List of The King of Fighters characters

The developers of the series claim that their prototype version for King of Fighters was going to be a Double Dragon-style side-scrolling beat 'em up titled Survivor. It would have used only core characters from the Art of Fighting and Fatal Fury series, specifically allowing players to play Robert Garcia and Terry Bogard for location testing. However, the idea was quickly abandoned. Since the developers were attached to the idea of the two series cross-over, they eventually agreed to make their idea into a fighting game. Characters from the Ikari Warriors and Psycho Soldier games were also added in the spirit of other gaming genres considered for their final product. The concept of a three-man team was one of the ideas kept from the side-scrolling version. Flagship director Toyohisa Tanabe asserts that the Art of Fighting and Fatal Fury fighters were added specifically for adults. The newer King of Fighters characters were aimed to appeal to younger and newer audiences. He adds that every original character for the series was added based on the developers' strong desire to make one. For example, he agreed to include characters such as Benimaru Nikaido and Chang Koehan to add an off-beat variety to the cast, which he had previously deemed to be too serious. Later in the series, their approach to creating their characters altered slightly, to also serve as a type of fan service, which he refers to as a collaborative effort between fans and the staff. Several characters that appear in the series are parodies or homages to either anime, manga, actors, films or television shows that held the creators' interest. Noticeable examples are K9999 and Zero. Several characters were added to the roster by Eolith's desire when this company sponsored SNK to attract fans from Eolith's region. When designing characters for the first KOF game, developers wanted a new, "snazzy" hero who would easily fight against Fatal Fury and Art of Fighting characters. Initially, this character was called Syo Kirishima, but late in the production, his name was changed to Kyo Kusanagi. This was done in order to relate him with the Yamata no Orochi legend, which was used as an inspiration for the first story arc (and specifically featured a majestic sword known as Kusanagi no Tsurugi). To continue with the idea of the Orochi plot, the designers gave several other characters, such as Kyo's rival Iori Yagami, who has similar characteristics to Kyo. In ''The King of Fighters '99'', to contrast the previous protagonist, K' was made to be the "dark hero". The introduction of K' to the KOF series was meant to remove popular characters Kyo Kusanagi and Iori Yagami from the roster, though this idea was scrapped in the game's release. Due to the large additions of teenage characters in the series, SNK decided to add several middle-age ones to balance them. Yasuyuki Oda said while researching for the game's new characters, they avoided stereotypes like Japanese sumo wrestlers to produce more diversity in the cast which includes characters of various nationalities. Oda coined the term "Kyo-ify" based on the series' main character Kyo Kusanagi in regards to the stylishness presented in the cast. As a result, Oda wanted the fighters to look as appealing as Kyo. Art director Nobuyuki Kuroki found it unfair that only a few designers were included on the staff. Eisuke Ogura created newcomers Shun'ei and Sylvie, distancing them from previous veterans. Kuroki regarded Shun'ei as important to the narrative, desiring his personality to contrast previous leads. Main characters Kyo Kusanagi and Iori Yagami underwent a major redesign to fit the series' new story arc while at the same time the development team tried to keep their appeal intact. Kuroki said he made this move despite fearing a negative response based on the rivals' popularity. ==Introduced in ''The King of Fighters '94''==

Kyo Kusanagi : is a high school student whose family possesses an ancient set of pyrokinetic abilities. Kyo is the leader of Japan Team and one of the three Sacred Treasures. Benimaru Nikaido : is a model who fights with shootboxing and has electrokinetic abilities. Goro Daimon : is a former gold medalist in Judo and a mentor to his own dojo. After ''KOF '97'', Daimon retires from being a fighter and returns to the Judo circuit representing Japan. Chin Gentsai : Chin Gentsai is an elderly fighter who uses various styles of Kung Fu and fights primarily with drunken boxing. An original member of the Psycho Soldier Team, Chin is Athena and Kensou's master and also a mentor to Bao and Momoko. Chang Koehan : Chang Koehan is a giant criminal who fights with a large metal ball attached to a chain. He is also a member of Kim Kaphwan's team alongside Choi. Choi Bounge : Choi Bounge is a small criminal who fights with Freddy Krueger-esque claws. He is also a member of Kim Kaphwan's team alongside Chang. Heavy D! : (Heavy D!) Heavy D! is a professional boxer who was banned from regular competition after severely injuring his opponent. While introduced in ''The King of Fighters '94, he only returns in The King of Fighters '98''. Lucky Glauber : (Lucky) Lucky Glauber is a former professional basketball player and a Karate champion with a penchant for street fighting. While introduced in ''The King of Fighters '94, he only returns in The King of Fighters '98''. Brian Battler : Brian Battler is an American football player who also makes use of wrestling. While introduced in ''The King of Fighters '94, he only returns in The King of Fighters '98''. Rugal Bernstein : Rugal Bernstein is an arms dealer and the organizer of The King of Fighters tournament. Capable of copying any technique after seeing it performed once, he makes heavy use of Geese Howard's Reppuuken and Wolfgang Krauser's Kaiser Wave ki-attacks. Rugal also has techniques of his own, such as a slashing kick called Genocide Cutter. In ''KOF '95, he appears in his superpowered form. His regular form can be selected in KOF '98 and its Ultimate Match remake. Omega Rugal returns in KOF 2002 and its Unlimited Match remake as well as in KOF XV''. ==Introduced in ''The King of Fighters '95''==

