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Rugal Bernstein (ルガール・バーンシュタイン; pronounced "Ru-GAHL BURN-shh-TYNE") is a recurring character in The King of Fighters series. Introduced in The King of Fighters '94 as a notorious crime boss, he turns fighters into living trophies, and stirs trouble for those who compete in the tournaments he hosts. Due to his overwhelming strength and power, he is often considered by players to be one of the most difficult bosses in the franchise.

Development

On their anniversary website, SNK has stated that Rugal was originally based on the concept of the "mightiest and most evil boss character ever".[2] Like Goenitz and Heidern, his name comes from the anime, Space Battleship Yamato. Toyohisa Tanabe states that his fighting style was created to emphasize Rugal's strength as the series' first boss character. He also comments "going a bit overboard" with Genocide Cutter's damage ratio in The King of Fighters '94.

Their first idea for Rugal's character was that he could learn any move that he saw just once. The developer notes that he was supposed to be "the cheapest bastard ever", but they dropped the idea because they didn’t have enough memory to execute it.[3]

Personality

Rugal is a cruel and powerful man who will kill anyone who stands in his way. He sees absolutely no value in human life, to the point where he proudly displays the metal-encased corpses of worthy opponents he has killed in battle as trophies. He will even go so far as to kill people simply to spite others (such as when he slaughtered Heidern's family simply because he found Heidern to be a disappointment). Unlike most other KOF villains, Rugal has a sadistic sense of humor about what he does. Many of his winquotes are snarky insults toward his opponents, and he often sees the act of taking human life to be more of a pastime.

Much like Igniz, he believes himself to be a human god. Unlike Igniz, however, he hardly takes his "godhood" seriously. It could be said that Rugal possesses the greatest proverbial swagger of all The King of Fighters boss characters. His "godhood" is also a motif for moves like his God Press attack.

Due to his arrogant nature, Rugal has also been shown to be an incredibly sore loser. Refusing to accept defeat at the hands of his enemies, he'll instead trigger the self-destruct mechanism of whatever the base he's in with the intention of taking his opponents down with it, but ends up being the only one caught in the explosion instead. While this first appears in KOF '94, it happens again in KOF '98 and KOF 2002. This trait even carries over to Metal Slug Defense, where upon his defeat, he'll get back up, pull out a detonator and blow himself up.

Powers

Most of his powers are from his physical strength and his ability to imitate other attacks. Since gaining Orochi power, he has expanded his abilities to lethal heights. However, he can only use a fraction of the Orochi power, lest he is consumed and destroyed by it, as it happened in 95. Upon his revival, he continues using his powers that are from the borrowed Orochi blood, but he is still just as susceptible, despite his growing mastery of his own powers.

  • Energy Manipulation - Rugal can channel energy from Gaia and other sources, including Orochi's power.
    • Energy Projectile - Rugal can fire projectiles of energy from his hands (Geese Howard's Reppuken, Wolfgang Krauser's Kaiser Wave)
    • Energy Reflector - Rugal can create a barrier that reflects projectiles.
    • Energy Punch - Rugal, most notably in Capcom vs. SNK, can charge up dark energy into himself and rush forward with a powerful punch imbued with said energy.
  • Sense - Rugal can sense chi energy of those nearby.
  • Slashing Aura - Rugal can create a cutting aura around his legs (used for his Genocide Cutter).
  • Orochi Power - Rugal can slam a foe whilst using his Orochi energy, producing a pillar of dim light with a large skull inside, this attribute sometimes manifests itself in a burst of deep crimson as well.

Skills

  • Mimicry - Rugal is able to mimic and learn moves of other fighters just by observing them.
  • Management and Manipulation - His occupation is that of an international arms dealer who secretly holds dangerously powerful influence over global politics.

