SvC Chaos: SNK Vs Capcom/Kyo Kusanagi

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草薙 京, Kusanagi Kyo
"So, tell me. How does it feel to be charcoal?"
Difficulty Average
Max Mode Needed? Yes, but easy to learn
Tier Placement Solid (B+)
Standing Hitbox ?
Crouching Hitbox Short

Introduction

Kyofacesvc.png

Kyo Kusanagi, the main character of the KOF series. His first appearance was in the first KOF game, KOF94. Here, he sports his classic school outfit, but with his post-'95 rekka movelist. He isn't a hard character to play, and should be pretty easy to play if you're already used to his 96-98 iteration.

Strengths Weaknesses
  • Effective corner pressure: The corner complements Kyo's mixup game where the opponent has no room to escape his offense. He unlocks a handful of corner combos, too, further unlocking his combo potential.
  • Great buttons in general: All of Kyo's buttons are strong. The lack of hops hurts the utility of some of them, notably his j.2C and the lack of a reliable cross-up off of j.B, but his KOF buttons haven't gotten any worse in the transition to SVC. Kyo's never short of options to use in neutral for good buttons to use.
  • Mixups for days: Kyo's rekkas are varied enough that he can always keep his opponents on their toes. Between a wide variety of mids, overheads, lows, fast and slow attacks, hitgrabs, juggleable moves, and so forth, Kyo in the right hands is unpredictable up-close.
  • Delayable supers: Kyo can delay his supers for potential mixups against the opponent when they don't expect it, plus he can delay it for a long time. This doesn't help him much to begin with, but it's nice to have.
  • Exceed does high chip damage: Though not 100% reliable as a chip kill, Kyo's exceed can help potentially end a match. It does several hits on block, potentially being one of the highest chip damaging supers in the game, too. It is easily punishable if it doesn't chip kill, however.
  • Easy Max Mode loops: You don't have to explicitly learn Kyo's hardest max mode combos to play him optimally, as he has some pretty easy loops to utilize for good results. Even simply repeating 236A > 236C is a decent combo on top of being easy to learn.
  • Big combo potential: Kyo's wide arsenal of rekkas and special moves, as well as his solid buttons, gives him more leg room for combos than other characters in the roster. Although he's cut short of his full potential with some of the changes made to him in SVC, he has a ton of combo variety for players to mess around with.
  • Great for learning both SVC and KOF: Kyo's technically not the easiest character to pick up and play, his kit can be a little confusing how to use properly and albeit potent, his buttons can take a bit to learn to use well. That said, he's great for teaching the basics of SNK design in general, and since much of what he does here is the same as KOF, it's easy to transfer his skills over between both games and between other characters, too. He's the perfect steppingstone to learning individual pieces of KOF/SVC neutral.
  • No projectile: As with nearly all iterations of rekka Kyo, he has no projectiles and has to play rushdown. By itself it isn't much of an issue, but in matchups against zoners, Kyo's forced to be careful with his approach and use GCFS to close the gap.'
  • Always needs meter...: Kyo needs to spend meter for supers whenever possible in order to ensure he gets optimal combo damage. Although his no-meter combos do decent damage, Kyo's persistent problem of having to play rushdown makes getting optimal combos matter a lot more to ensure fewer necessary interactions.
  • ...Yet he also needs Max Mode, too: Max mode is where Kyo's best damage comes from. Kyo already wants to spend meter for better damage, but not being able to use max mode whenever he wants to puts him between a rock and a hard place. This is somewhat mitigated by the fact that Kyo doesn't have that many super combos to begin with due to combo limitations, but spending meter before max mode ends up being a setback. Pick your poison.
  • Lacks Max Mode cancels from other games: The problem with Kyo's SVC max mode combos is the lack of cancels he has in other games, like not being able to cancel DP into his up kicks. Minor on the surface, but the lack of such cancels means less potential damage and less max mode combo potential overall.
  • Not many midscreen options for combos: Kyo much prefers to get in close to start his combos, particularly because his attacks can have issues connecting from further away due to hitbox jank.
  • Predictable approach against zoning: Again, no projectile, and he's a rushdown character. Having no access to hops and almost nothing specifically meant to counter zoning and Kyo can find it difficult to actually get in, especially his bad matchups. 421K is at best situationally useful for helping him get in.
SVC Chaos: SNK VS Capcom Frame Data Glossary
Damage

How much damage the attack does. This takes into account no defense modifiers, so the damage assumes a 0% damage modifier.

