2k2 Kusanagi
Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2008 08:53
I felt like wasting some time bantering, since I play this game to death on the PS2 and emul8tor, and he's become my flagship character for 2k2.
Normals:
Close Standing A - Random poke. Hits above the head and has mediocre priority. Use occasionally if you want to keep someone grounded (good for stopping hop fags).
Close Standing B - Low kick to the shins. Be VERY careful about using this in front of an opponent's face. It has low priority and is easily beaten out by grabs and many moves.
Close Standing C - Part of Kusanagi's B&B combos. Quick hit to the gut. Comes out fast, and works reliably off of many hopped or jumped normals. Use this for EVERYTHING when you see free openings. Use to stuff moves. Use to stuff normals. This is your B&B, learn it, love it.
Close Standing D - Hard kick to the stomach. Use this if you see a WIDE opening and want to do more damage than the C. This is also good for stopping bad jumps, as it hits slightly higher than the midsection. Be careful however, this is laggier than the Standing C, so people who know how to dodge this can capitalize on you being from the attack.
Stand CD - Kyo does a shoulder ram. Has a bit of a startup, but can be used for pressure and can be empty cancelled to mess up the rhythm of your special moves. Use this when someone is getting up from a knockdown. Causes good guard meter crush too. Don't spam this, as its lag is roll fodder.
Far A - A jab. Slightly farther range than the close one. Same purpose as the close one - use for quick pokes, to keep people guessing and crouching, and to stop hoppers. Empty cancels into his f + B from this can fuck people up.
Far B - Quick horizontal kick to the midsection. You will abuse this, as it's fast, has great range and another great grounding option. Great for harassing people from Kusanagi's maximum effective range, the end of that foot. Be careful of smart players who will use high priority/invincible moves to stuff your far B. But if you're up against characters such as Clark, abuse this like a bitch. If you can bait rolls off of this you can easily hit them while they're recovering from a roll with one of Kusanagi's B&Bs.
Far C - Far standing backhand to the face. Use this as a fakeout. Empty Far C's into special moves and command attacks are ideal. This will also sometimes come out if you flub a combo and get out of range of the standing C. Again, don't spam this too much, it's incredibly laggy and good rollers can roll past this and hit you from behind while you're trying to fake them out. However, this far C alone is what makes Kusanagi easier to play than regular Kyo, since you can technically fuck up the timing and still get free shots in.
Far D - Kusanagi hops off of one foot and uses the other to kind of do a weird roundhouse kick to the abdomen. Use this if you think someone is going to roll past your stuff, as it is perfectly animated to hit them as they come out of the roll. This is also useful against crouch fags such as Leona and Chris, and it has temporary immunity to low attacks (since Kusanagi hops off the ground). You can also use this as a far heavy poke after a knockdown, and as always you can mix this up with your light attacks to harass them. As always, be careful of rollers who can predict these, as this is not empty cancellable and will leave you wide open if you whiff this.
Crouching A - Part of Kusanagi's B&B. Use as part of your rushdown game with Kusanagi. This links into his f + B (though smart players CAN roll through it) so you can use this as a starter for pressure strings.
Crouching B - Standard low attack. Hits very fast. Use after something that forces them to block, such as a meaty jump in or a blocked fireball. This will be part of your high-low mixup game, so learn to use it. Unlike normal Kyo, however, this CANNOT be linked into his close standing C, unless you meaty the crouching B upon an opponent waking up - which of course means you will eat a fat grab if you're stupid about it. This is also the start of his B&Bs.
Crouching C - Very VERY high uppercut. Use as a clutch anti-air. Priority isn't as great as his Oniyaki, but it does have less risk. You can also use this as a high priority ground attack to stuff any of your opponent's attempts at poking you. You must hit with the initial swing of his fist to get the priority you need. Most of the time this will come out if you flub a close standing C, but it does have its uses. It's laggy as fuck though, so use wisely.
Crouching D - Standard sweep. Kusanagi gets on one foot and uses the other to trip the opponent up. Good to keep your opponent on his toes (no pun intended). You can cancel this into his command attacks or his normals, so you can use this as a fun juking option with, say, his fireballs from maximum range so that you can vary your shotokan fireball throwing rhythm. This is also incredibly laggy, so again use sparingly.
Jump A - Flying elbow. Do not use unless you use it incredibly early to win air battles.
