Fatal Fury Special/Kim Kaphwan

Introduction

The Taekwondo master returns from Fatal Fury 2 to clash with the fighters of Fatal Fury Special, and he means business. In a game about reading and punishing your opponent, Kim's punish game is exceptional to the point he doesn't even have to play by the game's rules. An incredibly powerful anti-air reversal, a dive kick that can punish practically anything, and a simple but devastating combo game gives Kim precisely the tools he needs to force the rest of the cast to play at his own pace, or potentially risk the entire round. That is not to say he is perfect, as his strongest combos require getting pretty close, which in turn means he needs to rely on dive kick to gain momentum. However, as long as the Kim player isn't careless, getting in against anyone is a breeze.

Pros	Cons
Excellent mobility Great normals and combos Best super in the game Forces everyone to approach him differently Exceptional punishment Dive kick gives him forward mobility most others lack	Has to get in close to really deal damage Weak dodge attack Has to jump a lot Getting the most out his dive kick takes practice

Move List

Standing	Crouching	Jumping	Taunting
		54F (4+47+3) duration.

Close Standing Normals

c5A

c5A
Jab/ジャブ

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
6	2	Mid	3	3	4	9	+9	+10	Kara Cancel
The optimal combo starter. Links to itself a good number of times, especially when you hold forward while chaining them together.

c5B

c5B
Knee Strike/膝蹴り

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
12	2	Mid	7	6	4	17	+6	+7	Kara Cancel
Has a random upper-body invincible startup frame (most likely a bug), though it doesn't last long enough to have any meaningful use. Close 5A is generally better. Upper-Body Invincible Frame

c5C

c5C
Dwit Chagi/ディチャギ

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
18	4	Mid	8	6	28	41	-10	-11	Kara Cancel
Links from close 5A, can combo into 214B. 2C does the same job and is easier to use, though.

c5D

c5D
Neri Chagi/ネリチャギ

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
20x2	4x2	Mid	13	5+8	8	33	+7	+8	Kara Cancel
Hits twice dealing good damage when both hits connect. Can easily combo into 214B or super.

Far Standing Normals

f5A

f5A
Jireugi/チルギ

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
4	2	Mid	7	7	4	17	+5	+6	Kara Cancel
Surprisingly long hitbox, and has more reach than 2A. Not necessary for his combo game, but not a bad poke regardless. Comes out fast and is pretty active for a jab.

f5B

f5B
Ap Chagi/アプチャギ

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
10	2	Mid	12	8	9	28	-1	0	Kara Cancel
Decently fast anti-air poke for catching opponents out of the air if Kim is unable to charge Hienzan or do an air-to-air jD. Decent ground poke as well, but it's possible to whiff against small/crouching characters. Very slightly more range than f5A.

f5C

f5C
Dollyeo Chagi/ドリャチャギ

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
16x2	4x2	Mid	7	4+7	15	32	+1	+2	-
Solid anti-air poke that hits twice. Links from c5A and can be used as an alternate combo ender instead of 2C -> 214B, doing less damage but more stun.

f5D

f5D
Bandae Dollyeo Chagi/パンデ・ドリャチャギ

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
18x2	4x2	Mid	8	7 (11) 9	17	51	-3	-4	-
Hits twice. Can be used as an anti-air, but f5C serves the same purpose and is much safer on whiff.

Crouching Normals

2A

2A
Crouching Jab/しゃがみジャブ

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
4	2	Mid	4	3	5	11	+8	+9	Kara Cancel
Similar to c5A but crouching. This is how Kim racks up very high damage and stun as it easily combos into itself up to 4 times and can link into 2C and 2D. Great block pressure as well that comes out fast.

2B

2B
Crouching Kick/しゃがみ蹴り

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
4	2	Low	5	5	6	15	+5	+6	Kara Cancel
Decent poke, but the range is no better than what 2A has to offer, on top of being slower.

2C

2C
Crouching Kick/しゃがみ蹴り

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
16	4	Mid	6	7	21	33	-4	-5	Kara Cancel
Your go to tool for when you're dishing out the Kim combos. Standard fare is to go for 2C into Hangetsuzan B. Great low poke that makes for both an easy combo and free pressure, and if you follow up with Hangetsuzan, which you always should if it connects, it will be safe on block. Low commitment, high reward poke, even if it's a little slow.

2D

2D
Scoop Kick/すくい蹴り

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
16	4	Low	10	10	12	31	KD	+1	Kara Cancel
Faster version of 2C that does about the same damage, but it knocks down, giving Kim an opportunity for okizeme pressure.

Jumping Normals

jA

jA

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
6	2	Overhead	6	∞	-	-	-	-	-
Has a smaller hitbox than jB/C, but reaches very slightly farther horizontally. Maybe there's some use for it, but jB/C is better to strike opponents above Kim regardless. Nothing special as a jump in unless you need the pinch of extra reach.

jB

jB

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
12	2	Overhead	6	∞	-	-	-	-	-
Good air-to-air for opponents above Kim. Not all that great as a jump in going down, but is safer compared to Kim's jA as it has a larger hitbox below his body, which extends past his hurtbox. jD is still the superior air-to-air move, but this move has its uses as a vertical attack.

jC

jC

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
18	4	Overhead	7	21	-	-	-	-	-
Similar to jB.

jD

jD

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
20	4	Overhead	6	17	-	-	-	-	-
Excellent jump-in and air to air move.

Universal Mechanics

Lane Blast (CD)

Lane Blast
C+D

Front Lane

Back Lane

Version	Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
Front Lane	22	5	Mid	14	13	10	36	KD	-4	Cancel
One of Kim's best tools that is safe on block thanks to being cancellable. Like 2C, cancelling into Hangetsuzan B makes free pressure while remaining safe, as well as an easy combo.
Back Lane	22	5	Mid	16	16	10	41	KD	-7	Cancel

Lane Attack

Lane Attack
A/B/C/D from opposite lane

Front Lane

Back Lane

Kim has the same lane attack for punch and kick buttons.

