The King Of Fighters Xiv Characters

SNK CORPORATION (Corporate HQ: Suita-city, Osaka, Japan, Company President: Koichi Toyama) is proud to announce the release of 4 new (paid) DLC characters as well as a free major (ver. 3.0) update to the PlayStation®4/Steam title “THE KING OF FIGHTERS XIV（KOF XIV）”.◆ 4 new DLC characters join the fight for a total of 58 combatants ready to clash!KOF XIV, the latest installment in the Series, featured a massive roster of 50 characters at its release in August 2016. 4 new DLC characters have been released in April 2017, and 4 more (Oswald, Heidern, Najd, Blue Mary) this time for a total roster of 58 differents fighters! Pick up your favorite characters, create unique teams, and be ready for endless and epic battles! OSWALD （VA: Toshihiro Shigetsuka）Oswald is an old and very composed gentleman, and a former hitman very well-known in the underworld society.

He has mastered the Karnoffel assassination art, and uses playing cards to slice and dice his opponents. As a veteran poker player, he never shows his hand.HEIDERN （VA: Haruo Yamagishi）Heidern commands the mercenary unit where belong Ralf and Clark.

The most recent game in the series, The King of Fighters XIV, was released on August 23, 2016. Featured media. KOF XIV trailer at AOU 2016 What's a new on KOF Wiki April 2018 - Blue Mary is confirmed as the last DLC character in The King of Fighters XIV. March 2018 - Najd is confirmed as the third DLC character in The King of Fighters XIV.

He fights his enemies using a combination of martial and self taught assassination techniques. As a military officer, Heidern is always calm and silent, but can be very paternal to his adopted daughter Leona.NAJD （VA: Aya Fukuhara）Najd is a very quiet person dressed with an Abaya (traditional Saudi garment) with extraordinary powers. At night, she puts on her Abaya and turns into a vigilante to protect her fellow citizens. In contrast to her mysterious appearance, she is a college student during the day.Blue Mary （VA: Sarah Emi Bridcutt）Blue Mary makes her living as a freelance special agent. She was born into a family known for being accomplished martial artists. She is a specialist in multiple types of martial arts, especially the Sambo fighting style which excels at grappling moves.

TheKing of Fighters XIVSTORY: KOFhas become a major business, generating huge profits and numerous spin-offtournaments worldwide. However, this led to a lowering of the overall quality,and voices began to rise across the globe demanding the formation of one unique,worldwide KOF competition. One day, a billionaire claiming to be the 'firstchampion' bought out all of the rights for the KOF Tournament. His name:Antonov. The announcement of a new KOF Tournament by the self-proclaimedchampion created unprecedented enthusiasm around the world. From there, thisexcitement reached many of the classic participants of the legendary tournamentdirectly in the form of an official invitation.REVIEW: It'sbeen nearly 5 years since The King of Fighters XIIIreleased onconsoles (Nov.

The beautiful 2D sprite-based prequel had respectable success amongcasual and tournament-level players alike. Unfortunately, KOF XIII's lack of asolid online mode on consoles hindered the title's competitive lifespan earlyon. And KOF XIIIfell into obscurity before it could really take off. Many traditional fans were hoping foranother eventual 2Dupdate to XIII's (and XII's) gorgeous art style, but SNKdaringly took the seriesinto the realm of 3D visuals (for a second time) with XIV. As controversial asthe new visual direction may be, thanks to the convenience of a 3D graphics engine, SNK was able todeliver an astounding 50 characters at launch.

This is undeniably an impressivefeat, and accomplished without a soul uttering those infamous 3 letters. 'DLC'.(However, SNKproves that DLC can be a wonderful thing by releasing 4 fan-favorite characterson April 5th, 2017 - Rock Howard, Vanessa, Yamazaki and Whip!)KOF XIV joins PS4's growing fighting game library as yet another exclusive for the system. While notnearly as visually vibrant as Guilty Gear Xrd-REVELATOR- or nearly as popular as Street Fighter V, King ofFighters XIV caters to a passionate niche community and delivers the goods thatveteran 2D fighting game fans would expect.

