The King of Fighters is no stranger to ridiculously overpowered attacks. They're not exclusive to bosses either — everyone gets to join in on the fun!
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The King of Fighters '94
- Command grabs Specifically... are incredibly powerful due to a bug — if you combo into them, you can walk or dash back into range and grab the opponent again as they're getting up. If you're fast enough, you can just keep grabbing the opponent until they're KOed.
- Genocide Cutter, used by Rugal Bernstein. It's an incredibly strong anti-air attack that takes away anywhere from 40% to all of your health if it connects. What made this particular iteration of Genocider Cutter absolutely loathed is that Rugal can read your inputs and will throw it when appropriate, unlike later incarnations as well as the fact that it has insanely fast recovery, where Rugal can potentially use it again the moment he returns to the ground.
The King of Fighters '95
- 75 Shiki Kai, used by Kyo Kusanagi. It's a two-part Launcher Move with two distinct versions — the light version comes out incredibly fast, and the heavy version juggles. By taking advantage of Special Move Morphing, you can combine the two, creating a Launcher Move that's both fast and capable of juggling, and unlike later appearances of this attack, where you're limited to one follow-up, there's effectively no limit here. You can probably see where this is going...
- 127 Shiki Aoi Hana, used by Iori Yagami, is a rekka ending in a hard knockdown. It's an incredibly powerful punish option on its own, but if it hits a jumping opponent, you can infinitely juggle them by repeating the first two parts. In Italy, an oversight in the stage's intro sequenceDetails allows you to do this to some characters before they can even move.
The King of Fighters '96
- Mature's standing Blowback Attack is huge and sends the opponent flying. While that is standard for a Blowback Attack, what isn't is the fact that it comes out on frame 5, in a game where that's the average startup speed of a jab. It is somewhat unsafe on block, but in that situation, Mature can cancel it into Metal Massacre to push the opponent away, making it difficult to punish.
- Goenitz has two:
- Yonokaze spawns a tornado at one of four positions depending on the button used, ranging from right in front of Goenitz to roughly half a screen-length away. These tornados come out incredibly quickly, and cover the entire vertical length of the screen, stopping any attempt at approaching him unless you're playing as one of the few characters who have moves that can bypass them. They're also incredibly safe on block, allowing him to trap you in blockstun indefinitely, or tick-throw you to death with his Yamidoukoku DM.
- Speaking of Yamidoukoku, Goenitz's ability to use DMs whenever he wants makes it very annoying. While the damage is relatively low for an SNK Boss super, it's a command grab, giving him an unblockable tool to punish you for the crime of making it past his tornadoes.
The King of Fighters '97
- Marukare is probably the first thing to come to mind when one thinks of Orochi, although his Harae special (the projectile attack that can't be nullified by anything) is pretty bad too. Just be thankful that they didn't have him spam his Ho no Susori like Goenitz's Yonokaze.
The King of Fighters '98
'98: The Slugfest
- Ichimen 85 Katsu Reigi no Ishizue, used by Chizuru Kagura. She sends out a dancing clone that hits multiple times. If the attack hits, Chizuru can still move around, allowing her to tack on additional damage with her normals. If you block it, you're trapped in blockstun for an incredibly long time, allowing for free mix-ups.
- Gravity Smash, used by Omega Rugal. It's a chargeable projectile, similar to normal Rugal's Kaiser Wave. However, unlike Kaiser Wave, the charging animation has a hitbox that covers almost all of his body, making it very difficult to hit him out of it. The projectile itself is also fairly large, making it somewhat difficult to dodge.
- Chris' air Blowback (C+D, both Strong attacks). Fast startup, very deceptive hitbox, and is advantageous on block like most Air CDs. There's a reason why this move became a meme in and of itself. Thankfully nerfed as of XV where it's now a lot slower than it was before.
- Kyo's jumping light kick had a severe case of Hitbox Dissonance and was much larger than it appears. It beat damn near every normal anti-air attack in the game and it could cross up for good measure. Thankfully SNK toned it down in Ultimate Match.
'98: Ultimate Match
- Orochi's Marukare is largely the same as it was in '97, but with an extra nasty trick — if the opponent is in the center of the screen, they get hit roughly twice as many times, with damage increasing accordingly. This means that the opponent is potentially susceptible to massive damage simply by being at the wrong place at the wrong time and not blocking, with the SDM version potentially killing an opponent from full health.
The King of Fighters '99
- Ryuu Renda, used by Sie Kensou. It's an autocombo ending in a launcher that allowed for additional followups. If it hits, it can potentially be used to set up an infinite involving his Senkyuutai. If it's blocked, the move is so ridiculously safe that the only thing preventing it from creating blockstun infinites is the fact that the opponent will likely have enough meter for a Guard Cancel Blowback before you can chip them to death.
