changes applied to it. It's about as close to arcade perfect as you'll get. I can understand why people would be disappointed by that, but all things considered this is a good port. Now let's talk about the part everybody cares about most.

The netcode itself seems to be about KoFXIII's levels of quality. So it's very playable, but not perfect. This has been my experience with player matches only with players ranging from 100ms to 200ms. Yes, it displays the ping times, thank God. When someone's connection has issues, you can definitely feel the delay, but it resyncs pretty quickly.

Single player consists of small challenges, arcade mode, 1v1 matches, etc. All the stuff you would expect from a fighter. It also includes the NeoGeo version of KoF98 if you want to play that.

So to sum it up: few SP modes, no PS2 features, only way to play FE outside of arcades, netcode is good for input delay based netcode. So you're getting an arcade faithful version of KoF98UM FE with online play. I'm happy with it, but you can't please everybody. One little thing I'm personally happy about is that everybody is unlocked from the start, too.

I've waited a long time for this glorious moment, but finally the arcade hit fighting game classic The King Of Fighters 1998 is here, with the latest arcade update - Ultimate Match Final Edition.

Honestly, this is pretty much good as fighting games get. Initially this game had a really rough day 1, with issues such as frame rate drops/frame skipping, unbearable online play and a bunch of other problems. However since I got to play the public beta version for an upcoming patch to the game, most of those problems have been addressed and I'm pretty satisifed with this game.

Also don't listen to those players crying about the lack of superficial features from the PS2 version of the game like 3D Backgrounds, Arrange Soundtracks, etc. They aren't required to enjoy the game where it matters most - the gameplay. Most of the 3D backgrounds looked awful anyways, and while the Arrange Soundtrack is really good, I'm sure there will be a way to mod the music in the game anyways as with most PC titles.

If your first time playing The King Of Fighters series was XIII, you are in for a wild ride. This game is way different, everything hurts alot more, normals and anti-airs are much stronger, characters and movelists are far more diverse, and the action is very faced paced and unforgiving! Truly this game is one of the finest 2D fighting game classics out there, and you can even play the original '98 in all it's glory.

Last but not least, Eiji Kisaragi is the greatest. So glad to play with him again. He's a real beastly character.

Don't get me wrong. I love this game. King of Fighters is my favorite video game franchise and I have been playing it for years now. even though I have the PS2 version of this already, I was psyched when this was coming to Steam. I'm happy to support SNK because they deserve it. They make quality games. BUT, this particular version of the game is terrible. It honestly pissed me off pretty bad. Allow me to explain the reasons.

1. True full-screen mode is not optional.

What is with this? In the PS2 version of '98 Ultimate Match, the game is in full screen like it should be. I get that this is an arcade version, but this really could not be stretched for the steam release. The sidebars are distracting and I don't like playing my games in a tiny window in the middle of the screen. It's a good idea to have the sidebars if you're setting up an arcade cabinet with this game. But, it should be optional. Boo to them on that.

2. No arranged music option.

WHY? The PS2 version had it. Why not this? Would it have been so hard to include it? I think not. This is a big let down. I like both the OST and AST. But, the option should have been there.

3. No color editing.

Once again, WHY NOT? The PS2 version had this too! This would have added even more depth into the game if they had included it. It's fun to create your own unique color palettes for your characters. Very bad decision not to include this.

4. The online.

Oh boy. As much as I love KOF, I have to say that the online in KOF titles has always been terrible (At least XIII on steam is a little better). This is no exception. The online is awful. It's extremely laggy. The first match I played had about 3 second late input delay. I'm not kidding. I see why the online is dead already. It's a shame.

All in all, the KOF '98 Ultimate Match is a good game. But the Steam version is not. These fatal flaws just make the game much less enjoyable and souless. If you have a PS2 or a backwards compatible PS3, get the PS2 version. It feels much more complete and joyful than this. Or, if you don't have KOF XIII on Steam or console yet, get that instead. You'll enjoy yourself a lot more. I was hoping to be able to give this a positive review. But, I can't. These stupid mistakes have ruined this version of the game for me. Let's just hope they'll do better with KOF 2002 UM when in comes to Steam. (And hopfully KOF: Maximum Impact: Regulation A)

By the way, the 3D backgrounds from the PS2 version are missing. WTF?

Ah, KOF '98... One of the all-time greats of the fighting game genre,
and now, you got it here on steam at a much more affordable price than what I had to shell out for a Neo Geo CDZ, it even has online play to boot! So if you like fighters and wanted to check out KOF, make it this one.

The roster is made up of every single fighter featured from KOF '94 to '97
with the last couple of missing combatants being additions for the "Ultimate Match" update from some years back.

