The King of Fighters 2002 UM

Introduction

The King of Fighters 2002 Unlimited Match (KOF2K2UM) is a remake of the 7 year old classic the King of Fighters 2002. Just like it's former version there is no story present in this game thus allowing them to once again add characters who were long dead or missing in the previous story arc. Boasting a roster of 66 characters (including the 44 from the original KOF 2002 roster excusing K9999, there are 3 EX characters, 12 new Nests characters never before seen in 2002, 7 new bosses, and an all new character named Nameless), it also received a complete system over-haul, including tweaks in character balance, new moves, new DM's, changed properties, re-arranged inputs, new stages for all the teams and bosses, new re-done theme songs, new character art and HUD, all while staying true to the 3-on-3 system which will should please old KOF purists and new comers alike.

Game Systems

Attack Notations

A = Light Punch

B = Light Kick

C = Strong Punch

D = Strong Kick

CD = Blowback Attack

P = With either Low Punch or Strong Punch

K = With either Low Kick or Strong Kick

AB = Evasive Roll, neutral or forward Ab while make the character roll forward, pressing it in the backward direction will make the character roll backward

GCR = Guard Cancel Roll, press AB when guarding an attack, can also be done while using a normal, costs one meter

GCD = Guard Cancel Blowback Attack, press CD when guarding an attack, costs one meter

Movements

                  up (u)
                    |
 (ub)  up left - 7 8 9 - up right (uf)
     
     (b)   left - 4 5 6 - right (f)

(db) down left - 1 2 3 - down right (df)
                    | 
                  down (d)

Movement Abbreviations

qcf - 236 - d/df/f - Quarter circle forward

qcb - 214 - d/db/b - Quarter circle backward

hcf - 41236 - b/db/d/df/f - Half circle forward

hcb - 63214 - f/df/d/db/d - Half circle backward

dp - 623 - f/d/df - Dragon Punch motion

rdp - 421 - b/d/db - Reverse Dragon Punch motion

charge - [4]6 or [2]8 - b~f or d~u - Hold in one direction then shift to the designated direction

tk - 2369 - d/df/f/uf - Tiger Knee Motion

hcb f - 632146 - f/df/d/db/b/f - Half circle back forward motion

b~f - [4]6 - Hold back then press forward

d~u - [2]8 - Hold down then press up

db/f - 1,6 - press down back then forward

d/u - 2,8 - press down then up

d,d - 2,2 - press down twice

f/b/f - 6,4,6 - press forward back forward

qcb hcf - 2141236 - Quarter circle back half circle forward

Other Abbreviations

j. - Jump/jumping - Press up-back/up/up-forward.

sj. - Super-jump - Tap down-back/down/down-forward, then quickly press up-back/up/up-forward.

sh. - Short hop - Tap up-back/up/up-forward.

hh. - Hyper hop - Tap down-back/down/down-forward, then quickly tap up-back/up-forward.

cl. - Close

cr. - Crouch

st. - Stand

bb. - Backdash

Movement and Travel

Running

Pressing twice the forward direction, the character will run, and so we maintain the forward direction, it will continue to run. There is a minimum length limit during which your character is completely vulnerable. It is still possible to cancel the race in a crouch, a special move, a jump (it will become super jump) or a roll. But it is impossible to cancel the run by blocking. Once the forward direction is released by running, the character has a few frames of recovery before they can recover or start any other action (recovery varies depending on the characters).

Pressing twice rear direction, the character will carry a slight leap backward or backdash. The character is in mid-air briefly, so that attacks recieved will reset in the air, and it is unable to be thrown. Unlike other fighting games, the backdashes has no frame of invincibility. The period of startup, frames in the air, recovery, and the distance of the backdash, may vary depending on the characters. Keep in mind that that during the frames in the air while you backdash, it is possible to execute certain special moves or attacks executable command in the air. Only special moves and attacks that are possible to do in all jump heights can be done during the back dash.

Jumps and Hops

In KOF2002UM (along with nearly all KOF games) there are 4 different types of jumps:

Normal jump

This is a basic jump that you've seen in a majority of fighting games. The jump has a very short start-up frames on the ground, and you cannot be thrown out them. It is still possible to take a hit on the ground during a jump start, so be careful.

Hop

This is a short version of the normal jump. Just lightly press (or flick your joystick) the direction of the jump to hop. Some players press the downward direction after jumping to make sure the hop doesn't turn into a normal jump, but it is not mandatory. The startup is the same as the normal jump (very short), but the height and distance traveled is much less.

Super jump

If you cancel a run (or dash) by a jump, you get a super jump. Or if you press down quickly after normal jump, you can super jump. The super jump is recognizable by the effect of doubling the sprite (looks like trails or ghosts) of a character during the jump. The distance traveled by this jump is 1.5 times larger than a normal jump, and the character moves faster in the air. The startup of this jump, however, is longer than a normal jump. Also note that the startup of the super jump frames are throwable. You cannot neutral super jump (super jump straight up).

Hyper hop

Pressing the down direction before performing a small jump, or cancel a run by a hop, you will hyper hop. The hyper hop is recognizable by the effect of doubling the sprite of character during the jump. The distance traveled by this kind of jump is 1.5 times larger than a hop, and the character moves faster in the air. The startup of this jump, however, is longer than that of a hop. The start up frames of the hyper hop are throwable and you cannot neutral hyper hop.

For a visual explanation on jumping and hopping, check out this tutorial video

Miscellaneous

Standard Ruleset

Character Information

Wakeup Speed

Some characters get up faster after they get knocked down, some slower, you can calculate the differences here

(-F) The higher the minus frames the faster they get up

(+F) The higher the plus frames the slower they get up

(-13F) - Ralf, Yuri

(-11F) - Athena

(-9F) - Whip

(-7F) - Yamazaki, Kula

(-6F) - Joe, Robert, Angel, Kasumi

(-5F) - Kim, B. Mary, Hinako, Mature, Ryo, Foxy, Mai

(-3F) - K', Takuma

(-2F) - Yashiro, Lin

(-1F) - Daimon, Terry, Kensou, Clark, May Lee, Vanessa

(0F) - Kyo, Chang, Choi, Vice, Shingo, King, KUSANAGI, Kyo-1, Kyo-2, Nameless

(+2F) - Leona, Iori

(+3F) - Chris, Heidern, Chin

(+4F) - Andy, Bao, Xiangfei

(+5F) - Billy, Shermie

(+6F) - Benimaru, Ramon, Jhun

(+10F) - Maxima

Crouching Height

Crouching Height varies based on the characters height and hitbox data, some character hitxboxes remain high despite crouching which in turn may make them more susceptible to things like Instant Overheads and Cross-ups, while some character hitboxes tend to get smaller when they crouch making it easier for them dodge high hitting attacks and even projectiles, the differences are listed below.

Lowest - Chin, Choi, Bao

Low - Xiangfei, Joe, Benimaru, Iori, Mature, Vice (during weak attacks), Leona, Athena, Kensou, Mai, Yuri, Yashiro, Chris, Yamazaki, Billy, Kim, Kula, Foxy, Jhun

Middle - K’, Whip, Terry, Andy, Kyo, KUSANAGI, Vice, Ralf, Clark, Vanessa,Seth, Ramon, Ryo, Robert, Takuma, May Lee, Shermie, B. Mary, (K9999), Angel, Nameless, Lin, Shingo, Heidern, King, Kasumi, Kyo-1, Kyo-2

High - Maxima, Daimon, Hinako

Highest - Chang