Let's face it - being at the top of the tier list isn't easy. And if it wasn't enough that some players in the competitive scene get very complacent, there are also these characters that catch flak for being too strong. These are among the many examples seen throughout the series.
Also: don't be surprised if some of these examples are also on the franchise's Game-Breaker page, for these characters often catch flak as a result of it.
NOTE: Please remember that Examples Are Not Recent — when wording examples, please refer to the Season (or game) and use the past tense, instead of words like "right now", "is becoming" or other dated phrasing.
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Multiple Games / Unsorted
- There is a respectable number of people who have come to despise Kula after KOF XI. It didn't get any better in the 1.32 Patch for KOF XV, where she's a common sight in tournaments alongside Rock or Krohnen (both mentioned below).
The King of Fighters '96
- Choi Bounge. His legend as a Tier-Induced Scrappy started in '96 that gives him a revamped kit. Choi's Tatsumaki Shippuu Zan in '96 is broken, because a single hit draw the opponent into his hurricane, taking all the hits afterward. He's not as infamous as he would be in games like 2002, as there was no Advanced Mode to fill up his Power Gauge and he didn't have his signature moves like Hou'ou Kyaku (that was added in '97), but his kit in '96 was a prelude to hit-and-run playstyle he would be famous for.
- Mature has a terrible kit, and this game is before her getting Ebony Tears projectile move (that was added in '98), which would normally make a low-tier. However, Mature has an extremely fast Blow Back. With only 5 frames startup, her Blow Back in '96 is the fastest in the entire main series. On block, you can chain Metal Massacre into it for decent chip damage and enough pushback to avoid any punish. There is no reliable way to counter her Blow Back, other than bringing in other Game-Breaker. People tend to groan when they see another player using Mature, since they know that they'll do little more than spam standing Blow Back and Metal Massacre over and over again. Blow Back spam as a whole is an effective tactic for most of the cast, but Mature is easily the best at it.
The King of Fighters '98
The King of Fighters '98: The Slugfest
- High:
- Iori got his tools nerfed from '97 but still, he's a Master of All. His excellent projectile move makes him a good zoner, and his Kuzukaze command grab and Aoi Hana rekka moves make him a great rushdown character. His Oniyaki anti-air is a great reversal tool, and his air Light Kick is also a great cross-up tool. Since Iori does everything plus more, he's an easy pick for anyone searching for a third character on their team. If there's a problem with him, it's that he's mediocre with the MAX Mode, as its increased pushback makes his rekka move unreliable. Any new player can play him with a decent result, and experts can sweep tournaments with Iori because of how versatile he is. He's not flawless, but people hate seeing him because he just shows up a lot. Iori got hit with a lot of extra nerfs going into Ultimate Match, which brought him down to a decent character.
- Both versions of Chris are a pain to fight. Normal Chris boasts some insane speed with high priority moves. Additionally, his high low mixup game will always keep his opponent guessing and combined with Chris's speed means they have to by a psychic to block. Orochi Chris boasts the same strengths, but also gains a solid reversal and proximity unblockable move to give Orochi Chris some solid defense.
- Goro Daimon makes the case for one of the best grappler characters ever created in fighting game. He boasts some of the best normals in the game with his standing strong kick being an incredible kick and an anti-air with high priority and his standing light kick is a strong poking move. While rolling in is a good strategy against him, it will opeen you up to his varied throw game even if you roll to the other side. If you try to zone him out with projectiles, he can win the trade game with Minelayer from anywhere on the screen. His successful defensive play earned him the infamous nickname 'The Wall of Goro'.
The King of Fighters 2000
- Jhun is notorious for his Ryuurou Shuu ladder combos, which can be set up from any stray launcher hit, and can last until the opponent is KOed if you're quick enough.
The King of Fighters 2002
The King of Fighters 2002
- Vanessa is infamous for her MAX Mode combos, which could shave off 70-90% of the opponent's health, or even KO them outright, for just 2 bars of meter. She's also fairly difficult to keep out or punish thanks to Puncher Vision and Puncher Weaving, which grant upper-body invincibility, can be canceled into from just about any normal, and can make most strings safe on block.
Unlimited Match
- K', appropriately since he's The (Anti-)Hero of the NESTS Saga, is one of the best characters in the entire game bar none. 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 theme
to go with it, too. - Kasumi is in a similar boat as K', but with the added bonus of having some excellent parries, a really good 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.
