Characters / The King of Fighters: Maximum Impact

The King of Fighters | Main Index
Main Series
Protagonists | Deuteragonists
The King Of Fighters: The Rugal Saga
The King of Fighters: The Orochi Saga: KOF '95 | KOF '96 | KOF '97
The King of Fighters: The NESTS Chronicles: KOF '99 | KOF 2000 | KOF 2001
The King of Fighters: The Tales of Ash: KOF 2003 | KOF XI
The King of Fighters: The New Age: KOF XIV | KOF XV
Spin Offs
The King of Fighters EX | Maximum Impact
Related Series
Athena | Psycho Soldier | Fatal Fury | Art of Fighting | Samurai Shodown | Metal Slug | Fu'un Series | Buriki One

Characters in The King of Fighters introduced in the Alternate Continuity Maximum Impact series will be listed here.

---

Debuting in the Maximum Impact series

The King of Fighters: Maximum Impact

Mignon Beart

Origin: USA

Fighting style: White Magic

Voiced by: Miwa Yasuda (Japanese), Vanessa Bellardini (English)

A sorceress who inherited her grandmother's techniques. She becomes a pop star and has a rival in Athena, and decides to enter the tournament to do battle with her.

---

• Animal Motifs: Cats. Aside from the below, she also has a move called Kitten Style, where she crawls around on all fours and meows. She assumes a similar stance while crouching.
• Brainless Beauty: She's very pretty but is rather ditzy and clueless to her surroundings.
• Bring It: She has a habit of taunting foes after landing combos, which also plays into her Manchild tendencies.
• Butt-Monkey: A lot of characters mock her for her immaturity, much to her frustration. She even trips in her own intro!
• Cat Girl: The motif behind her "Another" design. Comes complete with fur linings, Sideboob, and Zettai Ryouiki.
• Cool Big Sis: Literally to Ninon, although she doesn't earn any respect from her.
• Cloudcuckoolander: So much so that even Final Boss Jivatma remarks on her eccentricities.
• Cute, but Cacophonic: Her cuteness is played up but she has a very shrill, screechy kind of voice.
• Cute Clumsy Girl: In the first game, she trips over the entrance to Live Arena in her intro.
• Cute Witch: she thinks of herself as a young witch and she's certainly cute.
• Disappointing Older Sibling: Ninon barely respects her, often looking down on her and dismissing her as a joke.
• Elemental Powers: Fire, wind, water, and lightning.
• Famous Ancestor: Her grandmother might have been a famous witch. Mignon certainly believes so.
• Genki Girl: May be THE most triumphant example in this game.
• Heal Thyself: Her Magical Healing DM.
• Magic Idol Singer: a singer with magic powers, again like Athena.
• Memento MacGuffin: Mignon possesses a jewel box given to her by her late grandmother. Mignon believes she'll be a true witch once she finally opens it.
• Ojou Ringlets
• The Rival: To Athena, at least from Mignon's point of view.
• She-Fu: Some of her moves can be acrobatic
• Sibling Yin-Yang: The Yang to Ninon's Yin.
• Spell My Name With An S: Certain versions of Maximum Impact spell her name as Mingnon.
• Theme Naming: Her moves plead to non-specific spirits. This is in contrast to her sister's moves which invoke specific entities, mostly cribbed from Judeo-Christian mythos.
• Third-Person Person: Always refers to herself this way. It certainly exasperates the cast, and may well exasperate the player too.
• Throw Down the Bomblet: Her Level 3, Heartful Present.
• White Magic
• Womanchild: She's supposed to be a teenager, but throws temper tantrums and is constantly refering to herself in a Third-Person Person like a little kid would.

Duke Burkoff

Origin: Russia

Fighting style: Personal style

Voiced by: Kiyoyuki Yanada (Japanese), Jerry Lyden (English)

The boss of the Mephistopheles gang, a sub-syndicate of Addes. Duke is a Self-Made Man who was a part of a genetic experiment by a scientist named Jalange. He is referred to as Type "D" by his superiors, just as Nagase is referred to as Type "N". It is said that he is immortal, evidenced by the large scar across his neck. He is the one who killed Alba and Soiree's mentor Fate in order to gain full control of Southtown. He hosts the new King of Fighters tournament to lure his enemies out. In the final round, Duke is defeated by Alba, but vanishes during a blackout of the stadium. He enters the 2nd tournament held by Jivatma to find out the truth of what happened to his sister, whom Jalange promised would be well taken care of.

