Line #30 EnsembleDarkHorse/TheKingOfFighters


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10	With a long-runner such as ''Franchise/TheKingOfFighters'', you're bound to have some hits in the form of these characters.
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13	* The [[ButtMonkey American Sports Team]] has a surprisingly large following, even though they only appeared canonically in the first installment.
14	* Eiji Kisaragi, the no-nonsense {{ninja}} from ''VideoGame/ArtOfFighting 2'', is ''very'' popular among the fandom. Discounting his appearance in the ''KOF: KYO'' manga, SNK brought him back in ''XI'' to please the crowd after an ''eight'' game absence.
15	* Duck King. The dude is [[FunPersonified almost always cheerful]], overly eccentric, and can pull off some of the craziest stunts... using [[DanceBattler breakdancing moves]] ''[[RuleOfCool that are humanly impossible]]'' (in RealLife, employing breakdancing as a martial art would leave you with several broken bones ''at best''). Oh, and did we mention [[HeadPet the family of ducks living inside his hair]] that copy his every move? This was before [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII Sazh]], mind you.
16	* Team Orochi, despite only canonically appearing in ''[='97=]'', where they were KilledOffForReal and had no real plot relevance since, were brought BackFromTheDead for ''KOF XV''.
17	** Yashiro, TheLeader of the three, is well-liked both for his [[{{Hunk}} very rugged]] [[MrFanservice and chiseled appearance]], (one-sided) rivalry with Iori, and for the fact that he's an incredibly fun and maneuverable LightningBruiser of a character.
18	** If we're being frank, there's very little reason to explain why [[MsFanservice Shermie]] is popular. Gorgeous design (which got updated for ''XV''), catty and charming personality, and the fact that she's one of the first and most prominent female [[GrappleMove grapplers]] in all of fighting games (who, mind you, precedes [[VideoGame/StreetFighterAlpha R.Mika]] by a year, though there was also Vice in ''[='=]96''). Case in point - her [[https://youtu.be/rbXDQND5EmU character trailer]] was the first one to reach 1M views on Website/YouTube. Yeah, she's ''that'' popular.
19	** And finally, we have Chris, who is not only one of the youngest fighters in the series (at a meager ''14'' years old - the same age as Kula), but also a very fun, maneuverable fighter that ended up being top tier in ''[='98=]''.
20	* Shingo Yabuki, Kyo's AscendedFanboy. Despite his very goofy and laidback nature he's actually [[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass a lot brighter than one might give him credit for]]. Especially since, unlike his perceived equivalent [[JokeCharacter Dan]], he ''canonically won a KOF tournament''[[note]] He was a part of ''KOF '99's'' Hero Team, alongside series regular Benimaru and then-newcomers K' and Maxima. [[/note]]. As if that wasn't enough, he's also [[BadassNormal stronger than]] [[ClarkKentOutfit he looks]], being able to [[MadeOfIron survive being mauled by Orochi!Iori]] at the end of ''XI'' with only a couple bruises to show for it. And his seiyuu? ''[[Creator/TakehitoKoyasu DIO]]'' ''[[Manga/JojosBizarreAdventure himself]]''. To say that he's one of the most requested characters for ''KOF XV'' would be an {{understatement}}. Sure enough, his reveal at EVO 2022 (alongside Kim Kaphwan) was met with near-universal applause.
21	* Ron, the badass [[NonPlayerCharacter NPC]] who shows up in ''KOF 2000'', is a notable example, thanks to having one of the most CreepyAwesome character designs in the series, awesome voice work on his EvilLaugh courtesy of Creator/TakayaKuroda, and a very interesting subplot connecting several teams and fighters. Long have fans been anticipating the day he becomes a playable character?
22	* Ramon very quickly became a series staple not only for being a cool homage to Tiger Mask right down to his visual design but also the fact that he's the first Mexican[[note]]Partially because of SNK's popularity in Latin America.[[/note]] representative in the series on top of being part of the Hero Team in his debut alongside Vanessa.
23	* Vanessa is also another character who quickly became a series staple simply for how ''refreshing'' she is as a character concept: an ActionMom who averts FieryRedhead, is one of the [[StatuesqueStunner tallest ladies in the series]], ''and'' is one of the oldest female characters in the series at 30 years old. And that's not even getting into the fact that she's also one of the few female {{Boxing Battler}}s in all of the fighting games, either. In fact, she proved so popular she'd even inspire [[VideoGame/StreetFighterIV Crimson Viper]], a whole eight years after the fact.
