List of SNK characters - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Characters

This section lists the characters in the original game, and characters added or removed in subsequent releases.
Dr. Brown (From NEOGEO Heroes)

The existence of this unplayable character and his connection to the concept of time travel appear to pay homage to Doc Brown from the Back to the Future
Back to the Future
Back to the Future is a 1985 American science-fiction adventure film. It was directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale, produced by Steven Spielberg, and starred Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover and Thomas F. Wilson. The film tells the story of...

film trilogy now Neo Geo Heroes: Ultimate Shooting
Neo Geo Heroes: Ultimate Shooting
Neo Geo Heroes: Ultimate Shooting is a shooting game developed for the PSP. It was released in Japan on July 29th...

.

Iroha (from Samurai Shodown VI
Samurai Shodown VI
Samurai Shodown VI, known as in Japan, is the tenth iteration in the Samurai Shodown series.- Gameplay :The game features new backgrounds with 2D and 3D elements, as well as a returning cast of all 28 characters from Samurai Shodown V Special, 2 sub-boss from "Samurai Shodown V", as well as all 7...

)
Marco Rossi (from Metal Slug
Metal Slug
is a run and gun video game for the Neo-Geo console/arcade platform developed by Nazca Corporation and published by SNK. It was originally released in 1996 for the MVS arcade platform. The game is widely known for its sense of humor, fluid hand-drawn animation, and fast paced two-player action...

)
Akari Ichijo (from The Last Blade
The Last Blade
, is a fighting game series created by SNK for the Neo Geo system. The Korean version of the game is known as "The Last Soldier". The Last Blade and its sequel are widely considered to be two of the most accomplished games available for the Neo Geo system, with fan opinion divided as to which is...

)
Kyo Kusanagi
Kyo Kusanagi
is one of the main characters in SNK Playmore's The King of Fighters video game series; he was first introduced in The King of Fighters '94 as the leader of the Japan team. He is one of the iconic characters of the series and regularly appears on publicity material and merchandise. His name and...

(from The King of Fighters '94
The King of Fighters '94
The King of Fighters '94 is a fighting game released by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home console. It is the inaugural game in The King of Fighters series by the same company. The game was originally ported to the Neo Geo AES and Neo-Geo CD following its original arcade release...

)
Iori Yagami
Iori Yagami
is a character from the SNK Playmore's The King of Fighters video game series that first appeared in The King of Fighters '95 as the leader of the Rivals Team. He is an iconic character of the series, and regularly appears on publicity material and merchandise. Iori is a central character to the...

(from The King of Fighters '95
The King of Fighters '95
The King of Fighters '95 is a fighting game produced by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home console. It is the sequel to The King of Fighters '94 and the second game in The King of Fighters series...

)
Terry Bogard
Terry Bogard
is a video game character created by SNK Playmore , and is the main character of the Fatal Fury series. In the series, he is an American fighter who enters the worldwide tournaments called The King of Fighters to kill Geese Howard, a criminal who killed Terry's father. Terry becomes a formidable...

(from Fatal Fury
Fatal Fury: King of Fighters
is a 1991 head-to-head fighting game released by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home platforms. Fatal Fury was SNK's first fighting game for the Neo Geo system and served as the inaugural game in their Fatal Fury series, as well as the first game to depict the fictional "King of Fighters" tournament...

)
Mai Shiranui
Mai Shiranui
is a player character in both the Fatal Fury and The King of Fighters series of fighting games by SNK and in related media, also appearing in a large number of other games...

(from Fatal Fury 2
Fatal Fury 2
is a 1992 fighting video game released by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home platforms. It is the sequel to Fatal Fury: King of Fighters and the second game in the Fatal Fury franchise.-Gameplay:...

)
Athena Asamiya
Athena Asamiya
is a character originally from the former SNK's video game Psycho Soldier and a descendant of Princess Athena in its Athena. She later appears in The King of Fighters series of fighting games as a female fighter character and has appeared in each of its thirteen editions...

(from Psycho Soldier
Psycho Soldier
is an action arcade game developed by Japanese software company SNK that was originally released in 1986 and internationally in 1987. It is somewhat of a sequel to Athena released a year earlier, Psycho Soldier continues the adventures of Athena, and is noteworthy for being the first video game...

)
Kula Diamond (from The King of Fighters 2000
The King of Fighters 2000
The King of Fighters 2000 is a competitive fighting game produced by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home platforms. It is the seventh installment in The King of Fighters series for the Neo Geo, as well as the final one produced by SNK before the bankruptcy. The game was ported to the Sega...

)
SYDIII Pilot - mysterious female character voiced by Megumi Toyoguchi; originated from Alpha Mission; pilots a SYD III ship

Japan Team

The Japan Team appears during the first game of the series. Its leader is Kyo Kusanagi

Kyo Kusanagi

is one of the main characters in SNK Playmore's The King of Fighters video game series; he was first introduced in The King of Fighters '94 as the leader of the Japan team. He is one of the iconic characters of the series and regularly appears on publicity material and merchandise. His name and...

, a high school student who is the heir to the Kusanagi clan, who can use pyrokinetic

Pyrokinesis

Pyrokinesis, derived from the Greek words and , was the name coined by horror novelist Stephen King for the ability to create or to control fire with the mind that he gave to the protagonist Charlie McGee in Firestarter...

powers. Once Kyo leaves the Japan Team, it is renamed Benimaru Team by . Benimaru has the ability to create electricity, which—due to an exaggerated case of static electricity—causes his straight hair to stand up during fights. He is loosely based on the character Polnareff

Jean Pierre Polnareff

is a fictional character from the Japanese manga series, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. He went with Jotaro Kujo and company to get revenge for his sister, who was raped and murdered by J. Geil...

from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure

is a manga written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. Every main character's name in each part can be read as JoJo. The manga, published by Shueisha, first ran in the magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1987 to 2002, before being transferred to the seinen magazine Ultra Jump in 2004. The current story...

, right down to his outfit in The King of Fighters '94 and The King of Fighters '95. His vocal performance was initially deemed by his original designer to have nothing to do with the character's original image. Due to the particular pitch in his voice and appearance, some fans have questioned Benimaru's sexual identity with the developers; they responded, "he is not what you think."

, a former gold medalist of Judo, is a mentor to his own dojo

Dojo

A is a Japanese term which literally means "place of the way". Initially, dōjōs were adjunct to temples. The term can refer to a formal training place for any of the Japanese do arts but typically it is considered the formal gathering place for students of any Japanese martial arts style to...

. After the climax of The King of Fighters '97, Goro retires from being a fighter and returns to the Judo circuit representing Japan. He returns as a fighter in King of Fighters 2001 and 2003 due to his teammates' requests.
His character was created to add a practitioner of Judo to the cast, and many elements from his original designs, such as his geta and his victory cries, remained for his final look.

first appears in 97 as an edit entry, but in later games he joins the Benimaru Team and the Japan Team. He dreams of being able to wield flames like his idol Kyo, which is stressed to the point of comic relief

Comic relief

Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.-Definition:...

throughout the series. To follow his character's persona, he was also meant to be marketed on a lesser scale of importance for his introduction to the series. Benimaru and Daimon make their appearance in The King of Fighters XII

The King of Fighters XII

is the twelfth installment of The King of Fighters series. SNK Playmore announced that it is abandoning the Atomiswave system and is moving its most popular game franchises to the Taito Type X2 arcade system. KOF XII uses newly-drawn 2D sprites on 2D backgrounds...

and its the sequel

The King of Fighters XIII

is the latest installment of The King of Fighters fighting game series developed and published by SNK Playmore. 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...

, with the latter joining Kyo to reform the original team.

Fatal Fury Team

The Fatal Fury Team is composed by characters from the video game series with the same name. The team is initially composed of Terry Bogard

Terry Bogard

is a video game character created by SNK Playmore , and is the main character of the Fatal Fury series. In the series, he is an American fighter who enters the worldwide tournaments called The King of Fighters to kill Geese Howard, a criminal who killed Terry's father. Terry becomes a formidable...

, an American fighter who sought to defeat an evil crime lord named Geese Howard

Geese Howard

is a fictional video game character appearing in SNK Playmore's Fatal Fury fighting games series. Debuting in Fatal Fury: King of Fighters, Geese is the local crime boss of the fictional city of South Town. Geese hosts a fighting tournament named "The King of Fighters", in which he faces the...

in order to avenge the death of his father; Andy Bogard, the younger brother of Terry who uses Shiranui Ninjutsu

Ninjutsu

or may be:*the arts associated with espionage and assassination in feudal Japan, see Ninja*modern schools of martial arts claiming to be based in these traditions, see Modern Schools of Ninjutsu*fictional depictions, see Ninja in popular culture...

to fight; and Joe Higashi

Joe Higashi

is a video game character created by SNK Playmore . He makes his first appearance in the fighting game Fatal Fury: King of Fighters as one of the three playable characters from the game...

, a Muay Thai

Muay Thai

Muay Thai is a combat sport from Thailand that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. It is similar to other Indochinese kickboxing systems, namely pradal serey from Cambodia, tomoi from Malaysia, lethwei from Myanmar and muay Lao from Laos...

fighter and friend to both Terry and Andy. During the NESTS tournaments, Mai Shiranui

Mai Shiranui

is a player character in both the Fatal Fury and The King of Fighters series of fighting games by SNK and in related media, also appearing in a large number of other games...

, a Shiranui kunoichi

Kunoichi

is the term for a female ninja or practitioner of ninjutsu .-Etymology:The term is thought to derive from the names of characters that resemble the three strokes in the kanji character for ; said in the order they are written: ku - no - ichi...

, and Blue Mary

Blue Mary

, real name , is a video game character from both the Fatal Fury and The King of Fighters series of fighting games developed by SNK Playmore . Blue Mary's first appearance was in the arcade and console game Fatal Fury 3: Road to the Final Victory which introduced her as an agent who investigates...

, a female agent, also enter the team, to fulfill the team's the need for a fourth member at that time. In the 2003 tournament, Andy leaves them to take care of a Shiranui disciple named Hokutomaru, who fell sick, and Tizoc, a famous Mexican pro wrestler

Professional wrestling

Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...

, enters the team to replace him. In The King of Fighters XI, Tizoc and Joe leave the team for their own reasons, enabling Duck King and Kim Kaphwan

Kim Kaphwan

Kap-hwan Kim , usually written surname first as Kim Kap-hwan, is a character in both the Fatal Fury and The King of Fighters series created by SNK Playmore . He is credited as the first ever fictional Korean character to appear in a fighting game...

to replace them in order to help Terry out.

Garou Team

The Garou Team appears only in KOF XI, containing characters that appear in the video game Garou: Mark of the Wolves

Garou: Mark of the Wolves

, known as Fatal Fury: Mark of the Wolves on Dreamcast, is a 1999 fighting game produced by SNK, originally for the Neo Geo system. It is the ninth and final game in the Fatal Fury series, set ten years after the death of Geese Howard in Real Bout Fatal Fury...

. The team includes Tizoc, a famous pro wrestler

Professional wrestling

, 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.

Art of Fighting Team

The Art of Fighting Team is composed of characters from the video game of the same name

Art of Fighting

is a trilogy of competitive fighting game titles that were released for the Neo Geo platform in the early 1990s. It was the second fighting game franchise created by SNK, following the Fatal Fury series and is set in the same fictional universe...

, and most of its members are practitioners of the Kyokugen Karate style. The team initially consists of the teacher Takuma Sakazaki, his son Ryo

Ryo Sakazaki

is a video game character developed for the fighting game Art of Fighting from SNK Playmore . His name is most often written in kana, however, in some games kanji is used to write parts of his name. In the series, Ryo is a martial artist that practices his family's fighting style, the Kyokugenryu...

, and the heir of the dojo and his student Robert Garcia. Takuma's daughter, Yuri

Yuri Sakazaki

is a video game character from SNK Playmore's Art of Fighting series. She first appears in the original Art of Fighting being kidnapped by Mr. Big, a criminal from the fictional city of Southtown. The players, Yuri's brother Ryo and his friend Robert Garcia spend the game searching for her...

only appears in some tournaments, since she wants train with the Women Fighters Team (which is exclusively composed of women); her appearances sometimes end in asking King to take her place on the team. Takuma, however, likes this idea, and also asks King to stay in the team, wanting her to force the consummation of Ryo and King's still tentative relationship.

Women Fighters Team

The Women Fighters Team is a group composed exclusively of women, christened "The Princesses of Punch." The team originally comprises the ninja Mai Shiranui

Mai Shiranui

is a player character in both the Fatal Fury and The King of Fighters series of fighting games by SNK and in related media, also appearing in a large number of other games...

, the Muay Thai

Muay Thai

fighter King and a teenager karate prodigy named Yuri Sakazaki

Yuri Sakazaki

. Throughout the later games of the series, there are several changes in the members of the team, as Yuri is 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 Chinese-American female martial artist Li Xiangfei, the sumo fighter , and the agent Blue Mary

Blue Mary

in 2003. In XI, the team is dissolved, since the members go to other teams or they have other things to do. The Women Fighters team is reformed for The King of Fighters XIII

The King of Fighters XIII

, featuring the three original members from the 1994 tournament.

Psycho Soldier Team

The Psycho Soldier Team specializes in using psychic

Psychic

A psychic is a person who professes an ability to perceive information hidden from the normal senses through extrasensory perception , or is said by others to have such abilities. It is also used to describe theatrical performers who use techniques such as prestidigitation, cold reading, and hot...

powers—dubbed "Psycho Powers" by SNK. The powers, and some members of the team, originally belonged to the SNK video game Psycho Soldier

Psycho Soldier

is an action arcade game developed by Japanese software company SNK that was originally released in 1986 and internationally in 1987. It is somewhat of a sequel to Athena released a year earlier, Psycho Soldier continues the adventures of Athena, and is noteworthy for being the first video game...

.
The team includes , 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 the matter thoroughly, asking K' and Maxima to investigate the tournament in his place for activity.
The others members of the team are his students Athena Asamiya

Athena Asamiya

is a character originally from the former SNK's video game Psycho Soldier and a descendant of Princess Athena in its Athena. She later appears in The King of Fighters series of fighting games as a female fighter character and has appeared in each of its thirteen editions...

, a famous Japanese pop singer; a Chinese teenager named ; and a little Chinese boy named Bao ' onMouseout='HidePop("46492")' href="/topics/Pinyin">Pinyin

Pinyin

Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...

: 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.
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, , 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

Capoeira

Capoeira is a Brazilian art form that combines elements of martial arts, sports, and music. It was created in Brazil mainly by descendants of African slaves with Brazilian native influences, probably beginning in the 16th century...

, rather than Chinese Martial Arts like her teammates. Chin and Kensou make their latest appearances in The King of Fighters XII

The King of Fighters XII

; in The King of Fighters XIII

The King of Fighters XIII

, the Psycho Soldier team is re-formed and represented by the original members.

Ikari Team

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 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 Clark Still and Ralf Jones

Ralf Jones

is a video game character created by SNK Playmore . Ralf has made appearance in several games from the company, premiering in TNK III as a military tank driver. The Ikari Warriors series also emphasized Ralf's role as a soldier with him becoming the partner of Clark Still...

, who were originally the player characters in Ikari Warriors

Ikari Warriors

Ikari Warriors is a 1986 arcade game by SNK, published in the United States and Europe by Tradewest. Known simply as in Japan, this was SNK's first major breakthrough US release and became something of a classic. The game was released at the time when there were many Commando clones on the market...

and its sequels.

, Heidern's adopted daughter introduced in The King of Fighters '96, replaces him. 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. 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.

appears in The King of Fighters '99 as the new member to the Ikari team. She is a clone of K''s sister
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'. 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. Leona makes her latest appearance in The King of Fighters XII

The King of Fighters XII

.

Leona, Ralf, and Clark compose the Ikari team for The King of Fighters XIII

The King of Fighters XIII

, reflecting the team's roster from the 1996 tournament. Despite her difficulties in controlling herself during the XI tournament, Leona commits herself to entering the XIII tournament, deciding to accept, and deal with, her Orochi blood.

Korea Team

The Korea Team is composed of Tae Kwon Do users. The group is led by Kim Kaphwan

Kim Kaphwan

, a national hero from his country who forced two criminals to enter his team as part of his "Rehabilitation Project". The criminals are Chang Koehan (Korean: , Japanese: Chan Kōhan), a giant man who uses an iron ball, and Choi Bounge (Korean: , Japanese: Choi Bonge), a little person who uses claws to fight, based on the famous fictional character Freddy Krueger

Freddy Krueger

Frederick Charles "Freddy" Krueger is a fictional, horrifying character from the Nightmare on Elm Street series of horror films. He first appears in Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street as a disfigured dream stalker who uses a glove armed with razors to kill his victims in their dreams,...

. 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.

In the '99 tournament, a new member called Jhun Hoon (Korean: , Japanese: 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. 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

Korean name

A Korean name consists of a family name followed by a given name, as used by the Korean people in both North Korea and South Korea. In the Korean language, 'ireum' or 'seong-myeong' usually refers to the family name and given name together...

: Lee Jinju) who admires the group. May Lee's character design stems from sponsor Eolith

Eolith (company)

Eolith was a South Korean based company. They developed The King of Fighters 2001 and 2002 after SNK was bankrupted. They also developed Double Dragon EX for mobile phones. Their last title released was Chaos Breaker, for Taito....

's desire for a "Korean Athena

Athena Asamiya

" that was an "idol

Japanese idol

In Japanese culture, are media personalities in their teens and early twenties who are considered particularly attractive or cute and who will, for a period ranging from several months to a few years, regularly appear in the mass media, e.g...

-like visual fighter." 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.

Geese Howard's teams

The villain known as Geese Howard

Geese Howard

creates several teams in the series. In King of Fighters '95, he sends his right-hand man Billy Kane

Billy Kane

is a video game character created by SNK Playmore . He makes first appearance in the fighting game Fatal Fury: King of Fighters as the sub-boss from the game. In the Fatal Fury series Billy is the right-hand man from Geese Howard, the crime lord from Southtown...

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 the others only want to prove their strength.

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

Blue Mary

and Ryuji Yamazaki

Ryuji Yamazaki

is a video game character appearing in Fatal Fury series and The King of Fighters developed by SNK Playmore . Yamazaki is first introduced as the sub-boss character of Fatal Fury 3: Road to the Final Victory, where he is a criminal known as "Dark Broker"...

, though Blue Mary is replaced by Gato in the 2003 tournament.

American Sports Team

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 did 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

The NESTS Team is a group that appears in The King of Fighters 2001

The King of Fighters 2001

The King of Fighters 2001 is a competitive fighting game produced by Eolith for the Neo Geo. It is the eighth game in The King of Fighters series and the first game produced following the closure of the original SNK. The game was produced by the Korean-based company Eolith and developed by...

, 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, K9999 , and a clone from Kyo entirely based on Tetsuo Shima from Akira

Akira (film)

is a 1988 Japanese animated cyberpunk science fiction film directed by Katsuhiro Otomo, written by Otomo and Izo Hashimoto, and starring the voices of Mitsuo Iwata, Nozomu Sasaki, Mami Koyama and Taro Ishida. The screenplay is based on Otomo's manga Akira....

