ki vs usf4

[C88 Zombieekiler]

Ok so my friend was bugging me to ask people whats better ki or usf4 so i thought id ask the tym members who have dabbled in said games. I know that the question itself cannot be answered as its too subjective so I thought we would break the options into a score system. I will update the thread each time someone tells me a new aspect and which game does it better

So as ive heard from many that have played both that KI has the better netcode so KI 1 - 0 USF4

Better tutorial ki wins KI 2 - 0 USF4 Ki's tutorial is amazing i just went through it, it takes you through the fundamentals of fighting games in general and the mechanics of ki itself.

Better character diversity (diversity means theres more variation in the species') ki KI 3 - 0 USF4, it speaks for itself really every new character in ki basically is a new species like battletoad saberwulf glacius etc.

Accesability ki wins KI 4 - 0 USF4 Along with ki's amazing tutorial it doesnt have 1/2 frame links everwhere which is more appealing to the casual scene

Better variety (variety means a bigger selection) usf4 wins KI 4 - 1 USF4 USF4 has a selection of approximatley 36 vs KI's 16 or so.

Better footsies usf4 wins KI 4 - 2 USF4 USF4 is a more footsie based game that involves baiting out crouch techs punishing with counter hits to maximize your damage while both games are similar in there footsies i think that usf4 requires more footsies to win.

Better community ki wins KI 5 - 2 USF4 From what i hear a lot of the sf community are elitist whereas the ki commuity because its a lot more accesable there are a lot more casual players in turn making the community more welcoming

Better presentation ki wins KI 6 - 2 USF4 with ki being on next gen it obviously should look better and it does as the levels are filled with a variety of effects including various types of weather various landscapes the characters look more realistic less boxy and its in 60 fps i believe compared to usf4s 30 fps

 

[Scott The Scot]

KI's execution is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay easier than USF4's. I haven't played a great deal of KI though, so my combos were pretty basic.

 

[C88 Zombieekiler]

KI's execution is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay easier than USF4's. I haven't played a great deal of KI though, so my combos were pretty basic.

updated

 

[Onilordasmodeus]

Ok so my friend was bugging me to ask people whats better ki or usf4 so i thought id ask the tym members who have dabbled in said games. I know that the question itself cannot be answered as its too subjective so I thought we would break the options into a score system. I will update the thread each time someone tells me a new aspect and which game does it better

So as ive heard from many that have played both that KI has the better netcode so KI 1 - 0 USF4

What is your criteria for "better"? Yeah KI has MUCH better netcode, but those games are also very different in how they play.

USF4 is a footsie-fest. A very traditional fighter. Where as KI is more crazy, and only getting crazier.

So yeah, it depends on what you want from your fighter.

TL;DR - need more info give a better answer.

 

[C88 Zombieekiler]

Mkx bro. This is tym XD

makes no sense but ok mate

 

[C88 Zombieekiler]

What is your criteria for "better"? Yeah KI has MUCH better netcode, but those games are also very different in how they play.

USF4 is a footsie-fest. A very traditional fighter. Where as KI is more crazy, and only getting crazier.

So yeah, it depends on what you want from your fighter.

TL;DR - need more info give a better answer.

i just want to know what aspects of each game are better i know the games are different but if you have dabbled in both put what you think one does better

 

[Scott The Scot]

I wouldn't add a point for this since you said "more noob friendly" but I would like to make a note that the tutorial in this game absolutely beautiful - it basically teaches you about the fundamentals of fighting games and teaches you what a tick throw is, what a punish is, what Overhead/Low means, how to deal with a lot of projectiles, low profiling... And it's super easy to understand. I'd recommend this as your first fighter game, then Rising Thunder, then MK or SF or whatever.

 

[C88 Zombieekiler]

I wouldn't add a point for this since you said "more noob friendly" but I would like to make a note that the tutorial in this game absolutely beautiful - it basically teaches you about the fundamentals of fighting games and teaches you what a tick throw is, what a punish is, what Overhead/Low means, how to deal with a lot of projectiles, low profiling... And it's super easy to understand. I'd recommend this as your first fighter game, then Rising Thunder, then MK or SF or whatever.

ok so ill put better tutorial?

 

[SneakyTortoise]

Imo:
KI is more fun, has a better tutorial, has better character diversity, feels fresher/more creative, feels more interesting.

