First off I know we dont play these games for their storyline. And I play them for their game play and competitive nature as well. Bust since there is a story going on in them it might make for interesting discussion/speculation.
Im mainly bringing this up because I started playing Fatal Fury Wild Ambition and it has left me confused.
I was wondering what occurred when in the SNK fighting game universe. As far as I can tell it goes like this.
Samurai Showdown 0 / Samurai Showdown 0 special (I assume Special replaced the original)
Samurai Showdown 1
Samurai Showdown 2
Samurai Showdown RPG???
Samurai Showdown 3
Samurai Showdown 4
Samurai Showdown Tenka?
Samurai Showdown 64
Samurai Showdown Warriors Rage? (I assume Warriors rage is the last Samurai Showdown from Old Haomaru)
Art of Fighting 1
Art of Fighting 2
Art of Fighting 3
Fatal Fury/ Fatal Fury Wild ambition. Which of these actually happened? Is WA the matches we did not see in the first Fatal Fury? Or Vice Verso does WA replace FF1?
Fatal Fury 2/ Fatal Fury Special (once again I assume Special replaced the original)
Fatal Fury 3
Real bout 1
Real bout 2/ Real bout special
King of fighters 94
King of fighters 95
King of fighters 96 (Wasnt geese supposed to be dead? Or do I have the Fatal Fury timeline wrong?)
King of fighters 97
King of fighters 98??? (Rugal coming back and dieing is a self contained episode?)
King of fighters 99
King of fighters 2000
King of fighters 2001
King of fighters 2002 (another self contained episode)
King of fighters 2003
King of fighters XI
Side stories/alternate universe?
King of fighters EX
King of fighters EX 2
King of fighters Maximum impact
King of fighters Maximum impact 2
Capcom Vs SNK match of the millennium
Capcom Vs SNK 1
Capcom Vs SNK 2
SVC Chaos
Is this timeline even right? Or where am I wrong. Also the Specials for FF2 and RB2 make sense as replacements for them but the most confusing part is FF1 and FFWA.
If the game is in 2D im going to put money on it been cannon.
Of course they can change this anytime they want, geese has been dead multiple times, but really if he comes back nobody going to mind, my dream would for him to come back in garou2 as an older looking version, but thats not going to happen I guess…
this is problay something you should check out its the closet to a real look on snk(kof) story
Your Sam Sho Timeline isnt correct…I have it up on the SRK Wiki for SS Tenka…you should go check it out…
Also notice to further support the idea that KOF is a separate storyline from the games is in KOF Geese is still alive…(look at 2k3 he sends out the Outlaw Team) but in FF since RBFF he has been dead.
But you could argue they have tied in at the beginning…
After all…my man Geese Howard originally started the King of Fighters tournament…
FF1 was originally called Fatal Fury “King of Fighters”.
Matter of fact in Rugal Bernsteins storyline it says he took his moves from the original King of Fighters hosts-Geese and Krauser.
Did you also know the first KOF (94) was originally to be a dream match???
Yep you heard it…but it had soo much success they said the hell with it…lets keep it real homie LOL.
Actually, the original idea was for Rugal to imitate one of your character’s moves, but due to memory restraints, this idea was nixed, and instead Rugal was given the trademark moves of the 2 previous KOF hosts (Geese and Krauser).
I personally think it was cancelled because SNK thought it was too corny for Rugal to throw basketballs (from Lucky) or act like a drunkard (for Chin).
And NO, Rugal is not German nor is he related in any way to Geese or Krauser.
Hahaha that wouldve been weird indeed bc I do remember them saying Rugal had like everyones moves from the KOF fighters I remember reading that saying “WTF?”
