The Story Of Leona - KOF Lore

Leona Haidern was introduced to the king of fighters series in 96.
She is one of the most famous female characters of the franchise, and in this video, we will dive deep into her back story, discover how she joind the Ikari team, uncover her her darker side also known as Orochi Leona and learn all about the fans favorite silent soldier.
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References:
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snk.wikia.com/w...
Music:
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"W.W.III" from The King of Fighters XIV
"Desert Requiem" from The King of Fighters 95
"Ikari Warriors Team Theme" from The King of Fighters 98
"Survivors Under The Sky" from Real The King of Fighters XIV
"Irregular Mission" from The King of Fighters XIII
"Who Likes To Party" by Kevin MacLeod
• Royalty Free Music - W...
"Aurea Carmina" by Kevin MacLeod
• Kevin MacLeod ~ Aurea ...

[@Galeritor]

I dropped a tear when Ralf stopped her from suiciding and she realized she still had a family, damn you feelings....

[@crimsonmantis27]

😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

[@robertminnie782]

WHOLESEOME 100

[@crimsonmantis27]

Ikr it's wholesome

[@xm_heecka.laddder.job_mx5962]

- I'm a 37 yo man - it's allright dude

[@theelusivememe1772]

Me too bro...me too....

[@manaswin123]

Leona is one of the best girl in KOF, that's for sure!

[@ajaxjohnson7999]

Damn skippy!!!

[@jccaigeamilo123]

I think it's mature RIP vice and mature

[@nazrulnadziruddin9641]

Leona will always be my KOF girl. Saw her promotion art for KOF 96 and I immediately fell in love with her.

[@trentonbaratheon6722]

Yeah Leona Mai and Athena

[@skurinski]

@@trentonbaratheon6722 the trinity of KOF

[@robertminnie782]

Wow. Team Ikari is actually the most wholeseome squad in the franchise with that whole found family thing. Seriously heartwarming. These soldiers actually have a far deeper bond than any of the friendhsips and rivalries I've seen in KoF and it's teams so far.

[@TheVleckChannel]

A lot of teams in KOF now feel like extended families rather than just martial arts teams. The Ikari were the OGs in this regard.

[@robertminnie782]

@@TheVleckChannel You're probably right lol. I think they definitely have a deeper camaraderie than, say, Team Japan, at least.

[@TheVleckChannel]

Some definitely have deeper bonds than others, Ikari being one of the deepest. Definitely want to see more of these teams sticking together and new supporting characters come in around them.

[@arsenalxa4421]

Leona was the first female character I ever really took seriously. There was just something about her that endeared me toward her. While I'm not as proficient with her as i used to be due to diminished manual dexterity she's still my go to in KoF.

[@JAGUARHX]

