The King of Fighters 2002/Kusanagi

Movelist

Normal Throws

1. Hatsugane - b/f+C

2. Issetsu Seoi Nage - b/f+D

• Kusanagi grabs the opponent and slams them down behind him
• hard knockdown, giving you enough time to set up a mixup before the opponent gets up

Command Normals

1. Geshiki: Naraku Otoshi - d+C(in air)

• Kusanagi does an overhead smash with both hands
• hard knockdown if it hits an airborne opponent
• has a crossup hitbox, but not as big as kof98's hitbox
• can be used during a backdash to make him backdash further
• has a lot of stun on hit and can therefore hit really early during a jump and be comboed after

2. Geshiki: Goufu You - f+B

• Kusanagi performs a forward axe kick that does two hits, coming out very quickly
• cancellable on the second hit if cancelled into
• overhead on the second hit if not cancelled into
• does much more damage if not cancelled into than if it was
• does a large amount of guardcrush (3 blocked f+B's will guardcrush the opponent)

3. 88 Shiki - df+D

• a kneeling two kick attack, both kicks hitting low and dealing decent damage
• comes out very fast and easy to combo into
• not cancellable
• the hitbox is not identical to Kyo's - KUsanagi's hits further horizontally than Kyo's, so that the second hit will rarely whiff

Special Moves

1. 108 Shiki: Yami Barai - qcf+P

• projectile that travels along the ground
• C version travels faster than the A version but has more recovery

2. 100 Shiki: Oniyaki - dp+P

• Kusanagi does a vertical anti-air attack that comes out very fast
• C version goes much higher than the A version - both are very punishable if blocked, especially C version
• A version knocks down on the first hit, but the C version's first hit does not knock down - the second hit does not hit many crouching opponents, so it's risky to try to use it on a grounded opponent even though it has more invincibility than the A version
• both dps have autoguard until Kusanagi leaves the ground
• free cancellable into
• free cancellable out of on the first hit

3. 101 Shiki: Oboroguruma - rdp+K

• Kusanagi flies diagonally upwards with a few kicks
• B version does one kick and the opponent is put into a jugglable state afterwards
• D version comes out slower and does 3 kicks
• third kick of the D version is a hard knockdown
• free cancellable into
• if blocked, both versions are very punishable, especially the D version

4. 75 Shiki Kai - qcf+KK

• Kusanagi jumps into the air with a kick. If K is pressed again, he will do a second kick
• the second kick can be delayed such that you get a frame advantage on block. The opponent can crouch block the second hit unless Kusanagi delays it
• if the opponent stand blocks this move, it doesn't push Kusanagi back, allowing him to have a frame advantage and do a close C. If they are crouching, Kusanagi gets pushed back, out of close C range
  
• qcf+DD allows you to juggle with anything after, but only very few things juggle if qcf+BB is used
  
• free cancellable into
  

5. 212 Shiki: Kototsuki You - hcb+K

• Kusanagi runs forward - if he gets into range, he will attempt a blockable attack(very low damage) followed by a grab(decent damage)
• after a juggle (from qcf+DD), if the move isn't timed right, it is possible for the first hit to connect and the followup grab to miss
• the move has a lot of recovery frames, but the opponent must run forward to punish. Some characters might have trouble punishing this move well

6. 910 Shiki: Nue Tsumi - qcb+P

• Kusanagi begins punching upwards. If he is hit before this punch actually occurs, he will execute a counter, either Ryuu Iri or Tora Fuse, mentioned below
• if the counter does not activate, the punch he does can still hit the opponent. This punch is very difficult to punish on block
• the counters activate against any normal attack that isn't a jump attack. The punch itself has some invincibility

6a. Geshiki: Ryuu Iri - as a high counter

• Kusanagi does an elbow attack that knocks the opponent over but doesn't do a hard knockdown

6b. Geshiki: Tora Fuse - as a low counter

• Kusanagi does an overhead punch pounding the opponent to the floor
• hard knockdown

DMs

1. Ura 108 Shiki: Orochi Nagi - qcb hcf+P (can be held)

SDMs

1. Ura 108 Shiki: Orochi Nagi - qcb hcf+P (can be held)

• Kusanagi's body becomes surrounded by fire and the flames will remain surrounding Kyo while he is holding P
• flames surrounding Kusanagi absorb projectiles
• the flames that are thrown, can do three hits. It is possible to juggle the opponent if only first and second hits connect
• good recovery if the thrown flames are blocked

HSDM

1. Saishuu Kessen Ougi Reishiki - qcfx2+AC

• Kusanagi creates a huge pillar of flame in front of him, then does a combo on the opponent ending in an anti-air uppercut
• does more damage than any other move in the game aside from Daimon's HSDM
• if blocked, the move is very punishable but does good chip damage if opponent has no stock and is close to dying
• comes out very fast, easy to combo from weak attacks

Notes:
- cancellable normals are close A, far A, crouch A, close B, close C, far C, crouch C, close D, crouch D
- CD is cancellable into specials and DMs
- close B is a low attack
- close C, f+B does not combo against Leona, Ralf, Clark, Benimaru, Robert, Kensou
- far D can evade low attacks

Combos

Anywhere

1. Crouch B, Crouch A, df+D - 15-20%
2. Close C, qcf+D D, hcb+D/qcb hcf+P - 35%/45%
3. Close C, f+B, rdp+D/hcb+D - 40%
4. Close C, f+B, qcb hcf+C - 45%

Corner

1. Close C, qcf+D D, rdp+B, dp+C - 35-40%
2. Close C, qcf+D D, qcf+B B, dp+C - 30%

Midscreen

1. Close C, f+B(1), BC, run Close C, f+B(2), hcb+K(1), (C)dp+C(1), (C)qcf+D D, (hcb+K, (C)rdp+D)/qcb hcf+P/(qcb hcf+AC(2), dp+C, corner only) - 53%/70%/90% (standing opponents usually, omit the two f+B's)
2. Close C, df+D, BC(Buffer:qcb+BC), qcb hcf+C(Buffer:qcf+C) - 50% (if Crouch B, Crouch A is used instead of close C, then DM doesn't combo)

Strategies

Kusanagi is a very versatile character. He has a great zoning fireball, one of the best anti-airs in the game, useful counters, a good high/low mixup game and damaging combos.

