The weekly King of Fighters 15 trailer revealed two returning fighters that many fans had expected with the initial character announcement last week featuring returning fighter Leona Heidern. The two fighters revealed continues a new format from SNK, announcing two characters in King of Fighters 15 at once aside from one at a time.
Two weeks prior, Ryo Sakazaki and Robert Garcia were both announced, joining King to round out the Art of Fighting team for the first time since King of Fighters 2000. Continuing the new format, SNK had teased two new fighters once again, revealing the pair during last night's YouTube announcement.
The two fighters, Ralf Jones and Clark Still, join Leona to round out Team Ikari in King of Fighters 15, the three being a series staple since their debut in The King of Fighters '94. Ralf and Clark appeared in every King of Fighters title since the beginning of the series, although the layout of Team Ikari has changed over the course of The King of Fighters. While Leona has been a staple of the team since '96, her adoptive father, Heidern, and Whip, had been teammates according to each game's roster over time.
Ralf and Clark, both being striking and grappling-based characters, also showed off their new stage, a destroyed desert area with broken airplanes and other machinery. Perhaps the most charming about the stage are the references to Metal Slug, with a broken tank that appears similar to the Metal Slug tanks and the POW characters in the background.
Another feature that fans notice, especially with each trailer every week, is SNK's improvement in the game's graphics, applying shaders and lighting that showed a huge difference from the original reveal trailer for King of Fighters 15. Fans are also speculating news involving the development of The King of Fighter 15, from the change of a single character reveal to a duo character reveal and with E3 taking place within a few weeks.
There are characters, however, who are left without a team as Yuri Sakazaki, who was announced two months ago, is one of the only announced fighters who are not confirmed to be a part of a team as of yet. Some fans had assumed she would join her brother and close friend to form the Art of Fighting team while others assumed she would join King to form the Women's Fighters team. As the Women's Fighters team has yet to be complete, it is assumed she will join Mai Shiranui alongside the as-of-yet unknown third fighter.
The King of Fighters 15 will release sometime in 2021.