Just picked up King of Fighters 97, Ultimate 11, and Thrash Rally from dipindods and played a few rounds with each this morning.
KOF97 is top notch: the presentation is great, music, visuals, stages, you name it. The movesets are going to take some getting used to since I'm used to 98/2002, but they almost seem more robust than the later games. I'm going to have fun with this one.
Ultimate 11 seems to be the same Super Sidekicks I know and love, with slightly upgraded graphics. I haven't messed around too much with either of the main modes, just played through one game. I like that they still have the cheesy animations for goals, injuries, etc.
Thrash Rally doesn't seem as bad as people say. The controls are a little slippery, and the first few courses seem a little dull, but there's a good selection of cars. The game seems pretty difficult, too, so I could see myself putting in some hours and trying to get better. Overall, I'm not going to replace Neo Driftout with this title, but I'll play Thrash Rally from time to time. It's got that old school Neo Geo feel that just feels so right.