is a
video game characterA 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...
created by
SNK PlaymoreSNK Playmore Corporation is a Japanese video game hardware and software company. SNK is an acronym of , which was SNK's original name. The company's legal and trading name became SNK in 1986....
(formerly SNK). Ralf has made appearance in several games from the company, premiering in
TNK III as a military tank driver. The
Ikari WarriorsIkari 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...
series also emphasized Ralf's role as a soldier with him becoming the partner of Clark Still. Both Ralf and Clark would also become recurring characters in
The King of Fighters fighting games series in which they appear as part of the Ikari Team participating in various tournaments also while searching for various criminals. Additionally, Ralf and Clark have appeared in few games from the
Metal Slug series, also developed by SNK. Ralf Jones has been voiced by
Monster Maezukais 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...
from his debut, who also voices Kyoshiro Senryo, Choi Bounge and Benimaru Nikaido.
Since his appearance in
Ikari Warriors Ralf was meant to be a soldier, and the SNK staff were highly inspired by the film series,
Rambo. With the start of
The King of Fighters, developers were focused in redesigning Ralf's character so that he would be very different from Clark, whom he shared several similarities. Ralf has been highly popular within gamers, having appeared in several popularity polls from journals. His character has also received comments from various video games publications, which praised his attributes and development in various of the games he has appeared.
Creation and conception
Developers from
Ikari WarriorsIkari 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...
were highly inspired by the film series,
Rambo, when designing the game and Ralf and Clark. According to Keiko Iju, a former creator from SNK games, he needed to created "half-naked Rambos" as characters. Initially,
The King of Fighters was only meant to feature characters from the
Art of Fightingis 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...
series and the
Fatal Fury series. However, they later decided to add characters from the
Ikari Warriors series along with ones from
Psycho Soldieris 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...
in spirit of other gaming genres considered for the final product. Designers from
The King of Fighters series found problems with the addition of Ralf and Clark to the game as they were very similar. As such, the designers added new details to both characters in order to make them more unique. While Clark received sunglasses, Ralf was given as bandana. However, developers also found their fighting styles to be very similar, causing designer to adjust both of them until becoming totally different. In the making of
The King of Fighters '94The 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...
, Ralf was originally meant to appear shirtless. However, during the designing phase, developers felt his appearance was "a bit dated" and changed once again his outfit. In comparison to all the other characters from the game, Ralf was going to have grenades as part of his moveset, but the staff found that would be unfair for the other characters so he lost such ability. By
The King of Fighters XIIis 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...
, Ralf's appearance was changed once again to his
Ikari Warriors outfit as developers wanted to "stay true to the original concept" from
The King of Fighters series.
Character design
In
Ikari Warriors, Ralf's attire was based on
RamboJohn Rambo is an iconic fictional character and the basis of the Rambo saga. He first appeared in the 1972 novel First Blood by David Morrell, but later became more famous in the film series, played by Sylvester Stallone...
. He wore green pants, a red headband and a belt full of bullets. In the first game from
The King of Fighters series, he wore jeans and a T-shirt, along with a military vest and a red bandanna. In
The King of Fighters '99The 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...
is sightly changed with green jeans, red gloves and he did not wear the belt. In
The King of Fighters 2000The 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...
, his outfit is once again modified but with darker colors from all his clothes. His attire from
Ikari appears as alternate outfit for the character in the first
Maximum Impact game. In
KOF: Maximum Impact 2KOF: 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...
, Ralf retains his 2003 outfit but with a red jacket. His Armored Ralf version from the same game is very different from the original Ralf, as his skin is darker and his hair is lighter. He additionally sports a green jacket, military pants, a white t-shirt and a green headband instead of his red bandana. He was also given green protectors in his hands which have spikes. The additional outfits from the common Ralf are cosplays from Marco Rossi from the
Metal Slug series and Jack Turner from the
Art of Fightingis 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...
series.
Attributes
Ralf is a hot-blooded person that only cares for action. He is also informal when talking with his partners or his commander Heidern although he tends to start talking in a more formal way. However, he is very determined to accomplish all his missions, normally becoming very sad when he fails, especially when he loses a war. Despite being the counterpart of Clark in many ways, they are always assigned to work together. He is especially protective of any new recruits that come under his command and will try his best to care for them, most notably with Whip.
