The King of Fighters '98 UMFE/Iori Yagami

Introduction

Iori is a highly versatile character that can do just about anything, but leans towards rushdown and mixups due to his great access to hard knockdowns. At further ranges, he has a fireball and a good poke as his main tools, but Iori really starts to shine when he lands a hit into his hard knockdown rekka. He has plenty of mixup options, like a good crossup, a command grab he can combo out of, good low confirms, and an overhead. Most of these options will allow him to combo into rekka again and repeat the situation. On defense, he has access to a great DP for reversals and anti-airs, and a good DM that can low-profile and anti-air well. Iori's main weakness is that a lot of his buttons aren't that great, so his grounded poking game can feel a bit lacking.

Changes from Previous Versions

98 to 98UM

Normals:

• cr.A hurtbox is taller
• cr.B hurtbox is taller, so some projectiles can no longer be low-profiled

Specials:

• dp+C now hits consistently, even against airborne opponents
• The time that the hurtbox for qcb+P becomes lower is reduced by 3 frames
• hcb,f+P startup is 3 frames faster, but invincibility frames are reduced

Supers:

• qcf,hcb+P is no longer a hard knockdown
• qcb,hcf+P changed: now deals damage at once when it hits, but none when the opponent is stunned; also reduced stunned time

98UM to 98UMFE

Extra mode step dash distance moved is longer

Specials:

• hcb,f+P has more recovery after the throw, so it's harder to connect attacks afterwards

Normals

Close

Close A cl.A	Startup Active Recovery Guard Adv Hit Adv Block Cancel Knockdown Juggle 4 4 5 HL +3 +1 Y N ? Mostly just useful as light combo filler. Chainable and cancelable.

Close B cl.B	Startup Active Recovery Guard Adv Hit Adv Block Cancel Knockdown Juggle 5 4 7 L +1 -1 Y N ? Has short activation range. Standing low. Cancelable.

Close C cl.C	Startup Active Recovery Guard Adv Hit Adv Block Cancel Knockdown Juggle 3 2,5 14 HL -1 -3 Y N ? Iori's main heavy combo button. Hits higher up, so it can catch close-range jump-outs. Cancelable.

Close D cl.D	Startup Active Recovery Guard Adv Hit Adv Block Cancel Knockdown Juggle 5 6 13 HL +1 -1 N N ? Hits high up so can catch jumpouts, but it is not cancelable so it's not as good as cl.C.

Far

Far A f.A	Startup Active Recovery Guard Adv Hit Adv Block Cancel Knockdown Juggle 6 4 4 HL +4 +2 N N ? Hits too low to stop hops well. Great short-ranged button, as it gives Iori a bit of frame advantage and has a nice hitbox. Chainable.

Far B f.B	Startup Active Recovery Guard Adv Hit Adv Block Cancel Knockdown Juggle 6 4 7 HL +1 -1 N N ? Short to mid-range poke with some decent priority. Has longer range than st.A.

Far C f.C	Startup Active Recovery Guard Adv Hit Adv Block Cancel Knockdown Juggle 8 3 19 HL -2 -4 Y N ? Nice longer-range poke, since it's cancelable on hit, block, and whiff. Has nice priority.

Far D f.D	Startup Active Recovery Guard Adv Hit Adv Block Cancel Knockdown Juggle 10 8 17 HL -5 -7 N N ? Good longer-range poke. His best normal for stopping hops.

Blowback 5CD	Startup Active Recovery Guard Adv Hit Adv Block Cancel Knockdown Juggle 11 5 24 HL Soft KD -7 Y Soft ? -Has good priority and fairly fast startup speed for a st.CD, so it makes for a decent poke. Cancelable on hit, block, and whiff.

Crouching

Crouching A 2A	Startup Active Recovery Guard Adv Hit Adv Block Cancel Knockdown Juggle 5 3 7 HL +2 0 Y N ? Good for combos or blockstrings. Chainable and cancelable.

Crouching B 2B	Startup Active Recovery Guard Adv Hit Adv Block Cancel Knockdown Juggle 5 5 5 L +2 0 Y N ? Standard low move for low combos or blockstrings. Has limited low-profile properties. Chainable.

