| Tales of Ash | Soundtrack | Credits | Trivia |
The Tales of Ash, also known as the Ash Saga (アッシュ編) is the third mainline story arc in The King of Fighters series. It covers the events found in The King of Fighters 2003, The King of Fighters XI and The King of Fighters XIII.
Past Events
Ancient Times, -Another Side-
Within old Europe, a mysterious group known as Those from the Past began emerging as the counterparts to Orochi's Hakkesshu. Their leader, Saiki, was a power being who possesses control over time. Sometime after Orochi was sealed, many members of Those from the Past were wiped out, at the hands of the Blanctorche Family, a group of nobles who protect the innocent and have a mastery of the elements of light.
Late 1990s
By the late 1990s, Elisabeth Blanctorche is the last known remaining member of the Blanctorche family. At one point, she became the childhood friend of Ash Crimson and they were raised in the same mansion together. She used to act as his older sister figure, until a fire burned down the mansion and many of her clansmen to the ground. As the sole remaining Blanctorche, she lives with her butler, Jacques, near the remains of her family's home.
Story
The King of Fighters 2003
Welcoming All Oncomers
Two years after The King of Fighters 2001, The King of Fighters tournament returned in full force. Once again the rules were changed, with the "Striker System" being dropped completely, and the matches returning back to the 3v3 team matches. However, the tournament introduced the Multi-Shift System; now matches took place in a single round, and fighters could freely swap out with other standby members at any time.
The King of Fighters XI
Mukai, a member of a mysterious group, stole the Orochi seal in the last tournament and broke it, causing confusion and destruction to happen from within sight. Taking advantage of the situation at hand, Ash stole the Yata Mirror from Chizuru and drained her powers in the process. In the advent of a new KOF tournament, new faces are handed invitations, while old faces, such as Eiji Kisaragi, return to the ring.
Among the new KOF participants are Oswald, Duck King (a South Town veteran fighter himself), Momoko and Elisabeth. All these fighters will find themselves in a tournament full of mysteries and secrets started by motives that they’d ignored. Behind this healthy competitive tournament hides a hidden force called "People from the Past" with a mysterious goal.
The King of Fighters XIII
Magaki was slain by Shion's spear, and Shion vanished into the dimensional rift. Then other members of the group Heidern was tracking suddenly appeared and vanished, as if to mock Heidern and his team. Who are "Those From the Distant Land," and why are they so persistent in their pursuit of the power of Orochi?
Meanwhile, Ash Crimson, having obtained Kagura's power, chose to ignore Elisabeth's cautions and took on Iori Yagami's power.
Yata was defeated, and Yasakani has fallen. Only one of the Three Sacred Treasures remains: the Sword of Kusanagi. However, Kyo Kusanagi suffered a major injury at the hands of Yagami, who had been overtaken by the power of the revitalized Orochi.
Time has passed...
With these recent incidents, it was feared that the next King of Fighters tournament would never happen. However, thanks to an unheard-of amount of promotion by a mysterious party, the KOF will be held on an unprecedented scale. The new mixed martial arts tournament is on the world stage, and the mass media has been giving it coverage like never before.
Fighters all across the world begin to receive invitations... all sent from "R"!
Characters
Debutant Characters
Characters who made their canonical debut in The King of Fighters series, ordered by their first appearance in the series.
KOF 2003
Original Characters
Ash Crimson (Playable in 2003, XI, XII and XIII; Mid-Boss unlockable in XIII)
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Duo Lon (Playable in 2003, XI, XII and XIII)
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Shen Woo (Playable in 2003, XI, XII and XIII)
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Malin (Playable in 2003 and XI)
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Adelheid Bernstein (Playable in 2003 and XI; Alternative Final Boss in 2003 and Mid-Boss in XI)
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Maki Kagura (Playable only in 2003)
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Mukai (Final Boss; Playable only in 2003)
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Garou: Mark of the Wolves
KOF XI
Original Characters
Fatal Fury/MOTW series
Buriki One
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Gai Tendo (Playable only in XI; appears as a Mid-Boss)
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Silber (Playable only in XI; appears as a Mid-Boss)
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Savage Reign/Kizuna Encounter series
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Sho Hayate (Playable only in XI; appears as a Mid-Boss)
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Jyazu (Playable only in XI; appears as a Mid-Boss)
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KOF XII
Fatal Fury series
KOF XIII
Original Characters
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Saiki (Playable in XIII; his Human Form appears as a Mid-Boss Unlockable; his Awakened Form appears as Sub-Boss Unplayable)
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Evil Ash (Final Boss; Unplayable in XIII)
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Fatal Fury series
SNK vs. Capcom: SvC Chaos (2003)
Returning Characters
Characters who are returning from previous installments in The King of Fighters series, ordered by their first appearance in the series.
KOF '94
Original Characters
Fatal Fury series
Art of Fighting series
Ikari Warriors series
Psycho Soldier
KOF '95
Original Character
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Iori Yagami (Playable in 2003, XI, XII and XIII; his Flameless version appears in XII and XIII, while his classic Flames version appears as a main playable variant in 2003 and XI, and as a DLC EX form in XIII)
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Fatal Fury series
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Billy Kane (Playable in 2003 and XIII; Console and Climax Version Exclusive and Unlockable Character in XIII)
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Art of Fighting series
KOF '96
Original Characters
Fatal Fury series
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Geese Howard (Playable only in XI; PlayStation 2 Exclusive Character)
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Art of Fighting series
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Kasumi Todoh (Playable only in XI)
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Mr. Big (Playable only in XI; PlayStation 2 Exclusive Character)
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KOF '97
Original Character
Fatal Fury series
KOF '99
Original Characters
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K' (Playable in 2003, XI and XIII)
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Maxima (Playable in 2003, XI and XIII)
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Whip (Playable in 2003 and XI)
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Jhun Hoon (Playable only in 2003)
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KOF 2000
Original Characters
KOF 2002/UM
Original Character
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Kusanagi (Playable only in 2003; Console Exclusive Character and Canonical Debut)
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NPC Characters
Non-playable characters who appear during the saga's lore.
Characters & Teams' Participations
- Teams in which the characters who participated in the saga were inserted.
- Note 1: As there are no teams formed, all participations in The King of Fighters XII are solo. However, it is possible to form 3-on-3 teams.
- Note 2: The order of the table are based on the appearances on the first mainline game of the saga.
