Line #2 VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters2001


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kof2001officialposter.jpg]]
2	The eighth game in ''Franchise/TheKingOfFighters'' series, and the third and final chapter of the ''NESTS Chronicles''. The game was released for arcades on November 15, 2001, and for Platform/NeoGeo on March 14, 2002. It was one of two games in the series published by Eolith following Creator/{{SNK}}'s bankruptcy.
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4	After the last tournament ended with the destruction of Southtown, NESTS' leaders decide to host this year's ''King of Fighters'' themselves, entering their own team into the tournament in order to eliminate any enemies that decide to enter.
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6	In ''KOF 2001'', [[AssistCharacter Strikers]] have been overhauled from ''2000'', removing its alternative Striker types but adopting the Active Striker system into Tactical Order Select. This time, up to three members of a team can be assigned as Strikers, with more bars of meter being available if more teammates are given this designation [[note]]For example, a team with 3 Strikers gets four bars, while a team with no strikers has only one.[[/note]]. In addition, Strikers no longer have their own dedicated resource, requiring 1 bar of meter instead. ''KOF 2001'' also removes the Counter/Armor Modes, but lets the players perform Super Cancel at any moment by spending an extra Power Gauge stock for it.
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8	The game would eventually be released on the Platform/{{Dreamcast}} in 2002, and the Platform/PlayStation2 in 2003.
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10	[[folder: Teams In This Version]]
11	* '''Team K':''' [[NinetiesAntiHero K']] and [[{{Cyborg}} Maxima]] set out to claim their revenge on NESTS, this time joined by Whip and [[PoisonousPerson Lin]].
12	* '''Team Japan:''' [[PlayingWithFire Kyo Kusanagi]] finally stops playing the lone wolf and hooks back up with his old teammates, [[AgentPeacock Benimaru Nikaido]] and [[TheBigGuy Goro Daimon]]; with [[TagalongKid Shingo Yabuki]] joining in as their fourth.
13	* '''Team Yagami:''' With their handler dead, [[BoxingBattler Vanessa]], [[BadassInANiceSuit Seth]] and [[EyepatchOfPower Ramon]] enter together to bring NESTS to justice themselves, forming an unlikely alliance with [[AxCrazy Iori Yagami]].
14	* '''Team ''VideoGame/FatalFury'':''' Same setup as last year: [[LivingLegend Terry Bogard]], [[HighlyVisibleNinja Andy Bogard]], [[HotBlooded Joe Higashi]] and [[FairCop Blue Mary]].
15	* '''Team ''VideoGame/ArtOfFighting'':''' The Kyokugenryu school reunites once more: [[HeirToTheDojo Ryo Sakazaki]], Robert Garcia, [[GenkiGirl Yuri Sakazaki]] and [[OldMaster Takuma Sakazaki]].
16	* '''Team ''[[VideoGame/IkariWarriors Ikari]]'':''' With Whip now on Team K', [[ColonelBadass Heidern]] finally steps back into action and joins his daughter [[ReiAyanamiExpy Leona]], alongside [[BashBrothers Ralf Jones and Clark Still]].
17	* '''Team ''VideoGame/PsychoSoldier'':''' Same as last year: [[MagicalGirl Athena Asamiya]], [[TheIdiotFromOsaka Sie Kensou]], [[DrunkenMaster Chin Gentsai]] and [[KidAppealCharacter Bao]].
18	* '''Team Women Fighters:''' [[{{Bifauxnen}} King]], [[MsFanservice Mai Shiranui]] and [[GlacierWaif Hinako Shijou]] return, with [[AnimeChineseGirl Li Xiangfei]] stepping back into the fourth slot in place of [[BadassAdorable Kasumi Todoh]].
19	* '''Team Korean Justice:''' After [[FriendlyRival Jhun Hoon]] injures himself in a rather embarassing accident, [[JusticeWillPrevail Kim Kaphwan]] entrusts his youngest pupil [[AscendedFangirl May Lee Jinju]] to join him for the tournament, and help keep an eye on [[{{Acrofatic}} Chang Koehan]] and [[PintSizedPowerhouse Choi Bounge]].
20	* '''Team NESTS:''' After running the previous two tournaments from the shadows, NESTS assemble a team to publicly enter this year including [[AnIcePerson Kula Diamond]], her handler [[ParentalSubstitute Foxy]], the newer recruit [[WrestlerInAllOfUs Angel]] and [[ThisIsADrill K9999]], the latest in their attempts to clone Kyo.
21	* '''Bosses'''
22	** Mid-Boss: [[NobleDemon Zero]], for real this time. He has his own specialize strikers which include: his pet lion Glugan, Lin's sworn enemy Ron Lon, and a clone of Krizalid.
23	** Boss: [[AGodAmI Igniz]] - A man who quickly pulls a coup just as the finalists arrive at NESTS lunar base and takes over the organization. He seeks to become a god with the energy collected from the tournament.
24	[[/folder]]
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26	!!This work shows examples of:
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28	* AstralFinale: The last two stages is an infiltration to NESTS' spaceship. Said ship launches into space in a match against Igniz.
