The King of Fighters

SNK's The King of Fighters turned the fighting game into an annual event. By organizing combatants into three-person teams, the series pulled characters from Fatal Fury, Art of Fighting, and its own roster into one sprawling tournament, and the yearly numbered entries ("'95," "'97," "'98," "'99") became a calendar of escalating sprite craft and combo depth. "'98" in particular is still treated as a high-water mark for balance.

The brand reaches past the arcade. "Capcom vs. SNK 2" let it spar with a rival house, while "XIII," "XIV," and "XV" carried the team format into the 3D era. A 2009 live-action movie and the "Destiny" animated series show how far the iconography traveled, even if the games remain where the real depth lives.

The The King of Fighters franchise spans 1 series, 9 games, 1 films in the CrossBinge catalog.