Ramblings of the Queen of KOF

Garou: Mark of the Wolves just got GGPO. Wow. If you ever needed evidence that we weren't in the worst timeline, that's it. What a great game to get proper netcode and now is as good a time as any to jump into some of the ropes of how to play. This game is really beginner friendly and if you just want to jump into some games with your friends casually, you won't have to worry about SNK's infamous "pretzel motions" or anything like that. On the surface, Garou is very easy to jump right into and start playing. There are, however, a lot of intricacies to the system mechanics that I'd like to lay out and hopefully make even the weirdest parts of Garou more digestible. Quirk of the Wolves Garou is a beautiful, engaging, and exciting fighting game. What sometimes gets lost on people who aren't as familiar with SNK titles is that it is a Fatal Fury game and what that means is it is weird . Garou has a lot of quirks that you might not be used to seeing i...

The Neo Geo World Tour 3 will feature King of Fighters XIII (KOFXIII) which, in a surprise comeback, will be the game's first major tournament circuit in several years. Naturally, this is a great time to get into the game. So this, much like the article on KOF02 , will be an introductory primer to KOF XIII. I won't bother repeating a bunch of the KOF fundamentals from that article so you can run back through that if you'd like some more basic information. XIII shares a great deal of its DNA with KOF02 so, like I say with most fighting games, learning one game will help you get better at the other. For more fundamentals on execution (which KOF XIII is infamous for) check out my execution guide . Sections to review from the execution guide Aim for the waist Double tap Break it down Sections to review from the KOF02 primer King of Fighters is a TEAM game Teams in practice Classic sensibilities in the modern age of fighting games In an era of simplificati...

The Megaman franchise was massive. Because of that, most people have played a Megaman game. And if you were a fan, you've most likely made the pilgrimage through the original Megaman and the X games. Unfortunately, the last third of the mainline Megaman titles has largely been relegated to the sideline and often left overlooked and under appreciated. Some of that is circumstance, some of it is Capcom's fault, but we're going to try to breeze past all of that so you can hopefully jump into and enjoy the final arc of the mainline Megaman series as too many have missed out on Zero's closing chapter due to the immense difficulty the arc is known for. But I've got some tricks and we're going to go through them so you can finally end the battle X and Zero have been fighting for so long. NOTE: This is just a primer to power you up for your playthrough and is STORY SPOILER-FREE. It should also be noted that this is a primer for people that intend to take on the ...

This is going to be a flyby article that is intended to give even novices insight into why KOF 2002 and its Unlimited Match revision are so exciting both to play and watch. After reading this article you will have a better understanding of the game and be able to get more enjoyment from the upcoming Neo Geo World Tour 3 which will highlight 02UM (shorthand for the Unlimited match revision of KOF 2002). I'm not going to just be talking about combat engine related things, but also some lore and personable aspects that I think are fun as the backdrop of each entry in the King of Fighters series is a tournament festival and that's something I don't think is appreciated enough. Dream Match King of Fighters 2002 is unique for lacking a lot of the set dressing of the previous few entries and kind of just feels like an impromptu festival featuring characters that had left the series and/or are definitely very dead. 2002 also seemingly has no story in a series that has been ...

It should go without saying that this article will have spoilers, but here's a warning right at the top should you need it. The Phantasy Star series, to me, were games I would start, but never really play. I took popular opinion of the Phantasy Star series being "SEGA's not-as-good Final Fantasy," as gospel and as such never gave it the time of day. That is, until a couple years ago when NerdJosh , known mostly for his prowess in a wide range of fighting games, shared a pivotal scene from Phantasy Star IV; the death of Alys. Without any context, I felt moved. And from that moment marked Phantasy Star IV as a game I needed to get around to if just to understand the context of that scene. Alys the Hunter From the beginning of the game, Alys is in your party and protects you, the player, from having to deal with a lot of the nuances of Phantasy Star's combat. She's strong, starting several levels higher than the rest of your party, has a wide va...