Topic: KOFXIII aka the full version of last year's "beta test"

[borockman]

Daaaaaamn, Ralf took classes with Kenshiro during the year
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIQgwmTqk2A[/youtube]

Ralf just learned GEAAAA SECONDO from Luffy.

But I have to say all the NeoMax looks damn lovely, especially Joe's.

[Solar]

Team Yagami's story

Although this region is known for its hot weather, that night was all but hot. Sometimes, strong winds were even blowing…
Indeed, what woke Chizuru Kagura was not heat; it was more of an evil presence feeling.
“…”
She took a look at the Shoji facing the garden. Beautiful shining blue-ish light of the full moon were illuminating the room.
Suddenly, a long thin silhouette drew up in the shoji. Noticing it, Chizuru’s went completely alarmed.
“Huh! Who’s there?”
Chizuru realized her inexperience as she asked for the person’s identity in a concealed voice. Quickly thinking back the situation, this familiar silhouette that went unnoticed through the garden. Before seeing him, she had already figured it out.
Chizuru felt ashamed of her own inexperience as it seemed obvious who the mysterious visitor was.
“…you’ve become such a coward, Kagura”
A small derisive laughter briefly showed.
“You too…”
Chizuru closed her white summer undershirt that partially exposed her chest, and then sat on her futon.
“You too, you lost your flames, didn’t you?”
“So what?”
Before that arrogant answer, Chizuru remained silent.
Even though his purple flames were lost, his strength definitely is not. The Kagura residence is extremely well guarded place with countless strong bodyguards… Just the fact that he is standing before her right now, means there is no doubt about his strength.
For Chizuru, whose self-confidence was greatly affected when she lost the powers of the mirror, it was clear that it was not the case for him. Thinking about that, she was biting her lips in anger…
“I came here to see whether you regained your powers yet… As I thought, it seems that brat will just have to be taken care of.”
Said the man as he turned to take his leave. Chizuru reached for him in confusion.
“Wait, Yagami! This might be your only chance!”
“…What chance?”
“For the last 660 years, the Yagami flames you wield have been affected by Orochi’s evil power. But, now that the flames and the Magatama were lost… now… now, maybe it’s your only chance to free your family from Orochi’s curse.”
“Nonsense!”
Chizuru’s complaint made the man laugh.
“… I’m who I am. I don’t give a damn about the Yagami family line whatsoever!”
“Yagami---”
Chizuru was intending to talk him on it, only then did she realize how inconsistent her request was.
The Yagami Family flames, which power come from the Yasakani Magatama--- If these flames are bonded to the Orochi blood, then freeing himself from Orochi would inevitably mean abandoning his flames forever.
But it also means that one of the 3 sacred treasures, used to seal Orochi, would be lost forever.
Chizuru’s face turned pale with such a dilemma.
“Rest assured. Your mirror will get back to you soon.”
Chizuru remained silent, and the man greeted her while taking his leave.
“… However, next thing to be lost is the Sword”
“Stop, Yagami!”
Chizuru quickly got out of her futon, opened the Shoji and rushed out of the room.
However, there was only a silent garden bathed in the shining light of the full moon. The figure of the redheaded man was nowhere to be seen.

