King (Art of Fighting)

General CVG character
name=King


caption= Official "The King of Fighters 2000" character artwork for King.
firstgame="Art of Fighting"
series="Art of Fighting"
"The King of Fighters"
"SNK vs. Capcom"
artist=
voiceactor= Harumi Ikoma
Yumi Touma (Dengeki Bunko drama CD)
inuniverse=SNK character
birthplace= flagicon|France France
birthdate=birth date|1957|4|8|mf=y ("Art Of Fighting series")
April 8 ("King Of Fighters series")
age= 24 years old ('95-2000)
height=175 cm
weight=59 kg
bloodtype=A
fightingstyle=Muay Thai kickboxing
measurements=86 cm, 56 cm, 85 cm ('94-2001)
86 cm (33 in), 57 cm (22 in), 86 cm (33 in) (2003 and later games)
likes=Collecting wine glasses and making original cocktails
dislikes="Grubby guys"|

King is a character in both "Art of Fighting" and "King of Fighters" series. She debuted in the original "Art of Fighting" as the sole playable female character.

King has been voiced by Harumi Ikoma since her debut.

Story

Art of Fighting

King's story begins in Thailand. When King was a little girl, she was sent to Thailand in order to learn Muay Thai with her younger brother Jan. King has always assumed a motherly role for her brother and she cares for him deeply. Despite being a woman, she clearly demonstrated to be a skillful Muay Thai fighter, and could hold her own in a match. However, she could not fight in an official tournament because she was a woman.

The following year a mysterious fighter known only as "King" entered the tournament. All the fighters were surprised by an enigmatic fighter with short blond hair and a shirt. This was, of course, King posing as a man. She advanced to the finals with relative ease. At the finals, King faced off with the current Muay Thai champion (not Joe Higashi). The fight was pretty even, but the man named only "King" was getting the upper hand. In a rage burst, the champion took hold of King's shirt; King kicked him back in retort. The force of the impact made the champion tear off her shirt, revealing her to be female. King's secret soon became evident to the crowd... she was a woman. Everybody was dumbfounded. The organizers considered the final invalid, and threw King away. The humiliated King traveled to the United States, where she would begin a new life with her brother Jan. This humiliating experience caused her to develop an intense conflict with her sex. This shirt-tearing experience can be relived in the games. In "Art of Fighting" (and a small number of related games, namely "King of Fighters '94"), if you used a special move to defeat King, her shirt rips open to reveal that King was a woman and not an effeminate man.

King began working for a mysterious criminal named Mr. Big as a bouncer in his restaurant. She was apparently reading the works of Gertrude Stein while working there. Her stage is set in the aforementioned restaurant. This is where she first came into contact with Ryo Sakazaki and Robert Garcia. King fought Ryo in this restaurant disguised as a man. His true business lied with Mr. Big, but Ryo needed vital information from King on how to find him. She refused to answer out of loyalty to her employer. Ryo was oblivious to the fact that she was really a woman and battled her with all his might. The match was close, but he eventually won. Realizing that King wasn't really a bad person, he reached his hand out to help King. Her shirt had been ripped in the carnage and Ryo was surprised to learn that King was a woman. King had never been treated with such respect before, and developed great respect (or more likely, a crush) for Ryo Sakazaki. She helped him find his sister Yuri and quit working for Mr. Big shortly after "Art of Fighting".

After the first game, she bought a bar of her own in Southtown with Duck King from "Fatal Fury" where she was barwoman and he was DJ. King also employed two twin women, Sally and Elizabeth. They currently work as waitresses in King's bar. Both Sally and Elizabeth can be seen in various women team's backgrounds. Sally also appears serving a drink to King in her starting pose in "The King Of Fighters" series.

The King of Fighters

Like all of the "Art of Fighting" characters to appear in "King of Fighters", King's history is largely unchanged, only moved a number of years forward in time ("Art of Fighting" appears to take place in 1978-1979).

King had moved to England by 1994 and was running a bar there called "L'amor". This is the reason it's "The Woman's Fighters Team's" country of origin in The King of Fighters '94, although none of the characters were from England (King herself was supposedly born in France). Her formation of the women's team (then called "Team England") would suggest she is less at odds with her womanhood as she had been in "Art Of Fighting". Throughout the course of the series, King has been the leader of this team. She has entered with the likes of Blue Mary, Kasumi Todoh, and Mai Shiranui. She was keen to demonstrate 'the strength of women'. The Woman's Fighters Team (sometimes called the 'Gorgeous Team') has been a mainstay in the character line-up ever since KOF '94 and has been in almost every single game.

