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''Nothing's gonna stop it 'cause it's 1998!''|'''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7GcbCgEqcE Cipher]''', [[Thematic Theme Tune]] of ''[[The King of Fighters]] '98'' (and its [[Updated Rerelease]], ''Ultimate Match'', as a remixed version).}}
The '''''King of Fighters''''' series started out as a crossover fighting game, featuring some of the most popular characters from [[SNK]] Playmore's (known as ''SNK'' back then) fighting game franchises: ''[[
Although the first game was merely intended to be a [[Mascot Fighter]], the series became more popular than the others that inspired it, and [[Continuity Creep|an overreaching plot soon developed that took the other SNK fighters along for the ride]].
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In addition to the thirteen games of the main ''King of Fighters'' storyline, there are multiple spinoffs, remakes and [[Dream Match Game|"dream match"]] titles (that combine all the characters of that particular saga into one game).
These include ''Maximum Impact'', a 3D [[Fighting Game]] series which takes place in an [[Alternate Continuity]], right down to having characters not featured in the main King of Fighters storylines; an RPG that ties the events of ''{{'}}96'' with ''{{'}}97''; a [[Bullet Hell]] spinoff called ''[[KOF Sky Stage]]'' for the Xbox Live Arcade; and ''The King of Fighters-i 002'', an iPhone game that ties into ''XIII''
Aside from fighting games and tie-ins, there were the rather infamous [[Dating Sim]] games for mobiles and [[Nintendo DS]], ''Days Of Memories'' allowed the Player Character to venture in Southtown and date most of the fighting divas from the series (and [[Fatal Fury|from]] [[Art of Fighting|others]]); later versions also allowed a girl Player Character to date the male fighters as well.
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----
{{tropenamer}}
* [[Dream Match Game]]: Both the [[Trope Namer]] (thanks to the Japanese subtitle of ''{{'}}98'', ''Dream Match Never Ends'') and [[Trope Codifier]].
{{tropelist}}
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* [[Assist Character]]:
** ''2000'''s Another Striker cameos.
** The cameos in ''{{'}}99: [[Updated Rerelease|Evolution]]''.
* [[Audio Adaptation]]: There are numerous drama CDs for the series, usually one or two per game, with individual characters sometimes getting their own CDs.
* [[Badass Crew]]: Most of the (earlier) teams fit this bill (i.e. Team Japan, ''Art of Fighting'' Team, ''Fatal Fury'' Team, ''Ikari'' Team, etc), as many of them are [[Badass Family|family members]] and [[Heterosexual Life Partners|close friends]] who have known each other for a good deal of time and decide to team up. More recent examples would include Team Korea and the K' Team. At this point, most of these teams have at least two or three characters that function as [[True Companions]].
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* [[Blind Idiot Translation]]: Most of the games up to ''2002'' will have at least one totally bizarre line that becomes almost way too funny. At a serious scene, just one slip up in translations and BAM: INSTANT [[Narm|NARMAGE]].
* [[Blonde, Brunette, Redhead]]: Iori Yagami, Mature and Vice, whenever they form the Yagami Team.
* [[Bootstrapped Theme]]: Aside from [[Leitmotif|the repeated use]] of "Geese Ni", nearly every theme for the ''Art of Fighting'' Team is based off of Ryuhaku Todoh's [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pg0VBBo3Abo theme] from the first ''Art of Fighting''. To date, the only notable exceptions are [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvC7HQxiZCc "Kamikirimushi" ("Praying Mantis")] from ''{{'}}96'' and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46uVnQVGL2A "Fight to the Limit"] from ''2001''.
* [[Boss Dissonance]]: Like most of [[SNK]]'s bosses, this series has some nasty ones. How nasty? [[SNK Boss|It has a trope!]]
* [[Calling Your Attacks]]: Almost everyone. Very often subverted when the characters yell something other than the move's name (like Iori); averted by the less talkative characters (Daimon, Leona) and Orochi, whose moves didn't even had actual names until ''{{'}}98: [[Updated Rerelease|Ultimate Match]]''.
* [[The Cameo]]: The entire gamut is enough to probably warrant its own page.
