HomeFeaturesThe King of Fighters XIII Steam Edition
Have You Played… The King Of Fighters XIII?Just look at it!
Just look at it!
It’s no secret that I like pretty fighting games likeThe King Of Fighters XIII. While I’ve never been as into SNK’s style of fighting as I have Capcom’s Street Fighter, the genre’s shift away from hand-drawn sprites to 3D models has never appealed to me. It made Ken’s hair look like a bunch of bananas, and that’s a cardinal sin. It’s sad, then, that KoF XIII was the last sprite-based game before SNK followed with its own crude 3D models.
It also has a ton of characters, including a lot of the favourites like Terry Bogard. I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for the “Legendary Hungry Wolf”, but there are a host of different play styles, like Mature and Vice’s beast-like swipes or Chin’s drunken master style of fighting. There’s also an expansive story mode that gives you a taste for what each character is like.
As I alluded to earlier, KoF XIII is a looker, especially so in motion. It’s particularly apparent in the gorgeous backgrounds. Not only does it have more detail than it has any right to have, but the settings for each fight are unique. My favourite stages are the ones that have a ton of people cheering you on, fromLondon’s unhygienic busses, to fighting among overweight diners in theChamps-Élysées. I do worry about every single spectator getting whiplash though. They do go a bit overboard at the end of a match.