Congratulations. I love this video! :) I would like to add some information: 1- In fact, Leona Heidern was born somewhere in the Brazilian Amazon. Ralf and Clark, along with Heidern, arrived at the village where she lived AFTER defeating the Third Reich's rebuilding plans in South America, shown in the game '' Ikari Warriors 1 ''. Rugal managed to escape the onslaught of the Ikari, but the heroes continued to enter Amazon territory in search of evidence from other neo-Nazi bases or colonies. In this way they found little Leona alone and frightened among the victims' bodies, not knowing what it was about. Heidern believed that it was Rugal who had committed the crime. At the time, Heidern had placed the central base of the Ikari Warriors in Brazil. But as a form of retaliation, Rugal Bernstein attacked the base, dismantling the mercenary organization. This attack eventually killed Heidern's wife and daughter. When he met little Leona in the massacred village, he saw in her a war victim, just as he: A girl with no parents while he was a father without children. Which made him adopt her immediately and renaming her with his last name. 2. Some theories speculate that Leona' mother would be a descendant of the Tam-Tam and Chan-Chan (Samurai Shodow) tribe who lived in a place called '' Green Hell '' in Venezuela. That is why her savage attack style resembles the feline woman Chan-Chan at times. 3- Many characters influenced Leona's creation and its blows: Leona was created to compete with Blanka and the Cammy character of '' Street Fighter 2 ''. And, like it, it features elements of Alita \ Gally from the manga '' GUNNM - Battle Angel Alita '', such as the aggressive feline look at some times and docile at others. In addition to great agility, a very strong occult power and the fact that it was found without memories and was eventually adopted by a mentor or military team. This similarity between Leona and Alita \ Gally ended up conceptually returning to the manga character, as soon as the sequel '' Gunnm - The Last Order '' was released. Gally \ Alita appeared wearing a costume design that is almost identical to Leona's. Finally, Leona uses a boomerang that resembles the boomerang crest of 'Ultraman 7'; Kamen Rider Black RX's Rider Kick scam; His special explosive strike, where he sticks his flaming fist into his opponent's stomach, pouring a ticking bomb inside, is a reference to Kamen Rider Black RX's deadly sword blow and metal hero Juspion; and his special hit '' V-Slasher '' is a tribute to the eponymous hit of the classic giant robot Voltes V. The reason is that all Ikari Team characters make references to Toei and Tsuburaiya tokusatsu series. 4 - In an official illustration, is shown the school notebook of Leona where she drew Ralf, Clark and Heidern on a motorcycle with sidecar. Around Clark's image, Leona drew a heart, revealing that she had a romantic feeling for Ikari Warrior when she was younger.

[@JAGUARHX]

@@ShoryuGame Thank you for your attention and for the great videos you produce. ;) Keep up the great work and we'll always be sharing information. I hope to see a video about the Ikari Warriors one day. Hugs from Brazil, friend.

[@ramonantoniobennett-ryuuke6301]

Fun fact: it is very "Heavily implied" that Colonel Heidern later became the Golan Colonel of Hokuto No Ken. Notice the similarities in looks and fighting style. Snk based Heidern off of The Colonel since Hokuto No Ken came first. Also it's rumored that a young Kenshiro is a secret character in the SNK game Buriki One(unused sprite), and Zero/Ling(KOF 2000) is HNK's Han, and Raoh is one of the strikers in KOF 2000. Coincidence anyone?

[@deathm0100]

Thanks for all of this information! Now that you mentioned it, it would be really cool if SNK acknowledged the proposed link between Leona and Cham-cham, I feel it fits very well and that would be another welcomr nod of the KoF series to SamSho.

[@JAGUARHX]

@@deathm0100 Yes. ;)

[@srowwww9780]

Do u have the souce for the point 4 ? I would like to see the illustration and the rest of them

[@i.still.function3463]

I've always knew of the KOF series but never realized how deep the Storyline/Lore was. Thanks for all these great videos from SNK!😉👍

[@orrthehunter]

It is one of those game where you have to literally put together pieces to know the full story though which is why it can be confusing for certain people. KoF14, for example, had all endings canon but only one of the Team won and defeatered Verse is canon (being Team Japan) but to know which event happen when, you literally had to piece the endings together.

[@xm_heecka.laddder.job_mx5962]

Now you understand LatinAmerica gamers love for the franchise XD

[@starmancrusader]

Leona deserves a spin-off or something. She’s so cool

[@KageNoTenshi]

Death by degree

[@Nelson_Win]

Poor Leona, she possessed Orochi powers but of all KoF characters Leona has the most character development. Also, my fav army Waifu. 💙💙💙

[@ardanormm7490]

Why master orochi possessed her

[@Nelson_Win]

@@ardanormm7490 it's pretty hard to say how she was possessed by orochi...

[@ardanormm7490]

Nelson B. Win maybe he like her maybe

[@ban66a1]

It was started from Gaiden who betrayed Hakkesu, so by order Orochi through his subordinates, Goenitz he activated Riot mode into Leona to give Gaiden a lesson.

