King of Fighters '98 Character FAQ - Chizuru Kagura
by AquaWarlock (
[email protected])
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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0. WHY?
I. INTRODUCTION
II. CHIZURU'S STORYLINE IN KoF
III. KoF '98 BASICS
IV. MOVES + reviews
a. regulars
b. specials
c. desperations (DM/SDM)
V. COMBOS
VI. STRATEGIES
VII. TIDBITS
VIII. CREDITS, THANKS & COPYRIGHTS
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0. WHY?
Many people are afraid of playing Chizuru Kagura, and in addition to the fact
that NO FAQs as of this date has been written of her, I will do her justice and
hopefully encourage people to play her some more.
I. INTRODUCTION
The trick of Chizuru Kagura's moves are her illusions. Indeed, a person who
tries her out will have trouble controlling these illusions, but once you master
her, you can easily confuse the heck out of your opponents, computer or human.
It only takes a little training and a little memorization of what button does
what (which I will describe to you later). Chizuru has been toned down from her
sub-boss status in '96 (for the obvious reason that she have teammates in '97 &
'98, rather than fighting alone in '96), and remained almost untouched since
'97. Who would I recommend Chizuru to? First and ironically, novice players!
Why? First, she doesn't need to do a big ole' nasty combo to knock big damage,
just a few well-picked illusion attacks deal substantial damage. Also, her
illusion attacks confuses opponents if it doesn't seem to do anything else.
However, Chizuru is also fun to use for players of any stature (who wouldn't
like to laugh in the opponent's face when they realized they only struck thin
air?) So give Chizuru a try next time you play KoF '98 (or '97... for only fw +
A/B are added in '98).
II. CHIZURU KAGURA'S STORYLINE IN KoF
Chizuru actually plays a bigger role in the KoF than it seemed. Chizuru Kagura
was the only "known" descendant of the clan of Yata (I place emphasis on "known"
'cause you know how story-lines go, and no I do not know future KoF plots so it
may or may have another Yata descendant in the future). About 1,800 years ago,
the clan of Yata was one of the three clans that had saved humanity...
1,800 years ago, "God" had sent the immortal messenger Orochi to punish men for
all the sins they've committed over time by extinguishing all humans. However,
three clans defied "God's" decree, the clans of Kusanagi, Yanasake, and Yata.
The roles of the first two clan were clear (the Kusanagi attacked & sealed the
Orochi, while the Yanasake protect itself & others from Orochi's attacks).
The role from the Yata clan was much more subtle but nonetheless important.
First, the clan of Yata helped snuck away the last Kushinada maiden that was
needed to be sacrificed to the Orochi (the current descendant of the Kushinada
is Yuki, Kyo's girlfriend). The Yata clan might have also helped in the sealing
of the Orochi, and finally, they had watch over the seal through all this time.
All this time... until about mid-1980s. A man by the name of Goenitz stepped
into the Yata village, demanding release of the Orochi from his seal. Chizuru's
sister, heir of the Yata of the time, had no choice but to challenge him.
However, without the powers of the Kushinagi nor the Yagami (descendant name of
Yanasake), Chizuru's sister died in the duel and Goenitz manage to break the
seal. With her dying breath, her sister initiated Chizuru as the new and last
known heir of Yata.
For a few years after the Orochi release little occurred, and Chizuru moved on
to become a very successful businesswoman. Then Chizuru felt an evil presence
linked to the KoF tournaments, and thus she monitored them right till the end of
'95. Then Chizuru took on the role as chief sponsor of the KoF tournament.
Under her, the tournament totally changed, it became more "public": many people
watched in the background as if it was a concert or sporting event, and it was
also broadcasted through the media.
The team who made it to the top was no doubt the hero team (Kyo, Goro &
Benimaru). Chizuru activated her powers and her illusions managed confuse the
latter two contenders. Kyo, however, somehow saw through her illusions and
defeated her. The defeated Chizuru admired Kyo, and gave him a few words of
information and warning before fainting. When she woke, Kyo and Iori nearly
defeated Goenitz. She arise again and let Goenitz know that his plans will not
succeed. Then they both disappear.
