The King of Fighters XV | |
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Developer(s) | SNK |
Publisher(s) |
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Director(s) |
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Producer(s) | Yasuyuki Oda |
Artist(s) | Tomohiro Nakata |
Series | The King of Fighters |
Engine | Unreal Engine 4 |
Platform(s) | |
Release |
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Genre(s) | Fighting |
Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
The King of Fighters XV [lower-alpha 1] , also called KOF XV, is a fighting game developed by SNK. It was released on February 17, 2022, for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S. It is the first game in The King of Fighters series created using Unreal Engine 4, and the first to implement GGPO rollback networking. Taking place after the events of The King of Fighters XIV , the narrative primarily revolves around two fighters with multiverse-related supernatural powers, Shun'ei and Isla, among other returning heroes facing revived threats. King of Fighters XV generally received praise for its character roster, team-based gameplay, and smooth online performance, but criticism for its story mode, complex tutorials, and mechanics.
Like its predecessors, The King of Fighters XV uses a fighting system involving teams composed of three fighters. The parry system also returns under the name Shatter Strike. It also reincorporates the common MAX Mode system where fighters can use stronger techniques once energy bars are filled. Unlike in previous game, but now just like super moves prior, characters can now use MAX/EX versions of special moves, with or without entering MAX Mode. The game features a wide variety of online modes, including Ranked Match, Casual Match, Room Match, and Online Training. [1]
The single button "Rush" from The King of Fighters XIV reappears and is updated to help newcomers perform combos and special/super moves easier. Shatter Strike was designed mainly as a defensive system but it can be used offensively when making use of guard points. Destructoid compared Shatter Strike with a fully charged Focus Attack from Street Fighter IV . [2] In XIV, combos from quick activation were the main way max mode was used so the gauge consumption was increased from 1 to 2 to prevent players from being overwhelmed. A neutral state in XIV was not seen often so in XV attack power and guard crush are increased when neutral is activated. Since Max Mode activations in neutral were almost nonexistent in King of Fighters XIV, the developers are giving more incentive to players to not just use it as a combo extender. [3]
The story focuses on the next King of Fighters tournament held after the appearance and defeat of Verse. Following Antonov's early retirement, new tournament commissioner Anastasia sends out invitations to fighters to join the tournament; the mayhem caused by Verse's powers resurrects various long-thought deceased fighters from past tournaments as well. Chizuru Kagura gathers Kyo Kusanagi and Iori Yagami in order to look after the seal of the snake demon Orochi. [4] Shun'ei, a teenager with mysterious powers resembling Verse's, enters the tournament again alongside Meitenkun and Benimaru Nikaido to better understand his powers, the Amplified Specters. During the tournament, they encounter a rival team led by a girl with similar powers to his own and also another Amp user, Isla. Isla is being mentored by a woman named Dolores who wishes for her and Shun'ei to stop the appearance of more Amp-related creatures like Verse, believing Ash Crimson's time-traveling in a previous tournament, which Dolores' disciple, Kukri confirms it to have caused their appearances and connected to distortions across the multiverse. However, a new Amp creature born from Isla's Amp power, labeled as Re Verse manifests as the tournament progresses and targets the fighters, pulling them into another world. Following Re Verse's defeat, the mysterious goddess Otoma=Raga appears and attacks the teams. Upon Otoma=Raga's defeat, the fighters escape back to their world and are crowned the new King of Fighters champions, whereas Isla finally warms up with Shun'ei at the same time their respective Amps are fully under control, such as Shun'ei can finally take off his headphone safely. As confirmed by Kukri earlier, defeating Otoma=Raga and Re Verse does not erase the revived fighters’ existences once they survive the two entities’ rampages.
The King of Fighters XV launched with 39 playable fighters, consisting of 13 teams with three fighters each. Additional characters were made available via seasons of paid downloadable content: Season 1 consists of 12 fighters spread across four teams, while Season 2 consists of six individual fighters, with two additional fighters released separately later. Much like Samurai Shodown (2019) and SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy , the DLC teams' involvements in the storyline are canon. The game features two non-playable bosses in the initial release, and two free playable DLC boss characters who are part of special boss challenges. [5] [6]
Newcomers are marked in italics.
