The King of Fighters series

This is where you can deliberate anything relating to videogames - past, present and future
Post Reply
User avatar
JaySevenZero
Admin
Posts: 2643
Joined: August 27th, 2012, 4:28 pm
Location: Liverpool, Europe, Earth
Contact:

The King of Fighters series

Post by JaySevenZero »

Here's where you can contribute your thoughts and opinions for The King of Fighters (series) for potential inclusion in the forthcoming podcast.

A friendly reminder that where the feedback for the podcast is concerned, we love it - but keeping it brief is appreciated. We do want to include a breadth of opinions where appropriate, but no-one wants a discussion podcast that’s mostly reading out essays. Better to save yourself time and cut to the chase if you can.
User avatar
andthenweplay
Member
Posts: 32
Joined: March 5th, 2020, 11:57 pm
Location: AB, Canada

Re: 482 - The King of Fighters (series)

Post by andthenweplay »

I have owned my copy of King of Fighters 13 since it launched nearly ten years ago. I bought it when I was in collage which is the perfect time to get into a fighting game with other people to play it locally. But what I take most from the game playing it in 2021 is how gorgeous the game looks. Even playing the game on PS3, I love the look of the hand drawn sprites and how they are animated. And the backgrounds are equally as impressive. But most importantly the game was still a blast to play. Hard and complex to be sure, but wicked fun!
User avatar
raisinbman
Member
Posts: 190
Joined: September 8th, 2020, 12:22 am

Re: 482 - The King of Fighters (series)

Post by raisinbman »

Well, I'm not too sure how I can cane and rinse a fighter, no less a series of them, but if 15 comes out in time I'll definitely add my 2 cents. I know there's a couple collections, and I think i got xiii on a cheap steam sale so I'll see what I can come up with!

Doing some research to see, this might help out others:

Welp, looks like I got XIII(probably through a humble bundle or something), but I'm trying to do my due diligence here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_T ... ideo_games

KOF started as the 'Smash Bros' of SNK at the time, incorporating characters from fatal fury, art of fighting, ikari warriors, and Athena.

There are both fatal fury and art of fighting collections if you're a denizen of playstation land(https://store.playstation.com/en-us/pro ... 7230000001 https://store.playstation.com/en-us/pro ... 4870000001)

There is also KOF Collection(which bafflingly to me isn't every KOF game, but that's how collections work nowadays): Orochi Saga: https://store.playstation.com/en-us/pro ... 5540000001

But where does KOF actually start? KOF '94. Both steam and PSStore seem to have a pretty good collection of the games, with fighting game developers being on a recent kick to implement rollback netcode for their games so you don't have to hook up some sort of emulator engine to get decent games.

I admit to not having much KOF knowledge, but beyond the modern ones(13-14) there seems to be alot of love for their crossovers(Capcom vs SNK 2) and The King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match The King of Fighters 2002 Unlimited Match if you'd like to get the most bang for your buck.
User avatar
raisinbman
Member
Posts: 190
Joined: September 8th, 2020, 12:22 am

Re: 482 - The King of Fighters (series)

Post by raisinbman »

https://www.fightersgeneration.com/news1/kof15-2022.htm

KOF 15 delayed to probably next year, won't be apart of the show it seems sadly
User avatar
ratsoalbion
Admin
Posts: 7918
Joined: August 28th, 2012, 9:41 am
Location: Brighton, England
Contact:

Re: 482 - The King of Fighters (series)

Post by ratsoalbion »

That's cool, we probably wouldn't have played it enough by recording time anyway.
HaloFandango
Member
Posts: 156
Joined: July 31st, 2020, 4:37 pm

Re: 482 - The King of Fighters (series)

Post by HaloFandango »

I first saw KOF XIII pre-release at a fighting game tournament in London. People were enjoying Street Fighter 4 and Mortal Kombat 9 at the tournament, but there was a real buzz of excitement about the new KOF. Some devkit Xbox's had been brought along and people were clamouring to try and learn as much of the game as possible.

Fast forward a few years and my good friend Michiel of this podcast re-introduced me to KOF XIII with some fighting game nights with our fellow work colleagues. The game completely blew me away with its beautiful graphics, sound and addictive gameplay. My team was always Team Banana (Benimaru, K' and Kyo all in yellow). We had so many amazing times, which is why I will always remember KOF XIII fondly.

