The King of Fighters '98 UMFE/EX Joe

If you have the finger strength, he has the damage.

Introduction

EX Joe is a high-execution character that has access to some of the highest meterless damage in the game thanks to his mash punch special move. This same move also gives him great blockstrings and frametraps that he can use to pressure the opponent when up close. In addition to this, he has a decent zoning game, with a good fullscreen traveling projectile and some decent anti-air and air-to-air options. His downsides are a lack of mixups leading to good damage, and the fact that outside of his mash punch, most of his tools are fairly mediocre.

Changes from Previous Versions

98 to 98UM

Normals:

• 5D's startup has been increased by 2 frames, recovery has been reduced by 4 frames

Specials:

• Added a new move, 623P with a 214K followup added

• 41236P now has less recovery

• During mash P you can now move both forwards and back

• Mash P can now be canceled at any point with ABCD

Supers:

• Added 236236K, a forwards-traveling kick ranbu

98UM to 98UMFE

Normals:

• 3B's recovery has been reduced

Specials:

• Mash P's first hitbox has been increased in size, will now hit all crouchers

• Mash P's followups now have 2 frames less recovery

• 41236P projectile now has a bigger hitbox

Normal Moves

Close

• cl.A: A quick close jab. Chainable and cancelable.

• cl.B: Same as 5B.

• cl.C: Excellent normal because it's active on the third frame, making it Joe's quickest button. Staple tool in his combos and blockstrings. Cancelable.

• cl.D: Same as 5D.

Standing

• 5A: Standard jab. Can be used to stop hops, but good timing is required, as it only has 2 active frames. Whiffs on low crouchers. Chainable.

• 5B: A kick with good reach that is useful for poking.

• 5C: A decent close-range poke that covers a similar space to his 5B, but a bit higher up, making it better against hops.

• 5D: Has a nice hitbox that is excellent against hops and grounded opponents, though it does have a lot of recovery.

Crouching

• 2A: A standard crouching jab. Chainable and cancelable.

• 2B: It has good reach for a 2B, and is your only option for a low combo starter. Chainable.

• 2C: Fairly fast and good to use in combos and frame traps. Cancelable.

• 2D: Has nice reach, but is on the slower side for sweeps. Cancelable on hit, block, and whiff.

Jumping

• j.A: His fastest jumping normal that has a good hitbox for air-to-airs. Use it when you don't think the other buttons will come out fast enough.

• j.B: Long range and a nice hitbox for air-to-airs. It has a lot of active frames.

• j.C: A good jump-in button that also has a lot of active frames.

• j.D: This is another good jump-in button. It can be used for instant overheads and crossups.

CD Normals

• 5CD: This move has a lot of startup, a lot of recovery, and only 2 active frames. It has low invulnerability right before the active frames through most of the recovery frames. Cancelable on hit, block, and whiff.

• j.CD: Joe does a slower version of his j.B. Good for air-to-airs and can hit low crouchers with the correct spacing and timing, good jump-in choice for pressure.

Throws

Knees of Hell: 4/6C (close)

• Hold throw, not techable.

• At most Joe does 4 knee strikes, but the opponent can mash to get out sooner, though the Joe player can countermash to counteract this.

• It's the preferred throw option since the opponent cannot tech it to escape.

• Causes a soft knockdown.

Leg Throw: 4/6D (close)

• Regular throw, techable.

• Joe does a backflip and slams the opponent down behind him, sending them away almost fullscreen.

• Causes a soft knockdown.

Command Moves

Low Kick: 6B

• Joe does a forward kick that doesn't hit low, despite the name.

• Staple tool in both combos and pressure, since you can cancel into it from most of your normals as well as cancel out of it.

• It's also Joe's furthest-ranged poke, and it goes over low moves nicely.

• Unsafe on block if you don't cancel into something.

• The move is the same both done raw and canceled into.

Sliding: 3B

• A low-hitting slide that will go under every airborne projectile in the game.