KOF XIV follows a familiar formula of manypast SNK and 2D fighting game releases. A huge roster at launch, an impressivevariety of colorful stages, more than enough 'standard' modes, andsome cool throwbacks & cameos for the old school fans. For what it's worth,any 'fighting game fan'out there who might've recently complained about 'particular' fighting games not having enoughcontent at launch,charging for extra characters, or not keeping their promises better buy KOF XIV.(You better buy it and loveevery detail SNK packed in.)I love large characterrosters in fighting games. In some ways, 50 characters from the start is almost too much to take in at once.Not to mention, players don't have to unlock any of the characters. (On that note, I think anunlocking system would've worked well for KOF XIV.

But, of course, the inclusionof an unlocking system arguably wouldn't be 'convenient' for thetournament community.) Anyhow,solidly learning one character's combopotential and ever-so-subtle playstyle strengths can take some time, not to mention getting evenone full team of three 'competitive-ready'. Of course, if you're a casual player andjust mash around with buttons to learn a new character. This won't bother you, andyou'll just love trying out all 50 fighters. To everyone else, your work issurely cut out for you! 31returning veterans and 19 brand new characters for a total of 50 fighters!One thing SNK did absolutely right with Kingof Fighters XIV, is that KOF XIV stays true to the series2D gameplay roots very closely (something that SNK promised early on inthe game's development). KOF XIV keeps a similar pace to itssprite-based prequels, and even specific character combos look and feel exactlyas they do in previous games.

For 'tradition-demanding' 2D fans, this is a verygood thing. Some of KOF XIV's mechanics include: Anew MAX mode enabling limited access to EX moves (costing 1 meter), anauto-combo system called 'Rush Mode' enabling easy combos using onlythe light punch button (naturally a beginner-friendly mechanic) and, finally,hard-hitting C+D thrust attacks (causing opponents to be knocked against the wall andbecome vulnerable to follow-up attacks and combos).After experimenting with my old favorite characters in the lab, I came to the conclusion early on thatKOF XIV's c ombo system isFUN. Even as an SNK / NeoGeo fan since the very beginning, I neverfound myself particularly 'in love' with previous iterations of KOF's comboor gauge systems. But XIV streamlines everything. The new MAX modekeeps the action frantic (as players can go ham unleashing powerful EX moves fora limited time), and intuitively opens the door to some easy setups for flashy and damaging combos.The returning MAX Cancel system is also a fun novelty.

Deciding the best possible moment to cancel supers(into more powerful supers) is a satisfyingly nasty way to punish opponents ifyou have the extra meter to burn.The onlypotential 'flaw' in KOF14's combo system (something that may bother certainplayers) is that certain combos require VERY FAST inputs (keeping in tradition with the series history, ofcourse). In short, sometimes youreally need to desperately 'crank out' those multiple quarter-circlemotions to connect some of the more advanced combos. Which couldpotentially lead tonasty hand cramps (or pre-arthritis).(I exaggerate of course, but don't say I didn't warn you!)I'vealways enjoyed KOF's 'multiple jumps' system ever-so-slightly more thanStreet Fighter's jump system.Small Jump, Medium Jump and Large jump return in KOF XIV, in addition to afew special jumps while running. As always, these can be used to set up dynamicair attacks and keeps the 'aged' 2D gameplay more dynamic. Auto-combos / Rush Mode (now astaple in 2D anime fighters these days) is actually implemented pretty well in KOFXIV.

Where KOF XIV's auto-combos differ from some other 2D games is thatthe 'normals' within eachcharacter's Rush combo are 100% unique moves, which don't even appear in theirdefault moveset (meaning you can't even perform said combo manually. It'sinteresting that SNK put unique effort into this mechanic, and it pays offvisually. A part of me still doesn't like to accept these mash-friendly'1-button' auto combos (complete with super move finish) as the newnorm, but I understand making a fighting game accessible to beginners is animportant aspect these days.As you might've noticed, KOF XIV's super moves and Climaxsupers bring 'epic camera angles' to the series for the first timeever. While not nearly as polished or as fleshed out as SFV's or GGXrd's,the dynamic camera angles add some nice 'pop' to many classic KOFsuper moves and help distinguish each character's in-game persona, for the mostpart. (Some are better than others.)FUN FACT: If you noticed that KOF XIV takes a few cues from the StreetFighter IV formula, you're right.

