Introduction
Ayako says she’s all about good times and good vibes -- a lover, not a fighter. But I did see her slap the shit out of this guy one time so I’m not sure about the “not a fighter” part.
Ayako, despite her party gal image, is a character who excels at space control and grounded footsies. Sporting great pokes, solid anti-airs and a reliable tool for low-profiling moves in neutral, Ayako has just about everything she needs to play a strong ground game that sets up her terrifying throw mixups. However, despite having an air throw and the unique ability to cancel her aerial blockstun with any attack, her air presence is hampered by a relatively weak set of air normals, and her overall damage output leaves something to be desired, even with her solid meter efficiency.
 Ayako is a footsies-focused character who wants to use her dominant pokes to bully opponents into the corner, where she can enforce her powerful throw game. |
| Pros |
Cons |
- Powerful Footsies: Ayako has some of the strongest grounded normals in the game, allowing her to control space with ease, and just as easily convert into reliable combos.
- Terrifying Throw Mixups: Ayako's throw is one of the scariest in the game due to how consistently rewarding it is, allowing for a combo follow-up at all screen positions, even if the opponent manages to soften it.
- Great Meter Efficiency: Ayako has a strong set of widely-applicable EX special moves and supers, which couple well with her strong meter building potential to always have extra power backing up her gameplan.
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- Awkward Aerial Presence: Despite an air throw and the ability to guard cancel aerial blockstun for free, Ayako's aerial presence is somewhat on the weak side, due to an underwhelming set of aerial normals, which hurts in a game where aerial exchanges are frequent.
- Limited Movement: Ayako is one of the few characters in the game that both cannot dash brake or dash jump. This means that her movement has to be much more considered, as anything more than walking carries more commitment than other characters.
- Inconsistent Reward From Pokes: Ayako's primary confirm changes depending on whether or not the opponent is crouching, which when coupled with her high damage routes being fairly situational, means that she has to rely more on resets to score damage than other characters.
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Stats
| Attack
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Defense
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Dash Jump
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Dash Brake
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Backdash
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Wakeup Speed
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| C-
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C
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No
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No
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26F (No Invul)
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20F
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Color Options
Ayako is a footsies-focused character who wants to use her dominant pokes to bully opponents into the corner, where she can enforce her powerful throw game.
