The King of Fighters '96 | |
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Developer(s) | |
Publisher(s) | |
Director(s) | Kuwayan |
Producer(s) | Takashi Nishiyama |
Designer(s) | Eri Koujitani Kaori Kusunoki Masato Yokoyama |
Programmer(s) | Khozoh Nagashima S. Fujinuki |
Artist(s) | Toshiaki Mori |
Composer(s) | Akihiro Uchida Hideki Asanaka Kazuhiro Nishida |
Series | The King of Fighters |
Platform(s) | Arcade, Game Boy, Neo Geo AES, Neo Geo CD, PlayStation, Sega Saturn |
Release | |
Genre(s) | Fighting |
Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Arcade system | Neo Geo MVS |
The King of Fighters '96 [a] (KOF '96) is a fighting game released by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home consoles in 1996. It is the third game in The King of Fighters series, following The King of Fighters '95 . Like its predecessor, the game was ported to the Neo-Geo CD, as well as the PlayStation and Sega Saturn. Unlike the previous game, the PlayStation and Saturn versions were released only in Japan, with a language setting allowing the player to set the game to English. The game would later be ported to other consoles such as the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Wii Virtual Console, and PlayStation 4 as part of the King of Fighters Collection: The OrochiSaga, as the story follows a story arc that begins in The King of Fighters '95 and ends with The King of Fighters '97.
The game made a few changes to gameplay, such as the introduction of new techniques, and made various changes to the composition of some teams, with a few of them introducing new characters. The plot follows a new King of Fighters tournament created by Chizuru Kagura, the heir of the Yata Clan, who wants to find and recruit the protagonist, Kyo Kusanagi, who defeated the previous host Rugal Bernstein. She seeks to recruit him to ask him and his bitter rival, Iori Yagami, to help her in the sealing of the Orochi demon like her predecessors. The final boss of the game is Goenitz, one of the servants of Orochi. Developers made several changes to the cast when compared to The King of Fighters '95, with special focus on a Boss Team composed of famous villains from their other two IPs, Fatal Fury and Art of Fighting .
SNK members had trouble with the development of the game, which dragged on right up until its scheduled release. This happened because the developers had difficulty making the sprites and special moves of the new characters of the game. The game received mixed reviews from several video games publications. While some reviewers praised the graphical improvements and the addition of new characters, some commented that the gameplay was unbalanced in comparison to its prequels, as a result of characters possessing new moves that clash the idea of projectiles and hand-to-hand combat.
KOF '96 is a fighting game that carries the same goal of previous games in the series, involving the creation of a team of three fighters who participate in the title tournament against several rivals. This installment makes significant changes to the gameplay of previous KOF games by introducing new techniques. The Dodge technique from the previous two games has been replaced with an "emergency evasion" or "attack deflector" technique, which allows the player's character to roll away or towards the opponent. In the latter case, the player has the opportunity to end up on the other side of their opponent. The player can also determine the height of their jumps and perform small or high jumps. Moreover, the player is able to create several counter techniques to cancel the enemies' attacks. [1]
Additionally, Super Special Moves can still be performed when the Power Gauge is filled up or when the player's life gauge is flashing red, but now the player can also perform a more powerful version of their regular Super move if both conditions are met (i.e. the player has low energy and their power gauge has reached Maximum level). One other change to the gameplay system is that the player can now run instead of hopping forward in order to approach the opponent faster. While the game includes several bosses, both Chizuru Kagura and Goenitz can be unlocked as playable characters. [1] This is the first game that the Combo Counter entitled Rush can be used in the game. [2]
A new King of Fighters tournament is announced, though the letters of invitation sent out to the fighters are no longer sent by Rugal Bernstein. The character roster underwent major changes since the previous game. The Rival Team was disbanded, with only Iori Yagami returning, while Heidern and Takuma Sakazaki retired from the tournament. Takuma's spot in the Art of Fighting Team is taken by his daughter, Yuri Sakazaki, formerly with the Women Fighters Team. New characters include Kasumi Todoh from Art of Fighting 3 , who takes Yuri's place in the Women Fighters Team; Leona, who joins the Ikari Team in place of her mentor and adoptive father, Heidern; Mature and Vice, two of Rugal's assistants who join Iori Yagami as members of the new Yagami Team; and the Boss Team, composed of Geese Howard, Wolfgang Krauser, and Mr. Big, all villains from the Fatal Fury and Art of Fighting series. [3]
