King Of Fighters general

Did someone not see this thread? I just saw another KOF thread being bumped from like a year ago.

So are you guys going to get KOF 13 right away, or wait until impressions from others? Also, the load times are still pretty bad.

edited 11th Oct '11 12:55:54 PM by VertigoHigh

Nope, old KOF games are keeping me satisfied just fine thank you.

x2 I'll consider it once I get a 360 or a PS 3.

Too poor to be playing much beyond '98 UM and XI, with the occasional dose of MI2.

I pre-ordered it, if only for Iori w/ flames and DAT 4-CD COMPILATION SOUNDTRACK. I was probably going to buy it eventually, though.

Of course, I'm in the exact same boat as Pulse is right now, believe it or not.

Just going to leave this here before I start.

Oh, I know that. I'm just thanking you for taking the time to help me flesh this out. I appreciate it.

Well, the item itself could always be the hilt, which gives the user, in addition to your basic pyrokinesis fare, the ability to summon the flaming katana, a skill Kyo has just mastered by the time of the game.

I don't quite follow. Are you saying that the Four Gods do the whole incarnation thing like Orochi? Or are you saying that binding themselves to humans put a limit on their power? According to The Last Blade, the four spirits pick people they perceive to be worthy of their power. It's all pretty similar to how the Tailed Beasts and their jinchūriki operate in Naruto (minus the unintentional sealing deal), and the awakening of a host's spirit grants them immense power. In fact, Shigen Naoe (Byakko) went berserk due to the sheer power, whereas Kaede (Seiryu) was reluctant to tap into the full extent of his power out of fear of being overwhelmed and possessed by it. Care to explain a bit more?

As for the reason behind the Hizoku-Zoan feud, I take it that only Ron and the other Devas (Luan, Chat, and Sai) as well as Lin know about this from the Hizoku side of things, with only Ron fully knowing the full scale of things (the other four know about the Four Gods, but not what Ron plans to do with them). This leads to a bit of a trust issue between Duo Lon and Luan after XVI, although they eventually reconcile (after all, I'm pretty much pushing for the implications of a Childhood Friend Romance between the two by the end of the story).

I take it that it'd just follow the basic religious beliefs about the afterlife (i.e Judaic = Hell, Greek/Roman = Tartarus, Norse = Hel, etc.). It's like the Nine Circles of Hell discussed in the Divine Comedy, but more widespread.

I'm foreseeing one big info dump from Ron about this (the "this" being the lore about the Four Gods and Orochi; Jivatma and Luise will fill in most of the remaining blanks about the Zoan), seeing as Misty doesn't know about the full extent of Ron's plans until he tells her everything in this saga. (The idea is that Ron formed Addes not too long before the Hizoku incident, but kept its existence secret while he worked with NESTS. When he defected from NESTS with Misty, Angel, Nameless, and Lin in tow, he brought Misty on-board but didn't leak all of the info pertaining to his schemes.) I also believe that he'll tell her that he'll do all in his power to ensure that the two of them won't be parted like she and Igniz were which is just going to make his actual death at the end of XVII all the more painful for Misty. The poor gal.

Also, as for Ron and Misty's plans, what exactly do those plans entail? We've agreed that they're Well Intentioned Extremists trying to remake the world into a utopia via the Four Gods (and to an extent, Orochi), but what exactly will come of it? I know that Ron, if he did survive this, would've made good on his plans to use Suzaku's power to restore Isolde for Nameless (and I'm sure that Misty would intend to do the same after Addes falls), but what else? I'll assume that Ron can't use their powers to raise the dead, so he can't say, revive his clan (the dead dead ones, not the ambiguously alive ones like his wife and other sons) or Duke's dead little sister.

XXI? Hahaha, it would take that long, wouldn't it?

It could always go something like this. In the good route, right before the remaining members of The Children of Kokaviel attempt to halt the tournament winners from approaching Ron and Shizuku, Sigrid utters her first words in the story and tells Misty (who is about to summon Father Nests's sword) to go ahead and that she'll fight in her stead. Misty flash steps away to warn Ron. The catch, of course, is that this leaves the team in question to face a group of Reverse Moles who are simply putting on a convincing act as to not break from character.

