The error they talk about in the ending was that the Yasakani clan was tricked by Orochi into beleving the Kusanagi clan killed one of their own. That's what started the blood feud between them. That's when the Yasakani accepted Orochi's blood, turning their flames purple. They changed their name from Yasakani to Yagami (8 Gods, as in the 8 heads of the serpent Orochi). The girl that appears after Kyo, Iori and Chizuru defeat Orochi is Yuki, Kyo's girlfriend. She says, "I'll be waiting for you, Kyo." After the Orochi battle, Chizuru helps an injured and exhausted Iori, but Kyo is no where to be found. He was captures by NESTS, the main antagonists for KOF 99, 2000 and 2001. I thought Leona killed her own family due to Goenitz awakening her Orochi blood that her father, Gaidel, tried to protect her from. He ended up dying by Leona's hands, along with the rest of her village when she first lost herself to the Riot of the Blood. Then Hiedern found her and adopted her.

Sucks that Iori doesn't say "Gnarly! Let's do it dudes!" this time around...

I want Max to narrate my life like he reads KOF cutscenes

96/97 Fun Fact Lore: We discover about the followers of Orochi called "The Hakesshu" The eight heads of Orochi. Each one blessed with an element. Wind, Earth, Lightning, Fire, Light, Darkness, Death, Water and Matter. And each one capable of The Riot Of The Blood, a state where they gave up there sanity in exchange for strength. They were responsible for the resurrection of Orochi 1800 years ago. But thanks to the Sacred Treasures Clans, Orochi was defeated. In present time the Hakkeshu are conformed for the Next characters: First the extreme followers of Orochi, The Four Heavenly Kings: Goenitz, Yashiro, Shermie and Chris. Each one blessed with the power of the power of Wind, Earth, Lightning and fire respectively. The others are Mature and Vice, blessed with power of Light and Darkness. Besides they want the resurrection of Orochi as well, the duo doesn't follow Goenitz 100%, both follow Rugal with the idea of turn him into a Hakesshu and give him the blessed of the matter, but in the end Rugal couldn't handle that power. The next one is Yamazaki with the blessing of Dead, besides he knows is a Hakesshu, he don't follow Goenitz and he don't want to resurrect Orochi. But thanks to his sadistics instincts, he can control his blessing. The next one is Leona with the blessing of water. She is a descended of the original Hakesshu of Water, Gaidel, her father. Besides Gaidel was a Hakesshu, he rejected his heritage and start a family in a hidden village. Goenitz find the village and try to convince Gaiden to return to the Hakesshu, but he refuses, Goenitz leaves but not without give a smile to Leona and tell Gaidel "Orochi don't forgive the traitors". That night, Leona start to get sick and start to coff blood, this was a sign of The Riot Of The Blood, Leona awaken with a sadistic desire and start to kill the people of the village, in the process she also kill his parents. Goenitz return to the village after the incident and he put his hand over his head and make her forget what happen. After this she walk in the jungle and was find by Heidern who was there to know what happen to the village. One day, she demonstrates a high ability climbing a tree, so Heidern take her like his own daughter and train her.

So in the end: Kyo, Iori, and Chizuru defeated the resurrected Orochi and same humanity. However, it seems that Kyo was missing in the aftermath leaving Iori to search for his rival. It won't be until 2 years later till we find out in the NESTS Saga.

"I think there is an extreme amount of anime influence in King of Fighters" I think 95% of all fighting games have extreme amounts of anime influence (even Mortal Kombat has 2 main characters fuse into 1 stronger character)

Kinda ironic that Orochi is one of the easiest bosses to beat when he's supposed to be the strongest villain in the lore lol.

I just realized that the Legacy series is like watching someone do a test drive of vintage cars, firing vintage guns, or unpacking WW2 MREs. The entertainment is not just from the commentery, but from the rediscovery of how these things used to work.

1:01:58 This was actually a really cool round, looks almost choreographed with all the back and forth lol

For the record, everyone in chat was saying there was no Team Sacred Treasures in 96... Everyone that made fun of us went silent after Max played the true ending, no one said anything. Just wanted to say that.

1:04:11 Ripley walks in, confident she can defeat the Orochi herself. And she totally could!

My favorite part about KOF 96 is that on the Neo Geo CD port, you can actually check out the info of the characters. All of them are fully voice acted and there's even a little message from the voice actor of the character you've selected

Max, there is a hidden fight in KOF 97. You must finish the game by defeating Orochi with the Japan team, specifically with Kyo and wait for the cutscene to pass until Iori comes out. Then the battle will begin to see the full ending.

