The King of Fighters '98 UMFE/King

Introduction

King is primarily a neutral and zoning character with access to some great normals and some solid zoning tools, including fireballs, an invincible reversal/anti-air, and a great low-profiling slide. Her great defensive normals allow her to cover different important spaces well, both on the ground and in the air. Her fireballs, along with her multiple anti-airs, can make her a hard character to approach, and she also has multiple good defensive options to deal with pressure. Her biggest weakness is her lack of mixups, making her offense very simple to defend against.

Character Comparison

	King	EX King
Gameplan differences	King is a zoner sporting a solid pressure game with a stable gameplan that doesn't necessitate meter thanks to her very solid special moves.	EX King is a zoner that has good mix-up up close, whose kit is amplified greatly if she has meter thanks to having one of the best supers in the game
Combo differences	King has better meterless combos at longer ranges and good supers to combo, which can be improved upon further if the player is good at switching routes depending if the opponent is standing or not	EX King has access to a launcher at closer ranges, and amazing corner damage if the player's execution is up to par, and just like with Regular King, her supers are very combo friendly, which all end in very good oki
Neutral	King plays like a traditional zoner, with great normals, multiple projectiles, and a meterless reversal/anti air	EX King has tools for offense and defense, with access to one of the best reversals in the game, Surprise Rose, locked behind meter
Preferred System Mechanics	King is an already solid character on her own, with good meter build and opportunities to charge up, who also doesn't mind what other system mechanics you use her, making her a very flexible point character.	EX King doesn't mind what mechanics you choose to use on her, but becomes one of the best zoners in the game if she has access to meter, making her a scary mid or anchor in every team.

Changes from Previous Versions

98 to 98UM

Normals:

• df+D damage has been reduced, you can now cancel the raw version

• GCCD recovery has been increased

• cr.B is now cancelable

• st.C priority has been reduced

Specials:

• hcb+C now knocks down

• dp+P will now connect consistently from second hit of cl.D

• dp+K's hitbox size has been increased

• Added invincibility to hcb+D, both versions can now be used as reversals

Supers:

• qcf,hcb+B no longer has a backflip, so it comes out fast and can be used as a reliable combo ender

• qcbx2+K now has 2f faster startup, both regular and MAX version can be used after the second hit of cl.D; it is now fast enough to combo from lights

98UM to 98UMFE

Specials:

• qcf+D now has 4 frames less recovery

Normal Moves

Close

• cl.A: Whiffs on tiny crouchers. Chainable and cancelable.

• cl.B: Fast standing low. Cancelable.

• cl.C: Hits above King, so it can be used as a close-range anti-air. For combos, cl.D is the better choice. Whiffs on tiny crouchers. Cancelable.

• cl.D: Two-hitting kick normal: the first kick hits straight ahead and the second one goes upwards. This is your main combo option from jump-ins or for punishes, as the two hits make it easy to hit-confirm. Both hits are cancelable.

Standing

• st.A: Standard standing jab with good range and priority. Great for stopping hops. Chainable.

• st.B: Has low invulnerability when she's off the ground. Good for stopping hops, but is prone to trading as an anti-air against jumps.

• st.C: Very fast and active poke that can catch hops and function as a anti-air from further away. It also works well against grounded opponents in neutral, though it won't hit crouchers other than the large ones and is susceptible to getting hit by lows.

• st.D: Another good poke, hits a bit lower than st.C. Works well for anti-airs at long range, where you hit with the tip of her shoe.

Crouching

• cr.A: A standard crouching jab. Decent for blockstrings. Chainable and cancelable.

• cr.B: This is your main low combo option alongside cl.B. Chainable and cancelable.

• cr.C: One of King's best anti-airs, as it has nice priority and hits the space above King. On hit, you can cancel it into qcf+B to force your opponent to block it as they're coming down. Cancelable on hit, block, and whiff.

• cr.D: This is a pretty bad sweep, as it has about the same length of her cr.B. It does have a lot of active frames, though.

Jumping

• j.A: A fairly standard j.A that gets outclassed by her other jumping buttons.

• j.B: One of your two go-to air-to-airs alongside j.CD. Use j.B when you think j.CD will be too slow to come out.

• j.C: A strong jump-in normal. Can be used for crossups.

• j.D: Another good jump-in normal. Comes out very fast and can be used as an instant overhead. When used as a jump-in attack, delay the button press so that you hit them deep.

CD Normals

• st.CD: Great close-range tool, as it has low invulnerability and is cancelable, so you can cancel it into fireballs on block. Makes for a good meaty. Slightly plus on block. Cancelable on hit, block, and whiff.

• j.CD: This is great as an air-to-air as well as a jump-in, as it covers a large area in a sweeping arc. One of King's best air-to-air buttons, and great to use as a jump-in for pressure.

Throws

Hold Rush: b/f+C (close)

• Regular throw, techable. King delivers a knee strike and an uppercut that sends the opponent almost fullscreen away.

Hook Buster: b/f+D (close)

• Regular throw, techable. King grabs the opponent with her legs and flips them behind her, leaving them fullscreen away.

Command Moves

Sliding Kick: df+D

• A low-hitting slide.

