Also regarding her wrestling style being more striking, I guess it depends on which wrestling style. American strong style is a mixture of grappling, striking, and high flying action. Mexican lucha libre is fast paced acrobatics where a 5 minute match could look like a DBZ fight. Japanese puroresu pretty much beat the crap out of each other with strikes and full contact grappling, little emphasis on high flying spots.
"Najd literally introduced jump scares to KOF." Is literally the most accurate description of a feeling I've had ever since playing against this character lol.
Angel is the definition of "You want me to be your waifu? Then you better work hard to deserve me!" Players want to main Angel because she's hot...and then realize that she is too much to handle. A character who I tried to learn but just have difficulty executing her moves with is Mature. You have to execute so many quarter circles in such short time frames. I don't think that I have the dexterity to perform her more complex combos.
Honestly, it's the Muay Thai knees 'n elbows + her _NOT_ sounding absolutely atrocious like every other chick in KOF2002. Incredibly designed character, Angel.
she's actually easier in some ways a fresh character, i've been playing KOF since 94 and just recently i've started to get to know the character, I feel like i'm rediscovering games.
@@Ai-Saika Lien, the sexy avenger of the shadows and my waifu 😊 Her breasts are as big as Angel's I would like to see the MI characters in KOF XV and All Stars
"Oh this KOF 2002 game looks fun, and it's popular on Fightcade. Plus, this K9999 guy looks really cool." Two pretzel inputs, a ridiculously complex max mode combo, and an air 646464 on pad: "Let me stop you right there."
Kyo alone is a hint in how KOF is one of the more challenging games to master. Most main characters are beginner friendly with a moveset that’s easy to remember or use. Kyo, on the other hand, will throw most first time players off due his chain inputs. Great list, Shoryogaming!
I'm not sure if protags are meant to be always easy chars, but i believe that protags are meant to be the best teachers of the game. Not exactly in the sense of being the most accessible but giving a good idea of what the game is about and how you think about It. And Kyo fulfills that role perfectly well. He makes you understand very quickly that this is NOT SF, and what you learned there wont get you as far as you think, around here. And that's something very important to get as fast as possible when getting into Kof. (That is valid in general but mainly since 96) That's why it's essential that he is one of the first picks. That lesson needs to get into your head quickly. If you try to "SF" you will only look ridiculous. Those are like different languages... and likewise your playing will look like a half assed translation.
@@CaptainVulcan "Nests" is a general reference though, because he changed along the Nests saga games. I'd say he became clearly more sophisticated since 02. Sure, he already was a not beginner friendly char since 97. But definitely reached another level in 02. And even his Ash saga versions are fairly different in each game as well. He reached his most complex version in Xiii.
Kinda strange that a FanFic Character like *"Najd"* actually came to life as a Playable Fighter in KOFXIV, We know her Backstory, but we still don't know what her Role or Main Goal would be in this current *"Verse Saga"* in KOF. Edit: Do to the Fact that she has no Arcade Ending and no Interaction with other Characters. (Besides the Win Quotes that is)
@@RanbuMotion Well if you've seen Female Terry's Ending in "SNK Heroines" (And I quote *"You've seen,"* because who even plays that Game anyway), Rock did made a Cameo in it, and surprisingly "SNK Heroines" is actually Canon, Jeanne D'Arc from "World Heroes" was a DLC character in that Game, unlike Najd in KOFXIV, she has an Arcade Ending.
2002 um angel is hard as hell. But her moveset is one of the biggest reasons why I liked her so much. Especially in 14. Her unchain moves are so unique but so good.
"A list of characters who are difficult to master... In a game that already demands a lot from you as a fighting game player." .... Wouldn't have it any other way. 👍 Very informative video, cheers.
I remember trying Angel once in training mode for like an hour and even after that I barely figured out anything XD. Btw I was also expecting Gai Tendo to be in the list, he plays very different from the rest of the roster. Nice video anyways!
KoF's characters are generally pretty easy to learn. The design philosophy is to make the characters relatively similar to each other since you need to play a total of 3.
I always deeply appreciated Geese as a SNK boss and think he's the best one. I do like Rugal as one, too, and technically you can count Chizuru as one. But there's something about Geese in his execution, his moves, his story, and just his overall persona. I feel like others like Mukai, Zero, and Krizalid, etc. don't have the same effect.
Agree, Geese feels like a boss in every sense of the word a calm calculating person who is driven by logic, values and reason even if its all messed up you know there is a method to his madness. With other bosses its simply "i want to destroy the world hurr durr"
I see K9999 in the thumbnail. I am very happy 😌 One of the reasons why I prefer K9999 over Nameless is because that emo is broken af in KOF 2002 UM The reason is simple, SNK gave him a new command input so Nameless can make chain combos much easier than K9999
hopefully the new kof will actually tell us what the heck happened to k9999 now he is kinda back the cliff hanger ending of he escapes only to never be heard from again then remade into nameless while i like both versions of him i always thought you could have had two verisons one a failed experiment k9999 and the other a successful k9999 as both of them in cannon were given the code name k9999 but hey that is just my own way of looking at it
For me it's Ryo's HDSM in 2002 um(Geki Ryuuko Ranbu). It's a simple command until you find out that you need very precise timing. I can't pull it off to save my life. The pretzel motion is easy compared to that.
