Vermillion Cinders: Phoenix

It's been two years since the events of Vermillion Cinders: Climax and the Guardians are overseeing the reconstruction of the world. But an organization called Phoenix menaces with wiping out everything and creating a new order.

Gameplay
The gameplay of the series is similar to Vermillion Cinders: Climax, but now there's a new gameplay element:

Element Install
Using two power stocks, the character can become temporarily engulfed with its elements. This gives different properties depending on the character, generally it will create an effect on its surrounding and all of its normal attacks will have elemental properties.

Stages
There are seven stages:
 * Egypt
 * Aircraft
 * French Street
 * Chinese Forest
 * The Arctic
 * USA Mountain
 * Ireland Fields
 * Quantum Stage

Playable characters
Not all the characters of the previous game return, and the returning ones have new features (even changing their element in some cases). Void and "Non elemental" categories are also officially added. The KOF characters don't return.

Fire

 * Ash Crimson. An eccentric French young man from the KOF series. He's partners with Shen Woo.
 * Camil. A Western-styled womanizer with the power of creating forms made of fire. He's partners with Eliza.
 * Eliza. A determined Latin American girl that can direct heat to create beams. She's partners with Camil.
 *  Magnus  (New) . A mysterious and strong Scottish bearded man that wears an armor and has the power to heat them and also unleash lava. He's partners with Lan Xun.

Water

 * Tennosuke. An odd-looking member of a mob that fights with the aid of an extendable hook. He's partners with Yuuna.
 * Yumi. Yumi's icy heart has melted and she has become an apprentice for Satsuki. She has now powers that involve steam and hot water. She's partners with Yumi.
 * Satsuki. A priest from the moon that dominates water curtains and offensive dance moves. She's partners with Yumi.
 *  Yuuna  (New) . Yuuna is Yumi's long time lost brother. He's a ninja and has the power to create ice. He's partners with Tennosuke.

Air

 * Tsubasa. A serious man that's captain of an airship. He's able to move gracefully creating air currents. He's partners with Kanon.
 * Kanon. Kanon gave up his Earth Guardian piece in the ending of the last game and instead created a sky city with the help of Tsubasa. His powers are air now and he's partners with Tsubasa.
 * Tweet. A French lady that imitates the singing of the birds and uses sound to confuse her opponents. She's partners with Lia.
 *  Yin Étiennes Lamont  (New) . A Chinese-French parkour fighter that's an expert on cycle, rollerskates and runner. He's as fast as the wind and is engulfed by wind. He's partners with Jordi.

Earth

 * Lia. A wealthy English woman that can create minerals and crystal gems to different purposes. She's partners with Tweet.
 * Hiruk. After being dismissed by the Chinese military, Hiruk has gone with a peace mission to locate the new Guardian of Earth. He's partners with Jade.
 *  Jade  (New) . A gardener from Italy that has the power of making vegetation grow. She's the new Guardian of Earth and is partners with Hiruk.
 *  Lan Xun  (New) . Young son of Li Xun and carries over the imperalist mission of his mother. He can cover his body with terracota armor and summon metallic weapons. He's partners with Magnus.

Light

 * Elisabeth Blanctorche. Elisabeth returns to investigate the conspiracy. She's partners with Duolon.
 * Valwa. A Swedish model that dresses in white dresses in white and can suck out the color of the stages to use in purpose. He's partners with Spark.
 * Spark. A Korean colorful young girl that's an expert DJ, she can attack using sound and blinding color lights. She's partners with Valwa.
 *  Tsuki  (New) . Tsuki is the shard of Tsukiyomi and a brilliant scientist girl. She has trained under Shiro and has illusion powers but also can alter time to some extent (slowing it down for the others or speeding herself up, for example). She's partners with Stratos.

Void

 * Duolon. Duolon is a master assassin and teleporter that can nullify projectiles and cleanse the stage with his shadow techniques. She's partner with Elisabeth.
 * Grimes. After being stripped away from his powers by Tsukiyomi, Grimes became a shadow being but no less powerful. He's partner with Heiji.
 * Heiji. Heiji absorbed the dark shard of Tsukiyomi and became possessed. He's able to charge with corruption and confusion his opponents. He's partners with Grimes.
 *  Jordi  (New) . Jordi is a weird mime from Spain that can travel along with shadows and create shadows that imitate the opponent or take hits for him. He's partners with

Non Elementals

 * Shen Woo. This street boxer has no control of any element but it won't be a problem for him to defeat everyone with his sheer strength.
 * Shane. Shane gave up his wind powers to restore the lands of his country, but his sheer strength has granted him a no less powerful fighting style.
 * Stratos. Stratos gave up his air powers to raise Kanon's new island over the clouds. But Tsuki equipped him with technology that can replicate his powers to some extent. He's partners with Tsuki.
 * Oswald. This poker player and professional assassin enters the ring to help against the riots in Ireland. He's partners with Shane.

