How to play as Terry in The King of Fighters XV – Moves and tactics for beginners

SNK’s most iconic character in The King of Fighters XV, Terry Bogard, is back and seemingly stronger than ever. He acts as one of the best fighters on the roster for beginners, and if you’re new, here’s a breakdown of every move he has to offer.

Come on, come on!

Terry is one of the simplest characters to play, as his inputs are fairly easy to understand, especially if you’ve played Street Fighter before.

Down and right with a punch button dishes out a fiery projectile called Power Wave on the ground that can only be blocked by crouching rather than a standard blast attack. If you practice the movement of the attack, you can blitz out multiple Power Waves at once, potentially overpowering your opponent.

Burning Knuckle is a move that seems completely opposite to Power Wave. This is a charging punch attack that covers almost the entire screen. It’s a great way to get back into some close-ranged action. Just make sure it hits within the parameter of the punch as it can leave you hanging for a second and will let your opponent punish. There are two different versions of the Power Wave. Down and back with a light punch puts you at a half distance and lets Terry leave the animation sooner, while down and back with a heavy punch is more committal and widens to the whole stage.

Terry’s Crack Shoot is similar to his Burning Knuckle attack but with a swifter kick. Down and right with a light kick makes him go half the stage with more efficiency to dodge, while down and right with a strong kick launches Terry all the way from one side of the stage to the other. It’s a good way to get distance into the opposing character, but once again, be careful of the opponent punishing you after a block or an incoming projectile.

However, you can follow up a Crack Shoot with a neat Power Charge attack. Terry goes into the air and kicks upwards in an uppercut-like form. This can take your foes by surprise if they decide to break their guard after a Crack Shoot. To perform it, make a rolling sensation on your D-Pad from left, down, and then right and press either punch button. Once again, the light punch and heavy punch implementations change the length of the animation.

The special moves keep on coming. There’s one where Terry tackles his opponent head-on in an American Football like fashion. You implement it by going left, down, and right with a kick button. Unfortunately, it doesn’t power through projectiles, so be careful while using this move.

Lastly, right, down, right, and then a punch button will provide a diagonal strike called Rising Tackle. If you want to get the jump of an enemy who’s performing projectiles and nothing else, this could be successful at countering them. It’s also a fantastic ending to a combo that Terry can perform.

Super Special Moves

Terry’s iconic Power Geyser can be performed with a swish down, left motion back, and then a semi-circle forward from left, down, and right with a punch button. The strength and speed of both punch buttons are the same, unlike other specials. If you haven’t seen his Power Geyser attack, it’s a boosted-up version of Burning Knuckle that can only be used in short-range. This will cost one bar on your energy level.

Are you OK because Buster Wolf is easier to perform than Power Geyser? Simply move your analog stick down right twice and press a kick button to unleash a two-hit strike that will devastate the competition. He punches and then uses a projectile to create a dominating attack. He will say his funny phrase, “Are you OK?” as he performs it. This will also cost one bar on your energy level.

Climax Super Special Move

Finally, we have his Climax Super Special Move Stardust Ignition. It’s similar to Power Geyser. Make a swish down, left motion back, and then semi-circle forward with both the heavy kick and punch buttons. You can make this easier to perform by using a shoulder button if you’re using a controller. This will cause 450 total damage, almost removing half of your opponent’s health bar. Try to use a combo that can stun your opponent long enough to get hit by the climax super special move. This will cost three bars in a total of your energy bar. This can also be performed with an auto-combo at three points, but it’s not as powerful.

Strategy

Overall, Terry is similar in style to Street Fighter’s Ryu. Pick your moves wisely, don’t overextend, and use projectiles to protect your distance. He’s a flexible fighter that anyone can use, and he’s a great way for beginners to learn The King of Fighters XV with his mostly simple special move inputs. Now, are you okay? Maybe you can figure out how to play the faster Chris from Team Orochi next.