The King of Fighters XIII cover art

The King of Fighters XIII

Widely regarded as one of the hardest-executing fighters ever made, rewarding mastery of HD Cancel loops alongside deep opponent reads.

Here's the argument for where this game sits - disagree freely.
Match your experience?
EXECUTION10 /10READS8 /10VARIANCE1 /10OPTIMIZATION7 /10

the cheat-test profile

The four axes - the argument

Each axis is rated on its own - how far one cheat would trivialize the game here. They don't trade off; low on all four means the game is an experience, not a contest.

  1. Execution

    cheat: Aimbot - perfect inputs

    10/10

    HD Cancel loops and tight EX move timings set a brutally high execution ceiling

  2. Reads

    cheat: Out-predict an adaptive opponent

    8/10

    Three-character team order and opponent tendency reads are constant

  3. Variance

    cheat: See what's hidden / map the RNG

    1/10

    No RNG; match flow is transparent

  4. Optimization

    cheat: A perfect solver / coach

    7/10

    HD Combo routes and team order strategy are extensively mapped

How to read this

Each axis is named by the cheat that would break the game along it. Execution is the hands. Reads is out-thinking an adaptive opponent. Variance is hidden information & RNG. Optimization is the solvable systems layer. A game's region is the top one or two axes.

These four aren't one rating split four ways - they're independent 0-10 questions. A 9 on one axis takes nothing from the others, and a game low on all four isn't missing data: it's telling you there's no skill here to cheat.

The basis is how the majority actually plays this game - not a niche mode or a personal run. For a game with very different modes (a story campaign versus ranked multiplayer), that's the version most people mean.

Compare with

Similar games

see all →

Ranked by shared genre first, then by how closely the cheat-test profile matches - a cross-genre tag means a pick matched on skill profile alone.

Tekken 7 cover art

Tekken 7

Grand Arena · 3D fighting game

E
R
V
O
Tekken 7
Street Fighter IV cover art

Street Fighter IV

Grand Arena · 2D fighting game

E
R
V
O
Street Fighter IV
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 cover art

Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3

Grand Arena · tag fighting game

E
R
V
O
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes cover art

Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes

Grand Arena · tag fighting game

E
R
V
O
Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes
Ultra Street Fighter IV cover art

Ultra Street Fighter IV

Grand Arena · fighting game

E
R
V
O
Ultra Street Fighter IV
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 cover art

Tekken Tag Tournament 2

Grand Arena · 3D tag fighting game

E
R
V
O
Tekken Tag Tournament 2

Game details

Released
2010
Developer
SNK Playmore
Franchise
The King of Fighters
Platforms
Arcade, PS3, X360
Modes
Single player, Multiplayer, Split screen
IGDB critics
79/100
IGDB users
79/100
FightingArcadeAction