King of Fighters '98 Vice Guide v1.0
Vice: The total FAQ-age.
by: Raymond Leung (
[email protected])
Disclaimer: Don't expect to get anything of value from this rag,
most things said here you will already know.
CONTENTS:
I. Character Background
II. Joystick Set Up and Common Terms
III. Miscellaneous Descriptions
IV. Basic Normals
V. Command Attacks and Normal Throws
VI. Specials and DMs
VII. Combos
VIII. Hints, Tips and Strategies
IX. Acknowledgements
X. Version History and Loose Ends
== I. CHARACTER BACKGROUND ==
"Rugal's Dreaded Secretary's Secretary"
Vice has been with the KOF story line since '96 when she could be seen as
Rugal's secretary during the third match intermission. (Though if I remember
correctly the third match intermission actually came after the second match)
The following is paraphrased from something sent to me by Andrew Park:
The vision of Vice as a fighter was born back in '95. The "All about
KoF '95" book has rough design sketches or rejected characters. One
such character was Vice.
The following bio on Vice is used with the gracious permission of its author.
It was taken from the King of Fighters Character Story Guide by Lantis and
the entire guide can be found at Gamefaqs.com
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VICE
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Birthplace: Unknown
Birthdate: November 28, 1970 (28 years old)
Height: 1.78 m (5'8")
Weight: 59 kg (128 lbs)
Blood type: A
Hobbies: Collecting American comics
Favorite food: Plums
Favorite sport: Bench press
Most valuable: The signatured comic book of Dan Brereton
Hates the most: Saisyu Kusanagi
Fighting style: No style in particular, mainly power based attacks
Vice is one of the two Orochi assassins that work for Goenitz, one of
the four Heavenly Kings of Orochi. Considered to be the most ruthless and
sadistic of the duo, Vice is like a wild panther: always stalking their prey,
and killing them with so much brutality. That could define Vice's work as an
assassin for Goenitz, as her victims can no longer tell after falling prey to
her slashing kicks and her incredible strength that allows her to carry some
opponents which double her in weight and toss them like pieces of paper.
Always expecting the awakening of the Orochi, Vice works along Goenitz
and aids him in killing the heir to the Clan of the Yata, who holds the seal.
After liberating the power of Orochi, Goenitz still feels it is weak, and it
will not help now. So, Vice awaits new orders, until an ambitious man known
as Rugal Bernstein came looking for the Orochi power. Vice was about to enter
into action, but Goenitz decides to take care of it himself. He faces Rugal,
and tells him no mortal can ever possess the Orochi power. Rugal fights
Goenitz to accomplish his plan, but Goenitz just swifts his hand, and it
gouges Rugal's right eye. Surprised that he had survived the attack, Goenitz
decides to lend Rugal a bit of the Orochi power. Rugal's body is racked in
pain as the Orochi power is introduced in him. Then, Goenitz commissions both
Vice and Mature to look over him. If he misuses the power and tries to use it
against the Orochi, they will kill him. Vice and Mature go join Rugal, and
keep a watching eye over him.
Vice always serves Rugal with her supposed loyalty, and Rugal, sensing
her to be rather trustworthy, assigns Vice to brainwash Saisyu Kusanagi, whom
Rugal had defeated earlier. Rugal had already been defeated by Kyo Kusanagi
the year before, and now he plans revenge, and Saisyu would be of use to
blackmail Kyo. Vice proceeds to brainwash Saisyu with her power, but Saisyu
turns to be more persistent than she thought. She uses all her mind power to
clean Saisyu's brain, but is left almost without strength. Vice despises
Saisyu for having exhausted her power, and is pretty glad when both Saisyu
and Rugal fail in eliminating Kyo once again. Vice then prepares herself to
dispose of Rugal, since he has used the Orochi power, but it is no need,
since Rugal's power destroyed himself at the end. With their mission
accomplished, Vice and Mature
return to Goenitz.
But this time, Goenitz assigns the assassins to keep an eye on Iori
Yagami. He is of Orochi blood, and he would become useful in the near future.
So, he wants Mature and Vice to make a team with him for the next tournament,
and lead him towards the Orochi bloodline. Vice and Mature go have a little
tussle with Iori before offering their help. So, Iori has two new teammates
to join the next tournament.
But Iori began to display an immense power during the tournament, and
Vice was amused at it. This man certainly had Orochi blood in his veins, but
Vice never thought it was so powerful! Iori could even result a more powerful
man than Goenitz, so Vice decided to rely on Iori to awaken Orochi instead of
Goenitz. By the end of the tournament, Vice and Mature advice Iori to go to
the stadium, since Goenitz would plan to attack there and kill Kyo for sure.
Iori, not letting anybody kill Kyo but himself, goes to fight Goenitz.
Goenitz thought Iori was going to help him, but it went all wrong, and ends
up being defeated after Kyo and Iori join forces. Goenitz thought Mature and
Vice were going to make him join the Orochi cause, but instead of that, they
betrayed him! Goenitz curses both assassins, and vows that the treason will
not go without pay. Goenitz then vanishes, and Mature and Vice go to help
Iori out. But Iori begins to feel sick, and enters the Riot of Blood, his
Orochi blood beginning to awaken. Vice realizes too late that Iori is not of
complete Orochi blood, but has gained his Orochi power via an unholy pact by
his ancestors 660 years ago. Vice then suffers a miserable death at Iori's
slashing hands, but is unknown if she is actually dead or not...
Vice is a blood-thirsty monster. She always likes to kill her
opponents with so much violence, and finds to be quite relaxing to see blood
all around. Mature and her are not precisely friends, they just help each
other to free the power of Orochi. Vice also seems to be in an eternal state
of anger and frustration, and always seems to be in the mood. She also
despises Saisyu for having making her pass so much trouble in brainwashing
him.
*Fun fact = Is Vice suffering the Riot of Blood? Perhaps, but it doesn't seem
to have full effect on her yet. She dangles her arms, just like Riot of Blood
Iori does. She coughs up blood too, and that is one of the symptoms of Riot
of Blood. It seems that all that violence that Vice seems so alike to, has
made her Orochi blood awaken more than usual. She also seems to be want to be
KILLED, as in one of her victory poses in KOF '98, she kneels and begs to
kill her! Whoa...I wish Iori wanted that too...the loony bastard. ^-^
Appearances: The King of Fighters '96, The King of Fighters '98
== II. JOYSTICK SETUP AND COMMON TERMS ==
Lifted from one of Mr. Andrew Park's many informative FAQs,
with his permission of course, granted that a statute of limitations
does not apply to that courtesy. Also note, I have not used all the
notation that is mention here.
