Team Hero

Team Hero, also known as Team Protagonist , is a reoccurring Team in The King of Fighters series.

Description
Team Hero is one of the many reoccuring teams created and found in The King of Fighters. As the name implies, for all intents and purposes, the members of this team are considered the main characters of the saga's plot which they're inserted (and sometimes only in a one game). After (and during) each saga, the teams receive the following nomenclatures:

Mainline Formations

 * Orochi Saga: Team Japan (A.K.A. Team Kyo);
 * NESTS Chronicles: Team K' ;
 * Tales of Ash: Team Ash;
 * Shun'ei Saga: Team China (in KOF XIV) and Team Shun'ei (KOF XV).

Alternative Formations

 * Orochi Saga: Team Sacred Treasures (only in KOF '97 [as an alternative Story Team]);
 * Tales of Ash: Team Elisabeth (only in KOF XIII [due to Ash's purpose to go solo and his supposed villainous role])''.

KOF '94/Re-Bout (Team Japan or Team Kyo)

 * Kyo Kusanagi - Leader of Team Hero from KOF '94/Re-Bout through '98/UM, and also in EX games. He is also leader of the team variant (Team Sacred Treasures).
 * Benimaru Nikaido - Member of Team Hero from '94/Re-Bout through '98/UM on its first incarnation, and join two later incarnations in both '99 (Team K') and XV (Team Shun'ei). Also appears in EX1: Neo Blood.
 * Goro Daimon - Member of Team Hero from KOF '94/Re-Bout through '98/UM.

KOF '96/'97 (Team Sacred Treasures)

 * Iori Yagami - Member of Alternative Team Hero (Team Sacred Treasures) in '96 and '97.
 * Chizuru Kagura - Member of Alternative Team Hero (Team Sacred Treasures) in '96 and '97.

KOF '99

 * K' - Leader of Team Hero from KOF '99 through 2002/UM.
 * Maxima - Member of Team Hero from KOF '99 through 2002/UM.
 * Shingo Yabuki - Member of Team Hero in KOF '99. Left after this game. He also appears in The King of Fighters EX: Neo Blood, as a striker.

KOF 2000

 * Ramón - Member of Team Hero in KOF 2000. Left after this game.
 * Vanessa - Member of Team Hero in KOF 2000. Left after this game.

KOF 2001



 * Whip - Member of Team Hero in KOF 2001 and 2002/UM.
 * Lin - Member of Team Hero in KOF 2001. Left after this game.

KOF 2003

 * Ash Crimson - Leader of Team Hero in KOF 2003 and XI. Left after XI.
 * Duo Lon - Member of Team Hero in KOF 2003. Left to join with Team Rivals in XI and XIII (an alternative Team Hero in XIII).
 * Shen Woo - Member of Team Hero in KOF 2003 and XI. Left to join with Team Rivals in XIII (an alternative Team Hero in XIII).

KOF XI

 * Oswald - Member of Team Hero in KOF XI. Left after XI.

KOF XIII

 * Elisabeth Blanctorche - Leader of the Alternative Team Hero in XIII.

KOF XIV

 * Shun'ei - Leader of Team Hero in KOF XIV and XV.
 * Meitenkun - Member of Team Hero in XIV and KOF XV.
 * Tung Fu Rue - Member of Team Hero in KOF XIV. Left after this game.

KOF EX Team Formations
The team has new formations, exclusive for the EX games (released only in the Game Boy Advance). The new characters added to the team are Moe Habana (Neo Blood) and Reiji Oogami (Howling Blood).

Neo Blood

 * Moe Habana - Member of Hero Team. Appears in Neo Blood and Howling Blood.

Howling Blood

 * Reiji Oogami - Member of Hero Team. Appears only in Howling Blood.

Trivia

 * This team has the most tournament wins out of any Official KOF Teams; as they officially won the tournaments of  '94,  '95,  '96,  '97,  '99, 2000 and 2001.
 * Due to Benimaru Nikaido jumping to different teams throughout the installments, he is currently the character with most tournament wins out of any official participant in the KOF series.


 * Usually, after a member of this team leaves, a said member either joins or creates a new Team, or reform a former iteration of Team Hero in later sagas after its saga story is finished.
 * Benimaru has done this the most out of all the team members of the Team Hero. He created the Benimaru Team in 2000, joined with another teams (rejoining Orochi Saga's Hero Team in XIII and XIV, the Japan Team in 2001 and 2003, and join the third arc's Rivals Team in XI), and having been in two later incarnations of the Team Hero (Team K' in  '99, and Team Shun'ei in XV).
 * Benimaru is also the character with more entries in this team (in the Orochi Saga formation,  '99 and XV).
 * Daimon hasn't been apart of other incarnations of this team after KOF '98/UM (canonically since KOF '97) through out the sagas.


 * KOF XIII is the only game with no mainline Team Hero, due to Ash's purpose to go solo and his supposedly villainous role. In the same game, the Tales of Ash's Rivals Team (Team Elisabeth) can also be sometimes count as the saga's last iteration of the Team Hero, as Elisabeth herself being the main protagonist throughout the thirteenth storyline.


 * Tung Fu Rue is the only Team Hero member who isn't an original character of KOF series, being a Fatal Fury series character.


 * Kyo Kusanagi is the only protagonist leader who has his power under control, as the later sagas' protagonist leaders has respective side effects of his power, similar to Kyo's rival, Iori Yagami.
 * Ash Crimson was another protagonist who had control of his power until the events of KOF XIII, when he stole the powers of Saiki, his ancestor, and the villain began to control him.


 * The Shun'ei Saga currently has two different iterations of the Team Hero, due to the presence of Benimaru, (who isn't Chinese), as  XIV Team Hero itself consist Chinese members only.
 * Benimaru also appears as a member of Team Rivals, only in the Tales of Ash saga.


 * While Team Sacred Treasures is the final protagonist of Orochi Saga in both  ' 96 and  ' 97. However, it was yet to be an official team, and its members consisting the protagonist and deuteragonist/rival who led their respective past teams.


 * This team, Team Yagami, Team Masters, Team K', Team NESTS, Team Kim, Team Ikari Warriors, Team Rivals, Team Agents and Team Isla are the only teams of the series which one or more members have unknown nationality.


 * This team, Team Fatal Fury, Team Yagami, Team Outlaw, Team Art of Fighting, Team Ikari Warriors, Team South America, Team Rivals, Team Japan, Team Kyo, Team Sacred Treasures, Team K', Team Benimaru, Team Asian Triple Alliance, Team Agents, Team Ash, Team Elisabeth, Team Shun'ei, Team Mexico, Team G.A.W. and Team East Asia are the only teams of the series which one or more members win a KOF tournament.