The King of Fighters 2002 UM/King

Movelist

Normals

Close

• cl.A/B/C/D are cancel-able
• cl. A is chain-able
• cl. B hits low
• cl.C can be used to stop opponents from jumping over your head
• cl.D hits twice while the first hit is cancel-able which makes it a great combo starter and useful in blockstrings

Standing

• Far A/B/C/D are not special cancel-able
• Far A is chain-able into itself
• Far B is can whiff on some crouching opponents
• Far A/B/C/D are good standing anti-air normals for hop checking and pre-emptive anti-air
• Far C and D can be Max Mode bypassed into hcb+K as hcb+BC.
• Far C and D can whiff on small crouching height opponents

Crouching

• Crouching A/B are chain-able
• Crouching B and D hits low and share the same hit-box distance
• Crouch C is special cancel-able and whiff cancel-able
• Crouch C is a very good crouching anti-air which can stop hops and jumps if used in advance
• Crouch D is a really slow sweep and is not whiff cancel-able

Jumping

• Jump A hits at a downward angle and is good for pre-emptive hop and jump checking
• Jump B is a good air-to-air but whiffs on some crouching opponents
• Jump C share the same animation and range as jump A but starts up slower
• Jump C/D can cross-up but the hit-box is rather small
• Jump D has a sharp downward angle and is best to use as a air-to-ground attack to start combos or blockstrings, as an instant overhead against opponents who have high crouching heights

Blowback Attack

• Stand CD has lower body invulnerability, moves her sprite forward a bit, slightly resembles her Venom Strike starting animation, and is whiff and hit cancel-able

• Jump CD has a swinging hit-box from the top of her head and swings downward at 30 degree angle. It may whiff on some crouching opponents if performed too late.

Throws

Hold Rush: (f + C) close

• King knees then punches opponent. The opponent is thrown across the 3/4 of the screen away from King.

• Can be broken

• Tech-able knockdown

• dmg 90

Hook Buster: (f + D) close

• Scissor grab and then flips opponent in opposite direction. The opponent land at the corner of the screen.

• Can be broken

• Tech-able knockdown

• dmg 90

Command Moves

Trap Kick - (f + B)

• King hops forward and hits with an overhead kick. It has great range, safe on block, invulnerable to low attacks, and combos from heavy attacks. It has rather slow start-up like many other command moves that are overhead attacks which makes it easy to spot on the defensive side. It's obviously not cancel-able at all but it can be used in short blockstrings in the corner to pressure the opponent, which is helpful because it leaves her neutral on block. But careful of 1-frame instant command throws and normal throws if you do plan to use it as an offensive pressure tool. It's best used poke to program and condition your opponent into stand blocking while using it in conjunction with her Slide (df + D) which hits low.

• Overhead attack

• Evades low attacks

• dmg 90

Slide - (df + D)

• This slide is a low attack. The range of this slide is approximately equal to the range of when she lands from a regular hop. Similar to combo properties of her Trap Kick which combos only from heavy attacks; in Max Mode, it is cancel-able into her Tornado Kick and Trap Shot. King's slide is only safe on block at it's maximum range, which highly unsafe when used at a point-blank range. You can also activate into Max Mode during it's active frames on hit. The slide's low profile hurtbox can cause King to evade certain standing and jumping attacks aimed high, and evade some projectiles:

Ryo's qcf+P & hcb+K

Robert's qcf+P

EX Robert's [b]~f+P & [b]~f+K

Athena's hcb+P & hcf+P

Kensou's hcb+P

Orochi Shermie's hcb+P, qcfx2+K

K's qcf+P~f+B

Whip's j. hcb+P, hcb+B

Kula's qcb+K

Foxy's qcf+P

Chang's [P] repeatedly

Lin's qcb+P, qcb+K

Shingo's hcf+K

Yamazaki's qcb+B, stand D

Blue Mary's qcf+A

Billy's f+B, qcf+C

Heidern's charge b~f+P

Takuma's qcf+C, hcb+D

EX Takuma's qcf+P

King's qcf+K

Mai's qcf+A

• Does not knock down
• dmg 120

Special Moves

Venom Strike - (qcf + B)

• This fireball doesn't knock down upon impact but inflicts 100 damage and has a fair amount of recovery if it's blocked. It can combo from close heavy attacks and King can move after the fireball has moved near the middle of the screen. A good projectile to zone with at far range but be care at mid-range since her upper body is vulnerable to incoming hop attacks.
• dmg 100

Combo Advice: This fireball combos after heavy attacks like cl.C, cl.D, and crouch C.

