Adelheid

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“
Well, then, let's make an arrangement. (では　手合わせ願おう。)
”

Adelheid Bernstein (アーデルハイド・バーンシュタイン, Āderuhaido Bānshutain), also known simply as Adel (アーデル, Āderu), is a major character in The King of Fighters series, first appearing in The King of Fighters 2003 as the alternative final boss.

He and his younger sister, Rose Bernstein, are the only known children of the infamous crime mogul, Rugal Bernstein. As such, he is exceptionally gifted in the art of fighting and, while still young, is introduced as a very powerful and talented fighter. Together with Rose, Adel commands the flying fortress SKY-NOAH, where he confronts the winners of the 2003 King of Fighters tournament.

When Rose falls under the control of an impending esoteric inhuman threat known only as "Those From The Past," Adel coordinates with Heidern, his father's mortal enemy, to stop them from releasing Orochi and save his sister.

Appearance

Adelheid is established as a tall, handsome young man, standing at 183 cm (6 ft 0 in),[2] with an extremely muscular, well-proportioned physique[8] and a gentleman’s poise. He has silver hair (differing shades of blonde within artwork and in-game), deep scarlet-colored eyes (dark gray in his 2003 render), and pale skin[8] due to albinism,[a] his general appearance being reminiscent of that of a nobleman.[8] Additionally, he wears red earrings shaped like small rounded rectangles (desaturated pink in his 2003 render), and while his facial features are generally neutral, he is often depicted with a somewhat androgynous face, complemented by slightly long, desaturated pink-colored fingernails and dark pink lips (red in-game), the latter detail being particularly prominent in his in-game sprite.

He is almost always seen wearing a combat uniform with a dark grayish green color scheme. This uniform consists of a sleeveless turtleneck, wide-legged pants tucked into his combat boots and secured by two thin belts, and long fingerless gloves adorned with gold studs on the back and knuckles. Additionally, his gloves feature two gold stripes and an emblem with a golden letter "R" on a red background framed by a golden border. He also sports black suspenders secured by gold clips attached to his belt, along with two gold chains clipped onto his belt loops that hang down at his sides.

In The King of Fighters XIII, Adel returns with a slightly updated look. He now wears thicker, pink-colored belts, a dark blue-black sleeveless turtleneck, and dark grayish blue pants, boots, and gloves that mostly maintain their original design. Additionally, his suspenders now attach to his belt loops; his hair takes on a more traditional blonde color and his usually pale skin appears less so, though his KOF XIII trading card sprite maintains his ghostly pale complexion and, strangely, his original design entirely, with minor alterations to his outfit's color scheme.[9] Other material for KOF XIII depict his pants and boots as being a dark lime green color.

Color Schemes

The series is known for alternating colors between media, the information presented below may or may not be canon.
KOF 2003 & KOF XIKOF XIII
Skin(Pale)
Hair(Platinum Blonde)
Eyes(Dark Pink)
Outfit
(Dark grayish green turtleneck, pants, gloves, belts, and boots. Black suspenders. Gold accessories. Dark pink lips and earrings.)
Skin(Slightly Pale)
Hair(Blonde)
Eyes(Dark Red)
Outfit
(Dark blue turtleneck. Vivid pink belts. Dark grayish blue pants and boots. Black gloves and suspenders. Gold accessories. Dark pink lips.)

Personality

“
So, it's defeat for you, is it? Someday I must meet a similar fate...
”
—Adelheid to his defeated opponent, The King of Fighters XI

Adelheid is an aristocratic young man who, despite sharing several traits with his father Rugal, is a polite, sensible, calm, self-disciplined young man and an honorable fighter who exhibits good sportsmanship. This is demonstrated when he is defeated at the end The King of Fighters 2003.[10] When referring to himself, he generally uses the pronoun watashi (私), but sometimes switches to ore (俺). His winning lines and the ending of XI show a side of him that is polite and always respectful to his opponents. There is also a side of him that is hard on himself, thinking that even if he is a winner now, he might lose someday.

