The King of Fighters
| The King of Fighters | |
|---|---|
| developer | SNK |
| Publisher | SNK |
| First title | The King of Fighters '94 (1994) |
| Last title | The King of Fighters XIV (2016) |
| Platform (s) | Dreamcast , Game Boy , GBA , Neo Geo , Neo Geo CD , Neo Geo Pocket , PlayStation , PS2 , PS3 , PSP , Saturn , Wii , Nintendo Switch Windows , Xbox , Xbox 360 |
| Genre (s) | Fighting Game |
The King of Fighters (or KOF for short ) is a fighting game series from SNK that made its debut in 1994. The manufacturer combined elements and figures from the in-house series Fatal Fury and Art of Fighting and also brought back figures from games before the Neo Geo era, such as Ikari Warriors and Psycho Soldier .
The King of Fighters introduced the 3-on-3 team combat system, as well as other elements such as Attack Deflector (dodging) and Emergency Escape (rolling), which were later used in many other games.
A feature of the series is that a new edition of The King of Fighters has appeared every year since 1994 , continuing the story of the series. Up until 2003, each part was published for the Neo-Geo hardware, which was already very old at the time. Since it reached the limits of its capabilities and the emulation of the Neo Geo was practically perfect (which in turn made software piracy easy), SNK abandoned the Neo Geo and announced that it would use the Atomiswave hardware platform for future editions . In December 2004 it was announced that the series would no longer be released every year.
chronology
Most of the games in the series were developed for the Neo Geo and later implemented for the current consoles of the time. Other games called King of Fighters exist for the Game Boy , Game Boy Advance, and Neo Geo Pocket , for example .
The story of King of Fighters is divided into three legends with various chapters and a sub-chapter called "Dream Match". However, this sub-chapter has no influence on the main story, it only combines characters from old and new games in the series in one issue. The first game in the series, KOF '94 , is a minor exception as it tells the main story and can also be seen as part of the "Dream Match".
In every previous edition of the King of Fighters , one of the characters is specifically addressed. This is the hero in this story, but this distribution of roles changes with each episode of the saga. The team in which the hero of the story plays is generally referred to as the hero team. Throughout the Orochi saga, Kyo Kusanagi is the main hero and his team remains unchanged. In the NESTS saga, K ' occupies this role, and the team of heroes is changed several times. In the new saga ( The King of Fighters 2003 ) again, Ash Crimson is placed in the limelight. Alba Meira and Soiree Meira play the leading roles in Maximum Impact .
The story of the King of Fighters tournament, after which the series was named, began in Fatal Fury and continued in Fatal Fury 2 .
Main series
The orochi saga
- The King of Fighters '94 (Chapter 1)
- As a continuation of the story from the Fatal Fury series, the King of Fighters tournament begins again. Sponsored by Rugal Bernstein, there will be team fights with 3 members per team for the first time in the tournament.
- The King of Fighters '95 (Chapter 2)
- Teams from all over the world fight against Rugal Bernstein, who wants to use the power of Orochi for himself.
- The King of Fighters '96 (Chapter 3)
- After the fall of Rugal, the teams return to battle the mysterious Goenitz.
- The King of Fighters '97 (Chapter 4)
- The tournament continues with 9 teams and two lone fighters to destroy the evil Orochi and his servants.
- The King of Fighters '98 - The Slugfest / The King of Fighters '98 - Dream Match Never Ends
- Regardless of the main story of KOF. This episode contains fighters and elements from the previous ones.
The NESTS saga
- The King of Fighters '99 - Millennium Battle (Chapter 5)
- After the fall of Orochi and the disappearance of Kyo Kusanagi, the KOF tournament will continue. Krizalid wants to use the tournament to usurp world domination . For the first time, a new combat system called the "Striker System" is introduced.
- The King of Fighters 2000 (Chapter 6)
- The tournament is back, this time the battles will be used to power the Zero Cannon.
- The King of Fighters 2001 (Chapter 7)
- New fighters enter the arenas and old warriors return to crush the real leader of NESTS, Igniz. This is the first KOF game developed by the Eolith company.
