Following the Orochi arc, in The King of Fighters '99, Kyo was originally a hidden character. He became instantly playable in the console ports, which led to praise within fans and writers. Kyo received mixed reactions when The King of Fighters XIV was first revealed as critics were divided on whether or not the design was faithful to the original. When the game was patched to improve the graphics, Siliconera said Kyo's appearance was highly improved. Anime News Network expressed disappointment that Kyo was not picked as a SNK representative character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, as he had few guest appearances in comparison to Terry Bogard. Some critics commented on the character's moves. IGN writer A.E. Sparrow wrote that Kyo is one of the most enjoyable characters to play in the King of Fighters series, praising the dynamism of his moveset and fighting style. In another review, Sparrow considered him to be one of the most useful characters in the games and one of the best for veteran players. Gaming Age writer Jeff Keely praised Kyo's redesign in The King of Fighters '99, saying he felt less overpowered than in previous games, which helped to balance the cast, but still felt him weaker in comparison to the new character Terry Bogard. Electronic Gaming Monthly shared similar comments, stating he became a fan of Kyo thanks to his NESTS moves, which made his downloadable version from KOF XIII exciting, and Shoryuken said this version was more interesting than the regular Kyo. Prima Games listed his "Orochinagi" as the 40th best technique in gaming due to the way it covers the screen. Complex ranked Kyo as the 11th Most Dominant Fighting Game Character, praising his special moves. A Gamasutra writer enjoyed Kyo's mechanics in the Capcom vs. SNK series due to his uniqueness while being confronted by other characters. Meristation was bothered by Kyo's simple moves in The King of Fighters XII and XIII, and was pleased with the return of hand-to-hand techniques in XIV. The character's moves in XIV were noted to appeal to both newcomers and veterans of the franchise. Outside the video games, Kyo has made appearances that met with disapproval by critics. Lucas M. Thomas from IGN lamented that Kyo has few appearances in the volume from the manhua The King of Fighters 2003 in comparison to Ash Crimson, who is the greater focus of the series.