Jump B - This has two uses: 1) As a meaty jump in (following a knockdown). Has very good priority and hits crouchers. Can only be stopped by invincible moves and high priority supers/DMs. 2) To beat people in the air. Use this extremely early to stop people from jumping. You will need to get above the guy, so this is a better option for hoppers.
Jump C - Use this if you see an opening and want to tack on extra damage. This also works incredibly well if used early against Chang users that spam hop CDs. The 45 degree angle down, however, shows that its meant for offensive uses, and should be used as such. Once you got your opponent blocking you won't have to worry about jumping in with B's, and can use Cs to guard crush and build up pressure.
Jump D - I've had negative experiences with this normal. Kusanagi basically does the last hit of his Twilight wheel, which is an axe kick that lands on your head. The hit is NOT instant, so will lose in air to air wars where the opponent attacks early. Its most effective range is at the very tip of his foot. Do not use this as a direct jump in unless you are ABSOLUTELY SURE you got a free hit. It loses against ground attacks, especially crouch ground attacks. It DOES make good air to air if you jump backwards early with it, sort of like a reverse version of Takuma's jump CD. Don't use this too often, but use it enough to mix up your air game so as to keep the opponent guessing.
Jump CD - Kusanagi basically does an air version of his ground C. Good for building pressure and does okay in air to air battles. Don't spam this, as crouch turtling fags will be able to stuff you as you land from your attack.
Vertical Jump A - Same as his jump A. Do not use.
Vertical Jump B - Instead of extending his knee down, he extends it outwards, which widens the hitbox but makes it slightly more suceptible to crouchers. Use this when you need to win a clutch air to air battle, as it's pretty fast. You can also use this when an opponent is cornered and knocked down for an alternate jump in. For some reason the vertical jump B works better than regular Kyo's jump B, not sure why.
Vertical Jump C - It's his regular jump C. Use it as you normally would.
Vertical Jump D - Kusanagi does a hard roundhouse kick that is angled 50 degrees downwards. This move has ULTIMATELY priority against crouchers, and can be used to stuff jumpers if you use the tip of it. Use it early to stop hopfags, and use it late to get good meaty jump ins on those who are knocked down. Highly recommended for use.
Command Attacks:
air + C - Naraku Otoshi - Hell Drop - Kusanagi does a two fisted chop downwards. Lost much of its priority compared to the 98 incarnation, but is MUCH better than regular Kyo's + C. Use for pressure and as a clutch knockdown after a random juggle or Counter hit. Still good for air to air battles if used early.
f + B - Goufu You - Positive Roaring Axe (Axe Kick pretty much) - This is Kyo's old '98 f + B, back when it was actually useful. It's a two-hitter, and hits very meaty. First hit hits mid, and the second hit is an overhead. Use this from its maximum range when you have scored a knockdown for a free overhead hit. This also combos EXTREMELY well off a point blank crouch C or D, or after a crossover jump + C or jump B. Unlike Kyo's crappy f + B, this one typically hits for two hits after its cancelled from a close C or D, and can easily followup into his + B, for a B&B that hurts even more.
+ D - 88 Shiki - Style #88 - Kusanagi does a low two hit sweep. Finisher for his B&B off either a crouch B -> crouch A or a standing C or D. You can play high-low mixup games with his f + B to keep the opponent guessing, but be careful that both this move and the + D is REALLY laggy. It hits more reliably and "harder" than Kyo's + D, but as a compromise, has some lag, and therefore is harder to resume the pressure game after a connected one.
Moves:
+ K - Oboroguruma - Twilight Wheel - Kusanagi kicks upwards in a 40 degree angle. B version does 1 hit, D version does 3 and ends with a knockdown (if you can get the third hit to hit)
+ P - Yami Barai - Standard Kusanagi/Yagami fireball. Travels straight on the ground. Recovery for both is the same. A version travels slower than the C version. Use for free tick damage after a knockdown and to play zone games from afar.
+ K, K - 75 Shiki Kai - Style # 75 - Kyo's infamous two-hit launcher kick. B version is shorter, but recovers faster, however juggle point is VERY high, so very few moves can followup from it. D version is somewhat laggier (but can be "spaced out" to make it safe) and misses short crouchers, but is a setup for most of his special moves.
+ P - Nue Tsumi - Clipping Chimera - Kusanagi does a weird punch upwards with one fist. If done normally, it's just a regular hit (a really shitty hit btw, low priority), however if you time this move at the same time as an opponent does a normal or command attack, it will result in a reversal. Depending on the move and the timing, it will either knock them back, or knock them down. Knockdown = good. Use when you run into poke-friendly bitches, such as Athena, Billy, or Choi.
