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About Me


Old-school gamer. I started gaming with the Atari 2600. I became an addict with the arcade release of Street Fighter II at my college. The SNES release pushed me into buying that system and a lame arcade stick. I haven't looked back since then. I still consider the 16-bit to be the Golden Age of gaming. The current generation is keeping me pretty happy, especially with the fighting game renaissance that's happening lately. And, yes, I'm old.

Proud owner of: Kiwi Gameboy Color, GBA SP, GBA Micro, PSP 3000, White DS Lite, Silver NeoGeo Pocket, purple SwanCrystal, SNES, Genesis, N64, purple Gamecube, slim PS2, Dreamcast, Wii and PS3.

Favorite Games: Last Blade 2, Street Fighter Alpha 2, Mark of the Wolves, Zelda: A Link to the Past, Zelda: Minish Cap, Dark Stalkers, King of Fighters, Mega Man ZX, Ikaruga, Macross: Do You Remember Love, Raiden Trad, Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, Valkyria Chronicles, Professor Layton, Killer7



Games on my mind:
Super Street Fighter II HD Remix (PS3)
King of Fighters XII (PS3)
King of Fighters XIII
King of Fighters 2k2: UM (PS2)
BlazBlue: Continuum Shift (PS3)

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More King of Fighters XII
nilcam | 4:04 PM on 09.04.2009 50 comments




Final thoughts on the game
Ever since I bought KoF XII, I've ranted about loving the game. The only problem was the netcode. The patch was released last Monday and the results are nothing short of fantastic. I've spent many, many hours playing KoF this week in varying circumstances and find the online play to be pretty damned good. King of Fighters XII is the best fighter released this year. It's got better controls than SFIV and is more balanced. The online play is, for me, as good as BlazBlue and the game is far superior to BlazBlue. Combos are easier to perform in KoF than in SFIV but not as mash heavy as in BB. The gameplay is fast and favors offensive poking over defensive turtling and rewards aggression. The controls are smoother than any other fighter I've played and has rendered games like MvC2 unplayable. This is definitely my jam and rivals, if not surpasses, Garou: Mark of the Wolves as the best game SNK has made - and that's saying a lot.

If you like balanced fighters with a reasonably sized cast of unique fighters (22), you need this game. If you've liked SNK games in the past, this is an essential purchase. If you think Capcom is the leader in fighting games, check out KoF XII and learn what most of the world already knows. SNK: The future is now.

Finalizing my team
Joe and Kyo have been mainstays in my team since the first few days of playing it. My third alternated between Kim, Athena and Kensou. I like Kensou's speed but I don't fully understand his fighting style. His ability to force the match to speed up is great; it just doesn't gel with my style. Athena is also good at controlling the speed of a match but she slows it down. She's extremely effective but I find her boring to play. Kim was my initial third pick and then I drifted away as he's not as fast as Kensou or as easy to use as Athena.

Lately, I've been putting in a lot of time with Kirbilot and discussing aspects of the game as we learn it. Some of the knowledge he shared has helped me to learn some new stuff about Kim and convinced me to stick with Kim. I like how fast and deadly Kim's offense is and how he can turn a retreat into an assault in a second. Most characters cannot do this as effectively as Kim. Kyo is my balanced character; Joe is my hit and run annoyance guy; Kimis my lock you down in the corner and kick you in the face character. There's a balance there that I did not initially recognize.

Learning Kim
Considering how many fighters I've played, I haven't really mastered any. My reaction time is below average and my combo skills are barely there. I usually rely on mind games, mix ups and aggression, which works fairly well until you play a game with clash and critical combo systems. Kyo and Joe are tied as my best characters. I think I'm better with Joe but Kyo is more fun to play. Kim was the weakest link. So I hit the Practice mode pretty hard.

I spent a solid hour and a half practicing combos with Kim. I really like jump in C, crouching C canceled into CD. This does a nice amount of damage and pushes the opponent away. If this is done in the corner, the CD can be canceled into QCB + D for an extra 3 hits. This is a damaging combo and the timing is pretty easy. After mastering the timing, I practiced a few 3 or 4 hit high damage combos with Kyo and Joe. I was able to put my Kim combos into use in a game last night but the Joe combos were harder. I need to adjust the way I play Joe in order to maximize combo usage.

