Basic Malin FAQ for The King Of Fighters 2003 - Done by Luiz Flávio
Assis Moura. AKA Snow Wanderer®.
Version 1.2.
OK, the legal premises of this FAQ are simple: do not sell, modify or
host this without permission (oh, just don't sell it at ANY instance -
this is a FREE document, open to the public. If you have any changes
you'd like to make, just e-mail me and I'll implement these if they're
good enough to warrant a modification. Full credit will be given). If
you do... well, if I ever know, be ready to listen a LOT, and possibly
expect retaliation. It's incredibly unrewarding to see people illegally
profit over something which didn't require their effort and hard work.
For now, this is only available at GameFAQs.com, but, if you want to host
it in your personal site or whatever, e-mail me and I'll see what I can
do. Also, as I don't want to see any outdated versions out there, I'll
do my best to warn the people hosting this FAQ about updates and changes,
possibly sending them the newest version as well. In the future, if you
feel the version of your current FAQ is outdated, e-mail me and I'll let
you know about any changes and send you the newest version if that's the
case. Thank you.
The King of Fighters games and all the characters, names and trademarks
related to them belong to SNKPlaymore.®
This document was created in the Notepad, with Courier font, size 10.
It looks ugly as hell, but I'm not complaining. =P
My e-mail is
[email protected]. If you want to send
me info about Malin, correct some mistakes I've made,berate me for
writing such a crappy FAQ or congratulate me (yeah, like that'll ever
happen...), send me an e-mail. PLEASE use comprehensive, decent grammar
and put the Malin FAQ as a subject of your e-mail, or chances are I'll
send it into the litterbox instead. I don't read e-mails that are simply
unclear on their content or are written with the typing skills of a 12-
year-old AOL user (yeah, this means you should hold back on your 1337
writing and watch your language). E-mails with threats and/or overt
swearing will also be cheerfully ignored. I haven't received any stupid
e-mail about this FAQ yet, thank god, but I know of one too many FAQ
writers that suffered this kind of hilarities and still do. Also, don't
expect a response from me. When I use the info given to me, I ALWAYS
input the credit inside the FAQ itself and whatnot anyways. I will only
respond to your message if it's REALLY important.
=====================================================================
Index
1- Version History
2- Malin? Why in hell should I use her?
3- System Basics
4- Malin's Moves
5- Moves Analysis
6- Strategies and Combos
7- The Onigumo Files
8- Acknowledgements
=====================================================================
1- Version History
Version 1.2 - 05/13/04 (Took a LOOOOOOONG time... =|)
- This FAQ receives now a huge update, dedicating a section ONLY to
the Onigumo. Some of the previous stuff about it was removed so its
info won't sound THAT much redundant. This section made itself needed
because of the huge part those damn yoyos play on Malin's ground and
zoning game. Mastering them will certainly make you a much better Malin
player (and which Malin player would be crazy enough not to spam those
yoyos day and night?).
- I removed a large part of Moriya's basic system info. Since the
changes in the system aren't really necessary to explain, I took
'em out so some space could be saved. This should clean the file up
a bit.
- Also corrected the info that says Malin's a top-tier. She's good,
but it was, by A plus B, proven by now that she's not THAT good.
- I've added more combos for Malin and bulked the other info a bit.
This document should feel more complete now.
- MORE typos corrected, and some probably added. This must be a plague
to every single FAQ writer in this world, I tell ya...
- Significant rewriting of many things and additions to existing strats.
I hope these are in the very least useful for you guys.
- I'm thinking about putting a section about Malin's matchups, but I
lackmore info. So, if you have stuff about good and bad matches to
Malin,do send them in. I also would like strategies and such, so I can
also perfect mine. Sorry for being a leech... ~_~
- More acknowledgements made, most of them really useless. =)
- Finally, I added some stuff about my e-mail policy. Really, this is
kind of a preventive measure than anything, because I don't like the
idea of having three thousand e-mails with "OMGLOLOLOLOLEZWTFFF!!!!111!!
UR FAQ DOEZNT GARANTEE ME TEH WINZ!!!111!! U R TEH SU><><0RRZZZZ!!!111!"
and the like. So far, the few mails I got were very helpful and polite
(not to mention well-written), but things could always take a turn for
the worst.
- Had to redo the spacing of the characters. If GameFAQs hadn't rejected
my FAQ because of that, you'd still be stuck with those really random
lines on it. Cheers to CJayC's FAQ policies, and a boo to my laziness.
=P But even with the rearranging, I'm not sure if the FAQ's gonna be
accepted...
Version 1.1 - 02/18/04
- Mostly cosmetic. I corrected some damn typos and spacing errors,
along with some weird-sounding phrases. Hopefully, this guide is more
comprehensible now.
- Added tidbits about Malin's high-low game. This change had to contain
at the very least a bit of actual content...
- Corrected a surprisingly major mistake about the button that's used
to control the Mizuchi's reaction after it hits (no, it's not the C
version that goes forward).
Version 1.0 - 02/15/04
- This is the version where version history was added.
- Correction of some typos and weird phrasings.
- Added the comboable properties of the jumping C.
- Added the Mizuchi/Jou'ou Bachi crossup trick (thanks, Keso! =D).
- Added the juggle properties of the Onigumo.
- Corrected a little thing regarding the Onigumo-Jou'ou Bachi combo.
- Added info about the Suzumebachi's properties (no, they aren't
overheads in ANY instance).
- Added the close D/crouch D linkability stuff. Big props to Saotome
Kaneda and ratix0! =)
- Corrected MORE stuff about the Kagerou's comboability.
- Altered a few minor things on Moriya's system basics.
- Added the low properties of the close D.
- Added info about the block damage of the Mizuchi.
- My sister burned an Ace of Base CD. XP
Version 0.95 - 02/12?/04
- Added more combos for Malin, including the ones regarding the
Onigumo.
- Corrected properties of the Jou'ou Bachi (props to Khryzler!).
- Corrected some stuff about the comboability of the Kagerou.
Version 0.9 - 02/06/04
- Initial release. Still a lot to add.
=====================================================================
2- Malin? Why in hell should I use her?
Well, first of all, I should say welcome to my FAQ, and thank you very
much for even bothering to read this. Now, this question is actually
very plausible: why in the name of forks should you use Malin, one of
the new characters in the King of Fighters series?
Well, it comes down to this: if you're not into annoying, hit-and-run
characters with strange moves, then keep a healthy distance from her at
all costs. She is no easy combo powerhouse nor does she relies on heavy-
hitting - hell, her combo choices are very limited, and you're pretty
lucky(or just too damn good) if you get something higher than 6 hits
with her without tag comboing. She also deals much, much less than
incredible damage with her attacks and takes mad damage. But if you
just love to annoy all of your challengers to hell, confuse them with
tricky strategies and has an inkling for insane speed, Malin is the
character for you. All in all, Malin is an uber-Choi (removed from KoF
2003, THANK GOD) with all of the good stuff and none of the bad. She
is one of the better characters in the game, and good Malin users will
certainly have a lot of fun - until a smart guy using a counter to her
appears, that is. Her gameplay consists basically of a hit-and-run
approach, meshed with some crazy zoning and keepaway methods, a good
high-low game and lots, LOTS of poking and jumping. Malin's air game
is second to none in KoF 2003(even Mai can't keep up with this little
brat in the air, and that's saying a LOT), and she has lots of means
to annoy and confuse the hell out of the enemy. Basically, a good
Malin player will make his/her opponent go "crap, where the hell did
she hit me from?" and "STOP DOING THAT, YOU FREAKING *****!" all the
time. And, since she is overpowered - I'm sorry, but there is no other
way around it: she's still better than many characters in the cast, and
there are some guysso mismatched against Malin (Maxima comes to mind...)
that they'll possibly never win against her if you know what you're doing
- you may also suffer overt swearing sprees and even some black eyes when
facing arrogant, stuck-up players who think they're the hottest stuff
around (I know I've struck some fear into a few of these around, and I'm
in an even better[?] situation winning-wise, since the players I usually
know are far too stuck up on Iori, Goro and Clark's decade old methods to
actually try to learn better). If you're willing to get past all of these,
let's continue...
=====================================================================
3- System Basics
I took this info right out of Moriya's nice (and now seemingly complete
FAQ (be sure to check it out on GameFAQs.com!). I want to thank him
first hand and also congratulate him for his hard work in many FAQs.
Keep it up! And thank you for letting me use your writings! ^_^
P.S: This was taken from an earlier version of his FAQ. Don't worry,
the info isn't wrong. I've checked it out. Why wouldn't you trust a
good FAQ writer, anyways? =þ
Terminology:
f - forward b - back
u - up d - down
(forward refers to the right if your character is facing right, and
the left if your character is facing left; back is the opposite
direction)
ub - up-back uf - up-forward
db - down-back df - down-forward
qcf - quarter circle front (d,df,f)
qcb - quarter circle back (d,db,b)
hcf - half circle front (b,db,d,df,f)
hcb - half circle back (f,df,d,db,b)
A - Light Punch C - Heavy Punch
B - Light Kick D - Heavy Kick
Start - Taunt/Provocation.
