Crossovers aren’t anything new…they were, two decade or so ago but it seems like nowadays everybody’s crossing over with somebody else. It’s like nobody can stay within the confines of their own properties any more.
In fact, the King of Fighters series is arguably one of the first gaming franchise to feature crossovers. It took characters from SNK’s arcade library and mashed them into one fighting game.
Also true, Kyo Kusanagi (from KoF) and Haohmaru (from Samurai Spirits) have met each other before, so this isn’t their first time teeing off against one another.
But…
This time around, there’s a teeny bit difference.
Haohmaru’s portrayed by Hiroshi Fujioka, who also gave life to Segata Sanshiro while Yuichi Nakamura’s (various Kamen Rider shows) stars as Kyo Kusanagi.
Unlike his portrayal of Sanshiro however, Fujioka as Haohmaru doesn’t work. At all.
Age difference aside (Haohmaru’s in his twenties to forties depending on the game), Fujioka sadly doesn’t have the body to be Haohmaru. The dude (Haohmaru, not Fujioka) is ripped in every game he appears in. Fujioka’s definitely not.
Critique of Fujioka aside, this is all to promote King of Fighters: All-Star, a mobile game which is sadly Japanese only (for now). It’s supposed to be translated to English later this year so keep an eye out for it.
Salehuddin Husin, EIC
Sal's been in the industry since the early 2000s. He's written for a ton of gaming and tech publications including Playworks, Hardwarezone, HWM and GameAxis. Recently, Sal served as a juror for the Indie Game Awards at Taipei Game Show 2020. A geek and hardcore gamer, Sal will play everything, on any platform.