◆◇◆◇◆

The old bridge was shaking considerably every time a truck was passing by the road under it.
Endlessly exposed to wind and rain, its coating wore off all over and its rusty spikes smelled as like the remains of some huge dead animal.
Walking slowly past a spike, Iori Yagami stopped for a while and gazed up at the moon.
“….”
The cigarette in his right hand was slowly burning out… Suddenly, burnt out ashes fell on the ground.
“… What business do dead-like people have with me?”
With a cool-headed look, he lowered his head from the sky towards a spot at the ground next to the bridge where was gathering a deep black shadow.
“Holding a grudge against me? Or is it going to be “Kill me please” once again?”
After Iori said that, the dark shadow responded.
“Such a greeting, Yagami… Although it’s been a long time since we last met”
“Staring at the sky once again… Didn’t we say it before? That we shall meet someday again in a full moon night.”
“-----”
Hearing those charming women voices, Iori didn’t move a single eyebrow.
As Iori was watching, the shadow was writhing in agony. Quietly, but surely, it started to gradually take shape.
Finally, once it stood out from a 2D world to a 3D one, the shadow had shaped into two beautiful ladies. (Now, I am raising an eyebrow)
The man tossed his cigarette. He narrowed his eyes then muttered.
“…Then it must be some sort lingering affection that made come out”
“Affection? There’s no such a thing”
The redheaded Vice grandly twisted her stretched body, as she talked. The shape of her body concealed in black pants was completely reminiscent of that of a large snake.
“---- Originally we weren’t planning to come out.”
“Then, why are you here?”
“Well, I wonder why… Couldn’t it be because you guys were disappointing beyond expectations?”
A distinctive eye patch showed on Mature’s clear face. The blonde lady moved her shiny red lips to answer Iori’s sarcasm.
-----------------
 “… What are talking about?”
“After Kagura, it was Yagami’s turn… It seems even you got tricked, weren’t you?  Deceived by that Ash Crimson boy!”
“And on top of that, it looks like his strange colleagues are aiming at Orochi’s power. You know, the ones who call themselves “those from the distant land”“
“… Whatever, I don’t care”
“That sure sounds like you. Because, all you ever care about is yourself, right?”
“However, it does matters for us. We can’t let it happen!”
“We can’t possibly allow Orochi’s power to be helplessly exposed, now can we?”
“And that’s why we came back.”
Burdened in darkness, their 3 eyes (Vice’s 2 + Mature’s 1) were suspiciously shining. Vice and Mature, both are supposed to have been killed at Iori’s own hands.
Iori put his hands in his pockets, and then spoke.
“It’s nice of you to bear the consequences of Kagura’s mistake. … Still, what the hell the two of you can do?”
“Weeeeeell…However if we join forces, then there must be something we can do. Right?”
“Your aim is the boy; ours is the other guys… If we keep advancing in the tournament, we will run into them sooner or later.”
“…The same ridiculous mockery again!”
“Indeed. But, using that ridiculous mockery is the fastest way to find them. And for this to work we’ll need to be teammates, even if it’s for the mere formalities. Get it, Yagami-kun?”
“Hmph---”
With that sound, Iori walked away indifferently. Passing next to Vice and Mature, he continued his way down the bridge.
Without stopping to speak, he added.
“I’ll warn you in advance. If it turns out to be useless for me---”
““Then I’ll have no more use for you!”  Right? ………..we’ll keep it in mind.”
Vice’s suppressed laugh was slowly fading out.
“We’re excited as well! Excited about the extents of your strength after losing your flames. -----But since it’s you, we probably won’t be disappointed.”
“…Even dead, it seems you’re as smooth talker as ever”
At the bridge exit, he stopped then looked back over his shoulder.
The two ladies’ shadowy shapes were nowhere, and all Iori could see was the blue moon shining in the clear dark sky.
“…………………”
Iori took out another cigarette, and lit it up with his lighter that he has been using for a while.
The thin smoke of the tossed cigarette rose up towards the full moon night sky, while a red flickering light was glowing from the silhouettes lurking in the dark.

http://cyberfanatix.com/forums/index.php/topic,583.msg19099.html#msg19099

Yes, Mature and Vice are/were both actually death, and the colleagues comment makes me even more sure that Ash is the leader of the bad guys.

And a compilation of most of the known Neomaxes so far.
http://d.hatena.ne.jp/video/niconico/sm10507285

Posted on: April 28, 2010, 10:56:00 PMSuddenly, "HERE COMES A NEW CHALLENGER!"


Check the website for his awesome team music.

[Rin]

FFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

It's a shame, I won't be able to play this for a long while, once it comes out.
Now crossing my fingers for Kula, and I can use my favorite combination when I DO get to play it.
Which is, if anyone is wondering, either Ash, Iori and K', or Kula, K', Iori (depending on the game).

[borockman]

Damn K' beautiful sprite! 

This might be the first KOF game I will buy.

The last KOF I played was 97' I think I forgot. 

[Solar]

Dude, you missed ALL the best ones

[HokutoNoBen]

I'm convinced that Ash, while probably a bad boy, will still have something redeemable about him. No way is SNK going to kill off the most popular character amongst fangirls. 

Any way...FUUUUUUUUUUUCK YEAH, K'! Now you're a flame-wielder I can definitely vibe with! I'd be all for you giving Ash the Crow Bite to the face the lil creep deserves! 

Now, bring on da Maxima and Kula. Complete the XI K' Team, and this will be GG for me! 

[Gotham Ranger]

I'm convinced that Ash, while probably a bad boy, will still have something redeemable about him. No way is SNK going to kill off the most popular character amongst fangirls. 

Isn't the point of Ash to be completely irredeemable?

[borockman]

Dude, you missed ALL the best ones

Well, I'm not exactly a fighting game kinda guy. 

[HokutoNoBen]

Isn't the point of Ash to be completely irredeemable?

Even Iori, KOF's ORIGINAL bad boy, later had some redeemable traits that not only made him that much more endearing to his fans, but kept him relevant to the overall storyline. Ash being one of the most popular characters to emerge in the series in years, I expect him to have that much, as well.

[TheOnly]

GUYS, I HOPE THIS IS THE BEST KOF TO DATE!!

[King Reaper]

I was expecting K', so no big surprise on that one.
Still holding out hope on Vanessa being in.

[Solar]

Even Iori, KOF's ORIGINAL bad boy, later had some redeemable traits that not only made him that much more endearing to his fans,

Like drawing him giving milk to a homeless kitty?

Ash being one of the most popular characters to emerge in the series in years, I expect him to have that much, as well.