---

• Affably Evil: In the first game. In the second he becomes more affable and less evil.
• Archnemesis Dad: An adopted one to Lien, as he killed her biological parents but then went on to raise her himself.
• Audible Sharpness: His Swivel Gun special (read: "modified Genocide Cutter") has a distinct slashing sound for it.
• Authority Equals Asskicking: Former leader of Mephistopheles (a sub-syndicate of Addes) and one of the top members of the Children of Kokaviel (select members of Addes known for their fighting prowess). Even when he's acting as Jivatma's Dragon, he still kicks ass.
• Badass in a Nice Suit: he kicks ass in a pretty sharp red and black suit.
• Beard of Evil: Sports one of these in both games, though by the second it's hard to say he counts as he undergoes as a Heel–Face Turn.
• Big Bad: Of KOF MI.
• Bio-Augmentation: Twenty years ago he volunteered to be a guinea pig for Addes (they were supposed to cure his sister of a disease in exchange, but she died under mysterious circumstances). Duke was altered regardless, though, and labeled "Type D" by Addes. He's not exactly a fan of the name.
• Brought to You by the Letter "S": Has a gigantic, red-colored D on the back of his suit.
• Cynicism Catalyst: The classic Dead Little Sister catalyst is his sister Marian Burkoff, who was the Littlest Cancer Patient of the MI universe twenty years ago and the motivation for Duke to allow himself to be experimented on by Addes. She died under mysterious circumstances, hardening Duke into the man we see today.
• Defector from Decadence: After the events of the second game he turns against Addes, and seems to have struck out on his own with Lien.
• Demoted to Dragon: After the events of the first game he is stripped of his title as King of Southtown and must answer to his boss Jivatma.
• Do Not Call Me "Paul": Acknowledges that he was a guinea pig for Addes, though their designation for him still makes him sick.
• Good Scars, Evil Scars: Across his throat.
• Gravity Master: He has a super called Gravitational Wave. It's unknown if this is connected to his fire powers.
• Heel–Face Turn: Undergoes one in the second game thanks to his relationship with Morality Pet Lien.
• Hidden Depths: His hobby is listening to operas and he is apparently a big dog fan, owning no less than five St. Bernards.
• Hitman with a Heart: He was ordered to kill Lien Neville's entire family but couldn't go through with killing the little girl, and instead adopted her and trained her in the assassin arts.
• I Am Your Opponent: In the first Maximum Impact, right before facing a non-central character for his boss fight.
  "The plan is that I'm going to be your opponent in the finale. And I promise you, heh heh, you'll enjoy it."
• Immortality: Rumored to have this because of the aforementioned scar.
• The Mafia: Looks and acts similar to a classic mafia Don.
• Large and in Charge : At least in the first game, where he's the Final Boss and "King of Southtown". By the second game he's lost that title and is revealed to be little more than a Middle-Management Mook working for Jivatma.
• Mighty Glacier: Pretty slow, but plenty powerful. Described by the design team as a "strong-bodied, serious man in his thirties".
• Morality Pet: His sister. You could argue that this role was transferred over to Lien after his sister's death.
• Obviously Evil: Really easy to pick out in a crowd, as he's not only extremely tall, but his skin is pale and he has dual-toned hair. His nickname is "The Man Hell Coughed Up." Despite all that, however, he does have a little sister he cares about.
• Ominous Latin Chanting: Has two theme songs that contain this.
• Pet the Dog: Tells Lien that if she had stayed away, she would have been able to live to pleasant life.
• Playing with Fire: his main elemental power.
• Red Baron: "Hell's Executioner."
• Retcon: In the first game the Meira brothers see a man of Duke's stature standing over Fate's dead body and initially mistake Seth, an unrelated character, for the crime. But in the second game it's established that Lien was Fate's killer and Duke merely ordered the hit on orders from Jivatma.
• See You in Hell: He leaves this message in blood after he vanishes.
• Self-Made Man: Stated to have had nothing but his sister, no parents, no relatives. Worked his way up to become the King of Southtown.
• Shockwave Stomp: A few of his moves involve slamming his fist/foot into the ground so hard that flames are created.
• SNK Boss: In Maximum Impact, he had an infinite super meter and That One Attack ("JUDGMENT!") that got nerfed heavily for the second game.
• Taking the Bullet: For Lien in her MI2 story.
• This Cannot Be!: "How can I...!"
• "Uh-Oh" Eyes: His sclera is yellow.
• Use Your Head: One of his combos ends with Duke grabbing his opponent and then reeling them in for a headbutt.
• Would Hit a Girl / Would Hurt a Child: Bags two tropes for the price of one with the following special quote from the second game:
  "Looking for an escort, young lady? I can... I can only take you to hell."
• Wrestler in All of Us: His Volcanic Bomb Level 3 starts with a Giant Swing followed by an explosive, fiery atomic bomb. For added measure, Duke drops a "Go to hell!" at the end.

Chae Lim

Origin South Korea

Fighting style: Taekwondo

Voiced by: Yukiko Amano (Japanese), Allie Moss (English)

A young girl who has been training under Kim since she was four. She is rumored to be Kim's secret weapon for KOF. The Maximum Impact tournament marks her first professional debut.

---

• Badass Normal: As the closest thing this series has to a female Kim, yeah... go figure.
• Detect Evil: Of note is that some people whom are flagged as evil by Kim are not flagged as so by Chae.
• Distaff Counterpart: To Kim himself. Unlike May Lee, she wears a dobok. She even took most of Kim's moves until Kim was added to the MI2 roster.
• Dynamic Entry: This is how she enters her stage in the story mode of MI2.
• This Is Unforgivable!: Kim's ideals and intolerance for evil tend to rub off on his students. She's no exception.

Alba Meira

Origin: Germany

Fighting style: Multiple styles

Voiced by: Hiroyuki Satou (Japanese), Jason Wooley (English)

The current ruler of Southtown's crime empire. Alba and his brother Soiree were orphaned at the age of three, when their parents died in an accident. At 14, they escaped the orphanage and were taken in by Fate, the then-leader of Southtown's criminal underworld who succeeded Geese Howard after his death. Fate told both of them that they had a role to play for Southtown's future. Unfortunately, since Southtown was the den for several other crime lords, after Geese's death war had erupted in their ranks to see who would succeed Geese, and Fate ended up assassinated by Duke, the leader of Mephistopheles, using Lien Neville as a proxy. Alba sets out to find his mentor's killer, and enters Duke's tournament. He defeats Duke, but he vanishes. Alba becomes the leader of Southtown along with his brother, but both hear of mysterious events around the town. He encounters Luise Meyrink, who reveals that he is part of a prophecy, but when Alba questions her about it, he has no choice but to fight her for the answers. She vanishes afterward, and Alba encounters Jivatma, the leader of Kusiel, which are the remnants of Mephistopheles and a sub-syndicate of a new Nebulous Evil Organization called Addes. Jivatma confirms Luise's claims, referring to Alba as "Judeim", and reveals that Alba is needed for an ancient prophecy to occur. Alba fights him, but after beating Jivatma suddenly has visions of a black-silhouetted being with white hair and collapses. When he wakes up, he realizes that Luise saved him, and she reveals that Soiree has been taken by Addes. Luise decides to reveal everything to Alba.

