Review: KING OF FIGHTERS XIII By Nikhil Bisht aka darkniks

The critically acclaimed three on three fighting series returns from the depths of Hades after the downfall caused by its ephemeral predecessor. Its the renaissance of the most popular series in the fighting game genre which shaped the good old days of inserting coins in arcade machines, welcome to the Ultimate Fighting Tournament!

After the abysmal performance of KOF XII and its lacklustre single-player content and roster, developer SNK Playmore has taken quite a few corrective measures by going back to its roots and have realized to some extent what made the KOF series a huge success in the arcades among other successful series like Street fighter. With much said KOF XIII looks and feels like an updated version of KOF XII, with its flamboyant anime 2D sprites and vibrant backgrounds, it not only promises aesthetics animation wise but also introduces a huge variety of robust gameplay mechanics & tweaks which sets the series on its right track to restore its rightful place in the genre.

Featuring from a wide variety of 33 characters from various classic SNK franchises like Fatal Fury, Art of Fighting, Ikari Warriors and a kaboodle of original characters, but most notably worth mentioning is the much awaited return of the fan-favourite SNKPM's flagship lady Mai Shiranui. Selecting a team of there, players indulge in one on one battle until either one of the player's all three characters are KO'ed. For starters and newcomers, there is a tutorial mode which introduces players to cohesively well explained basics and different fighting mechanics of the game along with mission mode comprising of 10 levels for each character which utilizes player's ability to fully optimize their characters by teaching them how to execute different combos from basics to advance, high damaging and devastating combos. Given the competitive nature of fighting games, mastering different characters along with their moves and techniques would amount to hours of rigorous practice in training mode but its well worth every bit given proper time, effort, and patience. The fluid & flexible mechanics totally add to its merits and lets you embrace the great feeling of accomplishment after successfully executing flaming and electrifying combos. With four different types of jumps combined with sprint and a roll which can pass through anything including projectiles but throws, it will take practice to navigate your way across one end of the screen to another effectively and efficiently. When utilized optimally, these movements ought to make you feel nimble & keep things fun and focused. The game provides proper opportunities to players for both offensive and defensive plays even when fights are fast paced and require constant adaption to different strategies. Unlike most fighting games, all characters have same and equal amount of health, that means an attack will deal the same amount of damage no matter on whom it's inflicted upon. The game features three types of gauges to balance out the fight and on the same time make things intense and full of adrenaline pumping moments. First, there's the standard power gauge which is utilized for executing supers aka 'desperation moves' & 'EX specials', that is the enhanced version of a special move. Also the power gauge can be utilized for getting out of cornered situations or in case of constant offence from opposition through the use of any one of the two techniques namely 'guard cancel evasive' roll & 'guard cancel blowback', which can be incorporated while your character is in block stun. These techniques help out to even the odds but come at a cost of one stock of power gauge, so proper timing, scope & usage only when a situation calls for it are one of the key elements of getting better at the game. Next comes the 'drive gauge' which can used for drive cancels which facilitates cancelling one special move into another special move by quickly inputting the next specific command as soon as the first special move hits your opponent. While it may sound like just another feature but this technique literally shines when you execute a certain special move which has long recovery frames and your opponent successfully blocks it, leaving you vulnerable to severe punishment from opposition but if you can just spare half bar of your drive gauge then you can rectify your errors by immediately inputting another special move which inflicts a great deal of block stun effect so as you can shove your opponent back to a total defensive position. Remember, to cancel specials into another special, you have to first connect the move with the opponent. At full bar of drive gauge you can access Hyper Drive mode which enables you to chain together different moves and execute

combos that aren't otherwise possible. Last comes the 'guard gauge' that depletes as and when you block attacks & if you let it run out, your character enters into a vulnerable crumple state, so it becomes imperative to adapt a standard gameplay comprising of both offensive-defensive maneuvers.

Aside from the game's wide variety of system mechanics, there is a story mode which feels more or less like a slideshow rather than an interactive one with cinematics. The arcade mode lets you select a team of three to battle your way to the top of the hill, adding interactive sessions through pre-battle conversations between characters which gives you a kind of sense regarding rivalry between different characters with added serious, taunting, and cheesy dialogues which make battles a little more interactive than your average arcade mode. Talking about boss fights, if you are familiar with the KOF series and its overpowered bosses then this one is no surprise for you because this time also the boss fights are tough as balls and most of the times you will find boss characters spamming the living hell out of your characters. Thankfully, they aren't playable so that solves the problem of unfair advantage. Coming to the most vital thing which really makes a fighting game worth is the online play, which to most extent has a decent netcode but still quite laggy even while playing among friends and with the exclusion of both spectator mode and replay sharing of your online battles, the game fails to shine in this department. In the soundtrack department though, the game features some of the most scintillating original as well as arranged background music. Every BGM pertains to a specific team which immensely reflects the persona of each of its characters and their respective background.

CONCLUSION Unarguably, its the revival of one of the best fighting series in the genre. Featuring smooth animation, exotic backgrounds along with classic 2D sprites with little embellishments and a well refined fighting engine with more added characters including console exclusives, KOF XIII ought to attract even a fighting game abhorring person and doesn't fails to stand-up to its highly reputed stature. Forget you ever played KOF XII, because this is the real deal we're talking about.

VERDICT Pros (+) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Fluid, flexible and well refined fighting engine. More characters including 2 console exclusives. Interactive pre-battle conversions covering various story aspects. Spectacular soundtracks and themes. Thoroughly well-explained tutorial mode helps newcomers in adaptation. Aesthetics with regard to smooth animation, background, and 2D sprites.

Cons (-) 1. Lack of online spectating and replay sharing combined with unstable online battles. 2. Overpowered Boss characters. 3. Non-Interactive Story Mode with slideshows.

SCORE: 8.0