Mature (KoF '02 UM)

Introduction

Marilyn "Mature" Monroe (born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 – August 5, 1962) was an American actress, model, and singer, who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s and early 1960s. After spending much of her childhood in foster homes and hiding her heritage as a Hakkesshu, Mature began a career as a model, which led to a film contract in 1946 with Twentieth Century-Fox. Her early film appearances were minor, but her performances in The Asphalt Jungle and All About Eve (both 1950), drew attention. By 1952 she had her first leading role in Don't Bother to Knock and 1953 brought a lead in Niagara, a melodramatic film noir that dwelt on her seductiveness. Her "dumb blonde" persona was used to comic effect in subsequent films such as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) and The Seven Year Itch (1955). Limited by typecasting, Monroe studied at the Actors Studio to broaden her range. Her dramatic performance in Bus Stop (1956) was hailed by critics and garnered a Golden Globe nomination. Her production company, Marilyn Monroe Productions, released The Prince and the Showgirl (1957), for which she received a BAFTA Award nomination and won a David di Donatello award. She received a Golden Globe Award for her performance in Some Like It Hot (1959). Monroe's last completed film was The Misfits (1961), co-starring Clark Gable, with a screenplay written by her then-husband, Arthur Miller.

The final years of Monroe's life were marked by Iori's claws after he ripped her and Vice apart during the '96 tournament. To this day, she continues to haunt Iori Yagami forever scarring him with that quintessential smile and pose.

Move list

At a glance:

Normal Throws
Death Blow	(throw) f./b. + C
Backlash	(throw) f./b. + D
Command Moves
None
Special Moves
Despair	(air OK) qcf + P
Sacrilege	dp + P
Death Row	qcb + P (up to 3 times)
Metal Massacre	qcb + K
Decide	hcf + K
Ebony Tears	qcf hcb + P
Desperation Moves
Nocturnal Lights	qcf x2 + P
Heaven's Gate	qcb hcf + K
Max Desperation Moves
Nocturnal Lights	qcf x2 + PP
Heaven's Gate	qcb hcf + KK
Max 2
ECSTASY 816	qcb hcf + PP

Normal Moves

Close Standing Normals

• Close B

cl.B – A fast double kick with the first part hitting low. This is mainly used after her Jump B on hit to have her Death Row combo consistently. Although it's a good hit confirm, the disadvantage on block leaves her more limited in options than if she were to use "cr.B > cr.A" to confirm instead. What makes this move reliable is that it starts up faster than Crouch B, making Close B an alternative to use in particular situations.

• Close C

cl.C – An uppercut. Pretty fast but not as fast as some of the other characters in the game like Iori but functions almost as effectively. Since it comes out so fast, it works well as an anti-air in particular situations or as a punish against unsafe moves.

• Close D

cl.D – A cool looking, double-hitting, spin kick. Doesn't really combo from jump-ins and doesn't have as much speed as Close C; but if able to use this move as a punish, the player is able to confirm, buffer, and combo into a super more easily than Close C and with more damage than from crouching normal moves. Otherwise, this move doesn't have that much utility and more often than not, the player would find one's self find more openings and combos using Mature's other normal moves.

Far Standing Normals

• Far A

Straight Jab. It's a pretty good anti-hop tools with a good number of active frames. With those active frames, certain players have a tendency to use this move to punish rolls and combo into Death Row. Far A is a good move to just stick out there every now and then to check hops without much committal and is effective at what it does.

• Far B

This is a wannabe Vice Far B and is too slow for trying to control the space that it does. It doesn't work that well as a poke and it is often avoided. It feels as if this move was put in just to balance out Close B and what ranges Close B can come out at (unlike in other games like in KOF '98.) So while this could have been a good mid-height pokes from a far distance to encourage the opponent to jump, the limitation of its speed makes this an undesirable move with few opportunities for application.

• Far C

Cool looking double swipe. A bit slow as a poke and it might work as a frame trap from closer up, although if rarely. The most commonly used application is during Max mode to continue the combo after activation without needing to run forward. Both hits of this move is cancelable, and this could be used to switch up the timing of Mature's cancels to mess up people trying to guard roll against her. Although this move looks neat, it has limited practical applications.