  • Note: Damage is a little inconsistent. Example: Geese cl.A deals 5 damage. Against Zero, sometimes it does 5 pixels of damage to his life bar, other times it does 4 pixels. Against Ryu, cl.A does 4 pixels of damage, other times it does 3 pixels of damage. This info comes from the Enterbrain Mook, but most likely this is the cause of damage modifiers skewing the damage slightly, thus making it a bit inconsistent.
  • Damage values listed are pulled from the SVC Chaos Enterbrain Mook, save Athena, Red Arremer, Serious Mr. Karate and Shin Akuma. It is listed because it's an official source for this info, just keep in mind damage is not 1-to-1 due to varying health values and screwy ways the game calculates damage anyways.
  • There will be a question mark next to the four mentioned characters because it's only a guess as to what the actual damage values are (until health and damage are better understood), since they were never gathered in the Mook.
Counter Damage

How much damage the attack does on a counter hit, or when it connects with an opponent while they're performing an attack. Counter damage values listed are pulled from the SVC Chaos Enterbrain Mook, save Athena, Red Arremer, Serious Mr. Karate and Shin Akuma.

Guard

Where the attack hits, and thus where it must be blocked.

  • Mids can be blocked standing and crouching
  • Overheads must be blocked standing
  • Lows must be blocked crouching
  • Unblockable cannot be blocked
  • Throws break through block up-close
Guard Crush

How much guard meter damage the attack does to the green Guard Gauge.

Stun

How many points of stun the attack adds to the opponent's invisible Stun Gauge.

Meter

How much meter is gained for performing/landing the attack. Special moves earn meter both when activated and when they connect with the opponent, whether it hits them or they block it.

Cancel

The type of cancel the attack can perform.

  • Any - All cancel types work
  • Ch - Chain cancel; it can chain into other attacks (mostly just lights)
  • Self - Can chain only into itself
  • Cmd - Command cancel; can cancel into command normals
  • Sp - Special cancel; can cancel into special moves, and almost always this means super cancels are possible too
  • Su - Super cancel; can cancel into super moves
  • Free - Free cancel; can be cancelled in Max Mode by other special moves or super moves
  • Written only for special moves as all normals can be Free Cancelled, so writing it in for every move would be redundant
  • X - Cannot be cancelled, either outside of Max Mode or that it cannot be cancelled at all
Startup

How many frames it takes before the move becomes 'active' or has a hitbox. The SVC Chaos wiki uses classic startup notation, which does not include the first active frame. A move with 3 startup becomes active on frame 4. Super and Exceed startup will calculate both the frames before and after the super flash animation as such: X+Y, with X being the startup frames before the flash animation and Y being the startup frames after the flash animation.

  • The startup will not take into account the frames of the flash animation itself where time freezes and the opponent player cannot act.
  • Super flashes last 28 frames, whereas Exceed flashes last 27 frames.
  • Because there is currently no way to view throw boxes, it is assumed that throws/command grabs are at most 0-1 frames of startup. Truthfully, we don't actually know though.
Active

How many frames a move remains active (can hurt opponents) for. Consecutive sets of active frames on a multi-hit move are separated by a comma. (Example: 3, 4 - The attack has its first hitbox for 3 frames, then the second hitbox for 4 frames)

  • If there is a gap between sets of active frames, the gap is denoted by a number in parentheses. (Example: 3, (2), 4 - The attack is active for 3 frames, then is not active for the next two frames, followed by being active again for 4 frames.)
  • Throw boxes are not visible either through dipswitches or the hitbox viewer so it's only a guess how active throws and command grabs are, but it's probably one active frame at most.
  • This also applies to hitbox images - they will still show the push and hurtboxes of characters but outside of that, unfortunately there is no way to depict the throw boxes at the moment.
Recovery

How many frames it takes for a move to finish after it's been active.

Total

The total number of frames the attack lasts on screen for. This adds up the startup, active, and recovery frames into one number.

Hit/Block Adv

These are frame advantage values when the attack hits or is blocked. If the number is positive, then the move will end before the defender can act again. If the number is negative, the defender will be able to act before the attacker and maybe even punish.

  • SKD refers to a soft knockdown, or a knockdown you can tech roll out of.
  • HKD refers to a hard knockdown, one that you cannot tech roll out of.
  • All frame advantages assume Ryu as the opponent. If there are variable wakeup times, it is currently unknown info.
  • Frame advantages of projectiles assumes the opponent is point blank range. Any farther and this obviously changes and/or doesn't matter.
  • Block advantage assumes no use of Guard Cancel Front Step.
  • For one, it obviously decreases the attacker's frame advantage significantly.
  • When the defender uses GCFS is also a variable factor so you cannot provide a hard answer as to what the frame advantage is after GCFS, as well as how soon they cancel GCFS into an attack.
  • Generally speaking, just assume the block advantage minus the active frames of GCFS, and that's a rough estimate of the frame advantage when GCFS is performed.
  • This doesn't really matter in most cases, since the attacker will automatically be quite minus after most attacks.
Invulnerability

Indicates whether there's any frames of invulnerability during the attack.

