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| OYashiroForever 705th Post
 
Red Carpet Regular Member
  
    
    
|  "KoF 2003 Impressions Thread"
, posted Sun 1 Feb 01:57
Well, now that many of us have had a chance to play the game *cough*, what does everyone think? How does this stack up to year's past? How do people feel about the way characters have been changed (Ralf, Robert, Terry, etc.)? How well do the new characters fit in? Well... here's my two and change:
- First and foremost, I'd like to officially say goodbye to Eolith. Your influence on KoF won't be missed.
- Presentation is very nice... bgs, music, and character art is mostly above average and the cut-scenes are as entertaining as they are well-animated.
- Outside of the tag-attacks, tagging is nigh useless. I could understand maybe wanting to bring in another character if they're a better match-up for an opponent's current character, but rarely is that necessary in KoF. Let's hope they make tagging a more intricate part of the proceedings in 2004 if they decide to keep it (Marvel-esque mild healing would be nice).
- 99 SECONDS! Matches go by far too quickly and 4 out of 5 end by time (vs. games, obviously... the CPU never lasts that long) :)
- Mukai + Adel rock (no pun intended) my world. Adel's a little too bishy for my tastes, but Mukai is just the right level of difficult without being totally obnoxious. Chizuru/Maki is amusing, but Maki can be a real bitch if you don't have the right character. Glad to see the Orochi storyline back in effect... interested to see where they go with it.
- SvC sound fx used... didn't like 'em then, don't like 'em now. Too plain. Give me the old KoF fx any day of the week.
- Could just be the speed screwing with me, but the timing on certain things feels funny.
- Tag attacks set up some evil combos.
- Leader DMs are interesting and put greater importance on team dynamics, but they vary GREATLY in usefulness. I s'pose the same could be said of almost any manuever that varies by character. <shrug>
Character-specific stuff:
Ash: Yup... we've finally found someone who can out-Beni Beni. Still, I've been itching for a Guile character in KoF since day one and he fills that role admirably. His LDM has potential abuses (removes charge times on his moves), but I'd imagine his main game revolves around setting up the command-throw and using his b+B for poking... or, of course, using old-school Guile ranging tactics. :)
Duolon: Ugh. Why must every Hizoku character be an obnoxious, irritating piece of shit? While I think Duolon is a MUCH better character than Lin aesthetically (love the stance, the well-animated robes, and the constantly uninterested look on his face), he has some truly evil mix-ups and takes over right from where Lin left off as the character I enjoy fighting the least in 2-player. His LDM could be pure evil if learned how to use effectively. (It's like VCs in Alpha 3 or Yun's Genei Jin in SF3:3S)
Shen Woo: Love the character design, love his moves, hate the fact that he has so few effective options. Typical of KoF games... new characters are either incredibly effective/overpowered (Duolon, Foxy, Lin) or damn near useless (Shen, Hinako). Here's to hoping he gets a few new moves in 2004 that help his game out. Oh, and his LDM is Armor Mode... lame.
Terry: Love the redesign. Love the fact that Buster Wolf can juggle on the 2nd hit if he knocks 'em out of the air with the first. LDM is kinda weird... Raging Storm-esque.
Joe: Seems to have new voice samples... not much else. LDM is Galactica Phantom-esque.
Tizoc/Griffon: Wow. Grapplers really got the love this year. Has a HUGE throw range on his command throws and his LDM does sick damage. Between that and the effectiveness of his "pecking", Birdboy's gonna be on my team 24/7. (probably would've been even had he sucked)
Robert: Love the new pimpin' outfit and the new stance. Glad they brought back the flash-kick looking uppercut. Fireballs are fast. Ranbu looks different... yay!
Yuri: New stance... finally. New Shin-Sho is cool. Denjin is funny. Doesn't appear very useful, though.
Ryo: Bah. Boring ass Kyokugen. Tenchi Haohken dizzies. :P
Kim: Pretty much the same.
Chang: New super does ridiculous chip damage. I'd love to see him as a secret character in a Samurai Spirits game. LDM is the old Superman DM.
Jhun: <sigh> Good to have him back, especially in place of Choi + May Lee. LDM is pretty nasty and can be juggled afterwards.
Leona: Nothin' much here. Don't really use her. LDM is her super from 2k/2k1 (Heidern-esque drain)
Ralf: BIG changes. Command throw now has auto-guard. Ralf Kick with B hits low. Supers look different. The new dp+C move is pretty effective and can be tacked on to the end of combos.
Clark: Doesn't seem as effective, but I don't use him much these days.
