The King of Fighters '98/Shingo

Introduction

SHINGO KIIIIIICK!!!

Colors

Gameplay Overview

Shingo is a close-ranged pressure character, thriving when up close with the fastest close move in the game (cl.C), all of his special moves can get a CRITICAL HIT! Adding extra damage to his combos. His main weakness is his lack of defensive options, due to his DP not having invincibility, and having no invincible reversal, his CRITS can be a double-edged sword, either helping you or not, and his cl.C has short activation range.

In-depth Analysis

Movelist

	Frames	Advantage	Cancel	Block	Hitbox		Notes
Standing Close
	3/4/5	+3/+1	C	HL			Okay button, though it can be crouched and it's outclassed by cl.C
	5/5/8	-1/-3	C	L			Good for mixups and in corner resets.
	1/3+9/+9	-1/-3	C (1st part)	HL			His best button. This is 1f start up. Kinda too fast to do consistent confirms without practice because only first part is cancelable. Also, it has too short active range.
	5/3/22	-5/-7	C	HL			Nice when used as a meaty.
Standing Far
	4/4/5	+3/+1	-	HL			Fine button, your go-to answer for hops on the fly.
	7/6/10	-4/-6	-	HL			Decent poke, it can whiff on some crouchers though.
	12/7/21	-8/-10	-	HL			Thanks to cl.C's short active range this will come out whenever you try to use cl.C It's one of the worst buttons in the game. slow start up, and even slower recovery. has some crazy hitbox and does crazy damage for a button though. Just don't use this.
	9/5/19	-4/-6	-	HL			A decent anti-air
+	21/4/18	KD/0	S	HL
Crouching
	3/4/5	+3/+1	C	HL
	4/4/4	+4/+2	-	L			Okay poke and nice in blockstrings.
	4/3+3/20	-6/-8	C (1st part)	HL			Decent anti-air, better than st.D
	11/3/19	KD/-4	C	L			His hurtbox gets lower. can dodge some of high projectiles or jump-ins.
Jump
	5/8	-/-	-	H			Nice air to air.
	5/9	-/-	-	H			An ok jump-in. can cross up as well.
	6/9	-/-	-	H			Decent jump in.
	7/8	-/-	-	H			Good jump-in and air to air. kind of slow. a good cross-up. your main choice really.
+	11/4	KD/-	-	HL			Good jump in, a bit slow though.
Neutral Jump
	5/9	-/-	-	H			Good air to air.
Command Normals
f +	11/7(3)7/19	-6/-8	-/C	HL/HL			Not overhead despite appearances But has an amazing hitbox. you can use it as a nice anti-air or poke and can cancel the second part into Shingo kick. It's not a combo but works as nice pressure. yet it whiffs at full range. also, your opponent can reversal out with some invincible or guard point moves. so be careful when you do that.

Throws

• f + D, Breakable, reverse knockdown, back turned. rollable -

• f + C, Breakable, forward knockdown, face forward, rollable -

They're average.

Special Moves

• Aragami (qcf + A) -

THE Shingo move! Gives you critical hits, has great priority, the hit frames 'stay' on the move forever, can be comboed from a light attack! A great poke at maximum distance, although if you do it too close you could be hit by a fast retaliation such as Benimaru's sweep.

If you get a critical hit against a grounded opponent with it when the Aragami is not part of a combo, the opponent will be stunned and you can quickly follow up with more attacks.

Great against hops, try it and see. Not so good against jump attacks. The priority on this thing is insane. It stuffs almost everything - will usually cleanly hit an Athena Shining Crystal Bit DM, Kyo's qcf, qcf + P DM, Terry's Burn Knuckle, etc. Just be careful of things like Athena's sweep which will crouch under the hit frames.

• Dokugami (qcf + C) -

A longer ranged punch, but can be retaliated against if blocked. At times, if you are close, it will do two hits, the first one being unblockable. However, this occurs too rarely to be useful, and you'll want to use this in combos only. It doesn't have great priority.

