Fatal Fury Special/Billy Kane

Billy has a single lane stage. Lane changing is not possible and Lane Blasts will send characters into the machinery for an additional 8 damage and 5 stun.

Introduction

Billy is a top tier character who can harass from far distances while still being strong up close. He can easily dominate grounded neutral with his 5A and 2C and has many specialized moves to cover the opponent's responses. His Desperation Move is incredibly versatile and strong, starting up almost instantly and being safe on block and even hard to whiff punish. He is relatively difficult to play as the aforementioned specialized moves take getting used to for anti-air or anti-fireball, and he is among the easiest characters to dizzy.

Pros	Cons
Moves with tons of reach Can do combos even from a distance Strong defense, but can also be played aggressively when needed	Anti-air game is a bit tricky Low amount of dizzy points Somewhat unorthodox playstyle

Move List

General Hurtboxes

Standing/Walking	Crouching	Jumping	Taunting
Hurtbox does not shift up while walking.		52F (4+45+3) duration.	Billy has brief invincibility when lifting and lowering his Kane.

Close Standing Normals

c5A

c5A
Joudan Uchi/上段打ち

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
6	2	Mid	4	6	5	14	+5	+6	Kara Cancel
Similar to far 5A but will whiff on some crouching characters. Links to itself and f5A for unscaled damage.

c5B

c5B
Ushirogeri/後ろ蹴り

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
5	2	Mid	10	7	10	26	-1	0	Kara Cancel
No need to ever use this.

c5C

c5C
Chuudan Uchi/中段打ち

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
16	4	Mid	5	10	12	26	+2	+1	Kara Cancel
Godly move. Fast startup, good reach, combos into Sansetsukon or Senpuukon. Can even link to itself if it hits meaty.

c5D

c5D
Ushiro Kaitengeri/後ろ回転蹴り

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
12	4	Mid	11	11	16	37	-3	-4	Kara Cancel
Close 5C makes this move completely redundant.

Far Standing Normals

f5A

f5A
Kyoufu Daichuudan Uchi/恐怖大中段打ち

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
6	2	Mid	4	6	5	14	+5	+6	Kara Cancel
Insanely powerful poke. Can only be crouched under by Mai. Links into itself for unscaled damage.

f4/5/6B

f4/5/6B
Shin Boutakatobigeri/新棒高跳び蹴り

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
5	2	Mid	23	7	10	39	-1	0	Kara Cancel
Moves Billy very far forward, can go over projectiles, is safe and can be cancelled. Can adjust the distance Billy travels by inputting while holding back, neutral or forward.

f5C

f5C
Mangetsu-uchi/満月打ち

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
16x4	4x4	Mid	10	4x4	4	29	+16	+15	Cancel
Excellent multi-purpose move. Works as an anti-air and moves Billy forward without forcing him to drop charge for Sansetsukon. Can be linked out of. Hit/Block advantage is from the final hitbox.

f5D

f5D
Ushiro Kaiten Chuudan Uchi/後ろ回転中段打ち

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
12x2	4x2	Mid	10	6 (7) 8	22	52	-7	-8	/
Not something you want to use often, but the animation can be deceiving as it hits twice and has more reach on the second hit, kind of like a Guile sweep.

Crouching Normals

2A

2A
Gedan Uchi/下段打ち

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
5	2	Mid	7	7	10	23	-1	0	Kara Cancel
Generally outclassed by f5A and 2C.

2B

2B
Crouching Kick/しゃがみキック

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
8	2	Low	6	7	8	20	+1	+2	Kara Cancel
Billy's fastest crouching normal. Can combo into his super.

2C

2C
Gedan Uchi/下段打ち

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
12	4	Mid	7	8	22	36	-6	-7	Kara Cancel
Insanely powerful poke. Can combo into light Sansetsukon, giving Billy pretty good damage even off long distance pokes.

2D

2D
Crouching Kick/しゃがみキック

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
14	4	Low	7	10	22	38	KD	-9	/
Same as his 2B, just one frame slower and gives a knockdown on hit. Good against characters trying to low profile or otherwise counter your mid pokes.