* [[Canon Discontinuity]]: ''XIII'' starts where ''XI'' left off, leaving ''XII'' as if it never happened. [[Obvious Beta|All things considered]], it's not hard to see why.
** To be fair, all of the [[Dream Match Game|"dream match"]] titles are like that. ''{{'}}98'' and ''2002'' (''[[Updated Rerelease|UM]]'') have no bearing on the titles that come after them. The anomaly here is rather where the placement of the dream match occurred (that is in the middle of a saga, rather than as a bookend that brings back the cast from the whole saga; though it was clearly not intended to be a dream match anyway).
* [[Character Customization]]: While its still impossible to change costumes in ''XIII'' because of 2D, SNK have been very creative with color palettes (Robert Garcia with very convincing Terry Bogard palette for example), especially with skin color and skintight clothing (most notable are "no pants" Yuri and Raiden's many "costumes"). And then, as soon as the arcade version was released, it's been revealed that there's alternate palettes that give certain characters actual headswaps: Yuri gets her long hair back, Raiden loses his mask (revealing that he is, in fact, Big Bear), and Takuma gets his Mr. Karate tengu mask back.
** The console version adds to this with Kyo getting his old ''{{'}}94'' school uniform back (And this is without counting his DLC form which comes with a whole new costume altogether.)
** On a lesser scale, the PS2 ports of ''King of Fighters'' games from ''Neowave'' up to ''2002 Unlimited Match'' had a colour edit feature allowing players to create their own custom palettes. ''King of Fighters XI'' onward let you edit their special moves' colours too.
* [[Character Roster Global Warming]]: As far as [[Mighty Glacier|Mighty Glaciers]] go, the series started with Ralf, Clark and Chang. It took them about six years to add Maxima, a year to add Seth, three years to add Tizoc, and about another six to add Raiden.
* [[Charles Atlas Superpower]]: Partially averted, as many characters have incredible strength and powers due to their bloodlines. On the other hand, others are powerful simply because they trained.
* [[Colony Drop]]: Igniz tries this in ''2001''. {{spoiler|It fails}}.
* [[Comic Book Time]]: After ''{{'}}95'', SNK froze all of the ages of their characters in order to keep the cast roughly youthful. While there are a few illusions of the passage of times (such as Kyo changing his outfit to show that he's dropped out of high school), the earlier characters remain in their teens and twenties whereas most of them should be about a full decade older. This also extends to cameo characters and newer entrants. This is why characters like Kim's sons Jae Hoon and Dong Hwan from ''Garou'', as well as fan-favorite Rock Howard ([[Executive Meddling|SNK Playmore's desire to save Rock]] for the ''Garou'' sequel [[Vaporware|which will probably never come to pass]] aside) will probably never make a playable appearance in a future 2D ''King of Fighters'': they appear as children and will stay that way unless there is some sort of [[Retcon]] [[Plot-Relevant Age-Up]] involved.
* [[Compilation Rerelease]]: Three so far:
** ''The King of Fighters Orochi Hen'' (PS2): A Japanese release comprising of ''{{'}}95'', ''{{'}}96'', and ''{{'}}97'': the Orochi Saga.
** ''The King of Fighters NESTS Hen'' (PS2): Same as above, only it includes ''{{'}}99'' (plus the Dreamcast port, ''{{'}}99 Evolution''), ''2000'' and ''2001''. Basically, the NESTS Chronicles.
** ''The King of Fighters Collection: The Orochi Saga'' (PS2, PSP, Wii): the US and European equivalent of the first collection, only it also includes the series' progenitor ''{{'}}94'' and the popular ''{{'}}98''. This package also includes a Challenge mode, but lacks the online mode, soundtrack selection, and customizable palettes from the Japanese compilations.
* [[Continuity Creep]]: What was envisioned as a relatively storyless [[Mascot Fighter]] began to kick into overdrive starting in ''{{'}}95''. The story has since become more and more complex, to the point that you'd be lost if you currently jumped into the games without knowledge of ''at least'' the first and third sagas (i.e. the arcs revolving around Orochi and the Three Sacred Treasures). And that's not even counting all of the plot elements and allusions carried over from ''[[Fatal Fury]]'', ''[[Art of Fighting]]'', ''[[Ikari Warriors]]'', ''[[Psycho Soldier]]'', ''[[Samurai Shodown]]'', ''The [[Last Blade]]'', ''[[Fuun Series|Savage Reign/Kizuna Encounter]]''... A few more titles and we might very well approach full-on [[Continuity Porn]]/[[Continuity Lock Out]].
