KOF 2003- Maki Kagura v0.1

KOF 2003- Maki Kagura v0.1
By Cypher

This may not be reproduced under any circumstances except for
personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site or
otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission.
Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any public
display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright.

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Contents

1) Background/Story
2) SNK Official Profile and Comments
3) Maki in-game pre/post fight speech
4) Win quotes
5) Move list explanation
6) Basic moves
7) Command and Special moves
8) Desperation moves
9) Move Name Explanation
10) Playing as Maki
11) Acknowledgements

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1) Background/Story

Maki faced Goenitz in 1986 and was killed, leaving the duties of the
Yata clan successor to her sister Chizuru. She is present in this game
having been conjured by the power of the mirror to support her sister...
and it's easy to see why Chizuru called on her big sister for backup,
because she's about 10 times more powerful than Chizuru herself.

To fight Maki (and Chizuru), you must defeat Kusanagi with a DM/LDM;
this will result in your team facing Maki and Chizuru Kagura, and upon
defeating them, appearing at the final stage where the fight with Mukai
will commence. The other ending (the 'bad ending') takes place if you
defeat Kusanagi with anything other than a DM/LDM; you will then go to
the Sky Noah and face Adelheid, and you will not get to face the Kagura
sisters.

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2) SNK Official Profile and Comments

NAME: Maki Kagura
MODE OF COMBAT: Kagura style of ancient martial arts
BIRTHDAY: June 26
HEIGHT: 169cm
WEIGHT: 52kg
BLOOD TYPE: AB
MEASUREMENTS: 85/57/84
BIRTHPLACE: Japan
HOBBY: sleeping, tuning up Chizuru's motorcycle
PERSONAL TREASURES: Her teacup
FAVORITE FOOD: Spicy foods (salted and sweetened dishes)
DISLIKES: The fate of the house of Kagura
FORTE IN SPORTS: Motorcycle racing
(Participates reluctantly at the behest of her sister)

(This profile as presented on the KOF 10th Anniversary website-
www.kof10th.com)

Maki's designer also gives a description:

If the younger sister Chizuru Kagura is the stork, the elder sister Maki
Kagura's name comes from the tortoise (storks live a thousand years, but
tortoises live 10,000). The background story for these two twins comes
from KOF '96, but with their appearance in KOF 2003, some designers
suggested Maki's hair be shortened to distinguish her from her kid sister.
She appears in KOF 2003 as she always does (Her bangs are slightly
different, however, so people who have confidence in their powers of
observation, beware!). For the location test of KOF 2003, many players
who defeated Chizuru were vanquished by the awesome elder sister Maki. So
the fate of players was often decided with the appearance of Maki-you
just don't mess around with this character!

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3) Maki in-game pre/post fight speech

This section warrants a thanks to the members of the Orochinagi forums
(www.orochinagi.com) for correcting and confirming my translations.

The Japanese as spoken in game is followed by an English translation
directly beneath. Bear in mind I am not a native Japanese speaker ^_^'

PRE-FIGHT

Maki performs a dance

POST-FIGHT

Maki performs a dance

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4) Win quotes

- "While you injure me...you dance but in the mirror."
- "This is the power of...the Watcher!"
- "Mirror to mirror. The source of all that's false. Chizuru..."
- "The mirror reveals all. You rage in my palm..."

Chizuru- "The mirror leads light to dark. Chizuru, only you..."
Ash- "The sacred mirror shows not your soul...what are you?"
Iori- "Impossible! Has the decline of Yasakani gone this far?!"
Kyo- "...Pathetic! ...The fist of Kusanagi has lost its punch!"

