Leona Heidern
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Leona Heidern | |
|---|---|
 Leona in King of Fighters 2001 |
|
| Game series | King of Fighters series |
| First game | King of Fighters '96 |
| In-Universe Information | |
| Blood type | B |
| Likes | Visiting factories, Vegetables |
| Dislikes | Blood |
Leona Heidern (レオナ・ハイデルン Reona Haiderun?) is a video game character who made her first appearance in the Neo Geo fighting gameseries, The King of Fighters.
Contents |
[edit] History
Leona has a very blurry past, and an even more bleak future. Leona was born in an unnamed village, residing with her family. On an unknown date, the Herald of Wind Goenitz arrived to the village, and demanded to talk with Guidel, the leader of the village. He inquired Guidel to join him in his quest to awaken the Orochi power, as the village was made up of Orochi bloodline members, obligated (as Goenitz presumed) to assist in his quest. However, Guidel refused; his family had lived in peace for such a long time, and they would not return to the violent ways of the Orochi. Goenitz became enraged, and before he left, he warned that the Orochi would not forgive traitors to the cause. He gave a quick glimpse to Leona, grinned, and walked away.
Night fell, and all was calm. However, Leona began to feel sick, and her head was greatly hurting. Her family began to worry, and before long, Leona began coughing up blood. Her family was shocked, knowing that this was a sign of the Riot of Blood, an instigated process by which a member of the Orochi bloodline becomes a powerful berserker. Everyone tried as best they could to calm her down, but it was no use, as Leona's eyes were lost in rage, and quickly slaughted many residents of the village. In the ensuing chaos, many of the villagers escaped, fearful of the child's wrath. However, Leona was thirsty for blood, and managed to kill them as they tried to escape. After many deaths, Leona was alone in the ruined village, stained with blood. Later, Goenitz returned, and approached the child. He put his hand on her head, and told her to sleep again, and that she would only wake up again when the time was right.
[edit] Rugal / Orochi Saga
Leona began to walk aimlessly in the jungle. She was found by Heidern, who took her back to headquarters. Heidern asked her many questions, but Leona remained silent. Realizing it was useless to try and ask her anything more, Heidern decided to keep her at the base for the time being, until he could send her to an orphanage. However, when Heidern came back from a mission, he saw Leona slash a tree to the ground with her hands. Surprised at this display of power, Heidern thought it would be better for the girl to stay with him and train as a soldier. Immediately, Leona began her training under Heidern's orders. She learned all of Heidern's techniques, due to her incredible ability to cut with her hands. Heidern was surprised at how much Leona progressed; as if she was predisposed towards fighting. It was not until 1996 when Leona received her first official mission: she was to take Heidern's place in the Ikari Team during the King of Fighters tournament.
Her new partners were Heidern's favorite mercenaries: Ralf and Clark. Their mission was to investigate Geese Howard, the Southtown kingpin of crime, who had entered the tournament in search of an unknown goal. Knowing anything Geese may be after could only mean trouble, the new Ikari Team began their mission.
Heidern ordered the Ikari Warriors to go to the stadium, where the finals would take place, in order to investigate any possible action from Geese. During their investigation, a massive blast of wind leveled the entire stadium.
Her past eventually returned during the events of King of Fighters '97. Towards the tournament finals, Leona, along with Iori, suddenly went into the Riot of the Blood, induced by the Orochi itself. She was successfully subdued, and the Orochi was sealed away once again. Even so, Leona was so depressed by these events that she wanted to end her own life, but was stopped by Ralf, who gave her the will to continue living.
[edit] NESTS saga
Leona stays as a member of Ikari team for each and every King of Fighters tournaments during the NESTS saga, indeed for a mission against NESTS. It was assumed she partook in her normal duties with Heidern during this timeframe.
[edit] Ash / Sacred Treasures saga
Leona is once again a member of the Ikari Team during the King of Fighters tournament. Nothing goes wrong until she learnt that some people in the tournament are related to Orochi, and worse, she suddenly goes riot by the end of the tournament, blindly injuring Ralf and Clark before she stops, either because of her two team mates or by herself somehow. Perhaps because of this event, she is absent in King of Fighters XI.
Currently, Leona is still working for Heidern.
[edit] Personality
Leona is very quiet, and does not like to talk much. She has a very cold attitude, and, aside from Ralf, Whip, Clark and Commander Heidern, Leona does not talk to anyone. She seems fearless on the outside, but she remains afraid that she could once again go into the Riot of Blood, and cause harm to her friends. Leona hates the sight of blood (because of the massacre she caused), but when she fights, she always seems to get covered in it. She's often lonely, but knows that Ralf, Whip, and Clark are always behind her.
[edit] Trivia
- Leona makes a cameo in the KOF XI "Esaka 1" stage
- Orochi Leona appears as Ralf's unlockable Maniac Striker in the console version of KOF 2000.
- Leona has the power to transform into her Orochi form in KOF 2002 and Neowave.
- Leona makes a background appearance in the Nairobi stage of Capcom vs. SNK 2.
- In the Playstation port of KOF '98, Leona is paired up with Chang in several of the gallery arts. [1] This is possibly due to an intro bug in the arcade version of KOF '98, which shows her saluting Chang. [2] This intro was intentionally returned in KOF 2001, and in 2002 Leona has a special winquote when she defeats Chang.
- In KOF: Maximum Impact 2, Leona has an extra normal outfit (D) which resembles her Blood Riot version. Normal E and F resemble, respectively, Asuka Langley Soryu and Rei Ayanami from Neon Genesis Evangelion, while normal G has her wearing a female version of Heidern's uniform (complete with the eyepatch). Curiously enough, her alternate G outfit has the same color palette of her default normal outfit.
- The V-shaped slashmarks that appear at the end of her V-Slasher Desperation Move and Super DM are an homage to Choudenji Machine Voltes V -- the titular giant robot had an attack in which it made a V-shaped slash through the enemy, leaving a glowing V for a few dramatic moments before it is destroyed.
- She is a playable character in "Metal Slug Survivors", a mobile game.
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ↑ K-Lantis (1994). Story Guide. Gamefaqs. Retrieved on May 25, 2006.
- ↑ Basel (2003). Character background FAQ. Gamefaqs. Retrieved on May 25, 2006.
- ↑ Numerous (2003). The King of Fighters official website. SNK. Retrieved on May 25, 2006.
- ↑ David Conaway (2003). "King of Fighters: The History". "GamingWorldX". Retrieved on May 25, 2006.
![[2]](http://www.etntelephone.com/hp/photon_kof_ad02/Leona_and_Chang_98_glitch_by_photon_shermiefan.png.jpg){kind=link}