The Story of Rugal and Adelheid Bernstein - KOF Lore 

They all lived happily ever after, like hell he did. 😂

"So to blow off some steam, he murdered his wife and child" That is the most casually psychotic thing I've ever heard in my life. This man is a demon.

I like that Adelheid, despite having Bernstein blood, and despite having everything the money can buy, he still yearns for the excellence in the discipline of his interest. Instead of bringing his opponents down, he tries to rise above them, and accepts his defeat when he has been bested. In fact the only two characters that I can say with a percentage of certainty that would do that, are Kim and Athena. Not even Kyo has that sportsmanship. Imo.

Fatal Fury: Hard.. AOF: Not that hard! KOF: hello children, today we are gonna teach you how hard a boss can be.

Worth mentioning that Orochi’s strong kick IS (a very less broken) Genocide Cutter!

Rugal but after you lose to him he comes through the screen and Genocide cutter's you. Also shoots your corpse too.

Don't ever forget Rugal was one of the earliest fighters to dance on your corpse by spinning.

I just love Adelheid and Rose. Idk, there's just something about them that makes me like them so much, and ofc his behaviour which proves him as a good guy. im waiting for him in the next kof game and kof all stars global. cant wait to summon him

I love your happily ever after joke, bro😂😂😂

7:35 you caught me off guard while eating I almost spit my food out of laughing... KOF XV Team Family Rugal Adelheid and Rose.. That Genocide cutter gives me trauma even to this day, just the sound it produce gives me nightmare in my Arcade days

Sometimes, in the middle of the night, while I’m sleeping, my dream becomes a nightmare just with the words “genocide cutter”! xD

7:10 that was intense as hell

You know how scary a final boss truly is when you shudder at hearing two words. If Rugal does return in XV, he's going to want his revenge against Kyo and Heidern. However, if Goenitz also returns, Rugal might want to get back at him too. Oh man. If the villains of past KoF games come back, I think they'll be fighting amongst themselves to stand on top. I'd love to see how they handle that. Watch Rugal evolve from Omega Rugal to Orochi Rugal that has the abilities of all other SNK bosses. Go all out SNK! Do it! ADELHEID!!! One of my favorite KoF characters! If you ever make a top 10 KoF husbando list, Adelheid NEEDS to be there! Just look at him! He's so cool! They need to make a non-canonical RPG spinoff called King of Fighters 2007. It's set in a city where Rugal is in collaboration of NESTS to create super soldiers to expand his power. Rugal wanted to subject Adelheid to become a super soldier, but Adelheid refused and chose to rebel against his father, so he asks Antonov and Chizuru to fight him. He first tells Rose to stay home, but she wouldn't stop begging, so Adelheid brings her with him. However, once they reach the top of the tower overlooking the city, they find Rugal murdered and learn that it was Igniz that killed him. Goenitz then appears and takes over the city in Rugal's place. Adelheid and his team make an escape to the outskirts of the city where their journey begins to find Igniz. They are constantly chased by NESTS' strongest agents: Shen Woo, K', and Kula. As they travel across the world, they come across new characters that aid them in their quest. Malin is hiding in the forests whose village was at war against Rugal at one point, and she joins Adelheid if they beat her. They come across Billy Kane who is watching over an airship that was left behind by the late Geese Howard, and he joins Adelheid because Goenitz is attempting to steal the airship and Billy can't fight him on his own. Later when they reach Rugal's mansion at Adelheid's hometown, they discover a person in the basement who was subject to experiments by Hein. He did not have a name, but he joins Adelheid to get revenge on Hein and to learn of the whereabouts of a woman he was close to. Together they try to put a stop to Igniz who is manipulating everyone so that he can become the God of the planet. I'd love a game like this. Probably my new favorite video simply because Adelheid is in it. Now you just have to do Heidern, and you'll have done a lore video with my three favorite characters! I have to appreciate you doing work for all of these videos. I didn't think about it before, but those gameplay clips you show throughout the video...that's you, isn't it? You're the one who is playing as you tell the story? If this is true, then that is simply amazing. It's your own spin on the story, and you are like the director who has to play the game just right so that it fits with the story you're trying to tell just like that clutch moment at 7:10. That is impressive work, especially for SNK games, and you playing it yourself makes the story sound natural that tells us just how it feels to play against SNK bosses. It's unique, it's funny (because you're playing), and it's fantastic. Thank you for your hard work.