Fighting Style

His fighting style is an amalgam of various arts, including Hakkyokuseiken and House of Strolheim, the styles used by Geese Howard and Wolfgang Krauser. He has adapted several moves from each character, such as Geese's Reppuuken and Krauser's Kaiser Wave (the latter converted into a special move for Rugal's case). Oddly enough, so far only Geese and Krauser's techniques are used very frequently by him (the two men are even related out of ironic coincidence) and he even clashes paths with them at some point; both him and Krauser even clash their Kaiser Waves together in their '98 UM special intro.

However, he also uses his own techniques such as the Genocide Cutter. Rugal was originally supposed to have access to every special move in the game during The King of Fighters '94, but idea was scrapped because it put a terrible strain on the programming, and thus he appeared as a combination of the two Fatal Fury bosses instead. He also has a projectile reflector known as Dark Barrier/Dark Crystal Reflector which is very similar to Athena Asamiya's Psycho Reflector, this move along with him copying the Reppuuken and Kaiser Wave being a possible remainder of the original idea.

In KOF '94 Re-Bout (as well as by proxy KOF '95 for his Omega form), Rugal gains a legitimate DM, which instead becomes his God Press (this was one of his special moves in the original '94). As of '95, his initial DM has always been his Gigantic Pressure, the stronger version of his God Press (which Mature's Heaven's Gate is modeled after). His '98, '98 UM and CvS incarnations so far are the most notably balanced versions of him, though to compensate Rugal often lacks cancels the most compared to other characters, making him a character that's difficult to perform combos with in trade of having a variety of punishing options. However, Rugal also possesses a large frame and notable lag on his attacks should he use them haphazardly.

Music

  • Kettou R&D (Duel R&D) - The King of Fighters '94 (first round)
  • Kecchaku R&D (Conclusion R&D) - The King of Fighters '94 (second round)
  • The ЯR - The King of Fighters '98
  • XXX - The King of Fighters '98 (Omega form), The King of Fighters R-2
  • Last Dance - The King of Fighters 2002
  • Rugal Battle - The King of Fighters (pachinko)
  • Rugal - Athena On Stage
  • The Lord GOD (The Lord ULTIMATE) - Capcom vs. SNK 2
  • Unlimited R - The King of Fighters 2002 Unlimited Match
  • Duel R&D - The King of Fighters All Stars (‘94 Rugal, KOFAS Endless Greed Rugal)
  • XXX/Showdown R&D - The King of Fighters All Stars (‘98 Omega Rugal, ‘95/Boss Syndrome Omega Rugal)

