Basic Strategy
Hokutomaru has a very strong air game thanks to his double jump, air specials, air target combos, and the fact that all of his air normals can cross up. His jump-ins are also good at beating 2AB attacks. Be very careful of the fact that Hokutomaru cannot air Just Defend after using his double jump!
His weakness starts to show when he is put on the defensive as he has low health, low guard durability, mediocre guard cancel options, and his only invincible reversal (236236B) costs meter, has low range, and is extremely punishable on block.
Hokutomaru's go-to options for guard cancels are 236B (11f, + on block when braked and can be comboed after) or 236236K (1/0F, invincible). Both have very limited horizontal range.
When punishing the opponent's whiffed/blocked attacks, c5D is ideal (fastest normal & best meterless combos) but 5A is often the most reliable as it has the same startup whether it's close or far.
In terms of anti-air, Hokutomaru's best bet is to use his 3B, air throw, or to cross under the opponent with his fast run and small body. In some matchups (Terry, Tizoc) 3B's low profile can render it completely immune to the opponent's air normals, making it very oppressive to deal with.
His shurikens (236P) are his most useful special to use in neutral. He can quickly throw out single shurikens by tiger-kneeing them (2369P) or throwing one out of a backdash. They are easy to the opponent to Just Defend for free health but otherwise are a low-risk option that can benefit Hokutomaru in various ways:
- Chasing behind a shuriken that the opponent has to deal with lets Hokutomaru more easily approach, plus if it hits he can combo off of it.
- Even if the opponent is Just Defending your shurikens and healing, they aren't able to play neutral as freely.
- Can score a combo on reaction to a counterhit.
- Throwing shurikens is a good way to build meter.
- The grounded shurikens have more recovery than the low aerial versions, so they are sadly not too useful in comparison.
Hokutomaru is very good at pressuring his opponent in the corner thanks to his ability to repeatedly feint cancel his c5D and dash in for another c5D. Although this can technically be an infinite, with human hands it is best to keep it to a couple repetitions.
Hokutomaru is excellent at crossing up opponents with hop B or D as they wake up from a hard knockdown. It's even possible to just barely cross over his opponent and hit them in the back before immediately being pushed back in front, hitting crossup but landing sameside. The frame advantage from such an early hop hit is not good, so the only possible combos in this situation are with 236236K. See a demonstration here.
Jump-In Analysis
jD is Hokutomaru's overall best jump-in normal with its vertical disjoint, crossup potential, and ability to beat 2AB's.
Both jA and jB cross up even easier than jD.
Hokutomaru has the unique ability to chain any of his air normals into any other air normal, giving him lots of potential jump-ins. They also let him pressure the opponent with double overheads that can still be special cancelled. Air target combos will whiff on crouching opponents, although Hokutomaru can often still combo from the first hit alone.
jA~B is the best target combo to use from a diagonal jump, combining jA's vertical disjoint with jB's faster startup to stuff guard cancels. Be aware that despite both jA and jB being very good at crossing up, jB will whiff if done as a crossup target combo.
jC~B is the only target combo that works from a hop. Hokutomaru can get any combo in the corner, but midscreen he's restricted to 5A combos. From a full jump the jB tends to whiff against average/short characters. If jB isn't coming out, try holding a direction while inputting. jC~B~C is possible on Tizoc/Griffon and Grant.
jD~B only works from a neutral jump and is good at punishing throw attempts but pushes the opponent far, so at midscreen you may be left with 2C(uncancellable) or f5B>236236P as enders. Better combo opportunities open up when used against an opponent's tech roll, as Hokutomaru can land directly on top of the opponent.
