This or KOF98 is probably my favorite KOF games in history

This game's visuals were so good that it made me attempt to learn the game despite not knowing anything about KOF.

It's a shame that we may _never_ get a fighting game that looks like this *ever* again... Arcsys still doin' their thing yeah, but this game's graphics really are one of a kind.

KOF XIII had so much to offer. But no one got around to playing it at launch. Now it's a hit after all those years.

Most KoF fans: "Ah yes; the complete legacy so far" KoF XII: ". . .b-but what about me?" Most KoF fans: "Yup; the COMPLETE legacy; pretty sure I didn't forget anything."

The real reason the roster is the way it is is simply because animating characters like this is labor-intensive; they basically rendered in 3D and then drew over every frame pixel-by-pixel. The results speak for themselves, but it just wasn't viable.

The only KOF to this day to be in EVO 3 years straight, and my fav KOF of all time, such a beautiful and fun game.

The craziest thing about KOF XIII is that, despite all of the amazing work put into the character sprites (literally traced over polygonal models, frame by frame(!), and those models were then partially used for XIV), the outstanding gameplay, and the memorably bittersweet ending for Ash Crimson... This is still technically an incomplete game, at least when compared to everything SNK Playmore wanted to put in. Mukai was apparently supposed to be an actual boss fight, Shroom & Botan were also supposed to be fightable (if not be part of a "Those From the Past" team), Rose & Adelheid were meant to have much more importance, & I think a couple of other things; the Story Mode even hints at some of this, especially for Shroom. It's just that making those sprites were such an endeavor that the staff had to keep cutting stuff that was planned just so that the game could even get finished. Also, I have a feeling we'll never see the return of Shion, despite him being confirmed as having escaped Magaki's dimensional portal (via on the the team endings in XI), which is a shame since I thought he was a cool character.

I really like Ash saga, man. I love the general sad ending with Betty, but completely forgot how big of a hommies Shen and Duo Lon were standing there for a whole day waiting for Elizabeth to go out after wanting to be alone griefing Ash's loss

Damn, This game holds an special place on my heart. I played a shit ton of this game since it was on arcades and completed all the trials 10 years ago on console version. Here on my city we had an official XIII arcade bought to SNK and there was an amazing opening tournament when XIII released and the cabinet was available. Here on Mexico if it wasn't for the 2002 hacked versions, this was the most played KOF at that time. When it released on console there was tournaments left and right on the whole country. Sadly it's online was baaaaaaad. The music, the stages, the characters, the art are amazing. If at that time this game would have a decent online this would have been the most successful KOF. Glad that despite the years a lot of people respect this game despite not playing or not being a KOF fan. Thanks for doing this whole series Max it has been amazing watching you play KOF, It's like I'm living once again my favourite videogame saga of all time.

SNK needs to hire code mystics to put rollback netcode into this game and it would be perfect. I also wish they had an "UM" version for this saga with these visuals. One could only dream.

28:00 Max: tries to "Hit your opponent with 3 hits of Normals..." The AI almost immediately: "FOOT DIVE"

My son is considered special ed.(autistic) And on top that he has a dexterity mucle control problem. I'm part of the fgc and been playing fighting games since I was 5..the best moment for me is he saw me doing trials in kof13. He asked if I could teach him. So I worked with him and he got his first combo 3rd try. He started playing fighting games with me. When we went back to the doctor he was dumbfounded by his motor control to the point where he said there was no major problem anymore and shouldn't worry about it as much. Even his cognitive ability went through the roof. Kof13 tekken7 and dbfz and 3rd strike literally help save my son alot if grief by giving him his dexterity back....we bond over the fgc and watching you max thanks for the content keep it up

Yeah KOF XIII the game everybody says now "i wish the next KOF could look like XIII" but when was launched almost everyone criticized, Third Strike effect

One thing I've learned from this KOF legacy is that SNK doesn't shy away from giving bosses all the cheapness.

Was so happy to see this episode is almost an hour long. Easily my favorite KOF and arguably my favorite fighting game of all time.

I think after the last 3 games it's safe to say that the Ash Saga is Max favorite,who could ever predict that? XD

I’m really hoping that Shen Woo and Dou Lon will make into KOFXV as DLC.

While this game may not have been stupidly popular in its heyday, with it getting a small revival much later, I have a feeling KoF XV with avenge XIII and be a hit from the very beginning, and stay that way without falling off quickly. This game, while difficult was way too fun and good looking to deserve its fate.

Yes, yes it is, the best 2D sprites, one of the best gameplays, this is top tier KOF

"Doesnt he remember KOF 12?" "NOBODY remembers KOF 12."

