============================================================================= THE KING OF FIGHTERS 2000 ============================================================================= Striker Guide for The King of Fighters 2000 System: Arcade/Neo-Geo By Orochi K E-mail: kartelkertra caramail com FAQ created on June 17, 2001 Final Version - Last Revised: April 29, 2002 =-=-=-=-=-=-= DISCLAIMER =-=-=-=-=-=-= This document is Copyright 2001-2002, Ashvin "Orochi K" Sawmynaden and is protected by US Copyright Law, and the Berne Copyright Convention of 1976. You may not use this for profitable purposes. Don't use this for another purpose than personal and don't claim this to be yours. I mean, c'mon, I'm OROCHI K!! Are you sure you want me to be mad at you!? Webmasters who wish to post my work on their website must e-mail me first and will be allowed to do so only if they follow the following conditions: - Your site must be a non-profitable and non-commercial one. - It is must unaltered, not a single character is to be removed or added. - No banners or advertisements of any form are to be attached to it. - Full credit is given to me. The King of Fighters and all characters mentioned in this document are Copyright SNK, Japan. This FAQ can be viewed at www.gamefaqs.com. The latest version of this FAQ can be found at: www.gamefaqs.com www.gamespot.com www.cheatcodes.com =-=-=-=-=-=-=-= INTRODUCTION =-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Hello to you all! And if you already know me, welcome back. The reason I've written this FAQ is because I think it is essential specially for those who have just started playing this awesome game. I know how you feel, I had the same problem...So many strikers...Most newbies are lost and cannot figure out which character to use. This FAQ is here to help them out. But just to get one thing clear, don't expect to get descriptions of what they do here. I'll only be listing the strikers. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= TABLE OF CONTENTS =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= (I) Revision history (II) About the Striker System (III) Striker Features (IV) Striker List (V) Striker Origin +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ REVISION HISTORY +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Version 1.0 on June 17, 2001 - Created FAQ and sent it to CJayC, praying that it will get posted. Still wondering how to name the FAQ. Sent FAQ with a big mistake in it in the table of contents!! Version 2.0 on June 18, 2001 - Added Striker Origin section. Corrected that awful mistake of mine. See what happens when you play too much KoF. Version 2.5 on June 20, 2001 - Updated and corrected Striker Origin section. Added info in Striker Features. Corrected a few typos. Version 2.6 on June 21, 2001 - Origin of King Lion added. Version 2.7 on June 22, 2001 - Corrected mistake about Duke Edwards. Origin of Geese added. Found out that I had missed a command for the Maniac Striker code. I've written it correctly and it will work now. Sorry about that! Version 3.0 on July 6, 2001 - Updated origins, more info has been included on some characters - Whole bunch of info on Eiji. - Origin of Gai, Kim Sue Il and Duke added. Version 3.1 on July 16, 2001 - Added Maniac Striker for Kasumi, Unknown (no, his name is really Unknown, don't think I'm saying that I don't know ^_^). - Updated Bonus Striker Attack section. - Corrected typos. Final version on August 17, 2001 - Last revision. Final version on October 29, 2001 - Not much of an update but thought I'd add the other links since I'm sending other FAQs in. Updated some notes too - Bonus Striker Attack. Final Version on November 8, 2001 - A reader pointed out a mistake I made about Geese Howard, corrected. Final Version on November 11, 2001 - Info about Kyoko, now all the other strikers are covered! ^_^ Final Version on April 11, 2002 - Yamazaki and Unknown info added. +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ ABOUT THE STRIKER SYSTEM +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ The Striker System has been introduced in '99. This consisted of using a fourth character which you could call from time to time, provided you had a new option called a Striker bomb. While this was still 'experimental' in 99, SNK has developed it further in 2000. Indeed, now strikers can be called anytime and there are a lot of features revolving about them which were not present in '99. First, I'll talk about these features to help newbies out. +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ STRIKER FEATURES +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ - Active Striker This is a considerable change compared to '99 which introduced the system. In '99, you could call your striker only when you were not doing anything. It was impossible to call them when you were being attacked or when you were attacking. In 2000, you can call your striker whenever you want except during a DM, but you can still call them immediately after having performed that DM. You can call them even when you're being attacked or you're being thrown. It is also possible to call them immediately after a throw but the system changes a little then. - Another Striker In 99, each character held only one striker. In 2000, each character holds in fact 2 strikers. When you come to the fourth character, you will be shown the Striker Menu and you will notice that there are in fact 2 strikers and you choose which one you'll take here. Some characters have another character as striker, e.g. Terry has Geese as his other striker while some characters exist as both strikers but obviously in different versions, e.g. K' (ME!). It is also at this menu that you access the third striker, see the 'Maniac Strikers' section for the details. - Maniac Strikers Some characters have a third hidden striker and you need to input a code to enable these. This code is performed at the striker menu where you choose between the first and the second striker. Here is the code which I took from Famitsu Magazine and tested myself: - Highlight the 'Another Striker' - Do the following: up, left, left, left, right, right,right, down If done correctly, the 'Another Striker' will change to the 'Maniac Striker' Only the following characters have Maniac Strikers: Chang, Choi, Iori, Kula, Kyo, Ramon, Ryo, Kasumi - Striker Bombs You need those to call your Striker. One of these enables you to call your striker, whoever it may be, once. You start the battle with 3 bombs but as you pass on to the second and last character, you can hold up to 4 and 5 respectively, 5 being the maximum. - Replacing striker bombs A new feature, and what a kick-ass one indeed!! In 2000, when you taunt, the following things appear: (i) If you have one Power Stock, you'll lose it. (ii) You'll get a Striker Bomb. This is a pretty useful feature with some strikers. However, keep the following points in mind: (i) You cannot cancel the taunt by pressing directions or buttons. In previous KOFs, it was possible to get out of the taunt (i.e. end it quickly) by pressing a button. This is no longer possible. The character will perform the whole taunt even if you kick the machine will all your might and consequently get thrown out. Thus, you are very vulnerable during this time, specially if you are using someone like Shingo. (ii) If the maximum number of bombs you can carry is 4 and you already have these 4, no need to taunt in the hope that this will increase to 5 by some miracle (this ain't no Fatal Fury :P). You will get a Striker Bomb as long as you have an empty slot in your Striker gauge. So, no need to taunt when this is full. (iii) You will lose a Power Stock. Don't taunt uselessly if you don't have a stock. You can also do this in Counter and Armor Modes. The timer will reduce and you'll get a striker bomb. A good time to taunt is just after you've knocked the opponent down. - Bonus Striker Attack This occurs if you call your striker just after a throw. This uses a Striker Bomb and most noticeably, the strikers do only a 1-hit attack. This means that you can't even combo in and even characters like Joe are pretty much useless in this feature. Morever, you'll also lose a Power Stock but you can earn back a striker bomb by pressing START (i.e. taunting) during the attack. Well, it is possible to throw in 1 hit but not more as far as I can say. Use this just to finish off your opponent if he has only a little life left and so do you! Note that it is possible to throw DMs in for certain characters, so it's still quite useful. +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ STRIKER LIST +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ I wasn't too sure about how to list them and I've decided to list them according to the teams as they appear on the character select screen and the edit and hidden characters last. If you have problems navigating through the list, just e-mail me and I'll try to think of another way to arrange the list (but only if I get many e-mails requesting this) to make things easier for you. The names written down are as shown