I felt like posting something positive today, so here goes:
How well are the characters equipped from a casual's first-hand experience? That, and other impressions.
First off, it's obvious that EX attacks greatly enhances the character's arsenal and if SNKP will keep making KOFs, they should never get rid of them ever. If they want to go back to tagging, then make a six buttoned KOF game with the extra two being dedicated tag buttons and keeping PP and KK for EX purposes instead of tag buttons like XI. NeoMAXes are also a very nice extra and they add a lot to the lost foundation of the characters.
XII was a nightmare and I prefer not to talk about how it could have been better.
*Note that I omitted characters that I don't really care about.
Duo: The delayed ghost thingie + the ability to hit you no matter where you are standing makes him a really interesting character to frustrate people with. I wish his rekkas didn't look so choppy, though. It's confusing sometimes to see if you're even hitting the opponent with them.
He shows promise, definitely. He could become a serious mind-mess character if he had unique special moves that he could use after teleporting.
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Kyo: He's a monster as always, especially his easy to connect with NeoMAX (fast and full screen.) I sometimes don't even other with his Orochinagis, because he possesses so much more deadly force with his EX attacks.
His EX Orochinagi should have him covered in fire special effects. This one's obvious. Many people also want his punching chains back and I can see where they are coming from, but they might as well give them to Shingo and add some slapstick to them for good measure.
Benimaru: He's pretty fun to play with now and I didn't even care much about him in previous KOFs, no idea why. Maybe it's because he is fabulously animated now? His EX lightning strike locks on to the character after a short delay, that's a very creative EX attack and it fits his character perfectly (lightning can strike anywhere etc.) It's amazing how you can reuse a special effect and change it into something so unexpectedly fresh. I still don't know the use of his Rolling Thunder DM (and his DP K > Raijinken DC, it never hits), though. It could be used as a start up animation where he activates a barrier DM that temporarily protects him from energy attacks or heavily reduces their damage, I dunno.
Beni feels really complete, even though he didn't undergo a complete makeover. Good job.
Oh, now I remember why I like him. You can kill people with his taunt, har.
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Terry: Terry's the only character in the game that has EX versions of both his DMs, which could easily be the same for all the characters in the game if you look at how creative they are being with the few resources that they have (switching animation frames, special effects, zooming etc.) He's solid as ever. What I don't like is how his C Power Wave looks, it starts up with the dissolve effect, as if he's punching a bowl of apple juice.
Andy: I always liked Andy for being the underdog that he is, but now he's really over the top. His A Zaneiken is FAST, it's possible to do a crazy train of zaneizaneizanei if your timing is right. His NeoMAX is truly dangerous, your opponent has to watch his every move, even from a distance. It fits his Ninja style perfectly. Excellent job on Andy.
Joe: His C TNT Punch can land you a 25 hit combo and you can Drive Cancel that for even more mayhem. Triple Hurricane Upper ala RBS is definitely his most unique EX attack. Joe's treated very well.
It does lead to another thing I found disappointing, the lack of visual differences of EX attacks. This team has one thing in common; they all have the ability to set the opponent on fire (even Terry with his Fire Kick.) Andy could burn people with Choreppadan in previous KOFs, but not even his EXDM does that anymore. Same for Joe, his EX Tiger Kick should at least scorch the victim. They could have done way more by reusing their resources, because they came up with nice variations for other characters that I didn't even know was possible.
I don't think people would have a problem with Terry's EX Buster Wolf blasting fire. I know I wouldn't.
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Athena: She can teleport again, weeeee. I'll spare the moe blob criticism and go straight to gameplay; I think she really needs some brand new moves or SOMETHING to do during her DM when she misses. In the previous games, you could expect Athena to shoot something at you if you were goofing around, but in XIII, you just wait to smack her big head around. Hell, you can even BUILD meter if you don't have enough yet for a damaging combo.
Not bad, but she could be way better.
Kensou: Gotta admit, he's really interesting now. His roots design + new stance and good amount of attacks equals a great deal of freshness worth exploring. I can overlook the fact that they took frames of his rapid punching special and pasted it into a DM just for Max Cancel purposes, plenty of other characters got the same treatment.
Another excellent job by SNKP.
Chin: I tried Chin, but I really couldn't get the hang of him. I prefer rush characters and he seems more of the opportunity type, which is fine by me because KOF should be about gameplay variety and it's nice to have him around for people who prefer something else.
However, it was fun messing around with him briefly, I hope they expand him in the future with the fire engulfing attacks that he used to have.
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Leona: It's amazing that a new design can make you interested in a character you never cared about before, even if you didn't necessarily hate their previous wardrobe. While she didn't receive many new moves, she still felt very solid and I liked the fact that her EX air cross slash thingie stays in the air for a couple of seconds. It was also creative to temporarily turn her into a red head during EX V-Slasher and Juicy Blade NeoMAX, it fits with her storyline in which it's explained that she learned how to control her Orochi powers.