- Krizalid has three in his second form:
- Typhoon Rage is probably his most infamous move. It's a projectile that's roughly as large as Krizalid himself, gives him enormous amounts of meter on block, and beats all other projectiles. Also, while the strong version is stationary, the light version expands by roughly half a screen-length, making it more difficult to jump over.
- Lethal Impact is frighteningly versatile. It's a grab that comes out incredibly quickly and catches both grounded and jumping opponents, giving Krizalid a way to stuff basically any approach in just one move. If you somehow manage to not get grabbed by it, it becomes an overhead that inflicts hard knockdown.
- Desperate Moment is a lunging command grab that causes the opponent to switch sides. Krizalid does have a dedicated follow-up to this known as Moment Penetration, but the recovery is so short that it can be followed up with just about anything. There is an infinite involving this move, but unless you're playing a version where Krizalid is unlockable, you're probably not going to see it unless you're catastrophically unlucky.
The King of Fighters 2000
- Jhun's Ryuurou Shou is an aerial stomp attack that bounces you back up after it hits, and can potentially be followed up with another aerial. That by itself isn't particularly special, but if you hit the opponent with it while they're in the air, they get sent upwards at the perfect angle for another Ryuurou Shou, which, if you're quick enough, can be followed up with another one. You can probably see where this is going.
The King of Fighters 2001
- Foxy's crouching light kicks are unblockable if they connect during the last few active frames. While this alone may seem too impractical to take advantage of, pressing the Heavy Punch button immediately afterward causes the unblockable period to last throughout the entire duration of the move for some reason.
- Original Zero has Ron. His attack is unblockable and tracks your position to an extent, allowing for free damage from just about anywhere on the screen. It is fairly telegraphed, but Zero likes to deploy him shortly before using Hakura Messei, so you're probably going to be too focused on blocking that to dodge it.
- Iori's 127 Shiki Aoi Hana was buffed to the moon in this game. The second part can be Super Cancelled, but if you don't have enough meter to actually do so, the endlag is reduced, allowing for juggle combos that wouldn't otherwise be possible, and making the move much safer on block. As if that wasn't enough, the first two parts can cancel into other special moves. This allows you to, among other things, make it safe on block by canceling into Yami Barai, or this
if you're fast enough.note - Igniz has two:
- Cain Blade Transaxial Slice has huge range and launches you upwards. However, unlike other attacks with similar properties, it never stops being able to do this, allowing for fairly easy infinites.
- His SDM, Brutal God Project, takes away roughly 80% of your health if it hits. That alone would be bad enough, but Igniz's damage output is so high that the other 20% can disappear very quickly. If he combos into it...
The King of Fighters 2002
2002
- Goro Daimon's MAX2, Furinkazan. It's the strongest attack in the game, taking away roughly 75% of the opponent's health. That alone is bad enough, but the glitch that allows for unblockable Jiraishin setups affects this move too, although the setups for this move don't work on as much of the cast.
- Kim's Sankuu Kyaku is a rekka that branches off from Sanren Geki, and is easily the more threatening of the two branches. On block, it's safe if properly spaced, and can cause a Guard Crush after 3 or 4 uses. On hit, the damage is fairly high for a special move, to the point where simply canceling into the strong version from a normal can take off up to a third of your health.
- Kaiser Wave, used by Omega Rugal. Unlike past incarnations of the move, there are three distinct variations depending on how much it's charged, and all of them are incredibly powerful. The uncharged version is huge, travels at damn near the speed of light, and comes out incredibly quickly, the partially charged version is smaller, but still quick, and the fully-charged version is unblockable. In versions of the game where Rugal is playable, you can win entire matches just by spamming this.
Unlimited Match
- Heidern's Neck Roller. It's unblockable, has a deceptive hitbox, does quite a bit of damage, and is quite difficult to react to.
- Nameless' Rasen. Remember K9999's giant, fleshy arm attack that was ripped straight out of AKIRA? Yeah, imagine that, but if it were a gigantic drill that takes up just as much of the screen (if not more so), does even more damage (especially if it's canceled into during a combo) than in vanilla 2002, and hits On the Ground, on top of that. Comparatively, though, the only thing keeping it from being outright spammable is its clunky input and high meter cost.
- Krizalid in general. Chief among his moves, however...
- Typhon Rage, good lord. Not only does it have absurd priority, can be spammed as much as Rugal's Kaiser Wave, and a banally easy quarter-circle input, but it also builds meter very quickly... ON BLOCK. Little wonder why Word of God had to apologize for "overdoing it a little".