• Okonomiyaki (dp + P) -

A very high-priority anti-air move. Use the C version most of the time, because it gives you two hits on a 'counter'. You'd use the A version only against a vertical hop because they might block. You're screwed whether you miss a DP + A or DP + C anyway, so go for the extra damage. It will beat or trade with anything. If you see or anticipate a jump, use this. Use the Aragami or low C against hops.

• Shingo KICK (hcf + K) -

Shingo Kick! A whirly kick with lots of hit area. It has great priority once it comes out but takes a while to come out. Does a LOT of damage. If you hit early with it, it will knock down; if you hit late, with the tip of your foot, it will not knock down. This move is never an overhead.

Hitting late and getting a critical hit may entitle you to a free qcf + P. This move is safe if blocked at the end of the move, but not at the start of the move - that is, you will need to space this move carefully in order to be safe.

Good against jumpers once it comes out, but pitiful before it does come out.

Use this in conjunction with the qcf + A and you will outprioritize your opponent anywhere. The D version of the move goes further than the B version.

• Twilight Wheel Unpainted (qcb + K) -

A jump kick. The D version does three jump kicks. Both versions leave you wide open if blocked. For the D version, however, occasionally the last hit will become unblockable, but it happens very rarely and you shouldn't rely on it. Combos only.

• Candle of Luminescent Victory (dp + K) -

A three-hit attack that sets up a juggle opportunity. It is a 'kick dance' type move which means it can only be performed up close, but it is unblockable (the first hit is, at least). It can be comboed from anything but will not connect if you are too far away. Great move. Bug note: Despite being a 1f proximity unblockable(the throw box appears on frame 1), the opponent doesn't get into it's hitstun until frame 6, which makes it practically frame 5 and less useful when dealing against mashing opponents that can hit you out of your "instant 1f command grab" with a fast enough move

Crouching characters where the last hit whiffs: Athena, Choi, Chin, Terry, Yuri, Kensou, Mature

• Shingo's Counter (qcb + P) -

Shingo does a downwards elbow attack that changes into a counter move (like Kyo's QCB + P). It's funny and comical, just like Shingo. Does tiny amounts of damage, sometimes no damage at all! The elbow combos, too, and is safe if blocked, for those situations where a blocked Aragami might leave you vulnerable. The elbow grants a hard knockdown, enabling Shingo to setup a safejump. Counters only ground normal moves and has a bit of startup, though. Will not combo from a light attack, it is very hard to combo into this move in general.

Desperation Moves

• Burning Shingo (qcb hcf + P) -

Shingo cries out this move's namesake as he fires out 4 attacks. First, he throws an Aragami, then follows it with 2 standing C punches and then shoulder rams them into orbit. SDM version does 7 hits. He still starts off with the Aragami then follows it up with a Dokugami, followed by 4 Standing C punches and the shoulder ram. This move has very serious drawbacks if it's blocked. Firstly if it is, you stand to become the very obvious victim of OPPORTUNISTIC players like me. The lag in between each hit is extremely punishable. Secondly, it's not as strong as it used to be. Don't ever use it unless you're sure it will connect. Has some startup invincibility.

• Kake Hou Rin (qcf qcf + P > P) -

Shingo charges head on with a dynamite packed shoulder ram. This sucker causes a guard crush if blocked and massive damage if not just as in KOF 97. I love this DM more cuz it's safer. What's so special about this move is that when this is charged up into a SDM, you can buffer it with another move on impact. Since this sucker causes a Guard Crush, you could try for another DM. With that in mind, try it out yourself or read on in the COMBO section for more practical use of this move. Only the SDM works cause once it hits, block or not, there is a small window frame for you to work. The SDM will make the opponent freeze for that small window frame with the Critical Hit or Guard Crush effect. You may press P to trigger the shoulder attack earlier, and you should always do this to combo into this move, as the automatic trigger will happen only when you are very close to the opponent.

