History BaseBreakingCharacter / TheKingOfFighters

** Kyo himself is either one of the cooler protagonists in the fighting game genre with a very unique (post-''[='=]96'', anyway) moveset and amazing designs throughout the franchise (especially his NESTS-era jacket or ''KOF 2003''-''XV'' look), or he's mostly bland and one-note (nevermind that he can be [[{{Jerkass}} quite the douche]] [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold sometimes]]; especially towards Iori), with some even wondering why he's touted as one of the faces of Creator/{{SNK}} when [[Characters/TheKingOfFightersIoriYagami Iori]] or especially [[Characters/FatalFuryTerryBogard Terry]] exist. And that's not even getting into his (literal) clones, either...

[[caption-width-right:350:[[Characters/TheKingOfFightersAshCrimson Ash Crimson]], everybody.]]

* Iori is also subject to some scrutiny, too. Fans like him for his badass design, series-defining moveset, and for his [[{{Jerkass}} delightfully]] [[ArrogantKungFuGuy dickish]] personality that is only rivaled by that of [[Characters/GarouMarkOfTheWolves Gato]], [[Characters/TheKingOfFighters2001 K9999]]/[[Characters/TheKingOfFightersXV Krohnen]], or Ash, coupled with a rather tragic backstory that gives him some HiddenDepths. On the other hand, detractors often find his jerkass tendencies to be grating (with his {{Flanderization}} in ''XIII'' that characterized him as an obsessive stalker towards Kyo not helping matters), his JackOfAllTrades playstyle to be boring at best, and for almost never being [[HighTierScrappy anything worse than top tier]] in virtually every game he appears in.

* Bao is often derided not only for being a fairly ordinary kid who nevertheless manages to be extremely powerful, but fans of Kensou dislike him for being the reason why Kensou temporarily lost his Psycho Powers during the NESTS Era. He does have fans of his own, however, either for his unique playstyle or for being a friendly, cheerful little guy in a series full of cocky adult and teenage fighters.

* Many South American fans (excluding Brazilians) don't like the South American Team, or at least say they should've called Team Brazil. Why? Because [[NonIndicativeName despite the team's name]], its members are all Brazilian. Even Zarina, despite being Colombian, lives in Brazil and has more Brazilian elements than Colombians in her design.
* Nakoruru's teammates from the Another World Team (Mui Mui and Love Heart). One part thinks they're pretty cool additions and shows that SNK is pretty fair to even their Pachinko titles even as they leave the venture behind. The other camp is the camp that assumes that they're instantly bad characters solely because of [[AmericansHateTingle how reviled Pachislot games are to just them at least]] after the bad taste to Pachinko left by Creator/{{Konami}}. Or people who were pretty salty that SNK did not use actual old arcade series that they'd know already, like those featured in ''VideoGame/NeoGeoBattleColiseum'' (majorly ''VideoGame/WorldHeroes'' and ''VideoGame/TheLastBlade''). Even sometimes Nakoruru took small heat on it because they thought her team is 'Team Pachinko', only to be reminded that ''VideoGame/SamuraiShodown'' existed long before Pachinko (though the series did get several Pachislot series after getting a FranchiseKiller game... at least until ''Samurai Shodown (2019)'' came along, anyway.)
* Speaking of Pachislot games, Alice. Some players like her bubbly personality, her AscendedFangirl tendencies toward Terry, and fun moveset (which is a composite of Team Fatal Fury's - namely Andy, Joe, and especially Terry - respective moves) while others aren't as fond of her because of her rather generic design and gameplay, or the fact that she too hails from a Pachislot title, in this case being ''Garou Densetsu: The Legend of the Wild Wolf'' (not helping her case are the [[MoneyToThrowAway coin showers]] that accompany her hit effects, like Special Wolf Combination).

* Rock Howard. Some fans, especially those who remember him from ''VideoGame/GarouMarkOfTheWolves'' and ''[[VideoGame/CapcomVsSNK2MarkOfTheMillennium Capcom vs. SNK 2]]'' are generally happy at his inclusion in the [=KoF=] cast. However, other longtime series fans dismiss him as a boring, generic, anime pretty boy who copies some of Terry and Geese's moves but doesn't have what makes them interesting to play. Being historically [[TierInducedScrappy low tier]] in most of his appearances up until his reworked set in ''XV'' has not helped.

* Iori is also subject to some scrutiny, too. Fans like him for his badass design, series-defining moveset, and for his [[{{Jerkass}} delightfully]] [[ArrogantKungFuGuy dickish]] personality that is only rivaled by that of [[Characters/GarouMarkOfTheWolves Gato]], [[Characters/TheKingOfFighters2001 K9999]]/[[Characters/TheKingOfFightersXV Krohnen]], or Ash, coupled with a rather tragic backstory that gives him some HiddenDepths. On the other hand, detractors often find his jerkass tendencies to be grating (with his {{Flanderization}} in ''XIII'' that characterized him as an obsessive stalker towards Kyo not helping matters), his JackOfAllTrades playstyle to be boring at best, and for almost '''''never''''' being [[TierInducedScrappy anything worse than top tier]] in virtually every game he appears in.

