Version 0.25 - Oct 2 1999 Scribbled out by Steven Scougall (s_scougall@hotmail.com)
------- INTRO -------
Before you say: "Hey! This thing doesn't have all her moves in it! What kind of stupid FAQ *is* this?" let me say it's not supposed to be a full fledged FAQ. This is more a report on noteworthy changes on Leona in the KOF99 game, and can be considered a 'supplement' to Tony Wedd's excellent KOF97 Leona FAQ (available at www.gamefaqs.com). A fair bit of his FAQ still applies, so I suggest to read that too.
This guide assumes knowledge of the KOF99 game engine and still has a lot of ironing out to do and "I haven't verified this yet" comments. But it's getting there.
---------- NOTATION ----------
Just to be sure. My notation has at least one quirk, after all.
Fd, Bk, Up, Dn - Forward, Back, Up, and Down, respectively UF, UB, DF, DB - Up-forwards, Up-backwards, Down-Forwards, Down-Backwards respectively A, B, C, D - The A, B, C, and D buttons. When written together it means to press those buttons together (ie, AB means A and B buttons at the same time) QCF + something - Dn, DF, Fd + something QCB + something - Dn, DB, Bk + something ZF + something - Fd, Dn, DF + something (ie, a "Z motion" forwards) ZB + something - Bk, Dn, DB + something HCF + something - Bk, DB, Dn, DF, Fd + something / - "or". for example, ZF + A/C means "Forward, Down, Down- Forwards with either A or C."
------- MOVES -------
Quick movelist ---------------- So you know roughly which moves I mean when I talk about them later on. I talk about almost all of these, except for her 'core' moves (Moon Slasher, Grand Sabre, Baltic Launcher), as those are pretty much the same they've been since KOF97.
Strike Arc Fd/Bk + B
Moon Slasher Charge Dn, Up+A/C Grand Sabre Charge Bk, Fd+B/D Gliding Buster Fd+D after D version of Grand Sabre Baltic Launcher Charge Bk, Fd+A/C Earring Bomb 1 QCB+B/D Earring Bomb 2 - Heart Attack ZB+B/D - Set Explosion ZB+B/D after a succesful Heart Attack X-Calibur QCB+A/C in air
V-Slasher QCF, HCB+A/C in air. Requires one stock Revolver Spark QCB, HCF+B/D Requires one stock Grateful Dead QCF, QCF+A/C Requires one stock
Note ------ Charging times are reduced in KOF99. Instead of charging in one direction for two seconds before being able to use a move, you only have to charge for one second. As Leona's 'core' moves (Moon Slasher, Ground Sabre, A Baltic Launcher) are all charge moves, this means her game can be a bit quicker this year.
Dashing --------- When she dashes Leona no longer crouches low to the ground. This means you can no longer dash under high fireballs. (Well, you can, you just do it with a Grand Sabre, where she still does a crouching run, but you have to be charged for that.)
Dodging --------- Fd+AB now elicits a Slide Dodge, where the character stays standing as they slide and dodge towards the opponent at the same time. During most of this dodge, your character is invulnerable to all attacks except throws. Also during this dodge, you can press a button to get a Slide Attack. This Slide Attack is not normally comboable but is so in Counter Mode. In Armour Mode it juggles the opponent. Or is that the other way around? Whatever. ^_^ Bk+AB now gives an invulnerable backwards dodge, followed by a vulnerable hop forwards so that your character ends up where he/she started. However! Just as your character is landing from the backwards dodge, you can perform a special move to cancel the forwards hop, to either stop hopping back into danger, or hit the opponent. With regards to Leona her forward dodge is much the same as her old forward roll. Her Slide Attack is a two handed fingertip thrust to the midsection, and doesn't have that much range, so make sure she's close to her opponent when she does it. For her backwards dodge, her Heart Attack is a very fast move that can be used to semi-reliably cancel the hop forwards. It's possible, but very difficult, to do a Revolver Spark or Grateful Dead to cancel the hop forwards, to hopefully catch your opponent out of the move you just dodged away from. During the hop forwards she can do either the X-Calibur or the V-Slasher, as she's considered in mid-air.
