The King of Fighters '99

Last updated
The King of Fighters '99: Millennium Battle
The King of Fighters '99 arcade flyer.jpg
Developer(s) SNK [lower-alpha 1]
Publisher(s)
SNK
  • PlayStation
    Dreamcast
    CyberFront Corporation
    (Windows)
    SNK Playmore
Director(s) Tomoyuki Hosokawa
Producer(s) Takashi Nishiyama
Designer(s) Akiko Yukawa
Chikara Yamasaki
Kawai Sama
Programmer(s) Souta Ichino
Artist(s) Toshiaki Mori
Composer(s) Hideki Asanaka
Toshio Shimizu
Yasuo Yamate
Series The King of Fighters
Platform(s) Arcade, Neo Geo AES, Neo Geo CD, PlayStation, Dreamcast, Microsoft Windows
Release
22 July 1999
  • Arcade
    • WW: 22 July 1999
    Neo Geo AES
    • WW: 23 September 1999
    Neo Geo CD
    • WW: 2 December 1999
    PlayStation
    • JP: 23 March 2000
    • NA: 22 April 2001

    Evolution
    Dreamcast
    • JP: 30 March 2000
    • NA: 10 May 2001
    Windows
    • JP: 27 November 2002
Genre(s) Fighting
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer
Arcade system Neo Geo MVS

The King of Fighters '99: Millennium Battle (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, 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 yet threatening 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 [1] whose stages were remodeled in 3D.

Contents

SNK had originally planned to remove main characters Kyo Kusanagi and Iori Yagami, who had previously appeared in earlier installments of the series, from The King of Fighters '99, but they ended up as hidden characters instead. The popularity of Kyo's previous incarnations resulted in him being given "clones" that wear his original clothes and perform his moves. SNK had difficulty balancing the age of the characters and teams. The Neo Geo AES and Dreamcast versions are both included in The Kings of Fighters NESTS Hen compilation released for the PlayStation 2 in Japan alongside other ports.

Critical response to The King of Fighters '99 has generally been positive because of its fighting system and its use of Strikers. The Dreamcast port of the game has had a more favorable reception than the PlayStation version thanks to its loading times and graphics. While the game has sold well, overall sales have been less than those of the series' previous game because of poor sales of the console versions.

Gameplay

Gameplay screenshot showcasing K' and Robert Garcia calling their respective Striker to attack. The bottom bars indicate how many Strikers the player can use. NEOGEO The King of Fighters '99 (The King of Fighters '99 - Millennium Battle).png
Gameplay screenshot showcasing K' and Robert Garcia calling their respective Striker to attack. The bottom bars indicate how many Strikers the player can use.

Instead of the three-character teams from earlier The King of Fighters (KOF) games, each team now has four members. Before a match, the player chooses three of the characters to use in the fights. The fourth member becomes the Striker the player summons during battle to help their character by performing one of their Special Moves against the opponent. A Striker can be summoned only a limited number of times during a single match. This is determined by the number of "Strike Bombs" at the bottom of the screen. [2]

The selectable fighting styles, Advanced and Extra, from The King of Fighters '98 have been removed. Instead, the game has a single playing style modeled after the Advanced mode from the previous game, where the player fills their power gauge by attacking the opponent or performing special moves. This time, there are two powered-up states the player can choose during battle depending on the button combination used. Counter Mode increases the player's offensive strength and allows them unlimited use of their character's Super Special Move. There is also a combo that transitions from a Special Move into a Super Special Move by using a "Super Cancellation Attack" or a "Moving Attack". The other powered-up mode is Armor Mode, which increases the character's defensive strength, allowing them to take more damage from the opponent; however, the player cannot use Super Special Moves in Armor Mode. [2]

Depending on the player's performance, a score is given when the fight is finished. Should a high score be reached, the arcade mode will offer the player an extra fight following the final boss. [3]

The updated The King of Fighters '99: Evolution version features stages remodeled in 3D and includes two additional stages, as well as new characters who can only be used as Strikers. The new Strikers are Kyo Kusanagi (in a different outfit), Athena Asamiya (in her school outfit), Goro Daimon, Billy Kane, Ryuji Yamazaki, Chizuru Kagura, Syo Kirishima, Alfred, Vanessa, Seth, Fiolina Germi, and Gai Tendo. Also, the game can be connected to the Neo Geo Pocket Color game The King of Fighters: Battle de Paradise . Points won in Battle de Paradise can be transferred to The King of Fighters '99: Evolution to speed up the leveling process for the Extra Strikers. [4] [5]