Move List

Normal Moves

Close Normals

cl.A
Damage Counter Dmg Guard G. Crush Stun Meter Cancel Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Invulnerability
5 7 Mid 5 5 - - 5 4 5 14 +3 +1 -
  • Elbow attack. Can chain into any Light Normal, including itself.

cl.B
Damage Counter Dmg Guard G. Crush Stun Meter Cancel Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Invulnerability
5 7 Low 5 5 - - 7 4 8 19 +0 -2 -
  • Good move. Can be normal canceled, can chain into any Light Attack, and hits low(Which isn't something usual for standing attacks; Iori's cl.B has this same property). Can be used as a Light Attack chain starter too.

cl.C
Damage Counter Dmg Guard G. Crush Stun Meter Cancel Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Invulnerability
22 30 Mid 16 20 - - 3 2, 8 9 22 +1 -1 -
  • For comboing. Cancel it into something, and you'll be fine.

cl.D
Damage Counter Dmg Guard G. Crush Stun Meter Cancel Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Invulnerability
22 30 Mid 16 21 - - 5 3 22 30 -5 -7 -
  • Has the same properties as the cl.C, but just use the C, it has better startup(Which is better for combos)

Far Normals

st.A
Damage Counter Dmg Guard G. Crush Stun Meter Cancel Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Invulnerability
6 8 Mid 6 6 - - 5 4 5 14 +3 +1 -
  • Punch that whiffs on small crouching characters, but can be normal canceled. Nothing very special on it.

st.B
Damage Counter Dmg Guard G. Crush Stun Meter Cancel Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Invulnerability
7 9 Mid 7 7 - - 8 3 14 25 -5 -7 -
  • Kick with good reach, but can't be normal canceled. Use it as a poke, mainly.

st.C
Damage Counter Dmg Guard G. Crush Stun Meter Cancel Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Invulnerability
22 30 Mid 16 21 - - 13 2 17 32 +1 -1 -
  • Nothing special. Can whiff on some crouching characters, and can't be normal canceled.

st.D
Damage Counter Dmg Guard G. Crush Stun Meter Cancel Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Invulnerability
22 30 Mid 16 21 - - 13 5 17 35 -2 -4 -
  • A fast kick with decent horizontal reach. Kyo will move forward during the move. This normal can't be normal canceled.

Crouch Normals

cr.A
Damage Counter Dmg Guard G. Crush Stun Meter Cancel Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Invulnerability
5 7 Mid 5 5 - - 5 4 5 14 +3 +1 -
  • This move is good. It's mainly used after a cl./cr.B, to begin doing combos. Can be normal canceled, and can chain into other Lights.

cr.B
Damage Counter Dmg Guard G. Crush Stun Meter Cancel Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Invulnerability
5 7 Low 5 5 - - 5 4 5 14 +3 +1 -
  • One of his Light Attack chain starters, but this one can't be normal canceled(Which forces you to chain it into other Light to do your combos).

cr.C
Damage Counter Dmg Guard G. Crush Stun Meter Cancel Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Invulnerability
17 18 Mid 16 21 - - 6 2, 4 21 33 1st= -7 1st= -9 -
  • An anti-air attack that can be normal canceled. You can use it on your combos too.

cr.D
Damage Counter Dmg Guard G. Crush Stun Meter Cancel Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Invulnerability
22 30 Low 16 21 - - 12 3 19 35 SKD -4 -
  • Another cancelable sweep. Cancel it into something if you need meter(Or even to pressure your opponent in case it gets blocked).

Jumping Normals

(n)j.A
Damage Counter Dmg Guard G. Crush Stun Meter Cancel Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Invulnerability
6 8 Overhead 6 6 - X 5 nj= 7 ; dj= 6 - - - - -
  • Neutral/Diagonal Jumping Attack
  • You can use this as a Jump-in attack, but you'll need to time well if you want to combo with it(Kyo has better options too).

nj.B
Damage Counter Dmg Guard G. Crush Stun Meter Cancel Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Invulnerability
7 9 Overhead 7 7 - X 5 11 - - - - -
  • Neutral Jumping Attack
  • Use it as a defensive air-to-air(You won't neutral jump that much, so I think that this move can be useless for you).

j.B
Damage Counter Dmg Guard G. Crush Stun Meter Cancel Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Invulnerability
7 9 Overhead 7 7 - X 5 5 - - - - -
  • Diagonal Jumping Attack
  • Used as a Jump-in attack with priority. It can crossup too.

