Characters / The King of Fighters '99

The King of Fighters | Main Index
Main Series
Protagonists | Deuteragonists
The King Of Fighters: The Rugal Saga
The King of Fighters: The Orochi Saga: KOF '95 | KOF '96 | KOF '97
The King of Fighters: The NESTS Chronicles: KOF '99 | KOF 2000 | KOF 2001
The King of Fighters: The Tales of Ash: KOF 2003 | KOF XI
The King of Fighters: The New Age: KOF XIV | KOF XV
Spin Offs
The King of Fighters EX | Maximum Impact
Related Series
Athena | Psycho Soldier | Fatal Fury | Art of Fighting | Samurai Shodown | Metal Slug | Fu'un Series | Buriki One

Characters in The King of Fighters debuting in The King of Fighters '99.

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See the folder below for tropes on characters returning from past entries:

Returning Characters

For tropes on Athena
For tropes on Kensou
For tropes on Terry, Andy, and Joe
For tropes on Mai and Kim
For tropes on Blue Mary
For tropes on Ryo, Robert, Takuma, King, Yuri and Kasumi
For tropes on Kyo
For tropes on Iori
For tropes on Benimaru, Ralf, Clark, Chang, and Choi
For tropes on Leona
For tropes on Shingo

New Hero Team

K'

See his character page along with the other Protagonists here.

Maxima

Human Weapon of Steel

"I'm prepped and ready to counter."

Origin: Canada

Fighting style: Type-M

Voiced by: ^note Katsuyuki Konishi, Mike Jarnus (Maximum Impact series, English)

Playable in: ^note '99, 2000, 2001, 2002/UM, 2003, XI, XIII, XIV, XV, Maximum Impact, MI2, MI:RA

K's lifelong friend and partner. He was an ex-policeman whose partner Rocky was killed by NESTS. Maxima decided to go undercover, and with the help of a man named Dr. Makishima, was given a new, cybernetic body armed with several features. His abilities caught the eyes of NESTS, and they recruited him as he had planned. He met K' while in the organization's services, but in '99 he and K' ran away from NESTS. They spent the next 2 years destroying any and all NESTS bases around the world. Upon reaching Igniz in 2001, Maxima was shocked to find that his partner Rocky had been turned into a full cyborg. Igniz, however, killed Rocky once again to display his godlike power. Before he died, Rocky activated the full abilities of Maxima's enhancements, allowing him to fire a large laser out of his chest. After the downfall of NESTS, he acts as an uncle for Kula while she, K', and Whip rebuild their lives.

