King Of Fighter Xiii Mugen Chars

• King Of Fighters Xiii Ps3

CHARACTERS The King of Fighters XII / XIII Sign in to follow this. The King of Fighters XII / XIII. For some reason, Capone's characters crash MUGEN due to it being unable to read their.snd files. Quote; Share this post. Link to post Share on other sites. Characters who appear in The King of Fighters series. Includes stage appearances as well as in-text cameos. Characters who appear in The King of Fighters series. Includes stage appearances as well as in-text cameos. The King of Fighters XIII; The King of Fighters XII; The King of Fighters XI; Samurai Shodown VI; KOF: Maximum Impact 2.

The King of Fightersfighting game series, produced by SNK Playmore, includes a wide cast of characters, some of which are taken from other SNK games. The story takes place in a fictional universe in which an annual series of 3-on-3 or 4-on-4 fighting tournaments are held.

The first game in the series introduces the initial main character of the series, Kyo Kusanagi, a young Japanese fighter who is the heir to a powerful group of martial artists having pyrokinetic abilities. Kyo fights against the Kusanagi clan's enemies, his rival Iori Yagami, and the god Orochi and its human followers, among others. The first four games in the series revolve about these fights, while The King of Fighters '99 introduces a new story arc, revolving around K′, a young man who seeks to destroy the mysterious NESTS organization because they kidnapped him at an early age and stripped him of his past memories, so that they could force him to be a fighter under their control. In The King of Fighters 2003, a new character named Ash Crimson enters the tournament, to steal the powers of the clans who sealed the Orochi in the past for unknown reasons. A new group of antagonists, known as Those From the Past, also appears in the series; they want to obtain Orochi's power for the purpose of giving it to their unknown master.

The plot and the characters came from the Yamata no Orochi legend. There are also several characters in the games that are parodies or homages. Merchandise based on the characters has also been released, including action figures and keychains. The characters have garnered praise from several video game publications for the quality of their designs and movesets. Comments focused on the lack of improvements in some of the characters, but added that the roster is greatly diverse.

• 2Character appearances
• 3Recurring teams
• 4Other characters
• 5Boss characters
  • 5.1The Bernstein family
  • 5.2The Orochi clan
    • 5.2.2Hakkesshu
  • 5.3The NESTS cartel
  • 5.4Those From The Past

Cast creation and influences[edit]

The developers of the series claim that their prototype version for King of Fighters was going to be a side-scrolling beat 'em up titled Survivor. It would have used only core characters from the Art of Fighting and Fatal Fury series, specifically allowing players to play Robert Garcia and Terry Bogard for location testing. However, the idea was quickly abandoned. Since the developers were attached to the idea of the two series cross-over, they eventually agreed to make their idea into a fighting game. Characters from the Ikari Warriors and Psycho Soldier games were also added in the spirit of other gaming genres considered for their final product. The concept of a three-man team was one of the ideas kept from the side-scrolling version.^[1] Flagship director Toyohisa Tanabe asserts that the Art of Fighting and Fatal Fury fighters were added specifically for adults. The newer King of Fighters characters were aimed to appeal to younger and newer audiences. He adds that every original character for the series was added based on the developers' strong desire to make one. For example, he agreed to include characters such as Benimaru Nikaido and Chang Koehan to add an off-beat variety to the cast, which he had previously deemed to be too serious. Later in the series, their approach to creating their characters altered slightly, to also serve as a type of fan service, which he refers to as a collaborative effort between fans and the staff.^[2]

Several characters that appear in the series are parodies or homages to either anime, manga, actors, films or television shows that held the creators' interest. Noticeable examples are K9999 and Zero.^[2] Characters are sometimes added at the voice actors' convenience, or to fill in gaps that occur for each installment's story; this happens with Duck King in The King of Fighters XI and Ryuji Yamazaki in The King of Fighters '97.^[3][4] Several characters were added to the roster by Eolith's desire when this company sponsored SNK, to attract fans from Eolith's region.^[5]

When designing characters for the first King of Fighters game, developers wanted a new, 'snazzy' hero who would easily fight against Fatal Fury and Art of Fighting characters. Initially, this character was called Syo Kirishima, but late in the production, his name was changed to Kyo Kusanagi. This was done in order to relate him with the Yamata no Orochi legend, which was used as the inspiration for the first arc (and specifically featured a majestic sword known as Kusanagi no Tsurugi).^[6] To continue with the idea of the Orochi plot, the designers gave several other characters, such as Kyo's rival Iori Yagami, similar characteristics to Kyo.^[7] In The King of Fighters '99, to contrast the previous protagonist of the series, K' was made to be the 'dark hero'.^[8] K's introduction to the series was meant to remove popular characters Kyo Kusanagi and Iori Yagami from the roster, though this idea was scrapped in the game's release.^[9] Due to the large additions of teenager characters in the series, SNK decided to add several middle-age ones to balance them.^[10][11]

Character appearances[edit]

Notes[edit]

1. Striker appearance only.
2. Only for the console appearance.
3. Middle-boss character.
4. Sub-boss character.
5. Last-boss character.
6. Cameo or non-playable appearance.
7. Downloadable content.

Beyond videogames[edit]

Recurring teams[edit]

Japan Team[edit]

The Japan Team, also known as the Kyo Team, is composed of characters originating from Japan. First appearing in The King of Fighters '94, the original group consisted of Kyo Kusanagi (草薙 京), a high school student who is the heir to the Kusanagi clan wielding pyrokinetic powers, Benimaru Nikaido (二階堂 紅丸 Nikaidō Benimaru?, a professional fighter and modeler who can create electricity,^[12] and Goro Daimon (大門 五郎 Daimon Gorō), a former gold medalist of Judo, and mentor to his own dojo.^[13]

During the Orochi Saga, the Japan Team emerges victorious in the first four tournaments. In The King of Fighters '97, Kyo, alongside with his rival Iori Yagami, and Chizuru Kagura, seal away Orochi, saving mankind from destruction. Weakened however, Kyo was taken away by men from a mysterious cartel while Benimaru resumed his modeling career and went on a world tour, and Goro retires from being a fighter and returns to the Judo circuit representing Japan.^[14] Also in ’97, Shingo Yabuki (矢吹 真吾 Yabuki Shingo?), a high school student who idolizes Kyo and dreams of being able to wield flames, appears as an edit entry character, and becomes a friend of the team.^[15]

In The King of Fighters '99, Benimaru and Shingo are invited to participate in the tournament but were assigned to a “special team” with newcomers K' and Maxima. Winning the tournament, they learned that NESTS was responsible for Kyo's disappearance, and escaped the crumbling base after a brief reunion with Kyo and being separated from K' and Maxima. In The King of Fighters 2000, Benimaru forms his own team, the 'Benimaru Team' with Shingo, and two newcomers: Seth, an old friend of Benimaru and an agent, and Lin, a Hizoku clan assassin seeking to find a man named Ron. In The King of Fighters 2001, Kyo reunites with his friends, and as the Japan Team (with Shingo as the fourth member), joins the tournament to fight against NESTS, but also relive their time together as a team.

In The King of Fighters 2003, Benimaru, Goro, and Shingo enters the tournament as the Benimaru Team while Kyo, Iori, and Chizuru enters as the Sacred Treasures Team to investigate suspicious activities concerning the Orochi. Kyo's group ise ambushed by Ash Crimson, who stole the power of the Yata Mirror from Chizuru. In The King of Fighters XI, Kyo, Iori, and Shingo enter the tournament together at the convalescent Chizuru's behest (Shingo's presence serving ostensibly to keep Kyo and Iori from being at each other's throats) to stop Ash as the 'Kusanagi & Yagami Team'. Meanwhile, Benimaru and Duo Lon, a teammate of Ash’s team from the previous tournament, were invited by Elisabeth Blanctorche to enter the tournament as the Rival Team to track down Ash. Near the end of the tournament, the growing presence of the Orochi from Magaki caused Iori to snap and enter into the Riot of the Blood state, nearly killing Kyo and Shingo. Ash appears thereafter and stole the Yasakani no Magatama within Iori's body, along with his flames. In The King of Fighters XIII, Kyo, Benimaru, and Goro enter the tournament.

In The King of Fighters XIV, Saisyu Kusanagi informs Kyo of a new threat which will cause untold chaos. On his father's suggestion, he convenes with Tung Fu Rue and Nakoruru to investigate, while entering the tournament with Benimaru and Goro as the Japan Team. After winning the tournament, Kyo advises Shun'ei to keep training to control his powers. At the airport, he tells his teammates to go home without him, and heads to Hungary. Chizuru had called him there for his assistance after Iori found a weakened Orochi in the said location and seal it together.

In the spinoff series The King of Fighters EX, there are two additional members of the Japan Team. Those members are Moe Habana (葉花 萌, Habana Moe), a normal high school girl from the United States who is one of the ten treasures of Japan while her treasure being the 'Yatsuka Sword' (八握 剣, Yatsuka no Tsurugi ), and Reiji Oogami (大神 零児, Ohgami Reiji), a member of the Yata clan, and one of the keepers of the ten treasures, the 'Hetsu Mirror' (辺津 鏡, Hetsu Kagami).

Fatal Fury Team[edit]

The 'Fatal Fury Team' is composed of characters originating from the video game series with the same name. First appearing in The King of Fighters '94 as the Italy Team, the original group consisted of Terry Bogard, an American fighter who sought to defeat the evil crime lord Geese Howard in order to avenge the death of his father Jeff Bogard; Andy Bogard, the younger brother of Terry who uses the Shiranui fighting style; and Joe Higashi, a Muay Thai fighter and mutual friend of Terry and Andy. In The King of Fighters '99, Mai Shiranui, a Shiranui kunoichi, and love interest of Andy, joins the team as during this time, teams are now composed of four fighters. Blue Mary, a female agent and love interest of Terry, and decides to help her out in her job by teaming up with her in the 2000 and 2001 editions of the King of Fighters tournaments.