She still needs a mouth, though. Good job.
Ralf: Ralf was one of my favorites in 02 and he's been losing attacks ever since that game until that piece of trash XII arrived that totally changed him. But now, I have to honestly say that I like the way they are taking him. He's been getting more of his classic moves back, like his dive bomb, the gatling special + EX version that imitates his old super and his old dickrider punch DM. His Drive Cancels are really easy and it is fun to crumple people with his EX Gut Punch and knocking them off their feet before they fall down.
I'll miss his tackle and Ralf Kick, but we have one of the best NeoMAXes in the game to make up for that. Lots of praise from me.
Clark: Yeah.
Rolling Cradle, PLEASE.
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Yuri: This little bitch right here is dangerous. You don't see it often in videos, but her dive kick doesn't give the opponent much time to breathe, it's that fast.
She definitely doesn't need more attacks.
King: She can be a fun fireball spammer (granted that you're not on the receiving end,) but it really shows that some characters suffered during the budget and even though plenty are solid, it is not fair to overlook these errors, because constructive criticism consists of the good and the bad.
King's crouching D is the exact same as crouching B, but slowed down. Exact same range, just a different speed and priority. I don't mind normal animations used in special or super animations, but they really shouldn't treat normals as an afterthought.
She's still not as much of a frame recycling joke as Silv(b)er in XI, but among plenty of the healthy cast characters, she looks a bit low budget. Which is a shame, because she's been around since 1992 and deserves better.
I would improve her by returning her the high-low fireball game for more confusion, turn Surprise Rose as a DM with anti-air properties, Illusion Dance for ground works and keeping Double Strike or Octo Strike w/e as keepaway.
That, or just give her some more juggle/unblockable variety. This isn't unreasonable when you compare her to the rest of the cast. Time will tell.
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Ryo: Not much to say about him, but he feels good. It's fun to juggle after the crazy EX Zanretsuken with his exciting EX Ryukohranbu. His parry can be nasty and I'd love it if they expanded on that.
Robert: He has so many tools, it's crazy. He's always been one of my favorite characters and I like the way he's treated in XII/XIII, even though it's a tad unfair compared to some others in the cast. Maybe it's because he's rich. Robert's a great example of a fighter, because he has plenty of things that fit him and he still feels right. He can do anti-airs, travel long distances, throw fireballs, unblockables, juggle, use rapid kicks for trapping people, rip off Fei Long's ultra and make it exciting and has access to a NeoMAX that is near-instant while airborne.
And yet, he isn't overpowered like some shaded brat and a fatass wrestler. He's one of the top choices if you want to introduce people to KOF because of his sheer variety and fun. I'm so glad he isn't a charger anymore just for the sake of being a charger.
Takuma: I like that his K Kohken is used to get close to people (fireball hits and he auto dashes forward,) I've never seen anything so Street Fighterish in KOF. Well...not in that way. He plays fine, but I expected him to be more different than Ryo n' Robert and push the Kyokugen style even further with counter punches, guard breakers, counter supers. That's just me, though.
I do have to give a special award to Takuma, for having the most choppiest special attack ever: Zanretsuken! It only consists of 2 frames. 2. frames. Left punch, right punch. No retreating arm, no elbow bending, absolutely NOTHING inbetween. He makes Silver feel good about himself.
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Kim: Also one of my favorite characters. Even though he got some cuts, he's still exciting to play as. The flying dragon kick thingie he got in XII makes for some great combo opportunities. His EX Houou Kyaku could have been way more different, but I prefer saving up for his NeoMAX anyway, just because it looks that good. Technically, the only new animation is the axe kick that Kim does at the end and the smoke cloud. Despite that, the move is still filled with adrenaline and it is an excellent showcase of Kim's overzealous attitude to end the match with. Creativity can do much to enhance old material.
Hwa: Talk about low budget, haha.
Seriously now, I'm okay with headswap characters if their specials and supers are unique. Hwa Jai has a lot of promise with his drunken style, but it isn't explored at all. Drunken Style just beefs his specials and supers up for a brief period of time and the only notable difference is the kick he does after Dragon Backbreaker and the tongue waggling after the NeoMAX.
If he stays around, he definitely needs more unique attacks. I will snap if he gets a headswap Slash Kick.
Raiden: I don't think 16 second Drop Kicking will be popular among the casuals, but come on, seriously?
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K': Oh, THIS guy will be popular among the casuals.
Maxima: Simple moveset, but a very fearsome one what with the guarding, wall bounce and unblockables etc. He does need at least one of these, because he's Maxima:
- Mongolian
- Bunker Buster
- Maxima Revenger
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Heavy rain outside really causes me to type drawn out posts, bleh.
To conclude, most of the cast feels good and I barely scratched the surface of Drive Cancels, but there's always room for improvement.