It is the fourth game in The King of Fighters (KOF) for its Neo Geo multi-video system (MVS) arcade platform and its AES home console.

Upon its release, game designers praised KOF '97 for the handling of its narrative, though critics wondered if the controls and balance were better than those of previous installments.

The game is the subject of good sales and it has been followed by The King of Fighters '98, which includes most of the Orochi arc cast, who fight in a non-canonical tournament.

Advanced mode is based on KOF '96 including the ability dodge moves, counterattack or plan jumps but has a redesigned Power Gauge.

The player can only perform Super Special Moves in Max mode or when the life gauge is nearly empty and flashing red.

Kasumi Todoh went to search for her father, and Mature and Vice were killed by Iori Yagami after he was possessed by the previous game's Riot of Blood.

Geese Howard's underling Billy Kane, who participated in The King of Fighters '95, returns to work with the agent Blue Mary and the wanted felon Ryuji Yamazaki (both from Fatal Fury 3: Road to the Final Victory) to form the "'97 Special Team".

Iori returns as a Team Edit character along with Shingo Yabuki, a high-school student who patterns his fighting style on that of his idol and reluctant mentor Kyo Kusanagi.

The series' previous installment, The King of Fighters '96, was the last game to be directed by Masanori Kuwasashi, who experienced pressure with the annual-release schedule.

Tanabe was charge of balancing characters; his main objective was to end the Orochi story arc by revealing the title villain who would become a boss and face the Sacred Treasures Team, who debuted in the previous game.

[10] The narrative of KOF '97 focuses on Kyo's design and moves, and his social life because the antagonists almost sacrifice his girlfriend Yuki.

The team-member characters were developed as a counterpart to the Hero Team; Chris manipulates fire like Kyo, Shermie uses lightning like Benimaru Nikaido and Yashiro Nanakase is a male giant like Goro Daimon.

[18] The plot element of Chris acting as a new body for Orochi was developed in the early stages of production, but the staff considered using other ideas.

[23] Yamazaki was too different from his Fatal Fury persona after Tanabe got the producer's permission as in KOF he is a rebellious servant of the villains while in his original game he is portrayed as man working for the mafia.

[27] The Neo Geo AES version was added via emulation to the Wii Virtual Console in Japan on September 6, 2011, in North America on March 8, 2012, and in the PAL region on February 9, 2012.

[28] The arcade version was emulated as part of the ACA Neo Geo series for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on November 2, 2017, with releases for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, and iOS following.

The reviewer praised the gameplay changes as "great" but criticized the game was for being unbalanced, and described the controls as more responsive than in any previous entry in the series.

[43][44] According to Kotaku Kyo is the most-heroic character in the series, considering his role in the Orochi arc where he faces enemies with the Hero Team and Sacred Treasures.

[45] Media also praised the inclusion of Iori's and Leona's Orochi forms for their behavior and the violent methods they display in the story.

[46][47] Video Games [de] and MAN!AC gave positive reviews for the Neo Geo CD and PlayStation ports, respectively, but criticized the excessively lengthy load times.

[49] Kenneth Brunton, writing for Bonus Stage UK, was more positive to the presentation and input lag, making the game more appealing to players if they ignore such issues.

[51] By August 1998, The King of Fighters '97 had shipped 50,000 arcade sets in Japan and 100,000 overseas, the highest number among Neo Geo games.

[55][56] The video-game journals Weekly Famitsu, Gamest and Neo Geo Freak conducted three reader polls to decide which characters would become members of '97 Special Team.

Neo Geo Freak's winner was Billy Kane, Famitsu's was Yamazaki, and Gamest's was Blue Mary, who came second to Duck King from the Fatal Fury series.

Neo Geo Freak's staff chose a team of fire wielders: Billy, Kyo, and Mai Shiranui.

[59] Yumekobo and SNK developed a game titled The King of Fighters: Kyo, which was based on Masato Natsumoto's eponymous manga, was released on August 27, 1998, in Japan for the Sony PlayStation.

The novel primarily focuses on Iori and Kyo, who are trapped in another world after Orochi's defeat, and the meet alternate versions of the characters from the games.