MCM Expo Day Two - A Quick Look

MCM Expo is over for another year, a great event for KOF this year, and I really enjoyed this expo. Normally I tend to just go to look at people's costumes and buy a few Dragon Ball or One Piece figures, this year was completely spent playing KOFXIII.

If you never caught the live stream earlier you can check out the archived version from EX Dragon Project's Twitch.TV page.


Watch live video from EXDRAGON Project on Justin.tv
(If the video doesn't load, click on the little URL below it to watch it directly on twitch.tv)


For some reason my first match versus MichelS isn't included, I picked Saiki in those matches, I'll have to check with Gunsmith or the Dragon Twins to find out whether they recorded it or not.

If you're wondering why my eyes twitch so often it's because my eyesight is pretty bad, I should really get new glasses but I'd rather spend my money on games and toys. xD

The prizes for Top 4 were:

4th Place - KOF2006 CD
3rd Place - The 100 Mega Shock - Neo Geo 20th Anniversary - Cospa Tshirt
2nd Place - Neo Geo Stick 3 (PS3 Version)
1st Place - PS2 Orochi Collection, special edition with Neo Geo Stick 2.

I managed to come third place.

Of the things I tested with EX Iori:

I still couldn't get tap -> scumgale to work.
cr.B, cr.A -> Maiden masher, works with all strengths of the super including EX version.

With Clark, as you can see on the stream footage you can do his cancel into his super from EX grab -> elbow drop. I experimented a little more with this after the tournament, testing a simple HD combo.

st.C (2 hits) -> HD Activate -> st.C (1 hit) -> EX grab -> elbow drop -> grab super -> Neo Max.

For your four bars, plus HD meter, i think it was around 870 damage or so. (I can't remember if I saw that damage with his EX super instead of the normal one, which would be 5 bars total.)

I also tested his EX grab -> elbow -> EX grab super, which did around 450 damage.

And lastly I tested: cr.B, cr.A -> ch.back~forward+A -> DC (You have to cancel before the hit that knocks the opponent up) -> EX grab -> elbow drop -> grab super.

With Saiki the only new thing i discovered was about jump.C -> f+B (i think that's the command, the air ballerina kick that moves forward), those two hits put the opponent into enough hit stun that you can follow up with his flash kick super (qcfx2+K) without hitting them again when you land.

Thanks to Gunsmith, Rising Star Games, and EX Dragon Project for running the KOFXIII tournament, was a tiring weekend (luckily I've booked a day off work tomorrow!) but was a lot of fun.

Gonna finish up with a few photos.

MCM Expo Day One - A Quick Look

So I've just gotten back from day one of the MCM Expo where KOFXIII was being previewed, the latest build including EX Iori and some of the new changes shown in the latest SNKP videos.

Of the things that i had the chance to test I can confirm in this build at MCM you could do Clark's EX command grab -> Elbow follow up -> Super Grab. So I'd imagine this is getting pretty much as close as playing on the final game before it ships next month.

Slowdown in previous builds was not present as far as I am aware, did not notice it at all.

Loading times I did not notice, so must have been pretty good.

As Ex Iori was playable I spent most of my time trying to figure out how he plays in this game.

Of the things so far that I have discovered:

From a standing weak punch it seems he cannot chain it into scumgale (his command grab), i tested this with the weak punch version, hard punch version, and the EX version. All strengths of it whiffed after the light punch. As I seem to remember this was possible in older games.

He has a very simple combo where you can do qcb+p x2 -> DC -> EX qcb+PP x2 -> maiden masher.

Like older games it is possible to do cr.B, cr.A -> qcb+Ax3

His qcfx2+P super is possible to chain from cr.B, cr.A.

I seem to remember you can chain his maiden masher from cr.B, cr.A but i can't remember for sure or what strength of the super you needed to do. It's something I'll have to look at again tomorrow if I have the chance.

His EX fireball has some start up but 'poisons' and locks the opponent like his older fireball super.

The EX version of his hcb+KK seems to stay in one place like Kyo but I couldn't determine whether it gained command grab properties like Kyo. I seem to remember someone was able to guard it, but I will have to check this again if I can.

I did not film any footage as I was helping to run a group in the tournament, I believe half of the groups were being run through a stream (check Orochinagi.com for more details).

I managed to barely scrape my way into first place of my group, losing one match but then winning the tie breaker against the same opponent, not too sure who I will be playing tomorrow in the quarter finals but hopefully I manage to get at least into Top 4. (And hopefully I'll manage to wake up in time tomorrow xD)

Pretty tired from standing up all day (tournament was run with sticks sitting on something like a small pillar, so even playing you had to stand up!) and hungry so gonna finish up here and run out to buy something to eat.

Any questions about EX Iori, or anything that you would like me to have a look at then let me know. I will try to test more out tomorrow but because I will be playing in the tournament there is no guarantee that I can try everything out.

Hopefully if they stream my match tomorrow you can see a little bit of EX Iori as I will be picking him again tomorrow. SOSHITE SHINE !!

