KOF XIII Newbie Primer

KOF XIII Newbie Primer (for newbs by a newb)

The purpose of this post is to explain how to best begin playing KOF 13 based on my experiences with learning the game.

What is THE KING OF FIGHTERS XIII?
KOF 13 is the latest game in the King of Fighters series, a franchise that has been developed by the company SNK Playmore since 1994. The original King of Fighters was originally intended to allow players to play with characters from many different SNK fighting games together (such as Fatal Fury and Art of Fighting). KOF 13 was released in arcades in Japan in 2010 and it was gradually ported over to PS3, Xbox 360, and Steam.

How is this game different from Street Fighter?
At first glance KOF 13 looks like a slightly more anime version of Street Fighter (although it can't really be called an "anime fighter"). It's a 2D fighting game with the goal of defeating your opponent's team before they defeat yours.

KOF 13 is a 3v3 game - you choose a team of 3 characters to match against your opponent's 3. When you defeat one of your opponent's characters, they must use their next character and your current character regains a bit of health depending on how much time was left in the round. There are no "assists" or "tag-ins" like in Marvel vs. Capcom. Note that the game does allow a 1v1 match with best of 3 rounds similar to Street Fighter, which is helpful for new players.

KOF is what's called a "four button" game (as opposed to Street Fighter which is six buttons). The four buttons are Light Punch, Light Kick, Heavy Punch, and Heavy Kick (aka A, B, C, D respectively). I might use the light-heavy punch-kick notation or I might slip in to using ABCD notation in this guide.

KOF 13 runs at a "faster pace" than Street Fighter for several reasons, but the 2 main ones are that any character can run forward (by pressing forward twice) and the variety of jump options. There are 2 main jumps in KOF - regular jumps (same input as Street Fighter - up, up-forward, or up-backwards), and hops (performed by quickly pressing the jump input and either letting go or moving to a different input direction). Hops are faster and shorter and are an important offensive tool. There are also 2 other types of jumps (super jumps and hyper hops) but those are more advanced techniques and not necessary for a while.

All characters have some additional defensive options. You can press LP+LK at the same time roll forward or backward. You are invulnerable to attacks while rolling but can be thrown, and rolls have a short recovery period at the end. All characters can "guard cancel roll" which is where you roll while blocking - the screen basically freezes for a short time so you get a free roll. This costs 1 super meter to perform. You can also do a "guard cancel blowback" (press CD while blocking an attack) to do a low-damage counter-attack, again at the cost of 1 super meter. All of these options mean that even characters with few natural reversal options have some way of dealing with high offensive pressure.

There are other system differences, so please refer to SRK or DreamCancel for more information.

Why should I play KOF?
Because it's fun! It's a different style of play compared to Street Fighter or anime games, and it has a unique, fun art style. If you are looking for a faster paced game or just a change of scenery, it could be a good game for you.

The game is very honest. The tiers are more "scrunched" together - every character is viable. Seriously. At the high level play there are some small advantages to the top tier characters so they do get picked more, but at most levels that difference does not come in to play.

This game is insanely cool at the medium and higher levels. Once you get good you will brutalize and style on your opponents.

Why should I not play KOF?
Not many players in the US any more, although there are some significant pockets scattered around. Look for local meetup groups, check online forums, Reddit, Steam groups, etc for players.

Maybe you don't like the pace of the game, or its emphasis on big combos at higher levels, or you have trouble executing some combos. If you prefer more of a chess-boxing style of play, play SF4 instead.

Who are some good beginning characters?

Kyo - he can do everything decently at an early level, and he has some truly insane combos that you will learn later in your career. Don't call him the Ryu of this game, because his style is very different.

EX Kyo - think Kyo with even more rushdown and a more focused move set.

Terry - a very well designed character (and one of my mains). Has 4 special moves that all serve a very specific purpose along with some easy starting combos.

Andy - plays a "shoto" style (meaning, like Ryu and his clones) with a few mix-up options.

Billy Kane - he's got a staff. He hits people at a distance. He has an obnoxious voice.

Ash - assuming you're comfortable with charge moves. He plays a lot like Guile from Street Fighter with his fireball and flash kick.

Saiki - great zoning game, doesn't require huge combos.

Mr. Karate - fast, high damage, has reversals, including an overpowered 380 damage invincible super.

Ryo - has superb defensive options, doesn't rely on combos. He will bring up your fundamentals.

Robert - has a decent fireball zoning game and an overall solid tool set.

Iori (Claw) - high damage rush down character. He isn't easy to play optimally at first, but he is the best character on the roster for teaching you how to play the game the KOF way. If you master him, you can probably play any character in the roster competently.

Shen - violent, high damage brawler with some relatively easy high damage combos.

King - probably the most popular character for new players (and many expert players!), she has an insane fireball game and many offensive tools.

Ralf - has at least 3 excellent normals with good range and some easy, damaging combos.

Expert characters you might not want to try at first

Daimon - he's a strange grappler with weird inputs and abilities. Clark is a more basic grappler (and a higher tier if that matters to you).

Joe - he has some good starting abilities but you will eventually hit a wall after a few months that requires very high execution to climb.

Vice - an odd ranged grappler, plays unlike any character I've encountered so far in fighting games.

Raiden - has a bajillion different dropkick options. Very technical.

K' and Kula - playing K' is like trying to juggle 10 flaming bowling pins at once. High execution and a bajillion tools, he's the most difficult character in the game. Kula is a baby K' with a less overwhelming move set, but many of the same weaknesses and fairly low damage.

Chin - Chin is an asshole and he has some rather complicated mechanics with his stances, rolls, counter-attacks, etc.


Is there rhyme or reason to combos in this game?

All characters can do some sort of combo that involves a heavy normal in to a command normal in to a special. So it might look like this:

cl. HP xx f-LP xx special

Most characters can combo a series of light attacks in to a command normal, and then into a special. For example, Mr. Karate can do:

cr. LK x cr. LK xx f-LP xx dp HP

Where can I find some hype videos?

EVO 2012 finals: Just watch it, seriously: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAQi1N6nh_g

EVO 2013 finals: HE's IN HIS HEAD! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqWf5G9bcRY


Where can I learn more about the game, characters, move lists?

Check here first, some characters have really good move explanations and matchup info: http://dreamcancel.com/wiki/index.php?title=King_of_Fighters_XIII
If what you're looking for isn't there, try SRK: http://wiki.shoryuken.com/The_King_of_Fighters_XIII