Team Orochi

Team Orochi, formerly known as Team New Faces in The King of Fighters '97, is a reoccuring Special Team in The King of Fighters series.

Normal Form


As the name implies, this team is formed of three of the Four Heavenly Kings of Orochi (the fourth being Goenitz, final boss of The King of Fighters '96): Yashiro Nanakase, Shermie and Chris.

The members form a music band called C.Y.S. (named for the members' first initials). Yashiro is the main guitarist, Shermie is the main keyboardist (and is also a fashion designer) and Chris is the main vocalist. The trio were preparing to perform when the club they were scheduled at canceled them in favor of a jazz band featuring Iori Yagami as a guitarist. Upset at their loss and angered by "the man with red hair", the band steal the invitations from the American Sports Team (Heavy-D!, Lucky Glauber and Brian Battler) and enters in the KOF '97 tournament in order to get their revenge against Iori. They first appeared as a team in The King of Fighters '97, as the antagonist team for the Sacred Treasures Team and opposing the Japan Team (the Hero Team in this year). During the events of KOF '97, the three discover their real identities as Orochi's servants, through the dangerous blood that runs through their veins. Since then, they work to resurrect their lord by gathering the fighters' own energy. Near the end of the tournament, both Yashiro and Shermie commit suicide in order to transfer their remaining energy into Chris and because of this, Orochi is able to return to the world while using Chris' body as the host, but Orochi itself is re-sealed again by the Three Sacred Treasures Team (Kyo Kusanagi, Iori Yagami and Chizuru Kagura).

In the end of The King of Fighters XIV, an evil creature called Verse is defeated, causing the release of numerous souls and has caused many who have perished throughout the series to be brought back to life. The team is confirmed to have been revived, as evident in Shermie's ending in SNK Heroines Tag Team Frenzy, and the entire team's return in the fifteenth KOF tournament.

Awakened Form
This form appears during the end of the  '97 tournament. In this form, the three activate the Orochi blood within Leona Heidern and Iori Yagami, as a part of their plan to resurrect Orochi.

When both Leona and Iori are defeated, the New Faces Team reveal themselves as the Heavenly Kings and fight with the player's team (and, in the true story of the game, with the Sacred Treasures Team). After the events of '97, these versions of the trio only appeared in Dream Match (non-canonical) games, in both versions, until the remake of KOF 2002. They appear again in a canonical DLC team in The King of Fighters XV, having somehow split themselves off into 'body' and 'mind', though both sides maintain the same goal of awakening their master.

Their team was renamed as the Team True Orochi (, lit. "Team Another Side Orochi") or Team Awakened Orochi  in The King of Fighters 2002 Unlimited Match.

Leader

 * Yashiro Nanakase - Leader of Team Orochi/New Faces. Appear firstly in '97, in Dream Match games and returned in XV.

Members

 * Shermie - Member of Team Orochi/New Faces. Appear firstly in '97, in Dream Match games and returned in XV.
 * Chris - Member of Team Orochi/New Faces. Appears only in '97 (and in Dream Match games), and returned in XV.

Leader

 * Orochi Yashiro - Leader of the Awakened Team Orochi. His nickname is Parched Earth. Appears in '97 (and in Dream Match games) and returned in XV.

Members

 * Orochi Shermie - Member of the Awakened Team Orochi. Her nickname is Insanely Violent Lightning. Appears in '97 (and in Dream Match games) and returned in XV
 * Orochi Chris - Member of the Awakened Team Orochi. His nickname is Flames of Destiny. Appears in '97 (and in Dream Match games) and returned in XV.

Members' Participation

 * Participation of the members of the team during the mainline series (and some spin-offs).