Crouching C 2C	Startup Active Recovery Guard Adv Hit Adv Block Cancel Knockdown Juggle 7 5 16 HL -1 -3 Y N ? Not great at anti-airing. Has some forwards priority, so it could be a decent closer-range poke. Cancelable on hit, block, and whiff.

Crouching D 2D	Startup Active Recovery Guard Adv Hit Adv Block Cancel Knockdown Juggle 5 6 31 L Soft KD -19 N Soft ? Has long range but terrible recovery.

Jumping

Jumping A j.A	Startup Active Recovery Guard Adv Hit Adv Block Cancel Knockdown Juggle 4 9 - H ? ? N N ? Has a lot of active frames. Can be used as an air-to-air or jump-in.

Jumping B j.B	Startup Active Recovery Guard Adv Hit Adv Block Cancel Knockdown Juggle 5 7 - H ? ? N N ? Fast air-to-air with good range.

Jumping C j.C	Startup Active Recovery Guard Adv Hit Adv Block Cancel Knockdown Juggle 9 3 - H ? ? N N ? Jump-in button that can crossup, but landing it is hard. Has quite a lot of startup, so it needs to be done early or it will whiff. Due to this, it can be used as a good jump-in fake by doing it late.

Jumping D j.D	Startup Active Recovery Guard Adv Hit Adv Block Cancel Knockdown Juggle 7 8 - H ? ? N N ? Good air-to-air that can also hit grounded opponents.

Jumping CD j.CD	Startup Active Recovery Guard Adv Hit Adv Block Cancel Knockdown Juggle 13 4 - H ? ? N Soft Y Has good priority forwards, so can be a good air-to-air.

Command Normals

Dream Blast 6A

Startup Active Recovery Guard Adv Hit Adv Block Cancel Knockdown Juggle 8 4 19 HL -3 -5 Y N ? Iori does a strike forwards. Can combo from lights and heavies. The second hit will whiff if there was too much pushback before the first hit; it will, for example, whiff after a cl.C f+A or cr.B cr.A f+A. Therefore, it's best to just use the first hit and skip the second one. Both hits cancelable both raw and when cancelled into. Key to Iori's combos.

Dream Blast Followup 6A > A	Startup Active Recovery Guard Adv Hit Adv Block Cancel Knockdown Juggle 9 7 15 HL -2 -4 Y N ? -

Thunder Axe Shadow Reaper 6B	Startup Active Recovery Guard Adv Hit Adv Block Cancel Knockdown Juggle 24 (20) 3, 3, 3 20 H (HL) -3 -5 N (Y) N ? A slow overhead that can be canceled from if canceled into. Can be cancelled into but loses the overhead property. Is 4f faster when cancelled into.

Lily Breaker j.4B	Startup Active Recovery Guard Adv Hit Adv Block Cancel Knockdown Juggle 1 6 - H ? ? N N ? A very good crossup kick that can be combo-ed into. Will whiff on short crouchers.

Throws

Reverse Skinner: b/f+C (close)

• Regular throw, techable. Iori claws at the opponent, sending them flying almost fullscreen forwards with a soft knockdown.

Double-reverse Skinner: b/f+D (close)

• Regular throw, techable. Iori sneaks behind the opponent and then claws at them, sending them flying almost fullscreen to the other side with a soft knockdown.

Special Moves

Fireball 236P

Version Startup Active Recovery Guard Adv Hit Adv Block Cancel Knockdown Juggle 236A 9 - 34 HL ? ? N N ? Version Startup Active Recovery Guard Adv Hit Adv Block Cancel Knockdown Juggle 236C 9 - 41 HL ? ? N N ? A ground-travelling projectile. A version travels slowly, while C version travels much faster. Combos from lights and heavies. Can be hopped over. Good for projectile wars, or to use as a longer-ranged poke. Can be made unblockable with his command grab thanks to the unblockable projectile bug.

