The King of Fighters 2002 UM/Bao

Normals

Close

• cl. A/B/C are cancel-able and hit mid
• cl. A and B aren't chain-able
• cl. C has very fast start-up, cancel-able and is good for a close combo starter.
• cl. D hits twice and isn't cancel-able. It is a very good and easy confirm into Max Mode, and is only special cancel-able in Max Mode. It is also very hard to punish on block because Bao gets pushed back.

Stand

• st. A/B/C/D all hit mid and are not cancel-able or chain-able.
• st. A is a short ranged jab which can stop incoming hops at a very close range.
• st. B hits mid despite its animation.
• st. C is a shoulder thrust which can stop incoming hops as well but has bad whiff recovery
• st. D has lower body invincibility which can evade most slides and ground skimming projectiles except for Kusanagi's qcf+P and Iori's qcf+P

Crouch

• cr. A/C are cancel-able and hit mid.
• cr. B is chain-able into itself as well as cr.A, st. A, cl. A and st. B.
• cr. B can link into close D.
• cr. C has a great distance, lowers Bao's hurtbox, and is hit and whiff cancel-able into his ground command normals and specials.
• cr. D is a sweep that is not cancel-able and has bad whiff recovery.

Jumping

• j. B/C/D can cross-up a majority of standing and crouching characters
• j. A is cancel-able into his d+B air command normal. It can also be used as an instant overhead on crouching opponents.
• Neutral j. A is a downward fist swing which is cancel-able into his d+B air command normal, and has fast start-up like j.A.
• j. B is a jumping knee attack which is good for air-to-ground offense.
• Neutral j. B is a jumping side-kick which is good for stopping full jumps in an air-to-air position.
• j. C is good for jump-in attacks and is a bit harder to cross-up opponents than j.B and j.D
• Neutral j. C hits standing opponents twice and hits jumping opponents once.
• j. D can be used as an air-to-ground attack, and as a jump away ground-to-air against hops and jump-in attacks. It also has a easy cross-up hitbox as well.
• Neutral j. D is similar to neutral j. C that it hits standing opponents deep twice and jumping opponents once. Use j. A or j. B instead as a neutral jump anti-air to avoid it getting beaten out by the opponents jump attack.

Blowback Attack

• Stand CD is a very good grounded anti-air, Bao's hurtbox shrinks down momentarily (there is no invincibility) then releases a massive head butt. Be careful of the slow start-up. Stand CD is not cancel-able either.

• Jump CD is one of Bao's best air-to-air attacks, just mindful that it can whiff on crouching opponents if performed too early in the hop or jump.

Throws

Phantom Head Attack - (f/b + C) close

• Grabs the opponent, headbutts them, then jumps away

• Can be broken and counter mashed

• Hard knockdown

Advice: Bao recovers before the opponent stands up and lands in a favorable position for a cross up j.D or j.2A on the opponent's wake up. The opponent can choose to counter mash against the headbutts to lower the damage (full damage is 10%) or they can choose not to mash as a defensive tactic to run the clock timer or Bao's Max Mode timer if it's activated.

Critical Throw - (f/b + D) close

• Grabs and tosses the opponent to the other end of the screen

• Can be broken

• Hard knockdown

Command Moves

Kawasaki - (f + A)

• Bao strikes downward with his hand which can be used after a close heavy punch (C) or his crouching heavy punch. It is only special and super cancel-able, even when used alone. Bao is at negative frames when this attack is blocked, so it can be punished by some characters. Be sure to cancel it safely into his qcb+A fireball but stay aware of possible Guard Cancel Rolls if the opponent has meter. This attack will be used frequently in many of Bao's simpler combos as well as a way to activate into Max Mode smoothly.

• Hits Mid

• Special cancel-able by itself

Senheki Shu - (f + B)

• This move looks somewhat like a hands-free cartwheel flip. It hits overhead and it is not cancel-able into any other moves. Also, Bao's normals cannot combo into this move. Regardless of it's lack of cancel-ability it is a very useful to move to use in close range because of its overhead properties. It can also be used during the end of a blockstring with close or crouching C then substituted with Bao's df+D command normal which is a low attack providing a high/low mixup. Be careful though, because the cl. C or cr. C to f+B leaves a small gap in the middle which can interrupted by many characters invincible reversal attacks or supers. On block it's a bit hard to punish because Bao is granted a small amount of push-back during its recovery. One interesting feature this overhead attack has is that it causes a hard knockdown when hit against a jumping opponent...but the hitbox this move has is quite small which may cause it to miss the opponent or stuff it out cleanly if they are using an angled jumping attack.

• Hits overhead

• Causes a hard knockdown on airborne opponents

Sensyou Shu - (df + B)

• Hits Mid

Rikatsu Shu - (df + D)

• Hits Low

• Wire damage

• Hard knockdown

Sousho - in air, (d + A)

• Hits Mid

Banda - in air, (d + B)

• Hits Mid

• Hard knockdown

Special Moves

Psycho Ball Attack: Raise - qcf + A

Psycho Ball Attack: Boung - qcf + B

Psycho Ball Attack: Front - qcb + B

Psycho Ball Attack: Aerial Front - in air, qcb + A

Psycho Ball Attack: Aerial Bound - in air, qcf + B

Psycho Ball Crush: Raise - qcf + C

• Super cancellable

Psycho Ball Crush: Bound - qcf + D

Psycho Ball Crush: Front - qcb + C

• Super cancellable

Psycho Ball Crush: Aerial Front - In air, qcb + C

Psycho Ball Crush: Aerial Bound - in air, qcf + D

Desperation Moves

Psycho Ball Attack MAX - qcb x 2 + A/C

Psycho Ball Crush Special - qcb x 2 + B/D

Super Desperation Moves

Psycho Ball Attack MAX - qcb x 2 + AC

Psycho Ball Attack IIDX - f, hcf + BD

HSDM

Psycho Ball Gravity - qcf x 2 + AC

Videos

Bao Master Class Part 1

Bao Master Class Part 2

Discussion Threads

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