Short hops are great for baiting and then punishing sweeps. Once used to seeing short hops, they become easier to anti-air when an opening presents itself. Using air-to-ground attacks from short hops is a quick way to keep the opponent blocking while gaining frame advantage afterward. Short hops are fast and possibly the least vulnerable of all jump types (the hopping player moves forward under 1/3 of the screen's length) which make them difficult to react to when under pressure. One trick is to quickly move from an upward direction to down in order to avoid holding up for too long and causing a jump. Performing a short hop can be difficult at first but being able to select from any jump option at a moment's notice is absolutely vital to KOF.
So to those coming from KOF XIII should also feel welcome and already familiar with most of the system KOF '02 UM has to offer.
Those coming from a KOF XIII background should notice that the overall subsystems and Hyper Drive mode are based around KOF '02 and KOF '02 UM's systems. Those familiar with "N Groove" from CVS2 should feel right at home with KOF '02 UM's system mechanics. SNK 2 background, for example, should be familiar with the "Groove Systems" that Capcom vs. Game Overview KOF '02 UM has one main system that resembles closely to KOF '98's Advanced Mode, as was KOF '02 system was based off of.