The King of Fighters XIII
Introduction
King of Fighters XIII is the latest entry in the KOF series. While it resembles XII graphically, all of XII's new systems (clash, critical counter, guard attack) have been removed. The developers stated that their concept for the game was "KOF-ism," so many classic KOF systems return, such as guard cancel rolls and guard cancel attacks. Hyperdrive mode is modeled on 2002's BC mode, while Max Cancels resemble XI's Dream Cancels. Finally, new to the series are EX moves (more powerful special moves costing one bar) and Drive Cancels (canceling from one special to another.)
Atlus published King of Fighters XIII in NA on Nov. 22, 2011.
- So, you want to learn KoFXIII?
- KOFXIII FAQ
- Kane317 and James Chen's Introductory KOF XIII Video Series
Characters
| Single Entry
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Fatal Fury Team
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Art of Fighting Team
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Psycho Soldier Team
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Defensive Systems
Rolling
While standing, press A+B or f+A+B to roll forward, or press b+A+B to roll backward. Rolls are immediately invincible to attacks throughout their traveling animation. However, they are completely vulnerable to throws, and there is a short recovery animation at the end of a roll before any other action can be taken. Rolling can be used defensively (e.g. to avoid projectiles by rolling through them) or offensively (e.g. rolling to end up approximately at the same spot as an opponent rising from a knockdown to make it difficult for the opponent to see which way to block), but as with jumps and hops, they are vulnerable to punishment if used poorly. Distance traveled, duration, and recovery time vary by character, and can also be altered by canceling a run into a roll, which generally increases both distance traveled and duration.
Guard Cancel Roll (GCAB)
It is possible to cancel blockstun into a roll at the expense of 1 stock of super meter. To do this, simply press A+B or b+A+B after blocking an attack but before blockstun has finished. Unlike a normal roll, a Guard Cancel Roll is completely invincible, unthrowable, and has no recovery time. This can be used to punish attacks that would normally be safe if blocked, such as multiple hit attacks that knock the defender back a far distance if blocked normally (e.g. Andy’s hcf+K).
Guard Cancel CD (GCCD)
It is also possible to cancel blockstun into a CD attack at the expense of 1 stock of super meter. To do this, simply press C+D after blocking an attack but before blockstun has finished. Unlike a normal CD attack, this will have some invincibility during the startup but also does much less damage. If the opponent avoids getting hit (either by using a quick-recovering attack that would allow them to block before the Guard Cancel CD hits or by using an attack with enough invincibility to avoid the Guard Cancel CD hit), it is possible to be punished during the recovery time, although as with a normal standing CD, a Guard Cancel CD may be canceled into a special move. Guard Cancel CD attacks are also vulnerable to command counters, such as Elizabeth’s qcb+AC.
Recovery Roll (also known as Tech Roll)
Pressing A+B as the character touches the ground during a knockdown allows the character to perform an immediate recovery roll. This allows the character to rise faster than normal, and also moves the character to a different location unless cornered. The rolling animation is completely invincible and has no recovery time, but the character is immediately throwable, unlike after rising normally. A recovery roll will also avoid attacks with OTG property. Note that certain attacks have the property “hard knockdown”, which prevents the use of a recovery roll.
Meters and Gauges
Super Meter Stocks
At the bottom of the screen is a number next to a meter that can gradually fill up over the course of a round. This is the super meter, and the number represents how many stocks of super meter the character currently has stored. As the number of stocks increases, certain additional actions become available to the character:
1 stock: Can perform EX special moves, desperation moves, GCAB, and GCCD
2 stocks: Can perform EX desperation moves and a Neomax while in HD mode
3 stocks: Can Max Cancel a desperation move and perform a Neomax outside of HD mode (with a full drive gauge)
4 stocks: Can Max Cancel an EX desperation move
The maximum number of stocks available to a character depends on the character’s position in the team order. The first character may store up to 3 stocks, the second may store up to 4, and the final character may store up to 5 stocks of super meter. Super meter accumulated by a character who was knocked out will carry over to the next character. Super meter can be gained by:
Hitting with any attacks aside from normal throws and air throws
Having any attacks blocked
Performing special move, regardless of whether they were hit, blocked, or whiffed (with some exceptions)
Note that super meter cannot be gained while in HD mode or during certain special states (e.g. Ash cannot gain any super meter while his Sans Culotte is active)
Drive Gauge and Hyperdrive (HD) Mode
Located immediately above the super meter is another meter known as the drive gauge. Having at least half of the drive gauge filled allows the character to perform a Drive Cancel (canceling one special move into another, abbreviated [DC]) or a Super Cancel (canceling a special move into a desperation move, abbreviated [SC]), both at the cost of 50% of the drive gauge. Which special moves are eligible for Drive Cancels and/or Super Cancels varies for each character. Note that Drive Cancels cannot be performed unless the first special move hit, whereas Super Cancels can be performed on hit. Also, it is not possible to Super Cancel into a Neomax.
Having the drive gauge completely filled allows the character to perform a Neomax outside of HD mode (at the cost of 100% of the drive gauge and 3 stocks of super meter) or to enter into HD mode. Activating HD mode causes the character to begin glowing and the drive gauge to begin gradually depleting. The following benefits are gained:
- All normal moves and command normals become cancelable on all hits
- Hyperdrive Cancels (abbreviated [HDC]) become available. These are similar to Drive Cancels, except they can also be done if the first special move was blocked. Each HDC will consume a portion of the drive gauge, usually around 10%.
- Max Cancels become available, which is when a character cancels a desperation move into a Neomax. Which desperation moves can be Max Canceled as well as the timing varies for each character.
- Performing a Neomax while in HD mode only costs 2 stocks of meter. Note that performing a Neomax (whether by itself, canceled from a normal move, or Max Canceled) will immediately deplete all remaining drive gauge and end HD mode.
Health
Depending on how much time is left on the clock determines how much life you regenerate the next round. Remembering that everyone has 1000HP, the breakdown is as follows:
Time left / Health regain
- 60-42sec / 300
- 41-30sec / 250
- 29-18sec / 150
- 17-0sec / 100
Source from Keykakko: http://keykakko.wordpress.com/
Online Matchmaking
For online matchmaking, check out these threads at Dream Cancel: PS3, Xbox360 and Steam.
Frame Data
Hitboxes
Links & References
KOFXIII Frequently Asked Questions: http://dreamcancel.com/wiki/index.php?title=The_King_of_Fighters_XIII_FAQS
KOFXIII Hitboxes: http://kofxiiihitbox.blogspot.com/
KOFXIII Console USA publisher: http://www.atlus.com/kofxiii/
SNKPlaymore KOFXIII site: http://game.snkplaymore.co.jp/official/kof-xiii/
KOFXIII blog: http://game.snkplaymore.co.jp/official/kof-xiii/blog/
KOFXIII UK community site: http://orochinagi.com/
Japan wiki and resource site: http://www21.atwiki.jp/kof13/
Japan gameplay blog: http://keykakko.wordpress.com/
Dreamcancel youtube page: http://www.youtube.com/user/dreamcancelsnk
Dreamcancel facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/dreamcancelkof
Dream Cancel Chat room: http://chatwing.com/dreamcancelsnk
