The King of Fighters '98: Ultimate Match/Shermie

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Introduction

Shermie features powerful special moves. Some of her normal moves have been strengthened, raising her zoning ability.

Her moveset resembles Clark’s in many ways, but where Clark attacks, Shermie defends. Shermie should be used for damaging the opponent steadily.

Final Edition Change List

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Move list

At a glance

Normal throws
Shermie Flash: Original (throw) f/b + C
Front Flash (throw) f/b + D
Command move
Shermie Stand f + B
Special moves
Shermie Shoot hcf + K
Axle Spin Kick qcb + K
Shermie Clutch dp + K
┗ Shermie Cute (during Shermie Clutch) qcf + K
Shermie Whip qcb + P
┗ Shermie Cute (during Shermie Whip) qcf + K
Shermie Spiral (throw) hcf + P
┗ Shermie Cute (during Shermie Spiral) qcf + K
Super special moves
Shermie Flash (throw) hcb hcb + P
Shermie Carnival (throw) hcf hcf + P

Normal moves

  • cl.C – pivotal to comboing, but it can miss opponents with short crouching heights completely.
  • cr.B – since the pose is low and the reach is long, use it for zoning. Unfortunately, it isn’t cancelable.
  • st.B (there is no cl.B) – the first step is cancelable, but the second hit isn’t!
  • st.D (there is no cl.D) – hits high, so use it for jump checking. Definitely don’t overuse it.
  • st.C – startup is now faster; it leaves you pretty open, but the hitbox is decently wide and has good priority, so you can use it for zoning.
  • cr.C – the hitbox has been buffed from OG.
  • j.C – extremely simple crossup, but nothing will combo afterwards.
  • j.D – points downward; essential for jumping in.

Command move

  • Shermie Stand
  • f + B
  • A two-step move; the second is an overhead. If cancelled into, it becomes cancelable, but nothing will combo from it.

Special moves

  • Shermie Spiral
  • hcf + P
  • A 1-frame throw with a wide grabbing range. The damage ain’t half-bad, and it’s easy to use.

  • Shermie Whip
  • qcb + P
  • A striking throw with quick startup. Shermie drops to the ground, grabbing the opponent between her ankles if it hits. Even if it is blocked, Shermie retreats a bit, so there isn’t that big an opening. At the moment her feet are oriented diagonally upward, the hitbox has dreadfully high priority.

  • Shermie Shoot
  • hcf + K
  • A moving throw with quick initial motion; the recovery time for a miss is shortish.

  • Axle Spin Kick
  • qcb + K
  • An odd forward-hopping spin kick. It has invincibility time at startup, but it cuts off before the hitbox is ready. If blocked, you are not open (the truly vulnerable spot is between the invincibility and attack frames); it is useful for interruption.

  • Shermie Clutch
  • dp + K
  • A move that grabs opponents in the air. Although it is reliable in the fashion that grabs are, it has no invincibility, so it isn’t suited towards anti-air. Rather, you should use it when you know the opponent will jump.

  • Shermie Cute
  • qcf + K during Shermie Spiral, Shermie Whip, or Shermie Clutch
  • An OTG add-on move to some of Shermie’s throws. After this move, Shermie retreats, so meaties are not an option afterwards.

Super special moves

  • Shermie Flash
  • hcb hcb + P at throwing distance
  • A one-frame throw. Basically, you could use it anywhere you could use Shermie Spiral, but obviously it does a lot more damage. During the MAX version, there are three grades of damage you can increase it to (according to how much you and the opponent mash the buttons). If you can get it to the second stage, it amounts to some pretty wicked damage.

  • Shermie Carnival
  • hcf hcf + P at throwing distance
  • A very whiffable command throw (the startup is slow). It does a lot of damage, and it is completely invincible until the hitbox is ready.

Combos

Basic

  • j.D > cl.C >> Shermie Spiral (hcf + P) >> Shermie Cute (qcf + P)
  • Basic combo. Also possible to use Shermie Flash (hcb hcb + P).
  • cr.A > cr.A >> Shermie Spiral (hcf + P) >> Shermie Cute (qcf + P)
  • Combo from weak moves. Applicable for meaties and such.

The Basics

Shermie has no dearth of the jump checking moves that amount to defense. If you use st.D on the ground, it is practically unreliable to some extent, but there is some degree of effectiveness in that it can cause the opponent to halt. Also effective is st.B. The second hit can poke hyper hops in many instances, so it’s effective when you happen to be zoning at mid-range. That along with vertical j.D and vertical j.CD is good. Since they can be suitable to use after you spot a normal/super jump, they will function as anti-air against opponents without good jump attacks. Against short/hyper hops, use vertical hop j.CD. Also, for ground-to-ground zoning, cr.C and st.C in conjunction with the st.B will be powerful. If you occasionally cancel cr.C into weak Axle Spin Kick, it’ll make it that much harder for the opponent to move.

Moving on to anti-air: the basic anti-airs are Shermie Whip and Shermie Clutch. If either one is used too closely, it will easily lose out, so you have to do it a little ahead of time. In particular, the latter is impossible to use without predicting the jump, but if you don’t use it skillfully it will be countered, so you must not try for the impossible. If, at the moment, it’s hard to tell which one will work, st.CD also works. It’s moderately strong if you look ahead and feel for it, and since it has foot-level invincibility, it is not that simple to counter. But since depending on the opponent’s character and the situation, you could be interrupted by invincible moves and such, it’s better to err on the whiffing side than the getting-countered side of the equation.

Then there’s interrupting, and the basic move for that is probably weak Axle Spin Kick. Obviously, you can use as a rushing move, but perhaps less obviously, it is good for avoiding wakeup attacks. Shermie Carnival is also powerful. It is useful both on wakeup, and (input so that she doesn’t wander away) as one more thing the opponent doesn’t want to have wakeup next to. If successful, you can top it off with Shermie Flash, so aim for it assertively.

When on the offense, after making the very tip of j.CD touch, jump in with j.D; then intently continuing with just the two options of striking and throwing will probably be good. If the offensive crumbles and you need to revert to defense, there isn’t a problem, but if the defense crumbles, too, and turns to turtling, it’s over, so use your nerves for defense even more than offense.

Advanced Strategy

Match-Ups