The KOF series in general has always had interesting characters, fighting systems and art styles, which make it very different from its other fighting game peers. It is this reason why I keep coming back to the series over the years!
User avatar
raisinbman
Member
Posts: 190
Joined: September 8th, 2020, 12:22 am

Re: 482 - The King of Fighters (series)

Post by raisinbman »

this may come in handy for the upcoming KOF show: [Steam] SNK Publisher Sale (King Of Fighters XII (-75%), KoF XIV (-75%), Metal Slug (-50%), Samurai Shodown NeoGeo Collection (-75%) and more) https://www.reddit.com/r/GameDeals/comm ... rs_xii_75/
User avatar
raisinbman
Member
Posts: 190
Joined: September 8th, 2020, 12:22 am

Re: 482 - The King of Fighters series

Post by raisinbman »

I started with KOF 2002 Unlimited Match:

So this is my first time playing KOF, and as per usual with fighting games I had to do a bit of searching on what exactly to do. I kind of felt like a kid in a candy shop seeing so many characters I’ve never played, and many I’ve never seen before. The combo systems is taking some getting used to, but it seems like jumping in and pianoing down(heavys to lights). It seems like its pretty flexible in terms of sticking specials and supers in, and also has rage supers. Some of these inputs are WILD. I often think fighting games should standardize their language, well as much as reasonable, but I don’t even know what to call some of these inputs – diagonal roll into the opposite diagonal? I’m not a complete noob to fighting games, but going backwards, I can sort of see why people end up falling off of fighting games with just the sheer execution barrier for simple things like doing a super. This was infamously a problem with Street Fighter 1 – yes you could do a hadouken, but it required monumental effort and precision. I can only hope the recently delayed KOF15 is a bit easier on my hands and in-battle mind.

I don’t know much about KOF beyond it is supposed to be more offensive and aggressive than street fighter, I suppose people are referring to its guard rolls and the fact that combos are jump-in. In starting to get my bearings with Shermie, I can definitely see parts of that.

Much like Tekken, KOF is sort of the soccer to america’s football in that it has a much larger international(outside of America) presence. While I’m not as familiar with the series, I know, for instance, Tekken 3 was the best selling fighting game until the last 5 years or so.

Speaking of Shermie, apologies in advance because I know C&R is a clean pod, but my main thought with her is, and I mean this in the most loving way:

“WHAT THE F*CK IS THIS CHARACTER?”

She had started to gather controversy in her KOF15 reveal(we JUST got over the ‘every female character has a visible thong’ phase, do we really need to start this?), but I was also curious in listening to Coffee and Combos and them stressing that she was a grappler. I didn’t think much of it, but I had to cover this story on my podcast anyway and my draw to strange virtual women was pulling me towards her: you can’t see her eyes, she’s apparently a fashion designer, she has evil blood or something, she’s in a band. In my head, I’m just kind of taken aback and wonder ‘how could this character be a grappler?’ So I started playing her. I didn’t like SFV, but I did like R. Mika. I think, subconsciously, I end up searching for women characters to play as, but so often in fighting games they have a health tax for being speedy and smaller even if they’re grapplers. And really, she sort of is R. Mika from what I can tell. I know my fighting game exposure could be broader, and if I were to venture over to DOA or something I could probably find a femme-grappler, but I digress. On top of all of that, her stuff isn’t actually that complicated, so I tried her out. I dunno, I think if this character was made today, she’d be like a….streamer and/or magical girl. I’m just amazed at what was made back in the day for fighters(like Cham Cham(SamSho)).



I remember arcade machines as a kid in movie theaters and at the movies, but I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anything like KOF. It definitely isn’t what Capcom does, which would be my reference point. Obviously this is me looking back into history(certain resolution, pixel count, console/arcade restrictions), but whereas capcom’s sprites are whole and cartoony, I sort of see KOF’s sprites still having personality, but it seems like your eyes fill in the gaps that aren’t actually animated. Sort of like when the great animators from a pixar or Disney would skip or stretch frames. There’s varied stances, certain characters have a determined look, or a confident smile. Blue mary does some sort of hand-piano-ing motion in the latter part of her counter. I think if anything, supers definitely get a bit more personality and grandiose as we transition from sprites to 3D.

And in playing more, I’m seeing more personality, drawing me in in a endless cycle – there’s one guy who just tosses you up and thumbs ups the 4th wall before you come down.