Version	Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
A/B	20	2	Overhead	9	-	4	-	-	-	-
Standard fare for a lane attack. Hits a little below Kim's legs but nothing else is particularly interesting about his lane attack.
C/D	20	4	Overhead	9	-	4	-	-	-	-
A slower high angle lane attack.

Dodge Attack

Dodge Attack
6A during proximity guard

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
11	5	Mid	13	11	16	39	Air reset	-8	Kara Cancel, Upper-Body Invuln 1-23F, 32-39F
Pretty weak attack overall. You will likely forget Kim even has it, given it's bad range, albeit he has upper body invincibility. Hienzan and Hangetsuzan, or any of his exceptional normals, would be better than using his Dodge Attack.

Throws

Sakkyaku Nage (4/6C)

Sakkyaku Nage
close 4/6C

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
26	3	Throw	1	1	/	-	KD	/	-
Switches sides.

Special Moves

Hangetsuzan (214K)

Hangetsuzan
214B/D

Version	Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
B	19 (4x2)	3	Mid	17	2+5	22	45	Air reset	-1	Airborne 7-16F
Kim's main combo ender. Fully safe on block. Reaches about halfway across the screen and comes out fast enough that it's a must in Kim's toolkit. The reward Kim receives makes his block pressure shine above the rest of the cast, and it deals great damage. Can be comboed from 2C as well as a simple punish or blockstring if the opponent gets caught by it. -6 if only the first hit is blocked. -5 if only the second hit is blocked.
D	24 (6x2)	6	Mid	26	3+6	27	61	-	-12	Airborne 11-27F
Reaches the full stage, but is punishable on block, making it much more risky compared to Hangetsuzan B. Has slightly longer startup as well, so unless you have a clear read and need the approach, it's best not to use this version of the move at all. -15 if only the second hit is blocked.

Hienzan ([2]8K)

Hienzan
[2]8B/D

Version	Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
B	14 (4x3)	3	Mid	7	3+4+4	31	48	KD	-19	Invincible 1-12F
Kim has to charge Hienzan, but if the opponent jumps at him and it's been long enough, Hienzan gives Kim a free anti-air that knocks down. It even has some horizontal range to it that makes it effective for attacking big targets like Cheng or Big Bear. Comes out fairly fast with invincibility frames mixed in, so the only way to punish it is to trade, or if Kim picks the wrong version for the height he needs. That, or the opponent baits him into releasing it and they can punish Kim on the ground. Block Adv is from the second hit.
D	22 (5x2)	6	Mid	9	3+4+4	37	56	KD	-27	Invincible 1-14F
Reaches the full screen vertically, but is also more punishable. Has slightly more horizontal range due to Kim travelling farther, but not by much. Block Adv is from the first hit. -20 when the second hit is blocked.

Hishou Kyaku (j2K)

Hishou Kyaku
j2B/D

B/D

Follow up

Version	Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
B	15 (3)	3	Mid	10	18	3	-	KD	-	-
The crux of Kim's gameplan. Divekick gives Kim several uses: Forward momentum no one else has instant access to An easy punish tool that can punish pretty much anything on reaction A free pressure tool A corner escape Since this is quintessential to Kim's gameplan, he will have to jump quite a lot and as such, you want to learn how to best utilize his divekick effectively, both as mobility and as a punish tool. Kim loses the hitbox for divekick if he's about to land, so although the move can hit the opponent's lower body, it is possible to whiff and have Kim go through a few recovery frames. Albeit rare, the move can cross up the opponent and hit them behind, but they will still fall back the direction Kim is facing.
D	22 (5)	6	Mid	10	12	3	-	KD	-	-
Does more damage and has a steeper angle than the B version, allowing Kim to descend even faster.
Follow Up (after blocked)	19	4	Overhead	5	6	3	-	-	-	-
If this is blocked, Kim can do a followup that is similar to jD that if timed well can stop an opponent trying to punish. Even with this followup and the distance created on block, it's still a dangerous situation for Kim and a potential corner escape for the opponent.

Desperation Move

Ho'oukyaku (21416BD)

Ho'oukyaku
When health is flashing
21416B+D

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
48 (12)	4	Mid	10	25	17	51	KD	+9	Invincible 1-1F, Lower-Body Invincible 3-34F
Plus on block super that also pushes the opponent pretty far back. One of the only supers you can combo into in the game, does great damage, travels fast and has fast startup. The ridiculous frame advantage, chip damage and speed allow Kim to mercilessly bully opponents in the corner. He can still be shutout by projectiles, but the only other options the opponent have are to either do a jump attack, block or escape. The input is also not obnoxious, so it's easy to get a grasp of.

Combos

Combo	Damage	Stun	Notes
c5AxN, 2C > 214B/21416BD	55/73	19/20	Kim's standard punish combo, which even on block is fully safe. c5A whiffs on some crouching characters! It will deal high damage regardless of how many c5As are used, but if enough are linked then this will stun most characters and let Kim end the round with another combo. Damage/Stun values are with 6 c5As.
2AxN, 2C > 214B/21416BD	36/58	13/14	Pretty much the same as using c5A, but will work on all crouchers. 2A does less damage than c5A and cannot be linked as many times due to inferior range, but if the opponent is standing or a tall croucher 2A can link to c5A just fine. Damage/Stun values are with 3 2As.
c5D(2) > 214B/21416BD	51/73	11/12	Easy super confirm, especially since c5D's duration gives you a ton of leg room to buffer his super input. Just like all of his other combos, it is safe on block.

Strategy

Match-ups