• Completely safe on block at 0 frame advantage both when done raw and canceled into, making it a great tool to close the gap at closer ranges and when you've pushed yourself out with a blockstring.

• Causes a soft knockdown on hit.

Special Moves

Hurricane Upper: 41236A/C

• A hurricane projectile that travels fullscreen.

• Cannot be hopped over.

• A version travels slower with a little less recovery, while the C version travels faster but has a bit more recovery.

• This move is a good projectile with a big hitbox, and is the basis for your zoning game.

• The A version is a good move to go into after 6B in blockstrings, as it leaves Joe fairly safe afterwards.

• Leaves the opponent standing on a grounded hit, but knocks them down on an air hit.

Tiger Kick: 623B/D

• Joe's DP sends him flying into the air with a knee strike.

• B version is faster and has invincibility on startup that ends before the first active frame. D version is slower but has invincibility on startup as well as the 3 first active frames of the move, making it a true invincible reversal.

• Both are good to use as anti-airs when you're sure they're going to hit.

• Both versions are very unsafe on block or whiff.

• Causes a soft knockdown.

Slash Kick: 41236B/D

• A horizontally flying kick.

• This is your main combo ender for damage.

• Can be good to throw out to whiff-punish things or check your opponent's approach.

• It is very unsafe on block or whiff, making it risky to just throw out.

• Causes a soft knockdown.

• B version travels about halfscreen, while D version travels about 3/4s of the screen.

TNT Punch: press A/C repeatedly

• EX Joe does a series of punches in place, but can move forward or back slightly if you hold the directions.

• The TnT punch consists of 3 different punches: 1 hitting up high, 1 hitting in the middle, and 1 hitting lower down. Each of these has a different hitbox and hurtbox.

• You can cancel the move at any time by hitting ABCD, which leaves you +3 on block and +5 on hit (if the first hit is canceled).

• This move is the main attraction of EX Joe. On block, it leads to frametraps and blockstrings, and on hit it lets Joe link other moves afterwards for some highly damaging combos.

• The move can also be used defensively with good timing, as the 1st hit has a very good hitbox that can catch people approaching both from the air and ground.

TNT Punch Finisher (During TNT Punch): 236A/C (during mash P)

• The followups to mash P.

• A version does a single-hit uppercut just in front of Joe, while the C version does a forward-traveling, multi-hit uppercut.

• You can combo into the followups on all characters if they're standing, but not if they're crouching.

• They can both anti-air if you happen to have mash P going and your opponent jumps, though mash P can already anti-air decently on its own.

• Overall, there isn't a lot of use to the followups, and you should probably stick with just cancelling mash P instead. But they can be good to use if you miss your cancel and the opponent happens to be standing.

• A version is fairly safe on block, while C version is very punishable.

• Both versions cause a soft knockdown.

Pressure Knee: 623A/C

• A two-part knee move. The first hit hits them on the ground and the second hit carries them in the air with a flying knee.

• The main use of this move is as a combo tool, as the A version combos from lights and the C version combos from heavies.

• Very punishable on whiff and block.

• Causes soft a knockdown.

Golden Calf: 214B/D (during 623P)

• The optional followup to 623P, that you do after the second hit of the move. EX Joe does an aerial kick and slams the opponent back to the ground.

• This followup is the main attraction of the move, as it's EX Joe's only access to a hard knockdown attack, and as such you can choose to end combos in this move instead of 41236K if you want the hard knockdown instead of more damage.

• If the first part of the move hits, you should always do the followup.

• Causes a hard knockdown.

Desperation Moves

Screw Upper: 236236A/C

• EX Joe makes a giant tornado in front of him. This move has a multitude of uses.

• It can be used to combo from lights.

• It's got good anti-airing potential.

• It's one of his better moves for dealing some chip damage.

• Both versions of the move are almost the same. They both combo the same way and they both both have similar frame data, but they travel a little bit differently, with the A version moving a bit faster and farther than the C version.

• Fairly safe on block.

• Causes a soft knockdown.

