The aof3r beta was a throwback to the arcade scene of 1996, cold, hard and lonely, albeit with some bright sparks. I’ll go back and try again.
In 1996, at least for me, there was a change of lifestyle and a burnout over fighting games. Some of us entered university. Some of us played KOF96 and were disgusted with the introduction of rolls and short range fireballs. AOF3 arrived to no acclaim and I still remember walking into the arcade to find the game, shocked to see that nobody was playing it, let alone standing in front of it. There was barely anyone in the arcade at all. The hum of cabinet fans and the tinnitusy whine of monitors had replaced the throng of lever clicking and button mashing. I put in a coin into AOF3, had no idea what was going on: could barely do a fireball, buttons didn’t make any sense and the character moved strangely. I subsequently lost the first match (the operator had turned it up to Level 8, of course). Frustrated, I turned around and walked out. It was a similar experience with the beta.
Here we are in 2026, that’s THIRTY years later, as I join the beta program. Upon entering the product code, the game is nowhere to be found. Checking with other players, it seemed to be a normal occurence, especially with pre-orders and betas, but checking social media, lots of players did not know this. There was no official reply to all of this confusion until the day after. A good start.
The start day arrives and the game magically appears. I load up the game and while it wasn’t PTSD, I knew what to expect, but my expectations were in fact shattered. No button config, training mode had been greyed out- in fact, every playable option had been greyed out apart from going online – the game was forcing you to go online to find a match, that was all you could do. Aha, I thought, with a tiny player base, this was a good idea, yet, no training mode at all? They could have at least let you wait in training mode until forcing you into a match… Ok, whatever, let’s try it. The window opens up to search for a match, and…. Nothing. I only waited 30 seconds before giving up. But that’s the average waiting time, isn’t it? I was impatient, but that was my right, as a casual player. With that train of attitude, I closed the game immediately, furious, and went to rant about it on social media. After calming down, and reading that some people had manage to connect, I tried again. This time a pop-up window appeared asking me to allow the game access through the firewall. Aha. It was then that I had my first match. No ping was revealed, no discernable signal meter could be discerned. Okay….
Well, it was ok, my opponent was Robert and played like any casual, just throwing fireballs and trying to do an uppercut. I used Kasumi and did a flying kick followed by some kick which made no sense to me as it did not combo or look like it should. The opponent lay on the floor for a long time and I rembered that down attacks were a main part of the system but of course I had no idea how to do it.
This was a minor trigger of PTSD, reminding me of the days of playing arcade games without any guides, but back then we only needed to find out 3 special moves and one super. Learning was an expensive course of study in the 90s, but there were certainly enjoyable rewards. However, in the 2020s, I can’t see how any new player would accept this, as they are used to pressing the menu button and having access to a comprehensive menu.
The match continued, and I did notice some frameskip, this was better than the game slowing down to stay in sync, but of course infuriating when you’re trying to follow the action. My opponent had figured out how to throw, while I was still trying to find one actual move. Unpleasant. However, the predictability of a fireball happy opponent and well spaced flying kicks saved the day. Upon winning my match, I turned the game off. The instructions said streaming was forbidden. So, I went back to enjoying a different game that makes me tear my hair out due to my own mistakes and lack of ability.
It’s difficult to leave feedback on the net code when I have no idea of the conditions I am being put through, was it WiFI, was it far away? Too little too late, other users figured out but the beta was only 3 days long. Upon Monday morning, still musing over my experience, I found that the feedback form is now closed.
So let’s go back to social media.
The game had certainly not been playtested, with users reporting unblockable normal moves, new buffs and nerfs, while other characters have seemingly not been touched at all. Some who did get a good connection had fun with the janky style of the game, which still allows for back and forth, plus unblockable ultimate KOs. Some tweaks have been noticed such as Robert’s dp now being invinicible and causing him to clip through other moves. It could refresh the scene somewhat.
I hope this won’t be the last beta, but I notice this is a Rengame production, not Code Mystics. Rengame was founded in 2024 and apparently has ex-SNK staff within its ranks. The have worked on ONCE UPON A KATAMARI and Sword Art Online : Last Recollection and other anime related titles, although to what degree is unclear. Their website states that they want to move into publishing and game goods production, and even have a food catering space for collaboration events.
It makes you wonder what type of ex-SNK staff are actually involved, and what experience the staff have with fighting games, when you consider the lack of functions and options in AOF3R. KOF97 GM certainly got more love than this. I didn’t see any ranked, lobby or party, or gallery or anything. Or perhaps it’s a budgetary issue and they spent all the money on Yuri and King.
Speaking of the new characters that everyone was waiting for, Yuri and King were unavailable. This I could understand, as it is a literal selling point, so certainly less people would be bothered to buy the full game if they had played with the new characters for free.
Now here are some responses from players:
I had way too much on my mind regarding the AOF3R closed beta test. That mainly stems from the fact the survey doesn't ask anything beyond how good the netcode is, and because the original AOF3 needs several changes.
I'm hoping the devs are given all the time they need. (1/8) pic.twitter.com/eRrGn1Q8iD
— Lich King KOF (@Lichmassacre) August 9, 2026
How's everyone experience so far with the AOF3 R Closed Beta? Ill be honest. This beta is not it at all. Frankly this beta sucks and i mean that in way of removing the point of it being a beta. Theres just decisions that make 0 sense. Trust and believe a video will be done… pic.twitter.com/EakcLqIYMo
— Decepy | Freeman Army Commander (@decepticon_swag) August 9, 2026
Been putting some time into the Art of Fighting 3 R beta, and one thing stood out immediately: this isn’t trying to impress with content, it’s trying to validate the foundation.
Around 20 online matches later, the netcode feels promising once you’re connected, even if… pic.twitter.com/Fx8yT5Bf8C
— JK | PROJECT AGEHA (@JKTheVirtuoso) August 8, 2026
The near-universal first reaction to AOF3R gameplay is that it's clunky, janky, and awkward. When you actually learn how to play it, it reveals itself as an absolute gem. Really looking forward to the full release.
— Rex Dart (@RexDart7) August 10, 2026
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?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????…… https://t.co/vmZePLztB2 pic.twitter.com/6TXXtzntiU— ShotBar?LUCY ? (@ShotBar_LUCY) August 10, 2026
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?????????????????…? pic.twitter.com/Rz0tYugwBV— nodoame57gm (@nodoame57gm) August 10, 2026
Well, this is just the start, and with big money to win at SWC, players will undoubtedly give the game a try, whereas the mainstream will probably steer clear. Perhaps that was already known and reflects the amount of effort put in to this port. Still, the final verdict has to wait for the final product, so fingers crossed! It’s a different kind of fighting game, it could still be enjoyable.
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