Angel is not a wrestler.........She's a LUCHADOR!!!!!!!! Her moveset makes sense once you realize what type of luchádorã she is.^. traditionally, a wild type of person like that in the ring! Does a lot of striking, a lot of jumping and the grabs she does will be counters. It's supposed to keep you on your feet and excited throughout the match.............. Traditionally It's supposed to look like she's making it up as she goes along. And if you are a fan of this lucha libre character, you will see she has certain moves they always fall back to. In this case they will do a tribute to a wrestler who started off on this style (i.e. one of her super move counters is a outright tribute to "The Rock" by doing the Rock bottom on someone then performing the people's elbow.) (and the lesser known tribute is a front flip heel slap that Váliente used to do when he was younger)
A luchado is a wrestler tho its just a certain style of wrestling just like how strong style is still wrestling you don't exactly say to someone they aren't a wrestler they are strong style because that's exactly what it is wrestling
@@PROPAINZERO yeah I mean that thing she's a wrestler is just the whole.... Playful play on words. But yeah basically she's like a wrestler. Kind of like how Riden has a different style of fighting and punching then Clark. Even though they're both wrestling, Clark is collegic style wrestling and riden is an American style strong wrestling. It very literally is just the style and nothing else
I think Ash is a bit underrated on this kind of lists, he can be seen as "guile-like" due to his charged comands but the most interesting part is to master his "sans-culotte" move that makes him an unstopable force but is very complicated to master.
The thing with Heidern is getting advantage of his insane range normals; thats the trade-off for his lack of speed. His crouch+D covers half the screen in 95! All and all, another great video!
Nice video. Seriously, that's a pretty strong list! Angel always looks fun AF to play in Vanilla 02 (I mean come on, she has an infinite), but I ain't trying to read War and Peace to learn her.
I'm new to KOF. The characters I'm interested in learning are Vanessa, Oswald, May Lee, Nelson, and Angel. And right now after seeing this video... boy, I sure know how to pick em.
I was surprised to see Ramon on the honorable mentions as he's one of my all time favorites and I don't feel he was that difficult to get into. Then again I also remember seeing a lot of players trying to learn to use him after I beat them with him in the arcades back in the day.
This is what I love about the KOF series the diversity of characters. I love Street Fighter series as well. Although when it comes to KOF I have played or tried to learn so many different characters. My list of characters that I play or have played with are: List of characters is not relevant to which I have mastered. 1.Billy Kane 2. Ralf 3. Kim Kapwan 4. Heavy D! 5. Takuma (also Mr. Karate version) 6. Robert 7. Ryo 8. Yuri 9. Iori (also Orochi version) 10. Chris (also Orochi version) 11. Yashiro (also Orochi version) 12. Rugal (also Omega version) 13. Terry 14. Joe There are probably some of these characters from other fighting games but I consider them as KOF characters. Fatal Fury can also be part of the KOF universe.
If Najd is included, then by default Raiden also fits the bill because not only is a button charge, but he's also a directional charge character and his XIII combos are very timing-dependant.
Bro I never realized as a kid how tight these combos are... mainly cuz I just special move and super spammed in KOF 2002. But that’s besides the point man. Like I’ve put in hours for multiple fighting games, learned spacing/bar management/game awareness/reading habits and whatnot. I’m looking forward to learning more and more in KOF 13, but it feels so familiar and enigmal at the same time
Lovely watch. Must say, that I wouldn't be able to keep up in KOF without Angel. What many consider difficult, actually translated really well to me over the years going back and forth between Tekken and KOF2002UM/14. There's nothing quite like her style, but I find her approach very similar to how I pick up and play most characters in Tekken. I only wish her recent look stayed true to the 2002UM design. The stance. The jacket. The animations, looks absolutely wicked compared to KOF14's take.
I was just merely thinking and then I told myself : can there be a video for the top 10 most hardest bosses ( most difficult to master gameplay wise ). And then and answered to myself : Yes. Because there is ShoryuGame and I'm pleading him to make a video fulfilling my requirements above. It'll be nice. Thanks in advance Shoryu
Besides her looks and sometimes her voice, a thing I love about Angel when getting to know her is that some of her moves (all I bet are gonna be hard to use in a match) are references to moves Dwyane "The Rock" Johnson would use back in his pro wrestling career. But I'll struggle alot if I want to see her perform the most electrifying move in sports entertainment.
I remember back in the day , spent countless coins just to master her. Up til this day I need to focus whenever I use her. I just love her people's elbow hsdm. Hope in 15 they'll give her a better hsdm than in 14.
Nice vid Shoryu. I have a request for maybe a future video that is called: ranking the KOF games from easy to hardest. I played KOF 94 and i could't even reach Rugal but i quess it is for the best(even to i was playing on beginner mode😒) so i wonder how the order of easy to hardest is. Btw i really hope you get more views you deserve more bro your very good in Lore and your a very good Comedian every KOF fan should watch your channel for the Lore if they don't know much or watch your plays sometimes watch story explained and watch Shoryu Ten. Edit: Love this Channel
I am glad the developers made Angel really difficult to master because if her command inputs were easy to execute she would be top tier all the time We have to give credit to Eolith. Without them we would never have had characters like Angel, K9999 and May Lee
@@kaceejones2282 I have played the Maximum Impact games and I know a few characters who are really hard to master like Lien, Luise, Xiao Lon and Hyena...
The KOF series is probably my favorite series of all time. It is the only game series that I have purchased foreign game consoles to ensure I get them all. I can honestly say I have played each and every version of these games released to the public.