(n)j.C
Damage Counter Dmg Guard G. Crush Stun Meter Cancel Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Invulnerability
22 30 Overhead 16 21 - X 6 4 - - - - -
  • Neutral/Diagonal Jumping Attack
  • Jump-in attack that can crossup if you aim well. It does more damage than the j.B(Obviously), but it's harder to crossup with it.

nj.D
Damage Counter Dmg Guard G. Crush Stun Meter Cancel Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Invulnerability
22 30 Overhead 16 21 - X 11 11 - - - - -
  • Neutral Jumping Attack
  • Another defensive air-to-air, but you can use this move for neutral Jump-in attacks.

j.D
Damage Counter Dmg Guard G. Crush Stun Meter Cancel Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Invulnerability
22 30 Overhead 16 21 - X 9 5 - - - - -
  • Diagonal Jumping Attack
  • The most used Jump Attack for Kyo. Think of it as like a mix of the j.B with the j.C(It has damage, it's very easy to crossup with it, and it has better reach as well, unlike the other two moves).

Command Normals

Geshiki: Naraku Otoshi
j.2C
Damage Counter Dmg Guard G. Crush Stun Meter Cancel Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Invulnerability
21 30 Overhead 20 21 - - 7 5 - - HKD (air) Varies -
  • Normally used as a Jump-in attack. It can crossup too, but no, you can't cancel a jumping normal into it. If it hits the opponent while he/she is in the air, he/she will get a beautiful hard knockdown(Making it a great air-to-air too). If you want to run away, you can use it during a backdash, it will make Kyo dash longer.

Geshiki: Goufu You
f.B
Version Damage Counter Dmg Guard G. Crush Stun Meter Cancel Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Invulnerability
Raw 16 21 Overhead 11 16 - - 23 2 27 52 -9 -11 -
  • Just an overhead. A simple, non-cancelable overhead.
Version Damage Counter Dmg Guard G. Crush Stun Meter Cancel Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Invulnerability
Canceled 10x2 14 Mid 7x2 10x2 - - 10 5, (2,) 7 18 42 2nd= -5 2nd= -7 -
  • It will do 2 hits(Depending of which normal you canceled), while those two can be normal canceled, but it will lose the overhead properties.

88 Shiki
df.D
Damage Counter Dmg Guard G. Crush Stun Meter Cancel Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Invulnerability
13(10)x2 18(14) Low 11(7)x2 13(10)x2 - - 3 3, (12), 4 24 46 2nd= -8 2nd= -10 -
  • A two-hitting kick. It can't be normal canceled on any hit (No matter how you use it), but on the Max Mode it can be useful.

Throws

Kof.lp.pngKof.lk.png Throw
Damage Counter Dmg Guard G. Crush Stun Meter Cancel Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Invulnerability
24 24 Throw 0 0 0 X - - - - - - -

Kof.sp.pngKof.sk.png Throw
Damage Counter Dmg Guard G. Crush Stun Meter Cancel Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Invulnerability
11x2 11 Throw 0 0 0 X - - - - - - -

Guard Cancel Blowback
Kof.sp.pngKof.sk.png on Block
Damage Counter Dmg Guard G. Crush Stun Meter Cancel Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Invulnerability
0 0 Mid 0 0 0 X - - - - - - -

Special Moves

Kyo's special moves can be sort of confusing to learn with the rekkas having branching paths that cross with each other, but after a few matches you should have no issue remembering the gist of his rekka follow-ups.

75 Shiki Kai
qcf K > K
Version Damage Counter Dmg Guard G. Crush Stun Meter Cancel Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Invulnerability
qcf B > K 11x2 13 Mid 7x2 0 - - - - - - - - -
  • (qcf K) Just a kick. It can be used as an anti-air, but you have better options to use.
Version Damage Counter Dmg Guard G. Crush Stun Meter Cancel Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Invulnerability
qcf D > K 11x2 13 Mid 7x2 0 - - - - - - - - -
  • After the second kick, you can juggle with something(In the B version, only for a limited time, because after some frames, even if the opponent is still in the air, you can't juggle on him). The D version is a little slower than the B, but you can easily juggle after it(You can even juggle the D version with the B version on the corner).

