The King of Fighters '98: Ultimate Match/Choi Bounge

From SuperCombo Wiki

Introduction

Choi exists for the sole purpose of being tricky. It is generally difficult to make his moves work out.

He is probably the best air fighter; minimize the time spent on the ground.

Final Edition Change List

Kof98umfe00.png

Move list

Normal throws
Zujō Zashi (throw) f/b + C
Geketsu Dzuki (throw) f/b + D
Command moves
(Triangle jump) (rear jump, edge of screen) uf
Nidanzan f + A
Toorima Geri f + B
Special moves
Tatsumaki Shippūzan d (charge) u + P
Hishō Kūretsuzan d (charge) u + K (hold)
┗ Hōkō Tenkan (during Hishō Kūretsuzan) direction + P/K
Shissō Hishōzan b (charge) f + P
Senpū Hien Shitotsu b (charge) f + K
┗ Hōkō Tenkan (during Senpū Hien Shitotsu) direction + P/K
Hishōkyaku (air) qcf + K
Kaiten Hienzan qcb + P
┗ Kishū Hien Dzuki (during Kaiten Hienzan) P
Super special moves
Shin! Chōzetsu Tatsumaki Shinkūzan hcb hcb + P, (f/b)
Hōōkyaku qcf hcb + K

Normal moves

  • st.A – quick startup and long reach; just walking while whiffing this is pretty strong. It is now cancelable, and stronger than before.
  • st.D – high-priority hitbox, and the reach is moderately long. You can probably use it to zone.
  • j.C – extremely easy crossup; does a maximum of three hits. Waiting till the second or third step to cancel makes it even more convenient; use this when jumping in.
  • j.D – functions as an overhead when used while ascending.
  • j.CD – sports outstanding performance as an air-to-air.
  • taunt – in UM, there is a hitbox at his abdominal quarters when he does the belly dance. The hitbox lasts so long as the the motion continues. It is cancelable, but not whiff-cancelable. The reach is short and the startup is slow, so just use the taunt for taunting....

Command moves

  • Nidanzan
  • f + A
  • Choi does a roll, which is quickly followed by two slashes; the startup has upper-body invincibility, and both steps are cancelable. Either step will now launch the opponent, and needless to say, that means you can now juggle off this. However, as usual, it doesn’t combo from strong attacks, which makes it hard to use.

  • Toorima Geri
  • f + B
  • Combos from strong attacks. Has foot-level invincibility on startup. The recovery is short enough that it links into st.A and Hōōkyaku. You can use it for turtling up the opponent and for combos.

Special moves

  • Tatsumaki Shippūzan
  • d (charge) u + P
  • Choi spins to make a little whirlwind and rises with it. The hitbox has low priority and the move leaves you very open.
  • The weak version rises vertically and now knocks the opponent away; the strong version advances a little and now lifts the opponent vertically, doing multiple hits.
  • Either version is useful for combos and countering.

  • Hishō Kūrestsuzan
  • d (charge) u + K (hold)
  • If you perform the command to the ub or u directions, he will head for the edge of the screen behind him; otherwise (uf), he will head for the edge of the screen behind the opponent; he then (if you are still holding the button) triangle jumps diagonally downward for the weak version or horizontally for the strong version. It’s generally okay to use this just to get to the edge of the screen quickly.
  • Hōkō Tenkan
  • direction + P/K during Hishō Kūretsuzan
  • You get three directional changes, and repeats are allowed. The typical directions to use are back (to retreat) and diagonally forward (to attack more safely). Though you could just fly all over the place to be annoying.

  • Hishōkyaku
  • qcf + K in midair
  • A multi-hit attack. The weak version descends at about 20 degrees from the vertical and the strong version at about 45. The hitbox has relatively high priority, making this move hard to smash. The little gap at the end (when he lands) has been removed, making the distance left after the move a bit closer; the opponent’s recovery has also been shortened correspondingly. The consequence of this is that it now leaves you much more open. If this is blocked, you will be in grave danger of getting countered.

  • Senpū Hien Shitotsu
  • b (charge) f + K
  • Rushes at low altitude.
  • Hōkō Tenkan
  • direction + P/K during Senpū Hien Shitotsu
  • Mechanism is the same as that from Hishō Kūretsuzan; see description there.

  • Shissō Hishōzan
  • b (charge) f + P
  • Choi dashes to right in front of the opponent, and finishes the job with his claws. It leaves you excessively open, making it extremely hard to use.