Plot

Two years have passed since the last King of Fighters tournament. Nobody has seen Kyo Kusanagi or Iori Yagami since they defeated the evil being Orochi at the climax of the 1997 tournament. Invitations are sent to many characters inviting them to a new tournament, which this time around is more of a secretive affair and away from the public eye than the ones in both '96 and '97, with each team now having an additional member. [6] However, the tournament's host remains unknown. [7]

Characters

The increased number of characters per team, and the story element of the missing Kyo and Iori, lead to a reshuffling of the character roster. K' is introduced as the game's new protagonist with his partner, Maxima, who joins forces with Kyo's former teammates Benimaru Nikaido and Shingo Yabuki to form the new Hero Team. Takuma Sakazaki rejoins the Art of Fighting Team as its fourth member. Mai Shiranui finally becomes an official member of the Fatal Fury Team for the first time in the series. King joins forces with Blue Mary (formerly a member of the "'97 Special Team") to form the new Women Fighters Team with Kasumi Todoh (last seen in KOF '96) and Li Xiangfei (from Real Bout Fatal Fury 2: The Newcomers ). The three returning teams also gain a new member: Whip for the Ikari Warriors Team, Bao for the Psycho Soldier Team, and Jhun Hoon for the Korea Justice Team. The game also introduces two clones of Kyo Kusanagi, Kyo-1 and Kyo-2, as Team Edit characters based on previous playable incarnations of the character. The real Kyo also returns with his rival, Iori, but they are only secret playable characters. [7]

The game's antagonist is Krizalid, an agent from the mysterious organization NESTS who uses the data he obtained from his enemies to activate an army of Kyo clones that NESTS themselves had created after the fight against Orochi. [6] He is faced in two states: first he appears with a special coat that analyzes an opponent's data. Once he's defeated, he burns away his coat and increases his strength while having stronger moves. [7] After Krizalid's defeat, his superior kills him via falling debris while other members of NESTS attack K' and Maxima, who are revealed to be former NESTS agents and that the duo succeed in defeating their enemies before making their escape from the collapsing location of their battle against Krizalid. It's also revealed that K' is a test subject designed to replicate Kyo's techniques. [8] [9]

New characters are marked below in bold:

Development

With the introduction of a new lead character, K', SNK had originally planned to remove main characters Kyo Kusanagi and Iori Yagami, who had previously appeared in earlier installments of the series, from The King of Fighters '99. Instead, they ended up as unlockable hidden characters after fans responded negatively to their removal at location tests. [10] Kyo was redesigned for this game, but the developers still liked his school uniform. As a result, based on the practice of adding earlier versions of various characters to games, the staff created the Kyo clones that featured him with classic movesets: Kyo-1 uses Kyo's movesets from the first two games, while Kyo-2 uses his movesets from KOF '96 and KOF '97. [10] [11] To contrast with the previous series' protagonist, Kyo, K' was designed to be the "dark hero". [12] The staff wanted to create a Robo Army Team. This idea was abandoned, but they later created a tribute to it in The King of Fighters 2000 by introducing Rocky, a character from Robo Army , as a Striker for Maxima. [13] The character Whip was originally meant to appear in KOF '96, but due to Leona Heidern's introduction in that game, the staff decided to wait until KOF '99. [14]

Like the earlier games the artwork was done by Shinkiro. [15] The large number of young characters appearing in the game represented a problem for the developers; as a result, the staff introduced older characters such as Seth and Vanessa (who appeared only in the Dreamcast version as Strikers and would not officially debut until the following game) to balance the game. [16] [17] Bao was added to reduce the average age of the Psycho Soldiers Team from 42 to 34. [18] The boss character, Krizalid, was designed "with a straight, stylish appearance and earnest strength"; however, the designer in charge mentioned he "overdid it". Due to the large number of unused graphics accumulated on the Neo Geo version, some of Krizalid's graphics were removed. With the release of the Dreamcast port, the staff could add Krizalid's graphics because of the console's capacity. [19] Vanessa was meant to be a playable character, but due to time constraints, she was only a Striker in the Dreamcast port. [17]