, able to transform his arm into a long tentacle like Tetsuo's. Due to copyright issues, for the King of Fighters 2002

The King of Fighters 2002

The King of Fighters 2002 is a competitive fighting game produced by Eolith and Playmore for the Neo Geo. It is the ninth game in The King of Fighters series and the second one produced by Eolith and developed by SNK Neo Geo . The game was ported to the Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, and the Xbox...

remake he was replaced with a similar character. The character is called "Nameless", a clone from both Kyo and K' who uses two types of flames to fight. Kula Diamond, aptly named the "Anti-K" due to her ability of creating ice, and Kula's guardian, 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.

Ash Crimson

is the new antagonist for The King of Fighters 2003, in which he makes his first appearance in the series as the leader of the New Hero Team. Ash is designed with the intent of creating an "attractive evil character", with few changes made to him since conception. Falcoon

Falcoon

Tatsuhiko Kanaoka, better known by the art-name Falcoon , is a Japanese artist formerly working for SNK Playmore. He has been involved in several iterations of The King of Fighters franchise....

adds that the main goal for Ash was to make him an ambiguous protagonist that purposely makes players "feel bad" for cheering for him. His motive for entering is to take the powers of the descendants of the clans who sealed Orochi away 1,800 years ago—Kyo Kusanagi

Kyo Kusanagi

, Iori Yagami

Iori Yagami

is a character from the SNK Playmore's The King of Fighters video game series that first appeared in The King of Fighters '95 as the leader of the Rivals Team. He is an iconic character of the series, and regularly appears on publicity material and merchandise. Iori is a central character to the...

, and Chizuru Kagura—for unknown purposes. He has been successful thus far, leaving Kyo as the last power he needs to steal. Ash is cunning and manipulative, often condescending to friend or foe at his whim, and has ambiguous morals in his actions. He often gains his teammates through promises that he can fulfill, though he rarely specifies the means of granting them. Despite seeming frail by appearance, Ash is powerful, as he is able to defeat Iori in his Riot of the Blood state seemingly with ease. He also has the unique ability of creating green fire, and after defeating Iori he obtains his purple flames.

In The King of Fighters XII

The King of Fighters XII

, he makes an appearance, but does not have a team (like the rest of the cast). For the sequel

The King of Fighters XIII

, Ash appears as the only character who does not belong to a defined team. Ash's role in King of Fighters XIII reveals that he has been trying to stop the ambitions of the organization (Those From the Past), seen in 2003 and XI. He comes into direct conflict with the organization's leader, Saiki, at the end of the game. Ash acts as the final boss of The King of Fighters XIII as Evil Ash which is imbued with power stolen from Saiki, who is attempting to possess him. He ultimately sacrifices himself to destroy Saiki. He is voiced by Sōnosuke Nagashiro in Japanese.

Chizuru Kagura

is a member of the Yata clan who holds one of the three sacred artifacts

Imperial Regalia of Japan

The , also known as the Three Sacred Treasures of Japan, consist of the sword Kusanagi , the mirror Yata no Kagami , and the jewel Yasakani no Magatama...

that originally sealed the serpent monster Orochi 1,800 years ago. As the heiress of the Yata, she is raised as a priestess

Miko

is a Japanese term that anciently meant a "female shaman, spirit medium" who conveyed oracles from kami , and currently means a "shrine maiden; virgin consecrated to a deity" who serves at Shinto shrines.-Word:...

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.

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. Eventually, she breaks free from control and tries to restore the seal of Orochi, but Ash steals her powers. 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. She is initially voiced by Akiko Saito, but in 2003 she was replaced by Yukiko Sugawa.

In the 2010 live-action film adaptation of The King of Fighters

The King of Fighters (film)

The King of Fighters is a film loosely based on SNK Playmore's The King of Fighters series of fighting games. It stars Sean Faris as Kyo Kusanagi, Maggie Q as Mai Shiranui, Will Yun Lee as Iori Yagami, and Ray Park as Rugal Bernstein.-Plot:...

, Chizuru is played by Chinese-Canadian actress Françoise Yip

Françoise Yip

Françoise Fong-Wa Yip is a Canadian actress.Yip was born in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and was raised in Toronto. Her father is Chinese, and her mother is Québécoise. At an early age Yip began studying both piano and dance, but it was piano that she would excel at...

Duo Lon

Duo Lon ' onMouseout='HidePop("87965")' href="/topics/Pinyin">Pinyin

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 character Vampire Hunter D

Vampire Hunter D

is a series of Japanese novels written by Hideyuki Kikuchi and illustrated by Yoshitaka Amano since 1983.To date, twenty-two novels have been published in the main series, with some novels comprising as many as four volumes...

. He is a member of the assassin group, the Flying Brigands—or —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. He is voiced by Tsunehito Maruo.

Elisabeth Blanctorche

(spelled "Elisabeth Branctorche" in The King of Fighters XII

The King of Fighters XII

) is one of three original characters debuting in The King of Fighters XI

The King of Fighters XI

The King of Fighters XI is a 2D competitive fighting game produced by SNK Playmore originally released in as a coin-operated arcade game for the Atomiswave platform...

. 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.

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

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). She is voiced by Kayoko Ooshima.

K'

is the second protagonist of the games since The King of Fighters '99

The King of Fighters '99

The King of Fighters '99: Millennium Battle is a head-to-head fighting game by SNK released for the Neo Geo arcade and home platform. It is the sixth installment in the companys The King of Fighters series. The game was ported to the Neo-Geo CD and the PlayStation as the final KOF game released...

. He is a young person who lost all his memories when the NESTS syndicate captured him and injected Kyo Kusanagi

Kyo Kusanagi

's DNA into his body, so that he could copy his fire abilities. K', wanting to prove himself in his own identity, betrays the syndicate and decides to destroy them for using his body and deleting all of his memories. Although he hates fighting tournaments, K' uses the King of Fighters competition as a way to find those who are associated with NESTS, so that he can defeat them. In his search, he meets a person named Maxima who has the same purpose, and become partners with him. Yuuki Matsuda

Yuuki Matsuda

Yuuki Matsuda is a seiyu famous for his part in voicing K' from SNK Playmore's King of Fighters franchise. His real name is Takehiro Matsuda . He was born March 3 in Tokyo, Japan. On October 20, 1997 he changed his legal name to Nezumi Miki...

voices him in Japanese, while Andrew Scott is his English voice actor.

Kula Diamond

first appears as the sub-boss in The King of Fighters 2000

The King of Fighters 2000

The King of Fighters 2000 is a competitive fighting game produced by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home platforms. It is the seventh installment in The King of Fighters series for the Neo Geo, as well as the final one produced by SNK before the bankruptcy. The game was ported to the Sega...

; she enters as a normal participant in her other appearances. Her original hair color is strawberry blonde, but it changes to a light blue when she activates her ice powers. She was designed to be the antagonistic foil to K', in an attempt to better develop characteristics of the NESTS cartel. She was specially made with attempts to depict a "14-year-old girl" with "appropriately girlish" gestures with help from newly hired female staff.

She is a being created by NESTS to exterminate the cartel's traitor, K'. Despite the fact that their subject was a mindless puppet with no sign of emotions, the NESTS cartel created an android called Candy Diamond to monitor Kula's behavior and to ensure that she would accomplish her missions. When Kula destroys the main Zero Cannon, Candy shields her descent from space, sacrificing her body as it is badly burned from Earth's atmosphere.

Kula is often ordered to exterminate other traitors to NESTS but has been known to disobey her orders for the sake of others. After NESTS' destruction, she allies on friendly terms with her target, K' and his companions. She participates in The King of Fighters XI

The King of Fighters XI

The King of Fighters XI is a 2D competitive fighting game produced by SNK Playmore originally released in as a coin-operated arcade game for the Atomiswave platform...

and XIII

The King of Fighters XIII

with K' and Maxima. She is voiced by Yumi Kakazu

Yumi Kakazu

is a female seiyū from Kamifukuoka, Saitama . She is currently affiliated with Genki Project...

in the Japanese version, and by Kat Cassteneda in English-language adaptations.

Iori Yagami

is the heir of the Yagami clan, one of the three clans who sealed the Orochi. However, a dark pact with Orochi has left the Yagami clan with a tainted history, causing all of the clan's heirs to die young—but granting them the use of purple flames. Iori has an intense hatred for Kyo Kusanagi, the heir to the Kusanagi clan, disregarding their clans' pasts and seeing him as more than just a rival, but as the man whose life he must end. Circumstance has sometimes forced the two together as unfriendly allies in the King of Fighters tournaments, so that they may fight each other in the aftermath. He is voiced by Kunihiko Yasui

Kunihiko Yasui

is a Japanese voice actor. Also, he graduated from Aichi Prefecture. He is employed by the talent agency 81 Produce. He is also asked by SNK to participate as a member of SNK's character image band, King of Fighters, under the role of Iori Yagami.-TV anime:...

, while in some English adaptations he is voiced by Eric Summerer.

Lin

Lin ' onMouseout='HidePop("11844")' href="/topics/Pinyin">Pinyin

Pinyin

: Lín; Japanese: 麟 Rin) is one of the new characters introduced in The King of Fighters 2000

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.

Though he is no longer an active member in King of Fighters, his story and character have not been abandoned. He is a member of the assassination group, The Flying Brigands—or 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.
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. For an unexplained reason, he appears next to Ron in the Psycho Soldier Team's ending in The King of Fighters XI. He is a master of the Poison Hand technique, which enables the user to turn their own blood into venom. He is voiced by Takaya Kuroda

Takaya Kuroda

is a Japanese voice actor, narrator, and actor. He is affiliated with the Bungaku Company, formerly with Mausu Promotion and Aoni Production. He is currently a member of 81 Produce....

Malin

is a character who debuts in The King of Fighters 2003

The King of Fighters 2003

The King of Fighters 2003 is a competitive fighting game produced by SNK Playmore for the Neo Geo arcade and home platform. It is the tenth game in The King of Fighters series and the first KOF game to become a tag tournament as well as the first one to be published by SNK Playmore...

as a member of the High School Girls Team (alongside Athena Asamiya

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".
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

Yuri Sakazaki

. She is voiced by Kazuyo Inosako.

Vice & Mature

and appear as members of Iori

Iori Yagami

'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. Aside from serving Rugal, both women were also spies and wielders of Orochi. They are ordered by their superior Goenitz to keep an eye on Iori, but both of them are killed by Iori.

Since then, both have appeared in the "dream match" games The King of Fighters '98

The King of Fighters '98

The King of Fighters '98 is a fighting game released by SNK released for the Neo Geo arcade and home console. It is the fifth game in The King of Fighters series...

and The King of Fighters 2002

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

Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000

is a head-to-head fighting game produced by Capcom originally released as a coin-operated arcade game for Segas NAOMI hardware and later ported to the Dreamcast...

and the sequel

Capcom vs. SNK 2

Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium 2001, known as Millionaire Fighting 2001 in Japan, is a sequel to the fighting game Capcom vs. SNK. This game was released on NAOMI hardware in the arcade...

. Mature is a playable character in The King of Fighters XII

The King of Fighters XII

, exclusive to the home console version of game.

With Vice's return in The King of Fighters XIII

The King of Fighters XIII

, Iori's 1996 team is reunited for the first time since The King of Fighters 2002. 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

The King of Fighters (film)

movie, Vice is played by Bernice Liu

Bernice Liu

Bernice Jan Liu is a Chinese Canadian actress, singer, and commercial model based in Hong Kong. She has previously held the title Miss Chinese Vancouver 2000 as well as Miss Chinese International 2001, the latter position bringing her fame in Hong Kong.Liu is best known for her role as Princess...

, and Mature by Monique Ganderton

Monique Ganderton

Monique Ganderton is a Canadian stunt woman and actress who works in television and film.Ganderton was born in Edmonton, Alberta. She started out in modeling before moving to stunt work. She has doubled Tricia Helfer, Leelee Sobieski, Bridget Moynahan, Daryl Hannah, Rebecca Romijn, Famke Janssen...

Maxima

debuts as a member of the Hero Team in The King of Fighters '99

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.

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. 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

Cyborg

A cyborg is a being with both biological and artificial parts. The term was coined in 1960 when Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline used it in an article about the advantages of self-regulating human-machine systems in outer space. D. S...

, 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. He is voiced by Katsuyuki Konishi

Katsuyuki Konishi

is a Japanese voice actor from Wakayama, Wakayama Prefecture. He is currently affiliated with Ken Production. His debut role was Volfogg/Big Volfogg in GaoGaiGar....

, while his English voice actor is Mike Jarmus.

Oswald

appears in The King of Fighters XI

The King of Fighters XI

The King of Fighters XI is a 2D competitive fighting game produced by SNK Playmore originally released in as a coin-operated arcade game for the Atomiswave platform...

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. He was originally intended to be the "good-looking glasses" character for the series.

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. He is voiced by Toshihiro Shigetsuka.

Ramon

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

Lucha libre

Lucha libre is a term used in Mexico, and other Spanish-speaking countries, for a form of professional wrestling that has developed within those countries...

.

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. After King of Fighters 2000, he continues to team with Vanessa at her request, often along with Seth. He is voiced by Eiji Takemoto.

Saisyu Kusanagi

debuted in The King of Fighters '94

The King of Fighters '94

The King of Fighters '94 is a fighting game released by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home console. It is the inaugural game in The King of Fighters series by the same company. The game was originally ported to the Neo Geo AES and Neo-Geo CD following its original arcade release...

as a victim in Rugal

Rugal Bernstein

is a video game character created by SNK. First introduced in The King of Fighters '94, he is a recurring boss in the The King of Fighters fighting game series. As the host of the tournaments from The King of Fighters '94 and 95, Rugal plans to turn all the competitors from the tournament into...

'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

The King of Fighters '98

The King of Fighters '98 is a fighting game released by SNK released for the Neo Geo arcade and home console. It is the fifth game in The King of Fighters series...

, 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.

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

Kyo Kusanagi

. Upon his defeat, he regains his senses and escapes from Rugal's missile silo base. In The King of Fighters 2001, he appears before Shingo Yabuki and spends a year properly teaching him the Kusanagi fighting style. The game incarnation is voiced by Keiichirou Sakaki. In the 2010 live-action film adaptation of The King of Fighters

The King of Fighters (film)

, Saisyu is played by Japanese actor Hiro Kanagawa

Hiro Kanagawa

Hiro Kanagawa, born , is a Vancouver-based actor.He was born in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. He is perhaps best known as Principal Kwan from Smallville. His most notable anime role is Gihren Zabi from Mobile Suit Gundam...

Seth

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

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".

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.
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. He is voiced by Hidetoshi Nakamura, while in some English adaptations, his voice actor is Glenn Haig. Seth also appears in the KOF: Maximum Impact

KOF: Maximum Impact

The King of Fighters: Maximum Impact is a fighting game for the PlayStation 2, produced by SNK subsidiary Noise Factory published by SNK Playmore in 2004-2005. An enhanced version was released for Xbox and PlayStation 2 under the title KOF: Maximum Impact — Maniax...

game series.

Shen Woo

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

Ralf Jones

and Yashiro.

Shen Woo was raised in the Chinese city of Shanghai and given that nickname for developing his own, devastating street-fighting boxing style 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 Shen Woo, himself, and Duo Lon as the "Hero Team" into the King of Fighters 2003 tournament. 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 an unnamed pharmacist in Shanghai, telling Oswald that they will only give the Dragon Pills to someone who could defeat their mortal enemy, Shen Woo. He is voiced by Kouji Suitsu.

Vanessa

first debuts as a Striker in The King of Fighters '99 Evolution, and becomes playable in The King of Fighters 2000

The King of Fighters 2000

. Like Maxima, she was created as a middle-aged female to contrast the multiple teenage characters in the roster.

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

Maxima

Maxima is a computer algebra system based on a 1982 version of Macsyma. It is written in Common Lisp and runs on all POSIX platforms such as Mac OS X, Unix, BSD, and GNU/Linux as well as under Microsoft Windows...

, 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.

In The King of Fighters XI

The King of Fighters XI

The King of Fighters XI is a 2D competitive fighting game produced by SNK Playmore originally released in as a coin-operated arcade game for the Atomiswave platform...

, 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. She is voiced by Kaori Minami.

Andy Bogard

Andrew "Andy" Bogard (アンディー・ボガード, Andī Bogādo) is Terry Bogard's younger brother. Andy practices the Shiranui-ryū ("style" in Japanese) ninjutsu and a form of empty-handed ninja combat called Koppō-ken, which he trained in after witnessing his foster father's murder in order to gain revenge on Geese Howard. Mai Shiranui is his love interest (or fiancée in her mind), and the granddaughter of Hanzo Shiranui, the man he learned Ninjitsu from. It was after his foster father Jeff's death that Tung Fu Rue took responsibility for raising himself and Terry. Andy went to Japan to train under Hanzo and grew up alongside Mai, while Terry stayed in South Town. During Andy's time in Japan, he met the Muay Thai fighter Joe Higashi, and challenged him to a match. When Andy won, he invited Joe to return to America with him to enter the King of Fighters tournament, held by Geese. Before this, Andy had rarely, if ever, seen Terry in the interim since Jeff's death. Andy quickly grew jealous of Terry because Terry was taller, older, more experienced and quite possibly a better fighter, and unlike Andy, Terry did not practice a grueling daily training regimen.

Late in the tournament, Andy tried to kill off Geese by himself. Geese's power proved to be too much for Andy as he almost fell to his death. Terry saved Andy, who then acknowledged Terry as the less superior fighter.

Andy's emotions prevented him from reaching the final round, but when Terry

Terry Bogard

defeated Geese, Andy felt a sense of closure and returned to Japan to continue his training. After Terry beat Geese at the end of their first King of Fighters Tournament, a new tournament was held, this time hosted by Wolfgang Krauser. Andy, while present in the tournament, did not accomplish much story-wise.

Ever since Geese's death, the fall of the First Southtown, and the birth of Second Southtown, Andy has been busy training his young apprentice Hokutomaru in the ways of the Shiranui-style ninjitsu and Koppo-ken. Instead of fighting in the KOF: Maximum Mayhem tournament himself, Andy sends Hokutomaru in his place to see on what his apprentice has learned. In Hokutomaru's ending, Andy writes him a note saying that he was proud of how strong Hokutomaru has gotten. Then he ended the note by saying he is no longer his teacher but his rival and that they will cross paths again.

When the new King of Fighters '94 tournament was announced, Andy joined Terry and Joe in the new 3-on-3 matches. Since then, Andy has always agreed to follow his brother Terry whenever he decided to enter the new version of the King of Fighters tournament.
The Fatal Fury Team maintained his original formation (Terry, Andy and Joe) from King of Fighters '94 to '98. With new rules in KOF '99 allowing teams of four members, Mai Shiranui

Mai Shiranui

is a player character in both the Fatal Fury and The King of Fighters series of fighting games by SNK and in related media, also appearing in a large number of other games...

(in KOF '99) and, later, Blue Mary

Blue Mary

(KOF 2000) joined the team.
After the beginning of the Ash Crimson Saga (KOF 2003, XI,) Andy left the Fatal Fury team to take care of Shiranui disciple Hokutomaru, who fell sick, and Mai went after him. Andy made his return to The King of Fighters XII

The King of Fighters XII

but does not participate in a defined team. The King of Fighters XIII

The King of Fighters XIII

sees Andy rejoining the Fatal Fury team as his brother's interest in the tournament has compelled him to reunite the original Fatal Fury team from the 1994 event. In his anime incarnations, though sometimes perplexed by her actions, Andy is more open to showing his affection towards Mai.