As for Reinhardt's fighting style, here's what I've got. Black Mirror, his version of Dark Barrier would be Reinhardt absorbing the the projectile with his barrier and then immediately (as in, the moment it touches his barrier) throwing it back as a Reppuken (the size and strength of the Reppuken would be dependent on the projectile he absorbed). His variation on the Genocide Cutter (I'm trying to think of a name that doesn't seem offensive; Holocaust is probably a no-no; Euthanasia Slasher, maybe? Reinhardt would probably only call out "Slash!") would travel in a arc, its delivery not unlike Charlie's Moonsault Slash in the Marvel vs. Capcom titles or Vergil's Lunar Phase in Devil May Cry 3. His version of Gigantic Pressure could be an anti-air move; he intercepts the opponent and delivers a one-handed chokeslam that creates the move's usual Pillar of Light (although the effect would be slightly different as he doesn't have any of Orochi's power). We could also give him Rugal's Dark Smash from the Capcom vs. SNK titles (that aerial glowing palm of his that looks sort of like a Kaiser Wave).

Sankt and Sigrid Reinhardt are just aliases they go by. I believe we came to the consensus that their real names are Reiner and Melody Bernstein.

I forgot to add this in the last post, but with Chizuru temporarily gaining Maki's powers, there should be this moment where she briefly summons Kusanagi to mimic all of Kyo's moves.

Ok, now I can finally move on to costumes. For the most part, the outfits would be unchanged (this also goes for the MI characters, for better or for worse). Here's what I have:

• Athena: her XV costume would be her rejected outfit◊ from XII (essentially, her Psycho Soldier outfit, but keeping her purple hair and making Athena actually look her age); in XVI she'd don some new concert threads (I don't quite know what; either that or her "Another" attire from MI2); XVII would be a modified version of her Princess Athena◊ armor
• Kensou: a mix of his Psycho Soldier attire and his pre-XII/XIII outfit (he'd keep the headband, wristbands, and overall coloration of his XII-XIII clothes, but he'd go back to his "hoodie + shorts" look)
• Three Sacred Treasures Team: I'm particularly fond of this fan art
• Benimaru: since he's Camp Straight, I was thinking about ramping up his flamboyant style of clothing and making his tank top this time zebra print; Beni's choice of clothing is a constant source of Lampshade Hanging (naturally, starting with Kyo)
• Whip: no change, but there'll be that gag about her briefly trying to wear what the others wore in XII and XIII
• Ryo: 2002-XI appearance; possibly in XVII, he removes his dogi and assumes his FF: Wild Ambition/MI2 "Another" appearance◊ (minus the Perma-Stubble)
• Robert: I don't know exactly what yet, but a new outfit (if push comes to shove, he could always reuse his 2003 look◊ seeing as he was in his NGBC garb in XI and then switched back to his old look after); he also briefly appears as Another Robert◊ in the prologue from XV
• Yuri: usual, but her hair starts growing out again (shoulder length in XV > slightly longer after that; overall, it doesn't quite regain its previous length and it grows out a bit differently than how it was previously styled)
• King: AOF2/KOF '99 attire◊
• Blue Mary: her Real Bout Fatal Fury Special/KOF MI:RA outfit◊
• Kasumi: '99/2000/XI appearance
• Yamazaki: '97 clothes

Other than that, I think that's it.

edited 12th Oct '11 12:53:09 PM by X2X

And that's just too sad, yeah.

And from what little we've seen of his powers, I deduce that Ron can raise the dead as zombie/skeletal minions, but cannot resurrect the dead as they were when they were alive.

...

But where does Iori fit into all this?

In that order: *The ideas are pretty nifty, though I'm trying to figure out how to merge the goddess and the pop-star looks together...

• That's another good idea, no comments beyond that.
• Well, I like those outfits a bunch, but then again, Iori's legs aren't tied together, so that docks a few points.
• 
• 
• Honestly, I'd rather not mess with a classic. Orange dogi Ryo all the way!
• I'd vote for either something new or the 2003 look. But bring back the NGBC/XI stance. That was amazing.
• So long as the braid's back by XVII, I'll have no complaints.
• Not my favorite king look, but it's nowhere near bad, wven if I prefer the wine-colored jacket.
• The problem I've always had with that outfit is that it prevents Mary from tossing the jacket to Anton. It's not bad at all otherwise, but I'm always looking for that darn dog nowadays.
• Whooooooh! My favorite character in her best outfit!
• The vest and pimpcoat are classic. Simple as that. Even if he doesn't wear the latter in combat.

