Orochi Chris is a rushdown monster, boasting the fastest movement speed in the game alongside some great neutral buttons. This allows him to get plenty of chances to get in close, where he truly shines. His great movement speed alone makes him hard to deal with when he's in your face, but in addition to that he has an amazing crossup, good confirms from highs and lows, and a proximity unblockable he can combo off of. He also gets good reward off of his metered combos, cementing his status as a top-tier character. On defense, he has fast normals, a completely invincible DP, and a partially invincible proximity unblockable to take his turn back with.
Changes to Previous Versions
98 to 98UM
Normals:
c.5C now has 3 frames less recovery
3B now has a bigger hurtbox on Orochi Chris's torso; projectiles that are Psycho Ball height and lower can't be passed under with it
j.D's damage has been increased
j.CD's first hitbox has been removed
Specials:
623A now has increased invincibility, making it a real reversal option
Supers:
2141236AC is now faster, bringing it in line with the regular version and allowing you to combo into it
98UM to 98UMFE
Specials:
214P now has less recovery
Supers:
236236P now has faster startup
Normal Moves
Close
c.A
Same as f.A.
c.B
Cancelable.
c.C
One of O.Chris' main combo tools. A nice fast two-hitting close heavy, although for combo purposes you'll be cancelling the first hit.
The second hit hits quite high up, so it can catch people trying to jump out of close range.
Very unsafe if not canceled.
Cancelable.
c.D
A high-hitting kick.
Good at catching jumps if you tried to D-throw the opponent but they jumped away.
Cancelable, but not into command normals.
Standing
f.A
An anti-hop tool due to its speed and priority. Safe to throw out in neutral as it has short recovery.
Whiffs on short crouchers.
Chainable and cancelable.
f.B
A good midrange poke, since it has good range and active frames, can stop hops, and will hit crouchers.
f.C
A slow but long-range two-hitting punch. The first hit is cancellable and hits crouchers.
f.D
An anti-air kick. Not worth using as it's somewhat slow and has a ton of recovery, and O.Chris has faster and safer anti-air options.
Crouching
2A
A standard cr.A. A staple combo tool for Orochi Chris.
Chainable and cancelable.
2B
The main low combo starter.
Has good range for a cr.B, making it good for blockstrings and mixups.
Chainable.
2C
Uppercut with two parts.
Has very fast start-up (frame 3 active) and has a lot of active frames, making it an amazing anti-air and punish tool.
The first hit is cancellable into command normals, specials, and supers on whiff, hit or block.
Whiff cancelling the first hit of 2C into 3B (slide) is an effective tactic, as the 2C will catch the opponent if they hopped at you and the slide will pressure them with a low, just make sure not to do it too close which may make the slide unsafe.
2D
A sweep with good range but quite a lot of recovery.
Hits slightly upwards, so can catch some moves that other sweeps might whiff.
Can be used to low-profile high-hitting attacks.
Jumping
j.A
An air-to-air normal. Hits fairly high up and has a good amount of active frames, but the range is somewhat short.
j.B
Orochi Chris's longest-reaching air normal, with good active frames.
Tied with j.A for being O.Chris' fastest jump attack. Effective as an air-to-air because of its range and active frames.
Great attack to poke out the opponent when they're at very low health, as the range and active frames makes it hard to move around.
8j.B
An air-to-air move that hits at a higher angle than any of his other jumping normals.
j.C
An okay air-to-air normal. It has a good disjointed hitbox and hits higher than j.D or j.B.
Not as many active frames as j.A or j.B and is slightly slower, but it deals more damage.
j.D
Orochi Chris's best jump-in normal.
One of the best cross-up hitboxes in the game. O.Chris can cross up from a full or superjump, and he can freely hop forward at close range without worrying about accidentally jumping over the opponent and whiffing as j.D will easily cross up crouching opponents. Against players that are slow on blocking high against your jump-ins, you can get easy cross-ups by simply re-hopping immediately with a j.D after they block a jump-in.
Possible to cross up standing opponents from a hyperhop if you use Quick Max.
