=======================================
The King of Fighters '98 Shermie Guide
=======================================
by Sie Kensou <
[email protected]>
For most updated version of this guide, please visit
Sie Kensou's KOF Homepage
<
http://kensou.home.ml.org>
Version History
v0.1 -- Created on 07/08/1998, just with the introduction and chapter one
done. (Not released)
v0.4 -- Updated on 16/08/1998. Finished the second chapter. (Not released)
v0.7 -- Updated on 15/09/1998 (opps....I'm too lazy ;)). Strategies section
is added. (Not released)
v0.9 -- Updated on 10/10/1998. The character match-up section is completed.
v1.0 -- Updated on 26/11/1998. Link to Gunsmith's site is added.
v1.3 -- Updated on 04/04/1999. Add a bit information on Shermie Kick (thanks
to Serpent Wave who gave that info to me). Also does some
modification to the mind game section.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This guide is totally free. You can do anything you like with this guide
except making profit with it -- but anyway, I don't think you can make profit
with such a crappy guide. :)
If you have any comments or suggestions, write a mail to Sie Kensou at
<
[email protected]>.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Introduction --
======================
This guide is dedicated to Shermie, the girl with a hole on her dress (^^).
In this guide you'll find some description of her moves, and some fighting
strategies. But you should keep in mind that all 'strategies' in this guide
are, in fact, some guidelines which may not be correct at all. If you
really want to play Shermie well, you should try to figure out the best way
to use her by yourself, using this guide as an reference only.
Before using Shermie you should as yourself two questions:
- Do you really like Shermie (I mean the character itself)?
- Do you really play for fun, not just for winning?
If you answer no for this two question, I don't think Shermie is suitable
for you. Of course you can use Shermie to turtle for whole round, and you
can win with this 'tactic', but you will not have any fun from it if you
play in this way.
-- Table of contents --
===========================
Chapter 1: Character Background
1.1 -- The background of New Face Team
1.2 -- Profile of Shermie
1.3 -- Basic Info
Chapter 2: The Moves
2.1 -- Normal Moves
2.2 -- Command Moves
2.3 -- Special Moves
2.4 -- Desperation Moves
2.5 -- Combos
Chapter 3: Strategies
3.1 -- Overview
3.2 -- General Strategy
3.3 -- Mind Game
3.4 -- Punishing Mistake
3.5 -- Special Match-ups
Chapter 4: Credits
-- Chapter 1: Character Background --
=========================================
1.1 The background of New Face Team
===================================
Shermie first appeared in the KOF97 tournament, as a member of the New Face
Team together with Yashiro Nanakase and Chris. Apparently the reason of
the NFT joining the KOF tournament was very simple. Their proposed concert
was canceled because of a red haired guy (Iori Yagami), and Yashiro felt
very unhappy about that. One day, when they're watching TV, they found that
Yagami had joint the tournament. Therefore Yashiro decided to join the
tournament.
But in fact Yashiro, Shermie and Chris are Orochis. Yashiro controls the
power of land, Shermie controls lighting, and Chris controls purple flame.
1800 years ago they were sealed together with Orochi, but afterRugal had
broken the seal, and Goenitz had killed the sister of Chizuru (who was the
owner of the seal), the three guys were released. But Orochi was still
sealed. To released Orochi, a lot of power was needed. Therefore Yashiro,
Shermie and Chris joint the tournament, in order to gain power.
In the tournament, they finally got enough power to release Orochi. But
Kyo, Iori and Chizuru beat Orochi and sealed him off again. And the three
person disappeared afterwards......
In 98 the New Face Team comes back again. What are they planning this time?
No one can tell......
1.2 Profile of Shermie
======================
Fighting Style: Throw-based
Birthday: 13th February
Place of birth: France
Blood Type: B
Height: 173cm
Weight: 68kg
Hobbies: Band, Watching Movie
Food she like most: Fish
Favorite sport: Ice Skate
Things she hate most: Celery, Stew, Baseball
B=92 W=63 H=87
1.3 Basic Info
==============
- Color Select -
A button: Pink (Original)
B button: (weird) Green (97 Advanced Mode D button)
C button: White-blue (97 Extra Mode A button)
D button: Red (New)
- Intro. -
Vs all good looking male characters: Shermie laughs to them.
Vs Yashiro: Shermie says "Hi!" and then Yashiro replies "Tanoshimoh-ze"
(Let's have fun)
Vs Chris: Chris raises his hand and yells, "She~lumie!" (Yes, he really
pronounces it as Shelumie!!) and then Shermie replies, "Hi!"