Joystick: (directions indicated while character is facing right)
up-bk up up-fwd
O O O BUTTONS:
\ | /
bk O- n -O fwd A B C D
/ | \ Light Light Heavy Heavy
O O O Punch Kick Punch Kick
dwn-bk dwn dwn-fwd
Abbreviations Key:
n = joystick "neutral" (centered) A, B, C, D: Buttons A,B,C,D
up = joystick up dwn = joystick down
bk = joystick back fwd = joystick forward
up-bk = diagonally up-back up-fwd = diagonally up-forward
dwn-bk = diagonally down-back dwn-fwd = diagonally down-forward
qcf = quarter-circle forward (dwn, dwn-fwd, fwd)
qcb = quarter-circle back (dwn, dwn-bk, bk)
hcf = half-circle forward (bk, dwn-bk, dwn, dwn-fwd, fwd)
hcb = half-circle back (fwd, dwn-fwd, dwn, dwn-bk, bk)
fwd, dwn, dwn-fwd = forward, neutral, down, down-forward
bk, dwn, dwn-bk = back, neutral, down, down-back
P = Punch button (A or C) K = Kick button (B or D)
(something x2) = do something twice
n/a = not applicable
== III. MISCELLANEOUS DESCRIPTIONS ==
Vice's color scheme options:
A-Button: Same as A-Button from '96. Black dress with red trim
B-Button: Same as D-Button from '96. Dark green dress with light
green trim
C-Button: White dress with brown trim
D-Button: Black dress with orange trim
Intro:
Almost exactly like it was in '96. Jumps in, stretches like and says,
"Omoshiroi...yarou ka?" (Most interesting...Shall we fight?)
Special Intros:
Saishyu- Points at him, says "Anta mitetto hara tatte kundago."
(The sight of your face makes me angry.) Then she spits.
Stance:
Her shoulders droop and her arms hang limp at her side and sway from side
to side. Her head hangs down and one can imagine her looking out from the
top of her eyes at her opponent. Her running stance in reminiscent of her
'96 stance.
Taunt:
Puts her hands on her knees and says "Hah! Guruka da."
Back Dash:
Vice leaps backwards with her arms reach out above and behind her like
she's flying.
Win Pose:
4 different win poses for Vice.
1. A-Button: Her third win pose from 1996. Puts her hand to her chin
and smiles while saying, "Mangetsu no yoru ni mata aouka."
(Perhaps we will meet again on a full moon's night.)
2. B-Button: Put arms to her stomach and seem to double over in
pain and says, "Nanto, hyaku shiru yo."
(This is what I've known for a hundred nights.)
3. C-Button: Her second win pose from 1996. Puts her hand to her
face, laughs and looks away.
4. D-Button: Kneels on the ground, leans back, throws an arm toward
the sky and screams, "Hyaku yo shiro!"
Time Out Pose:
Turns back to screen and hangs her head in shame.
In the background, waiting to fight Pose:
Stands sideways toward the screen, head faces away from
action.
In the background, after loss pose:
Kneels on ground, legs apart, head down, looks up if teammate wins
Win quote:
"Well, I guess I'm through. There are no more bones to break."
Advanced Only Thing:
Roll: She actually tucks into a ball and rolls.
Extra Only Things:
Charge Animation:
She crosses her hands on her face, tilts her torso back and energy
flows under her.
Dodge:
Leans back one arms at her side one at her, like she's getting
ready to attack of something.
Dodge Attack:
Looks sorta like her far standing D, but angled lower and instead
of swinging her leg from outside in, it's swung from inside out.
Forward Hop:
Hops forward with both legs while lifting her arms from her sides.
It you do it repeatedly it kinda looks likes she's a skipping
penguin.
== IV. BASIC NORMALS ==
Added a rating system here, like everyone does:
* - Not too good, avoid using
** - Better than one star, but still not very effective
*** - An average attack, useable, but not always reliable
**** - A very good attack, use often if you want to win
***** - Overpowered. Use and abuse. (well not necessarily OVERpowered, but
a very effective attack you can use again and again.
Standing A: ***
A quick upside down slap. Imagine a slap but with the thumb pointing
down. It's quick and bufferable so can use it in combos. The range is
quite nice, and it's animation is independent of distance to character,
meaning a far standing A is the same as a close standing A. May not seem
like much but it is a very quick jab that's bufferable, unlike the far B,
which we will get to monetarily. So given the choice between far A or B,
go with the A because it comes out much faster and is bufferable, though
the only thing that will connect after a FAR standing A is the Mayhem, we
will get to this marvelous attack momentarily also.
Crouching A: **
Essentially the same a her standing A, only she's crouching down this
time. However the unlike it's standing counterpart, this attack, though
in itself is not ineffective, it is rendered pretty much redundant and
useless by the crouching B
Jumping A: **
A jumping jab. It's angled kinda down, but placed relatively high on her
body so it's not so useful as an instant overhead. Being angle down it's
not too great for anti-air either. You can use it as a jumping attack and
it IS bufferable, however the only thing you can easily tack on after it
is a Ravenous, which is nice, but not very damaging, might as well use
the Ravenous on it's own. You can combo a close standing B, into "name
your combo" from it, but it's really finicky about connecting with the B,
so you might as well not try when there are better jump attacks out
there. So it would be pretty much useless it weren't for the fact that it
comes out pretty fast and seems to have a nice amount of priority bundled
with it, so air-to-air encounters are ideal for this attack, however
because of its short range, even then it doesn't shine. Use it now a
then, but I don't think it's really that great.
Standing B:
Far: Close-Far: *** Medium-Far: * Far-Far: **
-In reality there is only ONE far standing B, but the effectiveness of
the attack depends on your distance from the opponent when the attack is
executed. The far standing B comes out even when you're surprisingly
close to the opponent, much closer than it would be for most other far
attacks to come out. This is what I will call the "Close-Far" standing B.