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5) Move list explanation

BUTTONS

A = weak punch
B = weak kick
C = hard punch
D = hard kick
AB = evasive move (forward/backward)
AB (during block) = Guard Cancel (ceases block and evades- needs 1 bar)
AB (knockdown) = Recovery Roll (return to stand animation)
BC = Tag
qcf +BC = Attack then Tag (needs 1 bar)
CD = Tag
CD (during block) = Guard Cancel (same as AB, but also does CD attack)
qcf +CD = Attack then Tag (needs 1 bar)

DIRECTION CONTROL

f = forward
f,f = dash forward
f+ B/D = throw
b = back
b,b = jump back
b+ B/D = throw
d = down
d,u = High Jump
u = up
df = down forward
db = down back
qcf = quarter circle forward
qcb = quarter circle back
hcf = half circle forward
hcb = half circle back
DM = Desperation Move
LDM = Leader Desperation Move

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6) Basic moves

hold f= Maki walks towards the opponent with her hand outstretched

hold b= the same, but backwards (away from the opponent)

f,f= Maki runs towards the opponent (if held, continues running)

b,b= Maki makes a large leap away from the opponent

Stand A= Maki waves her hand and strikes the opponent in the face

Crouch A= same as Stand A, but hits low

Jump A= Maki chops with her hand into the opponent

Stand B= Maki thrusts her leg straight into the opponent's face

Stand B (close)= Maki kicks her leg upwards into the opponent's face

Crouch B= Maki pokes at the opponents legs (no trip, OK for poking)

Jump B= flying kick, not powerful but reasonable

Stand C= Maki performs a large vertical swipe with her hand

Stand C (close)= same as Stand A

Crouch C= Maki sweeps upwards with her hand

Jump C= Maki bats the opponent in the head with her back turned to them

Stand D= Maki hops forward and performs her Stand B kick

Stand D (close)= Maki knees the opponent in the stomach

Crouch D= Maki slides a fair distance, striking the opponent's
legs (no trip)

Jump D= same as Jump B but stronger, better range, aimed towards head

AB= standard evade like any other character

Start= taunt; Maki straightens her collar and smooths her hair

Throw (C)= Maki slides past the opponent and spins them past her

Throw (D)= same as above, but spins the opponent away in front

Tag= exact same motion as taunt, Maki is then replaced

Tag Attack= Blue energy effect, then Maki punches at the opponent

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7) Command and Special moves

f/b +C/D= Kaiten

see throw descriptions above

f +A= Jokatsu: Heihei

Maki moves forward and crouches slightly, then pushes upward with her hand

f +B= Jokatsu: Heihei

Maki moves forward and crouches slightly, then thrusts her leg at the
opponent

df +B= Jokatsu: Heihei

Maki crouches and slides forward with her leg extended. Hits twice if near

qcf +A/C= Rimen 108 Katsu: Iotsu no Utamai

Maki sends out a duplicate which spins and hits downwards (C version is
the original)

f,d,df +A/C= Rimen 100 Katsu: Jingi no Kotowari

Maki sends out a duplicate which spins into the air and then stamps on the
opponent

qcb + A= Rimen 212 Katsu: Mikagura no Shinobigoto

Maki sends out a duplicate which runs through the opponent, and hits in
numerous ways

qcb + C= Rimen 212 Katsu: Mikagura no Noritogoto

Maki charges through the opponent, leaving a dupe and knocking them down

d,d + A= 212 Katsu: Heishiki: Tarumusubi no Keihitsu

Maki sends out a duplicate to fool the opponent, it vanishes in front of
them

d,d + B= 212 Katsu: Heishiki: Sakaki no Kirinusa

Maki's duplicate moves past the opponent then vanishes

d,d + C= 212 Katsu: Koushiki: Himorogi no Reiji

Maki jumps over the opponent's head and double-kicks them, while trailing
a duplicate

d,d + D= 212 Katsu: Koushiki: Iwasaka no Ubusuna

Maki jumps a short way, spins head over heels and dive kicks the opponent
in the stomach

qcb + B (close)= 94 Katsu: Rakusui no Jingi

Maki spins the opponent into the ground, then Chizuru appears and seals them

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8) Desperation moves

qcb,hcf + P= Rimen 85 Katsu: Reigi no Ishizue

Maki calls Chizuru to charge on the opponent and seal them

qcf,qcf + K= Rimen 1 Katsu: Sanrai no Fujin

Maki sends out a duplicate which performs a combination of strikes
on the opponent

