King of Fighters XI

Captain Kuro

I got my copy and played it quite a bit yesterday.

Eiji is back and as good as ever. Duck King is pretty good as well.

Oswald is definitely the coolest new character in a long time. He's just too stylish (and great gameplay-wise too).

I love the Arcade mode unlockable characters (characters from Buriki One, Kizuna Encounter/Savage Reign, and Rugal's son Adelheid). I haven't tried Challenge mode yet though, so I haven't unlocked any of the PS2 exclusive characters.

My personal team right now is Eiji, Clark, and Jyazu. But I've been practicing with Oswald a lot too.

In the options menu, there's an "arrange" mode that is supposed to be more balanced than the arcade mode. But I haven't tried it yet so I don't know the differences.

I wish I knew what the storyline was about (especially the Ikari team ending).

Anyone else playing it? Unfortunately, still no word on a North American release (for PS2 anyway).

Aldrich

Don't have it on PS2 yet, but I played it a little on arcade, Magaki the final boss is the cheapest bastard ever. Worse than Igniz.

Buccaneer

I'm actually holding out for them to bring this one here, for some reason. I guess it's because they deemed 2003 cool enough to be here. At least there's "KoF 2006"…....COUGH

Well, is Adel still the man? He was basically all the team you needed last time.

Captain Kuro

@Buccaneer:

I'm actually holding out for them to bring this one here, for some reason. I guess it's because they deemed 2003 cool enough to be here.

Yeah, maybe they will put it in a 2-pack like '02/'03 was.

But it was weird that they skipped on the Orochi collection ('95, '96, '97 on one disc). I mean, they could have packaged it with '94 Re-Bout. They could have even priced it low like SFA Anthology.

Well, is Adel still the man? He was basically all the team you needed last time.

From what I've played so far, Adel seems the same. And he has an ending now.

Local-chan

I keep meaning to check out the newer King of Fighter games but aint got a chance, I might check this one out if I can get ahold of it lol

Hobo-Ou

In the options menu, there's an "arrange" mode that is supposed to be more balanced than the arcade mode. But I haven't tried it yet so I don't know the differences.

From what I've seen and played it removed the juggle system for characters Oswald, K, Gato, etc. The imput system was changed slightly, gameplay is slightly slower, removes a number of combos and nerfed many of the upper tier characters. It really makes it feel like an older KoF.

Cap'n Carter

I really hope they bring this one over, since I don't really want to spend another big chunk of cash on another import fighter (THANKS, SUPER DBZ).

I remember a while ago I posted about how I played this at an arcade, and because I'm not used to/hate joystick controls I got my ass kicked. That machine was also pretty crappy, the colors were out of whack.

Characters I want to use: Tung Fu Rue, Duck King, Mr. Big, Gato, Oswald, Ralf.

I don't even know where to start on making a team out of those guys. Maybe Tung Fu Rue, Mr. Big, and Oswald/Duck King depending on how they play.

Captain Kuro

Ok, I've been playing Challenge Mode and I unlocked all the characters. But it took me awhile (I had to retry the Geese mission a lot). For some reason (I guess since I kept losing and retrying) I unlocked all of them by only completing three missions (1. fight against super Mr. Big, 2. Geese vs. Terry, and 3. deflect King's projectiles).

I'm still going to try to finish the other missions (since it will supposedely unlock all the art or something).

KamenRiderNeko

oh cool another KOF game! i used to be so into those games… so what's the character roster in this one?

Tizoc

Nah there's no way this game's hitting the US, SCEA hate SNK, still waiting for my copy though >_<

Captain Kuro

@pirateneko:

oh cool another KOF game! i used to be so into those games… so what's the character roster in this one?