This "in close far attack" consists of Vice doing a high knee lift into
a horizontal leg thrust. The first hit of this attack (the knee lift) is
exactly like her CLOSE standing B, and therefore is bufferable and as
such is very useful. (Note: It is bufferable, but because of the farther
distance from the opponent the Black End will not connect from this, only
the close B) The second hit of this attack is unbufferable and as such,
not too useful. The second hit does no harm since it combos from the
first hit, but you are much better off buffering the first hit than
letting the second hit come out at all.
-The medium-far standing B comes out when you are too far from the
opponent for the knee lift to connect, and therefore only the horizontal
leg thrust comes out. You can imagine that Vice goes to do the knee lift,
but sees it only hit so she goes directly into her second hit. This will
happened at a distance about which most other far standing attacks will
come out. This second hit comes out slow for a light attack and is
unbufferable, therefore making it pretty much useless as you already
have a standing A that comes out faster and it is bufferable. Avoid using
this attack, you'll probably only see it when someone misjudges their
distance and is hoping for a knee lift instead.
-The far-far standing B is exactly like the Medium-Far standing B,
except farther away from the opponent. It comes out just as slow and is
still unbufferable, however Vice's leg thrust has INCREDIBLE reach on it
so it warrants its own little blurb. I swear it hits from more than half
a screen away, so even if it comes out slow for a light attack, it is
still useful for pokes, when others attacks don't even come close to
connecting. So at about half a screen's distance the leg thrust gains
some usefulness back.
Close: ***
There is only one close standing B and that is the knee lift. You
practically have to be inside your opponent for this attack to come out.
If you're like me and always combo from the knee lift then for all
intents and purposes the close standing B and the close-far standing are
the same thing since the first hit of the close-far is identical to the
close. This knee lift is bufferable and you can basically do any of
Vice's specials off it except for her Withering Surface. However I
recommend doing her Black End, since this is one of the only normals
that that special can be comboed from. You can also do a Black End from
any of her close light attacks, standing or crouching.(But this is only
confirmed on the Playstation, while the standing close B and crouching
close B are confirmed for the arcade.) As I was saying you can do the
Black End from any of Vice's close light attacks, however doing the
Black End from the crouching position is harder than from the standing
position, and doing it from a standing A seems more distance restrictive
than it already stringently is, and there is always the chance you might
overlap with the Fwd + A. So it short close standing B good, use it to
combo the Black End.
Crouching B: ****
I love this attack. It's a low swift kick. It's faster than her standing
or crouching A, though not quite as fast as her close standing B however.
But forget all that, the best part is that it hits low and is bufferable.
It's one of the best starters for her Mayhem. I guarantee that if you
watch anyone play with Vice long enough you will see them do her most
staple combo: Low B, Low B, Stand A, Mayhem, Mithen's Robe. Without a
doubt, it's her most popular combo and very very effective. I however
don't like running with the crowd, and much better prefer Low B,
Gorefest, which I think is just more aesthetically pleasing. Of course
you can use the low B to combo into pretty much anything you like since
it will connect with everything except the Withering Surface. Since it's
so fast the low B is a great poke, and if also pretty safe, and I don't
have to say it, but use it often.
Jumping B: **
Unlike in '96 this time the attack is only one hit. But it is still
angled very low, and because it's slow low compared to her sprite you can
use it as an instant overhead, however from a best as I can tell it is
unbufferable so you can't do anything after it. As a jump in attack, it
is possible to follow up with a ground normal and hence can actually do
some jump in combos, however jump ins are not Vice's forte. Certainly it
isn't as good as Vice's '96 jump B, which was a starter for her most
damaging combo back then.
Standing C:
Far: ***
The far standing C "scratched" twice in '96, it hits once in '98. For
those of you who are familiar with KOF99, I swear this normal was the
inspiration for Maxima's Vapor Cannon, but I digress. As with most far
standing normals, this one is unbufferable also. Good points are however
that it comes out relatively fast and has about one-third screen range,
therefore making it a very good poking attack: light attack speed, with
strong attack damage, and reach that is surpassed by very few. And
because it's so fast and hits only once it's much safer than her '96
equivalent. Use it you'll like it.
Close: *** 1/2*
In '96 it was also a 2 hitter, and very pretty, again in '98 it's only
one hit, a quick swift elbow to the head, looks painful. But hey, as fast
as her far C, same amount of damage, AND bufferable, who could ask for
more. You lose some of the distance, but hey who needs it when you're in
the middle of a combo. I like it almost as much as a the crouching B, is
only it hit low. But anyway use generously in combos, and it works great
with a jump in C.
Crouching C: ***
Looks sorta like a cross between Yashiro's and Leona's crouching C, she
ends up standing up with her hand in an uppercut position. It makes very
decent anti-air as you can imagine, but they pretty much have to be right
on top of you. This normal is bufferable and I find it much easier to
combo with than her standing C as the joystick flow much more smoothly in
doing qcf or qcb when you are already in the down direction. However this
normal is quite laggy if you miss so caution on using it. But the combo
possibilities make up for that, just don't miss. One last note, Vice's
crouching C from '96 was her sweep. If you are like me you will find
yourself getting kinda frustrated that every time you try to sweep she
hits up, but after a few games that goes away. (And after more than a
year of playing, it's no problem anymore.)
Jumping C: **1/2*
This is angled slightly downward and is good for jump in attacks, about
on par with her jump B, if not just a tad better in that you can only
follow her jump B with light attacks and you can follow her C with strong
attacks. It's definitely not angled as severely has her jump A or B and
in as such you can even use her jump C as early anti-air. Not much more I
can say about it.
Standing D:
Far: **
High kicking roundhouse. Looks like it would be good anti-air since it
hits so high, but since it comes out so slow it really isn't that great.
The thing it has over the crouching C in this department is that it has
farther reach, but nor by much. It not tremendously useful, but still
useable since it does do good damage and you will be able to land it
every now and then as anti-air or something else.
Close: **1/2*
Looks similar to her crouching D from '96, however it's slower and it
does two hits now. The second hit and only the second hit of the attack
is bufferable, meaning you have all the time in the world to tag on
whatever special or DM you want, granted they can connect of course.
However, since it comes out so slow chances are you will not get it to
connect on its own very often. That being the case, it will connect after
a jump C or D, and because you have so much more time to do your combo, I
recommend using this instead of the close standing C after your jump ins.
