The King of Fighters '98/Chang

Introduction

Chang aka Chang, Lord of the Balls, ruler of the ancient kingdom of Ballgaria, was crowned Emperor after defeating the marble from Marble Madness and the entire cast of Ballz 3D - 3D Fighting At Its Ballziest.

In his quest to destroy all other balls, one time Chang mistook Sonic for a ball and crushed him with his bare hands and that's why all new Sonic games suck.

Gameplay Overview

Chang is a mid-range zoning/powerhouse/tank character. He has very high priority and high damage air normals, making him a prime character to use MAX mode with. He has some very strong anti-airs and basically focuses on keeping the opponent from moving. While he is ridiculously strong against most characters when he has the life advantage, he is oppositely weak when he is at a life disadvantage. He's still really good though, a solid high-mid tier character. He requires little execution skill, and he is a great character for a beginner.

Combos

Chang doesn't have many combos, but you're going to hit them with something if you need to get in and do some damage.

cr.A/st.B xx Ball Swing (tap P rapidly~ABCD to cancel)

st.B xx Ragdoll Slam (hcb,f+P)

st.B, A Belly Flop (qcf,qcf+A)

[counter-hit] j.CD, A Belly Flop (qcf,qcf+A)

[corner] qcf,hcb+P (kick ender), A Belly Flop (qcf,qcf+A)

In-depth analysis

Normal Throws

b or f+C - Breakable, front knockdown, face forward, rollable.

b or f+D - Unbreakable (mashable), front knockdown, face forward, rollable.

D throw obviously preferred since it's unbreakable. It can even potentially do more damage than his command throw. Mash!

Normal Moves

Standing A - Super crazy diesel anti-air vs short hop or even a normal height jump, and has high priority in general.

Standing B - The move of choice to cancel into things, since it's Chang's fastest cancelable move. It even links into his A Belly Flop (qcf,qcf+A).

Standing C - Long range and a pretty big hitbox, but slow and has a lot of recovery. Still, you can use it to beat certain pokes and things, so experiment.

Standing CD - Nice big hitbox, cancelable. Good as a meaty.

Crouching A - Easy to cancel into Ball Swing (tap P rapidly).

Crouching B - Low and cancelable, but slow. Good as a meaty.

Crouching C - Cancelable before he extends his arm all the way. Can be used an an early anti-air.

Crouching D - #1 long range ground move. Cancelable on hit/block or on whiff, good to cancel into Ball Swing~cancel or A Ball Thrust (charge b,f+A). Has a blind spot between Chang and the ball.

Jumping A - Nice air-to-air, since it stays out a long time.

Jumping B - Not bad, but jumping D is probably a better choice.

Jumping C - Infamous jump move #1. Fast, huge hitbox, crazy high priority, big damage. MAX mode + counter-hit + jumping C = pain. Has a blind spot between Chang and the ball.

Jumping D - Jumping attack if choice when you're too close for jumping C. Good as a jump-in to combo st.B xx Ragdoll Slam from.

Jumping CD - Infamous jumping attack #2. Longer reach and more horizontally angeled than jumping C. Actually better for hitting lower at long range than jumping C because it stays out longer.

Command Normals

d/f+A - Low slide. Can go under any non-ground fireballs or high attacks. Has really bad recovery comapred to other slides so be very careful using it.

Special moves

Ball Swing (tap P rapidly, b or f to move, ABCD to cancel) - Practice and get proficient at performing this and immediately canceling it with ABCD, especially from whiff canceling cr.D. You can easily be hit by a low attack and various other moves while swinging. Snuffs fireballs. Can be a very good anti-air, especially if it hits on counter (2 hits). In the corner you can use it for chip damage, and use different canceling points to make them guess when it's going to end.

Ball Thrust (charge b,f+P) - The startup has auto-guard, the A version is faster and has shorter auto-guard, C version is slower/longer auto-guard. This is a pretty nice long range move as an alternative to st.C. Don't use it close, you're asking to get comboed right after the auto-guard ends and before the attack comes out.

The C version has an additional ball swing during the auto-guard before he attacks, and it can actually hit the opponent. This hardly ever hits, but it does do a shit ton fuck of damage. If it's a counter-hit, it'll hit twice, too. Once I tested on Yuri (low hp), MAX mode activated, counter-hit and it did about 90% damage. Not practical but good to know.

Flash Kick (charge d,u+K) - Not invincible. It hits on the way up and the way down. The B version doesn't knock down on the way up, the C version does. Looks funny!

Ragdoll Slam (hcb,f+P) - Instant command throw. You use it to throw people. Good after empty short hop, etc. you know the drill. This is KOF so get crackin'.

Desperation Moves

Chang Rush (qcf,hcb+P) - Invincible startup, A version is faster. Safe on block, but can be rolled though and Chang will fall on his face and it's a free punish. It's not super fast, but good as a 'random' super. I would recommend it as an anti-air super (and it isn't bad as one either), but Belly Flop is faster. MAX version does more damage.

At the end of the super, Chang will randomly do a different ender. One of the enders looks like his st.B. If this connects in the corner, you can combo a A version Belly Flop (qcf,qcf+A) after.

Belly Flop (qcf,qcf+P) - A version is a super-fast invincible move that works as an infallible anti-air. If it hits on counter, both hits will connect. The C version will cause him to run forward before he performs the belly flop. This can cross up, so watch it. The MAX version will cause him to belly flop in place no matter what. The normal version of the super is blocked high, while the MAX version is blocked low.