Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2/Raphael

Moveset

Combos

Matchups

Strategy

About

The hothead in red.

Raphael is 1/4th of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and is cool, but rude. A sarcastic hothead, Raph often channels his anger in combat using his sai.

This version of Raphael in NASB 2 is the 1987 TV show incarnation.

Playstyle

Speed. I am speed.

Raphael is one of the fastest characters in the game, being only slightly upstaged by El Tigre in that regard. Unlike other speedy characters in the game though, Raphael plays more of a hit-and-run playstyle, using his Neutral Special to chip away at his opponent and then finishing them off with an aerial combo.

If being fast and furious is your style, Raph is your guy!

Metagame

Raphael is ranked 18th out of 29 on the current tier list, in the A- tier.

Raph is gifted with being the fastest character in the entire game, making him a difficult character to chase, and making him an even more difficult character to predict. This, in tandem, makes his combo game very intimidating, as the opponent never really knows if he's going to continue running away or if this is his time to strike. Raph also possesses a great projectile in Shuriken, being able to keep opponents away with it, or comboing into it if need be. His recovery is also surprisingly difficult to edgeguard, as he has a surprising amount of priority on his Up Special.

Raphael isnt without his flaws, however. His arguable fatal flaw is his lack of early kill confirms. This often results in Raph slowly whittling away at his opponent until he can find an opportunity to KO them with one of his aerial strongs. Raphael is also a tall fastfaller, which makes him a very comboable character for many of the stronger characters in the cast. Finally, Raph has a lot of multihit moves, which means he runs the risk of the opponent falling out of his combos a lot.

In spite of his flaws, Raph is still a very solid pick in the current metagame. Early on, opinions on him were ambiguous, as he was somewhat of an unpredictable character, with tournament results ranging from very strong to middling. Very few dedicated Raph players were entering after launch as well, making his placement in the metagame even more of a mystery, with some arguing he was an underrated character, and others arguing he was among the worst in the game. However, Raph has seen much more representation in the present metagame, therefore giving a more definitive answer on his current viability. Despite this, some still believe Raph could go to even greater heights in the meta.

Raphael


Franchise	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Weight	0.91
Fall Speed	1.3
Gravity	1.4
Run Speed	1.4
Air Speed	1.1

Strengths

Weaknesses

Speed: Raph's defining trait. He can move around faster than most other characters in the game. This lets him run away from his opponent without much trouble or barrel towards them with a quick aerial or Dash Attack.
Great aerials: Raph's Neutral and Forward Aerial are both great combo tools, and his Back Aerial is a surprisingly good kill move and is great as a shield pressure move. His Up Air Strong is also a great kill move.
Shuriken: Raph's Neutral Special is a great projectile that allows Raph to control a ton of the stage at any given time, and works fantastic as a combo tool.
Down Special: A kickflip that also doubles as a command grab. Great for use as a surprise attack or as a mixup tool.

Awkward combo routes: While a lot of combo routes in the game are more vertical and rely on up air chains, Raph tends to use Neutral and Forward Air more. This means his combo game can be a little bit odd to get used to at first.
Inconsistent multihits: Raph has a handful of multihit moves that the opponent has a tendency to fall out of.
Pummel oddity: For whatever reason, Raph can only pummel with the A button. If you like to pummel with the Grab button, this might be a minor but difficult adjustment.
Deceptive Up Special: Despite being tough to challenge due to the amount of hits it has, Up Special has less vertical distance than it seems, and can miss ledge a lot.
Unsafe on shield: Raph doesn't have that many safe moves on shield. Back Air, Forward Air, and Down Tilt are pretty much all he's got in that department.
Combo food: Raph is a pretty tall character for his speed and also falls pretty fast, which can make him combo food in some matchups.
Can't make too many mistakes: Raph's kit being fast also means he requires tight execution for a lot of his routes, and if he messes up too many times he will lose the match.

Moveset

Ground Light Attacks

Ninja Combo
Light

Damage	Startup	Active Frames	Total Frames	Safety
2% / 2% / 5%	4 / 5 / 6	4 / 5-6 / 6-8	23 / 31 / 36	-10 / -17 / -20
Raph does a 3 hit combo with the pommel of the sai followed by two kicks. Attack data values are set up as first hit / second hit / third hit. Raph's fastest grounded attack at frame 4. Both kicks move Raph very slightly forward as he does them. The first two attacks can be useful against a constantly shielding opponent as you can bait them into getting grabbed.

Sai Barrage
Forward+Light

Damage	Startup	Active Frames	Total Frames	Safety
3% / 3% / 7%	6 / 5 / 5	6-7 / 5-6 / 5-6	24 / 26 / 35	-15 / -18 / -24
Raph does a 3 hit combo starting with a stab at the ground followed by two slashes. Attack data values are set up as first hit / second hit / third hit. Raph moves forward during all three attacks, giving a slightly deceptive range, especially with the first attack. The distance gets shorter with each attack however, leaving it susceptible to dropping at max distance. DESCRIPTION PLACEHOLDER

Ninja Upwards Kick
Up+Light

Damage	Startup	Active Frames	Total Frames	Safety
11%	6	6-12	40	-25
Raph does a standing split kick upwards. This is Raph's shortest ranged grounded attack. Raph's head as well as his raised arm and leg have invinvibility from frames 6-12. This is a strong combo tool from lower mid percents onward and can lead to kills at higher percents.