In fact, Yasuyuki Oda ( SFIV battle designer, SuperSFIV game designer, SFIV: Arcade Edition director, and Garou:MOTW battle designer) was the director of KOF14. Before joining Dimps to work on Street Fighter 4, Oda was employed by SNKfrom 1993-2000. SNK's KOFXIV 4 DLC characters are '5 Star' choices. Check their TFGRatings!;)KOF XIV's Story Mode is.slightly odd. Theintro features well-produced cinematics starring the enigmatic organizer of the KOFXIV tournament, the ultra-buff 'Triple H look-alike' known as Antonov.

The'odd' part is the way in which character interactions are implemented.Seeing specific character interactions solely depends on your team's layout. While thiskeeps things unpredictable ( sort of a good thing?). It doesn't presentplayers with any kind of clear path during a Story Mode play-through, leaving it to 'chance' thatcharacters encounter and exchange dialogue. For better or worse, playerspotentially have to play the 9-round Story Mode repeatedly with the SAMEcharacters to view all of the potential interactions. (Of course, they could just watch a Youtubevideo or two which covers them all, but Youtubing something should not have any relevance in a game review).Of course, KOF just wouldn't be KOF without a nonsensical, ridiculously overpoweredblob of a boss waiting for you at the end of Story Mode. (You can read mycharacter review of Verse to see how I really feel about him.)Thankfully, completing Story Mode with aspecific team earns you an exclusive ending for that team. Endings havepretty cool artwork with text (sometimes entertaining, sometimes not so much),and some feature great SNK cameos.Some of KOF XIV's other modes include: Tutorial, Training, Survival, TimeAttack, and Online.Online features the typical Ranked and Free Match, but also offers OnlineTraining and a unique 6-player Online VS 'Party Battle'.Tutorial is a nice addition for the series and gets the job done.

It isnarrated by Antanov, as he runs you through all fundamentals, attack options and gameplay systems. Mission features 5 combo trials for everycharacter in the game (10 would've been nicer). The combo trials serve theirpurpose in helping you learn a character, but I noticed a few of the trialsactually seem rather bone-headed (as there are oftentimes 'morepractical' combo options to obtain similar damage). I think they rushed thismode a bit. Also, some command trialsconfusingly list the 'wrong' directional input, as they need to be done backwards in some instances. (Anexperienced player will figure these out eventually, but I could imagine someplayers getting frustrated).

Additionally, certain MAX super cancels withintrials want you to 'wait longer' than others to complete thecombo, and this important detail isn't specified anywhere. So basically,it's trial & error until you get it right. (The Demo Play option will help ifyou get stuck on these). My final complaint about Trials may seem petty. Butthere's NO PRIZE or TROPHY for completing ALL TRIALS for ALL 50characters???

Lame.As far as Online Mode, I'll start with the good news first. The netcode is avast improvement over XIII's and I've had some 'smooth asglass' online matches. Unfortunately, only a few months after release, I can already hear the distantchirping of crickets in onlinemode. Finding a match takes longer than it should (at least during the latehours that I usually play), and the design of the battle lobbies leave somethingto be desired. Lobbies aren't only sleepy and generic-looking, but perhapsslightly overly-ambitious. 12-player battle lobbies broken up into 3 differentmatch types? Three separatecategories of Single VS, Team VS, and Party VS?

Definite props to SNK for theeffort. But I haven't seen even one KOF14 battle lobby filledup even halfway. I don't blame KOF's popularity in general for this, butperhaps the unappealing design of XIV's online mode itself. It justdoesn't 'look' fun. And the overwhelmingamount of options makes things feel a bit crowded and possibly toooverly-complicated for players to invest in. At least inviting and playinga friend in private is a smooth experience, and that might be all you need toenjoy KOF XIV online.Onesorely missing mode in KOF XIV is Color Edit Mode. Everyoneloves Color Edit Mode.

