KOF: MI page updated. Duke revealed!

http://www.snkplaymore.jp/official/kof/character/duke.html

so i guess there's no Geese or Rugal then.

uuummmm

uhhh what the hell? How is that even considered a boss?

Tridagger X said:

http://www.snkplaymore.jp/official/kof/character/duke.html

so i guess there's no Geese or Rugal then.

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Why so sure? I'm still holding hope for Geese, but I'll be glad if there's no Rugal (in any game ever again).

SouthtownKid said:

Why so sure? I'm still holding hope for Geese, but I'll be glad if there's no Rugal (in any game ever again).

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Did you not see my reply to you in the other MI thread in General Discussion? Geese is NOT PLAYABLE IN THE GAME. He's a sprite in the background on one stage:



Other SNK characters also make similar appearances in the backgrounds, and they aren't playable either. You'll find characters like Yamazaki, Cheng Sinzan, Yashiro, Goro, Mr. Big, and Ramon in the game's backgrounds...some being easier to spot than others.

OrochiEddie said:

uhhh what the hell? How is that even considered a boss?

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For the answer to that, I'll direct you to Duke's 2P version:

With mutton-chops like those, how could he be anything less than a boss? He rules by Divine Right of Sideburns.

--Chris

Lyte Edge said:

Did you not see my reply to you in the other MI thread in General Discussion? Geese is NOT PLAYABLE IN THE GAME. He's a sprite in the background on one stage:

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I'm not saying you're wrong, but just because a character is a sprite in the background doesn't necessarily mean they aren't playable. One game comes to mind (MK3, UMK3) Cyrax in the background of the desert stage.

Wait a minute, isn't there already a duke in SNK universe? And what sort of name is 'Duke' anyway? We get names like Rugal, Goenitz, Orochi, Zero and Igniz...all names that command respect...or at least make you take some notice of them. Then we wind up with Duke??

There's Duke from Burning Fight (Ramon's Other Striker in KOF 2000).

Be he's a putz.

ToeJam said:

I'm not saying you're wrong, but just because a character is a sprite in the background doesn't necessarily mean they aren't playable. One game comes to mind (MK3, UMK3) Cyrax in the background of the desert stage.

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I'd add that in MSHvsSF, Nash can be seen sitting near the lake in the park stage. Now, while Nash is not a playable character, MSHvsSF does feature Shadow (Nash, mind-controlled into a Shadoloo super-soldier) as a hidden character. If either side uses Shadow while fighting in the park stage, Nash is no longer visible in the background.

While Geese's presence in KOF:MI's Geese Tower interior stage (or do they want us to call it Geese Building now?) might indicate that he does not exist as a playable/fightable character in that game, I think that it would be more than a little strange for SNK to have a fighting tournament set in Southtown (at a time when Geese is alive) -- especially with the tournament focused on leaders of criminal gangs -- and not have Geese at least appear as a hidden boss. If he were to be included, I think it'd be simplicity itself for the background image of Geese to be removed whenever Geese was one of the characters fighting in that particular stage.

thundr51 said:

Wait a minute, isn't there already a duke in SNK universe? And what sort of name is 'Duke' anyway? We get names like Rugal, Goenitz, Orochi, Zero and Igniz...all names that command respect...or at least make you take some notice of them. Then we wind up with Duke??

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Since when has SNK shied away from recycling names? I've been waiting 10+ years for the KOF series to get an SWF (SNK Wrestling Federation, from "Fire Suplex" / "3 Count Bout") team so I can finally see "The Lone Wolf" Terry Bogard vs "The Fiery Gentleman" Terry Rogers. I'll just be disappointed if Duke Edwards isn't included in KOF:MI so we can see the Duke boys duke it out. Besides, what about the other 2 characters from Burning Fight -- Ryu Saeba and Billy King? Ryu's name is an homage to Ryo Saeba (the main character from the manga/anime City Hunter), and even if Billy King's name isn't a reference to tennis pro Billy Jean King, both his first and last names have been recycled by SNK in their later fighting games (always wanted a burning fight team in KOF, just to have the Billy - King - Billy King edit team).

I think Duke might have a better ring to it if you forget about the two rednecks in the 1969 Dodge Charger and the golden retriever in the Bush's Baked Beans commercials, and think instead of the original meaning of Duke, a title indicative of nobility (which is why I've suspected the KOF:MI boss calls himself Duke in the first place). This message brought to you by Duke B. Rambert, General, Master, and all other fighting game characters with titles in (or as) their names (including "Mister Bison").

--Chris

*sigh*

The thing about UMK3 and MvSF's hidden characters is that the sprites were already created and there in the first place; the developers didn't have to do very much to put them into the games.

Maximum Impact has 3D modeled-versions of Goro, Yashiro, and Ramon standing in the background of the Esaka stage (the Japan Team stage from KOF '95, so the Geese stage is not the only classic-style stage in the game), so they'd have a better chance of being playable than Geese would. :P And why would you think Geese would be alive when Rock Howard is in the game? There's not much continuity to this game; all the other characters should be older if Rock is present.

Get over it, guys...Geese is not playable. His stage is just a nice extra (I wish more classic BGMs were in this game as a matter of fact), and he's not the only cameo appearance in the game. I guess Yashiro, Ramon, Mr. Big, Blue Mary, Yamazaki, Goro, Eiji, and Cheng Sinzan should all be playable too, since they are also in the backgrounds, right? (That would certainly rock though!)

why bother this game is gonna suck as it the case with all other 2d fighter to 3d translations.

