The King of Fighters XIII/Kyo

Kyo

In a nutshell

Kyo is of course the original protagonist of this "crossover series", and in this iteration of the game is featured as the well rounded character that has all the fundamental tools to win. His exceptional ability to go on offense with a fast hop with a great downward hitting jump-in coupled with fast, low-hitting attacks that hitconfirm into knockdown combos makes his offensive game quite scary. As a contrast, he is also fitted with the tools to be able to keep out opponents with long reaching horizontal jumping attacks, projectiles, and great grounded normal attacks. He isn't the best in either fields but ranks high in either style of play and putting both playstyles together makes him to be force to be reckoned with.

Move List

Normal Moves

Name

Command

Damage

Special Properties (glossary)

Standing Light Punch

lp

25

rapidfire

Standing Light Kick

lk

30

low nocommandcancel

Standing Heavy Punch

hp

80

Close Heavy Punch

hp

70

Standing Heavy Kick

hk

80

nocancel lowerbodyinv

Crouching Light Punch

d + lp

25

rapidfire

Crouching Light Kick

d + lk

30

low nocancel rapidfire

Crouching Heavy Punch

d + hp

70

Crouching Heavy Kick

d + hk

80

low softknockdown

Blowback Attack

hp + hk

75

softknockdown

Jumping Light Punch

air lp

45

high

Jumping Light Kick

air lk

45

high nocancel

Jumping Hard Punch

air hp

72

high nocancel

Jumping Hard Kick

air hk

70

high nocancel

Jumping Blowback Attack

air hp + hk

80

softknockdown

Hopping Light Punch

air lp

40

high

Hopping Light Kick

air lk

40

high nocancel

Hopping Hard Punch

air hp

70

high nocancel

Hopping Hard Kick

air hk

68

high nocancel

Hopping Blowback Attack

air hp + hk

70

softknockdown

Unique Attacks

Name

Command

Damage

Special Properties (glossary)

Goufu You

f + lk

60

high nocancel

Goufu You (cancelled-into)

f + lk

75

88 Shiki

df + hk

1st Hit: 30
2nd Hit: 45

1st Hit: low
2nd Hit: low nocancel

Naraku Otoshi

air d + hp

50

against airborne opponents: hardknockdown

Throw

Name

Command

Damage

Special Properties (glossary)

Issetsu Seoi Nage

f or b + hp or hk (while close)

1st Hit: 60
2nd Hit: 38

throw softknockdown

Special Moves

Name

Command

Damage

Special Properties (glossary)

108 Shiki: Yamibarai

qcf + p

p : 60
ex : 100

ex : softknockdown

100 Shiki: Oniyaki

dp + p

lp 1st hit: 55
2nd hit: 25
hp 1st hit:80
2nd and 3rd hit: 25x2
ex 1st hit: 70
2nd till 10th hit: 20x9

startupinv softknockdown

75 Shiki: Kai

qcf + k

lk 1st and 2nd hit: 35x2
hk 1st and 2nd hit: 30x2
ex 1st and 2nd hit: 40x2

lk 2nd hit: reset
hk and ex : juggle softknockdown
ex : upperbodyinv

222 Shiki: Kototsuki You

hcb + k

k 1st hit: 30
2nd hit: 135
ex : 180

k : softknockdown lowerbodyinv
ex : throw

101 Shiki: Oboroguruma

rdp + k

lk 40
hk 1st and 2nd hit: 40x2
3rd hit: 70
ex 1st and 2nd hit: 60x2
3rd hit: 100

lk : juggle softknockdown
hk and ex : hardknockdown
ex : startupinv

Desperation Moves

Name

Command

Damage

Special Properties (glossary)

Ura 108 Shiki : Orochinagi

qcb hcf + p

p : 210
ex 1st till 3rd hit: 120x3

startupinv softknockdown
p : airok

Ura 111 Shiki : Ama no Murakumo

qcf qcf + lp + hp

1st till 10th hit: 45x10

softknockdown

Strategy

Tips and Tricks

• Kyo's qcf + D cannot be punished by most characters. But those with one frame grabs can. Against these characters, make sure to hitconfirm into qcf+D, otherwise use qcf+B or df+D (1hit) hcb+K for combos.
• cr.B cr.A df+D (1 hit) hcb+K is somewhat easier to input than cr.B cr.B st.B hcb+K, but the latter combo works at a slightly bigger range and does a little bit more damage.
• Generally, Kyo could perform 3 crouching light attacks as a blockstring on an opponent and could land a hyper hop j.2C a cross up on most characters regardless of the opponent crouching or standing. Similarly, Kyo could cross up as well from 2 crouching light attacks on block but with a full jump j.2C instead.

