Iori Yagami ;
In terms of gameplay, Iori is a powerful rushdown character with highly damaging combos. Players would need to be careful as failing to master Iori would prevent using him to his full potential. His most popular command normal, Geshiki: Yuri Ori (Outer Method: Lily Snapper), is a backwards kick that is meant only for crossing up making Iori unique in this aspect. In most games as of KoF '98, Iori can use it in a backdash for a quick getaway. From there, Iori conned the discovery of certain midair attacks being available during a backdash (which was presumed to be a bug at the time), such as Kyo's Geshiki: Naraku Otoshi (Outer Method: Abyssal Drop) and Robert's Hien Ryuujin Kyaku (Flying Swallow Dragon God Leg). Iori is surprisingly an avid zoning-type character, as his Yami Barai gives him an advantage in keep-away due to the movement styles in KoF.
His Kuzukaze (Scum Wind, affectionately mistranslated as "Scum Gale") was also a unique kind of attack during its time as it was a throw that did no damage, and allowed Iori for a quick combo and provided massive pressure setups via tick throwing. It was originally his kick throw back in KOF95 before being repurposed as a command throw, being replaced by a variant of his punch throw, called Gyaku Saka Hagi. His moveset was fairly limited compared to Kyo's, but much easier to access. Because of his high potential overshadowing most of his weaknesses if played right, Iori is generally seen as top-tier in several of his appearances, and through his status as top-tier character, Iori can canonically in-universe be regarded as one of the most powerful fighters in the series, as so far any mention of him losing in the preliminaries is a rarity.
His flame-less fighting style appears somewhat faster (albeit less mobile) in KoF XII; his combos seem to have become easier to chain with a slightly higher priority. His old "With Flames" version appears again on the console versions of KoF XIII, though some of this version's original touches have been stripped off for somewhat better balance compared to his default, flame-less version. His Neo Max in KoF XIII is called Kin 1218 Shiki: Yatagarasu (Forbidden Method 1218: Eight-Span Crow), a reference to the legendary creature of the same name[24]; during this, Iori enters a brief feral state (with the screen darkening). With this in mind, it is assumed that Iori without his flames or his clan's curse hindering him, his true fighting instinct is unleashed and can be easily sensed by others (as noted by Takuma). In XIV however, Iori akin to other moves such as his SDM Ya Otome in older games and his Homura Hotogi (as either an HSDM/MAX2DM or Neo Max), undergoes a slight transformation into a crazed state more akin to the Riot of Blood when he uses the Yatagarasu.
Also, Iori's San Shingi no Ni (The Divine Arts No. Two) is the very attack used to pin down Orochi in which Kyo manages to followup the finishing blow in the Sacred Treasures Team's ending of The King of Fighters '97. The very sequence is seen in Kyo and Iori's Special D-Assault in Neo Geo Battle Coliseum. Also, the technique is often named "?????" in Orochi Iori's moveset.
Iori's (in)famous dropkick sweep attack is also notable for an oddity; while it is treated like a low-hitting attack when blocking it normally, it is instead treated as a mid-hitting attack when countered/reversed or against anything with low-level invincibility.
K ;
K's fighting style is said to be "Pure Violence", but it has several similarities with Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do. He even uses some of his famous moves, such as the One inch punch and Flying Kicks. As a nod to hinting of said "violence", K's moves tend to show very brutal mannerisms due to his high-strung nature. This ranges from violent elbow strikes, enraged battle cries, and even resorting to throw his sunglasses at his foe and following up with a beatdown, no holds barred.
Most of his mannerisms are either somewhat lazy (due to his disinterest in fighting), even to dozing off in battle via his idle stance when a certain amount of time passes; some/most of his flames tend to come from his right hand due to his limitations, but K' can work around this handicap in combat regardless, and is regarded as one of the best fighters in the KOF universe (as well as a high/top tier character in terms of gameplay in more later installments of the series).
Despite his laziness, K' is shown to also be rather flexible (evidenced by his pre-KOF XI blowback attack, Second Shell, Minutes Spike, and Crow Bites Plus/classic jumping strong kick).
His HSDM/MAX2DM, Crimson Star Road, is named after an episode of the anime series Legend of Galactic Heroes.
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