Revision as of 00:45, 26 May 2022

Introduction

Benimaru Nikaido is many things. He's the son of a rich family, with a Japanese father and American mother. He's a star of the fashion world. He's Kyo Kusanagi's friend and rival. He's an electric wielding martial artist with powerful kicks. Most importantly, though: he's gorgeous. He keeps his hair styled and straight using his electric abilities.

Benimaru in CvS2 is widely regarded as one of the worst characters for a variety of reasons. His health is very low, and his damage output without meter isn't much better either. His longest range options pose no threat to most characters while not even really having that much range. His anti-airs are only strong when you add roll cancels behind them as well. On top of all that, he has one of the absolute floatiest jumps, making anti-airing him a breeze even with his divekick. If you plan on using him, have one or two top tiers on your team to help out, cuz he won't be doing much.

Benimaru's best grooves are A, N, and K. A groove gives him access to rolls, which he needs to be able to approach well, alongside the ability to Custom Combo, though it does make his admittedly good supers less accessible. N groove gives him rolls, Max Mode, and run/hop which aids in his issues with jumping. K groove has no rolls, but JD gives him a much needed defensive tool and rage makes his lackluster pokes more threatening. S groove Benimaru is surprisingly not bad, dodge works well for him and he gets easy access to his level 1 command grab super and damaging level 1 juggles, though he has to play at low health to be a threat and he barely has enough health to risk that. C groove gives him access to more supers as well, and air blocking helps a little with his floaty jump, but he has very little use for level 2 supers as he can only combo from level 2 Rai-Kou Ken which already allows combos with the level 1 version. P groove is essentially useless for Beni.

Normal Moves

Far Standing Normals

5LP

Far Jab

5LP

Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
200	2	RF/SP/SU	Mid	High	3	4	6	13	+7	+7	-
A fast and plus jab. Crouchable but has decent range and fast startup, not a bad check or anti-air

5MP

Far Strong

5MP

Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
800	8	SU	Mid	High	5	6	12	23	+4	+4	-
Has decent reach, but is the least useful of Beni's otherwise very nice MP buttons, mainly because it can be crouched.

5HP

Far Fierce

5HP

Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
1200	12	SU	Mid	High	7	6	28	41	-8	-8	-
A forward moving backhand. Not much use for this move, unless you need the forward movement, but Beni has better moves for almost every situation.

5LK

Far Short

5LK

Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
400	4	SP/SU	Mid	Low	4	4	9	17	+2	+2	-
Noticeably very good poke and hitconfirm tool. Has a great hitbox for beating out things like Blanka slide and other forward moving tools. Not a standing low but doesn't need to be.

5MK

Far Forward

5MK

Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
900	9	SU	Mid	High	6	4	17	27	+1	+1	-
A fast kick to the head. A good anti-air from far away, and not a bad check against hops, but otherwise doesn't see much use.

5HK

Far Roundhouse

5HK

Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
1100	11	None	Mid	High	10	4	21	35	-1	-1	Low
A leaping kick with solid range. Has some low invuln letting you avoid crouching moves, and is a decent punish for eager opponents trying to approach you. Can hold back and forth to either leap forward or backward during the move.

Close Normals

Benimaru does not have a difference between the close and far versions of 5LK, 5HP and 5HK.

cl5LP

Close Jab
Close

cl.LP

Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
300	3	RF/SP/SU	Mid	High	2	4	5	11	+8	+8	-
A very plus and fast jab. Like many jabs, it's sadly crouchable, making it much worse for pressure and combos.

cl5MP

Close Strong
Close

cl.MP

Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
700	7	SP/SU	Mid	High	3	4	14	21	+2	+2	-
One of Beni's main close normals. The fast startup makes it fairly forgiving to link into after a light, and it cancels into any special or super for a combo. Not a bad meaty option either, and can't be crouched unlike his far strong.

cl5MK

Close Forward
Close

cl.5MK

Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
800	8	SP/SU	Mid	High	4	5	16	25	0	0	-
A knee at about chest height. Similar in usage to close strong, but does 100 more damage in exchange for being a bit slower. Your highest damage special cancel tool.

Crouching Normals

2LP

Crouching Jab

2LP

Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
200	2	RF/SP/SU	Mid	Mid	2	4	6	12	+7	+7	-
A good crouching jab. Still tied for his fastest normal at two frames, and links into other strong options on hit and especially on counterhit.

2MP

Crouching Strong

2MP

Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
700	7	SP/SU	Mid	Mid	4	6	11	21	+5	+5	-
A stellar button in Beni's arsenal. Good reach, low hitbox, very plus, and cancels into specials and supers on hit. Nice to try and catch people in their startup frames, or to just poke at an opponent safely.

2HP

Crouch Fierce

2HP

Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
1100	11	SU	Mid	Mid	6	6	17	29	+3	+3	-
A quick low elbow. Not much purpose in neutral as other buttons do what it does better, but this is your highest damage super cancel so it sees a lot of use in optimized combos.