---

• Anime Hair: Dual-toned red and white (the red is presumably dyed if Soiree's hair color is any indication).
• Author Avatar: Word of God says that Alba was made to be a "cooler Falcoon."
• Badass Arm-Fold: In Maximum Impact, if Alba's faced in Story Mode, you'll see him doing this on top of a crane at the Rooftop stage as he talks about how he'll use his next opponent as a stepping stone to the top. He then proceeds to calmly walk off the crane and drop to the floor without uncrossing his arms or performing a Three-Point Landing.
• Cool Car: Is shown driving one in the intro FMV to Maximum Impact 2.
• Cool Shades: Never seen without his distinctive sunglasses.
• Counter-Attack: Alba has a few reversal throws in his arsenal.
• Face of a Thug: Other mediums sometimes describe Alba as a mean-looking punk who speaks in an eloquent yet rude manner. Even his seiyuu refers to Alba as a virtuous and kind-hearted person who "looks like a bad guy."
• Humanoid Abomination: He's stated to be half of a being named Judeim, in a shape similar to that of Luise and Jivatma.
• I Will Find You: Soiree goes missing after the battle with Jivatma. Alba teams up with Luise to go looking for him.
• Ki Manipulation: Which seem to mimic lightning and wind.
• Mangst: Although his grief for both his biological parents and adopted father are implied, he holds a picture of his parents as a treasured keepsake and isn't the type to thrust his problems onto others.
• Noble Demon: He's a crime lord but seems to be trying to use his position for good rather than evil.
• Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs: Some of his moves consist of this, most notably during his Level 3.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Inverted: The red-clad Alba is the blue oni while the blue-clad Soiree is the red one.
• Red Baron: "The Devil of Daybreak."
• Sibling Yin-Yang: the Yin to Soiree's Yang.
• Sugar-and-Ice Personality: His stoicism knows no bounds, but he genuinely shows concern for his younger brother and the people of Southtown.
• Tattoo as Character Type: Has half of winged, horned skull etched on his back, with the other half belonging to Soiree. It fits the supernatural origin as it's a marking of his and Soiree's status as Judeim.
• Theme Twin Naming: Alba is Italian for "daybreak," while Soiree is "twilight" in French. Get it?
• This Cannot Be!: "How can this be?!?"
• Three-Strike Combo: A rare projectile-based variant. From Maximum Impact 2 onwards, his Luminescent Lash special move has two followups that fire additional projectiles.
• Voice of the Legion: At the end of his story in MI2, where he speaks in a bellowing dual voice, implying he's remembering his past as Judeim.
• The Worf Effect: In "Another Day" he is pitted against Kyo Kusanagi as a show of his strength. While he doesn't absolutely curbstomp Kusanagi, he is shown as having the better of the fight before Ash shows up.
• Would Hit a Girl: Though it should be noted that the girl in question did kill his mentor so obviously It's Personal there:
  (to Lien): "There's no mercy even if you are a chick."

Soiree Meira

Origin: Germany

Fighting style: Capoeira

Voiced by: Kouji Haramaki (Japanese), Ed Bishop (English)

Alba's brother. He and Alba escaped the orphanage they lived at and were adopted by Fate. They both sought and avenged his death. Soiree is the more laid-back and carefree of the two and tries to help Alba in any way he can. He encounters Jivatma, but is incapacitated by visions of Judeim and is captured by the Addes organization.

---

• The Charmer: With an added dash of Chivalrous Pervert. Watch how he tries to woo Luise by asking her to dance with him. She tries to avoid him, but his charisma is so electric that she can't help but be amused by him.
• Dance Battler: Uses Capoeira like Bob Wilson and Richard Meyer.
• Fun Personified
• Handsome Lech
  (to most female fighters) "Whoa... hey there baby! This could be my lucky day!"
• Hot-Blooded: He's not as bad as the likes of Joe or Ralf, but Soiree definitely has his days.
• Humanoid Abomination: Is one half of the being known as Judeim.
• Left Hanging: When last seen Soiree had fallen into the hands of Jivatma who intended to revive Judeim through him. With a sequel nowhere in sight, his final fate may never be known.
• Ki Manipulation: Although his attacks give off the appearance of wind attacks, it's just your everyday Pure Energy.
• Pretty Boy
• Meaningful Name: Aside of the "different as night and day" theme between his name and Alba's, a soiree is also a social gathering or party, usually formal and held at night. Soiree's showboating and his "Well, well, the main attraction!" intro line may be meant to reflect this.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: See Alba's entry.
• Sibling Yin-Yang: Yang to Alba's Yin.
• Tattoo as Character Type: See Alba's entry above.
• Walking Shirtless Scene

Lien Neville

Origin: England

Fighting style: CQC

Voiced by: Fumiko Inoue (Japanese), Claire Caponigro (English)

A former subordinate of Duke. Her family was killed by Jivatma so she goes undercover to exact revenge. She kills Fate and prompts Alba and Soiree's rise to power. She eventually finds a kindred spirit in Duke, as both of their lives were ruined by Addes.