Dark Thrust 623P A Version C Version	Version Startup Active Recovery Guard Adv Hit Adv Block Cancel Knockdown Juggle 623A 5 1, 2, 8 26 HL Soft KD -19 N Soft ? 1-5f Upper Body Inv Version Startup Active Recovery Guard Adv Hit Adv Block Cancel Knockdown Juggle 623C 5 2, 3, 13 41 HL Soft KD -41 N Soft ? 1-8f All Inv

Deadly Flower 214P

Version Startup Active Recovery Guard Adv Hit Adv Block Cancel Knockdown Juggle 214A 8 3 26 HL -9 -11 N N ? The first two hits are mids, and the third one hits overhead. Iori's main combo special. The light version combos from lights. Causes hard knockdown and gives Iori plenty of time to set up whatever offense he wants afterwards. All 3 hits of both the A and C Rekka are Negative and unsafe on block point-blank. At further ranges, they are still unsafe, but the opponent will need a fairly fast long-range move to punish. The A Rekkas knock the enemy back a bit on hit. Version Startup Active Recovery Guard Adv Hit Adv Block Cancel Knockdown Juggle 214A>A 7 3 29 HL -12 -14 N N ? Version Startup Active Recovery Guard Adv Hit Adv Block Cancel Knockdown Juggle 214A>A>A 17 2 29 HL Hard KD -13 N Hard ? Version Startup Active Recovery Guard Adv Hit Adv Block Cancel Knockdown Juggle 214C 11 3 28 HL -11 -13 N N ? The first two hits are mids, and the third one hits overhead. Iori's main combo special. The heavy version combos from heavies. Causes hard knockdown and gives Iori plenty of time to set up whatever offense he wants afterwards. All 3 hits of both the A and C Rekka are Negative and unsafe on block point-blank. At further ranges, they are still unsafe, but the opponent will need a fairly fast long-range move to punish. The full C rekkas make them land right next to Iori with a hard knockdown, setting up a few wakeup options. Version Startup Active Recovery Guard Adv Hit Adv Block Cancel Knockdown Juggle 214C>C 11 3 29 HL -12 -14 N N ? Version Startup Active Recovery Guard Adv Hit Adv Block Cancel Knockdown Juggle 214A>C>C 17 9 31 HL Hard KD -22 N Hard ?

Slash Talon Comb 623K

Version Startup Active Recovery Guard Adv Hit Adv Block Cancel Knockdown Juggle 623B 24 5 25 HL -10 -12 Y N ? 1-10f Full Inv Iori does a leap forwards and hits with his flames. B version travels a shorter distance B version can be cancelled into his qcb+P on contact Unsafe on block, and since his qcb+P is also not safe on block there's no real way to reduce risk. However dp+D qcf+A is a fairly safe option. Can go over some lows. Has a little bit of startup invincibility. Main use is for baiting guard cancel CD. Just cancel your normal into dp+D and go into qcf+A if there is no Guard Cancel. If there is a Guard Cancel you can react and either cancel into Maiden Masher or Rekkas. Version Startup Active Recovery Guard Adv Hit Adv Block Cancel Knockdown Juggle 623D 29 5 27 HL -12 -14 Y N ? 1-10f Full Inv Iori does a leap forwards and hits with his flames. D version travels a longer distance D version is cancellable into any special move. Unsafe on block, and since his qcb+P is also not safe on block there's no real way to reduce risk. However dp+D qcf+A is a fairly safe option. Can go over some lows. Has a little bit of startup invincibility. Main use is for baiting guard cancel CD. Just cancel your normal into dp+D and go into qcf+A if there is no Guard Cancel. If there is a Guard Cancel you can react and either cancel into Maiden Masher or Rekkas.

Dark Crescent Slice 63214K

Version Startup Active Recovery Guard Adv Hit Adv Block Cancel Knockdown Juggle 63214B 6 (Run), 11 (Attack) 16 (Run), 8 (Attack) 14 (Run), 16 (Attack) HL Soft KD -6 N Soft ? Iori runs forwards and hits the opponent. If successful, he takes them to the ground and blows them up with flames. B version runs a shorter distance. Has low invincibility during the run. Will combo from heavies, but only at close range. Can be used as a decent longer-range punish. Unsafe on block. Version Startup Active Recovery Guard Adv Hit Adv Block Cancel Knockdown Juggle 63214D 6 (Run), 11 (Attack) 24 (Run), 8 (Attack) 14 (Run), 16 (Attack) HL Soft KD -6 N Soft ? Iori runs forwards and hits the opponent. If successful, he takes them to the ground and blows them up with flames. D version runs a longer distance. Has low invincibility during the run. Will combo from heavies, but only at close range. Can be used as a decent longer-range punish. Unsafe on block.