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• Arm Cannon: His arms are equipped with powerful vapor cannons, which have been a consistent part of his moveset since his debut.
• Awesomeness by Analysis: He has a rather sizeable database of information on the fighters in KOF, which he makes sure to put to good use in his battles. One of his intro animations even has him doing an analysis of his opponent.
• Battle Intro: In XV:
  "He packs more than a punch, he pack heat! He's the true Cobalt Blue human weapon! Maxima!"
  Maxima: "Careful now-or you'll find burns to be the least of your problems."
• Big Damn Heroes: In the Hero Team's '99 ending, Maxima blocks a sniper shot aimed at K', following it up with the reveal of his Double Agent status. The two then proceed to fight their way out of an exploding NESTS base.
• The Big Guy: He's the tallest, and most power-oriented fighter on Team K'. He also makes for a strong voice of reason and compassion between the aloof K' and the immature Kula.
• Big Guy, Little Guy: While K' isn't short, he is the little guy to Maxima, who is taller and has a bigger build.
• Bilingual Bonus: Frequently refers to K' as "aibou," the Japanese word for "partner" ("partner" is used in the English localization), as a testament to their fire-forged friendship.
• Bishie Sparkle: Believe it or not, he has a quick one during his taunt in XIII.
• Bruiser with a Soft Center: His fighting style emphasizes powerful blows, but he's otherwise a pretty nice guy and a caring teammate.
• Chest Blaster: Ever since 2001 he'll have a DM where he shoots beams from his chest. His Maxima Laser Neo MAX and, later, his DM and Climax DM in XIV takes it up to Wave-Motion Gun levels.
• Covert Pervert: According to XIII Climax. Are you sure those Athena pictures in your data are solely for info, hmmmmm?
• Cyborg: He had his body mechanized and outfitted with powerful weaponry in order to infiltrate NESTS.
• Enemy Scan: He can analyze his opponents. This ability doesn't work on K' and Krizalid, which slightly confuses Maxima.
• Facepalm Of Doom: One of his command throws is a forward dash where he grabs the opponent by the face and smashes their head into the far wall.
• Genius Bruiser: Combines the heavy weaponry and high physical power of his cyborg body with a calm, analytical mind backed up by a sizeable information database.
• Gentle Giant: Despite being the largest and most physically powerful member of Team K', he's also the most outright friendly and kind-hearted, and doesn't take any pleasure from battling.
• Guns Akimbo: XIII gives him a DM where he uses both of his vapor cannons.
• Hair Color Dissonance: His model for XIII has him as a dirty blonde, which is completely contrary to his artwork in the very same game. SNK seems to have caught on, as his in-game sprite in the console version has his hair correctly colored brown. The image in question here is the sprite preview provided on the official XIII site.
• Hard Head: One of his DMs ends this way. But no worries, he's a cyborg.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With K'. The two defected from NESTS together and would go on to become longtime teammates in KOF and as allies to the Ikari Warriors.
• Honorary Uncle: To Kula. He doesn't seem too fond of the moniker, though.
• Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: The huge guy to Kula, who's a petite teenager.
• Hunk: Big, manly, and handsome.
• Mighty Glacier: One of the bigger and slower fighters in the series (alongside others like Daimon or Chang), but definitely makes up for it with the sheer amount of hyper armor that he has in most of his moves. Comparatively, though, he's a tad quicker than he looks (especially when he breaks out the boosters), but not an outright Lightning Bruiser.
• Neck Lift: His Bulldog Press, which is quickly followed up by a chokeslam.
• Never Gets Drunk: As he tells King in XIII.
• Nice Mean And In Between: The nice to K's mean and Kula's in between. Maxima is the most level headed of the team, often playing the straight man to the other two's antics and serving as the voice of reason. His relaxed, professional demeanor often gives the impression that he's much older than he actually is. When K' and Kula have a falling out in XV, Maxima ends up playing mediator between the two of them.
• Penny Shaving: After the NESTS organization fell down and its heroic members formed a Secret Project Refugee Family, he is mentioned to regularly hack into multiple bank accounts to steal some money from a lot of people at once to support the family.
• Power Source: He's powered by a miniature nuclear reactor called the Maxima Heart. Since only 20% of his body is still organic (hard to tell at times with his clothing), it's unknown if this reactor has replaced his real heart and acts as its artificial analog.
• Recoil Boost: One of his DMs (Bunker Buster) is to fire his vapor canon at the ground, launching himself off the screen to come crashing down on his opponent.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Blue to K's Red. K' is rude and arrogant, but belies a caring side that makes him protective of the few loved ones he has. Maxima is composed and professional, but is also a kindlier and understanding individual.
• Reluctant Warrior: While he'll definitely commit to a fight if he gets involved, Maxima oftentimes notes that he'd rather not get into a fight if he can avoid it, and doesn't take much pleasure out of combat in general.
  "Let's call it a day. I'm skilled in battle, but I don't enjoy it."
• Smoking Is Cool: Albeit sparingly.
• Sweet Tooth: Revealed in his pre-fight chats in XIII (Mai's and King's more exactly). Confirmed in the K' Team's ending where he's handed a huge parfait... and it's gone in few seconds. Fridge Brilliance hits when you consider that sweet food contains glucose, which is the "fuel" for the brains; Maxima not only is a Cyborg but also a technopath who must handle LOTS of data constantly and thus needs these sweets.
• Tall, Dark, and Handsome: At a whopping 6'9"!
• Technopath: Maxima appears to possess some form of cyberpathy as he can interface with a satellite connection, as seen in 2003 and MI2. He also uses this connection to steal money to support himself and K', although of late, their funds have been dwindling (Maxima predicts that they'll only last another month or two).
• Use Your Head: One of his Desperation attacks has him tossing his opponent into the air then using his head to bounce them back up, like a soccer ball.
• Wrestler in All of Us: A few of his moves, including a German suplex, a chokeslam, and a dropkick.
• Younger Than They Look: Only 29, but speaks with a solemness that evokes a more aged man, coupled with his appearance as being someone in their mid or late 30s. This causes some confusion with other characters. Word of God says this is intentional as they wanted an older-looking main character to balance the prevalence of younger characters in the series, but it's s still weird considering the same source designates Maxima as "middle-aged".

