Iori Faq v.1.2 (c)1-2-2000 Game: King of Fighters '99: Millennium Battle Platform: Neo-Geo Author: Minh Chi Email: squallff896@aol.com Note: This is a revised version, so anyone who had read this before, read it again because there is new information. Hi there! Once again I write another faq for one of my favorite characters (the 1st one is my Shin Kyo faq which can be found at www.gamefaqs.com). I plan this faq for players who has basic understanding of the game such as blocking, sliding, different jumps, etc. What this faq is to help you have a better understanding of using Iori's move effectively, when to use a move, and some combos that will help you. Hope you like it! One important note is that if you find anything wrong or feel that there is something missing in this faq! Please tell me! The only way I know if this faq helps is if there is feedback from players. If you also like partial credit to this faq, just send me hints and tips not listed in this faq. Really appreciate it! Disclaimer: Please do not and I repeat do not sell or plagiarize this faq. This is only for your personal benefit to get better with using Iori. If you want to use part of this faq or if you want to post this faq on your site, please consult me first. OK, on with the faq! Here's a short outline of this faq. I. How to access Iori II. Basic & Special Moves III. Striker IV. Strategy V. Combos VI. Conclusion & Reference ================================================================= I. How to access Iori Okay, if on the bottom of the title screen, it does not have there, that means Iori is not selectable yet. To get him selectable, start the game using a random team. The team must consist at least 3 of the following characters: Athena, Kensou, Mary, Kasumi, King, Kim, Jhun, and others. It's going to be random select anyway so this information is useless! Just for your information. Once you beat a team (human or CPU) with the required characters, there will be a code on the top of the victory screen. Now there should be an on the bottom of the title indicating you can select Iori. Now start the game and go to the ?. Hold start and press right, left, up, right, down, left and Iori will appear where the crescent symbol was (under Kyo-2). ================================================================== II. Basic & Special Moves Here's the legend: qcf-quarter circle forward qcb-quarter circle back dp-dragon punch motion rdp-reverse dragon punch motion hcf-half circle forward hcb-half circle back x2-do motion twice b-back db-down back d-down df-down forward f-forward s-standing c-crouching ^-corner combo !-crossover *-super move or preferably called desperation move (DMs for short). jump-jump forward /-or K-any kick button P-any punch button >-can be canceled in counter mode Far Standing: A-A far jab. Weak in damage and not comboable. Definitely useless! B-A short low kick. Weak in damage. C-A slash. Has a nice range and is comboable. Better to use this than A or B. D-A far roundhouse. Definitely the best range but too slow for my liking. Use this for pokes only! Close Standing: A-A jab. Weak in damage and comboable. It's okay to use this but there are better buttons to use! B-A shin kick. This hits low (kind of obvious) so you can use it for mind games. Too bad nothing can combo after this. C-An upward slash. Comboable and high damage. Use this in your combos. Even if you don't get close enough, you will still do the far C which can then be buffered into a special move. D-A high kick. Uncomboable and high damage. I feel C is much better though. Low: A-A low jab. Comboable but weak in damage. B-A low swift sweep. Hits low and low A/B will chain after it. Not bad! C-I don't know how to describe this move but it has great priority as an anti-air move and is comboable. D-A high sweep. This can actually trip someone in the air if timed right. Just make sure you are using the tip of the sweep (just make sure you have sufficient distance from your opponent). One note of advice, this sweep has horrible recovery. If your opponent blocks, you can be countered with a sweep or some other move that is quick. So don't use this excessively. Vertical Jump: A-A weak punch. Don't even use this! Its weak and has extreme short range. B-A far kick. Has great air priority and range, but the damage it inflicts is too weak! Useless! C-An air hammer. High damage but short range. I find the hit detection very hard. Not preferred! D-A far kick. Now this is what I'm talking about! Use this as your jump all the time. It also misses quite often if your opponent is ducking, especially a character like Whip or Bao. Horizontal jump: A-same as vertical jump. Useless! B-similar as vertical jump. Useless! C-similar as vertical jump. OK but not preferred. D-same as above. The best! Others: Knockdown (CD)-The ground version has priority in range and quickness. It's also comboable but not preferred. The air version is useful in causing guard crush. Since Iori has quite a low jump, this is well suited and hard to counter. Slide attack (AB, then any button)-The range is horrible but what can you do about it. Special+Super Moves: Yumebiki (f+A,A)-Not useful by itself but when chained after a normal move, will do more damage for your combos. Only use this in a combo. Goufu In "Shinigame" (f+B)-A very slow overhead. Use this for high-low mind games. Note that if you chain this after something like standing A/B/C, it won't be an overhead but you can combo special or super moves. Yuri Ori (in air, b+B)-This is the one move I rarely see anyone use in the arcade. Its actually a move used for crossing over. One use I find for it is when you are hopping back (tap b,b), you can use this hop back a farther distance. But its best use for confusion! When you mix this up with regular