It all began in '94... Kept on rolling in '95... Things were in place in '96 and came to an end in '97... Now it comes and here we go... KOF is here again! Nothing gonna stop because it's 1998!!
They're back to the heat for an answer they've been long searching Is it their fate or just a bloody coincidence? It shall be clear as 3 powers will be as one Now the 4th phase is about to begin!
Iori still is a musician and dislikes violence despite acting like violent person in the kof tournaments. His power was already activated since his birth.
@@troykv96 essentially yeah, in fact the reason he wasn’t in 94 is because he finds tournaments like K.O.F boring, only being interested when he heard Kyo was taking part in the 95 tournament.
I confess i'm kinda like Iori irl, i usually use Violence to solve some situations effectivelly, eventhought i actually hate it. So yup, he does make sense on that one
Kim’s rehabilitation idea is actually a fatal fury reference. In 2 he enters the tournament to reform krauser from his evil ways and he succeeds in his ending as krauser is seen being a respectable member of society. In fact he originally was usually very successful at this to the point in made him a national hero. This also a faithful depiction of the real world taekwondo associations overarching message of using one’s strength as a means of justice. It’s why he’s so obsessed with it because he takes these virtues to heart even if others don’t think the same way he believes in justice strong enough to stand by that belief no matter any criticisms he gets for coming off as self righteous.
That’s awesome! That’s the greatest fighting game character motivation ever 😂. I’m joining this tournament to make the bad guy see the error of his ways and turn him good
Iori’s life must’ve been weird, imagine being a successful bassist then one day you’re able to shoot fire out of your hands and you suddenly have the urge to kill a random 19 year old high schooler. Edit: Team samsho is dlc for kofxv.
being a high school bass player who discovers his powers and hates another guy sounds like a bad summer american movie, or shonen anime lol. He was able to use fire first, and then he was programmed with the : You have to kill the last Kusanagi in the name of the everybody-dies-young-because-of-the-kusanagi" family. Then he suddenly had to become a bass player, cat lover who hates violence, after a couple of tournaments and beating 2 pals, making 1 priest commit suicide, killing 2 girls, and roasting one god.
It honestly doesn't sound that hard tbh. You could easily make most of them repeats or just joke ideas. Like: destroy truck, destroy plane, fly plane, dodge missiles, eat as much ice cream as possible, drive car while avoiding other cars, deliver mail, destroy skyscraper, lick as many envelops in an hour, make sushi, do yoga, lion taming, walk on tightrope, write boss a really angry letter, avoid meteorites, give someone a massage, throw ball at bottles, throw ring at bottles, destroy tank, run away from giant boulder, etc. Okay, that was still only 20 ideas, but it took me less an half an hour to come up with them. Ideas are easy, it's executing them that's tough.
@@NIMPAK1 The fact that they didn't expect him to even be able to come up with as many ideas as he did, may be an indicator that the idea may have had to be a little more fleshed out than you gave him credit for
Fun fact much later on in the KOF canon to be more precise after the Ash Crimson Saga ended in KOFXIII Robert would finally pop the big question to Yuri aka ask her to marry him and she said yes meaning Robert and Yuri are now fiancé, and fiancée whereas Ryo still has no freaking clue that King has a crush on him.'
@@jamessicard1705 Actually Ryo much to King's disappointment and Takuma's disappointment though him "going out" with King wasn't a romantic date but more of a small lunch or dinner between good friends.
@rawrdino that's a French grammar thing. Nouns often take a ( silent in some cases) "e" in the feminine form. Exemple: a male fighter =un combattant, a female fighter = une combattante. It's a bit like how in Spanish, some words in masculine ends in "o" and feminine in "a". In this case however, it's possible to just say Robert and Yuri are fiancés (the "s" indicate plural).
King Of Fighters literally existed as a blind spot for me until KoF 13 so having a retrospective like that that even breaks down the story is freaking amazing, can't wait for Part 2
I didn’t even know about KOF until like 4 months ago. It has become my favorite fighting series. Snagged the earlier games on switch and picked up 15 when it released. Can’t believe I never played these games. They’re so good!
Funnily enough I got in with XIII as well after seeing Kyo in CvS and loving the designs of the SNK characters. Ended up going through the series myself and now it's one of my favourite video game franchises.
I loved how much detail SNK went into the lore of this franchise. For instance Kyo losing his projectiles and becoming more rekka orientated was linked into his fight with Goentiz where he changed his fighting style to be able to take him down in the rematch.
37:34 Oh.. I guess that explains why "Kusanagi" (the Chizuru-created Kyo's dark clone) has Kaneda's voice. Kyo was originally suppose to be a more blatant reference to Kaneda like how Krohnen was to Tetsuo.
Syo even appears in the Dreamcast version of KOF99 and KOF2000 as a special striker, complete with Mitsuo Iwata's voice. I think the couple of lines recorded for his striker attacks ended up being reused for Kusanagi in 02 and 03, too
@@sofiaciel7599 Considering he was a late addition, maybe they had already a plan for using his voice in a character, so they recorded a lot of lines, funny enough, the one that Syo uses for his special strike I believe was directly re-used in 2002 UM for Kusanagi's new move... Which is basically's Syo's striker as a Super.
Rugal's ability to copy moves was, much like a lot of other things, referenced in King of Fighters Destiny, when he used Kyo, Terry, and Heidern's moves against them.
Iori was always pretty chill. Sure, he’s an asshole but if u piss him off or if he’s anywhere near Kyo (especially near Kyo), he becomes an aggressive prick who would be happy to roast someone alive. Also, his cursed bloodline powers are like the main reason why he doesn’t want anyone near him. But like Kyo, he is willing to work along aside him and Chizuru to face off against a common foe. He likes cats, jazz, and playing in his band.