Press ub, u or uf rapidly to perform a hop.
Press ub, u or uf holding the button for a short
while to perform a jump.
Press db,uf or df,ub to perform a high jump.
Press ub while running to perform a high jump.
f,f: Run (keep holding f to keep running).
b,b: Backstep.
b while being attacked: Block. This greatly reduces the damage an
enemy does to you, but you cannot be performing any other action while
blocking, and it cannot be done in the air.
b/f + C/D while being thrown: Throw escape. Note that only normal throws
can be escaped, and you must use the same button that the opponent
used to throw you. Some normal throws are not escapable at all.
AB: Emergency Evasion (your character rolls forward; he/she is almost
invincible while rolling, being only affected by throws).
=====================================================================
b + AB: Emergency Evasion (exactly like the normal one, except that
your character rolls backwards).
AB while blocking: Guard Cancel. Your character will cancel the
blocking animation and roll back for his/her safety. This will cost
one power stock.
AB after being knocked down: Recovery Roll. You roll instead of being
actually knocked down. It saves time. Note that it can't be done after
certain moves.
BC/CD: Tag. When you perform it, your current character will leave
the screen after performing a taunt, to be replaced with another member
of your team, who jumps in. If your current character is hit during
the taunt, however, the Tag will not be performed. You can only tag
when the message 'Change OK' is being displayed on top of your power
bar.
qcf + BC/CD: Tag Attack. Works like a tag, but instead of your current
character performing a taunt, she performs an attack (that looks like
that characters' old stand CD attack, in most cases). Performing a
Tag Attack costs one power stock. The new character, instead of simply
jumping into the screen, will fly in with an attack, regardless of
the Tag Attack hitting the opponent or not. But if it hits, the tagging
in character will combo his attack and set the opponent up for a juggle
opportunity - or a combo. Juggles will only happen if the enemy is hit
while in the air.
CD while blocking: Guard Cancel. Your character will cancel the blocking
animation and counter the opponent with a CD attack. This will cost
one power stock and knock the opponent down.
=====================================================================
4- Malin's Moves
This is just the place for Malin's basic moveset. Here, you'll see
the names and commands for all of Malin's non-normal attacks, nothing
else. A detailed description and analysis of all her moves (including
her normals) will be in the next section. The names of the moves were
taken from MGohan's cool KoF 2003 FAQ. Be sure to check it out! And,
just like Moriya, thanks for letting me borrow the movelist from your
FAQ, man. =)
COMMAND THROWS
f/b+C or D: Malin Rocket
COMMAND MOVES
f+B: Benisasori
SPECIAL MOVES
qcf+P: Suzumebachi (Chijou)
=>any direction+AC: Suzumebachi Follow-Up [can be done up to two times]
In the air, any direction+AC: Suzumebachi (Kuchuu) [can be done up to
three times]
dp+P: Suzumebachi (Taikuu)
=>any direction+AC: Suzumebachi Follow-Up [can be done up to two times]
qcb+P: Onigumo
qcf+K: Dokusasori
DESPERATION MOVES
In the air, qcfX2+P: Jou'ou Bachi
qcfX2+K: Kagerou
LEADER DESPERATION MOVE
qcfX2+P: Mizuchi
=====================================================================
5- Move Analysis
OK, NOW I can describe the moves and stuff. Don't follow this canonically,
though: this is just how I felt some moves worked for me. The moves I
like might not work as well for you, or some of the ones I don't find
useful may be very good for you. Just tinker with it and you'll find
interesting stuff.
NORMALS
Far A - Malin stabs the enemy quickly with one of her daggers. Has
dismall range, but it's very quick. I wouldn't recommend its extended
usage though. There are better options out there for speed poking. And
this might whiff on some crouching opponents. Jeez, Malin's tiny, but
not THAT tiny.
Far B - The animation and uses for far and close B are the same. Malin
does a short kick in the waist are of her foe. It's pretty slow to come
out for a weak attack, but it has some kind of range. Don't rely on it,
though. I dunno if this whiffs on crouching opponents or not. Probably
not. Cancellable up close, but why would you use such a slow weak attack
in those circumstances?
Far C - Malin does a stab with a claw, while arcing down herself. This
is a very good, reasonably fast poke. If blocked or whiffed, it's very
unlikely you'll be punished if the distance is right (which is a bit of
a surprise, considering this is a far standing fierce attack). The good
priority of this is also a nice plus! Use it often and use it wisely.
Possibly her best ground poke normal. Not cancellable.
Far D - Malin kinda somersaults forward, sliding along and slashing
her enemy with her feet. This is an interesting move. Since she moves
forward when performing it, this can be used for pressure games, and
it has decent priority on its own. It also has fairly good recovery,
but she is vulnerable while doing this. One well-timed sweep will put
Malin in her place, so don't abuse it. Know when you want to pressure
your foe with this. Also non-cancellable.
Close A - Malin uses her dagger to slash the enemy in an upward arc.
This move comes out incredibly fast, but has too much recovery for a
weak attack. On the other hand, it is cancellable, and its cancelling
window is rather lenient. You might want to use one of these to cancel
into a qcfX2+K, for an instance. It's not as useless as I thought it
was.
Close C - Malin does a slash in the stomach area of her foe. This is
a fast attack with nice recovery, but its combo timing is kinda weird.
Also, it's not as fast as her close D... this isn't a terrible move at
all, but I think you're better off using close D for combo and close-up
purposes. But, if you're a little shy about the range of your move,
use C instead. You'll be safer landing a far C than a far D.
Close D - A VERY quick slashing kick to the shins of the enemy. This
is the attack of choice when you're upclose to the enemy. It's damn
fast, has great recovery and it's easy to combo off it - even better,
it hits LOW, annoying the enemy even more and raising its overall
chance of connecting (not to mention improving her high-low game, as
the enemy has to block high the jump attacks and low this little gem.
If he's sleeping, he'll get hit very easily). Also cancellable, of
course This is one of the best normals in the game, IMHO.
Crouching A - Another quick poke with her daggers. Not bad, although
it doesn't hit low and its range is roughly the same as the crouching
B's. This is as cancellable as the close A, and its comboability window
is almost as lenient (a little bit tighter, not that much). If you're
crouching, you may input a couple crouching A's and combo into a Kagerou
or Mizuchi. This really can be useful at times. When you want to harass,
use crouching B. If you want to combo, use the crouching A (or you
can mix them up, even better!). This would be much better if Malin
comboable high-powered moves, though. Characters like Vice are very
fond of weak attacks to connect a fast, hard-hitting move with, but
Malin has very little to work with in this regard. The best you can
try is the Kagerou.
Crouching B - Malin does a quick foot poke with the end of her leg. It
has a very short range, but it's so incredibly fast and it's comboable
too. Not to mention it hits low, so it's all good for general annoyance
with weak normals. You can follow-up a Mizuchi out of a couple of c.Bs,
even - or a Kagerou. If you're way close and want to harass your enemy
with weak pokes, this is the attack of choice. Its cancel window is
pretty tight, though.
Crouching C - Malin does an "uppercut" using her claw. This attack
has a lot of vertical reach, and deceptively good horizontal reach as
well. It's also comboable. It seems to have slightly longer recovery
than most of her normals - not that it matters a lot. A good, quick
anti-air if your enemy is nearly overhead.
Crouching D - Malin slides forward with her foot extended. The slide
is quite short, and it has a little bit of recovery, but she does it
very fast, and only characters with good sweeps can really punish her.
This is another good move for harassment, and it obviously hits low
and knocks down, being a sweep and all. Nice move all around, and you
can use it to push your enemy to one of her yoyos if it's already on
the screen (making this move overall safer when used in such fashion).
To the dismay of many, it won't knock your enemy far enough to setup
her yoyos when connected. You can link a crouching D from a close D,
but it has very strict timing. Thanks to Saotome Kaneda and ratix0
for this info. =D
Jumping A - Useless downward stabbing. But I will add a little bit of
something remarked by Saotome Kaneda: all of Malin's jumping attacks
can potentially crossup. So, if you feel weird, you can use this to
crossup the enemy... but there are better choices out there.
Jumping B - Malin knees herself towards her foe. I haven't checked its
priority but, if it's at least reasonable, this can be good for some
air-to-air harassment,kinda like Angel's d+D air move. It can also
crossup, and, by the looks of the move, it doesn't seem hard to do.
Jumping C - Malin does a downward stab with her claw. Good downward
angle and nice priority, not to mention its diagonal reach. Good for
air to ground distancing games, I must say. Also nice as an air-to-air
move, as long as you jumped first. One more thing: you can cancel an
air Suzumebachi and even a Jou'ou Bachi from this! More air dominance
goodness! Another potential crossup, but it is a bit hard to use this
move in such fashion.
