Alba Meira

This is a list of characters from '' The King of Fighters: Maximum Impact'' series that play their own roles in the overall ''The King of Fighters'' story. Because these games occur in an alternate universe separate from their 2D counterparts, characters exclusive to these games are listed here. All of the original characters listed here are also created and designed by ''Maximum Impact'' producer, Falcoon.

Introduced in ''KOF: Maximum Impact''

Alba Meira

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is a fictional character from SNK Playmore's fighting game series, '' The King of Fighters: Maximum Impact'', a spin-off of ''The King of Fighters''. Alba is the main protagonist of this series, along with his twin brother Soiree Meira. He also makes an appearance in the ONA " The King of Fighters: Another Day" and the dating simulation game, ''Days of Memories~His and My Hot Summer''.

In his official blog, Falcoon addresses that both Meira brothers were initially conceptualized to be the KOF counterparts to ''Fatal Fury'' stars, Terry and Andy Bogard, given the game's setting is the same as their predecessors. The designing process for both brothers lead to the idea of alternate (or ''Another'' as it is addressed in ''Maximum Impact'') costumes for each character. Several of the brothers' prototype designs were assigned to other characters' alternate outfits; in this case, Alba's prototype design became Rock's alternate outfit. Additionally, Alba's original fighting style was going to be traditional boxing or karate, but it was deemed to be too common in comparison to his brother's customized capoeira. In a later entry, Falcoon adds that he was originally displeased with Alba's presentation in the first game as it didn't meet with his expectations for the character at the time. Once he was named producer for the sequel, Falcoon took extra care to make Alba present himself as he intended: the stylish and "all-mighty" character. Series scenario writer Akihiko Ureshino states that the Meira siblings became twin brothers to avoid comparison with other brother characters from other SNK games, such as the Kazama brothers from the ''Samurai Shodown'' series and the Jin brothers also from ''Fatal Fury''. He also addresses that the main complaint received from fans were concerns of the brothers "not looking alike"; in response, Akihiko admits that he was also unaware of Alba and Soiree being siblings until much later in production and shares his confusion with fans to this day.

At age 3, Alba lost his parents in an accident and was raised in an orphanage in Germany along with his "younger" twin brother, Soiree. By age 14, the two ran away and settled in Southtown where they were mentored by Fate, the city's boss at that time. However, four years later, Alba left Fate to live on his own. But during this time, Fate was killed in a turf-war with rivaling gang Mephistopheles. Alba was prompted to return to exact vengeance for Fate's death against Mephistopheles' head boss, Duke, only to discover that Duke wasn't the culprit. Though his vengeance was left unfulfilled, Alba's reputation within Southtown skyrocketed and he became the city's new, yet reluctant top-dog following Duke's downfall. Nevertheless, he makes the most of his status to keep the pieces within the city alongside his brother and fellow gang members.

In '' KOF: Maximum Impact 2'', Alba meets Luise and Jivatma, leader of Kusiel/Kushieru, who both mention something about Alba and Soiree's past and their connection to a being called Eudaim/Judeim. At the very end of Alba's ending, he speaks in a double voice. This happened in both the English and Japanese versions, so it is hinted that Alba is starting to become aware of his existence as Eudaim/Judeim. According to the online novels in the Japanese ''Maximum Impact 2'' official page, Alba defeated Jivatma and won the tournament.

Chae Lim

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Chae Lim (Hangul:채림; Hanja: 蔡琳; Japanese: チェ・リム ''Che Rimu'') is a fictional character from the SNK Playmore fighting game series '' The King of Fighters: Maximum Impact'', part of ''The King of Fighters'' series. She is the second female Tae Kwon Do fighter in the KOF series -after May Lee- but the first to perform the art and wear a dobok.

Originally, Kim Kaphwan was going to enter the first entry of the ''Maximum Impact'' series under the pseudonym "Mr. Taekwondo" -in the same fashion as ''Art of Fighting'' Mr. Karate. Due to veteran designers' complaints and other difficulties at the time, it was finally decided to leave Kim out of the game's lineup but add another character like him to replace his absence. While several other characters were considered for the spot -including other SNK characters such as Jhun Hoon, May Lee, and ''Buriki One'' character Seo Yong Song- a fellow developer voiced interest in creating another female Taekwondo fighter with the same "professional" manner as Kim, which eventually formed the basis for Chae Lim. To set her apart from these characters, Chae was made to be the struggling student who was not as adept as her peers or mentor but possessed a dominating determination. Ureshino depicts her relation with Kim as a "father-daughter relationship", adding that she is a young woman with Kim's potential.

Chae began learning Tae Kwon Do at the age of four. She is rumored to be Kim's secret weapon for the King of Fighters tournaments. The Maximum Impact tournament marks her professional debut. Though she seems to inherit Kim's seriousness in battle, she reverts to being a normal girl when she takes off her gloves and enjoys being with her friends on her spare time.

Duke

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is a fictional character from the SNK Playmore's fighting game series '' The King of Fighters: Maximum Impact'', part of ''The King of Fighters'' series. He is the main boss in the first game but enters as a playable character in '' KOF: Maximum Impact 2''.

Duke was conceptualized as a gang boss who wore "gorgeous clothing" and "has been through a lot". Falcoon originally designed a younger man in his twenties with a Japanese sword, similar in appearance to ''The Last Blade'' Shinnosuke Kagami or '' Garou: Mark of the Wolves'' Kain R. Heinlein. Like other characters of the game, he underwent a number of retakes until the development team firmly requested for a "strong bodied and serious man in his thirties". He was specifically made to seem as though he's suppressing himself from his true potential. Concerning his involvement with the Meira brothers and their mentor Fate, the brothers only saw a figure of Duke's stature during the time of the incident and initially mistaken Seth for Fate's murder. This concept, however, was rewritten upon the sequel's release.

He was the King of Southtown and the leader of the Mephistopheles gang, a sub-syndicate of the underworld organization Addes. He answers to Jivatma, who he used to work for before he became Mephistopheles' leader. He apparently underwent a surgical modification early on after his parents vanished (he has a scar across his neck from this, which he rubs frequently). He underwent the surgery so that Addes would cure his sister, who died for an unknown reason. Because of their surgical enhancements, Jivatma refers to him as Type "D" (although he hates this name) and his underling, Nagase, as Type "N". During '' The King of Fighters: Maximum Impact'', he had had a "D" on the back of his shirt; this was changed to a more tribal design afterwards.

Duke enters the second tournament to "redeem" himself after being defeated by Alba, thereby losing his position as the King of Southtown. Currently, Duke is seen as a traitor to Addes, although he is a member of The Children of Kovakiel (a group of Addes' top authorities). He is connected to Lien Neville in that he is responsible for her parents' death but spared her life (In Lien's MI2 story mode it is stated that Duke spared Lien and raised her because he lost his sister). Duke is also responsible for the death of Fate, Alba and Soiree's mentor, as he was defended by Lien. Duke was last seen placing flowers over the grave of his sister in the credits of '' KOF: Maximum Impact 2''.

Lien Neville

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is a buxom