18. The King Of Fighters

(Arcade/Various Home, SNK, 1994 Onwards)
I'm a fighter, not a lover.
The family of fighting games is an extended one with a deep history and unlikeable relatives. Since Capcom's roaring success, many contenders have thrown down the gauntlet with their own series. Usually a one-on-one fighting game with a new gimmick thrown in, be it more gore, more weapons or every fighter being a PITIFUL ROBOT. For every fighting game fan their is that one franchise that for them stands supreme, a "home territory" if you will. Whilst any fan worth his salt will gladly play various games and accept challenges from all comers, each and every one has a franchise that is "their world"

Welcome to my world.

The King Of Fighters series began in 1994 on the brutally expensive Neo-Geo console. Mixing characters from Fatal Fury, Art of Fighting and other games, SNK put together a three-on-three fighter which had brilliantly detailed visuals, loud, anime-esque sound effects and difficult, fast-paced gameplay. From this 1994 incarnation SNK went on to make an update each year, adding and subtracting characters, moves, backgrounds, teams, system features and bosses, all played out against an incredibly labyrinthine plot (Seriously, there really is a storyline for each character as well as a general arc that goes through the entire franchise. It is skull crushingly deep and wacky)

With each new game the player was encouraged to work on their dream team of three fighters, dissecting each characters strengths and weaknesses and working on combos, super moves and even the psychology of order picking. The roster had soon grown to over fifty characters, leaving the character select screen looking incredibly daunting to new players. There is someone for everyone though, with an enormous selection of "cool" dudes, emo whiners, sexy tough girls, moody ninjas and nauseating kids. KOF manages to keep the game fairly well balanced despite the huge roster size and most of the characters follow the command/charge style that almost all fighting games have adopted since Street Fighter II.


The characters have incredibly hip designs (the later game's protagonists looking more like Japanese fashion models than anything else) and colourful, detailed backgrounds. The Neo-Geo synth busts hard and creates a mostly hit and miss soundtrack for each game, with many teams having their own themes. Everyone is also quick to spout out fantastic engrish cries, move names and win quotes.

For sixteen years I have played each and every one of these games since the franchise began. I have never stopped enjoying the pace, action, characters, competition and even the crazy story that KOF has thrown my way. The latest installment was sadly a little lacklustre, being hot on graphics but cold on content. There is also a HORRIBLE looking live-action movie nearing completion. These and some bizarre ideas (a schmup and online RPG) are among the reasons that lead many to believe that the series may have finally reached its end.
That remains to be seen, the same year (2009) also saw the Japan release of KOF 2002 Unlimited Match, which is an incredible collaboration of everything that makes the series glorious, this alone provides me with the hope that future can get brighter.

(Leona Heidern. My one and only)

Whatever time and fate holds for the KOF franchise, the previous games are indelibly etched into my heart. The King Of Fighters is my favourite videogame franchise of all time.

I think they are the greatest fighting games ever made.