Jumping Normals

jA

jA
Jump Mangetsu-Uchi/ジャンプ満月打ち

Diagonal Jump

Neutral Jump

Version	Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
Diagonal Jump	8	2	Overhead	3	2+2+5+∞	/	/	-	-	-
Jump C is generally better as it has the same hitboxes but deals more damage. This one stays active for the entire duration of the jump, however.
Neutral Jump	8	2	Overhead	12	7+∞	/	/	-	-	-

jB

jB

Diagonal & Neutral Jump

Version	Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
Diagonal & Neutral Jump	8	2	Overhead	12	7+∞	/	/	-	-	-
Both diagonal and neutral jump versions have the same characteristics as neutral jump jA. Can hit low profile moves, but is less damaging than jD.

jC

jC
Jump Mangetsu-Uchi/ジャンプ満月打ち

Diagonal Jump

Neutral Jump

Version	Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
Diagonal Jump	16	4	Overhead	3	2+4+5+12	/	/	-	-	-
Extremely powerful air-to-air.
Neutral Jump	16	4	Overhead	10	5+12	/	/	-	-	-

jD

jD

Diagonal & Neutral Jump

Version	Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
Diagonal Jump	16	4	Overhead	11	5+12	/	/	-	-	-
Almost identical to neutral jump C. Can hit low profile moves.
Neutral Jump	16	4	Overhead	10	5+12	/	/	-	-	-
Identical to neutral jump C.

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	5, 27	6 (16) 19	7	52	KD	-20	Cancel, Lane Shift
First hitbox can function as an anti-air. Great on Billy's own stage as it'll deal extra damage and twice the amount of stun. 5-10F 27-45F
Back Lane	22	5	Mid	16	6	14	35	KD	-2	Cancel, Lane Shift
Way worse than the front lane version.

Lane Attack

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

Front Lane Punch

Front Lane Kick

Back Lane Punch

Back Lane Kick

Version	Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
A	20	2	Overhead	13	17	4	33	-	-	/
Straight lane attack.
B	20	2	Overhead	9	21	4	33	-	-	/
Straight lane attack. Faster startup but whiffs on crouchers.
C	20	4	Overhead	13	36	4	52	-	-	/
Slower high angle lane attack.
D	20	4	Overhead	9	40	4	52	-	-	/
Slower high angle lane attack. Faster startup but whiffs on crouchers.

Dodge Attack

Dodge Attack
6A during proximity guard

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
11	5	Mid	18	13	12	42	Air Reset	-5	Kara Cancel, Upper-Body Invuln 1-29F
Startup Recovery

Throws

Ippon Zuri Nage (4/6C)

Ippon Zuri Nage
close 4/6C

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

Jigoku Otoshi (4/6D)

Jigoku Otoshi
close 4/6D

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
16~32 (4 x 4~8)	0	Throw	1	1	/	-	-	/	/
Hold throw, opponent can mash to reduce hits. If all hits connect on a one-lane stage, the opponent will be thrown into the background for an additional 8 damage. Unlike background damage from a Lane Blast, though, no stun will be inflicted.

Special Moves

Senpuu Kon (Mash P)

Senpuu Kon
Mash P

Considered a projectile.

• 

  Startup & Recovery

• 

  Between hits

Version	Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
A	13 (4xN)	3	Mid	4	5 (5) 5 (5) 5 (5) 1 ...	6	40	KD	+14	Upper-Body Invuln 1-3F, 35-40F
C	19 (5xN)	6	Mid	4	3 (3) 3 (3) 3 (3) 3 (3) 3 (3) 1	10	44	KD	-4	Upper-Body Invuln 1-3F, 35-44F

Sansetsu Kon ([4]6P)

Sansetsu Kon
[4]6A/C

A, max distance

C, max distance

Considered a projectile.

Version	Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
A	16 (4)	3	Mid	19	7	21	46	-7	-10	Throw Invuln 2-46F
Charge time: 40F. Startup
C	22 (5)	6	Mid	23	9	22	53	-3	-10	Throw Invuln 2-53F
Charge time: 60F. Has farther range than the A version. Startup

Suzume Otoshi ([1]9P)

Suzume Otoshi
[1]9A/C

Version	Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
A	16 (4)	3	Mid	14	11	35	59	KD	-	Throw Invuln 2-59F
Charge time: 30F. Great anti-air, but only against jumps from a rather specific angle, making it somewhat situational.
C	22 (6)	6	Mid	19	16	40	74	KD	-	Throw Invuln 2-74F
Charge time: 45F. Longer charge time and startup, thus more difficult to use.

Kyoushuu Hishou Kon (1236K)

Kyoushuu Hishou Kon
1236B/D

Billy jumps above the screen and attacks on the way back down. By default Billy will track the opponent's position when coming down, but inputting left and right and slightly influence where he lands. Has a projectile hitbox at certain heights in the fall.

