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The King of Fighters 2003
K' Character Guide/FAQ
Version 1.0
By Bryce G. (Youkai Kouga on gamefaqs.com)
SteelFangedSamurai@gmail.com
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Notice: This FAQ is to be posted ONLY on gamefaqs.com
unless the author (me) gives permission otherwise.
K', and the King of Fighters are both copyright of
their respective owners.
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Update Log
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Version 1.0 (11-18-04)- Yes I know... it's been a year since the damn game was
release, but this is one of my favorite years, although people may
disagree with me on it. Plus there's no KoF2k4... though Neowave
took that place. But I don't have Neowave at my arcade soooo... yeah.
Plus this game is awesome and you know it!
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Table of Contents
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1.0 Introduction
1.1 Jargon
1.2 Basic KoF2k3 Engine info
2.0 Quick Movelist
3.0 K's Moves
3.1 Normals
3.2 Command Attacks
3.3 Special moves
3.4 Desperation Moves/Leader Desperation Move
4.0 Strategy
5.0 Combos
6.0 Miscellaneous
6.1 Alternate Colors
6.2 Storyline Stuff
7.0 Afterword
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1.0 Introduction
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This year, King of Fighters has had a breath of fresh air... new engine,
new story, new characters. The King of Fighters 2003 plays A LOT
different than the others. Some people won't like the changes, but
others (like me) do. Anyways, K' is totally revamped from the previous
games he's been in. He plays different in soooo many ways....
Why play K'?
Strengths
+Powerful LDM, and in general
+Versatile
+High Priority
+Unblockable glitch
+Scrubby
Weaknesses
-Isn't Duo Lon LOL
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1.1 Jargon
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d, df, f, uf, u, ub, r, db = The respective direction on the joystick
A,B,C,D- The respective buttons on the game...
s.X = Standing X
c.X = Crouching X
j.X = Jumping X
P, K- Punch and Kick, respectively (means either punch will work)
Charge- Hold the direction down for 2 seconds, then press the other direction
qcf- quarter circle forward (d,df,f)
qcb- quarter circle back (d,db,b)
hcf- half circle forward (b,db,d,df,f)
hcb- half circle back (f,df,d,db,b)
Link- Combos without a cancel. Takes stricter timing than cancels.
DM- Desperation Move
LDM- Leader Desperation Move
SDM- Super Desperation Move (not in KoF2k3)
HSDM- Hidden Super Desperation Move (not in KoF2k3)
CH- Counter Hit
XX- Cancel
Wire- This is when they bounce off the wall from a move. If a move has
"Counter Wire" properties, the opponent will bounce off the wall
if you hit them with it on the counter hit
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1.2 KoF2k3 Engine Info
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For convenience, I've added engine information to this FAQ, and I'll
probably add it to any future KoF2k3 FAQs I write.
*Blocking (hold b or db)- duh. b blocks high and med, db blocks low and med.
*Jumping (press U, UF, or UB)
*High Jump (press D, DB, or DF, then U, UB, or UF)
*Run (press f twice quickly, hold to keep running)
*Backdash (press b twice quickly)
*Throw (f+C or f+D when close)
*Throw Tech (f+C or f+D when about to be thrown)
*Short Jump (tap U, UF, or UB)- This is the standard KoF feature of short
jump. If you just tap up and let go real quick, you'll do a short
jump rather than a high one. This has several uses, such as doing
a quick CD attack on an opponent.
*Tag Teammate (BC or CD)- New to KoF, using this will let you switch out
characters. Afterwards you will be unable to tag until the
message by your super bar says "TAG OK" BC tags the first ally
on the list that's not out, and CD tags the second ally that's
not out.
*Roll (AB or b+AB)- Doing this will cause you to roll (or slip whatever)
and become temporarily invincible. However, you can still be
thrown, and they also have a short recovery time where people
can punish them, so don't abuse it just because you turn
invincible temporarily.
*Recovery Roll (AB as you touch the ground from a fall)- This lets you
instantly recover to your feet after being knocked down from
an attack. It's especially important that you can do this in
KoF2k3, because it makes K's unblockable trap escapable.
Note that some moves (such as sweeps) cannot be recovery
rolled.
*Counter hits (interrupt an opponents attack)- When you counter an enemy
attack, you deal more damage, and more properties are given to
the move (such as wire).
*Guard Cancels (CD, f+AB, or b+AB while blocking)- Cancels your guard
and does the respective counterattack, forward roll, or backwards
roll. Costs 1 power bar.
*Wire system- Some moves have properties that when they connect, they'll
bounce the opponent off the wall, allowing you to juggle them
longer. A move will be marked if it's wire or counter wire.
