The King of Fighters 2002: Challenge to Ultimate Battle

Just like King of Fighters '98, the game had no storyline. Instead, a "Dream Match" was included featuring characters from all the previous games in the series. In addition to the recurring teams from the series including the original Japan Team, the game also featured a series of teams representing each of the previous game series from The King of Fighters '96 to King of Fighters 2001.

The game brings back the team play composed by three characters each that was a tradition in previous games. The game has also several important changes in the gameplay, like the "Free Cancel System" or "Max Mode System", the "Quick Emergency Evasion" and "Quick MAX Mode Activation", aside from the countless changes in each character's special moves and their properties.