• 

  Startup Invuln

• 

  Vulnerable Startup

• 

  No projectile hitbox

• 

  Projectile hitbox

Version	Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
B	18 (5)	3	Mid	72	13	8	92	KD	-	Invuln 1-27F, Throw Invuln 28-92F
D	18 (5)	6	Mid	96	13	8	116	KD	-	Invuln 1-31F, Throw Invuln 32-116F

Desperation Move

Chou Kaen Senpuu Kon (23632147AC)

Chou Kaen Senpuu Kon
When health is flashing
23632147A+C

Damage	Stun	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Property
38 (9x2)	4	Mid	5	56	19	79	KD	-2	Upper-Body Invuln 1-4F, 72-79F
Billy spins his stick around creating a ring of fire, then throws the ring forward as a projectile. Can be comboed into, can anti-air, can quickly nullify fireballs, and is difficult to punish. Transitions to the moving projectile on the 41st frame. The stationary projectile hits twice, and Billy will immediately transition to recovery after it connects. Avoid accidental jumps by pressing A+C slightly before 7 (2363214AC7). Startup & Recovery Stationary projectile No hitbox Moving projectile

Combos

• c5A x N, f5A x N

c5A will whiff on crouching opponents.

• 2C > [4]6A
• c5C > [4]6A or 23632147AC
• 2B > 23632147AC
• jC > c5C > Mash C

One button combo that's actually somewhat tricky to pull off, as you'll need a good mashing technique for it to work.

• (Corner) f5C > c5C > [4]6A

Far 5C gives you some forward momentum, making this rather unusual far normal -> close normal link possible.

Strategy

The Basics

Billy's playstyle most closely resembles the Dhalsim-esque limb zoner archetype, although instead of stretchy limbs he fights with an extendable staff. He's generally agreed to be one of the best, if not the best, characters in the game and even has a favorable matchup against fellow top spot contender Kim. On the flipside, properly utilizing all of his moves will take some practice, making him harder to learn than most other characters in the game. If you stick with him, though, you'll definitely start to see results as he has an advantage in the vast majority of his matchups.

Needless to say, Billy's biggest strength is the massive reach of his moves; he's able to safely poke his opponents from half a screen away with his normals, and even hit you from almost full screen with his Sansetsukon special. Combine that with his great anti-air options, and you've got a character that's very hard for any character to approach. While Billy works best as a defensive keep-away character, he's versatile enough to be played aggressively if the situation calls for it, thanks to his great jump-ins, mobility boosting moves and blockstring pressure that's hard to break out of.

Your key normals are:

• 5A: The ultimate poke. Incredibly safe and fast with good reach. Simply spamming this move in neutral makes it very difficult for rushdown characters to approach you.
• 2C: Very fast long range poke that works great especially when cancelled into light Sansetsukon both on hit and block. Gives Billy good damage even off long range hits.
• 5C: Solid anti-air that can also hit grounded opponents. Moves Billy forward while allowing him to keep charge for Sansetsukon.
• 2B/2D: While they obviously have less range than his staff normals, Billy's low kicks are still great in situations where your mid pokes can be countered.

Billy's movement speed is below average, but his pole vault kick (far 5B) largely makes up for it as the move doubles as a dash of sorts that you can even steer by holding 4 or 6. It also goes over certain projectiles when timed right, and can be cancelled into specials on whiff and block. Learning to utilize this move for quick movement is essential for any Billy player. Like 5C, you can keep charge for Sansetsukon while using the move, so you'll be often utilizing your buttons for movement.

While Billy doesn't have a traditional projectile per se, his Sansetsukon and Senpuukon specials both have a projectile hitbox and can thus be used to destroy enemy projectiles. Light Sansetsukon is great for blockstrings, chip damage and combos while the heavy version is slower but has almost full screen range. Senpuukon is mostly used as a combo ender or close range chip damage dealer.

With correct spacing, Billy's Suzume Otoshi ([1]9A/C) is a very reliable anti-air, but it's far from being foolproof and requires a charge, so you'll be using your normals more often to anti-air. Far C and front lane CD are your best ground moves for that purpose, although both have their quirks; far C can't be used in close range as you'll get the close version instead, and CD has two different hitboxes, the first of them being the one you want to hit your opponent with. Often the best solution against jumps is an air-to-air jA or jC, so try to keep that option in mind.

Kyoushuu Hishoukon (1236B/D) is Billy's most gimmicky special. It can serve as a decent "neutral skip" option if timed correctly, but unfortunately it gives your opponent plenty of time to react and step out of the way or punish the move. It's safe on block and may occasionally catch people off guard, though, so using it every now and then doesn't carry a huge amount of risk.

Advanced Strategy

Billy's dodge attack is on the slow side, and while it's still good for dodging projectiles, it can be difficult to land against moves with fast recovery. If your dodge attack gets blocked, though, you can still cancel it into Senpuukon and deal a decent chunk of chip damage.

The fastest move Billy can dish out in close range is his Senpuukon, so if you're caught in seemingly endless blockstring pressure it can be a good move to use to get the opponent off your back.

Matchups

Vs. Andy Bogard

5 - 5

Your standard ground pokes (5A, 2C) do a good job at stopping Andy from approaching with his Zaneiken, as long as your timing is on point and you don't get hit during the startup of your moves. If Andy goes for Kuuha Dan, you can counter it with a front lane CD. Don't let him get too close as Andy outspeeds you in close range with his 3F jabs.