---

• Assassin Outclassin': She attempts to assassinate Billy Kane in "Another Day" and fails miserably.
• Combat Pragmatist: Exemplified by her intro quote:
  "To win... I will use any method..."
• Combat Stilettos: Wears these in her main outfit, as well as most of her alternates.
• Conspicuously Public Assassination: Kills her targets with the aid of a freaking Kill Sat.
• Cool Car: Is seen riding on a highway in one (complete with requisite Cool Shades) during the ending of Maximum Impact.
• Counter-Attack: Her Level 3 super, Assault Type ω: Alecto, can only be performed off of a block.
• Dark Action Girl: Designed as this and a Femme Fatale to serve as a foil to Mai. Lien does lighten up a little in time for the second Maximum Impact.
• Femme Fatale: Describe by the character designers as the "sexy Western femme fatale" in contrast to Mai.
• Goggles Do Something Unusual: Owns a pair of Night-Vision Goggles.
• Hidden Depths: Apparently enjoys scuba diving when not conducting highly visible assassinations.
• Highly-Visible Ninja: Traditionally assassins, like ninjas, are supposed to be efficient, quiet and stealthy. Lien is the complete opposite of all these things, owing to the improbable weapon she makes her kills with. She also wears a very colorful black-and-yellow outfit.
• Hitman with a Heart: Not surprising since she was raised by a Hitman with a Heart.
• Improbable Weapon User: The first and probably last fighter who uses a Kill Sat as their weapon.
• Informed Ability:
  • Lien is hyped up as a deadly assassin and the killer of Alba and Soiree's mentor Fate, but in gameplay terms she's not particularly good (Falcoon even labels her the weakest character in the sequel) and in the anime short "Another Day" Billy Kane absolutely dominates her when she attempts to kill him. She has to be saved from a humiliating death by Rock Howard.
  • She is also described in her bio as having a thorough knowledge of all fatal pressure points of the human body, but apparently she prefers to kill victims with a highly-visible beam from space instead.
• Jiggle Physics: While not the only character in the Maximum Impact games to have this, she certainly recieves it the most along with Mai.
• Kill Sat: The sources of her "Requesting backup!" specials.
• Long Hair Is Feminine: Has a mane of flowing blonde locks.
• Male Gaze: Used extensively in the intro of Maximum Impact 2 where the camera focuses excessively on her chest.
• Ms. Fanservice: As the design team's intended rival to Mai Shiranui, Lien's character design also focuses on her, ah, assets (ahem) to the exclusion of almost everything else.
• Navel-Deep Neckline: Her top has a neckline that is open to her stomach.
• Murder Is the Best Solution: Her fighting style is literally called "Homicidal Karate".
• Pillar of Light: Can summon one at will with her Kill Sat. You'd think this would make her cheap, but the move is surprisingly easy to dodge (or even block).
• Professional Killer: Or so we're told.
• Rage Against the Mentor: Her driving motivation is revenge against Duke.
• The Rival: Designed to be one to Mai.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: Pinballs between playing it straight and subverting it.
• Sexy Backless Outfit: Her default is this when seen from behind.
• Spell My Name With An S: For whatever reason, her first name is translated as "Lien" rather than "Leanne" (which makes much more sense), despite the direct translation of the kanji for her name: リアン = Leanne.
• Spy Catsuit: Which she unzips in the intro to MI. It appears that there's nothing underneath, either.
• This Cannot Be!: "How can this be?"
• You Killed My Father: She seeks to kill Duke in retribution for the death of her parents. Later on, however, it's revealed that Jivatma was the one who actually ordered said incident, and she lets go of her grudge as Duke was, in her words, "just following your boss's orders".

The King of Fighters: Maximum Impact 2/The King of Fighters 2006

Ninon Beart

Origin: USA

Fighting style: Black Magic

Voiced by: Jun Koutsuka (Japanese), Jessica Wachsman (English)

Mignon's sister and rival. When Mignon inherited their grandmothers' secret techniques, she felt jealous and decided to see if Mignon was worthy of them by competing in the 2nd tournament. Hates being underestimated by her older sister.

---

• A-Cup Angst: Her Regulation A opening with B. Jenet reveals this.
• Aloof Big Brother: Aloof Younger Sister
• Always Someone Better: Serves as this to Mignon.
• Birds of a Feather: Is trying to use this on Rock, as she believes they have similar vibes.
• Black Magic
• Bring It: Like her sister, a few of her combos end in taunts.
• Creepy Child: she's dressed in lolita fashion which is colored all black (by default anyway), she speaks coldly and snarkily, and her supernatural powers makes her one.
• Cute Witch
• Dark Magical Girl: Given how graceful she is (as opposed to her older sister), it's a safe bet to assume that she'll become a Lady of Black Magic when she matures.
• Death from Above: Her Level 3, Ebony Moon of Hecate, is a friggin' meteor storm.
• Detect Evil
• Elegant Gothic Lolita: Her Normal costume is Kuro-Lolita. Her "Another" costume is Wa-Lolita.
• Elemental Powers: Lightning, wind, and fire.
• Famous Ancestor: Same deal as Mignon.
• Hair Color Dissonance: A rather light blonde (almost platinum blonde) usually, though she's occasionally drawn with◊ white hair.
• Little Miss Badass
• Little Miss Snarker: Sweet Christmas is she a snarky one.
• Ojou: A darker version. She's still pretty graceful nonetheless.
• The Rival: Toward her sister Mignon.
• Sibling Yin-Yang: The Yin to Mignon's Yang.
• Straw Nihilist: Her quotes have a distinct nihilistic flavor.
• Teleporters and Transporters: Her Lilith's Temptation.
• Theme Naming: Her moves invoke specific entities, mostly cribbed from Judeo-Christian mythos. This is in contrast to her sister's moves which plead to non-specific spirits.
• Verbal Tic: In Japanese, she ends most of her sentences with "shi," the Japanese word for death. This also shows her apathetic nature in general.
• Wise Beyond Their Years: wiser than her big sister, definitely.

Fiolina "Fio" Germi

Origin: Italy

Fighting style: Military Fighting Arts

Voiced by: Ryoko Nakano (Japanese, credited as Aikel), Melissa Ex (English)

A character ported over from the Metal Slug series, she a member of the Sparrows Intelligence Unit who is best known for helping the Peregrine Falcon Squad defeat General Morden's Evil Army and the Mars People on several occasions.

---

• Affirmative Action Girl: In her original series, at least.
• The Cameo: In turn, Ralf and Clark would eventually Crossover to Metal Slug 6.
• Combat Pragmatist: Fio has at her disposal (in addition to a hand axe) fire bombs, grenades, and two Heavy Machineguns.
• Cute, but Cacophonic: Definitely, but there are worse examples.
• Dual Wielding: One of her supers has Fio whip out twin tonfas to increase her damage output.
• Genki Girl: a pretty cheerful girl for a military person.
• Guest Fighter: Hails from Metal Slug.
• Ojou: Heiress to the House of Germi, a wealthy Italian family.
• Saying Sound Effects Out Loud: She actually imitates the sounds of her machine gun fire.
• Throw Down the Bomblet
• You Remind Me of X: Her intros with the Ikari Warriors has Fio compare them with her fellow Peregrine Falcons (Ralf looks just like Marco, Clark looks kind of like Tarma, and Leona looks nothing like Eri).

Hanzo Hattori

Origin: Japan (past)

Fighting style: Ninjutsu

Voiced by: Masaki Usui (Japanese), Liou Johnson (English)

Ported over from Samurai Shodown, he serves as a holographic sparring partner for Nagase.