212 Shiki: Kototsuki You
hcb K
Version Damage Counter Dmg Guard G. Crush Stun Meter Cancel Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Invulnerability
hcb B 13+0+13 13, 0, 13 Mid 0 0 - - - - - - - - -
  • A cool grab with two hits, but it's blockable on the first one(And the opponent will punish you easily). The first hit can be max canceled, and it's another part of Kyo's max loops. This move is generally used after the D version of the QCF+K if you don't have meter.
Version Damage Counter Dmg Guard G. Crush Stun Meter Cancel Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Invulnerability
hcb D 13+0+13 13, 0, 13 Mid 0 0 - - - - - - - - -

100 Shiki: Oniyaki
dp P
Version Damage Counter Dmg Guard G. Crush Stun Meter Cancel Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Invulnerability
dp A 20 20 Mid 11x2 11x2 - - - - - - - - -
  • His main anti-air. It has some autoguard frames on the startup, which makes it safer to anti-air. On Max Mode, the first hit(On every version), can be max canceled, but even into Supers! Use the C version if you want to do that.
Version Damage Counter Dmg Guard G. Crush Stun Meter Cancel Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Invulnerability
dp C 19x2 22 Mid 11x2 11x2 - - - - - - - - -

R.E.D. Kick
rdp K
Version Damage Counter Dmg Guard G. Crush Stun Meter Cancel Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Invulnerability
rdp B 24 28 Mid 22 22 - - - - - - - - -
  • It can look like, but it isn't an overhead. Can be used as an anti-air too, because it will hard knockdown the opponent if it hits him/her in the air. You can even use the B version after the QCF+D, for a hard knockdown setup! You can't combo it from a normal too, which is sad.
Version Damage Counter Dmg Guard G. Crush Stun Meter Cancel Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Invulnerability
rdp D 26 30 Mid 27 27 - - - - - - - - -

114 Shiki: Aragami
qcf A
Damage Counter Dmg Guard G. Crush Stun Meter Cancel Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Invulnerability
10 12 Mid 2 9 - - - - - - - - -
  • Just a starter for your strings. It's used, because it's easy to confirm it. You can combo it after any cancelable Heavy Normal. The fire on Kyo's fist can negate projectiles, and it has some autoguard frames on the startup. It can be max canceled into any Special(But obviously, you can't max cancel into the string's followups).

128 Shiki: Konokizu
qcf A > qcf P
Damage Counter Dmg Guard G. Crush Stun Meter Cancel Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Invulnerability
10 12 Mid 2 9 - - - - - - - - -
  • A linker. It will send your opponent to the air, letting you juggle him/her(With one of the finishers below). It can be max canceled too, and it's one of the leads for Kyo's loops.

127 Shiki: Yanosabi
qcf A > qcf P > P
Version Damage Counter Dmg Guard G. Crush Stun Meter Cancel Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Invulnerability
qcf A > qcf P > P 10 12 Overhead 2 9 - - - - - - - - -
  • It's a good move, but won't hit the opponent if used on midscreen(It can hit EQ). Use it on the corner for a hard knockdown on the opponent. It can be max canceled, but you can't combo after it hits. It will hit as an overhead too.
Version Damage Counter Dmg Guard G. Crush Stun Meter Cancel Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Invulnerability
qcf A > hcb P 10 12 Overhead 2 9 - - - - - - - - -
  • Will hit as an overhead, won't combo after the Aragami, and will do a hard knockdown on the opponent. Good to use if your opponent likes to block low. You can use it on midscreen too, although it won't combo. You can max cancel it, but why? To get this one, time well.

125 Shiki: Nanase
qcf A > qcf P > K
Version Damage Counter Dmg Guard G. Crush Stun Meter Cancel Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Invulnerability
qcf A > qcf P > K 12 15 Mid 8 9 - - - - - - - - -
  • The best finisher for midscreen combos. Use it, you'll need. It can't be max canceled, unlike the other moves.
Version Damage Counter Dmg Guard G. Crush Stun Meter Cancel Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Invulnerability
qcf A > hcb P > K 12 15 Mid 8 9 - - - - - - - - -
  • Has the same properties as the K(Finisher) above, but won't hit the opponent. Useless if you used this string.

Geshiki: Migiri Ugachi
qcf A > hcb P > P
Damage Counter Dmg Guard G. Crush Stun Meter Cancel Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Invulnerability
12 15 Low 2 9 - - - - - - - - -
  • Will OTG(On/Off the ground) the opponent(Will hit him/her while he/she's knocked down). You can't max cancel it.

212 Shiki: Kototsuki You
qcf A > hcb P > hcb K
Damage Counter Dmg Guard G. Crush Stun Meter Cancel Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Invulnerability
13+0+13 13, 0, 13 Mid 0 0 - - - - - - - - -
  • An OTG grab. The timing to get it is a little restrict too. You can't max cancel it(Pretty normal, it's a grab).