Vs others: Shermie says, 'Itakushicha... iyaiyo."
- Taunt -
Shermie takes out a mobile phone from the hole in her dress (?!), says
'Hello Hello? I'll talk to you later.' and then puts it back to the hole.
- Winning Pose -
A button: Shermie dances (walks left and right) and sings, "Nananana.....
Nananana......ha!"
B button: Shermie spins 360 degrees, then sweeps her hand and says
"Saikoh no kibun." (This feels great.)
C button: Shermie places one hand in front of her mouth and looks at the
enemy for a while. Then she'll looks at the player, and says
"Ufu, nante kao?" (Ha...what a face?)
D button: Shermie throws flying kisses to everywhere.
- Winning Quote -
"Game over, Pal! Don't forget to save. Sweet Dreams!"
-- Chapter 2: The Moves --
==============================
2.1 Normal Moves
================
- Far/Close Standing A (Cancelable)
Description:
Shermie uses her palm to beat on the opponent's face.
Comments:
- Not useful at all.
- Range is extremely short, that only hits the opponent who stands
next to Shermie.
- Can used as anti-air, but not effective.
Notes:
- This move will totally miss on crouching characters, and even
some short standing characters.
Useful Rating: *----
- Crouching A (Cancelable)
Description:
Looks totally the same as the standing A, the only difference is that
Shermie is crouching when doing this.
Comments:
- Basically the same as the standing A, but is a bit more useful
because it can hit crouching characters.
- The main use of this move is to stop the opponent from rolling close
to Shermie.
Note:
- Both Shermie Spiral and Shermie Whip combo well after this.
Useful Rating: **---
- Jump A (Not cancelable)
Description:
Shermie uses her palm to hit the enemy in air.
Comments:
- The short range and small hit frame make this move not useful in the
fight.
- Do this only when you've nothing else to do, or when you want to be
killed by your enemy. :)
Useful Rating: *----
- Far/Close Standing B (First hit is cancelable)
Description:
Shermie do a horizontal kick, and then kick once more in a higher
angle.
Purpose:
- This move is a very good poke.
- Comes out fast, and the range is quite long.
- The first hit is comboable, while the second hit can be a quite
effective anti-air.
- Use this to disturb your enemy and to keep him in range.
Notes:
- Shermie Spiral and Shermie Whip combo well from this move.
Useful Rating: *****
- Crouching B (Not cancelable)
Description:
A usual crouching kick.
Comments:
- Not very useful since its range is very short, and is not comboable.
Notes:
- You can chain this move to the standing B.
Useful Rating: **---
- Jump B (Not cancelable)
Description:
Shermie uses her kneel to hit the enemy in air.
Purpose:
- This move doesn't have much horizontal range, but has high speed and
high priority.
- Very reliable in close ranged air-to-air combat, also not bad as an
air-to-ground attack.
- Use this when you're trying to get close to your enemy.
Useful Rating: ***--
- Far Standing C (Not cancelable)
Description:
Shermie steps in and uses her hand as a stick to beat on the enemy.
Purpose:
- The range is very long (probably her longest-ranged normal attack).
- Has quite a lot of start up, therefore don't use this too often.
- The best way of using this move is to mix up with the standing B as a
poke, to keep your enemy in range.
Useful Rating: ***--
- Close Standing C (Cancelable)
Description:
Shermie faces to the player, opens her body and uses her hands to hit t
he
enemy.
Purpose:
- This is her best close ranged move.
- Has High priority (and surprisingly, this move is a good anti-air),
comes out fast, and can be easily combo to a lot of things.
- Use this when your enemy is close to you, to set up combos.
- If your enemy blocks this, chain to fwd+B to push him away.
Useful Rating: ****-
- Crouching C (Cancelable)
Description:
Shermie jets a bit upward, and sweeps her hands with an angle of 45
degrees.
Purpose:
- This move is a very great anti-air.
- Has short start up time, good range and high priority.
- This move is also great in land-to-land combat and combos, but since
it hits high, it can miss on crouching characters.
- It has some recovery time, so don't do it when you're not sure if
the enemy will get hit or not (or you'll be punished).
Notes:
- Can combo to anything, but Shermie Whip is recommended since it is
easiest to do.
Useful Rating: *****
- Jump C (Not cancelable)
Description:
Shermie hits the enemy with her arm, with her whole body in a lying
position.
Purpose:
- This move has high priority in air-to-air and air-to-ground combat.
- But since the hit frames last only for a while, you may have to do
it a bit late when you are doing a jump-in attack.
