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The King of Fighters: Maximum Impact
K' Character Guide/FAQ
Version 1.3
By Bryce Griffith (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. This FAQ is copyright Bryce
Griffith 2004-2005.
_____________________________
Update Log
_____________________________
Version 0.1 (6-26-04)- Work begins again... using my favorite layout :-)
Version 1.1 (11-18-04)- fixed an error with K's chain off of Spot Pile.
Version 1.3 (1-28-05)- Minor additions. More than likely the final version,
unless I decide to do matchups later or something, which although I
love this game, I don't think it really needs that much detail on how
to be played.
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Table of Contents
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1.0 Introduction
1.1 Jargon
1.2 Basic KoF: MI Engine info
2.0 Quick Movelist
3.0 K's Moves
3.1 Normals
3.2 Special/Command Attacks
3.3 Deadly/Special moves
3.4 DOA Thrashings/Supers
3.5 Stylish Arts/Chain combos
4.0 Strategy
5.0 Combos/Setups
5.1 Combos
5.2 Setups
6.0 Miscellaneous
6.1 Costume Colors
6.2 Storyline Info
7.0 Afterword
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1.0 Introduction
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Waha! Here we go again. King of Fighters: Maximum Impact is BROKEN AS HELL. It's
not a secret. It's still an fun game to play though. Most people have qualms
with the Stylish Arts system, and that it doesn't play like any other KoF, but
that's alright. It's still fun to play casually. Just don't try to play serious
seriously compeitively or you will end up getting knocked down into unblockable
setup for 75%+ of your life (see combo section)...
So, yeah, this is an FAQ about how to play as K', IMO the most fun character to
play as in the game, with long combos and good power. Why play as K'?
Strengths
+Longest combos in the game
+Versatile (except for mixup)
+Excellent OTG game
Weaknesses
-Mixups are kinda weak
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1.2 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... For the PS2:
A= Square
B= X
C= Triangle
D= Circle
AB= R1
CD= R2
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)
360- 360 degree motion
CH- Counter Hit
XX- Cancel
______________________________________
1.3 KoF: MI Engine Info
______________________________________
For convenience (and because I feel that the other FAQs on gamefaqs left
out quite a bit of information on the engine), I've added engine information
to this FAQ, and I'll probably add it to any future KoF: MI 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.
*Blow-Back Attack aka CD Attack (CD)- A powerful move that if it connects
knocks the opponent far across the screen. Not quite as powerful
as they used to be, but still decent. Can also be done in the
air, but not while crouching. K's is that awesome high kick.
*Emergency Evasion aka Roll (f+AB or b+AB)- Doing this will cause you to
roll (or slip whatever), and become temporarily invincible.
However, you can be thrown out of them, and they also have a
short recovery time where people can punish them, so don't abuse
it just because you turn invincible temporarily. Not as good in
this one IMO as in 2D KoFs because you can't go through the
opponent.
*Sidestep (AB or d+AB)- I think it's obvious what this does. Make good
use of it in this game too, since the characters are obviously
still not made for a 3d enviornment and thus can be pretty
linear at times. Better than roll I daresay in this game, since
roll no longer goes through the opponent.
*Sidewalk (AB or d+AB held down)- Character walks sideways. Not very
useful since they walk so slow...
*Fall Breaker aka 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 CRITICAL that you can
do this consistently in this game because of the OTG system.
Note that some moves (such as sweeps) cannot be recovery
rolled.
*Counter hits (interrupt an opponents attack)- Counter hits are too good
in this game. All they do is more damage, but what's so awesome
is that every move after a counter hit starting a combo gains
the counter hit property! That means a counter hit combo does
TONS more damage than a regular one. It's really bad to get CH
in this game.
*Guard Cancels (CD, f+AB, or b+AB while blocking)- Cancels your guard
and does the respective CD attack, forward roll, or backwards
roll. Costs 1 power bar.
*Stylish Moves aka Chain combos (enter the chain combo for the character)
Chain combos have an odd property in this game. You can only
cancel into specials/supers from these in KoF: MI.
