The King of Fighters XII launch trailer

The King of Fighters XII for PS3 Ignition Entertainment and SNK Playmore have just released The King of Fighters XII worldwide for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

The King of Fighters is one of the most revered three-on-three fighting franchises ever and 2009 marks the franchise’s landmark 15th anniversary. The latest installment of The King of Fighters series, The King of Fighters XII continues the epic martial arts showdown and reemerges with a complete graphical overhaul. The King of Fighters XII features 22 gorgeous hand-drawn 2D characters from SNK’s arcade history. All sprites used over the past 14 years have been dropped and replaced with brand new 2D high-definition, high-resolution sprites on beautifully detailed 2D backgrounds. Which the below trailer depicts.

The King of Fighters XII features four gameplay modes, new gameplay elements such as Critical Counter Attacks, clan formation (PS3 version only), arcade-style online lobbies, a worldwide online ranking system and more. The 22 hand-drawn characters include favorites from earlier King of Fighters including Kyo Kusanagi, Athena Asamiya, Raiden and Leona Heidern.

Watch the official launch trailer for The King of Fighters XII:

Check out the KOF12 Twitter stream for the game’s latest news reports.