The tournament is now held by Chizuru Kagura, a descendant of the ancient Yata Clan, which is one of the three clans responsible for sealing away the snake demon, Orochi. The other two clans are the Kusanagi and Yasanaki clans, from which Kyo Kusanagi and Iori Yagami are descended. Chizuru uses the tournament in the hopes of recruiting Kyo and Iori in order to stop the upcoming Orochi threat. The new boss character is Goenitz, a servant of Orochi, who wants to stop Chizuru's plans of sealing his master. After Chizuru tests the winners, Goentiz ambushes her and faces the player. Following his defeat, Goenitz passes away as his body disappears in a tornado. [4] If Kyo and Iori are allied with Chizuru, the two rivals join forces to incinerate Goentiz in combat. [5] 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. [6]
Hero Team
Fatal Fury Team Art of Fighting Team | Ikari Warriors Team
Psycho Soldier Team
Korea Team
| Women Fighters Team
Rivals Team
Boss Team
| Mid-Boss
Main Boss
|
SNK developer Yasuyuki Oda referred to KOF '96 as the most important game from the franchise because it served as the basis for most of their works. [7] The development period for KOF '96 dragged on right up to the time of its scheduled release. At the location test for the title, Mature and Vice were still not included in the game, since the staff did not have enough time to completely design them. [8] The King of Fighters '96 is the second game to break the technical limits of the Neo Geo platform by using a memory footprint of 362 mega bits (which is roughly 46 mega bytes). While the first two games used the Neo Geo MVS arcade, The King of Fighters '96 includes 68 KB of video RAM and 64 KB of RAM. This made The King of Fighters '96 the first game to break the technical limits of the MVS system. [9] SNK staff members noted that due to the great popularity of some of the series' characters, it is difficult to design new ones that might have the same appeal. This also happens during location tests of new games. [10] The number of deadlines led to balancing issues and bugs. The game took a year to develop; the first King of Fighters, by comparison, took two years. [11] A total of six musicians worked on the audio. [12]
While the previous installment was created to develop the protagonist, Kyo Kusanagi, and his rival Iori Yagami, The King of Fighters '96 was mainly created to continue with the narrative of the Orochi arc based on Japanese myths. Director Masanori Kuwasashi was responsible for the handling of the Orochi arc, which he based on the Yamata no Orochi demon, from which the antagonist is derived, and with which Iori is connected by sharing a similar fighting style due to his predecessor's curse. Originally, The King of Fighters '95 was gonna be a complete remake of The King of Fighters '94, but due to time constraints, it was The King of Fighters '96 that had a complete revamp in comparison. [13] Chizuru Kagura was created as a means to expand the Orochi arc and bring Kyo and Iori together as the "Three Sacred Treasures Team", which represent the three Imperial Regalia of Japan; the sword, the mirror, and the jewel. Their ancestors defeated Orochi during the time of myths. Due to developmental issues, the original clothing damage Yuri Sakazaki and King suffer when defeated by special moves was removed. Mai Shiranui's bouncing animation from her cleavage was also changed due to censorship from non-Japanese games. Mai's own artist had to be told there was too much work to be done to reuse Mai's appearance. In retrospect, The King of Fighters '96 was the first game from the franchise developed to openly compete with other games on the market. However, The King of Fighters '96 was the last game directed by Kuwasashi, as he expressed pressure with the annual release schedule. This led to his eventual replacement with battle designer Toyohisa Tanabe as the next director, who would end the Orochi arc with The King of Fighters '97. [14]
The basic concept is novelty through new characters, new language, and new systems. Unlike the previous two titles, the key point is how to change the way the players use the characters. The tempo of the game has increased. SNK aimed to create a game with less waiting and more attacking. Also, how to make the new characters stand out was a big issue. The attack evasion causes the game to pause for a moment. The developers felt that this was an element that contradicted their previous aim of speeding up the game, and although the "attack evasion" itself was well received, they took the plunge and changed it to an "emergency return action" that involved movement. This was also a bit difficult to use. This led to the removal of projectile techniques to make fights more strategic and make the characters more unique. Many people always came to the word-of-mouth tests, and even after the release, many people played the game, which helped improve the developers. The inclusion of Geese Howard was innovative, but at the same time was confusing to players because the game was released after Real Bout Fatal Fury, which marked the death of the character. [15] Among several characters, the protagonist Kyo Kusanagi has different moves, which reinforce a hand-to-hand combat style rather than throwing projectiles like in previous games. While Kyo remained popular, SNK developers noted players missed the original Kyo playstyle, which often resulted in subsequent games including an alternate version of the main character that possessed his classic moves. [16] [17] The team was confident with their cast and visuals by showing all of them in the intro sequence. [18]