Well they actually did that with someone (SNK) and made that person a hidden boss in Sam Sho II-Shin Kuroko…the real Kuroko boss…not the SS3 one…
He has almost everyones moves…and the Tenka version if you could fight a Cheap Ass CPU version in game would be super uber cheap ass hell…a good boss though…better than Level 8 Mizuki or Level 8 Rugal in 94 put together IMO…
The SamSpi console RPG (Shinsetsu Samurai Spirits Bushidou Retsuden) and the Nakoruru PC/DC game (Nakoruru -Ano hito kara no okurimono-) do not appear in either of the official timelines I’ve seen, so my assumption is that they are non-canonical. Those official timelines were published in the Kenkyaku Ibunroku: Yomigaerishi Soukou no Yaiba -Samurai Spirits Shinshou- Koushiki Guidebook (Koudansha, 12/22/1999) and on the official Samurai Spirits Zero website, so they predate Samurai Spirits Tenkaichi Kenkyakuden’s release. As I play through the PS2 port of this game, some of the character interactions (example: Galford encountering Hanzo for the first time) seem to imply that Tenkaichi is a prequel to the entire series. However, other things – like the simultaneous presence of Amakusa, Mizuki, Zankuro, and Gaoh – would seem to indicate a storyless “dream match.” Unlike most “dream match” games, however, Tenkaichi does have endings for each character, and a good amount of prefight/postfight character dialogue. I’m still looking for the official word on where (if anywhere) Tenkaichi is supposed to appear in the SamSpi series chronology.
The latest version of the official timeline indicates the following approximate date ranges for the SamSpi games:
1786 (January thru late summer) – Samurai Spirits Zero
1788 (early spring thru early summer) – Samurai Spirits
1788 (summer thru early autumn) – Samurai Spirits Zankurou Musouken
1788 (autumn thru early winter) – Samurai Spirits Amakusa Kourin
1789 (spring thru summer) – Shin Samurai Spirits
1789 (autumn) thru 1790 (summer) – Samurai Spirits
1790 (late autumn thru winter) – Samurai Spirits 2 Asura Zanmaden
1811 – Kenkyaku Ibunroku: Yomigaerishi Soukou no Yaiba -Samurai Spirits Shinshou-
The earlier version of the official timeline (from the Kenkyaku Ibunroku official guidebook) indicated 1810 as the date for that game.
In spite of the appearance of other games’ sprites in the early SamSpi games’ endings and backgrounds (Shiranui Mai, Todoh Ryuhaku, Kim Kaphwan, etc.), Japanese fan-site NEOGEO Bohyou does not consider the SamSpi series to be a part of the larger SNK continuity. That continuity is made up of the following games:
Gekka no Kenshi series
…[aka Last Blade series]
Ryuuko no Ken series
…[aka Art of Fighting series]
Garou Densetsu series
…[aka Fatal Fury series]
Fuu’un series
…[aka Savage Reign & Kizuna Encounter]
NEOGEO Bohyou considers the FF & AOF sprites in the early SamSpi games to be “guest characters”(like an “easter egg” or “fan service”) only, not signs of a continuity connection. Gekka no Kenshi (Last Blade), on the other hand, has a story connection between Zantetsu and Kisaragi Eiji. Similarly, the Fuu’un series’ Kim and Chung have story connections to the Garou (Fatal Fury) series’ Kim Kaphwan and Terry Bogard. Due to the VERY heavy amount of research the folks at NEOGEO Bohyou have done regarding the storyline of these games, I’m inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt when it comes to their claim that the SamSpi series (like the KOF series) exists outside the larger SNK continuity.
This is the correct order. The Ryuuko no Ken / Art of Fighting series takes place in the late 1970s. This estimate is based on Geese’s age during Ryuuko no Ken 2. The character profiles in the Ryuuko no Ken series give us character ages and months/days of birth, but not years. However, we know from the Garou/FF series that Geese was born on 01/21/1953. In Geese’s Ryuuko no Ken 2 profile, it indicates his date of birth as 01/21, and his age as “Ryuuko no Ken 2: 26 years old / Garou Densetsu Special: 40 years old.” Based on this, it could be surmised that Ryuuko no Ken 2 takes place between 01/21/1979 and 01/20/1980 (the time period during which Geese is 26 years old). Since Ryo and Robert are both 22 years old during Ryuuko no Ken 2 and ART OF FIGHTING Ryuuko no Ken Gaiden (aka, Art of Fighting III Path of the Warrior), this would place the events of the 2nd and 3rd games fairly close together. According to Ryuuko no Ken 2’s backstory, the events of the original Ryuuko no Ken occur approximately 1 year before Ryuuko no Ken 2.
