SNK revealed that Chizuru Kagura is set to join The King of Fighters XV by forming Team Sacred Treasures with Kyo Kusanagi and Iori Yagami. It deviated from the usual weekly schedule of a new character trailer every Wednesday night, as the reveal of Chizuru in KOF XV was made at the 2nd Japan Fighting Game Publisher Roundtable stream.
Chizuru debuted as the penultimate sub-boss in The King of Fighters ’96, the third game in the then-annual series. Chizuru’s last playable appearance before XV was in the tenth game, KOF 2003. This is the first time we see her fighting in a KOF game with 3D models, as she was not playable in The King of Fighters XIV.
According to the series’ background settings, Chizuru, Kyo, and Iori are descendants of the three clans that each hold a sacred treasure to seal the serpent monster Orochi. Although the three literally teamed up in KOF 2003, they were not considered an official team as Chizuru also appeared as the sub-boss there. This marks the first time that the three iconic characters are officially grouped in a mainline KOF title.
[tnm_video layout=”mnmd-post-media”]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZsPbqdEbh4[/tnm_video]
The confirmation of Team Sacred Treasures further shattered expectations that KOF XV characters would be grouped based on the trailer reveal order. Although Joe Higashi’s trailer came between Iori and Kyo, he is not grouped with them.
The King of Fighters XV is currently under development by SNK with a 2021 release window.
