2 things im sgtill wondering on are if it would have been better to have nm's be without the use of any HD bar, and normal supercancels not costing any HD bar. but i guess its better this way, being able to do a full hd combo, continuing with the combo with ex moves, and then still finishing it with a nm would be overkill. but normal supercancels costing bar is something i always dispised in kof. at least now it costs hd bar instead of super bar.
IMHO, this is single most-welcomed change from 2k2UM to XIII. In 2k2um, I remember finding myself asking, "should I really burn a stock just to cancel?" Now it just makes sense unless you're saving for HD or NM.
Great another thread going into a tirade against SF IV or Capcom
Seriously,, at times I think that some people are more capcom haters than SNK or KOF fans
Capcom Fighters aren't my cup of tea either but let's be respectful guys; I have edited some posts above in accordance to this.
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As for meter usage/HD discussion, it really does vary on style of play and character more importantly. Some characters like Ash and Duo Lon (but moreso Ash due to the damage output, 400 vs 480) really benefit using their NM outside of combos. Often times they are game-changers and due to both characters being relatively offensive, it's a great mixup. In DL's case it's really the only way to do some decent damage, Ash can fallback on his Sans Cullotte, HD and general zoning games.
Most characters however, it maybe a little bit more flash than useful. Don't get me wrong, 450 (on average) of damage at one single moment definitely helps a lot,
but often times you can achieve the same if not more, with two stocks (maybe 1 drive) with a full combo. Shen, Iori, Kyo, Vice are great examples of high damaging combos without the use of NM. Other times, certain characters just work so well with HD (Leona, Shen, Takuma to name a few) that it's almost a waste
not to use the drive meter for HD. Furthermore, most situation that you would be able to use a NM by itself, would mean you could have done a full combo anyways (Ash and DuoLon's are the few exceptions since both of their NM are command throws).
Even still, certain characters like Ash and Iori (I know keep using the same examples but I play against these characters a lot) in particular have both real good NM
and have great HD combos so they are extra dangerous to play against in formidable hands--which is why playing Duc is a pain in the ass coz he's equally deadly with both of them and they happen to be on his permanent team.
As for individual playstyles, and I think I've mentioned before, RJ likes to save Shen's stocks (and more times than not he has 5 stocks on the 5th round with him) and he won't hesitate to do 100% combos on you while at the same time, he's equally competent with Shen
even if he doesn't have stocks. In contrast, Duc and my Shen will typically dish as much damage as we can, when we can.
IMHO, XIII really is a refinement of the sum of all iterations of KOFs. Never have I needed to strategize so much with bar usage, but it adds a refreshing variety of gameplay.