I'm not a pro player but I have played a few of the old entries if KOF . and I realized that Ralf just didn't play like he use too since XIII. sure he wasn't easy character but he wasn't this hard to understand his move sets. I hope in XV he's they bring it back the Super Argentine backbreaker
The thing about Heidern, especially in 94 and 95? Few people really even have competitive experience with him. Fighting A.I. Heidern is so different from fighting an actual player, so you really have to play him to learn how to deal with him, unless you know a friend who plays him well enough to train with. Heh. Great footage of Vanessa and Bao. Sure brings back... memories. >.>
This is another reason why i like SNK and KOF. They have yet to dumb down their games for 'casual' players like Street Fighter, which seems to get easier with every iteration. Most companies seem to make their games for esports only instead of bringing out the skills we used to need to play. On this subject you can put "charge" in front, and that character is already hardest for me to master. I can use them, and pull off their moves, i just can't do them without thinking lol. All players know what i mean when i say that. When they switched up Robert to charge, i almost died because he was my go to character when i first started playing. I look forward to trying out Vanessa in the 2002 game! I became fairly decent with Heavy D and it looks like her move set will translate well. Thanks Shoryu!
Well they actually added this sort of magic series into DM by mashing LP in XIV which you can't opt out of and I seriously hope they get rid of it in XV
Wow, I have slept on all fighting games until this last year. I know I am super far behind but I'm slowly getting familiar with all I've missed out on. I've been playing sf 3rd strike, darkstalkers 2+3, but these look brutal.
Thanks for uploading the video, personally believe it boils down to the person and specific person. for me, Angel, Ramon, Clark, yamazaki, and kyo were the hardest characters to master and do skill set combos with. My top characters that was good with combo and moveset wise were K',K9999, kim Kaphwan, King, Robert, Ryo, Kensou, and benimaru
Good list BUT... Why Luise Meyrink didn't appear in this top? She must have been in this top 10 or in the Honorable Mentions at least. Have you tried to play as her? She is one of the best characters in Maximum Impact 2 and Regulation A but very difficult to master.
Agreed. I remember trying to play arcade mode with Luise during my teen years. Even button mashing with her is hard. Hyena, Nagase, and her were the hardest characters to play for me in Maximum Impact 2006
@@OnyxeBlade You are right. Nagase was tricky to use but she was so good in MI2 and Regulation A Hyena was a joke character. His moveset is weird but once you know how to use them correctly he can be very capable. I remember his 'fake death' move and his Hyena punch (which is one of the most powerful supers for some reason 😅)
@@OnyxeBlade Xiao Lon was top tier in Regulation A (but not broken) thanks to her ability to change her stances and her special moves. She was very versatile. I remember her iconic Poison Kiss. I hope SNK release Regulation A for modern consoles and PC, I would like some online matches
Surprised Seth wasn't mentioned. You'd think he was a heavy hitter at first glance, but then you discover he's got a ton of aerial attacks that comprise the bulk of his move set.
The first time I played Angel was such an experience, she was so weird but very refreshing and stylish looking. I actually put the time and effort with her and it paid off, she was soooo cool to main in 2001 ... Sadly, couldn't keep up with her on 2002 and could never adapt to her style (some things changed from 01 to 02). Hopefully she will return in XV. Also I don't think Heidern is that hard to master ... Yes, he is slower than Leona but his pokes and normals are so much better and it's one of the few characters you can play either turtle style or balls to the wall. Yes, he is difficult to master , but he isn't that hard to be decent with.
I know she was just in the honorable mentions but it'd be nice to see Elizabeth in future KOF games tbh as a playable character since one of her specials, Platinum Mirage, is one of the best parry moves ever, esp. on a very easy input (qcb + LK), just practice a bit of timing and you'll pretty much be tanky enough to just use her against 3. She may only have one supercancel-able combo in KOF (which is close SP, f+LK, then DP input), but it's satisfying on a counter hit or confirming from a successful Platinum Mirage. She's like Iori in terms of the scant movelist but has a parry to make up for not having a ranged projectile (meaning she's more of a mixup + defense-oriented character).
I agree with a lot of stuff on this video, personally Jhun is impossible for me to learn lol, but I really am trying to master Angel,Oswald, and Vanessa as they are some of my favorites in the franchise.
What a cool video, very insightful. I honestly believe this showcases why KOF has such a loyal fanbase and, at the same time, will probably never reach insane levels of popularity: these games require a lot of practice and actual skills, so when you consider games in general have been steadily moving towards being more accesSible and simplified (because there's more money to be made that way), keeping KOF's essence means it's not that fun to just pick and play like other fighting games. Sure, KOF XIV also tried to be more accessible than previous entries, but it's still more complicated and skill based that, let's say SFV. I hope KOF XV strikes the right balance so it becomes succesful without turning it into a joke of easy combos and instant gratification. I'm not a skilled player by ANY means, but I still prefer a game that rewards the better player.
No. You Just didnt understand these things. The reason is just because it wasnt received and promoted well in the US, specifically since the beginning. And that country is very influential unfortunately. It was hard to fight for people's attention in that mid 90s scene. But Kof somehow managed to get very far in some arcade communities in the 90s since the debut, in some other countries. Which just dont happen to have important global economies and have built an EVO for themselves.
I'd like to bring up Brian Battler as an honorable mention for his four step rekka that needs you to do quarter circle back punch, half circle forward punch, down down down kick, and down up punch to execute the whole move... and if you're not close enough the second rekka, which is a command grab, won't land. But still, if you land this move from a jumping attack combo it can do over half health in kof 98. Not to mention there are other paths for his rekka, like an easier one for the command grab that's only three steps, and one that doesn't involve the command grab if you're not close enough for it. The timing is a little precise, but for some reason I can never get the timing down for step four.
I've only played one KoF game because I could never convince anyone to play such a complex fighter. I sucked and could only master Jhun Hoon, who I was really assumed from my experience was noob friendly. My reaction was something along the line of "Wait....WHAT?!!!!"