Ikari Warriors Team

Whip

Queen of the Battlefield

"All show. No substance!"

Origin: Unknown

Fighting style: Whip handling

Voiced by: ^note Shiho Kikuchi

Playable in: ^note '99, 2000, 2001, 2002/UM, 2003, XI, XIV (as DLC), XV

Whip is a mercenary who joined Heidern's squadron under the alias "Muchiko" to investigate NESTS, believing it to have some significance to her past. She was a former NESTS agent but she betrayed the organization and ran away. She confronts Krizalid and reveals that he's a clone of K'. Afterward, she confronts Clone Zero and after he reveals that she is a clone of K's sister Seirah, she shoots and kills him. Afterward, she confronts Igniz along with K' and after Igniz's defeat, she settles down with K' and Kula.

Whip returns in the Shun'ei Saga as the first DLC character of XIV. She then appears in the base roster of XV.

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• Action Girl: Again, a highly trained mercenary skilled in physical and armed combat..
• Affectionate Nickname: Ralf tends to call her by the nickname "Muchiko." "Muchi" translates to "Whip" with the right Kanji, with "-ko" being a common female name suffix. Thus, her nickname is literally "Whip Girl." In English, this was changed to "Whippy". By XIV, it later becomes an Embarrassing Nickname, to the point of calling Ralf out.
• Ambiguously Brown: Like her brother K', Whip has been portrayed at least once as noticeably dark-skinned without flat-out saying what her ethnicity is. She's also been portrayed as noticeably light-skinned (admittedly more often), despite her relationship to K'. Her latest appearance in XIV sticks with her being light-skinned.
• Battle Intro: In XV:
  "Her sadist calm demeanor ain't for show, because she'll whip you and whip you good! Whip!"
  Whip: "Let's finish this quickly, Voodoo."
• Berserk Button: Downplayed. Ralf's antics tend to get to her to a minor extent, partially due to him not acting either his age nor his rank.
• Bowdlerization: Some versions of KOF censor her gun specials, turning her ground gunfire into what appears to be a microscopic explosive, and her HSDM's revolver is repainted gold and given a flanged head. Ironically, a golden revolver seems more awesome.
• Combat Pragmatist: With her HSDM, where she shoots you with a long-barreled revolver.
• Combat Stilettos: Somehow she can pull off advanced whip-swinging and fighting maneuvers in them.
• Cool Big Sis: To K' and Kula. And Maximum Impact 2 portrays her as more of an Onee-sama towards Kula.
• Cute, but Cacophonic: Her earlier appearances has her voice set to a notable high pitch. She gets better in later titles, fortunately.
• Does This Remind You of Anything?:
  • One of her special moves shows her dragging her opponent toward her while curb-stomping them and laughing out loud.
  • One of her victory poses, where she gets a bit... enthusiastic with her whip.
  • While he doesn't outright say it, Rock notes that carrying a whip in public is unusual. Whip is offended, and Rock's apology comes too late before she takes her aggression out on him.
• Hair Color Dissonance: In Shinkiro's artwork from '99 and 2000, Whip had brown hair. Her sprite has more of a lavender tint, and subsequent artwork is split between the two.
• Hand Cannon:
  • Her Desert Eagle, which was censored in the international releases. The result is that she seems to be firing bullets with her gloved hands in a rapid wrist movement.
  • Her HSDM/MAX 2 has her blast you with a fearsome-looking revolver.
• Heroic BSoD: In her ending in 2000, this causes her to kill Clone Zero.
• I Call It "Vera": Her transmorphic whip, Voodoo.
• I Have Many Names: Her affinity for whips earned her the Code Name of Whip, which is sometimes changed to Muchiko/Whippy thanks to Ralf. She also responds to the names Sally and Sarah, the latter of which is a misromanization of her real name, Seirah.
• Irony: In the non-canon Ikari Warriors ending of '99, she mocks a dying Krizalid for being a clone of K'. It would eventually turn out that she is a clone too.
• Kick Them While They Are Down: Whip originally had a move where she'd fire at a downed opponent to hit OTG. It was censored and replaced by a less effective version of Mature, Vice, and Yamazaki's snake arm abilities.
• Long Lost Sibling: Well, a clone of K's sister, but close enough.
• Meaningful Name: Her name is Whip, Muchiko means whip girl, Whippy comes from Whip, she has a Whip that she uses for attacks.
• Noblewoman's Laugh: One of Whip's specials, String Shot TypeC Code: Victory, sees her use her whip to drag her opponent by their neck and then repeatedly stomp on their head. She caps it off by doing this type of laugh.
• Passive Aggressive Combat: Whip really does not care for Vanessa and their pre-fight interactions are always dripping with venom.
• Revolvers Are Just Better: Her HSDM has her shooting you with a long-barreled revolver/gold plated flanged head revolver in the censored versions.
• Spell My Name With An S: Her real name can be translated as Seirah or Sarah. The series tends to stick with the former.
• Statuesque Stunner: Officially. Though she is actually rather short according to artwork and her sprites.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Honey. As the developers' diary for 2000 explicitly notes that her name is an anagram of Winnie the Pooh, this is by no means coincidental.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: With Ralf. The two bicker a lot, with Ralf constantly teasing her and acting undignified in general. They're still close comrades.
• Weapon Specialization: As her name implies, she is indeed a specialist at fighting with whips.
• Whip of Dominance: The aptly named Whip from uses a whip as a weapon, and her String Shot TypeC Code: Victory move indicates she has a sadistic side as it involves her stomping on her opponent's head repeatedly while doing a Noblewoman's Laugh.
• Younger Than They Look: In '99's story, she's only 16 years old. She looks much older than that. There is, however, some ambiguity as to whether or not that's her real age.

Psycho Soldiers Team

Bao

"Oh yes! I am victorious! And happy as an oyster!"

Origin: China

Fighting style: Psychic powers + Kung fu

Voiced by: ^note Kanako Nakano

Playable in: ^note '99, 2000, 2001, 2002:UM

A young boy who joined the Psycho Soldiers for the '99 tournament after demonstrating his abilities to Chin. Chin sensed a connection between him and Kensou and was proven right when Kensou suddenly lost his powers around the time Bao joined the team. Eventually, Chin figured out that Bao and Kensou "shared" their power; when Bao had them, Kensou lost his, and vice versa. He has not been playable since the NESTS saga ended but has cameoed in cutscenes and in the Psycho Soldiers' endings semi-regularly.

