Goro Daimon (KoF '02 UM)

Introduction

After Kyo loses to Daimon, a stranger (Daimon's father) offers to help make his Body ga stronger. Body ga (after being hooked up to a local hydro-power station) becomes stronger and manages to defeat Far B, but Far D remains too strong. Far D has Body ga in a bind; however, Body ga's previous electric attack ravaged the gym, which set off the sprinklers, weakening his Far D. Kyo declines the badge on the grounds that he unfairly beat Daimon, but Daimon later catches up to him and presents to him the badge, saying that he wants Kyo to fulfill his dream of becoming the best. The stranger that first helped Kyo reveals himself to be Daimon's father, Jaime Dimon, who has a tendency to not notify people about the London Whale. Daimon is now free to train himself, and joins Kyo and Saisyu on their journey during Part III: Stardust Crusaders.

Move list

At a glance:

Normal Throws
Juuji Shime	(throw) f./b. + C
Okuri Kyaku Harai	(throw) f./b. + D
Command Moves
Zujo Barai	df. + C
Special Moves
Jiraishin	dp + P
Kumo Tsukami Nage	hcf + A
Kirikabu Gaeshi	hcf + C
Tenchi Gaeshi	(throw) hcb, f. + P
Chou Oosotogari	(throw) dp + K
Nekko Gaeshi	(counter) qcf + K
Ura Nage	(throw) hcb, f. + K
Desperation Moves
Jigoku Gokuraku Otoshi	(throw) hcb hcb + P
Nekko Nuki	(catch throw) hcf hcf + K
┗ Zoku Kirikabu Gaeshi	(during Nekko Nuki) hcf + K
┗ Bukko Nuki Uranage	(during Zoku Kirikabu Gaeshi) dp + K
Max Desperation Moves
Jigoku Gokuraku Otoshi	(throw) hcb hcb + PP
Nekko Nuki	(catch throw) hcf hcf + KK
┗ Zoku Kirikabu Gaeshi	(during Nekko Nuki) hcf + K
┗ Zoku Tenchi Gaeshi	(during Zoku Kirikabu Gaeshi) dp + K
Max 2
Hourinkazan	hcb hcb + KK

Normal Moves

Close Standing Normals

• Close A

cl.A – Quick jab from the side. It's one way of establishing pressure from close up without much committal. It only makes contact upon medium height crouching opponents such as Kyo and taller. Characters such as K' shrink underneath this move, thus limiting the overall effectiveness of this attack since there are other moves that do the same job but better. Daimon could chain up to two hits of Close A before he is out of range for his Tenchi Gaeshi to combo.

• Close B

cl.B – High kick. This attack comes out at a moderate speed and only hits tall crouching characters such as Chang. This move serves very little purpose as an anti-air and as a meaty so generally one would want to avoid using this attack. It seems as if its main purpose is to make sure Daimon has some other normal to balance Far B and make sure he is unable to do it from too close.

• Close C

cl.C – Fast strike. It is like any other typically fast Close C attack. It may seems to come out slightly faster than Far D, but has a smaller cancel window to confirm into a combo. This is mainly used during frame traps and during punishes to ensure the fastest normal comes out to guarantee a combo for daimon.

• Close D:

cl.D – Fast kick from a slight twist. Similar in application as Close C but it has a slightly higher vertical hit box and is slightly slower. What's great about this move is the huge amount of time the player has to confirm if the attack hit or not and choose to combo into a command throw. Players really like to use this as a meaty move on the opponent's wake up.

Far Standing Normals

• Far A

Quick palm strike. It's a very, very good anti-hop and even anti-jump check. It also hits medium height crouching characters such as Kyo, so it functions also as a very strong pressure tool that's hard to contest. The first part of the wall of Daimon.

• Far B

Quick shin kick. This is one of the best grounded pokes in KOF in general. Due to the fast start up, quick recovery, range, and low hitting property, these factors make this Far B one of the best in the series. It's simply difficult or almost impossible to try to counter poke or whiff punish and it forces opponents to want to hop or jump around it. Due to the quick recovery though, Far B sets up the opponent to hop or jump and recovers quickly enough to stuff their air game with a chunky normal. In KOF '98 it even meant getting hit for a meterless 50% or so from one of the best anti-air normals in the game. In KOF '02 UM, this poke is still very effective and is the ground-to-ground poke that Daimon should want to abuse with. It's even cancelable meaning it can combo into Tenchi Gaeshi within the command throw's range. There are more applications that involve Daimon's cancelable Far B that'll be covered in other sections.