[@lorenzotrinidad384]

@@Nelson_Win why dude why do u think she is your waifu!!!??

[@23RedTechno]

Well i never knew much about Leona back ground this video was very truly research i'm impressed =O

[@23RedTechno]

@@ShoryuGame Thanks can't wait to see you're video on Benimaru Nikaido and King

[@maianikaido]

@@23RedTechno i wanna see Benimaru story.

[@mc_zittrer8793]

Haha, that interaction scene at 10:47 is a great one. Ralf watches Leona transform again with a knowing smirk, and whips out a bottle of hooch. If he's gotta tousle with the mean animal girl again, he ain't doing it sober, dammit! I never paid a ton of attention to the KoF storyline, but it looks like they put a lot more care and detail into it than you see in toilet stories like Street Fighter.

[@PsyrenXY]

KOF and MK have much better storylines than SF

[@hammadamin6855]

Hahahah love your attention to detail buddy

[@matsuyowaimo]

that wasnt an interaction. that was ralf's normal intro bruh

[@joshualowe1821]

The only thing I know about Leona is that she has the Riot of Blood Orochi power just like Iori Yagami.

[@yagwickthedarkness3912]

@Effat Jabeen mine too

[@ElToland]

She's so cool, Leona reminds me a little of Samus Aran, since both are orphans, someone else adopted and trained them in combat since a very young age and grew up to become soldiers with a quiet, serious personality, a strong sense of justice and an attractive and athletic body, thanks to all that training. I didn't know many things about her lore, I hope she finds her father Gaidel in KoF XV.

[@deathm0100]

Leona is one of my favorite KoF girls for sure. I really wanted her to be in DoA6 with Mai, instead of Kula... Lost opportunity, I guess. Great video buddy. I don't know how I missed this series of yours until now.

[@ShoryuGame]

Thanks and welcome aboard!

[@Prince-Shogun]

Kula is a mistake!

[@vexium8127]

I love how as the game series goes on Leona and Iori somewhat learn to control and use their riot of the blood for their own fighting.

[@trentonbaratheon6722]

I wanna know the story of Ralf and Clark, they were always my favorite guys on the game.

[@maosama3695]

they don't have much, they were the protagonist of an early neogeo game called the ikari warriors along with athena. they are basically the oldest characters of neogeo. and leona was put in that team so they could be sorta relevant to the story and make it more personal for them. fun fact ralf and clark are the strongest teams in kof usually if they wanted to win the whole tournament instead of doing what they are told it's said that they could.

[@joshwist556]

Mao Sama Dude obvious all they have to do is let Clark super armor through all attacks and grab them.

[@coolmasterjg2450]

Here from 2021, saw her release in the new KOF and loved the story. Nice job man.

[@jonni1988darthify]

After I sew your video on kyo, I was searching a Lore video about Leona.. And I couldn't find anyware. Thank you for this upload it was a good surprise

[@nintendolife25]

I love Leona. She’s such a badass female character with cool attacks to boot. Thanks for covering her. :)

[@nintendolife25]

:)

[@geraldsimoes4746]

Leona also appeared in Metal Slug XX along with Ralf and Clark and as a bonus she can also trigger her Orochi form

[@strider4life696]

I prefer Leona over Cammy

[@mikejohn29mj]

Cammy is a good assassin, but Leona is far more deadlier and more equipped.

[@ashchisalleh1454]

I like both.

[@mikejohn29mj]

@@ashchisalleh1454 Me too, the Cammy back in the day was rather cute due to her famous turn around win pose then smile back at you. 😉

[@orlanzo2621]

Me too, she’s just cooler, she’d also wash Cammy in a fight. Lol.

[@nazrulnadziruddin9641]

@Shaman X leona's legs are thicc!

[@MALRaziel]

Amazing video as always, I've been wanting to know here story since the 90's thanks man

[@NoizE-l8u]

Love your work man, keep on like this!