Tung Fu Rue

is one of the first four opponents the players faces in the original Fatal Fury. He is an elderly martial arts master from China who developed his own fighting style based on Bājíquán

Bajíquán

Bājíquán is a Chinese martial art that features explosive, short-range power and is famous for its elbow strikes. It originated in Hebei Province in Northern China, but is also well-known in other places today, especially Taiwan...

known as the . In the past, he trained Terry and Andys adoptive father, Jeff Bogard, and his nemesis Geese Howard (as well as Cheng Sinzan). He raised the Bogard brothers after Jeff was killed by Geese and participates in the King of Fighters tournament in the first game with the objective to defeat Geese. He can transform his body into steel and draw out great power using a deadly secret technique known only to himself. In the game, he appears as meek elderly man, but after taking a bit of damage, he transforms into a musclebound warrior, whose special moves including a flying whirlwind punch and a spinning whirlwind kick in which he shoots fireballs at both directions.

In Fatal Fury 2, Tung was one of the characters defeated by Wolfgang Krauser in one of the games cut-scene. He would appear as a playable character in Fatal Fury Special, the upgraded version of Fatal Fury 2. Unlike the original game, Tung only transforms into a musclebound version of himself while performing certain special moves. Tung reappears in Real Bout Special and Real Bout 2. In Real Bout Special, there are two versions of him in the game. In regular version of him has improved versions of his previous special moves, as well as new moves, while the alternate version of him (EX Tung Fu Rue) has all of his moves from Fatal Fury Special and one Hidden Ability. in Real Bout 2, Tung has special moves from both versions of his character in the previous game.

Tung also appears in the SNK crossover game NeoGeo Battle Coliseum. This version of the character was used as an additional character in the PlayStation 2 port of The King of Fighters XI

The King of Fighters XI

The King of Fighters XI is a 2D competitive fighting game produced by SNK Playmore originally released in as a coin-operated arcade game for the Atomiswave platform...

Duck King

Duck King (ダック・キング, Dakku Kingu) appears in the original Fatal Fury as one of the first four opponents in the single-player mode. Possessing incredible talent when it comes to brawling and street dancing, Duck King once challenged Terry Bogard to a street fight and lost. He trained himself to improve his martial art skills in order to surpass Terry. Duck uses a unique martial arts style which includes rhythmical dance-like movements and attacks. His primary special move is a flying cannonball technique.

In Fatal Fury 2, Duck was one of the characters from the original game who is defeated by Krauser in one of the games cut scenes, although he would appear as a playable character in Fatal Fury Special. He would retain his cannonball technique, now dubbed the Head Spin Attack, along with new special moves such as the Dancing Dive, Break Storm, and the Beat Rush. He also has a new hidden special move called the Break Spiral. From Special and onward, Duck would be accompanied by his pet chick "P-chan". He makes another quick cameo in Bob Wilson's ending Fatal Fury 3 before returning as a playable character in Real Bout Fatal Fury and its sequels, Real Bout Special and Real Bout 2. He also appears as an exclusive character in the PlayStation version of Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition.

Although Duck King has made numerous cameo appearances thorough The King of Fighters series, including as an alternate Striker (a character who helps the player in battle) in The King of Fighters 2000

The King of Fighters 2000

, he did not appear as a playable character until The King of Fighters XI

The King of Fighters XI

The King of Fighters XI is a 2D competitive fighting game produced by SNK Playmore originally released in as a coin-operated arcade game for the Atomiswave platform...

, where he appears as a member of the new Fatal Fury Team along with Terry and Kim Kaphwan.

Richard Meyer

appears in the original Fatal Fury as one of the first four computer-controlled opponents in the single-player mode. A capoeira

Capoeira

mestre originally from Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

, Richard makes his daily living in South Town as the manager of the restaurant Pao Pao Cafe. He competes in the King of Fighters tournament in order to make his capoiera style known to the world. In this game, his character specializes in numerous kick techniques.

Richard makes cameo appearances in subsequent Fatal Fury games as a friendly acquaintance of the Bogard brothers and Joe. He appears in Fatal Fury 2 in the cut scene shown immediately after the first battle against the CPU, tending to a crowd of spectators at Pao Pao Cafe witnessing the players fight on television. He appears again near the end of the game, where he is defeated in battle by Wolfgang Krauser, as well in Terry Bogard's ending, serving him and his date their meal.

In Fatal Fury 3, Richard opens a new Pao Pao Cafe restaurant, which is maintained by his capoeira apprentice Bob Wilson. In Fatal Fury 3, as well as in Real Bout series, Richard appears to cheer and encourage Bob before each of his matches. He makes cameos in King of Fighters XI, trying to tell Kim to leave the cafe and King of Fighters XIII witnessing several female fighters destroy his bar.

Richard appears as a hidden character in the PlayStation 2 game KOF: Maximum Impact 2

KOF: Maximum Impact 2

KOF: Maximum Impact 2, released in North America as The King of Fighters 2006, is a 3D competitive fighting game produced by SNK Playmore and released for the PlayStation 2 in...

(released in North America as The King of Fighters 2006), participating as a fighter for the first time since the original Fatal Fury.

Michael Max

is a black boxer who appears in the original Fatal Fury as one of the first four CPU-controlled opponents whom the player faces. Prior to the events of the game, Michael was a young boxing prodigy who was once considered a strong contender for the title of Worldwide Heavyweight Champion. However, he left the boxing circuit to seek real combat and participate in the King of Fighters tournament, feeling that professional boxing was a mere sport protected by rules. His only other appearances in the series includes in the cut-scenes of Fatal Fury 2, where he is one of the fighters defeated by Wolfgang Krauser, and in Axel Hawks ending in Fatal Fury Special, where he is depicted as Axels trainer. In one of his victory poses, it is revealed that he is Catholic. Michael Max is the only character from the Original Fatal Fury that has never appeared in a 'King of Fighters' series.

Hwa Jai

is the first of three opponents the player faces in the original Fatal Fury before the final match against Geese Howard. A former Muay Thai

Muay Thai

champion once nicknamed , he once fought against Joe Higashi in the past and lost, causing him to lose his title. Seeking to defeat Joe, he became a more reckless and dangerous fighter. After being banned from competing in the Muay Thai circuit, his brutal talent was noted by Geese Howard, who hired him to serve as one of his bodyguards and a participant in the King of Fighters tournament. His special technique, the Dragon Kick, was developed to compete with Joes Tiger Kick. He also gains additional strength by drinking a sort of Super Drink, which thrown at him by one of Geeses men when he is in danger.

In Fatal Fury 2, Hwa Jai is one of the characters from the original game who gets defeated by an unknown challenger (Wolfgang Krauser). He is apparently hospitalized and visited by Joe Higashi, as seen in Joes ending in the game and in Fatal Fury Special. He makes further cameos in the subsequent Fatal Fury games (Fatal Fury 3, Real Bout, Real Bout Special and Real Bout 2) as Joes training partner and trainer. Despite having been absent since his original appearance as an opponent character in Fatal Fury, Hwa Jai has been confirmed to return in The King of Fighters XIII

The King of Fighters XIII

and marks the first time the character has been playable. Kim, following his "reform" of his previous teammates (Chang Koehan and Choi Bounge), seeks out Hwa Jai and Raiden as he believes they still work under Geese Howard. It is not the case as Geese had returned to America long ago but Raiden manages to talk Hwa Jai into joining the team to bolster their reputations as fighters. Hwa Jai accepts, partially due to wanting to fight Joe once again.

Raiden

first appears in the original Fatal Fury as the second of the final four computer-controlled opponents in the single-player mode. He was once a popular face wrestler

Face (professional wrestling)

In professional wrestling, a babyface or face or in simple words, a fan favorite is a character who is portrayed as a heroic relative to the heel wrestlers, who are analogous to villains...

until he was betrayed by his tag partner during a match (a character later revealed to be Big Bombarder from the SNK wrestling game 3 Count Bout

3 Count Bout

3 Count Bout, known in Japan as , is a wrestling arcade game released by SNK in 1993.-Wrestlers: The Gandhara - 200 pounds, 5 feet 11 inches Leo Bradley - 297 pounds, 6 feet 3 inches The Red Dragon - 250 pounds, 5 feet 10 inches Gochack Bigbomb - 441 pounds, Terry Rogers - 284 pounds, 6 feet 1...

). This incident transformed him completely and he became a notorious heel wrestler

Heel (professional wrestling)

In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...

. Not satisfied with venting his frustration in the ring, he enters the King of Fighters tournament as a masked fighter, acting as one of Geeses guardians. His primary special move in the game is the Vapor Breath. This character was modeled after real life pro wrestler Big Van Vader.

He returns as a regular playable character in Fatal Fury 2

Fatal Fury 2

is a 1992 fighting video game released by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home platforms. It is the sequel to Fatal Fury: King of Fighters and the second game in the Fatal Fury franchise.-Gameplay:...

and Fatal Fury Special

Fatal Fury Special

is a 1993 head-to-head fighting game produced by SNK originally released for the Neo Geo arcade and home platforms. It is an updated version of Fatal Fury 2, introducing several changes to the gameplay system while expanding the available character roster....

, where he renounces his Raiden persona and now fights as an unmasked face wrestler under the identity of . He trains at his native land of Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, where his deadly strength increased on several levels. He also develops a friendly rivalry with Terry, as seen in his endings in both games. His special moves in Fatal Fury 2 includes the Giant Bomb, a rushing tackle, and the Super Drop Kick. He also has a hidden special move called the Fire Breath, an improved version of his Vapor Breath. In Special, he gains a new special move called the Bear Bomber.

Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition, being a retelling of the original Fatal Fury tournament, depicts Raiden under his masked heel persona once again. Outside the Fatal Fury series, Raiden also appeared in the Capcom

Capcom

is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...

-produced crossover game Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000

Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000

is a head-to-head fighting game produced by Capcom originally released as a coin-operated arcade game for Segas NAOMI hardware and later ported to the Dreamcast...

, and its sequels, Capcom vs. SNK Pro and Capcom vs. SNK 2

Capcom vs. SNK 2

Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium 2001, known as Millionaire Fighting 2001 in Japan, is a sequel to the fighting game Capcom vs. SNK. This game was released on NAOMI hardware in the arcade...

, being one of the few Fatal Fury characters who did not appeared in The King of Fighters as a playable character (at the time) in those games. Raiden also appears in The King of Fighters XII

The King of Fighters XII

and the sequel

The King of Fighters XIII

. In KOF XII none of the characters are assigned into teams but for KOF XIII they are. Raiden's teammates in KOF XIII are Kim Kaphwan

Kim Kaphwan

and Hwa Jai. Kim is mistaken in thinking Raiden and Hwa Jai are still in the employ of Geese Howard, wanting to "reform" both men. Raiden convinces Hwa Jai to act as if they are so they are able to enter the tournament to build reputation for themselves. The Fatal Fury characters refer him as "Bear", his face persona, which he denies.

Jubei Yamada

is one of the five playable characters introduced in Fatal Fury 2. An elderly Judo

Judo

is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...

master who was once known as "Yamada, the Demon" during his youth. Having lost his charm from his younger days, Jubei fights in the new King of Fighters tournament in order to re-establish his popularity with girls around the world. Despite this, he refuses to change his womanizing lecherous ways. Although Jubei does not return as a playable character in later games, he makes several cameo appearances, including in Mai Shiranui's ending in Real Bout Fatal Fury, where he is shown to have an infatuation with her.

Cheng Sinzan

is introduced as one of the new playable characters in Fatal Fury 2. A rotund fighter who practices t'ai chi ch'uan. Despite his immense strength, he hates training and becomes tired very easily. He enters the King of Fighters tournament seeking to gain international recognition and open his own dojo. He is characterized as the richest man in Hong Kong, who resides in a high class neighborhood and is married to a former Miss Hong Kong. Despite his social status, he seeks to find ways to make himself even richer. His Special Moves in Fatal Fury 2, as well as in Fatal Fury Special, includes the , the , and the , while his Super Special Move is the .

He makes a non-playable appearance in Fatal Fury 3, helping Hon-Fu chase after Ryuji Yamazaki and doesn't return as a playable character until Real Bout Special and Real Bout 2. In the backstory of Real Bout Special, it is revealed that Cheng was once a disciple of Tung Fu Rue trained in Hakkyoku Seiken along with Jeff Bogard and Geese Howard, but was expelled due to his greediness. He would also make money by having people bet against him in street fights and then lose on purpose.

Axel Hawk

first appears in Fatal Fury 2 as the second of the final four opponents in the single-player mode. A former heavyweight champion said to be the strongest of all time until his retirement. According to his backstory, he began spending most of his days at home after his retirement, playing with his R/C car

Radio-controlled car

Radio-controlled cars are self-powered model cars or trucks that can be controlled from a distance using a specialized transmitter...

and being supported by his elderly mother, his father having died at some point. One day, he received an anonymous letter inviting him to the King of Fighters tournament and began training for his comeback. He was originally a non-playable character in the Neo Geo version of Fatal Fury 2, although he playable in the SNES and Genesis versions of the game. He became a regular playable character in Fatal Fury Special. He makes a cameo at the end of KOF 2003 cheering on the Fatal Fury Team.

Laurence Blood

first appears in Fatal Fury 2 as the third of the four boss characters the player faces at the end of the single-player mode. A former Spanish matador who uses a self-styled martial art based on his deadly bullfighting methods. He serves as the right-hand man and servant of Wolfgang Krauser and participates in the tournament under his request. He is a computer-only character in the Neo Geo version of Fatal Fury 2 and became playable in Fatal Fury Special. He would return as a playable character in Real Bout Special and Real Bout 2. He is notable for being one of three bullfighter characters in fighting games (the other two being Vega

Vega (Street Fighter)

Vega is a fictional character from the Street Fighter fighting game series. Vega is a masked, claw-wielding warrior from Spain who uses a personal fighting style combining Japanese Ninjutsu and Bullfighting, earning him the nickname the "Spanish Ninja".Vega first appears in the original Street...

of Street Fighter

Street Fighter

, commonly abbreviated as SF, is a series of Fighting Games developed in Japan in which the players pit the video games' competitive fighters from around the world, each with his or her own unique fighting style, against one another...

and Miguel Caballero Rojo of Tekken). He is also the only boss character from Real Bout Fatal Fury Special and Real Bout Fatal Fury 2 that hasn't appeared in The King Of Fighters Tournaments.

Wolfgang Krauser

Krauser made his appearance in Fatal Fury 2

Fatal Fury 2

is a 1992 fighting video game released by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home platforms. It is the sequel to Fatal Fury: King of Fighters and the second game in the Fatal Fury franchise.-Gameplay:...

, where he serves as the final opponent in the tournament. Known as the only man in the world feared by Geese Howard

Geese Howard

(whom in Fatal Fury Special is revealed to be his elder half-brother from the same father), Krauser is a German nobleman who is publicly known as the current Earl of Stroheim, a prestigious family in Europe, but within the underworld he is a ruthless warlord known as the Emperor of Darkness. After Geese's supposed death in the original Fatal Fury, Krauser sponsors a new King of Fighters tournament with his three chosen warriors Laurence Blood, Axel Hawk and Billy Kane

Billy Kane

(a former underling of Geese himself) in order to lure the men who defeated Geese (Terry Bogard

Terry Bogard

, Andy Bogard, and Joe Higashi).

Although Krauser takes his own life following the events of Fatal Fury 2 and Special according to the background story in the subsequent games, Krauser appeared in the special installments of the series Real Bout Fatal Fury Special

Real Bout Fatal Fury Special

, is a 1997 fighting game released by SNK for the Neo Geo platform. It is the sixth installment in the Fatal Fury series and the second game in the Real Bout sub-series, following the original Real Bout Fatal Fury...

and Real Bout Fatal Fury 2.

Outside the Fatal Fury series, Krauser appears as a member of the Boss Team in The King of Fighters '96

The King of Fighters '96

The King of Fighters '96 is a fighting game released by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home consoles. It is the third game in The King of Fighters series, following The King of Fighters '95. Like its predecessor, the game was ported to the Neo-Geo CD, as well as the PlayStation and Sega Saturn...

with his half-brother Geese and Geese's former partner-in-crime Mr. Big. The Boss Team made another appearance in the remake of The King of Fighters '98

The King of Fighters '98

The King of Fighters '98 is a fighting game released by SNK released for the Neo Geo arcade and home console. It is the fifth game in The King of Fighters series...

, titled The King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match. Additionally, Krauser also appears as a "Striker" character in the console versions of The King of Fighters 2000

The King of Fighters 2000

.

Krauser serves a main antagonist in the anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

special Fatal Fury 2: The New Battle

Fatal Fury 2: The New Battle

is an anime TV Special based on the Neo Geo SNK video game, Fatal Fury 2 and is a sequel to the previous TV movie, Fatal Fury: Legend of the Hungry Wolf. The movie was directed by Kazuhiro Furuhashi and once again features character designs by Masami Ōbari...

. According to character designer Masami Ōbari

Masami Obari

' is a noted Japanese animation director and character and mecha designer.-Biography:In 2000, he founded the animation studio G-1 Neo with fellow animators, which later disbanded and was reformed under the Studio G1 Neo name.- Direct-to-video animation :...

, Krauser was redesigned to be ten years younger than his video game counterpart and given a clean-shaved appearance. In this special, Krauser challenges his half-brother's nemesis Terry Bogard to battle and wins. After Terry regains his courage, he challenges Krauser again and wins the rematch, causing Krauser to commit suicide due to his loss.

Bob Wilson

is a character introduced in Fatal Fury 3 and appears as a playable character throughout the Real Bout sub-series. He is the bartender of Pao Pao Cafe 2 and was trained in capoeira

Capoeira

by Richard Meyer. He specializes in spinning kicks and combination attacks. All of his special moves reference animals in some way, as his Fatal Fury 3 Special Moves are the Wild Wolf, the Bison's Horn, the Lynx's Fang, the Rolling Turtle, and the Hornet Attack. His Super Special Move is the Dangerous Wolf. In Real Bout, he gains the Monkey Dance special move and two Hidden Abilities, the Mad Spin Wolf and the Wolf's Fang. Real Bout Special brings in the Sidewinder, Hunting Frog and Hawk Talon Special Moves, and Real Bout 2 discards Bob's previous Hidden Abilities for a new one called Dancing Bison.

Franco Bash

makes his first appearance in Fatal Fury 3 as one of the five new playable characters introduced in the game and also appears thorough the Real Bout sub-series. He is a retired Super Heavyweight-class kickboxing

Kickboxing

Kickboxing refers to a group of martial arts and stand-up combat sports based on kicking and punching, historically developed from karate, Muay Thai and western boxing....

champion who works as a mechanic in South Town Airport to support his wife Emilia, and their son Junior. In Fatal Fury 3 his son is kidnapped by Yamazaki, who blackmails him into helping him obtain the Secret Scrolls of the Jin. He rescues his son in his ending in Fatal Fury 3 and trains to make his comeback in the Real Bout series. He makes a cameo at the end of KOF 2003 cheering on the Fatal Fury Team.

Hon-Fu

is introduced in Fatal Fury 3 as one of the new playable characters featured in the game and appears all the games in the Real Bout sub-series. He is a police officer from Hong Kong who practices Kung Fu and specializes in using a nunchaku

Nunchaku

is a traditional Okinawan weapon consisting of two sticks connected at their ends with a short chain or rope.-Etymology:The Japanese word nunchaku is the Kun'yomi reading of the Kanji term for a traditional Chinese two section staff....

