The King of Fighters 2000

The King of Fighters 2000
300px Promotional ad for The King of Fighters 2000 featuring the new Hero Team of K', Maxima, Vanessa and Ramon. The Neo Geo AES version uses this same illustration for its packaging. This was also the last KOF game to use Shinkiro's artwork for promotional use.
Developer(s)	SNK
Publisher(s)	SNK
Series	The King of Fighters
Platforms	Arcade Neo Geo Dreamcast PlayStation 2 PlayStation Network Windows (emulated, as part of GameTap)
Release date(s)	Arcade Neo Geo Dreamcast PlayStation 2 PlayStation Network
Genre(s)	Versus Fighting
Mode(s)	Team Battle; Up to 2 players simultaneously
Cabinet	Upright
Arcade system	Neo Geo Revision 1.0 8/30/2000

The King of Fighters 2000 is a 2000 competitive fighting game produced by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home platforms. It is the seventh installment in The King of Fighters series for the Neo Geo, and marks the final game in the series produced by SNK before the bankruptcy. The game was ported to the Sega Dreamcast (in Japan only) and the Sony PlayStation 2 in 2002. The PlayStation 2 version of the game was released in North America in a two-in-one bundle with its immediate sequel, The King of Fighters 2001 as the first two games to be published by SNK Playmore USA. The Neo-Geo and Sega Dreamcast versions of the game were also included in The King of Fighters NESTS Hen, a compilation released for the Sony PlayStation 2 in Japan.

Gameplay

The gameplay is based on The King of Fighters '99 and expands on the "Striker Match" format introduced in that game. The game now has an Active Striker System, which allows the player to summon the Striker member during any situation, whether the player is attacking or being attacked by the opponent, allowing the player to use their strikers in combos. Additionally, the player can now replenish Strike Bombs by either losing rounds or taunting the opponent (at the expense of one filled stock of the Power Gauge).

The player now has two choices after selecting the Striker member of the team. The player can choose to use the regular character or an alternate character officially known as Another Striker, a character used exclusively for striker attacks. These alternate Strikers are characters from previous KOF games and other SNK franchises (such as Fio Germi from Metal Slug 2 and Duke Edwards from Burning Fight), as well as alternate versions of characters in the game such as Iori and Robert. There's also another set of alternate Striker characters known as Maniac Strikers, which are selected in the arcade version by inputting specific codes for notable characters only, such as "Neo&Geo", "Cool Choi" and "Smart Chang". The console versions includes additional Maniac Strikers by completing a certain number of matches in the "Party Mode".

Plot

After the incident at the previous tournament, the commander of the Ikari Team, Heidern, is determined to figure out the objective of the NESTS cartel so that he can stop them from achieving their ruthless ambition. A fellow commander and long-time friend of Heidern, named Ling, tells the veteran fighter that K′ and Maxima were once operatives of NESTS and that they may hold the key to locating the whereabouts of the mysterious organization. Using this information, Heidern decides to focus his efforts in using the next KOF tournament as a way to lure both K′ and Maxima out so that they can be captured and interrogated into telling the authorities about the NESTS cartel. Unknown to Heidern, however, Ling has his own agenda.

The Hero Team from the previous game was split into two, with K′ and Maxima now joining forces with female agent Vanessa and Mexican wrestler Ramon, while Benimaru Nikaido formed his own team which consisted of Shingo Yabuki, agent Seth, and assassin Lin. The Fatal Fury Team replaced Mai Shiranui with Blue Mary, while Yuri Sakazaki left the Art of Fighting Team, with King, taking her spot. Mai and Yuri returned to the Women Fighters Team, this time being joined by Kasumi Todoh and high school student Hinako Shijo, who uses her own Sumo Wrestling style. Kyo Kusanagi and Iori Yagami once again returned as Team Edit characters. A third Team Edit only character also appears in the form of Kula Diamond, a young girl genetically engineered by NESTS to be the "Anti-K'".

Characters

Hero Team, Another Striker, Maniac Striker

• K′, Another K'
• Maxima, Rocky
• Ramon, Duke Edwards, Neo & Geo
• Vanessa, Fio

Rival Team, Another Striker

• Benimaru Nikaido, Another Benimaru
• Shingo Yabuki, Cosplayer Kyoko
• Lin, Eiji Kisaragi
• Seth, Goro Daimon

Fatal Fury Team, Another Striker

• Terry Bogard, Geese Howard
• Andy Bogard, Billy Kane
• Joe Higashi, Duck King
• Blue Mary, Ryuji Yamazaki

Art of Fighting Team, Another Striker, Maniac Striker

• Ryo Sakazaki, Kaede, G – Mantle
• Robert Garcia, Another Robert
• King, King Lion
• Takuma Sakazaki, Gai Tendo

Ikari Team, Another Striker

• Leona, Goenitz
• Ralf, Yashiro Nanakase
• Clark, Shermie
• Whip, Chris

Psycho Soldier Team, Another Striker

• Athena, Goddess Athena
• Kensou, Psycho Soldier Kensou
• Chin Gentsai, Baitang
• Bao, Kaoru Watabe

Women Generation Team, Another Striker, Maniac Striker

• Mai Shiranui, Chizuru Kagura
• Yuri Sakazaki, Nakoruru
• Kasumi Todoh, Li Xiangfei, Unknown
• Hinako Shijo, Lilly Kane

Korea Team, Another Striker, Maniac Striker

• Kim Kaphwan, Kim Sue Il
• Chang Koehan, Kim Dong Hwan, Smart Chang
• Choi Bounge, Kim Jae Hoon, Cool Choi
• Jhun Hoon, Kang Baedal

Edit Only, Another Striker, Maniac Striker

• Kyo Kusanagi, Syo Kirishima, Saisyu Kusanagi
• Iori Yagami, Mature & Vice, Another Iori
• Kula Diamond, Candy, Foxy, Rugal Bernstein

Boss, Striker, Another Striker, Maniac Striker

• Clone Zero (Main Boss)

^*Unknown as Ryuhaku Todoh

External links

• KOF2000 Official Homepage (archived original SNK version)
• The King of Fighters 2000 at the official Japanese website of SNK Playmore
• The King of Fighters 2000 at MobyGames