I know that the King of Fighters series has a long history and many old-school fans (this is the 13th iteration of the series, after all), but truth be told, this was my very first King of Fighters game. I wasn’t completely ignorant of the series’ legacy going in, as I was introduced to some of the characters through other games (mainly the crossovers with Capcom), and that sparked my desire to finally get into the series where they originated from…and I can tell you now, I do not regret my decision to dive in, as with the King of Fighters XIII, I have finally grasped the rich, fun legacy that has kept old fans coming back to the series again and again, and kept the series going for 13 games. I may be a newbie, but the King of Fighters XIII is a good place for newbies to start. However, I don’t mean that in terms of story – the story behind King of Fighters XIII is not very clearly explained, as it seems knowledge of the story of prior games is required, and oh what a complex tale it has woven through 13 games. But then again, who plays fighting games for story these days? King of Fighters XIII is more newbie friendly in terms of actually teaching you how to play the game.
The tutorial does a fantastic job in teaching you the basics that can pretty much serve you in any fight, while introducing you to the subtleties the series is known for, such as cancels, counters, and of course how to make long combos. Which brings me to my first point of praise for KOFXIII: the fighting system is pretty much the epitome of “easy to learn, hard to master” that so many fighting games strive for (but fail to accomplish). A new player can get by in single-player with just basic moves and attacks (provided the difficulty isn’t cranked inappropriately high), and with the single-player AI being as finely tuned as it is, it serves as the sort of perfect training ground to bring a player slowly into being a competitive fighter. I do mean what I say about the AI being finely tuned – never before have I seen single-player fighting game AI feel this balanced, fighting competently without being cheap, and being difficult without being punishing or frustrating. This makes single-player for KOFXIII more fun than any other single-player fighting game I’ve seen. There’s plenty of ways to engage the game in single-player too: not only the typical Arcade mode, but also a Story mode that diverges in paths based on what fighting team you take and how you perform with them, as well as a Missions mode that has timed battles, survival battles, and the all-important Trials sub-mode. The Trials sub-mode takes a page from Street Fighter III: Third Strike Online Edition in that it has you practicing the combos for every character until you get them right, which serves as good practice for online battles.
Let me tell you, some of the trials are for ridiculously long combos that do a lot of damage and feel awesome to pull off…if you have the patience to practice them. Online play for KOFXIII is both brilliantly executed and glaringly stupid, and this boils down to two things. For the brilliant execution, KOFXIII’s online mode has the standard features one would come to expect from online fighters these days – precise matchmaking, lots of options (including the ability to record and watch matches), and the most brilliant feature of all: the ability to play Practice or Arcade mode while waiting for opponents. Plus, in online battles the characters all feel surprisingly balanced towards each other. The stupid? It’s the one thing that ruins many an online fighter these days: lag. Sadly, KOFXIII doesn’t use the best net code in the world when it comes to reducing the effects of latency, so unless you have a good, solid internet connection (and know others that do as well), expect lag to hinder your ability to fight in online battles, and occasionally disconnect you. Sure, it’s inevitable that those that have the best internet connections will do better in online battles, but after seeing Street Fighter III: Third Strike Online Edition mitigate the effects of lag with GGPO net code, one should expect better from KOFXIII. The graphical presentation of KOFXIII is one aspect that is very well done, combining a mix of both 2D and 3D effects on both fighters and backgrounds.
The characters are all drawn in a semi-realistic anime style, having just enough realism to look human but cartoonish enough to justify the ridiculous actions they perform. As for the backgrounds, they do look quite beautiful, as the 2D drawings look surprisingly good on the 3D renders, although the people being spectators to the fight look just plain ridiculous. Audio-wise, the soundtrack does its job of getting your blood pumping for the battles ahead, being the appropriate pop-like renditions of rock and instrumental hip-hop, although some tracks are better than others. (It’s worth noting that some copies of KOFXIII get a CD soundtrack compilation of tunes from previous KOF games as well as the tracks for KOFXIII.) Surprisingly lacking from KOFXIII is actual voice-overs for characters in story cutscenes, but considering how cheesy such voice acting is for fighting games usually is, it’s probably just as well. The King of Fighters XIII isn’t a perfect fighting game, but I will not hesitate in saying that KOFXIII is a definite contender for fighting game of the year. Some negative aspects, such as the lag in online matches, hold it just shy of perfection, but enough of this game has been fine-tuned until it was just right that you’ll have loads of fun and forget about those negative aspects entirely. Whether a newbie or a hardcore veteran, you owe it to yourself to check out the King of Fighters XIII – especially at its discounted price of $50.