- Lethal Impact is also just as ridiculous. A Swiss Army knife of a move that can be used as an overhead, a counter, and an anti-air, the cherry on top would be the fact that it can combo into Lightning Disaster (see below) very easily, pretty much ensuring victory for Krizalid if you manage to get that lucky hit in.
- His MAX2, Lightning Disaster. It's a screen-filler that deals ridiculous amounts of damage on both hit and block. As if that wasn't enough, it can be comboed into from just about anything, including throws, his other supers, and non-counterhit Blowback attacks. Oh yeah, it also hits OTG (on the ground), too. Fun.
The King of Fighters 2003
- Duo Lon has Shaki Juuryuu. It's a rekka with two branches, both of which are incredibly powerful. The first branchnote ends in a Launcher Move, allowing for juggles or incredibly disorienting mixups involving his teleport. The second branch'snote ender deals a lot of hitstun, allowing it to link into light normals, which can in turn cancel into Shaki Juuryuu, where you can then... well, you can probably see where this is going. If that wasn't enough, all parts of it can be cancelled into his projectile or his teleport, making it incredibly safe on block.
- Ash's Pluviose on its own is by all means a fairly excellent SDM that's punishable on block and does plenty of damage (on top of being a good anti-air to work with, too). But doing it as you're switching him in? It becomes unblockable. Have fun with that.
The King of Fighters XI
- Gato's Ana Kiba fires a short-ranged projectile that's incredibly fast, builds tons of meter easily, and is incredibly safe on block. It's not particularly rewarding on hit, since all you get out of it is a knockdown, but its other qualities make it one of the best tools in his already powerful kit.
- Ryo's LDM, Tenchi Haoh Ken. It's an instant stun on hit, and is one of the few LDMs that can be Quick Shifted out of, allowing for just about any kind of followup. Punishing it is also much harder than it looks since Ryo is invincible during startup and the attack itself pushes you far away if you block it.
- Kula's jumping Strong Punch. Simple to use and has a huge hitbox, comes out incredibly fast, and does a fair bit of damage. Quite a mundane example compared to some of the other entries on this page, but still no less effective.
- G. Slaves, Adelheid's Leader SDM. It's essentially his father's Gigantic Pressure, but comes out a lot faster instantly corners you no matter where you are on the stage, and he also has a version that has Rose come in and praise him on top of that.
- Tenryuu Retsu Kiba, another Leader SDM; this one belonging to Gato. Uniquely, rather than having a conventional motion input, one must actually do a dragon punch motion plus the Blowback button three times in quick succession for the attack to come out. And it's apparent from the input that this attack is extremely abusable not only because you can just stop after the first hit and risk very little, but if executed fully, you'll straight up obliterate half of the opponent's health right then and there. Never mind its absurd combo potential if you Dream Cancel into it, either.
- Joker, yet another Leader SDM, courtesy of Oswald. Like most examples on the list, not only is the damage potential just downright insane, but while its input might seem peculiarnote , it's actually extremely easy to cancel into, especially after his Royal Flush special, which gives you all day to buffer the input. Once that's done, well... you may as well account for one less character right then and there. All in! It returns as Oswald's Climax in XIV.
- Shion has an invisible projectile (Sinking Wing Bolt) that comes out insanely fast and can also be used in the air. What's amusing is that even this isn't as cheap as, well, Magaki himself.
- Magaki has three:
- Phantom Sphere fires a projectile that's incredibly large, beats all other projectiles, and deals a lot of damage if it isn't blocked. There are moves that can go through them, but they only work consistently on the Strong Punch version. Good luck trying to figure out which version's which while Magaki is actively spamming all of them.
- If you somehow manage to get through all of the fireballs, he can simply use Exploding Sphere to send you back to square one. It's huge, completely invincible, and sends you flying, allowing him to keep spamming his fireballs. Also, it can reflect projectiles. Because he totally needed that.
- His LDM, Universe Distortion, covers the entire screen. That alone would be bad enough, but it also lasts long enough to KO one of your characters, then hit the next one as they're coming in.
The King of Fighters XIII
- Kim's standing heavy kick was infamous for it's speed and range. It did two hits, hit crouching opponents, and if it connected Kim could link into a crouching light kick for huge damage depending on how much meter Kim was willing to burn.
- Shen's jumping blowback attack had a huge hitbox and was extremely hard to anti-air. Even worse if it counter hit, as Shen could get a huge combo off it. His standing blowback attack was also a pain thanks to having guard point on it, but that was removed in a patch.
- Raiden's Super Dropkicks singlehandedly moved him in to top tier status in the original arcade release. The charge time was fast, he could combo into and out of it, and at levels 3 and 4 it could break guards. Majority of Raiden's nerfs in the console version was bringing down Super Dropkick to manageable levels.
