| Series | Position in the series | Saga/Story Arc | Chapter | Is it canonical? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The King of Fighters | 8th | NESTS Chronicles | 3rd | Yes |
| The King of Fighters 2001 | Team Stories | Move List | Gallery | Soundtrack | Achievements | Credits | Trivia |
- "A NESTS Activity Base of 2001... At long last, the epic of NESTS draws to its exciting climax. Four new faces along with returning competitors join the cavalcade of warriors in legendary four-against-four battles of the new century. Team battles will never be the same again."
- —Intro
- "Fight it out!"
- —Arcade Tagline
The King of Fighters 2001 (ザ・キング・オブ・ファイターズ
This game kept the Striker assist system from the previous two KOF games, but added a new twist to it - the ability to adjust how many Strikers a team could have. While teams in 1999 and 2000 were limited to selecting one teammate as an assist, now teams could have up to 3 assist characters, or none at all.
This game was given a remade intro for the PS2 port.
Story[]
The official story given by Eolith is as follows:
"An entire city was wiped off the globe with the use of the satellite weapon, Zero Cannon, during King of Fighters 2000.
This incident was reported to be the result of an artificial satellite crashing to earth, and adorned the front pages to various newspapers of countries all over the world.
A legion of individuals called for the end to the KOF tournament which always invited some sort of accident, but ironically this fighting tournament with a bad history once again regained considerable popularity.
The interest in the tournament rivaled that of the '97 contest, nay, perhaps even exceeded it.
But for this tournament carried out on the international stage, an astonishing fact came to light.
A team from NESTS has entered the tournament!
What are the true objectives of the event's sponsor? There's no guarantee that even with this tournament, tragedy will not repeat itself....
The third title in the King of Fighters: The NESTS Chronicles. At last, this tournament will end it all!"
The NESTS cartel decides to host the 2001 KOF tournament so that they can use it as a method to eliminate their enemies and enter their own team into the ranks.
In the tournament finals, the Hero Team boards a special blimp that is soon revealed to be a spaceship. There they meet Original Zero, whose clone decimated the cartels' secrecy with his scheme in the previous year. He congratulates them for reaching the finals and states that they're headed for NESTS's real headquarters. He decides to entertain his passengers with a match and is backed up by his pet black lion Glugan, Ron, and Krizalid. Despite the oppressive force of his group, he is defeated moments before the ship docks at NESTS's space satellite. He stays on board the exploding ship and urges the Hero team to proceed forward.
Once inside NESTS's satellite, they face the NESTS leader, Nests. He expresses wishes for his renegade agents to return to the organization and is soon afterward killed by Igniz, who claims ownership of the cartel. Igniz also reveals that K', Kula, Krizalid, K9999 and Whip are guinea pigs/creations made for his own personal entertainment. Kula, who was separated from the rest of her team and present at the time, also heard her origin as an artificial life form. Declaring himself a god, he assaults the team as his first act of "divine retribution" and defeats them. As soon as he's about to kill K', other fighters came to intervene and help in the fight including all team leaders, Kyo and Iori. When he's defeated, he proclaims that he is fallen god and names himself a "demon" instead. He plunges the satellite through earth's atmosphere in an attempt to demolish his competition.
Thankfully, the satellite crashes into the ocean and the fighters aboard were somehow saved from the explosion, presumably thanks to Ron. K' saves Kula from drowning; in gratitude, she and her guardian, Diana, ally themselves with K' and company. K9999 and Angel are presumably still alive though their exact whereabouts are unknown. Foxy is also stabbed by them though her apparent on screen death is later revealed to be false.
Development[]
Due to the transfer of Shinkiro, who had been in charge of character illustrations, Nona was appointed as his successor.
Following the bankruptcy of SNK (the old company), development was handled by BrezzaSoft and South Korea game maker Eolith (who was also a financial sponsor along with Mega Enterprise, which had a business partnership with the game at the same time), while sales were handled by Sun Amusement[1] and Playmore. As a result, the SNK logo is displayed in the opening, but SNK development staff were not involved in the production of the game itself at all, except for the game sounds. The influx of South Korean capital can be seen in the characters that appear, etc.