Jumping D - Malin does a somersault kick that does two hits if well-
timed. It's not very good in reach, but it's an insanely useful crossup
- the most reliable she has, and one of the better crossups all around.
This is a great move to general harassment, and it's fast as usual.
Use it often. Unfortunately, it can't be cancelled into anything. Just
imagine the evilness of crossup D into Jou'ou Bachi combos... but it
DOES help her when performing her ground B&Bs, so it's all good!
b or f+C/D when close - Malin Rocket, Malin's throw. She grabs the foe
and pushes him back with her feet, using the foe's body as a lever to
jump backwards. This is a great move to escape corners and set up her
yoyo traps, since she recovers from it very fast. As usual, use it
wisely and often.
COMMAND MOVES
f+B - The Benisasori command move. Malin hops forward and stabs the
ground with a taser. It's an overhead (good for unaware turtlers),it's
rather fast and is an overall nice move for pressure. I usually use
this following up the close C or D, though, so I can push the enemy a
bit farther away. Has nice recovery too. The timing for combos is kinda
annoying, though, and very few moves will connect after this, seeing
how much it pushes the enemy away. At least, this is fast enough to
have an useful role in her mixup game after jump-ins (now, you see,
the attack of choice after you land is usually the close D, which hits
low. But the opponent will wake up and start blocking low, of course.
So, what do you do? If he gets too crouch-block happy with the close D,
use a Benisasori to scare him off. Do this a couple of times and he'll
go wild trying to guess where's he's going to block, and, as this move
is pretty fast and the close D is VERY fast, it's hard for the foe to
block in the right way out of sheer reaction. You see how fun this
can get?).
SPECIAL MOVES
Suzumebachi (Chijou) - qcf+P. Malin arcs herself and lunges towards
the enemy very fast with her knife, in a kind of flying advance. Not
a comboable move, but this is where all the air annoyance begins. As
seen in the movelist, this can be followed up with the direction+AC
move, making her spin and do another one of these. If you're quick
enough, you can connect the maximum possible three attacks as in a
combo. And, since this is a high priority move, you'll be hitting
your enemies most of the time with it. But there is a little rule
regarding this follow-up: you cannot charge in the same direction
three times in a row. I.e, you started the Suzumebachi (Chijou) and
followed-up with fwd+AC. You can't do another fwd+AC, but you can do
any other direction+AC. It's easy to get the hang of it, and you'll
probably be doing three Suzumebachis in a row in no time. But don't
forget this little limitation, or you'll be open for punishment. The
idea of the direction changing is exactly to ensure your safety and
improve the overall feel of harassment. Basically, this is the move
that gives Malin the nickname of uber-Choi.
Suzumebachi (Kuchuu) - in the air, any direction+AC. Oh, boy. This is
basically the Suzumebachi, only done in the air. I find that starting
Suzumebachis in the air is even more useful than going for them on the
ground (the annoyance is bigger XD). Everytime you're in the air and
feel like harassing your foe (boy, I sure do use this word a lot),
start a Suzumebachi madness. As always, after you start a Suzumebachi,
you can follow it up two more times. The biggest advantage of performing
this move in the air is the possibility to control where you're hitting
your enemy from the start. You can jump forward, engage in a diagonal
downward Suzumebachi, do a forward follow-up to hit your foe again and
escape with a backwards follow-up, i.e. You can also confuse the hell
out of the enemy by just doing the Suzumebachis out in the air and going
higher without actually hitting them. This will annoy your challengers
to no end, especially because, along with the mindlessly fast screen
and sprite moving, she does a gratingly high-pitched scream when doing
all those Suzumebachis. =) This will frustrate many foes, especially
those pesky grapplers. And, unless your enemy is a scrub or fool, he
just won't dare to jump and try to reach you for free - if he does,
chances are he's going to get hit, and you can juggle him with the
Suzumebachi follow-ups rather easily. This is the bread and butter
of her entire hit-and-run game. Remember, this move does NOT act as
an overhead if the down-forward and down variations are used, unlike
what one could expect, so don't think this will add anything to Malin's
high-low game at all.
Suzumebachi (Taikyuu) - dp+P. If you use the weak version, Malin will
simply do a Suzumebachi diagonally upwards. Very nice for corner combos
with the fwd+B (if you don't use the forward+B, you can simply connect
it off a standing D or C - and it works anywhere on the screen), and
juggling the enemy with its follow-ups is very easy (this is a knock-down
move, unlike the other Suzumebachis). Also, use this when your enemy
is jumping away and you're sure you can hit him, or if he's jumping
but he's still a bit far. The strong version is almost entirely vertical,
so use it when your enemy is nearly overhead. As usual, the follow-ups
are applicable. The best thing about this anti-air is that, because of
the Suzumebachi follow-ups, it becomes surprisingly safe to pull one
of these off. This is certainly unfair against your enemies, but, if
you want to fight fair, use Shen Woo without Duo Lon... or Yamazaki.
=þ
Onigumo - qcb+P. Malin will play with her yoyo and throw it. This move
has quite a bit of startup, but its recovery is insane. It recovers so
fast that you can throw another Onigumo (of different strenght) on the
roll. The A version goes to the middle of the screen, while the C one
goes a bit farther. The great thing about this move is that, after you
throw the yoyos, they keep spinning on the screen for about five seconds.
They can be undone by a projectile, but this move is so damn annoying.
All you need to trap your enemy for a while is to knock him down long
and far enough to send him to the center or near the corner of the
screen (and you can even use an Onigumo to do this!). Throw a weak
Onigumo, wait for the enemy to go a bit forward, and send another
Onigumo - this time, strong. He will be trapped between them, and,
each time he blocks or gets hit by one, throw another batch (throw
the two as fast as you can if they both were negated). It gets hard
to avoid (rolling through them is not 100% safe. The hitboxes of the
yoyos are REALLY sensitive), and it opens up for some great pressuring
oportunities, even allowing for some combos (especially useful for
Tag Combos, since it simply sets the enemy up for pressure). This can
be NASTY when paired up with grappling LDMs or Yamazaki's LDM, which
is inescapable when the Tag Attack is blocked if done right afterwards.
Not to mention you can continue Suzumebachi harassment hilarities
after the foe is set up, annoying him even more. Malin's zoning and
keepaway games are severely improved by this move alone, and it sets
up for so many dirty opportunities that you wonder why didn't Playmore
realize this on playtesting. On the other hand, they probably wanted
to make Malin overpowered, so...
Dokusasori - qcf+K. Malin will pose, take away a pair of electrified
tasers and stab the enemy for three hits. This move has lots of start-up
and recovery (especially for the likes of Malin), but it has a small
invincibility window as Malin is arcing down to perform this. The D
version moves quite a bit farther than the B version, and the difference
in start-up is pretty small. This is a move that should be used only
for further pressure or when at a distance. This can be useful when
paired up with Onigumo pressure, but don't rely on this move. It's
Malin slowest and most punishable attack. It does good damage and is
clad with priority, though. This is her S. Cancel.
DESPERATION MOVES
Jou'ou Bachi - in the air, qcfX2+P. Malin will perform an incredibly
fast downward Suzumebachi. If it hits, the enemy will be sent upwards
and Malin will stab the foe from all directions a la' Strider Hiryu's
Ragnarok from Marvel Vs Capcom. After that, she will finish with a
fierce SWORD SLASH (she should use this baby in other moves... dammit.
It looks cool), sending the enemy flying. This does a total of six hits
(or five if the enemy is cornered). This thing is a freaking MENACE, I
tell ya. It has high priority, it's fast and it does good damage. You
can punish nearly any mistake your enemy does with this move, and even
with the recovery, Malin is relatively safe if it whiffs and she gets
to the other side of the screen (it's punishable, yes, but not THAT
punishable). This is one more reason for you to jump a lot. You can
just keep jumping high, poking, annoying the enemy and waiting for him
to do a mistake. It will happen soon enough, as his attention will most
likely be broken by the constant hopping around. But, PLEASE, refrain
from doing something stupid like trying to outprioritize Iori's Oniyaki
with this. It has priority, not invincibility.
Kagerou - qcfX2+K. Malin will do an upward kick in a rather straight
angle and juggle the enemy upwards if it connects. After that, she
takes a few knives and throw them up, hitting the enemies with them.
This move has INCREDIBLY short range and fairly crap priority, but it's
quick as hell. Good as a wake-up, but it is not comboable after fierce
attacks. If your enemy manages to trade hits with you in this move
(it happens pretty often), don't worry that much: the first hit is the
most damaging, and the enemy will be juggled. This means you can waste
another gauge doing a Kagerou or just use the move of your choice for
a juggle. Be careful not to send the enemy too high up, though. If you
do, most of the knife hits will miss. This is a decent special even
when you're hit out of it, it seems... as long as your enemy is hit
too. Don't do it if you're think it'll be blocked, though. It has
punishable recovery. Also, try not to get a trade hit very often
(especially with powerhouses like Chang, Goro or Tizoc). Suffering
damage is suffering damage, after all. This move is also welcome in
Super Cancels and low combos (I think its best use is comboing it off
a couple of low A and Bs. Best follow-up for fast poking moves she has).