in the game itself. CHARACTER STRIKER ANOTHER STRIKER MANIAC STRIKER K' K' Another K' - Maxima Maxima Rocky - Ramon Ramon Duke Neo & Geo Vanessa Vanessa Fio - Benimaru Benimaru Another Benimaru - Shingo Shingo Kyoko - Lin Lin Eiji - Seth Seth Goro - Terry Terry Geese - Andy Andy Billy Kane - Joe Joe Duck - Mary Mary Yamazaki - Ryo Ryo Kaede G-Mantle Robert Robert Another Robert - King King King Lion - Takuma Takuma Gai - Leona Leona Goenitz - Ralf Ralf Yashiro - Clark Clark Shermie - Whip Whip Chris - Athena Athena Another Athena - Kensou Kensou Another Kensou - Chin Chin Baijang - Bao Bao Kaoru - Mai Mai Chizuru - Yuri Yuri Nakoruru - Kasumi Kasumi Xiang-Fei Unknown Hinako Hinako Lilly Kane - Kim Kim Sue Il - Chang Chang Dong Hwan Smart Chang Choi Choi Jae Hoon Cool Choi Jhun Jhun Baedal - Kyo Kyo Syo Saisyu Iori Iori Vice & Mature Another Iori Kula Candy Foxy Rugal +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ STRIKER ORIGIN +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Who are these strikers and how did SNK come up with them!? Now, how many times have I heard this question? Well, here are the answers...Help/corrections/ confirmations/feedback are most welcome in certain cases! Another K': This is K' before NESTS implanted the Kusanagi DNA into him and modified his genes. Thus, he still has black hair. Duck: Duck was a character in SNK's first beat-em-up, Fatal Fury. He is also present in the movie where he's a DJ. Well, that's his job. Duke: He's a selectable character in Burning Fight which is a Final Fight wanna-be. Fio: From The King of Fighters Evolution where she's a special striker. She's also a character in the Metal Slug series (2, 3, X). Of course, she is no longer that small 'toyish' character in here! Kyoko: Kyoko is a girl who's a fan of Kyo. As written on the screen with her pic, she's a "cosplayer", which means that she's a game fan who likes to dress as her favorite character. And this character just happers to be Kyo! ^_^ Eiji: A ninja that appeared in only one game as a selectable character, The King of Fighters '95 where he teamed up with Iori and Billy. He holds a grudge against the Sakazakis and that is why he joined KoF. Also appears in '98 during the special intro between Billy and Iori. The reason he's Lin's another striker is probably because they are both fearsome ninjas. Here's some great info on Eiji contributed by Jon : Eiji was first a character in Art of Fighting 2 and is thought to have some feelings for Mai (but then any man who went by Mai without looking at her... *cough*). And here's something very cool! Eiji is the descendant of Zantetsu who's in the unsurmountable Last Blade. Zantetsu's real name is Santa Kisaragi and if you played '95, you now understand where he got his moves. Geese Howard: ...Geese Howard, the man behind Fatal Fury (and thus KOF since they're the same), he was the first one to host the tourney. A crime leader in Southtown, he killed Jeff Bogard and was beaten 10 years ago by The Legendary Wolf, Terry Bogard. Has been thought to be dead numerous times but as usual, he is back... Yamazaki: Of Orochi blood, he appears in '97 and '98 and as a special striker in Evolution. He is a criminal who has a terrible lust for blood and was hired by Geese to team up with Billy while Mary had to keep an eye on crazy Ryuji (I pity her...). Also, Yamazaki's original game is the ever-popular Fatal Fury/Garou Dentetsu Kaede: He's the leading character in another awesome beat-em-up by SNK, the Last Blade series. Make sure to play Last Blade 2 and you'll know what I'm talking about. G-Mantle: Character from Kizuna Encounter: Super Tag Battle. King Lion: Another character from Kizuna Encounter. Gai: A character from the fighting title, Buriki One. Goenitz: The cheapest boss in video game history!! He's the one who brought about the awakening of Orochi. The most powerful one of the 8 Gods, little is known about him. Appears as boss in '96. Probably the best fighting game character that has ever been created (at least in my books ^_^)!! Yashiro: Yet another Orochi descendant, he helped Goenitz in his quest. Appeared as character in '97 and '98 and also as mid-boss (another version with different tricks though) in '97, this form could also be selected in '98 although he was less strong. Shermie: Yashiro's partner, also of Orochi blood. Appears in 2 forms in '97 and '98 just like Yashiro. Chris: The third of the Orochi band and same appearances as Yashiro and Shermie. Beware though, his body holds Orochi, the boss in '97. Kaoru: She's