* [[Creepy Twins]]: The two that appear in the Ikari Team's ''XI'' ending.
* [[Crisis Crossover]]
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* [[The Dev Team Thinks of Everything]]: In ''XI'', one of the stages is set in an alleyway outside of the [[Fatal Fury|Pao Pao Café in Southtown]]. If you hang out in the center and right areas of the stage, nothing exactly spectacular goes on besides some civilian spectators cheering you on. Move far enough to the left, however, and a motorcycle comes barreling down the street... the very same road the combatants were obstructing earlier.
* [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?]]: Orochi is [[Informed Ability|supposed]] to be able to bring [[The End of the World as We Know It]], Goenitz is capable of [[Person of Mass Destruction|catastrophic destruction]] (with hints that Chris, Shermie and Yashiro can do it too), yet it is never even hinted that more than three fighters were needed to defeat any of them; and in fact, Kyo is usually given all the credit for the defeat of Orochi.
* [[Difficulty Spike]]: Several games in the series suffer from this, but the three most [[Egregious]] examples would probably be in ''{{'}}94'', ''{{'}}96'', and ''XI''. If you reach the first cutscene (in ''{{'}}94''), face the Boss Team (in ''{{'}}96''), or make it to the [[Sub Boss]] (in ''XI''), expect things to take a turn for the worse.
* [[Distracted by the Sexy]]: Only in the comical, non-serious "ending" of ''2002'' though: Shermie makes several suggestive poses, and many male characers (including [[Celibate Hero|Andy Bogard]]!) run around trying to get a good look. Clark just runs up and tackles her.
* [[Dive Kick]]: As May Lee Jinju is a ''Kamen Rider'' fan, her Desperation Supers involve a Rider Kick at the end, complete with a heroic pose.
* [[Divergent Character Evolution]]:
** Clark and Ralf used to be basically the exact same character; Little more than headswaps. Over time, they evolved to the point it was downright bizarre to think they were ever similar ([[Red Oni, Blue Oni|Ralf likes to punch things, Clark tosses you around]]) Fan reaction was '''''extremely''''' negative when Clark was brought back to the rank of "[[Palette Swap|Ralf 2]]" in ''XII''.
** Mature and Vice. The former is more speed-oriented, while the latter is a grappler: they only share one move {{spoiler|two if you count their ''XIII'' [[Limit Break|Neo MAX]]}}.
** The Kyo clones, whose differentiation came in ''2002 Unlimited Match''.
** Kyo and Iori were actually [[Ryu and Ken]] in ''{{'}}95'', but then became wildly different in the next game; in fact, when Iori lost his flames and became a more physical fighter ala Kyo post-''{{'}}95'', Kyo ''went back'' to his old moveset.
** The console version of ''XIII'' then added the original flames Iori and "rekka" style NESTS-saga Kyo as DLC playable characters thus restoring the Kyo-Iori side of this trope two-fold (so you can have old "rekka" Kyo versus new "melee" Iori or new/old "fireball" Kyo versus old "flames" Iori).
* [[Doomed by Canon]]: The New Faces/Orochi Team die in ''their'' ending, for crying out loud!
* [[Doomed Hometown]]: Southtown, the setting of sister series/AlternateContinuity ''Fatal Fury'' and ''Art of Fighting'', is all but systematically wiped out by Clone Zero's [[Kill Sat]] at the end of ''2000'' [[Turned Against Their Masters|in his attempt to rebel against the NESTS cartel]] (this ''does'' lead to Takuma's [[Moment of Awesome (Sugar Wiki)|CMOA]] where he redirects the Zero Cannon's laser with a [[Kamehame Hadoken|Max-Power Haoh Shi Koh Ken]]/Suburu Ou Shikoh Ken to save King). However, this plot point is absent in the next game, and by the time of ''2003'', the citizens seemingly have worked together to rebuild the shambled city.