Only Shodown 64 was any good

Dash no Chris said:

I think Duke might have a better ring to it if you forget about the two rednecks in the 1969 Dodge Charger

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Thereverend said:

why bother this game is gonna suck as it the case with all other 2d fighter to 3d translations.

Only Shodown 64 was any good

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What do you mean "gonna"? People are already playing it. And liking it. Please try the game or shut up. Okay, "shut up" is too strong. How about "be quiet"? Anyways, I also liked Wild Ambition, so your argument is flawed from the go-get.

Who else Liked Wild Ambition?

Thereverend said:

why bother this game is gonna suck as it the case with all other 2d fighter to 3d translations.

Only Shodown 64 was any good

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Read the dozens of positive previews, reviews and threads (including this very forum) and shut the fuck up.

Thereverend said:

Who else Liked Wild Ambition?

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I did, it is a badass game, I personally liked it better than the SS64 games.

Dio_Brando said:

Read the dozens of positive previews, reviews and threads (including this very forum) and shut the fuck up.

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Ok ok You don't have to be an asshole about it.

What are you guys talking about? This is Duke, man! He is "A Number 1!!"

Duke is becoming the name to use for final bosses. Take Double Dragon for example.

Thereverend said:

Who else Liked Wild Ambition?

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I thought it was only an okay game, but I also only played the PSX version, so I don't know if the Hyper Neo version played an faster/smoother. My biggest problem with the game is that it just felt like a stripped-down version of the Real Bout games, but with a smaller cast, so I was playing RB2 again within a week of having had the PSX FFWA.

I finally saw SS64 in an arcade here in Tokyo last week...YUCK. Never did get to play Buriki-One, but out of what I have played, KOF Maximum Impact is leagues ahead of any of the Hyper Neo games, as it should be expected.

Solidus Snake said:

Duke is becoming the name to use for final bosses. Take Double Dragon for example.

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So because another boss had the name "Duke" in a game released 9 years ago, the name "Duke" is becoming the name to use?

Dash no Chris said:

For the answer to that, I'll direct you to Duke's 2P version:

With mutton-chops like those, how could he be anything less than a boss? He rules by Divine Right of Sideburns.

--Chris

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whoa! he looks like Batista of the WWE!

Lyte Edge said:

The thing about UMK3 and MvSF's hidden characters is that the sprites were already created and there in the first place; the developers didn't have to do very much to put them into the games.

Maximum Impact has 3D modeled-versions of Goro, Yashiro, and Ramon standing in the background of the Esaka stage (the Japan Team stage from KOF '95, so the Geese stage is not the only classic-style stage in the game), so they'd have a better chance of being playable than Geese would. :P And why would you think Geese would be alive when Rock Howard is in the game? There's not much continuity to this game; all the other characters should be older if Rock is present.

Get over it, guys...Geese is not playable. His stage is just a nice extra (I wish more classic BGMs were in this game as a matter of fact), and he's not the only cameo appearance in the game. I guess Yashiro, Ramon, Mr. Big, Blue Mary, Yamazaki, Goro, Eiji, and Cheng Sinzan should all be playable too, since they are also in the backgrounds, right? (That would certainly rock though!)

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Don't get me wrong -- I'm not citing the MSHvsSF Nash issue as proof that Geese *is* playable/fightable in KOF:MI. I'm just saying that precedent exists in the fighting game genre that disproves the claim that a character can be either playable/fightable or a background image but never both. Geese's background appearance alone can't tell us whether he's playable/fightable or not -- only time will tell if Geese (or any other character not already revealed) has been included as a hidden character.

As far as the likelihood of things going one way or the other, *it seems to me* that SNK has a history of trying to stick Geese into as many games as possible, so *in my opinion* that gives Geese a slight edge over other background characters when it comes to *the possibility* of any of those characters being hidden playable/fightable characters. As you said, there doesn't appear to be alot of continuity to this game -- it's true to its KOF roots! -- so, with that in mind, I don't see SNK having much trouble rationalizing the inclusion of Geese in a game with Rock. They've still got Geese running around in KOF'03 which seems to run counter to the plot of the FF series, so why not continue to goof with continuity in KOF:MI? I'm figuring alot of the "mainstream" folks never played MOTW, but saw Geese and Rock together in CvS2, so it's likely they wouldn't even raise an eyebrow at the 2 being together in KOF:MI.

Tom Wopat said:

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I should've known I was gonna catch hell for that remark, TW.

Also should've been able to remember the third "forget that other, earlier Duke" when making my previous post -- Duke, from the G.I.JOE cartoon. Should've remembered this one, since my little sister was into the first season Power Rangers back when it first went on the air and I could never remember the Red Ranger's name so I always referred to him as "Duke" since he was the leader.

--Chris

No, Chris, time WON'T tell, because Geese is not playable in the game. It's easy to tell; just pop the game into your PS2 and look at the character files. People have also hacked it with a Gameshark...if there were any hidden characters other than Duke, they would have been found within a day or two after release.

Again, GET OVER IT GUYS.

And for argument's sake, CvS2 is a Capcom game and has no storyline continuity whatsoever, so it doesn't matter which characters appear.

I like his 1P and 2P costume.

I think he is a pretty badass looking character either way.

Wild Ambition > Thereverend.