The King of Fighters XIII: Steam Edition

 PC
User Score
8.2

Generally favorable reviews- based on 82 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 61 out of 82
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 82
  3. Negative: 6 out of 82

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  1. john_mcpain
    Sep 14, 2013
    9
    The King of Fighter is one of the most beloved series in the Fighting Game genre. While SNK can often give us a mixed bag where each KoF may be very different from the last, XIII is a callback to the days of KoF98 and 2002, two of the most competitive fighting games of all time. By adding an HD mode that reminds us of KoF2002's maxmode, a mode in which you have a small amount of time andThe King of Fighter is one of the most beloved series in the Fighting Game genre. While SNK can often give us a mixed bag where each KoF may be very different from the last, XIII is a callback to the days of KoF98 and 2002, two of the most competitive fighting games of all time. By adding an HD mode that reminds us of KoF2002's maxmode, a mode in which you have a small amount of time and the ability to free cancel nearly any special or super move, SNK has taken several facets from the past beloved games to take into the new age of fighting games.

    As can be expected, the gameplay is tight with blazing fast responsiveness. The inputs, while often requiring more complex motions than say Street Fighter IV's often quarter circle quarter circle button supers, have a deep system of shortcuts and tricks, along with an extremely lenient buffer system. This is a fighting game that, while deep, does give players the tools they need to succeed.

    Balance, as can be expected of Fighting Games, has its issues. For the most part, outside of the EX characters, the game is pretty fairly balanced. In many fighting games having 5 tiers to describe the strengths and weaknesses of the various characters. In this game, arguably no character is more than 3 tiers away from any other character. Its refreshing to see a game as balanced as this is in an age of Street Fighter IV, Mortal Kombat 9, Marvel vs Capcom 3, Soul Calibur V, Street Fighter X Tekken... It may not be perfect, but it sure as hell beats the competition.

    This would be a 10 review if it weren't for the netcode. Now, they've done a lot in listening to us and working their formerly bad netcode to something atleast playable. But we need more than what we've got. We need a GGPO equivalent (for those who do not know, GGPO is a netcode that utilizes "rollbacks" to allow inputs to be virtually lagless). SNK Playmore, this will be what puts you over the top. You need the netcode to get the people to play the game.

    This game is a must have, and this version is the definitive version of KoFXIII. Any self respecting fighting game-lover should buy this game and give it a shot. We here in the West have often relegated SNK to the East. Its time to change that.    … Expand
  2. JennyCage
    Sep 14, 2013
    9
    One of the best if not THE best 2D fighter available. This game has more depth than the Mariana Trench and is very balanced especially relative to other fighters on the market. The console netcode was pretty bad, but the devs worked really hard to make the Steam Edition play silky smooth. Even 2 bar connections are surprisingly playable. Just make sure you're wired and forward theOne of the best if not THE best 2D fighter available. This game has more depth than the Mariana Trench and is very balanced especially relative to other fighters on the market. The console netcode was pretty bad, but the devs worked really hard to make the Steam Edition play silky smooth. Even 2 bar connections are surprisingly playable. Just make sure you're wired and forward the appropriate ports and you should be good to go.

    I want to give this game a 10 but I'm deducting 1 point because I feel with 2 years between the console and PC release, they should have been able to implement multi-person lobbies, spectator mode and an online practice mode. These features would have gone a long way in helping teach new players the game. Otherwise it's fantastic, a must buy for 2D fighting game fans at a great price.    … Expand
  3. Caedes
    Sep 22, 2013
    10
    Simply the best. I can't stop playing.

