The King of Fighters 15 has 39 characters players can choose from. Each character is matched into one of thirteen groups. This game runs on stock battles, meaning players get to choose three characters for a team. Players can’t use these extra characters as assist moves or swap them out like in the Marvel vs Capcom games.

If the player’s fighter or the opponent’s character falls, the next team member steps in. It’s like a lower-stakes Battle Royale scenario but with teams. There is a wide variety of both male and female characters. Some are small and agile while others are bulky killing machines. These nine fighters should be good for beginners in The King of Fighters 15. Nine were chosen to create three even teams of three.

9 Whip

Whip is a great character to master in The King of Fighters 15. True to her name, she uses a whip as a weapon, giving her a great range to her attacks. Now, there is a disadvantage to Whip: while the range of her attacks is good, the damage she inflicts is not as strong as other combatants in KOF 15.

If enemy fighters can dodge through the whips, she will be more vulnerable up close. Whip is more of a ranged character and the further away she is from her enemies, the better. The Belmont family should look out for her whipping skills.

8 Meitenkun

Meitenkun is an odd fighter in The King of Fighters 15. He uses sleep to lull his enemies into lowering their defenses. He is not joking around either as Meitenkun would rather sleep than fight. Whether he is fighting opponents while tired on purpose, or not, it brings a nice fluidity to his moves in battle.

Do not discount his demeanor as another goofy fighting character in The King of Fighters 15, if Meitenkun lands a punch, he might send opponents into a deep slumber.

7 Kukri

Kukri is kind of like Gaara from the popular anime series Naruto. They both use sand as weapons because they are essentially made out of sand. Although solid in every area, Kukri is especially strong when on the defensive.

Kukri is a very mysterious character in The King of Fighters 15 since he uses a hood to hide his face. Maybe he doesn’t even have a face at all and Kukri is just a bunch of sentient sand. The story in this series can get wild so it would not be surprising if this was the case.

6 Isla

Isla is a new character in The King of Fighters 15. She looks like she belongs to the League of Legends pop group that keeps coming up with those hot jams around tournaments. She has a decent power level, but what she excels at most is mid-ranged attacks.

Isla’s elemental fists do not reach as far as Whip’s weapon, but she can strike foes down faster due to her strength. She is also an agile character since she is one of the shorter fighters in the game.

5 Shermie

Shermie is almost nothing but legs. Fun fact, raccoons kind of see with their hands. They are extra sensitive when it comes to touch. Shermie must have that going on with her legs because her hairstyle seemingly leaves her blind in The King of Fighters 15.

However she sees, this femme fatale likes to grapple with enemies between her thighs or arms. She is a great character to throw opponents off-balance, literally. As they say, the heel is mightier than the sword.

4 Luong

Luong is another character with powerful legs. She can punch as well, but most of her specials revolve around kicking those legs into the sky. As she is taller than a lot of characters in The King of Fighters 15, her legs give Luong a nice ranged advantage. The one thing she is missing in comparison with Shermie is her grapples.

However, Luong’s kicks alone should be enough to knock opponents off their feet in the ring. Luong could assumably crush a boulder with those heels of hers. That probably happened somewhere deep with the series’ lore.

3 Mai

Mai seemingly needs no introduction as she is a fan favorite. Mai has been in the series for a long time now, and she’s just as powerful in The King of Fighters 15 as she has been in the past. Maybe even more so.

What makes Mai a good character is her low center of gravity. As she is hunched over, this may throw opponents off. She has a fan that gives her a decent reach and twirling around can counter enemies with her costume’s tail. Mai is a master ninja and it is best not to forget that fact.

2 Krohnen

Like Isla, Krohnen is a new character introduced in The King of Fighters 15. Some people have compared him to Tetsuo from the celebrated anime film Akira. Krohnen has a mechanical arm that can turn into all kinds of wild things for his special moves from drills to blaster canons. He has a red scarf as well that hides it.

Krohnen was probably inspired by Tetsuo on some level. The design history is not important. All players have to know is that Krohnen will dominate any match he is thrown into.

1 Yashiro

The final fighter players should consider trying out is Yashiro, who looks like a more buff version of Dante from Devil May Cry. He is a bigger character, which makes him slower. However, he does have a good defense to match his high offensive powers.

Yashiro is a balanced character who isn’t as sluggish as some other beefier characters such as Dinosaur. He’s not the strongest character in The King of Fighters 15 in terms of raw power, but Yashiro has the potential to be incredible.

The King of Fighters 15 was released on February 17, 2022 and is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.