Fuck, I really want to play this game but... I feel that I am teh suxorz
Thats part of KoF XIII. You dont get any instant graitification and thats why it is so rewarding. You have a reason to feel accomplished when you do anything that works from movement, to mixups, to combos. You cant be lazy at any thing and learning to play it turns you into a better fighting game player all around. Footsies revolve around everything and everything has strategy behind it...there is no guess and play by wrote. Every match is a new game and there are ZERO crutches to hide behind. The game makes you feel accomplished when you win because you ARE when you win.
KING OF FIGHTERS XIII IS NOT ABOUT BEING THE BEST OR WINNING OFTEN
KOF XIII IS A GAME MEANT TO MAKE YOU INTO A BETTER FIGHTING GAME PLAYER
...and that experience is what makes it such a profoundly deep and enjoyable game. Every single aspect of it is designed to make you realize things about fighting games, yourself and other opponents.
There is NEVER a single fallback move, or tactic to utilize like a crutch in this game to rob yourself out of the benefit of growing into an actual good player.
Do I block this fireball and get more meter than my opponent and let him use it to run up and get close?
Do I roll through the fireball and close the distance on him, but risk that he wasn't truly zoning but baiting a roll to punish me?
Do I shoot another projectile and try to stuff it and risk him inching forward or EX-ing or super canceling the first fireball thus trumping my counter attack?
Do I run, Jump, hop or roll here? Each go over, under, through different things and cover different distances, but each has its own weak points so which one seems appropriate vs this player, his character, and this situation?
Do I hyper jump to get past it and risk a very easy AA from him or do it and possibly avoid an EX or Super Cancel attempt?
EVERYTHING is strategy...including execution. Movement is huge in KoF XIII. Absolutely everything has 3rd and 4th level mind games to it regarding how a single action effects screen position and you have to get good enough to get in your opponents head and figure them out. No two players are the same so movement is something EVERONE trains in until they become a better player and learn to read movements and patterns in their opponents.
Combos and execution are designed to turn people into better players in KoF XIII as well. Yes there is an entry barrier involved. No one can spam all day, no one can just abuse super cancels or destroy someone. The whole cast is playable so there is no enormous tier barrier seperating matches in fairness...its on you. You want damage in this game? You have to learn the timing on cancels. You have to learn to monitor you Super meter for specials and across a marathon series of characters. You have to be good at more than one character because its about team building. You have to monitor your performance vs certain opponents players use to know how to spend meter in a round and you have to be able to hit confirm into your combos quickly as mixups happen fast in this game.
Do I go ham with my first character and try to kill his battery first round or do I lay back and stock meter as often as possible to load my team with meter for EX and specials?
Do I rush it down and go for mixups here and risk missing a difficult hit confirm into a combo during a pressure string given normals come out fast in this game?
Do I blow my HD Gauge to do a MASSIVE cancel filled combo this round in hopes of killing this scary player's best guy or do I save that gauge for my anchor for the comeback factor it will net him vs the rest of his team?
Am I confident enough in my combo timing to strive for HD gauge to max out before I use it or do I just use it for Super Cancels at half full repeatedly for the damage on smaller combos because I like my mixups vs this player?
Do I keep turtling and risk getting guard broken or do I try something expensive with meter or daring between his block strings like a roll, throw, or poke?
You know in KoF XIII when you win how well you did. You know if your movement needs work, if your combos being sloppy has lead you into dropping expensive combos or into simply being reduced to leaving money on the table in combos just to play it safe. You know if you are playing your team in a manner that loads it with meter for its more expensive cast's tools and you know if you aren't trained enough in your characters.
In KoF XIII there is no instant gratification and THAT is why its so amazing. Its difficult but it NEVER feels like its the game screwing you over. You always know how good you are as a player and that is a gift many players could use. The meter management, footsies, rolls, projectiles being designed to get you in not to stay out, light/heavy/ex moves and their various uses, hd combos, drive cancels and super cancels give you such an enormous amount of utility and options that its staggering.
Play KoF XIII. It will make you into a better player. You will learn execution. You will learn footsies and how to read players by movement. You will learn meter awareness. You will learn your own favorite tendencies and weakest habits. You will never have a single tool so good you can just fallback on it when it gets rough and cheat yourself out of actually improving as a player by leaning on it like a crutch. The fact that its so option filled and deep yet so balanced is what makes it so rewarding...other fighters teach you things, but this one never fools you into thinking you are good simply because you may have a severely abusable tool or string to fallback on...there are no fallbacks in KoF XIII. You either grew as a player or didn't.