. His objective thorough Fatal Fury 3 and the Real Bout series is to arrest the escaped convict Ryuji Yamazaki and is aided by Cheng in Fatal Fury 3. He is a close friend of Kim Kaphwan according to his backstory in Fatal Fury 3, as the two have nearly identical desperation attacks, although Hon-Fu was given a new one for Real Bout Fatal Fury 2.

Sokaku Mochizuki

is introduced in Fatal Fury 3 as one of the five new characters featured in the game and appears in all of the games in the Real Bout series. Mochizuki is a Buddhist monk who practices the , a fighting style created to hunt down Shura

Asura

-In Hinduism:In Hinduism, the Asuras constitute a group of power-seeking deities, sometimes considered sinful and materialistic. The Daityas and Danavas were combinedly known as Asuras. The Asura were opposed to the Devas. Both groups are children of Kasyapa...

after its founder lost to the Shiranui style. He is said to has the strongest psychokinetic

Psychokinesis

The term psychokinesis , also referred to as telekinesis with respect to strictly describing movement of matter, sometimes abbreviated PK and TK respectively, is a term...

power in the history of the art's style. In Fatal Fury 3 and the original Real Bout, his objective is to seek the Scrolls of the Jin and destroy them. His Real Bout 2 ending shows him trapping a demon larger than a house within a single paper talisman.

Jin Chonshu

Jin Chonshu (秦崇秀, Japanese

Japanese language

is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...

: Jin Chonshū, Pinyin

Pinyin

: Qín Chóngxiù) first appears as the second boss character in Fatal Fury 3 and appears thorough the Real Bout series as a regular playable character. He is the younger half of the Jin brothers seeking the Three Secret Scrolls of the Jin. While he appears like a regular teenage boy, he is actually possessed by the spirit of Jin Kairyu (秦　海龍), who was the younger son of Jin Ōryū (秦王龍), the ancient warlord who wrote the Secret Scrolls of the Jin two thousand years prior to the events of Fatal Fury 3. In Fatal Fury 3, they head to South Town to seek the Secret Scrolls of the Jin in order to unleash their true power. The scrolls are eventually taken by Geese Howard and in the original Real Bout Fatal Fury the Jin brothers participate in the King of Fighters tournament to recover them. However, the scrolls are destroyed by Chonrei in the Jin Brothers' endings. In Real Bout 2, Chonshu then becomes a disciple of Kim Kaphwan, as seen in their corresponding endings. Outside the Fatal Fury series, Jin Chonshu and Jin Chonrei have appeared in Neo Geo Battle Coliseum.

Jin Chonrei

Jin Chonrei (秦崇雷, Japanese: Jin Chonrei, Pinyin

Pinyin

: Qín Chóngléi) appears in Fatal Fury 3 as the third and final boss character featured in the game and appears as a regular playable character thorough the Real Bout series. Like his younger brother Chonshu, Chonrei is possessed by the spirit of Jin Kuryu (秦空龍), the elder son of Jin Ōryū and ancestor of Chonrei and Chonshu. In Fatal Fury 3, they head to South Town to seek the Secret Scrolls of the Jin in order to unleash their true power. The scrolls are eventually taken by Geese Howard and in the next game of the series,Real Bout Fatal Fury, the Jin brothers participate in the King of Fighters tournament to recover them. However, the scrolls are destroyed by Chonrei in the Jin Brothers' endings. In Real Bout Fatal Fury 2, Chonrei becomes an apprentice of Tung Fu Rue, as seen in their corresponding ending (although Kim's ending in the game depicts Chonrei training as Kim's disciple along with his brother). Outside the Fatal Fury series, Jin Chonshu and Jin Chonrei have appeared in Neo Geo Battle Coliseum.

In Gamest's 1997 Heroes Collection, Jin was voted as the staff's thirty-ninth favorite character. He shared the spot with four other characters, including Fatal Fury character, Joe Higashi

Joe Higashi

is a video game character created by SNK Playmore . He makes his first appearance in the fighting game Fatal Fury: King of Fighters as one of the three playable characters from the game...

, and Street Fighter

Street Fighter

character, Zangief

Zangief

is a fictional character in the Street Fighter series of video games. Created by Akira Yasuda for Capcom, Zangief first appeared in Street Fighter II, later appearing in other games, media, and promotions related to the Street Fighter franchise...

Alfred

is the protagonist of the main story mode in Real Bout Garou Densetsu Special: Dominated Mind, a Japan-only PlayStation

PlayStation

The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...

game based on the original Real Bout Fatal Fury Special

Real Bout Fatal Fury Special

. Prior to his debut, he appears in Real Bout Fatal Fury 2: The Newcomers

Real Bout Fatal Fury 2: The Newcomers

is a 1998 fighting game by SNK for the Neo Geo platform. It is the seventh game in the Fatal Fury series and the third game in the Real Bout sub-series, following Real Bout Fatal Fury and Real Bout Fatal Fury Special...

as a secret final boss. When he was young, his friend John (the elderly co-pilot who accompanies Alfred) took him on a trip on his biplane. When John flew to Russian airspace, MiG

Mig

-Industry:*MiG, now Mikoyan, a Russian aircraft corporation, formerly the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau*Metal inert gas welding or MIG welding, a type of welding using an electric arc and a shielding gas-Business and finance:...

missiles were sent after him, but he managed to outfly them without getting struck. John became a hero in Alfred's mind, as the man who won against the MiGs, and Alfred was charmed by flying since then. Alfred seeks to defeat White, who took over the hometown where his deceased father is interred. Alfred goes to Southtown to seek Terry Bogard's aid and help him defeat White.

Alfred appears in later games, such as the Dreamcast version of The King of Fighters '99

The King of Fighters '99

(as secret striker), in SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters Clash

SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters Clash

SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters Clash is a series of SNK Playmore games between 1999 and 2006 for hand-held consoles.This game has a CCG theme, spun off from the popular series of fighting games by SNK and Capcom, and also including references to many other kinds of games from both companies. The...

series (as a trading card) and in KOF: Maximum Impact 2

KOF: Maximum Impact 2

KOF: Maximum Impact 2, released in North America as The King of Fighters 2006, is a 3D competitive fighting game produced by SNK Playmore and released for the PlayStation 2 in...

and KOF 2002: Unlimited Match (as a cameo in one of the stages).

White

is the antagonist of Real Bout Garou Densetsu Special, where he serves as Alfred's rival. A demented psycho and all-around disturbed fellow, White finds pleasure in making people suffer and follow his every wish. He uses his mind-controlling abilities to make people his personal toys, manipulating them to his desire. White enjoys playing around with those foolish enough to challenge him, using the great amount of power that he possesses. He appears to be based on the main character, Alexander DeLarge from Anthony Burgess

Anthony Burgess

John Burgess Wilson – who published under the pen name Anthony Burgess – was an English author, poet, playwright, composer, linguist, translator and critic. The dystopian satire A Clockwork Orange is Burgess's most famous novel, though he dismissed it as one of his lesser works...

' A Clockwork Orange

A Clockwork Orange

A Clockwork Orange is a 1962 dystopian novella by Anthony Burgess. The novel contains an experiment in language: the characters often use an argot called "Nadsat", derived from Russian....

Li Xiangfei

Li Xiangfei (Chinese: 李香緋; Pinyin

Pinyin

: Lǐ Xiāngfēi; Japanese

Japanese language

: 李香緋 Rii Shanfei) makes her first appearance in Real Bout 2. She is a 17-year-old Chinese-American girl who works part-time as waitress in her Uncle Pai's restaurant in the Chinatown district of South Town and has trained in various Chinese martial arts since an early age. She also appears in Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition as a hidden guest character.

Li Xiangfei would later make her debut in The King of Fighters series in The King of Fighters '99

The King of Fighters '99

, forming part of the Woman Fighters Team along with King, Blue Mary

Blue Mary

, and Kasumi Todoh. She was absent in The King of Fighters 2000

The King of Fighters 2000

, but would return in The King of Fighters 2001

The King of Fighters 2001

, taking Kasumi Todoh's place from the previous game.

Rick Strowd

is one of the two new characters introduced in Real Bout 2. He is a casino show boxer known as the "White Wolf of the Ring", who is the son of a Native American

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

father and a white mother. He seeks the opportunity to fight in a championship match as well as fight Terry Bogard. Rick's Special Moves are the Shooting Star, the Divine Blast, the Hellion, and the Blazing Sun Burst. He also has a special dodging maneuver called Full Moon Fever. His Super Special is the Gaia's Breath, and his Hidden Ability is the Machine-Gun Wolf. Rick is seen to have a girlfriend, a blonde woman wearing a red dress, name unknown, with whom he rides off into sunset on horseback in his ending. Fans have speculated a probable connection between him and fellow boxer, Vanessa, from SNK's King of Fighters

King of Fighters

, officially abbreviated KOF, is a series of fighting games by SNK Playmore . The series was originally developed for SNK's Neo Geo MVS arcade hardware, which served as the main platform for the series until 2004, when SNK retired the MVS in favor of the Atomiswave arcade board...

series, as she later began using Rick's Hellion, and had the Gaia's Breath as a DM in King of Fighters 2002.

Lao

is a character introduced in Fatal Fury: 1st Contact. He can be seen in the opening scenes of Real Bout Fatal Fury 2 and Fatal Fury First Contact. In Garou: Mark of the Wolves

Garou: Mark of the Wolves

, he becomes a member in B. Jenet's Lillien Knights crew.

Toji Sakata

is one of two characters who appears exclusively in Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition. He is the legendary practitioner of the fighting style . He was once the rival of , Blue Mary's grandfather and the man who trained Geese Howard in Jujitsu. Believing that he was destined to challenge Tatsumi in a death match, this encounter never occurred since Tatsumi was eventually killed by his former student, Geese Howard. He enters the King of Fighters tournament to defeat the man who killed his rival.

Tsugumi Sendo

is one of the two new characters exclusive to Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition. She's a high school girl from Osaka who was taught wrestling by her father, since an early age. However, she is secretly ashamed of this, especially after she was told by a boy she had a crush that woman wrestlers are "unfeminine", and wants to drop out of her wrestling training. After butting heads with her overbearing father, Kantetsu will allow her to drop out, but only under the condition that she brings a decisive victory in the King of Fighters tournament. Despite her original hatred for wrestling, she has come to enjoy fighting as she began to win matches. Some of Tsugumi's move names reference her hometown, like "Tsūtenkaku

Tsutenkaku

, lit. "Tower Reaching Heaven", owned by Tsūtenkaku Kanko Co., Ltd. is a well-known landmark of Osaka, Japan and advertises Hitachi. It is located in the Shinsekai district of Naniwa-ku, Osaka....

Driver", " Lariat", and "Okonomiyaki

Okonomiyaki

is a Japanese dish containing a variety of ingredients. The name is derived from the word okonomi, meaning "what you like" or "what you want", and yaki meaning "grilled" or "cooked" . Okonomiyaki is mainly associated with Kansai or Hiroshima areas of Japan, but is widely available throughout the...

-Ire".

B. Jenet

(Bonne Jenet in full, or real name Jennie Behrn) is a character from both Garou: Mark of the Wolves

Garou: Mark of the Wolves

and the King of Fighters

King of Fighters

series. Jenet is the leader of a group of pirates known as the Lillien Knights. Jenet entered the tournament hosted by Kain R. Heinlein to rob him of anything valuable he might be keeping in his mansion. In her ending, she passes out amidst the destruction of Kain's mansion after defeating him. Her crew saves her from being trapped under the rubble, but fails to secure any of the treasure they had been looking for.

In The King of Fighters Maximum Impact 2, her parents are revealed to be incredibly wealthy; she formed the Lillien Knights when she became bored of her tedious lifestyle. Before the start of the tournament, she attends a party in her otherwise occupied parents' place. While there, the son of the host attempts (and fails quite miserably) to impress her with his paltry skills in Savate

Savate

Savate , also known as boxe française, French boxing, French kickboxing or French footfighting, is a French martial art which uses the hands and feet as weapons combining elements of western boxing with graceful kicking techniques. Only foot kicks are allowed unlike some systems such as Muay...

. Although Jenet is rather repulsed by his arrogance and embarrassing lack of skill, she learns from him that the King of Fighters tournament is being held once again. After her Lillien Knights knock the man unconscious and rob his father, Jenet decides to join the tournament in hopes of winning the prize money. She is voiced by Rei Saitō in Japanese, and by Gina Rose in the English version of KOF: MI2.

Gato

is a character from Garou: Mark of the Wolves

Garou: Mark of the Wolves

and the King of Fighters

King of Fighters

series. He has no concerns outside of besting anyone unfortunate enough to cross his path. In his Mark of the Wolves ending, a stranger saves Kain R. Heinlein from the crumbling mansion. Gato appears to know the stranger, but he is blinded before he can act. As the mansion falls, the stranger taunts Gato, telling him to start training in order to defeat him. Gato appears to have a vision of his past and his father, and angrily swears vengeance - this insinuates that the stranger is connected to Gato's past (the stranger's outfit appears to resemble Gato's), but nothing has been officially confirmed. Gato also appears in the ending of Hotaru Futaba, who claims that he's her older brother and slaps him when he denies even knowing her. He then leaves her there, and Hotaru silently prays for Gato to come back to her and their father.

Gato first appears in the King of Fighters series in King of Fighters 2003 as part of the Outlaw Team, along with Ryuji Yamazaki and Billy Kane

Billy Kane

. Gato is summoned to Geese Howard

Geese Howard

's office and forced to cooperate in order to prevent his sister from being harmed. Gato does not like his team mates at all as revealed by the ending, in which Gato ditches the other two immediately and tells them off, leaving Yamazaki and Billy to fight. In KOF XI

The King of Fighters XI

The King of Fighters XI is a 2D competitive fighting game produced by SNK Playmore originally released in as a coin-operated arcade game for the Atomiswave platform...

he is partnered with Bonne Jenet and Tizoc to form a Garou Team. He also immediately leaves them, though on somewhat friendlier terms (he declines their invitation to celebrate) reinforcing Hotaru's description of his true nature. He is voiced by Kōji Ishii

Koji Ishii

is a Japanese voice actor currently affiliated with Vi-Vo.-Notable voice roles:*Chief Koutarou Taiga in The King of Braves GaoGaiGar and The King of Braves GaoGaiGar FINAL*Kimura-sensei in Azumanga Daioh*Jose Collins in A.D...

Hotaru Futaba

is a character who was introduced in Garou: Mark of the Wolves

Garou: Mark of the Wolves

and also makes an appearance in Neo Geo Battle Coliseum

Neo Geo Battle Coliseum

NeoGeo Battle Coliseum is a 2 on 2 tag team fighting game for the Atomiswave arcade board. The game features characters from several SNK and ADK titles. The PlayStation 2 version of the game has been released in Japan, North America and Europe...

and in the PS2 version of The King of Fighters XI

The King of Fighters XI

The King of Fighters XI is a 2D competitive fighting game produced by SNK Playmore originally released in as a coin-operated arcade game for the Atomiswave platform...

. Hotaru is the daughter of a family of martial artist

Martial arts

Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....

s, but is not very fond of violence

Violence

Violence is the use of physical force to apply a state to others contrary to their wishes. violence, while often a stand-alone issue, is often the culmination of other kinds of conflict, e.g...

. She never wants to hurt others, which is the probable reason why her father taught her the lighter side of Chinese

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

kenpo

Kenpo

is the name of several Japanese martial arts. The word kenpō is a Japanese translation of the Chinese word "quánfǎ. This term is often informally transliterated as "kempo", as a result of applying Traditional Hepburn romanization, but failing to use a macron to indicate the long vowel...

; the Juu-kei style, which suits her easygoing personality. There are two things that Hotaru appreciates the most after her mother

Mother

A mother, mum, mom, momma, or mama is a woman who has raised a child, given birth to a child, and/or supplied the ovum that grew into a child. Because of the complexity and differences of a mother's social, cultural, and religious definitions and roles, it is challenging to specify a universally...

's suicide: her sable, Itokatsu, and her older brother, Gato. But Gato was a man who was tormented to become an accomplished martial artist, and was pushed too far by their father. Still, Hotaru knows who the real Gato is, and she is sure that he is not such a bad person at heart.

Gato's disappearance led Hotaru to a hostile city located in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

: Second South Town, where fighting rules all, crime rules the society

Society

A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations...

, and strength dictates who lives and dies. In this harsh place, Hotaru set out to find clue

Evidence

Evidence in its broadest sense includes everything that is used to determine or demonstrate the truth of an assertion. Giving or procuring evidence is the process of using those things that are either presumed to be true, or were themselves proven via evidence, to demonstrate an assertion's truth...

s about her brother. She then heard news of a fighting tournament

Tournament

A tournament is a competition involving a relatively large number of competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:...

of epic proportions that would soon occur in Second South Town - "King of Fighters: Maximum Mayhem." Hotaru had a feeling that her brother would enter the tournament, as he was always looking for strong opponents to fight. Following her premonitions, Hotaru entered the tournament as well. She is voiced by Yuki Horie .

Tizoc

Tizoc, otherwise known as or the Griffon in the Japanese version, is a character from both the Fatal Fury and King of Fighters

King of Fighters

series. He started out in the Fatal Fury game Garou: Mark of the Wolves. By the time of Garou: Mark of The Wolves, Tizoc already sees himself as a washed up has-been and enters the tournament in order to gain his passion into going back into the ring. When the events of King of Fighters 2003 occur, Tizoc is an up and coming superstar in the professional wrestling

Professional wrestling

circuit and joins the Fatal Fury team after being invited by Terry Bogard

Terry Bogard

himself after his brother Andy becomes unavailable since he is teaching a young boy in Shiranui style Ninjitsu in Japan (the boy would later grow up to be known as Hokutomaru in Garou). He is voiced by Hikaru Hanada .

Kasumi Todoh

is the daughter of Ryuhaku Todoh, the first enemy in the original Art of Fighting. Kasumi grew up learning the Todoh school of Aikido

Aikido

is a Japanese martial art developed by Morihei Ueshiba as a synthesis of his martial studies, philosophy, and religious beliefs. Aikido is often translated as "the Way of unifying life energy" or as "the Way of harmonious spirit." Ueshiba's goal was to create an art that practitioners could use to...

and Kobujutsu

Okinawan kobudo

Okinawan kobudō is a Japanese term that can be translated as "old martial way of Okinawa"...

, taught to her by her father. As her family's sole heir, she does all she can to stand up for the Todoh way. When Ryuhaku stayed at Southtown to settle an old score with a man named Takuma Sakazaki, Kasumi remained in her house, waiting for her father's return. A couple of months later, she learns that Ryuhaku has been defeated by Ryo Sakazaki

Ryo Sakazaki

, Takuma's son and has not been seen since. She decides to fight Ryo and anybody else in order to avenge her father. However, her mother does not like that idea and convinces her to make peace with Ryo to the point of slapping her in the face.

Kasumi goes on to participate in the 1996 King of Fighters

The King of Fighters '96

tournament with King and Mai Shiranui

Mai Shiranui

is a player character in both the Fatal Fury and The King of Fighters series of fighting games by SNK and in related media, also appearing in a large number of other games...