A couple of corrections and trivia; 1) KoF was planned as a collaboration of Fatal Fury + AoF + Samsho in the beginning. The Samsho roster was scrapped because they had over a 100 yrs timeline gap and Samsho being a weapon-based FG. The US sports team was made as a replacement to them, and THAT'S WHY SNK HATED AND TREATED THEM AS SUCH. 2) Choi Bounge(Who is read "Chae Bun-Gay" with Bounge means lightning in Korean) is not a serial killer. although he is based on Freddy Kruegar who is one, Choi was just a criminal who attacks ppl randomly with no question asked just for his joy of violence. 3) The sway dodge was to imitate the 2-line system from Fatal Fury and the Charge meter was from AoF. You could do a taunt and cut the chunk of their meter like they did in AoF, but this taunt system was changed since 97 to just a useless move only to appeal to your opponent. 4) In 94 and 95, any fighter from Fatal Fury could move forwards while crouching. while being correct to its origins, it wasn't a fair move since it wasn't applied to everyone. Also exclusive to 94&95 was if you beat King or Yuri with a non-grappling special, their clothes would shred revealing her underwear(This did come back in XIII for a brief moment). 5) The Japan team(aka the hero team), was designed after the 3 most feared form of disaster in Japan - which is Fire, Lightning and Earthquake. Kyo uses flames from his ancestral power, Daimon smashes the ground to shake the earth, and Benimaru.....can make electricity for some unknown reason. 6) The statue behind Rugal who Thorgi claims it's Zangief is actually Abobo from Double Dragon. Other characters include Reiji Ouyama from Atlus's Power Instinct, but mostly they are from Capcom's Street Fighter. This might seem that SNK started what is known as the "Feud" between Capcom and SNK, but it was actually Capcom who shot first. During the promotion for the Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo, Capcom revealed a picture where Sagat was holding a man by the face who looked like a mash-up version of Ryo and Robert from AoF. KoF94 was released after that reveal. 7) Long jump was added in 95. 95 also had sway attacks so you can dodge and counterattack immediately, this lead to some deadly combos. 8) While every numeral KoF until XI was made annually so they were made with rush and crunches, 96 was one of the worst to be released incomplete. Command normals were gone, The input was stiff so rekkas were hard to perform, and command shortcuts was also removed so it was tough to input super specials too.
9) During KoF96's development, one anime impacted Japanese subculture so hard it impacted KoF as well, and that is of course - Neon Genesis Evangelion. You can see that Goenitz is a parody of Gendou Ikari, and Leona is same of Rei Ayanami. Yuri's taunt is "Anta Baka(Are you stupid)?" which a line said multiple times in the show by Asuka, and one of her victory line is "Service, Service!" a phrase which is said in the end of each episode. Also the orochi blood riot + Iori's desperate super special is a parody of Evangelion going nuts. 10) You couldn't choose Chizuru or Goenitz at 96. if you wanted to play them you either had to play the CD-based console version(Neogeo CD, Saturn, Playstation), or via the hacked rom. if you chose the hacked rom however, the scene where Iori throws a crimson flame was missing, so you couldn't figure out what actually happened. This move became his other super since 97, but in a purple flame form. 11) It wasn't Chizuru's father that Goenitz killed to open the Orochi seal, it was Chizuru's twin sister. The Kagura(originally Yata) clan being the heritage of the sacred mirror, was destined to be born as a twin. and Chizuru's sister - Maki took the duty of protecting the seal so Chizuru could have a normal life. After her death and the seal broken, Chizuru realized her role as the guardian and decided to continue her role. Maki appears as an illusion in KoF 03. 12) The actual reason why the dramatic change with the projectile throwers since 96; is because of Capcom making fun of SNK characters - Dan Hibiki. SNK changed Ryo and Robert to play similarly as Dan, but was still strong and fun to play. a nice and clever way to respond to their rival company. 13) Shingo was designed as a parody of Sakura from SF Alpha and was to take a serious role in the storyline. originally, Shingo was supposed to be one who becomes Orochi and the final boss. but since a lot of characters involved with Kyo had already big roles in the story(especially Yuki), thus the Orochi role was changed to Chris. 14) Until Takehito Koyasu(The voice of Dio from JoJo) took the role of Shingo in 97, the most expensive voice actor in KoF was Nobuyuki Hiyama who was the voice of Joe(And also Link from LoZ ocarina of time).
A couple of extra info: one of the original advertisements for The King of Fighters '94 stated that characters from World Heroes we're supposed to be included as well. I remember being confused because all 24 characters were pictures in the ad and I didn't recognize any World Heroes characters in the roster. This same advertisement was later redacted and mentioned something along the lines of a dream match. I've searched online and this is the only version I can find but I know this other advertisement is out there somewhere because I used to have it. Another thing I remember is that in the King of Fighters '94, the teams actually have names. I don't know if this was just something that EGM did (it wasn't one of the magazines) or the American version of the game actually have names for them. I remember the Japan team having a silly name like the Geniuses of Fisticuffs and the ladies team having the name: The Princesses of Punch. Does anyone else remember this?
@@MaverickZeroD I wasn't aware of your info but I'm guessing WH characters was tough to join KoF since they were ADK IP. The revived SNK Playmore salvaged some of ADK's IP when the company went out of business in 2003, thus some ADK characters were able to appear in Neogeo Battle Colliseum. As for the other team name issue, I also have no clue. but SNK had terrible localizing problems during most of its history, so I wouldn't be surprised if it was their job with those ridiculous ideas.
@@kojiroh30 That's what I figured with the World Heroes references. I believed the ad originally said "The characters of Fatal Fury, Arti of Fighting, and World Heroes come together..." or something like that. I'm almost sure it was an error. Also, apologies for my terrible grammar. I was close to falling asleep when I typed that.
I think my favorite thing about ryo and kings relationship is the kof 2000 ending where takuma deflects the zero laser with haoh shikoken to save king and kings like "I'm in your debt" and takuma says verbatim "Don't be silly I can't let the mother of a kyokugen heir perish" which causes robert,ryo and king to go "HUH?". It's non-canon as hell like most team endings but it's hilarious. There are other team art of fighting endings where it's just takuma and the others pushing ryo and king together but the 2000 one is by far the funniest to me.