Due to positive response to the marketing of The King of Fighters XIV , director Yasuyuki Oda said in August 2017 The King of Fighters XV was possible, but the company SNK also wanted to focus on other franchises. [10] Oda instead worked on a spin-off, SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy , a female character-driven fighting game and a spiritual sequel of SNK Gals' Fighters . [11] In December 2018, SNK revealed the company was working on The King of Fighters XV, aiming to release it during 2020. [12] Feeling the previous title had outdated graphics for a 2016 game, SNK chairman Zhihui Ge said that XV will use the Unreal Engine 4 to provide a better presentation. [13] They decided to make XV while they were still working on XIV but only started development after Samurai Shodown was completed. [3] At Evo 2019, SNK announced that the game was in development. [14] The game's creative director is Eisuke Ogura, who has previously worked as an artist on the series, beginning with The King of Fighters 2001 . Most notably, he served as the main illustrator for The King of Fighters XIII and XIV. The director of King of Fighters XIV, Yasuyuki Oda, serves as the producer for the title. [15]
Originally, the game was set to be released in 2020. [16] However, in late December, Oda and Ogura revealed the game would see release in 2021 with more content yet to be explored. During these announcements, the two developers revealed sketches of Shun'ei, Kyo Kusanagi and Benimaru Nikaido, with the former being set to be the protagonist of the new game. Ogura called it "our most ambitious KOF yet". [16] An official trailer was set for January 7, 2021 but was delayed for unknown reasons alongside the downloadable content for Samurai Shodown. [17] The trailer was, instead, revealed the next day and included game footage of Kyo, Shun'ei, Benimaru, K', Mai Shiranui and Leona Heidern, while also confirming a 2021 release. [18] The team focused on improving the visuals and increasing the fast-paced gameplay by adding new elements. [15] The game was developed for PC and ninth generation of consoles, and supports ray tracing on these platforms. The PlayStation 4 version was also created with fans of The King of Fighters XIV in mind: SNK wanted to release the game while the console was still popular and expects this version to be used during major tournaments. Much attention to the character lineup was given due to the worldwide popularity of the series. In total, around 400 people were involved with game's development. [19]
In February 2021, Oda announced on his personal Twitter account that the team is working on implementing rollback-based netcode for the game. [20] The team aims to improve the gameplay and graphics while also providing a more interesting story than the one from XIV. [21] SNK later confirmed that they were using GGPO for their rollback implementation. [22]
In promoting the title, anime director Masami Ōbari (who previously worked on Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture and 1995 Technōs' Neo Geo fighting game title Voltage Fighter Gowcaizer along with the OVA adaptation) created and directed a short anime based on the series, with his animation studio, G-1Neo, producing the short anime. [15] Yusuke Takeda and Hirotoshi Takaya have also worked on the short. In an interview with Famitsu , Ōbari has stated that he wanted this anime to be his best work yet, and that his team worked closely with SNK on the character design to make sure it has feature film level of detail put into every frame of animation. [23] The song "Now or Never" by Steven McNair plays during the short, and is also used as the main theme of the game. [24]
Character design is being handled by Tomohiro Nakata, who is also working on The King of Fighters All Star . Many returning characters received cosmetic changes. For example, Kyo Kusanagi was altered to overall look closer to his earlier appearances in the series, but different in other parts of his design like his jacket and gloves. [25] [26] The decision to revive characters killed off in previous KOF games was made during XIV's development and was based on XIII's themes of energies connecting the past to the present through space and time and Oda wondering how that would affect things in the future. The deceased characters returning for XV were chosen based on fan requests and the aim of the roster was for it to have a 'fresh and festive feel'. They feel like the gathering of the KOF Heroes as well as the return of Team Sacred Treasures and Team Orochi helped them achieve this feeling. They brought back Clemence Bellamy, the story mode announcer from XIV, to appeal to the "tournament-likeness" of KOF and acknowledge that he was well received. [3]
Previous KOF heroes Kyo, K' and Ash Crimson have been more independent protagonists, but Shun'ei is a little bit younger than them and is more of a mentally unstable character. Oda has compared Shun'ei to Rock Howard, and says that his story could end up being as fun to write as Rock's. Oda feels that unlike the older fighting game protagonists, Shun'ei has a one-of-a-kind world view, and his values change as he grows older. [27] In regards to Isla, SNK wanted to introduce a rival to Shun'ei, so they let the design team to come up with whatever they could think of. The resulting draft had an impact on Oda, as it is very close to the final result, but he was initially worried about putting a character with that type of design into a fighting game. According to Eisuke Ogura, Isla is "not very much into actual fighting", and has a special and abnormal dance-like style. [28] Despite Shun'ei being the protagonist the story will explore Isla's character as well.
