Date: Fri, 7 May 1999 13:15:33 -0400 (EDT) King of Fighters '98 Character Summary By Shingo GENERAL CHARACTER INFO OK, these rankings are based on my opinions, and if you have any flames, I don't mind getting into a character debate. My e-mail is the same one as the one I put in my Blue Mary FAQ (Shingo@canada.com). This FAQ is mainly based on my views as an experienced player with many of the characters and as a watcher of some of the top players in my area. People who could kick my sorry @$$ back and forth with one character. MOST USED TOP 10 1. Blue Mary: Ok, it may seem weird that Blue Mary is at the top of the list, but honestly, it's true. Blue Mary is extremely versatile and quite powerful. Even though she was weakened since 97, she still remains one of the all time greatest due to her insane combos and (if it's your style) she gains some serious points to place your name in the high score. 2. Goro Daimon: Due to his bugs and his major increase in power, Goro is very powerful. 2 SDM's and it's over, no matter what. Some good SDM combos with Goro. I personally would never use Goro, since I find he is WAY too overpowered, and that isn't exactly my style, though it once was when Iori '96 was the best. 3. Real Bout Terry Bogard: This version of Terry is actually quite powerful. You can connect fwd+a to a Slide Kick, as opposed to Terry 98 fwd+a to a Power Charge. The Slide Kick is more powerful anyway, and it IS comboable into a Rising Tackle. A good character indeed. 4. Ryo Sakazaki: This version of Ryo is more of a powerful character than his '95 counterpart. You don't need the distance with his fireballs, all you need are some serious combos. The stun punch SDM is too good. He also has the unblockable command 'throw' and a counter punch that has very good priorty. 5. Shermie: Unbelivably, she is used quite well in my area. She has the amazing ability to take down 75% health with her Shermie Flash SDM. She has an unblockable air grab, and she has that one cheap hit after most of her command throws. 6. Kyo Kusanagi: Of course! If the hero of the game wasn't in the top 10, something would've been wrong. Because of his really cheap EXTRA style, he's played often. Without that cheap style, he's still a good character and many DM combos come with this character. 7. Choi Bounge: Some serious insanity here! Not many people use Choi because of the incredible amounts of skill it takes to pull some of his most deadly combos, but he's played enough by people to be in the top 10. Drill claw x4 at an upward angle, once you land, you have enough time to do the Hurricane SDM, and it will connect! 8. Ralf Jones: Some of Ralf's combos are unbelievably funny, and powerful indeed. Galactica Phantom SDM rocks and Lateral Kick connected to Ralf Blitzkrieg SDM seriously looks painful. Ralf overall has good power too. 9. Vice: Fast, fast throws. Many comboable moves and that special command grab 'Mithen's Robe' after a certain 2 moves. She would've been better if only she had some better combos and a better DM. Withering Surfaces sort of bites unless playing some scrubs. Negative Gain is too powerful and easily comboable. 10. Andy Bogard: The 98 version of Andy is so much better than the Real Bout version. Fast and mobile, he has many combos that can eat away your health. The Super Sonic Swirl SDM after a Dam Breaker Combo is the key combo with Andy. His Comet Arrow Blast is too slow, but it's comboable anyway, making it pretty good. LEAST USED TOP 10 1. Chang Koehan: Although big, and pretty slow, he's not so bad. No one likes to use him except the scrubs and cheap the computer with the Whirling Ball and Chain. He has combos, but not a single DM combo. By far, the worst character. 2. Brian Battler: He has ONE major combo, but it takes way too much skill and mad timing to pull it off. Also, most of his moves lag him too much. He would've been first, except his Tackle DM drains like mad, and his tackle can absorb Ralf's Galactica Phantom. He also has no DM combos. 3. Heidern: His charge moves stink and his Storm Bringer can't drain enough from players. Unconnectable Storm Bringer as well. His Neck Roller makes him too open. If you do his Final End SDM after a fwd+b, it's comboable, which is why he's not second or first, but third. 4. Chizuru Kagura: Although she has some mad combos, she's never used. She has many confusing moves, which often confuse the player as much as the opponent. She also has moves which leave her open to attacks if blocked/missed. One of her DM's takes too long to come out unless you have the skill to place it right after the other DM. 5. Chris: The regular version of Chris isn't bad, IMO, but no one seems to like him. His Position Switch move isn't great, it can be seen coming away. His DM's are pretty weak too, comboed or not. His teleport saves him often and he has good moves which play mind games. 6. Real Bout Andy: The Dam Breaker Combo is gone, and he has a large recovery frame for his Dragon Bullet. His Da Dan Dan DM could've been better and his Windmill Punch is weaker. Other than that, he has high strength and his Da Dan Dan DM is comboable anyway. He's still a strong character. 