The King of Fighters '98/Vice

Introduction

Vice is a drug warlord from Miami Vice, which is what the fictional city of Miami is based upon. She has a super fast speed boat called the Knight Runner Batmoboat that is also capable of deep-sea diving. She is constantly in conflict with Don Johnson and Phillip Michael Thomas as they battle the War on Drugs.

Gameplay Overview

Vice is a mix of close-range mixups and guessing games with her throws, with some nice long pokes and specials such as standing C and her arm whips. She is lacking a really good anti-air, so you must be comfortable/patient on defense (or just blow a CD counter). She doesn't have much in the way of high/low games because of her slow jump, though. Like many mid tier characters, shes requires a little experience with her move properties to be effective. Still, she doesn't require much in the way of execution and is an OK choice for a beginner.

Combos

• cr.A/cr.Bx3 xx Mayhem~Misanthrope (qcb+P~qcf+P)

• cl.D (2 hits) xx Gore Fest (hcb,f+P)/Mayhem~Misanthrope (qcb+P~qcf+P)/Negative Gain (hcb,hcb+K)

• cl.D (2 hits),f+A xx B Deicide (hcf+B)

For the first combo you can use any combination of cr.A or cr.B, as they are both chainable and cancelable (you just can't go from cr.A to cr.B). Personally I think cr.B,cr.A xx whatever is easiest. Mayhem is not safe on block, so make sure to hit-check.

In-depth Analysis

Normal Throws

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

b or f+D - Breakable, reverse knockdown, back turned, un-rollable.

D throw preferred by far. It doesn't have the blue grab 'effect' and gives you full back turned wakeups.

Normal Moves

Standing A - Fast, good anti-air vs short hop. Cancelable, too

Standing B - First hit is cancelable. It's a little slow, though. You're better off using standing C.

Standing C - Fantastic long-range mid poke. Kind of like Athena's standing C but with way more range.

Standing D - Not a bad early anti-air for the 45 degree angle.

Standing CD - Kind of a slower, shorter range, but cancelable standing C. Nice to cancel into Deicide (hcf+K) from range.

Close B - Good cancelable move to combo from a jump-in. Since her jump is slow, hitting an earlier jump-in can he hard, and close B is faster than close C/D, so it's a good alternative.

Close C - Fast, cancelable. Good, but not really any reason to use over close D.

Close D - Main hard hit combo tool. Faster than close C and cancelable on the 2nd hit, so hit-confirming and comboing is easy.

Crouching A - Fast, cancelable, nice hitbox.

Crouching B - Good range and cancelable unlike most cr.Bs.

Crouching C - Anti-air poke, though it can get beat by a lot of stuff if you don't time it right. Mostly because the part before her arm extends doesn't hit high at all, so you have to do it early. The first part is also cancelable and pretty fast, at least.

Crouching D - Nice cancelable sweep. Whiff cancel into hcf+K or hcb,f+P for safety and meter (buffer b,d/b+D,qcf+K or f,d/f,d,d/b+D,b,f+P).

Jumping B - Best in-close jump-in. Vice should not be in the air for pressuring much due to her slow jump, but this is the move to use as a meaty jump-in, etc.

Jumping C - Cancelable into Ravenous (qcb+K in air), but otherwise lacking.

Jumping D - OK air-to-air.

Jumping CD - Super fast air CD, on par in speed with Lucky's. Great air-to-air from a super jump.

Command Normal

f+A - Moderately fast overhead when done alone. Faster, comboable, and non-overhead when chained. Standard stuff, really.

Special Moves

Mayhem~Misanthrope (qcb+P~qcb+P) - Combos from lights, but not safe on block so be sure to hit-confirm. The followup has to be immediately as the shoulder hits.

Outrage/Ravenous (qcb+K/qcb+K in air) - B version on the ground stays in place, while the D version jumps forward before the kicks. Air versions are the same either way. Ground version isn't that useful, but the air version is good for jumping up/back and stalling or forward when you want to chip for the kill. Jumping C can cancel into it as well, but I'd recommend just doing the move stright out from a jump.

Deicide (hcf+K) - Her entire arm is invincible. B version combos from hard hits, and D is slower. This is a great poking tool from range, but just be aware of jumps. Good move to make them fall into after an anti-air st.A or something. Another good tactic is to use the D version as a delayed cancel as a anti-mash block string in case they try something. For example, you can close D. If it hits, combo into Gore Fest (hcb,f+P). If it gets blocked, mixup doing nothing/sticking out a cr.A after or canceling into hcf+D. If they try to stick out anything after blocking the close D, they get grabbed. Leaves the opponent in an un-rollable back turned state on wakeup.

Gore Fest (hcb,f+P) - Instant command throw. Leaves the opponent in an un-rollable back turned state on wakeup, and it is her best choice for wakeup pressure since you stay close to them.

Blackened~Misanthrope (hcf+P) - Slower but invincible command throw. Unlike O.Yashiro's, this does not have any hit-able frames whatsoever, it will blow through anything. Use it as a reversal, to catch sloppy jump-in > ground attacks, or as a grab option on your opponent's wakeup. It also does more damage than Gore Fest, but doesn't combo off of most hits (only very close lights) and the opponent gets up facing forward.

Desperation Moves

Negative Gain (hcb,hcb+K) - Instant super throw. Use as max damage combo, off an empty short hop, etc. You know how these things work. MAX version does more damage.

Withering Surface (qcf,qcf+P) - A version goes about 2 character spaces, C version goes almost full screen. This is abviously to jump over/through fireballs. Both version completely jump over ground fireballs, but they both have full invincibility on startup, so you can also use them against fast mid/high height fireballs as long as you perform it late (so the fireball is close to you). The MAX version always goes far and fast, and is completely invincible.

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