An ode to fighters
And that's why I love fighters. If you have the basic skills to play SF or KoF, you can have some fun playing with friends. You don't need more than that. However, there's a lot to learn, if you should decide to study the game. The systems in most fighters are well thought out and fun to master; this is more true in KoF XII than in any other fighter. Knowing how to use the clash really changes the flow of the game and gives an edge to those who've mastered it. Learning how to land critical combos really helps you know that you're not out yet. There's such intricate and elegant gameplay to be experienced.



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48 comments | showing # 1 to 48
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Y0j1mb0's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/04/2009 16:41
Y0j1mb0
LISTEN TO NILCAM. HE IS WISE BEYOND HIS YEARS & SPEAKS THE TRUTH.

Also, we need to fight brother.
Chris Carter's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/04/2009 16:47
Chris Carter
"King of Fighters XII is the best fighter released this year. It's got better controls than SFIV and is more balanced."

Blatantly not true. How much SFIV have you played? The more and more I train in it, the more I realize how balanced it is.

Also, as much as you rant about the game, I can't justify a $60 demo with DLC characters confirmed to be built in the disc. That said, once I'm done with SFIV, I'll move on to this, but only because you, 'Jimbo, and a few other people play it: it's just no where near as fun as SFIV, and doesn't have a fraction of the community.
Y0j1mb0's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/04/2009 16:56
Y0j1mb0
Don't listen Magnalon. All he talks about is the DLC built in the disc...lol. I LOVE SF4 but KOF XII fighting engine is just beefier, hard hitting, and forces you to fight. Time is ticking and turtling isn't on the menu here.

Also when you playing your SF4 or KOF XII. You're barely online Mag. I'm ready to take you out in either game Mag. Let's fight for that review copy of Demon's Souls, hmmm? :D
Bulkmailer's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/04/2009 16:57
Bulkmailer
Cool stuff, I can't wait to get this game. Kensou sounds fun to play with, and I have been using him on my ghetto KOF 95 Gameboy version at the office.
RAB's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/04/2009 16:58
RAB
What magnalon said, except for the part about ever being done with sf4. that aint gonna happen for many years to come.
i just don't find it as fun and the community is FULL of fucking weirdos and anti social people who dont know how to have a good time. not to say that they're ALL like that, but at arcade infinity and denjin arcade the kof crowd is always just so awkward

and ralphs jump in heavy punch to machine gun punch does WAY TOO MUCH FUCKING DAMAGE.I've seen dudes online just spam that shit all day, probably with turbo buttons. UGH. just jump in and mash on strong punch and WHAM there goes like a quarter of your life bar.
Then you've got dudes who just wait til they get the flashy green bar then they just spam the counter punch thing and POW full super plus a bunch of other shit.
Y0j1mb0's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/04/2009 17:08
Y0j1mb0
@RAB:

Dude you know I love SF4 like you and will continue for years but for real you gotta give props to KOF XII's engine. It's not as flashy as SF4 granted but it shares as much depth as SF4 in a subdued fashion.

As for Ralph, a simple roll gets you out of that shit. Like any move that is spammed, there is a way out. Hell Joe's tiger knee seems unstoppable at times but you can get around that shit too. SF4 has their fair share of spammable moves as well and they can be worked around too. You just happen to know SF like the back of your hand RAB. If you felt as comfortable with KOF, Ralph wouldn't be an issue.

Can't wait to tussle with you on SF4 brother.
JACK of No Trades's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/04/2009 17:15
JACK of No Trades
Nilcam, stop making me laugh. BlazBlue is far superior to KoF12 in so many ways. To say BlazBlue is mash-heavy is crazy.

If you beat me using button mashing I will go buy KoF12 tomarrow and stop playing BlazBlue. Deal?
Daxelman's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/04/2009 17:25
Daxelman
@Jack: You wanna just buy me a copy of KoFXII tomorrow and then send it to me to piss Nilcam off because you won't play it, and to give me because you're a cool bro?

Seriously though, I need to find an arcade that has this game. Or I need this game on my TV.

KoFXII would look so cash on my 32 inch I bought from Wal-Mart that surprisingly still works to this day...
Mentok the Mindtaker's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/04/2009 17:26
Mentok the Mindtaker
Have you tried Iori at all in this one? It seems like they raped his move set but from what i have been hearin he is actually a better character now... just a thought
Y0j1mb0's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/04/2009 17:28
Y0j1mb0
I love how Jack says BlazBlue is superior in every way and he hasn't even played KOF XII.