I like that this KoF "rewards" you with the little miscellaneous quest with special meter.

My fav fighting game of all time. I wished that SNK would bring rollback to this game and patch up some of the balance issues (esp with the DLC characters). I'm sure this game will go down in KOF history as one of the greats along with 98 and 02.

Definately a team of Shen, Duo Long and Oswald I'd like, theirs not enough Ash Saga characters in recent games.

i've always loved the stages in kof. they give you a feeling of "big fight" energy

Man, I really wanted to see KOF XII. Here's the one thing that makes KOF XII interesting: it plays more like it's Art Of Fighting 4 than a KOF game. I have yet to see Max play it once. If he's not gonna do it now either, it would be nice to see it maybe as part of an Art Of Fighting retrospective. That would prepare him for the gameplay better than coming off of KOF XI.

KoF XIII, the game that introduced me to one of my all time favourite characters in Elisabeth (So glad she's back, now if only they could add in Kasumi Todoh to XV), and had my favourite rendition of Billy's theme The London March. I may suck at this game but goddamb do I still love playing it.

KOF 13 feels and looks clean. It's funny how everyone wanted 15 to be this style

The best of the bunch, for me. I have this level....or maybe just the tiniest smidge below CvS2, as my favourite fighting game of all time. It does help that I grew up playing through the KoF lore like a lot of people here. I've definitely got some bias going on...

Seeing Max explaining about the importance of a fighting game being FUN, then closes up the 🎤 to the controls and hearing the CLICKING sounds of the Buttons, just shows why I love seeing his videos. HE GETS IT. He understands Fighting Games, maybe even more than EVO PROFESSIONALS…..

Watching KOFXIII combo videos has been an obsession of mine for a while. The game is just pretty to look at, the soundtrack is amazing, and the combo variety and routes are expansive (for most characters). Highly recommend Persona Entertainment's channel for a full list of vids covering every character. Duo Lon, Ash, Hwa Jai and Joe were probably my favorite for showing just how good they could be compared to how even pros were playing them, though I learned a lot from all of them.

I love how, even while possessed, Dark Ash is still overflowing with smug. That "Ohrah~!" kills me XD

The sound design? Top notch. Foley FX, soundtrack, voiceover. Spritework speaks for itself. Haven't played the game myself, brain doesn't work well when it comes to fighting games, but the combos seem very crunchy and satisfying like Max says.

KOF 13 is actually my favorite one. The animation and all was well done.

I'm in the historical minority, but this was my favorite KoF.

7:37 Did...did he just put the mic to his "stick" to have us listen to him beating it? lol

Agreed, XIII is where you start KoF. The smaller cast and simpler matchups, combined with the looser, more forgiving controls really does make it the definitive "first KoF experience" now.

It's great to see 2D fighting games still be made in the modern era

I used to watch tournament matches from this Kof, it was really fun

I just love this soundtrack... The intro, the menus, the teams themes... It's just too perfect

I still think they need a dream match for the Ash Saga. I can't see that happening without them downgrading their sprites though.

I would love an entire KOF collection that's stops at this game on one disc or digital download.

The most underrated game in the whole series (my first KOF ever) with the BEST Sprite work we'll never ever see again... I'm also trying to figure out why people like Shen honestly.. like sure he looks cool but his moveset this far hasn't shown me anything interesting besides sub par punching ya know? And Vanessa does the punchy punches way better and cooler... Has Max just not done much with him so far or am I not wrong?

Played it so much both on PC (when the arcade version got leaked), at the arcades in china, Hong Kong and Japan. Even joined a couple of tournament in shenzhen back when it was released. People hated 12 then 13, i honestly liked both haha, from the art design and the combat system

The game that seriously got me into KoF, from the combo system, controls, and one of the best visuals I've seen in a fighting game. Plus how fun and busted Kim Kapwhan was(I will say though some character styles like Buff Ralf and Clark or Athena I could leave behind).

You think by now everybody would know that the King of Fighters tournament is always a front for some world-domination scheme

"duo lon is crazy fun in this game" Max, you should try hwa jai.

Some conclusions here: I'm not sure if this is canonical but it may have actually been the combined effort of Betty, Kyo and Iori who fought the true form of Saiki as well as Ash after Saiki's soul overwhelmed him. Now we already know how things ended with Betty but if the endings i saw are to be believed it was Kyo's official team who won the tournament. Iori got his magatama back as well as getting Chizuru's mirror, Vice and Mature ask if he really wants it back cause the Yasakani magatama held Orochi's curse the riot of the blood ultimately Iori keeps it and he and Kyo start fighting again. (Don't worry they return the Yata mirror after) oh and like everyone else except Betty they also lost all memory of Ash Crimson.

