This is a list of all characters from the Art of Fighting series by SNK. Characters are listed in order of appearance by game.
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Ryo Sakazaki (リョウ・サカザキ) is the son of the respected Kyokugenryu master, Takuma Sakazaki. Orphaned at the age of 10, he now lives with his kid sister, Yuri. After Yuri is kidnapped, the Invincible Dragon is awakened in him. He plunges head-long into the urban battlezone, Southtown.
Son of the multi-millionaire Albert Garcia. Sent to the world-famous Imperial Academy to study the mysteries of Kyokugen karate under the tutelage of Albert's lifelong friend, Takuma Sakazaki. After the death of Ryo's mother and the disappearance of Ryo's father, Robert watched over the young boy, providing him with friendship. Robert remains, however, Ryo's ultimate rival.
Ryuhaku Todoh (藤堂竜白 Tōdō Ryūhaku) is the first opponent in the arcade mode of Art of Fighting. He is the creator and main teacher of Todoh style karate, which derives its style from Aikido and Kendo. Todoh has a long standing rivalry with disciples of the Kyokugenryu school of karate and considers them a threat to his style of teaching in terms of profits as well as personal animosity dating back to a rivalry with Takuma Sakazaki when both men were very young.
After the player defeats Ryuhaku as Ryo and Robert wanted to interrogate him to know about who kidnapped Yuri, Todoh went into hiding and has not been seen since. Because of his disappearance, his daughter Kasumi goes on a personal quest to look for her father and gain revenge on Ryo and all Kyokugenryu disciples to try to reclaim her family's honor. However, in SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos he makes a short appearance after seeing Kasumi's development. He also appears in The King of Fighters 2000 as a striker from Kasumi named Unknown (アンノウン) voiced by Akira Goto. He has also been a playable character in Capcom vs SNK 2. He is voiced by Takeshi Aono and Carter Cathcart. He also appears in the game Samurai Shodown II during Gen-an's ending.
Jack Turner (ジャック・ターナー) is a member of Mr. Big's syndicate, and a developer of his own fighting style. One of Mr. Big's highest-ranking subordinates, he devastates anyone who crosses his path. Jack is also the leader of the Southtown gang known as the Neo Black Cats. Humorously, in Jack's ending in AOF2, it was revealed that he wanted to make the gang into a dance group.
Lee Pai Long (Chinese: 李白龍) is a master of Chinese martial arts and an expert of his country's medicine. He works as the director of the Southtown prison, but also has a small herbal shop which he runs part time. A former adversary and long-time friend of Ryo Sakazaki's father Takuma, he enters the tournament to test Ryo's skills. And like his friend, he dawns a mask. In this case, a Monkey Mask. Humorously, in his ending to AOF2, it was discovered that Lee would become famous for finding the cure to haemorrhoids.[1] He has also been featured in Neo Geo Battle Coliseum as a playable character. Eiji Yano voices him in Art of Fighting and NeoGeo Battle Coliseum and Kay Inage in Art of Fighting 2.
King (キング) is a female Muay Thai fighter who hides her gender to avoid various issues with her. In the first Art of Fighting, King appears as a CPU-controlled character. She is hired by the criminal Mr. Big to work as a bouncer in his tournament. After King is defeated by Ryo Sakazaki and Robert Garcia who were searching for Ryo's kidnapped sister, Yuri, King agrees to help them to find Mr. Big. In Art of Fighting 2, King enters into the King of Fighters tournament in order to win the prize money to pay for an operation for her younger brother, Jan, to regain the use of his legs. As such, Ryo and Robert decide to use the prize money to pay for the operation in gratitude for helping them to find Yuri.
King is also a recurring character from The King of Fighters series as part of the Women Fighters Team participating in various tournaments, usually acting as the de facto leader and peacekeeper. The team is initially composed of King, Mai Shiranui and Yuri, but Yuri is replaced in '96 by Kasumi Todoh and in '97 and '98 by Chizuru Kagura. In The King of Fighters '99, the tournament now requires four members per team, and while Mai joins to the Fatal Fury Team, Chizuru left competition. However, Kasumi, Li Xiangfei and Blue Mary join King to complete the team. In The King of Fighters 2000, King is requested by Yuri to replace her in the Art of Fighting Team, in which she bonds with Ryo, Robert and Ryo's father, Takuma. She returns to the Women Fighters Team in The King of Fighters 2001 with Mai, Hinako Shijou and Li Xiangfei. In The King of Fighters 2003, King joins Mary and Mai once again in the Women Fighters Team as the tournament returns to the use of three fighters per team. In The King of Fighters XI, the Women Fighters Team is disbanded since Mai went into searching for her boyfriend Andy Bogard and Mary joins the Agents Team. However, King is once again requested to enter into the tournament with the Art of Fighting Team with Ryo and Yuri as Robert has problems with his organization and Takuma is in a weak state. Takuma pretends to be in a bad state just to make King join Ryo and intensify their relationship which has been hinted several times in the series. While she and Ryo do have feelings for each other, ironically the dojo's meddlesome antics (such as the badly disguised trio interrupting the two at a restaurant) are what keep getting in the way of the two consummating.
