Chin is a tricky character that has slow mobility and short reach. To compensate for this, Chin has a lot of tricks up his sleeves, with two stances and a variety of mixup options when he gets close. Chin's stances allows him to fully dodge either low or high attacks, and he has a couple of forward-moving special moves out of them that can help him get in. Up close, Chin has a nice overhead, an untechable throw, a command grab DM, a nice crossup, and a good low presence, so when he gets in he can make it count. While Chin's normals have poor reach, most of them do have good hitboxes and frame data on them. Chin's combo damage is also solid, and he has access to a variety of powerful DMs that make him a lot stronger when he has access to meter.
Changes from Previous Versions
98 to 98UM
Normals:
st.D has 6 frames less startup
f+A can be cancelled when done raw
Second and third hitbox of cr.C has been removed
Specials:
hcf+K's recovery, by itself and as a followup to his stances, got reduced
hcf+K can now be canceled on hit or block into his d,d+K stance
During his d,d+K stance, if you lie down long enough (about ticks on the timer), Chin will start regaining life until he gets up or the opponent hits him
Supers:
qcfx2+K added
hcbx2+P added
qcf,hcb+P startup decreased, can now combo from lights
98UM to 98UMFE
Specials:
hcf+B is +3 on block
hcf+D is +1 on block
qcb+C reduced pushback on first hit
dp+A now has faster startup
Normal Moves
Close
cl.A: Slower startup than his other lights, so not very useful. Chainable and cancelable.
cl.B: Fast startup, making it nice for tick throws. Chainable and cancelable.
cl.C: His main heavy normal for combos. Has a lot of active frames so it's good for meaties. Cancelable.
cl.D: Two-hitting normal. Has long startup so it's hard to combo into. Has a good amount of low invincibility. Cancelable.
Standing
st.A: Decent anti-hop button and short-ranged poke. Has nice priority. Cancelable.
st.B: Good speed and good priority. Cancelable.
st.C: Decent poke. Cancelable on hit, block, and whiff.
st.D: Nice priority. Has low invincibility while the kick is active.
Crouching
cr.A: Good for light confirms. Chainable and cancelable.
cr.B: Hits low. Good for light confirms, not very good on block so chain into cr.A to make it safer. Chainable.
cr.C: Decent anti-air button. Has a ton of recovery so always try and cancel it. Cancelable on hit, block, and whiff.
cr.D: Standard low sweep. Has a lot of recovery.
Jumping
j.A: Nice downwards hitbox. A good jump-in when you want something more reliable than j.C.
j.B: Decent air-to-air normal.
j.C: A two-hitting jump-in normal that's a core part of Chin's mixup game.
j.D: Useful crossup button.
CD Normals
st.CD: Long startup, but has a nice hitbox in front and a bit above Chin. Cancelable on hit, block, or whiff.
j.CD: Decent for blockstun pressure and as a crossup.
Throws
Sake Slammer:b/f+C (close)
Hold throw, not techable. Chin climbs up on the opponent and forces them to drink. Can be mashed out of to reduce the damage. Leaves the opponent lying in front of Chin with a hard knockdown.
Reverse Leg Launcher:b/f+D (close)
Regular throw, techable. Chin flings the opponent behind him to the other end of the screen, causing a soft knockdown.
Command Moves
Staggering Sake Gourd Attack:f+A
Went from being the worst command normal in Vanilla 98 to being an amazing one.
It moves him forward, hits overhead if done raw (or if late-canceled into), combos from heavy normals, and is cancelable both raw and if chained into. Combine this with Chin's ability to stance cancel, and it can be a strong offensive option.
Still very minus on block and hit, so be sure to always cancel it into something.
Special Moves
Gourd Attack:qcb+A/C
The A version is unchanged from how it was in Vanilla: a far-reaching attack that deletes fireballs, good to cancel far C into just as a poke string. Not very safe to use against a cornered opponent though.
The C version, however, was significantly buffed as a combo tool compared to Vanilla 98. The first hit keeps the opponent in place, and the second hit knocks down. Keep in mind that because the first hit of the C version has less reach than the A version, the first hit of the C version won't connect when you cancel far C into it at further ranges.
Fire Blast:qcf+A/C
An upward sake spit that deletes fireballs, knocks down, and can be crouched under.
C version has slower startup and lasts longer than the A version.
It's best use is as an anti air. In Vanilla 98 this move was too slow to be a reliable enough anti air, but in UMFE it's much faster.
Burning Sake Belch:dp+A/C
Chin flails around like the old drunken geezer he is and smacks the opponent around as he travels in an arc.
The A version works well as a reversal and as an anti air, while the C version gives Chin the ability to get really good damage and corner carry off of light normals without spending any meter.
It combos from heavy normals up close too, but it may fall out at some ranges.
Both versions are really unsafe on block, so only use it if you know it's going to hit.
Rolling Punch:hcf+B/D
Chin rolls forward and then does a punch at the end of the roll, knocking the opponent down.
The B version rolls a shorter distance than the D version, but it comes out faster. Neither version can be combo-ed into.
During the forward roll, Chin will low-profile attacks, meaning he can basically only be hit with lows and things that touch the ground, like Iori's fireball. A pretty great move for going under a lot of pokes and projectiles like Takuma's fireball.