KOF XIV characters currently only have 4 colors, andthese lonely 4 color options are particularly plain and some would say a little boring.Given the fact that KOF XIV has 3D graphics, a Color Edit Mode would'vefit perfectly! Fingers crossed for the addition of the mode via DLC.

Butperhaps they'd rather sell new colors as DLC down the road, following the example ofCapcom and Arc System Works?If you ask me, I'd rather SNK takes the BandaiNamco approach, with Color Edit coming standard in past TEKKEN and Soul Caliburinstallments for the last 10 years. XIV's other various modes and options aren'tbad, such as Gallery where you can unlock and view tons of classic KOF artwork (just in case yourinternet's out and you can't log on to TFG). Say whatyou will about KOF14's graphics. But at least they're not using 90'ssprites.Obviously, one of the main thingsKOF XIV has going for it, over its most recent competitionin SFV and Xrd -REVELATOR-, is its massive character roster. Ifyou want my opinion of KOF XIV's newcomers, you can of course read eachindividual character overview via their TFG profiles.In general, I'll say that the newcomers are a mixed bag. Somenewcomers seem to be 'trying too hard' to fit into the KOFworld, while others seem like they're not quite trying hard enough.

(.cough.some are kinda on the boring side if you ask me. Furthermore,characters likeSylvie, Shun'ei & Meitenkun seem a bit too anime (or 'weebish' as some wouldsay) for the series, but most new designs might surprise you if you give them achance, for better or worse. My favorite newcomers, you ask? Kukri, Luong,Bandeiras, Antonov, and that crazy Xanadu. Why not.SNK made pretty good choices on the returning veteran.

When some companiesreboot classic franchises, some returning characters arguably go through toomany changes (either in their movesets or visually) which tarnishes theirclassic vibe and overall appeal. Thankfully, KOF's veterans retainpractically ALL of their best moves from past iterations!

Like Ialways say, good characters don't need to change much. SNK amazed me with howwell their classic 2D animations translated into the 3D engine. And thankfully, none of them have that wonky ' MaximumImpact effect,' if you know what I mean.In my opinion, SNK's latest venture into 3D also helped the KOF seriesshake off some of the 'stiffness' that plagued some earlier titles.Compare for yourself if you must.

But KOF XIV's character modelsactually animate and move around moresmoothly than in many past 2D installments. Even as alover of 2D sprites, I think there would be far and fewbetween who would prefer 94'-2003' style graphics over KOF XIV's in thisday and age. Honestly, the vast majority of moves look just as good, if not better thantheir BEST sprite-based counterparts (and that's no easy task). Mostcharacters have 2 variations of their super moves: a classic version, and apowered-up (MAX version) with epic camera angles. So even the folks wearingtheir trusty 'nostalgia glasses' can't even complain!And if you're keeping count, SNK 'one-upped' Capcom's SFV by including more than one'cinematic' super move for each character!

Brave the wintery mountains as a fluffy Arctic Fox, survive the harsh desert as a Fennec Fox, or explore a beautiful forest as a Red Fox! Ultimate fox simulator apk free download. Each species has their own families, experience, and levels!DANGEROUS BOSS BATTLESTest your skills against FIVE thrilling boss battles!

Nice camera angle on the RKO. AKO?To close out this review,let's talk aboutKOF14's overall graphics. To start onthe positives.

Projectiles, flames, smoke, and other special move effects lookEXCELLENT! Among the best of theseries!Character models look proportionally correct for KOF's trademark styleand are put together nicely. The musculature anatomy of bare-chestedfighters looks smooth around the edges and spot on. Females are properly curvyin the right areas and have appropriately soft facial features (no MortalKombat-style man-face problems). The variety of clothing textures are alsoimpressive when you look close and clothing animations aren't half bad. The hair of KOF XIVcharacters actually looks a bit better than SFVcharacters' hair in still shots, but in motion, KOF XIV hair appears stiffer and hasless-impressive animations.