    Honestly the netcode could be a tad bit better but it is very good as it is.
    Some people blame the netcode because their computer is slow or because they live in an island in the middle of the pacific. Realistically, apart from Skullgirls you won't find a better netcode.
  4. BasilZero
    Sep 6, 2014
    9
    Game: The King Of Fighters XIII Steam Edition
    Genre: Fighting
    Developer: SNK Playmore System: Steam (PC) Total Score: 90/100 Value Score: 9 /10 • Story: 8/10 • Characters: 9/10 • GamePlay: 9/10 • Graphics: 10/10 • Sound: 10/10 • Music: 8/10 • Length: 7/10 • Replay Value: 10/10 • Player Value: 9/10 Pros +Has a fully fledged storyline in the form of a visual novel    Game: The King Of Fighters XIII Steam Edition
    Genre: Fighting
    Developer: SNK Playmore
    System: Steam (PC)
    Total Score: 90/100
    Value Score: 9 /10

    • Story: 8/10
    • Characters: 9/10
    • GamePlay: 9/10
    • Graphics: 10/10
    • Sound: 10/10
    • Music: 8/10
    • Length: 7/10
    • Replay Value: 10/10
    • Player Value: 9/10

    Pros
    +Has a fully fledged storyline in the form of a visual novel that has 3 different scenarios and routes filled with cutscenes in each.
    +Healthy cast of characters from various King of Fighters games
    +A lot of great content and different modes such as Arcade, Story, Online, Mission, etc
    +Great tutorial mode
    +A gallery mode which consists of Music, artwork and cutscenes
    +Allows you to customize character appearances (with colors though)
    +Includes all characters which were originally DLCs on console versions
    +Well designed sprites and backgrounds
    +Great quality sound and music

    Cons
    -Few noticeable playable characters missing such as Chang, Mary, etc but still appear in the storyline
    -The final bosses can be unforgiving in terms of balance and difficulty
    -Still no option to play as a single character campaign (but I guess that is a given considering its KoF)    … Expand
  5. Arthandas
    Nov 2, 2013
    10
    36 completely different characters (no moveset clones like Ryu & Ken) of varying types (projectile based, grapplers, chargers...)
    * 23 very detailed stages (many of them change visually from round to round!)
    * Deep and elaborate combat mechanics (4 different cancels, 4 different jumps, rolls, techs, guard rolls/knockdowns, specials, supers and ultras which can also be EXed, HD mode...).     36 completely different characters (no moveset clones like Ryu & Ken) of varying types (projectile based, grapplers, chargers...)
    * 23 very detailed stages (many of them change visually from round to round!)
    * Deep and elaborate combat mechanics (4 different cancels, 4 different jumps, rolls, techs, guard rolls/knockdowns, specials, supers and ultras which can also be EXed, HD mode...). You can stick to the basics for casual play or try to master the system, both hardcores and beginners should be happy!
    * Beautiful 2D graphic with not-so-2D effects.
    * A LOT of modes (arcade, time attack, survival, branching story mode, input trials, 3vs3 or 1vs1 versus, practice, online ranked or casual matches).
    * A LOT of extras (artwork and movie gallery, character colors customization, SFX test, icons...).

    All in all, best 2D fighting game since Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike.    … Expand
  6. Gzhindra
    Sep 13, 2013
    9
    The graphics are a bit outdated but apart from that it is as good as it can be. That is if you like deep fighting games with steep learning curves. The roster is very large and the characters are charismatics or at least most of them.

    But this is no news as this game has been out there for a while. The real question mark with the steam edition was the netcode and they delivered. It is    The graphics are a bit outdated but apart from that it is as good as it can be. That is if you like deep fighting games with steep learning curves. The roster is very large and the characters are charismatics or at least most of them.

    But this is no news as this game has been out there for a while. The real question mark with the steam edition was the netcode and they delivered. It is nothing like Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter x Tekken. It is even superior to SSF4 by a large margin. Actually it is on part with Skullgirls’ who uses GGPO. Even against awful connections it is quite smooth. Very impressive. I’m going to play this game for a very long time.

    A fighting stick is highly advisable.    … Expand
  7. stern
    Dec 8, 2013
    8
    A good port for the pc and in my opinion the best 2d fighting game for the pc out there nowdays. As others said it's advisable to have a joystick because the keyboard isn't that responsive (which is ironic, older iterations of KoF were very responsive in emulators).
    There are much unjustified hate against the "new" KoFs from people who never arsed themselves to learn to play with a    A good port for the pc and in my opinion the best 2d fighting game for the pc out there nowdays. As others said it's advisable to have a joystick because the keyboard isn't that responsive (which is ironic, older iterations of KoF were very responsive in emulators).
    There are much unjustified hate against the "new" KoFs from people who never arsed themselves to learn to play with a interesting character such as Ash. And what other options you have? A game as Blazblue or Skullgirls with less than 8 characters? A 3d game made for 15 years olds?
    Unfortunately the age of arcades died here where I live- and pretty much elsewhere besides Japan- and this game offer something I haven't seen for years. I can only compare it to Last Blade 2 or Garou:MotW.    … Expand
  8. Tashy497
    Jan 25, 2014
    3
    Wow! I was very disappointed in this game, and I'll KOF one thing, it has a major hardcore audience that will despise you should you say anything negative about it.

