Tales of Ash/Trivia


 * The two first chapters of the saga, The King of Fighters 2003 and The King of Fighters XI, are the only of the series which use the Tag-Battle System. This system is abolished in The King of Fighters XIII, and the series goes back to the classic 3-vs-3 system.


 * Starting with The King of Fighters XI, the series drops the years that the games take place in. Because to this, it will become very hard or even impossible to determine exactly where and when certain backstories took place starting from here on out, unless confirmed by SNK themselves.


 * Starting with The King of Fighters XIII, all characters who debut in KOF series do not have their ages displayed, adding more to the uncertainty.


 * Just like The King of Fighters '98 and The King of Fighters 2002 (and its remakes The King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match and The King of Fighters 2002 Unlimited Match), The King of Fighters XII is not listed in the canonical story, as it is a "Dream Match" game, and is therefore non-canon.
 * KOF XII is also the only of the series without teams or bosses, despite the game's system allows them to be formed. In fact, the game acts as a "beta" version of KOF XIII.


 * In this story arc, certain characters who debut in the Console versions and not the original Arcade versions are considered non-canon for the series. The same thing


 * This is the only story arc which his protagonist never won a KOF tournament, being on a team or not.


 * This saga, the NESTS Chronicles and the Orochi Saga are the only story arcs which a hero/protagonist or a rival/deuteragonist appears in a solo participation.
 * This is also the third story arc in which his protagonist/deuteragonist made a solo appearance in some game (s) or during the series, being the first the Orochi Saga (when Iori Yagami enters in  '97 tournament alone after killing his teammates in KOF '96').
 * Kyo Kusanagi also appears as a solo character during the NESTS Chronicles and in this saga.


 * This is the only story arc which his Rivals Team also acts as an Hero Team, due to his protagonist's purpose to go solo and his supposed villainous role.


 * This is the only story arc which almost all the debutant characters didn't return to the first game of the following saga (with exception of Tung Fu Rue and Oswald, which returns as a regular and a DLC character, respectively).
 * Ash Crimson, the protagonist of this story arc, returns as a playable character in The King of Fighters XV.


 * This is the last story arc of the mainline series to use hand drawing sprites. Starting with The King of Fighters XIV, the series uses 3D graphics, something already done in the Maximum Impact series. However, the mainline series remains with the 2D playthrough.


 * In this story arc, the expression K.O. (Knock Out) is re-announced in all games. However, the number of rounds just appears on the screen, without any announces (only appearing in KOF XII and KOF XIII).
 * The only exception occurs with KOF XII, when the rounds' number is announced, becoming the only game in this saga with this feature.
 * In the previous story arc, the K.O. is reannounced in KOF 2001 and KOF 2002 (and its remake).
 * The expression "READY GO" goes back to being used, after a pause during the previous saga, and continues to the current games in the franchise.


 * Due to 3-vs-3 system, the maximum number of rounds is 5. However, when the last round (now named "FINAL ROUND") ends in a tie, a decisive round, under the name "EXTRA ROUND", appears.


 * All games of this saga were produced and released by SNK Playmore.