In The King of Fighters 2003, Terry and Joe entered the tournament with Tizoc, a famous Mexican professional wrestler as Andy took care of his Shiranui disciple Hokutomaru who fell sick with the mumps. In The King of Fighters XI, Terry organize a new Fatal Fury team with Duck King and Kim Kaphwan. In The King of Fighters XIII, Terry wanted to catch up and reunite the Fatal Fury team with Andy and Joe once again. Before their meeting, he endures a long journey back to the city and fell asleep at the station. In The King of Fighters XIV, Terry, Andy, and Joe enter the tournament-

Art of Fighting Team[edit]

The 'Art of Fighting Team' is composed of characters originating from the video game series with the same name with most of its members being users of Kyokugenkarate. First appearing in The King of Fighters '94 as the Mexico Team, the original group consisted of Takuma Sakazaki, the founder of Kyokugen karate, Ryo Sakazaki, Takuma's son and heir to Kyokugen karate, and Robert Garcia, Takuma's student and Ryo's best friend and rival. Yuri Sakazaki, Takuma's daughter and Robert's love interest, being his replacement for subsequent tournaments, an idea that began with The King of Fighters '96 as Takuma felt his age catching up to him, although King had also taken her place on occasion, with Takuma returning to lead the team in the three tournaments with four-member teams.

Ikari Team[edit]

The Ikari Team is a group of mercenaries that enters in each tournament in the series in order to find well-known criminals and capture them. The leader Heidern (ハイデルンHaiderun) established the team in order find the criminal Rugal Bernstein, in order that Heidern could get his revenge against Rugal (who killed Heidern's wife Sandra and their daughter Clara). The other two recurring members of the team are the soldiers Ralf Jones and Clark Still, who were originally the player characters in Ikari Warriors and its sequels.^[1]

Leona (レオナReona), Heidern's adopted daughter introduced in The King of Fighters '96, replaces him as he takes on a more active role behind the scenes, investigating occurrences parallel to the tournament. Although she tends to be very quiet, Leona was conceived to be an Orochi descendant at the time of her debut, and her designers took special care to let their interests at the time reflect in her actions.^[16] Her official nickname is The Silent Soldier. Although she recovers from her childhood trauma at the end of King of Fighters '97, she leaves the team after attacking her friends in the Riot of the Blood state at the conclusion of King of Fighters 2003 and tries to regain her focus from within her personal time.

Whip (ウィップWippu) appears in The King of Fighters '99 as the new member to the Ikari Team. She is a clone of K′s sister^[17]and once worked for NESTS as an assassin. She is eventually assigned to Heidern's mercenary unit for The King of Fighters tournament to investigate NESTS and the mysterious fighter known only as K'.^[18] Once she realizes who K' is, she reveals their relation to him and joins him in his objective to destroy the NESTS cartel. After NESTS' downfall, she returns to her duties under Heidern's command. One of her moves depicts her shooting her opponents with a Desert Eagle-like handgun. The firearm is edited from the American release of the games in arcades, but is uncensored in the home release versions.^[19]

Leona, Ralf, and Clark compose the Ikari Team for The King of Fighters XIII, reflecting the team's roster from the 1996 tournament. Despite her difficulties in controlling herself leading her to sit out the XI tournament as Whip took her place, Leona commits herself to entering the XIII tournament, deciding to accept, and deal with, her Orochi blood.

Psycho Soldier Team[edit]

The Psycho Soldier Team specializes in using psychic powers—dubbed 'Psycho Powers' by SNK. The powers, and some members of the team, first appeared in the SNK video game Psycho Soldier.^[20] The team includes Chin Gentsai (鎮元斎), an elderly mentor and master of Psycho Power. He participates with his students throughout the tournaments since 1994, but leaves the competition in 2003 to observe thoroughly the matter of Orochi's possible resurgence, asking K′ and Maxima to investigate the tournament in his place for activity, meaning both Kensou and Chin are replaced with Hinako and Malin.^[21]

The others members of the team are his students Athena Asamiya, a famous Japanese pop singer; a Chinese teenager infatuated with Athena named Sie Kensou (椎 拳崇Shii Kensū); and a little Chinese boy named Bao (Chinese: 包; Pinyin: Bāo; Japanese: 包 Pao). As Bao trains with them during the time between King of Fighters '97 and King of Fighters '99, Kensou gradually loses his powers, until they become obsolete.^[22] However, his powers are recovered in King of Fighters XI, causing Ron and Misty to take an interest in it, revealing a probable importance of the Dragon Spirit.

A young girl who trained with Kensou and Athena, Momoko (桃子), also debuts in the team in The King of Fighters XI. She was added into the cast to fit the image of the younger Psycho Soldier team, though the developers have expressed discomfort with adding so young a character amongst a large group of adults. In addition, Momoko's discipline is capoeira, rather than Chinese Martial Arts like her teammates. Chin and Kensou make their latest appearances in The King of Fighters XII; in The King of Fighters XIII, the Psycho Soldier team is re-formed and represented by the original members.

Chin Gentsai's character is probably inspired from Yuen Siu-tien's portrayal of Beggar So, a character in 1978 film 'Drunken Master'.

King Of Fighters Xiii Ps3

Women Fighters Team[edit]

The Women Fighters Team is a group composed exclusively of women, christened 'The Princesses of Punch.' The team originally comprises the Kyokugen karate prodigy Yuri Sakazaki, the ninja Mai Shiranui, and the Muay Thai fighter King. Throughout the later games of the series, there are several changes in the members of the team, as Yuri is sometimes called to join the Art of Fighting team, leading her to be replaced by the heir of the ancient Yata clan Chizuru Kagura and Kasumi Todoh—a young female martial artist who seeks to defeat those who practice Kyokugen karate. In later games, new characters appear, due to the new rule of using four members; these include the agent Blue Mary, the Chinese-American female martial artist Li Xiangfei and the sumo fighter Hinako Shijou (四条 雛子Shijō Hinako). In 2003, the Women Fighters Team has a subdivision with high school girls as the members, hence the reason it is named the High School Girls Team. This team is led by Athena Asamiya, and the two other members are Hinako and Malin. In XI, the team is dissolved, since the members go to other teams or they have other things to do^{[clarification needed]}. The Women Fighters Team is reformed for The King of Fighters XIII, featuring the three original members from the 1994 tournament. In XIV, the team returns with Mai and King getting a new member named Alice, an avid fan of Terry Bogard who inspires to be just like him.

Korea Team[edit]

The Korea Team is composed of taekwondo practitioners. The group is led by Kim Kaphwan, a national hero who forced two criminals to enter his team as part of his 'Rehabilitation Project'. The criminals are Chang Koehan (Korean: 장거한Chang Keo-Han, Japanese: チャン・コーハンChan Kōhan), a giant man who uses an iron ball, and Choi Bounge (Korean: 최번개Choi Beon-Gae, Japanese: チョイ・ボンゲChoi Bonge), a little person who uses Freddy Krueger-esque claws.^[23] During their time with Kim, Chang and Choi befriend each other and scheme many ways of escape, but they eventually mellow out and work with Kim from within his methods of fighting and justice.^[24]

In the '99 tournament, a new member called Jhun Hoon (Korean: 전훈Jeon Hoon, Japanese: ジョン・フーンJon Fūn) enters the team as the fourth member of the group. He has known Kim since childhood and often considers him to be a true rival. After seeing Kim's ethics and methods of training, Jhun Hoon decided that he would show him a more 'efficient' way of management.^[25] In 2001, Jhun breaks his right arm in a car accident while chasing an image of his beloved idol star Athena Asamiya and is replaced by a young girl called May Lee (Korean name: Lee Jinju, 이진주) who admires the group.^[26] May Lee's character design stems from sponsor Eolith's desire for a 'Korean Athena' that was an 'idol-like visual fighter.'^[5] In The King of Fighters XI, the team takes a break, due to Kim entering the tournament as a member of the Fatal Fury Team. Kim would eventually make a new team, known as the Kim Team, for The King of Fighters XIII, believing that he was successful in rehabilitating Chang and Choi. He sets his sight upon Raiden and Hwa Jai, whom he believes that the two of them are still working for Geese Howard, and that he attempts to help rehabilitate them so that they can give up their supposed evil ways. Although Raiden and Hwa Jai haven't associated themselves with Geese for quite some time, the two decide to trick Kim into thinking that they're still working for Geese so that they can use Kim as a way to enter into the tournament and help boost their own reputations as fighters.

Geese Howard's teams[edit]

The villain known as Geese Howard creates several teams in the series. In King of Fighters '95, he sends his right-hand man Billy Kane to kill his enemies, the Bogard brothers. Billy allies with Iori Yagami and Eiji Kisaragi to form a Rival Team in the tournament, but once they fail to obtain the victory, Iori brutally attacks them and nearly kills Billy and Eiji in the process.

In The King of Fighters '96, Geese creates the Boss Team, including Wolfgang Krauser, Mr. Big and Geese himself. Geese uses both Krauser and Big as pawns in the tournament, hoping to get the power from the Orochi being, while Krauser only wants to prove their strength, and Mr. Big uses this opportunity to seek out a chance to usurp Geese's empire unbeknownst to him.

As the group disbanded at the end of King of Fighters '96, Geese sponsors a new group known as the Outlaw Team in the '97 and 2003 tournaments for the same purpose. The team for the '97 tournament is made up of Billy Kane, Blue Mary and Ryuji Yamazaki, though Blue Mary is replaced by Gato in the 2003 tournament.

Geese eventually returns to the tournament in The King of Fighters XIV, hiring his right-hand man Billy Kane and his butler Hein to join him under Billy's request.

American Sports Team[edit]

The American Sports Team is a group that only appears in The King of Fighters '94 and '98. The team is composed of a former heavyweight boxer named Heavy D!, a cheerful basketball player-martial artist named Lucky Glauber, and an aggressive football player named Brian Battler. The team's only canonical appearance in the series is in King of Fighters '94. They have not been heard from in the later years, though a running gag in the series insists that the members have always received invitations to the later tournaments, only to get beaten up and have them stolen by other fighters. They made a comeback in King of Fighters '98, as a part of the reunion of the previous teams of King of Fighters '94.

NESTS Team[edit]

The NESTS Team is a group that appears in The King of Fighters 2001, entering in the tournament to eliminate anybody who would try to destroy their organization. The team is composed of Angel, a ditzy yet deadly Mexican female fighter, and K9999 (pronounced K Four-Nine), a clone from Kyo entirely based on Tetsuo Shima from Akira, able to transform his arm into a long tentacle like Tetsuo's. Due to copyright issues, for the King of Fighters 2002 remake he was replaced with a similar character. The character is called 'Nameless', a clone from both Kyo and K' (whose hair, reflecting this, is half brown like that of Kyo, and half white like that of K') who uses two types of flames to fight.^[27]Kula Diamond, named the 'Anti-K' due to her ability of creating ice, and Kula's guardian, Foxy (フォクシーFokushī), a fencer, are also part of the team.