7. Mature: A drainer. Still doesn't make up for her lack of strength. She has DM combos, but they're a bit hard to connect. Her Ebony Tears REALLY could've been better if you were going to give an 'Orochi' type a fireball. The motion is long, the lag time is huge, she could've been better. But still, her uppercut has good priority and she has very fast basic moves. 8. Real Bout Mai Shiranui: No one uses her, in fact, I'm not so sure people think she exists. If it weren't for the fact that her Super Deadly Ninja Bees DM is comboable and strong, she would've been higher than this. She plays just like the other Mai without the Fan Dance. 9. '94 Joe Higashi: His TNT punch is different than his 98 versions, he has NO DM combos and he's lost the Golden Heel, a key to playing cheap with Joe. His Tornado goes across the screen, but it has higher lag time and there's no second Tornado. But all you really need is the combo involving the Slash Kick. Still, no one uses him. 10. Billy Kane (any version): His new juggle kick is stylish, and it's comboable into the Fire Spin DM, but the kick can sometimes leave them far away from you. His staff extend takes too long, and if you do the uppercut, there is some major lag in there. His rapid attacks are too weak. He still has some nice combos that can be improved. Just no one uses him. THE CHARACTERS IN BETWEEN '95 Kyo Kusanagi: One massive juggle combo, and one massive DM combo similar to the one used by the '98 version. This character plays just as well as the other version of Kyo, but people seem to like his fire punches better than his fireballs. Benimaru Nakuaido: His One-hand Bridge Collidor is better. His fireball sucks now but at least it drains nicely. His triple kick has serious lag time, but his regular uppercut is pretty good, can't be jumped over. His knee thrust is mostly useless. His command throw is WEAK. His fwd+b is blockable. His air-fireball is a good asset, since it pushes people away enough to let you land safely. He's a pretty average character. '98 Terry Bogard: As mentioned above, he's pretty good. Too bad you can't do the Power Charge after fwd+A, but his uppercut has a better counter priority and he can at least do a Power Kaiser after the Power Charge. '95 Ryo Sakazaki: His fireball covers the distance of the screen, but leaves him a bit open. The only really outstanding thing about this character is that his uppercut has practically no lag frames compared to his '98 self. '98 Robert Garcia: Plays a bit worse than in '97. Can't connect fwd+b into his Tornado Kick. His fireball has a bit more priority again and his Backflip Kick has better vertical range, but leaves him wide open to a charge DM or a screen wide fireball. '95 Robert Garcia: Plays almost like '95 Ryo. His old Tornado Kick leaves him wide open, and is insanely weak, but at least it's comboable into fwd+b. His Dragon Dance DM does less damage than Ryo's for some reason. '98 Yuri Sakazaki: She plays a lot better than in '97. She's also got DM's that deal mad damage. Her Phoenix Kick hurts and is comboable. Her Tornado Kick doesn't have as much lag, neither does her flying knuckle. Her double uppercut lost strength, but her Reppa Uppercut DM gained some. '95 Yuri Sakazaki: A goddess. Her new *unblockable* close range super (name unknown) does 50% damage as a DM! Even more as an SDM! She has her old air fireball which is done on the ground and her fireball travels screen distance. She doesn't have her double uppercut but she has her Mirror Shield, a not so bad air counter. Leona: Some nice new moves, and some serious DM combos. Her Dynamite DM deals mad damage. I like her new earring grenade. It's hardly noticable when it's out in the screen, but if they see Leona acting funny, sometimes people are smart enough to block. Clark Steel: Lost some strength since '97. His Bulldog DM lost serious speed and priority. He has a fwd+b but it takes some serious skill to use it in a combo. He has his old Backbreaker back, which is a nice touch. Athena Asimaya: Her fwd+b is better, since you can combo her Shining Crystal DM into it, and her Psycho Sword. Her old Reflector is better than the '96 reflector, since the '96 reflector lost some major strength. Her Phoenix Arrow stills deals heavy damage. Sie Kensou: His new style with his command 'throw' makes him better because you can connect a Dragon Fang after it. Too bad you can't connect his Rising Dragon DM into it. His Dragon Burst DM lost big damage since '97 and his Mighty Bun DM is still too damn useless. Chin Chentsai: He got his old water sake blast back, which is a very nice air- counter. His Fire God Sake Flame DM can juggle opponents in the corner and his Rolling Punch has more priority than ever, plus, some people can't hit you out of it. Two words: Drunken Dance. '98 Mai Shiranui: Her Fan Dance lost major power and priority this year. Her Triple Fan DM has less of a spacing this year, so you can super jump over the entire DM if timed correctly. Her Fire Wheel DM can be blocked when hit from behind this year. King: Her Tornado Kick lost major damage, and can no longer be done after Silent Flash DM unless the opponent is cornered. Her Silent