[@maianikaido]

Ninmu Kanyou! Leona is one of my favorite female kof character ever, i love her in all the word expression and her tragic story is a point to cry. PS: the background music is amazing and I wanna see a Benimaru, Athena and Mai story in your channel.

[@YouSoSpice]

V Has Come To. Praise the midriff goddess! Also Please make a video about the rest of the Ikari guys: Clark McStronghuge - aka Chill Wesker (on steroids) Whip - aka Best Neomax: Pull Out My Gun Ralf aka "Rambo" Snake Powerforce - a man whose punches carry a yield of a small nuclear bomb because he can punch you WITH A CAN OF GUNPOWDER CLENCHED IN HIS GODDAMN FISTS and Big Boss

[@imlvl9991]

Your videos make me want to play KOF! They are Very knowledgeable! so much work was put on this video and your other lores. Keep em coming 👍

[@princeoffriendship]

Love the final pic with the team Ikari menbers... I also usually consider Fion amongst them.. hope maybe in the future games she gets more attention! By the way Leona also uses her hair rabber band in kof97 aside from her earrings

[@m3tl1kv3e9]

Leona She's BACK For Mission Action in KOF XV

[@dannytarver4533]

I love Leona,she’s such a skillful character but her moves are a little hard to get off I think although I must admit I never really practiced with her. Still I think if her moves weren’t as complicated to get off she’d be one of the top female characters ever 😎

[@nazrulnadziruddin9641]

I remember when I was at the university I practised so hard to pull her V-Slasher. Ironically, after I mastered pukking her V-Slasher, the other characters moves became easy

[@1997darklink]

Nice vid! Keep up the good work! Leona is one of my top favorites in KOF! 👍❤️

[@ragenstorm6464]

Awesome video! Always love the story line breakdowns you do.

[@StudioDragoonX]

@ShoryuGame Great Leona vid! I was looking forward to it when it came up on my notifications.

[@urielcagnotti]

I love the father and daughter artwork where she's pointing the gun and he's like "Hold breath, aim steady, and shoot".

[@ayayokwana7635]

Love these vids man

[@phoenixmight5971]

I love these videos. This makes KOF way more interesting.

[@orlanzo2621]

Phoenix Might Yea the official story of KOF and it’s characters are actually very interesting.

[@yagamigirl_2047]

Dream KOF team up Iori Yagami, Chizuru Kagura , Kyo Kusanagi and Leona Heidern. Team name called Anti Orochi Team.

[@xm_heecka.laddder.job_mx5962]

But those are 4... that stopped in 2001 lol

[@tuonglanpham1333]

Orochi Iori & orochi Leona are stunning amzing when i saw them as a kid

[@corpsedesecrator2612]

Yeah man great vid as always can you do The Story of Rugal Bernstein or Heidern next?

[@VixXstazosJOB]

UGGGH... Reason Number 1 why KOF - Destiny should continue and never stop, HER, Her and Her relationship with Heidern, Ralf, Clark and Goenitz - also Gaidel filler backhistory - i mean the series was really decent, no scratch that, actually Great, and the ending just hyped us even more.... but more importantly i have to know what was doing Goenitz in MEXICO of all places - i live there, greetings XD -

[@harlannguyen4048]

It could be delayed due to a change in the studio. I hope they figure it out by the end of the year.

[@VixXstazosJOB]

@@harlannguyen4048 THANK GOD, word says it was canceled lol

[@joseurbina3835]

Your in Luck my Brother, There's an Upcoming CGI Animated Movie called *"King of Fighters: Awaken"* that'll take place where the KOF: Destiny series left off, It's Scheduled to be released at some point in 2021 or 2022.