When their boss Zero dies from his battle upon the blimp that takes the winning team to the headquarters of NESTS, Kula and Foxy decide to leave NESTS in order to begin a new life, but the two are attacked upon sight by their teammates, who consider them traitors. K9999 and Angel mortally injure Foxy in the fight, and waste no time in attacking Kula, but when they are about to defeat her, she is rescued by K′, whose abilities make the attackers flee in an instant. Both K9999 and Angel haven't been heard from since. After the destruction of NESTS, Kula, Foxy, and Diana decide to work together with K′, Maxima, and Whip, leading to Kula joining forces with K' and Maxima in King of Fighters XI after Whip returns to the Ikari Warriors team. Angel returns in The King of Fighters XIV as part of the Mexican lucha libre team which also includes Ramon (who ironically was one of the agents seeking to shut down NESTS) and King of Dinosaurs, and Antonov hires a new fighter, Sylvie Paula Paula (シルヴィ・ポーラ・ポーラShiruvi Pōra Pōra), a 'cute-looking psycho' who was an agent of the now-defunct NESTS cartel who can freely manipulate electricity, who in actuality is a failed NESTS experiment that considers the voice in her head and her eyeball decorations to be her 'friends'.

Garou Team[edit]

The Garou Team appears only in KOF XI, containing characters that appear in the video game Garou: Mark of the Wolves. The team includes Tizoc, a famous pro wrestler, Gato, a powerful martial artist and a female pirate named B. Jenet. Though the members become good friends, Gato decides to leave them after the end of the tournament.

Other characters[edit]

Ash Crimson[edit]

Chizuru Kagura[edit]

Voiced by: Akito Sato (KOF '96–KOF '98), Yukiko Sugawa (KOF 2003)

Chizuru Kagura (神楽 ちづるKagura Chizuru) is a member of the Yata clan who holds one of the three sacred artifacts that originally sealed the serpent monster Orochi 1,800 years ago. As the heiress of the Yata, she is raised as a priestess and maintains the duty of keeping the diligent seal on Orochi intact. One night, an Orochi servant, Goenitz, visited her home and destroyed the seal after killing Chizuru's sister, Maki. Ten years afterwards, Chizuru is a very successful and prestigious businesswoman. She secretly hosts the tournament in 1996 in hopes of entreating Kyo and Iori to help her replace the broken seal. The three of them succeed in their task at the climax of The King of Fighters '97.^[28]

She hosts another King of Fighters tournament in 2003 with intentions similar to her previous attempt. During the tournament, she is under mind-control by a member of Those From the Past. She creates an illusion of her sister Maki as one of the game's sub-bosses, and also creates a clone from Kyo named Kusanagi to test the strength for the tournament's contestants.^[29] Eventually, she breaks free from control and tries to restore the seal of Orochi, but Ash steals her powers.^[30] She survives the attack, but can no longer participate in fights, asking Kyo's disciple Shingo Yabuki to fill her spot in The King of Fighters XI.^[31]

In the 2010 live-action film adaptation of The King of Fighters, Chizuru is played by Chinese-Canadian actress Françoise Yip.

Duo Lon[edit]

Voiced by: Tsunehito Maruo (Japanese); Josh Keller (KOF XII)^[32] (English)

Duo Lon (Chinese: 堕瓏; Pinyin: Duòlóng; Japanese: デュオロン Dyuoron) makes his first appearance in The King of Fighters 2003 as a member of the game's Hero Team. His overall look was based on anime title characterVampire Hunter D.^[33] He is a member of the assassin group, the Flying Brigands—or Hizoku (飛賊Hizoku)—and the half-brother of Xiao Lon. He is an acquaintance of Ash Crimson and Shen Woo.

Hoping to hunt down the clan's traitor, Ron, he agrees to enter the tournament with them. However, after discovering Ash's true objectives, he teams up with Elisabeth Blanctorche and Benimaru Nikaido. Information on Duo Lon's design graph revealed he is one of the nine children of Ron, an assassin who chased after his own father.^[34]

Elisabeth Blanctorche[edit]

Voiced by: Kayoko Oshima

Elisabeth Blanctorche (エリザベート・ブラントルシュErizabēto Burantorushu) (spelled 'Elisabeth Branctorche' in The King of Fighters XII) is one of three original characters debuting in The King of Fighters XI. Her initial character concept was to be the rival to Ash, though developers decided to change her into a 'leading lady' character. The developers also describe her fighting style as 'orthodox with subtle tricks [to it]' despite her minimal moveset.^[35]

She initially invites Benimaru Nikaido and Duo Lon to France to form the Rival Team. She eventually reveals her acquaintance with Ash Crimson, whom she scolds for seeming to forsake their mission. Elisabeth did not appear in the arcade version of The King of Fighters XII, but was added as one of two characters exclusive to the home release of the game. Like the rest of the cast, she does not have a team for The King of Fighters XII (though the two other members of her team from King of Fighters XI are present in the game). For The King of Fighters XIII, she now appears on a team with Ash's former team members from the 2003 tournament (Shen Woo and Duo Lon), effectively forming what seems to be the new Hero Team.

Though she does not participate in The King of Fighters XIV, she enlists Kukri's help in finding Ash, as his body can be seen lying on the ground in Ukraine's Carpathian Mountains, with his soul burning around it, indicating that Ash is alive once again, much to Elisabeth's rejoice.

Iori Yagami[edit]

K′[edit]

Kula Diamond[edit]

Voiced by: Yumi Kakazu (Japanese); Kat Cassteneda (KOF: MI2) (English)

Lin[edit]

Voiced by: Takaya Kuroda

Lin (Chinese: 麟; Pinyin: Lín; Japanese: 麟 Rin) is one of the new characters introduced in The King of Fighters 2000 as a member of the Benimaru Team. He, along with the Flying Brigands subplot, was created without the entire staff's knowledge, leading to some developers being surprised by his team's ending.^[36]

Though he is no longer an active member in King of Fighters, his story and character have not been abandoned.^[37] He is a member of the assassination group, The Flying Brigands—or Hizoku (飛賊Hizoku) Clan in Japanese—which is apparently on the brink of ruin. The agent Seth entices him to enter the King of Fighters tournament in order to find their clan's missing leader, Ron.^[38]After learning that Ron had defected to NESTS for his personal greed, Lin tracks the activities of NESTS' renegades, K′ and his teammates, in hopes of finding his traitorous leader. He joins up with K', Maxima, and Whip in the 2001 tournament. He continues to search for Ron even after NESTS' destruction.^[39] For an unexplained reason, he appears next to Ron in the Psycho Soldier Team's ending in The King of Fighters XI.^[34] He is a master of the Poison Hand technique, which enables the user to turn their own blood into venom.

Malin[edit]

Voiced by: Kazuyo Inosako

Malin (まりんMarin) is a character who debuts in The King of Fighters 2003 as a member of the High School Girls Team (alongside Athena Asamiya and Hinako Shijou). Her addition to the series was due to Choi's absence in the game where she debuted. The game producers state that her name should be spelled 'Malin' and not 'Marin', adding that 'this is the humble preference of the supervising designer and a mystery to us all'.^[40]

She becomes a member of the Anti-Kyokugenryu Team in The King of Fighters XI due to her animosity towards one of the style's practitioners, Yuri Sakazaki.^[41]

Vice & Mature[edit]

Voiced by: Masae Yumi (KOF '96–KOF XIII), Mayumi Sako (KOF XIV) (Vice)

Voiced by: Hiroko Tsuji (KOF '96–KOF XIII), Keiko Tsutsui (KOF XIV), Yū Shimamura (KOF: D) (Mature)

Vice (バイスBaisu) and Mature (マチュアMachua) appear as members of Iori's Team in The King of Fighters '96. The designers at the time created both Vice and Mature with the image of a 'cruel woman' and a 'ruthless woman', respectively. Their origin story is mostly based on the notion of Rugal employing secretaries prior to The King of Fighters '96. Both women were unavailable during location testing and were likely finished near the end of the game's production schedule.^[42] Aside from serving Rugal, both women were also spies and wielders of Orochi.^[43] They are ordered by their superior Goenitz to keep an eye on Iori, but both of them are killed by Iori.^[44]

Since then, both have appeared in the 'dream match' games The King of Fighters '98 and The King of Fighters 2002 (games in the King of Fighters series with no canonical connection). Vice has also appeared in Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000 and the sequel. Mature is a playable character in The King of Fighters XII, exclusive to the home console version of game.^[45]

With Vice's return in The King of Fighters XIII, Iori's 1996 team is reunited for the first time since The King of Fighters 2002.^[46] In The King of Fighters XIII, both women are spirits, reflecting their fates at the end of the 1996 tournament. With the rise of a new Orochi crisis brought on by Ash Crimson's meddling, they convince Iori to enter the new tournament to settle matters and stop whatever it is Ash has in mind.

In the 2010 live-action film adaptation of The King of Fighters movie, Vice is played by Bernice Liu, and Mature by Monique Ganderton.

Maxima[edit]

Voiced by: Katsuyuki Konishi (Japanese); Michael Jarmus (KOF: MI2, KOF: AD) (English)

Maxima (マキシマMakishima) debuts as a member of the Hero Team in The King of Fighters '99. He was added to the cast with the desire to add a 'somber and reliable middle-aged character' to counteract the introduction of multiple teenage characters.^[11]

Maxima was a Canadian soldier who led a normal life until he found out that his comrade-in-arms Rocky was killed in an incident involving NESTS.^[47] To avenge Rocky's death, he abandons his ordinary life. In order to infiltrate the NESTS cartel without being recognized, Maxima was transformed into a cyborg, with his strength and reaction time increased to superhuman levels, built-in weapons, and the ability to conduct instant data analysis. He also has some degree of cyberpathy. He infiltrates NESTS and is assigned to be the partner of K′. They both defect from the cartel after K' encounters his clone, Krizalid, and grows sickened by the organization. Since then, he has become K's steadfast companion and he is often the one who enters both of them into the following tournaments.