    I love SNK and NeoGeo. I've played every game on the NeoGeo and I'm a huge fanboy of all things SNK. I'm not a fan of SNK Playmore... specifically the console they released with inferior emulation. My favorite NeoGeo games    Wow! I was very disappointed in this game, and I'll KOF one thing, it has a major hardcore audience that will despise you should you say anything negative about it.

    I love SNK and NeoGeo. I've played every game on the NeoGeo and I'm a huge fanboy of all things SNK. I'm not a fan of SNK Playmore... specifically the console they released with inferior emulation. My favorite NeoGeo games are Last Blade series, Fatal Fury Wolves, and yes KOF pre-2000s.

    The fighting part of the game... the graphics are retro and are just bloody gorgeous. Probably the best looking graphics you'll find in a 2D fighting game. The sprites aren't overly clean like a drawing, they have pixelated qualities in a good way... it feels very arcade like. The animations are equally gorgeous and the controls in pulling of the moves are satisfying.

    What's wrong? The game is retro but the UI/menus are just plain ugly and over-the-top. There are so many menus and sub-screens that I felt like that was the game not the actual game itself. It's overly saturated with UI garbage and it gets in the way. The game also has overly stylized cut scenes that are incredibly long, boring and don't feel like they belong.

    The controls in terms of how they've used the 360 controller with the game is pathetic. Low Kick and High Kick are the buttons you use to select and deselect in the UI. Should you put those buttons on the triggers of your controller like I did, it can be awkward. Also the buttons per the controller are not shown... so instead of Y = High Kick... it'll just say HK. Plus there are other buttons that beyond 6 buttons that you'll have to put throughout the controller... also you'll have to forfeit a button combination because there aren't enough buttons on the controller. That being said, try the tutorial and try remember where you mapped HP+HK when they call for it because you'lll get no reference as to what button on the controller it is. Other games do show what button you use, so it's not because it's a Steam game.

    I had bought the game months after it's release. NOBODY was in online mode. The only online people I could find were in ranked matches and ALL of them were very high ranked... so the fun is sucked out as you try to build your rank... since there's about 10 people playing the game with high ranks.

    If you want to jump into a quick game, have fun jumping through a million menus, sub menus first... then play for a minute to then have to repeat again.

    If the menu aspect was subtracted or reduced, this game could be much higher. It's hard to look past because the game feels overly done for such a simple fighting game.    … Expand
  9. Nysp
    Jun 16, 2020
    10
    In English:

    This is probably the most beautiful 2D fighting game ever made. Of course, the fact that it was one of the last made using sprites it helps. The gameplay is quite challenging as usual in the whole series. Some characters are weird without their classic special moves (e.g. Iori Yagami), but most are very refined. It is not very inviting for rookies but, after learn it, it    In English:

    This is probably the most beautiful 2D fighting game ever made. Of course, the fact that it was one of the last made using sprites it helps.

    The gameplay is quite challenging as usual in the whole series. Some characters are weird without their classic special moves (e.g. Iori Yagami), but most are very refined. It is not very inviting for rookies but, after learn it, it allows for incredible variation on each match.

    The difficulty is high. Even at lower levels and using the 3 fighters team against just one boss, it's not gonna be everyone who will win out of trouble.

    The stages are spectacular, even though some have animals in place of humans (e.g. Paris). Despide of that, I would say they are perfect. Wonderful art direction!

    As an eternal Street Fighter player, getting used to The King of Fighters again was easy. I played all the games in the series and this is my favorite ever. Whether due to the number of characters, the beautiful 2D graphics (with 3D elements) or the gameplay.