His respectfulness is also complimented by his humbleness, which upsets Rose, who does not like how her brother tries to see things from a commoner's point of view. A studious and cool-headed man, Adelheid doesn't always match his father's perspective, and while deviation from the ideal is not a positive experience in the Bernstein household, Adelheid also shares his father's stubborn will. While he does not like his father, he loves and dotes on his younger sister but is troubled by her arrogance and hot temper, which are very similar to their father's, and sometimes has doubts about her sincerity. Even so, upon realizing something is wrong with her in KOF XIII, he cooperated with one of his father's victims, Heidern, to get to the bottom of Those From the Past's plot, and at the then-strange behavior of his sister.

He does not exhibit his father's evil ways, going as far as rebuking his ambitions, and has even assisted those Rugal has wronged on many occasions, namely Heidern.

He also has developed a complex about his feminine name,[11] being noticeably embarrassed by it when introducing himself to Heidern for the first time.[8]

History

Background

Adelheid is the only son of Rugal Bernstein, one of the deadliest men of the modern era. According to Adelheid, Rugal, who wanted a daughter, had a name prepared in advance, but despite siring a son instead, he still gave him the name he had picked out. Because of this, Adelheid was often mistaken for a sister and thus developed a complex about the name. Nonetheless, he stuck with it despite causing social misunderstandings.[8] Growing up, Adelheid displayed exceptional raw, innate talent, fitting his father's mold quite admirably. He went on to master many fighting disciplines at a very young age, even learning the same hybrid style presumably on his own. Adapting Rugal's diverse fighting style to his own strengths, Adelheid became a new face as far as the public was concerned, but one that seemed poised to make an impression.

When Rugal was killed during the 1995 King of Fighters tournament against Team Japan, Adelheid and Rose inherited his tremendous fortune. Unfortunately, Adelheid never enjoyed a normal, happy childhood due to his father's absence and was forced to care for Rose nearly alone.

Several years later, Adel used his fortune to build an airship in Warsaw, Poland, dubbed SKY-NOAH. While heading towards the city center, Adelheid ended up getting lost, being that it was his first time in Warsaw, though this only made him feel more cheerful. Suddenly, he encountered Heidern (using the alias "Bechstein") by chance, and during their brief conversation, the two had a chat about family and blood ties, telling the man he still does not understand or even like his father and that he also expresses doubt about his sister's admiration for him, believing that, deep down, she thinks less of him.

The King of Fighters 2003

Two years after the fall of the NESTS syndicate,[b] Adelheid and Rose co-host the 2003 King of Fighters tournament in association with Chizuru Kagura, the keeper of the Yata Mirror and one of the Three Sacred Treasures. Unbeknownst to them, this event was orchestrated by "Those From His Distant Land," a group of eldritch entities from the past who manipulate events through mortal forms, seeking to unleash Orochi for their own nefarious purposes.

After completing the tournament, Team Ikari is transported aboard SKY-NOAH and welcomed by Rose, who introduces Adelheid as their final challenge. At the behest of his little sister, Adel challenges the champions to a final fight for the crown but is eventually defeated after a well-fought battle. Upon his defeat, Rose threatens to kill the Ikari Team, but Adelheid stops her, graciously admitting defeat despite her pleas to continue fighting and ordering her to return the winners to Earth and land SKY-NOAH.

The King of Fighters XI

After a year of sightseeing flights, SKY-NOAH once again lies back on the dock in Warsaw, where it was born. Adelheid quickly reads and signs the various documents handed to him, before walking out of the dock. Just as he is about to run to a nearby store, he notices a man dressed from head to toe in a neat military uniform standing there, quickly recognizing him as Heidern. The two begin walking through the city together and engaging in awkward small talk. At one point, they reach a bridge over one of the tributaries of the Vistula River, where they hear a child struggling to reel in a large fish as his father stands back and encourages them, confusing Adelheid as to why the father did not help, all the while envying the bond between the child and father, failing to produce a single memory of spending quality time like that with his own father.

After a brief exchange related to fishing, Heidern's voice becomes drowned out by the roar of an approaching military helicopter, which stops and hovers directly above them. Amid the roar and fierce wind, Heidern warns the youth that he will consider him an enemy the next time they meet and departs.[12] In addition to sponsoring the upcoming King of Fighters tournament, Adelheid decides to participate as a single-entry contestant for unclear reasons while being investigated by Heidern until he finally assures him he is a different person from his father.