* [[Downloadable Content]]: ''XIII'' has 3 characters made DLC, all three of them being different versions of existing characters basically serving as nostalgia.
** "Iori with the Power of Flames" is Iori as he used to be, using his old moveset from other KOF games before Ash stole his powers. He also claims the SDM version of his Ya Otome from ''King of Fighters '99'', his Yamisogi DM from ''King of Fighters 2000'' and his Neomax is the Homurahotogi HSDM from ''2002'' with a mch, MUCH larger explosion that triggers the very moment he grabs your head (unlike in ''2002'' where there was a brief pause when he did).
** "NESTS Kyo" is Kyo in his ''King of Fighters '99'' outfit with his signature "rekka" moveset from ''{{'}}96'' to ''XI''. He loses his aerial Orochinagi DM but reclaims his Mu Shiki DM. His Neomax "Totsuka" is a whole new move involving a charging fire punch tat causes a gigantic explosion.
** "Mr. Karate" is Takuma in his classic ''[[Art of Fighting]]'' boss persona (he has it as an alt costume of sorts, but here, its a legitimate EX moveset). His moves (And by the looks of things, his personality here) are based around Serious Mr. Karate from ''SNK vs. Capcom Chaos'' while his Neomax is a whole new move starting with a punch and ending with a flashy, explosive karate chop with Taku... sorry, Mr. Karate powered by the golden spirit of a real tengu.
* [[Dramatic Wind]]: A few characters have these in their intro or win poses. This includes Kyo and Iori's special introduction in ''2000'' which is made funny if the wind in one of the backgrounds is blowing the other way around.
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* [[Hong Kong Dub]]: Largely played straight with the ''Maximum Impact'' dub. Inverted in that the original Japanese audio doesn't always sync properly with the lip movements either, although it's far less frequent.
* [[Idle Animation]]: K''s is notable in that it doesn't loop, which is unique for a sprite. The only way to see him in his fighting stance again after he's put his hands in his pockets is to move him from his spot and to add to that his eyes close progessively slower til he's outright fallen asleep.
** This even extended to the characters on your team who waited their turn on the sidelines (from ''{{'}}94'' to ''{{'}}98'') as you fought. The combatants who had yet to fight would stand and react accordingly (positive gestures if you landed a hit, not-so-positive ones if you were getting your block knocked off); KO'ed fighters would sit there silently in a defeated slump, only acknowledging the ongoing fight if their teammate(s) managed to avenge them. If you got stunned nearby your teammates you could mash buttons and one of them could jump out and briefly attack your enemy.
** Other characters have started having idle animations that don't loop, particularly by the HD upgrade in ''XII''. Things like Iori shrugging his shoulders or Ash twisting his hips and playing with his bangs follow K' as non-looping fighting stances.
* [[Image Song]]: A crapload. Besides the numerous individual ones for the more popular characters (see the individual character sheet), SNK decided to create an entire ''band'' off of this concept called "The Band of Fighters." The lineup was Kyo (guitarist), Iori (bassist), Athena (lead vocalist), Terry (drummer) and [[Samurai Shodown|Nakoruru]] (pianist) as a band in some bizarre [[Alternate Universe]]. On occasion, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMII_gzYuTc other characters will lend their vocal talents to the group]. Perhaps their best known song is [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1CEfymvmp4 "The Song of Fighters II"] and its live version [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVlip4H6MqM "Bright & Fly"].
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* [[Mirror Match]]: Not just a game mechanic, considering the number of Kyo clones there are. He even complains about how many of them there are in a few games set after the NESTS Saga (namely ''King of Fighters XI'' where he jokes that he could make a baseball team out of himself).
* [[The Movie]]: There's one, starring [[Ray Park]] as Rugal... and let's leave it at that.
* [[Mundane Made Awesome]]: Several (although which side of the door things swing on is a case-by-case basis).
** One of Rugal's super moves is an overhead stomp. If it connects, he breaks his opponent's neck, crushes them into the ground, and proceeds to '''''[[Everything's Better with Spinning|perpetually spin in 360 degrees]] [[This Is a Drill|and drill the opponent in the gut]]'''''. Damage is sub-par, but it's well worth it. This eventually contributed to the [[Memetic Mutation|You Spin Me Right Round/Rugalspin meme]].
