King of Fighters 15’s characters make it unlike other fighting games

From day one, the King of Fighters series came out as a “dream match,” answering the question of “Who would win?” if you mashed up various game franchises.

SNK was going too far with its fighting-game lineup. So, this bundle served to bring them all together in one series. Although it was odd to find that the bundle included not only Fatal Fury, Art of Fighting but also Ikari Warriors, and Psycho Soldier, this became an annual tradition.

Since then, the series’ trajectory has been fairly consistent. While we’ve seen a few graphical overhauls, spinoffs, and schedule hiccups, each main entry has typically mixed new characters with fighters from those same four franchises. King of Fighters chose not to go the Smash Bros. route of attracting as many guest characters possible. Instead, it has kept its own path and left that kind of fan service as background entertainment. (Though that doesn’t mean the idea never came up.)

SNK, however, has invested a lot over the years in designing new fighters. And unlike many of its rivals, SNK has spent much of its time designing new fighters. Hauptseite characters — often putting them up-front in its stories and marketing materials. When the series began, SNK didn’t prop up Fatal Fury star Terry Bogard; it put newcomer Kyo Kusanagi front and center. If I look back, King of Fighters ’99, the first thing that comes to mind is seeing artwork of newcomer K’. This is In King of Fighters 2003, Ash Crimson’s distinctive red coat gives the series an entirely different feel.

SNK

These protagonist shifts line up with story arcs in the games, but more than that, SNK’s eagerness to promote the characters on magazine covers, box art, and merchandise established different eras for the long running franchise.

Playing King of Fighters 15This past week I realized that the series is now something very different from when it began. The series that began with different franchises being pitted against each other has evolved into a show about the clash between completely different eras.

Now led by illusionist Shun’ei, the series is starting to feel like a museum of its different phases, and I love it; it brings a certain weight to the cast. Even though series such as Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat were icons of pop culture in Ryu and Scorpion and other countries, these legacy characters often outweigh any new ones. King of Fighters feels more balanced.

A part of me wonders if all this might have to do with smaller series being more open. Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat and King of Fighters outsell King of Fighters quite significantly. Therefore it is harder to convince Ryu to remove Kyo’s box art. And last time Capcom tried that sort of thing, it didn’t go well.

But whatever the reason, it gives the King of Fighters cast a distinct feel compared to other fighting games — and I’d love to see more of it. Capcom teased its final fight. Street Fighter 5 character Luke will be “a major part of the next Street Fighter project,” so we’ll hopefully see just how far other fighting series are willing to to go down that road soon.