As glitchy as SFV's hair is at times, SFV clothing and hair animation has KOF XIV'snumber. But at least KOF XIV hair looks less like plastic, clay,and/or bananas.Overall, KOF XIV character models look good in battle, but manyof them appear less-flattering 'up close' on the Victory screen(and in Story Mode dialogue cutscenes). Using 2D artworks for the Victory screen would'vebeen more ideal (that is, if they made victory art for this game).Alas, XIV's 'clean' skin textures at least remind me of many classic artworks.On that note, you can notice in the KOF XIV that every member of XIV's cast lookslike they're posing for the cover of ( insert feminine beauty magazine here).even the men, of course.Even 'rough and tough' badasses like Clark, Ryo, Maxima, and Chang have perfectly refined, exfoliated, soft-to-the-touch faces(obviously caked with makeup to cover their imperfections, from you know.fighting).

Their faces are so baby-ass smooth, they could even compete in apageant with male characters from the DOA series! (Cheapshot taken).SNK offered up a solid variety of stages, some with entertaining backgroundcharacters, others a bit more quiet and sleepy. But all of them are stylish intheir own way, and as high quality as I'd expect from a KOF title.

The 3Dbackgrounds appear mostly sharp andsmooth, but some characters, with certain color combinations, haveoff-the-charts BAD aliasing (pick Terry's black costume and you'll see what Imean). At the end of the day, KOF XIVis competitive with SFV's graphics quality on PS4. But SFV still gets the edgedue to better lighting effects, character model quality, and overall animation quality.Also, it's official: KOF characters never ever ever age. Unless they age backwards. KyoKusanagi actually looks a few years younger than his KOF'94 appearance.

Yeah,the faces could be better for sure.Page Updated:February 3rd, 2020Developer(s):SNKPlaymoreDesigner(s):YasuyukiOda DirectorArtworkBy:EisukeOgura Character DesignerNobuyuki Kuroki Art DirectorPlatform(s):PlayStation4, Arcade, PCRelease Date(s):Aug.23rd, 2016 PS4Aug.25th, 2016 PS4Aug.26th, 2016 PS4June 15th, 2017 SteamJune 29th, 2017 ArcadeCharacters:,(DLC),(DLC),(DLC),(DLC),(DLC),(DLC),(DLC),(DLC). Related Games:,GameplayEngine8.5 / 10Story/ Theme8.0 / 10OverallGraphics7.5 / 10Animation8.5 / 10Music/ Sound Effects7.0 / 10Innovation7.0 / 10Art Direction7.5 / 10Customization5.5 / 10Options / Extras7.0 / 10Intro / Presentation7.0 / 10Replayability / Fun7.5 / 10'Ouch' Factor8.5 / 10Characters8.5 / 10BOTTOM LINE8.3/10Review based on PS4 versionFinalWords:Congratsto SNK for putting out a 'complete' King of Fighters sequelon launch day,featuring 100% new content in every aspect. We've missed you, SNK.Did King of Fighters XIV have a smoother and more honest launch than StreetFighter V? Worth mentioning, Capcom's enthusiastic DLC support for SFVhas evolved and improved SFV tremendously since its rocky launch, and thankfully,SNK has matched Capcom's strategy (for one) by supporting KOF XIV withgreat new content into 2017! Some would even say SNK's DLC for KOF XIVis outdoing Capcom's in SFV.On that note, SNK's choices for DLC fighters is something out of a NeoGeofan's dream. Does SNK read TFG reviews or something?!?

Yamazaki, Vanessa, and Rock Howard would've been my top 3personal picks as DLC characters! Anyone who reads TFG reviews would knowthis. SNK makes dreams come true. Applause.

The new DLC stages basedon classic locations are cool too, and they're free. KOF XIV is alreadymore awesome than I was expecting, but I'd love to see them continue theirsupport for the game even further (because they're doing superb work)! SupportSNK, guys.Likeeveryone else, I had some healthy skepticism of KOF XIV after watching the first few,cringe-worthy trailers. But the final build of the game really shaped up nicely. SNK successfullyrebooted the classic KOF formula in 3D, arguably for the first timeever.

