The King of Fighters 2002 UM/Athena Asamiya

Movelist

Normals

Standing

• st. A/B are fast and chain/cancel-able

• st. B/C are both good pokes, but st.C does more hit-stun and has more range

• st. D while useful because of it's range has a bad recovery if you whiff it

Close

• All cl. normals are cancel-able and they all combo into her Renkantai command move, her st.B combos into both Renkantai hits

• cr. A/B are good for chaining lights normals together

• cr. C is fast and has good range

• cr. D is whiff cancel-able, knocks down

Jumping

• j. A combos into her Phoenix Bomb command

• j. C is cancel-able

• j. D has good range and can be used to during jump-in combos

Blowback

• st.CD comes out quick, but has mediocre range

• j.CD has really good range, cancel-able and can keep the opponent away, best used as an air-to-air

Throws

Bit Throw - (b/f + C) close

• Athena grabs the opponent, swings them around her a few times then throws them near the edge of the screen

• Soft knockdown

• Can be teched out of

Psycho Throw - (b/f + D) close

• Athena tosses the opponent to the corner of the screen

• Soft knockdown

• Can be teched out of

Psycho Shoot - (b/d/f + C) close in air

• Athena grabs the opponent then slams them toward the ground at an angle. Depending on the jump arc of the opponent, they will land either near the corner of the screen or a few character spaces away from the corner.

• Hard knockdown

Command Moves

Renkantai - (f + B)

• Hits twice if close and 2nd hit special cancel-able while Athena is in a mid-air state. Good to use in the beginning or middle her bread-n-butter combos because of it's cancel ability, or to use keep the pressure going if the opponent is blocking because of it's safeness on block. You can also throw this kick out a few times during neutral play at a mid range from the opponent to check for hops/jumps and to poke around with lightly because of it's good vertical size hit box. Be careful using this kick up close against characters that have 1F command grabs (like Clark, Daimon, etc), Athena can be grabbed if the kick is blocked.

Phoenix Bomb - (d + B) in air

• In mid-air, Athena uses her back to hit the opponent. Almost like a second j.CD attack with his long active frames and knocking the opponent down on hit. If blocked, Athena will bounce back in the air then land far away from the opponent; some characters may be able to punish her on the way down. It's special cancel-ability helps extend its use to either create more offensive pressure or more damage. The hitbox is pretty large which can hit opponents at surprisingly far distances, and can also cross-up if space correctly. You can also cancel into this command normal from her cancel-able jump normals (eg. j.A, j.C, j.CD) to create possible high/low mixups.

• Soft knockdown

Special Attacks

Psycho Ball - qcb + A/C

Psycho Shoot - hcf + A/C

Psycho Sword - dp + A/C also in air

Psycho Reflector - qcb + B

Psycho Teleport - qcf + B/D

Psycho Teleport Fake - qcb + D

Phoenix Arrow - qcb + B/D in air

DM

Shining Crystal Bit - (hcb x 2 + A/C) also in air ( ABCD to cancel)

• Athena surrounds her self with small psycho balls that revolve around her diagonally. Invincible during start-up and while it is active. If it hits the opponent, they will be knockdown down, while the animation stays active unless if cancelled out of, or if the Crystal Shoot follow up is used. If blocked, Athena can be easily punished if the opponent is close enough.

• Soft Knockdown

┗Crystal Shoot - qcb + A/C hold to delay

• Athena fires a small but fast projectile towards the opponent. Light punch version (A) travels horizontally while the heavy punch version (C) travels at a curve diagonally. You can hold the button to delay the projectile then release it at will before the max time it can be held. Holding the projectile does not grant any extra damage or hit properties.

Phoenix Fang Arrow - (qcf x 2 + B/D) in air

• This is a DM version of her Phoenix Arrow. Light kick version has a steep diagonal angle, while the heavy kick version travels farther; depending on if you perform it during a hop or a jump. There is a small amount of push back if blocked but Athena can still be punished. It should not be used as an anti-anti-air because some reversal moves can snuff it out after it starts up.

Super DM

Shining Crystal Bit - hcb x 2+ A/C also in air ( ABCD to cancel)

┗Crystal Shoot - qcb + A/C hold to delay

Psychic 9 - hcb, f + AC,  A, B, C, A, B, C, D

┗Fire Sword Finish - qcb + BD

┗Psycho Sword Finish - dp + A/C

┗Sailor Finish - qcf + A/C

HDSM

Psycho Medley - qcf + ABCD, D, C, B, D, C, B, A

┗Momoiro Katame - qcf + BC

┗Healing Athena - qcf + AB  

Videos

Athena Master Class

Combos

0 stock

• s.D, far s.C
• IO j.A, qcb+B
• j.D, s.C, f+B, dp+A
• j.D, s.C, dp+A
• c.B, f+B [2 hit], dp+A (doesn't work on everyone)
• xxx, f+B, qcb+K (corner only)

1 stock

• IO j.A, qcfx2+D DM
• xxx, f+B, hcbx2+P DM

2 stock

• xxx, f+B, qcb+D SC to hcbx2+P DM (corner only)
• xxx, dp+C [6 hit] SC to hcbx2+P DM

3 stock

• s.D, BC run, s.D, far s.C, hcb,f+AC SDM
• c.B, c.A, BC, c.C, hcb,f+AC SDM or qcf+ABCD HSDM

Combo Animations

• cr. B, cr. A, dp+C

• close C, f+B, dp+C

Notes

Misc:

• j.A is instant overhead on all but the smallest crouchers, j.B on all.
• j.B and j.C are crossups.
• hcbx2+P (S)DM have invincible startup.
• close s.A gives frame advantage on block
• s.D gives massive frame advantage, enough to link far s.C
• f+B is +0 on block, and so is qcb+B in situations where the last hit connects (e.g. the corner or crossup). hcb+B is +0 on block although setting it meaty does not improve this.
• hcf+P and hcb+B create a free juggle state on hit. You can combo multiple hcf+P in certain situations.
• dp+P finisher to the SDM gives the most raw damage, but the qcf + P finisher causes wallbounce, which allows you to set up resets without sacrificing too much damage (e.g. qcf + P finisher in s.CD xx whatever only does slightly less than the dp + P finish). You can also connect a hcb x 2+ A/C (S)DM for extra damage at the cost of more stocks.

Changes from OG 2002

• Psycho Shoot returns from KOF '00
• New move: Psychic Teleport Fake. Sends an afterimage forward, but the real Athena stays in place.
• A version Psycho Ball recovery increased.
• MAX2 Psycho Medley (Healing Athena) heals less now.

References

More combo animations here: http://tieba.baidu.com/p/3585527928

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