Now Chizuru faced the task of re-sealing the Orochi (Kyo & Iori still knows
little about it). With several companies now sponsoring the tournament of KoF
'97, Chizuru decided to participate as a contestant and hoped to re-unite with
Kyo & Iori in order to seal the Orochi. However, it turned out not to be so
easy, for Kyo seemed to have no intention of leaving his team, while Iori lost
his two most recent team-mates (he appeared to have killed them), and she
herself needed two team-mates. Thus, she entered on behalf of the Neo*Gorgeous
Team (with Mai & King) and entered Iori as a solo contender in the tournament.
As a fighter, Chizuru felt wary towards the young & new band team. Little did
she know that they were all Orochi kings, and one of them was to be the physical
vessel from which the Orochi will arise back on Earth. Chizuru, Iori & Kyo
united as one team, together they battled the Orochi. The Orochi was losing,
thus he tried to control Iori (the Yagami clan was tainted with Orochi blood)
and ordered him to kill Chizuru & Kyo, but instead Iori made a grab at the
Orochi's neck. Meanwhile, Chizuru asked of Kyo to battle the Orochi and free
Iori's soul, which he did. During all of this, Chizuru performed the rituals of
the re-sealing, apparently it worked.
With much less worries now, Chizuru rejoins Mai & King in the tournament of
'98...
III. KoF '98 BASIC CONTROLS
bw - backward / block
tap bw, bw- back hop (about one-half to two-thirds of screen)
fw - forward
d - down (crouch)
u - up (jump)
df - down-forward
db- down-backward / crouch-block
uf- up-forward
ub- up-backward
A- weak punch
B- weak kick
C- strong punch
D- strong kick
CD- Knockdown attack
Start- Taunt (Chizuru says something then fixes her hair)
ABC when dizzy- Assist Attack
EXTRA MODE:
*DMs can be made only when POW bar is charged OR when life bar is flashing
(about 1/6)
*POW bar is charged by pressing ABC or by blocking opponent attacks
*SDMS can be made only when POW bar is charged AND when life bar is flashing
little jump- tap u, uf, ub
medium jump- press u, uf, ub
big jump- tap d, then u, uf, ub
tap fw, fw- forward hop
AB- Evade (air & ground)
Any button after Evade- Counterattack
ABC- POW Meter Charge
- Attacks are significantly stronger
Once charged:
AB while blocking: Instant Roll- only when bar is MAXed & depletes bar
CD while blocking: Instant Knockdown- only when bar is MAXED & depletes bar
ADVANCED MODE:
AB- Roll (hold b to roll backwards)
*DMs can be made when one or more green crystals are on your energy bar
*Energy is gained by performing special moves & inflicting damage on opponents
AB while blocking: Instant Roll- depletes one crystal
CD while blocking: Instant Knockdown- depletes one crystal
*ABC- Power-Up (requires 1 crystal)
- All attacks are a bit stronger
- Infinite Instant Rolls & Counters
*SDMs can be performed if you have one crystal and in power-up mode
tap fw, fw- dash (hold fw to continue dashing)
little jump- tap u, uf, ub
medium jump- press u, uf, ub
big jump- tap d, then u, uf, ub or jump during dash
IV MOVES
Usefulness Rating:
(1/5): What were the programmers thinking when they made these moves?
(2/5): Kinda like drugs... get addicted to 'em and you're screwed
(3/5): Don't rely on these mediocre moves too often, people'll think you're
mediocre
(4/5): Like the Tower of Pisa, good, steady & strong, but push it too much
and...
(5/5): These are God's blessings so use 'em well
IV a. Regular Moves
Standing A (4/5)
Chizuru merely slaps her opponent. The damage isn't great, but the good part
about this move is its combo-ability. This move is a great combo-starter and it
has virtually no start-up nor recovery time.