Meanwhile, the character of Krohnen has been noted to have multiple similarities with K9999 from The King of Fighters 2001 and The King of Fighters 2002 due to his similarities with the character of Tetsuo from the manga Akira and had to be removed from the franchise based on copyright issues. [29] [30] Although SNK did not confirm his identity, artist Hiroaki was more open about it, calling him the revival of K9999. [31] Among other characters, the previous subboss, Antonov, became a playable character as a regular member of the cast. Oda stated that he was further changed based on the team's idea in regards of a manager. [32] The series' official website was updated with story prologues during development of the game. [33] Although the game gave closure to Shun'ei's character arc, SNK is not satisfied with the result, believing they could still focus on his role again. [19]
In June 2021, SNK announced that the game would be delayed to the first quarter of 2022, due to rising cases of COVID-19 in Japan. [34] [35] In July 2021, SNK announced that the game would be released on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S via the Microsoft Store, Epic Games Store and Steam. [36] The game's international release is handled by the Embracer Group's Koch Media. [37] A demo became available in Tokyo Game Show 2021 featuring a total of eight playable characters. [38]
Downloadable content for the game include Terry Bogard's design from Garou: Mark of the Wolves and Leona Heidern's classic look from The King of Fighters '96 to The King of Fighters 2003 . Other releases of the game include a two disc soundtrack and a 119-page artbook. [39] Oda claims the game is being developed in order to be enjoyed for years after its release. [40] As such, additional characters are planned to be added as downloadable content, with four teams set to be released in 2022. [41] The first, Garou Team, was released on March 17 for most platforms, but was delayed until the next day on Steam. [42] In addition, a free update on April 14 added Omega Rugal as a playable character to the game, and introduced the new Boss Challenge mode. Players who beat the stronger boss version of Rugal are rewarded with music, alternate costume, and a new stage. [43] The second, South Town Team was released on May 16, along with music from KOF Neowave in a DJ Station Update. The third, Awakened Orochi Team was released on August 8 . The fourth, Samurai Team was released on October 4. Six additional characters were also released as paid DLC throughout 2023, along with a second Boss Challenge and a patch adding cross-platform play to all platforms.
Aggregator | Score |
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Metacritic | PC: 85/100 [44] PS4: 80/100 [45] PS5: 79/100 [46] XSXS: 79/100 [47] |
Publication | Score |
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Destructoid | 8/10 [48] |
Famitsu | 32/40 [49] |
GameSpot | 7/10 [50] |
Hardcore Gamer | 3.5/5 [51] |
HobbyConsolas | 86/100 [52] |
IGN | 8/10 [53] |
Jeuxvideo.com | 15/20 [54] |
MeriStation | 8/10 [55] |
PCMag | 4.0/5 [56] |
Push Square | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Shacknews | 8/10 [58] |
The Games Machine (Italy) | 8/10 [59] |
VG247 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The King of Fighters XV received "generally favorable" reviews, with a better score than the predecessor, according to review aggregator Metacritic. [44] [45] [46] [47]
Destructoid gave the game an eight out of ten and wrote, "With fantastic fighting action, a compelling roster, splendid visuals, and revamped online options, KoF XV is a treat for both series veterans and the fighting game community at large, though newcomers may still find themselves dizzied by its myriad mechanics and steep learning curve." [48] IGN praised the game's character models, rollback netcode, and roster, but heavily criticized the lack of content, insubstantial tutorialization, reused six year-old animations, and called its story mode "utterly bare bones." [53] Shacknews similarly lauded the visual redesign, netcode, training modes, gameplay mechanics, music, and existing roster while panning its inaccessibility, overpowered mechanics, and the absence of major characters in the roster. [58] GameSpot praised the distinct playstyles, team-based gameplay, large roster, new modes, and the online play, and criticized bad AI and the lack of substantial iteration over The King of Fighters XIV . [50]
Producer Yasuyuki Oda believes that the players’ response to the game was overwhelmingly positive, which allowed them to properly work on early issues such as the online play. [61]
The PlayStation 4 version of KoF XV was the 8th bestselling retail game during its first week of release in Japan, with 9,062 physical copies being sold. The PlayStation 5 version sold 2,414 physical copies in Japan throughout the same week, making it the 22nd bestselling retail game of the week in the country. [62]
During the 26th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated The King of Fighters XV for Fighting Game of the Year. [63]
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.