Hero Team: Ash, Oswald, Shen Woo
Fatal Fury Team: Terry, Kim, Duck King
Art of Fighting Team: Ryo, Yuri, King
MOTW Team: B. Jenet, Gato, Tizoc/Griffen
Psycho Soldier Team: Athena, Kensou, Momoko
Rival Team: Elisabeth, Duo Lon, Benimaru
Ikari Team: Ralph, Clark, Whip
Agent Team: Vanessa, Blue Mary, Ramon
Anti-Kyokugenryu Team: Malin, Kasumi, Eiji
K' Team: K', Kula, Maxima
Kyo and Iori Team: Kyo, Iori, Shingo

Unlockable Mid-Bosses:
Adelheid (KoF '03)
Gai (Buriki One)
Silber/Silver (Buriki One)
Hayate (Savage Reign/Kizuna Encounter)
Jyazu (Kizuna Encounter)

(PS2 Unlockable) Bosses:
Shion
Magaki

PS2 Exclusive Unlockable Characters:
Mai
Robert
Tung
Mr. Big
Geese
Hotaru
EX Kyo

I think that's it. Hope I didn't overlook anyone.

KamenRiderNeko

thanks for posting that!

wow, they kept most of the characters that i like, that's good! ooh awesome, Vanessa and Blue Mary on the same team ^_^ haha love the Kyo and Iori team, wonder if Shingo is still gonna be a pansy….

I don't see Leona anywhere though, aww...

Captain Kuro

@pirateneko:

I don't see Leona anywhere though, aww…

Yeah, I was kind of disappointed about that. Leona has always been one of my favorites (although I mostly only used her during '96, '97, and '98 - I don't think I used her too much in the more recent KoF games - except Maximum Impact). She's in Maximum Impact 2 (which will be released in North America as KoF 2006 I think), but I hope for her to return to 2D eventually.

Mr. Prince

I'm tempted to import this. Cool PS2 exclusives, but I'm a little bummed Billy Kane isn't in, with Eiji back I would have loved to remake the old rival team from KoF '95. (Iori, Billy, Eiji)

Buccaneer

Yeah, I also like Billy a lot. But I'm always fine with roster changes, I didn't even care that my favorite, Robert, wasn't originally in it. I'm hoping Gai Tendo makes up for whatever's lost anyway.

Captain Kuro

You know the special intro in KoF '98 (and some other games) where Eiji would come down when Billy fought Iori? Well, I wish they would have made a special intro in XI where Billy would come when Eiji fought Iori.

Eiji does have a special intro with Iori in XI, but Billy isn't in it. Of course, the whole point of the other intro was that Billy never knew Eiji teleported behind him (since he's a ninja), so maybe it wouldn't have worked well the other way around.

I don't mind too much that some of my favorites weren't there, since I got Eiji, Duck King, and Jyazu (and new character Oswald).

Oh, and there are some special teams that unlock artwork when you beat the game with them (like in some of the other KoF games). There's like the Ninja team (Eiji, Jyazu, Mai) and the Bird team (Duck King, Jyazu, Tizoc/Griffen) and other stuff like that.

Demon Days

Not sure if i'll get this. It looks cool, but I always used to get depressed because I couldn't do combos. =(

Captain Kuro

I was trying Oswald's 87 hit combo in practice mode yesterday (using the Oswald faq on Gamefaqs), but I couldn't ever finish it. There's a video on youtube.com that shows an 89 hit Oswald combo though.

But during an actual battle (instead of practice mode) it's not like I can ever pull off big combos anyway. Even though I love fighting games, I'm not even close to being one of those experts who hang out at the arcades.

Speaking of arcades…I can't use arcade joysticks at all (and I can hardly use the PS2 controller's analog pad - I always end up jumping when I don't want to for some reason). Also, for characters like Duck King (who has a move that requires pressing three buttons at one time) I just customize one of the shoulder buttons - L2 I think - to do all three buttons at once (since I'm also horrible at pressing multiple buttons at the same time).

So yeah, I'm not the best fighting game guy around. Which is strange, considering how much I play them.

Cap'n Carter

I'm not great at them either, and somehow I love fighters.

I found an ISO and played it. Pretty sweet game. Some of the challenges (MR. BIG) are pretty damn hard.

However, Magaki should be fucking illegal. You can't even get CLOSE to him half the time. For the record, I only beat him through the CPU has reduced health handicap.

So far my favorite is definitely Tung Fu Rue. It's my first time using him in a fighter, and he's a load of fun. His Leader move is my favorite, and the way I killed that goddamn Magaki.

My team right now is Tung Fu Rue, Gato, and Oswald. Gato is pretty beastly. Oswald has awesome style, but I kind of suck at using him.

I unlocked the big retard with the boomerang, by the way.