Iori: <yawn> He's Iori. Got the Wine Cups back and his LDM is pretty vicious (overhead, big damage). However, he's got more lag on the first two hits of his Rekkas.
Kyo: Love the new outfit. Glad to see he got the 182 back. LDM is Mu Shiki... VERY effective... does some serious juggling.
Gato: Didn't use him a lot in Garou (more of a Tizoc/Jenet man myself), but I could definitely get used to him. LDM is his hidden super from Garou.
Billy: Wild Ambition outfit doesn't look as different as I thought it might. Toned down slightly, but still very effective pressure tactics. f+A has more lag, dp+K anti-air now homes in on the opponent. LDM seems to be a close-range ranbu. QCF, HCB DM does a LOT more juggling than it used to.
Yamazaki: Got his Garou outfit. Lots of new voice work. LDM is unblockable and very effective (Raging Demon motion). Love the taunt after the Guillotine DM.
Mai: <yawn> It's Mai. New voice work. Got her SvC super. LDM is her bland Deadly Bees SDM.
Mary: Lots of new stuff... new voices are even more Engrish-a-riffic than the old. Spin Fall is an overhead. Dynamite Swing is back to being a double-quarter roll. LDM looks weird.
King: High and Low Venoms are frustrating. Like the fact that they finally re-animated her two supers again. They look cool.
Beni: Just when you thought he couldn't get any gayer, they give him a mid-drift baring leopard-print shirt. Guess he's gotta compete with Ash now. New move is cool and has a deceptive hit-box. Does a lot of damage too. LDM is SDM Raikou-Ken. <yawn>
Shingo: Air Shingo Kick? Auto-guard on the Moero Shingo? He gets more fun every year. Can't chain Dokugami/Aragami after f+B anymore, but being able to super-cancel out of the Aragami more than makes up for it. LDM is fast, powerful, and can be chained.
Daimon: Hella powerful again this year.
Athena: Ugly outfit. Like the fact that she's more of an idol now that the dirty old man and Kensou are gone. Toned down big time. More lag on d+C and the B Phoenix Arrow. LDM is the Psychic Ten... uses 3 meters if you want the decent damaging Psycho Bomber.
Hinako: Couple of cute new intros/win poses. Has some new stuff, but still not enough. Can't even do the throw super after her combo strings anymore. Grrrr... that flying sumo headbutt thing is nice for tacking on to combos.
Malin: Ugh. They get rid of Choi, but now I have to chase this shrill little pixie around. With all the flying around in the air and the projectiles that hang on screen, I could swear I was playing GGXX. Air super is mighty effective.
K': New stance. Nothing seems to combo as effectively (almost nothing works out of the one-inch anymore). New super is Shoryureppa-riffic and the air fireball could be VERY effective. LDM is the old sunglasses SDM with a slightly different ending.
Maxima: Not much different. Maxima Revenger DM does the SDM anim. LDM is an improved version of the useless Cannon DM from 2002.
Whip: Not much... finally changed her DM animation and she continues the animation even if the initial hit isn't made. Gun seems to work differently. LDM is her standard SDM with a big invincibility window and vacuum effect.
Sheesh, that took an eternity... feel free to add on whatever you like. I might do some more character specific stuff later on if I feel the urge. All in all, I really enjoy what I've played of 2003 so far and hope that the gameplay can hold up over time the way 2002's did.
"Only two things are infinite the universe and human stupidity and I'm not sure about the former."
"Your denial is beneath you and thanks to the use of hallucinogenic drugs I see through you."
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| Sensenic 1114th Post
Red Carpet Premium Member+
 
 
| "Re(1):KoF 2003 Impressions Thread" , posted Sun 1 Feb 08:08
OK, I'm game. I'll use your post as a reference, if you don't mind. So we have the opinion of a good competitive player and that of a scrub, to contrast ^_^'.
quote:
Well, now that many of us have had a chance to play the game *cough*, what does everyone think?
The easisest KOF ever IMO, at least running under this special MAME and in my computer. I can easily get to Kaguras/Adel, and even beat them if I use one or two continues (1/3 life  ', and I even almost beat the Kaguras without continuing the last time), so...
quote:
How does this stack up to year's past? How do people feel about the way characters have been changed (Ralf, Robert, Terry, etc.)? How well do the new characters fit in? Well... here's my two and change:
- First and foremost, I'd like to officially say goodbye to Eolith. Your influence on KoF won't be missed.
- Presentation is very nice... bgs, music, and character art is mostly above average and the cut-scenes are as entertaining as they are well-animated.