- Also this move is a extremely effective crossup!!
- Jump to your enemy's back and do the jump C, and you'll get huge
reward if your enemy didn't block correctly.
Useful Rating: *****
- Far/Close Standing D (Not cancelable)
Description:
Shermie does a 360 degree spinning kick.
Purpose:
- This kick has very high priority against all jump-in attack, but
since it has long start up, it is not good as an anti-air unless you
can anticipate your enemy's motion.
- This move has high hit frame, thus it will totally miss on crouching
characters.
- Do this only when your enemy try to jump to you, but never use it in
land-to-land combat.
Useful Rating: **---
- Crouching D (Not cancelable)
Description:
A strange-looking sweep kick. Shermie spins for 360 degrees and uses
her leg to sweep the enemy.
Purpose:
- Although the kick has some start up, its long reach makes it very
useful.
- Also because Shermie almost sticks her whole body on the ground, it
can be used to escape from some flying projectiles and some attacks with
high hit frame.
- If your enemy keeps throwing projectiles, run to him and use this
kick to sweep him.
Useful Rating: ***--
- Jump D (Not cancelable)
Description:
Shermie does a 45 degrees downward kick in air.
Purpose:
- This is her second best choice of jump in attack (best chose is the
jump C).
- It has long range and good priority, and can beat some anti-air
moves.
- Doing a jump in combo with this is very easy (probably easier than
all of her other jump moves).
- You have to do this move a bit earlier, or it will miss and you'll
be punished (just like jump C).
- Also since it is angled downward, it is not very reliable in
air-to-air combat.
Useful Rating: ****-
- Standing CD (Cancelable)
Description:
Shermie jumps a bit and uses her both kick to hit enemy horizontally.
Purpose:
- The range of this move is long (in fact longer than what you see in
the screen).
- Priority of this move is very high that it can beat some special
moves and even DMs.
- Since Shermie jumps a bit when she attacks, most low sweeps cannot
hit her when she performs the standing CD.
- Use this as a poke, or as a semi-link after (low) As and Bs.
Useful Rating: ****-
- Jump CD (Not cancelable)
Description:
Shermie kicks the enemy with her both feet, in a scissors-like shape.
Purpose:
- This is your most reliable long-ranged air-to-air normal.
- The length of her leg gives this move very high priority that can
beat almost all other air moves.
- Can be used very frequently.
- But since it is a horizontal kick, it is not very good for
air-to-ground attack.
- Also don't use this when you're close to your enemy.
Useful Rating: *****
2.2 Command Moves
=================
- Shermie Stand -
--O + B (fwd+B)
Description:
A two-hit attack where Shermie do a cartwheel-like kick.
Purpose:
- The second hit of this move is an overhead attack which must be
blocked high.
- The move is not very useful when used along, since it is quite slow
that your enemy can block in the correct position after seeing it out.
- When used in chain combo, this move can be very useful because it
can push the enemy away from Shermie.
- The recovery time is very short, thus Shermie will not be punished
after doing this. (In the other hand, it is a good chance to punish your
enemy if he try to do run-in combo after blocking this).
Notes:
- If used in chain combos, the second hit will not be an overhead.
Useful Rating: ***--
2.3 Special Moves
=================
- Shermie Spiral -
(near opponent) O-- / | \ --O + A or C
O O O (hcf+A or C)
Description:
Shermie grabs the enemy, sits on his head, and spins him onto the
ground.
Difference between A and C version: None
Pros of this move:
- Has decent range, can grab enemy from about 1/6 screen apart. (The
range of Shermie Spiral is longest among all command throws in the game)
- It is instant, which means that you can use this as reversal.
- Also good for dash-in command throw.
- Deals a lot of damage, about 15-20% of total life.
Cons of this move:
- It will whiff if the enemy is not in range. Although the whiff
animation is very short, a good enemy can still punish you within that
period.
- Its range is not constant. If the enemy is standing still you can
grab him from 1/6 screen apart, but if he's doing some sort of attacks,
you can't grab him in that range.
- You can't grab the enemy with this directly after a jump attack.
- It takes about three seconds (which is quite long) to deal damage.
When to use:
- In combos. Jump C -> Close standing/crouching C -> Shermie Spiral ->
follow up can take about 1/4 of your enemy's life.
- After the (blocked) standing C -> fwd+B chain combo, to gain stock.
- As reversal. If your enemy tries to do a jump-in attack with poor
timing (i.e. he kicks too early), you can grab him immediately when he
land.