However, King has not appeared in every King of fighters game nor has she always been with the women's team. She was absent from the team in "The King of Fighters 2000". Instead, she joined her old friend Ryo in the Kyokugenryu team. Ryo had invited his love King to join the Art of Fighting team. Robert Garcia was furious that she had taken Yuri's place on the team. Robert initially had a low opinion on King. He simply refused to let Ryo fill Yuri's spot with some weird lady who dressed like a guy. He believed her Muay Thai style to be inferior to Kyokugenryu Karate. Concerned that King would disgrace the team, he challenged King to a match. She accepted and pushed Robert to his limits. With a bruised ego, he reluctantly accepted King on to the team. In "King Of Fighters 2002", her place was taken in the team by May Lee. This proved unpopular and she was included in the home console version of the game. As if to undo their wrong, SNK removed May Lee from "The King of Fighters: Neowave" in favor of King. May Lee was included in the console versions of the game.

Despite the constant presence of King's team, their role in the games rarely has any real impact on the overall story. Their largest role thus far is arguably 'adopting' Chizuru Kagura and introducing her to normal life after years of servitude in "The King of Fighters '97". This was in fact largely the work of King's little brother Jan using some emotional blackmail. Jan had been ill during previous games, but was reunited with King by Mai Shiranui and Kasumi Todoh (her teammates for that tournament) in the Women's Fighters Team's ending for the game and King shed a tear of joy when she was reunited with her brother.

In "KOF 2000", it is mentioned that King may be pregnant, though this was most likely scrapped and has not been mentioned since (it might have been just a quip made by Takuma Sakazaki about her relationship with Ryo). Recently, King teamed up with Kyokugenryu Karate disciples Ryo Sakazaki and Yuri Sakazaki to form the "Art of Fighting/Kyokugen Team". Problems with her sex also seem to have diminished throughout the years; she is even seen wearing a dress during the ending of Kyoukugen Team in "The King of Fighters XI".

Personality

King is a kind, trustworthy but violent woman. She is unquestionably loyal to her friends, but relentlessly unforgiving towards her enemies. Although King is a passionate woman, she rarely shows a sensitive side to her friends (and when she does, things just seem to go wrong). She loves to dress in men's clothing and has a great affinity for fine wine. She also enjoys playing billiards. Her favorite food is vegetables. Though King is often at war with her own sex, she appears to not be so with her sexuality and as well has having an implied pregnancy, she seems to be attracted to Ryo Sakazaki. They even have special starting poses to imply this.

Although King acts very masculine at the best of times, traces of femininity can't help but show themselves every now and then. For, King assumes a very feminine pose during her taunt in which she says "C'mon Baby!"

Appearance

King boasts a unique style. Her character design in the first "Art of Fighting" game made it very difficult to distinguish her gender. In the instruction manual of the original "Art of Fighting", King is always referred to as a "He" to add to the confusion. In the "Art of Fighting" series, she wears a white shirt and black pants. In AoF2, a black and white jacket was added. Her outfit in "The King of Fighters" is a purple tuxedo. In some installments, she does not wear a jacket. Sometimes she wears a white jacket instead of a purple one. King was seen wearing make up for the first time in "The King of Fighters 2001". King was seen wearing a dress for the first time on the cover of the KoF '98 cartridge art.

Gameplay

Unlike most female characters who use speed as their primary tactic, King combines raw power with mind games to defeat her opponents. Her gameplay varies in each installment. King was fairly strong in the "Art of Fighting" series and relatively strong in "The King of Fighters 94" and "95". She was one of the weaker characters in "96", although her abilities increased when her gauge reached max. However, because raising the gauge meter in "96" is so difficult, King is one of the lower-tier characters in this game. In "97", King's trap shot gained better priority and could be used as a guard breaker. This tactic was exclusive to "97". Her playability was increased in "98" to a well rounded and powerful character. She regained her old tornado kick in "99". King was fairly strong in "KoF 2000". Mirage Dance was quite useful against non-grappling opponents. In 2001, King's special move, Surprise Rose, was upgraded to a DM and further upgraded to an HDM in "Neowave" and "00". King's best weapon is her raw strength in these installments.

In "KoF '03/XI", King has varied her "Venom Strike" move into two versions of differing heights. This can be used to confuse opponents. King is deadly in this installment when her gauge reaches max. In "The king Of Fighters XI" King's slide kick makes her very effective up close. Her slide kick connects even from weak punchs and kicks. One can connect a Double Strike, Top Venom, Under Venom, Trap Shot, Phantom, and Silent Flash from her slide kick. King also has the fastest CD/Blow back move in the series (with the exception of boss characters). Although, throughout the years, King has lost several moves and has undergone severe gameplay modifications in each installment.

Media appearances

King appeared in the anime TV special, "The Art of Fighting". In this incarnation, King is a ruthless woman working as a bouncer in Mr. Big's restaurant. She kidnaps Yuri at his command. King faced off with Robert Garcia who was attempting to foil their plans. As she jumped in the air launching a 'Surprise Rose' attack, Robert kicked her into the stomach. She was captured and locked in jail for her crimes.

External links

* [http://www.kof10th.com// "The King of Fighters" 10th Anniversary Official Website]