The King of Fighters '98 UMFE/Mature

Introduction

Mature is an interesting mix between a zoner and a close-range pressure character. Her main attraction is her big projectile; it's slow to come out, but it recovers fast and travels slow enough that Mature can either choose to go in behind it to set up offense, or wait for the opponent's response to it if she wants to be defensive. To complement this, she has a lot of moves that move her forward to help close the distance to the opponent. Her best tools up close are her good low hitconfirms and hop pressure to complement them. She's also got some good specials for dealing chip damage and ending her blockstrings safely. Her weaknesses include a lack of strong mixups outside of the aforementioned high-low, and a lack of a meterless invincible reversal.

Changes from Previous Versions

98 to 98UM

Normals:

• cl.C now does more damage

• cl.D now does more damage

• st.D now has 5 frames less startup

Specials:

• qcb+K now knocks down, and the recovery on block is now the same for both versions

• qcb+B now has 2 frames more startup, 3 fewer active frames, and 2 more recovery frames

• qcb+D now has 3 fewer active frames and 5 fewer recovery frames

• qcf+A now has 2 less startup frames, 3 more active frames, and 11 fewer recovery frames

• qcf+C now has 3 more active frames and 6 fewer recovery frames

• Hurtbox at the end of qcf+P has been made taller, so it's easier to hit it with an aerial attack

• hcf+K now has less recovery

• hcf+B now lifts the opponent up in place, allowing for juggles

• dp+P now knocks down; A version knocks down at the second part of the move, C version needs all the parts to knock down

Supers:

• qcb,hcf+BD has increased invincibility, and it now looks like it did in '96

98UM to 98UMFE

Specials:

• qcb+D now has slower startup but less recovery

• dp+P now does more damage

Normal Moves

Close

• cl.A: Same as st.A.

• cl.B: Same as st.B.

• cl.C: Fast attack that is good for combos. Cancelable.

• cl.D: Slow two-hit kick; first hit hits low to the ground (but can be blocked either way) and the second one higher up. Cancelable.

Standing

• st.A: Good range and speed, making it an excellent button for checking the opponent's approach. Whiffs on regular crouchers. Chainable and cancelable.

• st.B: Two-hitting standing low. Great for hit-confirming and empty jump mixups. Cancelable.

• st.C: Decent poking normal at midrange. Whiffs on tiny crouchers.

• st.D: Slow but very long-ranged kick. It has a lot of recovery, so you need to space it to be safe.

Crouching

• cr.A: Similar to her cl.A, but hits lower. One of her main pokes and light chain buttons. Chainable and cancelable.

• cr.B: Low-hitting kick. One of her main low combo starters and close-range pressure buttons. Chainable, not cancelable.

• cr.C: Fast and high-hitting. It has two stages, the first one has a nice anti-airing hitbox but the second one will get beat out easily. Cancelable.

• cr.D: A sweep with good range. Hits low. Cancelable on hit, block, and whiff.

Jumping

• j.A: Mature's most reliable jump-in normal.

• j.B: Mature's other jump-in normal. Hits two times and is good for mixups, but is less consistent than j.A.

• j.C: Mature's best air-to-air. Hits straight in front of Mature with great priority.

• j.D: Mature's other air-to-air normal. Hits higher up than j.C, but is slower and has less priority.

CD Normals

• st.CD: Slow startup, but it has good range. Cancelable on hit, block, and whiff.

• j.CD: Great jump-in button for pressure, but it has a lot of startup.

Throws

Death Blow: b/f+C (close)

• Regular throw, techable. Mature grabs the opponent and slashes them while throwing them almost fullscreen away. Causes a soft knockdown.

Back Rush: b/f+D (close)

• Regular throw, techable. Mature throws the opponent right behind her, causing a backturned hard knockdown.

Command Moves

Crematory: f+B

• Long-range poke with great priority.

• Not cancelable, so its only real use is as a poke.

Special Moves

Death Downer: qcb+A/C (x3)

• Mature's 3-part rekka, and one of her core moves.

• The C version is one of her main combo tools, as it has a lot of reach and can be used after her long light strings.

