50 Fun Facts About The King of Fighters

The King of Fighters took its title from the subtitle of the first game in which SNK series?

Fatal Fury: King of Fighters lent its subtitle to the crossover, which had started life as a side-scrolling beat 'em up called Survivor.

Which King of Fighters regular joined Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a downloadable fighter in 2019?

Terry Bogard began as a hero design that his creator had scrapped while making the original Street Fighter years earlier.

Which rival of Kyo Kusanagi, introduced in The King of Fighters '95, fights using purple flames?

Iori Yagami inherits a family feud: his clan once fought beside Kyo's, then broke with it by making a cursed blood pact.

Which arms dealer hosts the King of Fighters '94 tournament and turns beaten fighters into statues?

Rugal Bernstein can copy any technique after seeing it once, and he meets the winning team aboard his own aircraft carrier.

Which fan-throwing ninja, a regular since 1994, was left out of The King of Fighters XII entirely?

Mai Shiranui has since crossed into a rival series, joining Street Fighter 6 as a guest character.

Which format set The King of Fighters '94 apart from single-fighter rivals like Street Fighter?

Three-person teams were SNK's direct answer to one-on-one brawlers, and one of the few ideas kept from a scrapped prototype.

Kyo Kusanagi's clan sealed away which serpent demon, the menace of the first King of Fighters saga?

Orochi comes from Yamata no Orochi, the eight-headed, eight-tailed serpent of Japanese myth that the god Susanoo defeated.

Which crime boss of SNK's South Town joined Tekken 7 as a downloadable guest character?

Geese Howard was welcomed by Tekken producer Katsuhiro Harada, who believed the villain would fit the cast.

Which rival company's fighters battle the King of Fighters cast in the 2003 crossover SVC Chaos?

Capcom also made arcade crossovers of its own from 2000, flipping the order of the two company names in the title.

Kula Diamond was created to kill a flame-wielding rebel; which element does she command?

Ice defines Kula Diamond so completely that one of her alternate costumes dresses her as a skater.

Which arcade and home platform was the main home of The King of Fighters from '94 through 2003?

Neo Geo hardware carried ten yearly instalments before KOF XI moved the series to the Atomiswave arcade board.

Which shadowy syndicate injected K' with Kyo Kusanagi's DNA to copy his power over fire?

NESTS also built an army of Kyo clones, and its downfall in KOF 2001 closes the series' second story arc.

Which psychic pop idol from SNK's Psycho Soldier has fought in The King of Fighters since '94?

Athena Asamiya was among the first video game characters with her own theme song, which KOF has remixed many times.

Ralf Jones and Clark Still came to The King of Fighters from which SNK commando shooter?

Ikari Warriors was first meant to be an official Rambo: First Blood Part II game, but SNK was at first unable to get the film rights.

Which taekwondo master enters The King of Fighters '94 leading criminals he hopes to reform?

Kim Kaphwan was a late addition: SNK first planned a Fugitive Team of Chang, Choi and an unnamed third criminal.

Nakoruru and her hawk joined The King of Fighters XIV from which SNK weapons-based series?

Samurai Shodown introduced Nakoruru in 1993, and in KOF XIV she leads the Another World Team after sensing a new evil.

Which electric King of Fighters model was based on Polnareff from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure?

Benimaru Nikaido was so closely modelled on the JoJo swordsman that SNK's developers called him Polnareff for a long while.

Goro Daimon, the giant of Kyo Kusanagi's Japan Team, is a former gold medallist in which sport?

Judo made Goro Daimon a champion before he became a dojo mentor, and in the games he fights with ground-shaking powers.

The King of Fighters '98 has no story and revives fallen characters; what did SNK promote it as?

A Dream Match is even in the Japanese subtitle, Dream Match Never Ends, while the West knew the game as The Slugfest.

The King of Fighters '99 added a teammate who jumps in briefly to assist; what is that role called?

Striker assists ran only as far as KOF 2001 before the system was removed for KOF 2002.

Which emblem of his clan's heritage does Kyo Kusanagi wear on his King of Fighters jacket?

A sun marks the Kusanagi line, and in the story Kyo's first crest was knitted for him by his girlfriend.

Kyo Kusanagi's first King of Fighters outfit is a modified version of which everyday clothing?

School uniform won out late: for most of development he wore the training gear common to genre heroes and had a different name.

Which devoted fan idolises Kyo Kusanagi and longs to wield flames like his hero?

Shingo Yabuki later became a student of Kyo's own father, who scouted him during the 2001 tournament.

Kyo Kusanagi was inspired by the hero of Ashita no Joe, a classic manga about which sport?

Boxing drama Ashita no Joe was one influence on Kyo, and his designer has named Devilman as another.

Karate rivals Ryo Sakazaki and Robert Garcia came to The King of Fighters from which older series?

Art of Fighting hero Ryo had already guest-starred in another SNK fighter, the cameo that inspired the whole crossover idea.