, replacing Yuri Sakazaki

Yuri Sakazaki

who left for Ryo's team in place of Yuri's father Takuma (Takuma threatened to seize Yuri's assets in order to motivate Yuri to join Ryo's team). After Goenitz (highest priest of the Orochi Power) was defeated (not to mention taking his own life), King took Mai and Kasumi to her bar

Bar (establishment)

A bar is a business establishment that serves alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails — for consumption on the premises.Bars provide stools or chairs that are placed at tables or counters for their patrons. Some bars have entertainment on a stage, such as a live band, comedians, go-go...

.

In 1999, she teams up with King, Blue Mary and Li Xiangfei. Later in 2000, Kasumi rejoins Mai, and the two team up with Yuri and Hinako Shijou. While Kasumi had some reservations about teaming up with Yuri (mainly because Yuri is a Kyokugenryu Karate practitioner), Kasumi knows that she has to live under a family code of ethics and accepts Yuri as her teammate. In The King of Fighters XI

The King of Fighters XI

The King of Fighters XI is a 2D competitive fighting game produced by SNK Playmore originally released in as a coin-operated arcade game for the Atomiswave platform...

, she teams up with Malin and the bitter rival of the Sakazaki family, Eiji Kisaragi to form the Anti-Kyokugenryu Team. She has also been featured in The King of Fighters '98: Ultimate Match as an edit character, in The King of Fighters 2002: Unlimited Match in the Women Fighters Team with Mai and King and SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos. She is voiced by Masae Yumi.

Ryo Sakazaki

is the son of the respected Kyokugenryu master, Takuma Sakazaki. Orphaned at the age of 10, he now lives with his kid sister, Yuri. After Yuri is kidnapped, the Invincible Dragon is awakened in him. He plunges head-long into the urban battlezone, Southtown.

Robert Garcia

Son of the multi-millionaire Albert Garcia. Sent to the world-famous Imperial Academy to study the
mysteries of Kyokugen karate under the tutelage of Albert's lifelong friend, Takuma Sakazaki. After the death of Ryo's mother and the disappearance of Ryo's father, Robert watched over the young boy, providing him with friendship. Robert remains, however, Ryo's ultimate rival.

Ryuhaku Todoh

is the first opponent in the arcade mode of Art of Fighting. He is the creator and main teacher of Todoh style karate

Karate

is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...

, which derives its style from Aikido

Aikido

and Kendo

Kendo

, meaning "Way of The Sword", is a modern Japanese martial art of sword-fighting based on traditional Japanese swordsmanship, or kenjutsu.Kendo is a physically and mentally challenging activity that combines strong martial arts values with sport-like physical elements.-Practitioners:Practitioners...

. Todoh has a long standing rivalry with disciples of the Kyokugenryu school of karate and considers them a threat to his style of teaching in terms of profits as well as personal animosity dating back to a rivalry with Takuma Sakazaki when both men were very young.

After the player defeats Ryuhaku as Ryo and Robert wanted to interrogate him to know about who kidnapped Yuri, Todoh went into hiding and has not been seen since. Because of his disappearance, his daughter Kasumi goes on a personal quest to look for her father and gain revenge on Ryo and all Kyokugenryu disciples to try to reclaim her family's honor. However, in SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos he makes a short appearance after seeing Kasumi's development. He also appears in The King of Fighters 2000

The King of Fighters 2000

as a striker from Kasumi named voiced by Akira Goto. He has also been a playable character in Capcom vs SNK 2. He is voiced by Takeshi Aono and Carter Cathcart. He also appears in the game Samurai Shodown II

Samurai Shodown II

, is the second game in SNK's popular Samurai Shodown series of versus fighting games. This game has been released on the Wii's Virtual Console in Europe on August 8, 2008 and in North America on August 25, 2008 at a cost of 900 Wii Points...

during Gen-an's ending.

Jack Turner

is a member of Mr. Big's syndicate, and a developer of his own fighting style. One of Mr. Big's highest-ranking subordinates, he devastates anyone who crosses his path. Jack is also the leader of the Southtown gang known as the Neo Black Cats. Humorously, in Jack's ending in AOF2, it was revealed that he wanted to make the gang into a dance group.

Lee Pai Long

Lee Pai Long (Chinese: 李白龍) is a master of Chinese martial arts

Chinese martial arts

Chinese martial arts, also referred to by the Mandarin Chinese term wushu and popularly as kung fu , are a number of fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common traits, identified as "families" , "sects" or...

and an expert of his country's medicine. He works as the director of the Southtown prison, but also has a small herbal shop which he runs part time. A former adversary and long-time friend of Ryo Sakazaki

Ryo Sakazaki

's father Takuma, he enters the tournament to test Ryo's skills. And like his friend, he dawns a mask. In this case, a Monkey Mask. Humorously, in his ending to AOF2, it was discovered that Lee would become famous for finding the cure to haemorrhoids.http://www.vgmuseum.com/end/neogeo/a/aof2lee.htm He has also been featured in Neo Geo Battle Coliseum

Neo Geo Battle Coliseum

as a playable character. Eiji Yano voices him in Art of Fighting and NeoGeo Battle Coliseum and Kay Inage in Art of Fighting 2.

King

is a female Muay Thai fighter who hides her gender to avoid various issues with her. In the first Art of Fighting, King appears as a CPU-controlled character. She is hired by the criminal Mr. Big to work as a bouncer in his tournament. After King is defeated by Ryo Sakazaki and Robert Garcia who were searching for Ryo's kidnapped sister, Yuri, King agrees to help them to find Mr. Big. In Art of Fighting 2, King enters into the King of Fighters tournament in order to win the prize money to pay for an operation for her younger brother, Jan, to regain the use of his legs. As such, Ryo and Robert decide to use the prize money to pay for the operation in gratitude for helping them to find Yuri.

King is also a recurring character from The King of Fighters series as part of the Women Fighters Team participating in various tournaments, usually acting as the de facto

De facto

De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...

leader and peacekeeper. The team is initially composed of King, Mai Shiranui

Mai Shiranui

is a player character in both the Fatal Fury and The King of Fighters series of fighting games by SNK and in related media, also appearing in a large number of other games...

and Yuri, but Yuri is replaced in '96 by Kasumi Todoh and in '97 and '98 by Chizuru Kagura. In The King of Fighters '99

The King of Fighters '99

, the tournament now requires four members per team, and while Mai joins to the Fatal Fury Team, Chizuru left competition. However, Kasumi, Li Xiangfei and Blue Mary join King to complete the team. In The King of Fighters 2000

The King of Fighters 2000

, King is requested by Yuri to replace her in the Art of Fighting Team, in which she bonds with Ryo, Robert and Ryo's father, Takuma. She returns to the Women Fighters Team in The King of Fighters 2001

The King of Fighters 2001

with Mai, Hinako Shijou and Li Xiangfei. In The King of Fighters 2003

The King of Fighters 2003

, King joins Mary and Mai once again in the Women Fighters Team as the tournament returns to the use of three fighters per team. In The King of Fighters XI

The King of Fighters XI

The King of Fighters XI is a 2D competitive fighting game produced by SNK Playmore originally released in as a coin-operated arcade game for the Atomiswave platform...

, the Women Fighters Team is disbanded since Mai went into searching for her boyfriend Andy Bogard and Mary joins the Agents Team. However, King is once again requested to enter into the tournament with the Art of Fighting Team with Ryo and Yuri as Robert has problems with his organization and Takuma is in a weak state. Takuma pretends to be in a bad state just to make King join Ryo and intensify their relationship which has been hinted several times in the series. She is aware of this, usually getting uncharacteristically going into fits of rage at the Kyokugen dojo.

King has also appeared in The King of Fighters Neowave

The King of Fighters Neowave

The King of Fighters Neowave is a 2D competitive fighting game produced by SNK Playmore and originally released as a coin operated arcade game for Sammys Atomiswave hardware. It was the first game SNK Playmore produced for the Atomiswave...

with the her original team and in The King of Fighters Kyo aiding Kyo Kusanagi

Kyo Kusanagi

and Blue Mary into investigating Geese Howard

Geese Howard

. She was removed from The King of Fighters 2002

The King of Fighters 2002

, but was added as a playable character in the home version from the game as well as in the remake The King of Fighters 2002: Unlimited Match teaming up with Kasumi and Mai. Additionally, she has appeared in Capcom vs SNK and Capcom vs SNK 2. Harumi Ikoma

Harumi Ikoma

is a Seiyū that is best known for performing narration and character voices in popular fighting videogames for SNK, now known as SNK Playmore. She is the standard voice for the characters Blue Mary, King, Charlotte, and Nakoruru who appear in the popular franchises of video games King of Fighters,...

has voiced King since her debut. In the anime adaptation from Art of Fighting, King is voiced by Masako Katsuki in Japanese and Sharon Becker in English.

Mickey Rogers

is a former professional boxer

Boxing

Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

who was expelled from the ranks after he accidentally killed a man in the ring. He currently stalks Southtown seeking opponents to vent his anger and frustration on, and enters the tournament for the same reason. Like Crawley, Mickey gets a haircut between his two appearances. In the first AOF, Mickey has long hair, worn in dreadlocks

Dreadlocks

Dreadlocks, also called locks, a ras, dreads, "rasta" or Jata , are matted coils of hair. Dreadlocks are usually intentionally formed; because of the variety of different hair textures, various methods are used to encourage the formation of locks such as backcombing...

. In AOF2, he has short hair. In Art of Fighting 1, Mickey becomes a small time hood who works for Mr. Big so that he can get money as a street hustler. In Art of Fighting 2, Mickey has since reformed, wanting to get back into the professional boxing circuit. In Mickey's AOF2 ending, his trainer Pops (who is visible in Mickey's stage as well) informs him that his time has come, and he has a title bout. He is voiced by Kay Inage.

John Crawley

is a Martial Arts Instructor, and with his brutal and aggressive fighting style was known to his friends as "The Madman" and "The Killing Machine". He enters the tournament to win the prize money and test his skills. In the first AOF, Crawley has longer hair. By the time AOF2 occurs, his hair is cut shorter. In John's AOF2 ending, the US Military attempts to recruit him to rescue the President's canary, but John refuses. Although it is not mentioned in the game, John seems to be assigned to the aircraft carrier , since a large "62" is visible on the ship's island.

Mr. Big

is the sub-boss character from the first two Art of Fighting games. He has been involved with the mob for as long as he can remember. He made it big in Southtown, a city as seedy and corrupt as he is. He joins Geese Howard

Geese Howard

's criminal organization, soon becoming his right-hand man. Big secretly feared Takuma Sakazaki, the master of Kyokugenryu Karate, so he ordered the kidnapping of Takuma's daughter, Yuri

Yuri Sakazaki

, and threatened Takuma into working for him. Unfortunately, the plan backfired when Ryo Sakazaki

Ryo Sakazaki

and Robert Garcia

Robert Garcia

is a video game character created by SNK Playmore, formerly known as SNK. Robert stars in the fighting video game Art of Fighting as the lead character along his best friend Ryo Sakazaki. The game features both of them as practitioners of the Kyokugenryu Karate fighting who search for Ryo's younger...

fought their way through Southtown's crime to find both of them, beating Big senseless to rescue Yuri and Takuma. King worked as a bouncer

Bouncer (doorman)

A bouncer is an informal term for a type of security guard employed at venues such as bars, nightclubs or concerts to provide security, check legal age, and refuse entry to a venue based on criteria such as intoxication, aggressive behavior, or attractiveness...

at one of Mr. Big's establishments.

In 1996, Geese brought Mr. Big and Wolfgang Krauser to The King of Fighters, and revealed that he was after the Orochi power following the tournament's dramatic conclusion. Enraged, Mr. Big had a sniper

Sniper

A sniper is a marksman who shoots targets from concealed positions or distances exceeding the capabilities of regular personnel. Snipers typically have specialized training and distinct high-precision rifles....

take a shot at Geese, but the plan failed, and Mr. Big bailed out. The team also appears in The King of Fighters '98: Ultimate Match. Mr. Big has also been featured in The King of Fighters: Kyo, Neo Geo Battle Coliseum

Neo Geo Battle Coliseum

and the PlayStation 2 version from The King of Fighters XI

The King of Fighters XI

The King of Fighters XI is a 2D competitive fighting game produced by SNK Playmore originally released in as a coin-operated arcade game for the Atomiswave platform...

. He also appears in the PS2 port from The King of Fighters 2000

The King of Fighters 2000

as an assistant version of Takuma.

Masaru Naka voices Mr. Big in most KOF titles and Nobuyuki Yuki in NGBC and KOF XI. In the AOF anime adaptation, he was voiced by Iemasa Kayumi in Japanese and Cliff Lazenby in English. Mr. Big is played by Sam Hargrave in the 2010 live-action film adaptation of The King of Fighters

The King of Fighters (film)

, being the only character from the Art of Fighting series in the film.

Takuma Sakazaki

is Ryo and Yuri's father who left them prior to the first Art of Fighting. Takuma appears as the final boss from the game as a masked warrior named , having taken Yuri as a hostage. Before being defeated by Ryo and Robert, Yuri stops them, revealing his identity. It is later revealed that Takuma was forced to work for Geese Howard

Geese Howard

and that his right-hand man, Mr. Big, kidnapped Yuri to put him under control. In the Super Nintendo port, Takuma Sakazaki reveals himself as the unwilling killer of Jeff Bogard, stating he wouldn't have eliminated him but Geese had already taken Yuri hostage. In Art of Fighting 2, Takuma rebels against Geese and Mr. Big, by fighting in their King of Fighters tournament, but retreats due to the several injures he has.

Takuma also appears in The King of Fighters series as part of the Art of Fighting tournament along with Robert and Ryo, but he lets Yuri take his place in The King of Fighters '96

The King of Fighters '96

as he decides to retire. However, he returns in The King of Fighters '99

The King of Fighters '99

to the team as the tournament now requires four fighters per team. He once again retires in The King of Fighters 2003

The King of Fighters 2003

with the tournament returning to use 3 members per team. He becomes very weak in this game, but uses this state to make King enter the Art of Fighting Team to intensify her relationship with Ryo. In The King of Fighters 2002

The King of Fighters 2002

and The King of Fighters Neowave

The King of Fighters Neowave

he appears with the original Art of Fighting while in The King of Fighters '98

The King of Fighters '98

The King of Fighters '98 is a fighting game released by SNK released for the Neo Geo arcade and home console. It is the fifth game in The King of Fighters series...

and The King of Fighters 2002: Unilimited Match, he is part of the Oniayi Team, composed of elder characters from the series. In SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos there is a boss character named , which is an enhanced version of the normal Mr. Karate (also playable in the game). He has been voiced by Eiji Tsuda in all his appearances. Following an absence from the series since the 2002 installment, Takuma makes his return debut to the series in The King of Fighters XIII

The King of Fighters XIII

, rejoining Robert and Ryo from the 1994 team

Eiji Kisaragi

is a Japanese assassin

Assassination

To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...

from the feared and respected Kisaragi clan. His school is the sworn enemy of both the Sakazaki clan and Kyokugenryu Karate. Eiji is a mercenary, willing to kill for anyone so long as they pay well. In The King of Fighters '95

The King of Fighters '95

The King of Fighters '95 is a fighting game produced by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home console. It is the sequel to The King of Fighters '94 and the second game in The King of Fighters series...

, Eiji joins Billy Kane

Billy Kane

and Iori Yagami

Iori Yagami

in the Rivals Team as in order to kill the Sakazaki Family (Ryo, Yuri

Yuri Sakazaki

and Takuma). Eiji's team failed to reach the finals of the 1995 tournament and he was unable to get a 'clear shot' at the Sakazaki family. While about to escape and go search for them on his own, Iori Yagami appeared in front of Eiji and Billy Kane and brutally beat them, nearly killing them both.

Eiji did not appear as a playable, or story, character in a King of Fighters game again until The King of Fighters XI

The King of Fighters XI

The King of Fighters XI is a 2D competitive fighting game produced by SNK Playmore originally released in as a coin-operated arcade game for the Atomiswave platform...

, in which he joins Kasumi Todoh and Malin as the Anti-Kyokungeryu Team to find and defeat the Sakazakis once again, only to be badly beaten by an enrage King who was too angry at the Sakazaki's, but for different reasons. Eiji did eventually make the cut for The King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match along with Kasumi Todoh and the '96 Boss Team. In The King of Fighters 2000

The King of Fighters 2000

, he appears as an assistant character for Lin. He also makes short cameos with Billy Kane in some of his introductions against Iori, in which he also seeks revenge for what he did to them. He is voiced by Yoshinori Shima.

Temjin

is the only Mongolia

Mongolia

Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...

n dock worker at the Southtown port. Tem resigned himself to a period of menial work as a manure loader. Finding the job 25 bucks

Dollar

The dollar is the name of the official currency of many countries, including Australia, Belize, Canada, Ecuador, El Salvador, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, and the United States.-Etymology:...

an hour, tem stayed on, earning money for the small school in Mongolia where he dreams of teaching one day. He is voiced by Yoshinori Shima.

Jin Fu-Ha

is a former disciple of Eiji Kisaragi, who betrayed him. He then decides to kill Eiji, to test if he is strong enough to do so, he decides to see if he can defeat Eiji's sworn enemy Ryo Sakazaki

Ryo Sakazaki

and searches for him, eventually tracking him down and confronting him in GlassHill Valley while Ryo is searching for his friend Robert Garcia

Robert Garcia

there. Unlike most of the characters, Jin's final battle is not with Wyler, but Ryo Sakazaki

Ryo Sakazaki

. Unique to Jin Fu-Ha's ending is a page of text that tells the player Jin will one day fight Eiji but until then will wander the globe alone in the shadows. He is voiced by JAI.

Karman Cole

is a long-time employee of Robert Garcia

Robert Garcia

's parents in a personal assistant-like role who has known Robert since he was a child. The Garcias send Karman to find their son after he disappeared to look for his old childhood friend Freia Lawrence which has led him to GlassHill Valley. Karman is a loyal employee who seems very fond of Robert Garcia and lets him get away with much more than he should. Karman's final fight in Art Of Fighting 3 is not Wyler like most of the characters but Robert. However, Karman allows him to finish his search for Freia. He is voiced by Mantarō Koichi.

Lenny Creston

is a private investigator who works with Rody Birts. Though there seems to be some romantic tension between them, the two are partners in a business sense only. They have been hired by Wyler to find Freia (also a schoolfriend of Robert Garcia

Robert Garcia

) and deliver her to him. The two appear to have a bad reputation within their profession and Lenny sees their new assignment as their 'big chance'. Lenny is a tough, straight-talking woman but with a caring nature underneath. She fights using a whip, though she appears to be fond of using it for different things (such as dragging Rody around). She is voiced by Kumi Ishida.

Rody Birts

is a private investigator who works with Lenny Creston. Though she dominates him, their relationship is good-natured and there is even a hint of romantic tension. The two appear to have a bad reputation as private eyes. He has come to GlassHill Valley, Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

because he has been hired by Wyler to find an old childhood friend Freia for him. He is voiced by Eiji Yano.

Wang Koh-San

Wang Koh-San (Chinese

Chinese language

The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...