Captain Kuro

Yeah, Magaki is way too cheap. I have to use the handicap thing to beat him too (it's either that, or cheat even more by changing the options so that I have unlimited super guages before I start).

Oswald might take some practice, but he's pretty good when you get the timing right to combo his moves together. I stick with the simple combos mainly.

He has one move ("ACE" I think - but it has to be done after one of his other moves to work right) that can sometimes deal the damage of a super move without using up any guages (the screen turns black and everything). There's a way to get it to do the finishing part every time (otherwise, sometimes you might do it, and sometimes not), but I'll have to find the combo again (I read it on a forum, and I have it saved somewhere on the computer).

Cap'n Carter

JOKER is supposed to be really powerful, but I have no idea how do pull it off.

Captain Kuro

@Cap'n:

JOKER is supposed to be really powerful, but I have no idea how do pull it off.

Okay, you know how in the SF series, some characters like Guile, Dee-Jay, and others have charge super moves like that?

Hold back for about two seconds (like you are about to do Guile's Sonic Boom or something), and then press forward, back, forward quickly (and the attack button you need to use).

So it starts off like a "charge back two seconds, press forward + button", but instead, at the end you tap back and forward before the button press. As far as I know, this is the first time SNK has had a move like this.

It's one of my favorite Leader Moves (and I also like to Dream Cancel "Four Suits" into it for big damage, when I have enough guages and stocks and stuff).

Edit: Oh, and I've been meaning to play as Gato some. I heard he's a top ranking character in this game (I always liked him in Mark of the Wolves).

Cap'n Carter

I think I just suck at going from back to forward

gaara d. lucci

This is already one of my favorite fighting games of all time. It's like a way more balanced MvsC2 (one of my favorites). The fighting in XI gets real intense when you have comp. Snk has some the best characters of all time. My favorite being Yamazaki (Looks like he should be in cp9) He fights dirty, stretches, and uses a knife

Cap'n Carter

I was disappointed that Yamazaki wasn't in this one.

Some of these challenges are hideous. I have no idea how I'm supposed to win this damn Robert Garcia VENOM STRIKE one unless the King AI turns into a retard.

My new team is Tung Fu Rue, Gato, and Shen Woo. Shen Woo is pretty good and easy to use.

I came SO CLOSE to beating full health Magaki. After a few tries I finally said "screw it" and took the CPU Reduced Health service.

I also got ISOs of NeoGeo Battle Coliseum and Fullmetal Alchemist: Dream Carnival, so I'll play those before another round of KOF XI.

Captain Kuro

@Cap'n:

Some of these challenges are hideous. I have no idea how I'm supposed to win this damn Robert Garcia VENOM STRIKE one unless the King AI turns into a retard.

I haven't tried that one, but there's a Challenge FAQ on gamfaqs. It has a big long thing about how to do it. It says you need to use Robert's high and low projectiles to nullify King's projectiles or something (I didn't read all of it).

I did finish the one with Shen Woo vs. King though (which is similar). For it, you need to either have good timing or be lucky (and do Shen Woo's projectile hitting move).

The hardest one for me (that I tried) was the last one (Geese vs. Terry). You can only damage Terry with Geese's counters. It wouldn't be a problem except for Terry's projectile, which can't be countered like that.

gaara d. lucci

The Robert and Geese missions are god awful. I won by luck alone. I play with K',Iori,Terry or Kim,Kula,and Oswald. Tung fu has some killer combos as well. To beat Magaki, look for an oppening and us rushdown. Once you get him, do not let up. This works for me 90% of the time.

Cap'n Carter

I beat the Robert mission. The best way to do it is to turtle down in the corner, and use Robert's down, up + kick move to dodge the lower venom strikes. Because you're crouching, the high ones will miss, but you'll still take the double strikes. You can use the down, up + strong kick to dodge those, but it's risky.

As for Geese, I can't really close a few times. I swear I gave it 50 tries. It would be a lot more manageable if Terry didn't spam fireballs all the time. I get so sick of him yelling "RUCK YOU!"

Captain Kuro

@Cap'n:

I beat the Robert mission. The best way to do it is to turtle down in the corner, and use Robert's down, up + kick move to dodge the lower venom strikes. Because you're crouching, the high ones will miss, but you'll still take the double strikes. You can use the down, up + strong kick to dodge those, but it's risky.