Bosses

 * Quantum Magnus. Magnus absorbs all the four elemental pieces and composes the Elemental Clockwork again. He fights using an armor that controls all four elements and threatens to activate the Phoenix Machine with its energy to enslave the world.
 * The Phoenix Machine. This giant machine attacks from the sky devastating the land. The player must survive it and await until Heiji and Tsuki arrive to counter it with the Quantum Clockwork.
 * Phoenix Magnus. As the Phoenix Machine is destroyed and Magnus strips himself of his armor, the player must fight him inhis final, immortal, non-elemental form in the Quantum realm. The player characters will be boosted by the Quantum Clockwork for the match.

Storyline
To stop Tsukiyomi and restore the balance of the world, the Guardians had to do big sacrifices, but the world is now being reconstructed from its ashes. Unfortunately, a secret society called Phoenix is rising through the world and planning to destroy the world for it to reborn once again.

Ash and Shen Woo
Ash meets Shen Woo in the end of the last game and goes in a travel of training to find and defeat strong opponents. Next step: The King of Fighters 2003!

Elisabeth and Duolon
After learning about secret society Phoenix infiltrated in high class circles, Elisabeth contacts Duolon to find out about the probable responsibles.

Eliza and Camil
Camil split the Fire Piece with Eliza and now both are guarding America. When riots and terrorist attacks emerge, they need to find out who is behind the conspiracy.

Satsuki and Yumi
Yumi found the bitter truth of her family: they were a clan of assassins and were killed because of big crimes they had committed in the past. She's been training with Satsuki trying to create a new identity for herself. But when she learned her last relative alive, an older brother, is a mercenary, her mission becomes locating him with the hopes of making him change his ways.

Tennosuke and Yuuna
Yuuna is enraged when the Phoenix organization surfaces, as he recognizes they were the ones that killed his family. He accompanies himself with captain Tennosuke to get his final revenge.

Tsubasa and Kanon
Tsubasa gave up his Guardian of Earth title as his desert sunk in a black void. He's saved his nation by taking over the Guardian of Air title, and created a new floating city with Kanon. Now on a mission of piece, they travel over the world to find out about the Phoenix conspiration.

Hiruk and Jade
Hiruk's been exiled by the Chinese when he stopped his queen for taking over the world. He's located Jade, the new Guardian of Earth and is going in a peace mission to reforest the world. When he realizes there's a conspiracy called Phoenix, that tries to kill the Guardians, they have to go on the run.

Magnus and Lan Xun
Old Scottish warrior Magnus from the Phoenix order presents his services to Lan Xun, with the promise of conquering the whole world and establish a new World Order. Magnus plans finding and killing the four Guardians at the four cardinal points and absorbs their power.

Spark and Valwa
After the lost of Heiji at Tsukiyomi's hands, Spark is teaming up with a man that has similar powers to him, in the hopes of finding and saving his old friend.

Lia and Tweet
After the last events, Lia has become a patron for classic musician Tweet. When the riots of the Phoenix in the high spheres threaten to destroy their art endeavours, both begin their own investigation.

Shane and Oswald
Shane gave up his Guardian of Air title to Kanon, in an exchange that allowed Kanon's land to be saved through air and Shane's land to be reforested. Now, a secret society called Phoenix threatens Ireland. He will team up with Oswald, a long-time double agent from that society, to destroy them from the inside.

Grimes and Heiji
Grimes was stripped from his element powers by Tsukiyomi the last time, but he survived by finding Heiji, who had become the avatar of the dark shard of Tsukiyomi. Now he manipulates him in an attempt to reach Tsuki and join both sides to create a force that can conquer the world.

Stratos and Tsuki
After Tsukiyomi's defeat, its light when to turn into a brilliant child called Tsuki. Stratos became his mentor and now both try to save the world from chaos.

Yin and Jordi
After the riots in French, Yin travels with a street artist to try to benefit from the situation. But Jordi is secretely a member of Phoenix.