History GameBreaker / TheKingOfFighters

** Takuma's Shourankyaku works with this bug becasue that counts as a command grab. However, performing Shourankyaku makes you move to the opponent, and if it connects, it sends the opponent into hard knockdown state again. Therefore, you can repeat the same process for another free hit.

%%[[folder:The King of Fighters XI]]
%%* Kula
%%[[/folder]]

* Duo Lon has many moves that snap the balance into two, which made him the best character in ''KOF 2003'', second to none.
** Duo has a rekka string called Shaki Juryuu. This itself is standard, if easy to confirm and mix up the opponent. However, it can be looped into themselves (qcf+P, f+K, qcb+P, cr.B and repeat) when you perform it while his opponent is facing against him in the corner. This, of course, means [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLcVgvU5KK4 it creates an easy infinite]]. Duo Lon has many moves that can switches sides quickly and get behind his opponent to start his backturn combos (as they'll be detailed below), making Shaki Juryuu the piece de resistance and extremely more dangerous than it should be.
** Duo Lon's Himou Kyaku is a FlashStep style command dash, which can be used with Light Kick or Heavy Kick. Light Kick version travels across about half of the screen and can switch sides depending on the spacing between you and the opponent, and the Heavy Kick version will almost always switch sides. Duo Lon becomes completely invincible during Himou Kyaku (even throw doesn't work), and its recovery is short enough to be followed up with any Special Moves immediately. If the opponent failed to keep him in check and allowed him to get the drop on you behind, he can start his Shaki Juryuu rekka infinite.
** Duo Lon's Suishu Makyakuho is a [[GrappleMove command grab]] similar to Iori's Kuzukaze, as the move itself doesn't do damage but works as a combo starter. Compared to Iori's, its range is longer and it can keep the opponent in place with a follow-up -- which is especially dangerous to have in the corner. This move also benefits a lot from the strange GameplayDerailment in the arcade version of ''KOF 2003'', where throw invincibility frames from knockdown are too short. If you perform Suishu Makyakuho as your opponent gets on their feet, this command grab will connect unless they time their jump precisely to escape it.
** Duo Lon's Shift Attack is different from the others, as instead of moving in front of the opponent, he moves into back of his opponent. This means his teammate can trap the opponent, make a successful Shift Attack for Duo Lon, and let him do the Shaki Juryuu infinite to eliminate the opponent easily.

* Kensou's Senkyuu-tai is a LauncherMove, usually followed by his useful Ryuu Renda (which is safe on block). Senkyuu-tai's recovery is short enough to be chained into another Senkyuu-tai when in the corner, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpe1G-8BaG8 creating an easy infinite]]. This was fixed in the enhanced port, ''KOF: Evolution''.

