Introduction

Kyo is a cool guy. His sexy looks get him all the popular chicks, making him a top tier character.

But like P. Diddy say, mo money mo problems!

Gameplay Overview

Kyo is an extremely strong character, focusing around mid/close range poking and rushdown. He does not have a command throw, but his mixups are very good thanks to high priority on his air (j.B, j.d+C) and ground moves (close C, crouching B, qcf+A). His meterless combos do a lot of damage and dizzy quickly, and can do around 50% easily with meter. He requires a medium level of execution; mostly dealing with hit-checking into qcf,qcf+A consistently, and being very familiar with doing short/hyper hops in execution and recognizing the appropriate range and situations to use them in.

Combos

Here are some important combos with kyo. I tried to list the most important combos at the top.

cl.C xx qcf+C~hcb+C~f+C

cr.B,cr./cl.A/cl.B xx qcf,qcf+A (PRACTICE this and get as consistent as you can with it to play an effective Kyo)

cr.B,cr./cl.A,d/f+D

cl.C xx qcf+D~D (note: only works from very close or from a crossup, or in the corner),

-> rdp+B (for stun)/qcb,hcf+A (for damage)/qcf+A~hcb+A~A (for max corner damage)

cr.B,cr/cl.A/cl.B xx dp+A

cl.C,f+B (2 hits) xx qcb,hcf+A (good against backturned, big characters, or when the opponent is dizzied)

Note that you can link close C from cr.B. It is a 1-frame link, but more if you perform the cr.B meaty.

The cr.B to qcf,qcf+A combo can be done as cr.B, qcf+A/B, qcf+A. This is because cr.B isn't cancelable, but is naturally chainable into standing A or B, so you can buffer without holding any buttons to keep qcf+A from coming out.

In-depth analysis

Normal Moves

Standing A - Great anti-air against short hop, and cancelable.

Standing B - Great long range poke.

Standing D - Can go over lows, but the range/hitbox speed is not what it is in CvS2, so don't think about using it like you would in that game.

Standing B - Note that this is low and cancelable.

Close C - The best close-range poke in KOF98. Not only is it extremely fast, but it activates from very far away for a 'close' attack. This makes Kyo very hard to stop when he runs in, because he can usually attack earlier than most characters.

Crouching B - One of the best 'footsie' moves in the game. Beats a lot of moves at it's max range. Use this when running in.

Crouching C - One of the best normal anti-airs in the game (notice a trend?). Cancelable on the first part (when his arm isn't fully extended). Very fast and high-priority.

Crouching D - Slow, but easily whiff cancelable (preferably into qcf+A) if someone short hops it. Makes his hitbox shrink vertically, and he can use it to 'duck' under Takuma/old characters (O.Robert/O.Ryo/O.Yuri) fireballs completely.

Jumping (any but neutral normal jump) B - The best jump-in in the game. Cuts through almost ever normal anti-air like a knife through something that can't stop a knife. Stays out long enough to do it relatively early (not XI early you scrub) and reaches low enough to be one of the harder to block short hop attacks around. Crosses up.

Jumping C - Usually no reason to use this over jumping B, but it does cross up, mostly on bigger characters.

Jumping D - Long range and very good priority for air-to-air or long range air-to-ground. For example neutral sh.D can beat Ralf's standing C clean from range.

Command Normals

f+B - 2 hits, second hit is overhead if done alone. 2nd hit is not overhead but cancelable when chained from a normal, but will only fully combo if you're close enough for both hits to connect.

d/f+D - There are certain moves this thing can hit, like Ralf's stand C. Otherwise only use it in a combo.

Jumping d+C - A very good jump-in. Has long hit stun, so it can be performed early and still combo into things. Great as a crossup. Slams when used air-to-air. Since it is a command move, you can use it during a backdash and you will travel much further. In Extra mode it can be done during a front dash, and can be comboed into itself this way as an infinite.

Special Moves

I'm not going to use the Japanese names fo the most part but if you want to know them look below this section.

Light Rekka aka Bald Eagle/Bodega, Amazing (qcf+A) - One of the best mid-range pokes in the game. Has auto-guard, fast startup, fast recovery, good damage.