KOFXIII Official Blog Update - Console Changes pt.3

SNKP has updated the KOFXIII blog again with more of the console changes, translations this time have been done by SonicTempest from Orochinagi's forums.

NG:DEV TEAM: Gun Lord [AES, MVS, DreamCast]

NG:Dev Team has just released a whole load of new images and video showing their latest game to be released for the Neo Geo AES, MVS, and Sega Dreamcast.

The game is looking pretty good, it's been a long time since i've played any side scrolling shooters, hopefully once it's out and i have a bit of spare cash i'll try to pick up the Dreamcast version. (I would love to own the AES/MVS versions but unfortunately it's a bit out of my price range.)

If you've never had the chance to check out any of NG:DEV TEAM's games i'd recommend picking up Fast Striker for the iPhone/iPod Touch which is currently £1.99 on the UK iTunes. (Or $2.99 on the US iTunes.)

GunLord is a Eurostyle Platformer with emphasis on exploring huge worlds and blasting off enemies. 

This game features 8 stages of exciting 2D game play with over 45 unique enemy types. 

Blast yourself through giant landscapes, explore caverns and reveal all secrets!!

Pre-orders for GunLord are now available on these platforms: 

Sega Dreamcast

Neo Geo MVS

Neo Geo AES

GunLord Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=HohDEQpIRMw

GunLord Website: http://www.gun-lord.com/

Pre-Orders: http://www.ngdevdirect.com/

Features:

8 Huge Stages

16-bit Hand-drawn Graphics

Non-linear action with 8-way scrolling

Big Bad Boss Enemies

Constant 60 fps

Internet Ranking via Code

KOFXIII Fanta Stick / King of SoundTracks Trailer

Just found out that Korean joystick makers Gammac will be producing a KOFXIII licensed stick with the lovely artwork from the US 360 version of KOFXIII.

I'm not familiar with the Fanta Stick range of sticks, here's an older version of the stick on Playasia, but i'm personally not too fond of the idea of bat top sticks.

I'd imagine with a seimitsu/sanwa stick installed, plus a clear washer so the artwork isn't blocked off by a big black circle, it could be quite a nice stick to own.

Judging by the box i'm assuming it is compatible with 360, PS3, and PC. (Though not 100% sure about this.)

Check out the article (in Korean) on GameShot.

Also Atlus has uploaded a new trailer sampling some of the tracks from the King of Soundtracks preorder bonus.

KOF-i Dialogues - Eilsabeth (Full Set) / KOF-e Profiles

I don't think i'm going to have much time before KOFXIII console version comes out to finish off doing the character dialogues, so i've decided to upload Elisabeth's dialogues all in a set. This is currently the last set that i have done screenshots of so far.

Elisabeth Dialogues

Also as requested by Toxico, the profiles from KOF-e:

KOF-e Profiles

And finally a11111357 posted up a link to VideoGames Plus on NeoEmpire's forums with images of the US preorder bonus CDs, it looks like the packaging of the CDs will be different to that of the ones included with the UK version.

KOFXIII Official Blog Update - Console Changes pt.2

SNKPlaymore has updated the official KOFXIII blog with the second batch of notes about the console version changes.



Professor from MMCafe has done a rough translation of the notes.(Scroll down that page a little bit.)

I'm liking the off of the floor grab with Goro (0:38 in the embedded video), although we didn't see it in the previous video update i believe the translated notes stated Clark also is able to pick up the opponent off the floor within certain set ups.

Probably my favourite part of playing KOF94 was the off the floor grab infinites, so it's good to see some off the floor grab shenanigans making a return.

Preordering KOFXIII [UK]

I was e-mailed a couple of days ago by lonelywolf23786 regarding the preorder of KOFXIII, which has gone up on HMV with the preorder bonus for £33.99.

Although it was stated that all retaliers should be getting the bonus as long as you preorder so far as far as i am aware the bonus has only been announced on HMV (£33.99), ShopTo (£32.86), and Game (£39.99).

I have never ordered with ShopTo before but i have read that they are normally pretty fast with preorders, even reimbursing you with £3 store credit if you do not receive it on release day.

Game is also pretty good with preorders, although the most expensive of the lot, i usually preorder most of my games there and have only ever received a game one day late. (And that was only due to a database error when they switched to their new site).

I've ordered from HMV before but can't seem to remember whether i have ever preordered anything from them or how quickly it was delivered.

Personally i currently have a preorder for the 360 version with ShopTo since they are currently the cheapest, and also accept Paypal. (Luckily i have loads of funds sitting around from selling on eBay.)

I'm likely to preorder the PS3 version as well, due to my Xbox Live account running out next month, but havent decided yet whether to order from ShopTo as well.

King of Fighters Encounter [iPhone] - A Quick Look

So after finishing work last night i spent some time trying to get KOF-e installed on my iPod Touch, most of that time being spent trying to remember what my login username was, in the end i managed to download it from the Japanese iTunes account i made when i first got my iPod Touch.

As a side note it seems Apple have made it a bit more difficult to make a new Japanese iTunes account now without a credit card, at least i couldn't figure out how to do it.

On to the actual game which i found a little dissapointing.

