Fatal Fury Special/System

Game Mechanics

Walk & Crawl

Hold 6 to walk forwards or 4 to walk backwards. All characters walk forwards faster than they walk backwards. Walking can be cancelled at any time.

Hold 3 to crawl. This is much slower than walking normally, but maintains a low profile.

Below is a table comparing all characters' walk/crawl speeds.

Movement Speeds

Character	Walk Speed	Backwalk Speed	Crawl Speed
Terry	100%	78%	50%
Andy	88%	67%	45%
Joe	88%	67%	45%
Bear	78%	56%	40%
Jubei	100%	78%	50%
Cheng	78%	56%	40%
Kim	100%	78%	50%
Mai	112%	89%	56%
Duck	128%	105%	60%
Tung	100%	78%	50%
Billy	78%	56%	40%
Axel	67%	45%	34%
Laurence	100%	78%	50%
Geese	100%	78%	50%
Krauser	100%	78%	50%
Ryo	100%	78%	50%

Jump

Input 7, 8 or 9 to jump back, straight up, or forward respectively. Jumps have vulnerable prejump and landing frames. Jumping normals may differ depending on if they are done during a diagonal jump (7/9) or a neutral jump (8).

Prejump and landing frames are special cancellable, with the exception of a character's first landing frame. Normals and movement are still impossible during these states.

Jump Frame Data

Character	Prejump Frames	Airborne Frames	Landing Frames	Total Frames
Terry	4	47	3	54
Andy	4	45	3	52
Joe	4	47	3	54
Bear	4	39	3	46
Jubei	4	47	3	54
Cheng	4	51	3	58
Kim	4	47	3	54
Mai	8	43	6	57
Duck	4	45	3	52
Tung	4	47	5	56
Billy	4	45	3	52
Axel	4	43	3	50
Laurence	4	51	3	58
Geese	4	51	3	58
Krauser	4	47	3	54
Ryo	4	43	3	50

Backdash/Backstep

Input 44 to quickly retreat backwards. This is a very powerful defensive tool as it provides frame 1 strike invincibility that lasts almost the entire animation, and the few vulnerable frames can be cancelled into special moves which can punish the opponent for trying to punish. While they lack any throw invincibility, all backdashes (with the exception of Mai's) are considered airborne until recovery, keeping them generally safe midscreen as only a handful of characters have air throws.

Backdash Frame Data

Character	Invincible Frames	Recovery Frames	Total Frames	Notes
Mai	28	6	34	Grounded
Duck, Krauser	28	3	31	Duck is visually grounded but considered airborne
Tung	20	5	25
Others	20	3	23

Below is a table comparing backdash distances from longest (top row) to shortest (bottom).

Backdash Distances

Mai

Krauser

Bear, Duck

Geese, Laurence, Ryo

Axel

Andy, Billy, Jubei, Kim, Terry

Cheng, Joe

Tung

Throw

Press 4/6C (or D for some characters) when close to the opponent to throw them. Many characters have additional throw inputs unique to them, and Axel is the only character who only has D throws. Throws are unblockable, but cannot hit opponents in hitstun or blockstun. All basic throws are instant and have no whiff animations, and the same goes for nearly every throw special move. Some throws hit multiple times and can be resisted by the opponent if they mash directions and buttons. These types of throws are called "holds". Characters receive 17 frames of throw invincibility after waking up from a knockdown, but there is minimal throw protection after hitstun or blockstun and characters can be thrown out of jump startup, making tick throws very strong (though escapable with reversals). Unlike strikes, throws target the opponent's axis point (white cross) instead of their hurtboxes.

Below is a table comparing character throw ranges from longest (top row) to shortest (bottom), measured starting from the end of the character's collision box.

Ground Throw Ranges

Duck 4123692BC

Bear 6428C

Tung [1]9D

Jubei 63214C, Jubei [1]23BC

Tung [1]9B

Andy 4/6C, Jubei Basic Throws, Jubei [2]8A/C, Laurence All, Ryo 4/6C, Terry 4/6C

Axel 4D, Axel 6D, Bear Basic Throws, Billy 4/6D, Cheng All, Joe All, Krauser All, Mai 4/6C

Billy 4/6C, Duck 4/6C

Geese 4/6C, Geese 3C

Geese 4/6D

Axel 9D, Kim 4/6C, Tung 4/6C

Below is a table comparing air throws. Only horizontal range is measured here, which is not the whole story for an air throw. If they were compared to ground throws, all 4 would lie between Tung's [1]9B and Jubei's command throws.