Iori Yagami Iori Yagami is a descendant of Yasakani, gifting him blue flames that he uses to fight. However, the curse of the Orochi gives him a berserker form in ''KOF '97'' called Orochi Iori which appears as a boss. Iori also often appears as Kyo's rivals not because of their clans' past but because of a personal grudge. Saisyu Kusanagi : debuted in ''The King of Fighters '94'' as a victim in Rugal's gallery of defeated fighters. He appears as a sub-boss in ''The King of Fighters '95, and becomes playable for the first time on the screen in The King of Fighters '98, 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. Upon his defeat, he regains his senses and escapes from Rugal's missile silo base. Although Saisyu is missing, in The King of Fighters 2001, he appears before Shingo Yabuki and spends a year properly teaching him the Kusanagi fighting style. He is still playable in ''The King of Fighters '98 and Neowave. He returns in the story during the prologue from The King of Fighters XIV asking Kyo to meet Tung Fu Rue in the upcoming competition. In the 2010 live-action film adaptation of The King of Fighters'', Saisyu is played by Japanese actor Hiro Kanagawa. ==Introduced in ''The King of Fighters '96''==

Leona Heidern , Heidern's adopted daughter introduced in ''The King of Fighters '96, replaces him as he takes on a more active role behind the scenes, investigating occurrences parallel to the tournament. 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. Her official nickname is The Silent Soldier. 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. Vice and Mature : : and appear as members of Iori'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 form a team with Iori in order to keep an eye on him, but both of them are killed by Iori. Since then, both have appeared in the "dream match" games ''The King of Fighters '98 and 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 and the sequel. Mature is a playable character in The King of Fighters XII'', exclusive to the home console version of game. With Vice's return in 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. The duo returns in The King of Fighters XIV to team up with Iori once more since The King of Fighters XIII. After witnessing the possible return of Orochi, they quietly return to the shadows from once they came. In The King of Fighters XV, the two are briefly mentioned in Iori's background story telling him that they would stand back and watch him from the audience this time. They are set to return as downloadable content. In the 2010 live-action film adaptation of The King of Fighters, Vice is played by Bernice Liu, and Mature by Monique Ganderton. Chizuru Kagura : is a member of the Yata clan who holds one of the three sacred artifacts, the Yata Mirror, that originally sealed the serpent monster Orochi eighteen hundred years ago. As the younger heiress of the Yata clan, the other being her older twin sister , Chizuru was raised as a priestess who maintains the duty of keeping the diligent seal on Orochi intact. One night, Goenitz visited their home and destroyed the seal after killing Maki since the Yata Mirror cannot fight Orochi nor Goenitz's strength alone without the aid of the other two clans. Though in a weaken state, Orochi was released from its seal and Goenitz leaves satisfied. Before her death, Maki passes on the responsibilities of the seal to Chizuru, begging her to bring the three clans together to defeat Orochi. Ten years afterwards, Chizuru becomes a very successful and prestigious businesswoman and the owner of Kagura Enterprises. During this time, she secretly kept track with the King of Fighters tournaments since it began with Geese Howard and comes up with an idea to bringing the clans together. She is playable in ''The King of Fighters '96, The King of Fighters '97, The King of Fighters 2003 and The King of Fighters XV. In the 2010 live-action film adaptation of The King of Fighters'', Chizuru is portrayed by Chinese-Canadian actress Françoise Yip. Goenitz : is one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the demon Orochi, with the power to command the element of wind. Goenitz has a very polite personality, reflected in his victory poses and his elegant, somewhat flowery speech. Influenced by Orochi, he sports the messianic attitude that aspires to bring about "salvation" expected from people of religious occupations. During the 1996 tournament, Goenitz discovers that the host Chizuru Kagura plans to gather warriors to seal Orochi and heads to the tournament to stop her. Also, Goenitz is the one who took the villain Rugal Bernstein's right eye in an attempt to grant him the power of Orochi and make him a vessel of his lord. However, Rugal dies after fighting Kyo Kusanagi in ''The King of Fighters '95'', leading Goenitz to target the winner. Following his defeat, Goenitz passes away and his body disappears in a tornado. If the player forms the "Sacred Treasures Team," Goenitz is incinerated by Iori Yagami and Kyo Kusanagi. If Goenitz is chosen by the player, Goenitz is defeated by Chizuru's late sister, Maki, who put a spell on him before her death. Goenitz appeared as an assistant-type character dubbed "Striker" in The King of Fighters 2000. He returns as an alternative boss in ''The King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match and The King of Fighters 2002 Unlimited Match. In the Game Boy Advance game The King of Fighters EX2: Howling Blood'', Goenitz's subordinate Gustav Munchausen attempts to reincarnate Goenitz's soul in a new vessel. He is also both a playable character and boss in SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos, and a boss-only character in KOF: Sky Stage. Beating SVC Chaos as Goenitz leads to an ending scene in which Chizuru attacks. A revived Goenitz appears as free downloadable content in The King of Fighters XV. A dating sim called The King of Fighters For Girls features Goenitz with the new voice actor Hiroki Yasumoto. Goenitz's role in the ''KOF '96'' is also explored in Ryo Takamisaki's manga The King of Fighters G, where he brings the presence of Orochi to the tournament, corrupting everybody. Just like in the video game, Goenitz is incinerated by Kyo, but Benimaru Nikaido wounds him when he is corrupted by Orochi's power. In the manga The King of Fighters: Kyo, Goenitz attacks the Yagami Team before a concert, killing Vice and Mature while kidnapping Iori. This angers Kyo – who usually claims Iori is his enemy – resulting in the two rivals turning against Goenitz and killing him. Goenitz also makes a cameo in the final episode of the Chinese animated series The King of Fighters: Destiny where he uses Rugal – who was defeated by Kyo – to increase the curse of Orochi in Iori. The character was meant to return in the film The King of Fighters: Awaken, facing Kyo, but it was cancelled. According to the manga adaptation of The King of Fighters XIV titled The King of Fighters: A New Beginning, it is confirmed that Goenitz is one of the souls inside the boss character Verse. ==Introduced in ''The King of Fighters '97''==