Release

Ports

KOF '99 was originally released for the Neo Geo MVS arcade system on July 22, 1999. A port to the Neo Geo AES and Neo Geo CD consoles was released on September 23, 1999, and December 2, 1999, respectively. [20] [7] The PlayStation port was published on March 23, 2000, in Japan, and on April 22, 2001, in North America. In Japan, it was later republished for the PlayStation SNK Best Collection on March 29, 2001, and once again on July 25, 2002. [21] The North American port was the subject of censorship and blood was omitted. [15] Whip's firearm is edited out of the game's American arcade release, but is uncensored in home release versions. [22]

Emulated versions

The Neo Geo AES version was added via emulation to the Wii Virtual Console in Japan on December 18, 2012, in North America on May 16, 2013 and in the PAL region on July 4, 2013. The arcade version was emulated and released as part of the ACA Neo Geo series for the Nintendo Switch on May 25, 2017 [23] with releases for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, iOS and Android following afterwards.

Evolution

The game was updated for the Dreamcast as The King of Fighters '99: Evolution. It was published in Japan on March 30, 2000, and reprinted on October 25, 2001, with the "SNK Best" logo. In North America, Agetec published it on May 10, 2001. [24] In this port, players can change the audio to listen to arranged tracks of the soundtrack. [15] A Microsoft Windows version of Evolution was released in Japan on November 27, 2002.

Other releases

The Neo Geo and Dreamcast versions are included in the compilation The Kings of Fighters NESTS Hen released for the PlayStation 2 in Japan. [25] The game was also made available for the PlayStation 4 but only in Japan by Hamster Corporation. [26]

Two CD soundtracks and a drama CD were released. [27] [28] [29] The series' writer, Akihiko Ureshino, wrote a novelization of the game titled Beyond the "K". It was released in November 1999 by ASCII. [30] In the spin-off game The Rhythm of Fighters , Kyo's character theme, "Tears", was used for the game to work as a rhythm game. [31]

Reception

Critical reception

In GameSpot 's article "The History of SNK", KOF '99: Evolution was described as one of the best fighting games on the Dreamcast with Garou: Mark of the Wolves . [42] Various video game publications have commented on the game. While the fighting system has been well-received, critics have expressed mixed feelings about the Striker system. [32] [43] [35] [2] [40]

A Gaming Age writer viewed the sequel's changes as a step in the right direction despite finding assisting characters useless. He said that SNK had created proper balances such as making Kyo Kusanagi less overpowered than in previous games. The inclusion of K', the new lead, has been well-received because of his distinct fighting style. [40] IGN 's Anthony Chau commented that although "people are probably tired of 2D fighting games, saying that they all play the same", he found KOF '99: Evolution to be very distinct. He found the new gameplay very entertaining despite knowing that some "KOF purists hate the Striker system". [35] A GameSpot reviewer described the Striker system as "clearly derived from the tag system from Capcom's Marvel fighting games". They complained there were popular characters who only appeared as Strikers, and wished they were fully playable. [43] GamePro criticized the game because the Strikers' new gameplay "simply [does not] fit in the King of Fighters series" and "is more of a novelty than a game mode". [32]

There were mixed responses to the home versions. German magazine Video Games praised the Neo Geo AES version, giving it a score of 80%. [41] There have also been multiple comparisons between the Dreamcast port and the PlayStation port, with the Dreamcast version being regarded as better. [33] [32] [15] The use of 3D backgrounds in all versions has been praised. [33] [40] A GamePro writer felt that the Neo Geo's quality was not handled well by the PlayStation, resulting in issues with the graphics and long loading times. Nevertheless, he found the additional material to be pleasing for series' fans. [32] Andrew Seyoon Park of GameSpot found the PlayStation port very good considering the console's limitations. Despite this, he complained about the animation and the voices, and found the reduced number of characters from KOF '98 disappointing. He felt that the boss Krizalid is very hard to beat. [33] HardcoreGaming noted that while the Dreamcast port of the game was superior based on its graphics and loading times, the PlayStation version was still worth playing. [15] Both Uvejuegos stated that while the game did not have a major update of its characters, except Kyo Kusanagi's redesign, it still managed to maintain its quality due to its fighting system. The new lead, K', and the final boss, Krizalid, were described as entertaining. [2] Gaming Age felt the graphic update was more noticeable than the Uvejuegos did but was critical of Krizalid. Gaming Age found him so difficult to defeat they characterized the previous bosses— Rugal Bernstein and Orochi—as easy by comparison. [40] GameSpot agreed, feeling that the boss fight removed the entertainment value from the game due to its difficult challenge. [34]