I once heard that the systems were cheaper in South and Latin America, and that saw the proliferation of KoF in the arcades. Here in Argentina it was all the rage; in my hometown KoF 98 was the big favorite. .
Every great video brings us one step closer to the BlazBlue retrospective with a complete story breakdown. It will come, friends. Thorgi will get there one day.
That part about the end of the Orochi Saga... imagine Capcom did the Kyo and Iori ending with Ryu and Bison and then never turned back... that'd be wild.
As someone who grew up casually playing the games in arcades, been reading about the various sagas recently, and then I came across this, alot of work, thanks for putting this out! EDIT just finished this first part----absolutely incredible work! Fantastic! Amazing work on this, looking forward to part 2!
1:16:32 Her sister actually. 1:35:16 Don't you mean Yashiro? Despite those miskates, I really did enjoy this retrospective. Very detailed, especially with the cutting room floor info. I'm so damn glad that Rugal Infinity didn't end up becoming a thing.
Great format! I mean,shout out to another content Shoryugame who has a great channel explaining the lore of all the KOF series. But I actually appreciate you mixing in the behind-the-scenes elements + easter eggs on top of all that. *chef's kiss*
I am really thankfull for all these retrospectives you’ve been making! As someone really compasionate about video game history and a new fighting game fan (although I am very bad), these videos have taught me a lot about these big series that have so, oh so complicated and mind-blowing history Can’t wait for part 2!
As I'm watching this retrospective, all the memories playing the games listed so far came flooding back. Both good in wins and bad in crushing defeats. You sure know how to tug the heart strings Thorgi. This is a thoroughly well researched video. I can't wait for part 2!
29:35 granddaughter actually. Mai’s parents aren’t actually documented. Her grandparents are, her hair band was a gift from her late grandmother and again grandpa hanzo trained them both but it’s never stated what happened to her parents.
1:48:39 Small correction on that: The backgrounds aren't the same from Dream Match 1999. They were remodeled again. Furthermore, they use different camera movement from the Dreamcast backgrounds
This was literally the exact video I was looking for. An in-depth examination of the series' evolution of mechanics, the lore, the characters, everything. Thank you for making this.
I don't know if you knew this but in both 96 and 97 if you make it to the end as team psycho soldiers the four Heavenly Kings (Goenitz, Chris, Yashiro, Shermie) and Orochi will talk to Athena as if they know her implying they knew her in a previous life as the goddess Athena
"Team Grown Arms" I can't believe this franchise roster is so big that there are actually 3 different characters with stretchy arm powers, that's incredible.
Thanks for this I was always confused about the Orochi saga. Seeing this brings me back to when I first saw king of fighters in the arcade and was amazed that I could choose three players to fight on one quarter.
Ten minutes in and you've earned a sub. Thank you for this massively ambitious documentary project. I'll be watching 15 minutes every morning before work (and playing some KoF after).
I wanna kick myself for not watching this video sooner. I got chills throughout the video just remembering these awesome moments. Kinda wanted you to mention the canonical winners of every game when talking about them.
Awesome video. Goenitz is my favorite KoF antagonist. Koko desu ka! KoF 97 is my favorite in the series, as I find the gameplay the be the loosest for combos while having the best responsiveness, and yes, I am a Shingo fan! I used to yell "Yo te chingo!" when pulling off Shingo's SDM in a combo when playing in my local arcade hahaha
I found your channel with this video and ty for the memories. As kid I recall playing kof in Mexico but I couldn't read or even knew what kof I was playing but I always had a blast. Seeing all the parts made me recall my first kof was 99.
1:35:15 *Yashiro. Awesome awesome vid though. Anyone who's been following since 94 definitely appreciates the work. I can't wait until (if) KoF: Kyo is covered or touched on.
That Rugal infinity idea would’ve taken KOF into straight up horror territory. The concept art looks like something from SNK’s Mutation Nation or Beast Busters. No doubt the difficulty would’ve been very high and cause players to go into fits of rage
I grew up with the King of Fighters series, and actually played KoF 94 in my local arcade when it first came out. It gives me great joy to see this series spring back into relevancy in recent years. Thank you sir, for making these videos.
Kof has to be the best fighting game franchise in terms of story telling and it's the best fighting game franchise in my heart also amazing video as always expected from you also love your channel and your videos keep up the great work my dude 👍, also note not gonna lie your one of my favorite youtubers
41:56 That flag isn't the flag of England, that is the British flag prior to the joining of Northern Ireland, represented by the Red diagonal lines as part of St Patrick's saltier
I finished the entire thing! Subbed and going over Part 2. KOF has been really close to my heart... I love this! Thanks for the effort you've put into this!
Fun fact about cut intros: The same way Kyo was supposed to enter the stage in '94 parking his motorcycle like Kaneda, Blue Mary was intended to have that intro in KOF 98, but got cut as well. However, you can actually find photos of Blue Mary's scrapped intro in the form of footage from early versions of KOF 98.
As a newcomer trying to get into this massive, long standing series, i really appreciate how in depth you've gone into this retrospective. Thank you, this has been a great guide.
One thing to note about the sacrifice at the near end of 97, it was said that there was a similar sacrifice many years ago to awaken Orochi seven maidens were brought to be sacrificed but the three sacred treasures put an end to that before the last one could be killed, now years later the sacrifice that would be needed for Orochi to have a vessel was Kyo's girlfriend who was a descendant of the maiden. But because team Orochi failed to kill her, they instead sacrificed Chris's body to be used as a vessel, which could explain why Orochi was not at full power during the fight.
I have been rewatching all of Thorgi's retrospectives, for some reason I just can't shake the need to see these long and storied histories for these fighting games
Just stumbled across your channel and man, your presentation is refreshing. Awesome script, great ad break placement between the time stamps, just all around awesome production. I'm looking forward to more of your content!
Yuki was coincidently related to her ancestor as a sacrifice for Orochi, I'm sure your might be saving this info for the Ash saga, Chizuru older sister Maki was the successor of the Yata clan except she was killed trying to protect the seal of Orochi against Goenitz. Great video, I've watch the whole thing.
