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.
Story
As indicated by the game's name, it takes place two years after the last canon King of Fighters game, The King of Fighters 2001. According to the game's storyline, a new King of Fighters tournament is organized by an unknown host. The several new rules are instituted, including a whole new team system.
At the end of the tournament, depending on how players defeat the midgame boss, Kusanagi, the players will either face Adelheid Bernstein or learn that the tournament organizer is Chizuru Kagura and that a group known as "His Distant Land" is working in a secretive plot. After defeating the mysterious stone fighter known as Mukai, Ash Crimson appears before Chizuru, attacks her in her weakened state and steals her powers. Kyo Kusanagi and Iori Yagami come to Chizuru's aid as Ash tells Iori that he's his next target.
Game Versions
- Arcade
- Neo・Geo
- PlayStation 2
- Xbox
- PlayStation Network
The PlayStation Network version is the same as the PlayStation 2 version. Both the PlayStation 2, Xbox and PlayStation Network version include arranged soundtrack, 3D backgrounds, access to all boss characters, and an arranged mode, that changes the game balance. Although I am not sure what exactly are the arranged mode differences, it has come to my attention that controls have been improved, since buffers have become much more viable. Leona's famous buffer combo [qcf,u+D,hcb+P], which was not executable through buffer in the arcade release, is then possible. It does not fix some bugs, though. The Xbox release also included a color edit mode, and an online mode thanks to the Xbox Live.
MECHANICS
Health Bar
The health bar includes 3 bars atop the screen, on both the left side(P1) and the right side(P2). A player loses when all of their 3 bars reach zero, meaning all of their 3 characters are down.
Power Bar
The super bar is the bar on the bottom of the screen, on both the left side(P1) and the right side(P2). You will need power gauges from the super bar in order to use desperation moves[DM], leader desperation moves[LDM], guard cancel roll[GCR], guard cancel attack[GCA] and also multi-shift attacks[MSA]. This time, the power bar starts at 3 gauges, which are also the limit. If you lose a character, you can charge up to 4 gauges, and if you lose two characters, you can charge up to 5 gauges. The power gauge charges as you hit or gets hit by attacks.
Walk
Hold forward or backward to make your character walk. This is used to get close to the opponent more safely or strategicaly, since you can just block anytime, and you don't have the risk of going through the opponent by accident, neither to activate a hyper hop/super jump by accident, in case you are planning to hop/jump. There are different animations to the character's walk, and some of them, such as Malin, walk faster than others.
Run
Tap forward twice, and hold forward on the second. This is used to get close to the opponent fast, but upon running, there is a "cooldown" period until you can block, what makes running risky. If you try to hop or jump while running, a hyper hop or super jump will be activated, instead. There are different animations to the character's run, and some of them, such as Mai, run faster than others. Also, some characters can shorten their hurtboxes while running, such as Gato and Iori, who crouches to run. With this, they can go under some attacks. This is mainly useful against King's qcf+P.
Back Dash
Tap backwards twice to make your character backdash. There are different animations to the character's run. Some backdashes are faster, and some go further.
Roll
Press A+B to roll. While rolling, you become invincible to attacks for a short period, and then you will turn vulnerable at the recovery, so be careful. You can roll forward or backwards.
Hop / Hyper Hop
Tap up, up-back, or up-forward to hop, and by pressing down before, you can hyper hop. Some character's hop go high enough to hop over mid-height projectiles, and Duolon's hop can even go over DM projectiles. In this game, you can also neutral hop, by taping down~up, which will result in you being able to use a neutral jump attack, even though you are using a hop.
Jump / Super Jump
Hold up, up-back or up-forward to jump, and by pressing down before, you can super jump.
Triangle Jump
This is the action of jumping off a wall. It happens when, while in the air and close to a wall, up-forward is pressed. The character will jump forward, while mid-air. These are the characters who can triangle jump:
- Duolon - Mai - Athena - Malin
Throw
You can throw the opponent by pressing forward or back+C or D close to them. Despite the button you use, there is only one grab; the animation will remain the same. The only difference is which side your opponent will be throw. Throws can be break by pressing the same button used by the opponent to throw; either C or D. There is also an option select that allows you to break despite their choice, by pressing CD together. Refer to the advanced techniques section for more information.
Air Throw
Some characters can air throw the opponent by pressing any direction except UP, and then pressing punch or kick while in AIR. Unlike regular throws, these throw can't be broken. Also, you can option select into air throws. For example, if you are jumping in with Yuri's air D, keep holding forward while you press D; in case the opponent jumps, he will be air throw, while if he remains on the ground, air D will come out. These are the characters who can air throw:
- Yuri - Clark - Mai - Athena - Tizoc [Can air GRAB]
Attack
There are normal attacks and special attacks. You can attack while crouching, standing or while in the air, by pressing A[Weak Punch], B[Weak Kick], C[Hard Punch] or D[Hard Kick]. When you attack very close to the opponent while standing, a "close normal" will be activated. For some reason, in this game close normals have a shorter range, however, there is also less pushback on guard. There are also special moves, which are specific to the characters. Refer to the character's move list for more information.