I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks ralf is weirdly difficult. I'm learning him in xiv and preparing for xv and his optimal stuff is SUPER tough to do with the ex Vulcan punches
I've finally played a bit of KOF, and yeah, can confirm di pretty hard, specially if you are trying to learn a new controller input method (practicing with Keyboard until I get a Hitbox). P.S: I'm learning Ash in preparation for XV and I'm surprised he just made it on honorable mention, that says of how hard KOF fighters are to learn
Awesome video, as always - thanks! Out of curiosity, what do you use as an input device when playing KOF? Arcade stick, pad, keyboard? Something else? Are you able to pull off all of these combos?
Vanessa is literally the Steve (Tekken) of KOF. Think about it. Very fast powerful attacks, tons of attacks to remember, missing key things that everyone else has (Steve doesn't kick whilst Vanessa has no projectile), both are boxers and are super sexy to look at in action
Concept of Angel, "Let's take one of the most attractive characters in all of SNK and make her one of the hardest characters to master"
Also regarding her wrestling style being more striking, I guess it depends on which wrestling style. American strong style is a mixture of grappling, striking, and high flying action. Mexican lucha libre is fast paced acrobatics where a 5 minute match could look like a DBZ fight. Japanese puroresu pretty much beat the crap out of each other with strikes and full contact grappling, little emphasis on high flying spots.
@@USMC49er yea even though she's Mexican, her wresting style is very much that of a Joshi imho.
her playstyle isn't the only thing that's hard... ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) *wink*
all this could only have one origin: Mexico
Actually the concept for angel was two devs playing a money match where the winner got to design a character to put in the losers game.
"Najd literally introduced jump scares to KOF." Is literally the most accurate description of a feeling I've had ever since playing against this character lol.
Angel is the definition of "You want me to be your waifu? Then you better work hard to deserve me!" Players want to main Angel because she's hot...and then realize that she is too much to handle.
A character who I tried to learn but just have difficulty executing her moves with is Mature. You have to execute so many quarter circles in such short time frames. I don't think that I have the dexterity to perform her more complex combos.
Honestly, it's the Muay Thai knees 'n elbows + her _NOT_ sounding absolutely atrocious like every other chick in KOF2002.
Incredibly designed character, Angel.
she's actually easier in some ways a fresh character, i've been playing KOF since 94 and just recently i've started to get to know the character, I feel like i'm rediscovering games.
Don't ever speak that cringe again
QCF I like to think of as mini circles to make em ezier makes the world difference for me
I gave up on my favorite girl Elisabeth when I saw her execution and mind games
-no it was not when I saw she had an Iori-like command grab I swear-
“Her fighting style is just like Oswald’s, but on steroids.”
💀💀💀💀😂😂😂😂
Gustab
Jhun Hoon straight up send k' to heaven 😂
yes, yes he did
Little did we knew that it was actually Jhun who helped K' team reach the satellite in 2001
@@richardo490 bruh🤣😂
Jhun Hoon my husband
@@richardo490 K’: Shoot...how are we supposed to get up to space without a rocket?
Jhun: I got this. *repeatedly footstools K’ to space*
There's two way of why it's hard to use angel:
1.) It's hard to remember her moveset commands
2.) It's hard to not stare at her chest
tbh I actually remember ALL her moves and some how... I cant do it with a Tekken character not even 1.... ._.
Same reasons why it is hard to use Lien Neville 😉
Yep, you're right, mate ;)
@@meganinten0078 WHO???
I know who but, MI character are kinda ded. :v
Till they MAYBE reapear.... MAYBE. :v
@@Ai-Saika Lien, the sexy avenger of the shadows and my waifu 😊
Her breasts are as big as Angel's
I would like to see the MI characters in KOF XV and All Stars
"Oh this KOF 2002 game looks fun, and it's popular on Fightcade. Plus, this K9999 guy looks really cool."
Two pretzel inputs, a ridiculously complex max mode combo, and an air 646464 on pad: "Let me stop you right there."
Kyo alone is a hint in how KOF is one of the more challenging games to master. Most main characters are beginner friendly with a moveset that’s easy to remember or use. Kyo, on the other hand, will throw most first time players off due his chain inputs. Great list, Shoryogaming!
If you know fei long from street fighter
And ryu / ken not too hard .
Although I prefer to use iori yagami
Shoto Kyo in 94 95 ain't too bad
I'm not sure if protags are meant to be always easy chars, but i believe that protags are meant to be the best teachers of the game. Not exactly in the sense of being the most accessible but giving a good idea of what the game is about and how you think about It.
And Kyo fulfills that role perfectly well. He makes you understand very quickly that this is NOT SF, and what you learned there wont get you as far as you think, around here. And that's something very important to get as fast as possible when getting into Kof. (That is valid in general but mainly since 96)
That's why it's essential that he is one of the first picks. That lesson needs to get into your head quickly. If you try to "SF" you will only look ridiculous. Those are like different languages... and likewise your playing will look like a half assed translation.
Kyo is definitely the hardest 'poster boy' in fighting games, imo. Especially his NESTS incarnation...
@@CaptainVulcan "Nests" is a general reference though, because he changed along the Nests saga games. I'd say he became clearly more sophisticated since 02. Sure, he already was a not beginner friendly char since 97. But definitely reached another level in 02. And even his Ash saga versions are fairly different in each game as well. He reached his most complex version in Xiii.
I almost fliped my desk when you said, "Of course it's Terry Bogard"
"Najd is a beauty..."
"...and also, a beast"
Alright buddy I see what you did there XD
Kinda strange that a FanFic Character like *"Najd"* actually came to life as a Playable Fighter in KOFXIV,
We know her Backstory, but we still don't know what her Role or Main Goal would be in this current *"Verse Saga"* in KOF.