• Far C

Double Palm. Think of this as a stronger, longer recovery Far A that has slightly more horizontal range. It has the tendency to whiff on crouching characters but is still a good button to press nonetheless for an anti-air against hop attacks. Just be careful of whiffing and receiving a sweep or a punish for one's trouble.

• Far D

The foot. One of Daimon's best anti-air attacks in general. It has a spectacular angle and does good damage for the range it covers and for the amount risk involved pressing this button. Generally, running/standing characters will just walk into this move as well as those that just carelessly hop or jump forward. well placed sweeps and smaller characters shrink underneath the range of this attack; so effectively Far D is also a higher risk Far A. What's great is the sort of 45 degree angle it covers and the speed it covers it with moderately low recovery, making it a great button to press in conjunction with Far B. Many new players get a lot of leeway just pressing Far B and Far D against other new players without much consequences. Even at higher levels of play, don't underestimate this move nor any of Daimon's other normal attacks.

Standing Blowback

st.CD – Slow but strong palm strike. This move starts up slow like other CD attacks but isn't quite that bad in terms of speed. This move is a safe pressure tool that takes a decent chunk off the opponent's guard gauge and pushes both players out to a safe distance. Antsy opponents also have the tendency to want to GCCD against this move since it's easy to react to and want to absolutely push Daimon away. Daimon can use this move as a bait and then cancel into other special moves that beat out GCCD. More covered in other sections.

Crouching Normals

• Crouch(ing) A

cr.A – Small, crouching jab. It's a standard, crouching light punch that one could find in most fighting games. Low committal, doesn't hit low but is a pressure tool to a certain degree. Unlike others of its class, this attack can't be chained into nor out of. Overall it's still a decent pressure tool from up close that can combo into the faster command throws from either canceling into the command throws or even just by simply linking after Crouch A. If it hits meaty while the opponent rises from knockdown, it can also link into Close C.

• Crouch(ing) B

cr.B – Crouching kick. Slower than many other Crouch B attacks and can't even chain into anything else or even itself. It has little practical use other than being a semi-fast low attack Daimon could do from point blank to interrupt Alternate Guard attempts, but even that is kinda slow to accomplish that at times. Daimon can link his faster command throws from a Crouch B on hit, for what it's worth.

• Crouch(ing) C

cr.C – Janky-looking head butt. Although it has poor range, this attack has the furthest range out of Daimon's crouching attacks. Still, Crouch C has little purpose since it isn't that fast, can't cancel into anything else, and is out classed by Daimon's standing normals.

• Crouch(ing) D

cr.D – Sweep. It's pretty short for a sweep but it comes out at a very good speed and has good amounts of push back on block. This attack is more preferred to use over Crouch B in terms of frame trapping and breaking opponents' alternate guards. This move is also pretty neat because it is also cancelable, so it's another move to use to bait out GCCD.

Jumping Normals

• Jump(ing) A

j.A – Jumping punch. It's an infrequently used air-to-air attack. Other than Jump CD, this is Daimon's only other air-to-air normal that reaches his upper torso area. As a jump-in, there are much better alternatives. Jump A should be used in situations where Daimon needs to air-to-air and Jump CD is too slow to come out. A good Daimon should be able to keep a strong ground game anyways and anti-air from the ground instead of trying to contest the opponent in the air from difficult angles.

• Jump(ing) B

j.B – Downward knee attack. Another standard jumping knee attack. It has a pretty good cross-up hit box that tags medium height crouching hit boxes such as Kyo. It has a good amount of active frames so a player could easily do this early from a hop, have enough active frames to come down on a crouching opponent, then still be able to combo into a Crouch A, Close C, or Close D. Although the active frames are pretty decent and has a moderately low, vertical hit box, Daimon has another jumping normal that functions better as a jumpinin.

• Jump(ing) C

j.C – Double elbow. Somehow Daimon is able to pivot his body in mid-air in one direction to attack with both of his elbows and then pivot back in the opposite direction. This functions more like a normal jump-in compared to his other normals but isn't really that outstanding of a choice to use to jump-in. Still it serves more particular purposes that still needs more research behind the science of the pivot.

• Jump(ing) D

j.D – Jumping Kick. One of the more terrifying jumping normals in KOF in general. It's pretty quick and covers both a decent horizontal range and downward vertical range. As a heavy normal it takes off a chunk really well. What's also scary about this attack is that it can instant overhead medium height crouching characters, and as a jump-in it induces enough block stun for Daimon to run in close and try to command throw or trap with sweeps to break an alternate guard. Other than Daimon being a difficult wall to get past by, Jump D also makes Daimon into a living Judo, Kuzushi Blender. With it's more downward angle however, one could try to preempt this move by trying to air-to-air it from the blank spots towards the upper sides of Daimon, but a bad read would result in a damaging anti-air by Daimon.

