SNK fan video explains labyrinthine lore ahead of The King of Fighters XV

destructoid.com:

We’re just a few weeks away from the launch of the great-looking King of Fighters XV and, quite honestly, the buzz around it is far bigger than many of the legendary franchise’s more-recent entries. Cottoning on to the fact that the new sequel might be attracting new fans, SNK superfan NeoGeoNow is releasing a series of videos to get folks up to speed on KoF‘s surprisingly deep and complex lore.

It’s no Kingdom Hearts, but with over 100 fighters, three arcs, and over 12 games, there’s a lot to cover.

This first video looks at the first King of Fighters arc, known to devotees as “The Orochi Saga.” Spanning The King of Fighters ’94, The King of Fighters ’95, The King of Fighters ’96, and The King of Fighters ’97, this narrative concerns rival poster boys Kyo Kusanagi and Iori Yagami. While the two resident hunks are in a deeply embittered rivalry, they are brought together by the mysterious Chizuru Kagura in order to prevent the return of the terrifying, world-destroying demon, Orochi.

Of course, this is just a brief overview of King of Fighters’ lore. Back in the day, each and every team and character has their own plotline, running through each and every game. Seriously, I used to have them all printed out and stored in a ring binder because I’m a massive fucking nerd. However, these new videos, clearly the result of many hours of hard work, will offer you the bullet-point version of KoF‘s decades-long lore.

No doubt the next lore video will look at the interminable NESTS saga, covering The King of Fighters ’99 to The King of Fighters 2001. Great new characters and fab fashion, but clones, clones, and more clones.

The King of Fighters XV launches February 17 on PlayStation, PC, and Xbox platforms.