LEADER DESPERATION MOVE
Mizuchi - qcfX2+P (in the GROUND). Malin takes a HUGE mallet and hits
the enemy with it. If it connects, he will be sent way upwards. This
is an overhead. Regard--less of whether this move hits or not, Malin
will do a huge jump after it. The button pressed for the LDM will
determine its direction: A will send Malin jumping forward, towards
the enemy. C will send her backwards, distancing her from the foe.
This move comes out incredibly fast, and can be comboed off a close C
or D (I don't know if it connects if you add a jumping attack, though).
But, if you combo into it, beware: the damage scaling is HUGE (actually,
it's not worth it comboing it after a close C or D, unless you really
want it to connect. And the damage scale is just as unforgiving if you
use weak normals...). After the mallet strikes, Malin can do her fun
Suzumebachi follow-ups in the air (you can only do it twice, though),
and, if the enemy was hit, you can juggle him, raising the damage and
overall harassment. Even if you don't hit the enemy, this means the
move is pretty safe: if it misses, you can just Suzumebachi yourself
away from danger. Not incredibly damaging, but it's overall nasty in
the right situations. It comes so fast that it's hard to predict (if
you're good in taking opportunities, your foe won't even see the mallet
smacking him down). A good LDM, for sure. Even though Malin herself isn't
really leader material. Two more things: this move improves Malin's Jou'
ou Bachi crossup game a good deal (it requires timing, though) and does
a healthy (not TOO healthy) dose of block damage - approximately one-fifth
or so of its damage when comboed into, probably rounded up.
=====================================================================
6- Strategies and Combos
Well, this section will deal on how you should play Malin to do at
least decently, move by move, and her possible combos. This section
may seem fragmented at times, though, since my line of thoughts is
often erratic. Also, remember: these are just pointers that will help
you play Malin a bit better, gradually - hopefully. These aren't going
to guarantee you victory, neither are my advices canonical. Don't blame
me if you're not racking three thousand wins in a row, because this
isn't the purpose of this FAQ. This is here under the sole purpose of
understanding Malin better and knowing a couple of ways to play her
more effectively in casual play. For Pete's sake, why would a high-up
player read this thing anyway?
First of all, when you play with Malin, KNOW YOUR EVERY MOVE. This is
applicable to any character, but it is especially important to Malin,
since all of her moves(excluding a few normals) can be used to add up
to her strategies. Suzumebachi is a really nasty hit-and-run move -
being an effective anti-air as well in one of its incarnations. Onigumo
is excellent as a keepaway and zoning tool, the Dokusasori deals heavy
damage and heats up pressure, Jou'ou Bachi is a punishment move in
all its excellence, the Kagerou is useful for wake-ups and poke combos,
and the Mizuchi is a dirty surprise move - even if it is not readily
available. Malin has tools to deal with nearly every situation in
the book (although in rather unconventional ways), and she has great
normals to boot. But she's not simply free: the Suzumebachi is abusable
as hell, but using it mindlessly WILL leave her open. The Onigumo has
heavy start-up, and there are characters who can get past the annoyance
of the yoyos with their own arsenal. The Dokusasori is a move with
heavy recovery and start-up. Jou'ou Bachi has an irritating inkling
to miss enemies you thought it would hit, because of its weird angle,
and isn't very promising when blocked. The Kagerou isn't too good
outside of wake-ups and poke combos, and it can miss the other hits
often. Finally, the Mizuchi is an LDM - Malin just isn't too fit to
be a leader - and it has stupidly short range. It is also a bit harder
to do safely than most of her other moves, since you have one less
Suzumebachi to use when running away. With all this in mind, also
remember this with your heart, mister: a decent player WILL cream
down a scrubby Malin, period. You just can't rest on the laurels with
her, assuming everyone will fall for the same tricks everytime. But,
now I've ranted, let's go to more specific strategies.
=====================================================================
Jump. A lot. Malin has a ridiculously high and fast jump (I think only
Duo Lon can jump higher than her - and that's combining vertical and
horizontal range. Malin's jump is, vertically, the highest in the game,
while it's not exactly incredible horizontally), and her air priorities
are just wrong. Add to that the fact that she can TRIANGLE JUMP (when
you jump to the wall, press uf) and you've got a dangerous leaper.
That is also good to evade some big projectile supers like the Haoh
Shokoh Ken - Malin, with decent timing, can consistently jump over
projectiles like this, gaining an opportunity to strike at the enemy
and avoid tick damage (hey, isn't avoiding damage part of what Malin's
all about?). So, exploit this trait. Malin works best in the air, as
seen from her Suzumebachi and Jou'ou Bachi. Be careful, though - she
jumps so high that she reaches the second level of height in the screen,
and seeing what your opponent's doing gets harder. Also, you should
attack in the air a lot - empty jumps aren't very productive for her.
Use her jumps as a way to aim the target points of your victim and
cause overall confusion. One whiffed normal from the other side is
usually all you need to smack down a Jou'ou Bachi on your foe or
start damage-inducing Suzumebachi insanity. Also, don't forget to
crossup often - not really for combo opportunities, but just to get
in those cheap hits that comprise the heart of Malin's gameplay.
That's all she's about: dishing out cheap shots while not letting
the enemy have any. Also poke with the far C often. The move is quick,
safe and has good priority and reach. This is a move that you can do
when you don't have anything to throw at the enemy and he's just at
the range... great overall, and annoying as well. The same could be
said about her slide, but it is a bit more punishable, so, it's not
as abusable (duh). One last tip: her specials aren't much in the
department of high-low variety, but her normals ARE. Especially
the close D and her Command Move - these are nasty, the close D
being particularly annoying because people usually don't expect a
close, non-crouching normal to have any kind of property other than
cancellability. For a beginner against Malin, this will score many
cheap hits, and, for more experient players, a logistic nightmare:
she is a definition of those "Crap, which way do I block now?"
characters by these alone. She's kinda like a ghetto CvS2 Hibiki.
Now,with all of these in mind, pick her up and have a blast!
The Benisasori (her command move) should always be used for pressure.
If you connect a close C or D, use the Benisasori to push him further
to the corner if you're not willing to do a dp Suzumebachi (that would
be when you want your opponent grounded and up, or when you think a dp
Suzumebachi would be a bit risky). This move can also be easily done
after a crouching A or B (don't cancel it, or it will lose its high
properties!), so, use this for her fun close mixups to further annoy
your opponent. This move is also deceptive in its range. Use that to
your advantage. But its best use is really in mindgames and corner or
crossup combos. This is the second part of her high-low game: if the
close D starts failing, throw in an occasional Benisasori after a nice
jump-in. Your enemy has to be really quick to stop you, and even if he
does, it's unlikely he'll punish you too heavily, as she is in the air
during the move. Your opponent gotta be high on caffeine to be able to
throw in a Ya Otome, for instance, on sheer reaction to the Benisasori.
REALLY high. Even simpler moves are kinda hard to pull off in this kind
of pressure, and your enemy will be able to do such only if you're
telegraphing your strategies... but hopefully, you're more intelligent
than that, especially using Malin. Really, unpredictability is the key.
The Suzumebachi is a very useful move - not so much for its damage,
but for its sheer annoyance and escaping power. Doing this move wisely
will make sure that you get in a hit and return unscathed consistently.
So, use it often, but not everytime you jump. Doing it on the air,
rather than on the ground, is also a good choice. Remember, though,
an enemy can capitalize the short while that Malin spins to change
direction and stop your fun althogether, and this move surely CAN be
outprioritized. So, TIMING is the key. Learn how long an enemy takes
to recover from a Suzumebachi hit and how to exploit this -be it by
comboing a Suzumebachi into another, keeping the enemy busy trying to
figure where the hell you are or just by getting out of the opponent's
face. If you send Malin to one wrong direction and you can't change it
in time, the enemy WILL take advantage. So, ALWAYS remember when you
can direction change or not, or judge if a direction change will save
you or hand your ass in a silver platter to your foe. Also remember
that this move is better at punishing whiffed moves than outdoing
ongoing attacks. This is not a counter move... it's more of a "Just
gotcha!" one. Remember, this is valid for ALL the Suzumebachi forms.
The Onigumo... I'm having a session just for this move, people. There,
you'll find all the info I can give. Sorry, but this is just too damn
important to Malin to reduce it only to a small part of her strategies.
