■ Cody
Cody specializes in offense using his highly efficient moves.
Ruffian Kick is a special forward-moving kick. The properties vary greatly between the Light, Medium and Heavy versions of the move.
Light is a low attack aiming at the feet.
Medium releases a front kick that knocks the opponent back.
Heavy can float the opponent when it hits, but won’t hit crouching opponents. You can of course juggle off a Switch Cancel, but Cody himself can follow up H Ruffian Kick in the corner. Aim to combo the move from attacks that force the opponent to stand, like cr.HP.
Zonk Knuckle moves Cody forward while hitting the opponent. On hit, the move knocks the opponent back and can also be juggled from, so you’ll see a big return in the corner. On startup, the move has upper-body invincibility against all moves except throws, so you can use the move as a counterattack.
Cody can pick up the knife lying on the stage by pressing Down + All 3 Punches. While holding the knife, Cody can’t use any of his punch unique attacks, and all punch attacks use the knife.
The knife has long reach and even causes chip damage when blocked.
Jaw Crush, performed with B+MP, is a unique attack with upper-body invincibility against everything but throws. It’s an excellent anti-air move with a high priority against attacks from above, but has short horizontal reach. Against diagonal jumps you need to use moves like st.HP. Beyond Jaw Crush, Cody has many other efficient MP moves, so be sure to use them.
Neutral jump HP will bound air opponents on hit, allowing for combos. The move has long active frames, so while defending on the ground you can neutral jump and release it early. Depending on its usage its a low-risk, high-return move.
■ Guy
Guy is a technical character with high mobility and an offense he can change at will.
Hozanto is a forward-charging body attack. During the charge the move is projectile invincible and can be followed up in the corner, so you can threaten opponents who try to zone you from afar with projectiles. The EX version has no projectile invincibility but instead has a fast start-up and causes wall bound on hit.
Bushin Senpukyaku is a special move where Guy leaps upward and releases a spinning kick. While having invincibility at the feet just after start-up is a common point, the L, M, and H versions each have their own properties. The L and M versions are primarily used as an interrupt on the ground while the H version can be used as a combo finisher.
Run is a high-speed forward dash special move. While the move isn’t an attack itself, with additional inputs 3 different follow-ups can be performed.
LK is Sudden Stop.
MK is Shadow Kick, a low attack that trips the opponent. This move will go under certain projectile attacks.
HK is Neck Flip, a mid attack (overhead) and can’t be blocked while crouching.
EX Run has 2 hits of armor during the dash, and the follow-up attacks have different properties, such as Neck Flip causing bound damage.
Bushin Gokusaken, LP→MP→HP→HK, is one of Guy’s signature attacks, and the final HK floats the opponent allowing for juggles. At close range it’s an important source of damage, but the starting LP will whiff against crouching opponents so be cautious when using the attacks.
While jumping, Elbow Drop, released with D+MP, is a sudden-drop unique attack.
Guy’s jump has a long air time and far horizontal movement, but after releasing Elbow Drop he performs a nearly vertical sudden descent. Using this property, the move has a variety of uses. You can bait anti-airs from your opponent and land in front of them, or feign a cross-up and hit from the front. It’s one of Guy’s most important moves, so practice using the move to one’s desire.
■ Lei
Lei is a character with a variety of stances from which he can unleash attacks.
During the special move Shoryukyaku, Lei jumps straight up and unleashes a kick. With additional inputs you can follow up the attack on the floated opponent with Shoryurenkyaku.
Tenshinkyaku is a special move where Lei twists his body while leaping forward, releasing two consecutive kicks. While in the air the move is projectile-invincible, so you can use it as a surprise attack from mid range. With additional input, Tenshinrenkyaku will force knockdown on the opponent. Without further inputs, Lei will enter into his Back Turn stance after the move, and you can link from the move into attacks with fast start-up times.
With the special move Kochosho, Lei moves forward while attacking with both hands extended. The L version will knock the opponent back while the M and H versions cause wall bound. The EX version has projectile invincibility and causes crumple damage on hit, so you can go for an extended ground combo for big damage after the move.
Down +All 3 Kicks will move Lei into Snake Stance. From that stance, with additional up and down directional inputs he enters into other stances.
Dragon Stance
Tiger Stance
Panther Stance
Crane Stance
Each stance has their own exclusive moves, and some moves will move Lei into a different stance afterward. Beyond those stances…
F+All 3 Kicks is Drunken Stagger.
B+KKK is Back Turn.
Sleep. This is also a stance.
Lei has the most stances and moves of all the characters. Just remembering all of them may be tough, but the reward for doing so is large, so please practice and master them.
■ Christie
Christie is a character that plays with her opponent using her flowing movements and leg moves.
Barcelos is a special move where Christie draws her body back and strikes the opponent with both arms. While drawing back she has upper-body invincibility, so you can use the move to avoid attacks and counter. The EX version on start-up is invincible to everything but throws, and causes bound damage.
This is Christie’s special stance, Hand Stand. While in Hand Stand she has access to exclusive, powerful moves, but she cannot move or block so be careful while using it. By pressing Up, she returns to her normal stance after a certain period of time without doing anything. The EX version is projectile invincible and has an attack as she exits the stance. Pairing the move with Switch Cancels, because she remains on the stage for quite some time then releases the attack…
You can use it for pincer attacks like this and when timed properly can be used for combos.
With the special move Faisca, Christie moves forward while releasing two consecutive kicks. While moving forward she has invulnerability at her lower body, so you can use the move to avoid sweeps and attack, but with the exception of certain large characters, the first attack won’t hit a crouching opponent.
Gafanyoto (Island Mirage), performed with F+MK, will move Christie into Hand Stand after the kick. On hit, she can combo with Hand Stand moves.
Jump MH will cause bound when it hits air opponents. The move slams the opponent diagonally, so in a combo you can easily carry the opponent to the corner. The opponent drop speed is rather slow, so try to stay calm and go for a juggle.
