As a moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.
If you ask nicely, a scratched face from either of these two might just be the best-case scenario...note
Despite its otherwise relatively lighthearted affair (Intentionally or not), there are still some scares to be had in KOF.
- Rugal Bernstein, the series' Starter Villain. One of the most feared entities in the criminal underworld, all those he defeats are bathed in liquid metal and put on display as his "trophies". Anyone who dares disturb his plans, no matter how minor, ends up either dead or worse, just to get the point across that Rugal is NOT someone to be trifled with. He single-handedly slaughtered Heidern's entire unit, killed his family, and gouged out his eye for good measure. He also kills his own servants on a whim for even the most minor of mistakes. He is 100% irredeemably evil with a capital E, making the likes of Geese and Krauser seem like harmless kittens in comparison. Not one to accept defeat lightly, he decides to blow up his aircraft carrier with the tournament winners inside of it. Then, having survived, outright plots revenge against them through organizing another tournament and even taking their loved ones hostage and brainwashing them to serve him (in the case of Saisyu Kusanagi, Kyo's father). It's then revealed that he has the power of Orochi within him, turning into a demonic new form called Omega Rugal, his hair turning silvery-white and his skin a deathly grey. His win animation in '95 involves him clawing at his own chest and howling like a madman. When defeated, he overloads on Orochi's power when trying to harness more of it, but promises the winners that he will return again one day. Sure enough, he does exactly that in XV, being one of the many souls within the entity known as Verse that were released upon its defeat. And if you think his lore is terrifying, having to fight him is another matter entirely. Rugal is THE SNK Boss. He is so unbelievably difficult and unfair that by the end of it, you will have nightmares about the experience, no matter what game you fight him in as the boss.
- Goenitz in '96 wasn't any better. This seemingly polite and affable priest turns out to be the head priest of Orochi trying to release him, and was the man behind Rugal's Orochi powers, after gouging his eye as a show of power. Not only that, he was also perfectly willing to send an innocent girl, Leona, into a flying rage and have her kill an entire village including her own family. In the game, he comes down crashing unannounced at the end of the tournament. Not only was the once festive final stage completely destroyed, people are sent flying in the air, including one very visibly clinging on a broken post only to fail a few seconds later. Gameplay-wise, Goenitz is also a cheating bastard, capable of throwing tornadoes at any place in almost an instant. His super bar is also for show—all his supers don't actually require charging. That means, he can also teleport and grab you with his super at any time.
- '97 has the sub-bosses Orochi Iori and Orochi Leona, now pictured.
- The cutscene before the fight has the cheering crowds' sound suddenly stopping and making way for a somber theme as one of the two will cough up blood and, after jumping towards you, simply howl like a monster with one of his/her eyes turning blank white and a demonic expression in their cutscene animation.
- And then comes the fight. The pre-match intro is done in complete silence as the background flashes to red with creepy heartbeat sounds. Then the stage becomes fully engulfed in a Red Filter of Doom as the Orochi opponent prepares to fight you, saying nothing but uttering blood-curdling screams. Iori may be the creepier one: his sprite animations have him acting like a zombie, foaming at the mouth with a Limp and Livid stance like a feral beast.
- Krizalid's animations are so stiff and awkward in his second form, along with the fact that he was one of the most unforgiving SNK Boss creations at the time can come off as this. Not helping matters is that while he doesn't say or possibly do too much in his first form where he wears his coat...you're possibly close to beyond screwed when he decided to remove his coat to reveal his suit; don't forget his very eerie theme in his said first form added with the stage background.
- Clone Zero may be the most terrifying member of NESTS. In the cutscene that introduces him, he reveals he was the one who killed Ling and replaced him with a clone to spy on the Ikari Warriors, while also being the one behind the death of Krizalid for failing him. He reveals his Evil Plan: Using the fighters' energy to power the Zero Cannon, betraying the NESTS and taking over the world in their place. The aftermentioned Kill Sat is demonstrated by being fired at a city. Clone Zero does all of that with a Slasher Smile on his face while facing towards the viewer, accompanied by this music
, which features beeping sounds and an Ominous Pipe Organ. - Nightmare Geese in XIV. This time, his nightmarish aspects extend to his appearance, as he actually looks like he's returned from beyond the grave (despite KOF being a separate timeline from the one he dies in) with pale purple skin, red eyes, gray hair and tattered clothing. He now sports a Voice of the Legion and ghostly purple Reppukens as well, giving him a truly otherworldly and frightening vibe.