** In ''2002 Unlimited Match'':
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*** Igniz [[There Is No Kill Like Overkill|traps you in a galaxy and then blows it up]]. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFdo8xgMyFA Check it out] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCXYfZme4Aw for yourselves].
*** EX Takuma whipping out his [[Kamehame Hadoken|Max Power Suburu Ou Shikoh Ken]] HSDM, coincidentally the same attack he shows off in the ''Art of Fighting'' team's ''2000'' ending
*** EX Kensou's super repulse touch palm attack HSDM, and keep in mind this version of Kensou was based off of his powerless form from ''{{'}}99'' to ''2000''.
*** Krizalid's Lightning Disaster, where he expels all of his battle data into physical form.
** Before all of this, there was Orochi in ''{{'}}97'', who could rip your soul out of your body, and crush it in the palm of his hand. ''Your soul''.
** The above HSDM/MAX2s gain [[Spiritual Successor|Spiritual Successors]] in the form of the Neo MAXs from ''XIII''. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_SDcV-5DaA Here's a compilation of them].
** Not even the songs are safe! [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vH4t4XOOdg To the rhythm! T-t-to the rhythm!]
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* [[No Ending]]: Usually in the case of characters added to home ports of games (who usually receive some sort of congratulatory artwork in place of an actual ending), as well as all the hidden characters in ''Maximum Impact 2''. The case of the former, this also results in no character-specific prologues and cutscenes for the sub-boss and boss.
* [[No Koreans in Japan]]: Averted.
* [[Not Just a Tournament]]: The game in a nutshell, most prominently during The Orochi Saga (''{{'}}95''-''{{'}}97'') and The Tales of Ash (''2003''-''XIII''), where the primary motive of the baddies is to [[Sealed Evil in a Can|unseal]] [[Orochi]] (although for varying, but no less equally evil purposes). This has happened so frequently that characters start [[Lampshade Hanging|asking]] why there can't be a regular fighting tournament that ''doesn't'' serve as the instrument for [[The End of the World as We Know It]] every once in a while.
* [[Numbered Sequels]]: Until recently, all of the games had the "''The King of Fighters''" title, followed by the year the game was released. This tradition stopped with the release of ''XI'', which was released two years after ''2003''. There is also a bit of confusion about this, since ''King of Fighters: Maximum Impact 2'' was entitled "''The King of Fighters 2006''" in North America.
* [[Obvious Beta]]: ''XII'''s home version was released with very spartan single-player features (only five fights and no boss), a poorly regulated and hastily-patched online mode (to the point of being unplayable,) and massive [[Game Breaking Bug|Game Breaking Bugs]]. Studious crackers have found files on the game disc regarding [[Dummied Out]] characters.
* [[Oddball in the Series]]: It seems that this title would originally go to ''2001'' with its bizarre spin on the [[Assist Character|Striker System]] (your team can go anywhere from all four characters to only one member with three Strikers), the low-quality, highly-repetitive, techno-style music that lasts for all of 30 seconds, its lukewarm conclusion to an already controversial saga, and (most of all) [[SNK Boss|"lovable" Igniz]], one of ''the'' cheapest bastards in fighting game history (to put this into perspective, ''he'' was the former posterboy for [[SNK Boss]]), but you could make a case for the [[Obvious Beta|bare bones]] ''XII'' too.
* [[Off-Model]]: Since the default sprites are used since ''{{'}}96'' and the style of animators keeps evolving or the animators are changed, this is bound to happen, starting with new attacks that looks a little different in style (some attacks in ''2000'') to very noticeable art clash (starting with ''2000'' newcomers, although ''{{'}}99'' newcomers are an arguable transition).
* [[Offscreen Moment of Awesome]]: Oswald's fight with Shen Woo in their team's ''XI'' ending. [[Word of God]] says that the fight was left [[Cliff Hanger|open-ended]] because the fans would be disappointed with the final result.
* [[Over the Shoulder Murder Shot]]: Iori does this in one of his desperation moves.
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* [[Public Domain Artifact]]: Treasures of Amaterasu, which is a major part of the plot the latest story arc.