Oswald[edit]

Voiced by: Toshihiro Shigetsuka

Oswald (オズワルドOzuwarudo) appears in The King of Fighters XI as a member of the game's Hero Team, along with Ash Crimson and Shen Woo. He was created as an older gentleman, and is enigma to even the creators. Developers consider his moves to be comical compared to the seriousness of his image, especially when the move 'Joker' is blocked or misses. They chose to leave the result of his fight with Shen ambiguous, implying that fans would have been disappointed with the outcome.^[48] He was originally intended to be the 'good-looking glasses' character for the series.^[49]

It is revealed at the end of the tournament that Oswald joins Ash and Shen Woo to obtain money and drugs named Dragon Pills. Ash agrees to give information regarding the drug to Oswald, explaining that it can only be given to him if he defeats the provider's enemy, Shen Woo.^[50] Oswald was announced as an upcoming DLC character in King of Fighters XIV.^[51]

Ramon[edit]

Voiced by: Eiji Takemoto (KOF 2000–KOF XI), Kiyoshi Katsunuma (KOF XIV)

Ramon (ラモン) makes his first appearance in The King of Fighters 2000 as a member of the game's Hero Team. Ramon is the only character to speak Spanish in the game, and was created to appeal to the Latin American fanbase. He has a fighting style primarily based on lucha libre.^[52]

Ramon is a famous luchador known as 'El Diablo Amarillo' (The Yellow Devil), who is loved by his fans in the wrestling circle. He is approached by an agent named Vanessa, who requests in his cooperation in forming a team for The King of Fighters 2000 tournament. Since then, he has had a one-sided infatuation with Vanessa.^[53] After King of Fighters 2000, he continues to team with Vanessa at her request, often along with Seth.

Saisyu Kusanagi[edit]

Voiced by: Toshimitsu Arai (KOF '95), Keiichirou Sakagi (KOF '98), Haruo Yamagishi (KOF: D)

Saisyu Kusanagi (草薙 柴舟Kusanagi Saishū) debuted in The King of Fighters '94 as a victim in Rugal's gallery of defeated fighters. He appears as a mid-boss in The King of Fighters '95, and becomes playable for the first time on the screen in The King of Fighters '98, although he was selectable in the console versions of The King of Fighters '95 as a secret character. He was originally meant to have died in The King of Fighters '94, but was added in at the last minute of development for The King of Fighters '95.^[54]

Saisyu Kusanagi is the previous head of the Kusanagi clan, who left his family to face worthy opponents across the globe. After his defeat by Rugal, he is brainwashed by his secretary Vice to fight his son, Kyo. Upon his defeat, he regains his senses and escapes from Rugal's missile silo base.^[55] In The King of Fighters 2001, he appears before Shingo Yabuki and spends a year properly teaching him the Kusanagi fighting style. In the 2010 live-action film adaptation of The King of Fighters, Saisyu is played by Japanese actor Hiro Kanagawa.

Seth[edit]

Voiced by: Hidetoshi Nakamura (Japanese); Glenn Haig (KOF: MI2) (English)

Seth (セスSesu) makes his first appearance in the series as a 'Striker' in The King of Fighters '99 Evolution. He debuts as a playable character in The King of Fighters 2000 as a member of the Benimaru Team. He was created along with Vanessa, though Seth became the visual model for her. Developers wished to have a character with 'the powerful image of a big, dark, middle-aged man with a Mohawk haircut'.^[56]

Seth was ordered by his superior Ling to enter the King of Fighters tournament in order to capture the Flying Brigands leader, Ron. To do this, he arranges to work with the Benimaru Team.^[38] During the tournament, he learns that Ling is really Zero in disguise, and that Ron had joined with NESTS. He continues to investigate Ron's activities as the series progresses.^[57]

Shen Woo[edit]

Voiced by: Kōji Suidzu

Shen Woo (シェン・ウーShen Ū, Chinese: 神武; pinyin: Shén Wǔ; Shanghainese: Wu Chinese pronunciation: [z̥əɲ˨˧v̥v̩ʷ˦], lit. 'Divine Warrior') is one of the members of the Hero Team in The King of Fighters 2003, along with Ash Crimson and Duo Lon. He was first conceptualized to be a 'wild and sexy man'. Due to his fighting style revolving around punches, designers for his fighting style had to make his attacks distinctive enough to avoid confusion with Ralf and Yashiro.^[58]

As 'Shanghai's God of War', he was raised in the city of Shanghai in eastern China and given that nickname for developing his own, devastating street-fighting boxing style that is best described as 'violent'. He soon came to be very feared, and grew to enjoy the thrill of the fight. Eventually, he came to know the enigmatic fighter Ash, (who entered this man himself), and Duo Lon as the 'Hero Team' into the King of Fighters 2003 tournament.^[59]

At the end of The King of Fighters XI, Ash decides to pit his two teammates against each other by convincing Oswald to defeat Shen Woo for the mention of the 'Dragon Pills' made by anonymous pharmacists in Shanghai, telling Oswald that they will only give the Dragon Pills to someone who could defeat their mortal enemy, that is Shen himself.^[50] As soon as he and Oswald are left to fight each other, the result is unknown, though he managed to survive the outcome. He is voiced by Kōji Suidzu. Shen Woo is one of the many examples of a sexualized male video game character of the aggressive type.^[60]

Vanessa[edit]

Voiced by: Kaori Minami (KOF 2000–KOF XI), Mayumi Hata (KOF XIV)

Vanessa (ヴァネッサVanessa) first debuts as a Striker in The King of Fighters '99 Evolution, and becomes playable in The King of Fighters 2000. Like Maxima, she was created as a middle-aged female to contrast the multiple teenage characters in the roster.^[10] Vanessa is a normal housewife who discreetly serves as a mercenary agent. Working under the orders of Commander Ling, Vanessa and fellow agent Seth are commissioned with the job of joining Ling's King of Fighters tournament to follow the footsteps of the NESTS cartel. The two agents part from one another, with Vanessa recruiting prime suspects K′, Maxima, and Ramon to complete their team. Her objective from then on is to observe the activities of the NESTS defectors, based on Ling's orders.^[61] In The King of Fighters XI, Vanessa enters the tournament together with Blue Mary and Ramon under orders to receive information concerning the broken Orochi seal and the mysterious members of Those From the Past.^[62]

Boss characters[edit]

The Bernstein family[edit]

Rugal Bernstein[edit]

Adelheid and Rose[edit]

Voiced by: Tetsuya Tanaka (Adelheid)

Voiced by: Kazuyo Inosako (Rose)

Adelheid (アーデルハイドĀderuhaido) (Adel for short), along with his younger sister, Rose (ローズ), are the only known children of Rugal Bernstein. They reside in an airship called 'Sky Noah'. Adel is a boss character from The King of Fighters 2003, as well as a secret and mid-boss for The King of Fighters XI.^[63] They were added to the series to create an alternate story to the main plot.^[64]

Despite sharing several physical and fighting traits with Rugal, Adelheid is an honorable fighter who exhibits good sportsmanship,^[65] even having a friendly conversation with Heidern, Rugal's mortal enemy. Rose, however, was developed to be extremely prideful and selfish, possessing her father's negative traits.^[66] In the end of The King of Fighters XI, Rose is manipulated by a member from the mysterious organization Those From the Past to use her in their plans, leading to the events of The King of Fighters XIII and Adelheid calls Heidern for a help to rescue his sister from the organization who brainwashed her.

The Orochi clan[edit]

Orochi[edit]

Voiced by: Rio Ogata

Orochi (オロチOrochi) is the final boss of The King of Fighters '97, but is not a villain. Its character origin is another interpretation of the mythical eight-headed serpent, Yamata no Orochi. In The King of Fighters series, it is a chthonic supernatural being that is the will of Gaia. It has no distinct gender. It does not regard humanity as trustworthy with regard to coexisting with the planet without ravaging it, and so seeks to extinguish humanity. It was sealed 1,800 years ago by the three sacred treasures of Japan. The three clans' descendants are charged with protecting the seal. In The King of Fighters '97, it incarnates in Chris (a herald of Orochi) to save the Gaia.^[67]

It is sealed again at the end of the '97 tournament by the three descendants of the users of the three sacred treasures (Kyo, Chizuru and Iori), but the seal is broken (though not to the point of actually releasing it) in later games by the demon Mukai.^[28][68] A clone of Orochi appears as a boss in NeoGeo Battle Coliseum named Mizuchi.

In King of Fighters XIV Orochi is one of the many souls inside Verse as shown through Verse's win quote against Kyo and in the ending of Team Yagami, as it lands in Aggtelek-Karst in Hungary, before being sealed away again due to being in still weakened state.

Hakkesshu[edit]

The Hakkesshu (Orochi Hakketsushū (オロチ八傑集) in the Japanese version) are a group formed by the eight most powerful followers of the god Orochi. The four top members are referred to as 'Kings'.^[69] Gaidel, the biological father of Leona, was also a member of the group, but when he refused Goenitz's offer to continue the Orochi's will, Goenitz manipulated Leona into killing Gaidel and the rest of her fellow villagers. The criminal Ryuji Yamazaki is part of the group, but does not want to get involved with them.

New Faces Team[edit]

Voiced by: Rio Ogata (Chris)

Voiced by: Hazuki Nishikawa (KOF '97– NGH:US), Erina Seto (SNKH:TTF) (Shermie)

Voiced by: Makoto Awane (Yashiro)

The New Faces Team is a group from The King of Fighters '97. They are three of the Four Heavenly Kings of Orochi. The group is composed of a young Swedish boy named Chris (クリスKurisu), a beautiful but shady Frenchwoman named Shermie (シェルミーSherumī) and a 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) tall Japanese guitar player named Yashiro Nanakase (七枷 社Nanakase Yashiro). They initially enter due to Yashiro's grudge against Iori and his own band (which had overshadowed a performance of theirs before the tournament), but as the tournament progresses, the Orochi blood inside their bodies soon awakens, causing them to remember their status as three of the Four Heavenly Kings. As loyal members of Orochi, they continue to gather power for the awakening until they are forced to kill themselves in order to resurrect Orochi through Chris' body, a concept that began early in the game's production.^[70] Using the Orochi power, they are stated as the Japan Team's counterparts, since they have their same abilities: Chris is able create flames like Kyo Kusanagi, Shermie creates lightning like Benimaru Nikaido, and Yashiro has enormous strength enough to shatter the earth like Goro Daimon.