At the end of the tournament, Adelheid and Rose are aboard SKY-NOAH, taking in the view of the sky. When Rose begins insulting his opponents, he berates her for doing so before leaving to rest, upsetting Rose. Unfortunately, she is spotted by Botan, a member of Those From The Past and one of Mukai's co-conspirators in sabotaging the Orochi seal during the previous tournament, and becomes her puppet.

The King of Fighters XIII

After receiving advice from Ash Crimson, he and Heidern discover a facility hidden in the basement of the King of Fighters stadium and succeeded in rescuing Rose.

Abilities

Athleticism

“
What tremendous natural talent... (凄まじい天賦の才...)
”
—Magaki about Adelheid, The King of Fighters XI

Adelheid is particularly noted for possessing an innate talent for fighting, so much so that even Magaki, a member of Those From The Past known for his sarcastic, nasty, and especially spiteful behavior towards humans, highly values his abilities and praises him quite frankly. While still relatively young and lacking experience, his talent as a fighter is no less than his father's, showing impressive progress for his age. Adelheid fights using a comprehensive self-taught combat technique that masters all combat arts, and his talent is further shown by Adelheid's ability to mimic Rugal's techniques nearly perfectly and even chain them together with greater speed and efficiency.

As a mid-boss in KOF XI, Adelheid demonstrates incredible durability in taking Super Special and Leader Super Special Moves with minimal damage. He has also performed impressive feats of strength, such as forcefully grabbing and turning someone multiple times bigger than himself around and punching them to the ground, easily dragging them across an arena. His strength extends to his legs, as he can kick opponents into the air with minimal effort, slide across the ground, kick with such force that he can create wind projectiles, and leap through the air easily and gracefully.

The King of Fighters 2003 manhua depicts Adelheid's strength being powered by Rose's piano playing.

Attacks

Adelheid has a relatively small arsenal of fighting techniques, most inherited from Rugal but with weaker priority, suggesting that his mastery of his father's skills still has a long way to go. Some are his original creations, most starting with "A," likely taken from his own name, whilst his borrowed techniques begin with "G", which is short for "grosse," an alternate form of "groß," the German word for "great" or "grand."

G. Kicken(G・キッケン G Kikken) Link to this section
Debut: The King of Fighters 2003

Adelheid's primary method of attack. He throws a fast kick that launches a forward-moving wind projectile that travels along the ground. First used by Geese Howard as the "Gale Fist" (烈風, Reppū Ken), the attack involves swiping a limb forward and upwards (in Adelheid's case, the leg) to create a wave of wind that targets the opponent. Adelheid can also perform this in the air while incorporating a jumping axe kick.

G. Drucken(G・ドラッケン G Dorakken) Link to this section
Debut: The King of Fighters 2003

Adelheid dashes forward to grab and drag his opponent to slam them against a wall.

G. Wand(G・ワンド G Wando) Link to this section
Debut: The King of Fighters 2003

Adelheid possesses the ability to utilize energy to create a barrier strong enough to reflect most projectiles while also functioning as an attack.

G. Kreis(G・クレイス G Kureisu) Link to this section
Debut: The King of Fighters 2003

Adelheid swings his leg in a circle, performing an overhead outward-crescent kick. He can also slide along the ground towards his target first to close the gap between them if necessary.

G. Sklaven(G・スクラーゲン G Sukurāgen) Link to this section
Debut: The King of Fighters 2003

Adelheid's most powerful attack. Similar to his father's Gigantic Pressure, Adelheid rushes forward to grab the opponent and slam them into the nearest wall, creating a pillar of energy that engulfs the opponent. The energy produced by this technique can flow straight through victims.

G. Kronprinz(G・クローンプリンツ G Kurōnpurintsu) Link to this section
Debut: The King of Fighters XI

A new technique used by Adelheid during the 11th tournament. First used by Wolfgang Krauser as the "Kaiser Wave" (カイザーウェーブ, Kaizā Wēbu), Adelheid charges energy into both of his hands and fires a large, powerful projectile.


Relationships

Adelheid's relationship with people is usually straightforward, due to his type of personality. He usually tends to keep his emotions to himself.