: ; Cantonese Yale: Wòhng Gaau Sāan) is an artist

Artist

An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...

entering a competition, and is also a friend of Lee Pai Long. He comes to GlassHill Valley for inspiration for the competition, but once there he learns of Wyler's Elixir and thinks that it will interest Lee. Wang travels with his pet Pelican

Pelican

A pelican, derived from the Greek word πελεκυς pelekys is a large water bird with a large throat pouch, belonging to the bird family Pelecanidae....

Hoeh-Hoeh. In his ending, he returns home and lets Hoeh-Hoeh choose the painting for competition. Then humorous 'drawings' of Hoeh-Hoeh interacting with all of the characters from the game are displayed. He is voiced by Monster Maezuka.

Sinclair

is an attractive young woman that appears to be of India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n descent, and is a mini-boss of sorts. Her flashy sword fighting is reminiscent of an assassin

Assassination

style. She is working with Wyler, pretending to encourage him in his experiments, but secretly wants him to stop them; whether she is there to assassinate him or not is unknown. Like Wyler, Sinclair does not have an ending sequence: completing the game only yields the staff roll. Unlike Wyler, she can be thrown, but cannot use throw moves herself. She has only appeared in Art of Fighting 3 thus far. She is voiced by Harumi Ikoma

Harumi Ikoma

Wyler

is the final boss in Art Of Fighting 3. He works on perfecting a powerful elixir that was originally developed by his father and Freia Lawrence's father. However, the essential data needed for completing it was taken by Freia's father when the partnership broke up. Wyler believes this action is the cause of his father becoming destitute and even the cause of his death. Wyler hires the private investigator partners Rody Birts and Lenny Creston to find her. Wyler finds Freia, though seemingly without the help of the private eyes he hired. He completes the elixir and takes it himself, turning into a large Hulk

Hulk (comics)

The Hulk is a fictional character, a superhero in the . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 ....

-like man. However, it has an unforeseen after-effect and reverts his mind to a child-like state. Freia choose to stay and tend to him. Wyler is a playable character, though he does not have an ending sequence of his own. He is voiced by Monster Maezuka

Monster Maezuka

is a Japanese voice actor currently associated with the Clutch voice actor agency. Maezuka is noted for his roles as Benimaru Nikaido, Ralf Jones and Choi Bounge in the Capcom vs...

Metal Slug

Tarma Roving

Voiced by: Dan McComas

His full name is Tarmicle Roving III. Born the son of a distinguished soldier in Hokkaidō

Hokkaido

, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...

, Japan, Tarma joined the army's training college for special tactics and combat straight out of Junior High. When he was 20, he rescued the president and used this to get himself transferred to the Peregrine Falcon Squad (PF Squad). He fought alongside his best friend Marco Rossi in the Great War, leading to his promotion as Captain.

Tarma is an expert motorcycle

Motorcycle

A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...

engineer and builds custom bikes for fun in his spare time. He had intended to retire and set up a shop, but his requests for a discharge from the military have always been denied.

Eri Kasamoto

Voiced by: Susanna Fera

Eri is an orphan

Orphan

An orphan is a child permanently bereaved of or abandoned by his or her parents. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents is called an orphan...

, abandoned on the steps of a church. Once she was mature

Maturity (psychological)

Maturity is a psychological term used to indicate how a person responds to the circumstances or environment in an appropriate manner. This response is generally learned rather than instinctive, and is not determined by one's age...

enough, she fled the church and became a leader of street kids. The Intelligence Agency of the Government Forces noticed her combat skills and recruited her. She went on to receive special spy

SPY

SPY is a three-letter acronym that may refer to:* SPY , ticker symbol for Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipts* SPY , a satirical monthly, trademarked all-caps* SPY , airport code for San Pédro, Côte d'Ivoire...

training for those with special talent and successfully completed a number of missions as a first rate agent

Espionage

Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...

. But Eri, weary from the series of missions involving assassinations and plots that took a hard toll on her conscience, requested to be transferred to the Special Ops Squad S.P.A.R.R.O.W.S. Her request, which normally would go ignored, was specially granted given her achievements and superior abilities. For her efforts in suppressing Morden's second coup d'état

Coup d'état

A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...

, she received a promotion to sergeant

Sergeant

Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....

second-class.

Fiolina Germi

Voiced by: Melissa Ex

Fio is the only daughter of a wealthy Italian family. After she was born, her mother was unable to have any more children, making Fio the first heiress in the history of her family, as she had no older siblings. Throughout the generations, the Germi family has made a tradition of sending their eldest child into the military; Fio upholds this tradition willingly, though she has aspirations of becoming a doctor someday, having studied chiropractic

Chiropractic

Chiropractic is a health care profession concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disorders of the neuromusculoskeletal system and the effects of these disorders on general health. It is generally categorized as complementary and alternative medicine...

s, acupuncture

Acupuncture

Acupuncture is a type of alternative medicine that treats patients by insertion and manipulation of solid, generally thin needles in the body....

, and moxibustion

Moxibustion

Moxibustion is a traditional Chinese medicine therapy using moxa, or mugwort herb. It plays an important role in the traditional medical systems of China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Tibet, and Mongolia. Suppliers usually age the mugwort and grind it up to a fluff; practitioners burn the fluff or...

in college. Fio is a Master Sergeant

Master Sergeant

A master sergeant is the military rank for a senior non-commissioned officer in some armed forces.-Israel Defense Forces:Rav samal rishoninsignia IDF...

of the Intelligence Agency's S.P.A.R.R.O.W.S, which serves as a special forces

Special forces

Special forces, or special operations forces are terms used to describe elite military tactical teams trained to perform high-risk dangerous missions that conventional units cannot perform...

group for the government. As with her comrades in Metal Slug 2 and beyond, she rose through the ranks for her service against General Morden. She has also appeared in the King of Fighters series, first as a Striker in The King of Fighters 2000

The King of Fighters 2000

, and then being playable for the first time in KOF: Maximum Impact 2

KOF: Maximum Impact 2

KOF: Maximum Impact 2, released in North America as The King of Fighters 2006, is a 3D competitive fighting game produced by SNK Playmore and released for the PlayStation 2 in...

; in the game, she has a special intro when fighting members of the Ikari Warriors

Ikari Warriors

mistaking Ralf, Clark, and Leona as Marco, Tarma, and Eri respectively.

Trevor Spacey

A South Korean computer prodigy by the age of 3, Trevor picked up his skills from his parents and by the time he was 7 he could understand complex computer engineering jargon and would upload vaccines to the net to fight viruses. While attending college he gained a reputation as a technical programmer and was recruited by the army, leading him to join Marco Rossi's Peregrine Falcon Squad where he is, as of Metal Slug 4, a Sergeant. Trevor admires Marco Rossi, especially for his computer skills, more advanced than Trevor's. He replaces Tarma in Metal Slug 4.

Nadia Cassel

Hailing from France, Nadia was destined to be a Model

Model (person)

A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....

, if only she could stop gaining weight. Failing to do that, she decided to join the army for the exercise despite her manager's objections. While in training she discovered her fighting potential and volunteered for the S.P.A.R.R.O.W.S. special unit to gain battle experience leading to her being assigned to assist Fiolina Germi and Marco Rossi of the Peregrine Falcon Squad in stopping General Morden. She replaces Eri in Metal Slug 4.

World Heroes

Hanzo (Hanzō Hattori)

Hanzo is considered the protagonist of the series and uses many moves similar to Ryu
Ryu (Street Fighter)
is a video game player character created by Capcom, the main protagonist of the Street Fighter series. Having premiered in the first Street Fighter in 1987, Ryu appears as the lead character from the game along with his best friend Ken Masters participating in the Street Fighter tournament...

from the Street Fighter
Street Fighter
, commonly abbreviated as SF, is a series of Fighting Games developed in Japan in which the players pit the video games' competitive fighters from around the world, each with his or her own unique fighting style, against one another...

series, a common occurrence in fighting games of the time. Hanzo also appeared in NeoGeo Battle Coliseum as a playable character. He is based on the legendary ninja of the same name
Hattori Hanzo
, also known as , was a famous samurai and ninja master of the Sengoku era, credited with saving the life of Tokugawa Ieyasu and then helping him to become the ruler of united Japan. Today, he is often a subject of modern popular culture.-Biography:...

. Fuuma (Kotaro Fūma)

He is considered the rival of the main character Hanzo Hattori and as such they both share many similar moves (albeit using different names). Fūma also appeared in both Aggressors of Dark Kombat
Aggressors of Dark Kombat
Aggressors of Dark Kombat, sometimes abbreviated as ADK, and known in Japan as or simply GanGan, is a one-on-one fighting arcade game developed by Alpha Denshi Corp. and published by SNK...

and NeoGeo Battle Coliseum as a playable character. He is based on the actual Fūma Kotarō, who allegedly killed the real Hanzo. In the ADK universe Fūma is portrayed as a fun-loving bandit who is willing to adopt new ideas, sometimes he will stay in the modern era after the time-traveling, a fact not lost on his Aggressors of Dark Kombat appearance. Rasputin

A philosopher
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

of 13th century Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, was also a known alchemist
Alchemy
Alchemy is an influential philosophical tradition whose early practitioners’ claims to profound powers were known from antiquity. The defining objectives of alchemy are varied; these include the creation of the fabled philosopher's stone possessing powers including the capability of turning base...

and sorcerer. He discovered a way to expand his fists and feet so he could fight at distance. He accepts the chance to fight Geegus because he sees Geegus as a fallen angel
Fallen angel
Fallen angel is a concept developed in Jewish mythology from interpretation of the Book of Enoch. The actual term fallen angel is not found in either the Hebrew Bible or the New Testament. Christians adopted the concept of fallen angels mainly based on their interpretations of the Book of...

. He keeps pleading that loving one another is important and won't give into people who don't listen to his constant persuasion. He is based loosely on the actual person with the same name
Grigori Rasputin
Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin was a Russian Orthodox Christian and mystic who is perceived as having influenced the latter days of the Russian Emperor Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra, and their only son Alexei...

. Janne (Jeanne D'Arc)

She is a 15th century feminist, who protects the circus who raised her and has proven to be one of the toughest fencer
Fencing
Fencing, which is also known as modern fencing to distinguish it from historical fencing, is a family of combat sports using bladed weapons.Fencing is one of four sports which have been featured at every one of the modern Olympic Games...

s of her time. Accepted the invitation to defeat Geegus, only to prove that women are tougher than men. She puts all her worries about getting married into her blows. She enters the later tournaments to try to seek a husband, but finds out that guys are intimidated by her strength as a fighter. She is loosely based on Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc
Saint Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" , is a national heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in eastern France who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the...

. J. Carn

One of the top officers and personal bodyguard of Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan , born Temujin and occasionally known by his temple name Taizu , was the founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death....

, was fierce and merciless in hand-to-hand combat. He joined the World Heroes tournament to fight Geegus out of boredom. He's become a tyrant
Tyrant
A tyrant was originally one who illegally seized and controlled a governmental power in a polis. Tyrants were a group of individuals who took over many Greek poleis during the uprising of the middle classes in the sixth and seventh centuries BC, ousting the aristocratic governments.Plato and...

and wants to be victorious by hurling his raw brawn. He and Ryofu respect each other's power. He is loosely based on the actual Genghis Khan. Brocken

Brocken is an android, and his moveset contains techniques involving mechanically-extended limbs and missile
Missile
Though a missile may be any thrown or launched object, it colloquially almost always refers to a self-propelled guided weapon system.-Etymology:The word missile comes from the Latin verb mittere, meaning "to send"...

'fists'. Kim Dragon

Dragon is a famous martial artist and a star of martial arts film
Martial arts film
Martial arts film is a film genre. A sub-genre of the action film, martial arts films contain numerous fights between characters, usually as the films' primary appeal and entertainment value, and often as a method of storytelling and character expression and development. Martial arts are frequently...

s. Accused of lacking real skill, he accepted the invitation to fight against Geegus. He is based on the real life martial artist and actor Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee was a Chinese American, Hong Kong actor, martial arts instructor, philosopher, film director, film producer, screenwriter, and founder of the Jeet Kune Do martial arts movement...

, but is South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

n instead of Chinese
Chinese people
The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....

. In the first game his nationality is indicated Chinese and the Chinese characters used to spell his name in World Heroes Perfect
World Heroes Perfect
is a fighting arcade game developed and published by ADK with the assistance of SNK . It was originally released for the Neo Geo MVS arcade cabinet on May 25, 1995...

translates to "Gold Dragon". Muscle Power

An American wrestler from the 21st century, was the first competitor to win every Heavyweight Championship from every wrestling association. He accepted Doc Brown's invitation to fight Geegus because he took Geegus as a challenger of his multiple belts. He was based on Hulk Hogan
Hulk Hogan
Terrance Gene "Terry" Bollea , better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American Semi-retired professional wrestler, actor, television personality, and musician currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....

but his looks were slightly altered in World Heroes 2 and subsequent titles to tone down the resemblance.

Captain Kidd

A pirate
Piracy
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence at sea. The term can include acts committed on land, in the air, or in other major bodies of water or on a shore. It does not normally include crimes committed against persons traveling on the same vessel as the perpetrator...

who steals treasures from all over the world. He is based on the infamous William Kidd
William Kidd
William "Captain" Kidd was a Scottish sailor remembered for his trial and execution for piracy after returning from a voyage to the Indian Ocean. Some modern historians deem his piratical reputation unjust, as there is evidence that Kidd acted only as a privateer...

. His special moves involve ghost sharks, impressive kick moves and even throwing a blue miniature ghost pirate ship at the opponent. He also has a hanging rope for his super move in World Heroes Perfect. Erick

A Viking who wants to see his family. He is loosely based on the explorer Erik the Red
Erik the Red
Erik Thorvaldsson , known as Erik the Red , is remembered in medieval and Icelandic saga sources as having founded the first Nordic settlement in Greenland. The Icelandic tradition indicates that he was born in the Jæren district of Rogaland, Norway, as the son of Thorvald Asvaldsson, he therefore...

. His special moves invoke names in Norse mythology, including Odin
Odin
Odin is a major god in Norse mythology and the ruler of Asgard. Homologous with the Anglo-Saxon "Wōden" and the Old High German "Wotan", the name is descended from Proto-Germanic "*Wodanaz" or "*Wōđanaz"....

, Thor
Thor
In Norse mythology, Thor is a hammer-wielding god associated with thunder, lightning, storms, oak trees, strength, the protection of mankind, and also hallowing, healing, and fertility...

and Æsir
Æsir
In Old Norse, áss is the term denoting a member of the principal pantheon in Norse paganism. This pantheon includes Odin, Frigg, Thor, Baldr and Tyr. The second pantheon comprises the Vanir...

. Johnny Maximum

A devilish American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

player who describes himself as a "killer machine". His design is based on the famous football player Joe Montana
Joe Montana
Joseph Clifford "Joe" Montana, Jr. , nicknamed Joe Cool, Golden Joe, The Golden Great and Comeback Joe, is a retired American football player. Montana started his NFL career in 1979 with the San Francisco 49ers, where he played quarterback for the next 14 seasons...

. In his World Heroes Perfect ending it is revealed that he has a son, who wants to be like him, though Johnny doesn't approve of that. Mudman

A generic Pacific Islander
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islander , is a geographic term to describe the indigenous inhabitants of any of the three major sub-regions of Oceania: Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia.According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, these three regions, together with their islands consist of:Polynesia:...

wizard with a large wooden mask and no real historical basis apart from appearing primitive. Also appeared in NeoGeo Battle Coliseum as a playable character. Mudman attacks using blue spirits and flying mask-spinning attacks. Ryoko Izumo

Ryoko is a 16 year old girl and a master of Judo
Judo
is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...

and wants to prove her power against the rest of the fighters of this tournament. She admires Janne and Hanzo, considering them her role models; Janne for her beauty and strength, Hanzo for his skill. She is based on the famous real-life judoka Ryoko Tamura
Ryoko Tani
is one of the world's most famous and successful judoka. She was born in Fukuoka, Fukuoka. She was an employee at Toyota Motor Corporation, but is now entering politics.-Career:...

(now Tani). Shura (Naï Khanom Tom)

Shura is a 25 year old Muay Thai
Muay Thai
Muay Thai is a combat sport from Thailand that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. It is similar to other Indochinese kickboxing systems, namely pradal serey from Cambodia, tomoi from Malaysia, lethwei from Myanmar and muay Lao from Laos...

fighter who has joined the tournament to prove his worth to his feared dead older brother (even though his brother is actually alive and well). He is based on the legendary Muay Thai hero, Nai Khanom Tom. (Neo) Dio

He is the boss of World Heroes 2 (then known as Dio) and later reappears in World Heroes Perfect, also as a boss, with the name Neo Dio. He is inspired by the main character of Baoh
Baoh
is a manga series and anime OVA created by Hirohiko Araki, most famous for his epic JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. It is licensed in English by Viz Media. The manga lasted only two collected volumes and was adapted into a single-episode original video animation...

and shares similar attacks to him. He is also a boss and playable character in NeoGeo Battle Coliseum. The Super NES version lists his occupation as "Ultimate Being". "Dio" also means "God" in Italian.

Ryofu

A halberd-wielding Chinese warrior and rival of J.Carn. He is based on the warlord Lü Bu
Lü Bu
Lü Bu was a military general and later a minor warlord during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. According to the Records of Three Kingdoms, Lü Bu was highly-skilled in horse-riding and archery, and was thus nicknamed "Flying General"...

of the Three Kingdoms
Three Kingdoms
The Three Kingdoms period was a period in Chinese history, part of an era of disunity called the "Six Dynasties" following immediately the loss of de facto power of the Han Dynasty rulers. In a strict academic sense it refers to the period between the foundation of the state of Wei in 220 and the...

era. Jack

A punk serial killer with claws on his hands. He is loosely based on the historical serial killer Jack the Ripper
Jack the Ripper
"Jack the Ripper" is the best-known name given to an unidentified serial killer who was active in the largely impoverished areas in and around the Whitechapel district of London in 1888. The name originated in a letter, written by someone claiming to be the murderer, that was disseminated in the...

. Zeus

The main boss in this game. He may be based on the Greek god of the same name. He also bears resemblance to Raoh
Raoh
is a fictional character in the Fist of the North Star manga franchise by Buronson and Tetsuo Hara. He is the eldest of four honorary brothers who trained alongside the protagonist Kenshiro in the ancient assassination art of Hokuto Shinken...

from Fist of the North Star. He also appears in ADK's Ninja Commando
Ninja Commando
is a top-down, vertically-scrolling run and gun video game developed by Alpha Denshi and published by SNK. It was first released in May 1992 in cartridge format, and in 1994 for the Neo Geo CD.- Gameplay :...

, where he is referred to as Spider.

Son Gokū

He is based on the famous mythological character Sun Wukong
Sun Wukong
Sun Wukong , also known as the Monkey King is a main character in the classical Chinese epic novel Journey to the West . In the novel, he is a monkey born from a stone who acquires supernatural powers through Taoist practices...

("Journey to the West
Journey to the West
Journey to the West is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. It was written by Wu Cheng'en in the 16th century. In English-speaking countries, the tale is also often known simply as Monkey. This was one title used for a popular, abridged translation by Arthur Waley...

").

Akari Ichijou

is a 14-year old girl in The Last Blade

The Last Blade

, is a fighting game series created by SNK for the Neo Geo system. The Korean version of the game is known as "The Last Soldier". The Last Blade and its sequel are widely considered to be two of the most accomplished games available for the Neo Geo system, with fan opinion divided as to which is...