Crouch A ---------- The Crouch A seems to have been slowed down a bit this year, and you can no longer mash out Crouch As like crazy when the opponent gets close.
Close Standing D ------------------ A knee to the stomach followed by another. This is quite useful, but not in the way it used to be. Before, you could throw it out and have enough time to see if it connected, and if it did you could go into the Revolver Spark DM. If it was blocked, then you just let the move finish and you were safe. Now, however, the Revolver Spark takes too long to come out and will no longer combo from the Close D. The Close D has a new use, however, in that the first hit is about the only move she can combo into a Heart Attack (ZB + B/D) from. Seeing as Close D (1 hit), Heart Attack is now a basic combo starter for her you should get into the habit of doing a Heart Attack after the first hit of a Close D. Another change is that if you do a Strike Arc after both hits, it seems that a V-Slasher will no longer connect after the Strike Arc. The opponent is seemingly too far away and Leona hits the ground before reaching the opponent. So, erm, if you want to do a Strike Arc into a V-Slasher, then cancel after the first hit of a close D.
Close standing C / Far Standing C ----------------------------------- The far C is a straight shoulder level fingertip lunge, and the close standing C is a 2 hit 'uupercut' type move. Before, the Far C wasn't cancellable and neither was the 2nd hit of the Close C - now they both are. At the very least, they're chainable into a Strike Arc. This means that the two moves can overlap somewhat. You can hit C after a jump in attack or a dash and regardless of which one comes out you can chain into a Strike Arc. However, if you started with a Far C then the opponent will be too far away to do a V-Slasher after the Strike Arc. Apart from that, I can't think of much use for the Far C. For the Close C, as it's an uppercut, it can work as some half assed air defence/offence if the opponent jumps at the last second.
Strike Arc ------------ Fd/Bk + B Not much to report this year. Just as useful as before, and she can now also do it with a Bk+B motion, meaning she can keep a backwards charge as she does it. Also, this is always an overhead, even if it's chained from a normal hit. This chains after her Far C, Crouching C, either hit of the Close C, and either hit of a Close D. If you're planning on doing a V-Slasher combo, then for reasons mentioned earlier you should perform the Strike Arc after the first hit of her close moves. After the Far C or the second hit of her close moves, she may be out of luck. This is also useful in that it's totally safe if blocked, so you should always tack it on after a blocked strong hit. You won't do any extra damage, but you'll get a little bit closer to a Guard Crush and you'll build up a fair bit of super meter. Also, don't forget that by itself this is an overhead. I've fought against opponents who seem to forget that and I've caught them trying to crouch-block against the Strike Arc a few times before they catch on. One thing you can try is a couple of low Bs to get the opponent blocking low, then do a Strike Arc, as a moderate high-low game.
Heart Attack -------------- ZB + B/D Leona does a grabbing motion - it's the same 'throw bomb' animation from the Earring Bomb move. I've noticed no difference between the B and D versions yet. If she connects then she places a bomb-like energy type thing on the opponent. While it's placed, you can see it as a small sparkle on the opponent. If Leona takes or even just blocks a hit, then this bomb goes away. There are two ways for this bomb to go off. The first is with another ZB+B/D motion (the "Set Explosion" move). If the opponent is blocking, then his/her guard will be crushed. However, the Set Explosion animation takes ages to get to the actual blowing up part and then takes ages after that to finish - ie it has terrible startup and end lag. Never ever use this method, unless you're miles away and aiming to REALLY humiliate your opponent. The second, much more useful way for the bomb to explode is to wait approximately five seconds, when it goes off on its own. As in the other version of the Earring Bomb the explosion juggles the opponent, and you can further hit the opponent in mid air. If you detonated the bomb with the Set Explosion, however, the lag means you can't actually DO anything. The *true* worth of this move, however, is that immediately after placing the bomb Leona can continue comboing the opponent. It doesn't register on the hits meter for some reason, but a hit after the Heart Attack is definitely unescapable. This property makes the move vital to Leona's lengthier combos, and even leads into a possible Touch of Death combo. The *true* pain of this move is that it's so short ranged. The only thing it will combo reliably off is the first hit of the close standing D. As such, you only ever use this move in combos. It's very useful nonetheless.