Man this brings back memories. I honestly had no Idea SNK was so big back in the day, I had a PC port of what i think was KOF 95 which was one of the first fighting games I ever played and made me fall in love with the genre
I just wanted to thank you for making this retrospective. It has taught me about a series I really always like, but so did not understand the story. After watching your videos I started playing this again and realized how much I love it. Thank you again, really enjoy all of your videos
Man I fucking commend you for doing these arcade modes to get footage. I’m trying to go through all the KOF games, and I am STUCK at 94, and 95 wasn’t much better
I agree they could have called it "Female Fighters" to roll off the tongue better, but i think the name was pretty deliberate considering this was the 90's still; Women in video games were starting to become much more prevalent, now not only having like two in your street fighter roster to a noticeable percentage being female, and women in general being more and more notable as stars. Even in universe it's considered a pretty inspiring thing that in a martial arts tournament there's a team that consistently make it to the semi finals minimum who are all women, which i think was the main idea for the name.
The Nest Saga is next it for some, it might as well be the Saga that would finacally make or break the KOF series as a whole. Also it's my favorite Saga in the entire franchise for too many reason I can put in a top 5.
It all began in '94...
Kept on rolling in '95...
Things were in place in '96 and came to an end in '97...
Now it comes and here we go...
KOF is here again!
Nothing gonna stop because it's 1998!!
Violent fighting to come again!
As a year flew-by
from excitement,
We now declare the opening of
our special team tournament,
In 1996!
They're back to the heat for an answer they've been long searching
Is it their fate or just a bloody coincidence?
It shall be clear as 3 powers will be as one
Now the 4th phase is about to begin!
I read this comment as soon as I got to the song lmao
@@Anderson_101 1¹q011q
Great, now that song is stuck in my head
Iori still is a musician and dislikes violence despite acting like violent person in the kof tournaments. His power was already activated since his birth.
@@meganinten0078 So basically, Iori doesn't have anything against fighting.. BUT, he hates bullies.
Most importantly, he love cats 😺😺😺
@@meganinten0078 I love that manga. Makes me love Iori more!
@@troykv96 essentially yeah, in fact the reason he wasn’t in 94 is because he finds tournaments like K.O.F boring, only being interested when he heard Kyo was taking part in the 95 tournament.
I confess i'm kinda like Iori irl, i usually use Violence to solve some situations effectivelly, eventhought i actually hate it. So yup, he does make sense on that one
Kim’s rehabilitation idea is actually a fatal fury reference. In 2 he enters the tournament to reform krauser from his evil ways and he succeeds in his ending as krauser is seen being a respectable member of society. In fact he originally was usually very successful at this to the point in made him a national hero.
This also a faithful depiction of the real world taekwondo associations overarching message of using one’s strength as a means of justice. It’s why he’s so obsessed with it because he takes these virtues to heart even if others don’t think the same way he believes in justice strong enough to stand by that belief no matter any criticisms he gets for coming off as self righteous.
Didn't he also take on one of the bosses as his student in the end of fatal Fury 3
@@ryancraig110 Yes, the younger Jin brother, though it is fair to note Chonsu went to him first.
@@ryancraig110Jin Chonrei and Chonshu supposed to be added into KOF 94...
That’s awesome! That’s the greatest fighting game character motivation ever 😂. I’m joining this tournament to make the bad guy see the error of his ways and turn him good
Iori’s life must’ve been weird, imagine being a successful bassist then one day you’re able to shoot fire out of your hands and you suddenly have the urge to kill a random 19 year old high schooler.
Edit: Team samsho is dlc for kofxv.
Truly a rise in K o F lore there
being a high school bass player who discovers his powers and hates another guy sounds like a bad summer american movie, or shonen anime lol.
He was able to use fire first, and then he was programmed with the : You have to kill the last Kusanagi in the name of the everybody-dies-young-because-of-the-kusanagi" family.
Then he suddenly had to become a bass player, cat lover who hates violence, after a couple of tournaments and beating 2 pals, making 1 priest commit suicide, killing 2 girls, and roasting one god.
@@zuzukydwho are those members on Team Samsho in KOF 15?
Fun fact: Choi is actually beloved in Korea and treated like a high tier character. That's why he's in SvC Chaos.
Has anyone in Korea made a slasher film based on Choi Krueger? LMAO
@@dnmstarsiChoi Bounge supposedly to be named as "Choi Kaphwan".
Yeah but what about Chang?? 😌
That unknown planner who made 100 different bonus game ideas deserves a medal.
And extensive mental care.
It honestly doesn't sound that hard tbh. You could easily make most of them repeats or just joke ideas.
Like: destroy truck, destroy plane, fly plane, dodge missiles, eat as much ice cream as possible, drive car while avoiding other cars, deliver mail, destroy skyscraper, lick as many envelops in an hour, make sushi, do yoga, lion taming, walk on tightrope, write boss a really angry letter, avoid meteorites, give someone a massage, throw ball at bottles, throw ring at bottles, destroy tank, run away from giant boulder, etc.
Okay, that was still only 20 ideas, but it took me less an half an hour to come up with them. Ideas are easy, it's executing them that's tough.
they deserve a fucking raise
That's like a whole Warioware game's worth.
@@NIMPAK1 The fact that they didn't expect him to even be able to come up with as many ideas as he did, may be an indicator that the idea may have had to be a little more fleshed out than you gave him credit for
Fun fact much later on in the KOF canon to be more precise after the Ash Crimson Saga ended in KOFXIII Robert would finally pop the big question to Yuri aka ask her to marry him and she said yes meaning Robert and Yuri are now fiancé, and fiancée whereas Ryo still has no freaking clue that King has a crush on him.'
Didn't he go on a date with King in XI?
@@jamessicard1705 Actually Ryo much to King's disappointment and Takuma's disappointment though him "going out" with King wasn't a romantic date but more of a small lunch or dinner between good friends.
Wait, there's a fiancée for male and female? That makes no sense
@rawrdino that's a French grammar thing. Nouns often take a ( silent in some cases) "e" in the feminine form.