- The King of Fighters 2002 - Challenge to the Ultimate Battle
- This episode brings back the classic three-on-three combat system and includes teams from the predecessor. The final opponent is also a familiar face: Rugal Bernstein, who competes as Omega Rugal with new, powerful improvements.
The "Tales of Ash" saga
- The King of Fighters 2003
- Starts a new main line in the story of "King of Fighters", some of the old fighters return and the new lead character Ash Crimson is introduced. This game also introduces the tag team combat system in KOF.
- The King of Fighters XI (2005)
- First part of the series that no longer appears for the Neo Geo .
- The King of Fighters XII (2009)
- Contains completely redrawn animations for all fighters, but has no story.
- The King of Fighters XIII (2010)
- Continue the story from KOFXI and end the "Tales of Ash" saga
more publishments
- The King of Fighters XIV (2016)
- First part of the main series of 3D characters used.
Remakes
- The King of Fighters NeoWave (2004)
- A title that should serve to introduce KOF to the “Atomiswave” hardware . It is considered an expanded remake of The King of Fighters 2002 , but it also includes some new features.
- The King of Fighters '94 RE-BOUT (2004)
- An expanded remake of The King of Fighters '94 .
- The King of Fighters '98: Ultimate Match (2008)
- An expanded version of The King of Fighters '98 .
- The King of Fighters '98: Ultimate Match Final Edition (2010)
- Another remake of KOF98 and a reworked version of Ultimate Match .
- The King of Fighters 2002: Unlimited Match (2009)
- A remake of The King of Fighters 2002 .
Other games outside of the main series
- Nettou The King of Fighters '95
- An adaptation of The King of Fighters '95 for the Game Boy, which includes a hidden final opponent, Nakoruru, from the Samurai Showdown series.
- Nettou The King of Fighters '96
- An adaptation of The King of Fighters '96 for the Game Boy. This also includes versions of Leona and Iori Yagami, and a hidden final opponent: Mr. Karate from Art of Fighting .
- The King of Fighters R-1
- An adaptation of The King of Fighters '97 for the Neo-Geo Pocket
- The King of Fighters R-2
- An adaptation of The King of Fighters '98 for the Neo-Geo Pocket
- The King of Fighters: Battle de Paradise
- Board game with themes from KOF, published for the Neo-Geo Pocket.
- The King of Fighters EX: Neo Blood
- An adaptation of The King of Fighters '99 for the Game Boy Advance , with a new fighter named Moe Habana and Geese Howard as final boss.
- The King of Fighters EX2: Howling Blood
- A conversion of The King of Fighters' 2000 for the Game Boy Advance, with 4 new playable fighters and a completely new boss.
- The King of Fighters Kyo
- A role-playing game for the PlayStation that was only released in Japan. The game follows the story of Kyo shortly before the events of KOF '97.
- King of Fighters: Maximum Impact
- An offshoot of the series, produced by a former SNK subsidiary called Noise Factory. The first KOF game to be released exclusively for consoles and the first 3D fighting game based on the series. However, the game is more reminiscent of Fatal Fury than of its namesake.
- The King of Fighters: Maximum Impact 2
- The successor to KOF: Maximum Impact
- The King of Fighters: Maximum Impact Regulation A.
- A revised version of Maximum Impact 2 that introduces the 3 versus 3 combat system from the main series in the Maximum Impact series. Does not contain any story elements.
Anime
The four-part web anime called The King of Fighters: Another Day was released in 2005 and 2006 . Each episode has a playing time of around ten minutes.
filming
As the Japanese magazine Famitsu reported, filming began in Canada in late November 2009. The finished film found its way into cinemas in 2010, but mostly received no good reviews. Directed by Gordon Chan. Actors in the film are u. a. Maggie Q, Sean Faris, Will Yun Lee, Ray Park, David Leitch.
The best fighters in the world have been transported to another dimension and compete against each other there. The megalomaniac Rugal has stolen three old artifacts with which he has the opportunity to acquire the legendary "Orochi" and thereby immeasurable power. It is now up to the "King of Fighters" participants to prevent this.
