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MK1 Character Guides

ded

ded

Elder God
I decide to write some stuff about character guides for MK1 because i see there is a small but at least any interest about it. I'd add stuff from time to time if i miss something but i cant guarantee when the next character will be done or when i will update the guides. The guide will cover only revision 5.0 of course because its the most balanced and the latest official revision.

I'd like to thanks to Soultaker also, because he helps a lot and add stuff here and there.

I. General Gameplay Guide
II. Throw/Uppercut Brokeness Video Examples

1. Sonya
2. Johnny Cage
3. Liu Kang
4. Kano
5. Raiden
6. Sub-Zero
7. Scorpion
 
ded

ded

Elder God
Johnny Cage


Cage is ranked as #2 character in MK1. He has good wakeup setups, rushes and decent punishers. His uppercut is probably the fastest uppercut in the game but with weird collision boxes. For example after blocked Freeze you cant uppercut Sub-Zero even if you are close to him. Its still very usefull for a Jump Kicks/Punches and if you got an uppercut in corner vs someone you can add massive combo damage even in revision 5.0. His uppercut is very usefull also if someone jabs you, when the biggest chance to connect the uppercut through the jabs is against ninjas or Raiden. Cage is somehow vulnerable to aa grounded unblockable sweeps. Because of his falling animation some characters can get aaKnee, unblockable Sweep or JK, unblockable Sweep on him.


His duck LK is a standart, you can use it for jab escapes or countering jks if you have not enough energy to block - uppercut. Slow HK, better use his LK, it can counter even Sonya's sweep. Cage has also good jabs pressure, you can connect low jab and make ducked opponent standup through crouch kick if its vs Liu Kang and Raiden. Use his HP only for retalation and you can try to mix low jabs with shadow kick or nut punch (not against sonya obviosly lol). Bad RH, not useful overall. Short sweep, use it only when its safe.


His JK has a long range but it can be easy countered by everone, so you should use it for full screen fireballs or long distance jumps only. His JP is one of the best, you can use it as a wakeup close early JP followed by SHadow Kick, or countered JK followed with combo. Its also the best setup after uppercut in corner. Cage had infinite in revision 3.0 with JP in corner but it is removed in 5.0.


The Shadow Kick is his best move. It is the perfect weapon for retalation, close or far blocked stuff, wakeups, countering crossover jumps (there is no crossover jump kicks in mk1). Depends on how the Shadow Kick hits you can add another just to be funky after a crossup jump. You should never use it vs Sonya since she can always punish it. You can add Shadow Kick after blocked JK too against some characters but better use his uppercut. It is also good wakeup after you being thrower from ninjas. The Shadow Kick has also weird properties and sometimes if you do it against ducked opponent they wouldnt be able to uppercut, crouch kick you or whatever for some reason. There is no way to predict when this will happen so dont count on it. Its possible sometimes for Shadow Kick to go and hit through a fireball, freeze and etc. It is also the best punisher for a short recovery time specials like slide, nut punch and etc.


The Nut Punch is not so bad move also. You can use it when you jab pressure someone instead of Knee or against crossover jumps and jabs after it. Sometimes its hard to punish it when it miss but moves like Slide, Harpoon, Leg Grab and etc can always punish it so watch out when you use it as a surprise. You can use it as a punisher also if you feel cocky against slide or counting scorpion's and raiden's teleports. Against aggressive dumb jab pressure players you can try two nut punches one after another. Say they crossover jump you and try to throw or jab you, do a nut punch then immidiately another if they hold forward and try to continue jab pressure, that sounds really dumb but it works ;]

The Fireball is not very useful move. It can be used somehow for full screen zoning, but most of the characters can jump kick over it. You can try to get unblockabe fireball after throw (i will explain that broken part later) but still it depends because the opponent can easy punish it. In corner if the fireball hits higher enough you can add Shadow Kick or JP, Shadow Kick for a decent juggle.