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• Attack Reflector: Bao has two variations of these. One standing and one where he launches himself at the enemy.
• The Baby of the Bunch: The youngest of Team Psycho Soldier, as well as the KOF cast in general.
• Be the Ball: One of his numerous Psycho Ball attacks involves curling up and launching himself at the enemy.
• The Cameo: While he's only playable in the NESTS saga games, he's cameoed in almost every Psycho Soldiers Ending since, and even, rather randomly, accompanies Hugo in both his intros and win pose in SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos.
• Creepy Child: In the 2001 ending he gives very strong vibes of the trope, though to be fair it looks like Ron is behind it.
• Demoted to Extra: After the NESTS saga ended and he's put in a nonplayable role.
• Happily Adopted: By Chin, who treats him like an adoptive son.
• Hard Head: A few of his attacks involve headbutting his opponent, and one has him falling headfirst to the ground.
• Kid-Appeal Character: The youngest playable character in KOF, with a simple but effective moveset.
• Kid Hero: A twelve year old, psychokinetic child who knows kung fu.
• Lethal Joke Character: Despite his silly mannerisms and strange moveset, Bao is consistently upper mid-tier in all his playable appearances. 2k2 Unlimited Match pushes that up to top tier.
• Psychic Powers: Like the other kids of Psycho Soldier, he has a tremendous amount of psychic potential. This manifests through powerful projectiles and Dash Attacks.
• Shared Signature Move: Uses the Psycho Soldier's signature attack, the Psycho Ball.
• She's a Man in Japan: The Latin American translations mistook him for a girl.
• Signature Headgear: His poofy newsboy cap, which became larger in 2001.
• Sleepy Head: In an easter egg, holding down with him for an extended period of time will eventually have him nod off.
• Spell My Name With An S: The character that makes up his name is read as "Pao" in Japanese. Many arcade flyers have this spelling, despite his name being officially Bao.
• Sphere of Destruction: His Psycho Ball Attack, SP DM is an attack that Akira and Tetsuo would be proud of.
• Token Mini-Moe: His teammates, Athena, Kensou, and Momoko, are all teenagers, while he's just a little boy by comparison.
• When All You Have Is a Hammer…: All of Bao's special attacks and Desperation Moves are variants of the basic Psycho Ball used by his teammates Athena and Kensou, but with enough innovation and creativity on his part to have an entirely diverse, if somewhat quirky, moveset.

Women Fighters Team

Li Xiangfei

"Since I win, you buy dinner. First, some Dim Sum, then...."

Origin: USA

Fighting style: Kung Fu

Voiced by: ^note Mami Kingetsu

Playable in: ^note '99, 2001, 2002:UM

A Chinese-American resident of Southtown who trained in the martial arts from a young age. Living with her uncle, she works as a waitress and doubles as the bodyguard for his restaurant. Her brief scuffle with Kasumi after a misunderstanding gives King and Blue Mary the idea to scout them in the '99 tournament. Xiangfei later returns to the Women Fighters Team in 2001, bringing Hinako in tow.

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See Fatal Fury for tropes on her

Korea Team

Jhun Hoon

"Your moves are all off. You've no prayer to win."

Origin: South Korea

Fighting style: Taekwondo

Voiced by: ^note Kazuya Ichijō

Playable in: ^note '99, 2000, 2001, 2002:UM, 2003

A friendly rival of Kim's who also practices Taekwando, although his style is far more focused on kicks. He's a huge fan of Athena, which got him into trouble at one point as he was hit by a truck after crossing the street to see her. To add insult to injury, the Athena he saw was only a cardboard standee. He recovered by the time of the 2003 tournament but disappeared again the next year.