---

• Animal Motifs: His "Another" outfit was designed with a dragonfly in mind.
• Doppelgänger Attack: Made out of what appears to be smoke.
• Guest Fighter: From Samurai Shodown, a good while before Nakoruru would join the cast in XIV.
• Hand Seals
• Monochromatic Eyes
• Ninja: a pretty classic one.
• Katanas Are Just Better: Ninjato Are Just Better
• Playing with Fire: He can hurl bouncing fireballs, blow a stream of flames from his mouth, and create pillars of it.
• Public Domain Character: We're talking about one of the most famous ninjas in history.
• Scarf of Asskicking: It's a pretty damn long one, too.
• Shoulders of Doom
• Smoke Out: An odd variation in that Hanzo doesn't throw any smoke bombs. He merely punches the ground, summoning up a torrent of flames and turning invisible.
• Spinning Piledriver: Uses a fiery Izuna Drop as both a special and a super. He also has a variant performed mid-run which lacks the flames.
• The Stoic
• Warrior Poet: He's an old-fashioned ninja. What did you expect?

Hyena

Origin: France

Fighting style: Playing cards

Voiced by: Bin Shimada (Japanese), Bill Hemberger (English)

The referee for the first tournament. Hyena is at first Duke's servant, but in the end when Mephistopheles breaks apart, he decides to enter the tournament on his own and build his own gang.

---

• Animal Motifs: His outlandish personality and occasional laughter do fall in line with his namesake. And just like his namesake, he is a coward who despite his proclamations, prefers to mooch off of others just like the hyena prefers to steal from other predators, though rarely fights, albeit pitifully. Final Boss Jivatma calls him on it:
  Jivatma: "You are more a stray dog than a hyena."
• Anime Hair: It's pretty ridiculous regardless of which costume you pick.
• Braggart Boss: It'll become apparent very quickly that Hyena thinks highly of himself.
• Calling Your Attacks: "Hyena Punch!"
• Cool Shades: In his "Another" outfit.
• Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: As he so bluntly puts it, "I kick ass when I want!"
• Death Dealer: Although not nearly as proficient as Oswald.
• Early-Bird Cameo: Appeared in Maximum Impact as an NPC.
• The Fighting Narcissist: His favorite thing is noted in his bio to be his "stylish hair" and his quotes make it quite clear how highly he thinks of himself.
• Gonk: Deliberately designed this way so as to add an "offbeat" new character to the roster.
• Insistent Terminology: Refers to Duke as "King Duke."
• Large Ham: See above. One of his actual moves is called "This Century's Most Fearsome Acting".
• Lethal Joke Character: Thanks to his unpredictable fighting style and his "This Century's Most Fearsome Acting" super. Many players deliberately save the move so the fake KO looks realistic and fools their opponents.
• Lovable Coward: Moreso coward than lovable, though Hyena is not particularly malicious (he is vain and self-serving, though)). His fighting style is even called "Chicken Style Combat" to sell this aspect of him.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: He is only ever referred to as "Hyena" and his true name, whether it's that or something else, is unknown.
• Signature Laugh: Has one that certainly lives up to his name.
• The Starscream: Wants to be one to Duke but is hilariously inept.
• Sycophantic Servant: So much so that his special skills on his bio are "sucking up, scheme, wheedling, and feigning death}.
• Sharp-Dressed Man: It's about all this guy has going for him.
• Spin Attack: "This is Hyena's show!"
• Took a Level in Badass: Between the first and second games apparently, as after Duke's defeat he developed his own fighting style to protect himself and became a notable enough fighter to earn an invite to the second game's tournament. He's still treated as a Joke Character by the cast, though.
• Wounded Gazelle Gambit: His This Century's Most Fearsome Acting/Wildest Sucker Punch super. After faking being K.O.ed by his opponent's attack/groveling on the ground, Hyena will spring up and knock his foe silly.

Jivatma

Origin: Indonesia

Fighting Style: Ways of Punishment

Voiced by: Kyouzo Kudou (Japanese), Kevin Cummings (English)

The final boss of the second game, Jivatma is the leader of Kusiel, the remnants of Mephistopheles and a sub-syndicate of Addes. Jivatma is one of the high ranking members of Addes, which are known as the Children of Kokaviel. He is The Man Behind the Man for Duke, and the one who ordered the death of Lien's parents. He faces off against Alba in the finals, where he refers to him as "Judeim". Upon his defeat, he teleports away, having already taken Soiree hostage. In actuality, he's an alien who's been hunting down Luise, and used the tournament to draw her out. His ultimate objective is to return to his homeland.