Adelheid is a curious case. The idea of these late villains living on through their offsprings has only ever been captured successfully in the story of Rock Howard. Rock Howard is one of the most effective cases of nature vs nurture subplot IN a fighting game. He's the lone son of Geese Howard who nurtured by the expansive wings of Rock Howard. But that isn't all. Rock Howard's entire design is entirely INFORMED by his dichotomous upbringing. He's a passionate but muted fighter in most instances. But once he starts tapping into that potential of his, he starts changing as evidenced by his different portrait whenever he uses his father's Raging Storm to KO an opponent. He appears to be in agony as he tries to keep that blue power at bay in his win pose and portrait--signifying that internal struggle between his own nature, Terry's example, and his father's dark legacy. In my opinion, Adelheid is not designed with that same finesse. There doesn't seem to be this internal conflict. Instead, the conflict between light and dark appears to encompass himself and his sister. Adelheid is a polite and honorable fighter whereas Rose is much more erratic and temperamental. The two end up balancing each other out. Adelheid and Rose balance each other out. However, Adelheid, personally, does not seem to labor much over his father's dark legacy. He's a talented fighter through and through, somehow adapting many of his father's techniques into his own style. His key character motivation revolves less around what his father did, and more about keeping his dear sister safe. Overall, Adelheid could definitely use much more character development. Personally, he doesn't have the same impact as Rock Howard's design. The only way he defies expectations is the fact that he is apparently a decent person compared to the psycho his father was in life.

"Even if there is no wall." Hahaha love the jokes. Keep it up!!!

People complaining on shao khan for umk3 or m bison from alpha 3. They haven't ever fought this guy. All I hear is *genocide cutter* but really when your normals do so much damage do you even need that?

"They all lived happily ever af--like hell he did." That's gold 😂😂😂

Rugal Bernstein, a boss so cheap he makes Shao Khan and M. Bison look like a bunch of sissies.

The Bernsteins! Wonderful! This is certainly going to be well worth the wait~ Edit: Yup, this was great as expected~ The highlight was definitely the end of the KOF '94 synopsis. X'D

Adelheid and Rock should be rivals. The sons of the big bad bosses. It writes itself.

Adelheid is a really cool guy I hope he come back someday.

I can't be the only one who thinks Adelheid looks suspiciously like Cloud Strife of Final Fantasy fame.

"And now both of his eyes are red. Congrats!" LOL

We need a modern main-game Rugal. Easily one of the toughest, most iconic and greatest fighting game boss of all time.

I like how Rose inherit her father personality and Adel inherit his father power .

9:48 it's funny how kof 14 ended cause what they meant by that we really could see him return. Good one SNK

I really hope the Bernstein family becomes a playable team it'd be be the first time I'd want to play a canonical team rather than a mixed team and plus it'd just be sick, Rugal, Adelheid and Rose teaming up to kick some ass would be a sight to see, also the potential for arcade endings would be fun

The Bernstein Alliance vs The Howard Connection. Book it Vince!

7:35 those eyes and that anime type ending hahaha. Nice one dude.

I've always had a crush on Adelheid but since he reminded me of Rugal it creeped me out cause Rugal was one of the most freaky characters I've seen as a kid

*We all want him back in KOF XV* Edit : Seriously this is the only character that looks scarier than Iori And no matter how evil he is, dang I love this badass guy

My favorite boss of all time. The main man who started KOF to start with. The most evil man with the most swagger. But Indi feel like his son Adel should be utilized more. He works with Heidern alot. They should work together more. Kinda poetic. Adel is good and works with the man who got his eye taken by his father.

7:37 Shoryugame is officially the best channel of KOF and SNK. Anyway, a part of me did wish Rugal would actually turn good after losing twice and finally learning his lesson tho...