Edit: Do to the Fact that she has no Arcade Ending and no Interaction with other Characters. (Besides the Win Quotes that is)
@@joseurbina3835 Isn't that the case with all of the Dlc? At least I know rock doesn't interact with many if any of the cast.
@@RanbuMotion Well if you've seen Female Terry's Ending in "SNK Heroines" (And I quote *"You've seen,"* because who even plays that Game anyway),
Rock did made a Cameo in it, and surprisingly "SNK Heroines" is actually Canon, Jeanne D'Arc from "World Heroes" was a DLC character in that Game, unlike Najd in KOFXIV, she has an Arcade Ending.
2002 um angel is hard as hell. But her moveset is one of the biggest reasons why I liked her so much. Especially in 14. Her unchain moves are so unique but so good.
"A list of characters who are difficult to master... In a game that already demands a lot from you as a fighting game player."
.... Wouldn't have it any other way. 👍 Very informative video, cheers.
I remember trying Angel once in training mode for like an hour and even after that I barely figured out anything XD. Btw I was also expecting Gai Tendo to be in the list, he plays very different from the rest of the roster. Nice video anyways!
I played her all the time shes soo fun.
I think the key with Angel is to get her BnB combo, then slowly learn to branch out. Even after years, I can't do her juggles worth a damn.
@@chrischen5048 thats how you do it, honestly shes not that hard, took me 5 hours but it was pretty fun!
To summarize all of this:
Every character in KOF is hard to master.
King is the easiest
I used to mained her
@@DrakoNotDraco As a King main in both KOF and CvS2, agreed
Nah, Far from that
Kof isn’t as hard as people make it out to be
KoF's characters are generally pretty easy to learn.
The design philosophy is to make the characters relatively similar to each other since you need to play a total of 3.
jhun: we're goin to heaven
iori: what?
jhun: 11:28
Me trying KOF for the first time wondering how to get more a three hit combo
I bet the next list will be about characters for beginners.
Robert Garcia will be part of it.
For 02 I would say Joe and Kim
Joe King and ryo in my opinion
Seeing that I'm jumping into kof when 15 comes in gonna need that
Really...?
I always deeply appreciated Geese as a SNK boss and think he's the best one. I do like Rugal as one, too, and technically you can count Chizuru as one. But there's something about Geese in his execution, his moves, his story, and just his overall persona. I feel like others like Mukai, Zero, and Krizalid, etc. don't have the same effect.
Geese is basically the Yoshikage Kira of KOF
Agree, Geese feels like a boss in every sense of the word a calm calculating person who is driven by logic, values and reason even if its all messed up you know there is a method to his madness.
With other bosses its simply "i want to destroy the world hurr durr"
The thumbnail picture is spot on! those characters are INDEED hard to master
Yes I know
Luise Meyrink must have been in this top
K9999 isn't hard to master
7:59 You never forget your first Raging Storm.
I see K9999 in the thumbnail.
I am very happy 😌
One of the reasons why I prefer K9999 over Nameless is because that emo is broken af in KOF 2002 UM
The reason is simple, SNK gave him a new command input so Nameless can make chain combos much easier than K9999
hopefully the new kof will actually tell us what the heck happened to k9999 now he is kinda back the cliff hanger ending of he escapes only to never be heard from again then remade into nameless while i like both versions of him i always thought you could have had two verisons one a failed experiment k9999 and the other a successful k9999 as both of them in cannon were given the code name k9999 but hey that is just my own way of looking at it
to clarify i mean remade as in redesigned by snk not remade into nameless in a story sense if you know what i mean
Angel's hsdm in kof 2002 was inpossible for me....
Eolith really said "let's make half the cast HSDMs useless"
Me too. I swear I tried for hours wondering if I got the right move list
No cap
For me it's Ryo's HDSM in 2002 um(Geki Ryuuko Ranbu). It's a simple command until you find out that you need very precise timing. I can't pull it off to save my life. The pretzel motion is easy compared to that.
SNK : "you just need a better muscle memory lul"
Angel is not a wrestler.........She's a LUCHADOR!!!!!!!! Her moveset makes sense once you realize what type of luchádorã she is.^. traditionally, a wild type of person like that in the ring! Does a lot of striking, a lot of jumping and the grabs she does will be counters. It's supposed to keep you on your feet and excited throughout the match.............. Traditionally
It's supposed to look like she's making it up as she goes along. And if you are a fan of this lucha libre character, you will see she has certain moves they always fall back to. In this case they will do a tribute to a wrestler who started off on this style
(i.e. one of her super move counters is a outright tribute to "The Rock" by doing the Rock bottom on someone then performing the people's elbow.) (and the lesser known tribute is a front flip heel slap that Váliente used to do when he was younger)
Good comment
@@meganinten0078 thanks
A luchado is a wrestler tho its just a certain style of wrestling just like how strong style is still wrestling you don't exactly say to someone they aren't a wrestler they are strong style because that's exactly what it is wrestling
@@PROPAINZERO yeah I mean that thing she's a wrestler is just the whole.... Playful play on words. But yeah basically she's like a wrestler. Kind of like how Riden has a different style of fighting and punching then Clark. Even though they're both wrestling, Clark is collegic style wrestling and riden is an American style strong wrestling. It very literally is just the style and nothing else
Fierro dude!
OSWALD IS THE SHIT!! His moves are real simple to execute, tricky to time. It's a good balance, really.
