Capcom’s Street Fighter has had many rivals over the years, including the likes of Virtua Fighter, Mortal Kombat and Guilty Gear. However, one franchise stands out as the true competitor: SNK’s King of Fighters. Since its inception in 1994, the series has offered what many fans consider to be the only legitimate alternative to Capcom’s one-on-one offering, and at one point, it was more popular than Street Fighter in Japanese arcades. After something of a barren period for the franchise (and, arguably, the genre in general) King of Fighters is enjoying something of a minor resurgence, which makes the publication of Bitmap Books’ The King Of Fighters: The Ultimate History all the more timely.