X-Calibur ----------- QCB+A/C in air Argh! SNK continues messing with this move - this is the fourth revision in as many games. Sigh. This year, Leona fires a very short ranged X shaped fireball while in mid- air, flying backwards from the recoil. This would be quite useful in Strike Arc combos - but it's too slow. The slowness also means the opponent can see it coming, and if they're on the ball they can then roll past it and whack Leona as she lands. Also, this move overlaps with the V-Slasher DM. Now, if you mess up with a V-Slasher motion, you can often end up with the X-Calibur coming out instead, which is not what you want. So, um, be precise with the motion. More on this in the V-Slasher section. However, I'm starting to like this move. For one, it's great anti-anti- air. As it's a fireball, it will take out the opponent's attempted anti-air move with no danger to Leona. At the very least, it'll keep her in place in the air and then bounce her away from the opponent's attempted anti-air move. And, if you're in Counter Mode for some reason, you can follow the X- Calibur with a V-Slasher.
Earring Bomb 1 ---------------- QCB+B/D It's suffered a very slight name change, but apart from that this is still the same as in KOF98. But as it wasn't in KOF97 (and therefore not in Tony's Leona FAQ) it's getting a mention here. In this move Leona takes off an earring and throws it at the opponent. With the B version the arc is half a screen long, the bomb bounces and continues along and hits low. The D version's arc is a full screen in length. This is a slow move to come out, but like a lot of Leona's moves she can follow up. If this hits the opponent in the corner and she's not too far away, Leona can dash in and hit the opponent as they fall through the air. Or, if you have a stock, a Grateful Dead or V-Slasher works wonders. Of course, because the opponent can see it coming from a mile away they almost never get hit, and you have to either be close or know the bomb is going to hit if you want to follow up with something. What this effectively means is that you won't be landing Earring Bomb 1 into Grateful Dead combos in actual matches. I've also seen this move used as a great boss-killer. When fighting against the 2nd stage CPU Kryzalid, get a full screen's length between the two of you and then just keep on throwing earring bombs at him. The idiot can't seem to work out that he should be doing something about this projectile coming at him and gets hit by it almost every single time. Boring and not very fun, but if Kryzalid's being his typical bastardly self and you REALLY want to see the ending, do this instead. Oh, and there shouldn't be any more of going for a Close D, Revolver Spark combo and getting this move instead, because as that combo no longer works you shouldn't be trying for it anymore. ^_^
V-Slasher DM -------------- QCF, HCB + A/C in air. Takes one stock. The old faithful. Leona goes flying downwards at her opponent and if she connects she does a huge V-shaped slash. The priority is still amazing and still makes Leona Queen of the Air. The DM also still combos from a chained Strike Arc. Very useful. There are two notes to make about it this year. The first is that because of the overlap with the X-Calibur, you have to be careful when going for this move. ALWAYS do the shortcut motion, which is QCF, DF, Bk+A/C. That way you can't get the X-Calibur by accident. The other note is that it will miss if you do it from a chain combo that pushes the opponent too far away. For example, Close D (2 hits), Strike Arc, V-Slasher will miss. Whereas Close D (1 hit), Strike Arc, V-Slasher connects. I haven't noticed any difference between the normal mode and Counter Mode versions. Apart from the fact that the Counter Mode version can be cancelled into from an X-Calibur, in which case it comes out extremely quickly.
