The 1990s saw a fighting game boom in arcades throughout the country. In 1994, said to be the craze’s golden age, one title would imprint its name on the genre.
It’s name was “THE KING OF FIGHTERS ’94.” This was to be the memorable first title in “THE KING OF FIGHTERS (commonly known as KOF)” series which even now continues to be a remarkable best seller in the fighting game genre.
The series centers around the story regarding the opening of a fighting tournament called “King of Fighters” and the various characters that join it from popular SNK titles at the time, such as fighting games like “Fatal Fury” and “Art of Fighting” in addition to famous SNK action game classics like “Ikari Warriors” and “Psycho Soldier.” These popular SNK characters cross the boundaries of their respective titles to clash in teams of three in truly all-star battle suitably referred to as “dream matches” that have garnered the attention of legions of game fans.
Hot on the debut title’s tails came the 1995 sequel “THE KING OF FIGHTERS ’95.” Added to the original concept of the 3-on-3 team battles were the “team edit” function that let players form their own teams and the new character “Iori Yagami”―rival of the hero team’s main character “Kyo Kusanagi”―whose debut brought new popularity to the game and established its unwavering popularity.
Thereafter, new titles in the KOF series kept on coming and now currently in its 15th year with its 12th release, the series boasts the greatest number of titles of any other fighting game. Its popularity does not just end in Japan but has widened beyond country boundaries to find a countless fans throughout the world.
And the KOF popularity that grows with each title has influenced other spheres outside the world of games. One prime example is costume play that has spread like wildfire, owing to the popularity of our charismatic characters. The principle KOF characters at the time were sleekly proportioned and wore stylish costumes that added a new flashy dimension to the Spartan genre. This became a major factor in the sudden rise of popularity in fighting games among previously uninterested female fans. This proved true worldwide as well and has contributed to the KOF’s unwavering popularity.
And now we come to 2009 which marks the 15th year of KOF. The newest title in the series that changed the history of two-dimensional fighting games “THE KING OF FIGHTERS XII” begins to take the series in a new direction owing to its theme: “KOF RE-BIRTH.” And KOF will continue to evolve offering the two things that set it apart from the rest: exciting game play and irresistible characters.
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