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2.0 Quick Movelist
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-------------
Body Slams
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f+C- Spot Pile
f+D- Knee Strike
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Special Moves
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f+A- One Inch
f+B- Knee Assault
f,f+C- Terrible Brow
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Deadly Moves
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The Trigger- qcf+P
Second Shoot- f+B after Trigger
Second Shell- f+D after Trigger
Narrow Spike- b+K after Trigger
Blackout- qcf+K
Crow Bites- dp+P
Followup- f+K during C Crow Bites
Minute Spike- qcb+K
Narrow Spike- qcb+K during Minute Spike
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DOA Thrashings
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Heat Drive - qcfx2+P
Chain Drive - qcf,hcb+P
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Stylish Moves
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A -> C -> f+A
A -> C -> d+D
f+A -> f+C -> f+D
B -> B -> C
B -> D -> A -> C
d+B -> d+A
d+C -> C
df+C -> C -> C
D -> C -> CD
d+D -> f+B
f,f+D -> D
Jumping A -> Jumping C
Jumping B -> Jumping D
Jumping A -> Jumping CD
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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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A- A quick poke, nothing special other than for interrupting
attacks
B- A quick kick forward. Can OTG and it starts Stylish Arts.
fairly Useful.
C- A punch forward. Pointless to use since it's more profitable to
use moves that start Stylish arts.
D- A high kick. It comes out pretty fast and can serve as decent
anti-air.
CD Attack- K's signature high kick! Unfortunately it comes out
slow and lacks invincibility, but it's priority is still
great like before.
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Crouching
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Crouching A- A quick jab, it's fast, but that's it. I don't really
use this.
Crouching B- A low kick. Rather slow for being a light attack actually.
It can otg, starts a stylish art and hits low so it's pretty
useful still.
Crouching C- Uppercut-type thingy. This is pretty good anti-air and
is one of the few regular normals that is actually cancellable
in the game. Can start stylish arts and is very useful in K's
advanced OTG combo.
Crouching D- K's sweep. K' is the god of OTGs in this game, so this
move is CRITICAL to his success. Once you get them on the
ground where they can't recovery roll, then you can land a
huge combo that can take anywhere from 50% to 80%! Make sure
you use this when the opponent least expects it though, since
they'll surely make an effort to try and stop you from taking
off half their life, and this move is not completely safe
on block.
---------
Jumping
---------
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. Good for Crossups. Probably K's best
jump-in attack next to CDing
Jumping D- A weird angled kick. Really only good for air to air as
it tends to whiff against ground with me.
Jumping CD- A 45 degree kick downward. Slowest to come out of all
his air moves, but like all CD attacks knocks the opponent
far away on a hit and has good priority.
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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 and can start stylish arts so
it has some uses, despite it being so slow... Unfortunately,
it loses the overhead property if you do stylish arts...
Knee Assault- f+B- A knee forward by K'. Limited in uses really in
this game since there's no command cancelling like in other
KoFs. It moves K' forward so you can pressure them with it
but that's about it.
Terrible Brow- f,f+C- This is a launcher that's really not that useful.
the B->D->A->C chain comes out faster, does more damage, and
has the exact same launch trajectory. Don't bother with this
move.
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3.3 Special Moves
______________________________________
The Trigger- qcf+P- K' throws out a ring of fire that ignites. Awesome move
in this game. Not only is it your staple special attack, but it's also
the key to K's godly OTG combos, since one of the followups hits OTG
AND can launch. Make sure to make good use of this, especially after
a sweep.
*Second Shoot- f+B during Trigger- K' shoots a fireball out from his
ring of fire towards the opponent. Not very useful at all,
especially since now it can be stepped as well as rolled and
jumped... Plus its recovery kinda sucks.
*Second Shell- f+D during Trigger- K' does a high kick with the flames
from the trigger. Generally this is what you will use as the
followup to The Trigger when they're not on the ground, since
a Narrow Spike will only combo if it's OTG. It doesn't have as
many combo options as Narrow Spike though.
*Narrow Spike- b+K during Trigger- K' does a slide forward (if you
could call it that). This slide does not combo normally, but it
does hit low, and on connect it will launch. Your main use for
this move will be using it after a sweep, allowing you to
launch them off the ground into juggles. Very, very useful move.
Blackout- qcf+K- K' does a slide teleport that can go through the opponent.
This is the fastest it's ever been, and it goes a long way in
such a short startup. This is one of the few KoF games where I
actually use a teleporting character's teleport since you can be
thrown out of them :/. But anyway, the ability to be thrown out
of the teleport is still very possible in this KoF as well, but
it's a lot harder to do (especially with this move, since it's so
fast). D version travels further than the B version.
Crow Bites- dp+P- K' does an uppercut with his gloved hand, flames streaking
from it. This is one of the better uppercuts in the game. The A
version is just a short little hop, but the C version goes way up
in the air and hits twice. The C version is very useful in juggle
situations, as you can usaully follow up with a super or another
Crow Bites.
*Followup- f+D during C version of Crow Bites- K' does a midair kick.
