I’m gonna say Orochi Yashiro. He’s great.
Isn’t he banned, though?
In which game?
I know he is borderline top tier in KOF98 and definitely a pick you can’t go wrong with, but I believe Daimon is still considered even better.
As for what was said earlier about KOF and grapplers: yeah. The overall system mechanics of that series really make grapplers shine. Short-hops, runs, rolls and command grabs that can be comboed are all a huge deal, so they get to utilize their strengths really well.
Show and prove! Show and prove!
My pick will easily go to…Killer Instinct’s General Raam:
red venom can literally just walk forward and mash fierce til he gets a grab and then you lose
what? no alpha 2 gief?
No 96 clark?
No Cerebella? I remember people used to sing the praises of her amazing tools she got as a grappler.
Obviously ww gief.
How come no one is posting vids of their choices or at least explaining their toolset? WHAT makes them so special compared to others? HOW are they able to grapple the opponent effectively?
With General Raam, you can’t just throw projectiles/pokes out because of Kryll Shield . With Kryll Shield, you can cancel out of attacks to protect yourself and get closer. He has a stomp attack and fake version (Deception) that allows him to snatch you up or do other attacks. Kryll Rush lets him run in (with a point of armor) and hit you with Kryll Swarm and it can be canceled out of.
Trying to wait him out is very difficult because:
- He has one of the best anti-air attacks in the game. Jumping over him while in the corner is impossible. You ARE going to converse with him (unless you teleport) lol.
- He has a really good “footsie” game for a grappler, leading to constant grabs and knockdowns.
- Kryll Swarm, is a status effect that takes off the opponent’s stamina for good and only comes off if Raam is hit or you wait out the duration.
- Emergence, destroys projectiles and has various degrees of invulnerability (high, low and full).
- Shadow Dominance, is a frame 1 grab. ANY negatives frame that aren’t canceled into safety and you’re getting snatched.
- Kryll Storm, blinds the opponent to Raam’s actions and can cause the opponent to panic because you lose potential life during it’s duration and he can move forward regularly with the armor from Kryll Shield .
Oh yeah, Red Venom is NOT a grappler by design.
Trash belongs in the trash.
Pizzarella doesn’t even count since she herself is not a grappler and her hat is doing all the work.
Oh yeah how about Ryoko from Karnov’s Revenge?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JBYUxSFwvQ
… yeah she sucks… but still… she da best.
People forget HDR Gief.
SnakeEyez was bodying the US with that character free. Seriously that version of Gief is such a monster.
Mary from Tobal.
Need I say more.
some highlights from Tamaki (AquaPazza) and Kira (Arcana Heart 3 Love Max Six Stars!!!), either to show what they can do, or to show some of the matchups
Spoiler
@ AnimEVO 2014
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poSvp-rAYrc
(good Tamaki matches from 19:23 onwards)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEDZEcYv9-0&t=19m23s
Spoiler
(good Kira matches from 1:42:30 onwards)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMUFwOBD9jQ&t=1h42m30s
(Owen’s Kira from 8:25 till the end)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-_DK6YU5gQ&t=8m25s
(some more of Owen’s Kira)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-ltxsf7mQg&t=0m35s
honorable mentions to Bravo (Chaos Code) due to his design and tools (someone will have to find videos for him :p), and Jubei (Fatal Fury 2) for being the first grappler to have hamburger/meat/food/whatever projectiles, and lastly, to Daimon (KoF series) 
(ignore the title 
)
if non-“pure” grapplers were allowed, I’d give HMs to Makoto (3s)
How is RV NOT a grappler? His whole game centers around crouching fierce at medium range walk forward for the untechable grab then you lose
XvSF Gief gets a mention too
No mention of the SF2 grapplers beyond Zangief? Storing your throws without a whiff animation and throw loops were godlike.
damn no King< Asterouth or stun the Insect?
I second Tamaki.
I took out vf wolf from my honorable mentions because it specifically says 2d fighter in the topic title.
I will add that for all intents and purposes Wolfgang Krauser should be a grappler (pro wrestler moves, command grabs etc), and in 98 um he is a damn strong one just not particularly due to his grappling (it helps but it is not what makes him strong).
I’ve never been able to recreate that loopable SPD vs Honda in any version of WW. Apparently it was possible in the SNES version, but I could never get it. You simply cannot grab them at the start of the round without someone moving (or perhaps without them hitting a button). There might be a special revision of the game or something.
NC Gief is OP cos of the glitch that allows for full screen grabs on reversal.
O.Gief can do it in the World Version of ST.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjH2X7gJMik