In 2001, SNK went bankrupt, but Eolith contracted a license agreement in the same year to keep with the production of the series KOF. Eolith took interest into developing The King of Fighters due to the franchise's popularity in Korea and wanted to please the fans of the series worldwide. Brezza Soft helped Eolith in the making of the video game. Fearing disappointment from returning fans, Eolith decided to maintain the most of the common parts from The King of Fighters while adding new elements to it. One of the biggest changes is the optional use of Strikers where players can use between one and three characters assisting the playable one. The team aimed for a refinement of the original gameplay system from previous KOF games. While performing a popularity poll based on the characters, Eolith still aimed to make the least popular teams featured in the game. The high popularity of Kyo Kusanagi and Iori Yagami led to their immediate inclusion in the game. Despite being created by Eolith, the Mexican company Evoga had a major influence in the game due to the franchise's popularity within Latin America. This to creating setting with Mexican traits and most notably Angel, a NESTS agent from the country. References to works from Evoga can be seen in the scenarios from the game. While working on it, the team played The King of Fighters '98 alongside the developers to see if they could include a character within the game. A member from Evoga won, resulting in the team requesting to add Angel in the game.
In creating new characters, Eolith wanted an Athena-like Korean fighter. This led to the inclusion of May Lee who was created by SNK.[2] In preparing the boss characters, the original team was dissatisfied with Zero's portrayal in The King of Fighters 2000 which led to the inclusion of the real Zero retconning the former boss as a clone. Glaugan was originally going to be used in the prequel but was instead used as an assist character. SNK faced struggles with making Zero as they wanted to create a boss that surpassed Krizalid from The King of Fighters '99.[3] The final boss, Igniz, was conceptualized as a sexually appealing character in order to generate a contrast with other members from the cast. Nevertheless, the development team stated they felt Igniz fit well in the game.[4]
Gameplay[]
TACTICAL ORDER SELECT SYSTEM[]
Gameplay of May Lee vs. Kensou in the Arcade version.
In this game, the Striker System has been given another huge overhaul. After assembling your team of four, you can segregate your team which will be the Fighter characters and which will be the Strikers characters for every match. The number of assigned Strikers has a great impact on your Fighter characters' battle strategies, from offense and defense capabilities and the amount of Power Gauge stocks that can be stored at one time. Instead of Strike Bombs, Power Gauge stocks are used to summon Strikers.
Your team can consist of 4 Fighters and no Strikers, 3 Fighters and 1 Striker, 2 Fighters and 2 Strikers, or 1 Fighter and 3 Strikers. The number of Fighters on your team is inversely proportional to the maximum amount of stocks you can have at hand. No Strikers can only have 1 stock, while 3 Strikers can store as much as 4 stocks. Furthermore, a 1-Fighter team has higher attack/defense power and recovers more life between matches than a 4-Fighter team. Don't worry, you can reset the order of your team between matches. It's all in strategy!
Gameplay of Joe vs. Heidern in the PlayStation 2 version.
A Striker can be called by pressing both the BC buttons at the same time at the cost of a stock. If you have assigned more than 1 Striker, you can call on the others using the same buttons and a joystick movement relative to the Striker's order of assignment (see above figure for details). You can also cancel special and Slayer Moves into Striker summons, but not DOA Drubbings and throws. Furthermore, you can even call your Strikers in quick succession as long as you hit your opponent when a Striker is still on-screen and watch the mayhem unfold!
WIRE WHIP SYSTEM[]
The newest fighting strategy in The King of Fighters 2001 is the Wire Whip System. Certain characters have Slayer Moves that inflict either of 2 Wire Whip effects: the Critical Wire and the Counter Wire. Upon landing a hit at certain circumstances, such attacks have the main feature of sending the victim flying against the side of the screen and boomerang towards the mercy of his attacker, enabling him to finish the catastrophic combo with another Slayer Move or DOA Drubbing.