Greg Orlando reviewed the Dreamcast version of the game for Next Generation , rating it two stars out of five, and stated that "This King of Fighters should consider abdicating the throne." [36]

The emulated Nintendo Switch version has garnered a similar response, with reviewers finding it modern and praising its gameplay. Critics said the game's gameplay and graphics were ahead of their time. [39] [38] [37] Nintendo Life praised the varied cast and the new gameplay mechanics but did not find it as appealing as its predecessor. [37] GameSpew felt the port's mechanics, and multiple options prevented the game from being dated. The combat was described as fast enough to appeal to gamers. [38] Bonus Stage found the graphics appealing and praised SNK's focus on giving the game a storyline, despite it being an arcade fighting game. [39] In retrospect, 1UP.com said that while players were bothered by Kyo and Iori's exclusion from teams, and by the Striker system, K's inclusion was one of SNK's best decisions due to his fighting style. [44]

Sales

The King of Fighters '99 was very popular after its release. [45] According to Famitsu , both the AES and Neo Geo CD sold over 14,620 and 18,925 copies in their first week on the market respectively. [46] The PlayStation port sold 96,484. [47] The Dreamcast version was released during the PlayStation 2's launch and the Dreamcast's ending, and it did not achieve very good sales. [42] On its release week, the Dreamcast port sold 41,387 units, [48] later reaching 67,833 in Japan in 2000.

Notes

  1. Ported to PlayStation by TUG and Yumekobo
  2. Boss character

Related Research Articles

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 developed originally for SNK's Neo Geo MVS arcade hardware. This served as the main platform for the series until 2004 when SNK retired it in favor of the Atomiswave arcade board. Two King of Fighters games were produced for the Atomiswave platform (The King of Fighters Neowave and The King of Fighters XI) before SNK decided to discontinue using it for the series. The series' most recent arcade hardware is the Taito Type X2, first used with the release of The King of Fighters XII. Ports of the arcade games and the original The King of Fighters games have been released for several video game consoles. The latest entry in the series, The King of Fighters XV, was released in February 2022.

SNK vs. Capcom, or alternately Capcom vs. SNK, is a series of crossover video games by either Capcom or SNK featuring characters that appear in games created by either company. Most of these are fighting game, and take on a similar format to Capcom's own Marvel vs. Capcom series, in which the players create teams of fighters and have them fight each other. Games in this series either contain SNK vs. Capcom or Capcom vs. SNK in their titles, with the first company named denoting the company behind the game's development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iori Yagami</span> Fictional character

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kyo Kusanagi</span> Fictional character

Kyo Kusanagi is a fictional 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.

<i>The King of Fighters 95</i> 1996 fighting video game

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.

<i>The King of Fighters 97</i> 1997 video game

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.

<i>The King of Fighters 98</i> 1998 video game

The King of Fighters '98: The Slugfest, known in Japan as The King of Fighters '98: Dream Match Never Ends , is a fighting game released by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home consoles in 1998. It is the fifth game in The King of Fighters series. It was advertised by SNK as a "special edition" of the series, as it featured most of the characters who appeared in the previous games.

Masahiro Nonaka is a Japanese voice actor affiliated with Vozator Voice Production. Nonaka has been excessively famous for his role as Kyo Kusanagi, as well as the two Kyo clones, Kyo-1 and Kyo-2, in The King of Fighters fighting game series. Nonaka is also did the voice of another SNK character, Basara in the Samurai Shodown series.

<i>The King of Fighters XI</i> 2005 video game

The King of Fighters XI(KOF XI) is a 2D fighting game produced by SNK Playmore. It is the eleventh installment in The King of Fighters series following The King of Fighters 2003. It was originally released as a coin-operated arcade game for the Atomiswave platform in 2005. 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.