CD Attack
Due to the inclusion of shift, there is no universal CD Attack anymore. However some character's CD have morphed into command normals and air specials. These are the characters who can still use it:
- Terry: df+D - Chang: Air f+C - Leona: Air CD - Billy: df+A - Mary: Air CD - Athena: f+AC - Whip: Air CD
Whiff cancel
It is not possible to whiff cancel anymore.
Guard crush
In later games, the guard crush would take but a brief moment, so the only way to hit the opponent would be to cancel the move that guard broke them. This time, when the opponent is guard crush, they will be in a "stun" state for about 1 second, allowing you to follow up with a combo.
Guard Cancel Roll
This is a move that allows you to cancel guard into a roll, by pressing forward or backwards+AB while blocking. It can be used either to save you from a pinch, or to allow you to punish an opponent's attack string.
Guard Cancel Attack
This is a move that allows you to cancel guard into a blowback attack. Unlike in previous games, this time the GCA deals no damage. It can be used to free you from a pressure, or to help you keep the offensive, when the opponent tries to counter through your pressure.
Shift
This is a new mechanic introduced this year. It allows you to switch characters during the match, by pressing BC or CD. There are two ways to normaly shift: "Normal Shift" is what happnens when you just press BC or CD, and "Multi-Shift" is what happens when you input qcf+BC/CD. In order to learn which character BC or CD is going to call, you must pay close attention to the character list, that can be found under the life bar, and also replicates the order. Consider your order is composed of Ash, Duolon and Shen, while Ash is in order 1, Duolon is in order 2, and Shen is in order 3. If you are using Ash, pressing BC will shift to Duolon, because after Ash, he is the first character available in the order, and pressing CD will shift to Shen, because he is the last. However, if you are using Duolon or Shen instead, the first character available will be Ash, and then pressing BC will shift to Ash, because he is the first character available in the order. The same way, if you are using Shen, the last character available in the order will be Duolon, and then pressing CD will shift to him instead.
Multi-Shift Attack Landing
When you use a multi-shift attack, the incoming character will lock on the opponent and try to hit them with an attack. Depending on the character, they might land on the opponent's front or back. Refer to the character's page for more information.
Leader
This year introduces the leader system, and teams are now composed of a leader and two members. The leader will always be the first character you choose when picking your team, and during the match, the leader will be highlighted by a blue life bar, unlike the members, whose life bars are orange. The leader gains access to a 2 stock super, called LDM, which means "Leader Desperation Move". The characters have different effects for their LDM. There are many types: Install, OTG, Unblockable, Command Grab, Projectile, Anti-air and Combo types. Refer to the individual character's pages for more information.
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, or an animation that looks like the character is sliding across the ground.
Combo Notation
(S) - the previous move was supercancelled
(C) - the previous move was maxmode cancelled (or free cancelled)
(number) - the most number of hits of that attack allowed such that you can still cancel into the next one and the combo to still work. For example, C(1), means that the combo requires to cancel the C on the first hit.
(move) - groups moves together when there are multiple alternatives. For example, C, f+B/(qcf+B, dp+B) means you can do C, then either a f+B, or qcf+B followed by dp+B, but not f+B followed by qcf+B or dp+B.
[move] - optional, can be omitted for easier input or if distancing is an issue.
/ - means there is an alternative move you can do. For example, the attack string C, f+A/f+B, qcb+A/(qcf+B, dp+B) means after the C, you can do either f+A or f+B, and after either of those, you can do either qcb+A, or qcf+B, dp+B.
Buffer: - this means that the attack motion can be buffered such that it can still be done with a less complex motion. For example, take the combo C, qcb P, qcb hcf K. Since there is an overlapping motion of qcb, one of them can be removed. Thus, the buffered version of the same combo is C, qcb P, hcf K. This can be further buffered since there is an overlapping back direction in this combo. Therefore, a further buffered version of this combo is C, qcb P, qcf K. Thus, this combo will be listed as C, qcb P, qcb hcf K(Buffer:qcf K), which means you can do the combo how it is listed until you reach the Buffer part, in which case you use that motion instead of the full motion of the move.
This year introduces a new system.
Instead of best 3 out of 5, the match is one 60-second round with all 3 fighters from each team battling.
The match is determined when all 3 members of one team is defeated. If you are a fan of Marvel vs Capcom series, then you already know there is a tag system that allows you to switch fighters in the middle of the match but it is only possible when the words “Change OK” appears. However, when a player tags out, he/she does not regain health.
If time runs out then the team with the most combined health is declared the winner. In a vs battle mode, if a match ends in a draw, the win automatically goes to the champion.
The maximum number of power stocks is dependent on how many players remain in a team. 3 players have a maximum of 3 power stocks. 2 players has a maximum of 4 and 1 player has a maximum of 5.
Also one thing to note is before each match stars, each team decides which fighter will be the team leader. That person is determined by being the first person you select on your team at the character select screen. What is special about the leader is he/she gets an extra super move called Leader Desperation Moves (replacing Super Desperation moves and the Hidden Super Desperation moves from KOF 2k2 and back). While each super (DM) takes away one stock. LDMs take 2 stocks. The leader of the team is indicated by having a blue lifebar to his/her teammates’ orange lifebars
Basic Strategy
Advanced Strategy
Tier List
Top-Tier:
K', Daimon, Ash,Duolon
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