Crouching D: **1/2*
Has longer range than her '96 sweep, and pretty quick too. But it comes
off the ground, like Terry's. In other words, her kick is angled up. But
also like Terry's, because of this it makes very good late anti-air. Like
I said it has nice speed, good range and very little lag, so it makes for
an excellent poking sweep as well. To top it off it is also readily
bufferable. Of course that mean very little to a sweep, since if it
connects, you're not going to combo anything off it that will actually
hit your opponent. So it's pretty much a useless fact, except it has good
reach, unlike most of Vice's other attacks with bufferability, but again
that's still doesn't mean much. See hints for trivial use of the
bufferability though.
Jumping D: ***
This kick is almost angle straight out. I had said before that is not too
good for jump ins. I stand corrected. It is Vice's best jump in normal.
It has the reach, and is the easiest one to follow up normals to after
the jump in. And because of it's angle and reach, it can also hold it's
own in air-to-air combat. By all means use this attack. One note: You can
do jump D, 2-hit close stand D, fwd+A, however the fwd+A, which we will
see later, will whiff since the jump D has pushed your opponent farther
back.
Standing CD: **
Like her '96 CD. Looks like a stronger, slower version of her far
standing C. Her CD is bufferable, but again that's a moot point since it
will knock down. It's slow to come out, and you can't combo after it. I
was never a fan of CDs, so I'm not a big fan of this one. Use it when you
see a chance and you have an overwhelming urge to knock someone on their
ass.
Jumping CD: **
Animation looks almost exactly like her jump C, but with her arm
extended instead all the way for the CD instead of being slightly crooked
at the elbow like the C. It's angled about the same as the jump A, so I
don't see much use for it as anti-air. Not too good for air-to-air
either. Your best bet is to use it as anticipatory anti-air or as a jump
in. It isn't bufferable, so all you'll get it one hit, but that doesn't
matter, it knocks down anyway. Which reminds me, it's much less useful
than the two-hitter from '96.
== V. COMMAND ATTACKS AND THROWS ==
Monstrosity: Fwd+A **
As far as I know this is Vice's only command attack. It's a downwards
overhead chop that does indeed hit overhead. It comes out rather slow,
so not many crouching opponents will be fooled by it. It's unbufferable
unless chained from a normal attack. However if you chain from a normal
Then it loses its overhead abilities. It chains from a close standing C
or D and a crouching C, however the only thing that will connect after it
hits is the De-Cide, so it's useful for an extra hit in your combos, but
not much else. In fact it limits your combos to one specific special, so
give and take.
Throws:
Death Blow: In close, Fwd+C ***
I think highly of normal throws, and I like to use them. I would say the
speed on both of Vice's throws is very decent, they are not as fast as
Ryo's or Chris' throws, which are all but inescapable, but they are good
nonetheless. Vice walking speed is pretty good so walk up throwing will
be easier for her than some other character with a slower gait. Both of
Vice's throws are single hit throws, so no mashing buttons for more
damage (people who mash buttons like crazy on a multi-hit throw just to
get an extra pixel of damage, well they annoy me to no end) In the Death
Blow, Vice grabs opponent, arms crossed, then she flings her arms apart
and seems to scratch the opponent as he flies away. This like most other
C button throws results in the opponent ending up on the same side of
Vice as he was before the throw.
Back Rush: In close, Fwd+D ***
Vice grabs opponent with one arm, crosses both arms across her body and
opponent is subsequently thrown to her opposite side. Of course like most
D throws and as the description says, the opponent ends up opposite to
the side he was on before the throw. Damages from both throws are similar
and though nothing spectacular, is decent enough. Now why would you want
to normal throw with a grappler? Well it's a simpler motion, therefore
you can get it out quicker, therefore you could say it has better
"priority." Well not really, basically you can get it out faster than a
special throw, and therein lies the advantage. Also both of Vice's
special throws end with the opponent on the same side as before the
throw. If for some reason you want to switch sides, a Back Rush will do
it.
== VI. SPECIALS AND DMS ==
= SEPCIALS =
Outrage: QCB+K B-version: ** D-version: 1/2*
Vice does rapid kicks that hit multiple times, 4-hits for B-version,
6-hits for the D-version. It's like the Outrage from '96, but she now
does a little forward hop on her D version. The B-version will combo from
just about any up close normal that Vice has, however it will only do at
most about 2 hits, which is very little damage, so unless you're trying
for strange variety in your combos, if you land a close normal you're
better off using one of her other specials. The D-version of this special
is all but useless, the start up and the hop totally telegraph what she
is going to do and it won't combo off of anything to it is virtually
useless. However it is one of Vice's only specials that does anything
block damage, and if they block it will do two ticks worth of damage,
so you might find a use for it there. Or you could just use the Mayhem or
Ravenous to do the tick damage.
Ravenous: In Air QCB+K ****
It's amazing how much difference doing a move in the air can make, huh?
Great air-to-air properties and great as jump in attack. She has high
priority on this attack since her entire front side is all kicks while
she is doing this. It's much improved over the '96 version. It is by far
her best jump in anything. The only drawback is it doesn't seem like
anything can connect after you hit with it, so don't expect to jump in
and combo with this. However it works well for quick snips of damage and
will at least trade with most other high priority jump attacks. And if
they block it, you are pretty much safe when you land, so the risk is
relatively low. Again you won't being doing huge amounts of damage with
this, (unless you connect with all hits, about 8-hits, on an airborne
opponent, then the damage is okay) but use it often and little snippets
add up. I suggest doing it on the downward arc of a jump, you can do it
on the upward arc, however it's not too safe since you will land very
close to you opponent and will leave you open for a quick attack. As far
as I can tell there is no difference between the B and D versions.
Mayhem: QCB+P ****
Learn this and love this. Vice does a shoulder charge. It's similar to
Terry's power charge, but quicker and with less lag, however much less
stuff can follow it up. In fact outside of a "counter" message, the only
thing you can do after it is the Mithen's Robe. The reason this special
warrants a four star praise it because it's so fast, has very little
startup and lag, and is safe if blocked or if it whiffs, and lastly it
does block damage. The safe if blocked or whiffed part means you can
throw it out most whenever you want and the risk for doing so is very
low. Most people will do low B, low B, stand A, Mayhem. If it's blocked,
you are still safe and you've done one tick of block damage, if it
connects, then you can follow it up with the Mithen's Robe and viola,
you've done about 30% damage from a low B starter. Learn this and love
this move, use and abuse. Trust me, you'll learn to love it too.