Unlike in the 2d KoFs, this move actually floats them
higher, rather than knocking them down to the ground,
allowing you to use even more juggles than with just a
C Crow Bites without the followup. Just recently after
watching a combo video, I found out that this move is
actually cancellable into special moves! That means you
can followup the followup with an aerial Minute Spike.
Minute Spike- qcb+K- K' does a flying kick. Somewhat fast, but not as much
as in 2d KoF. Not terribly useful, as it can be sidestepped or
otherwise avoided rather easily, and it's better to use a Trigger
or Crow Bites in combos. Knocks down. Can also be done in air.
*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. The only disadvantage is that
it has a slightly longer recovery.
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3.4 Supers
______________________________________
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 after strings that
launch the opponent for it to combo immediately after, such as
B->D->A->C. Overall this is a good super, except for the fact
that it's a single hit, which means that KoF's new damage
scaling nerfs its damage really bad when it's used in combos,
making Chain Drive a MUCH better option in combos. You should
really only use it when Chain Drive simply won't work, or you
don't have enough meter for Chain Drive.
Chain Drive- qcf,hcb+P- K' throws his sunglasses. If they hit he charges
forward and beats the crap out of the opponent. It's damaging
and works wonders in K's combos since it's a multi-hit super
and thus less affected by the ravages of damage scaling.
Pretty much anywhere a Heat Drive would work, a Chain Drive
will also work, and more since the sunglasses have a longer
then the rather short Heat Drive. Note that if the opponent is
too high up in the air when you juggle with the glasses it
will occasionally whiff. Not very often though. Chain Drive is
the super of choice for K'
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3.5 Stylish Moves
______________________________________
A -> C -> f+A - The use of this lies in the fact that it's a mixup off of
his lethal sweep chain right below this one. You can't get any real
damage off it though because the One Inch knocks them away...
A -> C -> d+D - This is K's most useful Stylish move, since it combos into
his sweep. K' has insane OTG power so once you get them on the ground
you can take a HUGE chunk of their life provided you have meter. Be
sure to use this one often.
f+A -> f+C -> f+D - A chain that lets you combo off of his One Inch,
which normally knocks them back like a CD attack. This chain is
garbage. If you use it, it takes away the overhead property of
One Inch, which is totally the only reason you'd use it in the
first place since it's so freaking slow!
B -> B -> C - The two B's don't combo... so yeah that kind of hurts the
usefulness of it in combos (unless you use it in his OTG combos,
where this does have a few applications). Otherwise, I kind of use
this to pressure the opponent sometimes. The two B's come out
fast enough and have decent recovery. No point in adding the C
though unless both B's connect.
B -> D -> A -> C - This is K's B&B combo when off the ground. It does
decent damage and launches at the end, allowing you to followup
with whatever you want and do some good damage. Not much else to
say about it.
d+B -> d+A - If you've played Kyo first and are expecting this to be
stupid broken like his is, sorry. It doesn't combo and isn't
particularly good, but it has a few uses as pressure (since it
moves you forward), and in OTG combos.
d+C -> C - This would be better if you could use it in anti-air
situations and combo, but it doesn't so yeah that hurts its
usefulness. He's got better chains than this one. Stick to his
one to sweep or bdac one.
df+C -> C -> C - Another decent chain overshadowed by his two
exceptionally good chains..
D -> C -> CD - The CD at the end does not combo. Otherwise an okay chain
I guess, but his other ones are so much better you shouldn't really
need to bother with this one.
d+D -> f+B - Worthless. K' has so much more off of a sweep that it's a
waste to launch them as soon as you land a sweep. Instead go for a
MUCH more powerful OTG combo.
f,f+D -> D - A kick to overhead. Not bad. Good because K' seems to have
a little of a problem with mixup.
Jumping A -> Jumping C - I really can't get any of K's air chains to work
Jumping B -> Jumping D very effectively at all. Other than Jumping A to
Jumping A -> Jumping CD CD attack, it's better to stick to just regular
jump-in attacks IMO.
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4.0 Strategy
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LAND A SWEEP, either by a his Stylish Art or the old-fashioned way. Once
you get them on the ground you can do tons of damage thanks to the
b+K followup to qcf+P, allowing you to launch them off an OTG and
continue the combo in midair for major damage.
His teleport is a powerful tool this time around. Make good use of it to
get out of corners and to confuse the opponent. If Kyo starts whoring
out his broken c.B->c.A chain, you can use Minute Spike to get off the
ground quickly to evade and counter it.
That's about it. Honestly. K' is scrub. Of course, not as scrub as Lien
or Kyo, but yeah he's pretty easy to learn.
