Whats up Taiso, I know strikers proved to be a divisive feature for some, but KOF has always had some version of teammate assists/attacks in battle that have been present in the series from the very first entry.
Even in all the KOF's prior to the introduction of the striker system: 94-98, it is possible to press A+B+C to perform an attack with your teammates if dizzied. Though the criteria stayed the same (visible teammates and at least one teammate not in KO status), the input for dizzy escape team assists was eventually changed to A+B+C+D as the series went on. SNK eventually expanded the team attack concept into the more robust (and far less situational) striker system, but it shows that SNK had always envisioned some aspect of the other teammates interacting/interfering in the battles from the inception of the series itself.
(From the KOF94 manual; “You’re not alone. You have partners. This is the Help Attack!”)
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