The Dokusasori.... I really don't use it too much. Its start-up is
kinda dangerous, and so is its recovery. I like its damage a lot,
though. This move should be primarily used for keepaway or well-timed
counters (it has an invincibility window, remember?), and it can duck
under some moves as well(I managed to not get hit by Ryo's Hien Senpuu
Kyaku while doing this move...). It has HIGH priority and sensitivity,
too, so, it can be thrown around when the enemy is getting a little
carefree, and it could confuse an enemy if you pull it off a basic
close C or D, fwd+B chain - if done sparingly. If it hits and you have
gauge, try to aim for a Super Cancel with the Kagerou. Not only the
damage racks up nicely, you can recover more quickly and setup a
little something for your opponent. This move is more useful than I
thought it was at first. Still not a particularly good contender,
though...
The Jou'ou Bachi.... ahhh, this one is nasty. As said before, this
move is the supreme air punisher. The secret when using this is to
always have it handy on opportunity. Practically any mistake - and I
do say ANY mistake - can be exploited by the usage of this move. That
Maxima tried to Vapor Punch Malin but she jumped before it hit? Jou'ou
Bachi up on his face. You got to jump a Haoh Shokou Ken and you're just
in range? Jou'ou Bachi. Your enemy got hit by a yoyo trap with two of
them and he still is in the glory of his hit animation? If you're jumping,
Jou'ou Bachi. This move is incredibly hard to telegraph (well, if you
don't count the super animation...), since it moves ridiculously fast,
and, if well aimed, it can get even the slightest opening. Of course,
you shouldn't just jump with the sole intention of doing this move,
since it's very easy to see where you're going. The best idea for
this is to use it when your enemy has done anything that, by Malin
standards, could be punished by a slightly - yet significantly -
steeper-angled diagonal Suzumebachi. If Iori throws a Yamibarai and
you're quick enough to superjump, to give a simple example, you can
follow one Jou'ou Bachi and hit. Any mistake (it doesn't even have
to be a big mistake, it can be a small one - sometimes, one that
couldn't even be seen as a mistake to most other characters) can be
an invitation for this move, given the situation. It is just really
versatile in this regard (in a way, it's superior to Leona's V Slasher,
but I think Malin's super has less priority and definitely has a less
broad angle, just being overall faster). But it is as easy to make your
mistakes with this move as it is easy to punish your foe for his. First,
the angle of the move is pretty weird. You may miss enemies that you
thought you would catch. Second, if this is outprioritized, there won't
be any significant rewards for trade hits. Third, if your enemy blocks
this move, you're in for it. I know I said this move is not that unsafe
when whiffed, but getting it blocked is just terrible. And some characters
can do all the nasty stuff - having a Jou'ou Bachi blocked to dive into
Tizoc's LDM is outright scary. At least, if the move just misses and you
trade sides with your opponent, you'll be safer, as she slides forward
when she reaches the floor. If you whiff and DON'T switch sides, which
I think it's not really normal if you at least TRIED to aim this move...
you're screwed. ;_; But there's a way to try and bypass this: if your
enemy BLOCKS the Jou'ou Bachi and you're sliding in front of him, try
to score a throw like crazy (button mash isn't a virtue, but here it
just might work. Fwd+C or D, Fwd+C or D!). If your enemy is sleeping,
you'll get the throw and be in the advantage - Onigumo meatys ensue
with a throw nearly every time. Try to use the right button for the
direction you want the enemy at. If you're near the right corner, you
will want to switch sides. Use the D throw. If staying on the same
side you are now is better, use the C throw. Genius advice, I know.
Back... aiming, even moreso than with the Suzumebachi, is simply
essential when using this move. Just stick to the opportunities when
using this. They'll be plenty. One more note: you can use this as a
crossup (VERY confusing to your enemy!). Try to jump over the enemy,
and, when you're in the other side, pull off the command for the
Jou'ou Bachi. You may buffer the command slightly earlier and press
the button when you're just on the other side. Of course, it can be
blocked anyways, but it makes for incredible mindgames. Your opponent
won't even know where to block at first, and you can mess with him
further after hitting him in this fashion by faking attempts to crossup
the Jou'ou Bachi, throwing him off. This will open opportunities for
more cheap hits (not neccessarily Jou'ou Bachis), as he will be nearly
desperate - even more if you manage to land more than one Jou'ou
Bachi in that fashion. Yes, this move is really nasty. (By the way,
the one who nodded me to the notice that the Jou'ou Bachi can be used
as a crossup is Khryzler. Thanks, man. ^_^) But if you're playing in
high-level play, this may not work nearly as well, since tournament
players are usually fleshly machines with high levels of cool and
strategy. And, if you're a high-level player, why are you seeking my
FAQ for advice instead of sending some to me, a poor mortal and casual
player? =P
Well, the Kagerou is a pretty weird move in a sense. If you're looking
for damage, I'd say you're better off with the Jou'ou Bachi. But this
one has its uses. For one, it's about Malin's only decent wake-up move.
Second, if you get hit out of it, as long as you managed to hit your
enemy as well, you have opportunities. It's also not bad as an anti-air.
But - its range simply sucks. If it gets blocked or whiffed, Malin WILL
suffer the consequences - and it's easier to whiff - or block - this
than the Jou'ou Bachi. If your enemy is sent too high up when he gets
hit, most of the hits will whiff, and there goes the neighborhood.
This is a risky move, but it gives interesting rewards. Use it in
wake-ups or when you're feeling frisky enough. Do not abuse it,
though. Malin is not a character made to get hit a lot. This move
pretty much bedazzles me, since it kinda crashes onto Malin's entire
strategy. It is good for trading hits, but Malin should avoid trading
hits (or getting hit at all) with all her might. Weird. At least, it
can be used for simple combo filler.
The Mizuchi is a good LDM, as it's quick and safe. But you must ask
yourself if you find this worth of having Malin as a leader. Many
characters do better as leaders than she does - hell, the teams I
usually go for (King, Malin and Robert or King, Malin and Ash) usually
have better leader choices than her. If you do put her as a leader,
though, try to use it in surprise situations where your enemy is close,
since it has sucky range - although, because of its overhead properties,
it is a great high-damage tool for Malin's already dangerous high-low
game. A crouch-block happy turtler could easily sleep and eat this in
a blocked combo, you know... >=) In combos, the move is pretty much
worthless due to the immense damage scaling (the damage is reduced by
practically half, even if you're doing it off crouching Bs! And you're
not crazy to make Malin a leader just for a dismall damage-scaled LDM
combo, are you?). Also remember: this move is safe enough, as you can
do a Suzumebachi to run away from the enemy in case this doesn't connect.
But since my last plays, I've decided this move is good enough to have
Malin as a leader. But then, you'll need to be conscious that your game
WILL revolve mainly around her if you do. This move isn't bad at all,
I say. It'd be even better if it was just a normal DM, you know. Maybe,
replacing this with a improved Kagerou (with higher damage and a tasty
invincibility at start-up) would be a wise move from Playmore... at
least, Malin-wise. But then, she'd be more overpowered and stuff. But,
well... there's another fun trick to use with this. You know you can do
a couple of Suzumebachis after the Mizuchi, right? WELL... you can also
perform a Jou'ou Bachi after it. But what's the use for it? Mindgames,
mindgames. Let's say you've done a Mizuchi, but the enemy blocked. You
used the A version, jumping forward. You, by this point, already know
that the Jou'ou Bachi can be used as a crossup, right? So, what do you
do - pull off a crossup Jou'ou Bachi while the enemy is still blocking,
and he'll probably get hit, as he won't notice in time to block the
other wayout of surprise! This trick requires lots of gauge, but it's
pretty interesting and nasty. So, if you have a spare level of stock
other than the Mizuchi levels, you could use the A version of the
Mizuchi to pull off this little jewel! Not a bad thought, eh? Sadly,
it is impossible to COMBO a Jou'ou Bachi off a Mizuchi, though. If
it could be done, the Mizuchi would be NASTY and ridiculously worth
making Malin a leader. As is, this trick is already quite useful. I
give props to Jessie Mendoza - AKA Keso Circle - who kindly sent me
an e-mail about this. Many thanks, fella. ^_^
=====================================================================
Combos
Well... this section should be short. You see, Malin is not exactly
about combos. The ones she has are short and kinda limited, but having
some to mess with is never really bad. Remember, don't pull off combos
unless you have connected an attack on most cases. Pulling off those
blocked combos with Malin can be really risky, since she won't deal
decent tick damage and she may end up very vulnerable. I also removed
the Onigumo combos from here, since they will be in the Onigumo's
exclusive section.
- Jumping C or D, close C or D, fwd+B, dp+A, fwd+AC, uf+AC.
6 Hits - possibly 7 if you manage to connect two hits with a
jumping D(corner only).
This is Malin's ground bread and butter. Basically, if you're able to
corner an enemy, you can pull this off. Not terrible on the damage
department, and it's pretty annoying. If you're more into a play-it-safe
game (which is wise), you can skip the last uf+AC and use a ub+AC or
simply b+AC to distance yourself from the enemy when he gets up. You
may also want to skip the jumping C or D part.
- Close C or D, dp+A, uf+AC, fwd+AC.
4 Hits
A dumbed down version with different directions of the Suzumebachi of
her bread and butter. This can be done anywhere in the screen. But
getting the three Suzumebachis to hit is, as always, harder and riskier.