That's like saying this girl is a way better lay then that girl and he didn't get the with the other girl. LOL.
JACK of No Trades's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/04/2009 17:30
JACK of No Trades
@Dax

Lol, Nilcam has to beat me with button mashing first.
JACK of No Trades's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/04/2009 17:36
JACK of No Trades
@jimbo

I don't have to play it to know its a broken demo LOL

Lets see here:

98% of people like BlazBlue more that KoF12 for obvious reason.
2% of people like KoF12 more because they are die hard blind fanboys.
The Timely Howard's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/04/2009 17:42
The Timely Howard
@Jack

I don't think that's what he meant. He was talking about combos at the time, so I took it to mean that you can mash out of a combo by repeatedly smacking whatever it is you want your character to do next, which is absolutely true for most characters. If you keep hitting buttons for the next part of your combo in BlazBlue, it'll come out when you need it to. He's talking relative to games like Street Fighter IV, where you have -one chance- to hit the button at the -precise time-.

He's not saying it's a button-masher. He's saying you can mash out combos, which is true for most character BnBs. I mean, -I- can't mash out combos, because Taokaka's drive loops don't work that way, but most characters can.

Nobody asked me, but I think all three of them (SFIV, BlazBlue, KOFXII) are great.
Chris Carter's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/04/2009 17:49
Chris Carter
@Jimbo
Haha, I can dig Nilcam's love for the game, but saying it's heaps better than SFIV, which may be the most balanced fighter of all time, is a bit much. I'll get em all eventually!
JACK of No Trades's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/04/2009 17:50
JACK of No Trades
@Howard

BlazBlue's engine is set up that way for a reason. Its a flexible fighting engine that allows players to make up their own combos on the fly. Thats not even close to button mashing. Come and try to button mash against us tonight and see if it works.
Chris Carter's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/04/2009 17:55
Chris Carter
In regards to Arc Systems' Guilty Gear/Blazblue "free flexible" engines: it is NOT a button masher. That's just slander!

Try looking up KOFXII movesets (aka the game that has a few characters with two to three moves) and combos versus Blazblue: your mouth will drop.
The Timely Howard's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/04/2009 17:56
The Timely Howard
@Jack.

I know. I'm not saying it is a button-masher. Neither is Nilcam, I don't think. It's just much easier to perform combos in BlazBlue, to the point where you can just mash on the next button you want as much as you want until the move comes out, and then move on to the next part of your combo.

Remember, this is relative to Street Fighter IV, where you (in some cases) have -1 frame- to hit the button. If you hit it too early, the combo is done. If you hit it too late, the combo is done. You have one shot to hit the button -once-.
Y0j1mb0's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/04/2009 18:08
Y0j1mb0
What Magnalon fails to understand is that those move sets that may appear to be limited more than gets the job done. Typically those characters are the strongmen or throwing types that if they get their paws on you, like Raiden, you're in a world of hurt. It's effectively incorporating those powerful moves on your opponent with pokes, regular throws or mindgames that makes them fun to play.

The analogy of comparing movesets to one another is irrelevant. There are characters in BlazBlue that can light you up with ludicrous combos but don't even chip at your life gauge.

For the record BlazBlue is awesome. I dig it big time. But here's the thing. Anybody can mash buttons on it look good. This is a FACT. You can't do that with SF4 nor KOF XII. If you get a 15+ hit combo in either game you earned that shit. In BlazBlue with the right character that's business as usual.
Mentok the Mindtaker's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/04/2009 18:15
Mentok the Mindtaker
Calm the hell down people, it's just Nilcam's opinion, which we are all entitled to have. And I do agree with him, I like KoF12 over all the other fighter this year but I am NOT a "die hard blind fanboy" This is actually the first time I have ever owned a KoF game. And yes the game is lacking in certain areas but really, now that the online is fixed I don't need any other modes or extra content. I prefer the battle system over SF4 as well as BlazBlue. SF4s controls seemed to loose and the speed of the game was just too slow for me. Also, BlazBlue's teching system didn't seem to work that well for me, and it seemed like everyone and there mother used Nu and Noel and just spammed there drive atacks. I really love ALL of the fighting games that came out this year, but when it comes down to what really matters i believe that the fighting system in KoF is just a much tighter package than the others.
Mentok the Mindtaker's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/04/2009 18:19
Mentok the Mindtaker
For the record, I still completely suck at ALL fighting games still! (except maybe dissidia)
JACK of No Trades's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/04/2009 18:19
JACK of No Trades
"But here's the thing. Anybody can mash buttons on it look good."