* [[Put on a Bus]]: This happens a lot. You can't fit 80+ people in one game.
** The American Sports Team, who appeared in the first game and has only been back in a non-striker fashion only once for the "Dream Match" game ''The King of Fighters '98'' (which still had missing characters, like Eiji, Kasumi and the ''{{'}}96'' Boss Team!... at least until ''[[Updated Rerelease|Ultimate Match]]'').
** Leona skipped ''XI''.
** Andy Bogard skipped ''2003'' and ''XI''.
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** Hinako. Put on a bus since ''2003''.
** The current saga was notable in that several characters that were mainstays throughout the Orochi and NESTS sagas (i.e. Andy, Mai, Robert, Leona, Chang, Choi, Chin, etc), were dropped from the roster in either ''2003'' or ''XI''. Not that most of 'em didn't [[The Bus Came Back|come back]] in either the home port of ''XI'', ''XII'' or ''XIII''...
* [[Quirky Miniboss Squad]]: The Outlaw Team from ''2003'' is made up of sub-bosses from the ''[[Fatal Fury]]'' games (and Gato): Billy Kane, Gato and the [[Ax Crazy]] [[Knife Nut]] Ryuji Yamazaki. It was like this in ''{{'}}97'' as well, only with [[Token Good Teammate|Blue Mary]] completing the threesome with Billy and Yamazaki (Gato would not be created until 1999's ''Garou: Mark of the Wolves'').
** ''{{'}}96'', ''2001'' and ''2002'' had the New Faces and NESTS teams. ''Especially 2002''.
* [[Real Is Brown]]: For no reason, ''2002'' and ''2003'' had desaturated colors in their stages.
* [[Relationship Values]]: Rare non-RPG example, and stealthily inserted at that. From ''{{'}}94'' all the way up to ''{{'}}98'', the teammates you chose affected who would actually be willing to jump in and initiate a Help Attack if their partner in the ring was dazed or being grappled. Allies are more likely to do so if the characters aren't hostile to one another and/or have strong ties (familial, romantic, or platonic) in canon. However, not all characters abide by this rule. Iori, for example, will ''never'' bust his neck to help out a teammate, '''period'''.
* [[Rotoscoping]]: ''XII'' was extensively rotoscoped off of 3D models, and apparently so was ''XIII''.
* [[Roundhouse Kick]]: Several characters have this as a move.
* [[Science Is Bad]]: The underlying message with the NESTS Chronicles.
* [[Secret Project Refugee Family]]: K', Whip and Kula have essentially been this post-NESTS saga alongside caretakers Maxima (who functions as the [[Older Sidekick]] to K', as well as Kula's [[Honorary Uncle]]), Foxy, and Diana (the [[Team Mom|Team Moms]] of the group, [[Heterosexual Life Partners|as well as]] [[Has Two Mommies|Kula's maternal figures]]).
* [[Shout-Out]]: Check [[The King of Fighters/Shout
* [[Sibling Team]]: The Bogard Bros., who usually team up in ''King of Fighters'' alongside their good buddy Joe. The current saga (until ''XIII'') marks the first time Andy wasn't on the roster alongside Terry.
* [[So Last Season]]: Subverted: the rosters rotate with every new season, but the special moves rarely do.
* [[Some Dexterity Required]]: The series had a problem with this early on. Then there's the legendary Raging Storm: Down-Back, Half-Circle Back, Down-Forward. There's a reason it's called "[[Fan Nickname|The Pretzel]]". Most games starting with ''{{'}}96'' averted this, but SNK still throws curveballs from time to time. K9999's inputs are also ridiculously difficult as are Duck King's in ''XI''. The Raging Storm is notoriously difficult ''for the sake of nostalgia''.
* [[Stable Time Loop]]: {{spoiler|The whole Ash saga was revealed to be one in ''XIII'' due to Saiki and [[Meaningful Name|Those From the Past]]. It's broken in the ending by Ash's [[Heroic Sacrifice]]}}.
* [[Submarine Pirates]]: The Lillien Knights.