His ace follow up makes him tricky to master. His full life combo makes him even trickier to master, and that's without using desperation moves
I think Ash is a bit underrated on this kind of lists, he can be seen as "guile-like" due to his charged comands but the most interesting part is to master his "sans-culotte" move that makes him an unstopable force but is very complicated to master.
3:38 100% agree. I miss the old Ralph.
The thing with Heidern is getting advantage of his insane range normals; thats the trade-off for his lack of speed. His crouch+D covers half the screen in 95!
All and all, another great video!
Nice video.
Seriously, that's a pretty strong list! Angel always looks fun AF to play in Vanilla 02 (I mean come on, she has an infinite), but I ain't trying to read War and Peace to learn her.
Thanks!
I'm super glad you mentioned Rick Strowd. Not a lot of people know that is how Vanessa was born.
Angel 9,999% Agree man. Thanks for this great vid and making me feel like I'm not alone on that.
I'm new to KOF. The characters I'm interested in learning are Vanessa, Oswald, May Lee, Nelson, and Angel. And right now after seeing this video... boy, I sure know how to pick em.
XD
That Kyo combo was crazy
I was surprised to see Ramon on the honorable mentions as he's one of my all time favorites and I don't feel he was that difficult to get into. Then again I also remember seeing a lot of players trying to learn to use him after I beat them with him in the arcades back in the day.
Yeah he's easy to get into, but mastering him requires the stance cancel. (Compare: SF4's El Fuerte)
I was surprised that Chin was not on the list (or even in honorable mentions). That character made absolutely no sense to me.
There’s two versions, before XIII and XIII and after.
Thank you for referencing PaleKofStine. Definitely one of the best KOF channels around. Nikolai is a beast on 2002 um if you watch his matches!
I do!
Picked up Angel in 2002UM just for that command grab into HSDM. That super is too beautiful to miss out on.
This is what I love about the KOF series the diversity of characters. I love Street Fighter series as well. Although when it comes to KOF I have played or tried to learn so many different characters. My list of characters that I play or have played with are:
List of characters is not relevant to which I have mastered.
1.Billy Kane
2. Ralf
3. Kim Kapwan
4. Heavy D!
5. Takuma (also Mr. Karate version)
6. Robert
7. Ryo
8. Yuri
9. Iori (also Orochi version)
10. Chris (also Orochi version)
11. Yashiro (also Orochi version)
12. Rugal (also Omega version)
13. Terry
14. Joe
There are probably some of these characters from other fighting games but I consider them as KOF characters. Fatal Fury can also be part of the KOF universe.
Good job mate, wonderful video as always ;)
Thanks a lot!
If Najd is included, then by default Raiden also fits the bill because not only is a button charge, but he's also a directional charge character and his XIII combos are very timing-dependant.
Chizuru is fairly hard and tricky, but in a good way, and the rewards are great if you master her illusions
I like Jhun. I'd like to see him back in a future KOF game. Kicks all the way.
Bro I never realized as a kid how tight these combos are... mainly cuz I just special move and super spammed in KOF 2002. But that’s besides the point man. Like I’ve put in hours for multiple fighting games, learned spacing/bar management/game awareness/reading habits and whatnot. I’m looking forward to learning more and more in KOF 13, but it feels so familiar and enigmal at the same time
Go for 10 best & worst outfit resdesigns.
Lovely watch.
Must say, that I wouldn't be able to keep up in KOF without Angel.
What many consider difficult, actually translated really well to me over the years going back and forth between Tekken and KOF2002UM/14.
There's nothing quite like her style, but I find her approach very similar to how I pick up and play most characters in Tekken.
I only wish her recent look stayed true to the 2002UM design.
The stance. The jacket. The animations, looks absolutely wicked compared to KOF14's take.
Jhun Hoon is definitely the hardest character to play as imo
His moves are mental
Geese in kof : *you are not worth of my disgust*
Geese in Tekken: *you are not worth of my disgust*
I was just merely thinking and then I told myself : can there be a video for the top 10 most hardest bosses ( most difficult to master gameplay wise ). And then and answered to myself : Yes. Because there is ShoryuGame and I'm pleading him to make a video fulfilling my requirements above. It'll be nice. Thanks in advance Shoryu
Besides her looks and sometimes her voice, a thing I love about Angel when getting to know her is that some of her moves (all I bet are gonna be hard to use in a match) are references to moves Dwyane "The Rock" Johnson would use back in his pro wrestling career. But I'll struggle alot if I want to see her perform the most electrifying move in sports entertainment.
I like how many honorable mentions you put in
Soooo sick
I miss Pre 13 ralf. He was my favorite character to play and him not having a command grab really killed my motivation to play him.
gotta agree with Angel. What a joy she has been to learn
I remember back in the day , spent countless coins just to master her.
Up til this day I need to focus whenever I use her. I just love her people's elbow hsdm. Hope in 15 they'll give her a better hsdm than in 14.
@@maosama3695 if she makes it in 15
@@maosama3695 me too. Loved her in 2002 at the arcade. For a brief period I was good.
That skill is all gone now sadly
@@sladejosephwilson2300 facts bro
@@sladejosephwilson2300 if that boring pillow kensou ripoff made it I'm pretty sure a fan favourite like angel can
11:49 "but when you can do stuff like this"
*ascends to heaven*
Nice vid Shoryu. I have a request for maybe a future video that is called: ranking the KOF games from easy to hardest. I played KOF 94 and i could't even reach Rugal but i quess it is for the best(even to i was playing on beginner mode😒) so i wonder how the order of easy to hardest is.
Btw i really hope you get more views you deserve more bro your very good in Lore and your a very good Comedian every KOF fan should watch your channel for the Lore if they don't know much or watch your plays sometimes watch story explained and watch Shoryu Ten.