Prove it tonight.
JACK of No Trades's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/04/2009 18:19
JACK of No Trades
"But here's the thing. Anybody can mash buttons on it look good."

Prove it tonight.
JACK of No Trades's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/04/2009 18:24
JACK of No Trades
Mentok

Maybe BlazBlue's fighting system is just too overwhelming for you.
The Timely Howard's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/04/2009 18:28
The Timely Howard
Wow, you're really defensive, Jack.

I'm not promising I'll even show you a good time, but if you want to play we could just play right now.
Y0j1mb0's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/04/2009 18:28
Y0j1mb0
Confirmed: Jack loves BlazBlue because he got game on it. Your Tager is strong brother, I give you props on it. But I've beaten him before, remember? See if you can beat me in Street Fighter 4 or Street Fighter 2 HD. I doubt you could muster beating me a round.

How about you prove me wrong.:)
Funksy's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/04/2009 18:29
Funksy
I love fighting games, all the ones mentioned plus SC IV, I wish I could play with you guys, and I'm a sad panda because my Xbox LIVE is out at the moment...

Long live the fighter
JACK of No Trades's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/04/2009 18:31
JACK of No Trades
Yes, I get very defensive when it comes to niche games that are near perfection. BB only has 130,000 in sales and it deserves more than that. The KoF12 devs really dropped the ball thats why I could care less about it.
Takeshi's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/04/2009 18:36
Takeshi
BEST FIGHTING GAME EVER
nilcam's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/04/2009 18:36
nilcam
@Magnalon: SFIV is not very balanced. I play a really good Fei Long and have a hard time with mediocre Sagat players due to his ridiculous damage output. And then Capcom patches the game and makes Fei's chicken wing have a slower start up and only roundhouse has invincibility frames. The arcade version of SFIV is balanced; the console characters are underpowered and half-baked. As far as DLC on the disc, I'm calling out the costumes in SFIV.

@Jack: More people play Smash Bros. than most fighters. That doesn't make it a great fighter, does it? I think BlazBlue is good. I think KoF XII is great. The roster in KoF is more balanced than in BB. BB takes timing; KoF requires more skill for combos. I can choose Noel, then hit D and watch the magic. It takes me an hour to master some of the more intense combos I know in KoF. Just saying. I do love SNK, but I wouldn't call myself a fanboy. They've made some really bad fighters. This one just happens to hit all the right notes for me. I haven't played BB since it was released because I have not felt the need to.
Chris Carter's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/04/2009 19:03
Chris Carter
@Nilcam
You justify KOFXII's character DLC by calling out costumes? What?!

Also, I can't really convince you I suppose on SFIV's balance. Pros use a lot of "low tier" characters in tournies all the time - more so than any other fighter to date.
Mentok the Mindtaker's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/04/2009 19:04
Mentok the Mindtaker
@ jack

I don't think it's too overwhelming, I was pretty damn good back in the day on Guilty Gear, but BlazBlue just seem to be a little too broken for my tastes. But whateva I will still play it! (though my jackassed neighbor borrowed it from me >.>)
Mentok the Mindtaker's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/04/2009 19:06
Mentok the Mindtaker
Also,

BEST FIGHTING GAME EVER!!!!!!

nilcam's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/04/2009 19:09
nilcam
@Magnalon: I call out the costumes because they're DLC on disc. I've read that SNK has no plans to release characters as DLC. They're looking into "other things." I hope they don't add characters; the game's too balanced to mess with.
Shin Oni's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/04/2009 19:32
Shin Oni
well jeez you have 2 tops in your team. I can only imagine how easy it is.

Joe is silly and I enjoy Joe. Though i'm not sure if I want to run with him yet. His specials are dirt easy and dirt free. Espesically Tiger Kick.

Kyo...I dunno why he's top but his simple f+BB into DP is silly. Doesn't help his DP has like 98 Iori range. Never was a fan of he "default" super but I always see people combo into so easily off a juggle. Though kyo's always been solid.

I personally like Kim from the bit i've played with him. His air game is scary as you were saying (with the defense game turned into offense.) and has no real problem getting in. Still, I love my Shen/Mature/Ash team. But Ash just might get dropped for someone else if I don't find some setups for those poison kisses. I kinda like Iori's new style but it's just a matter of learning it.

I can't wait to get a PS3. Games like these that usually get no play on 360 are hella easy to set games up for on PS3.
Mentok the Mindtaker's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/04/2009 19:52
Mentok the Mindtaker
Aw my picture didn't post ;_; (insert picture of ehrgeiz)
Chris Carter's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/04/2009 19:53
Chris Carter
@Nil
But the characters are proven. Literally. Proven to be on the disc.

