Rugal Bernstein

Rugal Bernstein (ルガール・バーンシュタイン Rugāru Bānshutain) is a character in The King of Fighters, due to his popularity, he is one of the most recurring and popular villains in this saga. He made his debut in KOF '94, where he took the role of final boss, facing only 3 entire teams of fighters. Since then he has been in several games in the series as a final boss, as well as a few other versions. He was allowed to be used in KOF '98 but with two skins, the first very similar to his previous appearances in KOF and with an improved skin from the Omega Rugal version.

Rugal is voiced by Toshimitsu Arai.

Date of Birth: February 10 ♒ Height: 197cm Weight: 103 Kg Blood Type: Unknown Family/Relationships: Younger brother (unknown), Adelheid Bernstein (son), Rose Bernstein (daughter), Rodem (panther, pet) Occupation: Arms and drug trafficker, cartel leader Likes: His evil heart Hates: Justice and those who stand in its way Hobbies: Resurrection Favorite Food: No food likes or dislikes Sports He Masters: None in particular, but he masters them all Special Ability: Copy Attacks Favorite Music Classical Music Fighting Style: A Gesamtkunst with mastery of all fighting styles.

Rugal made his first appearance in the game The King of Fighters '94, officially recognized as a drug and weapons dealer. He is the owner of a large aircraft carrier named "Black Noah", in which he carried out weapons smuggling operations in the seas in the territory free of the laws of the nations of the world, for this reason it was almost impossible to catch him. He is fond of fights in which he stands out for being extremely powerful. He had a sadistic addiction of collecting statues of fighters whom he defeated in combat, from whom he sometimes learned techniques. He was an underworld business partner of Geese Howard, Wolfgang Krauser, King Lion and Mr. Big, from whom he learned Geese's Reppuken and Krauser's Kaiser Wave.

Rugal has two children: Adelheid and Rose, he also has a pet panther named Rodem, he has four secretaries for his services, Mature, Vice, Aya and Hermione. His desire to dissect fighters made him follow in the footsteps of military commander Heidern in 1986. Once he located his whereabouts in a military complex, without caring about the consequences of trying to force his way into a highly armed military base with thousands of guards, he decides to set out in search of his new "trophy." Rugal invaded and killed each of Heidern's men until he found him, and just as Heidern was evacuating his wife and daughter, Rugal, wanting to face Heidern's full fury, murdered them both. When confronting Rugal, Heidern loses his right eye; Rugal's purpose of dissecting Heidern could not be realized because the complex exploded, allowing Heidern to escape from it. Since then Heidern swore revenge against Rugal.

Over time, Rugal learned about the extraordinary power of the god Orochi. He detected the place where the power was sealed. On his way to break the seal he encountered Goenitz, one of the members of the Hakkeshu clan, who tore out his right eye with ease, however, in a sort of act of benevolence, granted him a bit of Orochi's power, making him much more powerful. strong and resilient, although he was never able to fully assimilate this power.

In '94, after having appeared in the KOF editions organized by Geese and later, in the one organized by Krauser, Rugal, already bored with collecting statues of low-potential fighters, decided to organize his own tournament under the premise that whoever If he won, he would enjoy a prize that would consist of a fairly considerable financial amount. Rugal commissioned his secretaries to send the tournament invitations to the best fighters in the world. As a rule, the fighters would have to form a group of three fighters, since his arrogance was so great that he believed that the confrontation against a single fighter would be very little. for him, so even when he faced more opponents he could defeat them all easily.

The Japanese team Kyo Kusanagi, Benimaru Nikaido and Goro Daimon win the Tournament, who are taken by Mature to Rugal's ship. At that same moment, Saisyu Kusanagi, Kyo's father, enters the ship, trying to defeat Rugal, his efforts in vain and after a hard battle he is left dying, at that moment the champions of the tournament arrive and Rugal introduces himself, he tells them clearly he intends to defeat them, dissect them, and add them to his "trophy" collection. However, to his surprise he is defeated by Kyo. Seeing himself helpless, he decides to annihilate them all, pressing the ship's self-destruct button. But Kyo and his friends escape by helicopter without being able to save Saisyu.

In 1995, Rugal returned to the battlefield, after what happened in KOF the previous year, he underwent a series of operations in which he was given cybernetic implants, such as a mechanical hand, all of these improvements enhanced his abilities and had the purpose of allowing him to make greater use of the power of Orochi, which Goenitz had previously given him in addition to having warned him about the serious consequences that excessive use of said power would have, which would result in the consumption of his own body and in his consequent disappearance from the face of the earth, this cybernetic improvement would allow him to control at least 80% of the Orochi power that was granted to him.