Scum Gale 63214P

Startup Active Recovery Guard Adv Hit Adv Block Cancel Knockdown Juggle 8 1 30 - - - N N ? 3-6f Full Inv Iori grabs hold of the opponent and shoves them behind him. A command grab that lets Iori follow up with a combo afterwards. Has some startup invincibility, but not all the way to the active frames. Good for mixups, as it lets him do a full combo afterwards that leads to another mixup. Has longer startup than most command grabs while also not being fully invincible, but despite this it's still good.

Desperation Moves

Maiden Masher 236 63214P

Version Startup Active Recovery Guard Adv Hit Adv Block Cancel Knockdown Juggle 236 63214A 5 16 40 HL Soft KD -23 N Soft ? Iori crouches low and dashes forwards, doing a Ranbu on hit. Has some low-profile startup frames, so it can go under some airborne projectiles. Can be combo-ed into from lights and heavies. Causes soft knockdown. Version Startup Active Recovery Guard Adv Hit Adv Block Cancel Knockdown Juggle 236 63214C 5 24 42 HL Soft KD -25 N Soft ? Iori crouches low and dashes forwards, doing a Ranbu on hit. Has some low-profile startup frames, so it can go under some airborne projectiles. Can be combo-ed into from lights and heavies. Causes soft knockdown. Version Startup Active Recovery Guard Adv Hit Adv Block Cancel Knockdown Juggle 236 63214A/C (SDM) 17 2 29 HL Soft KD -13 N Soft ? Does more damage but is much slower. Can be combo-ed into from heavies.

One For The Road Blast 214 41236P

Version Startup Active Recovery Guard Adv Hit Adv Block Cancel Knockdown Juggle 214 41236A 17 (if the button is released immediately) 24 45 HL - - N N ? Iori sends out a big blast of flames. The A version only reaches a bit in front of Iori. On hit, the opponent gets frozen in place and Iori gets a followup combo. This move hitting is one of the few ways you can actually combo into qcf,hcb+AC. The projectile's size is only as big as his qcf+P, so it can be jumped over and even hopped over with good timing. Version Startup Active Recovery Guard Adv Hit Adv Block Cancel Knockdown Juggle 214 41236C 17 (if the button is released immediately) 34 49 HL - - N N ? Iori sends out a big blast of flames. The C version travels a bit more than halfscreen. On hit, the opponent gets frozen in place and Iori gets a followup combo. This move hitting is one of the few ways you can actually combo into qcf,hcb+AC. The projectile's size is only as big as his qcf+P, so it can be jumped over and even hopped over with good timing. Version Startup Active Recovery Guard Adv Hit Adv Block Cancel Knockdown Juggle 214 41236A/C (SDM) 17 (if the button is released immediately) Each pillar is active for 8F 51 HL - - N N ? The MAX version creates a series of pillars that go from Iori to the other end of the screen. These pillars reach all the way to the top of the screen.

Combos

General Notes

Meterless

Low

cr.B, cr.A, f+A, qcb+Cx3

Mid/Jump-In

(j.X), cl.C, f+A, qcb+Cx3

Iori's BnB punish and jump-in combo.

Other

hcb,f+P, st.C, qcb+Cx3

hcb,f+P, cl.C, f+A, qcb+Cx3

Requires a run before the cl.C.

With Meter

Low

cr.B, cr.A, f+A, qcf,hcb+P

Mid/Jump-In

(j.X), cl.C, f+A, qcf,hcb+P

(j.B), cr.C, f+A, qcf,hcb+AC

Other

hcb,f+P, st.C, qcf,hcb+P

hcb,f+P, cl.C, f+A, qcf,hcb+P

Requires a run before the cl.C.

With Quick MAX

Corner

cr.B, cr.A, f+A, qcb+Cx2, ABC, qcf,hcb+P

(j.X), cl.C, f+A, qcb+Cx2, ABC, qcf,hcb+P

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King of Fighters 98 UM FE: Iori Guide by Mash It Out