The King of Fighters '96 for Neo Geo

n 1996, the King of Fighters Tournament was announced again, though the letters of invitation sent out to fighters were no longer sent by Rugal. The letters also announced many changes, the first of which being a massive overhaul of the tournament`s approach. During the time that had passed Between the tournaments in 1995 and 1996, and the King of Fighters tournament`s fame had grown immensely, to the point that it turned into a major international event, which had not happened before. Huge corporations transformed the King of Fighters tournament into something widely televised, commercialized, and celebrated, drawing in many crowds.The Japan Team reached the finals of the tournament again, where the sponsor turned out to be a woman named Chizuru Kagura. Her intent was to make contact with Kyo Kusanagi, as well as his rival and enemy, Iori Yagami. After fighting Kyo and a tie, Chizuru revealed to him that a larger power was afoot, known as the Orochi, and that he would soon have to battle against it.However, Kyo`s battle against Orochi would get an unexpected head-start when a mysterious man named Goenitz appeared from out of nowhere and confronted both Kyo and Chizuru, telling them that the Revival of Orochi would soon come to pass and that no one would be able to stop him from within his appearance. To the surprise of both Benimaru and Daimon, Kyo reveals to them that Goenitz had defeated him a few weeks before the start of the tournament and that it caused Kyo to re-evaluate his own moves before the competition (This explains the fact of why Kyo`s ground fire Spark was replaced by his new flame fist combo attack)