 

[C88 Zombieekiler]

Imo:
KI is more fun, has a better tutorial, has better character diversity, feels fresher/more creative, feels more interesting.

You right ki has a well better diversity

 

[Onilordasmodeus]

Netcode - KI

Accessibility - KI (KI has far easier to execute moves) though SF is very easy to play at a basic level.

Player base - SF (bigger)

Community - both are good (I'm assuming. I'm more on the KI side, so I don't know how receptive the SF crowd are to new players)

• Unified community. This goes hand in hand with community if you ask me. Once the PC version drops, there will still be only one player base, not a community divided by platform. PC players can play with Console players.

variety - SF (SF has more characters at 36+, KI has16 atm, with more to come)

...I'll add more as they come to me.

 

[C88 Zombieekiler]

Netcode - KI

Accessibility - KI (KI has far easier to execute moves) though SF is very easy to play at a basic level.

Player base - SF (bigger)

Community - both are good (I'm assuming. I'm more on the KI side, so I don't know how receptive the SF crowd are to new players)

• Unified community. This goes hand in hand with community if you ask me. Once the PC version drops, there will still be only one player base, not a community divided by platform. PC players can play with Console players.

variety - SF (SF has more characters at 36+, KI has16 atm, with more to come)

...I'll add more as they come to me.

Cheers man

 

[Scott The Scot]

Community - both are good (I'm assuming. I'm more on the KI side, so I don't know how receptive the SF crowd are to new players)

In my experience, a lot of the SF community online are all pretentious asses. Seriously, they suck.

 

[infamy23]

USF4

Slower paced, lots of focus on footsies and neutral game. Teaches you fighting game fundamentals that carry over to other games. Spacing, zoning, whiff punishing, punishing in general, anti-airing, frame traps, hit confirms, tick throws etc...

The execution is pretty unforgiving for beginners. Almost all characters require 2 frame links and quite a few of them require 1 frame links. Not to mention FADC combos which are fairly necessary for a lot of characters.

The netcode is not as good as KI but it is still decent. A million times better than MKX.

The game is almost 6 years old, so a beginner is going to be playing against people who have a mountain of knowledge and experience and I'd say it's impossible to catch up at this point, but playing the game will prepare you for SFV next year (sort of).

A large part of the gameplay revolves around knockdowns and set play. AKA if you lose the neutral game, you are at a massive disadvantage.

Killer Instinct

Best netcode ever.

Much faster pace. You never have a moment to relax in a KI match, because you are constantly transitioning from neutral game to combo game, so you have to focus every single second of the match.

The execution in the game is "layered". Meaning that a complete beginner can still pull off 50% combos no problem. But, as you play against more experienced players, these beginner combos are simply not effective anymore because your opponent will just break them 100% of the time. So eventually if you want to improve you're going to have to start using manuals which are basically 1-2 frame links just like the ones in USF4.

The moves in KI are much more powerful than they are in SF4, so it's much easier to land a hit on people. They intentionally designed the game this way, because after you land a hit on someone, you enter into the combo mind game, which revolves around breakers, baiting breakers, and counter breakers. Unlike SF4, when you lose a battle in the neutral game, you can easily make up for it by being proficient at the combo mind game. This requires 100% focus for the entire match as I said above because there is never a moment where you are just being combo'd and you are just watching until the combo is over.

There aren't many hard knockdowns in KI, so the knockdown set play style of SF4 is almost non-existent.

Almost everything is safe, so you don't get punished as hard for throwing out random moves. Unlike SF4 where two blocked specials = you are dead.

The characters in KI are all wildly different from eachother. The game is fun to learn since every character is so unique, and there is no universal comeback mechanic like Ultras. Instead, each character has their own unique comeback mechanic in the form of "instinct".

Conclusion

I love both games, but if I had to choose one that is more beginner friendly, I'd say KI. Not because it's an easier game, but because I find it more enjoyable at lower levels of play. SF4 is really not that fun until you've put at least a year of practice into it.

 

[C88 Zombieekiler]

In my experience, a lot of the SF community online are all pretentious asses. Seriously, they suck.

yeah most of them view themselves as better than you

 

[Onilordasmodeus]

In my experience, a lot of the SF community online are all pretentious asses. Seriously, they suck.