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Standing B (3/5)
Chizuru does a high kick. Harder to combo with since it pushes opponents a bit
away. But all in all, this move is quick & still a fairly good combo starter.
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Standing C (2.5/5)
Chizuru slaps upward. Kinda hard to combo with unless your opponent is
cornered. The damage though is substantial & this move still recovers fairly
quickly.
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Standing D (3/5)
Chizuru does a high kick, but this hits harder and she lunges herself forward a
bit. Its reach & strength is a plus. However, this move is hard to combo with
and has a bit of lag time after the move.
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Standing close D (3/5)
Chizuru knees her opponent. Combo-ability is better than her regular standing
D.
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Standing CD (3/5)
Chizuru spins a little then sends out a kick that knocks the opponent off
his/her feet. The lag time before is significant, but there's not much lag
after the attack.
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Crouching A (3/5)
Chizuru slaps her opponent while crouching. Same like A, but harder to combo
with since a majority of her combo moves are while she's standing up.
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Crouching B (3/5)
Chizuru does a tapping low-kick. Kinda useful for starting combos, but not much
else.
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Crouching C (1.5/5)
Chizuru does the standing C attack, however, this has a little more lag before
and after the move since Chizuru has to get up and get back down to her
crouching position.
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Crouching D (2/5)
Chizuru extends her leg out and trips her opponent if it hits. This move has a
rather long lag if missed, so don't do it unless you're sure it'll hit.
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Jumping A (3/5)
Chizuru sends one of her arm downward, doing light damage. It's possible to do
a ground combo off this move, but it takes practice in timing.
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Jumping (straight up) B (1.5/5)
Chizuru simply do a light-damage kick downward. However, since she doesn't move
forward at all during this move, it usually pushes opponent too far off to be
connected with another move.
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Jumping (towards or away) B (3/5)
Chizuru's kick is move downward than her straight-up B. This kick, however, has
much more potential for combo-ing.
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Jumping C (1/5)
Chizuru's body twist into a weird shape with one hand that kinda extends out and
hits. Hard to hit, and not much potential for comboing afterwards.
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Jumping D (2.5/5)
Chizuru extends an almost-horizontal kick at her opponent. This attack needs
good timing to hit at the correct time. From my personal experience, it is
impossible to combo after this.
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Jumping CD (4/5)
Chizuru has one of the best jumping CDs of any characters of the game. It comes
out fast, it doesn't have any recovery time, and its long-reaching (she extends
both her legs out almost full length). Even if blocked, it pushes opponent a
fairly safe distance away.
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IV b. Special Moves
Moon Decree <fw or bk + C> (4/5)
Chizuru waves her arm in front of her opponent, and they get knocked off their
feet and fall to the ground. This move's high rating is primarily due to the
fact that it knocks opponents down, giving time for you to prepare a move.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Revolving Heavens <fw or bk + D> (4/5)
Chizuru slides behind her opponent and flips them over, knocking them down on
her feet. Like Moon Decree, this move gives you time to prepare moves.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unrevived Gong <fw + A> (2/5)
Chizuru sends out a giant one-hit slap forward. This is used as an overhead
attack, and its lag before AND after the hit is what makes this move so
horrible. However, its cancellable.
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Unrevived Treasury <fw + B> (2/5)
Chizuru hops forward a bit and sends out a weak-damage kick. Might have
potential against back-jumping or back-dashing opponent. Cancellable into
special move.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unrevived Sound of Running Water <dnfw + B> (1.5/5)
Chizuru slides forward. Must be crouch-blocked. However, there's a lag, and
since it doesn't trip opponents over, it gives them a chance to counterattack.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oracle's Decree <fw, dn, dnfw + A or C> (4/5 for A, 3/5 for C)
Another copy of Chizuru appears and sweep upwards, dealing up to two hits. The
A version sends out an illusion while the C version sends out the real Chizuru.
The A version, though slightly less damaging, is safer as in the C version,
Chizuru has a lag as she drops to ground level. All in all, this move is fairly
good to use as it comes out virtually instantly, has little lag time in general,
and deals fair damage.