* For his debut appearance, Ash was actually an overwhelmingly strong character. [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration All the more appropriate]] considering he makes off with the [[MesACrowd Yata Mirror]] at the end of this game. Anyhow, despite being a charger like Heidern and despite being ''KOF's'' equivalent of [[Franchise/StreetFighter Guile]] (or [[VideoGame/StreetFighterIII Remy]], to be specific) - an innately [[StoneWall defensive]] [[LongRangeFighter character]] - Ash is actually ''very'' oppressive up close. All of his normals are ''plus on block'', meaning that if he pins you to the corner, you're pretty much an unlucky button press away from being out one less team member. Then there's the matter of his Pluviose SDM, which if you do it as you're switching Ash in, is COMPLETELY '''UNBLOCKABLE''' and does a crapton of damage. Pair this with his excellent zoning, an unblockable command grab of his own that juggles on hit, and Ash is one of the most reliable characters on the roster. And yet... he still pales in comparison to some of the other characters in the game.
* Duo Lon... oh, where to begin? First and foremost, his infamous Shaki Juryuu rekka string. Easy to confirm into and can be looped into themselves[[note]] For example, you can do qcf+P, f+K, qcb+P, cr.B and repeat. [[/note]] to mix up the opponent. Sounds pretty standard. Then there's his [[FlashStep Himou Kyaku]] command dash, which always switches sides and is special cancelable in itself, [[NoIAmBehindYou allowing him to get the drop on you]] should you try to stall him out. [[FromBadToWorse Okay, that's pretty strong.]] ''Then'' there's the fact that he has a [[GrappleMove command grab]] similar to Iori's Kuzukaze, but unlike Iori, he can keep the opponent in place with a follow-up -- which is especially dangerous to have in the corner. And given that he can get the drop on you from any range with the aforementioned Himou Kyaku, you'll find yourself cornered before you know it. [[OhCrap Uh-oh.]] And finally, the piece de resistance - his backturn combos. See, unlike in ''Street Fighter'', if you end up behind the opponent, you're able to attack them to your heart's content without the worry of them immediately turning around. Ergo, this would lead to Duo Lon inflicting a CycleOfHurting on you, like a snake constricting its prey. [[ThisIsGonnaSuck Well, shit.]] Put all of this together and you have Duo Lon - the most overpowered character in ''2003'' and far and away one of the strongest characters in the series, period.
* Maki, for all intents and purposes, is a MovesetClone to her twin sister... just buffed from South Town to the high heavens and back to replicate her sister's ''[='96=]'' glory days. Go over to [[SNKBoss/SNKPlaymore SNK's entry]] over at SNKBoss if you want the full details.
* Adelheid, the son of the TropeCodifier himself - Rugal Bernstein - is about as overpowered as you'd expect him to be. Granted, while some of his father's normal special moves (i.e., the iconic Genocide Cutter) are {{Desperation Attack}}s for him[[note]] Interestingly enough, ''2003'' is the only game where his Genocide Cutter has a straightforward input of dp+K. And on activation, Adel slides into the attack (where it has excellent priority and goes under high projectiles, mind you) and then slices the opponent while jumping upwards, eviscerating their health bar in the process. [[/note]], that doesn't at all stop him from being as busted as his father. Very fast, very hard-hitting, and very graceful... Adel more than lives up to his father's legacy of cheapness and then some.
%%* Mukai

%%* Gato
%%* Oswald
%%* Shion
%%* Magaki

[[folder:''The King of Fighters XIII'']]
* Mr. Karate is a MasterOfAll who can plow through any team with little issue. He has damage out the ass, has a dragon punch ''and'' a counter, can open his opponent up with a command grab, and just about any hit can lead to absurd damage. What makes Mr. Karate (as well as the other DLC characters) is that he breaks the mold of the battery-user-anchor setup that balances King of Fighters games. Mr. Karate can build meter just as well as he can use it. As a result, Mr. Karate became the go to for people who didn't know who to pick for their third character on their team.
* Flames Iori is also in the same boat as Mr. Karate in being a MasterOfAll and being able to fit into any team on any spot. Flames Iori has it all, damage output, a deadly mixup game, being able to build and burn meter with the best of them, and to top it off he has an infinite combo (that was a bit situational, but still practical). Due to Flame Iori's versatility, he and Mr. Karate became two of THE most used characters in competitive XIII.
%%* Kim
[[/folder]]

[[folder:''The King of Fighters XIV'']]
* Nakoruru in ''XIV'' prior to being patched, due to a combination of things, her heavy and EX Annu Mutsube can be made safe on block for one. Then there's her bird, Mamahaha, which acts as a projectile that comes in at a diagonal angle, making it work both as a long range poke and an anti-air move. Add to this the fact that it cannot be stopped by hitting Nakoruru which means it can break her out of combos, and even stop [=DM=]s in their tracks. There's a reason Mamahaha has been nicknamed [[MemeticMutation Bird Jesus]] by some players, and this would really bring back the nightmares of how broken she was in ''VideoGame/CapcomVsSNKMillenniumFight2000''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:''The King of Fighters XV'']]
* Vanessa, in the initial versions of the game. In comparison to her laughably bad outing in ''XIV'', someone at SNK decided that Vanessa didn't just need ''some'' buffs: she needed '''a lot''' of them. This equated to making the vast majority of her approach tools safe, giving her jumping C attack a gigantic hitbox that allows it to also cross-up (keep in mind that this move hits ''twice'' on the way down), and upping her damage otuput and meter gain when not using her more execution-heavy combos. The end result was an utter nightmarish rushdown monster who could effortlessly mix up and pressure her opponents, to the point where she was considered top 3 in the game until the Team South Town patch finally nerfed her into tolerable status.
[[/folder]]

