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Kyo Kusanagi (Japanese: 草薙 京, Hepburn: Kusanagi Kyō) is a character in SNK's The King of Fighters series of fighting games. The character was first introduced in the 1994 video game The King of Fighters '94 as the leader of the Japan team from the series' title tournament. Kyo, head to the Kusanagi clan, is first introduced as a cocky, delinquent high school student who has pyrokinetic powers. His clan is one of three who banished the legendary snake demon entity Yamata no Orochi. During the series' story, Kyo meets rivals and enemies who seek to take his flame abilities and prevents chaos like Orochi to rise. Aside from the main series, Kyo appears in several crossovers and spinoffs with other games. Besides reprising his role in printed adapations, Kyo is also the central character of the manga The King of Fighters: Kyo and The King of Fighters Zillion with the former exploring his personal life and the latter giving him an alternate arc facing an organization known as NESTS.
Kyo was created by Yuichiro Hiraki and Shinichi Morioka as a young hero who would fight the main characters from other SNK franchises, such as Fatal Fury and Art of Fighting with inspirations from several rebelious icons, most notably the late singer Yutaka Ozaki. His debut in The King of Fighters received a large positive response by fans, making Kyo return in The King of Fighters '99, where he was originally not available in early versions. His outfit was redesigned throughout the series; since his original appearance, featuring a high school uniform, became popular with fans, designers created clones of his original costume in later games. The same occurred with his moves, changing from a standard fighting character to mixed martial arts featuring his flames and a personal style of kenpō.
Video game journalists have praised Kyo's design and fighting style as among the best of the series and in fighting games in general. His constant changes od designs and moves were praised and has stood out as one of the protagonists from the series. The character's redesign in The King of Fighters XIV by Nobuyuki Kuroki earned mixed responses because of the differences from previous incarnations. Kyo's role in printed media and other adaptations of the series has often been criticized, most notably in the live-action film. A variety of Kyo collectibles, including key chains and figurines, have been created.
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