Family

  • Rose Bernstein: Adelheid's younger sister. Although she has a sibling complex and always follows him around, her personality is similar to her father's. As mentioned before, she also seems to look down on her brother and disrespects him (perhaps without realizing it). When he snapped back at her in KOF XI, she lost her temper.

Allies

  • Heidern: Rugal's victim and mortal enemy. In the KOF 2003, they met by chance and had a conversation without knowing each other's positions. Although they were friends with a large age gap, their positions forced them to become enemies, and in KOF XI, Heidern declared them enemies. However, in KOF XIII, when Adelheid realized the purpose of Rose's brainwashing through Ash's hints, he contacted Heidern and asked for his cooperation.

Others

  • Kyo Kusanagi: The legitimate heir of the Kusanagi clan, one of the three clans that sealed the legendary snake demon god, Orochi, 1800 years prior, and keeper of the Kusanagi Sword, one of the Three Sacred Treasures. Adelheid recognizes him as the man who defeated his father, but as mentioned above, he never liked him to begin with, so he has no desire for revenge. Adel appears to value Kyo's power and abilities, as in one of his win quotes in KOF XI, Adel exclaims, "A guy like this... That's it? You've lost it, father!"

Quotes

Tales of AshALLSTAR'98 UM OL
Quote.png Quotes
Show AllEnglishJapaneseRomaji
  • “
    Leave it to me. (任せておけ。)
    ”
    —Battle Intro, KOF 2003 & KOF XI
  • “
    If wonder...if I'll be able to win... (勝てるだろうか... 俺が...)
    ”
    —Battle Intro, KOF 2003 & KOF XI
  • “
    This man is Kusanagi? (この男が草薙か？)
    ”
    —Vs. Kyo Kusanagi, KOF 2003
  • “
    It's a natural result. (当然の結果だ。)
    ”
    —Win, KOF 2003 & KOF XI
  • “
    Results are everything, the process doesn't matter. (結果がすべてだ、その過程はなにも意味をなすまい)
    ”
    —Win, KOF 2003
Quote.png Quotes
Show AllEnglishJapaneseRomaji
Quote.png Quotes
Show AllEnglishJapaneseRomaji
  • “
    I don't understand... why you desire power so badly... (こうまでして力が欲しいというのが... 解らない...)
    ”
    —Vs. Omega Rugal, KOF'98 UM OL

Creation and Development

In order to broaden the world of KOF, developers sought to create a side story independent of the main story, thus leading to Adelheid and Rose's addition to the series.[2] He was deliberately crafted as a character who exists one step apart from the main story; in contrast to Ash, who is depicted as an antihero, Adel is the "hidden protagonist" of the Tales of Ash story arc.[citation needed] As such, in 2003 and XI, there is a dense storyline about the blood ties between him and his father. However, it has no bearing on the main storyline. Curiously, concept artwork in the art gallery found in the PlayStation port of The King of Fighters '99 depict characters strongly resembling Adel, Rose, and their panther mascot Gwan,[13] indicating that they were saved for later usage.

The background music for Adelheid's stage in KOF 2003 begins with Chopin's "Revolutionary Etude," but trying to make this piano sound realistic on the Neo Geo required an enormous amount of data, which ended up taking up space on the voice data for other characters.[2] In The King of Fighters ALLSTAR, this theme was remixed for his KOF 2003 version, adding more elements from the "Revolutionary Étude."

Casting

In all of his voiced appearances, Adelheid has been voiced by Tetsuya Tanaka. His lines in KOF ALLSTAR are reused from KOF 2003. However, on December 28, 2023, the KOF XI version of Adelheid was added as a UE fighter, with old voice lines being re-recorded, and entirely new ones being added as well.[14]

