Use caution when dealing with lighting effects! They should not cover the special move! Let us enjoy every hit. Example: Sie’s Ryuu bokko. Also Ralf’s fire effect should not appear on every special move!
Every character must have one or two command moves. They will be helpful if you want to increase the number of your combos.
The command and special moves of a character must be, in same cases, more individualized. For example: Clark has the same animation for his knockdown attack (C+D buttons) regardless of the fact that he is executing it on the ground or in the air. Raiden’s Super drop Kick has the same animation as his knockdown attack from the air.
The idea of using two power gauges to execute a longer/stronger version of a desperation move it’s better than the one when you can execute such actions only when your life flashes red. It should remain part of the gameplay system!
Our thanks go to the SNK staff for improving the cancel system on such a high level! But in order to make another steep forward and satisfying more fans you should bring back the tag system, so well implemented in KOF 2003. It is a great alternative to the cancel system, presuming that you are using it in a limitative number of cases, which leads to new combos and finally it brings more variety in the gameplay.
MOTTO: In the constant struggle of the battler you need quick and easy moves to emerge victorious! So, in the KOF games we need simple commands for the characters special and desperation moves.
The ideal number of special moves per character is 5. Special moves than don’t hurt the opponent should not be included among the 5! Examples: K’s Blackout, Iori’s Kuzukaze. Considering both punch and kick attacks the 5 special moves can be performed just with: Qcb, qcf, hcb, hcf, dp. Every character must have the 5 special moves as stand alone so that you can perform them independently and not only in the context of combos realized using the cancel gauge.
Avoid, at all cost, introducing two versions of the same character! Nobody wants to see the special moves of a character divided in two! As great fans we have seen this many times along the years, in past KOFs and in Samurai Spirits episodes. Ex. Iori with and without purple flames, Takuma and Mr. Karate, Kyo and his N.E.S.T.S. version. You should simply merge the special moves or keep the best 5 of them for that character. The NEST’s version of Kyo is the perfect example, the only move that he needs from the classic version is 108 Shiki Yamibarai. The result will be marvelous and everybody will be happy!