King of Fighters '95 [Arcade] - play as Omega Rugal

This is a playthrough using Omega Rugal in the Arcade (NeoGeo MVS) version of King of Fighters '95. Read on below for more information...

Omega Rugal is 2nd and final boss of the game, and he is an unlockable playable character.

===== HOW TO UNLOCK OMEGA RUGAL =====

1) When you arrive at the character select screen and it says "TEAM EDIT?", select YES.

2) Now press and hold the START button, and input the following in the order below:

Hold UP, press LK
Hold RIGHT, press HP
Hold LEFT, press LP
Hold DOWN, press HK

When you release HK (after you press it) Rugal and Saisyu's icons will appear. If it doesn't, press START. This also works if you have the game set to Single play.

--------- MOVELIST ---------

===== SPECIAL MOVES =====
-- Violent Wave Fist: QCF + [P]
-- Kaiser Wave: F, HCF + [P]
-- God Press: HCB + [P]
-- Dark Crystal Reflector: QCF + [K]
-- Genocide Cutter: QCB, UB + [K]

===== DESPERATION MOVE =====
(requires POW MAXIMUM or/and low flashing life)
-- Death Press: HCB x 2 + [LK] + [SP]

===== ABOUT OMEGA RUGAL IN KOF95 =====

Rugal is an arms/weapons dealer who operates abroad his aircraft carrier called the Black Noah. He is an influential man and feared throughout the political and fighting world. Those who oppose Rugal would be defeated and slain by him, and he would have their bodies preserved in liquid metal to add to his trophy room. He has a pet panther called Rodem, which accompanies him and is seen in the background plane area (where the non-active team members would stand) in gameplay.

One of his eyes is bionic, which was the result of Leopold Goenitz blinding him in that eye with a single strike when a younger Rugal tried to channel Orochi's power to himself. At the time, Goenitz was surprised by how Rugal survived the attack and gave him some of the Orochi power, also warning him not to use the full extent of it.

After Rugal lost to Team Japan in the KOF94 tournament, he returned the following year (KOF95) and decided to use 80% of the Orochi power, causing his hair to turn white and his skin turning into a darkened-pale complexion. He also implemented some cybernetic enhancements to his body (most notably one of his arms) to better harness the Orochi power.

When Kyo, Benimaru and Goro defeated him he activated his full power but it was too much for his body to withstand and he exploded from inside.

===== SNK BOSS SYNDROME =====

KOF95 marks the debut of Omega Rugal, and in true SNK boss fashion he is powerful and cheap. And of course, he's pretty hard to beat when using regular characters to fight against him as a CPU opponent. As a player character he is very overpowered, but his Genocide Cutter special move motion is somewhat awkward to perform (I've never liked special move motions that ends with UB or UF).

===== ADDITIONAL INFORMATION =====

---- When he is the CPU boss on the final stage, his panther is seen on his side in the background plane area (where the non-active team members would stand) in gameplay.

---- When Omega Rugal is queued on the sidelines (not defeated) he is fully dressed with his jacket on. His skin tone on his face is of the normal human color.

---- When Omega Rugal is queued on the sidelines (not defeated), I am not sure on whether he can perform an Assist attack. When I tested the command he doesn't do anything.

---- As CPU bosses, Omega Rugal and Saisyu Kusanagi operate as one match, so you have to fight them both one after the other (Saisyu first).

---- As a Team Edit only character, he does not have an ending.

---- If you play as Omega Rugal through the game, the cut-scene images of him will have him in the alternative colour palette! Vice (in the 1st cutscene) also has a different colours as well.

---- He apparently is the SNK staff's favorite boss character of the KOF series.

---- KOF95 sees the debut of Iori Yagami.

===== ABOUT KOF95 =====

KOF95 improves on the prequel in almost all aspects and the whole thing is far more refined. For the first time, players are able to choose to edit their teams from the whole roster instead of being stuck with a fixed three per team. This concept would turn out to be a hallmark feature for future KOF games. A criticism of the game would be perhaps the high damage infliction in general, meaning rounds can be really short.