Tomohiro Nakata Was ‘Nervous When Designing’ Iori for KOF XV

Now that Iori Yagami is confirmed as a KOF XV next fighter, SNK shared thoughts from the game’s illustrator about creating his look. Tomohiro “S.N.X.” Nakata expressed worry about making sure he lived up to his past appearances. To be specific, Nakata said, “Iori is iconic for looking good regardless [of] which game he’s in, and so I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous when designing him.”

Here are Nakata’s thoughts on creating the KOF XV version of Iori. It notes how Kyo’s design was kept in mind when making him, to allow the two to reference one another and their respective clans.

【KOF XV】

SNK dev for [KOF XV] shares their thoughts on IORI YAGAMI.

The character designer for IORI YAGAMI goes a bit in-depth on his design process!#SNK #KOF #KOF15 pic.twitter.com/bFuMEq25Js

— SNK GLOBAL (@SNKPofficial) February 5, 2021

Back in January 2021, SNK shared an example of Nakata’s past work for SNK. It included an image of Kyo from The King of Fighters XIV Ultimate Edition and an image of Mai Shiranui.

【KOF XV】

KOF XV’s main illustrator is Tomohiro Nakata. In this past he went under the pen name S.N.X, and is responsible for many official illustrations.#SNK #KOF #KOF15 pic.twitter.com/cFRKt8IMGQ

— SNK GLOBAL (@SNKPofficial) January 13, 2021

It seems we’ll regularly see comments from Nakata on different characters’ designs. Following other character trailers, there were statements and concept art images for Shun’ei, Meitenkun, and Benimaru shared.

The King of Fighters XV is in development and will launch in 2021. At the end of the KOF XV Iori trailer, it suggested the next video will appear on February 10, 2021.