** Oh, boy. Ash. When he debuted back in ''KOF 2003'' the fanbase was in two different camps - they either '''''loathed''''' this guy for getting one over series staples Chizuru and Iori by stealing their powers, nearly getting [[EnsembleDarkHorse Shingo]] killed by Orochi Iori (and [[PutOnABus benched]] until his eventual return in ''KOF XV''), his obnoxiously [[AgentPeacock effeminate]] and [[SmugSnake smug demeanor]], and [[ChargeInputSpecial basic]] [[StoneWall moveset]] that almost entirely riffs on [[Franchise/StreetFighter Guile]]'s that, to his credit, evolved as the series progressed. On the other hand, fans ''enjoyed'' his insufferably smug demeanor and his refreshing role as a VillainProtagonist, something ''unheard of'' in the FGC, and for having some of the flashiest and most enjoyable combos through [[LagCancel Sans-culotte]]. Whether you loved or hated him, you can't deny his sendoff in ''KOF XIII'' was ''quite'' the {{Tearjerker}} to be had.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ash_in_a_nutshell.jpg]]

* K9999 is derided by critics for being an extremely blatant {{Expy}} of [[Manga/{{Akira}} Tetsuo Shima,]] right down to having the same powers, [[Creator/NozomuSasaki voice actor]] and dialogue. But that's precisely what his fans love about him, and even some players who have never seen Akira like him for his unabashedly smug and abrasive personality. Two decades and many KOF installments later, SNK attempted to reach a middle ground with [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFightersXV Krohnen]].

* Bao is often derided not only for being a fairly ordinary kid who nevertheless manages to be extremely powerful, but fans of Kensou dislike him for being the reason why Kensou temporarily lost his Psycho Powers during the Nests arc. He does have fans of his own, however, either for his unique playstyle or for being a friendly, cheerful little guy in a series full of cocky adult and teenage fighters.

** Kyo himself is either one of the cooler protagonists in the fighting game genre with a very unique moveset and amazing designs throughout the franchise (especially his NESTS-era jacket or ''KOF 2003''-''XV'' look), or he's mostly bland and one-note (nevermind that he can be [[{{Jerkass}} quite the douche]] [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold sometimes]]; especially towards Iori), with some even wondering why he's touted as one of the faces of Creator/{{SNK}} when [[Characters/TheKingOfFightersIoriYagami Iori]] or especially [[Characters/FatalFuryTerryBogard Terry]] exist.

For every [[EnsembleDarkHorse/TheKingOfFighters Dark Horse]] of a fighter that there is in a long-runner like ''Franchise/TheKingOfFighters'',

** Sylvie. An adorable modern idol with a hidden sadistic streak and a surprisingly DarkAndTroubledPast (if ''SNK Heroines'' is anything to go by) tying her to the NESTS Saga, or a visually messy and out-of-place abomination that suffers from SweetnessAversion? She proved divisive as soon as ''XIV'''s concept art leaked.
** Many South American fans (excluding Brazilians) don't like the South American Team, or at least say they should've called Team Brazil. Why? Because [[NonIndicativeName despite the name of the team]], its members are all Brazilian. Even Zarina, despite being Colombian, lives in Brazil and has more Brazilian elements than Colombians in her design.
** Nakoruru's teammates from the Another World Team (Mui Mui and Love Heart). One part thinks they're pretty cool additions and showing that SNK is pretty fair to even their Pachinko titles even as they are leaving the venture behind. The other camp is the camp that assumes that they're instantly bad characters solely because of [[AmericansHateTingle how reviled Pachislot games are to just them at least]] after the bad taste to Pachinko left by Creator/{{Konami}}. Or just people who were pretty salty that SNK did not use actual old arcade series that they'd know already, like those featured in ''VideoGame/NeoGeoBattleColiseum'' (majorly ''VideoGame/WorldHeroes'' and ''VideoGame/TheLastBlade''). Even sometimes Nakoruru took small heat on it because they thought her team is 'Team Pachinko', only to be reminded that ''VideoGame/SamuraiShodown'' existed long before Pachinko (though the series did get several Pachislot series after getting a FranchiseKiller game... at least until ''Samurai Shodown (2019)'' came along, anyway.)
** Speaking of Pachislot games, Alice. Some players like her bubbly personality, her AscendedFangirl tendencies toward Terry, and fun moveset (which is a composite of Team Fatal Fury's - namely Andy, Joe, and especially Terry - respective moves) while others aren't as fond of her because of her rather generic design and gameplay, or the fact that she too hails from a Pachislot title, in this case being ''Garou Densetsu: The Legend of the Wild Wolf'' (not helping her case are the [[MoneyToThrowAway coin showers]] that accompany her hit effects, like Special Wolf Combination).
** Rock Howard. Some fans, especially those who remember him from ''VideoGame/GarouMarkOfTheWolves'' and ''[[VideoGame/CapcomVsSNK2MarkOfTheMillennium Capcom vs. SNK 2]]'' are generally happy at his inclusion in the [=KoF=] cast. However, other longtime series fans dismiss him as a boring, generic, anime pretty boy who copies some of Terry and Geese's moves but doesn't have what makes them interesting to play. Being historically [[TierInducedScrappy low tier]] in most of his appearances up until his reworked set in ''XV'' has not helped.

** Bao is often derided not only for being a fairly ordinary kid who nevertheless manages to be extremely powerful, but fans of Kensou dislike him for being the reason why Kensou temporarily lost his Psycho Powers during the Nests arc. He does have fans of his own, however, either for his unique playstyle or for being a friendly, cheerful little guy in a series full of cocky adult and teenage fighters.
** Shun'ei, mostly due to his design. Common detractions include it being inchorenet, especially with his jacket worn like a cape, his headphones, and his one folded pant leg on top of an utter mess of a color scheme. On the other hand, others like him for being both simple and effective to play and being the nicest ''KOF'' protagonist out of the four, albeit rather aloof otherwise.