Goenitz[edit]

Voiced by: Yoshinori Shima (games), Susumu Akagi (KOF: D)

Goenitz (ゲーニッツGēnittsu) is one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Orochi, with the power to command the element of wind. Goenitz has a very polite personality which is reflected in his winning poses and his elegant, somewhat flowery speech. Even though influenced by Orochi, he sports the same messianistic attitude that aspires to bring about 'salvation' expected from people of religious occupations.

During the 1996 tournament, Goenitz discovers that Chizuru Kagura plans to gather warriors to seal the Orochi and heads there to stop her. Also, Goenitz is the one who took Rugal's eye which in turn Rugal took Heidern's eye. Depending on the playable characters, Goenitz can be killed by Iori Yagami and Kyo Kusanagi, sealed by Chizuru, or commits suicide at the end of KOF '96.^[71]

The NESTS cartel[edit]

NESTS is a mysterious and dangerous cartel that deals with drugs, weaponry, robotics, genetics and biotechnology. The global crime syndicate was involved in the events behind the King of Fighters tournaments held between 1999 and 2001. They are responsible for the creation of the Kyo Kusanagi clones and K′. The group is composed of several agents who have different aims, but they all want to become more powerful. The cartel is destroyed with the death of their leader Igniz.

Krizalid[edit]

Voiced by: Yoshiyuki Iwamoto (KOF '99, KOF 2002 UM), Eiji Yano (KOF 2001)

Krizalid (クリザリッドKurizariddo) acts as the mid and final boss of The King of Fighters '99. He was designed to be a stylish and earnestly strong boss, though the supervising designer at the time admits, 'I think I overdid it a little.'^[72]

He is made to be the ultimate Kyo clone, outfitted with a special suit to feed the data of fighters into his body during battle. He also happens to be a clone of K′. As a side effect, he gained some of K's memories and believed that Whip was his sister. He is ordered to activate the thousands of Kyo clones around the world so that they can attack in a simultaneous strike. After his defeat against K', his superior, Zero, neutralizes the Kyo clones and kills Krizalid by throwing a boulder to crush him. He is revived later by the original Zero and fights alongside him in the 2001 tournament.

In King of Fighters XIV he is one of the souls inside Verse.

Zero[edit]

Voiced by: Kinta Futogane (Clone)

Voiced by: Toshimitsu Arai (Original)

Zero (ゼロ) is one of the higher-ranked agents of NESTS. The designer, C.A.C. Yamasaki, admits basing Zero off a certain character from the manga Fist of the North Star.^[73] Zero begins to secretly build his own weapon from NESTS' technology called the 'Zero Cannon'. He sets his plans into motion in The King of Fighters 2000. There, he impersonates a military commander named Ling and uses his persona as a decoy to stop the military resistance against him. Depending on whether or not the player defeats Kula, his plans are foiled by either Heidern or Kula, who is sent to execute him for his treacherous acts.

However, the Zero in The King of Fighters 2000 is revealed to be a clone from the Original Zero (ゼロ(オリジナル)Zero (Orijinaru)), who appears as a sub-boss in The King of Fighters 2001. He was created because the supervising designer of his character claimed to be dissatisfied with Zero's design in 2000.^[74] Unlike his clone, Zero is extremely loyal to the NESTS syndicate, and was disgusted to learn of his clone's attempted coup d'état. Willing to clear the reputation of his clone's actions, Zero is commanded to destroy the winners of The King of Fighters tournament. He traps the winning team in a space ship that was disguised as a blimp. When he is defeated, he urges the team to escape the collapsing ship and dies honorably on board the vessel.

Igniz[edit]

Voiced by: Norio Wakamoto

Igniz (イグニスIgunisu) is the final boss in The King of Fighters 2001. His handsome and youthful appearance was specifically created at the sponsors' request.^[75]

Igniz became the leader of NESTS after he killed his father years ago. After the events of the '99 and 2000 tournaments, Igniz decides to host the King of Fighters 2001 tournament in hopes of becoming a new god, deciding to test his newly acquired power against the finalists. His hopes are short-lived, however, as he is defeated by the K' Team. Cursing his failure and declaring himself a demon instead, Igniz attempts to destroy the planet by plummeting NESTS' main headquarters out of orbit; his attempt fails, and Igniz dies in the process.

In King of Fighters XIV he is one of the souls inside Verse.

Ron[edit]

Voiced by: Takaya Kuroda

Ron (Chinese: 龍; Pinyin: Lóng; Japanese: 龍(ロン) Ron) is first introduced as a sub-plot character in The King of Fighters 2000. He later appears as a Striker for Zero in The King of Fighters 2001. Though he is not playable in the series, he serves as an important side-story character.

According to his official profile, his main objective is to gain the ability to manipulate the dead.^[37] He is the former leader to an elite assassination group known as the Flying Brigands—Hizoku (飛賊Hizoku) Clan in Japanese—and the father to a number of their members, including Duo Lon and Xiao Lon. He betrayed the Flying Brigands by joining NESTS for personal gain, labeling himself as a traitor by many of the group's members, including Lin, his former pupil. After NESTS' destruction, he reveals his great interest in a mysterious power shared by Sie Kensou and Bao known as the Dragon Spirit.

Those From The Past[edit]

Those From the Past (遙けし彼の地より出る者たちHarukeshi Ka no Chi yori Izuru Monotachi, lit. 'Those From His Distant Land') are a new group of antagonists that appear in the 2003 tournament. They are mysterious, and supposedly inhuman, warriors who want to get the power of the Orochi so that they can give it to their shrouded master. It is implied that they are the European counterparts of the Orochi Clan. The organization is destroyed after Saiki's death by Ash in The King of Fighters XIII, but their actions triggered the birth of Verse.

Mukai[edit]

Voiced by: Toshihiro Shigetsuka

Mukai (ムカイ, also written as 無界) is the hidden final boss in The King of Fighters 2003. His appearance was designed with the concept of petrification in mind. Mukai's primary power is his control over many things related to stone. He can form stone, either in crude rocks to throw at foes, or as elaborate pillars to crush them. He speaks in very pious, grandiose declarations, but appears to have a cautious attitude toward the potential of humans.

He makes a prompt appearance in The King of Fighters 2003 tournament seeking strong opponents and to test his strength. Mukai reveals that his group had organized the 2003 King of Fighters tournament so that they could break the Orochi seal and give its power to the group's unknown leader. Mukai wanted to battle against the winning team of the tournament, seeing if they had what it takes to survive in 'the new age'. Mukai is defeated but manages to escape. However, in The King of Fighters XIII he is killed by Saiki after he disobeys an order of his boss.

Shion[edit]

Voiced by: Tokiyo Ogawa

Shion (紫苑Shion) makes his first appearance in The King of Fighters XI as the sub-boss. The character was conceptually designed to be one of Ron's daughters,^[76] though developers decided to change his gender to startle and appeal to fans with his androgynous appearance.^[77] Shion is an enigmatic character whose past is unknown. He works as an underling for the demon Magaki, and seems knowledgeable about the workings of Orochi. After being defeated at the ruins of the tournament finals, he is dragged through an extradimensional gate. However, after Magaki is defeated at the end of the tournament, Shion kills him and his whereabouts remain unknown. In King of Fighters XIII, as the last cutscene, the head of Shion's spear appears. The cutscene is named The Crimson Spear. It is shown that he's still alive as he appeared before Shroom and Rimelo.

Magaki[edit]

Voiced by: Spicy Yagi

Magaki (禍忌) is the new boss of The King of Fighters XI. Nothing is known about the fighter Magaki, except that he hosts The King of Fighters tournament. Like his partner Mukai, Magaki wants to awake Orochi and give Orochi's powers to his own master. He also shows even less respect for humans in general, believing them to have little-to-no potential, and being weak overall. He also seems to have very little tolerance for not getting what he wants from others. Like Mukai before him, after he was defeated he stood up, apparently unscathed, and made his exit into another realm after commenting that perhaps it was more than spirit that was needed to awaken Orochi. However, as he finally realizes the error in his plan, he is killed by Shion's spear, hurled from the dimensional rift he was escaping from.

Saiki[edit]

Voiced by: Sōnosuke Nagashiro

Saiki (斎祀) is the sub-boss as well as the main antagonist of The King of Fighters XIII. He is able to control the flow of time due to a gate that can halt the timeline so long as it is open. During cutscenes in the game, he takes the appearance of a human, very similar to Ash Crimson. Before the battle with Saiki in KOF XIII, Saiki drains fellow One From the Past Mukai of his power and transforms into a red demonic being. After the battle with Saiki, Ash Crimson takes his power, seemingly killing him. This plan backfires as Ash ends up being possessed by Saiki and turns into a shadowed version of himself called Evil Ash (known by fans as Dark Ash) to act as the game's final boss. During the ending, Saiki is defeated, but tries to use the time barrier to rewind time again and try his plot once more; Ash stands in his way and prevents his passage. When the gate closes, Saiki is finally defeated, but it is learned that he is Ash's ancestor. By denying Saiki passage into the past, Ash forces his own existence being Saiki's descendant to cease, leaving his soul survived to exist without being Saiki's descendant but trapped in time and contained inside one of the two creatures Ash created from his cause known as Verse.

Antonov[edit]

Voiced by: Moriyuki Hishida

Antonov (アントノフAntonofu, Антонов) is a new boss character and the host of The King of Fighters XIV tournament. A mysterious billionaire and self-proclaimed 'first champion', Antonov buys the rights of the King of Fighters brand to host a new tournament. Unlike previous tournament organizers, he hosts the event solely to reinvigorate his love of fighting and has no involvement with the supernatural events perpetrated by Verse. He wears a tailor-made 'KOF' championship belt at all times and awards it to the team that can defeat him.

Verse[edit]

Voiced by: Yusaku

Verse (バースBāsu) is the main antagonist and final boss in The King of Fighters XIV. An evil presence that is sensed across time and space, various fighters from the tournament join to stop him. Within his being, he traps the souls of fighters from the past tournaments such as Orochi and Ash Crimson along with Gaidel, Igniz, Krizalid, and Rugal Bernstein as well as Mizuki Rashojin. His existence was the result of Ash's doing on changing his timeline to erase himself from being Saiki's descendants and kills his ancestor, which is the reason why Nakoruru travels to the present to fix the timeline. Not only that, one of Verse's fragment is also implanted inside the young Shun'ei, leaving his parents to abandon him secretly due to this, but was rescued by Tung Fu Rue and raised him as his last disciple.

