Capcom vs SNK 2/Benimaru

Introduction

Character Intro

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.

While he has a lot holding him back, Benimaru does have a few strengths. His mixup and general close range game is fairly strong, with lots of ways to generate frame advantage and many strong normals for interrupting opponents trying to escape. His mixup is powerful too, especially with meter, since he can access his level 1 Electrigger command grab which is a damaging 1 frame grab. The fear of being grabbed will make opponents move around and try to escape more, which is when you can take advantage of his strong close-range normals to catch them moving and hopefully secure a knockdown. Beni also doesn't lack in having lots of combo potential, with lots of links for long confirms and a super with very lenient juggle properties. He isn't the scariest close range brawler by any means, but he has a few tools and tricks to keep himself in the game and make the opponent think twice about not learning the matchup.

Groove Selection

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.

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Colors

Normal Moves

Far Standing Normals

5LP

Far Jab
Stand Jab / Light Punch
5LP / Far LP

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
Far	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
Stand Strong / Medium Punch
5MP / Far MP

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
Far	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
Stand Fierce / Heavy Punch
5HP / Far HP

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
Far	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
Stand Short / Light Kick
5LK / Far LK

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
Far	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
Stand Forward / Medium Kick
5MK / Far MK

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
Far	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
Stand Roundhouse / Heavy Kick
5HK / Far HK

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
Far	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 Light Punch
cl5LP / cl.LP

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
Close	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 Medium Punch
cl5MP / cl.MP

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
Close	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 Medium Kick
cl5MK / cl.MK

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
Close	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
Crouching Light Punch
2LP / cr.LP

Version	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
Crouching Medium Punch
2MP / cr.MP

Version	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
Crouching Heavy Punch
2HP / cr.HP

Version	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
Crouching Light Kick
2LK / cr.LK

Version	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
Crouching Medium Kick
2MK / cr.MK

Version	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
Crouching Heavy Kick / Sweep
2HK / cr.HK

Version	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
Jump Light Punch
8LP / j.LP

Version	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
Jump Medium Punch
8MP / j.MP

Version	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
Jump Heavy Punch
8HP / j.HP

Early Hit

Anti-air Hit

Version	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
Jump Light Kick
8LK / j.LK

Version	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
Jump Medium Kick
8MK / j.MK

Version	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
Jump Heavy Kick
8HK / j.HK

Version	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.

Command Normals

Jackknife Kick

Jackknife Kick
Stepkick
6MK / Forward Medium Kick

Running Up

First Active Frames

Final Active Frames

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
	700	7	None	Mid	High	16	6	17	39	-1	-1	-
Benimaru steps a long distance before kicking upwards. Useful in niche situations, like when you need a fast and far punish or to get underneath the opponent and sideswap. Can also be useful to get in from neutral but any poke will beat it out, be careful.

Flying Drill

Flying Drill
Divekick, Drill
j.2HK

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
In Air, +	300xHit	3xHit	None	Mid	High	9	Till Landing	11	-	+3	+12	-
A multihitting divekick. A useful tool for Benimaru, as his jump is very floaty so any way to make anti-airing him harder is valuable. Cranks guard bar and is plus, but you can't combo from it. Unlike other divekicks, the frame data is fairly consistent since it hits so many times.

Special Moves

Raijinken

Raijinken
Electric Ball, Lightning Fist
236P

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
LP +	800	8	None	Mid	High	14	15~50	50	64	+1	+1	None
MP +	600+300	6+3	None	Mid	High	18	19~52	52	70	+1	+1	None
HP +	600+200x2	6+2+2	None	Mid	High	22	23~54	54	76	+1	+1	None
Close range electric punches. At first glance these look like zoning and poking tools, but moreso they're good for pressure and safely ending combos, as Beni is left very vulnerable for a long time if they whiff. If they connect or get blocked, they stop immediately, making them safe and decent chip tools.

Anti-Air Raijinken

Anti-Air Raijinken
AA Lighting Fist
623P

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
+	1000	10	None	Mid	High	10	11~42	42	52	-	-	None
+	1100	11	None	Mid	High	10	11~48	48	58	-	-	None
+	1200	12	None	-	-	10	11~54	54	64	-	-	None
A Raijinken aimed above Benimaru's head. The hitbox is large but at ten frames it's a bit slow to be a proper anti-air, especially with no invuln. By roll cancelling this move, it becomes a bit better as an anti-air but is still slow. Horrible on whiff as well so if you do it too late prepare to eat a massive punish. If this ever hits an air opponent, you can easily confirm into either 236236P or a Custom Combo.

Iai Geri

Iai Geri
Knee
236K

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
+	800	8	Into +	Mid	High	6	2	37	45	-1	-1	None
+	900	9	Into +	Mid	High	9	3	33	45	+2	+2	None
+	1000	10	Into +	Mid	High	12	4	29	45	+5	+5	None
A knee to the chest. Despite not giving a knockdown, this is your most consistent and safest combo ender. Since the heavy version will combo from lights and does the most damage/is the most plus, stick to the heavy version in combos. The followup Inazuma Sandan-Geri gives a knockdown but requires Iai Geri to hit very close.