Double Strike - (qcf + D)

• Two Venom Strikes are hurled at the opponent. Both of the fireballs are quite fast, and it seems that if you get hit by the first one, the second will always hit the opponent and knock them down. Defensively it can be hard to evade without full jumping at her, but she's vulnerable if the opponent blocks and Guard Cancel Rolls the first fireball then attack her while the second fireball is still in motion. The Double Strike can combo from heavy attacks just like the Venom Strike but has FAR less recovery on block - so, be sure not to use it as a blockstring up close.
• Double fireball
• Hits mid
• 150, if both fireballs connect

Combo Advice: Double Strike combos after heavy attacks like cl.C, cl.D, and crouch C.

Trap Shot - (dp + B/D)

• King performs a flip kick followed by multiple kicks. The light kick version (B) has some lower body invincibility during its start-up, as well can combo from light and heavy attacks. The heavy kick version of this move just has slower start-up, can't combo from any normal attacks but has a slightly longer range than the light kick version. Overall, this move isn't very safe to use by itself because it has slow start-up, very limited invincibility, and has very bad recovery when whiffed or blocked...but King is granted a huge amount of push-back if blocked. You can try to use its range to eat up certain long range pokes or special moves that extend the opponents hitbox (like normal Takuma's qcf+A) but beyond that, it is not very useful to use outside of combos.

• dmg 150

• Soft knockdown

Mirage Kick - (hcb + A/C)

• A dash forward kick, followed by several more kicks up to 4 hits. The light kick version (B) has King dashing around 3 character spaces away from her starting position while the heavy kick version (D) has King dashing almost half-screen away from her starting position. King is vulnerable during the whole animation of the move and is at negative frames on block but has a fair amount of push-back which may be difficult to punish with some characters normal. The Mirage Kick doesn't knockdown when it hits and has very bad recovery if whiffed. Both of the kick versions can combo from light and heavy normals, which is useful feature especially if you want to Super Cancel from it. You can also use this move as a chip damage option if your opponent has anywhere from 30 dmg or less health left, but if they have any meter, don't chip them because they can Guard Cancel Roll the first hit, then punish her from behind while she's still active. It's best to use this move in combos only - it doesn't feature much use when performed alone.

Combo Advice: The Mirage Kick can combo after King's standing and crouching light and heavy attacks (except her command normals f+B, df+D, and her sweep cr. D). You can super cancel into her qcfx2+K from the 3rd hit. It is also possible to Max Mode bypass by inputting hcb+BC after her df+D slide attack. In Max Mode, King can Super Cancel out of the first hit into her Illusion Dance DM (qcb~hcf+K or qcb~hcf+B+D) or out of the last hit into her Surprise Rose DM (qcfx2+K).

• Hits mid

• dmg 130

Tornado Kick - (hcb + B/D)

• King performs a flying flip kick(s) that travels at a half-screen away from where she started. The light kick version (B) hits once, while the heavy kick version (D) hits twice and goes half-screen. Both versions are unsafe on block and has bad whiff recovery, so it's best to hit confirm into this move and not to whip it out recklessly. One important thing to note about this kick is that the light kick version whiffs completely crouching opponents (except for tall, big characters like Daimon for example) while the heavy kick version only has the second hit which does not whiff on crouching opponents. There isn't any kind of invincibility during its start-up, so using it as a reversal when knocked down isn't a good idea. You can use the Tornado Kick defensively to anti-air hop attacks or even to evade certain projectiles:

Iori's qcf+P

Terry's qcf+A

Bao's qcb+A

Kusanagi's qcf+P

Mai's qcf+P

Combo Advice: The light kick version can combo only after light and heavy attacks, while the heavy kick version can combo only from heavy attacks.