God I love Dark Ash's theme so much.

Uuugh, this game is forever breathtaking and one of my favorites on a more visual stand point, as well as the closing saga of Ash and The Ones of the Past.

This game had the best version of Iori's Arashi no Saxophone theme

One thing I will always appreciate about Dark Ash is how silly he sounds whenever he throws his fireballs.

Not a single mention of the best Kim's pants animation to date... This game refined and perfected the concept pants animation

This, KOF 98UM and KOF 2002UM... This is basically what KOF is all about... With some honoring mentions to KOF XI and the Nests Saga as a whole...

I love that you can really feel the rhythm of each character's combo routes in XIII

This was the game that got me into KOF! Love it!

So some story gap fills i personally heard were canonical: So after Kyo and Shingo got injured by Iori before Ash stole his magatama the two got sent to a hospital but Kyo (not one to let a situation involving Chizuru and Iori slide) snuck out and eventually encountered some members from those from the past who gave him an invitation to THIS kof and joined Benimaru and Goro to get back at Ash hoping he'd be there. Meanwhile Betty recruited Shen and Duo Lon cause they now had a common goal; bring Ash down cause Duo wants to know what Ash's true objective was and Shen was still mad about the whole Oswald thing in the previous game. Iori (having lost his dark flames) developed his fight style to be able to combat without them, now it's never been explained why Vice and Mature appeared to him physically (my guess? Orochi's seal was still breaking during this time so maybe this influence coupled with nightmares i heard he's had over killing them may have been the cause) but they appeared and they agreed to help Iori get his magatama back to seal Oroch. During all this the Ikari mercenaries were investigating those from the past, after Haidern got a call from Adelhied about his sister Rose hosting the next kof tournament without telling him he sent a recon team consisting of Mary, Ramon, Seth and Vanessa to where the kof arena would take place where they found out that those from the past were manipulating the tournament to further weaken Orochi's seal, which leads to those from the past's goal. Saiki and his cult in the far off past fought humanity for dominance but lost, they found out about a mystical door of time that Saiki hopes to use to return to his original time and change things which lead to his cult somehow living immortally in secret till the time was right. So basically this was not just tournament for money, it was a tournament to decide humanity's fate.

Never in my entire life of playing fighting games has the storyline of The Tales of Ash Saga having no business being that good. The Steam Edition intro hits you right in the feels. Ash is one the best anti-hero in KOF.

"You two can have your emotion reunion inside me!" Oh no. "How's that for a happy ending?" *OH NO*

Kinda wished Ash got to keep his fighting pose from 2003 and XI, made me like the character more. Which is weird to say an idle animation pose does a lot for characters in fighting games. XIII is a master class in fighting games and its the result of all the years snk had worked on since 94'

Randomly got this game on my xbox 360 a few years back, easily still one of the most memorable games purely cos of the visuals and the soundtrack (which I still listen to today), absolutely insane game especially considering i was an extreme casual a few years back

Not gonna lie, I simp hard for Saiki. XD Fun to play as too. What I wouldn't give for KOF to return to this kind of sprite and artwork.

today kof15 is not released yet, so i can say... this is the best kof ever

That ending is fucking crazy. Ash erases himself and the only person who remembers him is Elisabeth whilst her teammates have no clear about what just happened.

I forgot about Ash's throw when he put your head towards his crutch.

I remember getting the demo/trial for this game and it sparking my interest in fighting games again. Even got me to interesting in MK again, jumping back in for the 9th game. Mk10 is the game where I decided to actually learn combos, before then I was like a lvl 10 button masher. Still kinda am as I mostly rely on muscle memory and get myself caught up in stupid stuff XD I learned pretty much just to abuse the reach and fastest hits

This KoF always felt to me like the Garou: Mark of the Wolves sequel they never got to make as a King of Fighters game.

Kof 13: The game that pushed Shen from Unga to BUNGA.

Max love playing 2003 and XI is because it gave him the MVC vibe

That combo at 7:13 matched the beat of the music 😂

KOF13 is so nostalgic because it brought back all the classic stages from all games we loved from KOF94 up to that point including some of the Fatal Fury Special stages and those were some of the most amazing stages we always wanted to reach like Billy's stage in Special man

I feel like Terry would become like Shen if he's not humble like he is.

Anyone else think about how this game's story ending is just like Madoka Magica's? Even Elisabeth keeping Ash's hairband like Homura did with Madoka's ribbons.