* Foxy's crouching Light Kick is the ultimate GameBreaker. The reason is simple: it's unblockable. If you do a crouching Light Kick and input Heavy Punch or Heavy Kick after it, this crouching Normal becomes 2-hit move, and the second one is unblockable. It's worse when used on the opponent recovering from knockdown, as the first hit becomes unblockable when used on the correct timing, not even giving the opponent a chance to Gaurd Cancel out of it. This crouching Light Kick can work as a combo starter for any of her combos for huge amount of damage, and with the help of Strikers, this can end the round instantly. Foxy has other great moves in her kit, but this bug is the reason she's banned even in the official tournaments.
* In ''KOF 2001'', Heidern is not a [[ChargeInputSpecial charge character]], but his projectile move Cross Cutter keeps all of the properties before: huge hitbox, short startup, short recovery, and generally covering every good department of zoning. While Heidern might not be the best character (see Foxy), his Cross Cutter is the best projectile move that has an universal use for both combo and zoning.

* Angel in ''2002''. She is meant to be played by players with experience in string-system combos; however, since this system would be considered hard to use properly, the game rewards Angel with long invincibility periods while doing her moves. This translates to the opponent having to guess what Angel will do and attack in the hopes that her next move won't have invincibility, which leads to many frame-trap shenanigans. She also has an infinite combo with a variety of setups. It requires borderline godlike execution to actually pull off, but it requires no meter, and works from just about anywhere on the stage.
%%* Athena
%%* Billy Kane
%%* Choi
%%* Kim
%%* Omega Rugal

* The top three [[TierInducedScrappy Tier-induced Scrappies]] of this game have the distinction of simply being so much better than the rest of the cast in their own way that it shouldn't come as a surprise that you'd see one (or worse, all three) of these characters in a team at some point.
** K', appropriately since he's [[TheHero The]] [[AntiHero (Anti-)]]{{Hero}} of the NESTS Saga, is one of the best characters in the entire game bar none. [[MasterOfAll He has it all]], really - good zoning and space control (owing to his Ein Trigger and its follow-ups), excellent punishment, high damage output without much in the way of execution, excellent normals... he's just about everything you can ask for in a top tier character, really. And he has the [[https://youtu.be/dGpW_F9dl2Q theme]] to go with it, too.
** Kasumi is in a [[MasterOfAll similar boat]] as K', but with the added bonus of having some ''excellent'' [[CounterAttack parries]], a really good [[GrappleMove command grab]] in Tatsumaki Souda, an amazing Rekka string in Senkou Nagashi (very fast, easy to confirm into, and both versions knocking down on hit), and, like K', excellent zoning due to the threat of her Kasane Ate (which she can also do in the air, by the way) knocking down on hit. In layman's terms, [[Film/TheSuicideSquad she does exactly what Iori does, but better]]... [[LightningBruiser and quicker]], too.
** Nameless is basically [[AGodAmI everything]] that K9999 ''wishes'' he was. While his meterless damage isn't much to write home about, once he ''does'' get meter[[note]] Which is fairly easy to build with his [[ThisIsADrill Yukikaze]], an advancing drill that hits multiple times and can cancel into from both his other command normal, Shigure - which is actually K's Sniper Side (forward plus light kick, now back plus light kick in ''XV'') from ''XI''. [[/note]], your goose is cooked, as he has access to a touch of death combo at only four bars. Pair this with having ''the best'' jump-ins in the entire game[[note]] Being his jumping punches, both of which have excellent hitboxes and are active until Nameless hits the ground. [[/note]], a DP that is tricky to punish on block and juggles any opponent dumb enough to jump in on Nameless, and both his Rasen (e.g., an ''even bigger'' drill that eats up most of the screen and hits ''on the ground'') and [[SphereOfDestruction Shakouhou]] (aka, his Raging Storm) [=SDMs=], and it's easy to see why Nameless is a common pick in most tournament settings. The only things that balance him out are the fact that he retains K9999's unusual inputs for his supers (e.g., the infamous [[SomeDexterityRequired pretzel input]]), and that, again, his meterless damage isn't all that good. A DifficultButAwesome character ''indeed''.
* To no one's surprise, ''all of the boss characters'' are pretty much disgustingly broken and overpowered in their own ways. Let's list them off now, shall we?

