Introduction
Iori is a very versatile character whose moveset lends him to a rush-down/mixup style with damage mainly coming from his Rekka combos. Coupled with that, he has very serviceable pokes, good anti air, and a good reversal DP for use in defense and neutral situations. He also has one of the best poke RCs in the game with his Rekka, is the shortest character in the game, and has the best roll in the game.
His drawbacks are getting in against dominant "big button" characters (Sagat, Blanka, Cammy, etc), a relatively low ceiling of one shot burst damage (his supers aren't very strong), and characters who duck and outpoke his Stand Roundhouse.
In CvS2, he is often considered a "high" tier character, just below the established top tiers. He is a staple on N groove teams, as well as one of the Best SNK characters in the game. Conventional wisdom is that he is one of the easiest characters to use, and recent Japanese tourney play features him on two of the best players' teams. In C and A grooves, even.
Basic Stats
- Health at Ratio 2= 14000(Below Average, Median Health is 14400)
- Stun Bar= 70 (Average)
- Stun Duration Time= + 60f (poor)
- Guard Guage Recovery Rate: Fast Type
- Crouching height= 60 (Shortest in game w/ athena and maki. If it can be crouched, Iori can crouch it)
- Dash: Length= 102pixels, Duration= ??f, Height= 0 (Cannot corpse hop and hop ground fireballs)
- Run Speed= 7.4 (Average)
- Roll: 132 Distance, 27f invincible, 2f Recovery. (Tied for best in game w/ Kim,King, Athena)
- Wakeup-Speed compared to Ryu= 0f (Average)
Preferred Grooves
Roll Canceling Iori's rekka is critical to effective play, and Iori's run sets up post Rekka mixups well, so Iori's best groove is N. However, he is also extremely threatening in A and C grooves. Iori is also a strong P Groove candidate.
C Groove-
Advantages-
- Level 2 Cancels- While nothing to write home about, Iori's Level 2 Maiden Masher-> Fierce DP is extremely efficient use of meter for the damage it does. His level 2 maiden masher->wine cups, jump in combo can leave opponents 1 hit away from stun.
- Delayed Get-up- Unpunishable method to mess with setup/safejumps.
- Roll Cancels
- Air Block- Iori's probably not going to be jumping much anyway, but hey.
- Guard Cancel/Alpha Counter- Pretty useful, and Iori's is his DP.
- Stored Level 3s or 2->1
Disadvantages-
- His dash is just meh. Also it's not run.
- No Low Jump means you probably won't be jumping at all.
A Groove-
Advantages-
- Guard Crush custom (it's hard, but most Alpha Counters will lose to it)
- More utility on meter usage.
- Rolento/Dan OTG Grab customs!
Disadvantages-
- No run
N Groove-
Advantages-
- Low jump- Low jump RH and MP are effective pressure, and empty low jump is a effective mixup to low short.
- Run- Best way to chase down and mixup after rekkas, as well as punish tech rolls.
- Counter Roll- The BEST defense against A groove, period.
- Power Up- Without great supers, sometimes a just a pop is nice. Extra guard damage too.
Disadvantages-
- No access to big damage without popping.
Preferred Team Position & Ratio
Due to his big damage without meter, high pressure, and rush down, Iori is best in the front position. You will almost always die with a full meter w/ Iori.
New school thought is that matchups always outweigh battery/user/anchor theory, so if you want to move Iori away from a short/skinny problem character like Cammy to a better MU like Vega or Guile, go for it.
Moves List
Normal Moves
Cancelability or damage with slashes in it (ex. y/n or 1200/1100) refer to when the move hits early in the active frames compared to when it hits late. Frame data acquired from Buktooth's N-Iori Guide at: http://db.gamefaqs.com/coinop/arcade/file/capcom_vs_snk_2_iori_n_groove.txt
| Name | State | Spc | Sup | Hit | Blk | Sta | Act | Rec | Dmg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jab | Close | y | y | +7 | +7 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 400 |
| Far | y | y | +5 | +5 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 300 | |
| Crouch | y | y | +3 | +3 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 300 | |
| Jump | - | - | - | - | 3 | 22 | - | 600 | |
| Strong | Neutral | y | y | -5 | -5 | 7 | 3 | 25 | 800 |
| Crouch | y | y | +5 | +5 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 900 | |
| Jump | - | - | - | - | 4 | 7 | - | 900 | |
| Fierce | Close | y/n | y/y | +0 | +0 | 3 | 6 | 24 | 1200/1100 |
| Far | y/n | y/n | -5 | -5 | 7 | 5 | 26 | 1300/1400 | |
| Crouch | y | y | -1 | -1 | 4 | 5 | 20 | 1100 | |
| Jump | - | - | - | - | 11 | 3 | - | 1300 | |
| Short | Close | y | y | +3 | +3 | 3 | 4 | 10 | 500 |
| Far | n | y | +3 | +3 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 500 | |
| Crouch | y | y | +5 | +5 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 200 | |
| Jump | - | - | - | - | 4 | 22 | - | 500 | |