In
KOF '94, Ralf and Clark shared the same set of Special Moves, with only their Super Special Move being different. His original Special Moves included the
Vulcan Punch (a rapid punch attack with fire effects), the
Gatling Attack (a rushing series of punches), and the
Super Argentine Back Breaker (in which Ralf tosses his opponent in the air and catches him). In
KOF '95, he gain one new Special Move, the , in which Ralf jumps in the air and dives towards the opponent. In
KOF '97, he gains the
Ralf Kick, and in
KOF '99 the
Ralf Tackle. In
KOF 2003, he loses the
Ralf Tackle, but gains the
Stealth Ralf Kick and the
Unblock. His Super Special Move in
KOF '94, is the
Super Vulcan Punch, a more powerful version of the
Vulcan Punch, while in
KOF '96 he gains the
Bareback Vulcan Punch, a version of the
Super Vulcan Punch in which Ralf pins his opponent into the ground and unleashes a flurry of punches. In
KOF '97, he gains the
Galactica Phantom, a single but powerful punch which sends the enemy flying across the screen. In
KOF 2002, he uses the
Bareback Galactica Phantom as MAX2 move (a maximum level Super Special move), with an additional follow up gained in
2002 Unlimited Match which, at times, can lead to an instant kill. In
KOF XIII, he gains a Neo Max move called the
Jet Vulcan Punch, which is based on the
North Star Hundred Crack Fist of
Fist of the North Staris 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...
fame (however, when it is used in combos, the total number of hits could not surpass 99).
Appearances
Ralf Jones originally appeared in SNK's arcade game
TNK IIITNK III is a 1985 top-view shoot-'em-up arcade game by SNK. Versions for home computers were released by Ocean Software for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, and Amstrad CPC in 1987. A sequel was also released for the Nintendo Entertainment System titled Iron Tank...
(known as
TANK in Japan). In this game, the player did not take control of Ralf himself, but rather control the tank driven by Ralf, which is sent to an enemy base to destroy a secret weapon. A sequel was released for the
Nintendo Entertainment SystemThe Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
titled
Iron TankIron Tank: The Invasion of Normandy is a top-view action shooting game produced by SNK for the Nintendo Entertainment System.-Summary:...
(
Great Tank in Japan), which establishes the setting as World War II Normandy.
Ralf's next appearance was in action shooting game
Ikari WarriorsIkari 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...
, released a year after
TNK III. Instead of driving a tank, Ralf now fought his way into the enemy's lair on his own, along with his new partner Clark Still (the Player 2 character in the game) in order to protect the Ikari village.
Ikari Warriors was followed by two sequels:
Victory RoadVictory Road may refer to the following:*TNA Victory Road, a professional wrestling event.*Victory Road , an arcade game.*Victory Road, a location in the Pokémon series of video games....
(also known as
Ikari Warriors II) and
Ikari III: The Rescue), with the third involving Ralf and Clark into rescuing a presidential candidate's child from terrorists. In the international versions of the
Ikari series for the
NESThe Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
and in
Iron Tank, Ralf was renamed Paul.
Ralf and Clark would resurface as members of the Ikari Team in
The King of Fighters fighting games series, along with their mentor and commanding officer Heidern. The team would be featured as a group of mercenaries who enter the annual King of Fighters tournaments to investigate a possible controversy made by several criminals, such as
Rugal Bernsteinis 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...
and the NESTS cartel. Although the Ikari Team has underwent slight roster changes as the series progressed such as the retirement of Heidern, who returned in only with them in
The King of Fighters 2001The 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...
, replaced by his adoptive daughter Leona in
The King of Fighters '96The 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...
(appearing in all the following games except
The King of Fighters XIThe 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 well as the introduction Whip in
The King of Fighters '99The 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...
, Ralf and Clark are two of the few characters who have remained constant, appearing in every game in the series. He also appears in
The King of Fighters XIIis 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...
, which does not feature official teams (however his teammates from the 1996 tournament are all present and in
the sequelis 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...
, Ralf does team with Leona and Clark to form
KOF XIII's Ikari team). Ralf has also appeared in the 3D game
KOF: Maximum ImpactThe 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...
and its
sequelKOF: 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...