CD Normals
5CD
Long startup, but it has low invincibility from frame 1. Cancelable on hit, block, and whiff.
j.CD
Good downwards hitbox at his feet, making it a solid jump-in for pressure. Quite long startup, so it's susceptible to air-to-airs.
Unlike in Original 98, this move is weaker as an air-to-air and easier to contest as the first hitbox that hit earlier was removed in UM.
However, the second hitbox still retains it's big downward-angled disjoint. Doing a j.CD from a full jump or super jump is an effective air-to-ground.
Throws
Chi no Batu:4/6C (close)
Regular throw, techable. Orochi Chris steps on the opponent's body and then sends them flying away with a backflip. Causes a soft knockdown.
Generally the D throw is preferred as the C throw gives O.Chris no oki afterwards, but this can be useful if you want to keep the opponent at the corner.
Ten no Tsumi:4/6D (close)
O,Chris' preferred regular throw. Techable. Orochi Chris throws the opponent behind him, making them land with a backturned hard knockdown.
Gives O.Chris a strong oki situation. You can walk backward slightly then do superjump j.D to threaten a cross-up, or walk backward slightly less to land in front instead.
Orochi Chris slams the opponent with a two-handed swing.
It's cancelable both when done raw and when combo-ed into.
Combos from both lights and heavies, making it essential combo filler for Orochi Chris.
Unsafe on block, so try to confirm into it.
Jyukei no Oni:f+B
Orochi Chris does an overhead flip kick with two parts.
When done raw or late-canceled into, the first part hits mid and the second part hits overhead, but the move is not cancelable.
When canceled into, the move loses its overhead property but the second hit becomes cancelable.
Useful as a poke and overhead, as it's quite safe due to the pushback and spacing afterward.
Can also be used as a safer combo option compared to f+A, though the tradeoff is that it leads to less damage.
Setsudan no Koto:df+B
Orochi Chris slides on the ground with a low-hitting kick.
Can low-profile some airborne projectiles, like Takuma's or EX Robert's.
Can be a bit unsafe at point-blank, but becomes safer when spaced.
Special Moves
Tsuki o Tumu Honoo:dp+A/C
Orochi Chris produces flames and does a DP.
The A version has invincibility into the active frames, making it a good reversal, and has good hitboxes for anti-airing. It does start up a bit slow at 7f, though.
The C version loses the invincibility, but Orochi Chris does multiple hits and stays grounded for a lot longer, making it good to use for combos.
Both versions are very unsafe on block.
Taiyou o Iru Honoo:qcf+A/C
Orochi Chris produces a big wave of flame in front of him. The A version comes out faster but travels less distance.
The wave of fire travels very slowly, but goes quite far and hits multiple times.
Starts up very slow, but stays active for quite a while and has pretty good recovery.
If the flames hit when Orochi Chris is close enough to the opponent, he has time to combo after them.
This makes it an alright choice for a meaty, as you'll have even more time to combo if the flames hit.
Due to the move's long startup, it can be risky to throw out a lot in neutral, as the opponent could superjump over the flames and punish you.
It can be a good move to neutralize opponents' projectiles with, or to throw out as a projectile against characters with weaker movement options.
Kagami o Hofuru Honoo:qcb+A/C
Orochi Chris does a small jump forwards and hits with a flame attack. The A versions travels a shorter distance, but has less recovery compared to the C version.
The A version is quite safe on block, making it an okay poke from a bit further out.
The C version is more unsafe, but it travels further, so it can be useful for some long range punishes.
In combos, this move only combos on standing opponents, as it takes more time for the flames to reach a crouching opponent.
Shishi o Kamu Honoo:hcf+B/D (close)
Orochi Chris does a series of close-range punches, and ends it with a kick that sends them up into the air.
One of Orochi Chris's best moves, as it's a proximity unblockable with some startup invincibility.
This makes it a very strong mixup tool.
The actual hits aren't invincible, so it can still trade with pokes after it's been activated.
Due to the complete startup invincibility, you can also use this as a defensive tool during the opponent's blockstrings.
It is not technically a grab, so it can be rolled through with good timing for a full punish.
