Overview
Unlike most fighting games, The King of Fighters 2002 UM features multiple bosses that can be fought in arcade mode. This guide will explain how to fight each one of them, as well as provide tips and bios for each character.
“Accident” Sub-bosses
After stage 4, it is possible for you to fight a single enemy that is connected to the NESTS organization. The person you fight depends what you do in the previous matches.
I won’t go into detail with how to defeat the sub-bosses because they are just regular characters, so you should be able to beat them with little trouble.
The Kyo clone that you fight is determined randomly. The same goes for Foxy and Angel.
Bio: Clones of Kyo created by NESTS, though Kusanagi is said to have been created from a brain-washed Chizuru. Kyo-1 has Kyo’s moveset from KoF 94/95, while Kyo-2 uses Kyo’s moves from Kof 96/97. Kusanagi fights using a slightly altered version of Kyo’s 95 moveset.
How to fight: End 2 matches with a regular special move (DM).
Bio Angel is a careless agent of NESTS who uses melee attacks. Foxy is a much more serious member of NESTS, who is a motherly figure to Kula and uses a sword. Angel and Foxy do not get along, as seen in the climax of KoF 2001.
How to fight: End 2 matches with an SDM (requires 1 bar of your energy gauge).
Bio: A young girl with ice powers, who was designed by NESTS to take down K’ back in KoF 2000. The two eventually became allies.
How to fight: End 2 matches with a MAX SDM (requires 3 bars of your energy gauge).
Bio: A clone of both Kyo and K’, and the only newcomer to 2002 UM. Nameless is also the replacement of K9999 from KoF 2001, due to the latter’s .
How to fight: End 2 matches with a MAX 2 (requires 3 bars of your energy gauge, and your health to be low so that your life bar is orange).
Defeating Nameless will earn you the “Unnamed Challenger” achievement. If you have trouble using MAX 2 moves, just pick Igniz and use his Disintegrational Universe Max 2 (press down twice, then press both punches).
Final Bosses
After match 5, you’ll face off against 1 of the 4 final bosses. The boss that you fight depends on what type of move you used to defeat your final opponent in match 5 (note: the fight with the “accident” sub-bosses is not match 5).
If you’ve played any SNK fighter, you probably know by now that SNK bosses are intentionally designed to be unfair. These bosses are no exception. Each of the following characters all have powerful moves that are quick and are often hard to punish. Getting hit by just one of their attacks will often take away 1/4th of your health.
The easiest way to defeat them is to fight fire with fire. In other words, make your team full of boss characters and spam special moves at them. If you want to fight them using normal characters, I’ll do my best in giving you advice for each fight.
Bio: The ultimate clone of Kyo Kusanagi, as well as the final boss of KoF 99.
How to fight: End match 5 with either a regular move, or a special move (DM). In other words, don’t defeat your last enemy using a super.
Tips:
- You can jump over his tornado kick special move, but be careful because he may do his uppercut special move right after.
- Krizalid has a grabbing move where he pushes you to the opposite side. If this happens, quickly block after the initial grab or he’ll keep repeating the grab.
- Crouching heavy kicks can be useful since it’ll knock him down.
Bio: The treacherous clone of Zero, as well as the final boss of KoF 2000.
How to fight: End match 5 with an SDM. You will need at least 1 bar of your energy gauge to perform an SDM.
Tips:
- His cape attack covers a large portion of the screen, so always be ready to block.
- He has a move where he stands and a purple shadow from the ground hits you. Jump when this is about to happen.
- He has a super move where he goes on the ground and summons a black hole. It covers the entire screen so be careful of jumping a lot.
- Use crouching heavy kicks when you get the chance.
Bio: A high-ranking member of NESTS, who serves as a boss in KoF 2001.
How to fight: End match 5 with a MAX SDM. Performing MAX SDM requires 3 bars of your energy gauge.
Tips:
- His moves are almost identical to Clone Zero’s, so apply your knowledge from that fight here.
- He can send out Krizalid, his pet lion, or Ron to attack you. If he sends out Ron, you can try and jump over him (the other strikers are a bit more difficult to avoid).
- Like before, try to use crouching heavy kicks.
Bio: The egocentric leader of NESTS who overthrew his father, and the final boss of KoF 2001.
How to fight: End match 5 with a MAX 2. To perform a MAX 2, you will need at least 3 bars of your energy gauge, and your health must be low (has to be orange).
Tips:
- Be careful of his whip attack as it covers a large portion of the screen.
- His super covers almost the entire screen so be careful.
- He has his own projectile, and can reflect other projectiles so be cautious.
- Use your well-timed crouching heavy kicks as always.
Secret Boss: Omega Rugal
If you thought the four main final bosses were difficult, prepare yourself for one hell of a treat.
Hidden away at the very end of the game is probably the most infamous King of Fighters boss to date. None other than…
Bio:The final boss in KoF 94, 95, 98, and 2002. This SNK boss is purposely overpowered, with deadly moves such as his infamous Genocide Cutter.
How to fight: To fight Rugal, you must defeat any of the NESTS bosses using an SDM, a MAX SDM, or a MAX 2. Alternatively, you’ll be able to fight him if you KO a NEST boss without getting KO’d yourself. You can’t use any continues throughout your playthrough, otherwise he will not appear.
Tips:
- If you get close to him, he will almost always hit you with Genocide Cutter.
- If you jump above him, he will almost always hit you with Genocide Cutter.
- If he gets knocked down, the first move that he’ll use when he gets up will almost always be Genocide Cutter (are you noticing a pattern?).
- The heavy kick version of Genocide Cutter has Rugal kicking again in the air. Crouch when this happens.
- Be careful when using horizontal projectiles because he will usually reflect them.
- Be cautious when at long range, as his Kaiser Wave projectile travels extremely quickly.
- At medium range, he may try to do a special move where he quickly moves forward and hits you with a barrage of kicks.
- If all else fails, use Heidern’s charge based projectile at long range and it will usually hit Rugal.
Unlike all of the previous fights, you will only have one chance to beat Omega Rugal. So if you lose, you’ll have to start all the way back at the beginning if you wish to defeat him.
If you defeat Rugal in team play, you’ll get the achievement “The King of Fighters.” The easiest way to beat him is to pick Igniz and try to hit Rugal with your whip move (quarter circle forward + heavy punch). Rugal will go into the air, and if timed right you can keep juggling him so that he can’t escape. Keep doing this and he’ll be KO’d.
Of course, beating Rugal with boss characters will make your victory seem meaningless. If you want to have unlimited bragging rights, try to beat Omega Rugal with your own team that doesn’t consist of bosses. It may be hard as hell, but you can do it if you try hard enough!
Credits
