The King of Fighters 2002/Mature

Frame Data

Move	Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Block
cl.A	2	3	9	C,S,Su	HL
cl.B	3	3(8)3	11	C,S,Su	L
cl.C	2	3+4	22	S,Su	HL
cl.D	8	3(15)3	18	S,Su	HL
st.A	3	3	9	C,S,Su	HL
st.B [1]	5	2(9)3	22		HL
st.C	8	5	22		HL
st.D	15	3	29		HL
cr.A	4	3	9	C,S,Su	HL
cr.B	5	3	8	C,S,Su	L
cr.C	4	2+3	22	S,Su	HL
cr.D	8	5	25	S,Su	L
CD	15	5	20	S,Su	HL
ju.A	5	8	-		H
ju.B	2	2(5)7	-		H
ju.C	5	4	-		H
ju.D	8	4	-		H
j.A	5	8	-		H
j.B	2	2(7)7	-		H
j.C	5	4	-		H
j.D	8	4	-		H
j.CD	17	4	-		HL
h.A	5	8	-		H
h.B	3	2(8)7	-		H
h.C	5	4	-		H
h.D	8	3	-		H
h.CD	17	4	-		HL
qcf+A	18	3+3+3	20	Fi	HL
qcf+C	24	4+4+4	21	Fi	HL
dp+A	8	3,4,2,3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3	24	Fo(1,2)	HL
dp+C	8	3,3,4,2,3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3	30	Fo(1,2,3)	HL
qcb+A (first)	10	2,2,2	34	Fi,Fo	HL
qcb+A (second)	10	2,2,2	29	Fo	HL
qcb+A (third)	15	2,2,2	32	Fo	HL
qcb+C (first)	10	2,2,2	36	Fi,Fo	HL
qcb+C (second)	13	2,2,2	31	Fo	HL
qcb+C (third)	16	2,2,2	39	Fo	HL
qcb+B [2]	14+0~4	1,1,1	23	Fi, Fo	HL
qcb+D [2]	15+0~8	1,1,1	25	Fi, Fo	HL
qcf,hcb+A	26	-	25	Fi	HL
qcf,hcb+C	26	-	27	Fi	HL
hcf+B	19	3	36		HL
hcf+D	21	3	38		HL
2xqcf+A [3]	5	2(14)2(14)2(15)2	30		HL
2xqcf+C [3]	8	1(14)2(14)2(15)2	34		HL
qcb,hcf+B (on hit)[4]	11	16	30		HL
qcb,hcf+B (on block)[4]	11	16,2,4	40		HL
qcb,hcf+D (on hit)[4]	11	25	33		HL
qcb,hcf+D (on block)[4]	11	25,2,4	44		HL
2xqcf+AC [3]	5	2(14)2(14)2(15)3	30		HL
qcb,hcf+BD (on hit)[4]	11	24	30		HL
qcb,hcf+BD (on block)[4]	11	24,2,4	40		HL
f D C B f	19	24	20		HL

[1] This move does hitstun as if it were a heavy attack. Probably has to do with it being a command normal in previous games like kof98.

[2] Startup of these moves vary slightly depending on how far the opponent is away from you.

[3] Invincible: Frame 1~4.

[4] Invincible: Frame 1-11.

Movelist

Throws

1. Death Blow - b/f+C

• Mature performs a basic throw that knocks the opponent back

2. Back Rush - b/f+D

• Mature grabs the opponent and slams them face down on the ground in the opposite side she is standing
• opponent is thrown right next to her and she is given enough time to start a mixup
• hard knockdown and opponent gets up with their back turned

Special Moves

1. Despair - qcf+P

• Mature jumps into the air and slashes, knocking the opponent down
• qcf+C goes further and higher than qcf+A
• it is possible to crossup the opponent at some distances with this move
• free cancellable into
• overall, quite punishable on block and not particularly useful even for going over fireballs

2. Decide - hcf+K

• Mature swings her arm and creates a shadow which reaches about half screen length and grabs the opponent if it isn't blocked
• very similar to Vice's hcf+K but Mature's cannot be comboed into normally since it comes out very slow. hcf+B comes out faster but doesn't reach as far as hcf+D
• hard knockdown

3. Death Row - qcb+P(up to 3 times)

• Mature performs a 3 hit slash at close range. She can chain a series of 3 qcb+P's for a total of 9 hits which does good chip damage (assuming they have no stock to guard roll)
• qcb+C goes slightly further than qcb+A, making it slightly easier to combo all the hits
• free cancellable into
• free cancellable out of on all hits

4. Metal Massacre - qcb+K

• Mature dashes forward and performs a 3 hit slash attack that has very good recovery
• qcb+B travels about 1/3 screen while qcb+D travels 2/3 screen length
• qcb+D does a slight bit more damage than qcb+B and can combo at all the ranges that qcb+B comboes at. Since it also seems to have the same recovery time, there doesn't seem any reason to use qcb+B over qcb+D in combos
• free cancellable into
• free cancellable out of on all hits

5. Sacrilege - dp+P

• Mature performs a rising uppercut attack that travens quite far horizontally doing many hits
• for dp+A, the second hit (and onwards) lifts the opponent into the air while for dp+C, the third hit (and onwards) lifts them into air
• dp+A free cancellable out of on the first two hits, dp+C free cancellable out of on the first three hits
• comes out fast and useful in combos (dp+C does more hits and more damage than dp+A), but is not fast enough and not invincible to be used as a wakeup reversal