• B version hits once, D version hits twice
• dmg - B: 100; D: 110

Mirage Dance - close (hcf + A/C)

• This is King's 1-frame proximity command throw which consists of a volley of kicks ended with a soft knockdown. No difference between the light and heavy punch versions. The range of the throw is quite far and can be annoying for the opponent to deal with, especially since you can option select it a Venom Strike or Double Strike (qcf+K). You can combo this command throw from her light or heavy normals (not her sweep or command normals) and has some easy connections while bypassing into Max Mode. The opponent lands not too far away from King after the throw which can be used to set-up more pressure and okizeme even when they tech the knockdown. This command throw highly strengthens her mix-up options when the opponent is placed in corner for fear of low attack, mid attack, overhead or getting thrown.

Combo Advice This command throw can combo after any of her light or heavy normals (except df+D, cr. D or f+B) but she can Max Mode bypass by inputting hcf+BC after a close hitting df+D. While in Max Mode, King can easily Super Cancel the 4th hit into her qcfx2+K for around 300 damage.

• Unblock-able proximity command throw

• Soft knockdown

• dmg 120

DM

Illusion Dance: (qcf hcb + B/D)

• King flips backward, then flips forward unleashing a volley of attacks causing a soft knockdown. It's a typical ranbu-style super similar to the Takuma's, Robert's and Ryo's ranbu (qcf~hcb+P). When blocked, the flurry of attacks do not initiate, while King stops in a recovery animation. While King is flipping backward, then forwards, she is completely invincible until she lands, but projectiles and shields can hit her while she is flipping forward. Keep in mind that the active frames of this super is quite slow, so even though it has invincibility while it starts up, the opponent can block on reaction if they aren't performing a move with horrible recovery (like a standing C, a sweep or a roll). The light kick version (B) has much slower start-up but with a steeper and closer flip arch and tigher recovery, while the heavy kick version (D) has faster start-up with and goes full screen and has poor recovery. Both kick versions cannot combo from any of her normals but can connect after her Trap Shot while in Max Mode.
• Overall, this move has rather limited practical uses in a match besides baiting an opponent into throwing out a normal or special move with slow start-up and poor recovery under pressure in corner, or whiff punishing with horrible recovery like some reversal based attacks. The light kick (B) version can be used to anti-air some sloppy jumps or full superjumps but may miss against hop attacks.

Combo Advice: While in Max Mode, this super can connect after a Trap Shot (dp+K) in the corner, while using the light kick version. It can also combo by Super Cancelling the very first hit of her Mirage Kick (hcb+P).

• dmg 210

• Soft knockdown

Surprise Rose: (qcf x 2 + B/D)

• A flip kick launcher followed by a volley of aerial kicks. King has lower body invincibility during its start-up but has poor recovery on block and when whiffed. The lower body invincibility property can be useful against an opponent's meaty crouching B's or sweeps, as a reversal option. It shouldn't be used as an anti-air because the flip has a very thin vertical hit-box, and the start-up isn't very fast at all which will cause it to be snuffed out by an jump attack. King's dive kick after the flip during this DM has a very small hitbox too, which can cause opponents to simply walk or duck underneath it if they are familiar with it's range. The light kick (B) version has a very steep arch after she flips then dives downward at an angle, while the heavy kick (D) version has a much more wider hitbox and diving range. This DM can combo after a few of King's normals depending on the range but has better uses while in Max Mode.

Combo Advice: The light kick (B) version can combo from heavy normal attacks but tends to whiff completely from light normal attacks. The heavy kick (D) version can combo reliability from close heavy and light normal attacks: Try cr.B, st. B into qcfx2+D or cl.D into qcfx2+D.