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2.0 Quick Movelist
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Throws
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f+C- Spot Pile
f+D- Spot Pile (switch directions)
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Command Moves
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f+A- One Inch
f+B- Knee Assault
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Special Moves
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The Trigger- qcf+P
Second Shoot- f+B after Trigger
Second Shell- f+D after Trigger
Blackout- b+K after Trigger
Blackout- qcf+K
Crow Bites- dp+P
Followup- f+K during C Crow Bites
Minute Spike- qcb+K (can be done in air)
Narrow Spike- qcb+K during Minute Spike
Air Trigger- (in air) qcf+K
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Desperation Moves
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Heat Drive - qcfx2+P
Heaven Drive - qcf,hcb+P
Chain Drive (Leader only)- qcf,hcb+AC
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3.0 K's Moves- Analysis
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3.1 Normals
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Standing
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Close A- K' elbows forward quickly, nothing special other than for
interrupting attacks. Comes out fast.. just your ordinary jab.
Cancellable.
Close B- K' stomps down on the opponent's foot. Fast and cancellable.
that's about it though.
Close C- A two hit punch forward. Comes out fairly fast, cancellable
into specials and supers, and a very hit-confirmable way to
land a Heaven Drive after. Useful in B&B combos.
Close D- K' trips does a sort of trip. Cancellable into specials
and supers, seems to come out slower than it appears too.
Although it looks like it hits low, it doesn't really.
Personally, I like Close C better.
Far A- K' pokes forward with his hand. This one with a longer range
than Close A, but otherwise pretty much the same.
Far B- K' does a kick forward. Great range, but not cancellable or
anything, so there's not much point to using
Far C- K' slaps forward with his right hand. Cancellable into
specials and supers. Comes out kinda slow, and recovery seems
kinda slow. I tend to avoid using this. But the cancel offers
some mindgame opportunities, such as cancelling into Blackout
to continue pressure.
Far D- A roundhouse kick by K' that has a fairly good range and has
some uses as anti-air. It can't be crouched because of the
way K' hooks his leg back, though it still doesn't hit as
an overhead. Pretty good range, comes out faster than
before this year, overall a good move to have in K's
arsenal.
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Crouching
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Crouching A- A quick jab by K'. Fast, cancellable into specials and
and supers. Good for interrupting and pressure. This is what
I use for 90% of my jabs.
Crouching B- Low kick by K'. Not cancellable into specials, but
still has its uses as his fastest low attack for poking and
the like.
Crouching C- An uppercut. Cancellable into specials/supers, and
has anti-air uses. It seems to trade quite a bit though.
Crouching D- K's sweep. Comes out VERY fast for a sweep and seems
to be very safe this year. You can punish some things with
it pretty easily. Definitely one of his more abusable moves.
It's cancellable as well, but there's really no point unless
you are going for chip damage, or more mixup if it's blocked.
A connected c.D cannot be comboed after.
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Jumping
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Jumping A- A punch, nothing more. I never use it really.
Jumping B- A knee forward. Decent I guess, I don't use it much
though.
Jumping C- A downward punch. It has a large hit box, so it's good
for using as a crossup. One of K's best jump-in attacks.
Cancellable and gives the longest hitstun of any of his
jumping moves.
Jumping D- Improved this year, K' now kicks straight forward. It
has a long range and high priority, making it the jump-in
attack of choice to use, unless going for crossups.
Cancellable. Another highly useful, abusable attack.
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3.2 Command Moves
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One Inch- f+A- K' sticks his arm forward and knocks the opponent
back. Hits as an overhead, cancellable, and has counter
wire properties. As an overhead, it's a welcome addition
to his arsenal.
Knee Assault- f+B- A knee forward by K'. Since the point of
contact is in midair, you can only cancel this command
move into one of his two air moves, Air Trigger or
Minute Spike.
Power Tag- qcf+AC or qcf+CD- K' does his old CD attack animation
and the character selected to tag in attacks too. Has some
invincibility, but not much. Like all Super Tags, causes a
HUGE amount of hitstun/blockstun, allowing you to follow up
with practically any combo you'd like.
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3.3 Special Moves
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The Trigger- qcf+P- K' throws out a ring of fire that ignites. MUCH MUCH
faster than in the previous games. This move has been totally
changed. Using it for its fireball is a LOT more practical than
before. Furthermore, due to a glitch, you can make the move
unblockable on waking up opponents!
*Second Shoot- f+B during Trigger- K' shoots a fireball out from his
ring of fire towards the opponent. You can use this to catch
the opponent if they backwards roll The Trigger. Since The
Trigger comes out so much faster now, you can use this as a
regular fireball! Great for pressure games.