Air Throw Ranges

Laurence j2C

Jubei j2D

Duck j2C, Mai j2D

Idle Stances

Characters normally have animations for standing still, however they will be motionless when standing near their opponent. This is a visual indicator of when a character is in range to use their close-proximity normals.

Taunt

Press 5C while far away from the opponent to taunt them. Taunts serve no mechanical purpose and can be cancelled with any directional input at any time. In order to execute f5C from taunt range, it must be input as 4C or 6C.

Lane Sway

A signature mechanic of the Fatal Fury series is the ability to move in and out of the background. In Fatal Fury Special, most stages have two lanes (AKA "planes" or "lines"), one in the foreground and one in the background. When in the background lane, characters' sprites are smaller, so there is slightly more horizontal space to move in.

Press A+B to "Lane Sway", or jump to the opposite lane. This is a frame 1 strike invincible escape tool but it can be thrown.

If both players are in the same lane then the game plays as normal, but there are special rules when characters are in opposite lanes:

• All attack buttons can only be used to do Lane Attacks that cross over to the opposite lane. Although it looks similar to a normal lane jump, these attacks are not invincible and have punishable landing recovery. All Lane Attacks are overheads and are very plus on hit and block. Using a Lane Attack without holding a direction will make it home in on the opponent, and attacking while holding 4 or 6 will not target the opponent and instead slightly steer the jump left or right. Light buttons will do a low Lane Attack which is faster, while heavy buttons will do a high Lane Attack which may beat or go over a low attack. Some characters have different Lane Attacks for punch and kick buttons, with the punch attacks typically whiffing if the opponent crouches. In general, low homing kick attacks are best, but when close to the opponent low steered attacks are useful to cross the opponent up too.
• Inputting 8 in the front lane or 2 in the back lane will roll into the opponent's lane. Like the AB Lane Sway, rolling is invincible except to throws. The roll's input means that jumping in the front lane and crouching in the back lane are impossible. Rolling is a fast way to cross lanes and is safe as long as it's done from a distance.

Once a character is close enough to the opposite lane, their opponent will return to their normal stance and can crouch/jump and use their ordinary moveset again which allows them to anti-air a Lane Attack or throw an incoming roll. Trying to input an anti-air before the opponent is close enough will execute a Lane Attack instead.

Lane Sway is impossible on Axel, Billy and Laurence's stages, which only have one lane to fight in.

Lane Blast

Press C+D on the ground to do an attack that knocks to the opponent to the opposite lane. On normal stages, characters can meaty the opponent with a left/right lane attack afterwards. On single-lane stages, Lane Blasts will cause an additional 8 damage and 5 stun as the opponent collides with the background hazard. This bonus hit is not affected by health, round or combo scaling but cannot kill the opponent, though it will dizzy them just fine.

Unlike other attacks, Lane Blasts have different frame data and hitboxes when done in the back lane as opposed to the front lane.

Dodge Attack

Press 6A while in proximity guard (character is visually blocking but isn't in blockstun) to do a Dodge Attack. Dodge Attacks have upper-body invincibility and can be canceled. Attacks in Fatal Fury Special will trigger proximity guard from a very far distance and for a very long time, so they can be used in many situations.

3A is also a valid input for Dodge Attack, which is useful to avoid accidentally doing special moves that end in 6A.

Desperation Moves

Often shortened as "DMs"

When a character is at 32 HP or lower, their Desperation Move will be made available, indicated by a flashing life bar and "hurt" character portrait. Desperation Moves are powerful attacks that can be used an unlimited amount of times in the flashing-health state.

Stun/Dizzy

Every character in FFS has an invisible stun gauge which when filled will make them dizzy. When dizzied, a character will be knocked down regardless of what move hit them, and after waking will be vulnerable for an extended period of time that can be reduced by mashing buttons and directions. Below is a list detailing how many dizzy points it takes to stun each character.

Dizzy Point Limit	Characters
13	Jubei, Mai, Tung
14	Billy, Terry
15	Andy, Cheng, Duck
16	Joe, Kim
17	Laurence
18	Axel, Geese, Ryo
22	Bear, Krauser

Generally, light normals will add 2 dizzy points, heavy normals 4 points, light specials 3 points, heavy specials 6 points, throws 3 points, Dodge Attacks, Lane Blasts and stage hazards 5 points, and Desperation Moves 4 points.

Multihit moves will inflict dizzy points on each individual hit, and the full value will always be added; there is no dizzy reduction in combos like there is for damage.

After being dizzied, a character has 8 points added to their limit. For example, if Tung Fu Rue is stunned, he would then require 21 dizzy points to stun a second time.