+ P - Oniyaki - Demon Scorcher - '98 Kyo's old Shoryuken. BOTH A and C versions have autoguard, but at different points. A version is faster - you will most likely use this to hit early jumps, and therefore result in hitting with the FIER portion of the move. The C version stuffs deep jump-ins. It has high priority (think regular Kyo's C Oniyaki) and has HOLY SHIT TONS OF AUTOGUARD. The autoguard point is early on in the move, which makes it great for using as a reversal to say, a multi-hit move. Use and abuse.
+ K - Kototsuki You - Moon Koto Positive - Part of Kusanagi's B&B. Immune to low attacks and results in easy damage if you see a free opening or can hit confirm from a jump in. Highly reliable to combo off of. Again, use and abuse.
Supers/DMs
, + P - Orochinagi - Serpent Wave - The whole reason why ON is here, and why Kyo/Kusanagi is my avatar. Giant ball of flame. Use to counter predicted jump ins, and most importantly, to combo off his 75 Shiki Kai. Has slight lag at the end, so be careful about doing this at point blank range.
SDM
, + PP - SDM Orochinagi - HEY, let's just give him an SDM where the Orochinagi gets even more uber! Throws three flames, which is VERY hard to roll if you decide to hold it. Also his body lights on fire, and those who try to hit him during this time will get burned. You can use this as a wakeup against weaker attacks too. You will usually connect with this after a MAX-cancel combo that ends with the 75 Shiki Kai juggle setup.
HSDM/MAX2/REALLY REALLY SUPER DESPERATION MOVE
x 2 + PP - Final Showdown/Mu Shiki - The other reason why Kyo > all of you. This is his old 98 SDM version, and it works EXACTLY like it. Just like his '98 incarnation, can be comboed off a crouch B, crouch A. If you have fast aZn wrists, you can combo this after a MAX cancel combo, such as std C, f + B (1 hit), BC cancel, etc. Not completely invincible, but if you're anywhere near the corner and you see a jump, if you get this off you will juggle for most of the super. This also will stuff most normals and non-meaty attacks, so it can be used as a wakeup. One of the MAX2s out there that's ACTUALLY OF SOME USE. Of course, if you whiff with this, expect a PHAT combo coming your way, so use your brain.
Normals:
Close Standing A - Random poke. Hits above the head and has mediocre priority. Use occasionally if you want to keep someone grounded (good for stopping hop fags).
Close Standing B - Low kick to the shins. Be VERY careful about using this in front of an opponent's face. It has low priority and is easily beaten out by grabs and many moves.
Close Standing C - Part of Kusanagi's B&B combos. Quick hit to the gut. Comes out fast, and works reliably off of many hopped or jumped normals. Use this for EVERYTHING when you see free openings. Use to stuff moves. Use to stuff normals. This is your B&B, learn it, love it.
Close Standing D - Hard kick to the stomach. Use this if you see a WIDE opening and want to do more damage than the C. This is also good for stopping bad jumps, as it hits slightly higher than the midsection. Be careful however, this is laggier than the Standing C, so people who know how to dodge this can capitalize on you being from the attack.
Stand CD - Kyo does a shoulder ram. Has a bit of a startup, but can be used for pressure and can be empty cancelled to mess up the rhythm of your special moves. Use this when someone is getting up from a knockdown. Causes good guard meter crush too. Don't spam this, as its lag is roll fodder.
Far A - A jab. Slightly farther range than the close one. Same purpose as the close one - use for quick pokes, to keep people guessing and crouching, and to stop hoppers. Empty cancels into his f + B from this can fuck people up.
Far B - Quick horizontal kick to the midsection. You will abuse this, as it's fast, has great range and another great grounding option. Great for harassing people from Kusanagi's maximum effective range, the end of that foot. Be careful of smart players who will use high priority/invincible moves to stuff your far B. But if you're up against characters such as Clark, abuse this like a bitch. If you can bait rolls off of this you can easily hit them while they're recovering from a roll with one of Kusanagi's B&Bs.
Far C - Far standing backhand to the face. Use this as a fakeout. Empty Far C's into special moves and command attacks are ideal. This will also sometimes come out if you flub a combo and get out of range of the standing C. Again, don't spam this too much, it's incredibly laggy and good rollers can roll past this and hit you from behind while you're trying to fake them out. However, this far C alone is what makes Kusanagi easier to play than regular Kyo, since you can technically fuck up the timing and still get free shots in.
