The King of Fighters XIV/Iori Yagami
Movelist
(*) = EX OK
(!) = MAX OK
Throws
Sakahagi - close 
/ 
+ 
Kanyarai - close / + 
Command Normals
Ge-Shiki • Yumebiki - + 
- ┗Ge-Shiki • Yumebiki (Follow Up) -
Ge-Shiki • Gofu In 'Shinigami' - + 
Ge-Shiki • Yuriori - in air +
Special Moves
108 Shiki • Yamibarai - 
+ / (*)
100 Shiki • Oniyaki - 
+ / (*)
127 Shiki • Aoibana 1 - 
+ / (*)
- ┗127 Shiki • Aoibana 2 - [127 Shiki • Aoibana 1]
+ / 
- ┗127 Shiki • Aoibana 3 - [127 Shiki • Aoibana 2] + /
- ┗127 Shiki • Aoibana 3 - [127 Shiki • Aoibana 2]
212 Shiki • Kototsuki In - 
+ / (*)
Kuzukaze - close, , + / (*)
311 Shiki • Tsumakushi - + / (*)
Super Special Moves
Kin 1211 • Yaotome - 
+ / (!)
- ┗Ura 316 Shiki • Saika [Kin 1211 • Yaotome or ]
x4 +
Ura 1018 Shiki • Yashiori - 
+ / (!)
Climax Super Special Moves
Kin 1218 Shiki • Yatagarasu +
Quick Combo Reference
| 0 Meter |
Low, Anywhere |
(cr.B, cr.A, f+A, qcb+Cx3) = (185 DMG) |
| 1 Meter |
Anywhere |
(j.C, cl.C, f+A, [MAX] cl.C, f+A, qcb+ACx3, hcb+BD) = (383 dmg) |
| 2 Meters | Anywhere |
(j.C, cl.C, f+A, [MAX] cl.C, f+A, qcb+ACx3, qcb+A, [SC] qcf~hcb+P) = (546 dmg) |
Gameplay Overview
Iori is one of the most versatile characters in KOF, with a wide array of normals and specials for both offense and defense. He uses his high mobility and his dominant normals to flit in and out of ranges as he needs for zoning or pressure. When Iori is in your face, he can pour on the pressure with hop pressure, ground overheads, strong lows, a command throw that starts a combo, and one of the nastiest crossups in the game. At range, he has a Shoryuken-style move to anti-air and wake up with, some great counterpokes, anti-air and air-to-air normals, as well as a decent projectile to fight fireball wars with. He has some of the deadliest MAX mode conversions in the game and a phenomenal Climax Art. His versatility and superb use of meter makes him a great fit for any team, in any order. His execution requirements range from low to medium-high depending on what you want to do with him, making him usable by both beginners and veterans.
Normals
Standing
Far A: Plus on block, but not special-cancellable. Can chain into itself at a very specific spacing. Generally not as much of an all-purpose poke as far B. Super-cancellable.
Far B: Minus but safe on block. Can be a surprisingly good anti-hop move due both to its range and how far it reaches from Iori's vulnerable face. Chains from his A normals. Not special or super-cancellable.
Far C: Fast, minus but safe. Doesn't hit quite as high as the graphic might suggest, making it a situational anti-air compared to cr.C and cl.C. No longer special-cancellable like in old games. Still super-cancellable.
Far D: Slightly minus on block. One of Iori's best pokes, with great range, speed, and safety to attempt counterpokes with. A great candidate for MAX cancel conversions.
Close
Close A: Plus on block, special/super cancellable, and chains to command normals and his other A/B normals (except st.A). Leaves Iori close enough on hit to combo Kuzukaze. Advantageous enough on hit to link cl.C. Great combo/string filler and frame trap/pressure tool.
Close B: Hits low, plus on block. Can link cl.C after on hit. Special/super-cancellable, and chains to command normals. Not chainable to other A/B normals. Still a great close-range tool.
Close C: Minus on block, but otherwise an excellent frame-trap tool, combo filler, and close-range/run-under anti-air. Special/super-cancellable, chains to command normals, and is fast enough to link from Iori's cl.A, cl.B, and cr.A normals.
Close D: Minus but safe on block. Super-cancellable, but not chainable or special-cancellable. Whiffs on many crouching opponents. In most situations where you might use this move (combo filler, run-under anti-air), cl.C is a better choice.
Crouching
Crouching A: Plus on block, special-cancellable, and chains to command normals. A core pressure tool with his c.B and great string filler since it can chain to cl.A, cl.B, and c.B.