Shen, Duo lon, Oswald in one team for kof xv? Yes please...

KOF 13 is a great game.KOF, in general, is great. I remember, during college, there was a bar in one other building of the college i did go, where, there was a bar, where, there was one arcade cabinet, and, its was KOF. i do remember playing a few times there, since, i dint go to that building that much.

This game is amazing. Definitely one of my favorite KOF. I really hope 15 ends up feeling like a combination of 13 and 14. PS: it would be sick to eventually see a team those from the past with Makai Botan and Rimello or Shion.

Holy SHIT Terralds arms are so fuckin chunky and defined in this game, they did my man's dirty in smash

*Trivia* The development of KOF XII and XIII was so rough that forced SNK Playmore to cancel many future projects, they spend a lot of money. They cancelled *3 upcoming KOF Maximum Impact games!* *KOF MAXIMUM IMPACT REGULATION A 2* for Arcades *KOF MAXIMUM IMPACT 3* for PS3 *KOF MAXIMUM IMPACT XBOX 360* The Maximum Impact games were a success. Maximum Impact 2 being the best selling KOF game in the PS2. *Falcoon* the producer of Maximum Impact Regulation A 2 said there was going to have 4 returning characters making their 3D debut. Hotaru, Tizoc, Joe and Angel. Plus some newcomers. SNK Playmove even announced the game in public. Showing the logo! So yeah. The reason why the story of the Maximum Impact ended in a cliffhanger was because of KOF XII and XIII 😢😭😭😭

Man I love this Kof it's my favourite game in the series from gameplay to graphics I loved doing combos in the game especially the big boy HD combos it's my favourite game from the X360 era I remember putting so many hours into it playing VS mode with friends doing trials and so much more plus this is where Kof kinda hit it's competitive peak particularly in Evo 2012 and Evo 2013 have the best top 8s in all of Evo history.

12:44 If they're old enough to crawl, they're old enough to Brawl.

Nah not the greatest, but its absolutley up there to be one of the greatest for sure.

God I just adore the look of this game 😍 might have to scoop it up next check

Awesome video as always Btw, Rooflemonger has an excellent video showing how to do easier combo's with the button hold trick. Taught me a lot. 🤓

lets hope one day we get KOF XIII UM

i like how max says that mobility isn’t hard and here i am unable to do a short hop to save my life.

This is the one that really got me to start investing serious time into KoF, and Ash is one of my favorite characters, so XIII is always gonna have a special place on my nostalgia shelf.

Even the mobile version of this game is epic. It plays so much like the console version that it isn't even a mobile version. More like a mobile port.

The final ash I literally I always got sick on while playing. It's like the background mixed with that damned cursed grey cloud that follows him around always made me sick. N now watching this made me remember and got sick all over again.

Classic remastered I love it 💘 the combos are amazing 👏🏽

KOF 12 could've in theory worked as a tech demo and 13 as it's final product. The only good thing it has going for it was the decent merchandise it had. (I still have my KOf 12 Mousepad that I use to this day.)

I bought this game recently as an average fighting game player. Someone who can do the inputs but lacks fundamentals. That being said, this is the greatest fighting game ive ever played. As someone with good input knowledge, this game caters to me completely. Great art style, banger songs each stage, and unique characters that make you want to learn every character. This game also does a great job at making pixel models feel modern. I wish this game had more traction because I think the legacy players will feel at home with the mechanics, but new players will see the cool roster and be encouraged to learn the game to get good with these characters.

This is my fav looking kof for sure I wish they would go back to this style

16:40 Yes, This song.: King of Fighters XIII OST Esaka Continues.

A game so great it almost destroyed SNK

Legacy Skill sounds like a fighting game system feature. Like Dream Cancel, Max Mode etc.

I never got to play this, and KOFXV looks pretty as hell, but man I can't help looking at this spritework and thinking we could have had it all.

Favorite one so far. Kyokugen-ryu FTW

The music hits so hard in 13 too. Good shit.

Without a doubt one of the most beautiful 2-D fighting games ever. Absolute eye candy man. I remember buying it when it first came out, it came with like 4 soundtrack CD's with music from KOF 94 all the way to Xlll itself. One of my top 3 favorite games in the series, it might just be number one honestly, i bounce back and forth between this one an 2002 UM.

I would certainly say this is the best non-Dream Match KoF for sure (since I see it as the Third Strike of this series), close second being KoF XI. It's just one of those precious masterpieces. 1998 UM and 2002 UM are the best Dream Match games so far.