- Dash-in command throws. When you find out that your enemy just sit
down and block without doing other things, run to him and throw him. Or
if your enemy whiffed a special move (or normal with long end-lag), you
can also run to him and grab him.
Tips:
- Learn the range of this move, so that you can use it in the most
effective way.
Useful Rating: *****
- Shermie Clutch -
--O | \ + B or D
O O (dp+B or D)
Description:
Shermie jumps to the air, grabs the enemy with her legs, and spins him
to the ground. If she can't grab the enemy successfully she'll just do a
360 degrees spin and land the ground.
Difference between B and D version:
- B version jumps lower (about half screen high), D version jumps
higher (about 3/4 screen high).
Pros of this move:
- It is fast to come out.
- You can use this move to escape from some attacks since Shermie
jumps when doing this.
- Has no end-lag after landing (if the enemy is not grabbed). Shermie
can attack or block immediately when she land, if she didn't grab the
enemy successfully.
Cons of this move:
- Priority is very low. Shermie can be easily kicked when doing this
move.
- Shermie can be punished before she lands, if she didn't grab the
enemy.
- The move doesn't have much horizontal range.
When to use:
- As anti-air. Since its speed is quite fast, this move is very a very
effective anti-air if you can anticipate your enemy's motion.
- To escape from some low attacks and most fireballs. If your enemy
keep sweeping or throwing fireballs (standard way of a scrub using Iori),
do this to jump through the fireball, and try to attack immediately when
Shermie lands.
Tips:
- The B version is much more useful than the D version, since the arc
of the D version is too high.
Useful Rating: ***--
- Shermie Whip -
| / O-- + A or C
O O (qcb+A or C)
Description:
Shermie rolls backward and tries to grab the enemy with her legs. If
she grabs the enemy successfully, she'll follow up with a backdrop.
Difference between A and C version:
- A version comes out faster, while C version has some invincibility.
Pros of this move:
- Comes out very fast. It can grab the enemy immediately when you
press the button.
- Range is very long, can combo after first hit of standing B.
- This move is an excellent anti-air.
- The C version is invincible to some normal attacks.
- The motion of this move is simple (just a qcb motion), therefore is
good for combos starting from a crouching attack.
Cons of this move:
- The grab frame last for only a short period. If you didn't time well
you will not be able to grab the enemy with this.
- End-lag is fairly long. If this move is whiffed, Shermie can be
punished.
When to use:
- As anti-air. When your enemy jumps to you and does a normal attack,
do this move (C version is preferred since the timing is easier) to
grab him.
- In combos. Especially when you hit the enemy with standing B or
crouching C, comboing to this move is a lot easier than comboing to
Shermie Spiral.
- When the enemy is knocked down, get close to him, and do this move
when he just get up. If he tries to do a reversal move, he'll be grabbed.
Useful Rating: *****
- Shermie Shoot -
O-- / | \ --O + B or D
O O O (hcf+B or D)
Description:
Shermie crouches a bit, laughs and dash to the opponent. When she
reaches the enemy, she'll grab him and then sit on his hand and force
him to the ground.
Difference between B and D version:
- The D version has longer range.
Pros of this move:
- It is very fast.
- Invincible to all sweeps and most of the other normal attacks.
Cons of this move:
- The range of this move is short.
- Has quite long end lag.
- Has to be used alone since it cannot grab the enemy if used in
combos. (i.e. If you combo a Shermie Shoot after a blocked crouching C,
your enemy will not be grabbed even if he stands still without doing any
other things. In 97 your enemy can be grabbed by this way.)
When to use:
- Use it to surprise your enemy, when you see that he keeps sitting
there without doing anything.
- Or use it with a empty CD cancel. (Read the mind game section)
Useful Rating: **---
- Axel Spin Kick -
| / O-- + B or D
O O (qcb+B or D)
Description:
Shermie hops to the enemy and kicks him.
Difference between B and D version: none
Pros of this move:
- Does good damage.
- Shermie is totally invincible to hit-based attacks when she hops.
- End lag is very short.
Cons of this move:
- Shermie can be thrown when hopping.
- There is no any hit frame when Shermie is hopping. The hit frames
only appear when the kick comes out.
- Can be easily roll through.
When to use:
- Use this to kick your enemy who like to keep throwing fireballs, or
sweeping all the day.
Useful Rating: ***--
- Shermie Kick -
(during Shermie Spiral, Shermie Clutch or Shermie Whip)
| \ --O + B or D
O O (qcf+B or D)
Description:
Shermie runs to the fallen enemy and crouches on him. This is a follow
up move.
Pros of this move:
- It can take extra damage after the command throws listed above.