Basic Juggles:
1. JK, Shadow Kick
2. aaHPx2, Shadow Kick
3. (in corner) Uppercut, JP/JK, Shadow Kick or RH


Advanced Juggles:
1. aaHP, JK, Shadow Kick
2. JK, JP, Shadow Kick
3. JK, Shadow Kick/JK, Shadow Kick (near the corner but it can be done mid-screen too)
4. Uppercut, JK/JP, aaLP, Shadow Kick
5. JK, Uppercut, JP, JP, Shadow Kick (about 95%)
 
J

Juggernaut

Noob
Great job! I dont play mk1 much, but from what i've tried from this guide is very useful. There are a lot of things i didn't know before. Excellent work once again! Can't wait for the next character.
 
ded

ded

Elder God
Kano

Kano is #4 in the tier list, he is not and never will be better than Liu Kang, as many people think. His position could be challenged by a pro Raiden player but because not many players use Raiden, its all a matter of own opinion and experience. Kano has the longest uppercut as a hitting area. His and Liu Kang's uppercuts can hit from about a sweep distance after retalation. Somehow no matter how good his uppercut is, its not very useful for anti air. Anyway its the perfect punisher for almost everything. Like Cage, after uppercut in corner you can get massive combo damage even bigger than Cage's in revision 5.0. Its though to uppercut through jabs but you can try to connect it as the other player moves forward. If you manage to get one of the broken throws near the corner and the opponent holds block after it you can get unblockable uppercut and combo that will be more than 100% in revision 5.0!


His duck LK is the best in the game. It does about 2 aaHPs damage and if you spam it right it can help you to won a round/match, use it as many times as possible against jabers. It is also an excellent counter for jump kick/punches that are not on top of your character. His HK is not so bad but still slow enough for good anti airs, same LK as Cage's. Kano has very neat jab tactics using his "Whiff" roll, otherwise his LP are good but you can be uppercuted through them. Use HP for retalation or cancel it with block for eventually aa roll after it. His RH is also bad but not as bad as Cage's, you can try to get it in a step away after jab pressure. His sweep is good but easy punished if blocked.


Kano has one of the best Jump Kikcs in the game. It can hit easy ducked grounded opponents, easy can hit otg, easy can win aa jump kicks duel but, after the block, uppercut retalation was discovered he loose his potential vs liu, raiden, cage and sonya. Kano has an awesome Jump Punch too. You can use it as a wakeup close early JP but not followed with Roll because if its blocked you risk too much energy, or countered JK followed with combo. Its also the best setup after uppercut in corner. Kano had infinite in revision 3.0 with JP in corner but it is removed in 5.0.


The Roll is his most powerfull arsenal. You have two variations of this move. The first is performed by holding Block and then circle counter clockwise. There is a way to actually use it, like just when your opponent decide to throw a fireball to release a block but you will not be able to do that as a surprise more than 1 times in a match (or opponent LOL). The second variation is without block. It has so small startup time that you can actually punish everything in the game with it. From Sonya's Sweep to Scorpion's Teleport Punch. It can be used as a transport move also, if you are from full screen distance than your opponent and lets say he is a turtle scorpion teleporter, perform the roll and you will land right infront of him or at least close enough to start a good jab pressure. You can try to put it in a jab pressure too. If they decide to release the block and you do the roll you can whiff so you will land behind them and often after that the opponent tryes to jump or fireball, but you will recover faster so try another roll or knife throw after it. Another option is if they try to crouch lk you, do the roll and sometimes you will hit them through their crouch kick. The ninjas sometimes can be hard to get with a roll in combo because of their falling animation (it will just push them or whiff). The roll is also good unblockable addon after throw. It has weird collision boxes and sometimes you can do it through fireballs/freeze and etc.


The Knife throw is a weird move. It has good hitting area but because his slow start up and annoying combination its not the best choice for spaming. I will advice to use it mostly from full screen and be careful when you do that vs Liu Kang or Cage (and good Raiden player) because they can easy jump over it and hit you. You can add aa Roll if you get aa Knife Throw near the corner.