---

• Above Good and Evil: Invoked in his pre-fight quote against Kim:
  Jivatma: "I do not wish to be bound by notions of justice and evil."
• Affably Evil: Although he also dabbles in snark.
• Animal Motifs: The cockroach, to contrast how Luise's is the butterfly. His "Another" costume's is the moth.
• Authority Equals Asskicking: He's both Kusiel's leader and a Child of Kokaviel.
• Bash Brothers: Seems to have been one with the entity Judeim, which is amnesiac and split between the two Meira brothers. When either one beats him he remarks "That's the Judeim I know" and seems more pleased than distressed by the loss.
• Big Bad: Of KOF MI2.
• Blue-and-Orange Morality: Rejects the notions of good and evil as human concepts, but seems to have a strange code of honor, particularly when it comes to the Heel–Face Turn characters who worked for his organization only to challenge him now, he becomes incensed, calling them traitors and saying he'll dispose of them and so on. As a character who tends to be The Stoic most of the time, this show of emotion stands out. He also tells Luise he "won't sell out his comrades" in her ending and seems pretty bent on reviving Judiem, who he seems to consider a comrade-in-arms.
• Body Snatcher: One theory is that he is actually a parasitic alien. He talks of taking the bodies of several characters in their pre-fight dialogue with him; however, this also gives some of the female fighters the wrong impression. What's more, the theory goes on to explain that his alternative outfit is a result of him infesting Luise.
• Break Them by Talking: He's very fond of picking at the motivations of others.
• Breath Weapon: The next thing you know, KO!
• Combat Stilettos: A male example.
• Dark Is Evil: He's dark-skinned, has menacing mannerisms and his battle theme is called "Giving A Manicure To The Fingernails of Darkness".
• Graceful Loser: In almost all the endings he's very composed about being beaten, with only Luise driving him to a This Cannot Be!
• Greater-Scope Villain: Represents one in comparison to the boss of the first game Duke, who is revealed to be his underling. He's not the Big Bad, though, as he alludes to Addes having a master above even him.
• Guyliner: Wears some sort of intricate tribal design on his face.
• Human Alien: Like Luise, Jivatma is an alien, though it is unknown if the form we see him in is his true form or simply a powerful body he has stolen.
• Humanoid Abomination: An alien entity in a humanoid body that can stretch and contort to impossible (by human standards) limits.
• Lean and Mean: Very tall and pretty slim, and is the Final Boss.
• Left Hanging: When last we saw him he had abducted Soiree and seemed intent on reviving Judiem through him. That was over 10 years ago.
• Manipulative Bastard: He's set up the tournament with the express purpose of drawing powerful fighters together to test their abilities and harvest the best ones. He's also personally manipulated the lives of Duke, Lien, Nagase and the Meira brothers.
• Master of Your Domain: Stated to have total control of his molecular structure, hence his Rubber Man abilities.
• Mr. Exposition: In every prefight conversation with him he dumps his exposition load on the player, introducing himself as the leader of Kusiel (the assassin-training sub-syndicate of Addes) and explaining Addes itself, despite the fact that a secret syndicate that controls Earth's underworld would seem to thrive better with, you know, secrecy.
• Nightmare Fuel Station Attendant: His alternate costume depicts him as a woman with enormous spiked breasts and moth wings. All while keeping his male voice..
• Ominous Latin Chanting: Present briefly in his theme, "Giving a Manicure to the Fingernails of Darkness."
• Puny Earthlings: His pre-fight quote in Story Mode is even, "Then come, you weak bug from this tiny planet."
  (to Lilly): "You're adorable. But, you're just a weak human."
• Really 700 Years Old: Strongly suggested (or perhaps lending more credibility to the above Body Snatcher theory) when he encounters Hanzo.
  "I think we have met before... haven't we?"
• Red Baron: The Dark Talon. In contrast, Judeim is "The Dark Fang."
• Razor-Sharp Hand: Which is also capable of lighting impaled victims on fire.
• Rubber Man: In the vein of Capcom characters like Dhalsim and Necro.
• Scary Black Man: Looks very inhuman. A more accurate descriptor would be "Scary Charcoal Man."
• Shapeshifter Weapon: For starters, his hands can turn into blades.
• Smug Super: Considers most if not all humans to be beneath him, and he only even values strong humans as vessels (either for himself or for other members of his race).
• SNK Boss: His super meter regenerates in his debut game.
• Stance System: Has one, though an AI-controlled Jivatma will never use it.
• The Stoic: In contrast to previous KOF bosses like Rugal and Igniz, Jivatma is very calm and collected even in defeat, and when he fights Lien he chides her for her lack of emotional control.
  (to Lien): "An assassin who lacks control of her rage is absolutely useless!"
• Taking You with Me: Detonates the mosque that you fight him in after he loses and makes a getaway. Unlike Rugal, Jivatma maintains his calm composure.
• Tall, Dark, and Snarky: And by dark, we mean dark.
• Teleporters and Transporters: Though not a part of his moveset, he apparently has this ability (one he shares with Luise) as he always teleports away in each character's ending when beaten.
• That One Attack: His Breath Weapon can break your guard and kill you in one or two hits if you're not careful.
• This Cannot Be!: In Luise's ending: "How could this happen? My plans have been hugely disrupted!"
• Voluntary Shapeshifting: It's presumed that this is the reason behind his "Another" design, although his voice remains the same.
• We Can Rule Together: Or Go Back Home Together, as he makes an offer to Luise to "become one of us" and return to their home planet. Luise turns him down, of course.
• We Will Meet Again: To Alba, referring to his friendship with Judeim: "I hope we can gaze at the same starry sky when we meet next."
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: His main goal is to return Zoans like Luise back to their homeland (an offer that he tempts Luise with). Too bad that his methods are less than pleasant.

Lilly Kane

Origin: England

Fighting style: Bojutsu

Voiced by: Yumi Kakazu (Japanese), Ivy Omere (English)

Billy's kid sister, who he is overly protective of. Having moved back to England to enjoy a happy life with her brother, Lilly awakes one day to discovers that Billy has left. Angry and worried, she travels to Southtown to find him and drag him back home.

---

• Acceptable Feminine Goals and Traits: She really enjoys doing laundry and housekeeping. Her fighting style is even called "Laundry Pole Arts", seemingly derived from her playfully imitating her brother's bo staff skills with a washing line pole while doing housework.
• Apologetic Attacker
• Braids of Action
• Blow You Away
• Counter-Attack: Her Level 3 super, Tyro's Tantrum. In a tactic taken from her brother, Lily cowers in fear before unleashing a maelstrom of pain upon her opponent's head, ending with her Mighty Whirlwind super three times in a row.
• Cute Bruiser
• Distaff Counterpart: Of her brother. She trades in some of Billy's power for speed and a few of her specials have been modified a bit from Billy's. To drive things home, her "Another" outfit is a female variant of Billy's original garb from the first Fatal Fury.
• Locked Out of the Loop: Is unaware that Billy is (or was, depending on the continuity) working for the notorious crime lord Geese Howard.
• Martial Pacifist: She detests violence and prefers peaceful resolutions to conflicts. Of course, this is KOF we're speaking about, so she gets some tricks under her skirt...
• Ojou
• Plucky Girl: You do not just leave her without a word. She will go back to Southtown to face you. And beat you if need be.
• Promoted to Playable: She's frequently been seen throughout the Fatal Fury and King of Fighters series as a supporting NPC to Billy, but she becomes playable for the first time in Maximum Impact 2.
• Telescoping Staff: Just like her brother.
• Wearing a Flag on Your Head: Again, in her "Another" design.

