In The King Of Fighters there is one thing that comes up a lot and that is the Oriochi. Its power has an effect on all three sagas so far. In the Oriochi saga they wanted to release him. In Nest Saga the Nest cartel tried to make a power that would surpass it and in Ash saga they tried to harness it themselves which is why Saiki wanted them to release the seal while obtain the sacred treasures power. Since Shun saga still has to show us it story and the big bad behind it we still have to say if the same can be said here. With Destiny I thought it would be a good idea to see how this power has affected the series by looking at the members at the moment. Keep that word in mind as I will explain down the road why this is important.
Blood Riot
Member of the Oriochi can and sometimes enter a state called Blood Riot which makes them stronger and powerful but at the same time feral. We see this with Leona as she runs on all fours in this form and Iori who acts more ferocious then normal. In this state they have little control but show they can harness it to a degree. In the past wen this form would show itself they would lash out at all around them such as Iori killing Vice and Mature where as Leona attacked Ralf and Clark both in the Oriochi saga and towards the start of Ash saga. Now in XIV we see them show it when they about release max power. Leona for both max DMs as well as Climax while Iori shows it just for Climax. Now we have seen Only Iori and Leona display this but it is common for Oriochi members.
Yet Yamazaki was able to surpass this when the New Face team tried on him through sheer will. Keep in mind Yamazaki is pretty crazy normally. Vice and Mature haven’t been shown to go into this state either but both seem to tape into the power of the Oriochi the same as Yamzaki
Heavnly King
This is so far the highest form of the Oriochi family. Chris, Goenitz, Shermi and Yashiro make up this group and seem to possess abilities the others don’t have. Such as giving power such with Goenitz when he did so with Rugal. They also posses other abilities such as causing those who are susceptible to rage and madness to go berserk such Leona and Iori. But they seem to of a different breed as all four regained memories of the past where as they remember swearing allegiance to the Oriochi. It isn’t clear if this is there past selves or family members of the past whose memories take them over. These four are powerful as Goenitz shows when level an entire coliseum in 96.
Oriochi
There is very little to say as this being power is still something all major forces in KOF want or do not want to face again. His immense power is hard to measure but considering that Saki those from the forgotten land wanted it and they posses powers that allow them to warp reality. You can only surmise it is something of incredible power. Even though we have seen the power spirit posses Chris and use great power it is hard to say if the power it display refers to the vessel or not.
Omega Rugal
Rugal second form Omega Rugal was the start of the Oriochi saga. He has mad appearances since then as the director liked his character and thus brought him back anyway they can. The issue here is that he was supposed to die because he couldn’t handle the power of the Oriochi. With him being revived through dream matches and even XIII where he appears for a short time in sky noah screen. SNK maybe thinking of a way to explain his return or already has through Verse since in some ways he serves as not just a start to a new saga but also a restart since he was made up of so many who were missing and or dead. He says that at one point he tells Mature you can be my secretary again. This was to Rugal as not only were they spies for Goenitz but also securities for Rugal.
With that we come to the man issue is that SNK seems to be rewriting the Oriochi family as we see Mature and Vice come back to life to help Iori get his flame back showing they might be immortal. A fact that is the opposite of before when the power of the Oriochi would take away your life for a price of its of power. Also since we are talking about fighting game stories you know they still have things to explain flush out as they were not thought off before. With KOF destiny and the game progression we can only hope to hear more about this and explain the power that fascinates the KOF universe as something to fear as well as something to obtain.
At leas that is if Kyo, Chizuru and Iori let them. As the sacred treasures it is there job to make sure that doesn’t happen. If it does they tasked to deal with it. But that is for another time.
I hope this helps those who are new to the KOF scene in terms of what the Oriochi is.
As always thank you for reading.