I'd recommend following-up the Suzumebachi for juggling only once and
using the other follow-up to get away. I don't know if you can still
connect this combo if you start it with a jumping attack. This simple
combo is one of her only feasible upclose alternatives to endless poking,
and you might end up using it often when you get your enemy upclose
and personal. I do - but remember to do your best to avoid these
upclose and personal situations, which I also do.
- Jump C, fwd+AC, fwd+AC, df+AC.
4 Hits
This is Malin's aerial bread and butter. Basically, just connect a
jump C andcancel it into the air Suzumebachis. Very easy to do and
annoying to youropponent. A mighty fine bread and butter, I might add
- as you can pull it off even in the opponent blocks rather safely.
Just use the last direction change to run away from your foe.
- Jump C, qcfX2+P.
7 Hits (DM combo, requires a stock of gauge)
This is Malin's best air combo. Connecting a jump C into a Jou'ou
Bachi is a kind of fun that every Malin player should experiment. Nice
damage, but cancelling the Jou'ou Bachi out of the jump C requires a
bit of practice. Nothing particularly hard, though - and that makes it
a great combo. Sinceconnecting jumping normals shouldn't be too hard,
this is a simple combo that you may see often in real matches.
- Close C or D, Mizuchi, fwd+AC.
3 Hits(LDM Combo, requires 2 stocks of gauge).
This is easy to pull off, but pretty much worthless. The damage scaling
suffered by the Mizuchi is staggering, effectively cutting its damage
in half. You may try and connect two Suzumebachis out of this move,
but it's pretty hard and not worth it, IMHO. It may endanger Malin,
putting her closer to the opponent as he gets up. Don't waste two
levels of stock for this.
- Crouching A or BX2, Mizuchi, fwd+AC.
4 Hits(LDM Combo, requires 2 stocks of gauge).
I got this from Saotome Kaneda.
This is her most damaging combo without tagging, but it's not very
useful either. First, Malin is no great leader material. Second, this
combo requires pretty tight timing and two stocks. If you're smart,
you'll just use some other combo or simply stick with Malin's great
hit-and-run game.
- Dokusasori, Kagerou
7 or 8 Hits (Super Cancel Combo, requires 2 stocks)
This combo depends entirely on the Dokusasori hitting or not. This
makes it rather unreliable, but it's not all that bad. The damage is
reasonable and the recovery is good, allowing for a safe batch of
yoyos. If it connects, it's a good combo for setups.
- Crouching A or BX2, Kagerou
8 Hits (DM combo, requires one stock)
Simple combo that's kinda effective. It's a cheaper version of the
crouching BX2, Mizuchi, Suzumebachi follow-up combo, and not too bad
at all, especially when you're harassing your opponent upclose with
low weak moves. Damage isn't too pathetic either.
For now, I already have found some good stuff to do with Tag Combos.
The thing is...Malin isn't particularly good with these in a reliable
fashion. She can use her yoyos to make way for nasty things, but it's
hard to pull off consistently, and there are better character for tag-
ins in this world. So, I will, rather than post combos that involve
tagging in Malin, try and find some good partners for her in the near
future. I hope you understand.
=====================================================================
7- The Onigumo Files
OK, it may seem a bit of overkill giving one entire section for one
move. But I thought it was needed to do this. The Onigumo opens so
many possible strategies in Malin's game that it can't be just nodded.
This is her most versatile move: it is primarily a zoning-keepaway
tool, but it precedes more mindgames and combo possibilities than any
other move that she has. Her most essential ground tool and the hardest
to bypass as well, the Onigumo can easily change the tide of a match,
since Malin can control the pace of the battle very well using them.
You're the one who dictates the next move when the Onigumo is properly
used - it can punish the enemy in so many dirty ways... but it requires
practice and anticipation. I will stop ranting vaguely and give true
directions from now on, dividing the Onigumo in four basic sections:
Onigumo Properties, Zoning And Keepaway, Pressure and Mindgames and
Onigumo Combos, done exactly in this order. Each one will cover the
various aspects of this devilish attack and how to use them for the
better. Are you ready, young Padawan?
- Onigumo Properties
=====================================================================
This is rather simple. I am covering the exact properties I know about
the Onigumo and list briefly their advantages and drawbacks, from its
startup to comboability. The first things you have to keep in mind
about the Onigumo is: know how far each version will go and how long
it takes to pull it off and recover from it. The A version goes about
half a screen distance from where Malin's standing. The C version goes
about a 3/4 screen distance. Its startup isn't too long, but it leaves
Malin incredibly vulnerable because she is just playing with the
yoyo - there's nothing to stop your enemy from smacking you while she
messes with a damn toy if there isn't another yoyo already on the
screen. And he can reach you before the yoyo is thrown even at a full
screen distance. Fortunately, this move recovers ridiculously fast:
as soon as the yoyo is nearing its destination, Malin can do anything
she wants - even throw another yoyo. Each yoyo, from the moment it
is thrown, remains at the screen for about five seconds.
You can have two yoyos at the screen simultaneously, which is very
important. The yoyo also negates normal projectiles, but it will negate
the yoyo as well (Ash's strong projectile, though, can pass through
one yoyo. To fully negate it, it takes two yoyos. K' can negate the
yoyos rather easily with his Eins Trigger chains. DM or SDM projectiles
will just kill the yoyos). One good thing about the Onigumo is that,
even being considered a projectile move, it is not reflectable by most
projectile-reflecting attacks (Athena's, Adel's, Shen's). The only
move that can reflect the Onigumo is Yamazaki's Double Return(Reflect),
and he needs to keep a bit of distance to fully send it back. On the
other hand, with his Double Return (Absorb), he can easily negate the
yoyo and open his way. The yoyos are a hitbox by themselves, and they
possess infinite priority (this means that even if you perform a
physical attack on them, you'll get hit - unless your attack holds
invincibility in the moment the character is contacting the yoyo).
Finally, an enemy knocked down by a yoyo can be juggled - it is
useful if you don't want an Onigumo combo going to sheer waste or
pushing the enemy farther away by another yoyo if there are two of
them in the screen. Summing it up, I'll put the Onigumo's good and
bad points.
GOOD:
=====================================================================
- Fast recovery
- You can have two of them in the screen at once
- They last for a sizable while
- Sensitive hitboxes with infinite priority
- Negates projectiles
- Not easily reflectable
- Allows juggles if knocking down
BAD:
=====================================================================
- Highly punishable startup
- They are easily negated by characters with good projectiles
- DM projectiles will destroy the yoyos at will
- Not completely unreflectable
- Juggle properties are very unreliable
- Miscalculations regarding Malin's screen position and the yoyo
position can screw up your yoyo setups
There you have it in a nutshell. Now, for more advanced (not much,
though) stuff.
- Zoning and Keepaway
=====================================================================
This represents the Onigumo's most obvious use. The Onigumo is BOTH a
zoning and keepaway tool. It can limit the enemy's mobility a great
deal and disallow him to reach Malin at the same time - most standard
zoning tools work like this, really. How to use it sheerly for these
purposes? Well, simply spam yoyos in a way that your enemy will either
be trapped between them or before them. This usually requires having
them both on the screen. It's the simplest way to keep the enemy away
from Malin, really. But, because of startup issues, if you just spam
your yoyos mindlessly at any given time, you're going to get mauled
BAD. Zoning and keepaway are also about setups, you know. The time to
setup for yoyo madness is always when your opponent is getting knocked
down - be it by Jou'ou Bachis, Kagerous, throws or a well-recovered
Suzumbachi knockdown (these are pretty rare). Of course, Malin doesn't
have many ways to knock the enemy down for long enough to setup her
yoyos, but what she DOES have is pretty good. Your best bet for them
knockdowns is throwing your foe. She recovers so fast from the Malin
Rocket throw that she can successfully setup at least one yoyo even
if the enemy recovery rolls. And setting up the second yoyo gets easier
when you have the first. But this part of setups is more useful on
pressure and mindgames than anything. The zoning and keepaway consists
in one thing: whenever one yoyo is used up, immediately send another.
If the enemy destroys one with a projectile, believe me: you'll have
the advantage most of the time, because you can easily set up another
one and immediately hit the recovering foe. If he only managed to
destroy one yoyo, you can replace the yoyos over and over... but when
the enemy finally escapes the yoyos, just stop the spamming and return
to your normal game. If you want to start a yoyo spamming session
again, knock the enemy down long enough again to set it up - but just
remember: you can't set up a yoyo trap at all if you knock down the
enemy towards the corner and YOU'RE in the same corner too (well,
DUH!). With the throws, which are the knockdowns that give the greatest
control over where the enemy's getting sent, try to always send the
enemy to the side that will give you the advantage in the setups. On
the other ones, it's a little more based in luck, but don't worry:
unless you both end up on the same corner, the yoyo traps are quite
easy to set up. Malin's zoning and keepaway is rather flexible just
because of that. And, as you've probably seen, the Onigumo zoning and
keepaway play a significant role on Malin's capability to dictate the
pace of a match - but not all! When I get to the pressure and mindgames
possible with the Onigumo, what I've blurted in here may become more
comprehensive, since, while you can do all these things I've listed
separately, they work better when meshed together in one big strategy
to make your enemy's life nightmarish. You'll see.