Revolver Spark DM ------------------- QCB, HCF+B/D. Takes one stock. Leona lunges forwards and if she connects with the lunge she puts some sort of energy bomb *through* the opponent. (Ouch!) She then poses for a bit, and then the bomb goes off in a massive explosion. Only... she now pauses for a while before lunging forwards. The pause is long enough for this move to not combo from a C or D. This lack of comboability drastically reduces the move's usefulness. It will combo from a Grand Sabre in the corner, but then again almost anything will. It may also combo from a CD counter, counterhit CD, or a Striker action that launches the opponent. The lunge is still low enough to go under high fireballs, so it's still useful to punish fireball happy opponents with. You might think it'd be sped up in Counter Mode, right? I thought so too. And then I tried it out in Counter Mode. It's even SLOWER, even if you try comboing into it from a Close D. You can forget about Close D (2 hits), Revolver Spark DM combos this year. Overall - nowhere near as useful as it used to be. Concentrate on her other DMs instead.
Grateful Dead --------------- QCF, QCF+A/C. Takes one stock. After a quick moment of preparing herself, Leona leaps forwards at the opponent, and if she connects she drains their life energy from them - *through their FACE* (ouch!) - all the while surrounded by smoke and white lines of energy. I *love* this DM. It's quite quick to start up and the leap is FAST. The priority is quite high - I've seen this grab Mary out of her dodge, and grab King out of her Illusion Dance DM. In my opinion, this DM makes Leona Queen of the Screen, and she can use it to grab her opponent from anywhere. But, obviously, the further away the opponent is the more time Leona will need to get to them. So, um, don't use this to punish small mistakes from a full screen's distance. The drawback is that there's that small moment of preparation just before she leaps. I'm not sure if it's invulnerable or not. This is something I still have to check. I've tried this a couple of times in Counter Mode, and haven't noticed anything extra different about it in that mode. I haven't tried comboing a strong normal (C or D) into this. Sense dictates that because of the startup lag it won't combo, though I have seen combo lists saying it's possible. In any case, the Grateful Dead combos off Earring Bombs, CD counters, counterhit CDs, Grand Sabres, and launching Striker actions. This is part of why I like it so much. You can use it almost anywhere. ^_^
Striker Action ---------------- Leona's Striker Action is to come scuttling out in the crouching dash animation, and if it connects she causes the opponent to explode and hurtle into the air, where the opponent can be juggled. Because she crouches as she runs, this is good to use against a high fireball happy opponent.
-------- COMBOS --------
Leona's basic DM combo is now:
Optional jump-in attack, Close D (1 hit), Heart Attack, Close D (1 hit), Strike Arc, V-Slasher
This comes out fast and does pretty good damage. On SDM level the V-Slasher takes a few seconds longer to complete so the combo isn't quite as fast anymore. This is very good because everything up to the DM is safe if blocked. So you can jump in, tap out the sequence, and you have plenty of time to see it's been blocked and if you should go into the DM. You can replace the Close D with a Close C (1 hit). If it turns out that my worries about the opponent being pushed too far away for a V-Slasher are incorrect, then you should also be able to substitute a 2 hit Close D, a 2 hit Close C, or a Far C in place of the 1 hit Close D before the Strike Arc. But wait! There's more! After the combo ends the Earring Bomb is still on the opponent! What this means is that about five seconds after the Heart Attack the bomb explodes, flinging the opponent into the air, where Leona can perform a followup hit. Such as, say, a Grateful Dead DM, if she has a stock. ^_^ This isn't a true combo, but if Leona gets far enough away after the V- Slasher then the opponent can't hit her and thus can do nothing about the Earring Bomb that's about to explode. Remember how I said earlier that she could do a Touch of Death combo? This is only a guess, but it would be the above combo at SDM level. Because the V- Slasher takes longer at SDM level, you'd have to do the Grateful Dead almost right after landing, but it should work.
Her best non DM combo is now probably:
Optional jump-in attack, Close D (1 hit), Heart Attack, Crouch C, C Moonslasher
Just keeping holding DB after the Heart Attack and you have enough time to charge for a Moonslasher. If the Moonslasher isn't coming out then try a barrage of crouching As instead of a Crouch C, to give youself more time for the charge. If the Earring Bomb placed by the Heart Attack explodes and you can follow up, well, try anything. This is another area I haven't messed around with much.
