Iori Yagami

Iori Yagami (, Iori Yagami) is one of the main characters in series.

Origin
The rival of Kyo Kusanagi, Iori Yagami's family descends from the Yasakani, one of the three families who, along with the Kusanagi and the Yata (of which the organizer of the 1996 King of Fighters tournament, Chizuru Kagura, is a descendant), sealed Orochi away 1,800 years ago, although they later signed a blood pact with the deity out of envy for the Kusanagi clan, thus becoming the Yagami clan, whose purple flames became the sign of their pact. Over the centuries, this envy turned into outright hatred, with Iori constantly obsessing over killing Kyo in duel. Using pyrokinesis to fight, Iori joins the series in The King of Fighters '95 as one of the members of the Rival Team, along with Geese Howard's right-hand Billy Kane and Eiji Kisaragi, a ninja who is out to defeat the Kyokugen martial arts school. Like his ancestors, due to the pact with the Orochi, Iori is susceptible to the Riot of the Blood which, when activated, drives him into a feral and blood-thirsty, but near-irrational state. Iori also features in his own drama CD and as a member in SNK's own character image band, in which he plays the bass guitar. His hobby as a bassist is also acknowledged in the King of Fighters canon, and plays part in the motivations of a rival band, CYS, who form the New Faces Team in The King of Fighters '97 as the game's major antagonists. During this game, he eventually teams up with Kyo and Chizuru to confront a freed Orochi and seal him once again.

After this encounter, Iori mostly stays in the background from The King of Fighters '98 to The King of Fighters 2000 comprised as the NESTS saga, most notably fighting against NESTS agents tasked with killing Kyo so he can have his chance to kill him. Iori does appear as a secret boss character and an assistant to others. in The King of Fighters 2001, Iori returns to the starting roster after being invited by his acquaintance Seth and taking it as an opportunity to kill Kyo. In The King of Fighters 2003, Chizuru contacts Kyo and Iori about suspicious activities around the Orochi sealed they created together. During the investigation, they discover that newcomer Ash Crimson is attempting to take all of Orochi's power. Ash manages to take Chizuru's powers and later Iori's in The King of Fighters XI. This leaves Iori without his purple flames and forces him to adopt an entirely new fighting style and moveset. Ash is later wiped from history to save the world from his evil ancestors in The King of Fighters XIII, inadvertantly returning everyone to their former selves and Iori getting his purple flames back. During the events of The King of Fighters XIV, Iori travels with Kyo and Chizuru to Hungary to locate the weakened body of Orochi that escaped the seal and defeating him to create another seal. In The King of Fighters XV, the seal is once again being interfered with, making the three team up again to investigate.

Though not originally from the series, Iori made a playable appearance in the Game Boy version of Real Bout Fatal Fury Special. Iori has also appeared in many other games in both playable and non-playable appearances. Of particular note are the games ' and ', where Iori wears a woman's dress and face mask and goes under the name Miss X. In the games, the Queen of Fighters tournament is held by Miss X, though everyone immediately realizes she is just Iori in disguise. Later, playable character Kukri creates a pocket dimension where many female SNK characters are transported to. This includes Miss X, who actually becomes a female in this dimension. Her ending sees herself and Kyo reconciling their differences and getting to more friendly terms. Iori then suddenly wakes up in his bed to find he has returned to his original self and it was all a nightmare of his. He then becomes embarrassed for even thinking about such a reality and vows to continue his rivalry.

As a background character
Iori Yagami appears in the background of the stage, King of Fighters Stadium. He can appear at random, but will always appear if the music for the match is either ' or '.

As a costume
Iori appears as one of 's DLC Mii costumes. He is a costume for.

In the costume's trailer, can be seen running away as the Iori Mii Brawler appears to be giving chase. This is a reference to Iori's hatred for Kyo Kusanagi's flames as Mario similarly uses Flame attacks. The trailer also shows the Iori Mii Brawler performing a combination of jab 1, up tilt, and down aerial; this is a reference to Iori's move 127 Shiki: Aoi Hana, which can be strung together into a three-hit combo. The costume's promotional screenshot shows him near some Darkness particles, referencing his purple flames and likely his Ura 1018 Shiki Yashiori super move.

As a spirit
Iori Yagami appears as an Ace class spirit. He appears as two puppet fighters, and is fought at Reset Bomb Forest in the forest section. During the battle, everyone have their jump power reduced.

Other
Iori Yagami makes an appearance in Terry's reveal trailer, where he is the last person who attempts to catch the Smash invitation. After failing, he performs his iconic laugh.