<i>The King of Fighters 96</i> 1996 video game

The King of Fighters '96(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 King of Fighters 2001(KOF 2001, or KOF '01) is a fighting game produced by Eolith for the Neo Geo. It is the eighth game in The King of Fighters series, the third and final part of the "NESTS Chronicles" story arc, and the first game produced following the closure of the original SNK. The game was produced by the South Korea-based company Eolith and developed by Eolith and BrezzaSoft, a company formed by former SNK employees. For this reason, the SNK logo is displayed at the opening, but SNK's development staff is not involved in the production of the game itself at all, except for the game sound. Due to the influx of Korean capital, its influence can be seen in the participating characters. The game was ported to the Sega Dreamcast in Japan only and PlayStation 2. The stand-alone PlayStation 2 version was released in North America and in Europe in a two-in-one bundle with the preceding game in the series, The King of Fighters 2000. Both the original Neo Geo version and the Sega Dreamcast version were included in The King of Fighters NESTS Hen compilation released for the PlayStation 2 in Japan.

<i>The King of Fighters 2000</i> 2000 video game

The King of Fighters 2000(KOF 2000, or KOF '00) is a fighting video game that was produced by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home consoles in 2000. It is the seventh installment in The King of Fighters series for the Neo Geo and the final game in the series SNK produced before the original company's bankruptcy. The game was ported to the Dreamcast and the PlayStation 2 in 2002. The game's story, a sequel to The King of Fighters '99 and the second part of the "NESTS Chronicles" story arc, focuses on a new tournament held by the commander of the Ikari Warriors, Heidern, who seeks to capture and interrogate former NESTS agents K' and Maxima into revealing crucial and critical information about the NESTS cartel. The gameplay retains the Striker system of the previous games in the series, but the assisting character can also cooperate with the playable character to generate combos.

<i>The King of Fighters 2002</i> 2002 video game

The King of Fighters 2002: Challenge to Ultimate Battle(KOF 2002, or KOF '02) is a fighting game developed by Eolith and published by Eolith and Playmore for the Neo Geo in 2002. It is the ninth game in The King of Fighters series and the second one to be produced by Eolith. The game was ported to the Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, and the Xbox, where in the PS2 and Xbox versions were released in North America in a two-in-one bundle with the following game in the series, The King of Fighters 2003. The Dreamcast port was released only in Japan, it was also the last game in the series to be officially released for the Japanese Dreamcast.

The King of Fighters 2003(KOF 2003, or KOF '03), also known by fans as The King of Fighters X, is a fighting game produced by SNK Playmore for the Neo Geo arcade and home platforms 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.

<i>The King of Fighters Neowave</i> 2004 video game

The King of Fighters Neowave(KOF Neowave, or KOF NW) is a 2D fighting game produced by SNK Playmore and released as a coin-operated arcade game for Sammy's Atomiswave hardware in 2004. It was the first game SNK Playmore produced for the Atomiswave. This is a remake of The King of Fighters 2002 with a major change of roster and stages, the game was also made on the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. The PS2 version was released only in Japan and the PAL region, the Xbox version was released both in Japan and North America. The North American version was released on April 18, 2006. In 2020, a Dreamcast homebrew adaptation of the arcade version was also made possible due to the Dreamcast sharing almost identical hardware with its Atomiswave cousin. The character artwork was done by Tomokazu Nakano. In Japan, it was the last game to be released for the Xbox.

<i>The King of Fighters 94</i> 1994 video game

The King of Fighters '94 is a fighting game released by SNK for the Neo Geo MVS arcade system in 1994, as the first in The King of Fighters series. The game was also released for the Neo Geo home console systems, including the Neo Geo AES and Neo Geo CD. In 2008, KOF '94 was one of sixteen games included in SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1 for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable and Wii.

Characters of the <i>Fatal Fury</i> series Fictional character

The following is a list of video game characters featured in the Fatal Fury fighting game series developed by SNK. The series consists of the original Fatal Fury, Fatal Fury 2, Fatal Fury Special, Fatal Fury 3, Real Bout Fatal Fury, Real Bout Fatal Fury Special, Real Bout Fatal Fury 2, Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition, and Garou: Mark of the Wolves.