Kasumi Todoh was added to the cast since the coinciding release of Art of Fighting 3 had increased the character's profile. [19] Geese Howard from Fatal Fury was first meant to appear in KOF '95, but developers abandoned this idea. When KOF '96 began development, the staff decided to make Geese become a playable character. The Boss Team in which he starred along with Mr. Big and Wolfgang Krauser received "special treatment", such as music for each individual member (in comparison to other teams, who only had one song total). Due to memory restrictions, some of the special moves that were designed for Geese had to be left out of the game. [20] Artist Shinkiro considered Leona to be an "ice queen" persona; an opposite of Mai Shiranui from Fatal Fury. [21] SNK artist Falcoon stated Leona is the company's response to Street Fighter character Cammy; both of whom are implosion assassins. [22] The sub-boss character, Chizuru Kagura, was the hardest one to create. Her pixelated image was completed in a month, resulting in her designer working overtime. [23] The game also meant to introduce Whip into the Ikari Team. However, due to Leona's introduction to the same team, the developers waited until The King of Fighters '99 to add her to the cast. [24] The final boss, Goenitz, was written to be an antagonist who surpasses the previous villain, Rugal Bernstein. [25]
The original KOF '96 was released for Japanese arcades on July 30, 1996. Neo Geo and Neo Geo CD versions were released on September 27, 1996, and October 25, 1996, respectively. The Sega Saturn port was released on December 31, 1996, and the PlayStation port on July 4, 1997. [26] Unlike the previous game, the PlayStation and Saturn versions were released only in Japan, with a language setting that allows the player to set the game to English. The Saturn version optionally uses a 1MB RAM cartridge to run additional animations which would not fit in the Saturn's internal RAM. [27] A "Saturn Best Collection" version of the port was released on October 1, 1998. The PlayStation version was a bestseller and was re-released in the "PlayStation the Best" series in Japan.
Like the previous game, a Game Boy game based on The King of Fighters '96 was released by Takara in Japan titled Nettō The King of Fighters '96 on August 8, 1997, and was released in Europe titled The King of Fighters: Heat of Battle in 1998. This version only includes 17 of the 29 characters in the original version. The Game Boy game features a secret code called "Carnage" mode, which allows the player's (including CPU) Power Gauge to be filled automatically without charging. This feature also enables the player to use powerful versions of their Super Special Moves and normal versions of Super Special Moves without having the player's health at a low level. Characters exclusive to the Game Boy version includes Orochi Iori and Orochi Leona from The King of Fighters '97 ; a stronger version of Chizuru Kagura; the final boss of the game, Goenitz; and Mr. Karate (Takuma's persona in the original Art of Fighting ). [28]
An emulated version of the game was released as part of The King of Fighters Collection: The Orochi Saga in 2008 for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, and Wii. [29] The Neo Geo AES version was added via emulation to the Wii Virtual Console in Japan on February 15, 2011, in North America on July 12, 2012, and in the PAL region on November 22, 2012. [30] The arcade version was emulated and released as part of the ACA Neo Geo series for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on March 30, 2017, with releases for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android following afterwards. [31] [32] [33]
An extensive database for the game, titled The King of Fighters '96 Neo Geo Collection, was released on February 14, 1997, to promote the year's title. It was available only for the Neo-Geo CD. The database includes the game's intro, an interactive reenactment of the game's backstory, character profiles spoken by their voice actors, outtakes, an exclusive gallery section from the creators, a complete command list, and a sound selection. [34] A similar version of this database, The King of Fighters '96 Perfect File, was also released for Windows and Macintosh computers. This version was released on June 18, 1997, and includes most of the features found in its predecessor. [35]
