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The King of Fighters

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The King of Fighters
File:The King of Fighters '94 - poster.jpg
Cover artwork of the Neo Geo CD version of The King of Fighters '94, the first game in the series.
Genre(s)Fighting
Developer(s)SNK Playmore
Publisher(s)SNK Playmore

The King of Fighters (ザ·キング·オブ·ファイターズ, Za Kingu obu Faitāzu), officially abbreviated KOF, is a series of fighting games by SNK Playmore (formerly SNK). 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 and will move the series to the Taito Type X2 with the release of The King of Fighters XII. Ports of the arcade games and original The King of Fighters games have been released for the Neo Geo CD, Neo Geo Pocket, Game Boy and Game Boy Advance, N-Gage, Sega Saturn and Sega Dreamcast, PlayStation and PlayStation 2, PC, and Xbox.

Plot and characters

See also: List of characters in The King of Fighters series

The titular King of Fighters tournament originated from SNK's previous fighting game franchises, Fatal Fury and Art of Fighting. While The King of Fighters series features characters from both series, it does not follow the same continuity, but takes place in an alternate universe.[1]

The first game in the series, KOF '94, centers around a black market arms dealer named Rugal Bernstein, who hosts an underground fighting tournament to lure worthy adversaries to add to his collection of defeated martial artists. In addition to previous established fighting game stars Terry Bogard and Ryo Sakazaki, the game introduces a new hero, a young Japanese martial artist named Kyo Kusanagi, who serves as the lead character in the early KOF games. In KOF '95, Rugal, having survived the previous tournament, host a new one with the intentions of seeking revenge against his adversaries. KOF '95 introduced Kyo's rival Iori Yagami to the series and was the first game to mention the presence of the Orochi clan, which would serve as the central plot element in the following two games in the series. The tournament in KOF '96 and KOF '97 are hosted by a woman named Chizuru Kagura, who seeks to recruit allies (particularly Kyo and Iori, who are descended from the Three Divine Vessels along with Kagura herself) to fight against the Orochi clan. The Orochi storyline concludes in KOF '97, while the following game in the series, KOF '98, is a "Special Edition" with no plot development.[1]

KOF '99 introduces a new story arc involving a mysterious corporation known as NESTS, which seeks to create an army of genetically altered fighters. A new lead character named K′, a fugitive from NESTS who was genetically enhanced with Kyo's DNA. The two following games in the series, KOF 2000 and KOF 2001, continue the NESTS storyline, with each game further unraveling the mystery of the company. KOF 2002, like KOF '98 before it, is a "Special Edition" of the series with no particular plot.

KOF 2003 begins a new storyline focusing on another new lead character named Ash Crimson, a young man who seeks to possess the powers of the Three Divine Vessels for his own unknown agenda. The tournaments from KOF 2003 and KOF XI would be host by "Those From the Past", an organization of inhuman warriors who try to break the Orochi seal to take its powers.

Comics adaptation

During 1995 Tatsuya Shingyoji authored a manga adaptation of The King of Fighters '94. It was serialized in Shōnen Ace from Kadokawa Shoten and was collected into four tankōbon volumes. They were released from February 10, 1995 to December of 1996.[2] There is also a spin-off manga story based on the adventures of the characters from The King of Fighters '96 entitled, The King of Fighters: Kyo. It was authored by Masato Natsumoto and published by Kodansha in two tankōbon volumes during 1997.[3] Ryo Takamisaki also developed another adaptation from KOF 96 during. Shinseisha published the series in three tankōbon compilations from June 1996 to February 1998.[4]

A manhua adaptation of KOF titled The King of Fighters: Zillion was created by Andy Seto. Hong Kong artists, Wing Yang and King Tung produced further manhua for the games, starting in The King of Fighters 2001 through 2003 along with the Maximum Impact series.[5] Both authors also made a sequel, The King of Fighters 03: Xenon Zero (拳皇 XENON ZERO), to conclude the 2003 tournament. Another manhua series is King of Fighters RX Project '00 (拳皇RX) is a three-volume manhua series that was officially sponsored by SNK-Playmore Hong Kong. The NESTS saga version was illustrated by Ricky. It covers the fight against NESTS primarily focused in the 2000 tournament.