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• Bilingual Bonus: Jhun apparently hates his family name. Why? The Chinese character Jhun is two strokes less than the character Kim, Kim being the name of his greatest Taekwondo rival.
• The Bus Came Back: In 2003.
• Butt-Monkey: Come ON, read the blurb above.
• Extremity Extremist: The most notable example. Not only does he only fight with his feet (even Kim has the odd jab in his moveset), but he also keeps one hand behind his back whenever he fights.
• Goomba Stomp: His Ryuurou Geki functions as this. It can take a bit of getting used to since it landing it reverses the forward arc of Jhun's jump, but it makes for an impressive combo tool when used properly.
• Justice Will Prevail: To the point that he and Kim became rivals in regards to rehabilitating Chang and Choi.
• Hunk: AND a Long-Haired Pretty Boy, too!
• Kiai: Not as prone to these as Kim is, but he lets out a few of these from time to time, most notably when he performs his Houou Tenbu Kyaku SDM.
• Long-Haired Pretty Boy: Just...look at him.
• Loony Fan: One of his biggest characteristics is that he's a very enthusiastic fan of Athena's (and J-Pop in general, really). It gets lampshaded a lot, as Robert, Kim, Gang-Il, and Athena herself have all made comments about his obsession at some point in their quotes. This is even the entire reason why he missed the 2001 tournament, as explained above.
• Not So Stoic: Usually quiet and reserved... until he talks about or meets his favorite pop stars.
• Put on a Bus: The aforementioned truck accident.
• Stance System: Has three different movesets, and they're all kick-based.
• Technician Versus Performer: With Kim. He's the performer, by virtue of his flashier, more dynamic moves, as opposed to Kim's (technician) more low-key and traditional techniques.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: To a degree, with Kim.

Others

Krizalid

"Useless. It's so hard to find good help now."

Origin: Ireland

Fighting style: Fights using fight data stored in his battle suit fed through his body

Voiced by: ^note Yoshiyuki Iwamoto ('99), Eiji Yano (2001), Masahito Kawanago (All Star)

Playable in: ^note 2002:UM

Boss character in: ^note '99, 2002:UM

A clone of K', and the second-in-command to the cloned Zero. He was given orders to gather battle data from the victors of the '99 tournament for use in the awakening of an army of Kyo clones, but after his defeat, the project was abruptly canceled and Krizalid was killed by his superior. He was later resurrected by the real Zero for his skills, but his whereabouts after the fall of NESTS are unknown.