- Duo Lon's idle pose involves him holding his leading foot in such an extreme twisted inward angle that it suggests that his ankles are broken or at very least he can easily dislocate them at will. Considering how odd the Hizoku clan is to begin with, with a gamut of abilities ranging from necromancy to stretching their limbs at will to naturally producing poisonous substances from their bodies to dissipating into skeletons in order to disappear/reappear on a whim, it's safe to say they're more than a bit unsettling. Seeing as some of the other fighters are creeped out by Duo Lon (a Nice Guy and a shining example of Dark Is Not Evil), it's very possible the heroic members of Hizoku are full-blown Type 4 Terror Heroes firmly settled in Creepy Good territory.
- Magaki in his normal form is a fairly standard well dressed, white haired villain. When you actually fight him however, he takes on a bizarre, alien appearance with bright pink skin and insect like eyes. His battle animations consist of erratic twitching and shuffling around like a zombie. His fighting style itself consists of tearing through the fabric of reality and creating pocket dimensions, so you're never safe from him. Shion learned this the hard way.
- At the climax of XIII, Saiki decides to confront the heroes himself and dismisses his minions. Mukai attempts to fight the heroes first on behalf of his master, and what's Saiki's reaction? Kills his most loyal minion by aging him so quickly that the bulky Mukai becomes a skin-and-bones corpse in seconds.
- So you know that Verse is an amalgamation of many souls and most of them got released to the real world. One of them? Mizuki Rashoujin, the dreaded priestess of Ambrosia that ruined the world so badly that Nakoruru needed to sacrifice her life just to undo her damage. Imagine Mizuki raising hell in the modern-day just as she escaped from Verse's body and she may be savvier now with her experience in the past with Nakoruru. And unlike Orochi, Ambrosia is completely malicious that this could be the most threatening foe that Kyo (or Shun'ei) may ever have to face one day...
- Re Verse, if you ignore the fact that her form resembles Isla's, is a truly nightmarish Eldritch Abomination that was not only Isla's repressed anger and resentment towards adults, but is also every bit as feral as Iori and Leona are when they succumb to the Riot of the Blood. The key difference here, however, is that while the latter two are human beings who have learned to control (or suppress) their power, Re Verse breaks free from Isla, lending itself to its own sentience.
- And then there's Otoma=Raga, a literal deity that has the power to destroy entire worlds and rebuild them as she sees fit. Not only is her entrance rather unsettling and awe-inspiring, but she also more than lives up to her name as the Goddess of Truth with her sheer size and ability to rip apart your health bar with little effort.
- Just the fact that Otoma=Raga pulls another Rugal and tries to take Isla with her, complete with unsettling tentacles as she's doing so, can definitely be traumatizing for anyone in her situation. Good thing Shun'ei was there to save her in time...
- If you thought Chris was rather unsettling on his own, say hello to his Awakened counterpart, who manages to be the most terrifying member of the Hakkeshu to date - even moreso than Ryuji Yamazaki himself. Seriously, just look at his face whenever he uses his Climax Super on the opponent in XV. And if that wasn't enough, there's also the newest rendition of his theme, "Mad Fantasy", which is downright unsettling compared to the bombast of "Rhythmic Hallucination" or the elegance of "Fanatic Waltz". There's a very good reason why Orochi went with him as its vessel, after all...
- Team Awakened Orochi's ending in XV is a What If? scenario that paints a clear image of what Orochi's ultimate goal looks like - the eradication of humankind. As shown in their Stinger, while the end result looks great, it ultimately proves to be quite boring (to Shermie and Yashiro, anyway). The Hakkeshu has achieved victory, but are the only ones left to celebrate it.