This move was also significantly improved in comparison to Vanilla 98, as the punch itself has significantly less recovery, and it can be canceled into d,d+B/D on block or hit.
Drunken Twister:d,d+A/C
Chin starts a drunken sway.
The A version of this stance makes Chin completely invincible to lows and mids, with only his head having a hurtbox.
Can be good for avoiding sweeps and low pokes.
The C version makes him completely invincible to highs and mids, with only his feet having a hurtbox.
This version can be good for avoiding higher-hitting attacks like mid pokes, jumping attacks and airborne projectiles.
Can be canceled with ABCD. Cancelling the stance is instant, but Chin will automatically do a normal upon doing so. Doing f + ABCD will have him do his f+A, for example. However, if you press a button of your choosing first and then press the other 3 buttons immediately after, Chin will do the button that was pressed first, meaning you can combo close C into far C, for example.
Butterfly Fishing:f+A/C (during d,d+A/C)
Chin does a forwards flying elbow.
A version flies a shorter distance than the C version.
Both versions are very punishable on block.
The elbow does have a good hitbox, so the attack could hit someone trying to jump or run in, but it's a bit too risky to be used often if at all.
Rolling Punch:f+B/D (during d,d+A/C)
Completely identical to hcf+K.
Mochizuki Intoxicator:d,d+B/D
Chin lays down on the ground and starts sleeping.
Chin can move forward or backward during this stance.
This move makes Chin's hurtbox very low to the ground, so he can low-profile airborne projectiles and other high-hitting moves.
Can be canceled with ABCD.
Serpent Adversary:u+B (during d,d+A/C)
Chin flies forwards from his lying stance and delivers a series of kicks.
Can be used as a surprise attack to catch someone trying to jump or go in, can also go over and punish grounded fireballs.
Very punishable on block.
Carp Can Can:u+D (during d,d+A/C)
Chin rolls backwards while kicking to get back up on his feet.
Can be used as a way to fairly safely retreat and create distance between Chin and the opponent.
The kicks can anti-air or hit someone trying to run in.
On block, the opponent can punish if they have a fast and far-reaching DM, like a fireball or a ranbu type move.
Rolling Punch:f+B/D (during d,d+A/C)
Completely identical to hcf+K.
Desperation Moves
Invitation to the Furnace:qcf,hcb+A/C
Chin engulfs himself in flames and drunkenly walks forwards.
Combos from lights and heavies, albeit extremely inconsistently. The first hit has virtually no reach, so it falls out in combos all the time.
Its only use is as a combo tool, since it's not safe on block and has no invincibility. Chin's qcfx2+P is far more consistent in combos and does more damage anyway.
MAX version does more damage.
Thunder Blast:qcfx2+A/C
Chin blows a large flame from his mouth.
A version goes diagonally upwards and the C version goes straight forwards.
Hits once, unless if it hits as a counter hit, in which case it will hit twice and do much more damage.
Both versions can be used as very strong anti-airs, but the A version is generally better for that. The hitboxes on both versions are huge.
Both versions also have invincibility up until they hit, meaning they'll either trade or win when used as a reversal.
The C version can be used as a big and fairly safe poke.
Due to the pushback of the move it can be hard to punish on block, especially since it hits so many times.
If it hits a cornered opponent and they tech roll, they'll have to block the rest of the move, which will leave Chin minus and potentially open for a punish.
MAX version shoots flames everywhere in front of Chin and does more damage.
Super Sake Slammer:hcbx2+A/C (close)
Instant command grab DM, mashing does not increase damage. MAX version does less damage but will immediately stun the opponent.
Good reversal and punish option, like other instant command grabs.
Surprisingly combos from both hits of close D, making it very easy to confirm into.
Also combos from chaining close C into f + A, although only if Chin is touching up against the opponent.
Stumbling Hermit Bombast:qcfx2+B/D
This DM is effectively just a taunt, similar to Dan's ultimate taunt in Street Fighter.
Chin does the dance from his win pose and then looks around him. Each step he takes has a hitbox and causes a soft knockdown.
The hits of this DM each do roughly the same amount of damage as a light normal and do not combo into each other.
Each step can hit OTG.
The only way to combo into this is by canceling a point-blank light normal into it. It's still unsafe on hit and does pitiful damage, so only do it if your opponent is stunned, has a sliver of health left, and you want to spend meter to do something funny.
If finished the whole way through the opponent loses 1 bar. MAX version makes them lose all bars.
Combos
General Notes
Meterless
Low
cr.B, st.B, dp+C
Confirm from a low.
Overhead
f+a, d, d+A, C(ABD), qcb+A
Fairly difficult, but it's good damage off an overhead confirm. Also can be used as a safe blockstring.
Mid/Jump-In
(j.X), cl.C, f+A, qcb+C
Meterless punish/neutral combo. Can be done off of a jump-in.
(j.X), cl.C, f+A, dp+C
Stronger version of the above that only works at closer ranges. Jump-in version requires a deep jump-in that leaves you close to the opponent.
With Meter
Low
cr.B, st.B, qcfx2+C
You can do this as cr.B, qcf+B, qcf+C for an easier cancel.