Richard Meyer

From KOF: Maximum Impact 2

Origin: Brazil

Fighting Style: Capoeira

Voiced by: Kong Kuwata (Japanese), Kofi Candela (English)

A former competitor in Geese Howard's tournament. He is the owner of the Pao Pao Cafe. He entered the tournament to promote the restaurant. Although he lost, the restaurant became immensely popular and became a local hangout for fighters in Southtown. He found an apprentice in Bob Wilson, and opened the Pao Pao Cafe 2, giving Bob the management rights.
He returns as a playable fighter in KOF: Maximum Impact 2, entering the Maximum Impact 2 tournament out of boredom.

---

See Fatal Fury: King of Fighters for tropes on him

Luise Meyrink

Origin: Germany

Fighting style: Schmetterling Fighting Performance Arts

Voiced by: Hiroko Tsuji (Japanese), Katrin Biemann (English)

A mysterious woman with even more mysterious abilities. She exemplifies the butterfly: a free spirit that goes wherever the wind takes her. When her father is abducted by Addes for refusing to work with them, she enters the tournament for answers. She seems to have a connection with Alba, knowing about his true identity as Judeim; this is because she is a being similar to Judeim known as Lakia.

---

• Animal Motifs: The butterfly (specifically, the Morpho butterfly), playing up both its beauty and symbolism. Her brassiere resembles the body and wings of a butterfly, her belt buckle is a butterfly, and she even sports a pair of butterfly wings on different occasions (the intro FMV, right after teleporting, and in two color variations of her normal attire). Schmetterling (the name of Luise's fighting style) is German for butterfly.
• Attack Reflector: Accompanied by a very succinct: "Go away."
• Counter-Attack: Her Attack Reflector move can be used for this.
• Disappeared Dad: Her father, Dr. Meyrink, was among a group of scientists captured by Kusiel.
• Elegant Gothic Lolita: Subverted. She dresses in a similar fashion, but is an adult.
• Femme Fatalons
• Flight: A form of Gameplay and Story Segregation, as she can only hover briefly and air dash when playable but in cutscenes seems capable of true flight (via ethereal butterfly wings, even).
• Freakiness Shame: For some reason, while around the Meira twins and Jivatma, Luise seems to show some resentment for her Zoan heritage, although the former duo takes this in stride. And to be honest, her "Normal" outfit does sport some majestic butterfly wings in her G and H color variations.
• Good Is Not Soft: Is prepared to kill Jivatma if that's what it'll take to stop his plans and killing spree.
• Gratuitous German: All of her special moves have German names
• Kung-Fu Wizard: Kung-Fu Psychic
• Lady of War: Much like Chizuru, Luise's style of combat involves soft, graceful, dance-like movements, all amplified by her supernatural talents.
• Last of His Kind: Nearly the Last Of Her Kind, since there's also Jivatma, the Meira brothers/Judeim, and presumably a few others, but Luise (aka Lakia) is one of the few remaining Zoan.
• Light 'em Up: Her arsenal ranges from wisps of light to a Laser Blade, to an explosion of energy that spews lasers.
• Light Is Good: Firmly on the side of good in her case.
• Locked Out of the Loop: While ambiguous in some of her words of guidance, Luise seems strongly against letting the Meira bros. learn about their history as Judeim, possibly for good reason. She recants when Soiree is kidnapped by Jivatma at the end of MI2, meeting up with Alba in the epilogue and promising to tell him everything she knows.
• Long Hair Is Feminine
• Mad Scientist's Beautiful Daughter: Her father (or the father of her host) is a missing scientist, kidnapped by Addes.
• Mysterious Waif: A rare non-RPG example.
• Mystical White Hair: Not mystical, but has very distinct supernatural elements.
• Omniglot: Is fluent in ten languages.
• Onee-sama: How her character was written. Most likely, she'd play this role to the Meira twins.
• Purposely Overpowered: Though Alba beats her out for bells and whistles, Luise is still the only character in the game who can air dash, as well as having a variety of powerful, easily executable attacks. As she is the only character other than the Final Boss who is not Locked Out of the Loop, this imbalance is very deliberate.
• Psychic Powers: Seems to possess them to some degree. Luise has an extremely keen sixth sense, most likely native to her race.
• She's always hovering a few feet off the ground.
• Sensor Character: Seems to have her senses particular tuned to the Meira brothers.
• Sphere of Destruction: Summons one around herself with her Level 3, along with the requisite Beam Spam.
• Some Dexterity Required: Her Level 2. It even has two versions, leading to the occasional Damn You, Muscle Memory!. On the upside, because of the odd way it fires off, it will not consume the super gauge if it fails to connect.
• Statuesque Stunner: She's very lithe and agile, but is perfectly capable of body-slamming even the largest characters with a throw.
• Sword Beam: Summons one with one of her hypers.
• Teleporters and Transporters: Like Jivatma, Luise has this ability (it seems to be native to their race) and teleports away whenever she is beaten.
• The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: Challenges several fighters for the right to fight Jivatma.
• Video Game Dashing: Notable in that she's the only member of the cast able to air dash.

Nagase

Origin: Japan

Fighting Style: Ninjutsu

Voiced by: Ryoko Tanifuji (Japanese), Kristen Erdman (English)

A mysterious young girl who was modified by the Addes scientist Jarange into a "Type-N" cyborg. She uses a complex form of Ninjutsu similar to that of legendary ninja Hanzo Hattori, which she acquired through her data disc system. She works for Jivatma, but harbours no loyalty towards him; she fights only to test her own strength. Hates "pretty boys" for some reason.

