The chargeable CD was the only decent addition because it gave characters lacking in cancelable command normals something to do, because really, there is not much to do in this game outside of a Critical Counter, and even those are bland and repetitive as hell, and not like you'll be getting those in a real match anyways. Other than that, the game is ass, and played like ass. Most shitty KOF game ever made.
And I doubt if 12 went under a different title, it would of gotten any better reception. It would still be the same piece of shit game. The game would still have zero content, crap netcode, tiny roster with majorly gimped characters.
Just give it up already. People need to quit defending this game. It's over with. The game was a flop no matter how you look at it, SNK fucked up real bad. But it doesn't matter anymore, because 13 is here, and it's coming home real soon.
But if SNK fucks up this port, that's it, I am done with them. This is their last chance to make something good out of a KOF game. If I had my way, I'd say fuck KOF and focus on Garou, that game is way better than any KOF game.