Combo faq for Korea Team from PLAYMORE and SNK's
"The King of Fighters 2003"
         by TKim


All King of Fighters characters from the arcade/neo-geo game
"The King of Fighters 2003" mentioned before or hence forth are
trademarks of PLAYMORE and SNK, and therefore, neither this faq
nor its author, me, are accociated with them in any legally or
otherwise binding terms.  This document is an unofficial faq.
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Contents:

1)Characters
-idiosyncrasies and behavior of certain moves
-important notes on how to execute some moves

2)Combos
-the "how to" section
-detailed explanation of timing, dmg, etc.

3)Props/credits

4)Misc.
-
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Intro:

   'Sup. So you're interested in the Korea team. This is _NOT_ a faq
on their movelist. It's _NOT_ a faq describing each of their moves.
Rather, this faq discusses the meat of the KoF series: the combos. So
there won't be much about the basics in this faq. This faq will just go
into details on how the moves of the Korea team function to combo the
moves together. With that in mind, lets start.

legend of input:

note: the input always assumes that the character is on the left facing
     right

d = down
u = up
l = left
r = right
-so then dl would be downleft, ur is upright, etc.

A = A button
B = B button
C = C button
D = D button
-so then AB, the evade move, is press both A and B simultaniously

s = stand
c = crouch
j = jump
h = hop
sk = skip, the lowest of all jumps
-so then skD would be a skip pressing D

v = charge down
< = charge back
-so then vd,u+D is charge down, then press up and D

! = cancel/combo into; cB!cA is cancel/combo crouching B
   into a crouching A
,(comma) = press and let go of the preceding button/direction
*(star) = input for a special/super, but is keyed in earlier
()(parenthesis) = to group keyed input 1) from * combos to show
   the canceling into special/super or 2) because input is different
   than normal to pull off certain moves like Kim's leader super
~ = smoothly key in. so d~f is technically d, df, f, but you do it
   smoothly instead of down, stop, df, stop, forward, stop.
+ = press the button along with the direction
/ = the "or" sign; B/D means B or D

qcb = it means quarter circle back.  Input is: d~b
qcf = reverse of qcb
hcb = half circle back. Input is: f~d~b
hcf = reverse of hcb
fdf = forward~down~forward; technical input is f~d~df, but the machine
   doesn't care
bdb = reverse of fdf

toa = tag out attack; qcf+BD/CD
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1)Characters:

-Kim Kapwhan-

Yeh, the guy with the brown bowlcut.  He wears the quasi-traditional
tae kwon do suit, but with blue belt, has high combo options, and
should _always_ make him leader, as his leader super can connect in
nearly any situation.

-cB can hit twice so that means it can substitute cA for combos
-cA can be comboed from cB
-both cA and cB can cancel into Kim's qcb+B/D or qcb~hcf super;
   important because you can change some combos depending on
   how good you think you are on timing moves
-his toa can hit when a falling opponent bounces on the ground
-because his toa can hit a bouncing opponent, you can toa to another
   character right after he does his vd,u+D or qcb+C[3x] if the
   opponent doesn't down evade
-there is only 1 frame when Kim can toa without the falling opponent
   being able to down evade; if it connects, it turns the regular
   fall animation into a slam-down animation, in which the opponent
   cannot down evade
-qcb+A[3x] move gets disconnected after his second kick, unless he
   juggles them from the air, in which the last kick will only
   hit 1x
-qcb+A/C[3x] hits 1 character space in front of Kim; therefore, if
   another character toa out by air juggling, this move will in most
   cases not connect; a way to connect it is to dash forward and
   immediately cancel into the move facing the opposite direction
-qcb~hcf+BD; this move is _THE_ best combo link in kof2k3; it is Kim's
   leader super;  it will connect to about 99.999999% of the
   situations; in addition, after he finishes, if you're near a corner
   and have an extra power stock left, you can _ALWAYS_ toa Kim out
   and continue air juggling for prolonged combo/dmg
-when airjuggling with Kim's leader super, there is only 2 frames worth
   of time frame for it to connect; it's when the character is above
   Kim's head, but about another head space above him
-toa! qcb~hcf+BD for airborne opponents require the input toa!
   qcf,qcf+BD unless the opponent is near or at corner in which case
   input is normal
-oddly enough, d,d+B doesn't cancel into qcf,qcf+K nor into qcb~hcf+BD