The King of Fighters XV
- Taking a page from Kula back in XI, there's Ralf's standing Strong Kick. For an innately aggressive character, this is far and away one of Ralf's best buttons to use in the neutral, being capable of snuffing out most attempts at getting in, can punish the opponent from a considerable distance (and convert into MAX Mode Quick if he has the meter to burn), and comes out pretty quickly on top of that. When in doubt, a boot to the head will always snuff out any attempt at approaching Ralf. It would eventually be patched in 1.32, which nerfed it by giving it slower startup, a worse hitbox, and is easier to interrupt Ralf before he performs it, bringing him down to a more reasonable level in the process.
- At launch, Robert's Ryuko Ranbu could juggle if used in the corner. People quickly discovered combos that took advantage of this, including several loops that, while not necessarily infinite, could easily lead to a win via time-out due to how long the move lasts, especially when used multiple times in a row. The move's juggling ability would eventually be removed in a patch, making it one of the first moves to be directly nerfed during the game's lifespan.
- Krohnen's crouching Strong Punch is arguably one of the best normals in the entire game next to the aforementioned Strong Kick from Ralf - HUGE range, hits twice (with the first hit being special cancelable while the second acts like a generic sweep), and lowers Krohnen's hurtbox enough that even goes under some projectiles (chief among them being Ash's Ventose or Robert's Ryuu-Geki Ken). You can throw this out at the start of the round and the opponent will be none the wiser.
- On the topic of Krohnen, there's also his Heat Shield. A move that you WILL quickly find yourself using a lot. Why? Let's recap - huge hitbox that surrounds Krohnen (making it amazing against crossups) and is active for an eternity, near-instantaneous startup, hits like a truck (especially if you cancel it into Infernal Prominence, which is banally easy to do), absorbs projectiles, has varying degrees of invulnerability framesnote , and did we mention the EX version launches on hit? Now, do you see why it was such a common sight in EVO 2022? The devs apparently disliked how dominant this move was and nerfed many aspects of it - most notably it no longer works against crossups, causing the hitbox to not match up. EX heat shield, the single most feared move in the game, also no longer works as a launcher outside of corners.
- Joe's EX Hurricane Upper is not only annoying because of the incessant Beam Spam that comes from it, but also because it's very difficult to dodge safely at all. You can roll through it like any projectile, but the problem here lies in the projectiles themselves having such massive hitboxes that you're liable to get hit after the roll, putting you back at square onenote . Jumping over them is also out of the equation not only because of the hitboxes but also because Joe can just use Tiger Kick or standing Strong Kick the second you jump. Fortunately, there are some characters that can beat this very easily - Elisabeth's Illusion being a prime example, while Krohnen's EX Strike Slashnote is also not a bad choice, either.
- Otoma=Raga's tendril attack. Hits you full screen, causes a wall bounce (which she may or may not combo you from) does a crap-ton of damage, is nigh-impossible to roll through, and comes out instantaneously, making it difficult to react to. Also, 9 times out of 10, she'll follow up her counter move with this, just to annoy you more. This is pretty much what makes her a pain in the ass to even approach her.
- Rugal's "Menacing Walk", which is a composite of his Destruction Omega and (in)famous Dead End Screamer, where he walks up to you, lifts you up and punches you, and then stomps on you, in that order. It's one thing for this move to deal at least 54% of your health (if not kill you right then and there if it's low enough), but the fact that it no sells every single attack in the entire game is what makes it utterly ridiculous. It's so absurd that your only options are either to walk away (which is liable to corner you) or jump over him (where poorly timing your jump will, well... just read the second sentence again). When SNK said that Rugal is the CPU from hell in his reveal trailer, they fucking meant it.note
Maximum Impact series
Maximum Impact
- Duke has two:
- Sledgehammer comes out incredibly fast, deals a lot of damage, and travels a fairly long distance. It is a super, but since Duke has infinite meter, he can use it whenever he wants.
- Ground Zero, his Level 3, breaks your guard on hit. This leaves you open to just about anything Duke does until the Guard gauge replenishes itself, including another Ground Zero, which Duke can immediately use, thanks to the aforementioned infinite meter. Dodging it is also difficult, since the attack itself is a huge explosion that's big enough to catch both sidesteps and jumps, and generous invincibility frames ensure that interrupting it isn't an option either.
Maximum Impact 2 / The King of Fighters 2006
- Jivatma's Level 2, Hell's Standard. It fires a stream of dark smoke that covers the entire area in front of Jivatma. If any part of it connects, it deals massive damage, and since Jivatma's Power gauge fills up on its own, he'll likely have it ready the moment you give him an opening. While it doesn't deal nearly as much damage when used by a human player, it's still an incredibly effective zoning tool.
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