Honestly when I play KI, I'm only about myself. I only interact with the KI community at large on the forums, in chats while watching a tournament, or on the occasion if I go to a tourney. Most SF fans I see in chats are horrible, and that is most of my experience with them; I can't judge the community at large by that, so all in all, I'm ignorant of them.

 

[C88 Zombieekiler]

Updated

 

[Onilordasmodeus]

USF4

Slower paced, lots of focus on footsies and neutral game. Teaches you fighting game fundamentals that carry over to other games. Spacing, zoning, whiff punishing, punishing in general, anti-airing, frame traps, hit confirms, tick throws etc...

The execution is pretty unforgiving for beginners. Almost all characters require 2 frame links and quite a few of them require 1 frame links. Not to mention FADC combos which are fairly necessary for a lot of characters.

The netcode is not as good as KI but it is still decent. A million times better than MKX.

The game is almost 6 years old, so a beginner is going to be playing against people who have a mountain of knowledge and experience and I'd say it's impossible to catch up at this point, but playing the game will prepare you for SFV next year (sort of).

A large part of the gameplay revolves around knockdowns and set play. AKA if you lose the neutral game, you are at a massive disadvantage.

Killer Instinct

Best netcode ever.

Much faster pace. You never have a moment to relax in a KI match, because you are constantly transitioning from neutral game to combo game, so you have to focus every single second of the match.

The execution in the game is "layered". Meaning that a complete beginner can still pull off 50% combos no problem. But, as you play against more experienced players, these beginner combos are simply not effective anymore because your opponent will just break them 100% of the time. So eventually if you want to improve you're going to have to start using manuals which are basically 1-2 frame links just like the ones in USF4.

The moves in KI are much more powerful than they are in SF4, so it's much easier to land a hit on people. They intentionally designed the game this way, because after you land a hit on someone, you enter into the combo mind game, which revolves around breakers, baiting breakers, and counter breakers. Unlike SF4, when you lose a battle in the neutral game, you can easily make up for it by being proficient at the combo mind game. This requires 100% focus for the entire match as I said above because there is never a moment where you are just being combo'd and you are just watching until the combo is over.

There aren't many hard knockdowns in KI, so the knockdown set play style of SF4 is almost non-existent.

Almost everything is safe, so you don't get punished as hard for throwing out random moves. Unlike SF4 where two blocked specials = you are dead.

The characters in KI are all wildly different from eachother. The game is fun to learn since every character is so unique, and there is no universal comeback mechanic like Ultras. Instead, each character has their own unique comeback mechanic in the form of "instinct".

Conclusion

I love both games, but if I had to choose one that is more beginner friendly, I'd say KI. Not because it's an easier game, but because I find it more enjoyable at lower levels of play. SF4 is really not that fun until you've put at least a year of practice into it.

Good write up! I second this.

 

[Tweedy]

Am I the only person who can play MK, SF, or KI just fine, execute 99% of combos, but doesn't understand Rising Thunder.

 

[Onilordasmodeus]

Am I the only person who can play MK, SF, or KI just fine, execute 99% of combos, but doesn't understand Rising Thunder.

lol! RT seems very fun. I love the concept of it. I hope to play it one day.

 

[Tweedy]

I got the alpha right when it came out. I don't know what it is, the game just baffles me.

Edit: I feel like I've robbed someone who didn't make it in.

 

[Onilordasmodeus]

I got the alpha right when it came out. I don't know what it is, the game just baffles me.

Edit: I feel like I've robbed someone who didn't make it in.

The alpha is open to everyone now. Anyone can go to the website, register, then download it and play.

You just have to have the CPU to do it, which I don't, and probably never will.

 

[carrion4worm]

character design, level design, and graphics/overall presentation is a thing, too. And K.I. does it better, console generation not withstanding

 

[Undeadjim]

Am I the only person who can play MK, SF, or KI just fine, execute 99% of combos, but doesn't understand Rising Thunder.

I feel its kinda like a more fast paced SF4 with some major dirt actually lol. The best thing about RT is it is so simple so you can have someone explain a MU to you in about 5 minutes and your ready to just play a fundamental game.

At least from the latest patch you can see your opponents kinetic meter, it was hilariously dumb not knowing if they could kinetic advance or not. You would end up baiting the DP and getting jumped over and be like well now I know he had meter lol.

 

[C88 Zombieekiler]

Reasonings yay or nay? I'll remove them if people think its whack