• Far D

A swinging kick similar to Cammy's "Far Roundhouse." On paper this is a good poke but comes out and recovers too slowly to be used frequently without much consequences, especially when other pokes cover similar space, have better speed, and are cancelable.

Standing Blowback

st.CD – Another spin kick. This move is pretty much a better version of Far D since it covers about the same range, if not the same range, has a higher hit box to tag hopping characters, and is cancelable. This is one of Mature's best normals to use during the neutral game, during corner lock down, and a bit during her zoning/defensive game. It's great during corner lock down when canceled into Ebony Tears, but not too much as to get punished by guard rolls by being predictable.

Crouching Normals

• Crouch(ing) A

cr.A – Small, crouching jab. It's a standard, crouching light punch that one could find in most fighting games. Low committal, doesn't hit low but is a pressure tool to a certain degree. It can be chained into from other light attacks but can't chain out. The biggest plus to use this move over Crouch B is that some characters can reversal super jump or hop out from certain ranges when Crouch B is used, but Crouch A in those cases would stop those characters.

• Crouch(ing) B

cr.B – Crouching kick. This attack has good speed, in regards to start up and recovery, for the range it reaches. Other than Close B, this is Mature's main way to open up opponents with low attacks and recovers better on block than Close B. Like other Crouch B attacks, it chains into other light hitting normals, even Close B.

• Crouch(ing) C

cr.C – An uppercut-like swipe to the air. It looks kinda weird but it pretty much covers where the animation overlays. Directly vertically, this move tends to whiff against jump-ins (unless she is able to fully extend her hand out in time) but dominates against anything that lands right in front of Mature. This along with Close C and Stand A pretty much covers all the ranges for Mature's grounded anti-air game. Combined with her strong air-to-air Jump C, Mature's set of normals make her hard to get in on.

• Crouch(ing) D

cr.D – Sweep. It's a standard sweep and is pretty fast for the range it covers in comparison to the rest of the cast. Like other sweeps it's cancelable on whiff, block, or hit. Mature players generally like canceling this move into Ebony Tears to continue pressure, but not too much to become predictable and punished by a guard roll into a combo.

Jumping Normals

• Jump(ing) A

j.A – An air-to-air with some downward hit box to hit most crouching characters. An all around jumping attack that doesn't excel at anything. Used occasionally from closer range and could be stuck out a bit earlier due to its slightly lingering active frames. In this situation it can preemptively cover any other hop-ins or jump-outs while still landing on the grounded opponents with an overhead attack, of course if timed and delayed properly. Against tiny crouching characters such as Bao and Choi, this move will completely whiff no matter how deep the player times Jump A. Surprisingly this move is cancelable into the air version of Despair. On counter hit Jump A, the A Version of Despair can combo from Jump A. As with the activation height of air Despair, Jump A can only cancel into it near the apex of her full jump and super jump.

• Jump(ing) B

j.B – An aerial double kick that many players love about Mature. This iteration of the kick is a tad slow between kicks and the two hits don't combo on low crouching hit boxes and smaller. So for using this almost like an instant overhead and connecting both hits only works on medium-height crouching characters such as Kyo and Terry as well as larger characters like Daimon and Chang. Other than the double hit, other players also use this as a more "traditional" jump-in by delaying the the attack and using the first, single kick as a jump-in, hit confirm, and combo as normal. Of course, it's best to use this option against the said low and tiny crouching characters. As an air-to-air, this attack is okay but there are better options.

• Jump(ing) C

j.C – This is Mature's best and most consistent air-to-air. Even though Jump D may look like it's tailored better to be an air-to-air, Jump C comes out faster and has just the perfect hit box to snag people out of the air. One set up is to throw out an A Version of Ebony Tears, and anyone that full jumps at the right timing to clear the projectile "will" get hit by a reaction, air-to-air Jump C cleanly. If delayed enough in the air, it can even hit medium-height crouching characters and larger. Due to all of these reasons, Jump C becomes Mature's most reliable Jumping attack other than Jump B and Jump CD. Like Jump A, it also cancels near its apex into air Despair. From counter hit Jump C, the A Version of air Despair also combos.

• Jump(ing) D

j.D – An air-to-air move that doesn't get to see a lot of action. Its slight advantage over Jump C is that it's slightly angled higher to catch ranges Jump C can't, but, it's out weighed by all the other advantages Jump C has. It's a good move in theory but simply is outclassed and overshadowed largely by the difference in speed.