Basic Juggles:
1. JK, Roll
2. aaHPx2, Roll
3. (in corner) Uppercut, JP/JK, Roll or RH


Advanced Juggles:
1. aaHP, JK, Roll
2. JK, JP or JK, Roll
3. Uppercut, JK/JP, aaLP, Roll
4. JK, Uppercut, JP, JP, Roll (about 95%)


Broken Throw Setup:
1. (near the corner) Throw, unblockable Uppercut, JK, JP, Roll (100%+)
 
ded

ded

Elder God
Scorpion

Scorpion is ranked as #7 in the tier list. It doesnt matter he could be monster against Raiden, it doesnt matter he can turtle as hell with teleports and all his other tactics, because some people can play so good with him doesnt make him better in the tier list. His uppercut has nice hitting area but the recovery and start up time is terrible. Forget to use it as an anti air. You can still use it as a punisher after blocked stuff but better use his spear except for blocked jump kicks. There is a trick to use ninjas uppercut against aaJump Kicks. In revision 3.0 you simply have to do Down + Block and cancel with Uppercut to hit your opponent after JK, but in revision 5.0 the gravity was lowered. What you have to do now is block the jump kick from your standup pose, then duck and cancel it with uppercut. Its hard but once you got it and practice it enough you can use if often. You can try to get Spear with this same trick of course but you risk so much because of the recovery time from the spear. You cant add hits after his uppercut or use it against jabers due his slow startup animation. Ninjas throws are dangerious against Cage and Liu Kang sometimes because you can get wakeup Shadow Kick or Flying Kick (mid-screen) after it, so be careful against those characters.


Ninjas Duck Kicks are good enough for jab escapes and anti air, however its very difficult to get aa D+LK against Kano's JK and on top JKs. Often two Duck Kicks one after another works vs jabers. Ninjas sweeps are easy punishable if blocked, but you can use them as a whiff strat against some characters. If you get Cage in about jump distance you can try to
get few sweeps without touching him, usualy they will try to Fireball or Shadow Kick you but they will miss, if they shoot fireball they will be sweeped if they do shadow kick you will recover excactly before the shadow kick animation ends and can punish it. However its not a 100% sure tactic just a strat example. Scorpion and Sub-Zero have the best HK and LK. HK can be used as anti air, not against Kano's JK but against everything else, the LK is very fast and useful too, you can punish Sonya's Sweep with it. Their RHs are good too. You can use it in a jab pressure strat mixed with sweep or duck block cancel, for example: Jab, Jab, Jab, Step away RH, Whiff Sweep/Block to Punish and etc. You can use it as an Anti Air agains some jump kicks too. The HPs and LPs are good too. You can try to get the UMK3 aa trick against jumpers when they jump at you with JK or JP try aaHP and cancel it with block, then if aaHP hits do Spear immidiately if not you will just block the JK and you can try to get aaD+LK because there will be not enough time for Uppercut.


The Spear is a horrible move. If you catch someone with it thats ok, but the recovery and startup time is so slow that if you miss you can be punished sometimes even from full screen. The Spear however can be used as punisher against sweeps, uppercuts, slide and etc. You can try to use the spear against jab pressure if the other player step away enough for whiff Jab, but still its not 100% safe. Something interesting about the Spear is that if you catch someone with Spear at the same time when they shoot fireball and both characters are hit (you will get the fireball and other player will be hit by spear) you can get UNBLOCKABLE Teleport Punch if you are fast enough. You can try to stay from full screen distance and catch jumpers with the spear but again its not a 100% safe strat. Because of "missing" crossover jump kicks in MK1 you can easy get Spear if someone crossovers you. In MK1 you can jump after you catch someone with the Spear but all you can get using this is OTG JK against some characters.


