However, the initial arcade version from the game suffered from four notable bugs which led to special rules forbidding players to use them in at Japan's Tougeki – Super Battle Opera fighting game tournament. An updated version 1.1 was later released for arcades, fixing all the bugs and issues from the original game. When it came to choosing characters for this title, developers wanted to include ones that would give a notable contrast and balance between teams rather than popularity within fans, expanding the 'KOF-ism' theme. Characters like Kyo Kusanagi were made to fight at short distances rather than his original forms from the series' first two games where he relied in attacks performed from distance to emphasize the balance within the cast. The first Neo Max technique made by the staff was Kyo's. As a result, following Neo Max attacks were made to be consistent with Kyo's Neo Max in their style and damage.
While Kyo often wears different outfits for story arc, he was given a more masculine appearance for The King of Fighters XIII.