See, I never did that mission, because I somehow unlocked all the characters by only finishing three missions. I've read that the game counts the number of times you retry missions or something, and since the Geese mission was the first one I did (and it took me a whole lot of times), when I finished the Mr. Big and Shen Woo vs. King missions, it automatically unlocked the rest of the characters for me.

I still want to complete all the challenges though.

As for Geese, I can't really close a few times. I swear I gave it 50 tries. It would be a lot more manageable if Terry didn't spam fireballs all the time. I get so sick of him yelling "RUCK YOU!"

Yeah, I was getting kind of frustrated on that one. I probably tried it well over 50 times before I beat it. It was just luck, because for whatever reason, he decided to not keep throwing fireballs that time.

Cap'n Carter

After I quit trying the Geese mission it unlocked Mai and EX Kyo for me.

Gai plays rather oddly. I don't like it.

I really want to unlock SIlver because he looks awesome, but since he's from the same game as Gai, I'm afraid he'll play similarly.

Captain Kuro

@Cap'n:

Gai plays rather oddly. I don't like it.

I haven't really used him much. Although I've done it a few times, I usually get stuck during his combo super move (because you have to tap directions instead of buttons like Geese and Duck King). The diagonol throws me off.

I really want to unlock SIlver because he looks awesome, but since he's from the same game as Gai, I'm afraid he'll play similarly.

He doesn't really play the same. His controls are pretty normal if I remember correctly. He's really slow though. But some people say that he can be pretty good (I haven't used him much though).

I like Jyazu myself. He's powerful and pretty simple to use. He's got this cool icicle that falls from the sky (and attempts to hit the opponent from anywhere). You just press up, down (no charge) and the button. I also like his spinning slash thing, and his slashing projectile move.

gaara d. lucci

Yeah Jyazu is a tricky bastard in the right hands because of the sheer amount of moves he has. Not to mention his LDM takes a chunk of life when all hits connect. I can't play with Gai to save my life. He's one of the more difficult people to play with

Buccaneer

I think the idea of Gai is awesome, and I think I'm gonna import this game next week. How is he exactly?

gaara d. lucci

Hard to describ Gai. He's basicaly like a UFC Grappler. U really have to see him action to understand what he's like

Cap'n Carter

From my understanding, Gai's moves are long combos started by one move, and each consecutive move is executed by pushing directional buttons in sequence. It's hard as crap.

Haven't played much, I've been playing NG Battle Coliseum.

Buccaneer

Sounds a little like Mae Lee.

Cap'n Carter

I sucked as her too.

Then again I probably suck as most KOF characters. Any suggestions for anyone else I can try? I'm pretty decent with Tung Fu Rue/Gato/Shen. I might try using Kim… Ralf seems to play differently than I remember.

Since I doubt a new thread will be successful, who's your alltime favorite canon KOF team? Mine is definitely the Outlaw Team from 2003, and the Oyaji Team from Dream Match 98 definitely get an honorable mention. Outlaw Team was pretty much my dream team.

I wish Chin would be brought back in a non-Psycho Soldier team, he was one of my favorites..

gaara d. lucci

Kof XI - K' team, they have two of my best characters on the same team K' and Kula

Captain Kuro

I have used Gai a few times in practice mode (but not lately - I need to start playing KoF XI again though, but just haven't gotten around to it). I managed to pull off all his moves eventually, it's just that I'm not confident I could use him during an actual battle. I'm sure he could be great in the hands of some, but I'm one of those people who have been playing fighting games for years and still kind of stink at them (although I love them).

Oh, and he has some move (can't remember if it was a Leader move, or just a regular super move or what) that makes it so Gai or the opponent can't tag out. It's a "fight until one loses" thing (at least that's what I read on an FAQ, I never really tried to switch out after using it).

The one move of his that I really had problems with was this:

qcf, qcf + K, (he rushes toward opponent) then -
forward, forward, back, downforward, up, forward, down, forward
then can finish with either up, back, or down

My problem is the "downforward" diagonol. It messes me up the majority of the time.