Ryo Takamisaki also wrote The King of Fighters G, a manga that retells the events of the game, following Athena Asamiya. [36]
Publication | Score |
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Electronic Gaming Monthly | 7.5/10 [37] |
Nintendo Life | 7/10 [38] |
Capsule Monsters | 7.5/10 [39] |
Publication | Award |
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Electronic Gaming Monthly | Neo Geo Game of the Year [40] |
In Japan, Game Machine listed The King of Fighters '96 on their September 1, 1996 issue as being the most-successful arcade game of the month. [41] According to Famitsu , the AES version sold over 33,323 copies in its first week on the market. [42] Electronic Gaming Monthly editors named The King of Fighters '96 their Neo Geo Game of the Year, calling it "an excellent packaged deal for any fan of 2-D sprite-based fighting games." [40] GameSpot noted the game helped start "a modest resurgence in the sales of AES consoles and cartridges." [43] During its release week, the Sega Saturn port of the game sold 109,752 copies in Japan. As of 2004, the sales went to 155,116. [44]
The game received both praise and criticism from video game publications, which commented on its new additions in regards to gameplay and characters. The four reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the Neo Geo AES version a 7.5 out of 10, citing the huge roster of fighters and retention of the series' strong playability. [37] Game Master Mook regarded it as the most fun fighting game from the franchise at the time of its release thanks to the new mechanics, such as Max Mode, and also praised its new characters. [45] In regards to the Orochi Collection, NintendoLife said that while The King of Fighters '96 and The King of Fighters '97 are more enjoyable than the previous games, they are still overshadowed by The King of Fighters '98, which is considered the best game in the entire franchise. [46] 1UP.com noted the game to be unbalanced in comparison to its prequel, stating that projectile attacks needed to be improved. [47] The emulated Virtual Console release for Wii obtained a good review by Nintendo Life based on the improvements SNK added to the title, such as balancing the gameplay and the movements of characters, but criticized the audio. [38] HardcoreGaming noted that several characters have aerial techniques which add more variety to the cast, despite still failing to balance the cast. Nevertheless, HardcoreGaming praised the new gameplay elements that made the game unique when compared to the previous two installments. [1] Upon being ported to the PlayStation 3, Akihabara noted that the biggest feature that every player would be looking forward to using would be the Online Mode, and added that the game still stands out in modern times, thanks to its variety of playable characters. [48]
The presentation was a subject of both praise and criticism. Dan Hsu and Sushi-X both criticized it for failing to improve graphically over the previous installment, and thereby keep up with contemporary 2D fighting series such as Street Fighter . [37] PlayStation Life Style praised the focus of the narrative, as the relationship between the two protagonists, Kyo Kusanagi and Iori Yagami, is further elaborated and new characters were created to explore such lore. However, the writer noted that the arc is not finished until its following installment. [49] Zentendo.com writer Chuck Allen praised the improvements in music and voice acting, such as the announcer's voice, which is "audible and understandable". He also praised the addition of new characters to the cast, as well as the boss Goenitz, who is easier to defeat than Rugal Bernstein from KOF '95. [50] In retrospect, the plot was well-received for how the two rivals Kyo and Iori join forces for the first time despite their antagonism, which went on to create a major impact in SNK history thanks to the appeal of these two fighters. [51] [52] 1UP.com and HardcoreGaming liked the additions of Vice and Mature, the new Boss Team composed of famous SNK villains, the special introductions between related characters, and the custom endings and winposes. [47] [1]
The King of Fighters (KOF) is a series of fighting games by SNK that began with the release of The King of Fighters '94 in 1994. The series was initially developed for SNK's Neo Geo MVS arcade hardware and received yearly installments up until its tenth entry, The King of Fighters 2003 — thereafter, SNK moved away from annual The King of Fighters releases and games adopted a Roman numbered format, while simultaneously retiring the use of Neo Geo. The first major installment after this change was The King of Fighters XI (2005) on the Atomiswave arcade board. The series' most recent arcade hardware is the Taito Type X2, first used with the release of The King of Fighters XII (2009) and continues with the latest entry in the series, The King of Fighters XV (2022). Ports of the arcade games have been released for several video game consoles.