Edit: Love this Channel
I appreciate you comment and thanks for the suggestion!
Still struggling to master Kyo Kusanagi for like 14 years xd.
@Reyan Mahir Yeah not the clones, the original. But you know, it's still Kyo at the end that I'm trying to master
I am glad the developers made Angel really difficult to master because if her command inputs were easy to execute she would be top tier all the time
We have to give credit to Eolith.
Without them we would never have had characters like Angel, K9999 and May Lee
Having played the KOF Orochi saga collection I know a few characters ik thatre hard to master
@@kaceejones2282 I have played the Maximum Impact games and I know a few characters who are really hard to master like Lien, Luise, Xiao Lon and Hyena...
@@meganinten0078 I find Daimon Yashioro Shermie tb hard to master
The KOF series is probably my favorite series of all time. It is the only game series that I have purchased foreign game consoles to ensure I get them all. I can honestly say I have played each and every version of these games released to the public.
I'm not a pro player but I have played a few of the old entries if KOF . and I realized that Ralf just didn't play like he use too since XIII. sure he wasn't easy character but he wasn't this hard to understand his move sets. I hope in XV he's they bring it back the Super Argentine backbreaker
Vanessa in every other KOF game : requires really precise technical skill
Vanessa in KOF XV: Can be mastered by a caveman
Man that's why I never played with angel..... I mean I played with her but for other reasons👀👀👀
Im pretty sure we all know what your talking about
Her attitude and looks is getting ya, isn't it?
"The Fighters Den" wasn't kidding about Angel being the *"Eye Candy"* for the Guys.
Y'know just thinking about angel's moveset makes me think, what if she had kof13 styled trials?.
The horror...the horror 😰
th-cam.com/video/k6qFJ09KY-A/w-d-xo.html
The thing about Heidern, especially in 94 and 95? Few people really even have competitive experience with him. Fighting A.I. Heidern is so different from fighting an actual player, so you really have to play him to learn how to deal with him, unless you know a friend who plays him well enough to train with.
Heh. Great footage of Vanessa and Bao. Sure brings back... memories. >.>
Heidern is one of the most popular picks in 94 and 95 though. So it's never hard to see a player using him.
Angel really said “Yall wanna see a fucking REKKA?”
May Leen always reminded me to Kim Dong Hwan. The way they moved and the electric based moves were so alike.
Great video! But the dropkick mechanic you mention in "9. Najd" is not new. What you're describing is exactly how Raiden plays in XIII.
It's fun to watch others use the character in its full potential and even do combo without breaking a sweat (cancel, super cancel, cancel again, SDM)
This is another reason why i like SNK and KOF. They have yet to dumb down their games for 'casual' players like Street Fighter, which seems to get easier with every iteration. Most companies seem to make their games for esports only instead of bringing out the skills we used to need to play. On this subject you can put "charge" in front, and that character is already hardest for me to master. I can use them, and pull off their moves, i just can't do them without thinking lol. All players know what i mean when i say that. When they switched up Robert to charge, i almost died because he was my go to character when i first started playing. I look forward to trying out Vanessa in the 2002 game! I became fairly decent with Heavy D and it looks like her move set will translate well. Thanks Shoryu!
Well they actually added this sort of magic series into DM by mashing LP in XIV which you can't opt out of and I seriously hope they get rid of it in XV
@@tribulacion Awe man for real? I never played XIV so thanks for the heads up.
Wow, I have slept on all fighting games until this last year. I know I am super far behind but I'm slowly getting familiar with all I've missed out on. I've been playing sf 3rd strike, darkstalkers 2+3, but these look brutal.
It's never too late to get into it.
Thanks for uploading the video, personally believe it boils down to the person and specific person. for me, Angel, Ramon, Clark, yamazaki, and kyo were the hardest characters to master and do skill set combos with. My top characters that was good with combo and moveset wise were K',K9999, kim Kaphwan, King, Robert, Ryo, Kensou, and benimaru
Angel looks like reading a science look and still needing to review everything.
Good list BUT...
Why Luise Meyrink didn't appear in this top?
She must have been in this top 10 or in the Honorable Mentions at least.
Have you tried to play as her?
She is one of the best characters in Maximum Impact 2 and Regulation A but very difficult to master.
Agreed. I remember trying to play arcade mode with Luise during my teen years. Even button mashing with her is hard. Hyena, Nagase, and her were the hardest characters to play for me in Maximum Impact 2006
@@OnyxeBlade You are right.
Nagase was tricky to use but she was so good in MI2 and Regulation A
Hyena was a joke character.
His moveset is weird but once you know how to use them correctly he can be very capable.
I remember his 'fake death' move and his Hyena punch (which is one of the most powerful supers for some reason 😅)
@@OnyxeBlade Xiao Lon from KOF Maximum Impact Regulation A was also difficult to master because she has three fighting stances!!
@@meganinten0078 I never had the privilege of playing Regulation A 😭 but I saw a lot of people play her so I never thought of her being hard to use
@@OnyxeBlade Xiao Lon was top tier in Regulation A (but not broken) thanks to her ability to change her stances and her special moves.
She was very versatile.
I remember her iconic Poison Kiss.
I hope SNK release Regulation A for modern consoles and PC, I would like some online matches
I laughed when you said Terry is most defficult to use. I laughed so loud that my mom scolded me😅.
He did have the deadly rave in some games.
FINALLY A NEW VIDEO!!!!
Surprised Seth wasn't mentioned. You'd think he was a heavy hitter at first glance, but then you discover he's got a ton of aerial attacks that comprise the bulk of his move set.
