The King of Fighters series has been around since the arcades had Street Fighter 2 introduced in the arcades. Created from the folks at SNK based in Osaka, the series has introduced three-on-three team fighting gameplay, an epic story, and a colorful cast of fighters. In case you didn’t know, the twelfth game is coming out for consoles at the end of the month.
Of course, there are some unfortunate souls who haven’t heard of this timeless franchise, which is where we come into play. Throughout the entire week, we’ll be going through the alphabet from A to Z while explaining the elements and things that makes King of Fighters what it is today. Kinda like a dummies’ guide to KOF of sorts.
A is for Agility
KOF’s 2-D combat theatrics is anything but slow-paced. Every character in its large roster can do an evasive roll, do short and high jumps in addition to their regular jump, dash and backstep. Other iterations of the game lets you substitute your roll for an on-the-spot dodge and cancel your block into an evasive roll. Either way, it’s a full-on game of bait-and-switch and dodging until you can fake out your opponent into attacking, thus letting lose the punishment set in store for him or her.
B is for Boss Syndrome
Perhaps the most infamous feature of KOF, the endgame bosses have the ability to counter everything you throw at them, thanks to the combination of static and unfairly-programmed A.I and high-priority moves. Case in point: Rugal’s Genocide Cutter, Goenitz’s “Tornado At Where You Stand†move, Orochi’s screen-clearing Super, etc…. At the very least, each of these endgame encounters prove to be a challenge to veterans as well as a fight that would keep the community talking.
C is for Cross Overs
With Fatal Fury Special’s idea of putting in Art of Fighting’s Ryo Sakazaki as the game’s special overpowered boss, SNK was on to something for their then-upcoming hit fighting game. Suddenly, characters from all of SNK’s games were perfect fodder for fighting game character material, ranging from Ikari Warriors to Psycho Soldiers. Other companies followed suit after this idea was established, with Capcom going very far to including comic book characters.
D is for Deaths
I don't know, but you both will...
SNK’s storywriters love fiddling with the mortality rate of each and every character in the KOF-verse. Starting with Rugal in 95, we went to fan-favorites Vice and Mature (death by crazed Iori), the trio of Yashiro, Chris, and Shermie (death by ritualistic suicide), and even Chizuru Kagura (death by Ash Crimson). Up until KOF XII, SNK has not pulled any “resurrection deus ex machine†on gamers.
E is for Esaka
The theme song for the Kusanagi team is labeled as Esaka. What is the meaning behind the word? Well, the name is derived from a train station of the same name. Esaka Station is located on the Osaka Municipal Subway Midosuji Line located in Suita, Osaka Prefecture. Keeping in mind the fact that SNK’s office was located in Osaka (as well as the Kusanagi team’s backdrop set behind a train station filled with people watching in KOF ’94), and the connections of this cryptic song title is made apparent.
F is for Fire
A major theme of the game is the presence of fire. You’ve got the mystical kind of fire, generated from main character Kyo Kusanagi (red-colored), antagonists Iori Yagami(purple, meaning it’s Orochi-tainted) and Ash Crimson (green). You’ve also got the implausible science-created flame, borne out of KOF 1999’s star K’ (pronounced as “Kay-Dashâ€) and a bunch of Kyo clones created out of world-domination faction N.E.S.T.S. Each of the story entries revolve around acquiring the power of said fire, either through spiritual or genetic-modifying means.
Stick around, as I try to find ways to postpone this feature due to my ineptitude to link G with anything else that isn’t labeled “Goenitz”.
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Yeah! KoF XII ! ^_^
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Currently Chizuru isn’t dead; she just isn’t able to fight anymore (hopefully for now) after what the faggot Ash did to her; stealing her powers (how can he!?).
My guess will be U for Unfair (see B for Boss Syndrome).
G for the underrated grapplers in XII ?! :O Clark ftw! ^_^