- Pressure and Mindgames
=====================================================================
OK, this is the MOST important part of this move. You've already seen
that the yoyos can easily keep an opponent away from you AND limit
his mobility, forcing him to watch where he steps. But you don't expect
him to simply get hit by all the yoyos you spam at him or just wait
till both of them wane away to reach you, do you? (if you do: are your
competitors braindead or something? Or do you only play against the
CPU, who usually can't handle them yoyos well at all?)
Assuming your answer is no, I'd say you're absolutely CORRECT. You
can consistently roll through one yoyo, and if you manage to get past
one, the second becomes easier. Not to mention attacks that just will
KILL your yoyos in a whim, like Ash's Ventôse projectile, a Haoh Shokoh
Ken or King's Double Strike. The yoyos aren't there only for your enemy
to get hit by them, and that's fine: because this is where you WILL
dictate how the match will go from now on, on the moment the yoyos are
up. Remember, they stay on the screen for a while after they're thrown,
and you can do pretty muchanything while they are around. This freedom
is what gives you the sheer advantage: while the enemy has to bypass
the damn toys to reach you - and he risks getting himself hurt while
doing it - you can simply reach him while he figures out a way to get
outo f that jam and your yoyos can't hurt you, period. You might want
to lure the enemy into a counter, per se. If he's between two yoyos
and he attacks you, advancing mindlessly through the screen while you
block or evade, he'll risk himself greatly - chances are he's going
to get hit. This kind of win-win situation is one of the Onigumo's
greatest assets: no matter what your enemy does to stop the yoyos,
you CAN turn it to your advantage, even Yamazaki's Double Return.
For starters, if your yoyo gets eaten by a normal projectile, you
can simply replace it for an easy extra poke, as a hit from one
yoyo is fairly damaging. Second, if that happens, your enemy just
opened himself for anything that Malin can do. You can dash up to
him and perform a bread and butter or smack a Jou'ou Bachi if you
have the gauge (most recommended). If your enemy tries different
approaches, what could you do, though?
Quite a lot. If he rolls, quickly try to reach him in order to score
a throw. More yoyo setups for you if they're already waning, for an
instance. If not, you can take advantage of the short recovery that
your opponent will face right after he stops rolling. If you manage
to get upclose (remember, Malin also has an extremely fast dash), you
may... let's see... start some high-low games. A close D is always
good for that. If he's getting too close to you, you could always
perform a crouch D to stuff his roll, but get away as soon as possible.
Doing so will also take away a bit of your advantage. I'd say the best
choice is always throwing if you're aiming for the "can't catch me!"
game, but if you're feeling frisky for an upclose duel, mixups are a
feasible bet.
If your opponent is still thinking on how he'll bypass the yoyos (or
preparing himself to do so), jumping hilarities are good. A crossup D
will often ensure a cheap shot, and you can follow a basic combo after
that (not to mention possible easy mindgames). As a bonus, he's likely
to get hit by a yoyo if you got him before he could take one away. You
see how damaging this can get? Of course, taking the advantage of such
isn't easy, and I don't expect you to throw these off right and left
two minutes after you read this. But practice and you'll get the hang
of it sooner than later. Remember to take good advantage of Malin's
superior speed when doing this - super jump, dash, abuse your mobility,
because Malin has it for that purpose, and she needs it to better
pressure her foe! The crossups are probably her nastiest form of
pressure when the enemy is dealing with the yoyos. If the enemy is big
(I mean Chang-like big), he'll probably be stuck with yoyo spamming for
the rest of the match, so the mindless yoyofest for sheer keepaway is
a bit more feasible. Not the wisest thing to do, though.
And you can't expect the enemy to stay put while you're reaching to
him - EVEN WITH THE YOYOS. He'll have to be more careful, sure, but
if he's not cornered or stuck between yoyos, he can punish you safely
enough. That's why the area where you stand before the yoyos are thrown
is so important - and I recommend that you stay rather close to the
corner if you want to take the best out of these. And, depending on
what the enemy has on his sleeve, he may deal more damage to you than
you deal to him with the yoyos... not nice. If things get desperate,
though, you know the best tools to run away: roll away and/or fly all
your way to safety (with the Suzumebachi, of course). I never mentioned
before, but rolling is a god bless for Malin, as her roll is very fast.
It may seem weird how I'm describing defensive tools for her in a section
forpressure, but it makes sense: the yoyos are a shield of sorts for
Malin. If you can use them to harden the enemy's approach to you, more
power for you. I particularly feel that rolling behind the yoyos can be
pretty confusing if the enemy gets a bit psychotic. For now, that's it
about her pressure game ALONE. If there's anything else I should add,
e-mail me informing about it and I'll be sure to put it in and give
credit where it's due. Also, as I tinker with Malin more, I may find
other things about her.
=====================================================================
- Onigumo Combos
=====================================================================
This could mesh well with the pressure and mindgames section, but the
Onigumo combos are the part that requires the biggest amount of skill
and thought out of the entirety of their strategy. In a sense, they
are very closely related to the pressure and mindgames - since you can't
simply jump in and start a combo using these. There are positioning,
reaction, timing and precision issues in here - even moreso than most
combos - that makes the Onigumo combos a feat for skilled players to
achieve. I, for myself, have done very simple Onigumo combos and I know
how hard it is to do the craziest, coolest combos Malin has. You would
be wise to stick for simpler stuff with Malin for a while, but don't
give up on practicing! You CAN achieve an Onigumo combo using Jou'ou
Bachis and Kagerous! Even I can pull them off! It just needs a fair
deal of dedication and patience, and also the realization that these
combos are more than opportunity strikes than anything else. If the
chance comes, it COMES. If it doesn't, no point in forcing it (like
Geese scrubs do when they're desperate to land his dumb infinite in
SvC...). The yoyo pressure gives you enough options as is. BUT - yes,
doing these combos takes advantage of pressure. They come out of
crossups, cheap shots, high-low games to an extent and even the oft-
unused juggling properties of the yoyos. In these combos, I will
explain the situation where they come abound and do my best to give
you an overview of how should you act to pull it off. Shall we begin?
(By the way: I won't list things like yoyo, qcfX2+K or yoyo,qcfX2+P
LDM. These aren't practical at all most of the time. The only one in
this vein I'll actually bother with is a S.Cancel combo that is as
unfeasible or even more unfeasible than the aforementioned ones,
just to give a feel of how the yoyo combos work. I'll post the ones
that can be useful and sometimes scary to your opponent)
- qcb+P, qcf+K, qcfX2+K or qcfX2+P
9 Hits (Super Cancel Combo, requires two levels of stock. Corner only
as far as I know. If using the qcfX2+P, it takes three stocks)
This is a basic combo that you'd probably never see in a real match.
It isn't particularly hard to pull off, but it's not practical at all
and it's very easy to avoid. The damage is decent, but it's just here
to give you an idea on how to use the yoyo combos. It works like this:
with an yoyo right behind an enemy, pull off a Dokusasori and Super
Cancel it into a Kagerou or a Mizuchi. Simple idea, nearly unfeasible
execution.
- qcb+P, qcf+P, fwd+AC, df+AC or uf+AC
4 or 5 Hits (it depends if the enemy gets hit by one or two yoyos)
This one is easier and more basic. Being as simple as it is, you can
even have two yoyos together for fun (not for safety). It works like
this: as your enemy gets hit by a yoyo, pull the Suzumebachi and pull
its follow-ups. Very simple and can be used for pressure (in fact, I
believe this is better used in pressure. If the enemy blocks, do the
usual runaway direction change instead of spending all your follow-ups
on the advance). This is a pretty plausible combo to use when your
enemy is surrounded by two yoyos. If the enemy gets hit by only one
or by both yoyos, it depends if he got caught by the frontmost yoyo
or the back one. If he's hit by the back yoyo, there's no way he'll
get hit again by the other yoyo.
- qcb+P, df+AC in the air, fwd+AC, df+AC
4 or 5 Hits (again, it depends on how many yoyos hit the enemy)
Air variation of the above combo, conditions being pretty much the
same.
- qcb+P, crossup D, close D, dp+A
4 or 5 Hits (once again, dependant on how many yoyos hit the enemy)
This one is good for pressuring, and it works better if the enemy is
surrounded by both yoyos. Cross them up with the jump D and you'll
push the enemy towards the yoyo. Follow up with a close D and an anti-
air Suzumebachi. Simple, effective and nice for pressure, but not
particularly damaging. You may not be able to push the enemy towards
both yoyos sometimes. If you want, you can use the follow-ups to
raise the damage a little bit. If you choose to do so, the hits can
rack up to seven.
