Street Fighter 6/Kimberly/Introduction

Introduction

Uninvited student to Guy, the 39th successor to Bushinryu. Kimberly had an ordinary upbringing, but she's a genuine prodigy who graduated college early... and now wants to be a ninja. Loves '80s pop culture.

Kimberly is a fast, tricky character who uses her plethora of unique movement options and setplay to get in and keep the opponent guessing. Good Kimberly players use the many tools at her disposal to approach the opponent unpredictably and lock them down with a variety of unexpected attacks, pushing them to the corner where she can really put the pressure on.

On the movement and neutral fronts, Kimberly not only has a high walk speed, a far-reaching Drive Rush and Drive Impact, and good pokes with 5MK and 5LK, but she also has the classic Bushinryu Sprint special move, which has a variety of different options to approach the opponent on the ground like the Shadow Slicer slide or the Neck Hunter overhead. She can also use Hidden Variable, a teleport that lets her move in from the ground or air depending on whether she uses the Overdrive version or not. Shadow Slicer, Hidden Variable, and 3MK also give Kimberly ways to evade projectiles and get in on opponents who try to keep her out with them, while j.2MP lets her adjust her jump arc to bait anti-airs; on the ground, her 2HP and Bushin Senpukyaku serve as anti-airs, while the aerial version of Bushin Senpukyaku is a combo ender and juggle setup tool.

Where Kimberly especially shines, though, is the corner. Many of her combos give great corner carry, so once the opponent's stuck there, she can use Shuriken Bomb to set up powerful okizeme and keep the pressure going, which works exceptionally well with the likes of Sprint and its follow-ups, Hidden Variable, and plain old strike/throw mix to force the opponent to guess at what she's going to do next. All of the above is especially true once Kimberly lands her Lv. 3 Super Art, Bushin Ninjastar Cypher. Once it hits successfully, Kimberly gains a damage and movement speed buff for the rest of the match, bringing her damage in line with the rest of the cast and making it even harder to deal with her walkspeed and the advantages that it gives her.

However, Kimberly's mobility and tricks are counterbalanced by her defensive options. Because Overdrive Bushin Senpukyaku doesn't have full invulnerability, Kimberly has to rely on system mechanics, Bushin Beats (her Level 1 Super Art), or Bushin Ninjastar Cypher when she needs to defend or force herself out of a bad situation. The buff from Ninjastar Cypher is also significant enough that without it, Kimberly's combos are going to be more useful for corner carry than damage until or unless she lands it, and her light buttons don't normally lend to the types of combos which give great oki at midscreen. If you like high-speed grooves and a bag of ninja tricks, then get on the scene with Kimberly.

Pick if you like:

Avoid if you dislike:

High walkspeed with a variety of unique movement options (command runs, teleports, slides, adjusting jump arcs, etc.) Accessible okizeme that sets up meaties and high/low mixups at various positions on screen, with options for enforcing combos from throw in the corner Oppressive setups and mixups that loop into themselves after putting the opponent in the corner Utilizing a wide variety of neutral tools to mix up your approach

Relying more heavily on system mechanics to get out of tight situations Flawed neutral buttons that tend to lack range Having significantly less damage than the rest of the cast before Level 3, even on normal throws

Classic & Modern Versions Comparison

List of differences with Modern Kimberly

Missing Normals	Standing Light Kick (5LK) Crouching Medium Punch (2MP) Jumping Light Punch (j.LP) Jumping Medium Kick (j.MK) Jumping Heavy Punch (j.HP)
Missing Command Normals	N/A
Shortcut-Only Specials	Aerial Bushin Senpukyaku (j.S) Sprint (6S) Hidden Variable (2S)
Miscellaneous Changes	N/A