[[AC:'''98: The Slugfest'']]
* ''[=KOF '98=]'' is the first game to have a "fail" recovery motion for every command grab, but this also introduces a bug that makes a projectile unblockable, giving you a free hit for any opponent recovering from knockdown. You just need to throw a projectile that passes the opponent just when they're getting on their feet, and perform an intentionally failed command grab on purpose. If successful, the opponent will take the hit even if they're holding joystick back. This also works with any teleport move. ''Ultimate Match'' removed this bug, naturally, but for those playing the original ''[='98=]'', this is a real pain to deal with, as anyone who has both command grab/teleport move and projectile can use this bug (including Iori, yet another reason he is a TierInducedScrappy). A few stand out:

* Daimon's Jiraishin was already infamous for becoming unblockable under unique circumstances in ''[='96=]'' and ''[='97=]'', but it became worse in ''[='98=]'', which made it easier to use. There're two occasions when you can use unblockable Jiraishin. The first one is when you successfully hit the opponent with anti-air Zujou Barai, cancel it into other Special Moves (usually Chou Ukemi), and perform Jiraishin while the opponent is hitting the ground. This makes Jiraishin work as a combo ender even though it's not supposed to. The second one is when you time Jiraishin correctly while the opponent is getting on their feet in one-frame window when the opponent cannot block Jiraishin. The second one is much more difficult than the first one, but with right set-ups via cancelling Special Moves, it's still possible. In both cases, this Jiraishin combo bug does enormous damage, depleting at least 30% of a full health, and even more with the MAX Mode. This bug was removed in ''Ultimate Match''.

%%[[AC:''Ultimate Match'']]
%%* Geese
%%* Goenitz
%%* Orochi

%%[[AC:''Ultimate Match Final Edition'']]
%%* Orochi Chris

%%[[folder:''The King of Fighters '99'']]
%%* Kensou
%%[[/folder]]

%%* Jhun
%%* Lin
* The striker system allows players to choose a fourth character to call in as an assist, and offers you many options to choose from, but there are three that are so powerful they tend to overshadow all the rest.
** Seth jumps in from above with a diving kick attack, followed by an uppercut. This attack is very fast, covers a huge distance and lasts for a very long time so it works for almost every character. It can be used to extend combos, make unsafe attacks safe, or protect a character from being punished.
** Joe moves forward performing his Bakuretsuken attack, which on its own is nothing special but can be combined with command grab characters (namely Ralf, Clark and Iori) to create a touch of death combo. Essentially, after securing a hard knockdown the player calls in Joe, who hits the opponent long enough for the player to perform a command grab and repeat the process until the round is won.
** Another Iori flies onscreen with a lunging kick followed by his Tsumagushi attack. Because of the speed, range and flexibility of the attack, this is often thought of as the most versatile striker in the game.

