We are less than two months away from The King of Fighters XV premieres. On February 17, a highly anticipated installment of the series will be in the hands of players around the world. After a bittersweet edition, players loyal to the franchise already had a chance to test their luck and skills in two previous test phases.
At the beginning of December this second phase was available on PlayStation consoles. Not only did it fix a few bugs, it made offline and local play easier. Characters like Antonov, Blue Mary, Ryo, Terry, K ‘, Isla, Meitenkun and, especially, Krohnen, were made available to gamers. In the case of the latter, with a character like K9999 As a background, it attracted a lot of attention in this beta.
We get closer with the team Arcade rumble to know your opinion about this beta. These are players who have been successful in local and international competitions in games developed by SNK. Dedicated competitors whose input can help us understand what to expect from the title.
Break expectations and monotony
Oscar Osornio, better known as Kotir, is a player who has shone in recent years as a player of Samurai shodown. However, he is also quite a successful fighter in the KOF series. During the tournaments held during this second beta he was the winner in the X-Mas RumBle competition and third place within the Dreamers Force.
“The gameplay was different from The King of Fighters XIV and I loved it,” says Kotir. “It’s not so monotonous anymore, you have to find different ways to attack. In addition, the game mechanics allow you to expand the way of executing combos ”.
For Osornio, the GGPO rollback netcode, one of the most anticipated aspects of the game, worked better in this beta than in the first one. However, her experience with him was not entirely perfect. The latency went from being 15 m / s, after a couple of encounters, a million. Which made the connection impossible and forced to open a new room. He also told us about Krohnen, the character who has given the most to talk about.
“It was the best of this beta. Returning to a character like him and remembering those movements made it a very pleasant experience, “he says. “At the time of using it it was a bit weird, but as the matches went by I could see how to perform the combos. Of all the characters he was the funniest ”.
Great moments on the way
Erick Arzate is known on competitive circuits as Paradox. He has been present in various tournaments, mainly in Mexico and the United States. With this experience behind him, he has had the opportunity to test a beta with which he predicts good times in the future for fans of the franchise. In addition, he considers that a very divisive installment like the XIV was the foundation for something that looks good, just as the XII was with respect to the XIII.
“The evolution of the game system for this KOF is well accomplished compared to the previous installment,” notes Paradox. “The EX movements and the Max Modes (normal / quick) make the playing styles have more variety, both for the choice of characters that can abuse each of these modes, as well as the players themselves.”
“I was afraid that the new Shattered Strike movement would break the game, but contrary to that it was well implemented, even the autocombos received an update to be able to use them with their own choice that I liked a lot”, complements Arzate. “The netcode part had a big change. It is seen that the strong point to review of the betas was definitely this. Coming from a very online environment, I can say that the game currently has a lot going for it ”.
Paradox points out that, for him, there were characters who weren’t particularly memorable or relevant. For this reason, the intention of returning fighters requested by fans is an appropriate choice. Especially considering the possibilities.
“The consecrated characters plus those acclaimed even by SNK itself. The Orochi Team. The Sacred Team for the first time official. Those teams that we wanted to see together and others that we never imagined could be official, effectively ‘broke all expectations,’ ”says Arzate. “The cherry on the cake is Krohnen, who left many with their mouths open. Let’s be honest: we weren’t expecting this controversial character back. “
Finally the player comments this game has everything to mark the return of old players and new challengers who become competitive promises. This while declaring himself a fan and admitting that what he has seen generates hype for things to come.
It will be this February 17 when, on consoles PS5, PS4, Xbox Series and PC, we can see the most beloved fighters in Latin America compete for the King’s crown. Expectations have been very high for the announcements and testing phases. It remains to be seen if the game is up to the task.