He is voiced from Norio Wakamoto who same guy behind Bison voice, he is really epic and Rugal by itself is most bad ass boss from all fighting games. What I know for Rugal projectiles is he learn about how good are Geese and Krauser and wanted to copy best stuff from known fighters and he defeat them before KOF 94 tournament, that how learn projectiles, they also part of his statues . I was very surprise to see them as statue first time when I reach him in past

I find it funny that even though there's an official name for the form of Rugal we see in CvS2, aka Ultimate Rugal, everyone just went ahead and named him God Rugal anyway. Where did that name even come from? Edit: Never mind, turns out he's only called Ultimate Rugal over here in the Americas, and he's called God Rugal everywhere else. My mistake, carry on.

Adelheid/Rock/Ash VS Rugal/Geese/Saiki

I May Be 13, but I can still love this KOF community

7:22 Had me on the first 3 seconds

he wiped the whole gigantic surface area of the floor with the blood of one of the powerful villains in street fighters shows how outclassed the whole street fighter saga is and they need more training

Man i really liked that video. I didn't even notice the run time till the end. I always liked Rugal over the other bosses that followed because his moves seemed more practical. He was cheap but not THAT cheap. He was beatable with practically anyone in the roster without having to be cheesy yourself. Plus the Genocide Cutter was a pretty graceful move and had awesome animation. Consider this shared!

He’s back everyone!

Omega Rugal is back. Shoryugame will be happy to know that he is a Free DLC

Again another character I didn't knew I wanted to hear his story, amazing man.

7:31 best moment (like hell he did ) he cant accept his defeat cause after all he is a reference to Dio brando

I think that snk been watching your videos man! Rugal is now in kof15, will Aldelhied join too?

Really liked and enjoyed watching this. He and Adel are two of my MOST favorite Fighters in KOF. Stay safe out there and stay AWESOME!

9:12 yeah despite the fact in the last battle 2 of them lost but here only 1 did

I remember the first time I saw Ultimate Rugal in CvsSNK, I was like: "Whoa! Did Rugal just absorbed Akuma's energy? This guy's already too strong and now you're telling me he's got even stronger?" Seriously, I think Rugal using the Satsui no Hadou is way stronger than Omega Rugal, maybe even stronger than Bison. it's nuts! As for Adelheid, I hope SNK will give him more protagonism in KOF XV, he really deserves it. I think he's a very underrated character and still has a lot to offer to KoF lore.

I had to pause and laugh aloud on hearing that Rugal and Team Japan lived happily ever after (7:35) before continuing the video😂😂😂. Rugal's probably the toughest boss I've ever faced, so at least I know his whole story now. Looking forward to more videos.👌

With Omega Rugal's presence in KoF XV... maybe we can have a team Bernstein in XVI? 😁

don't you dare think that that jet set radio reference will get past me

OMEGA RUGAL IS BACK for KOF XV Now Do For Analysis Trailer for Shocking News.

Imagine if Adelheid joins Rock Howard and Jenet as a team in KOF 15

7:24 the power of anime

" They lived happily ever after... Like hell he did". i didn't expect that. LMAO

I could’ve written this character as something from mortal kombat. Maybe he’s the M bison of king of fighters. As well as being more beast than Geese Howard would ever be. Even if he has the scrolls which gives him extra life ups and such. However I could theorize that Rugal not only ran his arm and drugs cartel but had connections with Geese’s half brother Rolf, investment with the Nests cartel, corrupted some of the union military in which the Ikari warriors are formed to avoid local corruption, as well as had association with Duke, Rock Howard’s uncle, and someone who worked for Saiki and those from the Past. And Ash Crimson as well. Botan. Perhaps. Being a test subject for the host body of Orochi by Goenitz really pushed his head to point when he was overpowered and self destructed, that the time paradox created Verse and he was one piece of the entity itself. Truly an evil being.

13:30 And then, there's a brand new event in King of Fighters All Stars where Adelheid need Heidern's help to save his sister, Rose who was under control of 'Those From The Past'.

