The King of Fighters 2000

The King of Fighters 2000 is the seventh game in the The King of Fighters series and the second chapter of the "NESTS CHRONICLES" story arc. This King of Fighters has the introduction of Active Striker characters that add an extra dimension of strategy to game play. It also features Another Strikers and/or Maniac Strikers that are characters from other franchises in the SNK World. This would be the last King of Fighters game produced by the original incarnation of SNK before the company's bankruptcy and later revival as SNK Playmore and re-renaming back as SNK. It was also the only game in the original series ('94-2003) not to receive a physical AES port in the US despite being primed in the ROM image. The reason for this is unknown.

Story
The official story given by SNK is as follows:

"It has been a while since the existence of the mysterious secret syndicate NESTS was brought to light. Since then, however, their presence still remains a mystery and they've kept their activities well under wraps.

Meanwhile, in contrast to NESTS seeming lack of action, an increase in terrorist activities throughout the world has been taking place. Heidern and his band of mercenaries have determined that these events are the work of K' and Maxima.

Heidern and his band quickly begin pursuit of these two, but just as they begin their efforts, the invitations for the latest KOF tournament are sent....!

The fighters ready themselves for the tournament to begin in various venues throughout the world. Most remarkable among the invited teams is one in which K' and Maxima are listed as members! Moreover, NESTS whip into the second phase of their project, as if summoned into action by the two "terrorists."

Is the beginning of NESTS's activities a mere coincidence? Or, could it be...?

Once again a feeling of impending conflict stifles the air, and the curtain on the latest King of Fighters is about to rise...!!!"

After the KOF 1999 tournament, the commander of the Ikari Warriors, Heidern, is determined to figure out the objective of the NESTS cartel so that he can stop them from achieving their ruthless ambition. A fellow commander and long-time friend of Heidern, named Ling, tells the veteran fighter that K' and Maxima may hold the key to locating the whereabouts of the mysterious organization. Using this information, Heidern decides to focus his efforts on finding the duo so that they can be captured and interrogated for information. Meanwhile, the NESTS cartel sends Kula Diamond to investigate the tournament.

At the finals of the tournament, the Hero Team are taken to an underground mansion via a hidden elevator and are greeted by a mysterious but sinister-looking man. At the same time, Ling and a couple of his associates suddenly betray Heidern. In the underground mansion, the man known as Zero reveal he had the real Ling killed and replaced with a clone in disguise. Also, Zero tells the fighters that he was a former member of NESTS with plans to eliminate the cartel by using a powerful space-based weapon known as the Zero Cannon. To demonstrate his power, Zero fires a warm-up shot of the cannon towards Earth and wipes a city off the map.

The fighters battle against Zero not realizing that their energy powers the Zero Cannon. Zero is defeated and tries to fire the cannon again but it explodes. When K' and Maxima explore the ruined city above them, Whip appears and joins their cause to defeat NESTS.

ACTIVE STRIKER SYSTEM
For this game, here was an improvement of the Striker System, the ACTIVE STRIKER SYSTEM. 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 DOA Drubbing, but you can still call him upon finishing the move. You can even call Strikers when under attack or being thrown!

Another Easter Egg with the Striker System is that each character has 2 selectable Strikers: the normal Striker and Another Striker. This effectively doubles the number of Strikers available for the entire roster of fighters! Furthermore, 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, so be sure to discover their effects in battle!

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.

Characters & Strikers
The new characters added to the roster (all originals) are:
 * Ramon, one of the new members of the K' Team, is a Lucha Libre wrestler who is loved by his fans in the wrestling circle. He enters to the KOF tournament, along with Vanessa, to watch over K' and Maxima;


 * Vanessa, other new member of the K' Team, is a mercenary agent and a housewife in the free time. Working under the orders of commander Ling, her and fellow agent Seth are commissioned with the job of joining the KOF tournament, held by Ling himself, to investigate the NESTS cartel, and his fugitives, K' and Maxima;


 * Lin, a ninja member of an assassin clan known as Hizoku. He enters to the KOF tournament in search of Ron, who betrayed the clan to ally himself with NESTS;


 * Seth, a mercenary agent and Vanessa's fellow, enters to the KOF tournament under Ling's orders;


 * Hinako Shijou, the new member of the Women Fighters Team, is a high school student practicing sumo;


 * Kula Diamond, the mid-boss of the game, a child who is part of Anti-K' project, which aims to kill the fugitive. Unlike K', she handles ice;


 * Clone Zero, the boss of the game, is a NESTS member who disguised himself as Ling, Vanessa and Seth's chief military officer and Heidern's close friend. He begins to secretly build his own weapon from NESTS' technology called the "Zero Cannon", setting it to operate with the same technology found in Krizalid's battle armor.


 * Note 1: The new formations of the teams are the following:


 * Continuing the search for Kyo, Benimaru Nikaido and Shingo Yabuki leaves the K' Team to form the team that bears the model's name, along with Lin and Seth, being replaced by Ramon and Vanessa;


 * Blue Mary replaces Mai Shiranui on the Fatal Fury Team, and the kunoichi takes over the leadership of the Women Fighters Team;


 * King replaces Yuri Sakazaki in the Art of Fighting Team, and the girl goes to the Women Fighters Team, along with Kasumi Todoh and Hinako;


 * Kyo Kusanagi and Iori Yagami continue to enter the tournament alone.


 * Note 2: The Ikari Warriors, Psycho Soldier and Korea Justice Teams remain with the same formations.

Official Team & Strikers Roster=

Korea Justice Team

 * -|Single Entries=


 * -|Hidden Character & Mid-Boss=


 * -|Boss=
 * Clone Zero (playable in console versions)


 * -|Maniac Strikers=

Available Only in PS2

 * -|NPC Characters=
 * Candy Diamond
 * Diana

Alternate Colors
The Following characters have an alternate third colored sprite which can be selected by pressing C+D at the same time: K', Benimaru, Terry, Mary, Ryo, Whip, Kensou, Mai, Choi and Kyo.

Stages

 * Note 1: The Factory and Wharf stages have frozen versions, both associated with Kula, and can be seen only in Team Play.


 * Note 2: The Boss Stage is also available in KOF 2002: Unlimited Match, with some changes.


 * Note 3: In this game, the stage are randomly chosen by the game's system.


 * Warning: The sight of some stages can cause epilepsy.

Normal Stages=


 * Wharf: A pier next to various ships and the ocean. The fight takes next to the one of them. Can be seen chains, propellers, ship debris, a boat, small buoys and a crane in the background.
 * Factory: The fight occurs in a balcony of a factory. Can be seen pipes, a propeller, chains, hooks, a control panel, cardboard boxes and sparks, probably coming out of a boiler. Also can be seen a giant fan, with sun rays coming from him, in the background.
 * Underground 00: The stage has three versions. In the first, the stage is green and features a chandelier, statues of skeletons dressed as secret society members, skulls carved on the walls, torches in the background and a blue stained-glassed window shaped like an arrow. In the 2nd round, the stage changes to blue. From the 3rd round, it changes to purple, the stained-glass window becomes yellow, blue flames appear at the statues' feet and the chandelier falls down before the round begins. Associated with Clone Zero.
 * Note: In KOF 2002: UM, the stage is the same as the first version, but wider. Can be spotted the statues holding something, more windows and skull and bones torches all over the stage.