a fan of Athena. You can see her in '97 and '99 endings, yes it really is the same person. Chizuru: Mid-boss in '96 and very important character in '97, she teamed up with Kyo and Iori to seal the Orochi power. Also appears in '98 but she is less stronger than before. Nakoruru: Leading character in the Samurai Shodown series. Unknown: Old-schoolers will be laughing as they remember about Unknown. Unknown is Kasumi's father. He appeared in the first Art of Fighting and is commonly referred to as "The guy with only one special move". :) Xiang-Fei: Originally in Fatal Fury, she also appeared in '99. I wonder why she was left out as a selectable character in 2000. Lilly Kane: Billy's younger sister. She doesn't appear in any other game though. At some time, it was thought that Joe had some feelings for her and she thus appeared in one Garou Dentetsu ending but since it's Joe we're talking about... :D Sue Il: Kim's brother, you'll see him in Kizuna Encounter. Dogson, who has Savage Reign, stated that Sue Il _isn't_ in it, so I guess that's just one game for him. :) Dong Hwan: Kim Kaphwan's older son, he appears in the latest FF, Garou: Mark of the Wolves. And you'll also see him in Fatal Fury: The Movie which I watched for the second time today to refresh my memory. Jae Hoon: Kim's younger son and also appears in Garou: Mark of the Wolves and in the movie. Saisyu: Who doesn't know him!!? :P He is Kyo's father (yeah, I know, he doesn't look like it!) and the leader of the Kusanagi clan. Appears as mid-boss in '95 and teamed up with Takuma and Heidern (wow, talk about a team!) in '98. He is also a special striker in Evolution. Vice & Mature: Both of Orochi blood, they are teamed up with Iori in '96 and '98. Each one appears randomly but they do the same attack. They were killed by Iori when he became crazy in the '96 ending and it's also been said that Mature and Iori shared feelings. Rugal: A crime leader, he wanted to awaken Orochi to satisfy his overwhelming needs for power. He is the boss in '94, '95 and '98. Has been thought to be dead each time but has appeared again. And he's still here!!! Beaten by Terry in '94, beaten by Kyo in '95, beaten by in '98 but still here!? Wait till you meet Orochi K, dude!! :) And in case you're wondering, I' ve written all this by myself. It was pretty easy as I've been playing KOF ever since '94, so I know all about the storyline. For much more details on some of the characters, you can check out Kailu Lantis's massive guide. Darn, he preceeded me... Voilà! Hope this has helped you. Comments or questions are most welcome and should be sent at the adress mentioned at the beginning of this FAQ. If this FAQ happens to get posted (maybe CJayC will not realize how crap this is *praying like hell for this to happen* ), I plan on writing one to give descriptions of each attack and more important, how each striker happens to be in the game since so many people have been asking me such questions. Well, since it has got posted, I'm starting to work on the descriptions. "It's like I'm assisting suicide! Hate not me, Hate your weakness!" - Iori Yagami in The King of Fighters 2000 =-=-=-=-= CREDITS =-=-=-=-= Special thanks go to: - CJayC For his tremendous site and for posting my guides. He deserves all the credits. - SNK Capcom created the genre, SNK lui donna ses lettres de noblesse. Sorry for the french if you don't understand, but that's the true way it should be said and I'm not too good at translations. - hebretto For his various corrections: replacing striker bombs in Counter/Armor mode, about Kyoko, his corrections on Kaoru, Nakoruru, Kim's another striker, Fio, Eiji and for reminding me that you also lose a power stock too during the Bonus Striker attack. - Jon For a whole bunch of info on Eiji (this dude sure knows a lot on him!). Also for info and tips on Kim Sue Il, Gai, Lilly and Duke. - Michi Rosso For pointing out my mistake concerning Geese. I accidentally put that he organised both KOF and Garou. Well, you already know that KOF is Garou, right? Right?? - awu@cushing.org For info about Kyoko and explaining what cosplayers are. - Dogson For confirming Sue Il's absence in Savage Reign and for pointing out my omission of Yamazaki's and Unknown's origins. - You For some weird reason, you are reading my work. ============================================================================= THE KING OF FIGHTERS 2000 ============================================================================= Copyright 2001-2002, Ashvin "Orochi K" Sawmynaden. All rights reserved.