Flash DM is still one of the strongest DM's in the game. Her Trap Shot does more damage too, and her Mirage Kick has a bit more priority. Kim Kaphwan: His Ground Buster seems useless to me, except that it can absorb fireballs, but it's too weak as a comboable move. It takes mad skill to juggle the opponent in the air with his head stomp. Neither DM got weakened, nor did it gain any more damage. Still has his old '97 DM combo, which always gets mad applause when done. Yashiro Nanakase: Yashiro rocks. His Final Impact DM when charged to the max rules, plus it's comboable into A, A, B, B combos. His counter uppercut has more priority than many other moves and his Hammer Punch hits earlier than '97. His Million Bash Stream DM got weakened, even after you do maximum hits. Orochi Yashiro: O. Yashiro got weaker. His One-handed Slam DM got a serious weakening. His other DM gained a lot more power, but it must be done from far away now. His running turn-about command 'throw' can grab out of roll, too. Orochi Shermie: O. Shermie practically got nothing new since '97. Her Thunder Fist DM got weaker, but her Thunder Kick DM does more damage. She gained a few new combos, but that makes no difference, she's still incredibly weak and it's amazing that she's not in the least used 10. Orochi Chris: Lost his 100% since '97 since his command 'throw' goes too fast to combo the Serpent Wave DM. His Leaping Flame hits earlier, much like Yashiro's Hammer Punch. He's still a strong character, nonetheless. His fireball is the best in the game, next to Omega Rugal's. Ryuji Yamazaki: Both of his DM's gained massive amounts of power. For both, you must mash the buttons in order to deal max damage. His counter can no longer be blocked when hit from the air, and his axe-dust kick looks brutal. Too bad he no longer has his unlimited combo. Iori Yagami: Lost power since '97 and '96. He has lost his frontal combo with the command 'throw', but he still has it when done from behind (jump over opponent, holding back+b). His SDM is one of the weaker DMs in the game, but his new Leaping Flame gives him much more style and a new offensive strategy, since it can go through fireballs. Saisyu Kusanagi: It's good that he's back since '95. He's gained a few new moves, and with it, some good combos. His new super is kind of weak, but it looks pretty good, and it's comboable. His Serpent Wave comes out faster than Kyo's, which is helpful. Takuma Sakazaki: Mr. Karate, what can I say? With no uppercut, he certainly is a useful character. He has his old '94 combo and his new DM is unblockable, but weak, even when you've mashed all the buttons to get max damage from the DM. His fireball travels a bit higher than Ryo's or Robert's, which means people must jump earlier to avoid it. His counter is one of the best in the game, but it can be stopped by people who have fast 2-hit attacks, such as Blue Mary, or by someone who throws. Heavy D!: Against the computer, Heavy D! can kick. Once you've knocked down the opponent, with the right timing, the Soul Flame will knock them back down, repeat it for an easy victory. His Dancing Beat (powered) hurts when coupled with the D! Magnum SDM, which totally rocks Omega Rugal's attacks. Unfortunetly, Heavy D! doesn't have a lot of attacks which give him distance. Good for characters who like to play on a close offensive. Lucky Glauber: His Cyclone Kick is weak, but his Knee Kick is pretty good. It hits high and knocks people up into the air too. His teleport is extra fast, and his multiple basketball tactics are very good for playing mind games. His Lucky Driver DM deals serious damage, and contrary to popular belief, it IS comboable after a fwd+b. Rugal Bernstein: Rugal is good, but nothing in comparison to his Omega version. His reflector is good since it still is pretty much the ONE move you need with him. His Kaiser Wave is pretty good for mind games, but it's slow to come out. His new Dead End Screamer looks too brutal, and is good when done after a Wind Slash. His Gigantic Pressure lost too much strength, even his SDM is weak. Not good for a 'god'. Shingo Yabuki: Major, major increase in power. His 3-hit unblockable command 'throw' is VERY useful. His new counter is laughable, since the opponent must be VERY close in order for his counter to connect, otherwise you just gain some distance away from the opponent. His Serpent Punch with C lost it's first hit unless done in very close quarters. Both his DMs can be done one after the other, which is still good. His Shingo Kick makes him vulnerable if done too close, and his triple kick still has that unblockable drop. ******************************************************************************** ***************** Credits: My local arcade!! Wooooooooo... thanks for keeping KoF '98 in the area for so long, and not selling out. My friend, Wai Lu Ken (BAD). He's the anonymous one in my Blue Mary FAQ, the same guy that downloaded the vids. Ask him for the video locations, though if I remember right, the site has gone down. itseamyeah@hotmail.com My friend, Billy Kim (the one who made the King FAQ on GameFaqs). I had to test some of this stuff on SOMEONE, right? ^_^