There is another invisible "stun retention" value that calculates how long dizzies and dizzy points will last. Each move will add to this value on hit, and it will decrease by 1 for every frame that a character is not in hitstun or blockstun. If their stun retention drops back down to 0, all of their dizzy points will instantly be lifted. If they get dizzied, it will be for an amount of frames equal to their accumulated stun retention points.

While dizzied, inputting either a direction or a button will reduce the stun retention value by 1 point, however only 1 point can be subtracted per frame, no matter how many directions or buttons are simultaneously pressed. Perfect mashing (new input on every frame) can reduce a dizzy's duration by exactly half. This mashing during hitstun will noticeably speed up the character's animation while dizzy.

For Jubei specifically, the last 19F of stun are unavoidable and can not be sped up by mashing. However, Jubei will be invincible during these frames.

Unlike dizzy points, the amount of stun retention inflicted depends on the character attacking in addition to the move's classification. Below is a table detailing the stun retention values of each class of move for each character.

Stun Retention Values of All Characters' Moves

Character	Light Normals	Heavy Normals	Light Specials	Heavy Specials	Throws	Dodge Attack	Lane Blast	Desperation Move
Andy	12	22	38	44	38	32	32	68
Axel	10	32	38	44	54	26	44	44
Bear	10	32	38	44	44	26	44	44
Billy	20	32	26	44	44	44	44	44
Cheng	12	14	38	44	50	50	56	26
Duck	14	26	32	38	38	38	38	38
Geese	12	20	38	44	50	50	26	38
Joe	18	30	36	42	42	42	42	42
Jubei	20	32	38	44	26	44	44	26
Kim	18	30	36	42	42	42	42	42
Laurence	14	26	38	44	26	44	44	44
Mai	14	32	32	50	38	38	44	56
Terry	14	26	32	38	38	38	38	38
Tung	20	32	26	44	26	44	44	26
Krauser	12	20	28	44	50	50	26	26

Damage Calculation

The damage calculation formula for almost every attack in Fatal Fury Special is the following: Attack Damage x (Round Victory Scaling OR Health Scaling) x Weak Point Bonus x Combo Scaling
Chip damage is unaffected by scaling, and is simply calculated as the following: Attack Damage x Chip Scaling
Hold throw damage ignores the normal rules in favor of its own, too, calculated as: Attack Damage x Hold Scaling

• All decimal damage values will be rounded down.

Explanations for each term are written below.

Round Victory Scaling

After winning a round, a character's attacks will do 75% damage, though this penalty will not stack with Health Scaling and only affects the first half of the opponent's health bar. If both players have won a round, they will both have the damage reduction applied.

Health Scaling

Characters take different amounts of damage depending on how much remaining health they have, out of the maximum of 96.

Remaining Health	Damage Modifier
96-49	100% damage (75% if a round is won)
48-24	75% damage
23-12	67.5% damage
11-0	50% damage

Weak Point Bonus

Axel and Krauser have certain hurtboxes that take 125% damage when hit. Axel's weak point is in his stomach, and Krauser's weak point is his head. They have no weak point hurtboxes in hitstun, so only the first hit of a combo can benefit from this bonus.

Combo Scaling

Attacks hitting opponents in hitstun will do reduced damage. Hitting an opponent on the last vulnerable frame of their hitstun will not apply combo scaling.

Hits	Damage Modifier
1st hit	100% damage
2nd hit	87.5% damage
3rd hit and onward	75% damage

Chip Scaling

Special moves that are blocked will do 25% damage.

Hold Scaling

When a character is at 48 health or below and uses a hold (multihit throw), their hold will do 75% damage, or 3 damage per hit instead of 4.

Hitstun Invincibility

Characters are invincible on the final frame of hitstun. This also applies to dizzy hitstun.

Hitting a character on their penultimate frame of hitstun will bypass combo scaling.

Jubei is invincible during the final 19F of his dizzy animation.

Input Interpreter

Normals stay in the buffer for 5 frames.

Inputting Special Moves Too Quickly

Special moves cannot be input in the air and come out after landing, even if they are still in the buffer.

Pressing the button(s) to a special move on the same frame as the final directional input will execute the button's associated normal, which will be kara cancelled to the special if possible. If the move is buffered or if the button is pressed at least one frame after the final direction is input, only the special move will come out.

When inputting special motions, the first frame after leaving the first direction will not have its directional input be read as part of the motion. This does not mean the input is disregarded, but if it is only held for that frame, the special move will not come out.

Below are some examples of valid and invalid inputs. Each example assumes the character is standing idle beforehand.