- qcb+P, qcfX2+P in the air
6 to 8 Hits (DM combo, requires one level of stock. Amount of hits
depends on how many yoyos hit the enemy and whether the combo's done
in the corner or not)
This needs timing, and, while it doesn't seem like it, the setup is
rather strict. To pull this off, you should get on the air as soon as
the enemy gets hit by a yoyo. It's easier to pull this off as a juggle
(as incredible as it seems!) or when both yoyos manage to nab the enemy.
If you're confident that the enemy won't block, you can use its setup
for a crossup Jou'ou Bachi - it can be quite dazzling to your opponent's
mind. Nice damage and it's one of the flashier Onigumo combos. If it's
done on the corner, you'll get five Hits for the Jou'ou Bachi instead
of the usual six.
- qcb+P, jump C, qcfX2+P
7 to 9 Hits (DM combo, requires one level of stock. The amount of hits
depends upon the same variants as the above combo)
This one is harder than the above simply because the cancelling of
the jump C intothe Jou'ou Bachi is a bit strict on timing. You can try
a crossup in this one as well, but it's no guarantee that it'll work!
As said before, ALL of Malin's jump attacks can crossup, but only the
jump D and maybe the jump B are reliable on such property. Also good
damage and pretty flashy. But I think that getting both yoyos to hit
in this combo is nearly impossible (even getting one to hit would be
really hard at times). I also doubt it's possible to connect this in
a juggling yoyo hit.
- qcb+P, crossup D, qcf+BC or CD - follow with a combo of choice for
the tagging-in character
Varying Amount of Hits (Tag Combo. Requires at least one level of
stock)
=====================================================================
Hehehehehe. The hardest of them all, the scariest of them all. The
biggest problemhere is not about the yoyos hitting (as you can use the
same pressuring conditionsof that crossup D, close D, dp+A combo I
mentioned earlier), but getting the Tag Attack timing just right. This
might be what Saotome Kaneda once referred to as the Malin Cancel -
but I may just be spilling nonsense, so bear with me. What do you do
in this one: throw a batch of yoyos, keeping the enemy between them
(yeah, this thing is pretty impractical). Then crossup him with the
jump D and perform the Tag Attack AS FAST AS YOU CAN. If the enemy gets
hit by the yoyo, there will be enough time for the Tag Attack to connect,
and, when the other character tags in, you can do your combo of choice.
My character for this example will be King. Let's say that, when you got
to connect the tag attack, you got three hits (one for the crossup D,
one for the yoyo and one for the tag). When King comes, she will add
an extra hit and, if she doesn't make the enemy change sides, when she
continues the combo, she will probably make the foe land on other yoyo
if there's one. Let's say that, after she tagged in, there WAS another
yoyo. Then, land a close D, follow-up with a Sliding Kick (df+D) and,
if she's the leader with two available stocks, cancel it into her
Phantom Strike LDM (qcfX2+P). This will deal basically 11 or 12 Hits.
If she's closer to the corner, you can use a less expensive DM combo:
Close D, Sliding Kick, B Tornado Kick, Silent Flash. You might get even
19 Hits with this combo. Sounds complicated and hard? It is. VERY. I
haven't been able to pull this off in a real match, and it's not
supposed to be easy to achieve, but, with the flexibility of the system,
it is INDEED possible. This baby can be expensive, but it will deal
ridiculously high damage and it will scar your enemy for the match,
since getting smacked by such a crazy combo is not something to be
fond of. Can you see how scary Malin's pressure games can be? This is
about potential, people. It may be very difficult to pull off, but if
it ever happens (it probably does on high-level play if the player is
really good), MAN. Dirty, dirty, dirty. This is probably the craziest
kind of combo Malin can ever achieve, and the hardest as well. Even
I don't believe it sometimes...
Well, that's about it. If you want to correct me, send me combos,
give me more stuff about this move, let me know. I am anxious to know
more about it too.
=====================================================================
8- Acknowledgements
I want to thank the following people/faceless entities:
- SNKPlaymore, for making this game and taking things right on track
again. After the travesty done by the Eolith team called KoF 2001,
things seemed pretty much lost for KoF (and, while KoF 2002 was a very
fun game, it didn't make too much in the name of amends). But Playmore's
efforts are making many KoFers (including me) believe again, and I do
think they are finally doing things right (despite some broken characters,
like friggin' Duo Lon). Keep up the good work, but, PLEASE, try to learn
about playtesting (well, SNK in their prime days didn't seem to know
about playtesting either... =P)!
- Moriya and MGohan, for kindly allowing me to use portions of their
FAQs in this document. They are also kickass guys and quite knowledgeable
about KoF, and they have very nice FAQs on the web regarding this very
game (Moriya also has FAQs up for many other KoF games. I particularly
like his KoF 2001 FAQ). Check them out at GameFAQs.com! And, Moriya,
being a Kula fanboy like me, gets extra points just for that. =P On
the other hand, MGohan is a sheer KOF soundtrack freak... @_@
- Kao Megura. He may not have helped with this FAQ at all (he probably
doesn't even know about it anyway... ~_~), but he's overall a great
FAQ writer. He has done kickass guides for craploads of fighting games,
with plenty of information and brimming with usefulness. He's a hero
at GameFAQs. By the way, don't forget to check out his finally released
KoF 2003 FAQ. It's at least as good as most of his other great works,
for sure.
- Kyokugen Spirit and Dark Symphony. I don't know why, I just enjoy
reading their posts and talking to them. They provide really interesting
discussions about KoF, well-thought - if sometimes very passionate -
points of view and an overall optimistic oversight about Playmore and
fighting games. Good job. An extra prop goes to KS for pointing me about
the ring edges when you perform DMs. Nitpicking makes the world go round.
=) Another prop goes to DS, since his insights are very good - if a tad
inflamated. My respect for him is growing at an exponential rate right
now... but that whining about KoF NeoWave's Mixed Team of Saisyu, Kula
and Shingo IS annyoing. -_-
- Saotome Kaneda. This guy is simply insane when it comes to KoF 2003
gameplay. Almost unadvertedly, he gave me some good pointers about
Malin - specifically, about her crossup potentials and her highest-
damage combo. He also confirmed my thoughts about Malin not being a
combo character at all, which bugged me at first. Now, all is well
though. =) He also confirmed the linkability of the crouching D from
a close D, pointed out by ratix0. Even if you're not aware of your
help, man, thanks.
- Khryzler, from the KoF 2003 boards, for pointing out about the Jou'
ou Bachi's possible use as a crossover attack - I've tested it, and
it works! Thanks!
- ratix0, for accidentaly finding out about Malin's crouching D being
linkable from a close D. Thanks for finding things by accident, man!
XD
- Keso Circle, for the great Mizuchi/Jou'ou Bachi crossup trick. I
doubt I'd find it all by myself, so, big props to you! (By the way,
it REALLY works. I've tested it myself! And, along the way, I found
out some more fun info about Malin, so, only good came out of his
advice. Thank you! ^_^)
- ketsudan hyougashimo and jinsakazaki from the GameFAQs boards. They
are fun to talk with, know quite a bit about KoF and offer many insights
about characters often - I never knew Orochi Shermie was such a cheapass!
Of course, there's also ketsudan's sheer love for Kula, jin's fandomness
towards Chris, Krauser, Goenitz and King (I just don't like Krauser =P.
Don't mind the wars inside the Returning Characters Contest... but Kula's
death WAS unfair. I don't care what jin says) and my stupid fanboyism
for Malin, Chris, King and Kula. Basically, I'm just acknowledging them
as nice guys. =P
- aofan, for being the most amiable fake troll around, and also for
actually having good gameplay knowledge. But his remarks about Malin
don't really annoy me. =P
- The general people at the GameFAQs King Of Fighters 2003 message
boards. They hold fantastic discussions about gameplay and storyline
in there, and most of them are friendly and fun people, sometimes with
unpredictable peeves. If you're interested in discussing KoF 2003, be
sure to check it out sometime - but, PLEASE, be polite and legible!
- The people who read my FAQ - this means you, you and you over there.
Quite a few people have already acknowledged me and thanked me for
writing this FAQ. They also regarded it as useful (WOW. X_X), and liked
the overall work of it. The feeling of satisfaction for doing something
even remotely helpful is something which I never realized that was so
fulfilling and gratifying. And for all these and all the other people
that are reading the FAQ while I don't even realize it, thanks. Without
you guys, this guide wouldn't even have a reason to exist. =) But I'm
just being sappy.
.. and, for now, that's it. If you want to be acknowledged in here,
be a cool person at the boards - interacting with me is also a plus =D
- be in the production team along with SNKPlaymore (no, I won't believe
on e-mails saying "I 4R3 0N SKNPl3hm0r3 t33m!") or help me with this
FAQ as well, in any form of contribution. XD
Well, people, that's all for now. Hope this was at least a bit useful.
=====================================================================