As a note, whether it be due to timezones or scheduling, in order to offer a prompt response to you, I'm often posting early in the morning or in the last hour before bed. My typing's always at its worst then, and I keep kicking myself for my atrocious spelling and grammar in previous posts. Sorry.

edited 13th Oct '11 12:09:34 AM by Pulse

It could always be that Ron believes that the Four Gods are limited by their symbiosis with humans and is trying to keep them separated, whereas the Zoan think that such an act will upset the natural balance of things. It's more a case of Poor Communication Kills and a clash of ideals that spurs on the Hizoku-Zoan feud, not any actual animosity (at first, at least). I take it that Duo Lon and Luise (respectively, they'd be the new leaders of their groups; I feel that the Meira twins would have some sort of seniority in the group, but Kain would probably enlist them to help fulfill his vision for Second South like he was planning to do with Fate) would broker a treaty to end the feud, seeing as they come to understand that they're really on the same side.

Isn't foreshadowing terrible?

Makes sense to me.

Eh?

Ok, that makes sense. I'm not sure how much of a hand Reiner had in Rugal's acts, but they had to have had some kind of falling out if Reiner is estranged. They probably just want to distance themselves from their past. Not quite That Man Is Dead or My Greatest Failure, but still a black smudge on their permanent records. So, does that mean Melody was there from the start (or at least in a relationship/acquainted with Reiner)?

Dunno. He'd probably just be nonchalantly going to town on Orochi/Ron, in his typical disaffected Iori way. I'd assume that he'd come up with some new moves just for the occasion. The Three Sacred Treasures were always meant to be at their peak of effectiveness when united, so I'd take it that as Kyo and Chizuru grow in power, so would he. If you have any ideas, I'd be more than happy to hear them. Perhaps, Orochi(ko) would try to induce the Riot of the Blood in Iori, only for Iori (resisting by willpower alone) to fake it and then punk her.

A few more things I forgot to mention:

For one, seeing how we're characterizing Ron, it wouldn't make sense if he actually did directly slay his fellow clansmen. While he did set their homeland on fire, we could instead have Jivatma—reworking his implied Body Snatcher powers into full-on Voluntary Shapeshifting—masquerading as Ron when he accompanied Ron to the site of the Hizoku clan's stronghold. Thus, Jivatma killed the Hizoku members (including Luan's mother and grandmother). Duo Lon & co. wouldn't learn this until they confronted Jivatma after the XVI tournament, but decide to go after Ron regardless since he's still responsible. There were, however, quite a few Hizoku members in the know about Ron's plans (i.e. the traitors who appear alongside Ron, Misty, and Lin in XI). Since Luan notes that she can't find Chat or Sai, it's possible that Jivatma could have killed them as well. While I figure that Luan would remain the Nan Di Deva and Lin would relinquish the title of leader and Xi Du Deva to Duo Lon, this could possibly allow room for Xiao Lon and Lin to assume the mantle of the Dong Xie and Bei Gai Devas (the latter only doing so until a suitable replacement can be found; he'd be content with being relegated to a mentor-like role).

As for Reinhardt and Sigrid, they'd be the ones to tip off Heidern about the location of Addes HQ in XVII.

And on the subject of the Temporal Paradox Cosmic Retcon caused by Ash's Heroic Sacrifice in XIII, while that removes Ash from existence (and by proxy, everyone's memories, possibly barring Elizabeth, who might have faint, lingering memories due to keeping his headband), the events of the previous saga still happened, right? The other teams remember Those from the Past, but don't remember Ash, thus giving them a hazy idea about the ending of the tournament in XIII (they know that Saiki was defeated, they just don't quite remember how).

Well, I like those outfits a bunch, but then again, Iori's legs aren't tied together, so that docks a few points.

Well, he could always have his legs tied anyway. And of course, the Yagami crescent moon would be emblazoned on the back of his jacket. As for Kyo, I'd probably add back the chain on his jeans from the NESTS Chronicles.

As a nod to his dad (and his eventual status as Mr. Karate II), Ryo could perhaps remove his dogi during one of his win poses, not unlike Takuma. Osu!

Oh, no doubt. Fear the Almighty Stance!

It probably wouldn't be as long as it was before, seeing as that braid had been growing out for years, but I'd assume she'd have a decently long ponytail by the time of her hospitalization in XVII.

King is one of the fighters who tends to regularly swaps in and out of outfits on a semi-regular basis, so I wouldn't be surprised if she switched her choice of wardrobe once or twice before this saga came to a close. After all, she went back to the wine-colored jacket in 2000-XI, and I believe she had three costume changes before that. I'm just going off of the fact that her AOF2/'99 attire is what she's wearing in XIII (essentially her AOF costume), plus a jacket.

The problem I've always had with that outfit is that it prevents Mary from tossing the jacket to Anton. It's not bad at all otherwise, but I'm always looking for that darn dog nowadays.

I see what you mean, but Anton would still probably be included in her intro, a la the Real Bout games (hopefully, Geese will stay away from Anton).