Kusanagi's keepaway game is quite strong. His fireballs have decent recovery, and if you can force the opponent to jump over them, you have a free anti-air with dp+C. Of course, you don't want to be predictable with them, otherwise the opponent will jump over them the instant you throw them, which most likely won't give Kusanagi enough time to anti-air. Make sure that you have a distance between you and your opponent equal to that of high jump or longer. Toss a slow one and begin running forward. If they jump, immediately dp+C, toss another fireball and repeat until you get right up to them. if they roll, you can try to hit them with a df+D if they were rolling from far away. If they rolled right in front of you, you can land any combo starting with close C. If they stand there, then the opponent basically let you get in, so you can now change to Kusanagi's offensive game, which is quite solid as well.

His f+B is an extremely good move, especially if it is not cancelled into. The first hit comes out fairly fast, and the second hit is an overhead. This move also does a lot of damage by itself, almost 20% if both hits connect. The best thing about it though, is it's ability to guardcrush if not cancelled into. Assuming the opponent has a full guardcrush meter, the following attack strings will lead to guardcrush:

1. hop d+C, f+B, hop d+C, f+B(guard crush on second hit), BC, run up and combo
2. f+B, hop d+C, f+B, hop B, close C(guard crush), (f+B, BC, run up max combo)/(qcf+DD, qcb hcf+P)

The f+B is also a good poke, which has the potential to stop jumpins that are in front of him (but not too high), or stopping hops. Using this move, as well as far B pokes, can usually get most people to jump, which means free dp+C anti-air.

The hop d+C is a fairly high priority jump attack with crossup potential and can guardcrush fairly well (although nowhere near as good as his f+B). It block stuns fairly well too, allowing you to followup with f+B, a hyper hop B which will be difficult for the opponent to punish, or mixup with a crouch B, crouch A, df+D. Not that the df+D is fairly safe if both hits are blocked, but if the last one whiffs, or the opponent guard rolls it, he can be punished.

Another useful mixup is to use close B, f+B. As explained in the system section of the faq, if you cancel a normal late, into a command move, the command move does not lose it's properties but does not gain the cancellable property. Since his close B hits low and is cancellable, you can do close B, late cancel f+B. Not only will the opponent have to block low, then high, but the f+B being blocked will aid you in the guardcrush process. This can further be mixed up by cancelling the close B to f+B normally, letting you cancel the f+B to qcf+P or qcf+DD. Be careful when cancelling to qcf+P, you don't want to execute the qcf+P fireball if they guard rolled through at some point during the string. The Close B/Close C, f+B, qcf+DD can be useful at times because the first hit whiffs and the second hit connects a bit late. It works great as a surprise and is difficult to punish without just anti-airing it as it comes out. In addition, if the last hit of qcf+DD connects, you can combo hcb+D or qcf hcb+C.

When Kusanagi is on the defensive, he should be readying a dp+C in case the opponent jumps. The autoguard on the dp+P is just too good. As long as Kusanagi is not high in the air when he makes contact with the opponent's jump attack, all high priority moves will be cleanly beaten by the autoguard. In addition, the autoguard will blast through Yuri air fireballs, as usually it is difficult to counter Yuri when she is jumping forward with an air fireball, landing in front of you. It's also great against high priority, hard to counter moves such as Billy's f+A, Kim/Choi qcf+K(air) and Andy's hcf+K, assuming you have the reaction speed to see it coming and counter.

Jumping backwards with C or D is also quite advantageous against people who do multiple jump attacks in a row or are jumping over you attempting to crossup. Jump C comes out faster than Jump D, but lacks horizontal range.

His qcb+P counters should not be taken lightly. If the opponent loves to poke, such as Kula users with crouch B and far B, then qcb+P will counter them, forcing them to think twice about sticking out pokes. If the counter does not activate but the opponent blocks the uppercut punch, he is almost always safe (with the exception of some characters, like Leona who can punish him on block with a crouch D). The punch attack can also beat out high priority moves such as jump CDs, but it should not be used on reaction to counter them, because Kusanagi has to have his elbow extended (or perhaps almost extended) for this invincibility to actually work. As long as you are within range of the move not whiffing, it is reasonably safe to attempt the qcb+P if they are poking alot. This move should not be spammed, as whiffing it can get you punished by run-in combos.

His df+D should be used to punish whiffed normals and other fairly difficult to punish moves, since it comes out very fast and does decent damage.

On wakeup, he should always be readying a dp motion. If they do some move on the ground and you see it, immediately do a dp+A. If they lift off the ground, do a dp+C. The reason dp+C is not used if the opponent is on the ground, is because dp+C doesn't knock down on the first hit. Regardless, the autoguard on his dp+P will allow him to go through all of these attacks. The only exception to using dp+C on the ground is when you are in maxmode for whatever reason. In that case, you can cancel a wakeup dp+C into qcf+DD and followup with a combo. Of course, if the opponent moves out of the way making the dp+C whiff, then you can't cancel to qcf+DD and should expect to get comboed.

UNFINISHED