SNK unveils a new character via a trailer every Thursday morning in Japan time since the announcement of King of Fighters 15 in January. These anticipated announcements have been a way for fans to expect their favorites to return to the franchise, as well as a way to show off the game’s graphics and each character’s improvements within the new King of Fighters 15 engine.
Following the announcement of Chizuru during the Fighting Game Publishers Roundtable podcast, the weekly updates resumed last week with the introduction of Andy Bogard, in a slight departure from the standard.
To recap, the Hero Team was completed by the first three announcements, Meitenkun, Shun’ei, and Benimaru. Kyo, Iori, and Chizuru’s announcements completed the Three Sacred Treasures squad. Other protagonists, such as Joe and Andy, have yet to form a three-man squad, and with the arrival of Yuri, she now joins the first two as a warrior without a new team.
Yuri Sakazaki was one of the original warriors to be featured in the King of Fighters ’94 as a member of the Women’s Fighters Team, first appearing as the damsel in distress in Art of Fighting and then as a playable character in Art of Fighting 2.
Yuri has appeared in almost every King of Fighters to date, often as a member of the Art of Fighting team alongside her brother and father. Yuri, unlike her brother and sibling, adds her own flair to the Kyokugenryu Karate fighting style, copying moves from other fighters and, on occasion, Street Fighter fighters.
Although the new stage introduced during the trailer is not the main subject of the trailer, King of Fighters fans and veteran Fatal Fury fans alike will notice it. Yuri spends the rest of the trailer battling in the Pao Pao Cafe, which has previously appeared in many KOF and Fatal Fury titles.
Although it is unclear if this will be Yuri’s team stage in the future, it is possible that with the addition of the cafe, fighters associated with the site, such as Bob Wilson and Richard Meyer, will have a chance to appear.
