King of Fighters turns 30 this year, and former SNK staffer Mitsuo Kodama has been sharing some memories about working on the first game in the series, King of Fighters '94.
Kodama reveals that his most legendary contribution to the game – the inclusion of a statue of Street Fighter's Guile during one of the cut scenes – was slipped in just before he quit the company (thanks, @gosokkyu).
Here's what Kodama said via the wonders of Google Translate:
I quietly submitted the data just before the master, and quit SNK. The parting gift was a spectacular backlash, and the site was in uproar. My partner at the time, Kuwayan, was called in by a very senior person and severely scolded.
While Kodama had to live with the fact that he had got one of his co-workers told off, Capcom's response to the statue had a significant impact on him – the company playfully referenced it in Capcom vs SNK 2 several years later.
"After that, I was moved to tears by the stylish response from Capcom," he says. "I can't stand up to Capcom's manliness."
While the Capcom and SNK crossover project hasn't had a new entry since 2006, the two former rivals are working closely together once more, with SNK characters appearing in Street Fighter 6.