24	* Adelheid is the prime example of a character who is [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter criminally underutilized]]. Being a RedeemingReplacement to his father in every way on top of being one of the most noble hosts ''KOF'' has had alongside Chizuru and Antonov, Adel is definitely one of many characters in ''KOF'' to have a cult following despite only ever appearing as a Boss in ''2003'' and an unlockable sub-boss in ''XI''. When players realized he was relegated to an NPC in ''XIII'' many people were [[MemeticMutation disappointed immesurably and many days were ruined]].
25	* Oswald. Being one of the best characters in the game and having a pretty damn cool character design made him one of the most popular characters on the ''XI'' roster. Fans were excited when he was teased, then later announced, for ''XIV's'' second round of DLC characters. Pretty impressive for someone who was essentially meant as a one-off character.
26	* May Lee went from being a ReplacementScrappy for Jhun to becoming one of the more well-received characters from the Eolith era due to her quirky {{tokusatsu}} mannerisms and general cuteness.
27	* Angel, even though she only appears in ''2001'' canonically, gets a lot of popularity due to being very powerful gameplay-wise and being quite the bombshell. Enough that she even reappears in ''XIV'' when people would least suspect her (with Ramon to boot).
28	* While most of the newcomers from ''XIV'' were hit or miss, there were a few hits to be had --
29	** King of Dinosaurs' introduction was met with very favorable reception, mostly because he's just Tizoc in a {{Heel}} persona.
30	** Luong. gorgeous and ''very'' appealing design? Check. Charming and catty personality (which is ''especially'' [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments hilarious]] during her special intro with Kim)? Check. Fun and surprisingly accessible gameplay? Check. Uses those [[KickChick legs of hers]] [[GlassCannon to their fullest potential?]] ''Check.'' Throw in the fact that she has a special intro with fellow Dark Horse Shermie in her ''XV'' trailer and you have yourself a very welcome addition to the series. Even further still - she's a part of ''XV's'' Secret Agent Team alongside Mary and Vanessa.
31	** Of the completely new characters introduced to ''XIV'' that didn't make it into ''XV'' (at least not initially), Najd is probably the biggest dark horse of all. A [[CastingAShadow unique power set]], DifficultButAwesome gameplay, [[InTheHood badass design]], and an admittedly catchy {{leitmotif}} all make her one of the more well-liked characters in a game that had no shortage of (hit-or-miss) newcomers.
32	** While all four of the characters for ''XIV''[='s=] DLC Pack 1 have had fans, a lot were excited (especially [[LetsPlay/TheOnlineWarrior Maximilian Dood]]) to see [[VideoGame/GarouMarkOfTheWolves Rock Howard]] finally make his main series debut. Helps that he's a very accessible and well-rounded fighter, too. His popularity assured him the spot of the first DLC fighter in ''XV''.
33	* Krohnen's an interesting case. Being a revision of an otherwise controversial character, Krohnen has a very nice and refreshed design that's reminiscent of [=K9999=] and Nameless, retaining the same animations, moveset, and demeanor that made his predecessor so fondly remembered in the first place, Krohnen is pretty much ''the'' character that lived up to the game's {{Tagline}}.
34	* For a character who was only ever in two offshoots of ''KOF'', Moe Habana from the ''KOF EX'' games has a decent enough following owing to essentially being [[AlternateSelf an alternate]] [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute timeline equivalent]] to K'[[note]] The ''EX'' games being ports of ''[='=]99'' and ''2000'' on the [[UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance GBA]]. [[/note]] on top of being a conceptually unique character (e.g., a DistaffCounterpart to the typical BruceLeeClone, owing to being one of the few female fighting game characters whose style is listed as Jeet Kune Do) in a similar way to Hinako.[[note]] Who is a female Sumo wrestler that is far removed from any typical sumo practitioner seen in most fighting games, being a lithe and petite schoolgirl that can still fling opponents to and fro like ragdolls. [[/note]]
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Context EnsembleDarkHorse / TheKingOfFighters