This week has been a major week for fighting games. Just yesterday, Bandai Namco officially launched their latest blockbuster fighting title, Tekken 8, and Under Night In-Birth II Sys:Celes has also seen its big launch.
While these two fighting game releases were expected and anticipated, it seems SNK has come out of left field with a surprise announcement for fans. King of Fighters 15 is seeing the addition of a brand new game mechanic that encourages more aggressive plays, and it’ll be in the game very soon.
This new game mechanic is called “Advance Strike,” and it has several interesting properties that you ought to know about. To put is as simply as I can, Advance Strike is an armored attack that players can toss out for the purpose of beating throws and oncoming strikes.
If the move hits raw, it will cause a hard knockdown, but on counter hit your opponent will be left in a crumple state that allows for a follow up. On top of all of this, when Advance Strike is blocked, the user is not only safe on block, but advantageous and can strike first in this situation.
“‘Advance Strike’ is a great new way to fend off throws and physical blows, allowing for even more aggressive plays than those possible with Shatter Strikes,” SNK wrote about the technique. “This new mechanic costs half a power gauge bar to perform, but you’ll regain that half bar on both hit and block.
“An Advance Strike causes a hard knockdown on hit, leaving you well placed for more offense. Unlike Shatter Strikes, the move gains a counter hitbox against throws partway through; if it lands while the counter is active, your opponent will crumple to the ground (and be prone to follow-ups). Use Advance Strikes to bring the fight to your opponent like never before!” SNK concluded.
Advance Strike has not yet been added to King of Fighters 15, but a fresh update that implements the new mechanic is scheduled to go live on January 30. You can see what all this new game mechanic entails in the video below.
【KOF XV】
THE KING OF FIGHTERS XV will receive a major update on January 30 with “Advance Strike,” a new offensive mechanic.Video Showcase: Advance Strikehttps://t.co/Hv0OF1n8K0#KOF15 #KOFXV pic.twitter.com/a7KPGt7y6B
— SNK GLOBAL (@SNKPofficial) January 26, 2024