* Foxy in ''2001'' is so broken of a character that to this date, she is the only playable character '''completely banned''' from any official ''KOF'' contests - unblockable low kicks, lightning-fast moves with high priority and supers that can be easily chained with her moves to deal huge damage combos. Oh, and did we mention that one of her supers is a [[TakingYouWithMe suicide-bombing move?]] Luckily, ''[[UpdatedRerelease 2002UM]]'' toned her down by reducing her attack speeds and move priorities.
* Ever wondered what'd happen if Heidern ''wasn't'' a [[ChargeInputSpecial charge character]]? This game has that answer in all that glorious, easy-to-use, and unadulterated glory! There's a reason he went back to being a charger in his subsequent appearances after this game.
%%* Iori

* ''[=KOF '98=]'' is the first game to have a "fail" recovery motion for every command grab, but this also introduces a bug makes a projectile unblockable, giving you a free hit for any opponent recovering from knockdown. You just need to throw a projectile that passes the opponent just when they're getting on their feet, and perform an intentionally failed command grab on purpose. If successful, the opponent will take the hit even if they're holding joystick back. This also works with any teleport move. ''Ultimate Match'' removed this bug, naturally, but for those playing the original ''[='98=]'', this is a real pain to deal with, as anyone who has both command grab/teleport move and projectile can use this bug (including Iori, yet another reason he is a TierInducedScrappy). A few stand out:

* Chizuru's Sanrai no Fujin is a Super Move that sends out her illusory projection that continues attacking for limited period. However, Chizuru herself is completely free to move around while the Super Move is still being performed. Therefore, Chizuru can use Sanrai no Fujin on the opponent, quickly approach them, and use mix-up tools on them to break their guard and take the Super Move in full. Chizuru can even jump over her opponent while performing Sanrai no Fujin, which has a high chance of making the move unblockable. Furthermore, since Chizuru can keep using Heavy Attack Normals on the oppoent taking Sanrai no Fujin, she can also stun the opponent after the combo which, considering how much damage Sanrai no Fujin already does, is an easy recipe for death combo. Sanrai no Fujin was so despised that every single appearance after ''[='98=]'' nerfed it: Chizuru herself can no longer move starting in ''KOF 2003'', and the remake ''Ultimate Match'', while Chizuru herself can still move, made its duration much shorter.

* Terry can infinitely juggle the opponent with Power Charge. While it's somewhat difficult to pull off[[note]]You have to cancel into each Power Charge after the first from a crouching light punch, and you have to do it fast enough that the light punch is almost impossible to see[[/note]], it can be performed at round start, and can set up ''another'' infinite involving his Crack Shoot in the corner.
%%* Iori
* While the bosses are generally allowed in tournaments, some of them are still considered to be too powerful for standard competitive play:
** Orochi is playable in the UsefulNotes/{{Playstation}} version. Without ArtificialStupidity holding him back, his Genocide Cutter-esque ''normal'' attacks, powerful projectiles, and screen-filling DM become much more threatening.
** Orochi Iori is a stronger and faster version of Iori. In other words, he's a better version of an already top-tier character.
%%** Orochi Leona is a stronger and faster version of Leona.

