Comparison of features

Hardware &
software
requirements

AKiss Will run on RISC OS 3.1 or later
Supports dolls split over subdirectories
Supports raFS
Doesn't support X-Files
PlayKISS Requires RiscPC running RISC OS 3.5 or later
26/32-bit neutral
Supports dolls split over subdirectories
Supports X-Files and raFS
RiscKiSS Requires RiscPC running RISC OS 3.5 or later
Supports X-Files and raFS
Doesn't support dolls split over subdirectories

KiSS support

AKiss Doesn't properly run in the desktop
Doesn't properly handle the KiSS 'fix' attribute
Supports the original KiSS (KiSS/GS1) specification only
PlayKISS Supports KiSS/GS rank 2, and draft ranks 3 and 4
Includes support for KiSS extension sets
Supports FKiSS V2.1, with the exception noted below
Includes support for the FKiSS V3 and V4 specification.
Supports Cherry KiSS (including hybrid Cherry/indexed-colour dolls)
Supports extended palette sets.
RiscKiSS Supports KiSS/GS rank 2, and draft ranks 3 and 4
Supports FKiSS V1.0

Extra features

AKiss Performs CEL <--> Sprite conversion
PlayKISS Can save the current picture as a sprite
Can save the cels as a single sprite file
Can alter the palette associated with a particular set
Provides a zoom function
Has a very forgiving loader
RiscKiSS Can save the current picture as a sprite
Can save the cels as a single sprite file
Can alter the palette associated with a particular set
Has a very fast loader

Development

AKiss Ceased
PlayKISS Ongoing
RiscKiSS Ongoing

The general conclusion is that AKiss is not as slick as the other two (although the CEL <--> sprite conversion in AKiss is very useful if you wish to build your own sets). If your hardware is up to it then PlayKISS or RiscKiSS is the program of choice, especially as they both support the French KiSS extensions. FKiSS 2 dolls are now common, so the lack of FKiSS 2 in RiscKiSS is beginning to make it look somewhat dated; the lack of support for the more complex colour models (Cherry KiSS and extended palette variants) exacerbates this.

PlayKISS has the most flexible and forgiving loader, but the RiscKiSS loader is extremely fast, so you pays your phone bill and downloads the program of your choice.


PlayKISS support for FKISS2

PlayKISS supports the full FKiSS 2.1 specification with the exception of the "music" function, which plays a MIDI file. Unfortunately, I don't understand MIDI, so this poses a slight problem. I'm currently playing with a demo version of ReMIDI, and when I have fully grokked it, I'll add support for "music" to PlayKISS.