Which actor played Kyo Kusanagi in Gordon Chan's live-action King of Fighters film?

Sean Faris spent a month learning to handle a katana for the role, in a film that reimagines Kyo as a Japanese American biker.

Chizuru Kagura of the Yata clan guards which sacred treasure in The King of Fighters story?

The mirror is one of a set that echoes Japan's real Imperial Regalia, which include a legendary sword.

King and Yuri Sakazaki's team enters The King of Fighters '94 representing which country?

England was their flag only at first: in later games the trio was renamed the Women Fighters Team.

The King of Fighters 2001 was co-developed by Eolith, a company from which country?

South Korea's Eolith stepped in after SNK was declared bankrupt, and went on to produce KOF 2002 as well.

Which 2004 spin-off starring Alba and Soiree Meira was the first King of Fighters game in 3D?

Maximum Impact sits in its own continuity apart from the main games, and it was SNK's first 3D fighter in five years.

Which green-flamed lead of the third King of Fighters saga steals other fighters' powers?

Ash Crimson was written as an ambiguous hero: the staff wanted players to feel bad for cheering him on.

Which hero introduced in The King of Fighters XIV wields water on one side and fire on the other?

Shun'ei studies under the old master Tung Fu Rue and learns in the finals that he carries a fragment of the boss Verse's power.

Which soldier, the adopted daughter of commander Heidern, replaced him in The King of Fighters '96?

Leona stepped in beside Ralf and Clark while Heidern moved behind the scenes to investigate events around the tournament.

Which wind-commanding villain is the final boss of The King of Fighters '96?

Goenitz is unusually polite for a villain, with elegant, flowery speech, and after his defeat his body vanishes in a tornado.

Which anime studio produced and animated the four-episode series The King of Fighters: Another Day?

Production I.G built the four shorts around the plot of the series' 3D spin-off games rather than the main tournament saga.

The King of Fighters XV launched in 2022 with which GGPO-based online technology?

Rollback netcode shipped with KOF XV, which was also the first game in the series built in Unreal Engine 4.

Kula Diamond crossed over as a downloadable guest in the sixth game of which rival 3D series?

Dead or Alive 6 welcomed two King of Fighters guests in its first season of added characters, Kula being one of them.

As SNK neared bankruptcy, its founder set up which company to take over The King of Fighters?

Playmore acquired all of the old SNK's intellectual property, became SNK Playmore in 2003, and dropped the suffix in 2016.

SNK, the company behind The King of Fighters, has its headquarters in which Japanese prefecture?

Osaka has long been home, and the Japan stage in KOF '94 was modelled on the developers' own office surroundings.

King, the bar owner of the Women Fighters Team, and Joe Higashi both fight using which martial art?

Muay Thai is only King's base, since she also fires energy projectiles from her kicks; Joe is a Japanese champion of the sport.

Which billionaire buys the tournament rights and plays host in The King of Fighters XIV?

Antonov declares himself the first champion, but lawsuits over the chaos at the finals later cost him nearly all his money.

Hinako Shijou joined the Women Fighters Team in The King of Fighters 2000 using which combat sport?

Sumo sets the young fighter apart from the rest of the cast; a new voice actress took over the role when she returned in KOF XV.

Oswald, an Irish assassin in The King of Fighters XI, attacks with which razor-sharp objects?

Playing cards suit a veteran poker player, and SNK first conceived Oswald as the series' good-looking character in glasses.

The King of Fighters '95 was the first game in the series to let players do what with the roster?

Build custom teams became a series staple; KOF '94 had locked everyone into eight preset line-ups.

The King of Fighters XIV, the first main entry rendered entirely in 3D, debuted on which console?

PlayStation 4 was chosen for its high worldwide sales, and the game only reached Windows and Japanese arcades the following year.

The King of Fighters EX: Neo Blood, with exclusive fighter Moe Habana, was made for which handheld?

Game Boy Advance owners got a sequel too, and that follow-up was later reworked for Nokia's N-Gage with Bluetooth multiplayer.

K9999, a fighter from The King of Fighters 2001, was based entirely on Tetsuo from which anime film?

Akira's Tetsuo was copied so closely that copyright issues saw K9999 replaced in a 2009 remake; he returned in KOF XV as Krohnen.

Maxima, who fights alongside K', was transformed into what to infiltrate a criminal cartel?

A cyborg with built-in weapons and instant data analysis, Maxima traded his ordinary body for superhuman strength and reactions.

Which term does The King of Fighters use for super attacks that cost power stocks to perform?

Desperation Moves began as last-ditch attacks: in KOF '94 a fighter could use one once the life gauge was 75% empty and flashing red.

The King of Fighters '97 offers two play styles before team select: Advanced and which other mode?

Extra mode is based on the first two games, KOF '94 and '95, while Advanced follows the style of KOF '96.