96' has some of the best tracks, Fairy is just timeless. Also Goenitz is one of the best bosses in the series.

The fact that Max went from struggling with 94 and 95 for hours to crunching through 96 and 97 all at once shows how crisp and polished KOF gets from this point onwards.

KoF 97 marked my childhood. I played a lot in mall arcades, and as a teenager in bars.

Fun coincidence that Ripley walks in at 1:04:12 while Max is fighting Daimon, one of the few dads in the cast.

Are we not going to talk about the Athena cosplayer hanging on for dear life at 35:19??? Holy crap, SNK put so much work into their stages.

Oh, a double feature? That’s interesting. At least Max gets to see his old “friend” Goenitz again.

Man the announcer of kof 96 is really nostalgic. I remember hearing it many time in some fighting flash games.

Man 97's opening is a good nostalgic back in my days in China, and I still like it

KoF 97 still has one of my favourite openings for a fighter ever

An hour and 17 minutes of Max trying to make sense of the plot of KOF from the perspective of the game itself? I am in for a treat tonight!

Fun fact: Kyo and Iori were originally supposed to die in this KOF 97 ending (the canon ending) as a heroic sacrifice but this idea was scrapped right away.

'97 is weird when it comes to the music, it was purposely designed to only have music for certain characters. Usually just the leaders of certain teams: Terry, Athena, Kyo, etc. The only full team that has their own individual themes are the "97 Special Team" (Blue Mary, Yamazaki, and Billy). They were going for more ambient music in this one to simulate a tournament atmosphere.

My hometown still has a ‘96 machine at our bowling alley. Amazing game.

1:04:11 OMG, Ripley can walk now?!? They grow up so fast. Soon she'll be doing some tatsus for sure. I'm so glad you're checking this series again, Max. I'm totally loving it.

It was said that, originally, Kyo and Iori died at the end of Orochi saga, so this ending is like that, both of them dying.

1:02:00 Coolest round Max's Iori vs Kyo

The canon story of kof 96, Japan Team won the tournament, but once Goenitz appears Kyo, Iori and Kagura team up to beat him.

It's surprising how Max gravitated towards Benimaru, given how much his air loops in later games look like Zero in UMVC3.

KoF97 ending sounded like that origin story Kenny came up for his anime character when they made "Anime Saturday" a few years ago.

1:04:30 is the best moment in the stream

There is a reason why in many of the stages in KOF 97 there is only ambient sound and some incidental music. The goal there was to focus on the main characters of the conclusion of the Orochi Saga: Kyo, Iori, and the CYS team (both versions). But they also recorded the tracks for the new team (Blue Mary, Billy, and Yamazaki) because they were chosen by vote by KOF fans in Japan.

97 Fun fact Lore: So for those who don't know The Yagami Clan use to be called the Yasakani Clan who use to hold the red flames and they are use to be part of the group of clans called "The Sacred Treasures" clans who also was conformed by The Yata Clan(where Chizuru Kagura came from) and The Kusanagi Clan. The three protect the three saint treasures who can defeat the devil Orochi. Every time Orochi was trying to resurrect, the clans destroy it. One day, one of the Yasakani Clans was convinced for one of the followers of Orochi to try to resurrect the demon serpent, so the Yasakani kill the rest of the clan and helped to kidnap and sacrifice 8 maidens to resurrect Orochi. Besides one maiden succeed to escape, Orochi appears anyway thanks to all the evil energy cause for sacrificing all the Yasakani Clan, so Yata and Kusanagi Clans go to help but it was to late, Orochi was a force of destruction. The Yasakani, ashamed for what he did, he sacrifices himself to stop Orochi, consume him, since them the Yasakani clan start to hold the purple flames and live cursed with the Orochi Power make them to live for a short period of time. With the time the Yasakani clan change the name to Yagami. The reason why Iori want to defeat Kyo is because of the Orochi power inside him.

BODY GA is so memorable, sometimes I forget that Kyo didn't always have it.

Every time Goenitz is on screen, I'm happy. Wish they'd bring him back, man.

For reference, these games were out around the same time as Alpha 2, Virtua Fighter 2, Tekken 2, and while they don't matter to the Japanese, Killer Instinct and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3.