-Jhun Hoon-

Long white hair.  Not much tagging as Kim, but still some combo, none
the less.  He has been watered down like diarhea from kof2k though.

-his sA in his B stance can hit an opponent on the ground; for this
   reason, if at any time you knock an opponent on the ground and you
   are there, just use this as extra dmg, power stock builder, or
   in some cases, "DOWN"
-qcf,qcf+B/D[air only] cannot be comboed into from a toa air juggle
-to connect qcf,qcf+AC and qcf, qcf+B/D[air only], you have to input
   qcf, qcf+AC,[as Jhun lands] (*qcf~uf,[as soon as he jumps] qcf+B/D)
-you can only air juggle toa out of qcf,qcf+AC or in his B stance,
   hit the opponent with sC, then press qcf+D to get out and immediately
   press qcf+BC/CD; niether vd,u+C nor qcf,qcf+B/D[air only] will work,
   although it looks like it should
-to combo f+B with qcf, qcf+AC, you input qcf+B[into B stance], qcf+AC
-you should always keep in mind, for regular projectiles, as in there
   is only ONE being fired, and it's mid-lvl range, if Jhun is in his
   A or B stances, you can ALWAYS block or reflect them by timing
   his moves so that his autoguard will connect with the projectile;
   Otherwise, if it goes along the ground, like King's, you can _ONLY_
   avoid them in the A stance by pressing sB; in the B stance, you can
   always reflect projectiles; so the moral of the story is, if you're
   against King or any other multi-lvl/number projectile opponents,
   NEVER STAY IN A STANCE
-if qcf,qcf+B/D hit's an airborne, it causes the opponent to air-bounce
   which is bad and will hit the opponent like 4 out of 12 times total;
   one of the VERY good moves in kof2k that was pimped in kof2k3
-after reflecting a low projectile in the B stance, keep u+C in mind,
   since the opponent will now have to block low to block the low
   projectile and u+C is an overhead

-Chang Koehan-
The bald guy.  He's a huge target for combos from others since this guy
is so big.  And slow.  That's very important, for them, but you too since,
yOUR comboing can be a problem: it's difficult to input canceling moves
slower than normal.

-sadly, Chang has been neutered to new lows; really; I mean _REALLY_
-his toa has a really long reach, more than other characters; it'll hit
   about 2 character spaces away; so i guess if someone pulls out a
   move that completely misses Chang (for some undoubtedly impossible
   reason, like there was an earthquake in your area the same time a
   hot girl was passing by and somehow her gear just ripped off and
   all the guys driving in the vacinity lost their focus on the road,
   bumped the curbs, caused some mad pile-ups and one happened to
   crash through your arcade center wall and bump your kof2k3 arcade,
   causing the machine to disregard the data that Chang was, in fact,
   hit by a move), then you can pull this out and start your team
   combo
-his hcb,f+A/C can be comboed INTO, but not OUT OF; so anytime you get
   a punch or kick near the opponent, you can always follow up with
   this move
-his leader super, qcf,qcf+AC, is his ONLY SUPER that can catch an
   airborne opponent
-because qcf+B/D has a canceling priority, you can NEVER toa in the
   middle/near end of a move because it will always cancel into the
   move; this is also somewhat good because you can follow-up with
   this move for extra dmg

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2)Combos

The first time I wrote this faq, I only had 100%+dmg combos, but
the gamefaqs crew rejected my faq for lack of content.  So, I guess i
have no choice but to beef it up with otherwise less damaging combos.