%%* Kyo
* Chizuru Kagura is widely considered to be one of the strongest characters in the original version of ''98''. She boasts an assortment of long-reaching normal attacks and can dominate neutral easily with her illusory special attacks which also function as built-in mix-up tools. ''Ultimate Match'' ended up nerfing her, though she is still quite good, even in that version's ''Final Edition''.
* Daimon in ''[='98=]'', thanks to a glitch. Averted in ''Ultimate Match'', which removed said glitch.
* Iori Yagami in ''[='98=]'' is beatable due to his clunky moves and his slow movement, yes, but he is also a god-tier character. Pretty much all of his moves, normal or not, have a longer range than they look, and are solid combo tools giving him deadly hit confirms. His air attacks hit extremely low, so much that his jumping C can easily hit a ''crouching'' [[HitboxDissonance Choi Bounge]], and let's not get into his very reliable cross-up kick that pulls in opponents on hit. He has an invincible grab (Kuzukaze/Scum Wind) that makes the opponent open to anything, and anything he does can combo into his Aoihana (Hollyhock Flower), a 3-input move that deals high damage, rewards Iori with a hard knockdown for okizeme and quickly stuns the opponent. And, he has a fast projectile of his own, allowing him to zone. AND, his Ya Otome AKA Maiden Masher DM rushes toward the opponent with high priority, low enough to go under any midair projectile and like all ranbu-type supers it's possible to hit opponents with it who happen to be jumping in. Go ahead, try to find a pro-level match where Iori isn't present.
** As mentioned before, Iori is more of a shotoclone-like character, but due to his unique moves and his actually high damage output, he's often used a lot as he provides massive combo potential and decent mixup. Though he's a bit of a case of DifficultButAwesome due to the fact that his moves are clunky, as in very easy to punish if misused, and his walking speed is quite slow. In it all, Iori is powerful, but still a difficult character to manage due to some of his more unsafe tools.
* ''98'' is the game that made both Chris and Orochi Chris infamous among the competitive scene for being an extremely cheap top tier character. Regular Chris is already a solid character with a potent rushdown playstyle. Orochi Chris takes his normal self's speed and amazing set of normals, and pairs them up with a moveset of extremely well-rounded and high damaging specials, including a souped-up version of Kyo and Iori's {{Shoryuken}} and an up-close command combo that juggles the opponent into said {{Shoryuken}}. ''Ultimate Match'' did very little to actually nerf them, but PowerCreep meant that they now had to share that spot with other characters. By ''Final Edition'', Orochi Chris is the only one of the two who retains his top spot in most tier lists.
%%* Omega Rugal

[[AC:''Ultimate Match'']]
* Wolfgang Krauser in ''[='98UM=]''. Normal moves have good reach and damage, simple but damaging Bread and Butter combos, and an auto-combo DM that can serve many functions like Iori's Maiden Masher DM. Eventually in the Final Edition version of that game, he was heavily nerfed in terms of total damage done on several of his moves and a bit of range and more recovery on them, while other characters received some nice buffs.

* [[VideoGame/IkariWarriors Team Brazil]] is generally considered to be the best team in the game, since all three members can exploit a bug that allows them to trap the opponent in an endless loop of command grabs.
** Heidern also had glitches involving his Moon Slasher that increased its damage to absurd levels. In MAX Mode, if it traded with another move that wasn't a super or another MAX Mode Moon Slasher, its damage increases to absurd levels, and if it whiffs, grabbing the opponent with [[GrappleMove Storm Bringer]] [[OneHitKill drains all of the opponent's health]].
* Goro Daimon also had a command grab loop. However, he was also the only member of his team that had one.
* Rugal's [[ThatOneAttack Genocide Cutter]] in ''KOF '94''. At maximum power, it can be a OneHitKill. Coupled with his SNKBoss status... WordOfGod apologizes for "going a bit overboard" with the damage ratio. The move was toned down in later installments, but is still quite devastating.

* Kyo is generally considered to be the best character in the game. He hits like a truck, can start touch-of-death combos off of just about anything, and has a relatively simple infinite. Because of this, he's usually ranked '''''above''''' [[SNKBoss Omega Rugal]] on most tier lists, sometimes to the point where [[https://twitter.com/DISM_VEGA/status/1296879675298308096 he gets an entire tier to himself]].
* Speaking of Omega Rugal, he's playable by entering a code in the character select screen, and about as powerful as you'd expect. He can box out most of the cast with Dark Barrier and his massive pokes, and his special moves deal massive amounts of damage, especially during MAX Mode.

* Eiji. He held the distinction of being able to chain almost anything together. Seriously, [[ButtonMashing you could flail your hands across the controller like a frantic monkey]] and still catch your opponent off-guard about 75% of the time.