Fastest Attacks

• 0F: C throw; D throw
• 1F: cl.C
• 2F: -
• 3F: cl.A; cr.A
• 4F: st.A; cr.B; cr.C
• 5F: cl.B; cl.D
• 6F: -
• 7F: st.B
• 8F: -
• 9F: st.D
• 10F: -

Combos

• Best jump-ins:
  • j.D (Can crossup.)
  • j.B (Can crossup.)

• cl.B >
  • dp + K, ... (Standing.)
  • qcb + D (Close to corner, standing.)
  • qcb + B (Standing.)
  • dp + C (Very close.)
  • qcf + A (No knockdown.)

• cr.B, cr.A / st.A / cl.B >
  • qcb + D (Close to corner, standing.)
  • qcb + B (Standing.)
  • qcf + A (No knockdown.)

• cl.C > [4.9%]
  • (S)DM qcf qcf + P > P, [juggler]
  • (S)DM qcb hcf + P
  • dp + K, (Very close, standing.) [17.7%]
    • qcb + D (Close to corner, timming required.) [37.6%]
    • qcb + B (Timming required.) [30.5%]
    • dp + C [29.8%]
    • cr.C (Reset.)
    • cl.C / cl.D (Reset, corner.)
  • qcb + D (Close to corner, standing.) [24.2%]
  • hcf + B (Very close, only against large characters.)
  • qcb + B (Standing.) [17.1%]
  • dp + C (Very close.) [17.8%]
  • qcf + A (No knockdown.) [13.3% | MAX: 16.63]
  • qcf + C [13.4% | MAX: 16.75]

• ... DM qcf qcf + P > P,
  • qcb + D (Close to corner, timing required.)
  • qcb + B (Timing required.)
  • dp + C (Corner)
  • qcf + A
  • cl.C / cl.D (Reset, corner.)

Follow-ups for SDM version are different, see below.

• ... SDM qcf qcf + P > P,
  • qcb + B (Corner, timming required.)
  • dp + C (Out of the corner, you must cancel the previous move. In the corner it will combo cancelling or not.)
  • qcf + A
  • cl.C / cl.D (Reset, corner.)

Follow-ups for DM version are different, see above. For follow-ups when blocked or on a critical hit, see below. The SDM is cancellable, but on a non-critical hit only dp + C will connect.

• Critical: ... SDM qcf qcf + P, P >
  • 1st, 2nd or 3rd combo (As a link.)
  • DM qcf qcf + P > P, [juggler]
  • DM qcb hcf + P
  • qcb + B (Standing.)
  • dp + C
  • qcf + A (No knockdown.)
  • qcf + C

For follow ups on a non-critical hit, see above. The SDM version is cancellable, you may cancel it and hit the opponent with the following move :), better yet, if you don't cancel, you recover first and may follow with almost any combo ;).

• Blocked: ... SDM qcf qcf + P, P >
  • DM qcf qcf + P > P, [juggler]
  • DM qcb hcf + P
  • qcb + D (Close to corner, standing.)
  • hcf + B
  • qcb + B (Standing.)
  • dp + C
  • qcf + A (No knockdown.)
  • qcf + C

For follow ups on hit, see above. The SDM version is cancellable, and as it causes guard crush on block, you may cancel it and hit the opponent with the following move :).

• cr.B, cl.C (1f link) ->
  • (S)DM qcf qcf + P > P, [juggler]
  • (S)DM qcb qcf + P
  • qcb + D (Close to corner, standing.)
  • qcb + B (Standing.)
  • qcf + A (No knockdown.)
  • qcf + C

• f + B (2 hits) >
  • (S)DM qcf qcf + P > P, [juggler]
  • qcf + A (No knockdown.)
  • qcf + C (If f + B doesn't crit)

• Simple buffers:
  • cl.D > (S)DM qcf qcf + P
    • qcf + D > qcf + P

Strategy Corner

• MAX: cl.C > + K > + B

deals ??? than

• cl.C > (qcf + P > P), + B

• Against Choi, don't use kick specials.

Keep this in mind, when you need to decide whether to trigger MAX or keep meter for a DM.