He'd probably be pestering Rock, though.

And speaking of Rock, aside of the whole "Kain is my uncle? (scare chord)" subplot, I'm going to use Rock as a vehicle to help along the Terry/Blue Mary Ship Tease. Seeing as Rock only showed up in some of Terry's win poses in 2001 and 2002 (as well as during the intro to 2003), I don't think that many are aware of Rock's existence outside of the core Fatal Fury group. A common response to Rock showing up around Terry and Mary will be "Is that your son?" (to which Terry will reply—in a decidedly neutral/offhanded way—"No, he's Geese's son."; people who hear this will be shocked).

I'm also thinking about have B. Jenet use her "You're so cute, I could eat you up." line from MI2 when she encounters the young Howard boy (although here, it'd be in the context of "Dawwww, he's so cute! He could be my little brother!" and not "I may or may not actually be sexually attracted to you." a la their interactions in MI2). Rock, still retaining his adorkable nature around women (but not Blue Mary; judging by his interaction with her in Regulation A, I'd assume that Rock sees Mary as a Cool Big Sis or even a second maternal figure), asks Jennie to wear something less revealing (possibly going as far as covering up his face in embarrassment a la MI2).

I don't mind her original look, but I think Kasumi looks better with her hair tied in a ponytail for some reason.

It's just not Yamazaki without the pimpcoat. Bask in its magnificence!◊

As a note, whether it be due to timezones or scheduling, in order to offer a prompt response to you, I'm often posting early in the morning or in the last hour before bed. My typing's always at its worst then, and I keep kicking myself for my atrocious spelling and grammar in previous posts. Sorry.

No no no, that's not necessary. Take your time with your responses. It's no rush, really. And don't worry about grammar/spelling/etc. I have my fair share of typos as well.

edited 13th Oct '11 12:48:54 AM by X2X

Gir Clip- "I don't know~."

The rest is also very nice.

Sorry it took me so long to respond- there were very important things happening in my life.

edited 16th Oct '11 12:33:33 AM by Pulse

Oh, you might want to fix up your spoiler/quote tags. Don't want to spoil any potential readers down the road.

You mean as in genetic manipulation/experimentation? I actually hadn't thought of anything else about Melody, so yeah, that could work. Going behind your brother's back and turning his girlfriend/wife-to-be into some sort of humanoid monster would cause him to break ties with Rugal. This event would have probably also traumatized Melody, which is why she prefers to not talk for the most part. Of course, she recovered, but she still prefers to not speak her mind; she really only opens up to Reiner, and that's usually only in private, intimate moments.

As for Rugal, I take it this would've happened after Goenitz gave him a portion of Orochi's power (which returned to Orochi when Rugal died in '95) when Rugal was circa age 25. Rugal was never the nicest of people (at best, he started out as a Jerkass), but my guess is that Reiner worked with his older brother at first, but soon began to question Rugal's illegal methods and decided to be more "white collar" than his brother. He turned a blind eye to Rugal's dealings, but found it harder and harder to do so when he learned of Rugal's first Moral Event Horizon before he started submerging defeated fighters in liquid metal (I'm talking about him killing Heidern's men and family and taking Heidern's eye in 1986). Rugal (in a manner similar to that DM Omega Rugal had in '98 where he stabs his opponent and injects them with poisonous Orochi energy) experimented on Melody, turning her into what she is today. When Reiner confronts Rugal over the unprovoked murders of Heidern's loved ones, Rugal reveals what he did to Melody. Of course, this is when all ties are off. Reiner goes into a fury, managing to fight Rugal to a draw and temporarily distract him. He flees with Melody in tow, which is when Ron finds them soon after. Ron has Jalange stabilize Melody's condition and return her to her normal human form, which is how Reiner and Melody (now Sankt and Sigrid Reinhardt) come to work for Addes. Thus, it's a battle of conflicting loyalties for the pair; they genuinely like Ron and Misty (coming to feel that they could've been good friends in another time) and are indebted to Ron, but feel that Ron's machinations need to be stopped.

I like it. It's a fitting way to integrate their mythological roots into their fighting styles. For reference, this is the common depiction of the Three Scared Treasures,◊ which is making me rethink that the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi itself is just a small broadsword (I believe that the items shown are roughly subject to scale, given the respective appearances of the Yata Mirror and Yasakani Jewel in 2003 and XIII); the weapon Kyo manifests can still be a katana, and the treasure's appearance could still work in terms of flustering Shingo. As for the Yata-no-Kagami, however, I believe it translates to something like "Eight Hand Mirror" (which most likely refers to its length; the actual mirror looks pretty circular to me), but the idea of the eight-woman sealing strike sounds appealing. I figure that Iori's technique would be a mix of his flameless Neo MAX in XIII and his Saika; Iori launches his foe into the air and pelts them from afar, entrapping them with flames in the shape of the Yasakani-no-Magatama, which eventually form the Yagami crescent moon, which then explodes.

