The first major fighting game launch of 2022 is The King of Fighters XV, the latest installment in SNK's long-running fighting game franchise. More than just a typical brawler, The King of Fighters series has brought together characters from across many of SNK's biggest gaming properties as a full-on crossover title. In doing so, The King of Fighters predates contemporaries like Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Tekken and Soul Caliber from incorporating crossover elements, as well as dedicated crossover fighting games like Marvel vs. Capcom and Super Smash Bros., making it the first major crossover fighting game.
The King of Fighters came about after director Takashi Nishiyama, creator of 1987's landmark Street Fighter, left Capcom for rival game publisher SNK, along with designer Hiroshi Matsumoto, to create a fighting game for arcades and SNK's new home console the Neo Geo. The result was 1991's Fatal Fury: King of Fighters, seen as Nishiyama's spiritual successor to the original Street Fighter while boasting its own roster of warriors and sweeping backstory.
Released the same year as Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, Fatal Fury similarly saw its protagonists enter a high-stakes martial arts tournament overseen by an evil crime lord. In contrast to Street Fighter II, Fatal Fury initially only featured three playable characters, though it also allowed players to battle in the foreground or background, jumping between planes in the midst of ongoing matches.
Following Fatal Fury's success, a prequel series was commissioned by SNK under the title Art of Fighting, with Matsumoto taking on a directorial role, with Art of Fighting and Fatal Fury 2 both released in 1992. SNK planned to crossover Fatal Fury and Art of Fighting with a side-scrolling beat 'em-up title akin to Final Fight but it was decided to abandon this in favor of refocusing efforts on a crossover fighting game instead, resulting in The King of Fighters '94. The crossover game featured 3-on-3 matches, with returning characters from Fatal Fury and Art of Fighting, along with teams representing fellow SNK properties Ikari Warriors and Psycho Soldier.
This crossover predates Capcom bringing together the rosters of Street Fighter and Final Fight together for 1995's Street Fighter Alpha and 1996's X-Men vs. Street Fighter, with the latter as the first installment in the Marvel vs. Capcom series. By The King of Fighters 2000, SNK began to add characters from even more of its properties, including Metal Slug, Burning Fight and Robo Army. The King of Fighters' continued success saw a new game released by SNK annually, ending in 2003 before games began seeing a multi-year development window to keep the franchise's gameplay formula fresh and match the quality of contemporary fighting games.
The King of Fighters is the most enduring franchise in SNK's extensive library of titles, with protagonist Terry Bogard serving as something of the face of the Neo Geo. The King of Fighters XV is looking to take the franchise to new heights with modern audiences, especially as the fighting game genre finds more of a fanbase through online gaming communities and competitions. In the meantime, The King of Fighters set the bar for fighting games leaning into the possibilities of crossovers between established properties and rosters, bringing the massive playable rosters with plenty of guest fighters that gamers have come to love in the decades since.
Developed SNK and published by SNK and Koch Media, The King of Fighters XV will be available Feb. 17 on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC.
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