According to the well-known “A. A. GAME HISTORY SERIES VOL.2: ALL ABOUT SNK Taisen Kakutou Games 199-2000” (published 12/25/2000 by Studio Bent Stuff and Denpa Shinbunsha), each installment in the Garou Densetsu / Fatal Fury series relates a unique portion of the saga, with the following exceptions:
Garou Densetsu Special (FFS) has "no story." Real Bout Garou Densetsu Special (RBFFS) has "no story." Garou Densetsu Wild Ambition (FFWA) has the same story as the first installment in the Garou Densetsu / Fatal Fury series.
Garou Densetsu 3 is the story of the 3 Hidensho (secret scrolls) just prior to Geese obtaining all 3 of them. Real Bout Garou Densetsu is the story of the final battle against Geese (who now possesses all 3 Hidensho). Real Bout Garou Densetsu Special Dominated Mind is the story of White’s brainwashing of Billy Kane and attempted takeover of Southtown’s underworld in the power vacuum left by the death of Geese in RBGD/RBFF.
“A.A.SNK” gives this summary of the story of Real Bout Garou Densetsu 2: “With a body built as a casino show-boxer, Rick Strowd has finally become the world champ. However, knowing that these fights do not quench his heart’s thirst, naturally, he resolves to set out in search of fights. Hungry wolves are waiting, in the city of madness…”
So, with GDS/FFS and RBGDS/RBFFS making no contribution to the storyline, the chronological order of the GD/FF series looks like this:
GD/GDWA
GD2
GD3
RBGD
RBGDSpDomMind
RBGD2
Garou MOTW
Since the profile data of most Garou series characters includes full birthdates and ages, it’s possible to calculate an approximate time period for each game’s events:
1991…Garou Densetsu / Garou Densetsu Wild Ambition (FF/FFWA)
While the data profiles from GD and GDWA provide birthdates, no ages are listed. However, my Japanese sourcebooks agree that Geese killed Jeff Bogard in 1981, and that Geese was defeated by Terry Bogard 10 years later, in 1991. This fits with the ending of Ryuuko no Ken 2 / AoF2 (1979), in which Jeff Bogard is still alive and causing problems for Geese.
For Ryo to be 22 years old during the period of 01/21/1979 <–> 01/20/1980 (the time period we’ve calculated for AoF2, based on Geese’s age & birthdate), his full birthdate would have to be either 08/22/1956 or 08/22/1957. GDWA/FFWA gives an estimated age for the Ryo Sakazaki / Mr. Karate that appears in that game’s PS port: “around 40 years old.” If Ryo was born in 1956 or 1957, a roughly 40-year-old Ryo fits the 1991 setting for GDWA/FFWA, since Ryo was just a bit shy of the big 4-0 at that time.
This is an estimate only, since RBGD’s profile data gives only birthdates, but no ages. Based on the fact that MOTW takes place 10 years after Geese’s death (which occurs in RBGD), RBGD likely takes place in 1996, or possibly very early 1997.
1998…Real Bout Garou Densetsu Dominated Mind
1998 or 1999…Real Bout Garou Densetsu 2 (RBFF2)
This is also an estimate, as I only have confirmed full birthdates and ages for Li Xiangfei and Rick Strowd, where this game is concerned. Since Xiangfei is 17y.o. (born 5/25/1981) and Rick is 27y.o. (born 8/16/1971), RBGD2 takes place sometime after 8/16/1998 but before 5/25/1999.
2006 or 2007…Garou Mark of the Wolves
Terry was born on 3/15/1971 and his MOTW profile data lists his age as 35 for that game. This would indicate that MOTW’s story takes place sometime after 3/15/2006 but before 3/15/2007. Unfortunately, since none of the other MOTW characters (all new to the series) have birth years listed, we can’t really narrow it down any further than that.
