The King of Fighters XII

The King of Fighters XII (KOF XII) is the latest installment of The King of Fighters series. SNK Playmore abandoned the Atomiswave system and moved its most popular game franchises to the Taito Type X2 arcade system. KOF XII uses newly-drawn 2D sprites on detailed 2D backgrounds. Due to the time the developers took to make the sprites, there are only 20 playable characters (the lowest number of characters in a game from the series). The game was released in Japan on April 10, 2009 for arcades, while home versions will be released worldwidely in July of the same year. Like The King of Fighters '98, this game will not have a storyline; the saga from Ash Crimson that started in King of Fighters 2003 will finish in a sequel.

KOF XII uses the usual 3-on-3 team system with each fight consisting on 5 rounds. However, the Tactical Shift System from The King of Fighters 2003 has been removed. KOF XII also introduces the "critical counter" system. When a player lands a close strong punch as a counter, the character enters into a critical counter mode where the player has a short amount of time wherein their character can link multiple attacks together. Once the critical counter's time period has expired (signified by a green hit) the player can finish with a special move. Finally, there is also a "clash" system in place wherein characters who land blows on one another with matched timing, the engine will generate a "break" effect and push the characters away from one another into a neutral standing. As it happened with The King of Fighters '98 and The King of Fighters 2002, the game does not contain a storyline allowing the return of several characters depending on their status in the series. Additionally, there are no official teams, leaving the player to create any team to use.

The game returns to its standard four button layout. Players can still dash, backstep, and perform rolls as their evade. The Guard Breaks from previous games can now be done at any time. Super special moves will now be executed in real-time and in a similar manner as KOF '94, meaning that it's a one level superbar that gradually drains once it is MAX. Some moves will take some time to charge.