Exemple: a male fighter =un combattant, a female fighter = une combattante.
It's a bit like how in Spanish, some words in masculine ends in "o" and feminine in "a".
In this case however, it's possible to just say Robert and Yuri are fiancés (the "s" indicate plural).
@@emperormegaman3856 that's interesting
King Of Fighters literally existed as a blind spot for me until KoF 13 so having a retrospective like that that even breaks down the story is freaking amazing, can't wait for Part 2
I didn’t even know about KOF until like 4 months ago. It has become my favorite fighting series. Snagged the earlier games on switch and picked up 15 when it released. Can’t believe I never played these games. They’re so good!
Funnily enough I got in with XIII as well after seeing Kyo in CvS and loving the designs of the SNK characters. Ended up going through the series myself and now it's one of my favourite video game franchises.
@@kingdomcomesuperman3669same. KOF 13 also has the exact same team order like it was on KOF 94.
I loved how much detail SNK went into the lore of this franchise. For instance Kyo losing his projectiles and becoming more rekka orientated was linked into his fight with Goentiz where he changed his fighting style to be able to take him down in the rematch.
My favorite character tidbit is that Clark is a massive pro wrestling fan. No real reason, it's just something he loves to nerd out over.
You know what, suddenly his entire moveset makes sense.
Hates worms and loves wrestling. Ended up becoming a soldier.
Clark Still and Ralf Jones are very OP in KOF 94 along with Rugal Bernstein...
Nicely done! KOF story is coming like a Final Fantasy story!
Yoo King Jae! Brushing up on KOF lore I see? 😁
The lore is so confusing it feels like a Dragon Quest story.
Wtf do you mean kof story??? What is that?
37:34
Oh.. I guess that explains why "Kusanagi" (the Chizuru-created Kyo's dark clone) has Kaneda's voice. Kyo was originally suppose to be a more blatant reference to Kaneda like how Krohnen was to Tetsuo.
Syo even appears in the Dreamcast version of KOF99 and KOF2000 as a special striker, complete with Mitsuo Iwata's voice. I think the couple of lines recorded for his striker attacks ended up being reused for Kusanagi in 02 and 03, too
@@sofiaciel7599 Considering he was a late addition, maybe they had already a plan for using his voice in a character, so they recorded a lot of lines, funny enough, the one that Syo uses for his special strike I believe was directly re-used in 2002 UM for Kusanagi's new move... Which is basically's Syo's striker as a Super.
lol how can you even know that
- Anime fanbase creeps me out sometimes.... -
@@sofiaciel7599KOF Game Boy Advance also great games like KOF 2002.
@@troykv962002 UM also has a special character named "Nameless". Which is a hybrid prototype version of K + KRIZALID + Kyo.
Hearing that 98UM intro at the beginning gave me chills, literal chills!
I also ever reached Battle 75 in KOF 98 ULTIMATE MATCH PS2.
Rugal's ability to copy moves was, much like a lot of other things, referenced in King of Fighters Destiny, when he used Kyo, Terry, and Heidern's moves against them.
Too bad there was no season 2. The series just covered the KoF 95.
@@aarongallardo3684 I think it only covered 94'
@@CrimRui It kinda sorta covered both, if I remember right, it ended with teaser for a potential second season based on 96.
@@aarongallardo3684 There is new movie coming out that continues from season 1.
It kinda blended the events from Fatal Fury 1, Kof 94 and 95 along with some original creative ideas (i.e the brainwashing of the Sports team)
I love how it's canon that krauser isn't really interested in kof he only went to 96 because his teammates were Mr big and geese 🤣
He's too cool for that
KOF is my favorite SNK series! I didn't know that a max meter would make the normals stronger though. I only used it for super moves all these years!
Ditto.
It also adds push back on block so everything you do is safer.
@@Neogears1312 do you mean more blockstun? because wouldnt more pushback make combos harder to land?
This channel has it all. Great voice, great unique content and movie length videos.
Only criticism about the voice: He mispronounced a lot of character's names:
Sie is pronounced "SEE"
Eiji is pronounced "AY-Gee"
You mean Vince McMahon? 😁
@@tiberiusblack659 he totally sounds like young Vince
He is a video game Chad.
59:05 I didn't know about the idea for the Rugal/Geese/Krauser fusion before today, and I am *glad* that didn't make the cut, because... jeez.
I am from the association of weird ideas in video games and I personally find it a great loss but a necessary one for every sane person's brain
I kinda wish we got that in the Shun'ei Saga especially given the whole Verse stuff.
Iori was always pretty chill. Sure, he’s an asshole but if u piss him off or if he’s anywhere near Kyo (especially near Kyo), he becomes an aggressive prick who would be happy to roast someone alive. Also, his cursed bloodline powers are like the main reason why he doesn’t want anyone near him. But like Kyo, he is willing to work along aside him and Chizuru to face off against a common foe. He likes cats, jazz, and playing in his band.
I still remember a lot "THE THREE SACRED TREASURE TEAM" which is still popular even since 1997.
A couple of corrections and trivia;
1) KoF was planned as a collaboration of Fatal Fury + AoF + Samsho in the beginning. The Samsho roster was scrapped because they had over a 100 yrs timeline gap and Samsho being a weapon-based FG. The US sports team was made as a replacement to them, and THAT'S WHY SNK HATED AND TREATED THEM AS SUCH.
2) Choi Bounge(Who is read "Chae Bun-Gay" with Bounge means lightning in Korean) is not a serial killer. although he is based on Freddy Kruegar who is one, Choi was just a criminal who attacks ppl randomly with no question asked just for his joy of violence.
3) The sway dodge was to imitate the 2-line system from Fatal Fury and the Charge meter was from AoF. You could do a taunt and cut the chunk of their meter like they did in AoF, but this taunt system was changed since 97 to just a useless move only to appeal to your opponent.
4) In 94 and 95, any fighter from Fatal Fury could move forwards while crouching. while being correct to its origins, it wasn't a fair move since it wasn't applied to everyone. Also exclusive to 94&95 was if you beat King or Yuri with a non-grappling special, their clothes would shred revealing her underwear(This did come back in XIII for a brief moment).