Crouching B: An especially great c.B because it shrinks Iori's already low crouch even farther to the ground, making it great to duck under many non-deep jump-ins for an anti-air combo. Chains to all of Iori's other light normals, making it great for blockstrings and hit-confirms.
Crouching C: Minus but safe on block. Reaches high above Iori's head, and can hit crouching opponents right in front of him. A great short-notice anti-air for when you can't react with a DP. Great 0-bar combo filler from Kuzukaze as well. Special/super-cancellable, and chains to command normals.
Crouching D: A very high-risk sweep despite its fast startup, since it's not special/super/chain-cancellable and very punishable on block. Iori players should really steer clear of using this sweep to whiff punish in favor of his other long-reaching pokes.
Jumping
Jump A: Has short range but a nice number of active frames. Best used either for defensive air-to-air or as an early hop attack, but it can be low profiled by short c.B's.
Jump B: One of Iori's best air-to-airs for offensive and defensive jumps. Good startup, good active frames, good range, its only downside is that it doesn't reach very deep and can be ducked under by many anti-air normals.
Jump C: Iori's deepest jump-in besides j.CD and Yuriori. Has enough speed and active frames to be quite effective when thrown out early to try and stuff anti-air normals.
Jump D: Slightly longer range than j.B. A great defensive air-to-air from a back hop or back jump, as well as a max-range offensive hop attack. Can be low-profiled by c.B's like Iori's own.
Blowback
Stand CD: Minus on block. Punishable by fast supers. Reasonably fast, but not a lot of range. However, it can be hit-confirmed midscreen without special-cancelling via his qcf+C fireball into Yaotome.
Jumping CD: One of Iori's deepest jump-ins. Slow, but its depth helps give Iori massive advantage on block, and sets up fuzzy-guard mixups with his j.A.
Throws
Sakahagi - (b/f+C) close
- (description)
- Can be broken
- (soft or hard knockdown)
Kanyarai - (b/f+D) close
- (description)
- Can be broken
- (soft or hard knockdown)
Command Moves
Ge-shiki * Yumebiki - - (f+A)
- (description here)
- Additional command - (A)
- (description here)
Ge-shiki * Yuri Ori - (back+B) in air
- (description here)
Ge-shiki * Gofu In "Shinigami" - (f+B)
- (description here)
Special Moves
Yami Barai - (qcf + A/C)
- (description here)
- (description here)
- (description here)
EX: (description here)
Oniyaki - (dp + A/C)
- (description here)
- (description here)
- (description here)
EX: (description here)
127 Shiki * Aoibana 1 - (qcb + A/C)
- (description here)
- (description here)
- (description here)
EX: (description here)
- 127 Shiki * Aoibana 2 - (qcb + A/C)
- (description here)
- 127 Shiki * Aoibana 3 - (qcb + A/C)
- (description here)
212 Shiki * Kototsuki In - (hcb + B/D)
- (description here)
- (description here)
- (description here)
- EX: (description here)
Kuzukaze - (hcb,f + A/C)
- (description here)
- (description here)
- (description here)
EX: (description here)
311 Shiki * Tsumakushi - (dp + B/D)
- (description here)
- (description here)
- (description here)
EX: (description here)
Super Special Moves
Kin 1211 Shiki * Yaotome - (qcf~hcb + A/C)
- (description here)
- (description here)
- (description here)
Max:
- Ura 316 Shiki * Saika - (qcfx4 + B/D)
- (description here)
- (description here)
- (description here)
Max:
Ura 1018 Shiki * Yashiori - (qcb~hcf + A/C)
- (description here)
- (description here)
- (description here)
Max:
Climax Super Special Moves
Kin 1218 Shiki * Yatagarasu - - (qcf, qcf + B+D)
- (description here)
- (description here)
- (description here)
Combos
- When Advanced Cancelling Iori's Maiden Masher into his Climax, delay the cancel a hair so that you get the full animation (where the screen turns red) and more damage.
Rush Auto Combo
Meterless: Does 175 damage. 3 hits followed by light punch Aoibana(rekka).
1 Meter: Does 242 damage. 3 hits followed by Yaotome(super)
EX: Used in MAX mode. Does 370 damage. 3 hits followed by MAX Yaotome(super)
0 meter
- cr.B, cr.A, f+A, qcb+Cx3 (185 DMG)
(This is the go-to low confirm. Can also do cr.B, cr.B, cr.A... or substitute cr.A for st.A)
- j.C, cl.C, f+A, qcb+Cx3 (268 DMG)
(The go-to close confirm and jump(and j.4B) confirm. It's basically the same as the light confirm.)
