This is the game that really got me into the King Of Fighters series in a big way. Sure, I’d hired ‘95 on the Playstation (the game that stopped me thinking of SNK as “that company that copies Capcom all the time”) – but this was the one that turned me from a casual player to a proper fan.

KOF’97 can use any 4mb RAM cartridge instead of a special ROM cart, as used by ‘95, or the 1mb version for ‘96, and the quality of the animation and the size of the sprites is good, though if you’ve spent a lot of time with the arcade/Neo-Geo versions, you’ll see a slight degredation. The essence is retained though – no win poses, special intros and stand animations have been lost or compromised, the backgrounds animate nicely, and are, for the most part, exceptionally well-drawn. (Concept-wise, I still prefer the ‘97 backgrounds to ‘98 and ’99s.)

I remember reading that some of the sound samples had been removed/reduced in quality, but seeing as I never really saw the coin-op version, I can’t say. The sound quality is slightly muffled, as you’d come to expect from the Saturn, and the music, as you’d expect from SNK, is brilliant. Instead of stages having theme songs, as the past KOFs did, the playing characters now dictate what music is playing – and those without theme songs will get ambient background noise instead (cheers and applause in some stages, native chanting in others) – all of which are exceptional, and I even bought the arranged soundtrack CD, on the strength of the quality of the music.

There is a fair bit of loading, though. After defeating each character, there is a 10 second pause before the next fighter, plus loading for the cut-scenes and endings. It’s not excessive though, and you get used to it. And if there was ever a time to rifle through a move list or FAQ – it’s then.

In terms of gameplay, it was the most advanced KOF game so far. Multiple supers, a lot more moves and combos available, a choice of ADVANCED or EXTRA modes (sort of like the ISMs in SFZ3) – a large roster of highly interesting and amusing characters all really make this stand out compared to other fighters, even by today’s standard.

It’s also got a great story! The culmination of the whole “Orochi” storyline which began in ‘95 occurs here, and it’s full of rioting blood, ancient feuds, assassins, psychos, betrayals and curses. You get the feeling there’s a great anime or OVA series in here, one that would work a lot better than the (largely plotless) Streetfighter attempts over the years.

Unfortunately, this story may pass many people by, as unlike the previous games there’s no “English language” option – maybe because of the huge amount of text in the cut-scenes, maybe because when KOF’97 was released, the Saturn was fading fast in the US and Europe, and it just wasn’t a viable option. We’ll never know, but if you can find a translation FAQ, the Neo-Geo version, or even the ROM images – do so.

There’s a neat training mode as well (the first KOF to have one) and an image gallery, with a variety of interesting pictures in. There’s also the usual Vs, and Survival options (does anyone ever use that one?) – and you can watch the endings you’ve earned from another menu. There’s also the usual stupid “save game?” option, which has no place in a fighting game I tell ya.

Although the progression of time has meant that there are newer, prettier, more advanced KOF games, this one is still worth the effort. It has enough of the current games in it as to not look dated, or play badly, but there is enough different stuff to make it worthwhile, especially in terms of story and the introduction of new characters, such as Yamazaki and Blue Mary (from Fatal Fury) the New Faces Team, plus rather…interesting versions of Leona and Iori, and one of the least cheapest King of Fighters bosses yet!

Plus if you’re a newcomer to the KOF series, this will fill in some of the missing back story.

Personally, I rate this above ‘94, ‘95 and ‘96, but below ‘98 and ‘99. It’s one of the best, without a doubt.

• Publisher/Developer: SNK
• Score: 90%