Voice Actors

Live Action Actors

Appearances

Games

Mobile

Cameos

Anime

Similar Characters

References

The King of Fighters characters
KOF '94 Logo Sprite Kyo KusanagiBenimaru NikaidoGoro DaimonTerry BogardAndy BogardJoe HigashiRyo SakazakiRobert GarciaTakuma SakazakiRalf JonesClark StillHeidernAthena AsamiyaSie KensouChin GentsaiKingMai ShiranuiYuri SakazakiKim KaphwanChang KoehanChoi BoungeHeavy-D!Lucky GlauberBrian BattlerRugal Bernstein
KOF '95 Logo Sprite Iori YagamiBilly KaneEiji KisaragiSaisyu KusanagiOmega Rugal
KOF '96 Logo Sprite Leona HeidernMatureViceKasumi TodohGeese HowardWolfgang KrauserMr. BigChizuru KaguraGoenitz
KOF '97 Logo Sprite Shingo YabukiYashiro NanakaseShermieChrisBlue MaryRyuji YamazakiOrochi IoriOrochi LeonaOrochi YashiroOrochi ShermieOrochi ChrisOrochi
KOF '99 Logo Sprite K'MaximaWhipBaoLi XiangfeiJhun HoonKyo-1Kyo-2Krizalid
KOF '99 Evolution Logo VanessaSethSyo KirishimaAlfredFiolina GermiGai Tendo
KOF 2000 Logo Sprite RamónLinHinako ShijoKula DiamondClone ZeroFoxyCandy DiamondAnother K'Another IoriAnother BenimaruAnother RobertCosplayer KyokoKang Bae DalSmart ChangCool ChoiKaoru WatabeBaitangDuck KingLilly KaneKim Jae HoonKim Dong HwanUnknownKing LionKim Sue-ilKaedeDuke EdwardsRockyAthenaNeo & GeoG-Mantle
KOF 2001 Logo Sprite May Lee JinjuK9999ÁngelZeroRonGluganIgnizMistyNests
KOF EX Logo Moe Habana
KOF 2002 Logo Sprite Kusanagi
KOF EX2 Logo Reiji OogamiJun KagamiMiu KurosakiSinobu Amou
KOF 2003 Logo Sprite Ash CrimsonDuo LonShen WooTizocGatoMalinMaki KaguraAdelheid BernsteinMukai
KOF MI Logo Alba MeiraSoiree MeiraLien NevilleMignon BeartChae LimDukeRock Howard
KOF XI Logo Sprite OswaldElisabeth BlanctorcheMomokoB. JenetShionMagakiSilberSho HayateJyazuHotaru FutabaItokatsuTung Fu Rue
KOF MI2 Logo Luise MeyrinkNagaseJivatmaNinon BeartHyenaHanzo HattoriKyo Kusanagi ClassicWild WolfMr. Karate IIArmor RalfRichard Meyer
KOF MIRA Logo Xiao LonMakoto Mizoguchi
KOF '98UM Logo Nightmare Geese
KOF 2002UM Logo Nameless
KOF XII Logo Raiden
KOF XIII Logo Hwa JaiSaikiEvil AshMr. Karate
KOF XIV Logo Shun'eiMeitenkunGang-ilLuongXanaduSylvie Paula PaulaKukriMianNelsonZarinaBandeiras HattoriKing of DinosaursHeinNakoruruMamahahaMui MuiLove HeartAlice Garnet NakataAntonovVerseNajd (Aila)
The King of Fighters XV Logo Isla (Amanda) • DoloresKrohnen McDougallRe VerseOtoma=RagaHaohmaruDarli Dagger
SNK vs. Capcom characters
SNK current logo Kyo KusanagiIori YagamiLeona HeidernOrochi IoriTerry BogardMai ShiranuiGeese HowardRyo SakazakiYuri SakazakiAthena AsamiyaHaohmaruNakoruruMamahahaJubei YagyuRimururuAkari IchijouMarco RossiFiolina GermiMars PeopleGenjuro KibagamiKim KaphwanMr. KarateKasumi TodohChoi BoungeEarthquakeShikiGoenitzHonki ni Natta Mr. KaratePrincess AthenaKingViceBenimaru NikaidoRaidenRyuji YamazakiRugal BernsteinChang KoehanRyuhaku TodohHibiki TakaneGod Rugal
Capcom Logo RyuKen MastersChun-LiGuileDan HibikiSakura KasuganoMorrigan AenslandFeliciaAkumaBaby Bonnie HoodM. BisonEvil RyuKarin KanzukiArthurRed ArremerDhalsimVegaSagatBalrogHugo AndoreTessaDemitri MaximoffZeroViolent KenShin AkumaRed ArremerBlankaCammy WhiteEdmond HondaEagleRolento SchugergMaki GenryusaiYun LeeKyosuke Kagami
CardFightersClash1 ShinKeiCapCometThe KidFoKanaHarumiZombieYoshikiNishiTakaNoriSakiYukiAkiTakeMikaNonakaKeikoYuriMikamiThe MaskRikuto ArataHaruna HatenaLip AyahaSasuke FuwaKido YoshijiRyugai TorawoAsō ShūkoDogou SōkenShin DaichiKei KikkaForu GottonYashichi FuwaCap ComComet ComNanako NijiiroZet Charles DetroitSys TemNeomantleRobomantleG-Lady
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