The Orochi Leona and Iori were very good executed in 97. Thanks God they didn't do the evil Ryu thing

I find the lack of music in most stages in '97 totally unnerving , but I think it was intentional, due to the game's story theme. The atmospheric sounds really make it feel like the game is builing you up to something sinister and apocalyptic. Freaking brilliant! This is perhaps the most "cinematic" stuff you could get in the arcades back then.

'96 is my favorite KoF game. I am fully willing to accept most of them are better, but this one is special to me.

Damn, Max was so happy with the KOF legacy, good times.

"You can get up by yourself." -Wolfgang Krauser, 1996

Love how it's canon that krauser only came to kof 96 because his teammates were mr big and geese 🤣

Music in KOF is underrated, at least the 90s tracks.

I know it's an unpopular opinion, but I always liked how 97 grounded the game by not having a huge soundtrack. Most of what you hear is what's happening in the stage itself. To me, this made stages with music actually stand out. Rival themes and boss themes really meant something here.

I love how he yells "ULTRAAAAA" for any move with more than 5 hits.

96 soundtrack is seared in my brain. Kof 97 is the game I played the most in arcades.. The nostalgia

This is where I got on the KOF train in the arcades. I poured in a alot of tokens in 97 machine and purchased the iconic KOF97 banner from my arcade for my room. I wish I had kept it.

Hey Max, I love your retrospective vids, for real. It takes me back to when I was emulating neogeo games without a clue wtf KOF really was. Super nostalgic, I love it, I really hope KOF XV is good and to see lots of videos from you on it!

Daimon and Clark are amazing grapplers. They have these amazing chain throws I remember loving to watch.

Here's where I jumped into the series. I remember skipping school and going to the arcade to play KOF '97. I was completely obsessed with it, and with the Orochi transformations. Was also playing lots of MvC.

Goro continuing his deep and well written dialogue of just standing there existing in the cutscenes doing nothing. Lmfao. HOW IS THIS THE CANNON TEAM WITH ONLY 2 PEOPLE TALKING 😭🤣

I just realized that max doesn't know that in Kof you can combo command grabs after C. Daimon and Clark are killing machines in these games

OVER 1 HOUR? What a treat!

Love these games especially '97 (aside from lacking a lot it the music department which 96 made up for) from the expansion of the lore, to some gameplay advances and additions to the roster. Controversial opinion but I like Goentiz as a character almost on the same level as Rugal. Glad Max found some enjoyment from them despite like '95 better and even liking, even if it was a more joking manner, the Orochi Saga so far. Shame he's not having as much fun with the NESTS Saga but I hope he finds enjoyment out of the Ash Saga.

KOF '96... MY FAVORITE KOF. Easily my one of my Top 3 fighting games that I've ever played. (Street Fighter II and Tekken 3).

59:32 Max did the Iori Thing💫

KOF 97' is always gonna be my fav arcade game. Remember wasting a lot of quarters are the video store playing it.

DOUBLE FEATURE EPISODE!? NICELY NICE!! And dam the STAGES look phenomenal on theses games!!

*(Warning a lot of text)* KOF 97 is one of the glitches games in the series, especially when Kyo does his Supers. Resulting in the infamous *Task Over* The reason why SNK created the *Task Over* is because their arcade machines used the *MVS* system, by the 90's it was already obsolete technology being widely surpassed by Capcom's *CPS-2* system. That's why SNK fighting games in the 90s slowed down during gameplay. When they were developing Metal Slug 1, the MVS couldn't handle the game, even going as far as *burned out!* Instead of creating a new and more powerful system, SNK decided to *patch* the MVS and create *Task Over,* the machine would freeze the game when it could no longer support the game working correctly as was seen a lot in *KOF97,* and that was the first step in SNK's downfall. If you want more information, I recommend you watch the video made by *Segredos Dos Games,* it is in Portuguese but you can activate subtitles in English

The debut of Max’s FAVORITE character: *Chris* 😏

The music is amazing, from here is where I started to like more the music from KoF

Max, I don't know if you will see this, but thank you for introducing me back into fighting games! The one-two punch of you introducing me to KOF and Sakurai adding Terry into SSBU really did it. I play these games constantly now and I'm very hyped for KOF XV. Also, you introduced me to Guilty Gear, so thank you for that! Hope you have a good day Max, and be prepared for bosses that are the true definition of "SNK boss battle" in the KOF Legacy!