Just wanna say thank you for getting me into KOF, never really liked it much as a kid but now that I know all this lore I enjoy playing KOF Allstars.

The KOF franchise got me to learning more and more on some of the toughest and ruthless fighters. but Rugal Bernstein is the most ferocious and danger fighter I've ever seen. He would've been on the Radar of M. Bison and the Shadaloo tong organization as a threat.

Another bone crushing Symphony. -Rugal

Thank you man, you got me into SNK with all these backstories. That's a subcriber, with the bell icon!

7:20 Lmao yoo Shoryugame did NOT just try to play Rugal into the plot convenience and cliche. Soon as I begun to listen to that part, I was like "Bullshit!". Though, I love that humorous element you added to the video. Keep it up. Laughed so hard, and breaks from the others who just straight up talk lore with no comic relief. Edit: 7:33 THOSE EYES BRO!!

7:20-7:40 , I knew something was off from the script. And BAM I just bursted laughing as he said "LIKE HELL HE DID!".

Rugal not being in a Kof game for like 15 years hurts my soul

The U.S. version of Capcom vs Snk 2 has Rugal not shouting out his famous move. I suspect because of that particular first word.

Wonderful video. I knew he lost his eye to Goenitz, but didn't know he took Heidern's eye. And I laughed so hard at that joke you made about the 94 ending. Finally, thanks for mentioning the crossover at the end.

..I'd actually like to see Adelheid in a kof game. He has his dad's moves with more speed and combo ability, AND he's a nice guy. Sounds like a very fun character. But I can imagine today's fgc hating his guts and only wanting rugal.

Very good research. So, rumors are true that Rugal has an old friend who backed out during early crime days. I do hope he reveals his personality in the later KOF games.

Finally, the day I was waiting for ever since I found out about this channel. Also, I'd like to mention that Rugal very likely stole his God Press from Mature, just adapted it to look more manly, just as he did with Athena's Psycho Reflector. Also [2], Rugal hired Mature and Vice "prior to '94" and it was never specified when. Could've been way back when he just got the Orochi power from Goenitz as he basically sent the women to watch over Rugal so that he doesn't overuse this power.

I lost it with the best pals bit! "Like hell he did!" Made my day.

Who Is Agrees With Me That The King Of Fighters Villains Are Far More Powerful And Far More Interesting Designs Than Street Fighter Villains

Adelheid needs to come back as dlc in KoF15

Is anyone gonna bring up that at 1:26, the mystery silhouette is actually LowTierGod posing next to a Tree?

Rugal turns into god rugal and fights with goenitz , somehow he defeats him because of Adelheid giving some support and he turns into a hakkeshu leader then kills orochi but he dies himself

There are some translation errors with the general story regarding the Yagami team as well as Goenitz, Mature and Vice. Recent post I saw from Reddit on this issue "As GundamFlauros linked (to one of my older posts), the 96 Yagami ending is way off. In fact, pretty much the entire story of Goenitz, Mature and Vice is. To give you an idea, let me present to you the Japanese version of what went down with those three, summarized: Rugal steals some Orochi power, Goenitz notices Goenitz trashes Rugal, lets him keep the power as an experiment (He's the only Heavenly King awake, meaning a spare host is needed) Mature is 7, Vice is 5, neither is awake, and neither is involved A solid decade later, Mature becomes Rugal's secretary to keep an eye on him Even later, Vice joins Mature because hey why not Goenitz has nothing to do with any of it, and is busy looking for Gaidel At an unspecified date after Gaidel's death, Goenitz and Yashiro find each other With all Heavenly Kings accounted for, Goenitz no longer needs a spare host During the 95 tournament, Mature and Vice notice Iori is abnormally strong After Rugal's death, now jobless, Mature and Vice keep tabs on Iori Mature and Vice have no idea what is going on on Goenitz and Yashiro's ends Goenitz drops into KOF 96 to get rid of the Sacred Treasures Mature and Vice refuse to help kill Iori (whom they want as the Orochi's host) Goenitz, thinking them traitors, resigns himself to fighting them all at once Goenitz realizes from Iori's power that Iori is at high risk of Blood Riot Goenitz warns Mature and Vice, so they can get out of Dodge and not get killed Mature and Vice tell him this is no longer his concern and ignore his advice Goenitz relents, then finishes himself off because he's all about oldschool honor Iori does happen to riot, kills Mature and Vice Much later, in 98UM, Goenitz's winquote against Mature and Vice is him telling them that he understands their mistake and holds no grudge, while theirs poke kind fun at him (Vice even imitates his speech quirks lol)