<i>The King of Fighters XIII</i> 2010 video game

The King of Fighters XIII (Japanese: ザ・キング・オブ・ファイターズ XIII)(KOF XIII) is a fighting game in The King of Fighters series, developed and published by SNK Playmore originally in 2010. King of Fighters XIII was released for Japanese arcades on July 14, 2010, while ports for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 were released during late 2011 in Japanese and English regions, with Atlus USA and Rising Star Games being in charge of releasing them in the United States and Europe respectively. Versions for iOS and Android followed in 2011 and 2012. A PC version was released on Steam on September 13, 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">K'</span> Video game character from The King of Fighters fighting game series

K Dash is a character from The King of Fighters fighting game series developed by SNK. He debuted as the leader of the Hero Team in The King of Fighters '99, released in 1999. He often stars as the reluctant hero. K′ is a young man who lost all his memories when the NESTS syndicate captured him and injected the DNA of Kyo Kusanagi to replicate his pyrokinetic abilities. While rebelling against organization, K' forms multiple bonds with other NESTS agents. Aside from the main series, K' also appears in several other media series, such as spin-offs and crossover video games, as well as printed adaptations of the series.

References

  1. ザ・キング・オブ・ファイターズ'99 Evolution
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Cuatro ya son multitud". Uvejuegos. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
  3. "Tip & Cheats". Neo Geo Kult. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
  4. Lupton, Jonny (March 5, 2018). "The King Of Fighters '99: Evolution (Dreamcast) – Metacritic, you got it wrong!". FunStockRetro. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  5. "ネオジオポケット用ソフト/好評発売中!/定価3.800円(税別)/ DC版KOF'99 EVOLUTIONと連動(ドリームキャストとの通信には、専用の接続ケーブル(別売)が必要です)" (in Japanese). Neo Geo. Archived from the original on August 8, 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
  6. 1 2 SNK (July 22, 1999). The King of Fighters '99 (Neo Geo). SNK. Krizalid: I used KOF, you fools! A ploy, to lure you in /.../ Krizalid: Activate our clones. In one unified attack! / Benimaru: Why, it's? / Shingo: Kyo Kusanagi!!! / Krizalid: Actually, he's a clone. Taken after the Orochi Battle. The real one eluded us.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "The King of Fighters '99 Official Profile". King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website. Archived from the original on May 2, 2009. Retrieved June 13, 2009.
  8. SNK (July 22, 1999). The King of Fighters '99 (Neo Geo). SNK. ???: Meet you clone, Kusanagi. Unfortunately, he wasn't told. That's man-made life, huh K'? What now? The choice is yours./K': Shut up! I'll do as I please./???: Very well, we'll meet again. If you manage to survive... you too, Kyo Kusanagi./Kyo: I'll ruin you!/???: Yeah, right. Do as you like. That is, die trying...
  9. SNK (July 22, 1999). The King of Fighters '99 (Neo Geo). SNK. ???: Krizalid's death confirmed. Kusanagi, escaped. Do we pursue? / ???: Unnecessary. K' has his data. Find K'. Then begin Phase 2.
  10. 1 2 "Kyo Kusanagi-1 Official Profile". King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website. Archived from the original on September 15, 2015. Retrieved August 14, 2008.
  11. "95 Kyo Official Profile". King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website. Archived from the original on April 10, 2008. Retrieved August 14, 2009.
  12. Akihiko Ureshino, ed. (September 20, 2005). The King of Fighters Perfect Reader (in Japanese). Nikkei Business Publications. p. 139. ISBN   4-8222-1711-6.
  13. All About SNK (in Japanese). Dempa Shimbunsha. 2000. ISBN   978-4-88554-677-8.
  14. "Whip's KOF 10th anniversary profile". King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website. Archived from the original on May 4, 2009. Retrieved June 6, 2009.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 Kalata, Kurt (August 17, 2017). "King of Fighters '99, The". HardcoreGaming. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  16. "Maxima's KOF 10th anniversary profile". King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website. Archived from the original on April 10, 2008. Retrieved March 3, 2008.
  17. 1 2 "Vanessa's KOF 10th anniversary profile". King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website. Archived from the original on March 29, 2009. Retrieved June 6, 2009.