Black End: HCF+P ***
Her new unblockable throw. It grabs the opponent, powerbombs them, then
throws them up in the air to let them drop for more damage. The range on
this thing isn't too large, so try not to miss it often. However if
you've ever seen a novice Vice player playing, then you will see her
missing this throw left and right, since they will undoubtedly be trying
to land this left and right. Not a bad technique actually, but it has a
limited scope and effectiveness. Anyways, even if you do miss, don't
worry too much since the whiff animation on it isn't so long and most
opponents would find it hard to punish her after a whiff. In fact you can
even purposely whiff this and her other throw from a distance to build
your POW meter in Advanced mode. This throw combos best from a close B as
I said. This doesn't seem like much, since the B does so little damage,
but it allows her an extra command throw in which she can play those
wake-up guessing games that Clark players love to do. The range on this
throw is less than that of her Gorefest, it will do less damage than it
unless you can tack on a Mithen's Robe after it. It you don't or can't,
then you better learn to.
Mithen's Robe: QCF+P after Black-End:***** after Mayhem: ****
It's a follow up to the Mayhem and Black End. Since both moves end with
the opponent in the air, in the Mithen's Robe Vice jumps up, grabs the
opponent and does a flying powerbomb on them. Timing for doing the
Mithen's Robes after the Mayhem is to do it right after you hit since the
window is so small. This basically means to do the Mithen's Robes motion
right after you finish the motion for the Mayhem since Vice does her
shoulder charge so fast. To use it to follow up a Black End do the it
after Vice powerbombs the opponent, and when she is just coming out her
windup to throw the opponent into the air. Always, always do this
finisher, because it's basically free damage. Hence I give it five stars.
Make Mithen's Robe become part of the other two specials. Black-End gets
five star and Mayhem gets 4 because if you do manage to whiff this
special you are safer if you it after a Black End. See the hints section
for more details.
Gorefest: HCB,F+P ****
Vice's old unblockable throw from '96. There is a wind up animation for
the Gorefest now, which makes it that much nicer to look at. It has
greater range than the Black End and is readily comboable off most of her
close standing and crouching attacks. I personally love doing it from a
low B, since it hits low and after you get bored of just running up and
throwing a person you can run up do a low B, and then throw them. Believe
me, it's effective since most don't block low for the low B and the extra
animation makes it easier to do the Gorefest motion more fluidly. I enjoy
doing this more than combing a Mayhem or anything else since it looks so
nice and the damage isn't too shabby. It's well worth the four stars,
since it has better range and better recovery than the Black End, and it
combos from more normals. I would give it five, but you will whiff every
now and then and it isn't perfectly safe if you do. It's different from
the Mithen's Robe since better timing is still not going to change the
fact that you are still will whiff this special occasionally.
De-Cide: HCF+K **1/2*
Vice whips her arm out and if she connects she grabs the opponents and
throw them to the other side of the screen. They changed the button to a
kick, and the animation looks cooler, but it's essentially the same move
from '96. Because of the relatively smaller screen size due to the larger
characters, and with so many character having full screen fireballs it
is harder than in '96 to grab a fireballing opponent on reaction now, in
spite of the fact that the De Cide seems to come out faster now. The D
version De Cide is no longer Comboable now, but the B version is. This
is a change from '96 when the D version comboed from a close standing C
was one of her most common combos. The B version can combo but since it
does less damage this is a disadvantage. Since it is the only thing that
can combo from fwd+A, it still warrants use. However don't do it outside
of a combo unless you are sure it will connect, since she can be hit out
of it,(Watch her lose %35% energy because she stuck her hand and only her
hand into Choi's Tornado DM.) and watch your distance since both the B
and D version will whiff if you are too close to your opponent ( the B
version whiffs when you're right next to your opponent and the D version
will whiff even if you are farther away) Her recovery time is very long,
so if you do it up close, and do whiff, you can be punished afterwards.
However if you only use it in combos you won't have this dilemma. Still
use this move frequently for style points. Last note, Vice is susceptible
to reversals from this attack. Use the De Cide on Yamazaki doing the
Sadomaso and you will magically appear next to him and he will hit
you, happy trails.
= DESPERATION MOVES (DMs)=
Negative Gain: HCBX2+K ***
Vice does 3 successive Frankensteiners on the opponent in DM mode and she
does five of them in SDM mode. Other than the miss animation that
everyone else has now, and a few changes in how it combos due to changes
in Vice's normals, the application of this DM is unchanged from '96 It
still has good range and the same not so good damage. Vice jumps away
from the grounded opponent now, instead of staying where she lands like
in '96. This means it's harder to stay close to the opponent after you do
the DM, which is sort of a bummer, but all you have to do is run to the
guy before he gets up, and you're right back nest to him again. You can
no longer do the classics 2-hit C, Negative Gain combo now since Vice has
lost her 2-hit C, but you can do it from 2-hit D, which is even easier.
It's an instant throw DM, there's not much I can say about except that it
works like all instant throws. Her whiff animation on the DM looks quite
long but in fact it isn't since most opponents are still too happy to see
you miss to really care about retaliating.
Withering Surface: QCFX2+P **1/2*
Quick unblockable hopping DM. Vice does two standing powerbombs and then
a jumping powerbomb in DM mode and she does three powerbombs, a jumping
powerbomb and then what looks like a Black End with Mithen's Robe
finisher in the SDM version. It's fast, but it is easily escapable by
simply jumping. You'll find that it will be very hard to land this DM
unless you can at least partly anticipate when your opponent is going to
do a vulnerable attack. It is much much quicker than any other running
throw like Shermie's, or Clark's running throw, but you can do Clark's up
close, a Withering Surface will jump over the opponent if you do it too
close. In DM mode if you do an A-version Withering Surface she will do a
high and short hop(about half screen range) before grabbing the opponent.
In the C-version she does a lower and longer hop(ALMOST full screen but
not quite there yet. In SDM she will do the low, long hop regardless of
the button pushed. This DM does more damage than the Negative Gain, but
like I said it will be hard to land since your opponent will probably be
able to jump it. And note she can't "combo" this from anything. Though
there are a few tricks discussed in the tips and tricks section that
explains how you might be able to land it with a little more success.