Orochi Team : (Chris) : (Shermie) : (Yashiro) The original New Faces Team, also known as the Orochi Team is a group from ''The King of Fighters '97''. 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 and Iori Yagami, Shermie creates lightning like Benimaru Nikaido, and Yashiro has enormous strength enough to shatter the earth like Goro Daimon. Having been dead for years after the events of ''KOF '97'', Ash Crimson's suicidal action at the end of the XIII tournament had caused their souls to reside within a creature known as Verse during the XIV tournament. When Verse is defeated, the New Faces/Orochi Team's souls are released from it, leading to both their resurrection as of the canonical spin-off crossover SNK Heroines Tag Team Frenzy and return in KOF XV. However, their revival causes their awakened Orochi personalities to split from them into separate entities unlike Goenitz and much to their own dismay. Despite this, both the normal and awakened forms of the Orochi Team still vow to carry out Orochi's mission while also trying to avoid the Ikari Warriors' current surveillance towards them. They are three of the Four Heavenly Kings of Orochi. The group is composed of Chris A young Swedish boy named who utilizes a swift fighting style that relies on quick movements. Shermie A beautiful but shady Frenchwoman named who specializes in Joshi puroresu. Yashiro Nanakase is a tall Japanese guitar player who utilizes a fighting style that combines powerful strikes with a few aspects of capoeira. They initially enter due to Yashiro's grudge against Iori and his own band (which had overshadowed a performance of theirs before the tournament), 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. Shingo Yabuki : Shingo Yabuki (矢吹 真吾 Yabuki Shingo?), a high school student who idolizes Kyo and dreams of being able to wield flames, becomes a friend of the team and appears as an edit entry character. During the NESTS saga which began in ''The King of Fighters '99, Benimaru and Shingo are invited to participate in the tournament. In The King of Fighters 2000'', Benimaru forms his own team, the Benimaru Team with Shingo, and two newcomers: Seth, an old friend of Benimaru and a mercenary, and Lin, a Hizoku clan assassin seeking to find a man named Ron. In 2001, Shingo is scouted by Kyo's father Saisyu and becoming the elder Kusanagi's student instead. Orochi : is the final boss of ''The King of Fighters '97, and can be considered the main antagonist of the series as most villains either serve it or wants to use its powers for their own ends. Its character origin is another interpretation of the mythical eight-headed serpent demon, Yamata no Orochi. In The King of Fighters'' series, it is a chthonic supernatural being that is the will of Gaia. It has no distinct gender. It does not regard humanity as trustworthy with regard to coexisting with the planet without ravaging it, and so seeks to extinguish humanity. It was sealed 1,800 years ago by the three sacred treasures of Japan. The three clans' descendants are charged with protecting the seal. In ''The King of Fighters '97'', it incarnates in Chris (a herald of Orochi) to save the Gaia. It is sealed again at the end of the '97 tournament by the three descendants of the users of the three sacred treasures (Kyo, Chizuru and Iori), but the seal is later broken (though not to the point of actually releasing it) by the demon Mukai at the end of The King of Fighters 2003. A clone of Orochi appears as a boss in NeoGeo Battle Coliseum named Mizuchi. In The King of Fighters XIV, Orochi is one of the many souls inside Verse as shown through Verse's win quote against Kyo and in the ending of Team Yagami, as it lands in Aggtelek-Karst in Hungary, it is sealed away once again due to being in its still weakened state. Yuki Yuki is Kyo Kusanagi's girlfriend and appears in ''The King of Fighters '97'' as a cameo. Revealed as the Kushinada's descendant, the New Faces Team try to sacrifice her to revive Orochi just like in the ancient times. Yuki manages to survive but is not seen in the main titles until The King of Fighters 2000 where it is revealed Kyo hides from her so that the NESTS cartel would use her. She would eventually return in Kyo's ending in The King of Fighters XV. While Kyo's girlfriend Yuki was also created by Morioka out of jealousy, Kuwasashi was against using her in a romantic scene, believing it would not fit the narrative. Yuki would become a more active character in spin-offs including The King of Fighters: Kyo and ''SNK Gals' Fighters''. ==Introduced in ''The King of Fighters '99''==