.
Maximum Impact 2 also features , an enhanced version from his character with a stronger defense. However, this character was removed from the update version,
KOF: Maximum Impact Regulation "A". Other games from the series featuring Ralf are
The King of Fighters NeowaveThe 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...
and
The King of Fighters: Kyo; he appears in both of them with the Ikari Team having Leona as the third member.
Outside the
KOF series, Ralf and Clark have also appeared as playable characters in
Metal Slug 6is a run and gun video game for the Sammy Atomiswave arcade platform in the Metal Slug series. It was released in 2006. There was a PS2 port on September 14, 2006...
, as well as
Metal Slug 7is a run and gun video game developed by SNK Playmore for the Nintendo DS. It is the eighth title in the main Metal Slug series. It was announced in the September 2007 issue of Famitsu and marks the first game in the main series that will be released without an arcade version...
, where he appears in his outfit from
The King of Fighters 2000The 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...
and uses his Vulcan Punch as his special ability in the game.
Ralf was also featured in the 2006
original net animationAn original net animation is an anime that is directly released onto the Internet. ONAs may also have been aired on television if they were first directly released on the Internet. The name mirrors original video animation, a term that has been used in the anime industry for straight-to-video...
The King of Fighters: Another DayThe King of Fighters: Another Day is an animated series based on the popular fighting game series The King of Fighters. It was produced by Production I.G, and revolves around the plot of the 3-D version titled The King of Fighters: Maximum Impact, along with some touches of the current 2-D series...
. He appears in the episodes three and four, searching for a clone from
Kyo Kusanagiis 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...
(created by NESTS) along with the Ikari Team in the fictional city of Southtown.
Reception
Gamers have well-received Ralf's character as in Gamest's 1997 Heroes Collection, he was voted as the staff's twelfth favorite character. In the character popularity poll on Neo Geo Freak's website, he was voted as the eighth favorite character with a total of 1,038 votes. In the January 30, 1995 issue of
Gamest magazine in Japan, Ralf ranked at No. 19 in Top 50 Characters of 1994.
His character has received various positive reviews from video games publications. Jeff Gerstmann from
GameSpotGameSpot 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...
commented on Ralf to be a "
RamboJohn Rambo is an iconic fictional character and the basis of the Rambo saga. He first appeared in the 1972 novel First Blood by David Morrell, but later became more famous in the film series, played by Sylvester Stallone...
-like" character in the
Ikari WarriorsIkari 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...
game and also liked all the abilities the character had.
1UP.com1UP.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....
found Ralf along with Clark's "Cross Changer!" pose as the most entertaining pose appearing in
The King of Fighters '97The 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...
, labelling as
Sentaiin Japanese language is a word for a military unit and may be literally translated as "squadron", "task force", "group" or "wing". The terms "regiment" and "flotilla", while sometimes used as translations of Sentai, are also used to refer to larger formations....
. The Ralf's enhanced version from
KOF: Maximum Impact 2KOF: 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...
, Armored Ralf, has been to be very unpopular between gamers as commented by Nate Ahearn from
IGNIGN 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...
. As such, she notes his removal from
KOF: Maximum Impact Regulation "A" was made due to this, and desire to add new characters to this game. Cinemablend.com writer William Usher liked Ralf's introduction in
Metal Slug 6is a run and gun video game for the Sammy Atomiswave arcade platform in the Metal Slug series. It was released in 2006. There was a PS2 port on September 14, 2006...
as he still had his movesets from
The King of Fighters series as it is well balanced with the gameplay from the
Metal Slug series. Additionally, he found this moveset added more variety to the game. Wesley Yin-Poole from videogamer.com agreed on this, noting that each character from
Metal Slug 7is a run and gun video game developed by SNK Playmore for the Nintendo DS. It is the eighth title in the main Metal Slug series. It was announced in the September 2007 issue of Famitsu and marks the first game in the main series that will be released without an arcade version...
had their own strengths and weakness, with Ralf being focused on close combats. Ryan Davis from GameSpot shared the comment and also praised Ralf and Clark's introduction in
Metal Slug 6 was one of the best improvements from the series.