Yeah, I just didn't know how else to approach it. If you look at the Elizabeth Team's ending in XIII, you see Ash disappearing from other events that he was present in after Duo Lon and Shen leave Elizabeth to mourn over Ash in private, but I don't think the implication is that the saga's tournaments didn't happen.

Like I said before, no worries. Whenever is most reasonable and convenient for you is fine. As for your personal life, I hope that whatever is going on isn't too serious and that everything works out for the best.

edited 15th Oct '11 11:33:42 PM by X2X

As an aside, I've been watching the XIII endings. Highlights:

• K' making a Hawaiian entirely badass.
• PSYCHO RANGERS, GO! DESTROY ROBO-RON!
• Joe's mysterious drag stalker.

edited 22nd Oct '11 2:33:26 PM by Pulse

Yeah. Looks like it. That would put our count up to two, right? We already have Misty.

I know, but I wouldn't want to break tradition from what's already been established in canon. If the other two treasures have been shown to look like the common interpretation of the items, I'm willing to bet that Kyo's would also follow that convention if they ever showed it.

Ah, yes, the man in drag that Joe rescued in his 2003 ending. Poor guy can't catch a break. I guess that means that Joe and Lilly aren't an item in this continuity.

While I'm indifferent to MUGEN and their recolors and sprite edits, I stumbled across a character called Kyo Type U. Here's a video of all his specials and supers (just don't watch past 2:39). Stuff like his moves at 0:36 and 1:00 could make for a good HSDM for Kyo (prior to him using the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi in XVII anyway), while that aerial Orochi Nagi/Yami Barai fusion could be a modified version of his aerial Orochi Nagi from XIII. I'm also quite fond of this as some kind of combination attack by the Three Sacred Treasures. And then there's this animation of Kyo & Iori vs. Orochi. Those last two videos could possibly factor into the battle with Orochiko.

As for the location of Addes HQ, I would assume it's somewhere in Japan, as that's where Hell's Gate presumably is. Naturally, the ritual site/chamber where the final battles take place is built directly above Hell's Gate. When Orochi/Ron goes Load-Bearing Boss and the area collapses, this would probably directly seal off Hell's Gate (although that would still leave some of the other portals scattered across the world intact).

Also, it's come to my attention that Kusiel and Kokaviel are most likely mistransliterations by the localization/dub of the MI series (although this could be a misspelling on the part of Japanese, as Kusiel is something like Kusieru). All of the other branches of Addes (Mephistopheles and Belphegor) have their names taken from Judeo-Christian demonology. Kusiel should probably be Kushiel (an angel who punishes beings in Hell), whereas Kokaviel is Kokabiel (a fallen angel). It's nothing major (I don't intend on changing that), but I thought I'd point it out.

On a completely unrelated note, I was thinking about (in one of the later tournaments, probably XVI seeing as they'll be on the same team in XVII) Ryo and King sharing The Big Damn Kiss after their teams square off (that was how things were going to work out back when the story was going to chronicle XIII and I had the American Sports Team as the POV characters).

edited 27th Oct '11 5:04:08 AM by X2X

Hmm... this is a very intriguing idea.

However, now that you're discussing HSD Ms for the Sacred Treasures Team, wouldn't it be a good idea to expand on that and work out the other teams's HSD Ms?

Probably, but Pulse and I are mainly working on the backbone of the plot and the main characters. Since everyone else is in a secondary role (or tertiary, in some cases), I'll probably fill in the blanks when I get there.

It all sounds good!

Yes, lazy post is lazy.

Ah, don't worry about it. I think that's most of my thoughts/questions/ideas. At the very least, this should be enough to help me finish my prologue for XV sometime soon. Maybe. I hope.

Pulse, I'll PM you if I think of anything else.

As for anyone else, feel free to contribute if you want to.

Will do!

And~

*Raises glass of wine*

"Here's to the talented one of the duo involved in this strange and glorious undertaking! Here's to you, X 2 X!"

*Downs wine*

edited 25th Oct '11 10:26:14 PM by Pulse

(bows)

You're too kind. I can't take all the credit, after all. You're just as a responsible for this as I am.

