TheKing of Fighters XVrevealed another character trailer this week, announcing Ryo Sakazaki and Robert Garcia are obviously back inKOF 15- the surprise though, is that they’re paired up with King to form theArt of Fightingteam.
What’sArt of Fighting?
As you already know,Art of Fighting,Ryuuko no Kenin Japanese, is one of the flagship SNK IPs, created by Hiroshi Matsumoto after leaving Capcom and his position as one of the core developers of the firstStreet Fightergame with Takashi Nishiyama.
Ryo and Robert are the main characters ofArt of Fighting, and are regular playable characters inKOF. EachKOFgame’s story has the characters teamed up in teams canonically / storywise. Usually, the Art of Fighting team is made of Ryo, Robert, and Ryo’s sister and best girl Yuri Sakazaki (Every SNK girl is best girl).
Why are SNK fans hyped for theArt of Fightingteam inKOF 15?
However, in a fewKOFgames, Yuri is replaced by their father Takuma Sakazaki. Or by King, anotherArt of Fightingcharacter, and this is what’s happening withKOF 15, for the first time sinceKOF 2000, released in 2000. So it’s been literally 21 years.
Overall,KOF 15is heavily appealing for old time fans as myself, bringing back characters likeChizuruand the Orochi team, and reforming old teams like the Ryo Robert King Art of Fighting team.
However, it’s still very early to know how the game will fare overall. In particular, SNK has yet to fully detail on paper the game’s mechanics. While we had tons of trailers forKOF 15these past months, they’re all typical social media geared trailers, very short, only made for building up hype.
It’s worth noting the trailers have gone a long way since the first Shun’ei trailer and its infamous cuts everywhere. The Ryo and Robert trailer shows plenty of uncut gameplay.
The King Of Fighters XVwas first announced in December 2018, for a 2020 release. The game was furthermore teased at EVO 2019 in August, with only a logo. However, the game was delayed with the Covid-19 pandemic. SNK fully revealedKOF 15in January 2021.
The game is planned for a 2021 release. WithMelty Blood: Type LuminaandGuilty Gear Strivein tow, 2021 is looking like a promising year for fighting games.