Cons of this move:
- If enemy is in the corner, you need to delay for a little-while.
- Shermie will be punished if this move is whiffed.
When to use:
- Just do it after Shermie Spiral, Shermie Clutch or Shermie Whip if
the enemy is not in the corner.
Useful Rating: N/A (because it is just an add-on move)
2.4 Desperation Moves
=====================
- Shermie Flash -
--O \ | / O-- --O \ | / O-- + A or C
O O O O O O (hcbx2+A or C)
Description:
Shermie grabs the enemy, goes to his back and backdrop him.
Pros of this move:
- Has decent range, can grab enemy from about 1/7 screen apart.
- Almost no start up, which means that you can use this as reversal.
- Dash-in command throw with this is very effective.
- Damage level is very high, about 30-35% of total life for the DM
version.
- For the DM version, the all damage are done within two seconds.
Cons of this move:
- It will whiff if the enemy is not in range.
- Its range is not constant. If the enemy is standing still you can
grab him from 1/5 screen apart, but if he's doing some sort of attacks,
you can't grab him in that range.
- You can't grab the enemy with this directly after a jump attack.
- After grabbing the enemy with the SDM version, if you don't mash
the keys crazily, your enemy can escape from it when only tiny damage is
done.
When to use:
- As reversal. If your enemy tries to do a jump-in attack with poor
timing (i.e. he kicks too early), you can grab him immediately when he
land.
- Dash-in command throws. When you find out that your enemy just sit
down and block without doing other things, run to him and throw him. Or
if your enemy whiffed a special move (or normal with long end-lag), you
can also run to him and grab him.
Note:
- From the above info you can find out that Shermie Flash is just the
DM version of Shermie Spiral actually.
Useful Rating: ****-
- Shermie Carnival -
O-- / | \ --O O-- / | \ --O + A or C
O O O O O O (hcfx2+A or C)
Description:
Shermie points both of her hands to the sky and looks upward, then
uses her hand to grab the opponent.
Goods of this move:
- Has invincibility at start up. The invincibility last until the
grab frame comes out.
- High damage level, especially in the SDM version.
- The range is quite long, almost the same as Shermie Flash.
Bads of this move:
- Again, has whiff animation if not grab the enemy.
- Has long start up. Your enemy can easily jump away after seeing you
do this.
- Not good for dash-in command throw since its long start up.
When to use:
- As reversal. Making use of the invincibility at the start up, you
can grab a opponent who is trying to attack you in close range.
- Also good to be used after a roll, since most player will try to use
normals to punish a roll.
- As anti-air. When your enemy jumps in and attacks, do this move.
Your enemy will be grab just when he lands. (Of course timing must be
well)
Useful Rating: ****-
2.5 Combos
==========
- Chain Combos -
----------------
crouching A, crouching A
crouching A, crouching A, fwd+B
crouching A, standing B
crouching B, crouching A
crouching B, crouching A, fwd+B
crouching B, standing B
crouching C, fwd+B
standing A, standing A
standing A, standing A, fwd+B
standing A, standing B
standing A, standing B, fwd+B
standing B, fwd+B
standing C, fwd+B
- General Combos -
------------------
Jump C/D, crouching/standing C, Shermie Spiral, Shermie Kick (2 hits)
Jump C/D, crouching/standing C, Shermie Whip, Shermie Kick (4 hits)
Crossup Jump C, standing C, fwd+B, Shermie Whip, Shermie Kick (6 hits)
Jump C/D, crouching/standing C, Shermie Flash (2 hits)
low C (counter enemy at air), Shermie Whip, Shermie Kick (3 hits)
standing A, standing B (1 hit), Shermie Spiral, Shermie Kick (2 hits)
standing A, standing B (1 hit), Shermie Whip, Shermie Kick (4 hits)
crouching B, standing B (1 hit), Shermie Spiral, Shermie Kick (2 hits)
crouching B, standing B (1 hit), Shermie Whip, Shermie Kick (4 hits)
-- Chapter 3: Strategies --
===============================
3.1 Overview
============
Shermie is a grabber. Her gameplay is mainly based on her grab moves
(especially Shermie Spiral). But this doesn't mean that you can win easily
by doing the Shermie Spiral whole round -- and in fact if you just try to
do this without using your brain, you'll definitely be killed by your
enemy.
Besides you need to be familiar to her moves in order to play her
effectively. So before knowing her strategies, you should first know
well about:
- The range of standing B, crouching C, standing CD and jump CD.