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180th Revival <bk, dnbk, dn, dnfw, fw + A or C> (2.5/5 for A, 1/5 for C)
Possibly the worst special move for Chizuru. She simply slaps her hand
downward, creating a stream of energy that either hit the enemy for moderate
damage or reflect a projectile. Both versions have a lag if blocked, and in the
C version, Chizuru does a little spinning dance before actually slapping. This
move is a no-no unless you absolutely are certain that a projectile is coming
your way.
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202nd Revival Style A <fw, dnfw, dn, dnbk, bk + A or C> <press same button again
for Chizuru/illusion to stop running and attack> (3/5)
Chizuru sends out a copy of herself (A for illusion copy, C for real self), that
slaps upward as she stands. However, she gets hit if she or the illusion runs
into a projectile or certain attacks. Because you get to control when she
attacks, this move can be confusing for both the Chizuru-player and the
opponent-player.
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202nd Revival Style B <fw, dnfw, dn, dnbk, bk + B or D> <press same button again
for Chizuru/illusion to stop running and attack> (3/5)
Chizuru sends out a copy of herself (B for illusion, D for real self) that slaps
horizontally as she crouches (this attack though could be blocked standing).
Like Style A, she gets hit and takes the damage if she runs into an attack and
the move's advantage is that you can control when she attacks.
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202nd Revival Style C <dn, dnbw, bw + A or B during 202nd Revival Style A or B>
(3/5)
While this attack can be used after either Style A or Style B, it REALLY only
does an extra hit if Style A hits, or if the opponent blocked Style A or B.
Either button, the real Chizuru does a leap and does a horizontal slap in mid-
air, dealing extra damage. However, if this is blocked, Chizuru takes a risk of
being counter attacked.
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202nd Revival Style D <dn, dnbw, bw + C or D during 202nd Revival Style A or B>
(3.5/5)
Similar style C, this attack can only be connected if they get hit by Style B,
if they blocked either Style A or Style B, or they got hit by Style A on the
edge of the screen. Either button, the real Chizuru does a downward slap <looks
like a quick version of the 180th Revival>, dealing extra damage. This move is
less risky than Style C, thus earning the extra half-point.
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202nd Revival Style E <dn, dn + any button> (3/5 for A or C, 2.5/5 for B or D)
Chizuru sends out a copy that leaps and does a downward slap (A is short-
distance... B is middle-short... C is middle-long, and D is long-distance). A
and C sends out illusionary copies, and B and D sends out the real Chizuru.
Like her other illusionary attacks, Chizuru takes damage if the copy runs into
an attack. This move should be used to either teleport Chizuru out of a corner
or to quickly strike an unexpecting opponent.
IV c. Desperation Moves
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Ancient Seal <dn, dnbw, bw, dnbw, dn, dnfw, fw + A or C> (1/5)
In this move, Chizuru casts a sealing spell with her hand (which is stretched
forward). If it connects, the opponent get some damage and their special moves
get sealed away for awhile. This move has a lag before AND after, and the
damage is ridiculous for a desperation move. Use only when your opponent is
obviously open for an attack (e.g. Leona after failing her X-Caliber). The A
version recovers faster if Chizuru misses.
SDM Ancient Seal (1.5/5)
Same as ancient seal, except there is slightly more damage and opponent's
special moves are sealed away for a longer period of time. Use like regular
ancient seal.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reversed 1st Revival <dn, dnfw, fw, dn, dnfw, fw + B or D> (4.5/5)
Chizuru sends out an illusionary copy of herself to do a damaging dance across
the screen. The move itself is very weak, but combined with other attacks, this
can be one of the most devestating DMs in the game. The trick is to hit the
opponent while he/she is block your illusion (crouching or jumping B is
preferable, depending on if you opponent is doing a standblock or a
crouchblock). Follow-up with a standing D for major damage. Potential damage
of over half the life bar.
SDM Reversed 1st Revival(5/5)
The dance does more damage, stays longer, the last hit leaves the opponent
vulnerable in the air for another attack (jumping CD is preferable). This has
the potential of dealing about 80% damage of an opponent's lifebar.
