Iori Yagami
| Iori Yagami | |
|---|---|
  Official artwork of Iori fromThe King of Fighters XIII | |
| Universe | The King of Fighters |
| Debut | The King of Fighters '95 (1995) |
| Smash Bros. appearances | Ultimate |
| Most recent non-Smash appearance | Picross S SNK Classics & NeoGeo Edition (2025) |
| Console/platform of origin | Neo Geo MVS |
| Species | Human |
| Gender | Male |
| Place of origin | Japan |
| Voice actor | Kunihiko Yasui (trailer only) |
| Article on Wikipedia | Iori Yagami |
Iori Yagami (八神 庵,Iori Yagami) is one of the main characters inThe King of Fighters series.
Origin[edit]
The rival of Kyo Kusanagi, Iori Yagami's family descends from the Yasakani, one of the three families who, along with the Kusanagi and the Yata (of which the organizer of the 1996King of Fighters tournament, Chizuru Kagura, is a descendant), sealed Orochi away 1,800 years ago, although they later signed a blood pact with the deity out of envy for the Kusanagi clan, thus becoming the Yagami clan, whose purple flames became the sign of their pact. Over the centuries, this envy turned into outright hatred, with Iori constantly obsessing over killing Kyo in duel. Using pyrokinesis to fight, Iori joins the series inThe King of Fighters '95 as one of the members of the Rival Team, along with Geese Howard's right-hand Billy Kane and Eiji Kisaragi, a ninja who is out to defeat the Kyokugen martial arts school. Like his ancestors, due to the pact with the Orochi, Iori is susceptible to the Riot of the Blood which, when activated, drives him into a feral and blood-thirsty, but near-irrational state. Iori also features in his own drama CD and as a member inSNK's own character image band, in which he plays the bass guitar. His hobby as a bassist is also acknowledged in theKing of Fighters canon, and plays part in the motivations of a rival band, CYS, who form the New Faces Team inThe King of Fighters '97 as the game's major antagonists. During this game, he eventually teams up with Kyo and Chizuru to confront a freed Orochi and seal him once again.
After this encounter, Iori mostly stays in the background fromThe King of Fighters '98 toThe King of Fighters 2000 comprised as the NESTS saga, most notably fighting against NESTS agents tasked with killing Kyo so he can have his chance to kill him. Iori does appear as a secret boss character and an assistant to others. inThe King of Fighters 2001, Iori returns to the starting roster after being invited by his acquaintance Seth and taking it as an opportunity to kill Kyo. InThe King of Fighters 2003, Chizuru contacts Kyo and Iori about suspicious activities around the Orochi sealed they created together. During the investigation, they discover that newcomer Ash Crimson is attempting to take all of Orochi's power. Ash manages to take Chizuru's powers and later Iori's inThe King of Fighters XI. This leaves Iori without his purple flames and forces him to adopt an entirely new fighting style and moveset. Ash is later wiped from history to save the world from his evil ancestors inThe King of Fighters XIII, inadvertantly returning everyone to their former selves and Iori getting his purple flames back. During the events ofThe King of Fighters XIV, Iori travels with Kyo and Chizuru to Hungary to locate the weakened body of Orochi that escaped the seal and defeating him to create another seal. InThe King of Fighters XV, the seal is once again being interfered with, making the three team up again to investigate.
Though not originally from theFatal Fury series, Iori made a playable appearance in the Game Boy version ofReal Bout Fatal Fury Special. Iori has also appeared in many other games in both playable and non-playable appearances. Of particular note are the gamesSNK Gals' Fighters andSNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy, where Iori wears a woman's dress and face mask and goes under the name Miss X. In the games, the Queen of Fighters tournament is held by Miss X, though everyone immediately realizes she is just Iori in disguise. Later, playable character Kukri creates a pocket dimension where many female SNK characters are transported to. This includes Miss X, who actually becomes a female in this dimension. Her ending sees herself and Kyo reconciling their differences and getting to more friendly terms. Iori then suddenly wakes up in his bed to find he has returned to his original self and it was all a nightmare of his. He then becomes embarrassed for even thinking about such a reality and vows to continue his rivalry.
InSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate[edit]
As abackground character[edit]
Iori Yagami appears in the background of theFatal Fury stage,King of Fighters Stadium. He can appear at random, but will always appear if the music for the match is eitherStormy Saxophone 2 - KOF '96 orNew Order - KOF XIV.
As a costume[edit]
Iori appears as one ofRound 4's DLCMii costumes. He is a costume forMii Brawler.
In the costume's trailer,Mario can be seen running away as the Iori Mii Brawler appears to be giving chase. This is a reference to Iori's hatred for Kyo Kusanagi's flames as Mario similarly usesFlame attacks. The trailer also shows the Iori Mii Brawler performing a combination of jab 1, up tilt, and down aerial; this is a reference to Iori's move 127 Shiki: Aoi Hana, which can be strung together into a three-hit combo. The costume's promotional screenshot shows him near someDarkness particles, referencing his purple flames and likely his Ura 1018 Shiki Yashiori super move.
As a spirit[edit]
Iori Yagami also appears as an Ace-classprimary spirit in theFatal Fury DLC Spirit Board.
Iori Yagami uses twoWolf puppet fighters, and is fought atReset Bomb Forest in the forest section. During the stamina battle, the players' jump power is reduced. Also, after the first Wolf puppet fighter is defeated, the second Wolf puppet fighter appears. The second Wolf puppet fighter is based onOrochi Iori.
| No. | Image | Name | Type | Class | Slots | Base | Max | Base | Max | Base | Max | Ability | Series |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,363 |  | Iori Yagami |  | ★★★ | 2 | 3065 | 9224 | 1769 | 5322 | 1179 | 3548 | Speed ↑ | THE KING OF FIGHTERS Series |
Other[edit]
Iori Yagami makes an appearance in Terry's revealtrailer, where he is the last person who attempts to catch theSmash invitation. After failing, he performs his iconic laugh.
Gallery[edit]
Iori's appearance in Terry's reveal trailer (spritework fromThe King of Fighters '95).
Iori's appearance as a background character onKing of Fighters Stadium.
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name |
|---|---|
 Japanese | 八神庵 |
 English | Iori Yagami |
 French | Iori Yagami |
 German | Iori Yagami |
 Spanish | Iori Yagami |
 Italian | Iori Yagami |
 Chinese | 八神庵 |
 Korean | 야가미 이오리,Yagami Iori |
 Dutch | Iori Yagami |
 Russian | Иори Ягами |
External links[edit]
 Fatal Fury universe | |
|---|---|
| Fighter | Terry (SSBU) |
| Stage | King of Fighters Stadium |
| Related | Iori Yagami ·Nakoruru ·Ryo Sakazaki |
| Spirits | Spirits |
| Music | Ultimate |