(toasts with a glass of sparkling cider)

Here's a video about the compilation soundtrack. Spans the series history from '94 to XIII. 100+ songs. I think I've gone blind...

Here's the track listing (I've translated most of the titles and retitled some of the songs as they were in their original games), for anyone curious.

Disc 1

• "Ne!" ["Right?"] KOF '94 Women Fighters Team)
• "Neapolitan Blues" (KOF '94 Fatal Fury Team)
• "Jungle Bouncer" (KOF '94 Ikari Warriors Team)
• "Slum no. 5" (KOF '94 American Sports Team)
• "Ketchaku R&D" ["Showdown R&D"] (KOF '94 Rugal 2)
• "Pre Bon (Long Version)" (KOF '94 Ending)
• "Ryuko to Ken ~Yureru Otokogororo~" ["Dragon, Tiger, and Fist ~The Trembling Male Spirit~"] (KOF '95 Art of Fighting Team'')
• "Club M ~Aozora ni Flute~ ["Club M ~A Flute in the Sky~"] (KOF '95 Fatal Fury Team)
• "Senritsu no Dora" ["The Shuddering Gong"] (KOF '95 Psycho Soldiers Team'')
• "Tsuchi o Hau Bass" ["Ground-Creeping Bass"] (KOF '95 Women Fighters Team)
• "Hal to Bass to Melody to" ["Hall, Bass, and Melody"] (KOF '95 Saisyu)
• "The Sunset Sky Part VI ~Liebe~" (KOF '95 Ending)
• "Rumbling on the City" (KOF '96 Ikari Team Team)
• "Esaka?" (KOF '96 Japan/Hero Team)
• "Psycho Soldier Remix '96" (KOF '96 Psycho Soldier Team)
• "Geese ni Katakori" ["A Stiff Neck for Geese"] (KOF '96 Geese)
• "Dust Man" (KOF '96 Mr. Big)
• "Dies Irae" (KOF '96 Krauser)
• "Self" (KOF '96 Ending?)
• "Bloody" (KOF '97 New Faces Team)
• "Cool Jam ~Arashi no Saxophone 3~" ["Cool Jam ~Stormy Saxophone 3~"] (KOF '97 Iori)
• "Blue Mary's Blues" (KOF '97 Blue Mary)
• "Still Green" (KOF '97 Shingo)
• "Rhythmic Hallucination" (KOF '97 Orochi Team > KOF '98 Orochi Yashiro)
• "The Origin of Mind" (KOF '97 Orochi)
• "Seoul Road -KOF96- (KOF '96 Korea Team; bonus track in XIII?)
• "Esaka -KOFXI-" (KOF XI EX Kyo; bonus track in XIII?)

Disc 2

• "Kurikinton (Gomame Guitar Ver.)" ["Chestnuts & Mashed Sweet Potatoes (Dry Anchovies Guitar Ver.)"] (KOF '98 Fatal Fury Team)
• "C62" (KOF '97 Yamazaki)
• "London March" (KOF '97 Billy)
• "Fairy" (KOF '96 Chizuru > KOF '98 Women Fighters Team)
• "In Spite of One's Age" (KOF '98 Oyaji/Master Team)
• "Fantastic Waltz" (KOF '98 Orochi Shermie)
• "Mad Fantasy" (KOF '98 Orochi Chris)
• "XXX" (KOF '98 Omega Rugal; same as "Ketchaku R&D")
• "W.W.III" (KOF '99 Ikari Warriors Team)
• "176th Street" (KOF '99 Fatal Fury Team)
• "Sha-la-la" (KOF '99 Women Fighters Team)
• "The Way to Rebirth" (KOF '99 Korea Team)
• "Tears" (KOF '99 Kyo)
• "Dear Falling Angel" (KOF '99 Krizalid 2)
• "KD-0084" (KOF 2000 K'/Hero Team)
• "Inner Shade" (KOF 2000 Benimaru Team)
• "Ice Palace" (KOF 2000 Kula)
• "Dream Eater" (KOF 2000 Last Boss Defeat Demo)
• "Crystal (Type A)" (KOF 2000 Staff Roll)
• "Big Pain" (KOF 2001 K'/Hero Team)
• "Muteki no Hono-o" ["The Invincible Flames"] (KOF 2001 Japan Team)
• "The Queen of Fighters" (KOF 2001 Women Fighters Team)
• "NESTS: Yami no Shihaisha" ["NESTS: Ruler of the Dark"] (KOF 2001 NESTS Team)
• "Warekoso Saikyo" ["He is the Strongest"] (KOF 2001 Igniz)