6. Ebony Tears - qcf hcb+P

• Mature throws a projectile that has a very large vertical hitbox, but has some startup delay
• A version travels slower and recovers better
• difficult to jump over, especially the A version which travels slower

DMs

1. Nocturnal Rites - qcfx2+P

• Mature performs a series of 4 slashes, the initial one coming out very fast. If the 4th one hits, she will perform a final hit that knocks the opponent back
• doesn't do that much damage but combos easily off of weak attacks and can punish some whiffed moves. Not to be used on wakeup

2. Heaven's Gate - qcb hcf+K

• Mature dashes forward. If she connects, she grabs the opponent and slams them into the corner
• B version goes about 3/4 screen while D version goes full screen
• has startup invincibility, but is punishable on block
• hard knockdown

SDMs

1. Nocturnal Rites - qcfx2+P

• Mature performs aseries of 4 slashes, just like the normal DM version

2. Heaven's Gate - qcb hcf+K

• works the same as the normal DM but does more damage
• generally not worth using as the damage increase isn't worth the meter used

HSDMs

1. Ecstasy 816 - f D C B f

• Mature jumps forward similar to her qcf+P. If she connects, she will perform on them followed by an explosive kiss
• relatively low damage move for an HSDM and no practical ways of connecting it
• quite punishable on block

Notes

• cancellable normals are close A, crouch A, far A, close B(both hits), close C, crouch C, close D(2), crouch D
• CD is cancellable into special moves and DMs

Combos

Everywhere

1. [Jump attack] Close B(2)/Crouch C, qcb+Cx3/dp+C - 20%-25%

This is Mature's basic no-meter combo. If using crouch C, make sure it doesn't hit too far away of the qcb+Cx3 won't combo after. Using dp+C doesn't give you enough space between you and the opponent after the combo, to set up a fireball trap.

2. [Jump attack] Close B(2), qcfx2+P - 30%

This is a combo you'll be using a lot, especially after a jump B or empty jump. Decent damage from a one stock low combo that is also easy to hit confirm.

3. Crouch BB, [Crouch B], Crouch A, qcfx2+P - 35%

This is your dash in combo and depending on how close you are to the opponent, you will have forced to omit some crouch B's. Comboing the 4 weak attacks before the super is very hard even if you are pointblank in front of the opponent, so I wouldn't recommend trying it.

4. [Jump attack] Crouch C, qcb hcf+K - 38%

Her most damaging one stock combo, use this off a hit confirm from a jump attack right before, or to punish moves with lots of recovery

5. [Jump attack] Crouch AA, Far B(2), BC, hop B, Close B, qcfx2+AC - 53%

The maxmode activation into hyper hop B makes this combo difficult to execute. It also best works against standing characters, or crouching characters that don't have low crouches(such as Athena's low crouch), otherwise the first hit of hop B won't connect and the combo will fail.

6. [Jump attack] Crouch AA, Far B(2), qcb hcf+BC - 38%

This is mainly a flashy combo and there isn't much reason to perform it. Far B stuns just like a strong attack, allowing you to combo the qcb hcf+K DM. Far B isn't cancellable so you have to use maxmode bypass by executing the DM with BC. This takes two stocks and so isn't really worth it for the damage.

Note: Mature has more maxmode combos that are for the most part, not that practical. This section will be updated later.

Strategies

Overview

Mature isn't a particularly strong character, many tierlists placing her at lower-mid or mid at best. She suffers from a syndrome that is common with many characters in Kof2002 - she has too many moves that have no useful application outside of combos (or even in combos). The core of her game centers around a select few normals and special moves, those being her qcf hcb+P projectile, weak attack pokes, jump B and a few other ground/jumping normals to handle some specific situations.

Pros:

• strong zoning game
• good high/low offensive game using hop B and close B/crouch B
• decent damage one stock combos

Cons:

• no practical high damage combos
• zero stock B&B combos do low damage
• no fast reversal moves on wakeup so she is forced to either block or take risks with a slow but invincible super
• no reliable crossups

Zoning

Mature's zoning game is primarily based on the usage of her qcf hcb+A projectile. It's great mainly because it's slow, with a very tall vertical hitbox, making it difficult for many characters to jump over it. It also has good recovery time, making it safe at most distances from punishes. You can usually throw it out and be able to recover fast enough to anti-air jump attacks with crouch C, intercept jump attacks with superjump or vertical jump C, or run forward and punish rolls with crouch C.

After releasing the projectile, if they haven't made an action until you have recovered from throwing the projectile, then you can run after it. Depending on how far away the opponent was, you may be able to run after it such that you can go for a high/low mixup involving hop B and close B(with a possible empty jump) while they are blocking the projectile.

You can alternatively decide to position yourself to be able to punish any actions the opponent makes, and if they block the projectile, immediately release another one. There's a couple of things to consider here. Firstly, note that Mature cannot have two projectiles on screen at the same time, which is why you are waiting for the first one to get blocked. If you try to throw out a second one while the first is on screen, you will get qcb+P coming out instead, which is a very bad move to whiff. Secondly if the opponent has meter, they can guard roll the first projectile and punish the second one.