- hcb~f+P, ff, cl.C, f+A, qcb+Cx3 (198 DMG)
(If you find connecting the cl.C f+A difficult, you can substitute 2C for a little less damage)
- j.4B, f+A~A, hcb~f+P, ff, cl.C, f+A, qcb+Cx3 (287 dmg)
(Use of this combo is niche at best, but you get good damage. Since you switch sides, you could use this to keep them in the corner.)
1 meter
- j.C, cl.C, f+A, qcb+Cx2, [SC] qcf~hcb+P (381 dmg)
(Delay the super cancel if you are midscreen, else you'll fly under them.)
- j.C, cl.C, f+A, [MAX] cl.C, f+A, qcb+ACx3, hcb+BD (383 dmg)
(Damage is only barely higher than the super route, but you get better oki.)
- j.C, cl.C, f+A, [MAX] cl.C, qcf+AC, dp+BD, dp+AC (395 dmg) {second/anchor}
(Time the finisher dp a hair late to get all the hits in.)
- C+D, qcf+A, qcf~hcb+P (312 dmg)
(cancel C+Ds with qcf+A whenever you use it, and buffer the super. Will take some practice to confirm.)
2 meters
- j.C, cl.C, f+A, qcb+Cx2, [SC] qcf~hcb+AC (491 dmg)
(Easier to connect than the 1 meter version, same otherwise.)
- j.C, cl.C, f+A, [MAX] cl.C, f+A, qcb+ACx3, qcf~hcb+P (546 dmg)
(A simple 2 meter combo to use when Iori is the battery.)
- (corner) j.C, cl.C, f+A, [MAX] cl.C, f+A, qcb+ACx3, qcf+A, [SC] qcf~hcb+P (581 dmg)
(Same as the above combo, but you super cancel a fireball at the end.)
- j.C, cl.C, f+A, [MAX] cl.C, qcf+AC, dp+BD, qcf+A, [SC] qcf~hcb+P (577 dmg) {second/anchor}
(Although it does slightly less damage, it can be used midscreen.)
- C+D, qcf+A, [SC] qcf~hcb+P, qcfx4+AC (428 dmg)
(Same as the 1 meter blowback combo, but with the super followup. Use the 1 bar super w/ follow up instead of the MAX version.)
3 meters
- j.C, cl.C, f+A, qcb+Cx2, [CC] qcfx2+BD (560 dmg)
(Same as the 2 meter version, but you use Climax instead.)
- j.C, cl.C, f+A, [MAX] cl.C, f+A, qcb+ACx3, qcfx2+BD (563 dmg)
(Only marginally more damaging than 2 meter combo. Only use if you'll finish them off.)
- (corner) j.C, cl.C, f+A, [MAX] cl.C, f+A, qcb+ACx3, qcf+A, [SC] qcfx2+BD (598 dmg)
(Same as above.)
- j.C, cl.C, f+A, [MAX] cl.C, qcf+AC, dp+BD, qcf+A, [SC] qcf~hcb+P (591 dmg) {second/anchor}
(Same as above)
4 meters
- j.C, cl.C, f+A, qcb+Cx2, [SC] qcf~hcb+P, [CC] qcfx2+BD (647 dmg)
(Delay the super cancel if you are midscreen, else you'll fly under them. This is the budget facemelter.)
5 meters
- j.C, cl.C, f+A, qcb+Cx2, [SC] qcf~hcb+AC, [CC] qcfx2+BD (757 dmg)
(The easiest way to blow all your meter at once.)
- j.C, cl.C, f+A, [MAX] cl.C, f+A, qcb+ACx3, qcf~hcb+P, [CC] qcfx2+BD (786 dmg)
(Same combo you've been doing, just with a climax cancel.)
- (corner) j.C, cl.C, f+A, [MAX] cl.C, f+A, qcb+ACx3, qcf+A, [SC] qcf~hcb+P, [CC] qcfx2+BD (821 dmg)
(Like above but with MAXIMUM DAMAGE!!!! presumably.)
- j.C, cl.C, f+A, [MAX] cl.C, qcf+AC, dp+BD, qcf+A, [SC] qcf~hcb+P, [CC] qcfx2+BD (814 dmg) {second/anchor}
(ALMOST MAXIMUM DAMAGE!!!! possibly.)
Misc
Videos
A Simple Iori Safejump