Agreed, wanted to add a couple of things:
- Gotta love the music, specially compared to the last 2 ones. The techno monopoly is finally over and you can at least recognize a nice piano in Adel's stage or a saxo within Iori's theme. Good adaptation of the 'classics' (Esaka, Chizuru's) and nice new ones. I quite like Korea's specially.
- The stages are very beautiful, yes, but quite static, as in 2001 (With the obvious difference that there they were static AND ugly). None of them has any interactive elements (like the water in the beach in KOF2000, the dog in Holland stage in 2002 or others...) or "minimally" moving elements (cat in Spain 98, pigeons in "Nude Place" SvC...), none of them change because combats are one-round only this time (only one of them has 2 different versions but "it's not the same") and spectators still look too "gif-ish" as in KOF2002 (yeah, I know they've always been that way, but don't know why, in these 2 games it becomes too obvious, IMO).
quote:
- Outside of the tag-attacks, tagging is nigh useless. I could understand maybe wanting to bring in another character if they're a better match-up for an opponent's current character, but rarely is that necessary in KoF. Let's hope they make tagging a more intricate part of the proceedings in 2004 if they decide to keep it (Marvel-esque mild healing would be nice).
- Tag attacks set up some evil combos.
- Leader DMs are interesting and put greater importance on team dynamics, but they vary GREATLY in usefulness. I s'pose the same could be said of almost any manuever that varies by character. <shrug>
As for the gameplay, I like tagging as it is, I don't think it should be a key element more than the Leader idea should be, since this is the innovative one. One thing they could do to improve this, always IMO, is to set the game as it was rumoured to be at the beginning: if leader's down, combat lost. And the leader should have more things available, like, I don't know, more strength, comboability, whatsoever; I mean, s/he should just become more useful, in order to avoid everyone reserving him/her for the last character. This way everything would become more strategic and tagging would be used more. No?
And yes, tag attacking means combo-fest indeed, since even I've been able to do some (very very simple) ones with it.
quote:
- 99 SECONDS! Matches go by far too quickly and 4 out of 5 end by time (vs. games, obviously... the CPU never lasts that long) :)
Speak for yourself :(. Nah, even I'm able to beat CPU in that time. Usually. But it's OK for me, that and the full power meter at start mean fast "action-packed" combats, I like it.
quote:
- Mukai + Adel rock (no pun intended) my world. Adel's a little too bishy for my tastes, but Mukai is just the right level of difficult without being totally obnoxious. Chizuru/Maki is amusing, but Maki can be a real bitch if you don't have the right character. Glad to see the Orochi storyline back in effect... interested to see where they go with it.
Agreed.
quote:
- SvC sound fx used... didn't like 'em then, don't like 'em now. Too plain. Give me the old KoF fx any day of the week.
Disagree. Except for some cases, can't remember now which exactly, I like these new fx.
Character-specific stuff:
Ash: It has become more and more interesting to me since he was revealed as an 'evil' (or similar) chara. I hate Guile-like ones, but I've been able to relatively and slowly learn to use him. His projectiles and LDM rock, and I like the strange acrobatics he does for his "sommersault".
Duolon: I don't like his looks, and all those robes look terribly uncomfortable to fight, I think he should look something more like Lin. Different, of course, but more similar. But I love his moves even if I'm not able to use him properly, specially those souls or whatever that come out in his DMs and his Lon-like way to teleport.
Shen Woo (from OYashiro's comments): Don't love the character design, don't love his moves, don't love his sprite (looks... ugly in some way, don't know how to express it). But I also dislike the fact that he has so few effective options and also hope he gets a few new moves in 2004 that help his game out.
Terry: Like almost everyone here, it seems, I like the redesign too, but the sprite looks strange (specially the face), and I think the change to his MOTW style has been too abrupt: I think he should've kept at least the rising tackle and the round wave/the 96,97,98 "short" power wave (which rocked my ass, BTW). I like the LDM a lot, but the effect looks very familiar, like I've seen it before... in Metal Slug ŋ ? And, of course, it was about time Buster Wolf made its appearence in KOF. Are you OK?
Tizoc/Griffon: Haven't tested him enough, grapplers are not my field of experience (well, no fighting game style is, probably ^_^'), but his presence brings some fresh air indeed.
Robert (again from OYashiro's ^_^'): Love the new pimpin' outfit and the new stance (me too). Fireballs are fast (and "YYH's Sensui-ish", nice). Ranbu looks different... yay!