---

• American Accents: In the dub, Nagase has a slight Southern drawl at times.
• Animal Motifs: Frogs/toads in her "Another" design.
• Anime Hair
• Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: With shades of Smug Super.
• Author Avatar: It's been said that she is this to Falcoon, the (male) producer and designer of the Maximum Impact series.
• Bio-Augmentation: Like Duke, Nagase was modified by Addes and bears a letter designation, Type N.
• Counter-Attack: Quite a few as supers.
• Doppelgänger Attack: Her Punishment Mode – Type: Mirage Assault super.
• Highly-Visible Ninja: Justified in that she has no intention of living her life in the shadows: she wants to become famous.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: This becomes more noticeable at the end of her story.
• Just a Kid: When Nagase notes that kids and adults alike tick her off, Mai is quick to point out that Nagase is a kid, too.
• Likes Older Men: She dislikes "pretty boys" and prefers roughed up, older men.
• Moveset Clone: The Ken to Hanzo's Ryu. Almost all of her moves are lifted from him.
• Ninja: If a highly-visible one.
• Katanas Are Just Better: Ninjato Are Just Better, Two, in fact.
• Playful Hacker: According to her bio, her specialty is hacking.
• Professional Killer: Fancies herself as one.
• Worthy Opponent: Sees Mai as this by the end of her story.
• Wrestler in All of Us: Izuna Drop.

The King of Fighters: Maximum Impact Regulation A

Xiao Lon

Origin: China

Fighting Style: Hizoku Shikodoku Mojutsu Keishinku + Anki

Voiced by: Makiko Matsumoto

Ron's daughter, and Duo Lon's half-sister. Like her brother she is searching for her father to find out the truth behind her clan's massacre. She ends up in Southtown, believing that Alba knows about her father.

---

• Animal Motifs: Aside from being based off of a Jiang-shi, her regular design incorporates some features from scorpions.
• Anime Chinese Girl
• Badass Long Robe: The "badass" is largely overshadowed by Xiao Lon's meeker, more gentle qualities, but make no mistake; she's a deadly one to be sure.
• Beware the Quiet Ones: While meek and frail-looking, it should be said that her skills with poison surpass even that of Lin's, and he's one of Hizoku's Four Devas.
• Big Brother Worship: Debatable. Xiao was very dependent on Duo Lon when Ron left them to fend for themselves, treasures the quartz crystal he gave her, and even calls him "the third crowned prince" (as opposed to "king" and "that man" for Ron). It should be said that Duo Lon was the only member of her family to ever show her compassion. Her feelings about Duo Lon are mixed due to Duo Lon's mission to kill their father.
• Blessed with Suck: Xiao doesn't take well to her status as a Hizoku assassin because her powers alienate her from being truly accepted into society.
• Braids of Action: That's a pretty long braid.
• Canon Foreigner: Notable in that she was created to loosely tie together the main timeline with the Maximum Impact series and prevent storyline inconsistencies (seeing as MI2 was developed alongside XI).
• Clothing Combat
• Creepy Good: her abilities may be creepy but she means no harm.
• Dark Is Not Evil: Just like her brother.
• Flash Step
• Flower Motifs: Her Another design, according to Word of God, is based on the aconite (Another Xiao wears eight aconite flowers on her person, including four in her hair). Fittingly, the flower is known for its toxic nature and called (among other monikers) the "queen of poisons," whereas Xiao Lon is a Shrinking Violet who might very well have the deadliest command of poisons in her clan.
• Good Is Not Soft: Same deal as her brother. In fact, Xiao seems even more hung up on the woes of being an assassin than Duo Lon is.
• Kiss of Death: Her kisses are poisonous and continue to drain the opponent's health until the match is over.
• Locked Out of the Loop: The rest of the Hizoku clan mostly left Xiao Lon at home in order that she wouldn't learn of Ron's actions. She finds out anyway, spurring her to travel to Southtown.
• Missing Mom: Who's dead. Poor girl...
• Mystical White Hair: With a noticeable green tint and some orange-red at the tip of her bangs.
• Ninja: A Chinese ninja, that is.
• Ojou: Technically speaking; as Ron's daughter (illegitimate, but his daughter nonetheless), she should be of (at least) somewhat high standing within the Hizoku. Ron is (or was) sometimes referred to as a king, while his sons (including Duo Lon) are called princes on occasion. Additionally, Falcoon notes that Xiao Lon was intended to be an "aristocratic character," although he feels that she strayed from the image as time went on.
• Nothing Up My Sleeve: Hides several weapons inside her clothes.
• Professional Killer: It runs in the family, although she doesn't like her job.
• Set Swords to "Stun": This is KOF we're talking about.
• Shrinking Violet
• Stance System: She has three distinct styles at her disposal.
• Summon Magic: One of her attacks involves summoning a dark sorcerer to disrupt her opponent's movements.
• The Unfavorite: To Ron. It still doesn't stop her from loving him, though. It should be noted that it might not entirely be Ron's fault. Apparently, Ron's wife hated Xiao's mother, and since Xiao greatly resembles her mother, Ron's wife convinced him to ignore his illegitimate daughter.

Makoto Mizoguchi

Origin: Japan

Fighting Style: Jissen Karate

Voiced by: Kay Inage

A bruiser who fights on the streets. Aside from that, we... don't know much about him.

---

• The Cameo: He wasn't originally supposed to be in MI:RA and only got in after hard lobbying from the head producer (Falcoon, the lead producer of the series, was a fan of Fighter's History back when he was a kid; Mizoguchi held the distinction of being his favorite character; it didn't hurt that he was a favorite of most fans of the series). Mizoguchi also shows up as a hidden boss character in Kenka Banchō: Badass Rumble as well as an enemy in Joe & Mac Returns.
• Guest Fighter: Unlike Hanzo and Fio, he comes from a non-SNK game, specifically Data East's Fighter's History.
• Hunk: Those muscles. That smile. That face.
• Mr. Fanservice: His "Another" costume.
• Optional Boss: You can only fight him in Regulation A if you don't continue and get a certain amount of super finishes.
• Ridiculously Average Guy
• Running Gag: Whenever Mizoguchi tries to escape from the Mafia, they usually catch him and send him into the tournament to carry out one of their hits. Subverted, as MI:RA is the first time he's been able to enter a tourney for fun. However, he did beat Lucky to enter, thus continuing the American Sports Team's running gag of receiving an invite to KOF, only to be defeated and have their invites stolen.
• Transplant / The Cameo: Comes from the Fighter's History series.
• Walking Shirtless Scene

---