The King of Fighter: The Ultimate History

2022·6.3 MB·English

by  Bitmap Books

Prepared exclusively for Oswaldo Camargo Barrueta / [email protected]
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Prepared exclusively for Oswaldo Camargo Barrueta / [email protected]
Prepared exclusively for Oswaldo Camargo Barrueta / [email protected]
Publisher
The interviews reported and history described in
this book are based on the memories and thoughts Bitmap Books
of the interviewees and writers. The expressed
views and opinions of the interviewees and writers Concept
are their own, and not necessarily those of either
Sam Dyer
SNK CORPORATION or Bitmap Books Ltd.
All trademarks are the property of their respective Graphic design
owners. Street Fighter © CAPCOM CO., LTD. Sam Dyer
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Writing
First published in 2022 by Bitmap Books Ltd.
Robert Jones
Copyright © Bitmap Books Ltd. 2022 Christopher Rasa
The right of Sam Dyer to be identified as the author Editing
of this work has been asserted in accordance with the
Steve Jarratt
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 sections
77 and 78.
Interviews
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from James Mielke
the British Library. Joy Mielke

All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may
Screenshots
be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any
means, or stored in any retrieval system of any Gonçalo Lopes
nature, without prior written permission, except for
permitted fair dealing under the Copyright, Designs Sprite rips
and Patents Act 1988 (as amended) or other
Paul McNally
applicable law. Application for permission should
be made to the publisher.
Additional illustrations
© SNK CORPORATION ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Armen Mardirossian
Catherine Menabde
The NEOGEO™ brand and all associated games are
the copyright of SNK and used under licence.
Consultants
To get in touch, please email us at: Brian Hargrove
[email protected] Massimiliano Macri
Christopher Rasa
Accept no imitations ... we are the world’s no. 1!
Frazer Rhodes
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INTRODUCTION 4
FOREWORD 5
HISTORY 6
GAME ART 66
CHARACTER ART 282
KEY ART 416
INTERVIEWS 488
THANKS 544
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INTRODUCTION
Of all of SNK’s celebrated video game series, THE KING OF
FIGHTERS is the one that has not only gained the most admiration
from gamers, but also had the biggest impact on the gaming industry.
Since the first KOF game came out in 1994, during the first golden
age of versus fighters, this series has become globally famous for its
distinctive art style, adrenaline-inducing gameplay, and pantheon of
unique combatants. It has also repeatedly introduced and then evolved
core fighting game staples that today are taken for granted.
Put simply, KOF is one of the most important fighting game series of
all time, and today, in 2021, it is considered versus fighter royalty. But
despite this legacy, the history of this long-running and much beloved
gaming series has never been comprehensively told, leaving the story
of how it came to be, and the cultural phenomenon it became, largely
shrouded in mystery.
Here, in the first officially licensed and fully endorsed book of its
type, that story is revealed in its entirety. With the help of SNK itself,
which has granted unprecedented access to its immense archives
of illustrations and artwork, as well as from the key members of the
original development team, who have spoken in unparalleled detail
about how they created the series, this official history delivers
a comprehensive visual and written history of KOF.
The book celebrates iconic characters in the KOF roster, such as Kyo
Kusanagi and Iori Yagami, as well as hearing from the voice actors
who brought them to life; it uncovers never-before-seen details about
the mysterious origins of KOF; and delves into the sumptuous pixel
art and rich story narratives the series is known for. With its wealth
of imagery and information, this is the ultimate KOF history.
SNK and the fearless young game makers who created KOF changed
the world back in 1994, and the book that you hold in your hands is
testament to that landmark achievement.
Bitmap Books
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FOREWORD
The art book for THE KING OF FIGHTERS series, which debuted in
1994, is finally complete.
The early development of KOF was a real battle for space. KOF ’94
was developed for the NEOGEO, which didn’t have a great deal of
space for developers to work with, and that put a limit on the numbers
of characters, stages and sounds that could be included in the game.
However, the main goal of the project was to create an SNK all-star
battle between Fatal Fury and Art Of Fighting that used a 3-vs.-3 team
battle system, and that necessitated having way more characters
than other games. The development team used all sorts of tricks to
launch the first KOF game with 24 playable characters, an incredible
accomplishment for the time when compared to other titles, and
their hard work produced a game that had a massive impact on
the Japanese arcade game market.
KOF continued to evolve moving forward, and over the next 25+
years it went on to become SNK’s signature series, with adoring
fans all over the world.
Over the series’ long history it has used artwork from various
creators. The original character designs that serve as the basis of
everything were conceived with a limit of just 15 colours. These designs
were then brought to life through pixel art. Cutscenes were used
to portray the many expressions and the cores of each character.
Finally, key art was then used to help fans gain an understanding of
the world within the game. Many different ideas and ingredients were
skilfully meshed together to create all of these beloved characters.
KOF will continue to evolve into the future, producing more and more
art as it does so, but for now I’d like to join all the series’ fans around
the world in celebrating the creation of this huge compilation.
Yasuyuki Oda, SNK Lead Producer
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Today, KOF is known as one of the fighting game genre’s most
successful and long-running series. However, for a series that has
been kicking ass and taking names for going on three decades,
the story of how KOF came into being and then evolved has
been left largely untold. In this chapter, we rewind the clock back
to the halcyon arcade heydays of the ’80s to discover KOF’s
origins, before charting the full history of the series right up to
the present day. This is the story of THE KING OF FIGHTERS …
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ROUND 1
’87 – ’94 11
ROUND 2
’95 – ’03 44
ROUND 3
’04 – ’21 61
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