King has also appeared in The King of Fighters Neowave with the her original team and in The King of Fighters: Kyo aiding Kyo Kusanagi and Blue Mary into investigating Geese Howard. She was removed from The King of Fighters 2002, but was added as a playable character in the home version from the game as well as in the remake, The King of Fighters 2002: Unlimited Match, teaming up with Kasumi and Mai. Additionally, she has appeared in Capcom vs SNK and Capcom vs SNK 2. Harumi Ikoma has voiced King since her debut. In the anime adaptation from Art of Fighting, King is voiced by Masako Katsuki in Japanese and Sharon Becker in English.
Mickey Rogers (ミッキー・ロジャース) is a former professional boxer who was expelled from the ranks after he accidentally killed a man in the ring. He currently stalks Southtown seeking opponents to vent his anger and frustration on, and enters the tournament for the same reason. Like Crawley, Mickey gets a haircut between his two appearances. In the first AOF, Mickey has long hair, worn in dreadlocks. In AOF2, he has short hair. In Art of Fighting 1, Mickey becomes a small time hood who works for Mr. Big so that he can get money as a street hustler. In Art of Fighting 2, Mickey has since reformed, wanting to get back into the professional boxing circuit. In Mickey's AOF2 ending, his trainer Pops (who is visible in Mickey's stage as well) informs him that his time has come, and he has a title bout. He is voiced by Kay Inage.
John Crawley (ジョン・クローリー) is a Martial Arts Instructor, and with his brutal and aggressive fighting style was known to his friends as "The Madman" and "The Killing Machine". He enters the tournament to win the prize money and test his skills. In the first AOF, Crawley has longer hair. By the time AOF2 occurs, his hair is cut shorter. In John's AOF2 ending, the US Military attempts to recruit him to rescue the President's canary, but John refuses. Although it is not mentioned in the game, John seems to be assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Independence, since a large "62" is visible on the ship's island.
Mr. Big (Mr.ビッグ Misutā Biggu) is the sub-boss character from the first two Art of Fighting games. He has been involved with the mob for as long as he can remember. He made it big in Southtown, a city as seedy and corrupt as he is. He joins Geese Howard's criminal organization, soon becoming his right-hand man. Big secretly feared Takuma Sakazaki, the master of Kyokugenryu Karate, so he ordered the kidnapping of Takuma's daughter, Yuri, and threatened Takuma into working for him. Unfortunately, the plan backfired when Ryo Sakazaki and Robert Garcia fought their way through Southtown's crime to find both of them, beating Big senseless to rescue Yuri and Takuma. King worked as a bouncer at one of Mr. Big's establishments.
In 1996, Geese brought Mr. Big and Wolfgang Krauser to The King of Fighters, and revealed that he was after the Orochi power following the tournament's dramatic conclusion. Enraged, Mr. Big had a sniper take a shot at Geese, but the plan failed, and Mr. Big bailed out. The team also appears in The King of Fighters '98: Ultimate Match. Mr. Big has also been featured in The King of Fighters: Kyo, Neo Geo Battle Coliseum and the PlayStation 2 version from The King of Fighters XI. He also appears in the PS2 port from The King of Fighters 2000 as an assistant version of Takuma.
Masaru Naka voices Mr. Big in most KOF titles and Nobuyuki Yuki in NGBC and KOF XI. In the AOF anime adaptation, he was voiced by Iemasa Kayumi in Japanese and Cliff Lazenby in English. Mr. Big is played by Sam Hargrave in the 2010 live-action film adaptation of The King of Fighters, being the only character from the Art of Fighting series in the film.
Takuma Sakazaki (タクマ・サカザキ Takuma Sakazaki; also written as 坂崎 拓馬, Sakazaki Takuma) is Ryo and Yuri's father who left them prior to the first Art of Fighting. Takuma appears as the final boss of the game as a masked warrior named Mr. Karate (Mr.カラテ Misutā Karate), having taken Yuri as a hostage. Before being defeated by Ryo and Robert, Yuri stops them, revealing his identity. It is later revealed that Takuma was forced to work for Geese Howard and that his right-hand man, Mr. Big, kidnapped Yuri to put him under control. In the SNES port, Takuma Sakazaki reveals himself as the unwilling killer of Jeff Bogard, stating he wouldn't have eliminated him but Geese had already taken Yuri hostage. In Art of Fighting 2, Takuma rebels against Geese and Mr. Big by fighting in their King of Fighters tournament, but retreats due to the several injures he has.