Iai Geri

Inazuma Sandan-Geri
Followup Kick
After 236K, 28K

Kick Bridge

Final hit

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
+ Roundhouse Kick	300	3	None	Mid	High	10	4	15	19	-	-	None
The first hit of the 2 part followup. Does not change depending on button strength used, but the followup DP does change, so this is listed as it's own version!
Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
Light Finisher	400	4	None	Mid	High	19	7	39	65	-DWN	-22	4 (Full)
Medium Finisher	500	5	None	Mid	High	19	12	44	75	-DWN	-32	4 (Full)
Heavy Finisher	600	6	None	Mid	High	19	12	51	72	-DWN	-39	4 (Full)
The final part of the followup. Knocks down and is generally what you want to end combos with, but you won't always be able to as 236K needs to hit close for it to reach. Very unsafe on both block and whiff, so if you do it from too far or don't confirm the hit you will get punished. Since every version is heavily unsafe, use the heavy version always.

Jinrai Kick

Super Jinrai Kick
Dragon Kick, DP
623K

Startup

First Hitbox

Last Hitbox

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
+	1300, 700	13, 7	None	Mid	High	6	8	39	53	-DWN	-23	6 (Full)
+	1400, 800	14, 8	None	Mid	High	6	12	44	62	-DWN	-39	6 (Full)
+	1500, 900	15, 9	None	Mid	High	6	12	51	69	-DWN	-39	6 (Full)
Beni's kick DPs. Not great as anti-airs, despite being faster than 623P, since the first hitbox is low to the ground meaning it's very prone to trading. Just like 623P, roll cancelling can help with that, which is nice since the second hitbox does reach quite high and anti-air well when it can. Just like 623P, a successful anti-air connect can confirm to 236236P or Custom Combo.

Shinku Katate Koma

Shinku Katate Koma
Breakdance
63214K (3K to cancel)

Forward Hitbox

Turnaround

Backward Hitbox

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
+	1000	10	3K to Cancel	Mid	Mid	16	15	39 (4)	68	-DWN	-13	None
+	1100	11	3K to Cancel	Mid	Mid	16	31	37 (4)	84	-DWN	-13	None
+	1200	12	3K to Cancel	Mid	Mid	16	47	37 (4)	100	-DWN	-13	None
Benimaru gets on one hand and spins around quickly. An odd move with little purpose. The hurtbox is low enough to avoid some fireballs but the huge lag makes it hard to use in those situations. It can be used to end combos in a consistent knockdown, but the knockdown sideswaps and sends them very far away, so this is questionably useful for Beni who usually likes to be close. Always cancel this using 3K, as it makes getting oki from it slightly better and makes it a bit harder to punish.

Benimaru Collider

Benimaru Collider
Command Grab
632146

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
+	1800	0	None	Grab	Grab	6	1	21	28	-DWN	Grab	None
+	1900	0	None	Grab	Grab	6	1	21	28	-DWN	Grab	None
+	2000	0	None	Grab	Grab	6	1	21	28	-DWN	Grab	None
Beni's command grab series. The light version does the least damage but has the most reach, and the heavy version does the most damage but has the least reach. Is a bit slower than his normal throws but can't be teched. If your opponent respects Beni's strike too much this can be useful.

Super Moves

Rai-Kou Ken

Rai-Kou Ken
Lightning Fist Super
236236P

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
+	2000	0	None	Mid	High	5, 10	10~95	95	100	-DWN	-2	9 (Full)
+	3500	0	SP/SU	Mid	High	5, 10	10~95	95	100	-DWN	-2	15 (Full)
+	5000	0	None	Mid	High	5, 10	10~95	95	100	-DWN	-2	23 (Full)
Beni's electric fist super. Easy to juggle into, and a decent reversal. You can loop these in the corner to rack up damage even outside of C groove. Even sweep will juggle into this. On all that it's also safe on block! Not as useful after long links however.

Benimaru Rising Shot

Benimaru Rising Shot
Rush Super
236236K

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
+	2000	0	None	Mid	High	4, 4	24	59	91	-DWN	-48	8 (Full)
+	3100	0	SP/SU	Mid	High	4, 4	28	59	95	-DWN	-48	14 (Full)
+	4700	0	None	Mid	High	4, 4	32	69	109	-DWN	-48	22 (Full)
A forward moving rush super. Lots of invuln and decent damage makes it seem like a fireball punish, but it travels very slow meaning it only works for this in very close range. Normally you'll mostly just use the level 1 version for long hitconfirms into super, as you cannot combo off the level 2 version and it's usually better for Beni to save meter than spend on the level 3 version of this.

Electrigger

Benimaru Collider
Super Command Grab
6321463214P

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
+	2500	0	None	Grab	Grab	4	1	27	32	-DWN	Grab	6 (Full)
+	3800	0	SP/SU	Grab	Grab	4	1	27	32	-DWN	Grab	14 (Full)
+	5500	0	None	Grab	Grab	4	1	27	32	-DWN	Grab	22 (Full)
A fast command grab super. Activates on the first frame after superflash, so if they aren't jumping or doing something throw invuln it will grab them. Does decent damage and the fear of it can make opponents scared to block which can be abused. Gives a stellar knockdown as well, allowing you to push another mixup after. Similar to rush super, the level 2 version combos into nothing and the level 3 version is highly damaging but questionably worth the meter.

Advanced Strategy

Groove-Specific Strategy

C-Groove

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In C-Groove

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Against C-Groove

A-Groove

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In A-Groove

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Against A-Groove

P-Groove

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In P-Groove

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Against P-Groove

S-Groove

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In S-Groove

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Against S-Groove

N-Groove

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In N-Groove

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Against N-Groove

K-Groove

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In K-Groove

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Against K-Groove

Match-ups