Rugal also rescued the inert body of Saisyu (Kyo's father who had been defeated by Rugal before KOF 94 began), and in his laboratories they revived him with a brainwashing, turning him into his mercenary. In this way, Rugal organizes a new KOF tournament, this time making it clear that he was behind the tournament, to attract the previous participants and take revenge for the humiliation he had in front of Kyo and the others. The only purpose for which he resurrects Saisyu is to make Kyo suffer, making him fight against him. When Kyo defeats his father, Rugal becomes really furious and forces his body to function at its limit, he undergoes a transformation (which turns him into Omega Rugal) which exponentially increases his power, as the fight progresses, the possibilities If they win, they turn in favor of Kyo, who attacks him with his best technique, the Shiki Orochinagi, with which he manages to defeat him. At that moment, the side effect of Orochi's power on Rugal's body is instantaneous, he cannot withstand so much energy, so the force contained within him makes him burst into pieces. Before dying, Iori Yagami appears on the scene and tells him that he was stupid, because only those who carry the blood of the Orochi clan (like him) can withstand that effect, known as the "Blood Riot", Rugal managed to understand it. , and says he will return, after that, he disappears in the middle of an explosion that leaves the wake of a demonic shadow, and this is where Rugal's canonical presence in the saga ends. There is a series of speculations surrounding the meaning of the trail of demonic shadow left by his self-destruction, which turns out to be similar to the Orochi pillar that Rugal could use. Some theories indicate that if he died, but the power did not fade, he simply returned to Orochi himself.

Almost a decade later, in 2003, Rugal's children, Adelheid and Rose Bernstein try to avenge his death by trying to defeat Kyo Kusanagi, but fail. Furthermore, Adelheid understands that Kyo was not the one who killed his father, but that he died because of his excessive ambition and his search for the power of Orochi.

Rugal is an important part of the KOF saga, even though he does not appear as selectable, for example, in KOF '96, Goenitz mentions Rugal as the one who ripped out Rugal's right eye.

He also appears as the Final Boss in so-called "Dream Matches", such as KOF '98 and KOF 2002 (including their updated versions: KOF '98 Ultimate Match and KOF 2002 Unlimited Match).

Rugal appears in the Capcom vs SNK crossover as both a selectable and Final Boss; In this version a version of the so-called "God Rugal" appears (Ultimate Rugal in the version outside of Japan), which consists of Rugal absorbing Akuma's powers, achieving, according to him, the power of a God. It also occurs with Akuma (Gouki in Japan) absorbing the powers of M. Bison (Vega in Japan).

He also appears as a secret character in "KOF: Neowave" (console versions only), in "KOF 2000" as Kula Diamond's Maniac Striker, in which as a striker he does his slashing kick allowing him to create effective upward combos. And finally in KOF

In a Boston museum, Rugal Bernstein steals three relics: the Kagura mirror, Yagami's necklace, and the Kusanagi sword. He uses them to disappear into a dimensional portal and awaken the mythical entity known as the Orochi, granting him unlimited powers.

Rugal is one of the characters criticized by fans, because the design worn by the actor, Ray Park, does not have the same appearance as in the game. For example, he does not have a red eye, nor is he blonde, nor does he have a muscular appearance. And he doesn't fight in Rugal's own style, but with flames and weapons.

Assimilation - Rugal has assimilated a couple of techniques and battle styles from world-renowned fighters and the mafia. Repukken - Geese's energy projectile, only on land. Kaiser Wave - Krauser's powerful energy wave from Gaia, can charge her into a fast and sometimes unblockable mass of energy. Genocide Cutter - It is a technique in which you create a cutting aura of energy with your hands and feet. He normally uses it in a kick. When normal, he only gives two combos of the Genocide Cutter, but in Omega Rugal he creates up to 3 series of this. Reflective Barrier - Rugal can create an energy barrier that reflects any enemy attack and returns energy projectiles like Athena's Psycho Reflector. Drill-Rugal Combo jumps on his opponent and crushes him with his entire body weight rotating like a drill. SDM in KOF '98. Pure Orochi Power or Grant of Nothing - Originally no one outside the Orochi lineage could have it and it had never been granted by any Hakkeshu to anyone outside the clan, however Goenitz gave some Orochi power to Rugal, but he could not use it fully, since that would mean his death, this characteristic was maintained even when he improved as Omega Rugal, which gave him the ability to make greater partial use of the forces coming from Orochi, but which resulted in his death as a consequence of excessive use. Orochi's pure power is his own power, he can even not only create things like fire or electricity, but he could activate in severe cases the Blood Disturbance or give electrical or geokinetic powers. When Goenitz gave some Orochi power to Rugal just like that, he gained the power. Orochi Pillar - Rugal can hit the opponent with a pillar of demonic energy that is shaped like a blood-colored skull.