- The range of Shermie Spiral/Shermie Flash. (most important one)
- The range of Shermie Whip, and which normals it can grab.
- How long does the invincibility of Shermie Carnival last for, and when
does the grabbing frame comes out.
- How to cross-up with the jump C.
These are important for her strategies. So if you don't know too much
about these, you'd better practice more in the arcade to find them out.
3.2 General Strategies
======================
Shermie is stronger in terms of defense than offense. So normally you
should not be too active, since she doesn't have good normals for
offense, and also she doesn't have good and save offense move.
Try to use standing B and standing CD to poke your enemy. And sometimes
you can also mix up with the standing C, and vertical jump D.
If your enemy jumps to you, use the crouching C or Shermie Whip to beat
him. Although Shermie Whip does more damage, crouching C is still
recommended here since it is much easier to do, and also you may follow up
with Shermie Whip if you got a counter.
When he tries to roll to you, you can just stand still, and grab him with
Shermie Spiral (always do the hcf motion will be OK, since if he rolls to
your back Shermie Whip will come out instead). Of course you've to predict
his motion correctly, but this is quite easy.
In case you want to get close to your enemy, try to run a bit to him.
Just a little bit will be OK, you don't need to get too close unless you
want to perform a dash-in grab.
Jumping to your enemy is also another choice of getting close to him. But
in different range you should use different types of jump. In long range,
you should only use hops, but not normal/large/hyper jump. And in mid/close
range, you'd better use hyper jump C to cross up to your enemy. Note that
you should train yourself more so that you can cross up with the jump C
easily, since this is very important for her gameplay. You should try to
practice this: jump to enemy with jump C, and the hop to his back and do a
cross-up C. This is very effective against most human players, especially
when he's using "large" characters like Chang or Brian.
If your enemy is a fireball-like player who only keeps throwing fireball,
you can try to do a hop or a small jump, without doing any types of attack.
The purpose of this is to jump through the fireball, and also try to stop
your enemy from throwing fireball (The hop can be replaced by Shermie
Clutch). Also you can use Axel Spin Kick to jump through the fireball and
kick him.
When you're close to your enemy, you can try to throw him with Shermie
Spiral. But if you're not sure if he's in range or not, or you afraid that
he'll jump to escape your grab, you can try to do Shermie Whip instead.
You're still safe even if the Shermie Whip is blocked. Another choice is
the standing C, fwd+B combo, which will push your enemy away.
As for wake up move, Shermie Carnival is the best choice, especially
when your enemy tries to attack you when you just wake up. Just be
careful that your enemy can jump to escape the grab.
3.3 Mind Game
=============
Since Shermie is not good at offense, mind game is very important for her
gameplay.
Her mind game is used mainly when the enemy is knocked down. At this
moment (when your enemy is down), you can do several things:
- Jump to him and do Shermie Spiral when you land.
- Stand about 1/6 screen apart from him, and do Shermie Whip when he just
wake up. He'll be grab if he do a wake up move.
- Just do Shermie Clutch. He'll be grab if he jumps. And even if he
doesn't jump, you can still try to grab him immediately when you land,
since Shermie Clutch has almost no lag after landing the ground.
- Stand next to him, and slowly do two hcf motion. After he wake up, press
the punch key. If he just stands still, or tries to do a reversal, he'll
be grabbed (since the grab, Shermie Carnival, has invincibility at start
up). This is not easy, you must have good timing. But the reward is
great ^_^
- Jump to him and cross up with the jump C. This can be easily escaped, but
still the reward is very great if you can hit him with this.
That's it. It seems that those tactics are not very special, but if you can
mix them well, you'll find that they're very effective.
Also, you can try to use CD (miss hit) cancel to other specials to set up
a mind game. Try this: do CD, and quickly cancel to Shermie Shoot. (Make
sure that the CD does not hit your enemy). Most people will stay blocking
(since they think that the CD would hit them), and will be grabbed by the
Shoot. ^_^ Of course, after one or two times your enemy will not eat that
again. So don't do that too much -- or, try to add some changes to it. For
example, after doing the Shermie Shoot one or two time, try to change it to
Shermie Clutch. You may find it very useful. (coz most people will try to
jump away after eating the Shoot several times ^_^)
Other parts of her mind game are based on anticipation and observation.
You've to observe the fighting style of your enemy, and to predict what
will he do generally. If you find that he's defensive, you can always try
to do a dash-in grab after a normal/special with short end-lag. (e.g. after
the fwd+B) And if he's offensive, you can always use Shermie Whip or
crouching C to beat him.
