The King of Fighters XIII
Thirteenth entry concluding Ash Crimson's story arc.
The King of Fighters XIII is a 2010 fighting game developed and published by SNK Playmore for arcades. It is the thirteenth installment in the The King of Fighters series and the conclusion of Ash Crimson's story arc, which started in The King of Fighters 2003. The game was ported to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 globally in 2011, with an updated arcade version subtitled Climax in 2012.
- Release Year
- 2010
- Developer
- SNK Playmore
- Publisher
- SNK Playmore
- Platforms
- Arcade, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Windows, iOS, Android, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Steam
- Genre
- Fighting
- Director
- Kei Yamamoto
- Series
- The King of Fighters
Quick Facts
- Title
- The King of Fighters XIII
- Developer
- SNK PlaymoreThe King of Fighters XIII: Global Match was co-developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Safari Games
- Publisher
- Original VersionJP · SNK Playmore · NA · Atlus · EU · Rising Star GamesGlobal MatchWW · SNK
- Producer
- Masaaki Kukino
- Director
- Kei Yamamoto
- Designer
- Takamitsu Haze / Takahiro Kobayashi
- Series
- The King of Fighters
- Genre
- Fighting
- Modes
- Single-player, multiplayer
- Arcade System
- Taito Type X2
- Platforms
- Arcade · PlayStation 3 · Xbox 360 · iOS · Android · Microsoft Windows · PlayStation 4 · Nintendo Switch
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The game is set two years after The King of Fighters XI and follows a tournament secretly hosted by Those From the Distant Land, who seek to revive their own clan and use the power of the Sacred Treasures. Ash Crimson, having absorbed powers from Chizuru Kagura and Iori Yagami, seeks to use these gathered powers to confront Saiki, the main antagonist. The plot culminates with Ash using the Yata Mirror to seal Saiki away, causing his own existence to vanish.
Reader's Guide
The King of Fighters XIII is significant for refining the series' gameplay after The King of Fighters XII, removing systems like Guard Attack and Critical Counter while adding EX Mode, Hyper Drive mode, and Drive Cancel. It reintroduced three-member teams and a multi-bar power gauge. The console versions added story mode presented in visual novel style, new characters such as Billy Kane and Saiki's human form, and DLC EX forms like NESTS Style Kyo and Mr. Karate. Critical reception was positive, and the game later received ports with rollback netcode subtitled Global Match in 2023 and 2025. It was succeeded by The King of Fighters XIV in 2016.
Did You Know?
- The game's console version is based on the 1.1 arcade update.
- Ash Crimson's sacrifice causes his own existence to be forgotten by most characters.
- The game features a Neo Max desperation move requiring three gauge stocks.
- A DLC patch for PlayStation 3 was released in December 2011.
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