*Second Shell- f+D during Trigger- K' does a high kick with the flames
from the trigger. This can be used if they jump The Trigger as it
works as good anti-air if you can get it to hit. Unfortunately
this has been toned down compared to the previous King of
Fighters installments. You can no longer combo off of this
unless it's in the corner. Further, it has longer recovery, so
Second Shell to Heat Drive is harder. Still possible, just
harder.
*Blackout- b+K during Trigger- K' teleports forward, allowing you
to continue pressure up in their face or go behind them. Also
this move is used to execute his unblockable glitch.
Blackout- qcf+K- K' does a slide teleport that can go through the opponent.
In this version it sort of lags at the start and end, inhibiting
it's usefulness overall. In the middle it has a bit of
invincibility though.Just be careful not to overuse it or you'll
get thrown. B version is short, D version goes further.
Crow Bites- dp+P- K' does an uppercut with his gloved hand, flames streaking
from it. Still a good move in K's arsenal. The A version is just a
short little hop, but the C version goes way up in the air and hits
several times. The C version is too slow to use in juggles now, but
the A version is still alright. Both versions are super cancelable
this year.
*Followup- f+D during C version of Crow Bites- K' does a midair kick.
Just an extra attack, nothing special. It's hard to
connect though if the C Crow Bites isn't alone... unless
you're in the corner that is...
Minute Spike- qcb+K- K' does a flying kick. Pretty fast once it gets going,
but lags at both the beginning and the end. Use only in
combos or throw out sparingly. Can be done in the air.
D version travels further than B version.
*Narrow Spike- qcb+K during Minute Spike- K' lands from Minute Spike
and does a slide that hits low. You can do this before or
after the Minute Spike hits. This move appears to actually
have less recovery that Minute Spike (could be wrong
though). Anyway, it's pretty useful as a mixup. Still
punishable though.
Air Trigger- qcf+K in air- New to K's arsenal this year, K' shoots a
fireball down at the enemy. The move has a little bit of
startup, but it does change trajectory of your jump, and jolts
you back to safety as well. Decent but not abusable. D version
travels faster, and jolts K' back further.
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3.4 Desperation Moves/Leader Desperation Moves
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Heat Drive- qcfx2+P- K' does a flaming forward charge. You can hold the
button down to charge while he's holding the flame in his gloved
hand, which is useful for delaying it when it's after a high
juggle or something. It's no longer unblockable when fully
charged, and no longer goes through the opponent on block.
Instead, it now stops in front of them, making it more
punishable. In short, this move has been nerfed hardcore.
Thanks to the poorly implemented damage scaling system, a HUGE
amount of damage is shaved off when used in combos now, so much
that it's practically worthless. Use Heaven's Drive instead.
Heaven's Drive- qcfx2+K- K' does two consecutive Crow Bites, then follows
the enemy into the air and knocks them back down. Pretty much
superior to Heat Drive in every way. It comes out faster, does
more damage, and is less affected by the brutal damage scaling
of KoF2k3. The only thing is that it's range is a bit short,
meaning some of the Heat Drive combos have to take a hit off
in order for Heaven's Drive to combo, but it doesn't matter
because the Heaven's Drive combos STILL usually do more anyway
despite missing a hit.
**LEADER ONLY**
Chain Drive- qcf,hcb+AC- K' throws his sunglasses. If they hit he charges
forward and beats the crap out of the opponent, doing an insane
amount of damage. Hell, it even does more damage than the
"Sacred Techniques" of Kyo and Iori (It's the most powerful
non-throw LDM). The glasses also fly much more straight now, and
if they hit, the move WILL connect no matter where they are.
Powerful, versatile, resistant to damage scaling, it's overall
one of the best LDMs in the game.
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4.0 Strategy
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Unlike previous years, K' is all offense, and tons more fun to play as.
He's also incredibly scrubby though. Seriously. The only moves you really
need to play him at a low level are:
Close C
Crouching A
Crouching D
Jumping D
Heaven's Drive
The Trigger
Second Shoot
Chain Drive (if leader)
The rest is just icing on the cake.
Anyway, your job with K' is to rush the hell out of opposition as stated
above. j.D will be your main jump-in, but j.C will work fine as well, and
is preferable in some cases since you can link a super tag after it, while
for j.D it has to be really deep for the tag to combo.
On the ground c.A is your buddy for pressure, along with his ridiculously
fast sweep. Trigger into Second Shoot isn't too shabby either when they're
further away.
Close C is a nice move to use for combos. Extremely easy to hit-confirm
to tack on a Heaven's Drive at the end. Crouching A is easy to hit-confirm
as well.