| Forward | Neutral | n | y | -6 | -6 | 6 | 3 | 26 | 1000 |
| Crouch | n | y | -2 | -2 | 5 | 4 | 20 | 800 | |
| Jump | - | - | - | - | 5 | 10 | - | 900 | |
| Roundhouse | Close | n | y | +3 | +3 | 6 | 3 | 21 | 1400 |
| Far | n | n | -2 | -2 | 9 | 7 | 22 | 1300 | |
| Crouch | n | n | DWN | -16 | 9 | 4 | 36 | 1300 | |
| Jump | - | - | - | - | 7 | 8 | - | 1200 | |
| Command Normals | |||||||||
| F + Strong | Ground | y | y | -8 | -8 | 8 | 7 | 24 | 800 |
| F + Forward | Ground | n | n | +0 | +0 | 33 | 3 | 17 | 1000 |
| B + Short | Air | - | - | - | - | 5 | 12 | - | 500 |
Special Moves
Fireball (qcf + punch)
| Strength | Hit | Blk | Sta | Rec | Dmg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jab | -12 | -12 | 12 | 45 | 800 |
| Strong | -12 | -12 | 12 | 45 | 900 |
| Fierce | -12 | -12 | 12 | 45 | 1000 |
Uppercut (F, D, DF + punch)
| Invuln. | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strength | Full | Lower | Hit | Blk | Sta | Act | Rec | Dmg |
| Jab | 4 | 10 | DWN | -33 | 4 | 10 | 38 | 1700 |
| Strong | 7 | 9(feet) | DWN | -42 | 4 | [3/9] | 48 | 1800 |
| Fierce | 6 | 7(feet) | DWN | -51 | 4 | [2/2/5] | 59 | 2000 |
Running Grab (hcb + kick)
| Strength | Hit | Blk | Sta | Act | Rec | Dmg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Short | DWN | -18 | 5 | 32 | 12 | 1800 |
| Forward | DWN | -18 | 5 | 48 | 12 | 1900 |
| Roundhouse | DWN | -18 | 5 | 64 | 12 | 2000 |
| Contact | - | - | 4 | 5 | 29 | - |
Quote from Buktooths guide: "The above frame data for the three button strengths represent what happens if Iori never makes contact with the enemy. For example, a roundhouse whiffed Running Grab has 5 frames start up, runs for 64 frames, then has 12 frame recovery. If at any time during those 64 frames of running Iori makes contact with his opponent, he then takes 4 frames for his arm to whip around, which has an active hitbox for 5 frames, and has a 29 frame recovery."
Rekka Kens (qcb + punch X1-3)
| Hit | Jab | Strong | Fierce | Hit | Blk | Sta | Act | Rec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 400 | 500 | 600 | -5 | -5 | 12 | 4 | 29 |
| 2nd | 400 | 500 | 600 | DWN | -13 | 12 | 4 | 37 |
| 3rd | 800 | 900 | 1000 | DWN | -33 | 16 | 8 | 40 |
Throws
| Name | Motion | Dmg | Range | Sta | Act | Rec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Punch | F or B + Fierce | 1800 | 52 | 3 | 1 | 13 |
| Kick | F or B + Roundhouse | 2000 | 52 | 5 | 1 | 13 |
| Scum Gale | hcb, F + punch | 0 | 52 | 8 | 1 | 32 |
Supers
StaB and StaA refer to the start up frames Before and After the super freeze.
Eight Wine Cups (qcb, hcf + punch)
| Level | Hit | Blk | StaB | StaA | Rec | Dmg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | DWN | -15 | 5 | 22 | 50 | 800 |
| 2nd | DWN | +29 | 5 | 22 | 50 | 800 |
| 3rd | DWN | +29 | 5 | 22 | 50 | 800 |
Maiden Masher (qcf, hcb + punch)
| Invuln. | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level | Full | Upper | Hit | Blk | StaB | StaA | Act | Rec | Dmg |
| 1st | 8 | 12 | DWN | -10 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 33 | 2200 |
| 2nd | 14 | 22 | DWN | -10 | 4 | 8 | 24 | 33 | 3700 |
| 3rd | 22 | 30 | DWN | -10 | 4 | 8 | 40 | 33 | 5000 |
The Basics
How to play the neutral game
Bread and Butter Combos
-standard-
cr.short x 3, qcb + fierce x 3
s.jab x 3, qcb + fierce x 3
s.jab, s.fierce, qcb + fierce x 3
s.short, s.jab, s.short, qcb + fierce x 3
s.strong, twd.strong, qcb + fierce x 3
cr.strong x 2, qcb + fierce x 3
cr.short x 2, cr.strong, qcb + fierce x 3
s.fierce, qcb + fierce x 3
close s.fierce, hcb + roundhouse
jump fierce, Cl. Fierce, DP+Fierce (optimal stun damage)
-cross-up-
b+short, s.jab, s.fierce, qcb + fierce x 3
Almost any Iori B&B combo can be started with hcb-twd + punch (Scum Gale).
How to Land Hits
Iori has a good number of ways to open people up.
- 1) Low shorts (catch people not blocking low)
- 2) Scum Gale (leads to full combo)
- 3) Frame traps: the classic throw / attack mixup
- 4) Post Knockdown setups: ambiguous rolls, safe jumps, cross up B+LK, empty jump low
- 5) Guard Break: Via poke & RC rekka pressure or A Groove guard crush custom.
- 6) Overheads: F+MK is dreadfully slow, and short jump MP can work on tall characters.
- 7) Successful Parry/JD/Dodge/Roll Through/Counter Roll. Groove/Character/Move Specific.
Super Combos
cr.short x 3, qcf-hcb + punch (any level)
s.strong, twd.strong, qcf-hcb + punch (any level)
S.jab, S.Fierce, qcf-hcb + punch (any level) (max damage)
C.forward kick xx qcf-hcb + punch (any level) (c.mk is super cancel only, easy to do)
C Groove only-
any starter above into Level 2 Maiden Masher
Cancel into
-Level 1 Maiden Masher (most damage, no tech roll)
-Fierce DP (1000 less damage, saves a level and 20 more stun)
-Level 1 wine cups, then Jump HP, HP, HP DP (Full combo can instant stun characters, cancel maiden masher early if combo will stun for more damage on post dizzy combo)