K'

K Dash (Japanese: ケイ・ダッシュ, Hepburn: Kei Dasshu; commonly stylized as K' and also known as K Prime in certain English language materials) is a character from The King of Fighters fighting game series developed by SNK. He debuted as the leader of the Hero Team in The King of Fighters '99, released in 1999. He often stars as the reluctant hero. K' is a young man who lost all his memories when the NESTS syndicate captured him and injected the DNA of Kyo Kusanagi to replicate his pyrokinetic abilities. While rebelling against organization, K' forms multiple bonds with other NESTS agents. Aside from the main series, K' also appears in several other media series, such as spin-offs and crossover video games, as well as printed adaptations of the series. He was created to be a "dark hero" in contrast to the series' previous protagonist Kyo. While K''s gameplay has been altered across the franchise in order to be more stylish, his physical appearance has generally remained unchanged. SNK artist Falcoon still tried giving K' different outfits in the Maximum Impact spin-offs in order to attract more gamers as well as giving him more variety. Since his introduction in the series, K' has received both praise and criticism by video game publications. The character's gameplay and role in the story has been praised to the point of often being listed as one of best ones from the series. His absence in The King of Fighters XII was controversial and his return in the following game was due mainly to his popularity as a character.