Wolfgang Krauser

Wolfgang Krauser von Stroheim (ヴォルフガング・クラウザー・フォン・シュトロハイム, Worufugangu Kurauzā Fon Shutorohaimu), more commonly known simply as Wolfgang Krauser, is a boss character in SNK Playmore's Fatal Fury series and The King of Fighters series. The namesakes for his full name are Mozart and one of the ring names from former pro-wrestler Karl Istaz.

He fights bare chested, with armored belt, and tight red pants. He has purple hair with a mustache, and an X shaped scar on his forehead. He may sometimes wear armored boots and armored gloves as well.

History
At some point in time one of Krauser's parents had a child (the FF2 OVA implies it was Krauser's father) that would grow up to be the crime boss Geese Howard. This was confirmed by SNK when Fatal Fury Special came out.

Pathway of the Earl of Strolheim
Krauser hails from Germany, the titled Earl of the House of Strolheim, a band of bodyguards who possess such immense physical strength that none dare fight them for any reason. For many years, the Strolheims were considered to be the most feared fighters in all of Europe, dating back to historic Prussia. The fighters of the Strolheim Lineage were considered to be of the most violent bloodline in all of Germany due to the brutal nature of the house laws, requiring each fighter to keep their strength within Strolheim bench at all times. In the past, the Strolheims acted violently, but soon, the violence died out little by little since the current Strolheim Earl, Krauser, was forced to defeat his father since his father wanted to ensure Wolfgang was up to Strolheim bench.

The Spanish Blood Family--Destined to serve the Strolheims
With his father put away, Krauser becomes the new Earl of Strolheim. Krauser lives in Mittelbirge Castle in Germany, the home of the Strolheim for many years. In addition to earning the title of Earl of Strolheim, Krauser received right-hand personnel service from a matador named Laurence Blood (a cold and ruthless bull-fighter who has no regard for women and children whatsoever). Although Wolfgang Krauser sponsors Laurence's matador activities, for many years the Blood clan of Spain has been serving the Strolheim House as Right-Hand Personnel, much like Billy Kane has been serving Geese as his right-hand man.

Lack of Challengers, Rise of the Upstarts
Krauser fought during his early years of his life and because too many people feared his strength, Krauser suddenly had no challengers. This caused Krauser to take a rest from fighting for excessive periods of time. When Wolfgang hears about his half-brother's demise (Geese Howard) at the hands of Terry Bogard, Krauser organized a worldwide version of the King of Fighters tournament so that he can finally fight what he believe are worthy opponents. Krauser's intent is to surpass the Hungry Wolf legend by demonstrating that he is stronger than Joe Higashi or the Bogard Boys in the King of Fighters tournament. In 1993, Krauser organized the King of Fighters tournament with 8 contestants: Terry Bogard, Andy Bogard, Joe Higashi, Big Bear, Cheng Sinzan, Jubei Yamada, Kim Kaphwan, and Mai Shiranui.

Billy joined the tournament to get his revenge against the Bogard Boys for the demise of his boss, Geese. Axel Hawk and Laurence Blood are grandmasters who will only fight the finalists throughout the tourney. During the tournament, Terry managed to defeat both Laurence and Axel. Simultaneously, Krauser attacked Duck King, Richard Meyer, Hwa Jai, Michael Max, and Tung Fu Rue methodically and mercilessly, and when Terry landed the final blow to Laurence Blood, Krauser invited Terry to fight him at Mittelbirge Castle at Germany. There the championship match to determine the strongest in the world started.

Terry Bogard--The New Champion
Krauser gained the upper hand earlier on because even at his size, he was extremely fast, agile, and had several high-priority techniques that made it difficult for Terry to keep up. While Krauser enjoyed having priority over Terry Bogard, that was not to be as Krauser rarely spent time improving his techniques while Terry Bogard always have kept his condition up to par even after Geese's demise. Krauser did 2 Kaiser Wave attempts at Terry, but the final Kaiser Wave was countered by Terry's Power Geyser, knocking Krauser out cold. Terry looked at a downed Krauser (while there has been assumptions that Krauser died after being defeated, this is not true as Krauser was just dethroned, not killed), but Krauser stated that Terry is now the strongest in the world, and tells Terry to leave him at once, realizing that he is no longer the strongest in the world, and has to live the rest of his life with his pride in shambles. According to the short movie, Memories of the Stray Wolf, Krauser supposedly took his own life.