29	* BigBad: At first, it appears to be Nests, the leader of the eponymous cartel. However, almost immediately after he appears in person, he's killed by his son, [[DragonWithAnAgenda Igniz]], who serves as the FinalBoss.
30	* TheComputerIsACheatingBastard:
31	** Zero has access to three Strikers, something players also can do in Tactical Order Select. What makes him different is that his Strikers are Special Move itself, and it does not spend a Power Gauge stock to summon them.
32	** Igniz can sometimes guard the player's attack even if he is too late to do so. Under normal circumstance this is undisputedly cheating, but alas, it's SNKBoss.
33	* CycleOfHurting:
34	** Angel has a number of {{Launcher Move}}s that can be used to infinitely juggle the opponent. Ironically, a sizable portion of the cast can infinitely juggle her due to a bug.
35	** Bao's Rikatsu Shu command normal can [[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown hit opponents who have been knocked down]]. However, doing so will cause them to stay down, allowing for a string of repeated Rikatsu Shu until the opponent is KO'd.
36	*** Kim and May Lee can do something similar with strong [[ShockwaveStomp Haki Kyaku]] and [[DivingKick May Lee Kick]], respectively, although it's harder to pull off.
37	** Kula has an infinite involving her [[HurricaneKick Ray Spin]] in the corner.
38	* ColonyDrop: After having his own father ReducedToDust, Igniz causes NESTS' headquarters to begin falling to earth, believing that a new god[[note]]Read: [[AGodAmI him]][[/note]] will be born. After he's defeated, he speeds it up in an attempt to take the victorious team down with him, but it lands harmlessly in the ocean, with the only casualty appearing to be Igniz himself.
39	* GameplayAutomation: Downplayed, since it's not a complete automation, but ''[=KOF 2001=]'' removes the dual Mode systems from ''[='99=]'' and ''2000'', and simplifies Super Cancel from Counter Mode. You no longer have to enter MAX Mode to Super Cancel; as long as you have an extra Power Gauge for it (meaning Super Canceling into a regular Super Move requires two Power Gauge, and a MAX Super requires three), you're good to initiate a combo.
40	* HitchhikerHeroes: ''[=KOF 2001=]'' sees the return of Heidern to the Ikari Warriors, forming a team with Ralf, Clark and Leona. So what's become of its original fourth member, Whip? She's joined K' for this game, thanks to her relationship to him and NESTS (this would lead to pairing her with K' and Maxima in ''2002'', ''2003'' and ''XV'', though she'd return to the Ikari team in ''XI'').
41	* {{Nerf}}:
42	** Stun is disabled for this game.
43	** Super Cancel can now be used without having to spend three Power Gauge stocks and activate the Counter Mode, but instead of using Super Cancel as much as a player can until the Mode Gauge runs out, each use depletes Power Gauge.
44	* OddballInTheSeries: And how. This is the only mainline ''KOF'' where...
45	** ...players can bring different numbers of fighters in a match, since it's the only game to have Tactical Order Select system.
46	** ...MAX Mode or its equivalent does not exist. No LimitBreak Modes like ''[=KOF '99=]'' and ''2000'', no Leader System advantange like ''2003'' and ''XI'', no ''Art of Fighting''-style Power Gauge like ''[='94=]'' and ''[='95=]'', nothing.
47	* OneSteveLimit: Averted with Zero. The sub-boss of this game is also named Zero, and even shares a few moves with the one from ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters2000'', but is otherwise a completely different character. The "original" would later be revealed to be a clone of this new Zero, and is referred to as "Clone Zero" in order to distinguish the two.
48	* PlayerCharacterCalculus: While ''[=KOF '99=]'' and ''2000'' always forces one of your four fighters to act as AssistCharacter, ''[=KOF 2001=]''[='s=] Tactical Order Select can manage how many fighters you can summon as one. This means you can have up to three Strikers and send out less fighters in a match, or send out all four fighters without a Striker. It doesn't restrict both players having different number of Strikers, and an extreme case like going OneManArmy against a four-fighter party is possible.
49	* PunchedAcrossTheRoom: Some attacks have a "Wire" effect, causing anyone hit by them to bounce off the wall behind them. There are also "Counter Wire" moves, which only cause this when used to counter an opponent's attack.
50	* SeasonFinale: This game concludes the NESTS Chronicles arc that started in ''[=KOF '99=]''.
51	* SNKBoss: What a leap from the easiest boss of last game to this one with Igniz and he is considered to be one of the cheapest bastards of all time. He was even the poster boy of the trope for some time.
52	** To put it into perspective: he's one of the best picks if you want to go up against Omega Rugal in ''KOF [=2002UM=]''. If you're good enough with Igniz (which isn't that hard, considering even his MAX 2 is easy to pull off), you may win handily. Remember: against ''Omega goddamn Rugal''.
53	** In fact, most tier lists place him in the banned tier, only behind Krizalid and Nightmare Geese. He outstrips the other "boss-tier" characters (Zero and his clone, Geese, Goenitz, and Omega Rugal) quite easily.
54	* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness:
55	** If playing as any team except Team NESTS, Angel and K9999 critically injure Foxy and prepare to fight Kula, seemingly because they see them, as well as K', as inferior.

Context VideoGame / TheKingOfFighters2001