.

Born and raised in Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

, she was constantly battling disease

Disease

A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal dysfunctions, such as autoimmune...

s on her own until she finally understood her true calling: teleportation. When her older sister Hikari succumbed to disease, Akari became very agitated. At that time, their father called for her. She restlessly sat before her grim-faced father, who was about to give her a lecture about Hell’s Gate. Akari found out that Hell’s Gate was causing trouble again, and flew out of the room, bent on finding the perfect cure for her sister’s disease on her own: sealing Hell’s Gate. Her father accused her of not listening to what he said, but she was already gone.

It is interesting to note that Akari has had the most appearance as a playable character out of all of the cast in the Last Blade games, appearing in: Neo Geo Battle Coliseum

Neo Geo Battle Coliseum

, SNK Gals' Fighters

SNK Gals' Fighters

SNK Gals' Fighters is a 2-dimensional 1-on-1 versus fighting game which appeared on the Neo Geo Pocket Color in 2000. It featured female characters from various SNK franchises, where the characters compete in the aptly named The Queen of Fighters tournament, organized by a mysterious "Miss X", with...

& SNK vs. Capcom

SNK vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium

is a fighting game for the Neo Geo Pocket Color. It features a total of 26 characters from SNK and Capcom, eight of which are hidden. Play options includes 2-fighter tag teams, 3-fighter queue teams, and of course, one-on-one...

for the Neo Geo Pocket Color

Neo Geo Pocket Color

The Neo Geo Pocket Color , is a 16-bit colour handheld game console by SNK. It was the last console they produced in the Neo Geo family...

Musashi Akatsuki

is a legendary swordsman who once traveled the countryside, honing his skills and challenging worthy opponents along the way. During one of his battles he was killed by another swordsman. When Shinnosuke Kagami begins his plan to open Hell's Gate and bring about a new world order, he resurrects Musashi to further his plans and kill innocent people. To both their chagrins, while on one of his travels, Musashi was defeated. Honorable just like he was during his life, he bids farewell to his opponent, before dissolving in a beam of light.

Although a playable character in the first game (unlocked via a code), he is not allowed in matches. He has a crouching animation (which is uncommon for some bosses in SNK fighters). He is also selectable in the Dreamcast port of The Last Blade 2.

Genbu no Okina

is a guardian of the demonic portal known as “Hell

Hell

In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...

’s Gate”. For years, he and the other three guardians stood watch over its seal. For many years it was peaceful and Okina resigned himself to fishing

Fishing

Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....

and the complacent life of a hermit

Hermit

A hermit is a person who lives, to some degree, in seclusion from society.In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Christian who lives the eremitic life out of a religious conviction, namely the Desert Theology of the Old Testament .In the...

. Five years into his life of leisure, he was found by Kaede, who wished to train with him to improve his own sword skills. Okina taught the young man all he knew and Kaede left after he had improved his skills. Sensing the boy’s departure and inquiry for training as a sign of trouble, Okina followed him at a distance.

Despite Kaede preventing the opening of the Gate, it had still not been sealed properly. As the oldest guardian, Okina was aware of that and knew that to properly seal the portal, the legendary “Sealing Maiden” was required to perform the ritual. He also discovered that an assassin

Assassination

called the “Messenger From Afar” was rumored to pursue the maiden. Determined to fulfill his role as a guardian, Okina set out on a journey.

Hibiki Takane

is the 17-year-old daughter of , a renowned swordsmith known throughout Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

during the Bakumatsu era. He had retired to an isolated area in the countryside with his daughter but continued his work with various swordsmen around the country. One fateful day, Setsuna approaches Genzō and requests that he forge a new sword. Though the man radiated an aura of pure, unfathomable evil, the master swordsmith finds himself unable to refuse the request. He spends a time of almost 3 months forging this sword, which he dubs the , detailing the amount of time he invested in the weapon. The labor renders him ill, however, and he is soon permanently bedridden.

He tells his daughter that the silver-haired man was the reason for his condition, and that she should pursue him and the sword that he had forged. With a concerned Hibiki by his side, he utters his last words: “The thing that I saw... that I felt, even you must understand.” Though she was confused by her father’s cryptic request, Hibiki gathers her belongings and leaves in search of the silver-haired man.

Several days later, a man named Hyo Amano stops by, hoping that Genzō would repair his weapon, the “Otokomae”, when he learns of the swordsmith's death, he sets out to find his daughter.

Hibiki has 2 endings in the game; one of them involve her deciding to improve her swordsmanship which can be gained if the player defeats the opponents they face in Arcade mode with her super moves in every round.

She is a playable character in Capcom vs. SNK 2

Capcom vs. SNK 2

Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium 2001, known as Millionaire Fighting 2001 in Japan, is a sequel to the fighting game Capcom vs. SNK. This game was released on NAOMI hardware in the arcade...

, with her Speed Mode 'Custom Combos' from Last Blade 2 given to her as super moves. In addition she has some different animations to her supers in Capcom vs. SNK 2.

Hyo Amano

is characterized by his outlandish mannerisms and flamboyant personality. He uses the element of fire in some of his attacks as well as special techniques involving sakura

Sakura

A cherry blossom is the flower of any of several trees of genus Prunus, particularly the Japanese Cherry, Prunus serrulata, which is sometimes called sakura after the Japanese . Many of the varieties that have been cultivated for ornamental use do not produce fruit...

petals. His role in The Last Blade

The Last Blade

is somewhat ambiguous. As a carefree and fun-loving individual, Hyo has a strong love for sake, women, and the thrill of the fight. When he discovers the petals of the beautiful cherry trees falling from their branches, he panics and decides he must go defeat opponents to solve the “problem”. In the end, he discovers it was only the changing of the seasons that resulted in the petals falling from the trees.

After learning of the cause for the various Sakura trees petals falling, Hyo is devastated to learn that the sky is turning a dreadful gray color due to the re-opening of “Hell's Gate”. He draws his sword, but finds it oddly dull and fragile. In order to fix it, he decides to ask his friend Takane Genzō, a master swordsmith, to fix it. However, his friend has passed away. Amano discovers that he had a daughter (Hibiki Takane) who had recently departed the household. Concerned for his sword and for Hibiki, he sets off to locate her.

Hyo's ending in both games is interesting in that the player must choose one of two (or 3 in the first game) choices which have Hyo something different to the player depending on their answer.

Juzoh Kanzaki

is characterized as a power-type character in gameplay. He is the adopted brother of Akari Ichijou (he was orphaned earlier in his childhood). Despite this, he and his adoptive family are very close. At home, he is generally free-spirited and somewhat lazy. Sometime during this, he learned how to use a club with his brute strength (apparently to pass the time). While in the course of his usual lying around the house with little to keep him preoccupied, he was knocked out and kidnapped by Akari, who “persuaded” him to accompany her on a journey to discover the landmark known as the “Gate of Hell”.

After their adventure, their sister Hikari falls ill and the two become extremely concerned about her health. One day as Juzoh is visiting Hikari, she discloses that their sister Akari had run away to “Hell's Gate” again to find a cure for her curse. To lay both their fears to rest, Juzoh pursues her on her quest.

Juzo's move list underwent a drastic change in Last Blade 2 where some of his moves from the first game were either removed or revamped.

Kaede

is considered the main protagonist

Protagonist

A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...

of the series. His name means “maple

Maple

Acer is a genus of trees or shrubs commonly known as maple.Maples are variously classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or together with the Hippocastanaceae included in the family Sapindaceae. Modern classifications, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system, favour inclusion in...

” in Japanese

Japanese language

, and the series features many maple decorations as his motif, including a golden stylized maple leaf on the back of his vest

Vest

A vest is a garment covering the upper body. The term has different meanings around the world:Waistcoat :. This is called a waistcoat in the UK and many Commonwealth countries, or a vest in the US and Canada. It is often worn as part of formal attire, or as the third piece of a lounge...

.

He was the son of a warrior named Gaisei. Gaisei was a master swordsman who trained him with two other orphans, Moriya Minakata and Yuki. As he grew, he became an avid swordsman and powerful warrior. One day, when he was twelve, he and Yuki returned from an errand to discover their master slain and Moriya standing over his corpse. Enraged, Kaede physically attacked him for the (presumed) killing of their master. Moriya withstood the attack and left in silence.

Shortly thereafter, Kaede and Yuki depart their foster home to avenge the death of their master and confront the killer. Five years on their quest, he still searches for Moriya. He eventually discovers that the real killer of his master was one of the four guardians of hell

Hell

, Shinnosuke Kagami. He engages him, but the guardian's superior skill quickly overpowers him. However, it is revealed that Kaede possesses the power of the legendary dragon Seiryū

Seiryu

Seiryu, Seiryū, or Seiryuu can refer to:* Azure Dragon, a Chinese constellation symbol* Seiryu , a fictional character in the series YuYu Hakusho...

, transforming various physical aspects and giving him additional power. With his transformation into , he defeats Kagami.

After honing his skills and learning to control the power of the Seiryū to a greater extent, Kaede and Yuki set off to the Okina in order to find more information. When they arrive, they discover that the “Sealing Rite” needs to be performed, for a great evil threatens the world. This rite is to be performed by a special maiden, but a warrior named the “Messenger From Afar” seeks to assassinate her and prevent her from performing it. Kaede sets out to protect the maiden and to allow her to accomplish her mission.

Kaede also appears in King of Fighters 2000 as a special striker. In addition, Moriya, Akari & Washizuka are playable characters in NeoGeo Battle Coliseum.

For some unknown reason, Garou: Mark of the Wolves

Garou: Mark of the Wolves

character Rock Howard

Rock Howard

is a video game character appearing in various games from SNK Playmore . Rock makes his first appearance as a playable character in the fighting game Garou: Mark of the Wolves, the last chapter in the Fatal Fury series, as the new lead character from the series...

shares a similar trait with Kaede's awakened form: aside from the blond hair, both also have red eyes. Possibly due to this, one of Rock's alternate outfits in The King of Fighters 2006 is that of Kaede's.

Keiichiro Washizuka

is a unit leader of the Shinsengumi

Shinsengumi

The were a special police force of the late shogunate period.-Historical background:After Japan opened up to the West following U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry's visits in 1853, its political situation gradually became more and more chaotic...

, a police-like group during the Bakumatsu era. He is a firm believer in restoring order to Japan, and in the old ways of Samurai

Samurai

is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...

sword fighting. As such, he carries a very serious persona. He is extremely loyal to his Shinsengumi unit, and is a friend of Kojiroh Sanada. He is the only one in the unit who is aware that “Kojiroh” is actually Kojiroh's sister Kaori.

Kojiroh Sanada

was the captain of the fictional Shinsengumi

Shinsengumi

Unit Zero, which investigated demonic forces in Japan, following the concept of Bushidō

Bushido

, meaning "Way of the Warrior-Knight", is a Japanese word which is used to describe a uniquely Japanese code of conduct and a way of the samurai life, loosely analogous to the concept of chivalry. It originates from the samurai moral code and stresses frugality, loyalty, martial arts mastery, and...

. After Kojiroh dies investigating “Hell’s Gate”, his sister Kaori disguises herself as him, using his identity in order to investigate the evils within, as well as to restore the faith in the Shinsengumi. She also travels to finish off the former Shinsengumi, Shikyoh. Washizuka is the only known person to know her true identity.

Kaori shares similar moves with Washizuka, but does not perform them via the "charge" mechanism.

Kouryu

(or rather, in his new form) is the legendary warrior that trained Kaede, Yuki and Moriya Minakata. After Shinnosuke Kagami’s aborted plan to remove the seal on “Hell’s Gate” and bring about a new world order, Gaisei presumably stood up against the guardian in an attempt to stop him. Unfortunately, Shinnosuke is too powerful, and he dies in the battle. He is later discovered by his three students, who all vow to take revenge on his killer. Kaede accomplishes this, activating his power of the Seiryū

Seiryu

Seiryu, Seiryū, or Seiryuu can refer to:* Azure Dragon, a Chinese constellation symbol* Seiryu , a fictional character in the series YuYu Hakusho...

and defeating Shinnosuke. This also clears Moriya’s reputation, as he was originally blamed for killing Gaisei.

In The Last Blade 2, Gaisei is still deceased. However, an unknown force of evil resurrects him and drives the now-undead warrior insane. Additionally, he manages to combine the legendary powers of Suzaku, Seiryuu, Byakko

White Tiger (Chinese constellation)

The White Tiger is one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations. It is sometimes called the White Tiger of the West , and is known as Baihu in Chinese, Byakko in Japanese, Baekho in Korean and Bạch Hổ in Vietnamese...

and Genbu into his being, making him much more powerful than before. The now godlike warrior roams the lands and is called “Kouryu”, the Yellow Dragon.

Lee Rekka

hails from China

Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....

, where he learned a special form of Martial art that allows the user to control fire

Fire

Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....

and involves the use of fans and powerful kicks. One day, he witnessed a “red star” (the opening of “Hell's Gate”). Knowing it to be a sign of great evil, he travels from his homeland of China to stop the evil before it spreads across the world.

After the closing of the Gate, he remained in Japan. He continued to study and improve his skills in the martial arts

Martial arts

while earning a modest living at a nearby farm

Farm

A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...

. When he senses the re-opening of Hell’s Gate, he stops his training to investigate once more.

His ending in The Last Blade 2 seems to indicate that he took the wrong ship and ended in America instead of returning China.He is based on the real-life legendary Chinese martial arts master from Foshan

Foshan

Foshan is a city in central Guangdong province in southern China. The prefectural area under the city's jurisdiction over an area of about 3,840 km² and a population of 5.4 million of which 1.1 million reside in the city proper ....

, Wong Fei Hung

Wong Fei Hung

Wong Fei-hung was a Chinese martial artist, a traditional Chinese medicine physician, acupuncturist and revolutionary who became a folk hero and the subject of numerous television series and films. He was considered an expert in the Hung Gar style of Chinese martial arts. Wong is visibly the most...

Moriya Minakata

is a young swordsman in training under a legendary teacher named Gaisei. Under his tutelage, along with Kaede and Yuki, he became great swordsman. For many years, they lived happily together while learning Bushidō

Bushido

.

One day he discovered his master dead, and the killer was nowhere to be found. Kaede sees him over the body, and seeks to slay him under the belief he slew Gaisei. With this, he sets out on the run. Not only does he wish to avoid this confrontation, but he also seeks the man named Shinnosuke Kagami (who was the real killer) in order clear his name. However, after over five years of searching, Moriya has yet to find Kagami, who is defeated by Kaede instead.

After failing to take revenge upon Kagami, Moriya recluses himself to the wilderness to improve his skills and techniques. During this time, he finds within himself an urge to “return” to the portal known as “Hell’s Gate”. Ceasing his training, he travels in order to seek the truth.

Setsuna

is a powerful spirit that was released after Kagami was defeated by Kaede. Finding a deceased baby on a field of battle, he possesses it. After maturing his human form into an adult, he walks the path of destruction, killing and filled with hate for the human race. He uses a black katana

Katana

A Japanese sword, or , is one of the traditional bladed weapons of Japan. There are several types of Japanese swords, according to size, field of application and method of manufacture.-Description:...

-like blade, which leaves a trail of dark energy in its wake.

Shigen Naoe

is a guardian of a portal called the “Hell’s Gate”. Before the events of the first game, he is magically sealed in a massive stone for ten years by a friend who perceived him to be a threat. He eventually escaped, but clouded by his rage and anger, he could only think of getting back at his captor. He set out to exact revenge.

By the events of The Last Blade 2, Shigen had regained his senses and remembered that he had a daughter. To atone for his ten year absence, he traveled to the mountains to spend time with her while training. During this timeframe, he noticed the evil aura that emanated from the opened “Hell’s Gate”. As one of its guardians, he set out to close it, leaving his sleeping daughter in the darkness of night. However, he was initially unaware that his daughter knew of his departure and that she was following him at a distance.

There is a code that the player can enter at the character select screen so that when playing as Shigen, his daughter will appear instead of him as his intro before a match.

Shigen, along with Yuki, Gaisei & Zantetsu are the only known characters to die after the events of Last Blade 2.

Shikyoh

is a previous member of the Shinsengumi

Shinsengumi

, an organization that was to protect the weak. However, Shikyoh merely joined to kill innocents. When his superiors and comrades discovered this, they resolved to punish him, but he escaped before they could take action. When he discovered the opening of the “Hell’s Gate”, he thought it a perfect opportunity to continue his killing spree and set out in search of more prey.

After his death, Shikyoh was re-animated in the form of a zombie

Zombie

Zombie is a term used to denote an animated corpse brought back to life by mystical means such as witchcraft. The term is often figuratively applied to describe a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli...

named . With his love of killing still fresh in his mind along with his few memories and fighting style, Mukuro wanders the land in his undead form, continuing to kill innocents.

Shinnosuke Kagami

is featured as a boss

Boss (video games)

A boss is an enemy-based challenge which is found in video games. A fight with a boss character is commonly referred to as a boss battle or boss fight...

character in The Last Blade and was toned down to be regular playable character

Player character

A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...

in the sequel.

Shinnosuke is one of the guardians of “Hell’s Gate”, a portal that allows demons and evil energy to seep through to the mortal plane

Plane (metaphysics)

In esoteric cosmology, a plane, other than the physical plane is conceived as a subtle state of consciousness that transcends the known physical universe....

humans call Earth. After residing over his position and finding (or so he thought) that the humans he protected were weak and inferior to himself, he decides to release the seal on the portal. Along with this, he goes on a horrific killing spree, murdering various warriors including Gaisei.

After five years of preparatory action to unseal the gate, including imprisoning his fellow guardian, Shigen Naoe, Shinnosuke is eventually found by Kaede, who has the latent power of the Seiryū

Seiryu

Seiryu, Seiryū, or Seiryuu can refer to:* Azure Dragon, a Chinese constellation symbol* Seiryu , a fictional character in the series YuYu Hakusho...

. Kaede defeats him; humiliated by his defeat, Shinnosuke is thrown into the depths of Hell’s Gate as eternal punishment. However, he is soon reincarnated in a new form to fulfill his role as a guardian, as the portal is being opened by another force. Shinnosuke sets out to fulfill his destiny, and to seek atonement.

Yuki

is the daughter of a foreign family that managed ship trades; unfortunately, her family died in a ship accident. She is later adopted by a warrior named Gaisei, who trains her along with two other students: Moriya Minakata and Kaede. Unlike her fellow companions, she picks up the nagayari instead of the katana

Katana

. She also secretly harbors feelings for Moriya over the course of her training.

The year she turns 13, she returns with Kaede to find their teacher dead and Moriya standing over the body. Mortified, she watched as Kaede attacked Moriya. Moriya silently took his leave shortly thereafter. She and Kaede then embarked on a five year journey, eventually discovering the truth: a powerful swordsman named Shinnosuke Kagami was the one who had murdered their master. She assists Kaede in defeating Kagami, both avenging their master’s death and clearing Moriya’s name.

In The Last Blade 2, Yuki and Kaede discover that she is the maiden that is to perform the sealing of evil, as evidenced by her necklace and its recent glowing. After this, she and Kaede part ways and she is left to make her decision about her destiny.