  • Kaiten Hienzan
  • qcb + P
  • Choi rolls up and spins, thereby slashing the opponent multiple times. It has nearly full-body invincibility on startup. After it hits or is blocked, the weak version jumps forward, and the strong version jumps backward. During this jump-off, it is now possible to cancel into Hishōkyaku, but just like later KOF’s, it can’t be done immediately (i.e., no combo); it becomes possible at the apex of his jump. Although Hishōkyaku has been weakened, it is generally a good follow-up (because otherwise you’re just floating there...).
  • Kishū Hien Dzuki
  • P during the rolling portion of Kaiten Hienzan
  • Choi suddenly springs up, claws outstretched. If the very tip hits, you aren’t left open; it is one of the more damaging out of all of Choi’s moves. It is generally good for punishing opponents who try to punish the Kaiten Hienzan with something like a crouching attack.

Super special moves

  • Shin! Chōzetsu Tatsumaki Shinkūzan
  • hcb hcb + P, (f/b to adjust position)
  • Choi spins around, giving rise to a giant tornado. During the move, you can shift back and forth slightly. The weak version cuts off quickly, the strong version takes its time. The MAX version takes a while regardless of the button you use, and if you advance forward when it hits, it will do multiple hits. It has invincibility frames, but they’re over with before the hitbox comes forth. If you get it out, you are basically untouchable while the tornado is around, but if the opponent is up and about and knows the timing, you are going to get a serious counterattack. Use this as a psychic anti-air and for smashing rolls.

  • Hōōkyaku
  • qcf hcb + K
  • A Ranbu super with extremely fast startup for the weak version. The invincibility is short, but Choi’s height is short as well, so you can use it as an anti-air, but the bottleneck there is that he is short, meaning the hitbox is small, meaning it is hard to hit with it. The normal version does one less hit than it used to, but now it sends the opponent into a tailspin, which ends with an unrollable knockdown.

Combos

Basic

  • crossup j.C > cr.B >> cr.A >> strong Tatsumaki Shippūzan or weak Hōōkyaku
  • Only when comboing into Shin! Chōzetsu Tatsumaki Shinkūzan, it is also possible to add st.A after cr.A.
  • crossup j.C > cl.C >> Toorima Geri > (st.A >>) weak Hōōkyaku
  • Not safe from a jump. There is no need to input the st.A if it’s unreasonable, but if you don’t have the gauge, it’s the only way you can top this off.
  • Hishō Kūretsuzan or Senpū Hien Shitotsu (midair hit) > Hōkō Tenkan > follow-up
  • It is possible to take the opponent to the corner by following up Hōkō Tenkan. Safe folow-ups include st.A and strong Tatsumaki Shippūzan.
  • Nidanzan (2 hit) >> juggler
  • Trying to hit with this one on purpose is nearly impossible. In the middle of the screen, weak Senpū Hien Shitotsu will probably be okay; in the corner, the same goes for weak Shin! Chōzetsu Tatsumaki Shinkūzan.

The Basics

The basic jump attack is j.C. Of course it works against the ground, but if you time it right, it also functions well in air-to-air. When it hits, you can go right into a combo. Also, j.D is strong as well. If you use it at low altitude, it is essentially an overhead; it also works for crossup and against the ground in general.

Choi’s weakest department is his anti-air, but for he still has tools that can be useful depending on the situation. Against a hyper hop from head-on, a Hōōkyaku is strong. For a short hop, blocking or rolling is probably the safest. There are also super jumps, but if you can’t foresee them, air-to-air with something like j.CD is safe. The reach is short, so make sure you’ve got your mark. But if you can foresee it, Shin! Chōzetsu Tatsumaki Shinkūzan is strong. Use each one properly and skillfully; you want to be sure to drop the opponents.

When using Shin! Chōzetsu Tatsumaki Shinkūzan as an anti-air, you should be sure to use the weak version (which finishes earlier). Another situation that can get hairy is when you’re trying to interrupt with it and get blocked; try to use the right version to avoid counterattacks. If the opponent thinks it’s strong when it’s weak, you can defend; if the opponent thinks it’s weak when it’s strong, you’ll hit them when they try to counter.

Let’s say that if you were to jump, you would just get dropped by an anti-air. For these situations, stagger the timing a little with Hishō Kūretsuzan and Senpū Hien Shitotsu. That way, the anti-air won’t be timed correctly. Also, Kaiten Hienzan is powerful, too, but it is subject to crouching attacks; if you sense this coming on, press P again and use Kishū Hien Dzuki (the strong version of which is also useful to escape if the opponent gets behind you).

There are many opponents who would attempt to deal with Choi via air-to-air. For these kind of opponents, use weak Hishōkyaku to dodge, then intercept them on their way down with Hōōkyaku. Conversely, in UM, you must not let Hishōkyaku be blocked. You can either make sure it will fly right under or over, or time it so that it will definitely hit.

Turtling up the opponent with st.A and such is strong, but depending on the opponent’s character, they may be able to deal with this easily. You can invert this by reading ahead, and testing them with crossups or counterattacks after blocking, making it much harder for them to deal with it.

Advanced Strategy

Match-Ups