[@xm_heecka.laddder.job_mx5962]

@@joseurbina3835 Reason Number 0 why we need more KOF.... we deserve that from them after all this CodVit crap, which did come from them lol

[@snaggletooth5844]

Why wasnt Leona a protagonist of one of the KOF games ? She is not only atalented, but her story could get explored more, hell after Verse Geonitz could be back for all we know, i just hope Leona and the Sacred Treasures could get another story, since the New Faces Team is back and probably Geonitz too as i mentioned above who knows what lies beyond, imagine seeing Leona face to face with the man who made her kill her own parents. Also Rugal vs Heidern.

[@RecoveringLoLAddict]

9:28 huh I see Marco and Fio there for some reason

[@chuyrenteria6252]

Cameos, because SNK love their cameos.

[@osamaroum]

i like when glitches become cannon , anyway good video as always and رمضان كريم

[@ashchisalleh1454]

And Mars people hate Leona if they know Leona has orochi blood.

[@kaiserghidorah6136]

Ok

[@amotucalva]

Love that she is a playable character in Metal Slug XX

[@xm_heecka.laddder.job_mx5962]

You mean 6 and 7, right

[@Sein231]

Will you be making more lores honestly your prob the only one that do good lores for kof love your vids btw

[@saiken811]

Been binging your kof lore vids even though I am not a massive kof fan. Subbed!

[@Khan_Sakib.]

Leona and Athena are most popular nostalgic female character in The King Of Fighter series. Thanks for sharing the story. I appreciate your research and effort for this series. One day The King Of Fighter series will be popular in new generation. Then you will get more response and respect from many. 😊👍

[@ShoryuGame]

Thank you so much!

[@crimsonmantis27]

Even though I stopped her from committing suicide.. In the inside.. I CRIED!!! AAAA 😭😭

[@Chris_M_Romero]

0:22 "Needless to say, Leona is one of the most famous female characters on the franchise..." Cutest*

[@ReisSns]

dude, your videos are so good =)

[@hania1530]

Happy birthday Leona Heidern 10 January 2023😀💜🎉💝💖💟💗

[@vankyre]

oh wow I didn't know about her thing with Chang!!! I ship them

[@Zan140]

The Ikari team is my favorite team to pick in KOF. So fun to play with.

[@orlanzo2621]

One of my favorite female characters of all time. Love Leona man. Been a fan since KOF ‘96, her slicing people open with just her hands and her cool design won me over.

[@nazrulnadziruddin9641]

her V-slasher is awesome!! and her KR easter eggs are a must!

[@Seraphil1]

I wish SNK would push Leona more into the spotlight

[@johnwardjr-ru2bx]

I like the way she walked backwards when she pulled back 8n King of Fighters 97.

[@md.sk-rahim6428]

OK OK...!! I'm In Love With Leona...!! Damn..!! 😆😣

[@MyselfandComics]

I love how Leona and Iori have riot of the blood, but they treat it very differently.

[@MyselfandComics]

M.J. Andromeda Oh dang, it auto-corrected! Thank you!

[@MyselfandComics]

M.J. Andromeda Really? Cool, I’m happy some one agrees with me.

[@southglare_axe7397]

@@MyselfandComics Doesn't help that she's half Orochi. Iori was born given this uncontrolled ability because of his Ancenstor's Orochi blood pact that curses newborns.

[@MyselfandComics]

SiphtSighter' (Ｔ＿Ｔ) that’s right and the mother would die giving birth too（；＿；）.

[@guillerposbo5839]

In the manga KoF a new begining, Leona can control her riot of blood when shes fighting vs Angel (Nest form). Leona has red hair and red eyes (with reptile shape) and she has a snake tattoo in her chest. Just saying.

[@AirLancer]

Pretty sure her and Heidern's cutting abilities don't come from their gloves, it's just that she and Heidern use their energy to cut through things, same as her Baltic Launcher.

[@xm_heecka.laddder.job_mx5962]

Yeah, you're completely right. You can clearly see how she does the Karate Chop Hand thing in KOF13 with the cutter move, since the sprites have more detail

[@Hilversumborn]

Leona is my favorite KOF character and the Ikari Warriors are my favorite team.