Iori Yagami is a character from SNK's The King of Fighters video game series. The character first appeared in The King of Fighters '95 as the leader of the Rivals Team, as the initial enemy and later rival of Kyo Kusanagi. Iori is the heir of the Yagami clan, who use pyrokinetic powers and sealed the Orochi devil along with the Kusanagi and Yata clans. Iori suffers from a curse – "The Riot of the Blood" – under which he becomes faster, stronger and wilder, exhibiting a deadly tendency to indiscriminately attack everyone in close proximity. In this state, Iori is commonly called "Wild Iori" or "Orochi Iori". Aside from the main series, Iori appears in several other media series, including spin-offs, crossover video games and comic adaptations of the series.
Kyo Kusanagi is a character in SNK's The King of Fighters series of fighting games. The character was first introduced in the 1994 video game The King of Fighters '94 as the leader of the Japan team from the series' title tournament. Kyo, heir to the Kusanagi clan, is first introduced as a cocky, delinquent high school student who has pyrokinetic powers. His clan is one of three who banished the legendary snake demon entity Yamata no Orochi. During the series' story, Kyo meets rivals and enemies who seek to take his flame abilities. Aside from the main series, Kyo appears in several crossovers and spinoffs with other games. He is also the central title character of the manga The King of Fighters: Kyo and video game adaptation with the same name, which center around his daily life.
The King of Fighters '95(KOF '95) is a fighting video game developed and published by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home consoles in 1995. It is the sequel to The King of Fighters '94 and the second game in The King of Fighters series. It is also the first game in the series to be ported to other home consoles besides the Neo Geo AES and Neo Geo CD with versions released for the PlayStation, Sega Saturn and Game Boy.
The King of Fighters '97(KOF '97) is a fighting game produced by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home console in 1997. It is the fourth game in The King of Fighters series. It was ported to the Neo Geo CD, as well as the PlayStation and the Sega Saturn in Japan only. It is the last game in the "Orochi Saga" storyline, that began in The King of Fighters '95.
The King of Fighters '98, subtitled Dream Match Never Ends in Japan or The Slugfest elsewhere, is a 1998 2D arcade fighting game released by SNK for the Neo Geo system MVS, AES, CD. It is the fifth game in The King of Fighters series and was advertised by SNK as a "special edition" of the series, as it features most of the characters who appeared in the previous games from KOF '94 to '97. The game provides no storyline in contrast to the previous games and instead is labelled as a "dream match" like its subtitle where the player selects a team composed of three characters to participate in a King of Fighters tournament until reaching the boss Rugal Bernstein even though the character dies in The King of Fighters '95. Two fighting styles can be selected to fight and several characters have alternate personas to select with their classic moves from previous games.
The King of Fighters '99: Millennium Battle, also called KOF '99, is a 1999 fighting game developed and published by SNK for the Neo Geo MVS arcade and home consoles in 1999. It is the sixth installment in The King of Fighters series following The King of Fighters '98, introducing a new story arc known as the "NESTS Chronicles" which is centered around a young man named K', who is formerly associated with a mysterious organization known only as NESTS. The game introduces several changes to the established KOF format, most notably an assisting character labeled "Striker". The game was ported to the Neo Geo CD and the PlayStation. Dreamcast and Microsoft Windows versions were also released under the title The King of Fighters' 99: Evolution whose stages were remodeled in 3D.
The King of Fighters: Kyo is Japanese manga written and illustrated by Masato Natsumoto and published by Kodansha in 1997. The manga follows the life of the martial artist Kyo Kusanagi since the climax of The King of Fighters '95 as well as his daily life as he attacked by his rival Iori Yagami who seeks his death. It is inspired by the fighting game series The King of Fighters developed by SNK.
Ash Crimson is a character in The King of Fighters fighting game series developed by SNK Playmore. His first appearance was in The King of Fighters 2003 as leader of its Hero Team. Ash, a teenager, participates in the series' fighting tournaments. He employs a personal fighting style that involves pyrokinesis with green flames. Despite being the series' protagonist during its third story arc, Ash's behavior is generally antagonistic and he tries to steal powers from several recurring characters, leaving them powerless. His identity and intentions are further explored in the 2011 title, The King of Fighters XIII, and he has been featured in print adaptations and a drama CD based on the games.
The King of Fighters XI(KOF XI) is a 2005 2D fighting game produced by SNK Playmore. It is the eleventh installment in The King of Fighters series following The King of Fighters 2003. Originally released as a coin-operated arcade game for the Atomiswave platform, a home version for the PlayStation 2 was released in Japan in 2006, followed by releases in the PAL region and North America in 2007. It is the second The King of Fighters game to not run on the Neo Geo following its predecessor, The King of Fighters Neowave and also the first major canonical entry to not be named after its year of release.