Frame 1	Frame 2	Frame 3	Frame 4	Frame 5	Frame 6	Result
2	3	6+A				5A
2	3	3	6+A			(5A kara cancelled to) 236A
2	3	3	6	A		236A
2	2	3	6	A		5A
2	8	3	6	A		(Prejump cancelled to) 236A
4	1	2	3	6	A	5A
4	5	1	2	3+A	6	(2A kara cancelled to) 41236A

Kim's j2B/D can have B/D input on the frame after 2 is input, but will not work if B/D and 2 are input on the same frame unless a prior 2 input is still in the buffer. It will also not work if B/D is pressed without holding 2, even if 2 is in the buffer.

Simultaneous Button Presses

When two buttons are input on the same frame, they will be interpreted either as part of a Desperation Move or as a normal attack/action, but NEVER as a special move. This can be used to get a normal attack even when a special move motion is buffered for that normal's button, which is especially helpful for charge characters.

Ignoring A+B and C+D inputs, which correspond to lane mechanics, the priority for simultaneous button presses is as follows: A > B > C = D

• When C and D are pressed and Lane Blast is not possible, D takes priority over all other buttons.
• C+D cannot be used to perform air throws.

Output	Valid Button Combinations
A / Dodge Attack	A+C, A+D, A+B (single lane), A+B+C (single lane), A+B+D (single lane)
B	B+C, B+D
C	No valid combinations
D	C+D (air), A+C+D (air), B+C+D (air), A+B+C+D (air)
Lane Sway	A+B, A+B+C, A+B+D
Lane Blast	C+D, A+C+D, B+C+D, A+B+C+D

Mash Move Notes

Moves like Axel's Axel Dance require mashing punch buttons to execute, which can be a difficult input to get the hang of. Below are some observations of their input requirements.

• Both light and heavy mash moves require 5 button presses to activate. Only the punch button of the corresponding version will count, so mashing both won't make it any easier.
• Light mash moves allow no more than 8 frames between each A press. The exception is the second A press in the sequence, which is allowed to be pressed 9 frames after the first. This exception only works from a clear buffer, so A (9F) A (8F) A (8F) A (8F) A will work but A (8F) A (8F) A (9F) A (8F) A (8F) A (8F) A will not. These examples assume that A is pressed for only 1 frame.
  • The target rhythm for these moves is 5 presses in 37 frames or less.
• Heavy mash moves allow no more than 6 frames between each C press. The exception is the second C press in the sequence, which is allowed to be pressed 7 frames after the first, assuming the buffer is clear.
  • The target rhythm for these moves is 5 presses in 29 frames or less, which is very difficult to input consistently. It is recommended to alternate between 2 fingers when tapping C to make the input easier.

Player Side Differences

When both players throw simultaneously, P1's throw will win.

Player 2 cannot begin guarding on the last frame of P1's moves with zero recovery frames (Geese c5A/f5A, Krauser 2A).

Player 1 cannot begin guarding on the first frame of P2's moves with instant startup (Cheng [4]6B).

Characters facing left will have their hit/hurt/collision boxes 1 pixel behind where they would be if they were facing right. This is solely determined on which direction the character is facing, not if they are Player 1 or Player 2. As all types of boxes are shifted, this doesn't give either player an advantage, but it does mean that Player 2's sprite will be aligned to them slightly differently.

Glitches

No Hitstop Glitch

When a move that has no recovery frames (Geese c5A/f5A or Krauser 2A) hits or is blocked on its last active frame, the attacker will not have any hitstop while their opponent will. This means that the attacker will not receive any pushback and has much more frame advantage than normal, allowing them to easily string another attack on their opponent who is stuck and hasn't been pushed back either yet. If this glitch occurs on hit, it allows for strange looking combos not normally possible and, as characters are invincible during hitstop, it's possible to time another 0-recovery move to hit on the magic frame and trigger the glitch again.

Another glitch of 0-recovery moves is that when used by Player 1, Player 2 will be unable to block during their last active frame. This makes the aforementioned glitch combos more feasible as they can be started from unblockable okizeme. Also, since the glitch involves Player 2 being unable to block rather than the 0-recovery move itself being unblockable, Geese and Krauser can whiff their glitch normals to make a meaty Reppuken/Blitzball unblockable. If the opponent was already in proximity guard before the magic frame, they will still be able to block.

Ryo Crash

When Ryo is air thrown out of his Ryuuko Ranbu desperation move, the game may freeze until time is up or even reset/crash.

Mai Ryuenbu Glitch

If Mai throws Kachosen and does Ryuenbu, if the fan hits the opponent on the first frame of Ryuenbu's second hitbox its properties will be transferred to the 236A, knocking the opponent down and doing more damage.