The King of Fighters '98/Clark

From SuperCombo Wiki
< The King of Fighters '98
Revision as of 16:37, 12 January 2008 by Dandy J (talk | contribs)
(diff) ← Older revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)

Introduction

Clark

Gameplay Overview

Clark is an in-close attack/throw mixup-based character. His far pokes are not on the level of Ralf's, but his jump-in A is slightly better for up-close hops than anything Ralf has. Of course as you'll notice, he has more throw options, including an instant super throw. Clark is a mid-tier character, and a good choice for a beginner. He does have some opportunities to combo into his super if you have the execution, though.

Combos

  • cl.C (1 hit) xx Super Argentine Backbreaker~Flashing Elbow (hcf+K~qcf+P)/Ultra Argentine Backbreaker (hcb,hcb+P)
  • cr.B, Super Argentine Backbreaker~Flashing Elbow (hcf+K~qcf+P)/Ultra Argentine Backbreaker (hcb,hcb+P)
  • cr.B/cl.B,cr.A xx Super Argentine Backbreaker~Flashing Elbow (hcf+K~qcf+P)/Ultra Argentine Backbreaker (hcb,hcb+P)

for shits, counter-hit st.CD xx A Napalm Stretch~Flashing Elbow (dp+A~qcf+P)

That's pretty much it. Ultra backbreaker can be buffered as hcb+P,hcb+P.

In-depth Analysis

Normal Throws

b or f+C - Breakable, forward knockdown, face forward, rollable.

b or f+D - Breakable, reverse knockdown, back turned, un-rollable.

d or b or f+C/D in air - Unbreakable, forward knockdown, face forward, un-rollable.

D throw preferred, since the C throw is punishable in the corner if they roll it. But really both of them are horrible.

His air throw is great, and is a good anti-air option.

Normal Moves

Standing A - Not as ridiculous as Ralf's, but still good. Can be anti-air vs short hop.

Standing C - Same story here, but worse. Whiffs on standard-size crouchers, and much slower than Ralf's. It is simply 'okay'.

Standing D - Pretty nice move. Hits normal-sized crouchers, and can be an early anti-air as well. His best far poke.

Close B - You can chain cr.A off of this move, especially when it is used as a meaty.

Close C - First hit is fast and cancelable, making it your main combo tool into backbreaker. Hits everyone crouching.

Crouching A - Standard shit, use for some combos into a backbreaker.

Crouching B - The move of choice if you want to link into a backbreaker. Clark needs something of a high/low game to catch alternate guard, and this is it.

Crouching C - Not cancelable like Ralf's, and the hitbox isn't as good, but it is still a solid ground poke.

Crouching D - Standard sweep, not cancelable.

Jumping A - Clark's best jump-in, especially from short hops. Fast, pretty damn nice priority.

Jumping C - Use for max-damage dizzy combos only. Could be used for air-to-air, but jumping D is better for that.

Jumping D - Great for air-to-air, obviously better when they are above you. Short hopping with this is a great anti-air, especially against higher jumps like Choi's.

Jumping CD - Much faster than Ralf's and a fantastic jump-in move, one of the best jump CD in the game. It is also good air-to-air if they are below you.

Command Normal

f+B - Relatively fast, very meaty cancelable move, no matter how it's performed. This move is useful as an anti-mash/anti-jump setup chained from a cr.A and canceled into a backbreaker (ie cr.A,f+B xx hcf+K). You can mixup with cr.A, dp+K, but alternate guard kills that mixup, so you have to mix in cr.B links and other things as well.

Special Moves

Vulcan Punch (tap P rapidly~f to move) - Dumb crap move, never use it. Well, you can catch a lucky anti-air by mashing from a block string or something but I wouldn't recommend it. It's not nearly as good as Ralf's and Ralf's ain't all that.

Super Argentine Backbreaker (hcf+K~qcf+P) - Instant command throw. Really short whiff animation, shorter than Ralf's. It is virtually impossible to punish on reaction when done from a blocked attack, and sometimes not at all. Good for meter building as you'd imagine. This is of course his main combo and damage tool. Use off empty short hops, comboed from cl.C or linked from cr.B, etc. Great wakeups as well, you can even setup safejumps from it.

Napalm Stretch~Flashing Elbow aka Palmer Splits (dp+P~qcf+P) - Anti-air 'grab', though it can be air blocked. It's more of a show-off move, since it's horrible on block/whiff.

Super Arabian Burglary B.B.~Flashing Elbow/Rolling Cradle~Flashing Elbow (hcf+A~qcf+P)/hcf+C~qcf+P) - Running grabs, C version travels further than A. Generally I recommend getting used to buffering his normal backbreaker from a run instead of using this, since you'd have more options after you start running. Still, can be used to more easily punish moves that require a long-range fast attack, like some A DP's on whiff/hit. It has invincibility to lows near the end.

Frankensteiner~Flashing Elbow (dp+K~qcf+P) - Slow invincible throw. You can use this as a reversal, or as a delayed throw option on your opponent's wakeup. You can also use it as a tick if they don't know how to alternate guard. The big problem with this throw is that they recovery is very bad, so if someone sees it or guesses right, you're gonna lose a lot of hp.

Desperation Moves

Ultra Argentine Backbreaker (hcb,hcb+P) - Instant super throw. Similar to any other instant super throw, really. Can be used as a reversal, etc. MAX version does more damage.

Running Three aka Run In Dis Yard (hcf,hcf+K) - Some small invincibility on startup, and completely invulnerable to lows. You can always jump out, unless it's guaranteed (landing from a jump does not make it guaranteed). MAX version behaves the same and does more damage.