Mind game is not easy to manage, and you need to do more practice to
gain experience for it.
3.4 Punishing Mistakes
======================
Well....punishing mistakes with Shermie is easy. Just when your enemy
does any mistakes (including just sitting down and wait), dash in and
grab him with Shermie Spiral. That's seems very easy, but you've to know
that which of your enemy's move has end-lag, and which of them has fast
recovery.
Also if your enemy does a jump-in attack with poor timing (i.e. he does
the attack too early), you should also try to grab him immediately when he
lands. In this case, using Shermie Whip is better, since Shermie Spiral
will easily miss.
3.5 Special Match-ups
=====================
Here I'll include the general strategy of facing certain characters. I'll
just include the most used ones, and will (probably) and more later.
- Vs Kyo -
Huh this guy is not a big deal for Shermie, but since he's almost the
most used character in 98, I include him here also.
Usually a Kyo player is offensive, and mostly start the attacks with a
jump C or firefists. If he tends to start attack from a jump C, that's
fine, you can beat him anytime with low C. Just be careful that his jump
C can crossup.
If he starts attacking with firefist, you can also roll to his back and
throw him. In case you block the firefists, don't try to punish it since
it has very short lag. If you've stocks in this case, use MAX roll to his
back and then grab him with Shermie Spiral/Flash will be a good idea.
- Vs Benimaru -
He's not as strong as in 97, but still good in 98.
Try not to jump to him, since he's very good anti-air (dp+K). If you
really need to jump to him, hop with CD (never use cross-up C, unless you
are very sure that he will not do the dp+K). Also be careful of his crossup
D.
Your low D will be quite useful against him.
- Vs Daimon -
Daimon'll poke you with standing B and standing D in the whole round. If
you roll to him, he'll grab you immediately. And if you try to jump to
him...you'll eat the dn-fwd+C, Mineslayer combo which takes about 1/4 of
your life. (What's the best description of this kind of gameplay? Yeah you
get it -- TURTLE!!)
So what can you do? In fact I'd say, not much. Try to run to him and do
a low D/Axel Spin Kick. If he poke you with standing D in this time, he'll
get hit. Also you may try to do a crossup C, and hope that you can hit him
out of his dn-fwd+C. Don't think that you can grab him, unless he has made
a large mistake.
In the other hand, besides turtling, a good Daimon player will also do
jump-in attacks starting with the jump D. The jump D has decent priority,
and can even trade with your low C (not to mention Shermie Whip). So you'd
better block it, and use CD counter if you've a stock.
Also note that his far standing B hits low, which means that you've
to block it crouchingly.
- vs Ralf -
He's very annoying character. All his normals has hella priority, and
does a lot of damage. (especially his jump C, low C and standing C). Also
you may find playing against him is a bit boring, since most Ralf players
will just press the C button in the whole round. :( But in the other words,
beating him is not too difficult, since he'll just repeat pressing the C
button in the whole round. You just have to know how long his Cs can reach
-- and that's all. After you've got used to his normals, you can beat him
easily with your throws, and of course together with your crossup C.
If you've stocks, save them for counter is a better choice.
- Vs Clark -
He's very tough, but if you can deal with Daimon you should also be able
to deal with him.
Don't jump to him, since he has extremely good anti-air move (the jump
D, which is almost unbeatable in the air). You can just sit and turtle a
bit (yeah this is cheap, but this is the best way to play against Clark).
And when he jumps to you (this is what a Clark player will usually do if
you don't attack), do any anti-air move to hit him. Don't let him land,
else you'll be grabbed.
Also watch out if his dp+K move which has invincible frames. He'll
usually do this when you jump close to him, or when you're knocked down.
The best way of dealing with this move is to jump vertically (and so he'll
whiff the throw), and then grab him immediately when you land.
If you've stocks, you'd better save them for DMs.
- Vs Kensou -
Kensou is a standard fireball-dp player. So never jump to him. His
fireball is very annoying that you can't easily jump through it. And even
if you can jump through the fireball, you'll still eat his dp which has
very high priority. If he keeps throwing fireball, and you want to get
close to him, better use the Axel Spin Kick.
Anyway the best way to play Kensou is too keep close anytime. In close
range he can't do much. Don't let him have chance to get away and throw
fireballs. In this case beating him is not very difficult. You just have
to be careful of his dp+P/qcf, qcf+P moves. Both are unblockable, and can
take a lot of damage.
- Vs Chang -
He's a very annoying guy. His jump moves has very high priority and long
range, and with great damage. But that's about all. His normals on ground
is even worst then your's. So when playing against him, you'd better
play a ground game with him. Don't try to play a jump game with him, else
you'll be beaten by his big iron ball.