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• Achilles' Heel: Despite his cheapness, Krizalid's AI has a few holes. He is very bad at blocking low attacks and sweeps. He also will usually just stand still and block when the player summons a striker, taking some pressure off until the striker disappears. Because of this, it is easy to stall him and try to get a time out victory.
• Alas, Poor Villain: His death is depicted tragically. He was betrayed by his superior, has his mind wiped, and in the Ikari ending, Whip mourns him.
• Ambiguously Brown: Same as K', since Krizalid is a clone of him. Though what stands out for Krizalid in this regard is his claimed birthplace of Ireland, which is not a home to many dark-skinned people.
• Anti-Villain (The Noble and Woobie variants): His desire to protect Whip and his care for the well-being of his subordinates firmly establishes Krizalid as this.
• Arc Villain: Of KOF ‘99. He is in charge of the plan to deploy the clones of Kyo all over the world, and gathering the trigger data from the fighters needed to activate them.
• Awesomeness by Analysis: The cyber-suit he wears under his Badass Longcoat can read battle data from opponents he engages. The suit then augments his movements to use this data in fights.
• Back from the Dead: In 2001. Subverted because it's a clone. Although as of XIV, he may be back for real. It's implied that he's one of the souls inside Verse due to its win quote to K'.
• Badass Longcoat: The overcoat he wears when you fight him in the 1st round. It's HUGE, and it gets even BIGGER in 2001, where he appears as a striker for Original Zero. He's got a new overcoat on top of the original overcoat! How he's able to fight in those things, we may never know.
• Benevolent Boss: Cutscenes show him to be a pleasant boss, and in his official profile his likes are "his underlings".
• Big Brother Instinct: Arguably towards Whip, when he was under the impression that she actually was his sister.
• Bishie Sparkle: His second form's taunt has him sparkle his eye, apparently on command.
• Blow You Away: A few of his attacks use wind, such as his infamous Typhoon Rage.
• Bondage Is Bad: In contrast to K', Krizalid takes belt fashion and makes it into a gimp suit (with its own leather jockstrap, natch). It's not very flattering, either: although his outer coat comes off as a Rummage Sale Reject, his cyber-suit left fashion statements a while ago (which may be justified, if the suit secretes chemicals all over his body to move his muscles). In addition, his theme seems to be inspired by Industrial Metal, and his uneven fighting stance nearly puts him in Unsexy Sadist territory.
• Clone Angst: At first believes that K' is a clone of him, but it turns out that it's the other way around. It didn't help that he believed Whip was his sister, thanks to K's memories. It got worse in 2001, where it's revealed that the Krizalid who aids Zero in his fight is a clone... of a clone... of a CLONE. (Although to be fair, K' really isn't a clone per se, just a guy carrying the DNA of another guy.)
• The Coats Are Off: After the first, anticlimactic fight. Get ready for a beatdown, for once the kiddie gloves come off, they stay off.
• Degraded Boss: A pretty extreme example, he ends up serving as Zero's striker in 2001, not even being playable or a fighter in that game.
• Dies Wide Open: How Heidern and his men find his body in the remains of his base.
• Diving Kick: An attack exclusive to his first form.
• The Dragon: He’s revealed to be one to Clone Zero, who was managing his project.
• Dropped a Bridge on Him: A giant rock in his case, courtesy of Clone Zero.
• Facial Markings: That resemble eye scars.
• Fallen Angel: In motif only (the pauldrons on his overcoat are made up of black feathers). His second theme song (the one that usually signifies a Curb-Stomp Battle) is even named "Dear Fallen Angel."
• Genetic Memory: Assuming his memories weren't tampered with/implanted, Krizalid recognized Whip as his sister and treated her as such (whereas K' wouldn't learn of this connection until the Hero Team's ending in 2000). This kindness was reciprocated by Whip, who gives her "brother" a touching send-off upon discovering his corpse in the epilogue.