• This move allows King to low-profile attacks, making it good to use as a ranged poke and as an answer to airborne fireballs.

• Fairly unique in that it is only cancelable during the raw version and not the canceled one. You can get around this in combos by late-canceling into it, which makes it act like the raw version while still combo-ing.

• You can cancel it into a special move like qcf+K for pressure or hcb+P for a combo. Safe if spaced out, but punishable if done too close and not canceled.

Special Moves

Venom Strike: qcf+B/D

• King throws a projectile using her legs.

• B version goes 1/2 screen and D version goes almost fullscreen, but will not hit opponents at the end of the screen.

• Has a large amount of low invulnerability during the throwing animation.

• Fairly slow for a projectile, especially when it comes to recovery, so you should be careful when throwing these. Always be ready to anti-air after throwing one, as the opponent is likely to jump over them.

• They can be hopped over.

Double Venom Strike: qcfx2+B/D

• Kings sends two projectiles out instead of one. The first projectile will be the same as qcf+K and the second one will fly a bit further than the first.

• The two fireballs come at the cost of an even heftier recovery period, so this move is even more susceptible to getting jumped. It works well for blockstrings, though, and the second projectile can catch people trying to take an action after blocking the first or hop/jumping over the first one if they were only expecting one.

Trap Shoot: dp+B/D

• King does a backflip while kicking. If it hits, the opponent gets combo-ed and eventually kicked away.

• On block, it has a lot of pushback, making it fairly safe. Not good as an anti-air despite how it looks, as it will lose or at best trade against jump-in attacks, and if it trades it does zero damage.

• Despite the motion, it doesn't work as a DP at all, and is instead good for ending combos or just taking up space in neutral.

• Causes a soft knockdown.

Tornado Kick: hcb+B/D

• King does a series of kicks diagonally upwards in the air.

• The B version is King's go-to reversal, as it has invincibility on startup and on the first few active frames.

• The D version is a good combo ender in most cases. Does not make for a great anti-air unless done very late. On block or whiff it is very punishable.

• Causes soft knockdown.

Surprise Rose: dp+A/C

• King does a rising kick into a backflip into a series of diagonally descending kicks.

• The second grounded hit launches the opponent into the air so they can be hit by the rest. If the second hit whiffs the opponent stays on the ground while King does the rest of the move.

• C version travels further than the A version, but other than that they're the same.

• It has 2 frames of startup invincibility.

• A hard move to punish on block; as a result, it can be used for some safe chip damage, but if the opponent reacts they can stop the move with an anti-air.

• Causes a soft knockdown if the opponent was launched into the air.

Mirage Kick: hcb+A/C

• King runs forward and delivers a series of kicks.

• Both versions can combo from lights.

• The A version leaves the opponent standing but the C version causes a soft knockdown.

• Safe on block in most cases.

• It has low invincibility on startup. The C version has longer startup but more low invincibility.

Desperation Moves

Illusion Kick: qcf,hcb+B/D

• King's ranbu-style DM.

• In the B version, King goes directly into the ranbu and delivers a series of hits. In the D version, King jumps backwards and then goes into the ranbu.

• B version is a good combo tool and will combo from her heavy normals, as well as a slide when close enough. D version is too slow to combo outside of specific scenarios.

• It also can be used as a decent anti-air option.

Silent Slash: qcbx2+B/D

• King does a backflip kick and then a followup that goes straight upwards. If this hits on a grounded opponent, the opponent gets sent straight upwards with King.

• This is mainly useful as a combo tool from cl.D, although it can combo from lights as well.

• Though it looks like it could anti-air it's awful for it, because if it hits an opponent in the air the followup will not combo, not even when they're in the corner.

Combos

General Notes

Meterless

Low

cr.B, cr.B/cr.A/st.B, hcb+D/dp+D

Meterless combo from low starter. hcb+D does more damage but dp+D is safer if blocked.

Mid/Jump-In

(j.X), cl.D (1), df+D, hcb+D/C

Meterless combo from a close starter or jump-in. Must cancel into df+D as late as possible.

Corner

(j.X), cl.D(1), df+D, dp+A, hcb+D

Corner combo using dp+A for a combo extension. Use cl.D(1) if you started the combo from a jump in. Must cancel into df+D as late as possible.

With Meter

Mid/Jump-In

(j.X), cl.D(1), df+D, qcf,hcb+B

metered combo from close starter or jump in. Must cancel into df+D as late as possible.

(j.X), cl.D(2), qcbx2+K

With Quick MAX

Low

cr.B, ABC, cl.D(1), df+D, qcf,hcb+B

Quick MAX combo from low starter. Requires a short walk before the cl.D. Must cancel into df+D as late as possible.

Corner

(j.X), cl.D, hcb+C, ABC, hcb+D

Quick MAX combo in the corner that leaves you with MAX activated.

(j.X), cl.D(1), df+D, hcb+C, ABC, qcf,hcb+B

The same combo as above but with a DM ender. Must cancel into df+D as late as possible.

cl.D, dp+D, ABC, qcf,hcb+B

Another option for a Quick MAX corner combo.

Videos

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