jump ins, you'll find yourself getting some easy hits. Note that you must hold foward and B and not press back and B when attempting to cross-over! Further information can be found in the strategy section. >Yami Barai (qcf+P)-This is one of the advantages in using Iori, the ability to shoot a far screen projectile. This will also hit your opponent when they are down though I can never find the proper time to use it. Also great to use on an opponent waking up! Be careful not to over-abuse this move because it is easily jumped over and the recover is quite slow. Aoi Hana (qcb+Px3)-This is definitely the meat to Iori's combos. Remember to stop at the 2nd qcb+P if blocked. The 3rd is an overhead, in case your opponent blocks low. My only criticism for this move is that it is extremely weak to low attacks such as sweeps. >Oniyaki (dp+P)-Iori's best anti-air move. Its recovery though is not super fast. You can get sweep or supered! My greatest advice is never use this when your opponent is dashing or sliding. Your opponent may trick you into doing it and they will safely slide over, and in most scenario, kill you. Remember never to use the C version! Tsumagushi (dp+K)-This is similar to Orochi Chris's qcb+P except that it is hella better. This will go over most sweeps (except for Iori) giving you invulnerability to low attacks. It can also be buffered into Aoi Hana (qcb+Px3) for extra tick damage and ensured safety. Note that you can easily get hit out of this move though with an uppercut or kick so don't use this excessively. One criticism is that it is not comboable (except after Shingo's striker). Kototsuki In (hcb+K)-This move looks great and is fast but has extremely horrible recovery. Never, and I repeat, never use this move, except in combos. Even in a combo, this move has a high chance to miss or becomes blockable which means you are going to get hit back with some massive, painful combos. Kuzukaze (when close, hcb,f+P)-Iori's throw which causes no damage but leaves your opponent open for a *Ya Otome (qcf,hcb+P) or a sweep. Its not as useful as it was in '97 where it can be used in a combo where now it isn't. I also find it hard to lay this on an opponent regardless in how good you are with using Iori. *Ya Otome (qcf,hcb+P)-Iori's only good DM in my opinion. It is the only DM that can be used in a combo and has anti-air priority. I still prefer the SDM in '98 rather than what it looks like now. Note of advice, use this only in the right time because it has horrible recovery. If you miss, you dead! Doesn't get any simpler than that. *Saku Tsumagushi (qcfx2+K)-I still prefer the old DM Iori had in '97- 98. This has the same opening animation as Tsumagushi (dp+K) so use it the same way. The only time I find this better to use than *Ya Otome is after a striker such as Maxima or Benimaru because it will "completely" hit unlike *Ya Otome. The damage for this move is very weak though, making it not appreciable to use. ================================================================= III. Striker Iori was definitely not made to be a striker. He will run in and do his ground freeze from '98. Very hard to combo after considering the limited time your opponent is frozen. It will also hit an opponent when they are down. In my opinion, its too slow and easily blocked or avoided like the many other strikers. The Striker system is so disappointing! Anyways, if you want a good striker, use Shin Kyo, Robert, Kim, Athena, or Bao. Iori is at his best as one of your fighters, not a striker. ================================================================ IV. Strategy Take note that the strategy here may not be useful or you may see that the information here is useless or not your playing style. This is very general so some of these strategies will not work on some opponents. Anyway, here they are: -Remember the biggest advantage is the ability to shoot projectiles. With Iori's projectile Yami Barai (qcf+P), you can zone opponents. If they jump late, just use his Oniyaki (dp+P) if close and his low D if kind of far. If they slide, they are still open to *Ya Otome or Aoi Hana. Also use this on opponent waking up! Most players tend to try and wake up with supers or uppercuts. This will stop them dead in their tracks. Be careful though not to use this predictably. If your opponent is able to predict when you use your projectile. They can easily jump over and kill you! -What are Iori's anti-air moves? Well, there is the faithful Oniyaki (dp+P), low C, and for maximum damage, *Ya Otome (qcf,hcb+P). If you have super, just go for *Ya Otome. For any other situation where your opponent jumps or is airborne, just use Oniyaki. It has about a 80% success rate! Use low C whenever you can't dish out Oniyaki (due to reaction time and time to do the motion on the controller) in time. If you want extra tick damage, after the low C, use Yami Barai (qcf+P) or Tsumagushi (dp+K). -Now onto the safety moves. Iori's projectile if blocked is definitely safe. Tsumagushi (dp+K), buffered into Aoi Hana (qcb+Cx2) is best for safety. Anytime you are doing a blocked combo, end it with Tsumagushi buffered into Aoi Hana. You'll not only build super, you can also cause blocking damage. Use this technique at every opportunity. After a knockdown attack (CD), blocked C into f+A, and others. There is a slight chance there will be guard crush or your opponent might slip and you will make contact. End the Aoi Hana if everything connects! -Kuzukaze (close, hcb,f+P) maybe kind of hard to hit but it should at least be learned how to be used. The trick to use this is to force your opponent to just defend. There are multiple ways to do this. One way is to dash and when close enough, use Kuzukaze. Mix it up by sometimes just going for Kuzukaze and sometimes slide