Reception[edit]

The characters from The King of Fighters series were said to be a varied cast by Eurogamer magazine, since the cast includes characters from other SNK games.^[78]IGN agreed, commenting that every character has their own unique moves and praising their visuals, even though the magazine mentioned that the characters have old two-dimensional designs. IGN criticized that learning the characters' special moves was difficult.^[79] In reviews for the first game, IGN praised the main character Kyo Kusanagi as one of the most enjoyable characters to play, remarking on his dynamism and movesets.^[80]GameSpot also praised the characters designs, saying they 'shine through, resulting in a cast of characters that's diverse and not plentiful'.^[81] In other reviews, they complained about the lack of improvements in the character's movesets in some games, and also mentioned that some techniques were simply removed. They noted that, while new characters introduced in some games are interesting, they do not have the same impact as other ones.^[82]

1UP.com labelled the characters from the series as one of SNK's best creations, claiming that their appearances and quotations are all 'cool'—although they commented some of the storylines are 'nonsense'.^[83] The boss characters were criticized by multiple reviewers for being too difficult to defeat,^[84] with Krizalid from The King of Fighters '99 being singled out as too powerful.^[82]

The character designs in Maximum Impact were praised by IGN, which noted that the conversion to three-dimensional modeling had 'extremely vibrant' characters with 'a decent amount of detail.' However, they disliked the lack of blood, especially during violent attacks, saying the super moves and combos were 'just not as spectactular here' as they were in previous installments. IGN sharply criticized the 'terribly bad voice acting', calling it 'truly piss-poor American dub work.'^[85] Gamezone added that some characters still remain their unique fighting style, but complained about the lack of individualized endings, and commented that some of the attacks have less style in 3D.^[86]GameSpot also added that the English voices weren't distinctive, but commented that their new outfits were 'pretty wild'. The characters, however, were 'just not done with the same pixel-perfect flair' as the 2D versions, they said, noting that 'you'll recognize [the characters] because of their clothes and special moves, not because of their faces.'^[87]

Action figures,^[88][89] puzzles,^[90] keychains, and pins^[91] have been produced based on the characters in the King of Fighters series. Many characters are also featured on posters, wallpapers, and trading cards.^[92][93]

References[edit]

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5. ^ ^ab'May Lee's KOF 10th anniversary profile'. SNK Playmore. Retrieved 2007-02-14.
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7. ^'Iori Yagami Official Profile'. King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website. Retrieved 2008-03-24.
8. ^Akihiko Ureshino, ed. (September 20, 2005). The King of Fighters Perfect Reader (in Japanese). Nikkei Business Publications. p. 139. ISBN4-8222-1711-6.
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10. ^ ^ab'Vanessa's KOF 10th anniversary profile'. King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website. Retrieved March 3, 2008.
11. ^ ^ab'Maxima's KOF 10th anniversary profile'. King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website. Retrieved March 3, 2008.
12. ^'Benimaru's KOF 10th anniversary profile'. King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website. Retrieved February 19, 2008.
13. ^'Goro Daimon's KOF 10th anniversary profile'. King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website. Retrieved March 18, 2008.
14. ^SNK Playmore (1997-07-28). The King of Fighters '97. Neo Geo. SNK Playmore. Scene: Hero Team ending. Narrative Goro Daimon[.] Quitting the fighter's league, Goro made his Judo comeback. As the leader for Japan's team, he received world renown!
15. ^'Shingo Yabuki Official Character Profile'. King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
16. ^'Leona Heidern Official Profile'. King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website. Retrieved January 15, 2008.
17. ^BrezzaSoft (2001-11-15). The King of Fighters 2001. Neo Geo. Eolith & Sun Amusement. Scene: Hero Team ending. Whip: An innocent from a petrie dish, ignorant of existence's joys.
18. ^'Ikari Team Official Story in KOF '99'. King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website. Retrieved February 27, 2008.
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25. ^SNK Playmore. 'Korean Team Official Story in KOF '99'. King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website. Retrieved February 19, 2008.
26. ^'Korean Team Story for KOF 2001'. King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website. Retrieved February 19, 2008.
27. ^Ureshino, Akihiko (2008-10-15). 'TGS08日記xx'. Official blog from Akihiko Ureshino. Retrieved 2009-01-08.
28. ^ ^abSNK (1997-07-28). The King of Fighters '97. Neo Geo. SNK. Kyo: Finish it Kagura! Can you do it? /Chizuru: As a mirror keeper... I must do it! /Orochi: Fools! A waste of time! If I release my remaining power.../Iori: Waahh!/Chizuru: His power... too strong! Kusanagi! Quickly... /Kyo: Heeaahhh! Woooohh!
29. ^SNK (2003-12-12). The King of Fighters 2003. Neo Geo. SNK Playmore. Chizuru: This is one of the mirror's powers. Kusanagi, who I pitted against you previously... is also one whose power comes from the mirror...
30. ^SNK Playmore (2003-12-12). The King of Fighters 2003. PlayStation 2. SNK Playmore. Ash: Where... is... it... now?/Chizuru: Ah.. ah.../Ash: Oh, oh, oh, here we are. With this my objective has come to fruition.
31. ^'Kyo & Iori Team Official Story in KOF XI'. King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website (in Japanese). Retrieved March 3, 2008.
32. ^'JOSH KELLER Japan based voice artist Profile'. letshearjosh.com. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
33. ^'Duo Lon's KOF 10th anniversary profile'. King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website. Retrieved March 2, 2008.
34. ^ ^ab'Falcoon's Room ~ Episode 3'. KOF Maximum Impact - Regulation A Official Website (in Japanese). Retrieved March 13, 2008.
35. ^'Elisabeth Blanctorche's Official Character Bio'. King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website (in Japanese). Retrieved March 3, 2008.
36. ^'Lin's KOF 10th anniversary profile'. King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website. Retrieved March 2, 2008.
37. ^ ^ab'Ron's KOF 10th anniversary profile'. King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website. Retrieved March 2, 2008.
38. ^ ^ab'Benimaru's Team Story in KOF 2000'. King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website. Retrieved March 2, 2008.
39. ^BrezzaSoft (2001-11-15). The King of Fighters 2001. Neo Geo. Eolith & Sun Amusement. Scene: Hero Team ending. Lin: I can't believe he's dead. It's not over yet, Ron.
40. ^'Malin's KOF 10th anniversary profile'. King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website. Retrieved February 26, 2008.
41. ^SNK Playmore (2007-11-13). The King of Fighters XI. PlayStation 2. SNK Playmore. Malin: I can't stand her! She acts like she's barely even trying when she fights. Hmph! ... That Yuri had the nerve to say that my fighting style was cowardly! She's the weak one, right?
42. ^'Vice's KOF 10th anniversary profile'. King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website. Retrieved March 22, 2008.
43. ^'Mature's KOF 10th anniversary profile'. King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website. Retrieved February 19, 2008.
44. ^SNK (1996-07-30). The King of Fighters '96. Neo Geo. SNK. Mature: Are you shaking?/Vice: Yeah, he ain't normal. But, that guy... I mean... He's really tough./Iori: W, what? I can't see! Yaaah! Unnhhh! Gya... GWAAAAH!/Vice: Hey, Yagami, take it easy!/Mature: Oh, my God.../Iori: I, it's the... Riot of the Blood!/Vice: Gah. You mean there's nothing we can do?/Mature: Ooowaaaaah! Ya, Yagami!/Iori: GOOOWAAAAH!
45. ^'ザ・キング・オブ・ファイターズ XII』の発売日と価格が決定 - ファミ通.com' (in Japanese). Famitsu Magazine. Retrieved May 8, 2009.
46. ^'CHARACTER THE KING OF FIGHTERS XIII' (in Japanese). SNK Playmore. 2010-04-22. Retrieved 2010-04-22.
47. ^BrezzaSoft (2001-11-15). The King of Fighters 2001. Neo Geo. Eolith & Sun Amusement. Scene: Hero Team ending. Maxima: I must go to report to a friend that I have taken revenge. /K': A visit to the grave, eh? I guess you can't turn back time.
48. ^'Oswald 's Official Character Bio'. King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website (in Japanese). Retrieved March 3, 2008.
49. ^Arcadia Extra, ed. (2007). enterbrain mook ARCADIA EXTRA ~ The King of Fighters XI Conqueror's Guide; volume 28 (in Japanese). enterbrain. p. 231.
50. ^ ^abSNK Playmore (2007-11-13). The King of Fighters XI. PlayStation 2. SNK Playmore. Scene: Hero Team ending. Ash: You see, the drug known as 'Dragon Pills' is only made by a pharmacist in Shanghai. They won't sell it, but they will give it to anyone who defeats their mortal enemy, Shen Woo.
51. ^'The King of Fighters XIV - Oswald Trailer'. January 25, 2018. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
52. ^'Ramon's KOF 10th anniversary profile'. King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website. Retrieved March 7, 2008.
53. ^SNK (2000-04-26). The King of Fighters 2000. Neo Geo. SNK. Scene: Hero Team ending. Vanessa: The Zero Cannon's falling. How're you? Are you hurt?/Ramon: It's like I'm in heaven! I'm hot! I'm loose!/Vanessa: ...Give me a break.
54. ^'Saisyu Kusanagi's KOF 10th anniversary profile'. King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website. Retrieved March 3, 2008.
55. ^SNK (1995-07-25). The King of Fighters '95. Neo Geo. SNK. Kyo: I knew he wasn't dead. He'll find his way home./Benimaru: Yeah, I guess you're right./Kyo: Well, let's go back to Japan./Benimaru & Daimon: Yeah!/Saisyu: Kyo, you can't escape the Kusanagi fate. We face a greater battle, soon to begin. Strengthen yourself, Kyo. Good luck.
56. ^'Seth's KOF 10th anniversary profile'. King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website. Retrieved March 8, 2008.
57. ^SNK (2000-04-26). The King of Fighters 2000. Neo Geo. SNK. Scene: Benimaru Team ending. Shingo: ...Hey, what's wrong? You don't look so hot. Are you hurt?.../Seth: S...So quick! Developing faster than we planned...!!! If we don't hurry, we're all done for.
58. ^'Shen Woo's KOF 10th anniversary profile'. King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website. Retrieved February 27, 2008.
59. ^'Hero Team Official Story in KOF 2003'. King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website. Retrieved February 27, 2008.
60. ^Lövenberg, Malin. 'The Elven Slave and Conan The Barbarian: Male Sexualization in Video Games'(PDF): Page 34.
61. ^'Hero Team Official Story in KOF 2000'. King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website. Retrieved March 3, 2008.
62. ^'Agent Team Official Story in KOF XI'. King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website (in Japanese). Archived from the original on March 31, 2009. Retrieved March 3, 2008.
63. ^'Adelhied & Rose Story for The King of Fighters XI'. King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website (in Japanese). Retrieved March 28, 2008.
64. ^'Adelheid's KOF 10th anniversary profile'. King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website. Retrieved May 28, 2008.
65. ^SNK-Playmore (2003-12-12). The King of Fighters 2003. Neo Geo. SNK-Playmore. Scene: Adelheid ending. Rose: ...My brother...you lost! It cannot be! ...I will not release you! you will not go back alive!/Adelheid: Stop! Rose! Return them to the Earth... and land Sky-Noah./Rose: Brother, you're mistaken again! You must fight again!/Adelheid: Rose, defeat is defeat. To fight over and over until victory is meaningless...
66. ^'Rose's KOF 10th anniversary profile'. King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website. Retrieved May 28, 2008.
67. ^'Orochi's KOF 10th anniversary profile'. King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website. Retrieved March 7, 2008.
68. ^SNK Playmore (2007-11-13). The King of Fighters XI. PlayStation 2. SNK Playmore. Shion: Ugh... Cough... Damn it! Orochi still hasn't awakened?
69. ^SNK Playmore (1997-07-28). The King of Fighters '97. Neo Geo. SNK Playmore. Scene: Hero Team ending. Kyo: Rugal... Hakkesshu... Orochi... Certainly... A lot in a short time...
70. ^'Chris's KOF 10th anniversary profile'. King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website. Retrieved February 19, 2008.
71. ^SNK (1996-07-30). The King of Fighters '96. Neo Geo. SNK. Goenitz: I guess I understimated you. I never thought... but this isn't the end for you./Iori: Hah! 'ONE-FOR-THE-ROAD' BLAST!/Goenitz: AHHHHH!/Kyo: Hah! Eat this, pal! SERPENT WAVE!/Goenitz:GYAAAH! Why? Why is there no wind? GYAAAAAH!
72. ^'Krizalid Official Profile'. King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website. Retrieved May 16, 2008.
73. ^'Remembrance of KOF: An Interview with Eiji'. King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website. Archived from the original on October 17, 2007. Retrieved January 18, 2008.
74. ^'Zero (Original) Official Profile'. King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website. Retrieved January 18, 2008.
75. ^'Igniz Official Profile'. King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website. Retrieved May 15, 2008.
76. ^'Shion's Official Character Bio'. King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website (in Japanese). Retrieved May 31, 2008.
77. ^Arcadia Extra, ed. (2007). The King of Fighters XI Conqueror's Guide (in Japanese). 28. Enterbrain. p. 234.
78. ^Albiges, Lucke M. (2007-07-14). 'King Of Fighters XI Review'. Eurogamer. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
79. ^Clements, Ryan (2007-12-18). 'King of Fighters XI Review'. IGN. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
80. ^Sparrow, A. E. (2006-04-13). 'King of Fighters '94 Review'. IGN. Retrieved 2008-08-04.
81. ^Kasavin, Greg (2005-02-11). 'The King of Fighters 02/03 Review'. GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
82. ^ ^abPark, Andrew Seyoon (2000-12-13). 'The King of Fighters '99 Review'. GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
83. ^'History Of... The King of Fighters, SNK's classic team-based 2D fighting series'. 1UP.com. Archived from the original on 2015-08-16. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
84. ^Turner, Benjamin (2003-12-30). 'The King of Fighters 2000/2001 (PS2) Review'. GameSpy. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
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92. ^'Universal Fighting System (UFS) Card Game Samurai Showdown & King of Fighters Booster Pack'. Amazon.com. Retrieved 2008-09-02.
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External links[edit]