Yuri: Could'nt avoid a smile when I saw her new Shin-Sho, it looks directly ripped off SvC's Ryu.
Jhun: I insist he lacks a special intro against Athena, seeing him acting fanboy's gotta rock, being him such a calm character.Never played with him before so the only thing I can do is watch how they beat me ^_^'. Gotta learn.
Ralf: A friend of mine who's a Ralf Tackle/Galactica Phantom abuser in 2k1 and 2k2 is gonna cry when he tries him. The Galactica Phantom, BTW, seems to be much weaker now even if it is an LDM, and it doesn't "hurt to see" as it used to anymore :( New dp move is nice.
Iori: Too bad he apparently doesn't have the Tsumagushi special and super, else it'd have been the more complete version of him ever. Fortunately those weren't his best moves; these are all there, specially the LDMs: Saika and the red-flaming overhead one rock.
Kyo: His new looks... pse, too similar to his old version. And I want him to have the Kototsuki back But I'm ready to enjoy a 182 or a Mu Shiki anytime.
Gato (yet again, from OYashiro's): Didn't use him a lot in Garou, but I wouldn't able to definitely get used to him.
Yamazaki: Great, great LDM, very very cool new standing animation (to see it just leave him there standing for a little while, and voilā).
Mary: Agreed with OYashiro on the new voices (much specially her looong line against Terry) and the LDM.
King: Has become a projectile festival character, but it's still all about double strike and trap shot, I love those 2. Nice reanimations for the super, new voices are worse than the previous ones.
Beni (must I say it?): Just when you thought he couldn't get any gayer, they give him a mid-drift baring leopard-print shirt. Guess he's gotta compete with Ash now (completely agree with all this). I love the new move, specially how it hits 2 times.
Shingo: Like his LDM a lot. One question: does the damage increase when some fire sparks come out? It doesn't burn the character does it? Because the only times I noticed those sparks were when the attack wouldn't hit and I couldn't see if they appeared or not in the other cases.
Athena: Ugly outfit indeed and the new intro feels "strange" don't ask me why, even though I also like her idol facet being there (that's why I think the Athena as idol vs Jhun as fan intro should be there). As for the LDM, the same as usual with the Psychic9/10 for me: love to do it/see it in training mode, but useless once in "the real thing". So she'll always be in my team (I discovered she's my best chara in every KOF) but never as the leader.
Malin: I can use the she-Choi way better than the original and the design is (don't know why? :p) quite better in this case, so... a new favourite for me. Only the high pitched voice is a problem. Oh, and I love the stun-guns special (qcf + K).
K': New moves rock, both the air projectile and the "shoryureppa". Also the new Chain Drive is more eye candy now. A "must pick" in this game.
"Kensu" & "Asina" such a nice couple.
Damn boredom that can kill you with a sword!
A friend of mine talking about elves in LOTR
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| JJWE 340th Post
Bronze Customer
| "Re(2):KoF 2003 Impressions Thread" , posted Sun 1 Feb 12:51
quote:
- The stages are very beautiful, yes, but quite static, as in 2001 (With the obvious difference that there they were static AND ugly). None of them has any interactive elements (like the water in the beach in KOF2000, the dog in Holland stage in 2002 or others...) or "minimally" moving elements (cat in Spain 98, pigeons in "Nude Place" SvC...), none of them change because combats are one-round only this time (only one of them has 2 different versions but "it's not the same")
Actually, 5 different BGs have "variations". The street, the harbor, the mayan temple, the rooftop and the desert. All these are just palette swaps though, except for the street which turns into some sort of nighttime scenario and loses most of the people.
--- http://ngmc.retrogames.com
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| beto
165th Post
Regular Customer
| "Re(1):KoF 2003 Impressions Thread" , posted Sun 1 Feb 14:52:
I donīt mind the new SFX at all.
Music is better than previous couple years, with exception of the OP, that sounds awful (the animation and art is great, though).
Animated cut-scenes are the best in any KOF. The overall look and presentation of the game is the best in any KOF also.
Gameplay is simpler than the last few years, but itīs very fun.
Ash is a fantastic character, not only on looks/creativity but on gameplay too. Even the whiners enjoy playing with him.
Duolon is by far the most "impressive-looking" KOF fighter so far (actually, heīs one of the best-looking character in any fighting game). Every time he was on-screen someone would come up and ask "who is that guy" and ask for info on him, from his moves to his storyline.
Shen Woo is average. Not impressive in any way. Malin is weird as hell, but interesting to play with.
Robertīs new stance sucks. His previous one was better.