5) The Japan team(aka the hero team), was designed after the 3 most feared form of disaster in Japan - which is Fire, Lightning and Earthquake. Kyo uses flames from his ancestral power, Daimon smashes the ground to shake the earth, and Benimaru.....can make electricity for some unknown reason.
6) The statue behind Rugal who Thorgi claims it's Zangief is actually Abobo from Double Dragon. Other characters include Reiji Ouyama from Atlus's Power Instinct, but mostly they are from Capcom's Street Fighter. This might seem that SNK started what is known as the "Feud" between Capcom and SNK, but it was actually Capcom who shot first. During the promotion for the Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo, Capcom revealed a picture where Sagat was holding a man by the face who looked like a mash-up version of Ryo and Robert from AoF. KoF94 was released after that reveal.
7) Long jump was added in 95. 95 also had sway attacks so you can dodge and counterattack immediately, this lead to some deadly combos.
8) While every numeral KoF until XI was made annually so they were made with rush and crunches, 96 was one of the worst to be released incomplete. Command normals were gone, The input was stiff so rekkas were hard to perform, and command shortcuts was also removed so it was tough to input super specials too.
9) During KoF96's development, one anime impacted Japanese subculture so hard it impacted KoF as well, and that is of course - Neon Genesis Evangelion. You can see that Goenitz is a parody of Gendou Ikari, and Leona is same of Rei Ayanami. Yuri's taunt is "Anta Baka(Are you stupid)?" which a line said multiple times in the show by Asuka, and one of her victory line is "Service, Service!" a phrase which is said in the end of each episode. Also the orochi blood riot + Iori's desperate super special is a parody of Evangelion going nuts.
10) You couldn't choose Chizuru or Goenitz at 96. if you wanted to play them you either had to play the CD-based console version(Neogeo CD, Saturn, Playstation), or via the hacked rom. if you chose the hacked rom however, the scene where Iori throws a crimson flame was missing, so you couldn't figure out what actually happened. This move became his other super since 97, but in a purple flame form.
11) It wasn't Chizuru's father that Goenitz killed to open the Orochi seal, it was Chizuru's twin sister. The Kagura(originally Yata) clan being the heritage of the sacred mirror, was destined to be born as a twin. and Chizuru's sister - Maki took the duty of protecting the seal so Chizuru could have a normal life. After her death and the seal broken, Chizuru realized her role as the guardian and decided to continue her role. Maki appears as an illusion in KoF 03.
12) The actual reason why the dramatic change with the projectile throwers since 96; is because of Capcom making fun of SNK characters - Dan Hibiki. SNK changed Ryo and Robert to play similarly as Dan, but was still strong and fun to play. a nice and clever way to respond to their rival company.
13) Shingo was designed as a parody of Sakura from SF Alpha and was to take a serious role in the storyline. originally, Shingo was supposed to be one who becomes Orochi and the final boss. but since a lot of characters involved with Kyo had already big roles in the story(especially Yuki), thus the Orochi role was changed to Chris.
14) Until Takehito Koyasu(The voice of Dio from JoJo) took the role of Shingo in 97, the most expensive voice actor in KoF was Nobuyuki Hiyama who was the voice of Joe(And also Link from LoZ ocarina of time).
Thats some nice extra info
A couple of extra info: one of the original advertisements for The King of Fighters '94 stated that characters from World Heroes we're supposed to be included as well. I remember being confused because all 24 characters were pictures in the ad and I didn't recognize any World Heroes characters in the roster. This same advertisement was later redacted and mentioned something along the lines of a dream match. I've searched online and this is the only version I can find but I know this other advertisement is out there somewhere because I used to have it.
Another thing I remember is that in the King of Fighters '94, the teams actually have names. I don't know if this was just something that EGM did (it wasn't one of the magazines) or the American version of the game actually have names for them. I remember the Japan team having a silly name like the Geniuses of Fisticuffs and the ladies team having the name: The Princesses of Punch. Does anyone else remember this?
@@MaverickZeroD I wasn't aware of your info but I'm guessing WH characters was tough to join KoF since they were ADK IP. The revived SNK Playmore salvaged some of ADK's IP when the company went out of business in 2003, thus some ADK characters were able to appear in Neogeo Battle Colliseum.
As for the other team name issue, I also have no clue. but SNK had terrible localizing problems during most of its history, so I wouldn't be surprised if it was their job with those ridiculous ideas.
@@kojiroh30 That's what I figured with the World Heroes references. I believed the ad originally said "The characters of Fatal Fury, Arti of Fighting, and World Heroes come together..." or something like that. I'm almost sure it was an error.
Also, apologies for my terrible grammar. I was close to falling asleep when I typed that.
I think my favorite thing about ryo and kings relationship is the kof 2000 ending where takuma deflects the zero laser with haoh shikoken to save king and kings like "I'm in your debt" and takuma says verbatim "Don't be silly I can't let the mother of a kyokugen heir perish" which causes robert,ryo and king to go "HUH?". It's non-canon as hell like most team endings but it's hilarious. There are other team art of fighting endings where it's just takuma and the others pushing ryo and king together but the 2000 one is by far the funniest to me.
Wait it's not canon?
Well, Rugal is an arms dealer. He probably was going to sell that missile at some point before he evaporated.
Rugal vs Guile in CVS 1 and 2.... Man, good times.😢
Just as a friendly reminder, we owe Smash’s existence to KoF.
fellow john sex fan?
@@neonthunder3261 Who?
@@Neoxon619 cool SNK youtuber
@@neonthunder3261 I’ll give them a look when I get the chance.
Even Smash's usage of a white envelope with the red seal was inspired from KOF's opening.
Shouts out to the Mexico/Latin region for always supporting kof endlessly
kof is globally popular. I was born and raise in Morocco, and where ever I used to go, there was an arcade machine with a kof game in it.
