To bring the story that had grown too large and out of control back on track, the members of the Orochi 8ketsu Clan were teamed up in '97. By doing this, we thought, the story would reach its conclusion for the time being...but among the three new faces including Leona's father Gaidell, we lacked one more member for the 8ketsu. What should we do? ...And along came Ryuji Yamazaki to bail us out of our predicament.
A snake charmer that even looked like a snake, he became a popular villain. He once humbled himself, joined up with the Fatal Fury team, and blended into the world of KOF more than we had predicted.
The game planner at that time really knocked himself out to provide new moves for Yamazaki. Idea after idea got a short trip to the circular file (Attract opponent after Snake Charmer move; Seven Serpent Dagger Throw, etc.), and those failures led to successful moves like the Sand Sweeper.