Slayer Moves that are labeled in italics bear the Critical Wire property. On successful contact, these moves "naturally" rebound your opponent against the wall. Critical Wires also guard crush an opponent who manages to block them, on the specific hit which has the Critical Wire property. Slayer Moves with a star beside it bear the Counter Wire property. As the name implies, these moves will rebound your opponent against the wall only if the specified attack lands on a counter hit.
Striker Attacks & Effects[]
- Note: Zero & Igniz aren't used as strikers. However, Zero uses three strikers.
| Striker | Attack | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| K' | Narrow Spike | Offensive Attack |
| Maxima | Maxima Gallows | Immobilizes the opponent for a brief |
| Whip | Valkyrie Killer | Offensive Attack |
| Lin | Flying Feet | Offensive Attack |
| Kyo Kusanagi | R.E.D. Kick | Offensive Attack |
| Benimaru Nikaido | Electrigger | Immobilizes the opponent for a brief |
| Goro Daimon | Raging Goro | Offensive Attack |
| Shingo Yabuki | Unmastered Crescent Crunch | Offensive Attack |
| Iori Yagami | Vessels of 8 Elixirs | Immobilizes the opponent for a brief |
| Vanessa | Hard Puncher | Offensive Attack |
| Seth | Final Agent | Offensive Attack |
| Ramón | El Diablo Amarillo Ramón | Offensive Attack |
| Terry Bogard | Dunk Geyser | Offensive Attack |
| Andy Bogard | Wind Slicing Illusion | Offensive Attack |
| Joe Higashi | Legendary Low Kick | Offensive Attack |
| Blue Mary | Rapid Spider | Offensive Throw |
| Ryo Sakazaki | Conquest Blast | Offensive Attack |
| Robert Garcia | Rapid Dragon Rave | Offensive Attack |
| Yuri Sakazaki | Scalding Steam Blast | Offensive Attack/Increase of Power |
| Takuma Sakazaki | Deadly Demon Conqueror's Blast | Offensive Attack |
| Leona Heidern | Killer Touch | Offensive Attack |
| Ralf Jones | Regal Body Blow | Offensive Attack |
| Clark Still | Gatling Attack | Offensive Attack |
| Heidern | Clearing Moon Slasher | Offensive Attack |
| Athena Asamiya | Phoenix Arrow | Offensive Attack |
| Sie Kensou | Dragon Dervish | Offensive Attack/Increase of power |
| Chin Gentsai | Charging Gourd Spin | Offensive Attack |
| Bao | Rising Psycho Ball | Offensive Attack |
| King | Trap Rush | Offensive Attack |
| Mai Shiranui | Waterfowl Waltz | Offensive Attack |
| Hinako Shijo | Hinako the Gunner | Offensive Attack |
| Li Xiangfei | Super White Dragon 2 | Offensive Attack |
| Kim Kaphwan | Swooper Kicker | Offensive Attack |
| Chang Koehan | Massive Sphere Drop | Offensive Attack |
| Choi Bounge | Bloody Stab | Offensive Attack |
| May Lee Jinju | Beast God Summon | Offensive Attack |
| Kula Diamond | Slider Crow Bites | Offensive Attack |
| Foxy | Moon of Silver | Offensive Attack |
| K9999 | I Won't Object To My Orders! | Offensive Attack |
| Ángel | Beyond the Flames | Offensive Attack |
| Krizalid (Zero's Striker) | Krizalid's Attack | Offensive Attack |
| Glugan (Zero's Striker) | Glugan's Attack | Offensive Attack |
| Ron (Zero's Striker) | Ron's Attack | Offensive Attack |
Characters[]
Overview[]
The new characters added to the roster (all originals) are:
| May Lee Jinju, the new member of Korea Justice Team, is Kim Kaphwan's student and a huge fan of him. She replaces Jhun Hoon after he has an accident that left him with a broken arm. | |
| Foxy, a loyal agent of NESTS who was ordered to supervise Kula Diamond, the Anti-K' project, with her colleague, Diana. | |
| K9999, an agent of NESTS, is the "perfected" 9999th clone of Kyo Kusanagi. His main purpose was to dispatch the rogue creations that had escaped from NESTS' grasp. | |
| Ángel, other agent of NESTS, who is assigned to keep an eye on K9999, Kula and Foxy, whose purpose is to hunt down traitorous experiments that had left the cartel. | |
| Zero, the sub-boss of the game, is an agent extremely loyal to the NESTS syndicate and was disgusted to learn of his clone's attempted coup d'état. He was resting in NESTS's main headquarters during the events of the previous tournament and was unaware of his clone's actions until later. He was ordered by the leader of NESTS to resume their primary plan of world conquest. | |
| Igniz, the final boss of the game and the host of this KOF tournament. He wants to become a new god, deciding to test his new found power against the finalists and his own father, who died at his hands. |
