| Nakoruru | Story | Move List | Gallery | Quotes | Trivia |
"That falcon looks dangerous! Mother Nature's guardian is here to dish out punishment! NAKORURU." - The King of Fighters XV
Nakoruru (ナコルル) is a character in the Samurai Shodown series. She is also a common mascot for SNK's social action programs for children and nature awareness campaigns, sometimes being paired with Terry Bogard for such events. Her official nickname is "Mother Nature's Guardian" (
Aside from the main series, Nakoruru also has several figurines made in her image from various game appearances and is a featured character in several of the series's drama CDs. She stars in her own character image CD and is also a member in SNK's character image band, The Band of Fighters.
Development
Although she has no particular model for her character, Hilda from The Great Adventure of Horus, Prince of the Sun and The Dagger of Kamui helped her conception process. Also developers admit that her famous "This is nature's punishment" quote is based on Sailor Moon's "In the name of moon, I punish you" line. Her character is based upon the Ainu people of Hokkaido, Japan. As the Japanese perceive the Ainu as living closer to nature, Nakoruru's role in the game is of a defender of Mother Nature; in some material Nakoruru has been referred to as a priestess.
Garou: Mark of the Wolves planner and The King of Fighters XIV producer Yasuyuki Oda states that Nakoruru's popularity surprised even the company as no one at SNK had "expected that Nakoruru would become a popular character to that extent." [2] Oda recalls being surprised that one of the series’ characters, became a fan-favorite despite her modest, non-sexualized appearance. “A lot of characters at that time were popular because of their sexiness,” he says. “But Nakoruru doesn’t show a lot of skin.” [3] Old developers in the Neo Geo era had no plans to add Nakoruru in The King of Fighters as they felt that she didn't fit into the game very well, but admit that they probably wanted to add her in regardless but was unable to due to the system's limitations.[2] A "Samurai Spirits Team" was originally scheduled to participate in The King of Fighters '95 and The King of Fighters '96. This idea was eventually dropped due to time constraints as KOF was released every year. Nakoruru was originally intended to team up with Haohmaru and Galford D. Weller.[4][5] Nakoruru was later included to KOF XIV due to her immense popularity.[6]
During Samurai Shodown (2019) development, someone on the team pointed out that Nakoruru's disposition had gradually changed over the years in other ways, going from sad and stoic to a bit cheery. So the team decided to depict her closer to the character’s original ’93 incarnation. “So for this one, I don’t think you’ll ever see her smile.” [3]
Personality
Nakoruru is calm and gentle. She seems to be shy toward people. Yet, to others, her mannerisms and appearance make her seem rather "doll-like", a term that somewhat displeases her. She is also maternal, chiding her sister as she would a child. She believes that Nature can be protected without killing others and often vies for non-violent solutions if she thinks it's possible and, thus, has a will to protect the weak, fearful, and innocent. She also knows that true power must not be misused. Although she is dedicated in her mission, she also desires to be a normal girl with selfish desires, which sometimes sets her apart from her friends and peers. This is alluded to in The King of Fighters XV, where Krohnen finds this fact about Nakoruru... rather creepy.
Powers
- Nature Empathy: Nakoruru can hear and sense nature's voice. In other media, this power also includes sensing the spirits of people or nature.
- Energy Slash: Nakoruru's weapon can be fueled with ki energy.
- Reflector: With the power of her cloak, Nakoruru can reflect a projectile back to its sender.
- Healing: With the power of nature, Nakoruru can heal wounds.
- Dimensional Travel: Nakoruru can travel to different dimensions and spacetime. This is how she is able to appear in The King of Fighters series. Although Interdimensional travel takes a heavy toll on the body, Nakoruru can bypass this logic due to her being a spirit. She can summon others across dimensions and spacetime as well with this ability.
Fighting Style
Nakoruru fights with a kodachi, and, depending on the form, a hawk named Mamahaha (in "Shura/Slash") or a wolf named Shikuru (in "Rasetsu/Bust" form and later Rera). To compensate for her short weapon range, players must rely on her speed to punish her opponents' mistakes. She can also recover from her moves a little quicker than other characters, making it easier for her to hit-and-run during fights. To balance her out with the rest of the cast, her attack strength is slightly weaker than most fighters. Her move set usually incorporates slightly longer ranged attacks that project her or her animal companions to her foes so her attack range isn't limited to her sword. She can also reflect projectiles with the move, Kamui Ryusei.
Music
Character Themes
Image Songs
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Voice Actresses
Japanese
| Harumi Ikoma | Mikako Takahashi | Mai Nakahara | Reiko Chiba | Mariko Kouda | |||||
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English
| Carol Amerson | Risa Mei | ||
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Appearances
Games
Mobile
Cameos
Anime
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Cards
Sprites
Gallery
Similar Characters
References
- ↑ SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy Artbook, p.36
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "新生SNKのモノ作りはここから始まる。「餓狼MOW2」の話題も飛び出した，「THE KING OF FIGHTERS XIV」開発陣インタビュー". 4Gamer.net (in Japanese)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 The making of Samurai Shodown (2019) interview from Polygon.com.
- ↑ At the SNK heyday development scene, the creators of those days look back. Roundtable discussion for the 40th anniversary laughter Interview from denfaminicogamer.
- ↑ KOF '95 EARLY CONCEPT ARTWORK
- ↑ "【インタビュー】中国で人気爆発！ 「KOF XIV」プロデューサー小田泰之氏インタビュー - GAME Watch". Game.watch.impress.co.jp.
- ↑ Post from Risa Mei's official X account
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