The King of Fighters 15 promises to "shatter all expectations," but fighting game fans who are new to the franchise may not know exactly what expectations to have going into the latest title. The King of Fighters quickly became SNK's flagship franchise after its debut in 1994 with the aptly titled The King of Fighters '94. Following from SNK's Fatal Fury series, the title acted as a gathering of SNK's numerous mascots into one title in a concept that would later inspire the creation of Super Smash Bros. The series would continue onward in a yearly fashion after the success of the first title.
Starting from The King of Fighters '95, the series would begin to lay the groundwork of its overarching narrative as well as put the pieces together to the style of game that the franchise would become synonymous with through the years. Each game in the main Kong of Fighters series would add and subtract different mechanics in an effort to keep each game feeling fresh, whether it was the MAX Mode in KoF '97 or the Striker System that set KoF '99-2001 apart. Despite all of the mechanical and systemic changes the series has seen, KoF has managed to maintain a basic structure that fans can recognize as a trademark of the franchise.
The game's 3v3 team system has remained a key component of the series's identity, and KoF 15 remains no different. As The King of Fighters changed from a yearly release of its main games to a more irregular release schedule, the added time has allowed the games to see more refinements to its system while also offering some variety in spin-offs and experimental gameplay changes, such as KoF 2003 and 11's tag system. Remaining true to the roots of The King of Fighters, however, has produced the franchise's most enduring and accessible titles.
Best King of Fighters Games To Play Before KoF 15
SNK bookended its first two narrative sagas with King of Fighters '98 and 2002, two titles known as Dream Match games due to their mechanics and roster taking an all-star approach in assembly and eschewing narrative-driven character deaths or retirements for the sake of a grander selection. Both titles would be updated years later under a UM suffix with complete rosters from their respective sagas and rebalancing, making both King of Fighters games truly representative of the franchise's best, with mechanics like MAX Mode finding their way back into the series. With '98UM beta testing its rollback netcode by Code Mystics and 2002UM already having implemented it, both titles promise to remain the most accessible and complete of the franchise.
While currently not on the same level of netcode as the aforementioned titles, King of Fighters 13 remains the series' most visually impressive title, with a game system that's easy to pick up and satisfying to learn. KoF 13 remains a truly satisfying experience as the franchise began to simplify and focus on a base, the Hyper Drive feature borrowing heavily from the MAX Mode mechanic in previous games. The follow-up, KoF 14, began a new arc in the franchise, acting as a soft reboot of the mechanics and expanding on the MAX Mode mechanic from the Dream Match titles. As KoF 13 ends the previous arc, KoF 14 begins the current arc of the story, establishing the role of Shun'ei before finding his way onto the Hero Team of KoF 15.
After nearly 30 years since its debut, the King of Fighters franchise has produced a plethora of titles that anyone looking to become a fan of the series may feel overwhelmed by the sheer enormity. While some titles such as KoF 11 remain beloved their lack of current availability may leave some players frustrated, but the current offerings of the franchise remain among its best efforts. With the latest game borrowing heavily from KoF 14, fans who start from the previous entry may have the easiest adjustment process between titles, but those looking to see what brought the series its longevity may need to go to the UM titles or KoF 13 to gain a broader understanding of its history. Going into its release, it's clear that, with the return of several mechanics, as well as roster members long thought dead, The King of Fighters 15 looks to draw from that history in an effort to fulfill its promise to shatter expectations in February 2022.