While King Of Fighters 15 takes the guise of another ordinary King Of Fighters tournament under the guidance of new tournament commissioner Anastasia, the defeat of the entity Verse in the previous game had irreparable effects on timelines and dimensions that previously-deceased fighters have begun resurfacing to participate in the tournament. Players now have to explore the mysterious nature of these appearances, and the conspiracy behind the new tournament.
However, players who want to fully revel in the KOF 15 campaign would have to master the rather fast-paced, technique-intensive nature of its characters. And while KOF 15 plays like a typical fighting game, certain pro tips for King Of Fighters 15 can definitely make beginners play like a professional in a competition.
8 Position The Main As The Last Character
Compared to other team-based games that offer a tag system, KOF 15 doesn’t let players switch characters in the middle of combat. This means team creation is a vital component of their fighting strategy, as starting with the wrong character might give players a disadvantage. To counter this, players should have their main character as their last character in the team. This has some advantages:
7 Use Meters Generously
Similar to other fighting games, KOF 15 has its own version of a meter called the Power Gauge that gets filled up as the round progresses. Characters get up to five (5) Power Gauge bars depending on their starting position, and they can use up this gauge to execute several moves. However, players shouldn’t “save up” these bars until the last moment. Rather, they should generously use the meters to take advantage of devastating attacks. Many things they can do with the Power Gauge are the following:
6 MAX Mode Doesn’t Necessarily Need Specials
Aside from the Power Gauge, characters can tap into the MAX Mode as a power-up mode to dish out more powerful attacks. Moreover, Shatter Strike, EX Specials, and Super Specials don’t consume Power Gauge but instead smaller chunks of the MAX Mode. This should make the MAX Mode a limited mode to use as many special moves as possible, right? Surprisingly enough, this shouldn’t always be the case for players. Here are other practical uses of the MAX Mode:
5 Jumping Gives Combat Another Dimension
Jumping remains one of the most basic fighting game mechanics out there, especially since it helps characters reach opponents much faster or even dodge things such as projectiles and low-reaching attacks. However, while KOF 15 takes the typical jumping mechanics of fighting games, the KOF title takes it a step further by giving players four types of Jumps to use. Players who want to dominate the air space need to identify just how these Jumps affect combat. In summary:
4 Throws Facilitate Powerful Defense
Like other fighting games, KOF 15 has a throwing component that simulates grappling in real-life fighting. While most games simply have stylistic throws that are frame-animated the same way, KOF 15 enables Throws to change the full course of combat by giving them vastly different properties. For instance, Throws can come in the form of Frame-1 Throws, and Invincible Throws, among others. Here are some implications of this:
3 Controller Keybinds Make Combos Much Easier
While some traditional or purist fighting game fans might think keybinding basic combos is a sin, it’s actually an encouraged mechanic in KOF 15. The game offers players the opportunity to replace common inputs in the game with keybinds, allowing them to simplify some of the more “complex” basic mechanics in the game. This is important, as a lot of keybound movements often lead to combos and other plays. Some options to keybind are:
2 Use The Timer For An Advantage
When players enter any match, they only have 60 Seconds to finish the round. This gives players ample time to make quick work of their opponents, and even stall for time if their opponents end up being too strong. KOF 15’s team-based gameplay gives players a unique perk: Not only does the winning character regenerate some health when they proceed to the next round, but the amount of health they regenerate also depends on how fast they defeat the previous fighter. This can be used in two ways:
1 Weave Combos Through Motions
Players who try to master characters in KOF 15 might notice that some of their combos are just difficult to execute, especially those with similar introduction commands but end in completely different moves. Instead of repeating introduction commands just to weave two attacks, players need to remember that the game recognizes movement input more than attacks. When used properly, players can fulfill the same movement and finish off with two different commands, resulting in an unexpected combo - appropriate to make characters look overpowered.
An example would be Ryo, known for his hard punches and kicks that often seem stiff and difficult to weave. For example, Ryo has a Super Move that allows him to dish out a flurry of attacks against his opponent - but its setup time means not doing an attack or two just to fulfill the combo. However, it’s actually possible to get into Ryo’s Super Move while doing his Uppercut, precisely because they share the same starting motion. Like a math formula, it would appear like this:
King Of Fighters 15 is currently available on PC, PS4, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