• Jump(ing) Blowback

j.CD – Aerial palm strike. Daimon's main air-to-air although it can function as an air-to-ground to induce large amounts of block stun to allow Daimon to get close. This Jump CD is special in that it actually causes hard knockdown upon hit unlike other Jump CD attacks. Upon counter hit, it will cause counterwire that allows Daimon to either do another j.CD to get hard knockdown or combo into Kumo Tsukami Nage or a hit reset by a normal.

Command Normals

• Zujo Barai – df. + C

A very infamous anti-air. It used to be stronger in other games by being cancelable but this move still functions as one of the fastest and most consistent, vertical anti-air attacks in the game. It's recovers moderately quickly so it's a bit more difficult for a newer player to punish on whiff. Still, this attack is susceptible to further ranged sweeps so be cautious with it. The rule of thumb is that is the opponent jumped or hopped and is in range of Zujo Barai, the opponent will cleanly close to this attack, no matter what they may try to do.

Special Moves

• Iaigeri

• qcf + K
• Almost like a special version of Far B that can't be crouched under. It's generally one of the safest specials Benimaru could cancel into but does the least amount of chip. There is a sweet spot in the hit box that causes a sliding effect when used as an anti-air attack. Mainly players used this to combo into the follow up that does knockdown and one of the best meterless damage Benimaru has.

• Handou Sandangeri

• (during Iaigeri) d., u. + K
• This is the knockdown follow up after Iaigeri. Handou Sandangeri is mainly used as a combo finisher but may act as a relatively safe frame trap after a blocked Iaigeri. The B and D Versions have different heights upon the last kick but there isn't any difference in damage. So generally, the B Version of Iaigeri with the B Version of Handou Sandangeri is the way to go since the D Version of Handou Sandangeri is more unsafe.

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• Benimaru Collider

• (throw) hcb, f. + P
• A very fast command throw with an equally as fast recovery. The limitation of this attack is the short range this command throw has in comparison to other command throws in the game with the same type of motion. This is mainly used as a tool to open up opponents that are too scared to try to mash out buttons, too scared to jump or hop, and too scared to alternate guard. It does decent damage for the type of tool it is.

• Benimaru Shoot

• (during Benimar Collider) qcf + K
• The kick follow up to Benimaru's command throw. It adds considerable amount of damage and still induces hard knockdown like when Benimaru Collider is left alone. The main, if not then only reason to "not" use this follow up is if the player wants to have more frame advantage after Benimaru Collider to do a roll mix-up on the opponent's knockdown. Otherwise, the hard knockdown from Benimaru Shoot is enough for a safe hop, allowing the player to continue pressure and offense in addition to the extra damage.

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• Raijinken

• (air OK) qcf + P
• Benimaru's signature lightning ball attack invented by Nikola Tesla. The A Version has Benimaru throw a straight punch directly in front while the C Version attacks upwards at a 45 degree angle. Overall the preferred version is the A Version since it still catches most jump attempts while cleanly stuffing any hop attempts as long as Raijinken comes out first. Also, the A Version hits all crouching characters, making it a difficult pokes to deal with since it induces large enough chip damage to make an opponent antsy. The C Version serves more of a vertical anti-air but there are better options to choose from for that purpose since the C Version comes out too slowly compared to something like Super Inazuma Kick. Most players just use the C Version when they're feeling themselves and know for sure it will hit when it comes out. Against cornered opponents, there is a sweet spot near the tip of the attack to use as a meaty on their wake up. If they try to roll forward to avoid chip, they'll recover towards the other end of the Raijinken and take the hits. So other than being a good pressure, chip tool, Raijinken serves as a good checkmate tool.
• There is an air version of Raijinken, but on block it leaves Benimaru at a considerable disadvantage but not enough to necessarily make him unsafe in most situations. Benimaru can use Raijinken at almost any height from the peak and descent of his full and super jumps. From hops and hyper hops, Benimaru could only use Raijinken from the apex. Benimaru could also cancel Jump CD into air Raijinken, but still under the same limitations it activates from hops and jumps. Most players also use this as a round ender to finish off opponents since losing momentum due to the frame disadvantage isn't usually worth it during the course of the match.