I just want to say that I am enjoying this legacy so much, your videos have entertained me a lot XDD I love this saga.

The chat's utter confusion for '96's lore team was amusing, lol.

time over is the most honorable victory

every day I'm bodega-in

King of fighters is such a great franchise

I've been playing this franchise since 94, but it was 96 that grabbed me by the throat and didn't let go. It was the one that set the standard for not just the series, but SNK games as a whole. Yeah, Art of Fighting was the first game to have super moves, but 96, was the first one to have SDMs. The music was top notch (Fairy, Trash Head, and Mr. Big's theme STAY in the rotation!), Kyo and Iori became even greater apart in their movesets, and Goenitz... Everything about him is infuriating as it is elegant. True story: I was playing my boss with the stipulation that I would get written up for playing on the job, but if I won, I could keep playing. Iori was my last character, and I was low on health. My boss was not. My super meter was full, and I figured if I could grab him with it, I could at least demotivate him. Instead, of hitting the Maiden Masher, I snatched his Mai out of the air and began pounding her into the ground. As the screen went white with my victory, we both looked at each other having never seen a super death move before. Amazingly enough, my boss was indeed deflated. So much so that he reneged on the bet, and demanded I get back to work. "Koko desu ka?" indeed.

Did you think your inter-company crossover fighting tournament game needed some lore? Here you go.

So glad you are playing KOF(King of Fighters) Games I'm starting to know more and more History of Kof series especially the Orochi part because the only game I had was King of Fighters 98

Interesting enough iori super can go beneath air fireballs until Kof 99

29:59 Team-mates cheering up the Weird grab situation, woah😛

Wow those people saying the Three Sacred Treasures were the ‘96 winners jumped the gun by a whole game, the pillocks

43:39 KoF Lore that no one knew of, Max got it🐱

1:15:57 Iori: Wah Takodachis: we have been summoned

Thanks for showing love to the KOF games, Max. You're doing a service to this franchise.

Max's official name is now Stumble Buns.

Me after finishing all 6 matches and subbosses in KOF '96: Wow, that was fun! Had a good time all the way through! Definitely one of the best ga- SNK BOSS - GOENITZ: "Hello, do you have some time to talk about our lord and savior Orochi-san??" In '97, SNK BOSS - OROCHI: "MY POWA IS ABSOLUTE, GO BACK TO NOTHINGNESS!!" Also '96 Arranged Sound Trax is something else! Made me favor SNK music over Capcom for the better last year.

There's a lot of subtle changes in presentation in each game, for story reasons. 97 and 2000 and the most visible ones.

Yashiros speech read by max could make a good metal cover

Max: "ATHENA!" Athena: "Gomen nasai!" Lmao! WTF 52:32

Krauser going Brock Lesnar on Max was hilarious

5:22 when you compliment Beninaru at the right time.

I feel like they gave a lot of love to Kof 96, the distinctive ost, the obvious sprite polish, the art, the beautiful stages and their cool intros, the intro of the tower stage with the aerostat is crazy.

96 is always a special for me. It was my first Kof. It was waifu Leona debut.

‘96 was always my personal favorite. The speed feels just right and the soundtrack is fantastic. The Yagami and Boss teams are awesome. It’s cool how each fighter on the boss team their own music. Game just has a badass vibe throughout.

Almost every time Max compliments Benimaru, Benimaru thanks Max.

To get the whole picture of the lore you literally have to beat each game with the different canon teams and assemble a huge puzzle lol i miss those days.

Esaka is my favorite KoF music ever. That shit slaps.

Wait 2 KOF games in one gameplay. Nice Max

Did Max ever figure out that your teammates can help you from the background when you're getting choked or kneed by the opponent?

It doesn't matter how long it has been, 97 is a AMAZING game!

I'm really enjoying watching this series Max 👍

I remember playing this game on arcade. Then emulators. There was a website with classic games OST named Galbadia Hotel, it had almost all KOF OST, including the arranged ones. Man good days

I remember in SVC CHAOS when Goenitz just kept spamming that tornado

The boss versions of Chris/Shermie/Yashiro have "dark" versions of Kyo/Benimaru/Daimon's movesets, which is why they play so differently to the original Chris/Shermie/Yashiro

The stages never fail to amaze me they had so much life and personality in them back then

The Kof 96 canonical ending is Kyo, Iori and Chizuru. But it is harder to get, since you have to unlock Chizuru and the way is different in each version of the game.