Use this DM for style and the occasional surprise, but don't make a habit
of it.
== VII. COMBOS ==
A few common ones are listed. Anything listed here will probably be covered
in m00nrun's incredibly complete and detailed Combo FAQ in much more depth.
This is just a quick reference guide to how hits link and such.
- Jump C, Ravenous; Rush 2-3
- Low B, Low B, Stand A, Mayhem, Mithen's Robe; Rush 4
- Low B, Stand B, Gorefest; Rush 2
- Close Standing B(1 hit), Black End, Mithen's Robe; No Rush
- 2-hit Close Stand D, fwd+A, hcf+B; Rush 4
- Jump D, 2-hit Close Stand D, hcbx2+K; Rush 3 (throws don't rush)
That's all the basic ones.
Note: Vice can link most of her close light attacks together, I think the
only the exceptions are she can't do stand A, low B or low A, low B , but
other than those to, when it says like low B, low B up there it can just as
well be low A, low A or low B, low A. This chaining scheme might conflict
with some if information in m00nrun's FAQ, however they are accurate to the
best of my knowledge, tested on the Playstation port.
== VIII. HINTS, TIPS AND STRATEGIES ==
This should be what everyone is waiting for, or not. The below is organized
according to the subject matter of the paragraph. These deal less with
exactly how to play Vice against whom and playing techniques and so forth and
are instead an expansion on the various properties and uses of her specials
mentioned above. These include tips on how to apply them and get the most
from them. They can also include general game play properties of the KOF
engine and how they apply to Vice. Some may not exactly help with using Vice
during an actual fight, but they do discuss some things she CAN do in certain
situations, and as such might be fun to experiment with. This section will
hopefully serve the same purpose as explaining every little game play detail
about Vice. The subject of discussion of each paragraph is written before the
paragraph:
General Playing Advice:
Due to Vice's lack of very good jump in attacks, try to use her for
ground based games. She has a host of excellent pokes including her
standing and low B, standing A and C. Play off of these. Remember Vice is
what one would call a grappling character meaning she's throw based
meaning she plays best up close and personal. DO what you have to do to
try to land her throws without killing yourself in the process. Empty
jumps into throws will catch even the most experienced players off guard
every now and then. Your best bet though it to combo your throws. Granted
Vice has nice strong attacks, but she has wonderful light attacks as
well, use these to combo into your throws. These are quick low risk
attacks, and when comboed they are starters for some pretty damaging
combos. Vice is all about her light attacks, use them well. When in doubt
a straight up Ravenous won't hurt, it has priority and will make you
opponent think twice about jumping at you again.
Expansion on Vice's Mayhem and Mithen's Robe:
Her Mayhem is all but perfectly safe if blocked, so it's okay to follow
it up after a normal. The only time she might run into trouble is if
someone anticipates it and rolls through it, or CD counters, but even
then the risk is minimal. I cannot get across how useful this special is,
when in doubt throw it out. If you're poking and your opponent is
blocking everything just throw this out, it can't hurt, and if it
connects, great. The only time you might run into trouble is when you do
a Mithen's Robe follow to a blocked Mayhem. There are only three
instances where the Mithen's Robe will whiff. The first one is if you
mistimed it as a follow up to the Black End. In this instance the whiff
is %100 safe since you will land before your opponent gets up, which is
why the Mithen's Robe after the Black End gets fives stars. The second
instance of whiff is when the opponent just happens to dizzy when hit
with the Mayhem(note this can't happen with the Black End since throws
don't dizzy) if that's the case then the Mithen's Robes will miss. But
again this is %100 safe since a dizzied opponent can't do squat. The
third instance is the only one where Vice may get into the slightest
trouble with either her Mayhem or Mithen's Robe and that is when you do
the Mithen's Robe after a blocked Mayhem. Then Vice will jump into the
air, while your opponent is on the ground waiting to attack. But even
here the window of opportunity for retaliation if quite small. So the
moral of this long winded story? Use Mayhem and use Mithen's Robe with
extreme joy and satisfaction, they are for the most part absolutely risk
free. Oh one last note, when doing Mayhem use the A-version, the A and
C versions are almost identical but I think the C-version has like two
extra frames of startup, nothing to worry about, but you can't be too
careful.
Fun with Mayhem and counter message:
In the Mayhem section I said something about hitting without a counter
message. And though you won't get a counter message very often with this
attack, it is fun when you do and is worth some explaining I think. I
think well all know that you get a counter message in KOF it means more
juggling possibilities among other thing. Since nearly all of Vice's
specials are throws, this doesn't do much for her unless she gets it on
the Mayhem. If you get a counter message when you hit with the Mayhem,
you don't have to limit yourself to a Mithen's Robe follow up, of course
with one exception the Mithen's Robe is still the most damaging follow.
You can do ANY of Vice's standing or jumping normals, they all hit, of
her crouching normals only her low C will connect. As for specials that
connect, these are her Outrage and her MAYHEM. Yes if you get a counter
message you can follow up a Mayhem with ANOTHER Mayhem and then you can
still tack on the Mithen's Robe. (sorta like Terry in '97, except you can
only do it twice since you can't get a counter message from the second
Mayhem) Note though the first Mayhem can be either A or C-version the
second one must be the A-version since the C has a smidgen more startup
and won't connect. All of the normals and specials described are valid
for the opponent being anywhere on the screen, corner or otherwise.
Jump ins with Vice:
Her Ravenous makes an excellent jump in attack, it has huge priority, but
because of the slight lag when she lands(on both versions) you can't
follow it up, so you won't end up doing much damage. On her Ravenous, if
you have ever played against the CPU Vice on the last team you will know
that you can knock virtually any and all jumping opponents with a early
Ravenous. The suggestion is to be prepared to use this move whenever you
are airborne. I believe I have even seen a close C, hop into Ravenous
before. Bottom line, use and abuse. Don't use Vice's jump A and B as jump
in combo starter since they aren't very effective. They are hard to combo
from, and the jump A easily whiffs if you don't time you jump right. Due
to the weird angles from which they stick out of Vice you have to jump in
really close for them to connect into combos, and again because of those
angles (angled down close to the body, and far below the body in the case
of the jump B) they can't crossup very well either. Just avoid them if
you are trying for a jump in combo. As air-to-air pokes the jump A and B
are quick, but the stick close to the body and aren't very effective you
might as well stick with the Ravenous. Vice's jump C and D make okay jump
ins, both are easier to combo from that the jump A or B, you can actually
tag on strong attacks if the jump in connects unlike the jump A or B. I
myself prefer the jump D since it has farther range and I personally
think combos easier.
