The King of Fighters '98: Ultimate Match/Chris

From SuperCombo Wiki

Introduction

His moves have been strengthened overall, making them pretty safe.

Chris generally trifles with the opponent by using tricky ground and air offense.

Colors

Snka.gif Snkb.gif Snkc.gif Snkd.gif
Chris98 colorA.png Chris98 colorB.png Chris98 colorC.png Chris98 colorD.png

Final Edition Change List

Kof98umfe00.png

  • D Scramble Dash shorter recovery

Move List (at a glance)

Normal throws
Step Turn (throw) f/b + C
Aerial Drop (throw) f/b + D
Command moves
Spinning Array f + A
Reverse Anchor Kick f + B
Carry-Off Kick df + B
Special moves
Slide Touch qcf + P
Hunting Air dp + K
Shooting Dancer: Thrust hcb + P
Shooting Dancer: Step hcb + K
Scramble Dash qcf + K
Glider Stomp (air) qcf + K
Direction Change dp + P
Super special moves
Chain Slide Touch qcf qcf + P
Twister Drive qcb qcb + K

Move Analysis

Normal Moves

  • st.C – the first hit is cancelable; Chris has combos that aren’t a problem if you accidentally use this instead of cl.C.
  • cr.B – the reach is long, and it can be spammed.
  • j.D – excelling crossup ability, can be easily followed with cl.C.
  • j.CD – the hitbox reaching horizontally has been nearly nullified, which steeply weakens it. It’s still strong downwards, but it’s hard to use simply because the startup is slower now.

Unique Attacks

  • Spinning Array
  • f + A
  • Chris clasps his hands and spins once while traveling forward. It combos from weak moves, and is pivotal to combos, as it is cancelable even without being cancelled into.

  • Reverse Anchor Kick
  • f + B
  • Chris does a handstand, continues into a kick, then returns backwards. When not cancelled into, the second step is an overhead. The reach is long, so you can use it as a low-risk meaty.

  • Carry-Off Kick
  • df + B
  • A sliding kick with long reach and extremely low height. It doesn’t do knockdown, but it does not leave you open if the very tip touches.

Special Moves

  • Slide Touch
  • qcf + P
  • The weak version combos from strong attacks. It does knockdown, but it’s liable to misfire in combos; it’s just not recommended.

  • Hunting Air
  • dp + K
  • It does not do knockdown for ground hits. The hitbox has been strengthened, making it a more reliable anti-air.

  • Shooting Dancer: Thrust
  • hcb + P
  • After the elbow, the weak version does a low-hitting sliding kick, and the strong version does a punch (blockable high and low). The weak version drives into the opponent, so it leaves you open if it is blocked. The weak version now does knockdown, and is now safer to use in combos.
  • Shooting Dancer: Step
  • hcb + K
  • After the elbow, Chris rises and treads upon the opponent. The first step does not combo into the second. The second step is an overhead, and does unrollable knockdown when it hits. After the second step, Chris hops forward for the weak version, and backward for the strong version. During this period, it is possible to use Glider Stomp.

  • Glider Stomp
  • (air) qcf + K
  • Chris drops diagonally from the air, putting out a kick; the startup is slow, and the hitbox has low priority, making it not so useful.

  • Scramble Dash
  • qcf + K
  • A teleporting move. The weak version moves quickly; the strong version is a bit longer, and Chris comes out of midair. The strong version doesn’t really do much for you, so just use the weak version to be confusing.

  • Direction Change
  • dp + P
  • A non-damaging moving throw in which Chris grabs the opponent’s head, and flips over to the other side. It has invincibility at startup. After, the weak version, it is possible to link into cr.C.

Desperation Moves

  • Twister Drive
  • qcb qcb + K
  • A strengthened version of Hunting Air. It has invincibility at startup; you can use it for anti-air or interruption. It no longer does glancing blows, which makes it safer for both combos and anti-air. During MAX mode, the pushback is too much to safely combo into this.

  • Chain Slide Touch
  • qcf qcf + P
  • A strengthened version of Slide Touch. The damage is slightly greater than Twister Drive, but it doesn’t have invincibility. One weakness is that it can easily misfire as Direction Change.

Combos

Basic

  • j.D > cl.C >> Spinning Array (f + A) >> weak Shooting Dancer: Thrust (hcb + A) or Twister Drive (qcb qcb + K)
  • Safe, even from a jump. Use this for the basic combo.
  • crossup j.D > cr.B > cl.B >> Spinning Array (f + A) >> certain special moves
  • Only when very close. The special moves for the combo above will be okay.
  • weak Direction Change (dp + A) > cr.C (1 hit) >> Spinning Array (f + A) >> certain special moves
  • Basic combo from a throw.
  • cr.B > cr.C (1 hit) >> Spinning Array (f + A) >> certain special moves
  • Also possible from cr.A; the link is somewhat difficult.

The Basics

His ground zoning is dicey. You’ve got st.B (slow to return), cr.B (positioned low), and Carry-Off Kick (same). Use them only sometimes; it could be said that it’s best to avoid relying on it as much as possible. For midair zoning, j.CD has been weakened, so use j.D instead. It’s powerful in short hops, positioned so that the very tip will touch.

If zoning moderately, you can whiff cancel the cancelable normal moves (cr.A and st.CD) into weak Scramble Dash, and from there press the opponent with two options: normal throw (D throw makes meaty crossup easy), or cl.C and such. If your throw is escaped, either persist in throwing, or zone with cr.B. If you show this course of action several times, some opponents will be made intensely aware of blocking and throw escaping. In these cases, a weak Direction Change from Scramble Dash will also be okay. However, if you overuse Scramble Dash, you are just a target for counters, so use it in moderation.

Shooting Dancer: Thrust leads to a 50–50 situation when blocked (the weak version is somewhat disadvantaged). This is a big critical moment. Classifying the opponent’s movements into (1) zoning, (2) jumping in, and (3) throws, you can deal with them (respectively) via reading ahead and using Direction Change, strong Hunting Air once you see it, and escaping or j.D. It’s high-risk and high-return no matter what, so when you can’t read into it, play a little safer and whiff cr.B.

Meaties is one of Chris’ strong points. From the low-risk, low-return two options of Reverse Anchor Kick and Carry-Off Kick, to the high-risk, high-return two options of cl.C and weak Direction Change, there is the low-risk, high-return (but low success rate) j.D crossup. Basically what will probably be the most effective is to aim for the crossup first, and once you’ve made them aware of it, go for other things.

Advanced Strategy

Match-Ups