• The MAX version does more hits and damage.

Thunder Fire: 236236B/D

• EX Joe does a series of grounded kicks, ending in a flying knee.

• This is your main combo DM, and it doesn't have much use outside of ending combos with.

• Both versions of the move are functionally the same.

• Very punishable on block.

• Causes a soft knockdown.

• The MAX version is mostly the same thing with more hits and damage, but it has more startup than the regular version, and is therefore very difficult to combo into. As a result, it doesn't have any real uses, since it's slow and very punishable on whiff and block. You're better of spending your meter elsewhere.

Combos

General Notes:

• In all mash P combos, cl.A is linked after a canceled mash P; this timing is tight and requires a lot of practice.

Meterless

Low

2B > 2A > 623A > 214K

This is your low starter combo. Gives a hard knockdown.

Mid/Jump-In

(j.X) > cl.C > 6B > 41236K

2A > cl.C > 6B > 41236K

2A into cl.C is a link. Becomes easier if the 2A is done as a meaty.

Mash P Combos

(cl.A > mash A(1) > ABCD)x3 > 5A/2A > 623A > 214K

Basic mash P combo. You should be holding forward during the entire loop portion of these combos, as the minimal forward movement is key to making the combo work. On large characters, you can squeeze in another loop, for a total of four. Causes a hard knockdown.

(cl.A > mash A(1) > ABCD)x3 > 2C > 6B > 41236K

Version of the basic mash P combo that prioritizes damage over a hard knockdown. You should be holding forward during the entire loop portion of these combos, as the minimal forward movement is key to making the combo work. On large characters, you can squeeze in another loop, for a total of four.

(cr.A > mash A(1) > ABCD)x2 > 623A

Version of the basic mash P combo for tiny crouchers, as cl.A will whiff on them and forward movement is difficult without it. Causes a hard knockdown.

(cr.A > mash A(1) > ABCD)x2 > 2C > 6B > 41236K

Version of the basic mash P combo for tiny crouchers, as cl.A will whiff on them and forward movement is difficult without it, except this one prioritizes damage over a hard knockdown.

2B > cl.A > mash A(1) > ABCD > 2C > 6B > 41236B

Your most damaging low combo, but more spacing-dependent than the others because your 2B has to hit point-blank for it to work.

With Meter

Low

2B > 2A > 236236K

Mid/Jump-In

cl.C > 6B > 236236K

Mash P Combos

cl.A/cr.A > mash A(1) > ABCD > cl.C > 6B > 236236K

A basic mash P combo ending in a DM.

(cl.A > mash A(1) > ABCD)xN > 5A/2A > 236236K/236236AC

A more advanced metered combo that gives you the most damage he can get from a reliable fronthit combo. Against low crouchers, you have to use cr.A instead, as the st.A will whiff. On regular height standing characters, you can get 4 TnT loops into st.A into DM, and on large standing characters you can get 5. If you have the resources, you can end in qcfx2+AC for massive damage.

j.D > (cl.A > mash A(1) > ABCD)x3 > 2C > 6B > 41236B/236236K/236236AC

This is a backturned combo and works when you hit a backturned opponent with a point blank cl.A/2A; the easiest way to set this up is with a crossup j.D. If you're using advanced mode or run-type movement you need to do a 2A instead of a cl.A on the last rep of the TnT loops on small crouchers as you'll be pushed out of cl.A range sooner than with step dash movement and 5A will whiff. If you do 2A, the combo will still work as intended.

Strategy & Tips

Frame traps

cl.A/cr.A, mash A(1) > ABCD, cl.A = 1f frame trap

cl.A/cr.A, mash A(1) > ABCD, cr.C = 2f frame trap

cr.B/cr.A, cl.C = 3f frame trap

Blockstrings

cl.A, mash A(1) > ABCD, cl.C, df+B/f+B, hcf+A

cr.D, mash A(1) > ABCD, cr.C, df+B

Videos

King of Fighters 98 UM FE: EX Joe Guide by Mash It Out