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• Super Inazuma Kick

• dp + K
• A standard "dragon punch" type of attack that takes its name from the Gainax classic, Gunbuster. The D Version seems to have more invulnerability than the B Version and knocks down grounded opponents. In contrast, the B Version only knocks down airborne opponents but has less recovery and moves Benimaru backwards a bit, making it semi-difficult for newer players to punish than the D Version. Overall, the D Version of Super Inazuma Kick is the one that's mainly used for both anti-air, reversal, and in combos.

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• Shinkuu Katategoma

• qcb + P
• Benimaru suddenly thinks he's a West Coast power-head and breaks. This is another pressure tool Benimaru could use to whittle down the opponent. Mainly the A Version is preferred since it's safe on block and causes knockdown on hit. The C Version generally isn't used because the heavy hitting normals it combos from pushes out the opponent too far for the last hit to knockdown. This leaves Benimaru spinning while the opponent could recover and punish. So the best range to use the C Version is near point blank although it would be best if this was done to finish the round. Overall, the A Version is better but is more susceptible to guard rolls and is fully punishable under those circumstances. Both versions may super cancel and is the main reason why players choose this move during bread and butter combos.

Desperation Moves

• Raikouken

• qcf qcf + P
• A large Raijinken that does a lot of damage and knocks down. Easily combos from the last hit of A Version of Shinkuu Katategoma or just simply from a heavy normal move. It's unsafe on block as are other desperation moves. The C Version attacks from an anti-air angle but still is slower than other anti-air attacks Benimaru has that covers that range.

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• Genei Hurricane

• qcb qcb + B
• Benimaru sends out Silver Chariot to quickly and stylishly beat the opponent. It combos from heavy normals as well as from the second to last hit of A Version of Shinkuu Katategoma. Many experienced players have the tendency to super cancel this from the first hit of Handou Sandangeri as the main starter. Overall all, the damage is more than Raikouken but each combo is about comparable in damage. As like many other desperation moves, it is also unsafe unblock.

Max Desperation Moves

• Raikouken

• qcf qcf + PP
• The MAX version of Raikouken that comes out much faster than usual and has the tendency to work well as a reversal because of it. So, it's a faster, more damaging version of Raikouken that lunges straight forward. It is still largely punishable on whiff and on block. The biggest plus is that it could also combo from light attacks unlike the other Raikouken.

Max 2

• Raijinten

• f. db. df. b. f. + A or B or C or D
• The closest thing to a new Gradius or new Zone of the Enders. Benimaru sets out an option either in front of his head, in front of his front leg, behind his head, or behind his rear leg. Benimaru could only set out two at a time and each option has a duration of 8 hits. It's a great way to set up check mate situations or impose a line of defense that the opponent has to deal with. Having two options on top seals jump and hop approach while Benimaru can focus with grounded pokes/footsies. Two options in the back makes sure an opponent can't just cross up or roll around Benimaru, forcing the opponent to deal with Benimaru's great frontal control. Two options in the front is creates a wall that an opponent can't really poke or approach other than forcing the opponent to take the chip if Benimaru gets close enough. Two options below makes sure the opponent can't play grounded footsies nor roll behind Benimaru, but has to deal with Benimaru's great anti-air game, making easy aerial targets. Although this is not an attack to rely on, it's a fun away of securing the Vic Viper's weaknesses and rack up points.

Combos

Essentials

• cr.B > cr.B xx qcf+B > d., u.+B

• Basic combo from low hits. Only use one Crouch B if Benimaru lands a jump-in from the front.

• cr.B > cr.B > cr.B xx dp+D

• Another basic combo from low hits that knocks down if the opponent is too far for Handou Sandangeri to knock down.

• cl.C/D > qcb+A or hcb, f.+P > qcf+K

• Basic combo from a heavy attack.

• cl.C/D > qcb+A (3 hits) xx qcfqcf+P

• Basic super cancel combo.

• cl.C/D > qcb+A (2 hits) xx qcbqcb+K

• Basic super combo alternative that does similar damage as the previous one.

• cr.B > cr.B xx qcf+B > d., u.+D (1-hit) xx qcbqcb+K

• A super cancel combo that is confirmed from low hits. Super cancel seems easier on D Version Handou Sandangeri. (Needs to be confirmed if D Version is the only version that's super cancelable or not.)

• cl.D > BC > run up cl.D xx qcb+A (3 hits) xx qcfqcf+PP

• 3 stock Max Raikouken combo.

The Basics

Become プロ。

Advanced Strategy

Press Far B and Far D a lot.

Match-Ups

The King of Fighters 2002: Unlimited Match