• I Am Not Left-Handed: Similar to Rugal. Takes it easy in the first bout (doesn't use any of his aerokinetic attacks, though he will throw fireballs) but when you beat him, he reveals his data-collecting suit and unleashes the full range of his power.
• Laser-Guided Amnesia: A rather tragic example. Immediately after confirming that Krizalid was crushed underneath the rock thrown at him but right before Krizalid actually dies, Clone Zero has all of his memories erased by a Memory-Wiping Crew, not only so he can't betray them to Heidern but also out of cruel sadism since he is no longer of any use to his plans.
• Lightning Bruiser: Krizalid is one of the fastest bosses in the series. His attacks have very little startup and a lot of his special moves and supers move him across the screen.
• Load-Bearing Boss: To be fair, it's not his fault as much as it is Clone Zero's, but the place still collapses once he's beaten.
• Mighty Glacier: His first form moves and attacks much slower than his second form, but his attacks and projectile still pack a huge punch and can be a threat if the player does not apply enough pressure.
• Morality Pet: Whip. He believes her to be his sister until his dying breath and shows concern and love for her. Even when he's dying and she tells him the truth about his identity, she still thanks him for everything he did for her and cries when asked about it by Heidern.
• Playing with Fire: Burns away his overcoat in his intro, and can create a pillar of flame with his supers.
• Razor Wind: Typhoon Rage.
  "TORNADIS!" ^note Not to be confused with Tornadus.
• Rubber Man: One of DMs invokes this trope, where his arms become like rubber as an artistic choice.
• Shoulders of Doom:
  • His first form; made of black feathers.
  • In 2001, just as his long coat became longer, the Shoulders of Doom became... doomier.
• SNK Boss: Word of God says that he's their most unforgiving creation to date. They actually apologized for making him so difficult to defeat.
  • He is very fast and has an incredible amount of tools against the players. His Typhoon Rage beats all projectiles (the weak version takes priority, the strong version reflects them), and if blocked, gives him massive amounts of meter. Lethal Impact is a move that looks like his first form's axe kick, but at the start is actually a command grab that can grab you in air and on the ground, and if the first hit misses, it becomes an overhead that can hit crouching enemies. He also responds to jump attacks with a Shoryuken, though not to the extent of Rugal. When he's low on health, his supers are nearly each a One-Hit Kill, dealing around 90% of health if they connect.
• Tomato in the Mirror: He's K's clone but thinks it is the other way around, taunting K' about this before they fight. He only finds out the truth in the non-canon Ikari ending, where Whip tells him this.
• Tragic Villain: Though Krizalid was prepared to unleash Kyo clones to take over the world, he was effectively deceived by NESTS his entire life about who he is. He was also completely expendable to his superiors, who were quick to kill him instead of saving him.
• Unwitting Pawn: He’s one to Clone Zero. Clone Zero was quick to shut down Krizalid's plan when it went south and murder Krizalid instead of making any effort to save him. When Clone Zero turned traitor in the next game, the Zero Cannon was made from the same technology as Krizalid's suit. If Clone Zero had already planned to betray NESTS he may have also sabotaged the potential success of Krizalid's project.
• Villainous Breakdown: After he's beaten in '99. He is shocked that he could be beaten, and once he is betrayed by Clone Zero and about to be murdered, Krizalid curses him.
• White Hair, Black Heart: Looks and sometimes acts the part, but really isn't.
• The Worf Effect: KOF 2000 revealed that Clone Zero was the one that murdered Krizalid effortlessly to show how much more dangerous he is than Krizalid.
• Xtreme Kool Letterz: His name is pronounced as chrysalid. You know, like that shell that caterpillars gain during the pupae stage to get wings, or that fur coat he wears that hides his cyber-suit.
• You Bastard!:
  • His last words before he's crushed by the ceiling are "You sick psychopaths!"
  • In some endings, he still tries to say his name when Heidern asks him before he succumbs to his wounds.