character is assumed to be on the left, facing right

% = near
@ = at
> = opponent in corner facing out
so %/@>corner means near or at corner and opponent is in corner facing
   out


4 power stocks:

Kim as leader
[Kim,%/@>corner] (*qcf,sC! qcf+D), qcb+C[3x, delayed for 2nd and 3rd kicks]
   qcb~hcf+BD,[just as Kim's recovery animation is over] sA, toa[Jhun],
   (*vd,[just slightly after Jhuns entrance animation is over] u+C), *d,
   [just as Jhuns recovery animation ends] d+B, [in his B stance, just
   as opponet lands] A

-the qcb+C[3x] is very difficult to do correctly; you must delay the
   2nd and 3rd hit as long as possible to send them way up in the air; so
   after the first kick, wait until the last kick frame, and then do 2nd
   kick, then wait until the last frame and then do the 3rd kick
-right after the 3rd kick of qcb+C[3x], Kim goes into recovery animation;
   to connect his leader-super, you have to get the timing right so that
   your input for ...d, df, f +BD is exactly as the recovery frame ends;
   you know you did it right when he goes into his leader super while his
   opponent is still above Kim's head
-Jhun's vd,u+C has to hit all three times
-100%dmg
-for bigger opponets or if dashing away into corner, this combo can start
   with a jD!
-you can start with 3 and 1/3 power stock; you can achieve the 1/3 by doing
   qcb+A[3x] twice with Kim
-without Jhun, it does around 90%dmg and will need only 3 power stocks
-the opponent can down-evade at the end, which will cause them not to be
   down, but end up with a very short life, which means it should be
   followed up with u+C in A stance



Kim as leader
[Jhun,%/@>corner] qcb+C! toa[Kim]! sC! qcb~hcf+BD,[just
   before opponent falls/after bouncing on ground] toa[Jhun], (*vd,[just
   slightly after Jhuns entrance animation is over] u+C), *d,[just as
   Jhun's recovery animation ends] d+B, [in his B stance, just as
   opponent lands] sA

-100%dmg
-if Jhun's vd,u+C only connects 2x, 1st and 2nd, and you still get the A
   in B stance off, the opponent will have no life, but will be still
   alive; if you hit the opponent with 2nd and 3rd kick, it will "down"
-you can add a skD right when kim comes in after toa, and a sA right after
   his leader-super before he toa[Jhun] for 100%+dmg
-same as before, the opponent can down-evade the last kick from Jhun, so
   following up with u+C in A stance is a good idea


Kim as leader
[%/@corner] qcb~hcf+BD,[as opponent falls just above Kim's head] qcb~
   hcf+BD, [as Kim is finishing up his super](*vd+[as soon as recovery
   animation is over], u+B)

-this move will _NOT_ guarantee down; for a guarantee, comboing it off
   a normal move will do it, and you won't need to add the last part of
   the combo
-there is only _ONE_ frame that will connect, which is right when the
   opponent is just above Kim's head


Kim as leader
[%/@corner] skD! sA/cA! qcb+C[3x]! qcb~hcf+BD,[as Kim recovers] sA, toa[Jhun],
   (vd,[slightly after Jhuns recover animation is over]u+C), *d,[just
   as Jhun's recover animation ends] d+B,[in B stance, as opponent lands]
   sA

-100%dmg
-all 3 of Jhun's vd,u+C must connect or it will not finish the opponent off
-THE easiest 100%dmg combo; the only difficult part would be timing Jhun's
   vd,u+C part in the combo


Kim as leader
[Jhun B stance,%/@middle screen] sC,[as opponent reaches apex] sD!
   tta[Kim], vd,[as soon as Kim lands] u+D,[as soon as Kim's recover
   animation is over] (qcf,qcf+BD),[as Kim recovers] sA, toa[Jhun],
   (*vd,[slightly after Jhuns recover animation is over] u+C), *d,[just
   as Jhun's recovery animation ends] d+B, [in B stance, as opponent
   lands] sA