Oh, and speaking of Gai, I read that he was based off Baki from Baki the Grappler, which seems pretty cool. Not sure if it's true though, but SNK does like to pay tribute to manga/anime characters like that (Benimaru/Polnareff, Duo Lon/Vampire Hunter D (supposedely), K9999/Tetsuo, etc.).

As for favorite official team, I guess I'd say:

The Ikari Team when it was either Ralph, Clark, and Heidern, or Ralph, Clark, and Leona (and when Leona was kind of cheap in her early appearances).

And I liked the Old Man team from '98 as well. Heidern and Saisyu are two of my favorites. And the Outlaw Team definitely was great (in fact, I used to hope for a team with Eiji, Yamazaki, and Billy - and although it was Gato instead of Eiji, that was fine with me, because I used Gato a lot in MotW).

I also liked the Mr. Big, Geese, Krauser team from '96.

If theres one guy I want to return, it's Lin. I was pretty good with him. Duo Lon is a pretty cool replacement, but I still liked Lin.

Cap'n Carter

Lin was a cool character that had a lot of potential, but they never went anywhere with him. I also wish Heidern would get used more, I was pretty good with him.

The Boss team is apparently one of the more popular teams. If I was any good with Geese, I'd make a "Neo-Boss Team" in XI with him, Mr. Big, and Silver.

I really like Shen Woo. The webmaster of FightersGeneration is a dumbass, he thinks that Shen's a ripoff of Steve Fox. Right… because they both have blond hair and punch. I prefer Shen anyway, he's really crazy and violent, while Steve is just a generic boxer.

Captain Kuro

@Cap'n:

I really like Shen Woo. The webmaster of FightersGeneration is a dumbass, he thinks that Shen's a ripoff of Steve Fox. Right… because they both have blond hair and punch. I prefer Shen anyway, he's really crazy and violent, while Steve is just a generic boxer.

Yeah, I get annoyed by that guy a lot. I sent an e-mail that corrected him on several World Heroes characters, but he won't reply, or put it on his "feedback" section or anything. If he does, he'd probably just make fun of me anyway.

He has a tendency to say almost every character is a rip-off of something else (used to say Leona was a rip-off of Cammy, despite having different looks, moves, attitudes, etc).

I can tell he also doesn't even play some of the games he reviews. He gave World Heroes Perfect a very low review, which is just ridiculous. It was at least a decent fighter for its time (and even EGM, back when they were cool, gave it a Gold Award).

Oh, and he even says Heidern is an M. Bison rip-off. I don't get why people think M. Bison created the German uniform thing. M. Bison himself is based on a guy from the Riki-Oh manga anyway.

I've been making a crude site that will attempt to shed some light on the misunderstood WH series:

http://snk-zantetsu.tripod.com/

I've done Brocken so far, but I want to do Neo-Dio next. He's got a lot of Araki in him:

-Looks like guy from Baoh almost exactly, and has his arm blades
-Speaking of arm blades, it also reminds me of Cars from JoJo part 2
-He is known as the "ultimate lifeform" in his profile, like the guys from JoJo part 2
-He has a move where he shocks people with his hair (I think something like that was in JoJo part 2, but am not sure)
-He has a rib-cage attack (which I think might have been in JoJo part 2 also)
-He's a vampire named "Dio" (but changed to "Neo-Dio" later to relate him to "Neo-Geo")
-Although not related to Araki stuff, in Battle Coliseum, they gave him a "Guyver Chest Blast" move (and I should also mention that his arm blades also resemble the Guyvers)

Cap'n Carter

I only use his site as a resource for eye-candy anyway. Have you seen his photo? He's one of the tackiest, dumbest looking people I've ever seen, with gigantic, stupid looking sideburns.

Heidern and M. Bison are nothing alike, besides wearing a military uniform. Same with Cammy and Leona. Brocken being a ripoff of Bison is a little more believable. He definitely favors "cool," younger looking, hip fighters. I don't see him accusing Dragunov from Tekken: Dark Resurrection of being a ripoff of M Bison or anything.

No offense, but in NGBC, I don't really think Hanzou or Fuma look that cool. I tried them out, and didn't like that one bit. Mudman's awesome, though.

Captain Kuro

@Cap'n:

Brocken being a ripoff of Bison is a little more believable.

