Strikers

Strikers were a mechanic and a rule used in The King of Fighters series.

Description
This mechanic were used during the canonical games of the NESTS saga (KOF '99 through 2001). Instead of the traditional three-man team battles from earlier KOF games, every team now has a fourth member. Before a match, the player chooses three of the characters to use in the fight, with the fourth member becoming a Striker. The player can summon their Striker during battle to help their character by performing one of their Special Moves against the opponent. A Striker can be summoned only a limited number of times during a single match. The Strikers System was removed starting with The King of Fighters 2002, and was replaced with the traditional 3-on-3 matches. The King of Fighters 2003 would then introduce the Multi-Shift System.

The King of Fighters '99
The King of Fighters '99 introduced the Striker System. All Teams are required to have 3 fighting members and 1 supporting member known as the Striker. As you select the order of fighters during each match, the first 3 serve as your fighting members while the 4th one is deployed as your team's striker for that match. This member can be called into battle for a limited number of times.

Strikers require one Strike Bomb in order to be called. Press  and  at a time to wage to summon your Striker.
 * You can only summon a Striker when standing still.
 * Use a Strike Bomb to make a Striker show up and support you.
 * Strikers vary in performance depending on the character chosen.
 * The default number of Strike Bombs is 3, and the maximum number is 5.
 * A Strike Bomb is awarded when a team loses a round.

Move Legend

 * Offensive attacks directly inflict damage on the opponent.
 * Life-Up heals a bit of life on the player's gauge.
 * Power-Up builds a bit of power on the player's gauge.
 * Power-Down depletes a certain amount on the opponent's gauge.
 * Immobilization holds the opponent in place and open to attack.

Striker Attacks & Effects

 * Note: Krizalid cannot be used as a striker.

The King of Fighters 2000
In The King of Fighters 2000, the Striker System was heavily improved. Before, you can't summon a Striker unless you are not doing anything. But now, you can summon a Striker whenever you want except during a Desperation Move, but you can still call him upon finishing the move. You can even call Strikers when under attack or being thrown.

This time, each character has 2 selectable Strikers: the normal Striker and Another Striker, which effectively doubles the number of Strikers available for the entire roster of fighters. In the PS2 release, certain characters even have a hidden choice called a Maniac Striker. Several Strikers hail from old school SNK classics as well as original or alternate characters.

As a bonus, as long as you have a stored power stock and you have less than the maximum amount of Strike Bombs carried, you can convert the power stock into a Strike Bomb by using the taunt. This can be a very good advantage in combat indeed. Take caution though, you can't cancel your way out of a taunt. Unlock the Maniac Striker by highlighting the character's Another Striker, then move the joystick Up, Left, Left, Left, Right, Right, Right and Down. Press any button to choose the Maniac Striker.

Team Character Strikers

 * Note: Kula Diamond and Clone Zero aren't used as striker characters.

The King of Fighters 2001
In The King of Fighters 2001, the Striker System has been given another huge overhaul. After assembling your team of four, you can segregate your team which will be the Fighter characters and which will be the Strikers characters for every match. The number of assigned Strikers has a great impact on your Fighter characters' battle strategies, from offense and defense capabilities and the amount of Power Gauge stocks that can be stored at one time. Instead of Strike Bombs, Power Gauge stocks are used to summon Strikers.

Your team can consist of 4 Fighters and no Strikers, 3 Fighters and 1 Striker, 2 Fighters and 2 Strikers, or 1 Fighter and 3 Strikers. The number of Fighters on your team is inversely proportional to the maximum amount of stocks you can have at hand. No Strikers can only have 1 stock, while 3 Strikers can store as much as 4 stocks. Furthermore, a 1-Fighter team has higher attack/defense power and recovers more life between matches than a 4-Fighter team. The order of your team can be reset between matches.

A Striker can be called by pressing both the BC buttons at the same time at the cost of a stock. If you have assigned more than 1 Striker, you can call on the others using the same buttons and a joystick movement relative to the Striker's order of assignment (see above figure for details). You can also cancel special and Slayer Moves into Striker summons, but not Desperation Moves and throws. Furthermore, you can even call your Strikers in quick succession as long as you hit your opponent when a Striker is still on-screen.