-4 power stocks but only about 95% dmg; better off with other combos
-sD that puts Jhun in normal stance must be immediately canceled to his
   toa for him to do it
-as mentioned before, Kim's leader super input is different because the
   opponent switches sides in mid-air; unless you can move the joystick
   really really really really fast, there's no other way to do it
-timing for Kim's vd,u+D must be exact; if the air juggle is too low when
   Jhun toa, it won't connect; or, it connects but you only get 1 frame
   worth of time to get his super in; so, higher toa is better



Analysis of comboing:
It's fairly clear that comboing is just moves that are joined together
to produce continual damage to the opponent so that there is no chance
for the opponent to fight back, during the duration of the combos.  So
the question is, how are combos prolonged?

Moves function and behave in certain ways in one situation, but behave
with additional functions in other situations. For example, Kim's qcb+C[3x]
by itself will just cause the opponent to get hit 4 times without producing
any special results. However, this move can hit opponents who are also air-
borne. Because of this, now the move has a greater comboing factor than
before. Whereas qcb+C[3x] was only able to be comboed off the ground,now we
know that it can also be comboed for airborne opponents.  In addition,
Kim's qcb+C[3x] has a property such that when done in a corner,
it's possible to send the opponent way up in the air, by delaying the
timing of each qcb+C. Because of this, the move can be a combo link in
corners, which means if there is a move that can combo into airborne
opponents, such as Kim's leader super, it can be linked from qcb+C[3x] in
corners.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
version history:
7/13/2004
-.01
nowhere near finished, but want to get the first two combos out

7/28/2004
-.11
the first time, 7/13/2004 it was rejected by the gamefaqs crew for lack
   of content, so I had to beef it up in some places; so i added more
   info about Kim's and Jhun's moves and some more combos; not so much
   for Chang because I'm ready to chuck the arcade out the arcade center
   since SNK made Chang so much worse than before, worse than they messed
   with Jhun; at least Jhun has ONE quasi-combo starter compatible with
   Kim; Chang has ZERO; anyways, I hope this faq won't get rejected again...

8/13/2004
-.12
was rejected for grammar and spelling, so i put it through spell check; added
   one more combo, started analysis of comboing; added more Kim's and Jhun's
   move behaviors
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Props:
Jesus Christ
-more than _ANYTHING_ I hightly recommend Him to everyone who comes in
   contact with me, personally or formally.  Even if you're atheist.
   Better than sex.  Guaranteed.

Rtorrez
-his faq is very detailed in explaining what Kim's moves do.  I highly
   suggest reading his faq before mine in regards to Kim.

Moriya and Kao Megura aka Chris MacDonald
-for Jhun and Chang's moves.  Before even thinking about combos, read
   these guys' faqs first to get an idea where and when to cancel
   into moves.

Yang Yang He aka hebretto for his faq on kof2k Jhun.  Not only detailed,
   but provides very, _VERY_ good tips on the play style of Jhun.  Again,
   I highly recommend reading his faq to get a grip on how Jhun's moves
   function.

PLAYMORE SNK for not going the CAPCOM way.

Women students for having tight bods and getting me through otherwise very
   boring classes.

My peeps. Though you don't play kof, trying to get you guys to play got me
   interested in writing this faq.

Campus computer labs for their t3 lines.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anti-props:
PLAYMORE SNK for being too similar to CAPCOM none the less.

PLAYMORE SNK for watering down Jhun, and Chang to a new low.

Michael Jackson for turning white.

Moore for his misinfos in his 9/11 "documentary".


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4)Misc.
Not much right now.  When suggestions for this or that comes in, and I don't
know where to put them, it will probably end up here.
my email is [email protected]

Definite things to do:
-get in depth with Chang's combos

This faq is copyrighted (c)2004 by Tkim.