- Note 1: The new team formations are as follows:
| Whip leaves the Ikari Warriors Team to help her newly discovered brother K' and his partner Maxima to destroy NESTS in the Hero Team, along with Lin. The ninja continues to hunt Ron, the traitor to his clan.c | |
| Kyo Kusanagi and Iori Yagami, after two tournaments as solo entries (Iori went alone since the '97 tournament, and Kyo had gone solo since the beginning of the NESTS saga), re-join with their old teams. The former joins with his old friends, Benimaru Nikaido and Goro Daimon (with Goro returning after skipping the previous two tournaments), in addition to his huge fan Shingo Yabuki, reforming the Japan Team. The latter, on the other hand, joins with the mercenaries Vanessa, Seth and Ramón, reforming the Yagami Team. | |
| Yuri Sakazaki goes back to the Art of Fighting Team, along with her brother Ryo Sakazaki, her friend Robert Garcia and her father Takuma Sakazaki. King goes back to leading the Women Fighters Team, along with the kunoichi Mai Shiranui, the sumo student Hinako Shijo and the waitress and Kung Fu student Li Xiangfei, who returns to the tournament after a year off, replacing the aikido student Kasumi Todoh. | |
| Heidern takes Whip's place on the Ikari Warriors Team after four tournaments behind the scenes, along with his trusty soldiers Leona Heidern, Ralf Jones and Clark Still, and retakes the leadership of the team. | |
| After Jhun Hoon got into an accident that injures his neck and back in a street accident (in reality, he was distracted by Athena Asamiya's beauty, and was hit by a car while crossing the street), Kim Kaphwan brings one of his pupils, May Lee Jinju as the fourth member of the Korea Justice Team, as an advisor to put Chang Koehan and Choi Bounge in their place, though she does not feel the need to physically punish them on a regular basis like Kim does. | |
| The NESTS cartel decides to host this tournament, and for it, they can use it as a method to eliminate their enemies and enter their own team into the ranks. Therefore, the Anti-K' weapon Kula Diamond teams up with Foxy, one of her mentors and guardians, and two NESTS agents hired to watch and destroy them, K9999 and Ángel, forming the NESTS Team. | |
| The Fatal Fury and Psycho Soldier Teams remain with the same formations as the previous entries. |
- Note 2: This game is the only one in the series in which one of the bosses has strikers.
Official Team Roster[]
Hero Team (A.K.A. K' Team or Protagonist Team)[]
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Japan Team (A.K.A. Kyo Team)[]
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Yagami Team[]
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Fatal Fury Team (A.K.A. Garou Densetsu Team)[]
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Art of Fighting Team (A.K.A. Kyokugenryu Team)[]
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Ikari Warriors Team (A.K.A. Ikari Team)[]
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Psycho Soldier Team (A.K.A. Athena Team)[]
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Women Fighters Team[]
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Korea Justice Team (A.K.A. Kim Team)[]
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NESTS Team (A.K.A. Rivals Team or Deuteroganist Team)[]
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Sub-Bosses[]
Zero Team[]
Sub-Boss[]
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Sub-Boss Strikers[]
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Boss[]
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NPC Characters[]
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Special Edit Teams[]
K' and Kula Team[]
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K' |
Kula Diamond |
Any characters |
Other NESTS Team[]
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2 or 3 members of the NESTS Team |
K' and/or Maxima |
Stages[]
- Note 1: The PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions contains, in addition to the stages from the arcade version, two alternate versions of each stage, including Zero's and Igniz's stages, called Original A and Original B. In Original B, the stages look similar to Original A, except that the weather is different or they take place at a different time of the day. The Boss stages also appear in KOF 2002 Unlimited Match, with updated graphics.