If blocked, then the best thing to do is probably
Optional jump-in attack, Close D (1 hit), Heart Attack, Any ground C/D, Strike Arc
This is safe and builds up stock. Using a 2 hit Close C/D should build up slightly more power meter, so they're probably the better ones to use between the Heart Attack and Strike Arc.
There are of course other combos Leona can do, both sensible and exotic ones that you'd never do in an actual match, but the ones above are the main ones.
------- MODES -------
A new addition to KOF99, these provide another way to use your super meter. Once you have a full three stocks, you can use all of them at once to go into either Counter Mode or Armour Mode. These modes have their advantages and disadvantages, which I'll detail below, along with their relevance to Leona. However, note here that they both have one BIG disadvantage - once they've run out your super meter disappears completely and you can't do ANY Desperation Moves at all for about ten seconds.
Counter Mode -------------- This mode is all about the combos. It lasts about thirty seconds. During that time, your character flashes red, he/she can do unlimited DMs, and can cancel special moves into DMs. However, even if your lifebar is flashing red, you can't do SDMs. Also in this mode, DMs usually have different properties. Their priority is weakened and startup times are changed, though as far I understand it their startup is always very short if you cancel into a DM from a special move. This is to encourage you to you them in long combos for maximum effectiveness and damage. How does this apply to Leona? Not very well I'm afraid. Being able to do unlimited DMs would be useful. However, the ONLY special moves she can combo INTO (from is a different matter) are the Heart Attack and the Moon Slasher. And she can already follow the Heart Attack with another move, so being able to cancel it into a super is worthless. She MIGHT be able to mess around and combo a Moon Slasher into a Grateful Dead, though, but really, why would you bother? She can also cancel a Grand Sabre into a Revolver Spark or a Grateful Dead. This is one of the few times you can combo into a Revolver Spark, if you really want to do that this year. Because of those DMs' startup times, you can't normally follow a Grand Sabre with them. (At least, I haven't been able to do so yet.) But really, all the combo possibilities in Counter Mode don't even match Leona's Jump D, Close D (1 hit), Heart Attack, Close D (1 hit), V-Slasher, Grateful Dead. Unless you do Grand Sabre, Crouch C, Moon Slasher, Grateful Dead in the corner after the opponent is exploded by the Earring Bomb, of course. ^_^
Armour Mode ------------- This mode is all getting a chance to blitz through your opponent's assault and wipe 'em out. It lasts about eight seconds. During that time, your character flashes yellow, can't do ANY DMs, but has super armour. That is, if he/she takes a hit they still take damage but continue on with whatever he/she was doing. A couple of hits will still knock your character down, however, with the humble low D being one of them. I won't comment any further, because 1) I haven't used this mode much, and 2) This mode doesn't suit Leona at all. This mode really only suits grappler characters or those that can do HUGE damage really quickly without using DMs. One such character I can think of immediately is Chang. Two other possible contenders for Armour Mode are Maxima and Clark. Leona is not such a contender.
Verdict --------- As you can tell from the descriptions for the modes, I dislike both, at least as far as Leona is concerned. But the biggest problem is not what I've written for each one, but the simple fact that for about ten to twelve seconds after a mode runs out Leona can't do any DMs at all. It's being able to perform a Grateful Dead or a V-Slasher which is makes her a threat. Not having that threat for such a long time, especially in the fast supercharged gameplay of KOF99, is a massive drawback.