Down Thrust / Down Swipe
Down+Light

Damage	Startup	Active Frames	Total Frames	Safety
7% / 6%	7 / 6	7-8 / 6-15	21 / 35	-4 / -22
Move differs between tapping and holding the button. When tapped, Raph stabs at the ground. When held, Raph spins his sai slightly above the ground. Attack data values are set up as Tap / Hold. Tap version gives an outward knockback angle. Its ability to be safe on shield (compared to most of Raph's options) make this a solid grounded option to literally poke at shield. Hold version gives an upward knockback angle. This is typically used at ledge as when DI'd towards Raph, it allows for combo followups.

Cannonball
Light (Running)

Damage	Startup	Active Frames	Total Frames	Safety
14% / 9%	7	7-23	39	-22 to -8
Raph curls up into a ball and flies forward while flipping forward twice. This move has a sour hitbox that starts at frame 10, which can be more easily comboed off of without slime meter than the strong hitbox. DESCRIPTION PLACEHOLDER

Air Light Attacks

Sai Windmill
Light (Airborne)

Damage	Startup	Active Frames	Total Frames	Safety
4% / 8%	6 / 15 / 19	6-7 / 15-21 / 19-21	45	-6
DESCRIPTION PLACEHOLDER DESCRIPTION PLACEHOLDER

Turnaround Kick
Forward+Light (Airborne)

Damage	Startup	Active Frames	Total Frames	Safety
9%	5	5-7	27	-1
DESCRIPTION PLACEHOLDER DESCRIPTION PLACEHOLDER

Double Sai Stab
Back+Light (Airborne)

Damage	Startup	Active Frames	Total Frames	Safety
14%	10	10-12	36	+1
DESCRIPTION PLACEHOLDER DESCRIPTION PLACEHOLDER

Rotating Aerial Sai
Up+Light (Airborne)

Damage	Startup	Active Frames	Total Frames	Safety
8% / 6%	12	12-21	37	-9
DESCRIPTION PLACEHOLDER DESCRIPTION PLACEHOLDER

Kick Barrage
Down+Light (Airborne)

Damage	Startup	Active Frames	Total Frames	Safety
3% / 3% / 3% / 5%	5 / 12 / 19 / 27	5-6 / 12-13 / 19 / 27	35	-6
DESCRIPTION PLACEHOLDER DESCRIPTION PLACEHOLDER

Ground Strong Attacks

Lock And Slash
Strong

Damage	Startup	Active Frames	Total Frames	Safety
1% / 10%	13 / 19	13-18 / 19-20	46	-19
DESCRIPTION PLACEHOLDER DESCRIPTION PLACEHOLDER

Spinning Sai Slashes
Up+Strong

Damage	Startup	Active Frames	Total Frames	Safety
1% / 1% / 10%	5 / 10 / 18	5-7 / 10-11 / 18	49	-13 / -19
DESCRIPTION PLACEHOLDER DESCRIPTION PLACEHOLDER

Grounded Sai Slash
Down+Strong

Damage	Startup	Active Frames	Total Frames	Safety
15% / 13%	13 / 20	13-15 / 19-22	42	-13 / -6
DESCRIPTION PLACEHOLDER DESCRIPTION PLACEHOLDER

Air Strong Attacks

Drop Kick
Strong (Airborne)

Damage	Startup	Active Frames	Total Frames	Safety
17% / 10%	14	14-22	54	-11
DESCRIPTION PLACEHOLDER DESCRIPTION PLACEHOLDER

Green Tornado
Up+Strong (Airborne)

Damage	Startup	Active Frames	Total Frames	Safety
17% / 10%	10	10-41	82	-5
DESCRIPTION PLACEHOLDER DESCRIPTION PLACEHOLDER

Helmsplitter Kick
Down+Strong (Airborne)

Damage	Startup	Active Frames	Total Frames	Safety
18% / 12%	19	19-21	61	-4
DESCRIPTION PLACEHOLDER DESCRIPTION PLACEHOLDER

Special Attacks

Shuriken
Special

Damage	Startup	Active Frames	Total Frames	Safety
3%	14	14-28	40	-21 (Grounded) / -9 (Aerial)
Raphael throws a shuriken diagonally downwards. Raph's only projectile and a great one at that. In spite of its short range compared to other projectiles in the game as well as its low damage, if the opponent refuses to respect it, not only can this chip damage add up, but shuriken gives create combo opportunities and can lead to kills at higher percents. Shuriken reaches slightly farther when used in the air versus on the ground. EX: Raph throws three shuriken that all have stronger knockback. Each shuriken does 5% for a total of 15% if all of them hit. This is probably Raph's worst move or at least his worst EX. Not only is the aerial version slightly shorter than the normal one, but the increased knockback only makes it better to use for starting combos at low percents, which Raph has better options for that don't use meter.