- Note 2: In Arcade mode, the stages are randomly chosen by the game. However, in the console versions' versus mode, the stages can be selected by the player. In the PS2 and Xbox versions, it is also possible to use the original stages by accessing the game's option menu.
- Warning: The images of the stages may cause epilepsy.
Normal Stages[]
| Stage | Stage Name | Team/Character | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | None. | The 1st curve of the circuit of Interlagos, in the city of São Paulo. Taking place in the race track next to the control tower, the stage features a crowd cheering the fighters, race queens standing around, Formula 1 cars and a sign with the words São Paulo '01, in the background. In the PS2 and Xbox versions, the fight takes in a platform on the track and, in Original B, takes place at sunset. | |
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China | None. | The Hanging Temple, in the city of Datong. The battle takes place in a courtyard next to the temple, with people watching and cheering with the fight, including some monks, and a sign with the game's logo. In Original B, the stage is empty and covered by a strong fog. |
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Italy | None. | The Rialto Bridge, in the Grand Canal of Venice. The battle takes in a street next to the canal, with people watching the fight on the bridge and in the gondolas, posters with the game's logo are hung across buildings. In Original B, the fight occurs at sunset. |
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Japan | None. | Set during a festival, the fight takes next to a stage where a kabuki dance, Renjishi, is being performed. To the right of the stage, a film crew records the fight while monks can be seen cheering in the background. The left of the stage, there is a crowd of people sitting down, watching the fight. In Original B, the stage is empty. |
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Korea | None. | The Bulguksa Temple, in the city of Gyeongju. The battle takes place outside the temple, during winter. The stage has the South Korean flag at the centre, people cheering—some of whom are wearing dobok—and photographers and videographers. In Original B, the stage is empty and it's at night. |
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Mexico | None. | The Franz Mayer Museum and the Santa Veracruz Church, in Mexico City. The fight takes place in the Hidalgo Avenue, in front to the church. There are people cheering, shrubs, a mariachi band in front of the fountain, and posters with game's logo. In Original B, the fight occurs at sunset. |
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USA | None. | The city of Las Vegas, Nevada. The fight takes place on a street littered with money on the floor, with people cheering in the background, neon signs—including one of a Playboy bunny—photographers, vehicles, palm trees, buildings and a sign with the city's name and street signs the words GAMBLER, LOSER and WINNER. In Original B, the stage is partially empty and with green lights. |
Sub-Boss & Boss Stages[]
Critical Reception[]
In Japan, Game Machine listed The King of Fighters 2001 on their December 15, 2001 issue as being the second most-successful arcade game of the year. According to Famitsu, the AES version sold over 6,126 copies in its first week on the market.
The PS2 port of the game sold 39,022 units in Japan. GameSpot gave the NeoGeo port of the game an 8.7 out of 10, praising the balance with the cast and the Striker system but criticized the high difficulty of the boss Igniz.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 SNK業務終了でKOF2001の販売元が変更に (Japanese). ZDNet JAPAN (29 October 2001). Archived from the original on 16 December 2001. Retrieved on 29 May 2024.
- ↑ "May Lee". SNK Playmore. Archived from the original on June 23, 2008. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
- ↑ "Zero Original". SNK Playmore. Archived from the original on June 20, 2008. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
- ↑ "Igniz". SNK Playmore. Archived from the original on June 5, 2008. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
External links[]
- Official Site at SNK Playmore
- Korean tournament footage from the History of SNK DVD
- Puzzle game for the Dreamcast version
- The King of Fighters 2001 at Sega Retro
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