King of Fighters XV has released a new trailer revealing the entry of Shingo Yabuki, as well as sharing plans for the immediate future.

Shingo is a comic character, similar in function to Dan Hibiki in the Street Fighter series, but not as notorious. In the same way Dan clearly looks up to Ryu and Ken, Shingo is an unabashed fan of Kyo Kusanagi. Like Dan, Shingo doesn’t have much spiritual power, so he cannot create flames like Kyo. However, he isn’t particularly strong like Goro Daimon or Raiden either. Shingo only has his willpower, which unfortunately, is not enough to make him a great character to play in the King of Fighters universe.

However, he’s a very popular character, in the same ways Dan is for Street Fighter fans. He was introduced in The King of Fighters ’97, precisely as a comic foil. The King of Fighters ’97 had a particularly dark storyline for the franchise, with no less than the incarnation of Orochi coming down to earth, with the intention of destroying humanity for its many sins. SNK staffers decided that they needed to add more levity to the game to keep it from feeling too dark, so in the middle of this darker tournament, you would be running into this Kyo Kusanagi fanboy, who isn’t particularly powerful, but would prove to be memorable.

Shingo Yabuki comes alongside what is described as a massive character refinement patch. Casual players may not feel the difference, but SNK are making gameplay changes for several characters across the board. The end result or goal isn’t exactly to balance each character out. Rather, this mostly benefits the KOF competitive community, as characters are better to use for esports.

This trailer also reveals more characters to expect for Season 2 in 2023. Coming this summer is Kim Kaphwan, mainstay in SNK’s Fatal Fury and King of Fighter games. Kim is particularly notable for being one of the first prominent Korean characters in video games.

Meanwhile, coming this Spring and returning from King of Fighters XIV are Sylvie Paula Paula and NAJD. Sylvie is a blatant parody of J-pop idol Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, with an outfit inspired by the Diablada. She is a former member of NESTS, like Angel and Kula Diamond, and she has electrical powers to augment her martial arts.

NAJD is unique to the King of Fighters universe, as a winner of a character design contest. Covering her face under an abaya, she is a vigilante with a strong sense of justice. Najd also happens to be named after a major region in Saudi Arabia.

Finally, there are two unrevealed characters coming this Autumn and Winter.

King of Fighters XV is playable on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.

Source: YouTube