Far D - Kusanagi hops off of one foot and uses the other to kind of do a weird roundhouse kick to the abdomen. Use this if you think someone is going to roll past your stuff, as it is perfectly animated to hit them as they come out of the roll. This is also useful against crouch fags such as Leona and Chris, and it has temporary immunity to low attacks (since Kusanagi hops off the ground). You can also use this as a far heavy poke after a knockdown, and as always you can mix this up with your light attacks to harass them. As always, be careful of rollers who can predict these, as this is not empty cancellable and will leave you wide open if you whiff this.
Crouching A - Part of Kusanagi's B&B. Use as part of your rushdown game with Kusanagi. This links into his f + B (though smart players CAN roll through it) so you can use this as a starter for pressure strings.
Crouching B - Standard low attack. Hits very fast. Use after something that forces them to block, such as a meaty jump in or a blocked fireball. This will be part of your high-low mixup game, so learn to use it. Unlike normal Kyo, however, this CANNOT be linked into his close standing C, unless you meaty the crouching B upon an opponent waking up - which of course means you will eat a fat grab if you're stupid about it. This is also the start of his B&Bs.
Crouching C - Very VERY high uppercut. Use as a clutch anti-air. Priority isn't as great as his Oniyaki, but it does have less risk. You can also use this as a high priority ground attack to stuff any of your opponent's attempts at poking you. You must hit with the initial swing of his fist to get the priority you need. Most of the time this will come out if you flub a close standing C, but it does have its uses. It's laggy as fuck though, so use wisely.
Crouching D - Standard sweep. Kusanagi gets on one foot and uses the other to trip the opponent up. Good to keep your opponent on his toes (no pun intended). You can cancel this into his command attacks or his normals, so you can use this as a fun juking option with, say, his fireballs from maximum range so that you can vary your shotokan fireball throwing rhythm. This is also incredibly laggy, so again use sparingly.
Jump A - Flying elbow. Do not use unless you use it incredibly early to win air battles.
Jump B - This has two uses: 1) As a meaty jump in (following a knockdown). Has very good priority and hits crouchers. Can only be stopped by invincible moves and high priority supers/DMs. 2) To beat people in the air. Use this extremely early to stop people from jumping. You will need to get above the guy, so this is a better option for hoppers.
Jump C - Use this if you see an opening and want to tack on extra damage. This also works incredibly well if used early against Chang users that spam hop CDs. The 45 degree angle down, however, shows that its meant for offensive uses, and should be used as such. Once you got your opponent blocking you won't have to worry about jumping in with B's, and can use Cs to guard crush and build up pressure.
Jump D - I've had negative experiences with this normal. Kusanagi basically does the last hit of his Twilight wheel, which is an axe kick that lands on your head. The hit is NOT instant, so will lose in air to air wars where the opponent attacks early. Its most effective range is at the very tip of his foot. Do not use this as a direct jump in unless you are ABSOLUTELY SURE you got a free hit. It loses against ground attacks, especially crouch ground attacks. It DOES make good air to air if you jump backwards early with it, sort of like a reverse version of Takuma's jump CD. Don't use this too often, but use it enough to mix up your air game so as to keep the opponent guessing.
Jump CD - Kusanagi basically does an air version of his ground C. Good for building pressure and does okay in air to air battles. Don't spam this, as crouch turtling fags will be able to stuff you as you land from your attack.
Vertical Jump A - Same as his jump A. Do not use.
Vertical Jump B - Instead of extending his knee down, he extends it outwards, which widens the hitbox but makes it slightly more suceptible to crouchers. Use this when you need to win a clutch air to air battle, as it's pretty fast. You can also use this when an opponent is cornered and knocked down for an alternate jump in. For some reason the vertical jump B works better than regular Kyo's jump B, not sure why.
Vertical Jump C - It's his regular jump C. Use it as you normally would.
Vertical Jump D - Kusanagi does a hard roundhouse kick that is angled 50 degrees downwards. This move has ULTIMATELY priority against crouchers, and can be used to stuff jumpers if you use the tip of it. Use it early to stop hopfags, and use it late to get good meaty jump ins on those who are knocked down. Highly recommended for use.