Yeah, but I honestly don't think they intended to rip-off Bison with Brocken. Mainly because (like Heidern) he wasn't a villain character, and I found that he has more in common with Brocken Jr. and the Terminator (like I mention on that site). Japan always makes guys who have those M. Bison outfits (people seem to think that M. Bison created the look, but he didn't). I just don't know…what else would a German super-soldier look like? ADK needed a German representative, so a Stroheim styled super-soldier seemed like a good choice.

No offense, but in NGBC, I don't really think Hanzou or Fuma look that cool. I tried them out, and didn't like that one bit.

Well, my point (if you are talking about my site) is that everyone is always talking about "Whoah, SNK made them cool in Battle Coliseum!" (not just the fightersgeneration guy either, but others as well) when they are almost exactly the same as the WH versions. I've played all the WH games, and I think they might have one or two new moves in Battle Coliseum, but that's it.

Mudman's awesome, though.

Yeah, I always liked Mudman. And he is pretty much the same as his WH version too, with like one new move (everyone always talks about how Battle Coliseum made him cool too).

Don't get me wrong, I don't think WH is the best series ever. But I used to play it a long time ago, and I always liked it. I thought it was interesting (because it was way funnier and goofier than some of the other games at the time). I admit that I once thought it was a SF clone, but I finally played the games more thoroughly, and they aren't as bad as people say. At least if you take into consideration the time they were made.

I guess I just like to defend it, because it has lots of haters against it (from people who haven't even played it, but take the FightersGeneration guys word for it). I mean, at least play it for yourself before you decide if it's lame or not. You know, because that guy says it's trash, so lots of people just agree instantly (I ran into one of those types on another forum).

And consider the cast of SF2. Sure, they are classics, but they were pretty much designed the same way as the WH characters. They had cool artwork, but the graphics couldn't convey that too well at the time. The concept of "cool and stylish" didn't really come to fighting games until the graphics improved.

I guess I also don't always think of things as "rip-offs" more than inspiration. I mean, I like finding out that kind of stuff.

Like, take this for example (not my site):

http://mitleid.cool.ne.jp/vega-washizaki.htm

I would consider that a "tribute" more than a rip-off (because of its obviousness - I mean, this isn't just the outfit this time, it's the facial features too). But that might just be me. Also, same with Tung. It's pretty obvious he's inspired by Master Roshi, but I wouldn't call it a rip-off.

Cap'n Carter

So… do I fight Jazu/Silver by getting 6 super KOs AND using Leader moves twice? These requirements are kicking my ass.

Captain Kuro

@Cap'n:

So… do I fight Jazu/Silver by getting 6 super KOs AND using Leader moves twice? These requirements are kicking my ass.

That's what gamefaqs says, but I can't really remember.

I'm currently checking a thread on gamefaqs, but people are getting me all confused now.

I'm pretty sure that might be the requirements though. When I get to my house, I can test it out.

Tizoc

Latest Tier List from Japan:
_S tier
Gato Oswald Kula

A tier
Eiji Kyo Clark

B tier
Jenet Ash Ralf Duck Kensou Kim K` Maxima

C tier
Terry Beni DuoLon Iori Vanessa Adel Malin Yuri Kasumi Ryo King Gai Jazu Silver Elizabeth Tizoc Shen Woo

D tier
Mary Ramon Whip Shingo

E tier
Sho Athena Momoko_

In case anyone was wondering :P
Note that this is for the ARCADE version, not the console version. Haven't seen any console version tiers yet :/

Captain Kuro

Yeah, I have been seeing that around. I'm not sure what the criteria is for the tier list, but I was always surprised that some of the unlockable characters like Adel and Jazu/Jyazu were so low.

gaara d. lucci

To fight Silver or Jazu, kill 8 people with a DM , and 1 person with a LDM, that should let you fight them

Buccaneer

I pretty much never agreed with tier lists.

Well, anyway, I'm importing this tommrow so I can get my "Robert K' Ralf" team back up.

Cap'n Carter

After much frustration at doing everything perfectly until some lameass like Duck King would KO me in the 3rd round, I finally got fed up and set the CPU level to 1. Then I unlocked Jazu. He's pretty awesome, but I hate HCB, forward supers.

I think I'll stick with my Tung, Gato, and Shen team.