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9) Playing as Maki

I played as Maki after downloading a Kawaks bundle including KOF
2003 with all the cheats set up, allowing to play as any of the bosses.
Needless to say the team of Maki, Mukai and Adel is fun to play as, but
only against the CPU- I sense that a human opponent would lose patience
VERY quickly ^_^'

I am unaware of whether or not there is any way to play as Maki
using dipswitches or other 'official' methods, but in terms of
using the MAME emulation system there are ways. To find this
information please read Kao Megura's KOF 2003 Move List FAQ.

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10) Move Name Explanation

Here are Maki's moves as presented by Kao Megura in his KOF 2003 FAQ.

Kaiten Monumental Task
Jokatsu Lifeless
Heihei (f +A ver.) Ruined
Heihei (f +B ver.) Shinto Offerings
Heihei (df +B ver.) Arrow Shaft

Rimen 108 Katsu: Iotsu no Utamai
Reverse Resuscitation No. 108: Music (Singing & Dancing) for 500

Rimen 100 Katsu: Jingi no Kotowari
Reverse Resuscitation No. 100: Judgment of the Gods of Heaven and Earth

Rimen 212 Katsu: Mikagura no Shinobigoto
Reverse Resuscitation No. 212:
Honorable Kagura's Imperial Edict Blade Words (Whispered Words)

Rimen 212 Katsu: Mikagura no Noritogoto
Reverse Resuscitation No. 212:
Honorable Kagura's Words Addressed to a Deity (Words of Condolence)

212 Katsu: Heishiki: Sakaki no Kirinusa
Reverse Resuscitation No. 212: 3rd Class Style
Sacred Tree Ritual Scatterings

212 Katsu: Heishiki: Tarumusubi no Keihitsu
Reverse Resuscitation No. 212: 3rd Class Style
Heralding of Plentiful Musubi

212 Katsu: Koushiki: Himorogi no Reiji
Reverse Resuscitation No. 212: 1st Class Style
Shrine of the Spirit Emperor's Seal

212 Katsu: Koushiki: Iwasaka no Ubusuna
Reverse Resuscitation No. 212: 1st Class Style
Birthplace Deity's Open Place of Worship

94 Katsu: Rakusui no Jinki
Resuscitation No. 94: Capital Water of the Turtle God

Rimen 85 Katsu: Reigi no Ishizue
Reverse Resuscitation No. 85: Cornerstone of Technique Zero

Rimen 1 Katsu: Sanrai no Fujin
Reverse Resuscitation No. 1: Three Rattling Winds Battle Formation

- "kirinusa" is defined as "paper and sacred sakaki branches cut and
mixed with rice to scatter before the gods."
- "musubi" is defined as "the spirit of birth and becoming."
- "himorogi" is defined as "a temporary shrine structure," specifically,
a "plot of unpolluted land where a sacred seat is placed surrounded by
evergreen trees."
- "iwasaka" is defined as "a place where a deity is worshipped in the
open (specifically, "an unpolluted plot of landed surrounded by
stones.")
- Maki's move names seem to be based on aspects of Shinto.

Also, on the KOF 10th Anniversary Website (www.kof10th.com) Maki's movelist
is given in English, as shown below. I am uncertain which moves correspond
to which in the movelist above, as the Shinto terminology is difficult to
figure out (check Kao Megura's FAQ for more details):

Verity of the Imperial Trinity
Condolences of Kagura
Shinto Psalms of Kagura
Holy Hemp of Sakaki
Heralding of the Blessed
Holy Fortress of the Guardian
Hymn to Creation
Turtle God of Kyoto Crunch
The Vigilance of Creation

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11) Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the Orochinagi.com forum members for their discussions
on Maki

Thanks to Kao Megura of GameFAQS (R.I.P.) for general information.

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KOF 2003- Maki Kagura v0.1 Copyright (c) 2005 Cypher