What is The King of Fighters
The King of Fighters is a fighting game developed by SNK and has been around since August 25, 1994. Latest game is KOF XV released on February 17, 2022 and that’s last one I played. For folks, who don’t know what KOF is, I will give you a rundown. The King of Fighters is about a tournament with spilt into 3 members or more (later games). Each character is from other SNK titles such as Ikari Warriors, Fatal Fury and Psycho Solider. Doing the tournament, supernatural things happen like turning someone to stone, fighting an entity and many more. The King of Fighters is a rival to Capcom’s Street Fighter series. Later on, having a crossover called “Capcom vs SNK” or “SNK vs Capcom SVC Chaos”. Idea of a crossover sparks went Ryu was guest character in Fatal Fury Special. Another one was a prototype version of River City Ransom style beat’em but was abandoned for fighting game.
The King of Fighters 96 broke technical limits of MVS System with its 68 to 64 KB video ram. SNK was about to go bankrupt after Art of Fighting 3 and Fatal Fury 3. The company focused on KOF franchise which was the selling point of their career. Even KOF was not popular in USA but in Latin countries. KOF was a major hit and due to its success. It spawns live action movie, anime and merchandise also crossover with other fighting games. In gameplay, it’s a turn-based fighting game not really tag-team match. Combat is very simple with its 4-button scheme unlike 6-button which Street Fighter has. There are offense moves such as pushback, charging (in some games) and max move to preform “Super Special Move”. Defense option is counterattack while blocking, rolling and evading.
Its KOF Thing
The King of Fighters mechanics is very easy to pick up and beginning of the game. There is a tutorial on how to play actually game. As far, characters and their movesets goes, Its just like any other 2D fighter. For example, Kyo is the Ryu of the game and good for beginners. Angel is the most complex character along with Geese Howard. There are pros and cons of each character in KOF. Once you learn your character and get the ring just like Real Bout. In arcade, went you defeat all the opponents. Here comes the boss and it will be not easy due to “SNK Boss Syndrome”. SNK Boss Syndrome is went a boss is maining overpowered and players have trouble defeating. There are bosses like Rugal Bernsetin, Orochi, Original Zero and Verse. Each KOF storyline has different arcs such as Rugal, Orochi, NESTS and Ash Saga. Personally, A lot of people pefer Orochi Saga because Iori Yagami, Chizuru and Kyo Kusanagi work together to defeat due to their clan.
During that arc, we get a introduce in three followers of Orochi. It consists of Chris, Shermie and Yashiro Nanakase, who wants to awaken Orochi. These characters use the same elements as Hero Team. Chris can generate flames like Kyo and rival to him. Shermie use electricity like Benimaru and Yashiro has earth like Goro Daimon. Goentiz is one of the members of Orochi’s Four Heavenly Kings along with Team Orochi. He is also main antagonist and final boss of KOF 96 to stop Chizuru Kagura from gather warrior to prevent Orochi awakening. Other than, NESTS was about cloning of Kyo and Zero in the saga. We got a new protagonist K’ which Kyo and Iori takes a stepback. Also, got a introduction to Kula Diamond, a NESTS experiment with no emotion and control cyrokinesis. Kula turns into the most popular character in KOF along with Angel and Athena Asamiya.
Closing
KOF is still going strong in Mexico and other rural areas of the world. I am not a huge fan of the franchise. See it for what it is, character roster, movesets and predictable storyline. All of your SNK characters fighting to become the King of Fighters. KOF has crossover with Street Fighter, WWE and many more in AllStars (which is a mobile game). You can play them in order ranging from 94 to XV. Enjoy some online play with players around the world and testing your skills. I know in the early games there is some unlockable characters but now you have to pay DLC for them.
The King of Fighters is very competitive game with a smaller following and presence in the FGC. This series is SNK strongest IP and have a cult following like cosplayers, fanart and many more. Myself, I am not a huge fan of KOF series but recognize is a casual fighting game for beginners. I can see Mexican players enjoying this game due to the presence instead of US fighting games fanatics. Tell me what you think of The King of Fighters franchise in the comments below. You can buy them on Amazon or download them on Steam. Thank you for reading this blogpost and tune in for more articles for yours truly.
- Classic popular characters, revived characters, new characters, and more! The most epic dream match in KOF history is about to begin!
- The latest KOF Saga continues from the previous title in Story Mode. This time, the story is coming to an explosive climax!
- Inheriting the series' traditional 3-on-3 team battle, KOF XV also features a new system. Enjoy an unprecedented sense of speed and freshness!
- Rollback netcode has been adopted to reduce lag in online matches. There are also a variety of battle options that allow you to choose how you want to play!
- Includes a Gallery with movies and voices, and a new DJ STATION with over 300 popular songs from the KOF series and more.
- Six years have passed since the last title in the series, and now KOF XV surpasses all of its predecessors in terms of graphics, systems, and online experience
- A total of 39 characters are participating - Classic popular characters, revived characters, new characters, and more
