As expected, fans received the latest trailer for King of Fighters 15, a recent trend which occurs every Wednesday night announcing the latest addition to SNK's ever-growing roster. What makes this announcement unique is that it features a character whose popularity transcends the King of Fighters series, making appearances in other titles outside of SNK's IPs such as Super Smash Bros Ultimate and Fighting EX Layer.
Terry Bogard's inclusion in the King of Fighters 15 was up there with the likes of Kyo Kusanagi and Iori Yagami's announcement so it wasn't a matter of if he would be announced but when. With the 10th announcement saved for the hat tossing, flame expunging resident of South Town, Terry's announcement trailer also doubled as a gameplay trailer of sorts for the King of Fighters 15.
The trailer begins with a showcase of the featured stage in Terry's trailer, this time being South Town's Sound Beach. While South Town itself has made sporadic appearances, with its latest being the Pao Pao Cafe revealed in last week's Yuri Sakazaki's trailer, Sound Beach has been featured in the original Fatal Fury as a playable stage and has since been referenced in several character's endings. Terry Bogard's personality shines through, ending with a new Desperation Move unique to the King of Fighters 15.
With the reveal of Terry, he will join his brother Andy and friend, Joe, rounding out the Fatal Fury team. The Fatal Fury team marks the third official team ahead of the Hero team and the Three Sacred Treasures team. In the past, the character trailers end here, yet for SNK's poster child, the trailer extends to the Fatal Fury team fighting each other in sparring matches. What's unique about these small skirmishes is that players get to see a few seconds of actual gameplay between the fighters without the reliance on camera tricks and Hollywood magic.
The gameplay and graphics aim to impress fans as the trailers continue for the King of Fighters 15, a stark contrast to its controversial beginnings with how little SNK has shown in the past. Without a release date, aside from the tentative 2021 release date, SNK's latest entry in its premiere series is not without concern from its fans, namely the ambiguity of the inclusion of the highly requested rollback netcode.
Last month, SNK fans created the trending hashtag #SNKRollback as a way to acknowledge the developers that they would boycott the game if its netplay wasn't improved upon for KOF 15. In the past, prior KOF games had been criticized for their lackluster netcode, an issue King of Fighters '02 UM had addressed to widespread acclaim. With the developer's word that KOF 15 will include rollback netcode, the King of Fighters 15 is shaping up to be the game on most fighting game fans' watchlist.
The King of Fighters 15 is slated for a 2021 release.