Hiya!

I have got to hand it to SNK. I may have never played a single game in the King of Fighters line until the 15th installment but that game made me a believer. There’s just something about the latest King of Fighters which clicked so hard with me. The mechanics of how things can just combo into each other just feels so freeing as I don’t feel constrained to just a few combos which feel pre-canned. There’s a lot of creativity as well with how to play because of it. Best of all, however, is the roster. Like with any fighting game, KOF 15 has its share of top tier characters *coughVanessacough*, mostly everyone feels like they have a fighting chance to beat anyone in the right hands.

So you can guess why I’m excited that SNK is adding more characters to KOF 15 in the future. They already released team Garou consisting of Rock Howard, B. Jenet and Gato to the public, and, in a month’s time, Team Southtown, who is made up of Geese Howard, Billy Kane and Ryuji Yamazaki will be entering the fray. Team Garou already has been really impressive so I’m pretty sure SNK can do the same with Team Southtown.

However, these are just 2 teams out of the slated 4 that are going to come out in the future. Now, I may be a KOF beginner but I have done my research and delved through the team combinations who I personally would like to see get included. I even made sure they fit together storyline wise! So, without further ado, here are the teams I would like to see SNK add to the roster of King of Fighters XV.

Team Korea (Kim, Chang, May Lee)

Honestly, it feels odd SNK would leave out a mainstay like Kim Kaphwan from KOF 15. You can say Luong fills the Taekwondo requirement for the game… but this is Kim were talking about! He’s been in every version of the King of Fighters since the game’s inception!

So if they do add Kim, I really do hope they also include Chang Koehan as part of his team. While I understand he might not be the most appealing character to look at and he does seem a little slow, I can’t help but look as his goofy design and want to play him! Besides, who wouldn’t want to bonk someone on the head with a giant iron ball?

Rounding out the team, well, I wouldn’t want to see Gang-il, who he partnered with in KOF 14. I would rather see someone return from an earlier game, though. Specifically, I would love to see May Lee, the stance changing character who first appeared in KOF 2001. I just think it would be interesting to see what SNK could do with a stance switching character with this modern version of the game.

Team Kusanagi (Saishu, Souji, Shingo)

As I’ve never played the original King of Fighters games, I had no idea Kyo Kusanagi was basically a Shoto-type character before. I never got to experience that kind of playstyle. You might say I could already experience it since Iori became the new Shoto but I do want to see how Kyo actually played like. This is mainly why I would like to have Saishu put into the game. He was only playable in one game, the King of Fighters ’98, and that wasn’t even canonical to the story. So this would be the grand return of Kyo’s old man into the King of Fighters games and to actually feel how a Kusanagi played like originally.

Who would then accompany Saisyu? Well, this is where things get a little crazy as I would like to see Shingo, the Kyo fanboy, joining him. After all, you do get a glimpse of him in Team Sacred Treasures’ ending. I know he’s kind of a joke character but, since everyone in KOF 15 come off as strong, I would really want to see a “joke character” like Shingo be viable.

To really make things crazy, I would like to see a really lesser known character from the series who might be canon as he did appear in a credits shot for KOF 98: Souji Kusanagi. The biggest reason is he would be a blank slate for SNK to play with! They could really go wild with him when it comes to developing his special attacks with the same Kusanagi flame flair!

Team Goentz (Goenitz, Mature, Vice)

With the return of Team Orochi consisting of Yashiro, Shermie and Chris who supposedly died during the events of KOF 97, it only makes sense for other past characters to rise from the grave as well. Rugal is coming back as free DLC, no less. So why not bring back one of the original Orochi antagonists, Goenitz. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised to see him return as a Boss Survival mode like with Omega Rugal. However, I do want to see him made into a full-fledged and fair character.

Picking who would join Goenitz is really easy as of course I would pick Mature and Vice! They just look so cool and they have a built-in connection with Goenitz. These two femme fatales were already playable in KOF 14 so it would be a breeze to port them over to 15 but with some balance changes to make them much more viable than before.

Team Shen (Shen, Duo Lon, Oswald)

While I haven’t really played any KOF games before, I watched a heck of a lot of gameplay videos of the game in anticipation for King of Fighters XV. This is how I became aware of the entire Ash Saga and his teammates, Shen Woo and Duo Lon. As they are friends with Ash and even appeared in Team Ash’s ending, I do have a strong suspicion they might be returning as DLC characters. After all, I do think Shen is a fan favorite as he seems like a very straightforward brawler, which is my kind of character.

Duo Lon, unfortunately, not so much. He seems like a very tricky character. He’s like the juxtaposition to Shen as Duo Lon is more on tricks when compared to Shen’s rushdown tactics. However, since they are best friends, I guess he has to be part of Shen’s team.

The last member of Shen’s team should be Oswald. He had a rivalry with Shen and, in fact, in one of the game’s endings, they fought against each other but the results was never revealed. This does show he has a deep connection with Shen, making him an ideal teammate.

Team Teen Girls (Kasumi, Malin, Hotaru)

I am super impressed with how many female characters SNK crammed into KOF 15. However, there could always be more, which is why I wanted to put together an all female team but just consisting of teens. It wasn’t hard as KOF has an abundance of teen girls competing. I did narrow it down to Kasumi, Malin and Hotaru as they would just be a bunch of misfits and it would be great to see a team composed of them.

I do like the idea of putting in Kasumi Todoh as she does have a grudge again the Art of Fighting team and she does seem to be really prim and proper. Malin also has a rival in Yuri Sakazaki, so it would make sense for her to assist Kasumi. However, their personalities would clash as Malin is more bratty. Finally, we get to Hotaru, who does have a reason to join the tournament, which is to bring her big brother Gato back. We do see her in the Tam Garou ending but it ends on a sad note for her. Making her a playable character would make it possible for her to get a happy ending.

BONUS: Team USA

Why not? They’ve been the butt of jokes for the entire King of Fighters series! Why not give them a shot at redemption?

Byee!

Who else would you want to see join in King of Fighters XV? Let me know in the comments section below!