Virtual Vox Pop is a weekly open mic in which we ask you, the reader, to sound off on a particular topic. This week, it’s King of Fighters XIII.
As a longtime fan of SNK Playmore various 2D properties, the gaming community’s eye-roll reaction to the recent King of Fighters XIII announcement left me saddened. Not to the point where I wanted to place razor to wrist, but enough to make me stop and analyze why the news fell on such bitter ears.
King of Fighters XII, despite an excellent engine, had its flaws; flaws that can be easily remedied when King of Fighters XIII makes its debut.
Expand The Roster
Say what you will about the hory, undersexed stereotype associated with hardcore gamers, but Mai being excluded from the game, and not being made available as DLC, took the starch out of many gamers’ noodle. King of Fighters XIII needs to give players the most popular and beloved characters such as Geese Howard, Rock Howard, and Duck King. SNK Playmore seems to have learned its lessen as the loc test for KOFXIII reveal that Mai is indeed in the house, along with King.
Expand The Moveset
Besides the laggy online play, one of the biggest gripes against King of Fighters XII was the condensed moveset. Ralf, Clark, and other grapplers were particularly gimped, which is a shame considering that they need those variety of up close and personal attacks to counteract the long distance fireball spamming that the shotoclones dish out. SNK Playmore would be wise to take the movesets found in King of Fighters ’98: Ultimate Match and apply them to the new sprites. And for the love of all that’s good and pure in this world, give Iori his powers back.
Add A God Damned Boss
SNK Playmore’s 2D fighters are known for featuring some of the toughest, most frustrating end-game characters in the genre. King of the Fighters XII had one of the lamest, anti-climatic finishes in fighting game history–it could’ve benefited from a Goenitz, Geese, or Rugal.
Recreate The Old SNK Feel
One of the hallmarks of old SNK was the fine attention to detail; one of the hallmarks of SNK Playmore has been a decided lack of the fine detail. Older King of Fighters maintained a rowdy aura by having your teammates standing in the background rooting you on when you land an attack, and wincing when you receive one. The King of the Fighters XII backgrounds were absolutely gorgeous, some of the best of the SNK Playmore era, but it lacked some of the past magic. In addition, the music wasn’t as edgy as past games, which were simultaneously blood-pumping and catchy.
What do you like to see in King of Fighters XIII?