[[folder:''The King of Fighters '97'']]
* Terry can infinitely juggle the opponent with Power Charge. While it's somewhat difficult to pull off[[note]]You have to cancel into each Power Charge after the first from a crouching light punch, and you have to do it fast enough that the light punch is almost impossible to see[[/note]], it can be performed at round start, and can set up ''another'' infinite involving his Crack Shoot in the corner.

%% * Mr. Karate

-> ''"Magaki is really baffling as a boss, I have to emphasise that. Particularly when it comes to the other bosses in this game, they are so much more complex and interesting in terms of character design. Magaki however can be summed up as an extremely cheap, horrendously defensive boss whose entire purpose is to make your life hell by spamming you and countering all of your attacks. He is absolutely no fun to fight in the slightly[sic], something which is exacerbated by the fact that his AI is perfect and can unleashed[sic] torrents of projectiles at you with ease, despite that[sic] fact that it’s difficult for a human to get the timing right for the same thing, if possibly impossible. He is an entire chore to face, and is the thorn of the otherwise pristine crown of roses."''
-->-- [[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2AtE_qJm8rjTotFuKxFMyQ Admiral McFish]] on [[https://youtu.be/Sfp_CsdN6gA Magaki]], ''KOF XI''.

[[folder:The King of Fighters XIII]]

%%[[folder:The King of Fighters XIII]]
%%* EX Iori
%%** "Claw" Iori
%%* Mr. Karate

%%[[/folder]]

[[folder:''The King of Fighters XIV'']]
* Nakoruru in ''XIV'' prior to being patched, due to a combination of things, her heavy and EX Annu Mutsube can be made safe on block for one. Then there's her bird, Mamahaha, which acts as a projectile that comes in at a diagonal angle, making it work both as a long range poke and an anti-air move. Add to this the fact that it cannot be stopped by hitting Nakoruru which means it can break her out of combos, and even stop [=DM=]s in their tracks. There's a reason Mamahaha has been nicknamed [[MemeticMutation Bird Jesus]] by some players, and this would really bring back the nightmares of how broken she was in ''VideoGame/CapcomVsSNKMillenniumFight2000''.

%%* Chizuru

%%[[folder:''The King of Fighters XV'']]
%%* Vanessa
%%[[/folder]]

* A highly technical combo involves Ralf cancelling out of his Blazing Vulcan Punch on the last hit and performing the Galatica Phantom. In other words, the moment the opponent recovers, they're greeted by Ralf's (unblockable) fist.

%%* Orochi
%%* Orochi Iori
%%* Orochi Leona

%%[[AC:''Maximum Impact'']]
%% * Duke

%%* Robert
%%* Ralf
%%* Terry

* Choi is a dwarf; his {{hitbox|Dissonance}} is about half the vertical size of a regular character. Most attacks, including specials and a good number of super moves pass right above his head; essentially cutting in half the viable options, strategies and combos of practically every other character in the game. Because of this, he's been top-to-god tier in almost every single installment of the series, and a staple TierInducedScrappy.

[[AC:Ultimate Match Final Edition]]

%%[[AC:Ultimate Match Final Edition]]

[[folder:The King of Fighters 2000]]

%%[[folder:The King of Fighters 2000]]

%%* Strikers
%%** Joe Higashi
%%** Another Iori
%%** Seth
%%[[/folder]]

* Angel in ''2002''. She is meant to be played by players with experience in string-system combos; however, since this system would be considered hard to use properly, the game rewards Angel with long invincibility periods while doing her moves. This translates to the opponent having to guess what Angel will do and attack in the hopes that her next move won't have invincibility, which leads to many frame-trap shenanigans. Also, one of her moves in the string is an uppercut that can hit the opponent while he is recovering in the air. Should Angel spam this on the corner, we have an infinite combo that requires absolutely no power stocks.