Disc 3

• "Deserted Town" (KOF 2002 Kula)
• "Tacos Dance" (KOF 2002 Mexico Stage/Angel)
• "Yuuwaku no Toki" ["The Alluring Time"] (KOF 2002 Outlaw/'97 Special Team)
• "Last Dance" (KOF 2002 Omega Rugal)
• "Festive Mood" (KOF 2002 Staff Roll)
• "Splendid Evil" (KOF 2003 Ash/Hero Team)
• "Joyrider" (KOF 2003 Japan Team)
• "Kyoku-Gen" (KOF 2003 Art of Fighting Team)
• "Villainous" (KOF 2003 Outlaw Team)
• "Blaze" (KOF 2003 Kyo)
• "Kakumei no Etude ~RII" ["Revolutionary Etude ~RII"] (KOF 2003 Adel)
• "Kiss or Poison" (KOF XI Garou Team)
• "Secret Circumstances" (KOF XI Agents Team)
• "Rinrin" ["Triumphantly"] (KOF XI Anti-Kyokugen Team)
• "King" (KOF XI Adel)
• "Koubai" ["Plum Tree"] (KOF XI Shion)
• "An Improvised Concerto" (KOF XI Magaki)
• "Cracker" (KOF XII China Stage)
• "The Myths of Geb" (KOF XII Egypt Stage)
• "Café au Lait au Goût de la Victoire" ["Coffee with Milk and a Taste of Victory"] (KOF XII France Stage)
• "Matryoshka Dance" (KOF XII Russia Stage)
• "Theme of XII-2" (KOF XII Main Theme?)
• "PURE ~at good old days~ -KOFXI-" (KOF XI Neo Psycho Soldiers Team; bonus track in XIII?)
• "Arashi no Saxophone -KOFXI-" ["Stormy Saxophone"] (KOF '95 Rival Team > KOF XI Iori [PS 2 only and if on point]; bonus track in XIII?)

Disc 4 (all themes are from KOF XIII)

• "The Second Joker" (Ash)
• "Each Promise" (Elisabeth Team)
• "Esaka Continues..." (Japan Team)
• "Wild Street" (Fatal Fury Team)
• "Purity Soldiers" (Psycho Soldiers Team)
• "Irregular Mission" (Ikari Warriors Team)
• "Who is Queen?" (Women Fighters Team)
• "Arashi no Saxophone 5" ["Stormy Saxophone 5"] (Yagami Team)
• "Kyokugen Shugyou! ~Yamagomori~ ["Kyokugen Training ~ Mountain Seclusion"] (Art of Fighting Team
• "Tame a Bad Boy" (Kim Team)
• "KDD-0063" (K' Team)
• "Fate" (EX Saiki)
• "Diabolosis" (Evil Ash)
• "London March -Arranged-" (Billy)
• "Toki wo Suberu Mono" ["The One Who Rules Time"] (Saiki)
• "Joker -KOFXI-" (KOF XI Ash/Hero Team)
• "Queen -KOFXI-" (KOF XI Elisabeth/Rival Team)
• "Street Dancer -KOFXI-" (KOF XI Fatal Fury Team)
• "Smell of Gunpowder -KOFXI-" (KOF XI Ikari Warriors Team'')
• "I'm Hot For You -KOF2003-" (KOF 2003 Women Fighters Team)
• "After a Long Absence -KOFXI-" (KOF XI Art of Fighting Team)
• "KDD-0075 -KOFXI-" (KOF XI K' Team)
• "Geese ni Katakori -Arranged-" (KOF XI Geese)
• "Fate -Arranged-" (EX Saiki)
• "Staffroll -Consumer-" (Staff Roll)

Overall, it's a good selection of music, although I do believe they left out many really iconic tracks in favor of duplicates and some otherwise forgettable music. Then again, there's a lot of great music to choose from, not to mention that an entire CD is reserved for the XIII OST. My biggest qualm about the soundtrack is that the ASTs are notably missing. A shame as the OST versions, while still good, are vastly outclassed by their rearrangements in every game barring XI (although there are a few exceptions from game to game). Sadly, there's no music from the MI series or 2002: Unlimited Match, which is a pity but somewhat understandable.

edited 27th Oct '11 1:40:16 PM by X2X

Pulse, I have a few more ideas I want to send your way.

First, given Adel's friendship/acquaintanceship with Heidern, it'd make more sense if Reinhardt contacted Adel on a private line and tipped him off to the location of Addes HQ. Adel would then relay the info to Heidern and the Ikari Warriors.