Takuma also appears in The King of Fighters series as part of the Art of Fighting Team along with Robert and Ryo, but he lets Yuri take his place in The King of Fighters '96 as he decides to retire. However, he returns in The King of Fighters '99 to the team as the tournament now requires four fighters per team. He once again retires in The King of Fighters 2003 with the tournament returning to use 3 members per team. He becomes very weak in this game, but uses this state to make King enter the Art of Fighting Team to intensify her relationship with Ryo. In The King of Fighters 2002 and The King of Fighters Neowave he appears with the original Art of Fighting Team, whereas in The King of Fighters '98 and The King of Fighters 2002: Unilimited Match he is part of the Oniayi Team, composed of elder characters from the series. In SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos there is a boss character named Honki ni Natta Mr. Karate (本気になったMr.カラテ Honki ni Natta Misutā Karate, lit. "now serious Mr. Karate"), which is an enhanced version of the normal Mr. Karate (also playable in the game). He has been voiced by Eiji Tsuda in all his appearances. Following an absence from the series since the 2002 installment, Takuma makes his return debut to the series in The King of Fighters XIII, rejoining Robert and Ryo from the 1994 team.
Eiji Kisaragi (如月 影二 Kisaragi Eiji) is a Japanese assassin from the feared and respected Kisaragi clan. His school is the sworn enemy of both the Sakazaki clan and Kyokugenryu Karate. Eiji is a mercenary, willing to kill for anyone so long as they pay well. In The King of Fighters '95, Eiji joins Billy Kane and Iori Yagami in the Rivals Team as in order to kill the Sakazaki Family (Ryo, Yuri and Takuma). Eiji's team failed to reach the finals of the 1995 tournament and he was unable to get a 'clear shot' at the Sakazaki family. While about to escape and go search for them on his own, Iori Yagami appeared in front of Eiji and Billy Kane and brutally beat them, nearly killing them both.
Eiji did not appear as a playable, or story, character in a King of Fighters game again until The King of Fighters XI, in which he joins Kasumi Todoh and Malin as the Anti-Kyokungeryu Team to find and defeat the Sakazakis once again, only to be badly beaten by an enrage King who was too angry at the Sakazaki's, but for different reasons. Eiji did eventually make the cut for The King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match along with Kasumi Todoh and the '96 Boss Team. In The King of Fighters 2000, he appears as an assistant character for Lin. He also makes short cameos with Billy Kane in some of his introductions against Iori, in which he also seeks revenge for what he did to them. He is voiced by Yoshinori Shima.
Temjin (テムジン) is the only Mongolian dock worker at the Southtown port. Tem resigned himself to a period of menial work as a manure loader. Finding the job 25 bucks an hour, tem stayed on, earning money for the small school in Mongolia where he dreams of teaching one day. He is voiced by Yoshinori Shima.
Geese Howard (ギース・ハワード) is a former champion of the National Martial Arts of America. Before he became a champion, people in the underground were afraid of him and he was nicknamed "Lone Wolf Killer Geese". Underhandedly, he achieved fame and authority in Southtown. He trained under every martial arts master around. He became a brutal killer and it is rumored that he is as strong as a demon. And now he is here to gather more and more young strong fighters for his plans.
Kasumi Todoh (藤堂香澄 Tōdō Kasumi) is the daughter of Ryuhaku Todoh, the first enemy in the original Art of Fighting. Kasumi grew up learning the Todoh school of Aikido and Kobujutsu, taught to her by her father. As her family's sole heir, she does all she can to stand up for the Todoh way. When Ryuhaku stayed at Southtown to settle an old score with a man named Takuma Sakazaki, Kasumi remained in her house, waiting for her father's return. A couple of months later, she learns that Ryuhaku has been defeated by Ryo Sakazaki, Takuma's son and has not been seen since. She decides to fight Ryo and anybody else in order to avenge her father. However, her mother does not like that idea and convinces her to make peace with Ryo to the point of slapping her in the face.
Kasumi goes on to participate in the 1996 King of Fighters tournament with King and Mai Shiranui, replacing Yuri Sakazaki who left for Ryo's team in place of Yuri's father Takuma (Takuma threatened to seize Yuri's assets in order to motivate Yuri to join Ryo's team). After Goenitz (highest priest of the Orochi Power) was defeated (not to mention taking his own life), King took Mai and Kasumi to her bar.