Abuse his unblockable glitch on wakeup. What you do is properly time a
Trigger to hit them as they wakeup, and do a Blackout. The Blackout makes
The Trigger unblockable thanks to a glitch akin to KoF98's. This only
works on wakeup though, because The Trigger is not really a true fireball.
In the corner you can use this as a trap that they can only escape by
outguessing you on whether to quick recover or not. You can also
supposedly link a Heaven's Drive after a successful qcf+A, but I'd
imagine that it's a 1 frame link or something because it's REALLY
FREAKING HARD.
The Crow Bites super cancel is only really useful on wakeup IMO. Sure you
can be flashy with it and all, but for the same stock you could still be
doing a DM or doing a super tag. And it's not like it opens up any major
damaging combos, unlike a tag. K' has plenty of combo opportunities
anyway.
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5.0 Combos
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All Combos were tested on Ryo Sakazaki unless stated otherwise.
*c.A, c.A->f+B XX qcb+B/D
*Close C (1 hit), f+A XX qcb+B/D
*Close C (2 hit), f+B XX qcb+B/D
*(against aerial opponent) j.D XX qcf+B/D
*j.D, c.A, c.A XX qcfx2+B/D
*Close C (2 hit) XX qcfx2+B/D
*(corner) Close C (2 hits) XX qcf+A, wait, f+D, qcfx2+C
*(corner) Close C (2 hits) XX qcf+A, wait, f+D, qcf,hcb+AC
*Super Tag in, c.C->f+A XX qcf,hcb+AC
*Super Tag in, Close C (2 hit) XX qcfx2+K
*Close A, Super Tag out
*Jumping C, Super Tag out
*Jumping D, Super Tag out
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6.0 Miscellaneous
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This is where stuff that really doesn't matter that much but is
still interesting to know goes.
GLITCHES! Yeah.. sometimes after you do a crossup and you attack too
early it goes the wrong way! I've only had this occur with K's tag
attack though.... Just something to watch out for.
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6.1 Alternate Colors
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A Color- Silver hair, black clothing, red glove
B Color- Blonde hair, blue clothing, gray glove
C Color- Silver(ish) hair, red clothing, blue glove
D Color- Blue hair, red clothing, yellow glove
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6.2 Storyline Stuff
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K's official profile as of The King of Fighters 2003:
Name: K' (K Dash)
Fighting Style: Pure Violence
Birthday: Unknown
Height: 183 cm. (6'0 for the metrical inept)
Weight: 65 kg. (
Blood Type: Unknown
Measurements: Unknown
Birthplace: Unknown
Hobbies: None
Personal Treasures: None
Favorite Food: Beef Jerkey
Dislikes: King of Fighters Tournament, Sweets
Best Sport: None (hates exercise)
Brief story synopsis of K':
K' debuted in the King of Fighters '99: Millenium Battle as the new
main character of a new KoF saga, the NESTS saga.
In King of Fighters '99, it was revealed that K' was a clone of
Krizalid, the boss of the game, who was a member of a sinister
organization known as NESTS plotting (OMG GASP) world domination by
the use of clones of Kyo Kusanagi (lol?). Anywho, K' was the clone
that showed the strongest potential.
Anyway generic stuff happened, NESTS died the end of NESTS saga.
There's no point in going into detail about the PAST KoFs because
then this part could take a while and I really care more about the
gameplay stuff than this.
Anywho, King of Fighters 2003 rolled around. Now that NESTS was
gone, K' had no reason to enter the King of Fighters Tournament,
since, after all, he hates it. But, he was asked to by Chin of
the Psycho Soldier team because he sensed a great evil power
that felt like the Orochi that had been sealed away in King of
Fighters '97, but different.
Chin doubts that Kyo Kusanagi and Iori Yagami could defeat this
new evil presence, especially considering they still are
fighting between each other. So he asks him to enter as "The
second Kusanagi," in case Kyo and Iori fail to defeat this
evil menace.
You can read the full background story for K's KoF2k3 team at the
official King of Fighters 2003 site:
http://www.snkplaymore.jp/official/kof2003/english/story/t-story_kdash.html
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7.0 Afterword
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This FAQ is to be posted ONLY on gamefaqs.com unless the author (me)
gives permission otherwise. K', and the King of Fighters, are
all copyright their respective owners.
Thanks to SNK for making a great game
Thanks to Fierceslash for the strategy forum and their attempts to
resurrect the fighting game scene for SNK games.
http://www.fierceslash.com
Thanks to SRK.
http://www.shoryuken.com
Thanks to you for reading my FAQ.
