The King of Fighters is a series of fighting games developed by SNK. The series started in 1994 for SNK’s Neo Geo MVS arcade cabinets. In 1999, King of Fighters R-2 was released for the Neo-Geo Pocket Color handheld. In 2020, a Nintendo Switch port was released. This port was rereleased in the Neo Geo Pocket Color Selection Vol. 1 in 2021. The game was originally released to positive reviews with it being rated as one of the best games for the Pocket color however, the Nintendo Switch port was heavily criticized on Metacritic.
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The Premise Of King Of Fighters R-2
King of Fighters R-2 sees a return to the mechanics of the first game, King of Fighters R-1. It’s a fighting game with standard fighting game modes such as Single Player, Teamplay, and VS. To play multiplayer you need a peripheral known as the link cable. On top of the other modes, there is a Making mode, that allows you to customize a fight and send them on a quest to defeat Rugal Bernstein.
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The Main Characters Of R-2
The cast of King of Fighters R-2 is divided into separate teams.
Representing the Kusanagi Team:
- Kyo Kusanagi – the heir to the Kusanagi clan, Kyo is first introduced as a cocky, delinquent high-school student who has pyrokinetic powers.
- Saisyu Kusanagi – Saisyu is the previous head of the Kusanagi clan, who left his family to face worthy opponents across the globe.
- Shingo Yabuki – a high school student who idolizes Kyo and dreams of being able to wield flames.
Super Babe Team consists of:
- Athena Asamiya – An esper, Athena is a descendant of Princess Athena from the earlier Athena game.
- Yuri Sakazaki – The younger sister of Ryo and daughter of Takuma. She is introduced in the first game as the hostage of Mr. Big, prompting Ryo and Robert to rescue her.
- Kasumi Todoh – Kasumi is the daughter of Ryuhaku Todoh, the first adversary of the original Art of Fighting video game.
The New South Town Team consists of:
- Terry Bogard – he is an American fighter who enters the worldwide “The King of Fighters” tournaments to combat his father’s murderer, Geese Howard.
- Ryo Sakazaki – a skilled martial artist who practices his family’s fighting style, Kyokugenryu Karate, acting as the top disciple alongside his sister Yuri, his father and sensei Takuma, and his best friend Robert Garcia.
- Mai Shiranui – Mai is a modern-world young female ninja and the granddaughter of the ninjutsu master Hanzo Shiranui, with the ability to create and control fire.
The Orochi Team follows:
- Yashiro Nanakase – He is one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Orochi and serves as the darker counterpart to Goro Daimon.
- Shermie – Shermie is a very outgoing and friendly girl. However, like some people, she has reservations about society at large, as she considers them stupid when it crosses beyond her interests and profession.
- Chris – Chris is quite innocent, shy, cheerful, and has a heart of gold, though somewhat anti-social.
The following characters aren’t affiliated with a team:
- Leona Heidern – Although she tends to be very quiet, Leona was conceived to be an Orochi descendant at the time of her debut, and her designers took special care to let their interests at the time reflect in her actions.
- Iori Yagami – Iori is the heir of the Yagami clan, who used pyrokinetic powers to seal the Orochi devil along with the Kusanagi and Yata clans.
- Omega Rugal – As the host of the tournaments from The King of Fighters ’94 and ’95, Rugal plans to turn all the competitors from the tournament into stone statues as part of his collection.
Other Titles In The King Of Fighters Series
- The King of Fighters ’94
- The King of Fighters ’95
- The King of Fighters ’96
- The King of Fighters ’97
- The King of Fighters ’98
- The King of Fighters ’99
- The King of Fighters XI
- The King of Fighters XII
- The King of Fighters XIII
- The King of Fighters XIV
- The King of Fighters XV
- The King of Fighters 2000
- The King of Fighters 2001
- The King of Fighters 2002
- The King of Fighters 2003
- The King of Fighters All Star
- The King of Fighters Neowave
- King of Fighters R-1
- King of Fighters R-2
- KOF: Maximum Impact
- KOF: Maximum Impact 2
King Of Fighters R-2 Cheat Codes
| Code Effect | Code |
|---|---|
| Play as Kyo ’95 | Highlight Kyo and press the OPTION button. |
| Unlock Special and Super Move | When selecting what mode to use (Extra or Advance), select it using the Option button. |
Secret Characters
| Unlockable | How To Unlock |
|---|---|
| EX Kyo(’94 version) | Beat him in Team Mode |
| EX Mai(RB2 version) | Beat her in Team Mode |
| EX Ryo(’94 version) | Beat him in Team Mode |
| EX Terry(RB2 version) | Beat him in Team Mode |
| EX Yuri(’94 version) | Beat her in Team Mode |
| Omega Rugal | Beat him in Team Mode |
| Orochi Chris | Beat him in Team Mode |
| Orochi Shermie | Beat her in Team Mode |
| Orochi Yashiro | Beat him in Team Mode |
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