The King of Fighters XIII (Japanese: ザ・キング・オブ・ファイターズ XIII) is a fighting game in The King of Fighters series, developed and published by SNK Playmore originally in 2010. King of Fighters XIII was released for Japanese arcades on July 14, 2010, while ports for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 were during late 2011 in Japan and English regions, with Atlus USA and Rising Star Games being in charge of releasing them in the United States and Europe respectively. Versions for iOS and Android followed in 2011–2012. A PC version was released on Steam on September 13, 2013.

The game is set after the events from The King of Fighters XI and is also the conclusion of Ash Crimson's story arc, which started in The King of Fighters 2003. It follows another King of Fighters tournament secretly hosted by Those From the Distance Land, the organization behind the events from the two prior games that are trying to break the seal of the demon Orochi and take its power.

Released after The King of Fighters XII, the game was directed by Kei Yamamoto who wanted to bring elements from prior The King of Fighters titles and fix issues from the prior game. This title significantly modifies the gameplay from its predecessor, removing some modes, and adding ones formerly used in the series. It also expands the character roster, re-grouping the playable characters into three-member teams as in the prior installments. The ports are notable for including more content than the original version such as new characters, stages and game modes. Critical reception has been positive.

• 5Release

Gameplay[edit]

The game removes some of the gameplay system features used in the prior game: the Guard Attack, the Critical Counter, the Clash System, as well as the dynamic, zooming camera. In their place, three new features have been added. The first of the three is the new EX Mode, which convert each character's super moves into more powerful versions that allows one bar from the player's power gauge for EX Special Moves and two bars from the player's power gauge for EX Super Special Moves. Another new feature is the Hyper Drive mode, which gives the player unlimited use of Drive Cancels for a while once the Hyper Drive Gauge has been maxed, and the last new feature confirmed for the game is the Drive Cancel, which opens up new combo possibilities. The game also marks the return of the multi-bar power gauge that was introduced in The King of Fighters '97.^[9] In addition to standard and EX Desperation Moves, a new class of Desperation Move called Neo Max is included in the game and require that three stocks of gauge be exchanged to perform one, making it similar to Hidden Super Desperation Moves from The King of Fighters 2002 and Leader Super Special Moves from The King of Fighters 2003. These can also be cancelled from standard Desperation Moves, making them similar to the Dream Cancels from The King of Fighters XI.^[10]

The console version is based on the 1.1 update of The King of Fighters XIII arcade which fixed several issues from the original version.^[11] It also contains a story mode that influenced by the player's actions with various perspectives being available. The mode is presented in visual novel style alongside fights, something considered to be hard to include in the arcade version by the SNK Playmore staff.^[12] Other modes shown are Arcade, Practice and Challenge.^[13] The online gameplay is based on the one included in later versions of The King of Fighters XII, which fixed the issues the initial one had.^[11]

Plot[edit]

The game takes place after The King of Fighters XI and is the last game of the third story arc that started in The King of Fighters 2003.^[9] The fighter Ash Crimson has absorbed the powers from two of the descendants of the clans who sealed the Orochi away 1,800 years ago, Chizuru Kagura and Iori Yagami, while Kyo Kusanagi is to be his last victim. As his former comrade, Elisabeth Blanctorche, prepares to stop him, fighters receive an invitation to another King of Fighters tournament hosted by a person labelled as 'R'.^[14] The tournament is sponsored by Rose who is being controlled by 'Those From The Past', the organization behind the two prior tournaments that has been trying to break Orochi's seal.

When the winning team reaches the game's end, Saiki, the leader of 'Those From The Past' puts his work into motion. Saiki intends to use the energy expended by the winning team to enable him to cross time. However, as the fight rages, Botan notes that the gate that links them to the past is starting to close despite the battle. Before Saiki can act, he is ambushed by Ash Crimson, who steals his power. It is revealed then that, while Ash was enlisted by Saiki to obtain the Three Sacred Treasures to power the time gate, Ash had no intention of helping Saiki. Ash is suddenly overtaken by Saiki's persona, who then attempts to cross the time gate in Ash's body. The winning team pursues him into the time gate and the final battle of The King of Fighters XIII begins inside the time gate. Saiki is defeated in the gate but persists on crossing over to the past, believing it means nothing since he can return to the past and then cross the gate again to attempt his plan anew. However, Ash halts his attempt and allows the gate to close, leaving Saiki trapped in the present. Furthermore, Ash reveals that he is a descendant of Saiki. By locking Saiki out of the gate, he denies Saiki's existence in the past and forces his own existence to cease. As Ash vanishes from the living world, the flow of time resumes. In the epilogue of the Story Mode, in the dimensional rift, a spear appeared in front of Shroom and Rimelo, two members of Those From The Past who faced Kyo in the opening of the game (Console version). More surprising, Shion appeared before them, revealed that he's still alive.

Characters[edit]

The roster of The King of Fighters XIII features all the characters who appeared in The King of Fighters XII, including the two console-exclusive characters, Elisabeth Branctorche and Mature. Three new characters come in the form of The King of Fighters '94 Women's Team (Yuri Sakazaki, King and Mai Shiranui).^[15] Unlike The King of Fighters XII, all of the characters are organized into proper teams this time with the exception of Ash, who is now a single entry character.^[16]

On April 22, 2010, Famitsu reported the addition of two new characters to the game: Vice for Iori Yagami's team and Takuma Sakazaki for the Art of Fighting team. The official website was soon updated with the changes as well as adding a storyline for Iori's team,^[16] and on the April 23, 2010 location test at Hong Kong, Hwa Jai from Fatal Fury: King of Fighters was confirmed to be in the game as the final member of Kim Kaphwan's team.^[17] The first member of the final team, K′, was revealed on April 30 with his addition to the roster page.^[16]Maxima was also revealed as the second member of K's Team via addition to the roster page on May 7 and one week later, the final character for K's Team, Kula Diamond, was introduced in the same way.^[16]Saiki, the manipulator behind the events of The King of Fighters XIII, appears as sub-boss while an alternate form of Ash Crimson known as Evil Ash appears as the final boss.