    A masterpiece and much better than the newest one, The King of Fighters XIV.
    ---------------------------------
    In Brazilian Portuguese:

    Esse é, provavelmente, o jogo de luta 2D mais bonito já feito. É claro que o fato de ter sido um dos últimos feitos usando sprites ajuda.

    A jogabilidade é bem desafiadora como de costume na série. Alguns personagens ficaram estranhos sem seus golpes clássicos (e.g. Iori Yagami), mas a maioria está super refinada. Não é muito convidativa para novatos mas, após ser dominada, permite uma variação incrível dentro de um combate.

    A dificuldade é alta. Mesmo em níveis mais baixos e usando o time inteiro de 3 lutadores contra apenas um chefão, não é qualquer um que vence sem problemas.

    Os cenários são um espetáculo, mesmo alguns tendo animais no lugar de seres humanos (e.g. Paris). Não fosse isso, diria que são perfeitos. Direção de arte maravilhosa!

    Sendo eu um eterno jogador de Street Fighter, se acostumar novamente com The King of Fighters foi fácil. Joguei todos os jogos da série e esse é, sem qualquer dúvida, meu favorito. Seja pela quantidade de personagens, pelos lindos gráficos 2D (com elementos 3D), seja pela jogabilidade.

    Uma obra-prima e muito melhor que o mais atual, The King of Fighters XIV.    … Expand
  10. ZarosLeonhart
    Mar 3, 2016
    9
    This game is great. One of the best of KOFs games and on of best 2D fighting games on PC. The system is great, the net code is very good. I won't give 10, because, personally, a preferthe system of KOF XI (for PS2).
  11. FilemonBR
    Aug 21, 2016
    10
    Melhor the king of fighters ate hoje, um tapa na cara dos "acabou na saga ororchi"
    graficos sprites bem feitos, e feito para ser jogado em competições , o final da melhor saga
  12. AresP
    Apr 1, 2017
    0
    Never had the chance to play the game though I bought it through Steam. They sell a broken product as when I tried to launch it it wouldn't stop saying '' The game data is corrupted ''. Requested a refund 2 days ago and they still didn't review the case. Terrible Steam service.
  13. Phuz
    Nov 27, 2022
    10
    God damn beast. On Steam they sell this as a set with 2002 UM and 98 UM.

    Just get them all. These are top class fighters. Fast and fun. Criteria filled. As a side note, I see a review here saying about loads of menus and bad button mapping, long cut scenes, bad button mapping etc. I just hit start, pick my characters and whoop some ass. Skip all the cut scenes. That's why I love    God damn beast. On Steam they sell this as a set with 2002 UM and 98 UM.

    Just get them all. These are top class fighters.

    Fast and fun. Criteria filled.

    As a side note, I see a review here saying about loads of menus and bad button mapping, long cut scenes, bad button mapping etc.

    I just hit start, pick my characters and whoop some ass. Skip all the cut scenes. That's why I love it. Straight to the action fast and fun. I have gone in the menu and set the graphics and it took seconds.    … Expand
  14. FalcoZuero
    Dec 11, 2019
    10
    Gorgeous game. Drive and HD cancels are incredible! you can also customize your own Alts for your characters. Phenomenal music as well. EXTREMELY UNDERRATED GAME

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 6 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6
  1. PC Gamer
    Nov 5, 2013
    62
    A fine combat system soured by poorly explained complexity, and a lovely looking game let down by a lack of graphics options.
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  2. DarkZero
    Oct 30, 2013
    70
    As a modern reinvention, The King of Fighters XIII is everything longtime fans could hope for, and a sufficient cleansing of the disappointing KoF XII. It’s too bad that SNK couldn’t cater more to newbie players just tuning in, but even with the confusing third act storyline, the tight gameplay and character variety might prove enough to make those late bloomers into newly converted fans.
    Read full review
  3. Armchair Empire
    Oct 25, 2013
    80
    With a large roster of characters to choose from, the focus of three-on-three fights, and the overall art style and sensibility, King of Fighters XIII really does feel good to play.
    Read full review
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