The last hit can be canceled into dp+A for a damaging combo ender.
Desperation Moves
Ankoku Orochinagi:qcb,hcf+A/C (can be held)
Orochi Chris creates a big wave of flames in front of him. A version starts up faster than the C version.
His best combo DM, as it does slightly more damage than his other one.
A version can be used as a decent midrange punishing move.
MAX version does more hits and damage.
Daichi o Harau Gouka:qcfx2+A/C
Orochi Chris engulfs himself in a big ball of flame and dashes forwards. A version comes out faster than the C version.
Destroys projectiles, so it can be used as an anti-zoning DM on a big read.
Very unsafe on block.
The MAX version does more damage than qcb,hcf+AC, so when you want the most damage, this is the one to go for.
Combos
General Notes:
In any metered combo, qcb,hcf+A can be replaced with qcfx2+AC for more damage if you have the resources.
Meterless
Low
cr.B, cr.A, f+A, hcf+K > dp+A
Orochi Chris's main meterless low combo.
Mid/Jump-In
(j.X), cl.C, (f+A), hcf+K > dp+A
Orochi Chris's main meterless jump-in and heavy combo.
You can also do this without the f+A for less damage and a hit confirm option select: by inputting the combo as [cl.C, hcf+B], if cl.C hit it will go into the proximity unblockable but if cl.C was blocked, then O.Chris cancels into the f+B command normal which is safe on block.
cl.C, f+B, qcb+C
Combo on standing opponents.
Proximity Unblockable
hcf+B, dp+A/j.D
Combo from proximity unblockable. The last hit of hcf+B can be cancelled into dp+A.
NOTE: if you land the proximity unblockable while in max mode, the increased knockback will cause dp+A to whiff. Instead, don't cancel the last hit of the prox and instead do an immediate superjump j.D to follow up.
With Meter
Low
cr.B, cr.A, f+A, qcb,hcf+A
Orochi Chris's main metered low combo.
(j.X), cl.C, f+A, qcb,hcf+A
Orochi Chris's main metered jump-in and heavy combo.
With Quick MAX
Low
cr.Bx2, ABC, cl.C, f+A, qcb,hcf+A
Requires a small walk before the cl.C
df+B(late hit), ABC, f+A, qcb+A/qcb,hcf+A
Quick max combo from slide. Only works if you quick max slide near the end of its active frames, meaning if you hit slide at the tip of its range or you meaty with it.
If you're close enough you can get super, but outside of a meaty situation qcb+A is the safer bet.
Mid/Jump-In
(j.X), cl.C, (f+A), hcf+B, ABC, qcb+A
O.Chris can quick max the last hit of his hcf+B and combo into qcb+A. Solid damage and gets you into max mode.
(j.X), cr.B, ABC, cl.C, f+A, qcb,hcf+A/qcfx2+P
Useful for getting into max mode to use SDM if you're in red health and you land a hit outside of max.
Requires a small walk before the cl.C
If you're having trouble getting qcb,hcf+A to combo, try using qcfx2+P, which connects more consistently from the tip of f+A.
(cross-up j.D), cr.Bx2, ABC, cl.C, f+A, qcb,hcf+A
O.Chris' strongest combo from a jump-in, but this only works after a cross-up j.D
hyperhop j.D, ABC, cl.C, f+A, qcb,hcf+A
O.Chris can cross-up with a point blank hyperhop j.D and combo from it if you quick max the j.D.
Note, this only works on standing opponents. If your opponent is not reacting fast enough and keeps crouch blocking when you rehop during pressure, stick to regular hop j.D which won't whiff over crouchers. When they start to stand block against your rehops, you can use this.
Proximity Unblockable
hcf+B, ABC, qcb+A
Strategy & Tips
Orochi Chris ducks down when running, which means that you can low-profile some high-flying projectiles (like Takuma's or Ex Robert's) by running under them.
When trying to combo into his hcf+K, you can input it as hcf+CD for a useful option select: on hit, you will get the proximity unblockable, but on block, you will get Chris' qcf+C fireball.