On June 28, 2011, Famitsu reported the addition of Billy Kane from Fatal Fury: King of Fighters as a console version exclusive character.^[18] On July 29, 2011, the human form of Saiki was also announced to be playable, while the original Iori Yagami to be featured as downloadable content (DLC) EX form for original Iori.^[19] Following original Iori's appearance, Atlus announced 'NESTS Style Kyo', which features Kyo Kusanagi's moveset from The King of Fighters '99, as another downloadable EX form for original Kyo.^[20] As a result of a technical error, the patch was delayed to January 1, 2012 for the PlayStation 3.^[21] A new DLC including bugfixes (mainly on online mode) and Mr. Karate (Takuma Sakazaki's alter ego, but loosely based on Honki ni Natta version from SVC Chaos: SNK vs. Capcom) as a new EX form for Takuma became available on January 11, 2012.^[22]

Development[edit]

SNK Playmore announced The King of Fighters XIII in February 2010.^[23] There was a preview of the game that was held on March 25, 2010 in Akihabara.^[24] The game design director, Kei Yamamoto, stated that he wanted the game to be played by the fans of the series who would be able to use their experience from prior titles. Additionally, however, he did not want the game to be too similar to its predecessors, though he and his staff's aim for the game is to capture the charm from prior titles such as readdition of gameplay rules from older titles. The gameplay was also modified to have faster battles to be enjoyed by gamers. Yamamoto labelled the theme of the game as 'KOF-ism' (KOFイズム).^[25] SNK Playmore president Ryo Mizufune expressed excitement for the game's release, commenting that they wanted to release a game that would surpass fans' expectations and could become as popular as The King of Fighters '98. They listened to fans' suggestions during development of the game to incorporate them.^[26]

The staff in charge wanted to pay attention to the number of details given to the game's graphics. Regarding the story, they paid attention to its flow, mentioning the final version was not significantly different from the first one.^[27] Because the prior game, The King of Fighters XII, suffered from various technical issues, developers also worked in fixing them to improve the gameplay.^[28] However, the initial arcade version from the game suffered from four notable bugs which led to special rules forbidding players to use them in at Japan's Tougeki – Super Battle Opera fighting game tournament.^[29] An updated version 1.1 was later released for arcades, fixing all the bugs and issues from the original game.^[11]

In choosing characters, developers wanted to include ones that would give a notable contrast and balance between teams rather than popularity within fans, expanding the 'KOF-ism' theme.^[30] Characters like Kyo Kusanagi were made to fight at short distances rather than his original forms from the series' first two games where he relied in attacks performed from distance to emphasize the balance within the cast.^[31] The first Neo Max technique made by the staff was Kyo's. As a result, following Neo Max attacks were made to be consistent with Kyo's Neo Max in their style and damage.^[32] Returning characters such as the K' Team were adjusted so that they would play in a similar fashion to prior titles, which resulted in several revisions of mechanics.^[33] King and Mai Shiranui were made based on their Art of Fighting and Fatal Fury incarnations, respectively, rather than their The King of Fighters ones.^[34]

Release[edit]

Home version[edit]

In June 2011, SNK Playmore confirmed that the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 console versions were in the works and would be released on October 27, 2011 in Japan.^[18][35] In September 2011, however, SNK delayed the game's release date to an unspecified one from the same year,^[36] later leaving it to December 1, 2011.^[3] The ports add several game modes not seen in the original version as well as new characters.^[28]

Atlus had confirmed that they would publish the game on October 25, 2011 in North America,^[37] but later delayed it until November 22.^[2] Pre-orders for the game included a four-CD soundtrack from the series; the preorders e notably increased following the announcement.^[38]Rising Star Games confirmed the release date at October 28, 2011 in Europe.^[39]

Various new arenas were added for the home version, with some of them being originally from the Art of Fighting and Fatal Fury series. The others are based on places briefly seen in cutscenes from The King of Fighters.^[40][41] All of the characters had their movesets adjusted for better balance as a response to issues found in the arcade versions.^[42] Downloadable content was also made available, including variants of existing characters.^[43][44]

Mobile[edit]

An iOS version was also released on July 7, 2011 under the title of The King of Fighters-i.^[5] It was also brought to Android-based devices on March 22, 2012, as The King of Fighters Android.^[7]

Kei Yamamoto was also in charge of this version, but the developed team consisted of another one that did not work in the arcade version. The staff had trouble adapting the game to the iOS due to lack of balances of moves and enemies' intelligences. The initial roster was reduced although six more characters became available by September 2011 alongside an updated version. Billy Kane was included as a result of his popularity within fans, although some were confused by the absence of Iori Yagami. Depending on the game's popularity, the staff may port it to other consoles.^[45]

The King of Fighters-i 2012, an updated version featuring 12 new characters and other modes. It was released for the iOS platform on May 3, 2012.^[6]

Though all EX DLC form characters are also downloadable in these mobile versions however, Mr. Karate is not included, including a human form of Saiki who are still console-exclusive character.

The King of Fighters XIII: Climax[edit]

A new arcade version of the game, titled The King of Fighters XIII: Climax, was announced on February 2012. It added the characters introduced on the console version and featured additional rebalancing. Location tests began that same month.^[46][47]Climax was officially released in Japanese arcades on April 26, 2012.^[8]

A Windows port, featuring all three DLC characters, was released on Steam in September 2013.^[48][49] This port was based on the Climax release for arcades.^[50] A Galaxy Edition also based on the Climax release was released on GOG.com on September 14, 2018.^[51]

Merchandise[edit]

An official guidebook from the series was published by Arcadia in Japan on August 6, 2010, as The King of Fighters XIII Master Guide.^[52] An official soundtrack was released on August 4, 2010. It is composed of two CDs, with the first one having 15 tracks and the second 37.^[53] A four-CD official soundtrack The King of Soundtracks was included with the English pre-orders of the game.^[38]

Reception[edit]

Following its release, The King of Fighters XIII received positive reviews, taking an average of 77 and 79 out of 100 on Metacritic.^[55][56]GameSpot awarded it as Best Fighting Game of the Year^[65] and as the Most Improved Sequel.^[66] It was also nominated for 2011 Spike Video Game Awards,^[67] 2011 Golden Joystick Awards^[68] and Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences's 2012 D.I.C.E. Summit awards^[69] for the best fighting game of the year, but every time lost to Mortal Kombat.

The gameplay was given major praise with critics from GameSpot and 1UP.com comparing it with critically acclaimed fighting games like Street Fighter IV and finding the execution satisfying despite possible difficulties to newcomers to the franchise.^[59][61] The visual presentation was complimented to the point GamePro stated that the game 'has an incredibly distinct – and incredibly beautiful – visual style to it.'^[60] SNK Playmore was noted to have listened to all the fans' concerns regarding the game as the character roster was increased, with the notable return of fan favorite characters.^[59][60] On the other hand, the game has received criticism as a result of the its story mode which is nearly inaccessible to those unfamiliar with the series as well as its use of illustration alongside large paragraphs telling the plot. Similar comments were given to the online modes as it lacked options to allow players to watch other online fights.^[61][62]

The PlayStation 3 version of the game sold 21,525 copies in Japan during its first week of release.^[70] At the game's (and the series') Evolution Championship Series debut in 2012, it became the second-most-watched game of the series at over 90,000 consecutive viewers, thanks to a highly competitive tournament.^[71] In 2012, Complex ranked it as the third best SNK fighting game ever made, calling it 'one of this generation’s finest fighters.'^[72] The magazine also ranked it as the eighth best 2D fighting game of all time in 2013, stating: 'A hit at EVO both this year, and the last, we predict that XIII will be sticking around for years to come.'^[73]GamesRadar listed it as the 8th best fighting from its generation.^[74]

References[edit]

1. ^'The King of Fighters XIII Details'. March 25, 2010. Archived from the original on July 15, 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2010.
2. ^ ^ab'The King of Fighters XIII – Full Trailer (PlayStation 3)'. GameSpot. Retrieved September 28, 2011.
3. ^ ^ab'King of Fighters XIII Redated'. Andriasang. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
4. ^'The King of Fighters XIII EU publisher homepage'. Rising Star Games. Archived from the original on September 26, 2011. Retrieved September 22, 2011.
5. ^ ^ab'The King Of Fighters-i Comes To iPhone With KOF XIII Characters'. Siliconera. July 6, 2011. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
6. ^ ^ab'The King of Fighters-i 2012 for iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPod touch (3rd generation), iPod touch (4th generation), iPod touch (5th generation) and iPad on the iTunes App Store'. Itunes.apple.com. October 24, 2012. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
7. ^ ^ab'THE KING OF FIGHTERS Android – Android-apps on Google Play'. Play.google.com. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
8. ^ ^ab'The King of Fighters XIII Climax Hits Arcades Today'. Andriasang. April 26, 2012. Retrieved April 26, 2012.
9. ^ ^abGantayat, Anoop (March 25, 2010). 'King of Fighters XIII Formally Announced'. IGN. Retrieved March 26, 2010.
10. ^'Neo Max超必殺技 ＆ Maxキャンセル The King of Fighters XIII' (in Japanese). SNK Playmore. Archived from the original on April 25, 2010. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
11. ^ ^abcPark, Andrew (August 3, 2011). 'E3 2011: The King of Fighters XIII Hands-On Preview – Early Details'. GameSpot. Retrieved June 9, 2011.
12. ^ストーリーについて (in Japanese). SNK Playmore. September 14, 2011. Retrieved September 15, 2011.
13. ^'Atlus Unveils 4-CD Bonus Soundtrack Compilation for The King of Fighters XIII'. IGN. July 29, 2011. Retrieved July 31, 2011.
14. ^'The King of Fighters XIII Story' (in Japanese). SNK Playmore. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
15. ^'アッシュ編がついに完結！ 舞にユリ、キングも参戦する『KOF XIII』は夏稼働 – 電撃オンライン' (in Japanese). Dengeki Online. March 25, 2010. Retrieved March 25, 2010.
16. ^ ^abcd'The King of Fighters XIII Characters' (in Japanese). SNK Playmore. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
17. ^'KOF XIII Hong Kong location test, with Hwa Jai gameplay' (in Chinese). April 23, 2010.
18. ^ ^ab'The King Of Fighters XIII On PS3 And Xbox 360 Adds Billy Kane'. Siliconera. Retrieved June 28, 2011.
19. ^開発プロデューサーからご挨拶！ (in Japanese). SNK Playmore. July 29, 2011. Retrieved August 1, 2011.
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