The Teleport Punch is what make Scorpion a monster against some characters. You can use it as a Wakeup, even blocked its hard to punish. Also its the best move for turtleing. You can try to use it for jab escape too but difficult. The only bad thing is that you cant use the Teleport Punch in or near the corner. Because of gravity changes in Revision 5.0 all you can get after aa Teleport Punch is aaLP, Spear, still a good damage anyway. Sometimes aa Teleport Punch can hit backwards and it will be hard to get Spear in this situation, this often happens if you do the TP faster than you need against Raiden's Torpedo. Another interesting stuff is that in some cases if you get Teleport Punch in juggle (usually after Death Punch) you will be pushed away from the Teleport Punch, I'm not 100% sure but i think even Spear done as soon as possible in this situation is always blockable in Revision 5.0. Using the TP can often open the opponent for one of the "Broken" Throws, there is no 100% known way to get them with Scorpion but you can try to throw a Spear sometimes after them if you feel cocky, works best against Raiden. The Teleport Punch can be neat in jab strats too, get some jab pressure, then use the Teleport Punch to escape and you can try to throw a Spear or wait to see what your opponent will do and counter it. Sometimes if you got the Teleport Punch you will hide behind the screen and it will shake for a while, you can use this moment for safe spear in this situation but thats it overall lol. Scorpion had infinite in older revisions using his TP move but its removed in Revision 5.0.


Basic Juggles:
1. aaHP(x2), Spear, Uppercut
2. JK, Spear, Uppercut
3. Teleport Punch, Spear, Uppercut

Advanced Juggles:
1. (corner) JK, RH, Spear, Uppercut
2. aaHP, JK, Spear, Uppercut
3. Teleport Punch, aaLP, Spear, Uppercut
4. (near corner) JK, JK, (aaLP if possible) Spear, Uppercut
 
A

agent007

Noob
You can also jk them after the spear in mk1. The only real use would be:

(corner) spear,jk,sweep

The sweep and the jk after spear is unblockable for certain charcters, but I'm not sure for everybody. Plus the jk sweep does more damage then the uppercut.
 
ded

ded

Elder God
agent007 said:
You can also jk them after the spear in mk1. The only real use would be:

(corner) spear,jk,sweep

The sweep and the jk after spear is unblockable for certain charcters, but I'm not sure for everybody. Plus the jk sweep does more damage then the uppercut.
Click to expand...
:arrow:

In MK1 you can jump after you catch someone with the Spear but all you can get using this is OTG JK against some characters.
Click to expand...
Sweep after OTG JK is ALWAYS blockable in MK1
 
ded

ded

Elder God
Sub-Zero


Sub-Zero is ranked officialy as #6 BUT if used right he can be considered as top 3 (!). His uppercut has nice hitting area but the recovery and start up time is terrible. Forget to use it as an anti air. You can still use it as a punisher after blocked stuff but better use his freeze except for blocked jump kicks. There is a trick to use ninjas uppercut against aaJump Kicks. In revision 3.0 you simply have to do Down + Block and cancel with Uppercut to hit your opponent after JK, but in revision 5.0 the gravity was lowered. What you have to do now is block the jump kick from your standup pose, then duck and cancel it with uppercut. Its hard but once you got it and practice it enough you can use if often. You cant add hits after his uppercut or use it against jabers due his slow startup animation. Ninjas throws are dangerious against Cage and Liu Kang sometimes because you can get wakeup Shadow Kick or Flying Kick (mid-screen) after it, so be careful against those characters.


Ninjas Duck Kicks are good enough for jab escapes and anti air, however its very difficult to get aa D+LK against Kano's JK and on top JKs. Often two Duck Kicks one after another works vs jabers. Ninjas sweeps are easy punishable if blocked, but you can use them as a whiff strat against some characters. If you get Cage in about jump distance you can try to get few sweeps without touching him, usualy they will try to Fireball or Shadow Kick you but they will miss, if they shoot fireball they will be sweeped if they do shadow kick you will recover excactly before the shadow kick animation ends and can punish it. However its not a 100% sure tactic just a strat example. Scorpion and Sub-Zero have the best HK and LK. HK can be used as anti air, not against Kano's JK but against everything else, the LK is very fast and useful too, you can punish Sonya's Sweep with it. Their RHs are good too. You can use it in a jab pressure strat mixed with sweep or duck block cancel, for example: Jab, Jab, Jab, Step away RH, Whiff Sweep/Block to Punish and etc. You can use it as an Anti Air agains some jump kicks too. The HPs and LPs are good too. You can try to get the UMK3 aa trick against jumpers when they jump at you with JK or JP try aaHP and cancel it with block, then if aaHP hits do Slide immidiately (which will push you back and you will have more time than the opponent for the next move) if not you will just block the JK and you can try to get aaD+LK because there will be not enough time for Uppercut.