• The A version is safer: and doing 2 A rekkas after a blockstring is safe, but doing two C rekkas after a blockstring is not.

• Doing 3 A rekkas is still safe because of the pushback, but the third rekka can whiff if the distance is great enough. 3 C rekkas after a blockstring is fairly safe due to the pushback.

• This move is very susceptible to guard cancel rolls.

• You can stagger the rekkas for some frame traps.

• Causes a soft knockdown.

Metal Massacre: qcb+B/D

• A forward-travelling attack, where Mature does 3 slashes as she reaches the end point of her forwards dash.

• The light version combos from heavies.

• The heavy version is very safe on block, which makes it a good approaching and pressure tool.

• The light version is faster but is punishable on block, so use that one mainly for catching rolls in combination with qcf,hcb+P.

Despair: qcf+A/C

• A forwards airborne strike with a lot of startup.

• A version is faster and travels in a lower arc than C version.

• Has a very nice hitbox with great priority once out, making it good for preemptively beating out stuff.

• A version is very safe on block, making it a good option for ending blockstrings. C version is punishable on block if done too close to the opponent.

Deceaser: hcf+B/D

• Mature does a long-ranged pull by stretching her arm.

• B version throws the opponent straight up in the air, allowing for juggles. D version throws them far behind Mature.

• Though it has a lot of startup, it's a decent long-range poking tool, as the pushback it has makes it quite safe.

• On hit you can go into her qcb,hcf+K DM, or a normal for a reset if you're close enough.

• Cannot be combo-ed into normally, but can be with Quick MAX.

• Causes a hard knockdown if you don't juggle anything after it.

Sacrilege: dp+A/C

• A multi-hitting move where Mature goes flying forward while twirling.

• Has no invincibility frames, so it can not be used as a reversal.

• Both A and C versions are unsafe on block, though A version is harder to punish.

• Neither version has very good anti-airing hitboxes, but both have fairly good hitboxes in front of Mature.

• C version is a good combo ender due to its large corner carry.

Ebony Tears: qcf,hcb+A/C

• One of Mature's signature moves, a very large and slow-moving projectile that takes up space from the ground up to hopping distance.

• One of the key moves in Mature's gameplan, as it allows her to zone out characters without a fireball to fight back with, run in behind it to start offense, or do it up-close as a pressure tool.

• It has a lot of startup but recovers very quickly, allowing her to follow up after it easily.

• Mature can throw this out at a distance and react to the opponent's attempt to deal with it, then punish them for it.

• Causes a soft knockdown on hit.

Desperation Moves

Nocturnal Lights: qcfx2+A/C

• Mature does a series of slashes, like her rekka but with more attacks and no additional inputs required.

• Great for combo-ing into from both lights and heavies, but not used for much else.

• MAX version does more hits and more damage.

• Causes a soft knockdown on hit.

Heaven's Gates: qcb,hcf+B/D

• Mature runs forward, grabs the opponent, and slams them into the wall.

• This move is a hitgrab, so the opponent can block it.

• This move has a lot of invincibility frames, so it can be used as a reversal.

• Can also be used as an anti-air because of the invincibility.

• The MAX version does more damage.

• Causes a hard knockdown.

Combos

General Notes

Meterless

Low

cr.B, cr.Ax1-3, qcb+Cx3

One of her main low starter BnBs that gives you a lot of hits to hitconfirm from.

cr.B, st.B, qcb+Px3

Another low starter BnB that is easier due to st.B's two hits, but not as damaging.

Mid/Jump-In

(j.X), cl.C, qcb+C/dp+C

Meterless BnB from a heavy button or jump-in.

With Meter

Low

cr.B, cr.Ax1-3, qcfx2+P

Metered ender for her main low BnB.

cr.B, st.B, qcfx2+P

Metered ender for her other low BnB.

Mid/Jump-In

(j.X), cl.C, qcfx2+P

Metered ender for her heavy/jump-in combo.

With Quick MAX

(j.X), cl.C, hcf+B, ABC, qcb,hcf+K

Quick MAX combo into her hcf+B into DM. Can be input as hcb+ABC.

Videos

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