115 Shiki: Dokugami
qcf C
Damage Counter Dmg Guard G. Crush Stun Meter Cancel Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Invulnerability
10 12 Mid 2 9 - - - - - - - - -
  • The most used on midscreen. It's like the QCF+A(Can negate projectiles, and those things), but Kyo will move further, and it still has autoguard frames. It can be max canceled too(It's part of his loops).

401 Shiki: Tsumi Yomi
qcf C > hcb P
Damage Counter Dmg Guard G. Crush Stun Meter Cancel Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Invulnerability
10 12 Mid 2 9 - - - - - - - - -
  • Only a linker for the Dokugami. It won't do anything special, but it can be max canceled too(It is another part of Kyo's loops).

402 Shiki: Batsu Yomi
qcf C > hcb P > f.P
Damage Counter Dmg Guard G. Crush Stun Meter Cancel Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Invulnerability
10 12 Mid 2 9 - - - - - - - - -
  • Kyo will launch his opponent to the air. It's just a linker for the above, but it can't be max canceled.

100 Shiki: Oniyaki
qcf C > hcb P > f.P > dp P
Damage Counter Dmg Guard G. Crush Stun Meter Cancel Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Invulnerability
8 10 Mid 7 7 - - - - - - - - -
  • Just a thing to add damage. Learn how to use this string for comboing the opponent, you can need(If you're having trouble with it, just use the A strings instead). It can't be max canceled.

Super Moves

182 Shiki
qcf x2 P (Hold to delay)
Damage Counter Dmg Guard G. Crush Stun Meter Cancel Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Invulnerability
56, 64, 72 64, 72, 80 Mid 16, 24, 32 0, 8, 16 - - - - - - - - -
  • This move is cool, but it can be hard to confirm from normals(It can combo from a Heavy Normal). The damage will increase if you hold the button too(You'll hear up to 5 "explosions" while you charge, and that's how you can know that the damage will increase). If you charge until the end, the move won't be unblockable anymore - not that Kyo ever gets the chance to use the unblockable version in real matches. Kyo has upper-body invincibility while you charge.

Ura 108 Shiki: Orochinagi
qcb~hcf P (Hold to delay)
Damage Counter Dmg Guard G. Crush Stun Meter Cancel Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Invulnerability
68 75 Mid 16 0 - - - - - - - - -
  • Kyo's classic Super. You can combo it from normals, but it's very hard(Very hard, I'll say again). The flame can negate projectiles too. On the KoF 2002, you could confirm it with the max mode, but here, you can't do BC cancels, so... Well, if you hold the button, you'll get more damage too. While you charge, Kyo can be lower body invincible(A version), or even upper body invincible(C version, can be useful to anti-air).

Exceed

Saishuu Kessen Ougi "Mushiki"
Qcf.pngQcf.pngKof.lp.pngKof.sp.png
Damage Counter Dmg Guard G. Crush Stun Meter Cancel Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Invulnerability
54+(5x13) 64, 5 Mid 0 0 0 X 6+1 94 45 146 SKD -33 1F-7F (Full startup), 8F-16F (First several active frames)
  • Detailed active frame count: 4+1+1+1+3, (14), 14, (7), [2, (3),]x2, 2, (2), 2, (7), [2, (2),]x3, 2, (6), 6
  • The flame column at the start of this Exceed can negate projectiles.
  • It does average damage compared to other Exceeds, but it can be useful as a cheap finisher, too, via its good chip damage. The Exceed can still be front step punished, but it takes getting used to and is a little risky past the initial hit.
  • A strong Exceed held back by its limited hit confirmability and limited combos. Fortunately, you can combo it from any cancelable normal.
  • Kyo can combo into it with his lights and cl.C most reliably, and in max mode, he can cancel DP into Exceed. But the problem with his DP is that he cannot max cancel anything into it, either...
  • Kyo being invulnerable for 16 frames also makes it a strong reversal or a front step punish against multi-hit attacks, or other similar scenarios.

Strategy

Basic Strategy

Kyo's gameplan

Kyo is a typical rushdown character with nice strings, and great mixups to use in a match. The main thing you'll need to know to play him is, without doubt, the strings. The most important moves on Kyo's arsenal. You'll need to know when and how to use each one. For the Aragami strings, try to finish with the kick(In case you used the first string), but you can use the punch if on the corner. The second string is mainly for crouching state abusers(Most of them are chargers), and you camn even do an OTG after it. For the Dokugami string, you can use it for comboing(It's the best one for that). Your main anti-airs are the DP+P, and the QCB, HCF+C, which can easily defeat jumping normals. If you need to confirm your supers, do a QCF+D, D before it, it can help you. For your Exceed, it won't be that hard too(Just see below). Good Luck on your future matches.