* [[Surprisingly Good English]]:
** The opening rap from ''{{'}}98'' at the top of the page.
** The announcer and pretty much all text in ''XIII''.
*** ''XIV'''s announcers as well: despite fairly clearly being native Japanese speakers, their English is otherwise quite fluent.
* [[Suspiciously Similar Substitute]]: Nameless, who replaces K9999 in ''2002 Unlimited Match'' could be considered a positive rendition of this.
** As well as Aya and Hermione, Rugal's secretaries from ''{{'}}98'', who replaced Mature and Vice after they became [[Ascended Extra|ascended extras]].
* [[Tag-Team Twins]]: Pre-final boss fight in ''2003'' against Chizuru and Maki Kagura who fit this trope just exactly: not only they're literal twins, and they both fight in a two-member tag team (whereas three was the default number), [[Synchronization|they also share the same lifebar]].
* [[Tournament Arc]]: The point of the entire series, considering that it revolves around the titular fighting tournament. However, King of Fighters always seems to serve as the vehicle for some nefarious person or group with an axe to grind to the point that certain fighters in the ''Maximum Impact'' series [[Lampshade Hanging|hope that the next tournament can simply be a test of their skills and not the instrument of the possible destruction of mankind]].
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* [[Unblockable Attack]]: A good number of them, chief among them being Ralf's Galactica Phantom when charged up.
* [[Updated Rerelease]]:
** ''{{'}}94: Rebout'', which added Saisyu, Team Edit (missing in the original ''{{'}}94'' and didn't become a staple of the series until the next game), enhanced sprites, and a lot of 3D backgrounds.
** ''{{'}}98: Ultimate Match'', which added Eiji from ''{{'}}95'', Kasumi, the Boss Team and Goenitz from ''{{'}}96'', and Orochi Iori, Orochi Leona and Orochi himself from ''{{'}}97''.
** ''2002: Unlimited Match'', which has EVERYONE who was in the NESTS saga games (except K9999, who gets a [[Suspiciously Similar Substitute]] in the form of Nameless), INCLUDING Geese (with his added Nightmare mode from ''[[Fatal Fury|Real Bout Fatal Fury Special]]'', [[SNK Boss|cheapness and all!]]) and Goenitz, last seen on the [[PlayStation 2]] port of ''2002''. Though for some reason, Orochi Iori is not present as a playable character though he was found as a [[Dummied Out]] element.
*** ''Ultimate Match'' got its own rerelease with the PGM 2 version, which brings in some balance fixes and new moves.
** ''King of Fighters XIII'''s arcade game: after the game is released in console and given extra contents and DLCs, the arcade game gets an upgrade called ''The King of Fighters XIII Climax'' which feature all these bonuses.
* [[Up to Eleven]]: SDM/HSDM/MAX2/LDM/Neo MAX variants of existing specials and DMs tend to be a mite bit more grandiose than their normal versions.
* [[Video Game Long Runners]]: "It all began in ''{{'}}94''..." All joking aside, the series includes twelve titles (not including [[Updated Rerelease|Updated Rereleases]] like ''{{'}}98 Ultimate Match'', ''2002: Unlimited Match'' and ''Neowave''), with several portable [[Spin-Off|Spin Offs]], ''four'' [[Alternate Continuity|separate continuities]] (''Maximum Impact'', ''EX'', ''R'', ''Days of Memories''), and various other titles like the RPG-styled ''King of Fighters: Kyo'' and pachinko slot games. ''The King of Fighters XIII'' is currently the latest game.
* [[Villain Decay]]: Duke in ''Maximum Impact 2''.
* [[Wham! Episode]]: ''XIII'', considering its ending.
** The ''entire'' "Tales of Ash" saga is pretty much a Wham ''[[Up to Eleven|Arc]]'' (Chizuru and Iori lose their powers, the seal on Orochi is broken, Ash beats ''Orochi Iori'' effortlessly, etc), but this is all compounded by {{spoiler|the climax of ''XIII''}}.
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[[Category:PlayStation]]
[[Category:PlayStation 2]]
[[Category:PlayStation 3]]
[[Category:Sega Dreamcast]]
[[Category:Sega Saturn]]
[[Category:Xbox]]
[[Category:Xbox 360]]
[[Category:Video Game]]
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