If you have played social networking games on Facebook before then you might know what to expect from this, given the fact that the file is only 19.2mb i should have guessed it wouldn't be an overly complex game.

When you load up the game for the first time you are prompted to select your main character, who you can also change later on through unlocking, you are then challenged by about 3-4 default opponents as part of your introduction to the game.

Gameplay is very simplistic and turn-based, each time it is your turn you press the big red button and you will attack. From what i understand you can select different skills, though this seems to crash for me so i am stuck with the default standard attack...Occasionally your character is able to do a NeoMax, as i understand it comes out at a low chance rate.

After defeating your opponent you are able to send them a message as you can see above.

If you are unable to find a local opponent then there are also other modes available such as Boss Mode where you battle naked Saiki (four different levels) and also Dark Ash.

For some reason when i was playing this earlier it managed to glitch each time i tried to enter the boss battle, with each time the game reset it also 'Cleared' each boss battle for me...Quite a strange bug but it enabled me to unlock more characters without doing very much.

Whilst on the subject of character unlocking, as mentioned you start with one character and are able to unlock the rest of the cast by either defeating a boss character or levelling up one or more characters to level 4.

There is also Training Mode for single player use. In this mode you connect to other players via the internet, though it doesnt seem to matter whether you win or lose as your level and skill bar still increase in both cases.

You can also request in set time periods (5mins/10mins/5hours/etc) for the game to pick up 'training partners', after the set time has elapsed or you reach the maximum amount of partners you can 'train' with them. (Mash the red button until you go through them all basically.)

Occasionally an Event will pop up in the bottom left of the main menu, the only ones i have seen so far involve beating up a sandbag in a set time.

Also something fairly interesting is that Iori seems to have a different pose in this game, i've read on CyberFanatix's forums that it apparently comes from his XII early designs.

Overall it isn't particularly a great 'game', most of the time spent in this app is pretty much mashing the red button, but since it is free i wouldn't complain too much.

I recorded a couple of videos last night and uploaded them to my Youtube channel for those who wanted to see how it runs.





To finish up this entry i've included some screenshots of Dark Ash.

King of Fighters Encounter [iPhone]

SNKPlaymore has just released a new free social gaming app for the iPhone called The King Of Fighters Encounter (developed by Kayac), unfortunately though so far it seems to be limited to the US and Japanese iTunes stores...

From what i have read about it so far it seems to have some kind of streetpass functionality (kind of similar to some games on the 3DS) where if you walk past another person who also has the app it will engage in a battle between both systems.

It looks somewhat like an updated version of Battle Festa which was released earlier in the year for the Japanese mobile phone services.

I'll see if i can figure out some way to work around getting it from the Japanese iTunes tonight, if i can get it to work i'll follow up with a write up. If not then i'll just have to wait until a UK version pops up on iTunes (if ever...).

For now if like me you are based outside of the US or Japan check out these articles/websites for more details:

Siliconera
AndriaSang
Kayac Inc. Website

Or if you are one of the lucky people who live in the States and has an iPhone you can grab it for free here from iTunes.

KOF-i - K' Dialogue Versus Team Japan

I think this is the last of the K' dialogues that i currently have, i'll have to double check later whether i have his dialogues against the Yagami Team and Elisabeth Team.

As i already covered his dialogue against Kyo this post only covers Benimaru and Daimon.

Some amusing undertones in the conversation between K' and Benimaru if you read it in a certain way. xD

K' Versus Benimaru Nikaido:

K' Versus Goro Daimon:

KOFXIII Blog Update - Character Changes

The official KOFXIII blog has updated with a video and list (listed as 1 so more to come) of some of the changes to the console version of KOFXIII.



Some of the changes are fairly easy to understand without any knowledge of Japanese others not so much, but not to worry since Professor over on MMCafe has kindly translated the blog entry.

KOF-i - Esaka Stage - Then And Now

Much like my post last night i'd thought it would be interesting to take a look at the Esaka stage from KOF-i and compare it to the original version(s) from KOF96. As Team Japan and the Psycho Soldiers team both shared the Esaka stage i uploaded both versions i found from Google Image just for the sake of completion.

Much like the Factory stage this stage also has cameos from other SNK characters in the form of Haohmaru sitting atop a rock/stone in the left corner of the stage.

Since i figured out a way to get both versions of KOF-i on my iPod i also included screenshots of the original version of the Esaka stage.

As you can see in the image below Haohmaru's cameo was only added to the 1.01 version of the stage, as well as Mai Shiranui appearing on the TV screen.

Also since i only managed to get back version 1.00 today i decided i might as well do a screenshot for Iori's Factory stage again so you can see the stage without the cameos (of the USA Sports Team, Rocky, and Candy).

The changes between the Esaka stages are fairly small, the biggest change would be the steps on the right hand side of the stage of the original has been changed into a similar kind of seating area similar to what appears on the left side.

I'm guessing that it was easier for them to reuse sprites on both sides of the screen to save time.

One thing i did find kind of interesting was that the SNK building's sign was not updated as SNKP, though i'm not actually sure whether SNK did actually change their sign.