• Jump(ing) Blowback

j.CD – An arcing kick that is multipurpose. With a large move like this, it works as an air-to-air and swings down with a chunky, vertical hit box to force opponents to take it even from higher heights. Although this move doesn't overhead, it works well as a pressure tool to keep opponents pinned down to the ground while controlling air space. This move is also one of Mature's most used jumping attacks, making Mature a CD happy girl.

Normal Throws

• Death Blow - (throw) f./b. + C

A standard forward throw that the opponent can recovery roll from.

• Backlash - (throw) f./b. + D

A good backwards throw that causes hard knockdown and causes back turn on the opponent's wake up.

Special Moves

• Despair

• (air OK) qcf + P [A: 12%] [C: 14%]
• A strange move with varying purposes. The A Version can be spaced in a way that can be made "mostly" safe if blocked at the furthest distances and has the tendency to be used during frame traps. The C Version isn't quite as safe as it whiffs against the entire crouching cast except for Daimon and Chang whom could punish it on block with command throws. So the C Version has very limited application as an anti-air when Mature's Jump C or grounded anti-airs would work better with consistency and with much less risk. The air version completely whiff against the whole crouching cast and should be strictly and only occasionally used as an air-to-air. Air Despair changes Mature's aerial momentum, but it can only be used near the apex of her jump of super jump. Only the air A Version can combo and only from counter hits. When the air version is used while jumping over the opponent, she crosses back to the other side with this move. Overall, this move isn't used very much due to its risk vs. reward and even then only really the grounded A Version is used.

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• Sacrilege

• dp + P [A: 13%] [C: 14%]
• A "dragon punch" like attack that isn't used that often as one. It covers a range that Mature doesn't really cover on the ground well with her normals, but this move lacks consistency as a reversal and the complete hits sometimes drop out as an anti-air. This move as an anti-air is also overshadowed by super jump forward or hyper hop forward Jump C. This move is pretty much mainly used in combos, namely her Max mode combo because of the large amount of damage it does in the first two hits. The A Version exhibits more invincibility than the C Version, but it still runs out of invulnerability before active frames, cleanly losing out at times against jump-ins.

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• Death Row

• qcb + P (up to 3 times) [13% (Total.)]
• Mature's "rekka" series. This is the move to use during punishes to get the damage and knockdown. The first part of the C Version series has slightly more horizontal range than the A Version, making it the preferred one to use due to consistency and not dropping out of combos. The first two parts are mostly safe on block, barring guard rolls, while the third hit is really unsafe. The third part in this game actually whiffs if the first two parts are blocked, leaving it greatly punishable. In certain circumstances, even the first part of Death Row may be used as an anti-air.

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• Metal Massacre

• qcb + K [B: 10%] [D: 12%]
• A mostly safe chip move. It's the move for Mature to cancel into on block for the safe chip as it's hard to punish. The only time it seems it can be guard roll against is in the corner when the opponent backwards guard rolls to catch it. Otherwise this move is good for chip and is safer than Ebony Tears in exchange for ending momentum afterwards.

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• Decide

• hcf + K [B: 0%] [D: 16%]
• Mature's version of Vice's whip sleeve. The D Version works much like Vice's Decide as a "hit-throw" that tosses the opponent to the other side of the screen. In comparison, Mature's is much slower and lacks any good utility outside of meaties on wake up in the case that the opponent likes pressing buttons or moving around right after getting up. Even then it comes out obviously, slow, and recovers too slowly. The B Version is the better version as it's faster, can tag characters out of their hops and jumps if timed properly, and can cancel its recovery into any special or Desperation Move of Mature's choice, even Max 2. Still is a bit slow to use as a poke or anti-air, this move is mainly used in her Max mode combo to maximize damage.

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• Ebony Tears

• qcf hcb + P [A: 11%] [C: 12%]
• Mature's signature projectile that covers a huge part of the screen and is integral to her zoning and pressure game. The move has a bit of start up so good players can smack Mature out before she can get her projectile out but otherwise can scare players into hesitating and is hard to contest once it is out. It recovers decently so Mature players can even pressure with this move using strings such as "cr.D xx qcfhcb+A > run up st.CD xx qcfhcb+A ... etc." Canceling into this move is good for pressure but could be punished by guard rolls easily. Both versions can be cleared by full/super jumps if timed properly by the opponent; but, Mature can super jump Jump C on reaction against those that jump over her A Version of Ebony Tears for a guaranteed air-to-air. Players that try to roll mid-screen and beyond against the A Version can be punished by Mature run up Close C into a combo, even a damaging Max mode combo. Although the C Version recovers a bit slower and doesn't really net punishes, just the change in speed messes up the timing for other players to try to jump it or roll it, sometimes even running into it.