Power Drill
Forward+Special

Damage	Startup	Active Frames	Total Frames	Safety
3% (Multihits) / 4% (Finisher)	20	20-27	49	-21
Raphael lunges his whole body forwards while spinning, hitting opponents several times. Raph will always stop at the ledge of the ground or a platform. The only exception is when Raph just barely walks off ledge before performing the move. EX: Raph flies forward farther and has a total of 55 frames on the ground and 40 frames in the air.

Turtle Flip
Down+Special

Damage	Startup	Active Frames	Total Frames	Safety
9% (Grab) / 11% (Strong hit of kick) / 9% (Weak hit of kick)	20 (Grab) / 6 (Kick)	18-36 (Grab) / 6-25 (Kick)	47 (Grab) / 33 (Kick)	-7 (Strong hit of kick) / -10 (Weak hit of kick)
Raphael leaps forward while doing a backflip. If he touches an opponent during the flip, he grabs onto them and performs a flip kick. Pressing the Special button during this has him do a kick as he moves forwards. The flip can be jump cancelled on frame 27. Raph normally flies in a straight line for most of when the grab hitbox is active when using this move. However, if he does Turtle Flip, gets the ability to do again before touching any ground, via getting hit or grabbing ledge, and does the move again, he will go diagonally downward. This is not the case if any Turtle Flip after the first is slime enhanced. EX: Raph flies farther before falling and has more forward momentum afterwards.

Sai Spin Attack
Up+Special

Damage	Startup	Active Frames	Total Frames	Safety
1% / 3% / 6%	5 / 10 / 34	5-8 / 10-25 / 34-35	75	-127
Raphael launches himself upwards with his Sai out, finishing the attack with a strong kick! EX: Raph launches higher before kicking.

Grab/Throws

Grab
Grab

Damage	Startup	Active Frames	Total Frames	Safety
0%	6	6-7	35	-
DESCRIPTION PLACEHOLDER DESCRIPTION PLACEHOLDER

Dash Grab
Grab (Running)

Damage	Startup	Active Frames	Total Frames	Safety
0%	9	9-10	43	-
DESCRIPTION PLACEHOLDER DESCRIPTION PLACEHOLDER

Grab Pummel
Light (Grabbing)

Damage	Startup	Active Frames	Total Frames	Safety
2% / 1%	3	-	20	-
DESCRIPTION PLACEHOLDER DESCRIPTION PLACEHOLDER

Up Throw
Up (Grabbing)

Damage	Startup	Active Frames	Total Frames	Safety
6%	15	-	40	-
DESCRIPTION PLACEHOLDER DESCRIPTION PLACEHOLDER

Forward Throw
Forward (Grabbing)

Damage	Startup	Active Frames	Total Frames	Safety
4%	11	-	31	-
DESCRIPTION PLACEHOLDER DESCRIPTION PLACEHOLDER

Down Throw
Down (Grabbing)

Damage	Startup	Active Frames	Total Frames	Safety
3% (Per hit)	29 / 34 / 39 / 44 / 50 / 51	-	77	-
DESCRIPTION PLACEHOLDER DESCRIPTION PLACEHOLDER

Back Throw
Back (Grabbing)

Damage	Startup	Active Frames	Total Frames	Safety
6%	27	-	50	-
DESCRIPTION PLACEHOLDER DESCRIPTION PLACEHOLDER

Super

Super
Slime+Light

Damage	Startup	Active Frames	Total Frames	Safety
40%	21/30	21-37	46	-0
Raph unleashes a barrage of attacks as he yells before a powerful final sendoff attack. An oddity with this move can sometimes phantom hit an opponent, ignoring the cutscene trigger and not putting the opponent in hitstun. Despite this, the final attack can still hit if the opponent is unaware, giving the full 40% damage and knockback.

Taunts

Taunt
Taunt

"Gimme a break!"

Damage	Startup	Active Frames	Total Frames	Safety
1%	73	73-80	80	-0
Raph pulls out a pizza, sticks a precut slice on his sai, and eats it before throwing the rest of the pizza behind him. When Raph throws the pizza behind him, it has a hitbox that does 1%. Truly rude. Funnily enough, this allows for it to give hitstun when slime cancelled if timed correctly with the slice hitting. Despite Raph saying "Granola and licorice.", it's a pepperoni pizza. When Raph takes the precut slice out of the pizza with his sai, it duplicates, so the pizza pie will still have the slice "connected" to the rest of the pizza before he throws it.

Down Taunt
Down+Taunt

Damage	Startup	Active Frames	Total Frames	Safety
0%	0	0-0	88	-N/A
Raph tucks his limbs as he spins on the back of his shell before standing back up. From frame 16-48, his hurtbox goes below his crouching height. Not too practical without being slime cancelled.

Up Taunt
Up+Taunt

Damage	Startup	Active Frames	Total Frames	Safety
0%	0	0-0	88	N/A
Raph twirls his sai before pointing them both forward with a toothy grin. This is also his character select animation.