  18. "Pao's KOF 10th anniversary profile". King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website. Archived from the original on March 3, 2009. Retrieved June 6, 2009.
  19. "Krizalid's KOF 10th anniversary profile". King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Official Website. Archived from the original on June 18, 2009. Retrieved June 6, 2009.
  20. "The King of Fighters '99 Official Website". SNK Corporation. Archived from the original on August 23, 2000. Retrieved January 12, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  21. "The King of Fighters '99 release dates". GameSpot . Retrieved June 13, 2009.
  22. Studio BentStuff, ed. (2000). A.A. Game History Series Vol. 2 All About SNK Head-To-Head Fighting Game 1991-2000 (in Japanese). Studio BentStuff. p. 288. ISBN   4-88554-677-X.
  23. "ACA NEOGEO The King of Fighters '99". Nintendo UK . Retrieved May 24, 2017.
  24. "The King of Fighters '99: Evolution release dates". GameSpot . Retrieved June 13, 2009.
  25. "King of Fighters NESTS release dates". GameSpot . Retrieved June 13, 2009.
  26. "Otro clásico que vuelve: 'The King of Fighters '99' llega a Xbox One y PS4". 20 minutos (in Spanish). Retrieved October 14, 2018.
  27. "The King of fighters '99". CDJapan. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  28. "The King of fighters '99". CDJapan. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  29. "The King of fighters '99 Drama CD". CDJapan. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  30. "ザ・キング・オブ・ファイターズ'99―BEYOND THE"K" (ファミ通文庫)" (in Japanese). Kadokawa Shoten . Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  31. "How The Rhythm of Fighters Came To Be And Why It Changed To Free-To-Play". Siliconera. September 25, 2014. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  32. 1 2 3 4 5 "The King of Fighters '99 Review". GamePro . December 21, 2000. Archived from the original on May 29, 2009. Retrieved March 12, 2009.
  33. 1 2 3 4 Park, Andrew Seyoon (December 13, 2000). "The King of Fighters '99 Review". GameSpot . Archived from the original on May 6, 2009. Retrieved March 11, 2009.
  34. 1 2 Park, Andrew Seyoon (December 13, 2000). "The King of Fighters '99: Evolution Review". GameSpot . Archived from the original on March 6, 2009. Retrieved March 12, 2009.
  35. 1 2 3 Chau, Anthony (December 13, 2000). "The King Of Fighters '99: Evolution". IGN . Archived from the original on April 5, 2009. Retrieved March 11, 2009.
  36. 1 2 Orlando, Greg (March 2001). "Finals". Next Generation . Vol. 4, no. 3. Imagine Media. p. 85.
  37. 1 2 3 Frear, Dave (15 August 2017). "The King of Fighters '99 1999". Nintendo Life . Archived from the original on March 24, 2018. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  38. 1 2 3 Seagrave, Richard (4 August 2017). "ACA NeoGeo King of Fighters '99 Review: Oh Mai!". GameSpew. Archived from the original on November 28, 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
  39. 1 2 3 Osange, Elliott (September 9, 2017). "Aca Neo Geo The King of Fighters '99 review". Bonus Stage. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
  40. 1 2 3 4 5 Keely, Jeff. "King of Fighters '99- Evolution". Gaming Age. Archived from the original on November 23, 2002. Retrieved April 11, 2017.
  41. 1 2 "The King of Fighters '99" (PDF) (in German). Retro CDN. November 1999. p. 89. Retrieved October 14, 2018.{{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  42. 1 2 "The History of SNK, page 22". GameSpot . Archived from the original on May 31, 2009. Retrieved June 12, 2009.
  43. 1 2 Park, Andrew Seyoon (December 13, 2000). "The King of Fighters '99: Evolution Review, page 2". GameSpot . Retrieved March 12, 2009.
  44. "History Of... The King of Fighters, SNK's classic team-based 2D fighting series". 1UP.com . UGO Entertainment. Archived from the original on October 4, 2015. Retrieved August 23, 2008.
  45. "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - TVゲーム機ーソフトウェア (Video Game Software)". Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 593. Amusement Press, Inc. 15 August 1999. p. 17.
  46. "Game Search". Game Data Library. Archived from the original on 2019-04-24. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  47. "2000年テレビゲームソフト売り上げTOP300" (in Japanese). Geimin. Archived from the original on June 27, 2015. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  48. "Japanese total sales from 27 November 1998 to 01 February 2004" (in Japanese). Japan Game Charts. Archived from the original on December 30, 2008. Retrieved October 17, 2018.