Vice's Bufferable low D:
Unlike in '96, Vice's new low D is very user friendly. It has long range
and comes out fast, unfortunately is doesn't go under fireballs like a
previously conjectured. Her Outrage kick is all but useless in the game.
One tactic however is to buffer an Outrage from her low D. This is good
for ticking of energy(not too unlike Matures low D, Metal Massacre),
however once again you can buffer into her Mayhem just as easily for the
ticking, of course you don't get distancing you get from the Outrage.
Note you can use the D Outrage for more distancing if you feel like it.
This is about the ONLY use I see for it. One more nice trick you can do
with the bufferable low D is you can do low D cancel into fwd+A, forces
them to block low then high, makes an okay pressuring technique. Note you
can buffer low D into either of Vice's command throws, but they whiff.
Tips on Black End and Gorefest:
Vice's Black End doesn't combo off of anything other than the first hit
of the close standing B. That's not true as I found out, but as I
explained above, the close B it the easiest thing to combo it from. Use
this to your advantage on downed opponents, like Clark and his close C,
do a close B as they get up and if it connects, do Black End. I they
block, and you whiff the throw, you are safe since your miss animation
will end at about the same time they come out of block stun. But like
Clark you have to watch out for wake up attacks. The Black End is also
doable off a dash or a run, but as always be careful of pokes, besides
I much prefer doing a Gorefest out of a run since it's easier to do(the
motion is easier), it looks nicer and it's an instant throw. The Black
End is what you could call a delayed or non-instant throw. This means
that it does not grab the opponent instantaneously like the Gorefest or
Negative, which are instant throws. Vice actually has frames of startup
when doing the Black End. I believe these frames are entirely invincible
so she can't get hit when doing them, however since she only has like two
frames of startup so you won't notice it much, others such as the
Electrigger and Shermie Carnival have many more frames of startup so
there the invincibility and the difference is obvious. The difference and
nuances of instant and delayed throws are a long a detailed debate, which
I will not get into here(partly because I don't fully understand the
entire thing myself) Suffice it to say that instant throws are good
because hey they are instant and the high point of delayed throws is that
because of the invincible frames you can do them while your opponent is
attacking you. Anyways I believe in Vice's case the delayed properties of
the Black End are most apparent in Extra mode when you attempt to dodge
throw. As you may all notice it's easy it dodge throw with the Gorefest
and the Negative gain, but try to do it with the Black End and either
nothing happens or you get the dodge attack. This is because the Black
End is delayed and instead of going into a grab, like you can during a
dodge, Vice tries to go into the startup animation or her throw, which
you can't during a dodge. Moral of this long winded story, don't use the
Black End to dodge throw. As another point of note, don't do the Black
End continuously, yeah it gets predictable and stuff, but moreover it
make you looks scrubby, because that how people who don't know how to use
Vice play her. Use her Gorefest, hehe. Good old reliable Gorefest, I
prefer instant throws over delayed throws, and I personally think the
Gorefest looks better than the Black End. It combos from much more than
the Black End does, and believe it's worth the extra joystick motion. Use
it you'll like it.
Expansion of and tactics for the Negative Gain:
Some say Vice's Negative Gain has lost range since '96. And it definitely
has, then again the Negative Gain had almost quarter screen range back in
'96 (You could grab an opponent a third of the way across the screen if
they were poking at you) Now in '98 the range is lowered, but it is still
very good. Being the same kind of throw the Negative Gain can be comboed
from anything a Gorefest can be comboed from. Like '96 you can still run
or hop up and Negative Gain, though distancing is more important now with
the reduced range and whiff animation taking away your stock. Another
favorite from '96 was to walk back and Negative Gain anxious opponents
who ran at you. The maximum distancing for the DM is so that there is
about half a character's width between you and your opponent, and it has
a sucking ability when in range. A little extra word on whiff animation.
Remember unlike previous KOFs this one has whiff animation. Where
previously a DM wouldn't have even come out, like say an opponent who was
getting up but not fully up yet, or an opponent who is slightly off the
ground, in '98 you will whiff your animation when your opponent can't be
grabbed. For regular command throws this means that if you miss then your
opponent can punish you. But for DM throws, in addition to this it also
means that you have either wasted a stock or depleted a POW bar. So
because of this caution should be used when applying this and all DM
throws. Note there are times when you definitely know your opponent is on
the ground and you are within range and yet the throws whiff anyway. One
of these situations is when you opponent is smack in the corner and say
you do a crossup, land on the other side and execute the Negative Gain,
guess what they are totally in range, but it whiffs anyways. This is
because if you had crossed up outside of the corner you would have landed
out of range for the throw to connect, so I guess this caries over to the
corner situation as well. So what do we learn from this? Don't do crossup
Negative Gain in the corner, or ever. You will waste a stock. Another way
a DM can whiff when totally in range is discussed below.
More on the Withering Surface:
You almost never have to worry about being out of range when doing Vice's
Withering Surface. Timing and distancing is really the key using this DM.
It's very quick and very unblockable so you will get some slow and
inexperienced players with it. Most players however will wise up after
it's been done to them a few times and will know to jump or poke (yes she
can be poked out if it) when they see that DM spark. So what are some
strategies to get it to connect? Well first off, this is one DM where you
will have to use different version for different situations. The C
version jumps lower and farther. If you're right up next to your opponent
and you execute the C button Withering Surface you will actually push
your opponent until he is in range for the DM to connect. Being so fast
and so close this tactic is hard to avoid on reaction. (This tactic works
for everyone except Choi who is so sort even the C-version will jump over
him)
Do NOT use the A-version of the DM when you are up close like described
above, it jumps much higher and you will end up jumping over your
opponent instead of pushing him back. The C-version is also good against
people who like to fireball at a full screen's distance. Since the DM has
nearly a full screen distance itself, you can use it to jump over the
fireball and grab the guy. This however requires a little bit of timing
since Vice is totally vulnerable during her hop in the DM. Do it too
early and you will eat the fireball as it come off of the opponent hand.