Light rekka uppercut followup aka A Rooster's Egg (qcf+A~qcf+A) - You can use this as an anti-air if someone jumps over your qcf+A. This is really cheap and your opponent will probably want to murder you and your entire family if you hit them with this as an anti-air. No I'm joking it's awesome.

Light rekka elbow ender (qcf+A~qcf+A~A) - It's overhead and not too bad on block but you can get punish like by Iori's rekka's or Chris's f+A etc. and shit like that.

Strong rekka aka Cold Cock (qcf+C) - Safe on block, but be careful canceling into it on block; it can be hit by an invincible move or rolled out of between close C and the qcf+C. If it does get blocked, it is a decent setup for qcb+P. You can also poke with faster moves against opponents who are not fast to attack back. One setup I've seen Dakou use is qcf+C (blocked), cr.A xx Final Showdown. Risky!

Dragon Punch (dp+P) - It's a dp! Light version has no auto-guard and will at best trade with meaties as it is not fully invincible. C version has full auto-guard, but it is 2 hits and doesn't knock down on the first, so it is anti-air (or extremely deep hit but not recommended) only.

Hopkicks (qcf+K~K) - D version preferred since you can combo off of it. Advantage on block, so it's not bad for pressure. Used for combos mostly.

Rungrab (hcb+K) - Can combo off his qcf+D~D but there's way better options. Punishable but not as badly punishable as it looks. It looks cool.

RED Kick - Not overhead like in some games you might be familiar with. Instead it is very fast and very safe on block (perhaps advantage?). It can be crouched under by many characters though. Used mostly as a combo ender that does a lot of stun damage, but is also a very very good preventative anti-air since is also very nice on block.

Counter/Uppercut Thing (qcb+P) - Not really used for the uppercut, but can catch moves if they connect right after it starts up. This is actually not a bad move, and you'll find a ton of setups for it if you experiment. Here's one I already mentioned: qcf+C (blocked), qcb+A.

Desperation Moves

Orochinagi (qcb,hcf+P) - A version is slower and has lower-body invincibility, C version is faster and has upper-body invincibility. C version can combo from Kyo's hard attacks or a chained f+B. It can connect after qcf+D~D for max damage. Can be charged. The MAX version surrounds him in flame, and has a reduced hitbox size (you're probably going to run into flames before you hit him).

Final Showdown aka FINAL SHOWDOWN MOTHERFUCKER (qcf,qcf+P) - C version has a tiny bit more invincibility. Creates a huge hitbox in front of his feet spanning about 1.5 character spaces. Comboable off lights (which means comboable off a low cr.B), and is Kyo's scariest source of damage, as it does quite a chunk more than the average DM. Can be used as an anti-air as well. MAX version does more damage.

Move List

Special Moves

Hachi Tetsu           4 / 6 + C (close)

Issetsu Seoi Nage     4 / 6 + D (close)

Air Drop              2 + A (in air)

Double Overhead Kick  6 + B  

Double Foot Sweep     3 + D

100 Shiki Oniyaki     623 + A / C

R.E.D Kick            421 + B / D

212 Shiki Kotoyuki    63214 + B / D

75 Shiki              236 + B , B / D , D

114 Shiki Ara Gami    236 + A

128 Shiki Ku Kizu     236 + A / C (after Ara Gami)

127 Shiki Yasabi      63214 + A / C (after Ara Gami)

Migiri Ugashi         A / C (after Ku Kizu or Ya Sabi)

125 Shiki Nana Se     B / D (after Ku Kizu or Ya Sabi)

115 Shiki Doku Gami   236 + C

401 Shiki Tsumi Yomi  63214 + A / C (after Doku Gami)

402 Shiki Batsu Yomi  6 + A / C (after Tsumi Yomi)

910 Shiki Nue Tumi    214 + A / C

Desperation Moves

108 Shiki Orochi Nagi 214 , 41236 + A / C (hold)

Taunt                 C (after 108 Shiki Orochi Nagi)

Saishuu Kessen Ougi   236 , 236 + A / C