But also, there are signs of the game aging not-so-well, which have slipped into SNK’s games today, even. There’s a big emphasis on bouncing breasts. Not every female character(and there are some cool designs which definitely don’t invoke this). It doesn’t seem to be gratuitous a la DOA, but even still you’ve got Shermie who has a literal ‘boob grapple’(busty suplex). I was surprised Mai, of all characters, doesn’t seem to fall into that category as far as I can tell. Sure she’s pretty dressed down, but her movements don’t really emphasize all of that. I am curious how in the world they’ll handle this in the upcoming 15.

It is a bit funny seeing the ‘dark’ versions of characters, and Kyo clones, as street fighter and other fighting games are often lambasted for having these. But with Nintendo pronouncing clones as ‘echo fighters’, and in different games like Killer Instinct explaining why they’re putting in a echo fighter, the stigma has be quieted. Its just so interesting to see it happens in every franchise, really.

I'm still trying to find some people to do some matches where I won't be completely creamed to have a more authentic experience, and I'll update this if I get any further.

KOFXIII

So I've been a bit busier but I did delve into KOFXIII a little. I was disappointed to see no Shermie and clark and ralf were just headswaps of one another? I know SNK was in financial peril at one time, and that seems to have made them very financially conservative which I have no problem with, but it was a bit of a shock and disappointed. Clark doesn't even do his signature thumbs up and has gone from a military guy to a SFIV character, roid rage included.

I also started to remember that KOF got in trouble for being racist, and I can see why with KOFXIII. There's a stage with very round, short (Indian?) spectators, and a french stage filled with nothing but "fat" women. It's kind of a sad contrast to KOF2002 because in that game's stages, there's alot of background characters who're references to SNK's library(I'm not even an SNK fans and I could tell this), and silly shenanigans that go on without being racist.

King's losing animation is straight out of a hentai, as well, not very classy...
User avatar
Nyx-Fontana
Member
Posts: 15
Joined: February 1st, 2018, 5:47 pm

Re: Our next podcast recording (15.8.21): 482 - The King of Fighters series

Post by Nyx-Fontana »

My very first encounter with the KOF series was way back in middle school with KOF EX: Neo Blood on the Gameboy advance. I was absolutely trash with the game but i was won over by the general attitude of the game as a whole. Much like street fighter you had these individuals that seemed to possess super powers such as shooting arcs of lightning from their hands and making the air in front of them combust into flame as they kicked their opponents up into the air. It was over the top and glorious, while at the same time possessing a very mellow and edgy vibe through what the characters wore and the urban environments they often fought in.

Maybe it was due to the gameboy's limitations but i remember many of the environments feeling very bleak, consisting of dimly lit caves, the dusty remains of long forgotten ruins, dark city streets and the like. I remember very vividly that towards the end of your arcade run you would often have to fight Iori in an abandoned parking lot complex at night and just feeling like the atmosphere combined with the viciousness of Iori's fighting style elevated that fight to another level. It felt like my character was fighting for their life against Iori, and that if they fell no one would come to their rescue in that dark, desolate place. Oddly enough when it comes to KOF EX: Neo Blood i do not remember there being any sort of team system like in the other KOF games i would go on to play, but that could a mistake of the mind.
User avatar
raisinbman
Member
Posts: 190
Joined: September 8th, 2020, 12:22 am

Re: The King of Fighters series

Post by raisinbman »

So KOF15's full roster was announced and release given(2/17/2022), and it looks like there's 2 black ladies which I'm a bit excited about. Most importantly they're featuring rollback: https://www.gameinformer.com/gamescom-2 ... to-shatter

Uh wow, I was so embarrassed in having my comments read nearly in full. I kind of turned off the podcast and panicked a bit! But I was fine with it as it gave y'all some great talking points. I didn't think I'd be one of the only people writing in, lol. Shouldn't be the same problem for FFVII remake thankfully :P

As always I'm excited to listen to the fighting game podcasts y'all put out, I learned so much and you've half-sold me on KOF14(I knew I wouldn't be able to touch all the series and wanted to wait for 15 and/or a HUGE price cut).