---------- STRATEGY ----------
Just do what you did in KOF97. ^_^
Notes/Exceptions ------------------ * NEVER try to combo Close Ds into the Revolver Spark, as mentioned. It's just a waste of a stock. * In fact, try not to use the Revolver Spark too much. The Grateful Dead has about the same startup time and can be used to catch the opponent anywhere on screen, not just on the ground. The Revolver Spark might do more damage, though. * In combos, make full use of the Heart Attack and use a Close D (1 hit), Heart Attack as part of standard combo procedure. * Connect the Strike Arc after most strong hits, whether they're blocked or not. It comes out reasonably quickly and recovers safely, helps to add pressure, and it builds up more super meter. Also, throw it out against idiotic crouching opponents who haven't yet realised Leona has an overhead. (The number of such players who get caught by it, at least around here, is amazing.) * Throw Earring Bombs when you're at mid to long range as you just might get lucky and hit the opponent, at which point, depending on how far away you are, you can follow up with something. If you have a stock, then the Grateful Dead is THE way to go. * Use the Grateful Dead to catch opponent's mistakes if you're on the ground. It's sort of a ground based V-Slasher like "catch the opponent out of whatever they're doing" DM. * Can you tell I like the Grateful Dead? ^_^ * After a backwards AB dodge, you can cancel into a special move to avoid the hop forwards. This could be a good use of the Revolver Spark DM or the Grateful Dead DM - dodge backwards from an attack and then DM the opponent as they recover from the attack he/she just tried to hit you with, for example. If you don't want a counterattack and just want to dodge backwards, then a Heart Attack comes out quick and is virtually recovery-free and is probably the best option.
Hmm, a lot of Notes/Exceptions. Maybe I should expand on this sometime.
------- FLUFF -------
D winpose ----------- A completely new winpose! She turns away from her fallen opponent and holds a hand up to her face. A shadow flits across her face as her eye gleams, making her look extra scary. As she poses, she says "[something] Sore ni, tairitsu muri wa nai". I think that second part means something like, "Besides that, mutual antagonism is not impossible." I think. Besides, it makes little sense without knowing what the first part of the quote is. After the quote she throws her arm to the side, as if to fling the opponent's blood off her hand.
C winpose ----------- Leona speaks into her wristwatch communicator, saying the good old "Ninmu... kanryou." ("Mission... complete.") She then takes off her hair tie and shakes her hair out, then turns her head partially away from the opponent, looking at him/her out of the corner of her eye.
B winpose ----------- She crosses an arm over her midsection, holding her other just above the elbow, shakes her head, and says "Anata de wa katenai" ("You cannot win"). This used to be an introductory pose in KOF98.
A 'winpose' ------------- The A button selects a winpose randomly.
Colours --------- Characters only have two colours in KOF99 - one with A and another with B. Leona's A colour is the old army green colour. Her B colour is a hideous pink. Leona in PINK?!? Gah... Anyway, you should perhaps check it once to see just how awful it is and why you should never pick it again.
Endquote ---------- "Why did you do it? You never had a chance." Surprisingly not too bad, given how shaky a lot of endquotes are. (Just witness Mai's for an example of how messy they can be.)
----------------- VERSION HISTORY -----------------
Version 0.25 - Oct 2 1999 Lots of changes, both minor and not so minor, and some formatting changes. Biggest obvious change is the addition of sections on dodges and on modes. Some unsure information fixed up. Move names cleared up. Addition of this Version History, stuck down at the bottom where it belongs.
Version 0.1 - Sep 26 1999 First version
-------------- END COMMENTS --------------
Eh, I might flesh this out into a proper FAQ sometime. Depends on how the mood takes me.
Do you have comments? Criticism? Verifications? A better translation of "sore ni, tairitsu muri wa nai"? "You're stupid and don't know anything about Leona" comments? Send 'em to s_scougall@hotmail.com. Flames will be ignored, though.
Thanks go to PsychoKick (wyoon@panix.com), who I got the "Z motion" abbreviation from. I think it works better than the usual "DP" (for "Dragon Punch motion") and "RDP" (and "Reverse Dragon Punch motion") you see. After all, the Heart Attack move isn't a Dragon Punch type move going backwards.
A credit must go to MC Gunsmith as I used his KOF99 FAQ to verify and correct the move names. A credit must also go to him as he e-mailed me some Leona info, but I saw his message about five minutes before sending this off so it hasn't been included yet.
Amazingly, according to international copyright law, this miniguide is copyrighted by me. As if it's worth nicking from. However, to please the lawyer types, I'll throw in a:
This document is copyright 1999 by Steven Scougall.
Thank you for reading.
Version somereallysmallnumbergreaterthan0.1 - I'll go with 0.25 Steven Scougall 02/10/99