Terry Bogard is a fictional character created by SNK as the protagonist of their Fatal Fury series. Introduced in Fatal Fury: King of Fighters in 1991, he is an American fighter who enters the worldwide "The King of Fighters" tournaments to combat his father's murderer, Geese Howard. Following Geese's defeat, Terry becomes the guardian of Geese's son Rock Howard. He is also a regular character in the crossover video game series The King of Fighters, where he continues participating in tournaments. He has also been a guest character in other games, including the Capcom vs. SNK series, Arika’s Fighting EX Layer, Street Fighter 6 and Nintendo's crossover fighting game Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. In addition to video games, Terry has appeared in anime films based on Fatal Fury, and manga serialized in Comic Bom Bom.
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.
Athena Asamiya is a fictional character originally from the former SNK's 1987 video game Psycho Soldier. An esper, Athena is a descendant of Princess Athena from the earlier Athena game. She later appears in The King of Fighters series of fighting games as a member of the Psycho Soldier Team alongside her friend Sie Kensou and her teacher Chin Gentsai. While there have been changes to the team, Athena has been consistently playable in the main series. She was also given her own video game Athena: Awakening from the Ordinary Life, which was only released in Japanese regions for the PlayStation in 1999.
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 last game in the "Orochi Saga" storyline, that began in The King of Fighters '95.
The King of Fighters '99: Millennium Battle 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 whose stages were remodeled in 3D.
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 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.
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.
The King of Fighters 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.
The King of Fighters XIV(KOF XIV) is a 2016 Japanese fighting game. Part of SNK's franchise The King of Fighters (KOF) series, with this installment being published by Atlus USA in North America and Deep Silver in Europe. After the 13th installment that used 2D raster imagery, this game is rendered entirely in 3D similar to the spin-off Maximum Impact. The game was released worldwide for the PlayStation 4 in August 2016 and ported to Windows and Japanese arcade cabinets in June 2017.
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.
The King of Fighters: Destiny is a Malaysian-Chinese CG animated series in The King of Fighters media franchise, produced by the Chinese studio iDragons and the Malaysian studio Animonsta Studios for the Japanese company SNK, as a promotional tie-in to the Chinese mobile game, The King of Fighters: World. Focused on its title tournament, the plot shows arriving in South Town, Kyo Kusanagi, an invitee to KOF, among other formidable fighters who have join with other two fighters to form a team and face each other. The series run between August 2017 and January 2018.
SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy is a fighting game developed for PS4 by SNK and for Nintendo Switch and PC by Abstraction Games. The game was released for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 in September 2018 and was published in Japan and Asia by SNK and SEGA and in International version by NIS America. An arcade version was released the following October and the Microsoft Windows version arrived in February 2019. It is a spiritual successor to SNK Gals' Fighters and features a 2v2 tag-team gameplay system, which was also used in Kizuna Encounter: Super Tag Battle.
The King of Fighters: A New Beginning is a Japanese shōnen manga authored by Kyōtarō Azuma. The series has been serialized in Kodansha's Magazine Pocket since January 2018, ending in August 2020. Seven Seas Entertainment licensed the manga for a North American release with the first volume released in March 2020. The manga is an adaptation of SNK's 2016 fighting game The King of Fighters XIV and follows multiple characters who get involved in a new worldwide tournament led by a man known as Antonov.
Yasuyuki Oda is a Japanese game designer. Oda showed an interest in gaming during his childhood that led him to study animations when growing up. He debuted as a developer for SNK, doing debugs of certain games while being a major planner in Garou: Mark of the Wolves. In 2000, he moved Dimps to later work once again in SNK in mid-2010s to direct The King of Fighters XIV and other installments from SNK's properties.
Eisuke Ogura is a game designer working for SNK. Originally an artist for pixel animations and illustrations, Ogura became the creative director of the fighting game The King of Fighters XV.