This is my list of which King of Fighters games are fun and balanced for casual players such as myself in single-player. Since these games are generally very difficult for casual players, in this context 'better' usually means 'easier'.
Highly recommended:
- The King of Fighters '96 - dif 1/8 - 0 continues
- The King of Fighters XII - dif 1/5 - 1 continues
Recommended:
- The King of Fighters XIV - 0-1 continues
- The King of Fighters 2003 - dif 1/8
- King of Fighters: Maximum Impact - dif 4/8 - fair difficulty
- The King of Fighters XII - normal dif - fair difficulty but not so polished
The jury's out:
- The King of Fighters 2001 - dif 1/8
- The King of Fighters 2002 - dif 1/8
Not recommended:
- The King of Fighters '94 - dif 1/8 - annoyingly unfair
- The King of Fighters '98 - dif 1/8 - last boss is very unfair, only seems possible when using continue 'cheat', which is unsatisfying
King of Fighters: Maximum Impact
PlayStation 2 2004@91
The King of Fighters '94
Neo Geo 1994@3272
The King of Fighters '96
Neo Geo 1996@3273
The King of Fighters '98
Neo Geo 1998@82
The King of Fighters '98: Ultimate Match
Xbox 360 2009@2046
The King of Fighters 2001
Neo Geo 2001@3279
The King of Fighters 2002
Neo Geo 2002@3278
The King of Fighters 2003
Neo Geo 2003@114
The King of Fighters XII
Xbox 360 2009@151
The King of Fighters XIII
Xbox 360 2011@424
The King of Fighters XIII
Windows 2013@791
The King of Fighters XIV
PlayStation 4 2016@1650