I once heard that the systems were cheaper in South and Latin America, and that saw the proliferation of KoF in the arcades. Here in Argentina it was all the rage; in my hometown KoF 98 was the big favorite. .
@@redhat4363same also in Bosnia. There are some arcade cabinets on it.
Every great video brings us one step closer to the BlazBlue retrospective with a complete story breakdown.
It will come, friends. Thorgi will get there one day.
That will be the fighting game equivalent to PlayFrame's Kingdom Hearts Story Mode playthroughs. And I am here for it.
It is here.
"I've seen people who've never even touched an SNK game before get excited for KOF XV."
Ha ha, guilty as charged.
My first SNK game was KOF XIV and i instantly fell in love with the King of Fighters.
Same
That part about the end of the Orochi Saga... imagine Capcom did the Kyo and Iori ending with Ryu and Bison and then never turned back... that'd be wild.
Wish they reused it on KOF 15 though.😢
As someone who grew up casually playing the games in arcades, been reading about the various sagas recently, and then I came across this, alot of work, thanks for putting this out!
EDIT just finished this first part----absolutely incredible work! Fantastic! Amazing work on this, looking forward to part 2!
1:16:32 Her sister actually.
1:35:16 Don't you mean Yashiro?
Despite those miskates, I really did enjoy this retrospective. Very detailed, especially with the cutting room floor info. I'm so damn glad that Rugal Infinity didn't end up becoming a thing.
Lucky's favorite sport being baseball is almost certainly a reference to Michael Jordan, who originally wanted to be a baseball player like his dad
Then why isn't he using a baseball rather than a basketball?
@@nasnase354 coz michael jordon is a basket ball player also
he was also a golfer, at least according to space jam
@@Silverwind87he loves golf
"Your daddy got killed and I feel for your family
But your baseball career; now that was a tragedy!"
-Muhammad Ali, ERB
Great format! I mean,shout out to another content Shoryugame who has a great channel explaining the lore of all the KOF series. But I actually appreciate you mixing in the behind-the-scenes elements + easter eggs on top of all that. *chef's kiss*
Finally! A proper KOF retrospective! I’m looking forward to the next parts.
1:35:15 Yamazaki isn't Yashiro but their both members of the Hakkeshu.
The confusion is understandable in such a long video.
love that part one of this series is almost TWO HOURS long.
And then part two is actually *over* two hours long!
I am from the future. You've seen nothing yet!
I am really thankfull for all these retrospectives you’ve been making! As someone really compasionate about video game history and a new fighting game fan (although I am very bad), these videos have taught me a lot about these big series that have so, oh so complicated and mind-blowing history
Can’t wait for part 2!
THis is incredible. Thank you for your hard work, Thorgi.
I can't wait for part 2! I hope we won't have to wait too long...
Damn this was a hell of a video. Definitely one of, if not the best retrospectives I've personally seen on UA-cam.
As I'm watching this retrospective, all the memories playing the games listed so far came flooding back. Both good in wins and bad in crushing defeats. You sure know how to tug the heart strings Thorgi. This is a thoroughly well researched video. I can't wait for part 2!
29:35 granddaughter actually. Mai’s parents aren’t actually documented. Her grandparents are, her hair band was a gift from her late grandmother and again grandpa hanzo trained them both but it’s never stated what happened to her parents.
It all began in '94...
Also...
Your channel is about to explode, sir...
💯
1:48:39
Small correction on that: The backgrounds aren't the same from Dream Match 1999. They were remodeled again.
Furthermore, they use different camera movement from the Dreamcast backgrounds
This was literally the exact video I was looking for. An in-depth examination of the series' evolution of mechanics, the lore, the characters, everything. Thank you for making this.
I don't know if you knew this but in both 96 and 97 if you make it to the end as team psycho soldiers the four Heavenly Kings (Goenitz, Chris, Yashiro, Shermie) and Orochi will talk to Athena as if they know her implying they knew her in a previous life as the goddess Athena
"Team Grown Arms" I can't believe this franchise roster is so big that there are actually 3 different characters with stretchy arm powers, that's incredible.
your king of fighters retrospective are the most entertaining videos i have watched this year on youtube
This is one of the best Neo Geo videos on all of UA-cam. Absolutely phenomenal job. No simple Wikipedia copy and paste job here. Well done.
Did it all begin in 94? Kept on going in 95? Pieces come in place in 96? Come to a head in 97? Would be cool if that's what happened
Well...yes and no, most people will tell you KoF existed before 94 with Fatal Fury being the first one
Yes and now KOF is here again!
As someone that knows nothing of KOF . This appears to be so well thought out well done!
Idk if the algorithm really values comments, but this channel definitely deserves millions of subscribers. UA-cam, do your thing pls.
Thanks for this I was always confused about the Orochi saga. Seeing this brings me back to when I first saw king of fighters in the arcade and was amazed that I could choose three players to fight on one quarter.
Ten minutes in and you've earned a sub. Thank you for this massively ambitious documentary project. I'll be watching 15 minutes every morning before work (and playing some KoF after).
The fact that Mai shiranui is somehow sexier than Bayonetta so she's banned from smash is still hilarious.
"somehow sexier than Bayonetta"
"Somehow"
It's not a hard bar to clear tbh
I wanna kick myself for not watching this video sooner. I got chills throughout the video just remembering these awesome moments. Kinda wanted you to mention the canonical winners of every game when talking about them.
I'm excited for part 2 of this retrospective after the not so subtle hint at 38:07 of K9999.
The King of Fighters games are one of my favourites. Those 2D pixel art of the AES/MVS originals is brilliant, one of the best I've ever seen.
Awesome video. Goenitz is my favorite KoF antagonist. Koko desu ka! KoF 97 is my favorite in the series, as I find the gameplay the be the loosest for combos while having the best responsiveness, and yes, I am a Shingo fan! I used to yell "Yo te chingo!" when pulling off Shingo's SDM in a combo when playing in my local arcade hahaha
1:16:29 CORRECTION: Maki, Chizuru's twin sister, is the head of the Yata Clan, not her father.
