Over the last few months, there have been numerous three person teams announced leading up to the release of The King Of Fighters XIV. However, all of them were just biding time for the inevitable announcement of Team Psycho Soldier, consisting of Athena Asamiya, Sie Kensou, and their master, Chin. Now that they’re finally being shown off in the latest game play trailer, it’s safe to say we can pack it up. We’ve peaked! There’s nothing left to show.
Okay, maybe I’m a little biased since this crew has been my main team since KOF 95, but that doesn’t stop this team from being incredible without my incessant rambling. Serving as somewhat of a wink and nod to longtime SNK fans, Athena, Kensou and their team name is ripped straight out of the 80’s, where the two made their debuts in the arcade side scroller, Psycho Soldiers. Soldiers itself was a sequel to Athena, which gave us control of the actual goddess, who this current version is supposed to be a descendant of. The current version lives a dual life as a teenage school girl and pop idol, (when not using her powers to fight in martial arts tournaments), which is yet another reference to her old school game being the first in gaming history to feature recorded lyrics for one of its songs. She’s also been a school girl for 21 years, proving some of us age better than others.
Outside of the history lesson however, all three members are formidable in their own right, using a series of attacks that can do big damage up close, at a distance, and even send enemy attacks back at them. Athena in particular can control the field with ease thanks to her teleport and powerful projectiles. Master Chin on the other hand, uses his slow speed and short range to throw off his opponents, showing off his drunken boxing fighting style to keep a pace that’s unlike any other character. When he lands a hit though, it hits hard. Kensou falls somewhere in the middle, lacking the mobility of Athena while having much better range and speed than their sensei. Bring them together, and you get one of the more well rounded teams in the game. Unless you’re like everyone else and will just break them up to make a custom team… Then just use Athena.
Check them out in the latest trailer and let us know who you’re looking forward to playing with the most! I mean, besides Team Psycho Soldier.
The King Of Fighters XIV is set for an August 23 release exclusively for PS4.