Desperation Moves

• Nocturnal Lights

• qcf qcf + P [21%]
• A standard combo super that connects from light attacks. Unsafe on block, like other Desperation Moves, and doesn't function as a reversal. Strictly for combos.

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• Heaven's Gate

• qcb hcf + K [24.5%]
• Another Desperation Move mainly used for combos. It combos from Close C and Crouch C and does more damage than Nocturnal Lights. The best part about this move is that it corner carries, making it overall that much better than Nocturnal Lights, that is if the player can confirm and connect into it.

Max Desperation Moves

• Nocturnal Lights

• qcf qcf + AC [36%]
• A standard combo super that connects from light attacks. Unsafe on block, like other Desperation Moves. Does more damage than the DM and MDM versions of Heaven's Gate for whatever reason.

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• Heaven's Gate

• qcb hcf + BD [32%]
• Pretty much like the DM Version of Heaven's Gate but does a different colored explosion on wall impact. For damage it's overshadowed by MDM Nocturnal Lights, but still has the advantage of corner carry. For Max mode combos, though, it's just better to stick with the DM version of this move to finish or use MDM Nocturnal Lights.

Max 2

• ECSTASY 816

• qcb hcf + AC [41%]
• A Marylin Monroe super combo. The initial hit functions as a homing grounded Despair and works great as an unsuspecting anti-air. Also a stylish ender for Max mode combos when available. Of course it's unsafe on block.

Combos

• cl.D (2) > [11%]
  • HSDM qcb hcf + AC [52%] {3 stocks}
  • (S)DM qcb hcf + K/BD [36%/43%] {1/3 stocks}
  • (S)DM qcf qcf + P/AC [32%/47%] {1/3 stocks}
  • qcb + P x 3 [23%]
  • qcb + B/D [21%/22%]
  • dp + A/C [21%/23]
  • qcf + A [22%]

You may replace cl.D (2) for: cl.C (-~3%), cr.C (-~2%), st.C (1) (-~3%) or st.C (2) (+0%).

• st.C (far, only second hit) > [8%]
  • qcb + B/D (D if not too far.)

• cr.B, cr.A > [5%]
  • (S)DM qcf qcf + P/AC
  • qcb + P x 3
  • dp + P

• st.A > [3.5%]
  • (S)DM qcf qcf + P/AC
  • qcb + P x 3 (Not too far.)
  • dp + P (Close.)

• hcf + B > [0%]
  • HSDM qcb hcf + AC {3 stocks}
  • (S)DM qcb hcf + K/BD {1/3 stocks}
  • (S)DM qcf qcf + P/AC {1/3 stocks}
  • qcb + P x 3
  • qcb + K
  • dp + P
  • qcf + A

Essentials

• cr.B, cr.A > qcb + C x 3 / DM qcf qcf + P

• Basic combo from low hits.

• cl.C / cr.C > qcb + C x 3

• Another basic combo and the main one to punish bad rolls or punishable moves with.

• cl.C >>> BC, st.C (2) > qcb+C >>
  • ( hcf + B > dp + P (2) >> ) x 3
    • DM qcb hcf + K / SDM qcf qcf + AC

(Can omit the last dp + P and go directly into Max 2 from hcf+B)

• A pretty good Max combo that Mature has. The desperation moves at the end are the best enders damage-wise for the amount of meter each consumes. The qcb + C starter is mainly to normalize the combo for most of the cast. Against other characters, Mature can start of with dp + P; but, it has a tendency to not induce the huge hit stop, which the player uses to cancel into hcf + B, against certain characters and is also dependent on crouching and standing states. Otherwise, starting the combo with dp+P nets more overall damage although almost negligible.

The Basics

Lift the skirt.

Advanced Strategy

Wear an eye patch.

Match-Ups

The King of Fighters 2002: Unlimited Match