K′ : Maxima : debuted as a member of the Hero Team in ''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. Both he and his former deceased partner Rocky are inspired by two characters of the same names from the 1991 SNK beat 'em up arcade game Robo Army. 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, 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. Whip : appears in ''The King of Fighters '99'' as the fourth member of the Ikari Team. 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'. She was revealed to be a clone of K's deceased sister. Once she realizes who K' is, she reveals their relation to him and joins him in his objective to destroy the NESTS cartel. After the downfall of NESTS, Whip returns to her duties under Heidern's command, while acting as a caring sister figure to both K' and Kula Diamond. One of Whip's 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. Bao : is a Chinese boy who trains with the Psycho Soldier Team since ''The King of Fighters '99''. Jhun Hoon : Jhun Hoon (Korean: Jeon Hoon, Japanese: Jon Fūn) is a childhood friend and rival of Kim Kaphwan. He took notice of Kim's rehabilitation project, and after seeing the ethics and methods of training Chang and Choi, Jhun decides that he would show Kim a more efficient way of management for the criminals by joining the Korea Team as the fourth member for the 1999 and 2000 tournaments. Jhun was absent in the 2001 tournament after he broke his arm while chasing an image of his favorite idol, Athena Asamiya. He later participated in The King of Fighters 2003 with Kim and Chang. Kyo-1 and Kyo-2 : Introduced in ''The King of Fighters '99'', the two Kyo Kusanagi clones are taken from an army created by NESTS following multiple experiments with the kidnapped Kyo. They were given school uniforms due to the original Kyo's iconic popularity as well as different fighting style, with Kyo-1 acting like the classic moveset from ''KOF '94 who relied on projectiles, while Kyo-2 used mixed kenpo arts alongside his flame like the original Kyo did in KOF '96'' . Both Kyo-1 and Kyo-2 also appeared in The King of Fighters 2002: Unlimited Match. Krizalid : acts as the mid and final boss of ''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." Krizalid is made to be the ultimate Kyo 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 thousands of Kyo clones around the world so that they can attack in a simultaneous strike. After being defeated by K', his superior, Clone Zero, neutralizes the Kyo clones and kills Krizalid by throwing a boulder to crush him. He was later revived by Original Zero and fights alongside him in the 2001 tournament. Krizalid also appears in The King of Fighters 2002: Unlimited Match as one of the four final bosses. In The King of Fighters XIV, he is one of the souls inside Verse. ==Introduced in The King of Fighters 2000==

Kula Diamond : is a teenage girl who was experimented on by NESTS in order to exterminate the cartel's traitor, K'. Despite the fact 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. During The King of Fighters 2000, Kula can be fought as a mid-boss during her debut. In the following game, The King of Fighters 2001, Kula enters the fighting tournament with fellow NESTS' agents Foxy, K9999 and Ángel to capture K'. After the collapse of NESTS, Kula becomes a younger sister figure to K', Maxima and Whip. Lin : Lin (; Pinyin: Lín; Japanese: 麟 Rin) is one of the new characters introduced in The King of Fighters 2000. A member of the Benimaru Team, Lin is a master of the Poison Hand technique, which enables the user to turn their own blood into venom. He, along with the Hizoku sub-plot, was created without the entire staff's knowledge, leading to some developers being surprised by his team's ending. Lin 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. After the destruction of NESTS, he continues to search for Ron. Although he is no longer active in the KOF franchise, Lin's story and character have not been abandoned. For an unexplained reason, he appears next to Ron in the Psycho Soldier Team's ending in The King of Fighters XI.