Second, I think that, sometime before XVII, Ron sends some of his fellow Hizoku defectors to hunt down Kyo, Iori, and Chizuru, as they're the only ones who can interfere with his plans for Orochi/Shizuku. He doesn't want them dead, but he has ordered his men to use force if necessary. I was also thinking about Addes salvaging a good number of the thousands of Kyo clones we saw back in 99; some of them will probably be hounding Kyo, while the others would be slandering his name or something like that. Additionally, the Omega Rugal clones we had discussed earlier would be shipped out of Addes HQ before Heidern and his men attacked. They could be a Chekhov's Gunman for the next saga (maybe even one of them could be a boss to throw the others off).

Finally, I've been contemplating adding Gustav Munchausen from EX2 as an affiliate of Addes (I'm thinking about him having a connection to White, as a well as being a rival of Kain). I'm also thinking about integrating the other EX-exclusive characters (all five of them) into this story. Not necessarily as key players, but a setup just in case I decide to use them for the next saga (should I get that far/continue from the end of this one). Hey, if we can rework the MI characters into the regular timeline, the EX characters shouldn't be too bad to fiddle with.

"That's not important. You want the location of Addes' HQ, correct? Longitude XXX, latitude YYY."

"... Just who are you?"

"A friend."

edited 12th Dec '11 10:30:08 AM by Pulse

No arranged Bloody? No arranged Rhythmic Hallucination? Whyyyyy?

KOF XIII is awesome, Raiden FTW

edited 12th Dec '11 3:09:49 PM by LOEADITOOx

@ Pulse: Sure that works. However, since Reinhardt would reveal to Adel that he's his uncle, he'd probably need some sort of voice modification device (I guess). And I'm assuming "Longitude XXX, latitude YYY" is just a placeholder, right? I'll have to do some research to see where in Japan would make a nice spot.

Yeah, I figured that there'd only be a few, but it never made sense to me that '99 shows all of these clones and then promptly never touches on that plot point again.

Yep. That's what I had in mind for Reiji. There's also the case of Sinobu; I guess we could have Addes (or whatever new syndicate Misty forms after Addes falls) kidnap him for some scientific experimentation (thus giving Miu motivation to enter KOF like in EX2), but I don't think we'll have Gustav trying to channel the spirit of Goenitz into his body. Moe would probably be affiliated with the Japan Team, given her ties to Kyo in EX. Jun could probably be an acquaintance of someone from the main cast. For some reason, I'm thinking either King, Elisabeth, or B. Jenet.

Here's an idea: How about keeping the Ten Sacred Treasures plot point intact, but with a twist? Misty, after Ron's death, finds a journal/manuscript left behind by Ron in the foreseeable case that Addes' plan would go belly up and he dies, leaving Misty to carry on with his work. By reading through this, Misty learns of an additional seven treasures belonging to branch families connected and loyal to the Kusanagi, Yasakani, and Yata clans. While the main three treasures are the most powerful of the bunch, together, all ten artifacts contain enough power to reshape the world and create a utopia on Earth, much like Ron had planned to do with Orochi and the Four Gods. Thus, Misty plots to continue where Ron left out, but from a different starting point. Gustav jumps on board and kidnaps Sinobu, channeling the spirit of Ron into Sinobu's body (unbeknownst to Misty) in order to allow the boy to pilfer the other treasures (like in EX2, this drives Sinobu insane). And since the EX series only introduced five characters with treasures, that leaves room for two OCs containing the other ones.

And speaking of Goenitz and Sinobu, I was thinking that Wind would pull a Sinobu and Turn Gold sometime during her battle in the Bad Ending route, allowing her to use lightning as a secondary skill (not as well as Shermie, of course; I mean, it's possible to create lightning using enough air friction; hey, Bleach did it). Thoughts?

@ Vertigo: Beats me. A pity, seeing how much better most of the ASTs are.

@ Ox: I could care less for the guy (I'm more of a Tizoc player), but unfortunately, he's something of a Tier Induced Scrappy in XIII, especially thanks to that ungodly dropkick of his.

edited 14th Dec '11 1:25:59 AM by X2X

Who cares. I was waiting for him since Fatal Fury, Now Its time Jubei and Jack Turner

A lot of people, actually. Hence the words "Tier Induced Scrappy". And while I have nothing again nostalgia, nostalgia for the sake of nostalgia isn't necessarily a good thing. Not every old school SNK character merits a return (here's looking at you, Hwa Jai). Jack Turner and Jubei Yamada are most likely some of the low men on the totem pole, and I'm pretty sure there are other characters fans would rather see.