The King of Fighters XIII: Global Match

The King of Fighters XIII Global Match should be the definitive way to play one of the best fighting games ever made, and unfortunately, it’s not in the shape it should be. It’s certainly not what I'd want anyone's first impression of King of Fighters XIII or SNK to be. If you don’t already own The King of Fighters XIII Steam Edition, then this is the only version you can now buy. I would still say if you don’t own the Steam Edition but are curious about the game, there is an amazing offline game here (CPU usage permitting) that you can take on. If like me you already owned the Steam Edition, there is currently no incentive to jump in and make the upgrade. I do hope the developers are hard at work with a patch to turn this around as I’m itching to play more, but currently, as a supposed upgrade for improved online experience, this more than misses the mark.

The King of Fighters XIII: Global Match is a good port of a game, with which you can train to emulate the exploits of BALA, Violent Kain, Huevo, Romance, Khanibalito, Tokido, XiaoHai or MadKOF. It is a title that still has its competitive niche and, therefore, in this installment that which those players demanded at a complicated time. Although, unfortunately, no more than that. It's up to you to decide if it needs it.

THE KING OF FIGHTERS XIII GLOBAL MATCH is one of the best chapters in the KOF series, finally available on Switch and bringing with it great netcode for online play. The new version features fighters released as DLCs, lots of content to unlock, a rich tutorial mode and much more. Fans of fighting games have an excellent title for their Nintendo Switch.

The release of The King of Fighters XIII: Global Match breathes new life into a classic fighting game with impressive visuals and rollback netcode. This is a comprehensive KOF experience that celebrates the franchise and the unique SNK tradition of bringing characters together for a fun and vivid fighting game.

The King of Fighters XIII Global Match is a competent title by itself and it's worth having it in the library despite a few signs of age. Even though the online experience has some issues, it's interesting to see a game almost a decade old work so well with the right updates, managing to be dynamic and fun.

Even though The King of Fighters XIII: Global Match is, by and large, the same game originally released in 2011 for Xbox 360, with just a handful of technical improvements, that’s not exactly a bad thing. Granted, it suffers from having a particularly small roster (for KoF standards, that is), and its story mode is a waste of time, but it’s still a top-notch King of Fighters game that’s well worth your time if you want a brand new fighting game fix with some juicy rollback netcode.

The King of Fighters XIII Global Match is a very modest return of one of the best games in the franchise. Although it's a simple port that does the minimum to bring the experience to modern consoles, the foundation of the original video game is very solid and enjoyable.

As a complete game, The King of Fighters XIII: Global Match is exceptional and almost indefectible, but the justification of relaunching it with a remodeled online system using the best that is currently ends up proving to be a shot in the foot, with an unstable, incomplete result and full of choices, including aesthetic, questionable.

King of Fighters XIII: Global Match tweaks the online netcode to improve on a classic. The combat remains a highlight of the franchise and the visuals still look stunning. Unfortunately, SNK doesn’t add anything extra to the mix barring online upgrades. While I do wish they would have taken the opportunity to add more to celebrate the franchise, what’s on offer is definitely worth the price of admission.

The improved online environment allows for smoother matches, making it easier to execute practiced combos accurately in real gameplay. The addition of room matches, which support up to nine players, enhances the multiplayer experience by allowing for spectating and seamless opponent changes. While some text and graphical errors remain, they do not significantly impact the overall experience. Though it deviates from modern fighting game trends aimed at new players, this update ensures that the final pixel-art masterpiece of KOF can be enjoyed in a more stable environment—with little left to be desired.