Mian definitely deserved to be in the honorable mentions. She's part of my main team. You make on mistake on her divekick, she's practically dying.
The first time I played Angel was such an experience, she was so weird but very refreshing and stylish looking. I actually put the time and effort with her and it paid off, she was soooo cool to main in 2001 ... Sadly, couldn't keep up with her on 2002 and could never adapt to her style (some things changed from 01 to 02). Hopefully she will return in XV. Also I don't think Heidern is that hard to master ... Yes, he is slower than Leona but his pokes and normals are so much better and it's one of the few characters you can play either turtle style or balls to the wall. Yes, he is difficult to master , but he isn't that hard to be decent with.
Thank you for your great content, keep it up! 👍👍
My pleasure!
Damn, and I picked Angel as a starter character to start learning to play KOF 2002 UM
💀
Will you wait for KOF 15 to do top 15 Athena Costumes?
Kim's infinite combo on kof 98 , kof 99 , kof 2000 and kof 2001 is damn fucking hard to do..he should be in this list...
I know she was just in the honorable mentions but it'd be nice to see Elizabeth in future KOF games tbh as a playable character since one of her specials, Platinum Mirage, is one of the best parry moves ever, esp. on a very easy input (qcb + LK), just practice a bit of timing and you'll pretty much be tanky enough to just use her against 3. She may only have one supercancel-able combo in KOF (which is close SP, f+LK, then DP input), but it's satisfying on a counter hit or confirming from a successful Platinum Mirage. She's like Iori in terms of the scant movelist but has a parry to make up for not having a ranged projectile (meaning she's more of a mixup + defense-oriented character).
I agree. Her fighting style is pretty fun.
Great video! Dude I love Ralf in 14!
This list seems legit. Especially number 1. I mained Angel but she is without a doubt my hardest main...maybe across all fighting games I play.
I agree with you on Angel, she is a nightmare to learn. And in relation with geese, don't forget about the deadly rave
I agree with a lot of stuff on this video, personally Jhun is impossible for me to learn lol, but I really am trying to master Angel,Oswald, and Vanessa as they are some of my favorites in the franchise.
Ralf just does TONS and TONS of damage in but a few hits and his counter-hit Galactica Phantom is absolutely G L O R I O U S when timed properly.
What a cool video, very insightful. I honestly believe this showcases why KOF has such a loyal fanbase and, at the same time, will probably never reach insane levels of popularity: these games require a lot of practice and actual skills, so when you consider games in general have been steadily moving towards being more accesSible and simplified (because there's more money to be made that way), keeping KOF's essence means it's not that fun to just pick and play like other fighting games. Sure, KOF XIV also tried to be more accessible than previous entries, but it's still more complicated and skill based that, let's say SFV. I hope KOF XV strikes the right balance so it becomes succesful without turning it into a joke of easy combos and instant gratification. I'm not a skilled player by ANY means, but I still prefer a game that rewards the better player.
No. You Just didnt understand these things. The reason is just because it wasnt received and promoted well in the US, specifically since the beginning. And that country is very influential unfortunately. It was hard to fight for people's attention in that mid 90s scene.
But Kof somehow managed to get very far in some arcade communities in the 90s since the debut, in some other countries. Which just dont happen to have important global economies and have built an EVO for themselves.
I'd like to bring up Brian Battler as an honorable mention for his four step rekka that needs you to do quarter circle back punch, half circle forward punch, down down down kick, and down up punch to execute the whole move... and if you're not close enough the second rekka, which is a command grab, won't land. But still, if you land this move from a jumping attack combo it can do over half health in kof 98.
Not to mention there are other paths for his rekka, like an easier one for the command grab that's only three steps, and one that doesn't involve the command grab if you're not close enough for it. The timing is a little precise, but for some reason I can never get the timing down for step four.
"Hardest Characters"
Any mexican kof player: Hold my beer, let's play ft25 on roulette (random team)
I've only played one KoF game because I could never convince anyone to play such a complex fighter.
I sucked and could only master Jhun Hoon, who I was really assumed from my experience was noob friendly.
My reaction was something along the line of "Wait....WHAT?!!!!"
nice bro keep supporting Kof the king of fighters:D
thank you now you make me feel better for losing so much with Angel but when the chain combos work I'm a god
1 thing I think u forgot...
Of course, non other than...
...
Shion.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks ralf is weirdly difficult. I'm learning him in xiv and preparing for xv and his optimal stuff is SUPER tough to do with the ex Vulcan punches
Hey man, can you do the opposite list? I always struggle in this game because I think I need to start with the easy characters
Sakazaki Family and Robert.
I've finally played a bit of KOF, and yeah, can confirm di pretty hard, specially if you are trying to learn a new controller input method (practicing with Keyboard until I get a Hitbox).
P.S: I'm learning Ash in preparation for XV and I'm surprised he just made it on honorable mention, that says of how hard KOF fighters are to learn
Awesome video, as always - thanks! Out of curiosity, what do you use as an input device when playing KOF? Arcade stick, pad, keyboard? Something else? Are you able to pull off all of these combos?
Mostly a controller.
Geese was best but angel is the best and hard fighter in the game
(Your explanation was good)
(THANK YOU)🐉
Vanessa is literally the Steve (Tekken) of KOF. Think about it. Very fast powerful attacks, tons of attacks to remember, missing key things that everyone else has (Steve doesn't kick whilst Vanessa has no projectile), both are boxers and are super sexy to look at in action
Other then vanessa and Heidren perfect list and awesome video with great sense of humor :).
Thank you! 😄
@@ShoryuGame You are most welcome sir :).
Jhun seems like a real fun character