Well, he will have to break tradition and not go BOOM or die any other way like every last boss to do that though >.>

Still holding out hope on Vanessa being in.

She's not, too bad. Start hoping for console character status.

[OBJECTION MAN]

I was expecting K', so no big surprise on that one.
Still holding out hope on Vanessa being in.

I hope so too. She's one of my all time favorites.

[HokutoNoBen]

Like drawing him giving milk to a homeless kitty?

Well, beyond that whole "omake" stuff, the storyline itself has it so Iori's necessary in order to keep the Orochi sealed. So, no matter how much of a douchebag Iori is to most people, he's still basically more along the lines of an anti-hero. Because nobody who loves jazz can be ENTIRELY evil, right?

Well, he will have to break tradition and not go BOOM or die any other way like every last boss to do that though >.>

I'm still convinced that what we stand to see with "Dark Ash" is not all that we'll get. If there's one thing that's worthy of Ash's character is that he's one smooth operator. I wouldn't be surprised if he's playing off everybody as part of one massive Xanatos Gambit(tm) that will basically lead up to a "WHOA!" moment that will actually make all his movements in the last 7 years' worth of games FINALLY make sense.

As for Dark Ash? Maybe he'll end up being a mid-boss, while the REAL threat still has yet to be seen.

[Solar]

The thing is, we know for a fact that there are 3 bosses and that Dark Ash is one of them. For Dark Ash to be a mid boss and then reveal a bigger big bad they'd have to sacrifice one of two things the way I see it. First of all, the way I see things going is 6 stages-> Adel in the obligatory VS KOF organizer battle-> Botan and co. or someone from the group->Dark Ash, so to give us Ash as a mid boss they'd have to either move Adel to cutscene only status (he has to be in the game somehow because of her sister) or not give us a fight with Botan and Mukai's group (the last one is most likely gonna be literally roasted by Ash judging from the intro anyways).

[STM]

Final Boss is Kaiser Rugal and he's as tall as X7 Final Sigma.

All his moves are one hit kill but don't do chip damage.

snk_troll_face.jpg

[HokutoNoBen]

The thing is, we know for a fact that there are 3 bosses and that Dark Ash is one of them. For Dark Ash to be a mid boss and then reveal a bigger big bad they'd have to sacrifice one of two things the way I see it. First of all, the way I see things going is 6 stages-> Adel in the obligatory VS KOF organizer battle-> Botan and co. or someone from the group->Dark Ash, so to give us Ash as a mid boss they'd have to either move Adel to cutscene only status (he has to be in the game somehow because of her sister) or not give us a fight with Botan and Mukai's group (the last one is most likely gonna be literally roasted by Ash judging from the intro anyways).

That's pretty much what I expect. Time constraints and such being as they are, Botan and Mukai's posse is likely not going to get that much in the way of screen time. They're either going to die horribly, or the majority of "Far Away Land" dudes are going to be sealed off until SNK can get around to being bothered with them again. Leaving ample time for either the big bad of the Far Away Krew, or possibly some form of Orochi, to emerge.

Adelheid being the next best thing to having Rugal himself in a "part of the storyline" game, to me, equates with him at least being a boss, if not possibly another unlockable.

Final Boss is Kaiser Rugal and he's as tall as X7 Final Sigma.

All his moves are one hit kill but don't do chip damage.

snk_troll_face.jpg

Really though, I'd expect them to do something with Geese, instead. Years ago, they were promising us that they would explain why Terry was back in his classic garbs, after two games of being in his MOTW look. And to me, the best way to reason that would mean that they were going to wrap up the Fatal Fury plot line some time soon in the KOF-verse. If that were the case, might as well give Geese one more last go-round as some uber powerful, Reppuken Danmaku Nightmare Geese variation.

[Solar]

Maybe Geese is behind both and he's using them to get the Orochi power like he's always wanted

[HokutoNoBen]

Maybe Geese is behind both and he's using them to get the Orochi power like he's always wanted

Eh, after the Orochi storyline was over, Geese knew that the Orochi power wasn't all that it was cracked up to be, and gave up on it.

Now, assuming those Jin Scrolls of Immortality are still up for grabs in the KOF-verse...? 

[Solar]

If it means the Jin twins get in KoF then I so want that, hell, combine it with the [tornado fang]ing decade long Dragon Power thing subplot so that it can finally go somewhere

[The Drunken Dishwasher]

Maxima is in the website now.

Kula is all that's left.

[Rin]

Kula's in.
FOOK YEAH!

[borockman]

Kula sprite looks stationary compared to other fighter, besides Athena that is.

[Chainsaw Guitar]

lmao @ K's teammates. A Hokuto no Ken character and a Arcana Heart character. Still can't decide on a team myself. I can only hope someone is willing to play the traditional 1v1 best out of 3 format with me.

[Solar]

Awesome new trailer
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0hFBMV8QXc[/youtube]

Btw, Vanessa, Seth and Ramon comfirmed...











as background cameos.