Try to run to him. At this time he'll normally hop back with a jump C.
Block that, and then run to him again to get close. And then, in close
range, try to jump to his back and hit him with crossup C. Remember this:
To beat a big guy, especially a fat one, you'd better hit him from his
back. :)
One more thing: watch out of his Destruction Throw, which has a lot of
range (almost as long as your Spiral), and deals a lot of damage.
- Vs Shermie -
Well if you use Shermie yourself, you should know how to beat her well.
Just a few notes here: be defensive, don't play to hurry. And in case if
you do a jump-in attack, do the crossup C.
- Vs Chris -
Although he looks cute, playing against him is a nightmare. He's very
very fast, and has a lot of good moves (especially the jump CD which can
even beat your low C, and the dp+P which he can follow up a lot of combos
after it).
When playing against him you'd better be offensive. Try to jump hella lot
to him and do the cross-up C. You don't need to worry about his anti-air
move, because your cross-up C can beat it. Also his sweep (dn-fwd+B) and
the dp+P move are also good anti-airs, so be careful.
Note that almost all his move (especially the hcb+P/K moves) has no end
lag, so don't try to punish him after blocking them (or you'll be punished
instead!)
- Vs Iori -
This annoying guy is in almost everyone's team. It is true that he's
strong, but after playing against him hundreds of time you should be able
to beat him without difficulty.
Some Iori player will play a fireball-dp game. His dp is really very
great, so don't jump to him. You should know what to do now as I've
already mention how to fight a fireball-dp player above.
You also have to watch out his Scum Gale. It has some invincibility,
and Iori can follow up after it. But it is quite slow, so you can jump
away when you see this move out. (Well of course you must have good
reaction.)
Normally don't play air-to-air combat with him. His air D is almost
unbeatable.
If you have stocks, save it for DM will be better. If you want to use
them for counter, only counter his special moves, but not normals. This
is because if you try to counter when you block his normal (say standing
C), he can quickly cancel it to the dp+K move which has invincible time.
So end up you'll be hit.....
- Vs Vice -
Vice is slow, and don't have good anti-air (except low C, but still not
very great). But her Black End is very strong (has invincible time, and
can deal a lot of damage). So don't try to use normals or hit based moves
on her, unless you are sure that you can hit her. Try to jump to her with
a jump D, and then when you land, jump vertically immediately. Usually
Vice will try to grab you when you land, and so at this time she'll whiff
the throw. And you should know what to do afterwards. :)
Besides the Black End, you also have to be careful of her air qcb+K
move, which has unstoppable priority in air-to-air combat. So try to
avoid air combat with her. But in case you really have to do that,
try the jump CD which may trade with her move.
- Vs Takuma -
Again, a fireball-dp player. Most Takuma player will simply throw
fireballs, which is very annoying, in the whole round.
The best way to beat him is to get close to him, because in long range
you can't do anything to him. But still you've carefully choose the best
way to get close.
Don't try to roll through the fireball, coz he's the fw, bk, fw+P move
and the hcb+K move (a running grab) which are very good anti-rolling move.
Jump-in is a better choice, but still shouldn't be used too frequently, sinc
e
his DM is a very good anti-air (as good as Iori's Maiden Masher in 97!).
Using the Axel Spin Kick to get close is a good idea. Cross-up C also can
work as well.
In close range he still has advantage, because he has good normals and
moves, and also his combos can take a lot of damage. So in close range you
should be patient, wait until he makes a mistake, and then punish him. If
you've stocks you'd better save them for counters.
-- Chapter 4: Credits --
============================
- The KoF Mailing List <
[email protected]>
For various information posted by a lot of good players all over the
world. To subscribe to the ML, send a mail to
[email protected] with
the subject "SUBSCRIBE".
- Absolute Zero <
[email protected]>
The first guy who gave me responses to my guide. Those responses are
really useful!! Visit his maniax homepage at
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Castle/9607/index.html
- Gunsmith
He is the second guy that gave me responses....he also has his own
Shermie guide, you can view it at
http://i.am/shermie
It is AWESOME!! You can't miss that.
- Ryo (Neko-kun) (I don't think I should post his e-mail here ;) )
For skimming through my whole guide within two minutes without giving
me any comments. :)
- Serpent Wave <
[email protected]>
He's given me some information on Shermie Kick.
Well....I think that's all, but if you think you should have a credit here,
please send me a mail and I'll add you asap.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
End of Shermie Guide v1.3
