For sure. But for the most part, it's one character. 2 HD combos in one match is a pretty hard thing to score. For the other, it's more or less just normal neutral game, which is the thing I'm trying to get at. The combos dominate one round, not the whole match.
Whilst getting 2 HD combos in one round is certainly rare, getting 2 HD combos within two consecutive rounds from the same character isn't due to how meter gain works in KOF13. In KOF13, it seems that you generally gain meter quicker than older KOF games overall (note that I've only played 98' and 2k2UM so my KOF knowledge is relatively limited) from pressuring your opponent, blocking or the immense amount of meter you get for getting hit which all plays a significant role in how KOF13 gets played.
With the reduced requirements to do big damage with HD mode and meter gain adjustments from arcade KOF13 to console KOF13/Climax/Steam versions, it promotes conversions into big damage from normals (confirmed from either strings, jump attacks or stray hits) which further eventuates the "1st person to land a combo and do big damage" mantra as you can see here, and it is most definitely true with the numerous ways to land HD combos. Thus, it is not that far-fetched to view it as a form of compensation that is absent from previous entries in the KOF series.
However, with more meter resources to spend on and introduction of EX moves, it also makes defense options more apparent and maybe relied on depending on the type of player or/and the amount of unfavourable situations the player gets into and still have the resources to land a long damaging combo since HD uses a separate meter bar rather than say Max Mode in 2k2UM (where it uses the same meter bar to perform long combos with) in which it lends a hand in reducing opportunity cost of combos which some players may get annoyed by. Therefore, this could be also be perceived as another act of compensation by the game system.
Overall, the game can be sudden and hard hitting and one poor choice may cost everything which is something that you have to deal with in KOF13. There are different ways to play KOF13 but the points that I've mentioned before are things you'll learn to accept and adapt regardless of how well players can play the neutral game. It is just how the game is.
I hope this explains why some people generally get annoyed with KOF13 every now and then (although I didn't cover on normals and their damage/frames/hitboxes because I want to stop typing lol) or plain dislike it (though I don't speak for everyone of course), Coffeeling and I hope I make sense too. Have a good day and have fun with the game.