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5.0 Combos/Chains/Setups
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All Combos/Setups were tested on Alba unless stated otherwise
______________________________________
5.1 Combos to know
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s.B -> D -> A -> C XX qcfx2+P (delay the Heat Drive a little)
s.B -> D -> A -> C XX dp+C, f+D, qcf,hcb+C
s.A -> s.C -> c.D, c.B, qcf+P, b+K, dp+C, f+D, qcf,hcb+C
s.A -> s.C -> c.D, c.B, s.B -> s.B XX qcf+P, b+K, dp+C, f+D
c.D, c.B -> c.A, s.B -> s.B XX qcf+P, b+K, dp+C, f+D, qcf,hcb+C
c.D, c.C XX qcf+P, b+K, c.C XX qcf+P, b+K, dp+C, f+D, qcf,hcb+C
On the above two, you need to time the c.C at the correct time,
otherwise they'll recover in midair.
______________________________________
5.2 Setups
______________________________________
False crossup setup combos:
c.D, c.B -> c.A, s.B -> s.B XX qcf+B
It LOOKS like it'll cross up but it doesn't.
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6.0 Miscellaneous
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Kyo is a dirty bastard.
Little glitch I found (also in my glitch FAQ, if you have read
it): If you do The Trigger into Second Shoot then use Chain
Drive before the fireball from Second Shoot hits, the fireball
will act as the sunglasses in the Chain Drive, meaning if
the fireball hits, K' will rush forward and do the combo!
Really cool, but sadly quite useless unless you're playing
against vegetables (aka THE COMPUTER).
______________________________________
6.1 Alternate Costumes
______________________________________
*******************
Player 1 Costume
*******************
Normal- K' has his bushy haircut, and is wearing his slick
leather outfit, complete with the pants that are
probably too tight, and the slightly zipped down shirt
showing off his physique. Wearing a cross around his
neck, has one glove that's a ordinary, and the other
one has a red, more solid glove. On the back of his
shirt it says "A Beast of Prey".
Alternate Color 1- Blonde hair, Purple clothing. Other
than that, same as the normal.
Alternate Color 2- Black hair, Yellow clothing, yellow
glove. Clothing looks a bit different. On the back
it says "K'" with a wing on the top and bottom of
the K now.
Player 1 Rigging model- Adds red knee pads, a helmet,
shin guards, spiked shoulder pads and stupid looking
spike bracelets.
*******************
Player 2 Costume
*******************
Normal- K' has shorter hair combed back, but still sticking
up quite a bit. Looks funky. He's wearing sunglasses
with red lenses and his necklace, but no shirt. Wearing
blue jeans with some sort of pouch on the left leg. His
gloves are different too; The right one goes up to his
elbow and has fingerholes. The other one looks like an
ordinary driving glove.
Alternate Color 1- Lighter skin (like a white guy with a
tan), pants are now black, gloves are now red, and
hair is blonde.
Alternate Color 2- Shades are gone, gloves are now red,
pants are now black with red design on them, and K'
gains a plethora of tattoos of bones, including a
rather large skull on his back.
Player 2 Rigging Model- K' loses the glasses for an
eyepatch on his right eye. The blue jeans are replaced
with some sort of samurai pants and shoes. Has a sash
and a sword is thrust through it.
______________________________________
6.2 Character Info
______________________________________
Here's the official info. from the in-game Profile:
--------------------------------------------------------------
Name: K' (pronounced K DASH)
Nickname: The Unyielding Umber Blaze
Combat Style: Pure Violence
Birthday: Unknown
Height: 6' 0"
Weight: 143 lbs
Blood Type: A
Birthplace: Unknown (presumably a NESTS Laboratory)
Hobbies: None
Prized Possesions: None
Favorite Foods: Beef Jerky
Turn-Offs: King of Fighters, Sweets
Favorite Sports: None (hates exercise)
--------------------------------------------------------------
K' is introverted and hates to associate with people. Bestowed with
Kyo Kusanagi's abilities through genetic manipulation, he is able to command
the powers of flame.
But he always wears the glove on his right hand to allay the danger of these
powers running wild.
--------------------------------------------------------------
K' originally debuted in King of Fighters '99, and was the main character
from '99 to 2001 of the tournament. The tournament's #1 badass, the
popularity polls at one time (not sure if it is now) showed that he
was more popular than Kyo and Iori, the original main characters of the
series!
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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 (Next time not so broken plz)
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 semi-ghetto guide.
This FAQ is copyright Bryce Griffith 2004-2005