You got two different styles, or "Grooves" if you are so inclined.
Advanced plays like your average KOF game today, you fill up your gauge by fighting and it eventually adds up into separate stocks. Using a special move consumes one stock, but you can also use a stock to enter a super mode, from there, you can use one more stock to do your character's most powerful move, The other mode on the other hand takes after KOF '94-'96's style with you having to charge your stocks manually and being granted the ability to use infinite supers when at low health. The rest of the gameplay follows a 3-man team-based structure, though you cannot tag in and out party members. Once all your characters are exhausted, you lose.
By far the most striking feature of KOF, however, is the jumping mechanics.
You got several different types of jumping at your disposal, like a short hop and another, entirely different hyper-hop that advances you forward quickly while still staying low to the ground. It all adds together to make KOF into one of the most frantic offense-based fighters around. The different types of jumping are done by inputting specific directions and immediately moving the stick in another direction. Knowing which type of jump to go for at each moment may seem daunting at first but as long as you stick to it, it'll become second nature in no time and is definitely rewarding enough to justify the learning-curve.

I really cannot stress enough that if you even have only a passing interest in fighting games,
you NEED to experience KOF '98. And this new shiny rerelease with online play is just the perfect opportunity to do just that. You even get the original vanilla '98 on Neo Geo packaged with this updated rerelease if you like to be authentic!

99/10 would kaiser wave again

TBH about the netcode
i dont have problem with the netcode i played maybe 20 games with a guy from turkey ( i live in saudi arabia)
and i don't have any problem and played with people from japan and it was playable
about the color editing
yeah it's sad that it doesn't have it BUT
the only problem is that the achievements is so small

--------------

sorry for my broken english

I'm really glad KOF98 was released on Steam. It brings lots of memories from all those years ago skipping school in shady arcades...

PROS:
- Neo Geo mode: huge throwback, especially for those who owned a Neo Geo CD and recognized the menus and so on.
- Controller "Rumble": I don't remember seeing that listed as a feature but I enjoyed it.

CONS:
- Experiencing slowdown when playing on Fullscreen.
- Chiptune music. Usually, I like chiptunes but I am used to playing the Neo Geo CD KOF versions and those PCM tracks were absolutely gorgeous to listen to... Anyway, Chizuru Kagura's "Fairy" is still contagious! :)

Overall, I recommend it for those who have played KOF98 before and want the best fighter selection available. Now excuse me because I must...

SHINGO KICK!!!

Pros: The game itself plays perfectly fine. The control feels a bit wonky on a pad and some people have reported issues with sticks, plus poor keyboard support. But there's no lag / pausing problems when playing single player. There's 30 challenges in the game too but I don't believe you get anything for clearing them, since all the secret characters are unlocked by default. Classic NeoGeo mode is also available, which is a nice plus, but it doesn't have any of the extra characters.

Cons: No arranged music, no 3D stages, and only twelve achievements, two of which are wasted on the typical "beat 5 / 10 players in a row". Plus some of the music sounds off, like Billy's theme, which has a bit that sounds like they had the wrong settings in their YM2610 emulator, but it's still not nearly as bad as Metal Slug 3's. And the netcode is horribly broken as of launch.

Is it worth it? HELL YEAH IT IS. I wasn't expecting the game to be this good out of the gate, and it's a shame that we didn't get the arranged music as an option, but this is a fine offering, so hopefully SNK Playmore hires Code Mystics to handle their future PC ports instead of the idiots at DotEmu.

KOF 98' is a really great game that everyone should know pretty well, with the 64 fighters to choose you can always find a character that fits you.
The netcode is okay, it's not bad but not too good either, I only encountered lags once and they went away after a while.
There's a lot of modes you can play and if you want you can even boot up the original NeoGeo KOF98!
The only flaws that I can really find is the lack of colour palette customization and the arranged soundtrack but you don't really NEED that to enjoy the game, it's just things that would be nice to have. And who knows, maybe they will be added in an update?
I truly recommend this game to anyone who loves fighting games and SNK games.

Several days and hours late and it's still filled with bugs and a bad netcode. Good game, horrible port. not worth $15/15€.


EDIT: They recently opened up a beta which seemed to fix most of the problems and they're still working on it, will update once the main game gets updates. Things like controller config were fixed and i can finally use my arcade stick with the game.

The beta is fixing the issues present at launch. I recommend it but get it after all the changes are final.

I'm glad that we got the actual rebalancing of KOF98. The game still plays as wonderfully as it usually did, despite it being the Xbox 360 version. My only gripe is that the arranged soundtrack isn't there.

Yes yes! Launch was rough but beta netcode is going great so far and they're still working on it. They fixed it so you can get fullscreen stretch too, which was my only problem really.... Don't care about alternate backgrounds/music, I doubt I'd use them anyway.

As far as the game itself, it's KoF '98 so there's not much to say that hasn't already been said. Great ♥♥♥♥. The Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo of KoF.

Abominable netcode. Really, really bad delay-based netcode. SF4 levels of bad if not worse. SNKP strikes again with dog ♥♥♥♥ netcode.

They could patch this but I guarantee you it will not be on par with GGPO.

Also, experienced some frame skips offline.

AVOID. RUN FOR THE HILLS. DO NOT BUY.