Akihiko Ureshino's other works include The Black Steel Demon Crest Repairer, She is a War Fairy, and Mephisto's Magic Bullet.
After working in 10 KOF novelizations, Ureshino noted that SNK used leads Kyo Kusanagi and Iori Yagami too much and believed they should be given a rest after The King of Fighters '97.
It may be a somewhat cynical view, but it may have been the financial situation on the verge of bankruptcy that allowed the old SNK, who at the time had a strong impression of being a character game maker that borrowed content from other companies, to develop a spin-off work of KOF that was not a simple port.
[2] During the early stages of development for The King of Fighters '99, SNK planned to exclude Kyo and Iori from the game because its story was centered on new protagonist K', but they reversed this decision because "they couldn't leave these popular characters in limbo".
While Kyo and Iori are always arguing with each other, Ureshino was careful with how writing them to the point their introduction in The King of Fighters '99 added a subtext of happiness of the two rivals meeting again, believing they had died in KOF '97.
[5] The relationship develops over later games until the latest KOF XV from 2022 where Ureshino noted fighting Kyo was Iori's only desire in life and always wanted to join him to prevent his death.
Ureshino noted that while Kyo was relegated to a more comical and minor role in the first game, the Meira siblings did not stand out as strong protagonists and wanted the original net animation Another Day and Maximum Impact 2 give them a better portrayal.
[10] He oversees a similar relationship in rivals but more brutal between hero Terry Bogard who seeks to avenge his father Jeff murderered at the hands of Geese Howard.