Introduction
The dawn of a new chapter in the King of Fighters legacy and the 3rd saga for the famous SNK fighting series. King of Fighters 2003 was developed in-house by SNK-Playmore (unlike King of Fighters 2001 and 2002, which were done by EOLITH Co.). The game marked the beginning of the new saga, the Neo-Orochi saga, and featured the biggest gameplay tweak in the history of the series. For the first time ever, KoF matches were governed not by team competitions of one-on-one fights, but rather 3-on-3 tag matches (though, the home version of KoF 2003 did feature the traditional 3-on-3 team matches as well as singles fights). Finally players could freely swap between their team's characters on the fly and even perform tag combos (as well as designate a leader whom would be able to perform a super move that is exclusive to the team leader). This gameplay element would also be found in The King of Fighters XI and appears to be the new standard of team gameplay in the KoF series.
File:KoF-03 screen1.jpg File:KoF-03 screen2.jpg File:KoF-03 screen3.jpg
Game Mechanics
Notation and Terms
Input
u = 8 = up
d = 2 = down
f = 6 = forward
b = 4 = backwards
uf = 9 = upforwards
ub = 7 = upback
df = 3 = down forward
db = 1 = down back
qcf = quarter circle forward (d, df, f = 236 motion)
qcb = quarter circle back (d, db, b = 214 motion)
hcf = half circle forward (b, db, d, df, f = 41236 motion)
hcb = half circle back (f, df, d, db, b = 63214 motion)
A = LP
B = LK
C = HP
D = HK
c. = crouching
sf. = standing far
sc. = standing close
j. = jumping
sj. = super jump
Terms
Free cancelling: Another word for maxmode cancelling. A free cancellable move, means you can max mode cancel some move into another special move.
Battery: A character that can build meter quickly and effectively
Knockdown: A move that knocks the opponent down but gives the opponent an opportunity to recovery roll.
Hard knockdown: A knockdown move that cannot be recovery rolled. When the opponent falls, there is either a small yellow animation of impact, a large yellow animation (which looks like Angel's qcb+P stomp), or an animation that looks like the character is sliding across the ground. All moves that have the animation that looks like Angel's stomp or the sliding animation are hard knockdowns, although there are some moves that use the other animation and are also hard knockdowns. Those details will be listed in each move's description.
Combo Notation
(S) - the previous move was supercancelled
(C) - the previous move was maxmode cancelled (or free cancelled)
Basic Strategy
Advanced Strategy
Tier List
Top-Tier:
K', Daimon, Ash
Mid-Top Tier:
Benimaru, Jhun, Malin, Iori, Kim, Terry, Yamazaki
Mid-Tier:
Gato, King, Shen, Kyo, Ryo, Billy, Chang, The Griffon, Hinako, Robert, Shingo, Mai, Chizuru, Clark
Low-Mid Tier:
Kusanagi, Athena, Joe, Yuri, Leona
Low-Tier:
Ralf, Whip, Maxima, Mary
Game Versions
The Characters
New "Hero" Team
Fatal Fury Team
Art of Fighting/Kyokugenryu Team
Japan Team
Women's Team
Korea Team
Outlaw Team
NEST Team
Ikari Warriors Team
Schoolgirls Team
Solo Entrants
Mid-Bosses
Final Bosses