We already had a thread a couple weeks ago with people posting why they thought '94 was a good/bad idea and what they wanted the same/changed. But since nobody seems to remember the thread, here goes:
I like KOF '94. I like it with all its imperfections. Is it a good game for tourney play? No. But guess what -- I've never been in a tournament. I play for fun with friends. To me, this game represents SNK at the height of their creativity, more than Garou or LB. They were trying new things, breaking new ground, and 24 was by far the largest roster seen in a game up to that point. And after playing a bunch of current fighters, it's fun to go back to that old style feel for a while. It's been in my cab for months. I love the music, I love the backgrounds and atmosphere, and I love the popping sound effects. I also love the '94-'95 character sprites (and fire/flame effects, etc.) way more than the sprites from '96-present. Holy crap they poured a lot of heart into that game.
Someone said (I think it was Fran) that if they add character edit, it won't be KOF '94. I agree.