(Some would argue the Maximum Impact series was a success, butmany would disagree. So I'll just leave that one alone).That said, KOF14 is actually the first 'true' 2.5D King ofFighters game. When all is said and done, KOF XIV is probably themost accessible and easy-to-play King of Fighters game to date!Every fighting game of this generation seems to get an 'automatic bad rap' fromnitpicky fighting game community members, particularly in a specific categoryor two. The 'vice' that triggered KOF XIV critics early on was itsless-than-spectacular 3D graphics engine. Somefans even cried 'PS2-era character models'. But a quick comparison withany Maximum Impact title will bring those trolls back to reality.If you'vefollowed the series' official art style over the years, you'll remember alot of 'clean' textures in the artwork, along with the trademark pretty faces and dynamic poses. All of these elements areactually present in KOF XIV's overall graphics style, which shows off particularly 'clean-looking' 3D models.Yes, old school KOF 2D sprites are enjoyable still to this day.

Ithink 98% of KOF players would've been just peachy with SNK bringing back' KOF XIII style' sprites at least one more timefor a new title. They were growing the roster nicely inXIII and could've added plenty more fan favorites in that epic art style.I for one was dying to see Yamazaki, Lin, Rock & Vanessa in that style. Alas, SNK decided 3D was the best option, and maybe it was thebetter choice to stay competitive in the over-saturated genre.

Hand drawn 2Dsprites take an unfathomable amount of work and especially timeto perfect, so going 3D is a smart move in this era.I'm not sure anyone enjoys 2D spritesmore than me, as collecting, posting, and organizing 2D character sprites forthe last 15+ yearson this very website is something that I'm proud of. (And if you've been visiting this website thatlong, you must love 2D sprites too.)But even being such a lover of 2D sprites. Does that mean that I can'tenjoy 3D graphics (not to mention 3D graphics which are closely based on classic2D sprites)? We all love the 2D sprites. But releasing a third sprite-based sequel off ofKOF XIII might've come off as monotonous.

I commend SNK for trying theirhand again at 2.5D/3D once again, and they did a great job considering how quicklythe game was released and how many characters they packed into the title. Also,random additional props to SNK for releasing a KOF XIV demo on PS4. It actuallybrought back some ancient memories of downloading the KOF '94 (or KOF '95?) demo onPS1 way back in the day.Of course, people can still complain about KOF XIV's 3D graphics if they sodesire and say the game 'looks like shit' (which it doesn't).

But let's not forget theoriginal KOFseries ('94-2003), in addition to some spin-offs, kept the same 'dated' graphics style & spritesfor well over a decade.Did people still love KOF and play it for years regardless? So.isn't it a bit silly to be so concerned with graphics when it comes tothe KOF series? Yes.It sure is. Also,people should keep in mind not every 2.5D fighting game of this generation isgoing to look as groundbreaking as GGXrd -SIGN. And let's not forget GGXrdoriginally had 17characters at launch as opposed to KOF14's 50!

It's all aboutperspective.Can we be done talking about graphics now.I don't usually spend that much time in a single category, but I felt it was necessaryaddress KOF XIV's most prominent negative stigma. I actually wanted totalk more about KOF XIV's balance update, but I don't have a solidopinion as of yet. As a K' main, I was definitely disappointed to see himnerfed so bad. But I'm not one to complain about nerfs and buffs. Once Iplay a bit more online, I'll update this paragraph with my opinion of thegame's overall balance. Stay tuned.;)If KOF XIV is any indication of SNK's 'rebirth' in the fighting gamerealm, I'm definitely excited.

Their first 3D effort in nearly10 years might not be perfect, but it's a hell of a step in the rightdirection! If SNK doesn't deliver some DLC characters to KOF XIV,then I'm already looking forward to KOF XV. Not to mention aSamurai Shodown reboot and maybe even a proper Fatal Fury / Garou reboot.In closing, there's a lot to love about KOF XIV. And if you're a fan oftried-and-true 2D fighters, you'd be dumb not to support SNK and this game. Onthat note, congrats (again) to SNK for selling over 100,000 copies of KOFXIV!