Advanced Strategy

Resets

This is on nearly every section, but... Resets are important, and why this wouldn't be important for Kyo? His Shiki Kai, which has juggle properties, is very used on combos, because you can confirm nearly everything after the D version. But when we do a normal move after it(Or after any move with juggle properties), the opponent will land on the ground, but he/she won't get a knockdown, and that's the purpose of a reset, make the opponent fall, but standing, and then make him/her eat a High/Low mixup. Try this:

(Corner only) Any combo ending with QCF+D, D, a normal(I can recommend f./cl.A, or cl.C), and while the opponent is on the reset animation, you can do...

  • cl.C into anything, or even another QCF+D, D - Damaging reset into reset; easiest to block
  • (Optional empty jump) cr.B, cr.A into something(Exceed, maybe) - Damaging low starter combo
  • Jump-in attack, any combo - Overhead into combo
  • f+B into any special move that can be max canceled into, see the combos below for more details - Overhead into special move; or even reset into reset

Match-Ups

Combos

SVC Chaos: SNK VS Capcom Quick Combo Notation Guide
  • cl. = close normal
  • st. = standing/far normal
  • cr. = crouching normal
  • f.; etc. = forward direction (NOT far)
  • X = any button
  • CH = counter hit
  • , = Used to separate attacks in the combo
  • / = Separates different options for the combo (mainly different starters or enders that are possible)
  • Unless otherwise stated (such as it's a link or you need to delay the attack), assume this is a chain/cancel.
  • Example: cr.B, cr.A, dp A ; cr.B chains into cr.A, then cr.A cancels into dp A
  • [b]~f = Indicates to charge back (or downback), then press forwards for the given special move
  • ( ) = Parentheses used to indicate the attack(s) within the parentheses are optional to add to the combo
  • (C) = Indicates a free cancel, aka a cancel only possible in Max Mode
  • (SC) = Indicates a super cancel via free canceling in Max Mode
  • (1) = Used to indicate how many hits of the attack should connect (or less than) before continuing with the combo
  • Example: cl.C(1), hcb P means that only one hit of cl.C should be performed before moving on to do hcb P, not more than one hit
  • [ ] = Used to distinguish combo loops or combo starters/etc. in case a certain attack is only possible after specific options
  • xN = Repeat the given loop for as many times as either possible or as many times as you wish

May change to numpad notation much later down the road.