King of Fighters R-2 is a 1999 fighting video game released by SNK for the Neo Geo Pocket Color handheld system. It is the sequel to King of Fighters R-1, as part of The King of Fighters series. Like most other games in the series, King of Fighters R-2 features various SNK characters; this game, which features the same story as The King of Fighters '98, has the main character going up against Rugal Bernstein, who is creating clones of the main characters. A port for Nintendo Switch was released on August 7, 2020, which was additionally included as part of Neo Geo Pocket Color Selection Vol. 1 in 2021.
The King of Fighters 2002: Challenge to Ultimate Battle(KOF 2002, or KOF '02) is a 2D arcade fighting video game originally released for the Neo Geo in October 2002, published by Playmore, the spiritual successor to the original SNK. It is the ninth title in The King of Fighters series and the second one to be produced by Eolith. Similarly to The King of Fighters '98, it brings together characters from various SNK franchises and has a diverse roster of fighters.
The King of Fighters 2003(KOF 2003, or KOF '03) is a 2D fighting video game for the Neo Geo arcade and home platforms, produced by SNK Playmore in 2003. It is the tenth game in The King of Fighters series and the last one released for the Neo Geo, which served as the primary platform for the series since The King of Fighters '94. It was ported to the PlayStation 2 and Xbox, and was released on both consoles in North America in a two-in-one bundle with the preceding game in the series, The King of Fighters 2002.
The King of Fighters Neowave(KOF Neowave, or KOF NW) is a 2004 2D fighting game produced by SNK Playmore as their first coin-operated arcade game for Sammy's Atomiswave hardware. Home ports of the game were released for PlayStation 2 and Xbox. It is a remake of The King of Fighters 2002 with some changes in the roster and stages. The character artwork was done by Tomokazu Nakano. Compared to usual The King of Fighters games, Neowave received a lukewarm critical reception.
The King of Fighters, known specifically as Gordon Chan's The King of Fighters is a 2009 science fiction martial arts film directed by Gordon Chan from a screenplay by Rita Augustine and Matthew Ryan Fischer, based on the video game series of the same name published by SNK Playmore. The film stars Maggie Q, Sean Faris, Ray Park, David Leitch, and Will Yun Lee. In the plot, the last surviving descendants of three legendary clans are continuously transported to other dimensions to test their martial arts skills during the King of Fighters tournament against an evil force that seeks to invade and infect the real world.
King of Fighters R-1 is a fighting game developed and released by SNK in 1998 for the Neo-Geo Pocket handheld system. It is based on The King of Fighters '97, sharing the same storyline. A sequel, King of Fighters R-2, was released the following year.
The King of Fighters XIII(KOF XIII) is a 2010 fighting game in The King of Fighters series, developed by SNK Playmore, coming a year after The King of Fighters XII (2009). Released on Japanese arcades, it was ported to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 globally in 2011, and an updated version for arcades followed in 2012 subtitled Climax. The game is set after the events of The King of Fighters XI (2005) and is also the conclusion of Ash Crimson's story arc, which started in The King of Fighters 2003. It follows another King of Fighters tournament secretly hosted by Those From the Distance Land, the organization behind the events from the two prior games that are trying to break the seal of the demon Orochi and take its power.
Neo Geo Heroes: Ultimate Shooting is a shooting game developed and published by SNK Playmore for the PlayStation Portable in 2010.
The King of Fighters XV(KOF XV), is a 2022 fighting video game part of the The King of Fighters series, developed by SNK and published by Koch Media for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S. It uses the same fighting system from The King of Fighters XIV (2016) involving teams composed of three members who oppose other teams but with more accessible changes such as more useful Climax moves or parries.
Benimaru: Trying to escape, huh? / Goenitz: No. I am being called... to Heaven.
Goenitz: I guess I underestimated you. I never thought... but this isn't the end for you./Iori: Hah! "ONE-FOR-THE-ROAD" BLAST!/Goenitz: AHHHHH!/Kyo: Hah! Eat this, pal! SERPENT WAVE!/Goenitz:GYAAAH! Why? Why is there no wind? GYAAAAAH!
Goenitz: Even after her death she still kept her eyes on me.