they all have fast high priority overheads too. This is why KOF grapplers are so strong, cause you can threaten opponents with hop D and then punish with grabs when they start to block.
^^ you have to take account that KOF has like almost no reliable anti-airs. That’s why it’s easy to just pressure people with hop cd or jump cd.
In terms of grapplers being on the defensive: Theres just something about Hugo/Zangief that makes me want to just tear them to shreds, zero blocking and just rush them down. If most people are thinking like that seems pretty likely you’ll be defending a lot. Just my take on it.
Don’t forget that grapplers in KOF usually have an assortment of command grabs that have 1-frame startup and/or have autoguard or invincibility on them (on the other hand I guess 1-frame startup is pretty common these days). I don’t think I’ve seen too many games that give cmd throws enough invincibility to blow through fireballs.
They still do have their limitations in KOF though; jumps are instant in KOF so you always have that option to get out of a grab if you’re being pressured (although Clark and Daimon have a variety of options to keep you on the ground if necessary). Also, AFAIK you can’t limb-grab the way OG Gief can, which makes random poking much safer (or is actual Gief limb-grabbing just a figment of my imagination?)
nope, limp grabbing makes Gief that much scarier.
Most C dp’s in KOF are invincible, and many stand A’s are good against short hopping. Really I think it’s more because good jump normals tend to have more diesel hitboxes than ones in traditional SF games, and short hop is jsimply harder to react in time to.
They aren’t instant, it’s just that there’s throw invincibility from hitstun/blockstun. I mean it’s been that way since Alpha 1 or w/e. The concept is the same though, you can always jump out.
elaborate on what KOF is this true? Pretty much the newer KOFs have no reliable anti-airs.
Anyway, I’m just talking about my experience with KOF 2k3 and XI.
The problem I see with the DP is that it only works with oppponets coming down from a 45 degree angle… but it they get shit rushed down and the jump is coming around from greater than the 45 degree angle, then the DP gets out prioritize.
Case in point Maxima’s Jumping D in XI. 
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V-Sodom and V-Gief don’t count because they’re tops because of CCs, not grapples.
If they were good mostly because of their grabs, you’d see many more Alpha 3 players using A-Gief and X-Sodom…but, you don’t.
Something with 98 Daimon. He doesn’t even need his unblockable grabs–they just make him even more beastly.
Why are people in this thread saying Alex is actually a good grappler? Hes pretty dogshit in 3s, just cause people can win with him, doesnt mean he:s any good. hes gaebage
Last time I checked Makoto is considered a grappler and she’s pretty high up on the tier list.
I’ll take the flamebait.
According to your logic, just because people can win with any character, doesn’t mean they are good characters, meaning that no character is good, and it is up to the player to decide who they play best with, this includes Alex. Therefore your logic has been thrown in the trash.
p.s. Sabin is a top Alex player
Alex isn’t even a grappler. His super grab is hardly played and his power bomb, while enjoyable to land, is twice as slow on start up as a kara grab at less range.
Makoto’s grab actually forces you to play around it becasue it KILLS YOU. Nearly every mixup she can use ideally ends in a grab. It defines her game and she wins wayyyy more than Hugo and Alex. She is a good grappler!
I was under the impression that grapplers = Wrestlers.
U serious?
Alex is a straight up grappler. I’m shocked that you consider otherwise and claim that Makato is a grappler just cuz she has a command throw.
Actually, I didn’t get what you mean.
He meant that using Alex as an example of a good grappler is wrong, because he’s a bad character in 3s.
Actually by your logic, every character is top tier.
You could argue that Makoto’s command throw defines Makoto (or rather, defines the opponent’s loss) but Alex is all about them EX moves.
Would Leo and Demitri in CFE be considered part-grappler? I’m not saying that they are like Gief in grappling, but both of them have 360s that function like a SPD, and Leo has a 720 that acts like a FAB. Yes, I know that Demitri is primarily a rushdown/combo character like pretty much all the DS characters in that game were (correct me if I’m wrong), but he can somehow pull off out-of-nowhere SPDs in the middle of chains (again, correct me if I’m wrong or if it’s impractical). Leo, I’m honestly not sure. I guess he was a poking character because of that sword’s monstrous range (Red Earth characters in that game strived off long-range pokes), but yet again, the ability to pull off out-of-nowhere SPDs can help out, I guess. I don’t really know, this is just an overall assumption.