then attack, or slide into Kuzukaze. Be alert that when sliding, a lot of players like to throw. Use the throw cancel (pressing C or D when in throw frames). Another alternative is jumping! By jumping in and doing nothing, when you land, use the Kuzukaze. Mix it up with jump D and you'll get some results. Now what can you combo after Kuzukaze? The only move I know that works really well is *Ya Otome (qcf,hcb+P). Aoi Hana C version will also hit but that's all the move that will connect afterwards. Yes, it's quite pathetic that all this hard work to dish out Kuzukaze just to chain these moves afterwards. But the only purpose of Kuzukaze is to open your opponent for an attack. -Iori's extreme low jump maybe disadvantage to projectile characters such as Bao, but it also has a huge advantage if used correctly. Here I'll explain a simple technique that will help you win most battles. Use Iori's short or far low jump D continuously. It is very difficult to counter, even with an uppercut. Mix it up with low jump CD, standing C into f+A, Tsumagushi into Aoi Hana, or throw and you'll find yourself with some easy victories. The trick here is the use of aggression and random attacking. Your opponent not only can't attack and counter, they also can't block. Once in a while you'll also get a guard crush which will open your opponent to immediate punishment. Just continue using offense. If they use a CD counter on you, that's OK! It didn't cause you any damage and they wasted a super for nothing except to just get pummeled with more offense. Note that this strategy is definitely not preferred. It is only a form of "winning" tactic. This not only takes the fun out of the game, it also is a show of unskilled fighting. -Here's some tip that was mailed to me that should help you! Iori's crossover move Yuri Ori is great for confusion. When any chance you knockdown an opponent, immediately dash in and use this move. Chances are that your opponent will block the wrong side. Once it hits, nail them with some combos. When you mix this with a regular jump D, you'll get some surprising results. Your opponent will eventually make a mistake and end of blocking the wrong way. Now, here's my 2 cents! It is extremely difficult to crossover! Due to Iori's low jumping abilities, there is usually no way to jump over your opponent. Every knockdown move Iori has can be safe land so don't even dream of ever crossing over. Of course I'm referring this to good opponents. But whenever you can crossover due to your opponent's mistake, go for it, it will prove useful. So there you have it the strategy section. Hope this was useful to you! ================================================================= V. Combos Now we reach the final part of the faq, the combos! Everything here is self-explanatory so I'm not going to give too much in depth information. The combos will be split into 5 sections: 1) beginners-anyone can do these combos, 2) intermediate-anyone after a couple games can do these combos, 3) advance-requires a very clear understanding and experience to do these combos, 4) counter-requires a very clear understanding of counter mode and abilities. Range from intermediate to advance, and 5) striker combos-combos using your striker. The least combos you will use will be the advance and counter combos listed here because of the impossibility to dish them out at the right condition. Anyway here they are: Beginners: 1. jump D, s/cC, Yami Barai (qcf+P)/Aoi Hana (qcb+Cx3)/Kototsuki In (hcb+K)/Yumebiki (f+A) Intermediate: 1. jump D, sC, Yumebiki (f+A), Aoi Hana (qcb+Cx3) (this is Iori's strongest combo without using super and strikers!) 2. Tsumagushi (dp+K), Aoi Hana (qcb+Cx3) 3. jump D, s/cC, *Ya Otome (qcf,hcb+P) Advance: 1. jump D, sC, Yumebiki (f+A), *Ya Otome (qcf,hcb+P) 2. !Yuri Ori (air b+B), sC, Yumebiki (f+A), Aoi Hana (qcb+Cx3)/*Ya Otome (qcf,hcb+P) 3. !Yuri Ori (air b+B), sB, Yumebiki (f+A,A), *Ya Otome (qcf,hcb+P) Counter: 1. jump D, sC, Yami Barai (qcf+C), *Saku Tsumagushi (qcfx2+K) Striker: 1. !Yuri Ori (air b+B), Terry striker (BC), *Ya Otome (qcf,hcb+C), *Ya Otome (qcf,hcb+C)/*Saku Tsumagushi (qcfx2+K) (note: you must have 2 stocks and have Terry as your striker. Basically what happens is that you will perform your *Ya Otome but Terry will stop it with his overhead geyser. Now that they are juggled, either perform *Ya Otome again or *Saku Tsumagushi) There are of course many other combos that I have not listed here! These are just the ones I use more generally. ================================================================== VI. Conclusion & Reference Well that concludes the Iori faq. I would have to say that this is not as good as my Shin Kyo faq (the truth is that I'm not really good with Iori), but hopefully this faq will prove useful for any player who is interested in improving their skills with Iori. I like to thank my friends for giving me some good advice and pointers to improve my faqs. They give me a lot of positive and negative feedback which is great. If anyone reading this faq give me some feedback that would also be great. I like to also thank all the opponents I have fought because without them, I would not know what strategies to write about. Reference: Kao Megura Faq: KoF '99 General Faq (can be found at www.gamefaqs.com or members.zoom.com/megura) Comment: Once again I borrowed his movelist names. Read his faq first for general info on KoF '99! If Kao you are reading this, sorry for not asking for your permission first! Reference: Kyoji Comment: Thanks for the feedback! Though I am still kind of bias of the use for Yuri Ori, I included the tips and some combos you gave me in this faq. The reason is because I use the strategy you said but it turned out very bleek. Players could easily prevent being confused.