Command Attacks:
air + C - Naraku Otoshi - Hell Drop - Kusanagi does a two fisted chop downwards. Lost much of its priority compared to the 98 incarnation, but is MUCH better than regular Kyo's + C. Use for pressure and as a clutch knockdown after a random juggle or Counter hit. Still good for air to air battles if used early.
f + B - Goufu You - Positive Roaring Axe (Axe Kick pretty much) - This is Kyo's old '98 f + B, back when it was actually useful. It's a two-hitter, and hits very meaty. First hit hits mid, and the second hit is an overhead. Use this from its maximum range when you have scored a knockdown for a free overhead hit. This also combos EXTREMELY well off a point blank crouch C or D, or after a crossover jump + C or jump B. Unlike Kyo's crappy f + B, this one typically hits for two hits after its cancelled from a close C or D, and can easily followup into his + B, for a B&B that hurts even more.
+ D - 88 Shiki - Style #88 - Kusanagi does a low two hit sweep. Finisher for his B&B off either a crouch B -> crouch A or a standing C or D. You can play high-low mixup games with his f + B to keep the opponent guessing, but be careful that both this move and the + D is REALLY laggy. It hits more reliably and "harder" than Kyo's + D, but as a compromise, has some lag, and therefore is harder to resume the pressure game after a connected one.
Moves:
+ K - Oboroguruma - Twilight Wheel - Kusanagi kicks upwards in a 40 degree angle. B version does 1 hit, D version does 3 and ends with a knockdown (if you can get the third hit to hit)
+ P - Yami Barai - Standard Kusanagi/Yagami fireball. Travels straight on the ground. Recovery for both is the same. A version travels slower than the C version. Use for free tick damage after a knockdown and to play zone games from afar.
+ K, K - 75 Shiki Kai - Style # 75 - Kyo's infamous two-hit launcher kick. B version is shorter, but recovers faster, however juggle point is VERY high, so very few moves can followup from it. D version is somewhat laggier (but can be "spaced out" to make it safe) and misses short crouchers, but is a setup for most of his special moves.
+ P - Nue Tsumi - Clipping Chimera - Kusanagi does a weird punch upwards with one fist. If done normally, it's just a regular hit (a really shitty hit btw, low priority), however if you time this move at the same time as an opponent does a normal or command attack, it will result in a reversal. Depending on the move and the timing, it will either knock them back, or knock them down. Knockdown = good. Use when you run into poke-friendly bitches, such as Athena, Billy, or Choi.
+ P - Oniyaki - Demon Scorcher - '98 Kyo's old Shoryuken. BOTH A and C versions have autoguard, but at different points. A version is faster - you will most likely use this to hit early jumps, and therefore result in hitting with the FIER portion of the move. The C version stuffs deep jump-ins. It has high priority (think regular Kyo's C Oniyaki) and has HOLY SHIT TONS OF AUTOGUARD. The autoguard point is early on in the move, which makes it great for using as a reversal to say, a multi-hit move. Use and abuse.
+ K - Kototsuki You - Moon Koto Positive - Part of Kusanagi's B&B. Immune to low attacks and results in easy damage if you see a free opening or can hit confirm from a jump in. Highly reliable to combo off of. Again, use and abuse.
Supers/DMs
, + P - Orochinagi - Serpent Wave - The whole reason why ON is here, and why Kyo/Kusanagi is my avatar. Giant ball of flame. Use to counter predicted jump ins, and most importantly, to combo off his 75 Shiki Kai. Has slight lag at the end, so be careful about doing this at point blank range.
SDM
, + PP - SDM Orochinagi - HEY, let's just give him an SDM where the Orochinagi gets even more uber! Throws three flames, which is VERY hard to roll if you decide to hold it. Also his body lights on fire, and those who try to hit him during this time will get burned. You can use this as a wakeup against weaker attacks too. You will usually connect with this after a MAX-cancel combo that ends with the 75 Shiki Kai juggle setup.
HSDM/MAX2/REALLY REALLY SUPER DESPERATION MOVE
x 2 + PP - Final Showdown/Mu Shiki - The other reason why Kyo > all of you. This is his old 98 SDM version, and it works EXACTLY like it. Just like his '98 incarnation, can be comboed off a crouch B, crouch A. If you have fast aZn wrists, you can combo this after a MAX cancel combo, such as std C, f + B (1 hit), BC cancel, etc. Not completely invincible, but if you're anywhere near the corner and you see a jump, if you get this off you will juggle for most of the super. This also will stuff most normals and non-meaty attacks, so it can be used as a wakeup. One of the MAX2s out there that's ACTUALLY OF SOME USE. Of course, if you whiff with this, expect a PHAT combo coming your way, so use your brain.