The closest we get to a Team Masters is team Guardian/Team Adoptive Parents with Dolores Vanessa and Terry in XV
But Vanessa is a biological mother...
Team Single Parents
Replace Vanessa with Heidern and it becomes an actual Team Adoptive Parents
Man. This video has made me a fan of the series. Looking forward to the next one. Keep up the great work.
This is an incredibly well made video. Thank you for creating this, i'm loving learning about the history of the franchise
I found your channel with this video and ty for the memories. As kid I recall playing kof in Mexico but I couldn't read or even knew what kof I was playing but I always had a blast. Seeing all the parts made me recall my first kof was 99.
Massively surprised that you didn't mention King's ripped shirt when she loses. Definitely one of my favourite moments playing the game 😂
Yuri Sakazaki as well lol
1:35:15 *Yashiro. Awesome awesome vid though. Anyone who's been following since 94 definitely appreciates the work. I can't wait until (if) KoF: Kyo is covered or touched on.
That Rugal infinity idea would’ve taken KOF into straight up horror territory. The concept art looks like something from SNK’s Mutation Nation or Beast Busters. No doubt the difficulty would’ve been very high and cause players to go into fits of rage
I'm actually sad they scrapped the idea. I personally love horror and that concept art is awesome! Creepy as all hell too.
This is amazing thank you this helps so much on understanding the story of these games
I grew up with the King of Fighters series, and actually played KoF 94 in my local arcade when it first came out. It gives me great joy to see this series spring back into relevancy in recent years. Thank you sir, for making these videos.
You know what I love the most about your videos ? The attention to detail like on a crazy level . Another really good video dude
It’s good knowing that at the end of the day, I can relax and enjoy some your KOF retrospectives.
Man Could you imagine if there was a character that was just one big reference to akira hahaha. crazy right krohnen
Kof has to be the best fighting game franchise in terms of story telling and it's the best fighting game franchise in my heart also amazing video as always expected from you also love your channel and your videos keep up the great work my dude 👍, also note not gonna lie your one of my favorite youtubers
41:56 That flag isn't the flag of England, that is the British flag prior to the joining of Northern Ireland, represented by the Red diagonal lines as part of St Patrick's saltier
I finished the entire thing! Subbed and going over Part 2.
KOF has been really close to my heart... I love this! Thanks for the effort you've put into this!
Your retrospectives are so entertaining. I love KOF so much, so I’m looking forward to part 2!
Fun fact about cut intros:
The same way Kyo was supposed to enter the stage in '94 parking his motorcycle like Kaneda, Blue Mary was intended to have that intro in KOF 98, but got cut as well. However, you can actually find photos of Blue Mary's scrapped intro in the form of footage from early versions of KOF 98.
This was great. Can't wait to see more.
As a newcomer trying to get into this massive, long standing series, i really appreciate how in depth you've gone into this retrospective. Thank you, this has been a great guide.
Love this long form coverage. You got yourself a sub sir!
I just want to commend you on one of the best video games documentaries I've seen in my life. Well done! 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
One thing to note about the sacrifice at the near end of 97, it was said that there was a similar sacrifice many years ago to awaken Orochi seven maidens were brought to be sacrificed but the three sacred treasures put an end to that before the last one could be killed, now years later the sacrifice that would be needed for Orochi to have a vessel was Kyo's girlfriend who was a descendant of the maiden. But because team Orochi failed to kill her, they instead sacrificed Chris's body to be used as a vessel, which could explain why Orochi was not at full power during the fight.
EASILY the best KOF retrospective video out there. Great job, man!!
I love it! Great stuff. Love this series and I am so glad people are appreciating it.
I have been rewatching all of Thorgi's retrospectives, for some reason I just can't shake the need to see these long and storied histories for these fighting games
The KOF team before SNK's bankruptcy should reunite together. I want to know their secrets on making such detailed sprites.
That would be great, bring back some of the beautiful pixel art or any form in evolution of creativity
Just stumbled across your channel and man, your presentation is refreshing. Awesome script, great ad break placement between the time stamps, just all around awesome production. I'm looking forward to more of your content!
Yuki was coincidently related to her ancestor as a sacrifice for Orochi, I'm sure your might be saving this info for the Ash saga, Chizuru older sister Maki was the successor of the Yata clan except she was killed trying to protect the seal of Orochi against Goenitz. Great video, I've watch the whole thing.
this was an incredible amount of work Thorgi! Kudos
Best kof retrospective ever
Man this brings back memories. I honestly had no Idea SNK was so big back in the day, I had a PC port of what i think was KOF 95 which was one of the first fighting games I ever played and made me fall in love with the genre
Great episode. Very entertaining from beginning to end. I love this series.
I just wanted to thank you for making this retrospective. It has taught me about a series I really always like, but so did not understand the story. After watching your videos I started playing this again and realized how much I love it. Thank you again, really enjoy all of your videos
Also Robert's face was based off Jean Claude Van Damme! If you look at the AOF poster!
awesome video! I'm watching this while playing KOFXV
Now I want a KOF cinematic universe
coming back to this gem of a series while we patiently wait for part 4 🥹
Man I fucking commend you for doing these arcade modes to get footage. I’m trying to go through all the KOF games, and I am STUCK at 94, and 95 wasn’t much better
This video is inanely well put together. It is 1:51h long and I wasn't bored even 1 minut. Thank you for this and I'm looking forward future parts
I agree they could have called it "Female Fighters" to roll off the tongue better, but i think the name was pretty deliberate considering this was the 90's still; Women in video games were starting to become much more prevalent, now not only having like two in your street fighter roster to a noticeable percentage being female, and women in general being more and more notable as stars. Even in universe it's considered a pretty inspiring thing that in a martial arts tournament there's a team that consistently make it to the semi finals minimum who are all women, which i think was the main idea for the name.
Thank you Thorgi for taking the time to make these videos! Keep up the good work!
The Nest Saga is next it for some, it might as well be the Saga that would finacally make or break the KOF series as a whole. Also it's my favorite Saga in the entire franchise for too many reason I can put in a top 5.