Athenaīs outfit looks gorgeous in-game. From pics, videos and illustartions i hated it, but after seeing it on a big-screen tv, i really like it. Same goes for Kyoīs outfit. Looks great in-game.
Hinako is even better.
The clock is fine for me. I donīt know whatīs the problem with people and time-overs.
Ahh!! Time is up! My body will burn into flames!!
quote:
Outside of the tag-attacks, tagging is nigh useless. I could understand maybe wanting to bring in another character if they're a better match-up for an opponent's current character, but rarely is that necessary in KoF. Let's hope they make tagging a more intricate part of the proceedings in 2004 if they decide to keep it (Marvel-esque mild healing would be nice).
I disagree. I hope they DONīT make tagging a big thing. Strikers were crap, and having tagging be of greater importance would be just as bad.
[this message was edited by beto on Sun 1 Feb 15:17] |
| Toxico 3437th Post
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
    
  
|  "Re(3):KoF 2003 Impressions Thread"
, posted Tue 3 Feb 08:01:
quote:
BTW, as for Duo Lon, did you people notice his front foot (that is, his left foot in 1p side or his right foot in 2p side)?
That position's gotta hurt.
Now I come to wonder if the Hizoku clansmen doesn't have bones XD
Well, I have mixed fellings with this one; some characters are WAY too useless if you compare it with their previous selfs (Whip, Maxima); and other characters are to stupidly overpowered.
Ash was Ok in my book; his LDM is really useful as you can have more than 2 projectiles on screen at the same time.
Duolong seems a GG character; too much range, too much cancels, too much damage; too much infinites ;)
Gay team, I mean; Hero team owns you for sure!! XD
Well, and Frames per second wise this as to be the worst KoF ever; while there are many good & many decent animations some of the are good awfull. DMs lack contundence!!
[this message was edited by Toxico on Tue 3 Feb 08:21] |
| Burning Ranger 622th Post
Red Carpet Regular Member
| "My thoughts..." , posted Tue 3 Feb 15:52
I spent some time with this game recently.
First, I have to say that I love the new team system. Going through a battle without rounds is refreshing and provides a seemingly faster atmosphere. I also like how tagging isn't quite like the Marvel Vs. series (well, if you count the safe tagging, which requires one stock to pull off, so it can't be readily abused).
The only characters that have interested me so far are Terry, Mai, and King. Terry looks cool, but is it me, or does he appear to be evil? Mai still rocks (flying ass of doom!). King is very very wierd now, but not bad IMHO. I don't like her fireball setup now. I think this is my tournament team (if it ever comes to that), and I'll definitely need to brush up on my skills.
Played a few other chars too. Malin seems like Bridget's, May Lee's, and Bao's kid. Ash isn't that interesting. Essentially Guile/Remy with Venom's ball super. Shen looks like he's that one guy from CFAS. Duolon is just wierd (what's with that forward foot?).
I don't have much to say, except Mukai is a punk, and that other boss is kid Rugal with a few extras. 2 Chizurus are annoying too.
By the way, what does Mary say to Terry in their intro? It sounds like she said something about a partner.
Advanced Cyborg E. Branger AKA Burning Ranger
"Never underestimate the predictabilty of stupidity." -Vinnie Jones from SNATCH
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| Spoon
98th Post
Occasional Customer
| "Re(1):My thoughts..." , posted Wed 4 Feb 00:16
quote:
Played a few other chars too. Malin seems like Bridget's, May Lee's, and Bao's kid.
You're forgetting Choi. Though the thought of Choi having children makes me cringe when I imagine the woman who would've had to go through it all.
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Ash isn't that interesting. Essentially Guile/Remy with Venom's ball super.
The ball super seems more like Kain's S-Power fireball from Garou... not like Venom's uber-chipdown spam ball of death.
Not many seem to be noting just how much Ash's projectile is like one of Orochi Shermie's (not the kiss, though they may well make Ash do that in 2k4 anyway...), cuz it sure as heck is! (well, charging instead of command, of course)
Did the fact that the portraits of him in game have freckles bother you as much as it bothered me? I didn't see them in the original art picture of him. For some reason, my friends found that the presence of freckles magnified his gayness tenfold.
quote:
Shen looks like he's that one guy from CFAS.
Rook was it? Dunno, can't remember.
But yeah, Shen doesn't do it for me. Somehow I see more in ST Balrog (like mad combos?) than in Shen!
Something about Duolon says SF3 Yang to me. That plus some of Lin's ground spikes (as opposed to Twelve's ground spikes)...
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