V. Comboes
I'm not good at comboes in KoF, so forgive me for only offering two here.
1. If Reversed 1st Degree connects, do standing Ds (and a jumping CD at the end
if it is the SDM version)
2. A + Oracle Decree
3. 202nd Revival A & C or B & D
VI. Strategies
A lot of strategy is involved when playing Chizuru, since her moves are of a
different mold. Unlike my Mature FAQ (which provide specific details on how to
defeat opponents), in this FAQ I'll simply give out a few pointers.
1. Use Oracle Decree as your primary special move, but don't over use it or the
opponent will see it coming.
2. Using 202nd Revival Style C or D (preferably D) is recommended if they
blocked Style A or B, since many opponents don't see that coming.
3. Even though Reverse 1st Revival is a powerful move; use it only when you're
close to your opponent. When opponents see it coming from afar, they'll try to
counterattack it (and you know what happens when Chizuru's illusions get
whacked...)
4. Ancient Seal is a waste of Crystal/POW Bar! It doesn't work 95% of the
time, and most of the time the opponent will attack as she recovers from the
failed DM.
5. Try to knock your opponent out with 3 Oracle Decrees in a row with as little
as time as possible between each attack, 'cause then they'll get dizzy
afterwards and you get to try your handy moves (yes, even the usually-failing
180th Revival or the Ancient Seal).
6. The only good use of 180th Revival is against Omega Rugal (its a good
reflector of his electric projectiles, which are rather slow).
7. Intimate your opponent when you win by activating the B, C, or D win poses
(Chizuru does a loony dance...)
VII. TIDBITS
Chizuru's Stage Opening:
Chizuru puts her arm down and says Japanese version of "Let's Begin" then holds
her arm out again
Chizuru's Stage Opening to Orochi members (Chris, Shermie, Yashiro, Vice, Mature
& Yamazaki):
Chizuru appears in a shinto priestess costume. She grabs a shinto wand from the
floor, waves it, and puts it back on the ground and transform into her usual
clothes again.
Chizuru's Stage Opening to Iori or Kyo:
Chizuru waves her arms in a circular pattern and a mirror appears briefly
(indicating that the Orochi is still safely sealed <?> ).
Chizuru's Win Pose A:
Chizuru puts her arm up to her cheek and says japanese version of, "I see the
real you in the mirror".
Chizuru's Win Pose B:
Chizuru does a dance that laps 3 times then she does a funky pose.
Chizuru's Win Pose C:
Chizuru does yet another funky dance
Chizuru's Win Pose D:
Chizuru has (yet) another loony dance routine
VIII. CREDITS, THANKS & COPYRIGHTS
This FAQ is ©2000 by AquaWarlock (
[email protected]) and I could care less
that you take this material and publish it in some $4.95 strategy magazine
(which I seriously doubt since '99 is already out and '00 is on its way).
Anyways, feel free to take whatcha want, just work my name into the conversation
when you leeched off me to become a millionaire, okay?
Many Thanks To:
*Kao Megura & Joe Palanca (both wrote great FAQs for KoF '98 and inspired me to
do the same)
*GameFAQs (for supplying the many many FAQs for the many many games I play)
*The local video game arcades (money sharks who probably took well over a
million from me by now... no offense meant by that either ^_^)
*NeoGeo & SNK (for making such wonderful games... can't wait to see more of your
NeoGeo64-version games out in arcades)
Credits:
Okay, if it looked familiar at all to you people, I got it from Kao Megura's KoF
'98 FAQ. Some stuff I edited though...
Also looked at Joe Palanca's FAQ to find out what EXTRA mode does...
Copyrights:
*King Of Fighters 1998 is a trademark of SNK.
Okay, you're another pathetic person who'd like to scroll down here to see what
kind of stuff I have... well I have NOTHING to say except that you're
pathetic... so go away... go! take a shower or something... geez
~AquaWarlock
(
[email protected])