The Freeze is probably the most interesting special move (for me) in MK1. It has so weird properties. First its the only special move in the game that has hit limit and it is 0. That means that you cant get freeze after any hit. Anyway because of UMK3 Combo Videos everyone should know already about the glitch canceling, so i will not go into deep details about it like Shock did in UMK3 General Gameplay Guide and will just paste the most important. You can cancel a LP and HP on the frame of contact, into a special move with a hit limit, one hit beyond that limit. In other games this technique is referred to as "Just Frames" meaning essentially you have just one frame in 60 to get this to work. That means that you can get aaHP/aaLP, Freeze - glitch canceled. I actually never got glitch cancel freeze after jp/jk in MK1 and i doubt its possible there but still i will not say that its not possible yet. The Freeze is the only special move that has real glitch cancel in MK1. Although there is the backfire in the game you cant get aaFreeze, Freeze for some reason. You can use the Freeze also in a jab pressure because some characters can be freezed while they crouch kick. For example if you jab someone and you know that they will d+lk try to freeze them at the moment where they will try to do the crouch kick. Staying from full screen distance and wait for freeze against jumpers works too, still remember that there is a time difference between jump with jk, jp and just jump and its mostly noticable in MK1. Often if they are not far enough and JK at you, they will be aafreezed but you still will get the JK hit. This special move can be used against crossover jump too if you have enough time to react, for some reason only the CPU can get aaFreeze against Scorpion's TP, even if you know when Scorpion will teleport you will not be able to get him freezed. The Freeze is unique move for another reason - his inf which i will explain. There was a glitch in Revision 3.0 with Sub-Zero's Freeze where if you get double freeze in some scenarios the game resets (not the danger - double freeze glitch in r5.0 btw), however even in revision 3.0 it has nothing to do with the competetive stuff because it was mostly used from players that see they will loose the match and perform it to escape the shame lol.


The Slide is a very useful special move too. It can punish literaly everything because of its short startup time. Its also hard for retalation. Its easy punishable from moves like Slide, Shadow Kick, Leg Grab and Roll, but if the other player have experience you can take uppercut from Liu and Raiden, Spear from Scorpion and sometimes even Freeze if your slide is blocked. Putting slide in a jab pressure is also a not bad idea, sometimes even two slides one after another will work (for example if they try to fireball). Another neat trick is to perform slide after throw. Often the slide will not be blockabel because of the broken Throws in MK1 and ALWAYS unblockable after Freeze - Throw. If the Slide is a second aa hit you will be pushed away and will recover faster than your opponent. Because of this glitch (?) Sub had an infinite in Proto Revision but its removed later.


Sub-Zero has one pseudo infinite. Its not blockable but its escapable. What you have to do is Freeze, Throw and repeat. If the other player try to hold the block he will be frozen. Of course its not usefull against everyone who knows how to escape the throws or if they duck after the first throw. If you anyway get someone freezed and managed to throw him do the slide or if its near the corner uppercut, both of them will be unblockable.


Basic Juggles:
1. aaHP(x2), Slide
2. JK, Slide
3. aaFreeze, JK, RH
4. Freeze, Throw, Slide


Advanced Juggles:
1. Mid-Screen Freeze, JK, JK/LK (against some characers instead just Uppercut)
2. (Corner) JK, RH, Slide
3. (near corner) JK, JK, (aaLP if possible) Slide
4. aaHP, Freeze, JK, RH
 
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