[@kingeddy7966]

9:25 Nice some Metal Slug character cameos

[@MrMraltafsoomro]

awesome i always loved Leona character hay i even call my daughter leona

[@nazrulnadziruddin9641]

Expect her to be an ice queen exterior but cute inside

[@nazrulnadziruddin9641]

Leona is a my image of a Kuudere!

[@charleslizewski7603]

Much love for her and his friends

[@xDesiShowx]

I always loved seeing people at the arcade play with this team because I couldnt pull those moves with Ralf and Clark lol

[@KageNoTenshi]

Ikari also has frequent cross overs with metal slugs,

[@jaipii1285]

Awesome video

[@gamergaming6604]

10:32 that look really hurts omg

[@leonamoonslasher7070]

Happy Birthday Leona

[@Quottidomin13]

Excites me to see a new vid.

[@SenatorArmstrong2018]

Leona is a precious cinnamon bun and must be protected at all costs. Give her a pet too.

[@classicslayer456]

She has a cat.

[@JestaShezarrTeamA]

When Chun Li says shes the stronger woman in the world I laugh because its actually Leona.

[@alexthezephyr]

So wholesome :')

[@deangelojacksonjr5181]

Dude these kof lore videos are awsome

[@Lizardman]

Best girl! Leona, Shermie, and Vanessa are my top 3~

[@shakirali5082]

iori: GOENITZZZZZ!!! AAAHHH

[@chabanefateh3036]

I Love Liona ❤

[@actually_ashley.]

I’d love to see a video on Nameless/ K9999, Athena, and Rugal.

[@joseurbina3835]

I don't know if it's just me but Leona's Backstory in KOF kinda reminds me of Revy's Backstory from *"Black Lagoon"* (Except Revy's is way more *Twisted* than Leona"s).

[@aikou2886]

If I remember correctly she was born in Brazil? Anyways the word "Leona" does exist in Portuguese with the same meaning you explained.

[@mohammedayoob1246]

god job pro i want metal slug story

[@Leonaforeva]

I searched up my name, Leona

[@christopherwashington2417]

Leona is born in 1978

[@natalironaldo]

You put a picture of Botan when mentioning that Those Who Came from the Past were "pulling the strings" in the tournament. I see what you did there 😉

[@thomaskane7810]

In my own little head-cannon, Leona may have met with Chang during what may have been his military time when she was still young.( Conscription in South Korea requires men of age 18 and 28 to serve in the South Korean Military. But that's the only piece of info I got, and I could be very wrong about this whole theory.)

[@Game-zp2eg]

Leona vs Cammy vs Nina vs Christie

[@marseljr3674]

Story Of Chris From New Face Team

[@John-Stark]

Pretty sure he's going to do all three because that's his favorite team

[@WMAVZ]

1:05 If I remember correctly, she is Brazilian

[@azizouamane1996]

Leona and king are my best female kof characters I wished they have More to them specially Leona

[@StainedVent9296]

Very similar to Kurapika's backstory for the scarlet eyes, in kof 2002 there is even a condition of sacrificing half your life to go on Orochi mode, her transformation is also similar to Naruto's 9 tailed fox posession

[@hammadamin6855]

She is my KOF Princess

[@billyjeanfiles8408]

Yo, she is remarkable because she is one of the RARE CHARGING characters. Although her earring-bomb was exception.

[@kevinthesaiyan3023]

to this day im all for iorixleona

[@peterbradyakewaping6498]

Good morning my friend. I like all yours vidéos about SNK univers, but i don't understand english very. There is not a french version ?

[@soulnamedrenzo]

Ah, my favorite has arrived

[@ClumsyTrout]

Awesome!

[@GodyN64]

Leona is the only charge character that i can play in fighting games in general with Remy idk why X)))))

[@jamaynex]

EXCELLENT

[@jasomega2446]

Thank you!

[@abdelschool9155]

great content, where aare you from?