While in Max Mode, King can combo her Surprise Rose easily from her Mirage Kick (hcb+P) on the 3rd hit, and more easily from 4th hit of her Mirage Dance (close hcf+P).

• dmg 210

• Soft knockdown

SDM

Illusion Dance - (qcf~hcb + BD)

• Very similar to the normal DM Illusion Dance but with higher damage with the range similar to the normal DM's light kick (B) version. It also retains the same recovery on block and when whiffed to the light kick version. It still doesn't combo from any of her normals like the DM version but can still connect after a Trap Shot in the corner in Max Mode. If you have the meter and need the extra damage, go for it over the normal DM version.

• dmg 310

• Soft knockdown

HSDM

Secret Mirage - (f, hcf + BD)

• King's foot glows with blue energy as she delivers a series of violent kicks. The range of kicks cover 3/4ths of the screen and if the opponent is close enough they will be locked into the kicks and receive damage until the animation ends. The start-up is very slow, and can be stopped if King is hit before the kicks are released. If you try to use it as an anti-air, the opponent can either stuff it out with a jump-in attack during its start-up, safe jump it or get hit then flown back towards the corner with minimal damage. When blocked, the only time when push-back occurs is during the last hit which makes it difficult to punish, but if Guard Cancel Rolled at the close distance, King is extremely vulnerable.

• This HSDM only seems to combo from King's close heavy kick (cl. D) and close heavy punch which severely limits its use at a close range but if you can punish and nail someone with either of those close normals, go for it, especially with cl. D on its second hit since its easy to confirm into. One good advantage is that it does deal fairly good chip damage, so if an opponent has anywhere from 100 to 160 damage and no meter to Guard Cancel Roll, this HSDM can get rid of 'em. Also, if you are expecting the opponent to throw a projectile at a close to mid-range, the kicks can eat up the projectile and hit them (if the projectile hasn't reached King yet). Overall, this HSDM has high damage output but very low uses mainly because its lack of cancel-able properties.

Combo Advice: Only cancel-able from her close heavy kick and and close heavy punch with no cancel-able properties in Max Mode.

• dmg 400

• Hard knockdown

Combos

0 Stock

• cl.D (2), hcb+K/hcf+P/qcf+K/dp+B

(you can include hcb+K but if whiffs on crouching opponents. You can also add a jump attack before the cl.D but omit the second hit of cl.D for hcb+P or dp+K wont whiff)

• cl. D (2)/cl. C/cr. C, f+B

(doesn't end in a special move but it's has moderate damage and it is safe on block)

• cr.B, cl.B, hcf+P

(ends in a tech-able knockdown. use just cl.B if you aren't very close to the opponent)

• cr.B, cr.A/cl.B, dp+K

(keep in mind that King recovers slower after dp+K knocks the opponent down, while hcb+P enables faster recovery for oki follow-ups.)

1 Stock

• cl. D (2), qcfx2+K

(good for a punish. use j.D as a start for a proper confirm. switch cl. D with [cr. B, cr. A] to confirm from a low)

2 Stock

Max Mode Attack Strings

(use this combos after you have raw activated max mode)

• (corner) hcb+P (4), qcfx2+D

• hcf+P (3), dp+K, (mid screen) qcf+D/(corner) qcf hcb+K

• hcb+P (4), (mid screen) qcfx2+D/(corner) dp+K, qcf hcb+K

Quick Max

• j. D, cl. D, df+D, hcb+BC (3), dp+K, qcf+D

(pretty good damage for a max mode combo that doesn't end in a DM, close to 45% damage. You can omit the j.D or cl. D if you want to low confirm from the df+D slide)

• cl. strong, df+D, (BC), (midscreen) hcb+P (3), qcfx2+D/ (corner) hcb+P (3), dp+K, qcf hcb+K

• Far C, (BC)（midscreen) hcb+P (4), qcfx2+D/（corner) hcb+P (3), dp+K, qcf hcb+K

• cr.B, cr.A, cr.B (BC), hcb+P (4),（midscreen) qcfx2+K / （corner) dp+K, qcf hcb+K

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