Vs. Axel Hawk

6.5 - 3.5

Axel doesn't pose a huge threat unless he gets close enough to hit you with his 2D, so try to keep him away with your 5A, 2C and Sansetsukon. Fortunately for you, his walk speed is the slowest in the game, so it's very hard for him to catch you off guard. Watch out for his CD, though; it's a huge advantage for Axel even if it trades, and always deals a whopping 10 points of stun against Billy since this matchup is guaranteed to be 1 lane only.

Vs. Big Bear

6.5 - 3.5

Bear can choose to ignore your mid pokes and charge in with his upper body invulnerable tackle, but fortunately you have very solid lows in your arsenal as well - just hit him with 2B or 2D whenever Bear tries to go for a tackle. Bear's jumps are fast, but this matchup still shouldn't be too much trouble as long as you can react to everything he does in time.

Vs. Billy Kane

5 - 5

Vs. Cheng Sinzan

6.5 - 3.5

Vs. Duck King

7.5 - 2.5

Duck can rather easily TOD Billy due to his low stun threshold if he manages to get in, but the good news is that he's not very likely going to get in unless you mess up badly. Billy's standard 5A and 2C pokes are almost like an impenetrable wall when used against Duck, so abuse them as much as you can. Duck is going to need either a successful jump-in or a knockdown from his slide kick to start his close range pressure, so as long as you keep an eye out for those Duck won't be able to touch you.

Vs. Geese Howard

5.5 - 4.5

Try to stay in close or mid range as Geese's Reppuken gives him the upper hand if you're too far away. 5B is very useful here as it goes over projectiles when spaced correctly. Using mid pokes is slightly riskier than usual against Geese due to his counter moves, so you might want to go for low kicks instead in close range combat. Sansetsukon fortunately has a projectile hitbox and thus can't be countered with Geese's Atemi Nage.

Vs. Joe Higashi

4 - 6

Billy has disadvantageous matchups too, if you can believe it. Joe has the upper hand both up close and at a distance due to his fast jabs and projectiles, so staying somewhere in between, within the range of your 5A and 2C, is ideal for Billy. You can use your projectile destroying specials and neutral jumps to avoid taking chip damage from Hurricanes, but sooner or later you'll have to your work your way in, so time your jumps carefully. 5B and dodge attack won't help you against projectiles here due to the huge hitbox on Hurricane Upper. Billy's jump kick buttons beat the usual Joe slide anti-air, but he still has 5D and Tiger Kick to work with.

Vs. Jubei Yamada

4 - 6

You need to be able to get past Senbei spam do deal damage, so knowing how to properly utilize your dodge attack and Senpuukon is very useful. Use jD as your jump-in button as it beats Jubei's low profile anti-airs. Just like in the Joe matchup, you don't want to get too close as Jubei's normals outspeed yours - try to stay in mid range where his moves can't reach you, but you can still hit him with your far reaching normals.

Vs. Kim Kaphwan

6 - 4

Rejoice as you're the only character in the game to have an advantageous matchup against this beast. Use your long range moves to your advantage and don't let Kim get too close. Front lane CD and far C are great for stopping divekicks. Don't take unnecessary risks as Kim can still easily melt your lifebar away with a stun combo - it's often better to simply backstep away from danger if Kim is close enough to threaten you with his fast normals.

Vs. Laurence Blood

7 - 3

Another matchup that's always 1 lane only. Like Billy, Laurence excels in long range pokes, but his farthest reaching moves recover slower and aren't cancellable, so the odds are in your favor. His jumps are very floaty as well, giving ample time to react with one of your anti-airs.

Vs. Mai Shiranui

5.5 - 4.5

Dodge attack works well against Mai's projectiles. Make good use of your reach and stay in mid-range where you can hit her with 5A/2C without having to worry about getting countered by a heavy Ryuuenbu.

Vs. Terry Bogard

6.5 - 3.5

Vs. Tung Fu Rue

8 - 2

Total domination. Tung has no hope of approaching you on ground as long as you keep throwing out 5As and 2Cs, so he either has to jump in or try to punish the startup or recovery of your pokes with a heavy Senshippo, both of which are risky to do. If Tung gets close enough to harass you with his normals, you can always backstep away to safety. As long as you stay vigilant and don't mess up your anti-airs, you'll have this in the bag.

Vs. Wolfgang Krauser

5 - 5

Krauser's Blitzballs can be annoying to deal with, but all your standard anti-projectile tactics are viable here. Like Geese, Krauser can counter mid pokes with his Atemi Nage, so it's safer to use lows against him if you're in close range. Sansetsukon is also safe to use thanks to its projectile hitbox.