In 1999, she teams up with King, Blue Mary and Li Xiangfei. Later in 2000, Kasumi rejoins Mai, and the two team up with Yuri and Hinako Shijou. While Kasumi had some reservations about teaming up with Yuri (mainly because Yuri is a Kyokugenryu Karate practitioner), Kasumi knows that she has to live under a family code of ethics and accepts Yuri as her teammate. In The King of Fighters XI, she teams up with Malin and the bitter rival of the Sakazaki family, Eiji Kisaragi to form the Anti-Kyokugenryu Team. She has also been featured in The King of Fighters '98: Ultimate Match as an edit character, in The King of Fighters 2002: Unlimited Match in the Women Fighters Team with Mai and King and SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos. She has also been featured in Kasumi Todoh in Manila 2012 Go to Smart Araneta Coliseum She is voiced by Masae Yumi.
Jin Fu-Ha (不破刃) is a former disciple of Eiji Kisaragi, who betrayed him. He then decides to kill Eiji, to test if he is strong enough to do so, he decides to see if he can defeat Eiji's sworn enemy Ryo Sakazaki and searches for him, eventually tracking him down and confronting him in GlassHill Valley while Ryo is searching for his friend Robert Garcia there. Unlike most of the characters, Jin's final battle is not with Wyler, but Ryo Sakazaki. Unique to Jin Fu-Ha's ending is a page of text that tells the player Jin will one day fight Eiji but until then will wander the globe alone in the shadows. He is voiced by JAI.
Karman Cole (カーマン・コール) is a long-time employee of Robert Garcia's parents in a personal assistant-like role who has known Robert since he was a child. The Garcias send Karman to find their son after he disappeared to look for his old childhood friend Freia Lawrence which has led him to GlassHill Valley. Karman is a loyal employee who seems very fond of Robert Garcia and lets him get away with much more than he should. Karman's final fight in Art Of Fighting 3 is not Wyler like most of the characters but Robert. However, Karman allows him to finish his search for Freia. He is voiced by Mantarō Koichi.
Lenny Kreston (レニィ・クレストン) is a private investigator who works with Rody Birts. Though there seems to be some romantic tension between them, the two are partners in a business sense only. They have been hired by Wyler to find Freia (also a schoolfriend of Robert Garcia) and deliver her to him. The two appear to have a bad reputation within their profession and Lenny sees their new assignment as their 'big chance'. Lenny is a tough, straight-talking woman but with a caring nature underneath. She fights using a whip, though she appears to be fond of using it for different things (such as dragging Rody around). She is voiced by Kumi Ishida.
Rody Birts (ロディ・バーツ) is a private investigator who works with Lenny Creston. Though she dominates him, their relationship is good-natured and there is even a hint of romantic tension. The two appear to have a bad reputation as private eyes. He has come to GlassHill Valley, Mexico because he has been hired by Wyler to find an old childhood friend Freia for him. He is voiced by Eiji Yano.
Wang Koh-San (Chinese: 王覚山; Cantonese Yale: Wòhng Gaau Sāan) is an artist entering a competition, and is also a friend of Lee Pai Long. He comes to GlassHill Valley for inspiration for the competition, but once there he learns of Wyler's Elixir and thinks that it will interest Lee. Wang travels with his pet Pelican Hoeh-Hoeh. In his ending, he returns home and lets Hoeh-Hoeh choose the painting for competition. Then humorous 'drawings' of Hoeh-Hoeh interacting with all of the characters from the game are displayed. He is voiced by Monster Maezuka.
Sinclair (シンクレア) is an attractive young woman that appears to be of Indian descent, and is a mini-boss of sorts. She has a flashy sword fighting style. She is working with Wyler, pretending to encourage him in his experiments, but secretly wants him to stop them; whether she is there to assassinate him or not is unknown. Like Wyler, Sinclair does not have an ending sequence: completing the game only yields the staff roll. Unlike Wyler, she can be thrown, but cannot use throw moves herself. She has only appeared in Art of Fighting 3 thus far. She is voiced by Harumi Ikoma.
Wyler (ワイラー) is the final boss in Art Of Fighting 3. He works on perfecting a powerful elixir that was originally developed by his father and Freia Lawrence's father. However, the essential data needed for completing it was taken by Freia's father when the partnership broke up. Wyler believes this action is the cause of his father becoming destitute and even the cause of his death. Wyler hires the private investigator partners Rody Birts and Lenny Creston to find her. Wyler finds Freia, though seemingly without the help of the private eyes he hired. He completes the elixir and takes it himself, turning into a large Hulk-like man. However, it has an unforeseen after-effect and reverts his mind to a child-like state. Freia choose to stay and tend to him. Wyler is a playable character, though he does not have an ending sequence of his own. He is voiced by Monster Maezuka.
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