The King of Fighters
Nothing was heard of from Krauser until the King of Fighters 96 tournament, when Krauser joined forces with Geese and Mr. Big to create the Boss Team. Although Geese used both him and Mr. Big as pawns in his attempt to nab an ancient power called Orochi, Krauser only cared about self-improvement as his aim was mainly to fight stronger opponents. After knowing his mistakes at the hands of Terry, Krauser vowed only to fight stronger opponents in order to restore the strength he once had prior to meeting up with Terry, and to eventually regain his title back from Terry one day, but for now, Krauser wants to improve himself first.

Personality
While Krauser seems to have an evil nature when in battle, in reality, he's not, as he has a very gentle side outside the battle ring. He simply sees no justification for mercy or place for righteousness in battle. Krauser believes that he committed no transgression whatsoever, as he only fights brutally in the battle ring and only for personal gain.

Krauser can play the piano/organ well as demonstrated in the anime to honor his father one day every year.

Powers

 * Above average strenght level: Krauser is a very strong man. He can defeat skillful enemies using his brute strength only.
 * Fire Projectile: Krauser can launch fire balls from his hands. He named this move Blitz Ball.
 * Energy Projectile: Krauser can launch a wave of chi energy as his super. He named this move Kaiser Wave.
 * Hurricane Fist: Krauser can spin his body in great speeds creating a hurricane around him. This is named Senpuuken or Hadou Senpuukyaku; originally belonging too and was copied from Terry Bogard during a fight between the two fighters.

Skills

 * Armored Fighting: As shown in the OVA, Krauser can fight very well using his heavy golden armor. He takes it off for speed.
 * Musical Instrument: He can play the piano/organ very well.
 * Ride: Krauser can ride horses very well.

Fighting Style
Krauser's fighting style is the Stroheim Fighting System which is a synthesized martial arts style based on the German martial art named Kampfringen & ancient Greek fighting style of Pankration. Krauser also uses wrestling moves such as Drop Kicks, Suplexes and others. These moves were inspired by anime character, Tiger Mask.

The finishing strike of Krauser's Level 2 Unlimited Desire is a possible homage of Raoh from Fist of the North Star fame.

Music

 * Dies Irae - Fatal Fury 2, Fatal Fury Special, The King of Fighters '96, for a recreation of his stage in SNK vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium, and Garou Densetsu Special
 * Lacrimosa - Real Bout: Fatal Fury Special and Real Bout: Fatal Fury 2
 * Krauser - Fatal Fury 2: The New Battle
 * Teiou I - Yabou - Fatal Fury 2: The New Battle
 * Teiou II - Kako - Fatal Fury 2: The New Battle
 * Teiou III - Requiem - Fatal Fury 2: The New Battle

Voice Actors

 * Michael Beard - Fatal Fury 2, Fatal Fury Special
 * B.J. Love - King of Fighters '96~present
 * Duncan Hamilton- SNK Fan Collection Fatal Fury CD
 * Hirotaka Suzuoki- Fatal Fury 2: The New Battle
 * Paul Dobson - Fatal Fury 2: The New Battle (English voice)

Game Appearances



 * Fatal Fury 2 - boss
 * Fatal Fury Special - boss and playable
 * The King of Fighters 96
 * Real Bout: Fatal Fury Special - boss and playable
 * Real Bout: Fatal Fury 2 - boss and playable
 * The King of Fighters 98: Ultimate Match
 * The King of Fighters 2000 - As a PS2 Maniac Striker for Mai
 * Garou Densetsu Special - boss
 * Quiz King of Fighters - non-playable

Mobile Appearances

 * Days of Memories (fourth title) - cameo

Cameo Appearances

 * The King of Fighters 94 - during the Fatal Fury ending
 * The King of Fighters 2002 - in the Italy stage
 * The King of Fighters '94: Rebout - background cameo
 * KOF: Maximum Impact 2 - bonus stage cameo
 * The King of Fighters (pachinko)

Anime Appearances

 * Fatal Fury 2: The New Battle
 * Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture - passing mention

Trivia

 * Krauser lives in Mittelbirge Castle, Germany.
 * Krauser has two dobbermans.
 * In the OVA, Krauser does not sport a mustache and seems younger.