2LK

Crouch Short

2LK

Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
200	2	RF/SP/SU	Low	Low	3	4	6	13	+7	+7	-
One of your most used moves. A fast low kick that cancels into specials, and links into a lot of stronger moves for higher damage. Walking opponents down using this is strong, and you can easily confirm out of it since it can cancel into itself.

2MK

Crouch Forward

2MK

Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
700	7	SU	Low	Low	5	7	17	29	-2	-2	-
A long reaching low poke. Useful in long link combos because of the reach, where the super cancel allows you very long confirms into super. Not special cancellable so it isn't as useful as a shoto low forward, but still is a very good ground button to control space.

2HK

Crouch Roundhouse

2HK

Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
1000	10	SU	Low	Low	7	4	27	38	-DWN	-7	-
A standard enough sweep. Reaches a bit farther than his other normals, but is much more committal. Beni can link into this sweep from most of his lights, but this almost always requires a one frame link or a counterhit. Because of Beni's 236236P supers having very good juggle properties, this will actually combo into them, but usually the combo afterwards is weaker.

Jumping Normals

8LP

Jump Jab

,

8LP

Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
500	5	None	High	High	3	22	0	25	-	-	-
A jumping elbow. Sorta useful as a fast rising anti-air as it's tied for his fastest air normal and has a ton of active frames, but no other use really.

8MP

Jump Strong

,

8MP

Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
700	7	None	High	High	5	13	0	18	-	-	-
Same animation as j.LP but with slower startup and more damage. Basically the same use cases.

8HP

Jump Fierce

,

8HP

Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
1200, 900	12	None	High	High	3	7	0	10	-	-	-
A rising punch above Beni's head. Because of Beni's super high jump arc, it's hard to ever get your opponent above you. The first hitbox, which is the higher damage, is a fast and alright air-to-air alongside his highest damage air normal.

8LK

Jump Short

,

8LK

Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
500	5	None	High	High	3	22	0	25	-	-	-
A weak knee. Benimaru's only crossup, and a decent one at that.

8MK

Jump Forward

,

8MK

Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
800	8	None	High	High	6	7	0	13	-	-	-
An outwards kick. Seemingly not much use for this, as it's outranged by j.HK.

8HK

Jump Roundhouse

,

8HK

Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
1000	10	None	High	High	7	9	0	16	-	-	-
A swinging heavy kick, and the jump button you'll use the most more than likely. While it doesn't do as much damage as his j.HP, the superior range makes it a much more reliable tool overall.

Special Moves

Super Moves

The Basics

Advanced Strategy

Match-ups

CvS2 Wiki Navigation

Capcom vs. SNK 2 (CvS2 Wiki)
General
Controls Notation HUD Glossary System Roll Cancel Combo CvS2 Versions Netplay/ Training FAQ

Grooves
Groove Overview Groove Subsystems C-Groove A-Groove P-Groove S-Groove N-Groove K-Groove

Capcom Characters
Akuma (Gouki) Balrog (Boxer) Blanka Cammy Chun-Li Dan Dhalsim Eagle E.Honda Guile Ken Kyosuke Maki M. Bison (Dictator) Morrigan Rolento Ryu Sagat Sakura Vega (Claw) Yun Zangief

SNK Characters
Athena Benimaru Chang Geese Haohmaru Hibiki Iori Joe Kim King Kyo Mai Nakoruru Raiden Rock Rugal Ryo Terry Todo Vice Yamazaki Yuri

Boss Characters
Shin Akuma Ultimate Rugal Evil Ryu Orochi Iori

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 = Introduction =
+<youtube>?v=ZexEnloimGo</youtube>
+Benimaru Nikaido is many things. He's the son of a rich family, with a Japanese father and American mother. He's a star of the fashion world. He's Kyo Kusanagi's friend and rival. He's an electric wielding martial artist with powerful kicks. Most importantly, though: he's gorgeous. He keeps his hair styled and straight using his electric abilities.
+Benimaru in CvS2 is widely regarded as one of the worst characters for a variety of reasons. His health is very low, and his damage output without meter isn't much better either. His longest range options pose no threat to most characters while not even really having that much range. His anti-airs are only strong when you add roll cancels behind them as well. On top of all that, he has one of the absolute floatiest jumps, making anti-airing him a breeze even with his divekick. If you plan on using him, have one or two top tiers on your team to help out, cuz he won't be doing much.
+Benimaru's best grooves are A, N, and K. A groove gives him access to rolls, which he needs to be able to approach well, alongside the ability to Custom Combo, though it does make his admittedly good supers less accessible. N groove gives him rolls, Max Mode, and run/hop which aids in his issues with jumping. K groove has no rolls, but JD gives him a much needed defensive tool and rage makes his lackluster pokes more threatening. S groove Benimaru is surprisingly not bad, dodge works well for him and he gets easy access to his level 1 command grab super and damaging level 1 juggles, though he has to play at low health to be a threat and he barely has enough health to risk that. C groove gives him access to more supers as well, and air blocking helps a little with his floaty jump, but he has very little use for level 2 supers as he can only combo from level 2 Rai-Kou Ken which already allows combos with the level 1 version. P groove is essentially useless for Beni.
 [[File:Benimaru_CvS2_colors.png]]