Film and animation

During August 2005, a short anime series based upon KOF entitled The King of Fighters: Another Day was announced. It debuted at the year's Tokyo Game Show about a month later. Production I.G produced the title as an original net animation. There are a total of four episodes, each about 10 minutes in length. It has since been released as a bonus DVD, packaged with KOF: Maximum Impact 2 (The King of Fighters 2006 in the US).[6] A live-action movie of The King of Fighters has been scheduled for a 2010 release, it stars Sean Faris as Kyo Kusanagi and will be directed by Gordon Chan.[7][8]

CDs

SNK has released a series of CD soundtracks known as SNK Character Sounds Collection or SNK Sound Character Collection (SNKサウンドキャラクターズコレクション). There are eleven volumes altogether and each one focuses on a single character. The CDs have different versions of the characters themes, as well as quotes. Most of the albums' covers are illustrated by Masato Natsumoto.[9] The Band of Fighters, shortened as BOF, is a character image band that is formed with Kyo Kusanagi, Iori Yagami, Terry Bogard, Nakoruru, and Athena Asamiya.

Dengeki Bunko and Pony Canyon have released several Drama CD from the series. Some of them are direct adaptations of several videogames from KOF '94 to KOF '00. Another CD is Iori Yagami Original Drama The Setting Sun and Moon ~ Prologue (八神庵オリジナルドラマ 夕陽と月〜プロローグ〜), which is centered around Iori Yagami. The drama originally aired on Game Dra Night and Neo Chupi and then released by Pony Canyon CD on July 7, 1999. The guidebook The King of Fighters Perfect Reader includes the bonus CD Drama KOF: Mid Summer Struggle. There are two stories on it, one which is serious and one that is a parody focused on KOF '03. The scenarios were developed by Akihiko Ureshino and BoHyou.

Other merchandise

In December 2006, Sabertooth Games released a King of Fighters 2006 collectable card game set along with Samurai Shodown V for its Universal Fighting System (UFS) game. Other games like Street Fighter and Soulcalibur III are also included into the series. Character starter packs were released for Terry Bogard and Mai Shiranui.

Development

In an interview with veteran developers of the series they claim that their prototype version for KOF was going to be a side-scrolling beat 'em up titled, Survivor. In this version, it would only use 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 after the debut of Capcom's game with similar gameplay, Final Fight. Since they were attached to the idea of the two series cross-over, they eventually agreed to make their idea into a fighting game. Characters from Ikari Warriors and Psycho Soldier games were also added in 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.[10]

The first games of the series were only available in Japan with the exception of The King of Fighters '95 which saw a US release on the PlayStation in 1996. However, in 1999 when SNK was expanded to North America, the games were released also there.[11]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "The King of Fighters 2000 Glossary of Terms (waybacked)" (in Japanese).
  2. ^ "The King of Fighters '94 (manga)". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2009-01-17.
  3. ^ "The King of Fighters: Kyo (manga)". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
  4. ^ "The King of Fighters G (manga)". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2009-01-17.
  5. ^ Shiroi, Eiji. "Remembrances of KOF: An Interview with Eiji". King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website. Retrieved January 18 2008. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); External link in |work= (help); Unknown parameter |dateformat= ignored (help)
  6. ^ "The King of Fighters: Another Day (ONA)". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2008-07-28.
  7. ^ Plunkett, Luke. "Nobody Ever Learns ~ Gordon Chan Directing King Of Fighters Flick". Kotaku, the Gamer's Guide. Retrieved February 27 2008. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |dateformat= ignored (help)
  8. ^ Frater, Patrick. "Chan takes on 'King of Fighters'". Film Festival by Variety. Retrieved February 27 2008. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |dateformat= ignored (help)
  9. ^ "SNK Character Sounds Collection Volume 1 ~ Kyo Kusanagi - VGMdb beta". VGMdb. Retrieved 2008-03-26.
  10. ^ Akihiko Ureshino, ed. (September 20, 2005). The King of Fighters Perfect Reader (in Japanese). Nikkei Business Publications, Inc. pp. 136~137. ISBN 4-8222-1711-6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
  11. ^ SNK Playmore. "The history of SNK". GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-09-11.


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