The subject of Ryo Sakazaki brings up BURIKI-ONE, SNK’s 3D-animated grappler/fighter for their Hyper NEO-GEO 64 arcade hardware. The setting for BURIKI-ONE is Spring 1999, and Ryo’s profile for that game indicates that he is 32 years old. This would give him a birthdate of 08/22/1966, which doesn’t jive with our calculated 1979 date for Ryuuko no Ken 2, since a Ryo born in 1966 would only be 12 or 13 years old in 1979, not 22 as Ryo was supposed to have been. Therefore, it would seem that BURIKI-ONE exists in a continuity that is separate from that of the AoF and FF series.
Indeed, KOF exists in its own continuity, separate from the one shared by the AoF and FF series. In addition to the fact that Geese is alive throughout the KOF series, and the AoF characters being roughly 15 years younger than they should have been in 1994, there’s also the lack of aging of the KOF cast after KOF’95. In KOF’95, each of the returning characters was listed as being 1 year older than s/he had been in KOF’94. Ever since KOF’95, however, the KOF regulars have all stayed at the same age (some KOF installments don’t even bother listing ages). Finally, there’s a “relative age” difference between Kasumi and Ryo & Robert. In the 3rd Ryuuko no Ken / AoF game, Ryo and Robert are both 22y.o. and Kasumi is 16 – a difference of 6 years. But in KOF’96, Ryo and Robert are listed as 24y.o. while Kasumi is still only 16 – a difference of 8 years.
Agreed: '98 and '02 are simply dream matches. IIRC, the story of KOF EX was intended to fill the gap between the events of '97 and '99, but there seems to be no indication that the KOF EX games have any official place in the canonical timeline of the annual KOF series.
KOF went downhill after 99 (storylinewise) Actually the whole Kyo Cloning thing was kinda bleek. The Orochi’s are what made KOF interesting and even though they kept them in the roster post 97. (Iori killed Vice and Mature in 96 and Yashiro, Shermie and Chris died for the sacrafice) the storyline got real weak.
Zero, Ignitz…LAME! There are 3 Orochi’s left however. The half breeds Leona and Iori then Yamazaki. They really should do something about the storyline of KOF cause it use to be good!
KOF mainly revolved around “Team Japan” and the Orochi’s. Team Japan virtually won every KOF tournament . In 97 Iori, Kyo, Kagura won and saved the world at the same time!
Storyline wise, KOF 2003 came back very decently. They have actually done things that I honestly wouldn’t have believed they had the balls to do before.
Many agree JeRon about the NESTS Saga storyline being weak.
I think it was kinda weak but it brought us Kula, K’, Angel, Vanessa and some others that are great characters though the storyline was weak.
In the new storyline for the 2k3 and forward saga supposedly they are trying to revive Orochi…if they do bring him back hes gotta put CPU Mizuchi to shame and be hella better CPU AI than KOF 97 Orochi :tdown:
And I think as far as bosses are concerned Igniz whoops Goodmans ass…Goodman is a dream match remake of Igniz…with cooler music
:tup:
really after the orochi storyline it was only going to go downwards, like you say nest saga brought some great characters though, thats what I like bout kof when I new saga comes a whole bunch of new designs come.
this current saga ash-orochi strikes back is picking up quite well, I mean what is going to happen to iori, is kyo going to get beat by ash? is K’ going to get Involved? and what the hell is ash’s master plan? is their a greater danger?
yea you can see im hooked this current saga is way better than nest and maybe even the orginal orochi saga depending on where things go.
Yeah heres more food for thought- What is the next dreammatch? We know Kof NW was a test for the AW…but they could just use the NW series to begin straight Dream matches…
Or they could just leave it as it is and use KOFXIV as the next dreammatch…we shall see…
I tell you what good thing that most things are going DVD for SNK, bc if you think about it with the more character designs for KOF the Dream matches are gonna get harder to please everyone bc Dream matches have almost everyone in them. and that will be more memory to include all the new saga characters to the future Dream matches…
Memory is an issue, after all, we didnt get the ‘Real Krauser’ in 96 bc of memory issues (and he still is top tier in 96 hahah)