- Nameless is basically everything that K9999 wishes he was. While his meterless damage isn't much to write home about, once he does get meternote , 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 gamenote , 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 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 pretzel input), and that, again, his meterless damage isn't all that good. A Difficult, but Awesome character indeed.
The King of Fighters 2003
- Duo Lon has many deceptive Special Moves that can trick opponent with relative ease. His command grab is a combo starter like Iori's, except Duo Lon's has longer range. His special dash allows to switch direction in no time. He can stretch his limb to hit his opponent from distance, if they try to space from him. All of his moves can be chained into a combo. He's also the only character who moves behind his opponent in his Tag Attack, instead of moving in front of them like the others; if this happens in a corner, he then can start his infamous infinite. It's no wonder tournaments ban him outright, and even in a casual match you'll get frowned upon if you use him without ever switching into others.
- Daimon is a grappler, which means he benefits a lot from KOF 2003's grab cross-up, making him unstoppable once he gets a chance. His LDM is also a command grab that takes out more than half of a health bar, and is usually a guaranteed KO if you perform it at the end of a Tag Attack combo. If there's another banned character other than Duo Lon, it's Daimon.
The King of Fighters XIII
- K' was seen as such in XIII, right next to Raiden. The best teams have both as staple members with a rotating third. While revisions for the console version have knocked down Raiden a peg or two (mainly due to lengthening the charge time for his dropkick, a staple part of Raiden's lockdown and pressure game), fans are divided on whether the changes to K' have really made him less of a threat, as some have actually served to improve his ability to string together hits in a combo.
- Kim was known for absurd normal buttons (mostly stand D) and being one of the best anchors in the game. Once he gets in range, Kim can put on some insane pressure and force a mistake, and when that happens Kim can take a full health character to death if he has enough meter to burn.
- Mr. Karate is a Master of All 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 Master of All 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.
The King of Fighters XIV
- XIV has quite a few depending on the version. Nakoruru dominated the scene completely in version 1.00, after being nerfed, Leona and Robert became the dominant characters during version 1.10. The 2.00 version brought Benimaru to the spotlight and finally, version 3.0 has been characterized by Iori, Shun'Ei, Heidern, and Najd becoming the top picks in the competitive scene.
- Newcomer Najd quickly became infamous in the competitive scene because she has a very complete toolkit -that KOF legend Xiaohai said was better than Iori's-, and could deal ridiculous amounts of damage thanks to her dropkick without using any meter. The metagame of XIV hinged on smart use of your meter to activate Max Mode in the middle of your combos and enable EX moves and Climax cancels. Najd however, can easily juggle the opponent with her many options and deliver a devastating drop kick that could obliterate half of the opponent's health in a single combo; making her the best point character in the game bar none. Even when she saw her damage and the possibility of following her combos after a successful dropkick nerfed in a subsequent patch she still is top five and a widely popular pick in the tournament scene.
The King of Fighters XV
- EVO 2022 made it apparent that there were a few characters that stood head and shoulders above the rest.
- Kula emerged as the best point character in the game bar none. With easy to perform combos that still deal immense damage without meter and a toolset excellent at stuffing approaches and projectiles, she can easily snowball things in her team's favor.
- After being absent for 20 years, K9999 made his return under the alias Krohnen. And boy did he return with a vengeance! His main repetoire is his ex DP which leads to monster damage if he decides to spend the bar. He also has one of the best level 3 supers in the game that bests damn near everything. He is a must-pick for the anchor position. Though nerfs have allowed other characters to fill in that role in a similar way, he is still regarded as the best character in the back.
- Version 1.62 toned down the best characters in the game while keeping them strong. Yet there was one character that proved that she was already incredibly strong from the get-go. Bonne Jenet, the pirate from Garou: Mark of the Wolves fame, has insane mobility unmatched by anyone else from the roster. And when she does get a hit on you, she deals out insane amounts of damage. All of this is complimented by excellent normals and an anti-air game that makes it extremely difficult for most characters to handle. With the heavier nerfs dealt on the other characters, she became the defacto best character in the game, one who excelled at any position in a team.
- Don't forget to check the Tier List on your way back to the main page!