Zantetsu

is the one of the last of numerous ninja

Ninja

A or was a covert agent or mercenary of feudal Japan specializing in unorthodox arts of war. The functions of the ninja included espionage, sabotage, infiltration, and assassination, as well as open combat in certain situations...

clans that roam ancient Japan. Due to the decline of the ninja population, the Japanese common folk begin to consider the title “ninja” a thing to scoff at. Determined to prove the superiority of his people, he challenges warriors time and time again to prove his strength. When he hears of the opening of a portal called “Hell’s Gate”, he sets out to defeat the enemies within to prove his strength.

At the outset of The Last Blade 2, Zantetsu resides in his village, and teaches his grandson the way of the ninja in order to continue their legacy. However, he is aware that he will pass away in the near future and wishes to prove his strength once more before his eventual death. He once again travels to “Hell’s Gate” to experience a great battle.

Geegus

Geegus is an cyborg that created by a secret organization called DAMD who can shapeshift
Shapeshifting
Shapeshifting is a common theme in mythology, folklore, and fairy tales. It is also found in epic poems, science fiction literature, fantasy literature, children's literature, Shakespearean comedy, ballet, film, television, comics, and video games...

into any of the eight fighters and use their moves at will. Geegus wants to destroy the Earth, so the World Heroes tournament was created to stop Geegus' evil plans. Before the final battle, Geegus asks for the Champion to fight him with the threat of destroying the entire planet if he is refused. Geegus appears in World Heroes 2 as Neo Geegus, the sub-boss of WH2. In this game he is not as vulnerable in his normal form but can only transform into either of the six new characters of this game: Kidd, Erick, Ryoko, Mudman, Shura and Johnny. Also he cannot be harmed while he is shape shifting like he can in the prequel. Geegus' design and abilities may be an homage to the T-1000
T-1000
The T-1000 is a fictional nanomorph mimetic poly-alloy assassin and the main antagonist in Terminator 2: Judgment Day controlled by the series main antagonist Skynet. The T-1000 is portrayed primarily by Robert Patrick; however, being a shape-shifter, the T-1000 is played by other actors in some...

liquid metal cyborg made famous by the Terminator
Terminator (franchise)
The Terminator series is a science fiction franchise encompassing a series of films and other media concerning battles between Skynet's artificially intelligent machine network, and John Connor's Resistance forces and the rest of the human race....

film series. Geegus makes a cameo appearance in NeoGeo Battle Coliseum as part of one of Neo Dio's desperation moves Geo-Geegus now Neo Geo Heroes: Ultimate Shooting
Neo Geo Heroes: Ultimate Shooting
Neo Geo Heroes: Ultimate Shooting is a shooting game developed for the PSP. It was released in Japan on July 29th...

.

Allen O'Neil

Allen O'Neil is a sub-boss, who appears in all of the games except Metal Slug 5, and in Metal Slug 6 he appears as A in the 2nd level. He has been fighting the Regular Army High Command since the first game. He taunts the player with the phrases "C'mon, boy", "Go home to mommy", and "you're mincemeat

Mincemeat

Mincemeat is a mixture of chopped dried fruit, distilled spirits and spices, and sometimes beef suet, beef, or venison. Originally, mincemeat always contained meat. Many modern recipes contain beef suet, though vegetable shortening is sometimes used in its place...

" (or minced meat), as well as maniacal laughter. Upon defeat he always utters "See you in Hell!" He uses an M60 machine gun

M60 machine gun

The M60 is a family of American general-purpose machine guns firing 7.62×51mm NATO cartridges from a disintegrating belt of M13 links...

, a knife, and blue grenades that erupt in an angry red flame upon detonation. Despite the fact that Allen clearly meets his end at the conclusion of every encounter, usually he just seems to fall down dead except in Metal Slug 2 where he's eaten by a very large killer whale which spits his bones, the game makers have humorously brought him back in each new iteration of the series. An interview with the game-makers, which is unlockable in Metal Slug Anthology, reveals that the only thing that keeps Allen alive besides his muscles and guts is his devotion and will to return home to his wife and son after a hard day of fighting.

Allen aids the player aboard the Mothership in Metal Slug 3 (unless the Metal Slug employed earlier is still surviving and in current use), laughing all the while (even though the player killed him earlier in the level). Despite his strength against the player(s) in Metal Slug 3 and before, his strength is much less on the Mothership than usual. One burst shot from his M60 cannot kill a clone by itself. He also has less "Life", and stands still against the hordes of clones. Thus, it does not take much for the clones to finish Allen, even by melee attacks. Because of this vulnerability, it can be assumed he's more of a decoy while the player assaults the clones.

Allen appears again in Metal Slug 4, as a boss in Mission Two and during the Final Mission, where it is revealed that this Allen is in fact a Terminator-like android possibly built by the rogue scientist who is the main villain in Metal Slug 4. It should be noted, however, that using a similar process, the same scientist was successful in creating a mass produced Robot Morden Army that led people to believe Morden was behind the Amadeus Syndicate, possibly to frame him for the scientist's crimes. Unfortunately these mechanical incarnations were even weaker than their flesh & blood counterpart, having the weakness of falling after a few well placed shots from a simple handgun

Handgun

A handgun is a firearm designed to be held and operated by one hand. This characteristic differentiates handguns as a general class of firearms from long guns such as rifles and shotguns ....

After an absence in both Metal Slug 5 and Metal Slug 6, Allen returns in Metal Slug 7 as the boss of Mission 6, where the player and Allen fight each other in Slug Gigants, with Allen apparently dying again.

Mars People

The Mars People are alien

Extraterrestrial life

Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...

s from space that are in a plot to take over Earth in the Metal Slug universe. They are similar to squids, using their tentacles as a form of movement, and a strange fighting style which involves gas and a laser pistol. In Metal Slug 2, they appeared as enemies near the climax of the game and their mothership is fought as the final boss, but they were defeated by the alliance consisting of the Peregrine Falcon Strike Force and General Morden's army after they betrayed Morden. In the Metal Slug X remake they appear as enemies earlier in the game. They tried again in Metal Slug 3, abducting Morden and one of the members of the Peregrine Falcons in the final level (which ever one the player uses will be abducted), only for the Peregrine Falcons and Morden's army to take the fight to their mothership and defeat them, and their leader Rootmars. In Metal Slug 6, the Mars People, Morden, as well as his rebel army and the Ikari Warriors, join forces with the Peregrine Falcons to fight a new alien invader who, ironically, feed on the Mars People. In the game, after Stage 2, the Mars People become the players' allies; some are even hostages.

Mars People also are the first characters from Metal Slug series who appears in a fighting game: first in SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos as a hidden (but playable) character and later in Neo Geo Battle Coliseum as a playable character once you complete 'Tag Battle' mode and, parodically, his partner in this game is Marco Rossi, who has a special ending picture in NGBC playing with this team.

General Morden

General Donald Morden is the main antagonist

Antagonist

An antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...

of the Metal Slug franchise. He is described as "...the Antichrist

Antichrist

The term or title antichrist, in Christian theology, refers to a leader who fulfills Biblical prophecies concerning an adversary of Christ, while resembling him in a deceptive manner...

..." by the Regular Army High Command. He is depicted as a rambling madman wearing a beret, eyepatch, and bomber jacket, and carrying a bazooka

Bazooka

Bazooka is the common name for a man-portable recoilless rocket antitank weapon, widely fielded by the U.S. Army. Also referred to as the "Stovepipe", the innovative bazooka was amongst the first-generation of rocket propelled anti-tank weapons used in infantry combat...

, not to mention bearing a resemblance to Saddam Hussein

Saddam Hussein

Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...

, Joseph Stalin

Joseph Stalin

Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...

and Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...

. He serves the final boss of the first game. He is only not shown in Metal Slug 5. He apparently mends his ways by the end of Metal Slug 6, as he (or Rootmars depending on a Different route) rescues the player(s) after s/he is knocked off a wall by an explosion caused by the huge enormous alien end boss. His army is the main force of opposition in the Metal Slug games, with the exception of Metal Slug 5 and 6. He commands the ever loyal Rebellion, and in Metal Slug 4 he was thought to be behind the Amadeus Terror Syndicate. He once again return to his roots of world domination in 7, this time with the help of the Rebel Army from the future. It also marks the first time since the first game where he is the final boss.

He is quite ill-fated, with problems ranging from major injury, such as having a steel table crush him (to the dismay of his soldiers) and being dropped from his Chinook helicopter

CH-47 Chinook

The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is an American twin-engine, tandem rotor heavy-lift helicopter. Its top speed of 170 knots is faster than contemporary utility and attack helicopters of the 1960s...

to minor embarrassment, such as being hung out of a flying saucer

Flying saucer

A flying saucer is a type of unidentified flying object sometimes believed to be of alien origin with a disc or saucer-shaped body, usually described as silver or metallic, occasionally reported as covered with running lights or surrounded with a glowing light, hovering or moving rapidly either...

donned in only his ever-present hat, eyepatch, and a pair of pink boxer shorts

Boxer shorts

Boxer shorts are a type of undergarment worn by men. The term has been used in English since 1944 for all-around-elastic shorts, so named after the shorts worn by boxers, for whom unhindered leg movement is very important.Reasons for a preference for boxers can be attributed to their variety of...

and having his pants torn off.

Morden sometimes makes an alliance with the Mars People to help achieve his goal of world domination

Hegemony

Hegemony is an indirect form of imperial dominance in which the hegemon rules sub-ordinate states by the implied means of power rather than direct military force. In Ancient Greece , hegemony denoted the politico–military dominance of a city-state over other city-states...

. Unfortunately for him, he is betrayed and abducted

Kidnapping

In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...

, abused

Physical abuse

Physical abuse is abuse involving contact intended to cause feelings of intimidation, injury, or other physical suffering or bodily harm.-Forms of physical abuse:*Striking*Punching*Belting*Pushing, pulling*Slapping*Whipping*Striking with an object...

and thoroughly humiliated

Humiliation

Humiliation is the abasement of pride, which creates mortification or leads to a state of being humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission. It can be brought about through bullying, intimidation, physical or mental mistreatment or trickery, or by embarrassment if a person is revealed to have...

by the Martians.

Like the main characters, General Morden appears in various SNK games as a cameo, especially in the SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters Clash

SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters Clash

series.

Rugal Bernstein

is a recurring boss

Boss (video games)

A boss is an enemy-based challenge which is found in video games. A fight with a boss character is commonly referred to as a boss battle or boss fight...

in the series. As the host of the tournaments from The King of Fighters '94 and 95

The King of Fighters '95

The King of Fighters '95 is a fighting game produced by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home console. It is the sequel to The King of Fighters '94 and the second game in The King of Fighters series...

, Rugal plans to turn all the competitors from the tournament into stone statues as part of his collection. Despite his death in 95, Rugal is still featured in following The King of Fighters titles that do not contain a storyline (nicknamed "Dream Matches"). Toshimitsu Arai reprises his role as the character's voice actor in each appearance, with the exception of the original King of Fighters 2002, in which the character is voiced by Norio Wakamoto

Norio Wakamoto

is a veteran male seiyū and budō expert affiliated with Sigma Seven. He was born in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, and was raised in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture. He graduated from Waseda University...

Adelheid and Rose

(Adel for short), along with his younger sister, , are the only known children of Rugal Bernstein

Rugal Bernstein

. They reside in an airship called "Sky Noah". Adel is a boss character from The King of Fighters 2003

The King of Fighters 2003

, as well as a secret and mid-boss for The King of Fighters XI

The King of Fighters XI

The King of Fighters XI is a 2D competitive fighting game produced by SNK Playmore originally released in as a coin-operated arcade game for the Atomiswave platform...

.
They were added to the series to create an alternate story to the main plot.

Despite sharing several physical and fighting traits with Rugal, Adelheid is an honorable fighter who exhibits good sportsmanship

Sportsmanship

Sportsmanship is an aspiration or ethos that a sport or activity will be enjoyed for its own sake, with proper consideration for fairness, ethics, respect, and a sense of fellowship with one's competitors...

,
even having a friendly conversation with Heidern, Rugal's mortal enemy. Rose, however, was developed to be extremely prideful and selfish, possessing Rugal's negative traits. 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.

Orochi

is the final boss of The King of Fighters '97

The King of Fighters '97

The King of Fighters '97 is a fighting game produced by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home console. It is the fourth game in The King of Fighters series. It was ported to the Neo-Geo CD, as well as the PlayStation and the Sega Saturn in Japan only...

. His character origin is another interpretation of the mythical eight-headed serpent, Yamata no Orochi. In the King of Fighters series, he is a chthonic

Chthonic

Chthonic designates, or pertains to, deities or spirits of the underworld, especially in relation to Greek religion. The Greek word khthon is one of several for "earth"; it typically refers to the interior of the soil, rather than the living surface of the land or the land as territory...

supernatural being that regards himself as executing the will of Gaea

Gaia (mythology)

Gaia was the primordial Earth-goddess in ancient Greek religion. Gaia was the great mother of all: the heavenly gods and Titans were descended from her union with Uranus , the sea-gods from her union with Pontus , the Giants from her mating with Tartarus and mortal creatures were sprung or born...

. He does not regard humanity as trustworthy with regard to coexisting with the planet without ravaging it, and so seeks to extinguish humanity. He was sealed 1,800 years ago by the three sacred treasures

Imperial Regalia of Japan

The , also known as the Three Sacred Treasures of Japan, consist of the sword Kusanagi , the mirror Yata no Kagami , and the jewel Yasakani no Magatama...

of Japan. The three clans' descendants are charged with protecting the seal. In King of Fighters '97, his spirit possesses Chris (a herald of Orochi) to fight in the mortal realm.
He is sealed again at the end of the 97 tournament by the three descendants of the users of the three sacred treasures, but the seal is broken in later games by the demon Mukai. A clone of Orochi appears as a boss in Neo Geo Battle Coliseum

Neo Geo Battle Coliseum

named Mizuchi.

Hakkesshu

The Hakkesshu ( in the Japanese version) are a group formed by the eight most powerful followers of the creature Orochi. The four top members are referred to as "Kings". Gaidel, the biological father of Leona, was also a member of the group, but when he refused Goenitz's offer to continue 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

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 boy named , a beautiful but shady woman named and a guitar player named . They initially enter due to Yashiro's grudge against Iori and his own band, 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. 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

Kyo Kusanagi

, Shermie creates lightning like Benimaru Nikaido, and Yashiro has an enormous strength like Goro Daimon.

Goenitz

is one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Orochi, with the power to command wind. Despite being an evil villain, 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 Orochi and heads there to stop her,also Goenitz is the one who took rugals eye which in turn rugal took heidern's eye. Depending on the playable characters, Goenitz can be killed by Iori Yagami

Iori Yagami

and Kyo Kusanagi

Kyo Kusanagi

, sealed by Chizuru, or commits suicide in the end of 96. He is voiced by Yoshinori Shima.

Those From The Past

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 in The King of Fighters XIII.

Mukai

is the final boss in 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. It is also strongly implied he is somehow connected to the Orochi bloodline and the wills. 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 KOF XIII he is killed by Saiki after he disobey a order of his boss, Saiki drains his power and reduce Mukai into bones. He is voiced by Toshihiro Shigetsuka.

Magaki

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. He is voiced by Spicy Yagi.

Saiki

is the main antagonist as well as the mid-boss of The King of Fighters XIII. He is the individual who is seemingly responsible for the events of not just the tournament, but all the actions of the "Tales of Ash" arc. He seems to be 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, and looks very similar to Ash Crimson, except that his clothes are white, and his hair is left to flow freely. He is seen addressing the other members of the organization, implying he is the one who is in charge.

Before the battle with Saiki in KOF XIII, Saiki drains fellow Those From the Past member Mukai of his power and transforms, similar to Mukai and Magaki's ability to be human or inhuman. After the battle with Saiki, Ash Crimson takes his power and turns into a shadowed version of himself called Evil Ash (under the influence of Saiki's power overwhelming Ash's personality) 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 to cease. He is voiced by Mitsuhiro Ichiki (who also assumes Ash's role in XIII).

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, though developers decided to change his gender (maybe) to startle and appeal to fans with his androgynous

Androgyny

Androgyny is a term derived from the Greek words ανήρ, stem ανδρ- and γυνή , referring to the combination of masculine and feminine characteristics...

appearance.

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 and seemingly killed. However, after Magaki is defeated at the end of the tournament, Shion's spear is hurled through a gate Magaki created and goes through his chest, killing him instantly. He is voiced by Jidai Ogawa.

The NESTS cartel

NESTS is a mysterious and dangerous cartel that is 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

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

acts as the mid and final boss of The King of Fighters '99

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."

He is made to be the Ultimate Kyo

Kyo Kusanagi

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 simulatenous 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 along side him in the 2001 tournament. He is voiced by Yoshiyuki Iwamoto.

Zero

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

Fist of the North Star

is a Japanese manga series written by Buronson and drawn by Tetsuo Hara that was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1983 to 1988, spanning 245 chapters, which were initially collected in a 27-volume tankōbon edition by Shueisha...

. 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 the actions of the player, 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 , who appears as a sub-boss in The King of Fighters 2001

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. Unlike his clone, Zero is extremely loyal to the NESTS syndicate, and was disgusted to learn of his clone's attempted coup d'état

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 on board the vessel.

The original Zero is voiced by Toshimitsu Arai, while the clone is voiced by Kinta Futogane.

Igniz

is the final boss

Boss (video games)

A boss is an enemy-based challenge which is found in video games. A fight with a boss character is commonly referred to as a boss battle or boss fight...

in The King of Fighters 2001

The King of Fighters 2001

. His handsome and youthful appearance was specifically created at the sponsors' request.

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, when even after he easily defeats K''s team, Igniz is defeated by the combined effort of Kyo Kusanagi and Iori Yagami. 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. He is voiced by Norio Wakamoto.

Ron

Ron ' onMouseout='HidePop("82411")' href="/topics/Pinyin">Pinyin

Pinyin

: Lóng; Japanese: 龍（ロン） Ron) is first introduced as a sub-plot character in The King of Fighters 2000

The King of Fighters 2000

. He later appears as a Striker for Zero in The King of Fighters 2001

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. He is the former leader to an elite assassination group known as the Flying Brigands— 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. He is voiced by Takaya Kuroda.

Reception

The characters from The King of Fighters series were said to be a varied cast by Eurogamer

Eurogamer

Eurogamer is a Brighton-based website focused on video games news, reviews, previews and interviews. It is operated by Eurogamer Network Ltd., which was formed in 1999 by brothers Rupert and Nick Loman. Eurogamer has grown to become one of the most important European-based websites focused on...

magazine, since the cast includes characters from other SNK games. IGN

IGN

IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...

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. In reviews for the first game, IGN praised the main character Kyo Kusanagi

Kyo Kusanagi

as one of the most enjoyable characters to play, remarking on his dynamism and movesets. GameSpot

GameSpot

GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...

also praised the characters designs, saying they "shine through, resulting in a cast of characters that's diverse and not plentiful". 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.

1UP.com

1UP.com

1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....

labelled the characters from the series as one of SNK's best creations, claiming that their appearances and quotes are all "cool"—although they commented some of the storylines are "nonsense". The boss characters were criticized by multiple reviewers for being too difficult to defeat, with Krizalid from The King of Fighters '99

The King of Fighters '99

being singled out as too powerful.

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." 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. 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."

Action figures, puzzles, keychains, and pins have been produced based on the characters in the King of Fighters series. Many characters are also featured on posters, wallpapers, and trading cards.

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.