Rugal Bernstein is the Dio Brando from the King of Fighters (even when you beat him, he came back stronger than the last fight) and his wish of power was a true reason. Second common ground with Dio: He have a very strong son named Adelheid (or Adel for Heidern of friends) and unlike his father he is not a bad person: He have a sense of honor and respect for his opponent. Adelheid don't have grudge toward Heidern and help him in Kof 13. That's a proof about children is not totally like his parents. a personal and funny fact about Adelheid: he is born the same day about my mother (february 15)

I still can't get over how much of a good egg Adel turned out when compared to his dad.

I really hope an aged up Adelheid returns if Rugal doesn't, he has some unfinished business with Ash and The Orochi clan and never got his time to shine. The potential for storytelling with Adelheid and other characters is so huge but it always seems like they get shafted in the end.

He back after 20 years

Small fact, which you showed in this video but didn't outright mention. It seems even though Rugal's return in KOF 98 and 2002 were not canon, SNK actually went through the trouble of creating 2 new secretaries for him since Vice and Mature no longer work for him. I think they're named Hermoine and Aya.

At 4:10 That reminds of a soundtrack from Shocktroopers 2.

I hope he will be in DLC team in KOFXV along with Ignis and Goenitz. OMG that would be leet!!!

No matter how many canonically "stronger" bosses there are that come after, Rugal will always loom large as the Boss of Bosses in KOF.

KOF is the best. where have you been in my life

'even when there is no wall' I love it

@ShoryuGame Gotta say. This is my favorite video you've made. Excellent work, man!

7:29 I was distracted doing some other stuff when I suddenly realized something was off lol.

Rugal will always be my favourite character in KOF 😊

I don't just love this video but this whole series, thank you so much for the insight on the series!

Alrite finally one of my favs in KOF truly leaving an impact in the series and in fighting game bosses in general. I am thinking in KOF15 we will finally get the father and son to interact and it’ll be super interesting my speculation is that Rugal will mentally manipulate Rose since she has a similar personality as her father and he will brainwash her into being evil like him and turn her against Adelheid and I doubt Adelheid and Rugal will go the loving Father Son route Adelheid initially will defy Rugal furthermore Rugal will be disgusted that Adelheid has made mends and allegiance with Heidern and Rose will be psychologically conflicted due to the deep love for her brother and Rugal’s deep seeded manipulation of her I ultimately think Rose will see what a despicable man Rugal is and join Adelheid against their father. Lol Goenitz fighting Rugal when they were young probably went something like that spamming Koko Desu Ka!!! Lmao @ 7:22/7:38!! Keep up the great content my friend!!!

I played KOF ALLSTARS and nothing else, are Geonitz and Nameless the strongest there too?

Streets of Rage 4 clearly takes a lot of inspiration from fighting games for a lot of their characters, but I completely forgot how obvious it was that the Y Twins from SoR4 were based off of the Bernstein twins from KoF.

He blows himself up the same way Wild Dog does in Time Crisis. Curious...

Wow. This video answered so many questions and cleared up a lot of confusion. Awesome video and I’m saddened that Rugal wiped the floor with Akuma

in fairness akuma also got rugals power in snk vs capcom just a differant version of the boss

I wish they make Rose a playable fighter

I we see Adelheid in KOF 15 😁

They need to add adel and rose to the same team as him for kof 15 : )

Also Duke from KoF Maximum Impact 2 has a move VERY smiliar to Rugal's genocide Cutter, just more balanced and its not even called Genocide Cutter this time around.

Oh, finally... My Bernstein boys!! Thnx for this. Adelheid was my fav fighter ❤❤❤ More Power to you!!