Trivia

  • Based on unused artwork in KOF XIII, Adelheid was meant to be a playable character, with fully drawn character select and victory screen poses, but this idea was scrapped at some point during development, possibly due to time constraints or changes to the storyline. Had he been included, the game's main plot would have likely been heavily affected in his story line, as he is a central behind-the-scenes character throughout the game's Story Mode.
  • The name "Adelheid" is a modern Dutch and German form of the Old High German female given name Adalheidis, and is a female name found in Germany and Switzerland meaning "nobility" or "noble-ness," commonly referred to as "Heidi."
  • Adelheid's nationality and heritage are currently unconfirmed. However, his family is strongly hinted to be of German descent; unlike his father's moves, the names of Adel's techniques are all based on German (e.g., "G. Wand" and "G. Kreis"), but they are read and pronounced in English (e.g., Vier (ヴァイア, vaia) should be written as "フィアー" (fiā) in katakana, which would be faithful to the actual German pronunciation).
  • According to the German pronunciation of Adelheid, the kana spelling "アーデルハイト" (Āderuhaito) is more faithful to the original language.
  • The identity and whereabouts of his and Rose's mother have remained hidden. Due to the fact his Leader Super Special Move, G. Slaven, has an effect reminiscent of the power of the Orochi clan — the Hakkesshu — it is possible that Rugal, who obtained the power of Orochi through a past encounter with a young Goenitz, passed on his dark powers to Adelheid. It has also been speculated that the identity of Adel and Rose's mother is Rugal's former secretary, Mature, a member of the Orochi Hakkesshu possessing a similar move to Rugal's Gigantic Pressure and Adelheid's G. Slaven.
  • His reasons for hosting and participating in the King of Fighters tournaments are unclear. However, they are vaguely implied to be fueled by a desire to test his strength against powerful, renowned opponents.

Notes

  1. ↑ According to concept art for KOF 2003.
  2. ↑ As depicted in The King of Fighters 2001 (2001)

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "THE KING OF FIGHTERS 2003【アーデルハイド＆ローズ】", SNK, Accessed on 2024, November 17.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 "Adelheid - KOFキャラクター：THE KING OF FIGHTERS OFFICIAL WEB SITE" (Archived), SNK, Accessed on 2017, October 12.
  3. ↑ ALL ABOUTシリーズ Vol.7 ALL ABOUT ザ・キング・オブ・ファイターズ'94. Japan: Denpa Shinbunsha, 17, November 1994. (p. 86)
  4. ↑ A.A.GAME HISTORY SERIES VOL.2 ALL ABOUT SNK対戦格闘ゲーム 1991-2000. Japan: Denpa Shinbunsha, 08 December 2000. ISBN 4-88554-677-X. (p. 388)
  5. ↑ "KOF Year-end Party 2005 Ainori Bus Tour Group Report (in Japanese)" (Archived), geocities, Accessed on 2018, October 08.
  6. ↑ "The King of Fighters 2003", Behind The Voice Actors.
  7. ↑ Netmarble [@KOF_ALLSTAR] (2020, April 27), "Adelheid Reveal Trailer", on Twitter.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 The King of Fighters 2003 Flame of Nova, Arcadia Extra Mook Vol. 14. Japan: Enterbrain, February 2004. ISBN 4-7577-1820-9. (p. 178)
  9. ↑ "KOF XIII Trading Card: -Adelheid Bernstein-".
  10. ↑ SNK-Playmore (2003-12-12). The King of Fighters 2003 (Neo Geo). SNK-Playmore. Scene: Adelheid ending. Rose: ...My brother...you lost! It cannot be! ...I will not release you! You will not go back alive!/Adelheid: Stop! Rose! Return them to the Earth... and land SKY-NOAH./Rose: Brother, you're mistaken again! You must fight again!/Adelheid: Rose, defeat is defeat. To fight over and over until victory is meaningless...
  11. ↑ SNK OFFICIAL [@snkplaymoreGame] (2018, August 23), "アーデルハイド：君はヒーローキャラ紹介", on Youtube.
  12. ↑ "Adelheid & Rose's story for The King of Fighters XI (in Japanese)", SNK, Accessed on 2018, October 07.
  13. ↑ D.J. Tatsujin [@gemubaka] (2020, December 10), "The King of Fighters '99 (PS1) Unused Character Art Menu", on Youtube.
  14. ↑ The King of Fighters ALLSTAR [@TheKingofFightersALLSTAR] (2023, December 26), "KOF ALLSTAR New UE Fighters 2001 Heidern & XI Adelheid", Netmarble.
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