BnB Combos

BnB Combos
Combo Position Damage Stun Difficulty Notes
cr.B, cr.A, df.D TBA TBA TBA TBA A very basic link for you. It begins with a low, and it finishes with a low. Very good to use as a blockstring to safely push your opponent. If you want to use a string with only low attacks, you can do: cl.B, cr.B, df+D. Will get 4 hits, and will give only lows for you.
cl.B, f.B TBA TBA TBA TBA A low into an "overhead"(It loses the properties). Begins with a low, and ends with a cancelable move(It's cancelable on the second hit). Wanna see the best way to combo using this one? Just continue, and you'll see.
(j.X - crossup preferred,) cl./cr.C, qcf A > qcf P > K TBA TBA TBA TBA Pretty basic, and you can use it everywhere(Don't do a Jump Attack if you want to use this combo on the corner). You won't have problems using it, but the Dokugami combos can do more damage than this one(But those combos are harder than this one).
(Corner only) cl./cr.C, qcf A > qcf P > P TBA TBA TBA TBA Another simple combo that will give a knockdown for you. Sadly, it's corner only(I think you can land it against EQ on midscreen).
(j.X,) cl./cr.C, qcf C > hcb P > f.P > dp P TBA TBA TBA TBA Maybe the best thing you can do on midscreen if you don't have meter/Max Mode. Probably his most damaging combo on normal mode without using meter. It's very easy to land it, but it can be hard to perform it(The Dokugami's inputs are strange if you're not used to them).
(j.X,) cl.B, f.B, qcf C > hcb P > f.P > dp P TBA TBA TBA TBA A version with more hits, and starting with a low. Sadly, it can be hard to combo a Jump Attack into a cl.B, due to the startup of the normal.
(j.X,) cl.C, qcf D > K, rdp B TBA TBA TBA TBA Simple to do. Probably the most basic combo using the Shiki Kai. You can use it everywhere too.
(Corner only) (j.X,) cl.C, qcf B > K, dp P TBA TBA TBA TBA Another simple combo. The DP+P is the only move that can be used as a followup the B version too.
(Corner only) (j.X,) cl.C, qcf D > K, (delay) qcf B > K, dp C TBA TBA TBA TBA A great, but a little hard combo. The timing for each attack needs to be perfect to make it work. This is probably the most damaging combo(Using the Shiki Kai) without meter.
(j.X,) cl.C, qcf D > K, hcb K TBA TBA TBA TBA The most used combo without meter on midscreen. It's cool to see it, but the timing is hard to get.
(Corner) (j.X,) cl.C, qcf D > K, qcf C > hcb P > f.P > dp P TBA TBA TBA TBA Dunno if works, but if it works, you can add your thoughts here.
(j.X,) cl.C, hcb K TBA TBA TBA TBA Simple combo, and it's like most of the other ones. The damage isn't that bad too.
(j.X,) cl.C, dp P TBA TBA TBA TBA Not a bad combo(It's like the HCB+K combo above). The A version is better for this combo(Why? Use the C version and see why). Never use the C version after a normal(Not outside of Max Mode), it can be dangerous for you.
(j.X,) cr.B, cr.A, dp A TBA TBA TBA TBA Combo starting with a low. It can be useful when you need(Can be useful on Max Mode combos too).
Super Combos
Combo Position Damage Stun Difficulty Notes
(j.X,) cl.C, qcf D > K, qcb~hcf P TBA TBA TBA TBA Damaging, easy to land, and you'll confirm a Super on it. If you need damage, you can use this one(In case you want to save your Exceed for a while).
(Corner only) (j.X,) cl.C, qcf D > K, qcf x2 P TBA TBA TBA TBA Another simple one, and it's like the above, but to use on the corner.
(j.X,) cl./cr.C, qcf x2 A TBA TBA TBA TBA A simple combo to use. The A version needs to be used on combos due to the startup(The C version won't connect on most combos).
(j.X,) cl.B, f.B, qcf x2 A TBA TBA TBA TBA Just another combo with the second link. It does good damage.
cl.B/C, f.B, qcb~hcf P TBA TBA TBA TBA This is a very hard combo, but it's still damaging. If you cancel the f.B into the super, it won't combo. It requires a specific timing in order for it to combo - in other words if you release super right away, it won't combo. You have to hold the button to delay it slightly as the opponent is knocked back from f.B. You also should use the C version over the A version, as this has to do with both the A and C versions having slightly different frame data properties that causes the combo to work this way.
(j.X,) cl.C, Exceed TBA TBA TBA TBA The easiest confirm. It's not that hard to do it, and the damage is incredible. Learn it, you can need(It's important to know how to confirm the Exceed with your character).
(j.X - crossup preferred) cr.B, cr.A, Exceed TBA TBA TBA TBA Confirm beginning with a low. The Exceed has great startup, which makes it good to combo after a normal.
(Corner only) cl.B, f.B, Exceed TBA TBA TBA TBA Combo starting with a low, and it does more damage than the below(If you don't consider the [Jump Attack] on the first one). Don't use a Jump Attack on this one, because if you try it, the f+B won't combo on most characters.

Max Mode Combos

Max Mode Combos
Combo Position Damage Stun Difficulty Notes
(j.X,) cl.C, qcf C, [(C)qcf A, (C)qcf C,]xN, follow-up (preferably qcf D > K) TBA TBA TBA TBA Probably the most basic loop on Kyo's list. A bad part of it is that you don't have a finisher for it, depending of how many loops you landed(The followups for the Dokugami/Aragami can whiff too if you try to loop, and combo after it).
(j.X,) cl.C, hcb K(1), [(C)qcf C > hcb P, (C)hcb K(1),]xN, qcf D > K, any follow-up TBA TBA TBA TBA The most used Kyo loop. It does good damage, but it can be hard to perform if you don't have good reflexes. Practice this one, you can need.
f.B, (C)qcf D > K, followup TBA TBA TBA TBA This one is the best of the overhead combos. It's very effective on the corner, and mainly after a reset(Remember the reset combo above? You can do a reset into another reset if you use this one), but it's possible only on Max Mode, sadly. Kyo can max cancel(And connect) nearly everything he has after his overhead, but I think you should stick with this one.
(j.X - crossup preferred,) cr.B, cr.A, dp C(1), (SC)Exceed TBA TBA TBA TBA An easy confirm with a low starter. It's kind of an extension of a normal mode combo(cr.B, cr.A, Exceed), but using a Supercancel now. You should learn it for when you need damage.

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