Capcom vs SNK 2/Raiden

Introduction

Overview

Strategy

Combos

Matchups

Health (at Ratio 2)
15600	Extremely High
Stun
80	Average
Dash Length
16 Frames	Average
Dash Type
Hop	Corpse Hop=Yes, Proj. Hop=Yes
Run Speed
5.6	Extremely Slow
Roll Distance
120 pixels	Average
Roll Duration
28f	Long
Wakeup Speed compared to Ryu
1f	Below Average

Story

Raiden is an Australian professional wrestler. He was known for violence, often maiming his opponents and injuring them heavily. Geese Howard noticed this, and hired him on as a henchman. He excelled at this, mostly due to his violent nature. When Geese started The King of Fighters, Raiden entered to find strong fighters to hurt. While he did well in the beginning, he eventually fought against Andy Bogard, who swiftly dispatched him. Humiliated by his defeat, he changed his ways. He went from a heel wrestler (a violent, villain persona wrestler) to a face wrestler (a heroic and fan favorite wrestler), renaming himself to Big Bear. Nowadays, he hangs out with the Bogard brothers and Joe, and enters tournaments under either of his characters to relive his glory days mostly.

Gameplay

Raiden is a very unique character. He's a large, big-body style character mainly, with the highest health value possible in the game. He has a few solid buttons, neat pressure strings, a 421P Rekka in Combination Body Blow for knockdowns, and a strange but useful invincible special with [4]6P Giant Bomb. His useful neutral tools allow him to get a knockdown with his Rekkas and run his notably useful guard crush strings, especially in K-Groove. While he does have a command grab, he doesn't use it often. Instead, he uses his abnormally long range and high damage punch throw to threaten a tick throw from very far away. This has powerful conjunction with his guard crush strings, as the opponent essentially has to guess between a tick throw or a rekka, and then even after the rekka, they have to guess between the 214P followup which is a strike and the 214K followup command grab. Even better, Raiden can use his 63214P Poison Breath for an extremely plus on block special, allowing him to reset this situation constantly.

Raiden does have to struggle around some big weaknesses however. The biggest ones being his size and speed. Raiden wants to get close, but can't crouch under much of anything, and isn't fast enough to evade any pokes either. His poor jump arc doesn't help, forcing him to often just walk and block or risk a gimmick option to get in. Raiden comes equipped with plenty of gimmick options, like Giant Bomb which will blow through opponents mashing buttons or throwing poor fireballs. Still, if the opponent knows how to beat these tools, Raiden isn't left with much that isn't notably high risk. Raiden is an interesting big body character with hints of both the grappler and the guard crush style in him, who has to struggle through neutral and especially on defense to win.

Groove Selection

Best - K: K-Raiden is easily his best Groove. While his run isn't the greatest, it's much better than his dash, and run is always better for approaching. Having hop helps him evade things, and hop j.2HP Flying Body Press lets him threaten a very useful crossup. Rage sends his damage up high, and especially sends his guard crush high, allowing Raiden to realistically guard crush with a few moves. Blocking vs. a Raged Raiden is scary, and if he does land a hit, he hits like a truck. Just Defend is useful to call out pokes aggressively, make jumps a bit less risky, and to beat pressure strings where the opponent doesn't change their timings. His level 3 6321463214P Fire Breath super is also incredibly useful, being able to confirm from his rekka ender easily. This lets him do MASSIVE damage from clean hits, and gives him very realistic 2-touch potential. K-Raiden has everything he needs and more, and is solidly his best Groove.

Useful - N/P/C: N-Raiden is essentially a lesser K-Raiden. He maintains the mobility, but gains a roll, which can be very useful for roll cancels. RC Rekkas and RC Poison Breath especially can be very useful. He sacrifices K-Raiden's guard crush ability and massive damage output, as only the level 3 version of Fire Breath juggles, meaning N-Raiden has to activate Max Mode. Though this isn't a huge weakness, as Raiden has decent dizzy potential, and one dizzy with two bars will likely end the round. P-Raiden gets very consistent parry punishes, and still has hop to use for better mixup potential. His punishes up close are great, but even a far parry can at least get him a throw thanks to his amazing punch throw. P-Raiden won't have meter often, but when he does, he can do massive damage. C-Raiden gets more access to supers overall, upping his damage, and airblock somewhat makes up for losing hop. His level 2 combo does decent damage when using his 236236P Crazy Train super, and while it isn't quite as damaging as a level 3 Fire Breath, he has access to it more often.

Worst - A/S: A-Raiden has one massive weakness, and that's lacking any synergy with Custom Combo. While Raiden's CC is simple and does good damage, he lacks any utility with it in the same way the best A-Groove characters have. His only real anti-air CC being in the corner, no good blocked CC, and all of the utility it has like being able to confirm a CC after a Rekka being done better by level 3 Fire Breath holds him back a lot. Otherwise, all of what A-Raiden has, C-Raiden also has. S-Raiden similarly struggles, as he loses any high damage potential until very low health. Raiden can charge and not be too scared of getting hit thanks to his high health, but it's still not a great thing to deal with, and S-Groove has very little strength otherwise.

