Unlike most fighting games, The King Of Fighters series and story lore go hand in hand. The franchise is known among the fanbase for its intricate and well thought storyline that has been evolving since the first game in 1994.

As you probably know, The King Of Fighters lore is split in sagas. First was the Orochi Saga which dealt with Rugal, the Hakkeshuu and Orochi’s resurrection (you can read our insight on this particular saga right here). 1999 marked the beginning of the N.E.S.T.S which focused on a secret organization that kidnapped and cloned the series protagonist, Kyo Kusanagi. The N.E.S.T.S saga spanned over three games and gave us great characters like K’, Kula and Vanessa, among others (Read our retrospective on the N.E.S.T.S Saga here). With KOF2003 a new saga kicked off: The Ash Saga. Taking its name from the series new antagonist/antihero Ash Crimson whose goal was to steal the three mystical treasures (or powers in this case) from Chizuru, Iori, and Kyo. Ash’s motivations were secret until KOFXIII where it was revealed he was more of a hero than a villain, right before sacrificing himself.

The latest saga that kickstaretd with The King Of Fighters XIV has yet to be officially named (Shunei’ Saga? Resurrection saga? PS2 graphics saga… Sorry bad joke). The first game of this new saga is unusually getting a lot of story attention in the form of the excellent The King Of Fighters: A New Beginning manga, or the newly started KOFXI Chinese manhua. while we have yet to know the specifics of the KOFXIV story (the official manga is only at the beginning of the tournament) The ending of the game is very clear: Verse was made of many deceased warriors souls and his destruction caused the resurrection of many of these fallen heroes and villains. But who are these resurrected characters? While some have been revealed or hinted at, others have not.

So below is a list of the probably resurrected characters due to Verse’s demise, that may or may not make an appearance in the next games of the saga:

Ash Crimson:

This one is the easiest one since it is pretty much confirmed that Ash Crimson is now alive. The anti hero sacrificed himself at the end of KOFXIII in order to stop Saiki(Ash’s ancestor) and “Those from the past” from resurrecting Orochi. KOFXIV’s Official invitation team ending reveal that Ash’s adoptive sister, Elizabeth, has hired Kukri to help release and locate Ash’s soul, and the cutscene ends with Elisabeth finding Ash unconscious.

Having a strong fan base, it is pretty easy to deduct that Ash will make a playable comeback in the next game(s).

Gaidel:

Gaidel’s is Leona’s father. See, Leona’s life is a bit of a tragedy. Gaidel is one of the Hakkeshuu, a group of 8 remarkable fighters who were tasked to help resurrect Orochi. In fact the Hakkeshu are the reincarnations of orochi’s 8 serpent heads (literally). Unlike the rest of the Hakkeshu, Gaidel had no interest in resurrecting Orochi, and decided to settle down and have a family, and eventually a daughter: Leona. Upon knowing of Gaidel’s treason, Leopold Goenitz (KOF96 boss) decided to pay the family a visit and awakens the Orochi power within Leona’s blood (Called Riot of the Blood). Taken over by the immense power, Leona’s hair turned red as she went berserk killing her own parents in the process. Since that day Leona always carried the immense guilt with her.

The Ikari Team’s KOFXIV ending seen above, pretty much confirms that Gaidel has been resurrected as well and as Heidern, points it out, it is only a matter of time to find him. This could give us a playable Gaidel in KOFXV, or at least resolve the story of Leona’ riot of the blood and her guilt.

Jeff Bogard:

Jeff Bogard’s death is a quintessential part to Terry and Andy’s character arcs. It was the death of their adoptive father at the hand of Geese Howard that led to the story of the entire Fatal Fury franchise and, to some extent, KOF. The murder tale was also a  major part of the recently released The King Of Fighters Destiny anime‘s first season.

Now that this is out of the way, i have reasons to believe Jeff is now alive due to Verse’s destruction. In the Team China ending of KOFXIV, Tung Fu rue makes a psychic(?) call to all his students telling them that he needs their help. As the old master is conveying his message, a series of headshots scroll up the screen that show, one after the other, the former students of Tung Fu Rue. Most of these faces are easily recognizable: Terry, Andy, Jin Chonrei, Cheng Sinzan, Geese. but there is one mysterious character, who appears last, whose face was not shown on purpose.

Knowing a bit about the lore of the game, the only other known Tung student not shown was Jeff, and this mysterious, middle aged looking, character might fit the bill for him. Now whether that is a smart move from SNK or not is another topic for another day, but it seems Jeff Boggard might be making a comeback.

Shermie:

Probably the least wanted character in this list, but not by much! Shermie made her debut in KOF97 as one of the “New Faces” team, along with Yashiro and Chris. Shermie is a model who also happen to be one of the four heavenly kings of the Hakkeshuu. Once she realized and remembered her past life and duties as an Orochi Heavenly Queen, she joined Chris and Yashiro, beat The sports Team and stole their KOF97 invitation letter.

At the end of KOF97, Shermie’s team gathered enough power through the tournament to awake Orochi. But in order to give the demon lord more strength, Yashiro killed both Shermie and Chris before sacrificing himself. This was, of course, all in vein, as Kyo, Iori and Chizuru, were able to seal the Orochi once again.

While there are no hints that shermie is alive in KOFXIV, her recent inclusion in the upcoming SNK Heroines Tag Team Frenzy game, might be a hint that her character is indeed alive and well. If true, this could also mean that Chris and Yashiro are back. Just maybe!

Rugal Bernstein:

Love him or hate him, Rugal is the ultimate KOF boss. wether his moves, appearance, or Ruthlessness, Rugal Bernstein is the role model that every KOF boss needs to aspire to. While the crazy, power hungry, arms and drug dealer has officially met his end at the end of KOF95, when he tried to use the Orochi power, Rugal would go on to appear in several other games as a playable boss, including the non-canon KOF98 and 2002.

Story wise, Rugal was used by Goenitz who took his eye in a battle but somehow decided to share with him a tiny bit of the Orochi power. This power is what drove Bernstein to long for more during KOF94 and 95. Rugal also has a personal relation with Heidern. The Ikari leader lost his family and eye to Rugal in a bloody encounter. Rugal was defeated in both KOF 94 and 95 by Kyo Kusanagi.

It seems that just like fans, SNK love Rugal. And with a story opportunity to bring him back, it would be really surprising if they pass on it. Could this new KOF saga deal with the resurrection and rise to power of Rugal? I for one hope so.

What do you guys think of this list? Do you see SNK resurrecting all, or some, of these characters? Are there any other dead fighters that you hope to see in the eventual The King Of Fighters XV? Let us know in the comments section below!