Kyo- 1 & Kyo- 2

"Victory is mine... was there any doubt?"

Origin: Japan

Fighting style: Kusanagi-style ancient martial arts

Voiced by: ^note Masahiro Nonaka

Playable in: ^note '99, 2002:UM

After Orochi's defeat in '97, the famed Kyo Kusanagi went missing. The cartel known as NESTS had captured his unconscious body and dragged him away, analyzing his fighting style and extracting his DNA for future use. Kyo-1 (the one in navy) and Kyo-2 (the one in crimson) were but two of numerous clones of the Japanese schoolboy.

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• Divergent Character Evolution: Originally, they were carbon copies of Kyo's previous movesets (Kyo-1 was the '94-'95 Kyo, while Kyo-2 was the '96-'97 Kyo). 2002: Unlimited Match gives them new and individual techniques that take cues from other characters or sources.
• Era-Specific Personality: Kyo-1 and Kyo-2 embody their original's characterization throughout the Orochi Saga, Kyo-1 being more levelheaded like post-'95 Kyo and Kyo-2 displaying the cocky bravado Kyo had in the first two games. The irony here is that their movesets are flipped around.
• Expendable Clones/What Measure Is a Non-Human?: Although never outright stated, it's alluded to. In 2002: Unlimited Match, the Clone Team gets a dark and sinister (but undoubtedly awesome) theme called "Antinomy ~ Mutually Exclusive Dichotomy." While it's a bit Engrishy (antinomy and dichotomy are essentially synonyms, which would make the title redundant), the song refers to a conflict between two opposing forces who, by the necessity of their very identities, cannot reconcile nor co-exist. It relates to the clones since their very existence conflicts with the identity of Kyo himself (as there can only be one Kyo). It could also reference how the clones seek to establish their own identities, which is impossible since they are merely copies of Kyo.
• Leitmotif: Being associated with the old Kyo, they will always have some sort of "Esaka?" (the Japan Team's theme from '96) to accompany their fight. Always. The only exception was 2002: Unlimited Match.
• Playing with Fire: In the same exact ways as the original Kyo.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Kyo-1 is the calmer Blue who prefers not to underestimate opponents, while Kyo-2 is the cockier Red who is the other way around (He tends to underestimate opponents). For bonus points, they're even color-coded (Kyo-1 wears blue, while Kyo-2 wears brown).
• School Uniforms are the New Black: As a result of the desire to bring back Kyo's old look.