Raiden is a big body character who dishes out damage and crushes guard with the best of them when he gets in. He has to struggle to get the opponent sitting still, but if he can, he shines with powerful blockstrings and massive damage, especially in his best Groove. Raiden is best in K-Groove.
Pros	Cons
Damage: Raiden is capable of dishing out massive damage, especially with Rage, where he can juggle after his 421P > 214P with a level 3 Fire Breath Health: Tied with Zangeif and Chang for the highest health value possible, Raiden can take plenty of hits and keep going Guard Crush: Using his 63214P Poison Breath, Raiden can constantly reset pressure, all while threatening a powerful strike/throw mixup, allowing him to melt opponents guard bars Strike/Throw: While you may think this is because of his command grab, Raiden actually uses just his simple punch throw for this. This is because his punch throw has abnormally long reach and high damage, allowing him to threaten a throw from farther out than anyone else can Giant Bomb: [4]6P Giant Bomb is a unique special with tons of invincibility on the startup, and it can be spaced out to be fairly hard to punish. If your opponent doesn't know how to deal with this, Raiden's neutral becomes much better	Big and Slow: Raiden has to struggle through neutral vs a lot of the top tiers since he is both a very large hurtbox and not very mobile. CvS2 is almost entirely about neutral, so this weakness can't be understated No Reversal: While Giant Bomb does have invincibility, it isn't a true reversal, forcing Raiden to rely on system mechanics to escape pressure Weak Normals: Raiden lacks any sort of ridiculous button like many of the top tiers, and will often just be walking forward and blocking in neutral to get into close range K-Groove Reliant: Because of the strength of K-Groove and his synergy with it, Raiden can only really compete in K-Groove, which means many teams simply can't have Raiden and still succeed

!!!THIS PAGE IS STILL A WIP. IF YOU NEED FRAME DATA NOW, REFER TO THE CVS2 BIBLE OR LOOK THROUGH EDIT HISTORY TO FIND THE LAST EDIT CONTAINING FRAME DATA IF THERE WAS ONE!!!

Normal Moves

Far Normals

5LP

Far Jab
Far Light Punch
5LP / Far LP

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
Far	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Placeholder

5MP

Far Strong
Far Medium Punch
5MP / Far MP

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
Far	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Placeholder

5HP

Far Fierce
Far Heavy Punch
5HP / Far HP

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
Far	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Placeholder

5LK

Far Short
Far Light Kick
5LK / Far LK

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
Far	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Placeholder

5MK

Far Forward
Far Medium Kick
5MK / Far MK

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
Far	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Placeholder

5HK

Far Roundhouse
Far Heavy Kick
5HK / Far HK

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
Far	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Placeholder

clLP

Close Jab
Close Light Punch
cl.LP

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
Close	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Placeholder

clMP

Close Strong
cl.MP

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
Close	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Placeholder

clHP

Close Fierce
Close Heavy Punch
cl.HP

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
Close	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Placeholder

clLK

Close Short
Close Light Kick
cl.LK

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
Close	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Placeholder

clMK

Close Forward
Close Medium Kick
cl.MK

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
Close	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Placeholder

clHK

Close Roundhouse
Close Heavy Kick
cl.HK

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
Close	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Placeholder

2LP

Crouch Jab
Crouching Light Punch
2LP / cr.LP

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
+	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Placeholder

2MP

Crouch Strong
Crouching Medium Punch
2MP / cr.MP

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
+	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Placeholder

2HP

Crouch Fierce
Crouching Heavy Punch
2HP / cr.HP

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
+	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Placeholder

2LK

Crouch Short
Crouching Light Kick
2LK / cr.LK

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
+	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Placeholder

2MK

Crouch Forward
Crouching Medium Kick
2MK / cr.MK

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
+	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Placeholder

2HK

Crouch Roundhouse
Crouching Heavy Kick
2HK / cr.HK

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
+	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

j.LP

Jump Jab
Jumping Light Punch
j.LP

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
//+	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Placeholder

j.MP

Jump Strong
Jumping Medium Punch
j.MP

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
//+	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Placeholder

j.HP

Jump Fierce
Jumping Heavy Punch
j.HP

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
//+	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Placeholder

j.LK

Jump Short
Jumping Light Kick
j.LK

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
//+	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Placeholder

j.MK

Jump Forward
Jumping Medium Kick
j.MK

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
//+	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Placeholder

j.HK

Jump Roundhouse
Jumping Heavy Kick
j.HK

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
//+	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Placeholder

Command Normals

X

Generic Command
Generic Name
Generic Input

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Placeholder

Throws

X

Generic Throw Name
Punch Throw
Near Opponent, 4/6HP

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
Close /+	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Placeholder

X

Generic Throw Name
Kick Throw
Near Opponent, 4/6HK

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
Close /+	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Placeholder

Colors