Here are my reasons why.
[media=youtube]Rstuug3al1U[/media]
Basically, everything you gripe about is because you’re trying to use things in ways they’re not intended to work.
I just started picking up King too :< hopefully this is just someone’s bad opinion
King’s AA problems: Mid-Air Leg Screw, Jaguar Step (timed so that the attack goes right through it and you’re in position for ownage), st. MK works to keep them from getting in the air if close, if they realize you can Mid-Air Leg Screw they will empty jump, at this point you start Knee Lifting them out of the jumps
King’s Konvict Kick: not always the best idea to try this move without meter and I would never use it for tag cancelling. After an EX Konvict, it’s 3 Knees to Running Jaguar Bomb. King is NOT the kind of character that sets up other characters with a tag cancel. King is THE character other characters set up with a tag cancel.
King’s 3 elbows overhead: great conditioning tool. If they block high the first time on the third strike, they might try to block low the next time while getting ready for a poke afterwards. The overhead will connect. Once they realize this, you can stop at two or even one elbow and either do Giant Swing or Shining Wizard depending on how they are blocking. The first elbow leaves King positive on frames, so you can just walk up and throw them. King is a mindfuck master.
King’s command grabs: it’s a guessing game, yes, but this is what makes King so dangerous. If you run into a good player who ISN’T terrified of crouching next to King, then I don’t think that player knows what’s going on. After a cross up or empty cross up, most people will go for the crouching block or the crouching poke. At this point an EX Shining Wizard will put them in their place. Once they are conditioned to NOT crouch after a cross up or fake cross up, you go for Giant Swing! King is the mindfuck master!
Dear Acid, (sometimes a letter just feels right)
I understand your frustration with King, but surely you understand there’s a difference between “I just can’t make this character work,” and “King is not a viable character,” right? Now I’m going to assume that because you posted this video here in the King forums you’re looking for some kind of pushback or commentary, if only because there’s no way someone capable of the well-measured (if a bit off-base) commentary you gave would think that his post would be enough to get a small but dedicated community to throw up their hands and switch characters.
I hope you don’t think I’m being mean-spirited here when I tell you I may have snickered a bit when you bemoaned King’s AA options, especially given your choice to replace him with Heihachi. I’ve played Hei/King exclusively since launch and while it’s not quite Law-tier, Hei’s AA is much more finicky than King’s. With Hei, you’re always mindful of establishing a distance (conveniently around max f.mp range) where his b.mp can catch jump-ins, but in the event an opponent can cross him up, he doesn’t have much of an answer unless you want to risk a f.lp>mp. King, on the other hand, has a much more varied array of options to catch jump-ins from all distances/angles. You’re right in saying that Mid-Air Leg Screw is hit or miss; it puts you in a guessing game you might not want any part of. If this is the case, you need to get comfortable with his other options, since the success of King’s game is predicated upon his ability to keep the opponent on the ground, preferably in the corner, for strikes and throw mix-ups. For long-range jump-ins, timing JKL is ideal since you get a huge combo, but c.HP works as well for discouraging jump-ins. For cross-ups, you really can’t beat cl.MP, if only because there’s **no hurtbox **on his hand. If you can use these confidently, you’re already that much closer to maximizing King’s potential.
I also couldn’t help but find it odd that you were disappointed with King’s ability to open people up, particularly since you’ve highlighted the key to King’s offense in the very video designed to prove he’s not viable. Throughout the game’s life, people have consistently complained that defense is too easy; people have no incentive to push buttons since throws have such short range and long startup. King doesn’t open opponents up in the conventional high-low sense; the threat of his command throw forces his opponents to stay active, opening them up to counterhits, lows, and ultimately, the command throws themselves. The key to successful King play is mixing up his offense - command throws, counterhit setups, frame traps, crossups, and high-low games. Relying solely on his elbows and Jaguar Step “mixups” to open people up can only end in disappointment and frustration.
Finally, have you tried working LK, HK, and Shoulder Tackle into your game? The small clip of King play you shared with us seems to ignore all of these, perhaps King’s most dominating ground tools. LK and HK control great space, while Shoulder Tackle is critical for exploiting the button-pressing that’s caused you to turn your back on our favorite Luchador. Writing King off without having command over his LK and HK is like giving up on Ryu without touching his c.MK or Sagat and his step kicks. These are his bread and butter moves - use them liberally!
Just as I’m sure you didn’t expect us all to quit King after seeing your video, I can’t realistically expect my prose to bring you back to him. All I can hope is that perhaps you give him another chance, or that this inspires someone on the fence to give him another look.
If you’d like to see these ideas in action, I’d be more than happy to show you what King can do on XBL; my GT is QuantumGrav1ty
Thanks for the time,
QG
Maybe he’s just not your type of character. From the gameplay i’ve seen. I don’t think you’re using him to his full potential. Half the fun of playing as King is using his anti-air leg screw and his command grabs to confuse the opponent . Have an opponent that does wake up low pokes? BAM!!! Tomahawk says " Do it again, I dare you!!!" His command throws do 300 damage. His EX Konvict Kick loop is amazing. His shoulder tackle is also a great anti-air and guarantees a counter hit and wallbounce almost all the time. His reverse arm slam also has great range. His Ultra Combo is the Sharpshooter, nothing else needs to be said about that. I hope that you will reconsider.
King was always viable, and now is even more so.