Did you not know about this?
Das Inchworm's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/04/2009 20:31
Das Inchworm
i didn't come here to bitch and moan about different fighters...what I will say is that I just recently dropped robert off of my team, because my 2002 team of robert, ralf, and iori just doesn't feel good in XII. So my new and probably final team is raiden, ralf, and shen woo.
nilcam's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/04/2009 20:44
nilcam
@magnalon: That proves nothing, really. There's a good chance that those characters were being worked on when SNKP had to stop production. Extra lines of code are often left in software, especially late in the project cycle. Removing code often creates more problems than it fixes. Programming is as much science as it is art; many problems are hard to solve due to the intricacy of the code and how the lines of code interact with each other. If they do sell the characters as DLC, I'll admit it was shady, depending on the size of the download. If it's a few kilobytes per character, we'll know it's shady. If it's several megs per character, we'll know it's legit. I don't believe in jumping to conclusions.

As far as DLC is concerned, I would love to see SNK move away from disc release and instead
nilcam's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/04/2009 20:47
nilcam
"Maybe BlazBlue's fighting system is just too overwhelming for you."

"Yes, I get very defensive when it comes to niche games that are near perfection. BB only has 130,000 in sales and it deserves more than that. The KoF12 devs really dropped the ball thats why I could care less about it."

BlazBlue fan boy confirmed. And it should be "couldn't care less."
Dan CiTi's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/04/2009 21:03
Dan CiTi
BlazBlue is fun, but its definitely not as good as KoF12. That being said, I wish KoF12 had Lucky Glauber, Billy Kane, and Geese Howard. Honestly, I'd rather play KoF12, even if the character roster is perfect. BlazBlue is also an awesome fighting game with plenty of good stuff going on. Neither is perfect really, but both have the potential through a couple patches/DLC.
Danmartigan's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/04/2009 21:13
Danmartigan
First, fuck BlazBlue.

Second, Nilcam has some good points on SFIV balance. SFIV has some really worthless characters and they will need to balance it more in future versions.

Third, HD Remix is still awesome. And it makes me want to try KOF12.
Gen Eric Gui's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/04/2009 21:22
Gen Eric Gui
I wish I could play KoFXII. I don't like the changes to my main man Clark, but Ash and Shen Woo look like a lot of fun. If only I fucking had stable internet. God I hate my area.

That said, my favorite KoF game was Maximum Impact 2. Does that make me a bad person?
decoyb's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/04/2009 21:29
decoyb
Well we're really all on the same team here, I think everyone agrees that 2d fighters need to sell more so companies will make more of them. This year has been great so far since we get to argue over which is better between sfIV, BB and KOFXII.

And if anyone hasn't tried KOFXII I'd say at least rent it and give it a chance, I really like BB but there's something about KOFXII that just feels solid, it's really hard to explain, you have to play it to get a feel for it. Yes it has flaws, the presentation's a little rough and some of the characters have movesets that feel incomplete but the engine is great, it's probably my second favorite fighting game after 3rd strike. Which brings me to the point, SFIV, BB, and KOFXII are all good, so buy all of them so capcom is more likely to port 3rd strike to psn.
The Timely Howard's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/05/2009 00:27
The Timely Howard
@Magnalon

Yes, and there was also data on the Super Smash Bros. Brawl disc that showed Toon Zelda, Plusle & Minun, Mewtwo, Dixie Kong and others. Clearly Nintendo intends to sell them to us as DLC.

I'm not ruling out the possibility that SNK might try to sell us characters as DLC at some point, I'm just saying that data for the characters isn't necessarily proof of that. Call me when they discover sprites for these characters on the disc instead of placeholder data.
de BLOO's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/05/2009 03:48
de BLOO
Decoyb has the right idea guys.
BulletTrain's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/05/2009 04:56
BulletTrain
I like Kof12, but it just seems like move set is kinda shallow. Maybe its just my perceptions, or maybe I haven't played the game enough, but it just seems like matches revolve around the same tiny set of moves

I still like it, but I think I get sick of it quicker than other games.
RAB's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/05/2009 09:57
RAB
i learned today that melty blood is 10x better than tvc. that's all tho.
de BLOO's Avatar - Comment posted on 09/05/2009 16:11
de BLOO
Fuck RAB'S assessment.
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