I was already sold on SNK from samsho(2019), and kof 2002 seems like fun even though I missed the boat. 13's roster was a little disappointing but I did find some chars I liked, and I totally admit to being out of my depth. The podcast has helped me step out of my comfort zone and find an excellent fighting game series I've never tried! I'll definitely be grabbing 15, yeah.
User avatar
Michiel K
Moderator
Posts: 1295
Joined: October 13th, 2015, 9:37 pm

Re: The King of Fighters series

Post by Michiel K »

I haven't bought a fighting game in its release period in a long time, but I'm a little bit excited about KoF XV. I'll put it at #1 on my birthday wishlist!
User avatar
ratsoalbion
Admin
Posts: 7918
Joined: August 28th, 2012, 9:41 am
Location: Brighton, England
Contact:

Re: The King of Fighters series

Post by ratsoalbion »

It looks very cool to me, and quite an upgrade on 14, visually speaking.
User avatar
Michiel K
Moderator
Posts: 1295
Joined: October 13th, 2015, 9:37 pm

Re: The King of Fighters series

Post by Michiel K »

Yes, much better 3D character models, UI and most of all much more colourful. Mechanically, 14 was always super solid.
User avatar
Feirsteax
Member
Posts: 280
Joined: September 11th, 2013, 4:18 pm
Location: Belfast

Re: The King of Fighters series

Post by Feirsteax »

I've been on a gaming hiaitus lately (no real reason, I just got sucked into tabletop games and have been focusing on those for the past month or so instead), so I haven't got a chance to give KOF 15 a go, but I really like the look of it. I enjoyed kof13 a lot but it was a tad on the precise side for me, hopefully the slightly more forgiven input times of KOF15 will be more amicable to my thumbs.
User avatar
raisinbman
Member
Posts: 190
Joined: September 8th, 2020, 12:22 am

Re: The King of Fighters series

Post by raisinbman »

While I won't get to actually check out the game until I'm done studying, there's been ALOT of fighting game news, including a FREE Omega Rugal for y'all: https://dotesports.com/fgc/news/omega-r ... ighters-xv

This isn't the first time SNK has done this, they were so impressed w/ SamSho(2019) sales they gave away a free DLC character and the first season of DLC for free(I actually thought that would never happen again, but here we are: viewtopic.php?p=88748&hilit=samurai+shodown#p88748)
User avatar
raisinbman
Member
Posts: 190
Joined: September 8th, 2020, 12:22 am

Re: The King of Fighters series

Post by raisinbman »

So, I've tried to dive into KOF15 as much as I can, but I think I may have hit my limit - because I was studying, I missed launch and pretty much everyone is outclassing me. Looking at steamcharts, guilty gear strive has double the play population(https://steamcharts.com/app/1498570). Funny enough, this is similar to my late-coming to KOF 2002 - of course absolute worldwide experts are on, but I'm just getting my sea legs. And on top of that, matchmaking isn't working as it should.

Sadly, this also means there's very little reason for me to purchase the upcoming rumored Samurai Shodown Team DLC. SamSho 2019 is probably my most played fighting game.

Overall, it's a pretty cool game, feels like some animation work still needs to be done(kukri does a pole dancing thing that I think even MVC3 many years ago was done better, athena seems like her idle stance is incomplete), some effects don't look great(Terry's effects/fireballs look...weird). But some stuff does look great(Ash's fireballs, many different character effects). It's been cool seeing some of these characters and what they're capable of - all the characters ooze style.

Also, something that was mentioned on the podcast, how sexual would this update be, especially with Shermie returning? So I thin Yuri/King's blouses rip when hit with 'powerful attacks on KO'. It all feels a little bit 'extra'(as the kids say). I know it's a legacy thing (WHAT KING IS A GIRL!?!?!?!), but it feels out of place. Especially when fully clothed women's clothes rip but..shermie's doesn't? We all know why that is but yeah. There is ALOT of "bouncing", but strangely enough, it doesn't feel egregious. I'm all for attacks-so-powerful-clothes-rip-off, but let's get some equality going!

Something unique(at least to my knowledge) is during the prematch rigamarole, the announcer gives a lil' intro on who the character is, and I think other fighting games should do that. In League of Legends or DOTA, characters have their name(or sometimes their title) which sums them up, and as someone who's only had glancing knowledge of KOF characters, it goes well with the cheesy announcer style but also clues me into who I'm looking at. I think it's only for story mode.

Music is surprisingly jazzy for a fighting game. I'm used to buttrock or electronic nonsense at worse, and delightful drum and bass a la SFIII at best. There's also a jukebox that they've been continually adding tunes to.

I'd give it 8/10. Hard to recommend unless you're an old head or are fine with just playing with friends or something at this point.

EDIT: I say that I can't find a match, then I immediately find a match d'oh. Still, point is population has decreased like Samsho's.
Post Reply