DO it too late and your opponent will have enough time to recover and
jump. Time it so that Vice jumps over the fireball at the apex of her
jumping arc. This usually requires a bit of anticipation since most
fireballs go so fast you have to do the DM motion about the same time the
opponent does the fireball motion. Too much anticipation however and you
will get the fireball in the face like I stated above. Another use for
the Withering Surface that will get someone once or twice is to do the C
version right after you do a Negative Gain, those who haven't seen it
usually won't expect you to do it so soon after you've just landed a DM.
If you time it right it should grab them just as they get up. If you're
fast enough you can also try canceling a whiffed low D into the DM, since
they are blocking the low D and won't expecting the grab. But you either
need very fast hands for this, or if you are playing the Playstation port
of the game you can use the shortcut keys that are available in that
The C-version of this DM is basically the version you will be using the
most since the above described situations are the most common ones you
will find yourself in. This doesn't mean the A-version if useless
however. Use it in early anticipation of a fireball when you are from
half screen to 1.5 character width away from the opponent. This version
jumps high and short so you should be able to jump over the fireball and
still get the grab in, and at the distance described above you won't be
out of range or jump over the opponent. Don't use the C-version for
fireball anticipation at this distance as Vice may not have reached her
full height on the arc yet and the fireball might hit her. The Withering
Surface does not combo from ANYTHING. However since it is so fast and
unblockable there are times when you can tack it on to the end of an
attack and the opponent will have very little time to respond. You are
going to have to use the A-version if you are going to do this, the
C-version is another example of where a DM grab should have connected
but does not. The C-version actually would be fast enough to combo it
it connected, but it does not. What will happen is you can do the C-
version out of any bufferable normal that Vice has, and she will hop
right up next to the opponent and attempt to grab him, unfortunately
her grab whiffs THROUGH the opponent and nothing happens, in fact the
whiff animation will leave Vice open for a counter attack. I have
absolutely no explanation for it whiffing, it could be as simple as the
programmers decided not to allow the C-version to connect just because.
I could conjecture though, that the opponent is still in hit stun when
Vice goes to grab the him, and the Withering Surface doesn't connect with
someone in hit stun. This could also explain why the DM will grab if you
use the A-version of the DM. Vice grabs the moment she touches down from
her hop, since she hops higher in the A-version this means that the it's
slower in connecting than the C-version, thus allows more time for the
opponent to come out of hit stun before grabbing them. Again you have to
watch your distance when using the A-version You have to distance
yourself far enough away so that the A-version won't jump over the
opponent but close enough so that the bufferable close normals will come
out. For most medium size characters this is no problem as long as you
are not right snug up next to the opponent when you hit them. Try doing
jump D, 2-hit stand D, A Withering Surface. The DM is not guaranteed to
hit, but chances are high that it will and it looks nice if it does. It's
also easy to do since the 2-hit stand D gives you ample time to do the
DM. One last note, when in SDM mode both buttons bring out the C like
long low hop, so it doesn't matter which button you press, it also means
that you can't hope to connect the SDM out of a normal, regardless of
opponent intelligence.
== IX. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ==
I would like to thank the following people for helpful info in
putting together this guide.
1. EX Andy,(Andrew Seyoon Park)
Thanks for lots of help putting in this guide together. He checked the
accuracy of a lot of the information in this guide. I also have to thank
him for the joystick key he let me use. And for helping me proof read the
first draft of this guide.
2. Sheila Khosla
Thanks for putting my identity on this FAQ and posting its first version
to Gamefaqs.com for me.
3. Kailu Lantis
Thanks for letting me use the extensive of back ground info on Vice. Found
from his King of Fighters Character Story guide. I made some formmating
changes and spelling corrections to the parts that I hvae used in this
guide. I hope there is no problem with that.
4. Kao Megura (
http://i.am/kao)
Thanks letting me use some of the back ground info from your moves list.
Also the names of the Vice's command attack and normal throws were gotten
from there as well.
5. Joe Palanca
Thanks for the voice translation of what Vice says during her intro
and win poses. Found in his King of Fighters moves list.
6. m00nrun
Though I took nothing from his Combo FAQ, I did reference it several
times during the editing of the combos section of this guide.
7. SieKensou
For being the fist to note that the Black End IS comboable off a
close B.
8. The KOF-ML
Like every other KOF FAQ, I gotta thank them. There are some great
discussions there.(Sometimes)
To subscribe, send and email to "
[email protected]"
with the word 'subscribe' in the subject.
9. SNK
Of course. Without whom we would have no game, in which case this guide
would seem even sillier than it already is.
10. My parents, God, and the Academy
For their gracious recognition of my.........oops, wrong speech.
== X. VERSION HISTORY AND LOOSE ENDS ==
Version 0.01
The first issue of this FAQ, full of mistakes. Unchanged for a year
Version 1.0
This version. Cleaned it up, expanded it, fixed some mistakes, and
hopefully is a little easier on the eyes.
This is the second version or, and hopefully the last major overhaul for this
guide, unless I am made aware of some awful glaring mistake. Some of you may
wonder why do this for a character no one uses in a game that's over a year
old, which no one plays anymore. Well it's always nagged me that this thing
was filled with gameplay errors and grammatical and spelling mistakes. I was
going to leave it alone, but I have some free time before the holidays and I
decided to just give it a once over and be done with it. Besides maybe some
Dreamcast owners may find it handy. I apologize if there are any mistakes
left in here. Note, though the original guide was based on the arcade version
of the game, revisions are done using the Playstation version, I apologize if
inconsistencies are present, however my Neo-Geo its shot so I had to make do.
Subsequent versions (if any) might include minor changes only.
Also watch for upcoming character guides like:
Athena: The FAQs and nothing but the FAQs.
Chizuru: FAQs, phone or e-mail.
FAQ: There's something about Mary.
Mature: Gonna FAQ you up.
Mai: Coffee, Tea, or Me?
----------
This FAQ is free for you to use. Do not use for profit, if you do I want a
cut. Blah, Blah, Blah, public domain, Blah, Blah, Blah, don't steal, Blah
Blah, Blah.
Find it at:
GAMEFAQS.COM
Find me at:
[email protected]
12/5/99