Combos

0 Bar, 0% Drive

• cr.B cr.A df+D (1 hit) hcb+K (213, 10)
• cr.B cr.B st.B hcb+K (218, 9)
• cl.C df+D (1 hit) hcb+K (239, 11)
• (jump attack) cl.C qcf+D hcb+K (258, 15)

1 Bar, 0% Drive

• cr.B cr.A df+D (1 hit) qcb hcf+P (258, 10)
• cl.C df+D (1 hit) qcb hcf+P (287, 11)
• (jump attack) cl.C qcf+D qcb hcf+P (303, 15)

1 Bar 50% Drive

• cr.B cr.A df+D (1hit) hcb+K (DC) qcf+D qcb hcf+P (298, 18)
• cr.B cr.B st.B hcb+K (DC) qcf+D qcb hcf+P (303, 17)
• cl.C df+D (1 hit) hcb+K (DC) qcf+D qcb hcf+P (331, 19)
• (jump attack) cl.C qcf+D rdp+D (2 hits) (SC) qcb hcf+P (348, 23)
• (corner only) (jump attack) cl.C df+D qcf+D rdp+B (SC) qcb hcf+P qcf+A hcb+K (480, 36)

2 Bar 100% Drive

• (corner only) (jump attack) cl.C qcf+D rdp+B (SC) qcb hcf+P qcf+A rdp+D (2 hits) (SC) qcb hcf+P (552, 33)

Basic Strategy

Offense

• In regards to rushing down an opponent, Kyo has the ability to really get in an opponent and make the opponent question whether or not to block low or high as Kyo is able to get simple hit-confirms and damaging, knockdown combos from both jump-ins and low light attacks.
  • Up close, Kyo can pressure an opponent with hopping j.B (Jumping B, Jumping Light Kick) as it has a great, fast, vertical hitbox that is quite difficult for most characters to try to anti-air on reaction due to the fact that Kyo can stick out an early j.B and induce large hit-stun on hit and still be able to combo afterwards. Couple this with a fast cr.B (Crouching B, Crouching Light Kick) that links into cr.A (Crouching A, Crouching Light Punch) and confirms into an easy knockdown combo such as cr.B, cr.A xx df.D xx hcb+D (D, Heavy Kick), Kyo could really earn quite amount of damage and set up for another high/low mix up on okizeme.
  • Against characters that could easily anti-air j.B with a grounded normal attack, Kyo could use this opportunity to mix-up and opponent with an early jumping attack with a greater hitbox than j.B such as j.2C (Jumping Downward C, Naraku Otoshi). Doing a well spaced, early j.2C will be able to stuff anti-air attempts that beat out j.B, but the move will whiff upon a crouching opponent that doesn't attack and leave Kyo vulnerable. In comparison to previous incarnations of Kyo, j.2C usually added a great deal of push-back so Kyo wouldn't be able to hit confirm two light attacks let alone give him a combo from one; but in KOFXIII, the push-back isn't as great so Kyo is able to jump in more liberally with j.2C and get a cr.B, cr.A into knockdown combo.
  • Kyo has the ground normals to be able to maintain the pace while close to the opponent. If an opponent wants to anti-air a hop, other than using j.2C in a trap Kyo could utilize his sweep or fireball to punish the opponent. If the opponent figures to try to hop over Kyo's sweep or fireball, Kyo could just use st.A (Standing A, Standing Light Punch), cl.C (Close C, Close Heavy Punch), or cr.C (Crouching C, Crouching Heavy Punch). Coming full circle, if the opponent tries to sweep against Kyo's anticipated anti-air attemps, Kyo could simple hop on the opponent's sweep with a j.B.
  • When the opponent is knocked down or just simpled scared into plainly blocking, Kyo could do an empty hop to fake a jump-in attack and go straight into a low attack as he lands. Alternatively if Kyo has meter, he could use his EX hcb+K attack (222 Shiki: Kototsuki You) as it has command throw properties. If an opponent is not knocked down, Kyo can't perform a safe jump or safe hop as he does an empty jump/hop and the opponent could option select by pressing cl.C/D as Kyo is landing. Otherwise if Kyo performs a safe jump/hop, the opponent doesn't have the luxury of doing the option select and will have to jump or hop if the opponent anticipates the command throw mix-up. Kyo in this case could just empty jump/hop into his forward throw as it double as an option select as well. If the opponent tried to hop in response to a command throw, Kyo's normal throw would not come out but instead a cl.C would hit and anti-air the opponent. The weakness of doing a normal throw is that normal throws could be teched upon reaction and if the opponent anticipates a simple normal throw.

Neutral/Defense

• As a zoning character, Kyo is able to utilize his fireball, aerial normals, and grounded normals quite similar as how Iori used to zone in previous games.
  • As a grounded projectile, Kyo's fireball is susceptible to being hopped over or jumped over; but that encourages the opponent to go into the space Kyo readily controls with j.D, st.A, cr.C, and Kyo's dp+P (100 Shiki: Oniyaki).
  • Unlike in previous games though, j.D didn't whiff against crouching opponents when done close to the ground. Now in KOFXIII, it only seems to hit on large, crouching characters such as Raiden, Goro, and Maxima. Since there isn't trip guard in KOFXIII, any character hopping or jumping into a cr.B attack or sweep will land on the ground into the attack and will be immediately be in a combo while grounded. So Kyo will have to pay mind controlling the hop and jump space with j.D or an opponent could just easily crouch underneath and score a combo on Kyo. A Kyo player will need to understand and set up and opponent to anticipate such a mistake, and the Kyo player will need to understand when to use j.B to control the downward space coming down from a hop or jump. Otherwise, Kyo could use j.D as a means of control air space from angles that his ground normals and "shoryuken" can't reach or win and really use the tip of his jumping heavy kick to stop advances from the opponent.
  • Another note to keep in mind is that Kyo can cancel his backdash into his j.2C. This not only increases the distance that Kyo's backdash travels but also decreases the recovery time as he lands from his backdash. Use this as a means of moving about the screen and in trying to optimize the Kyo's ability to control areas on screen.
  • In previous games, Iori's sweep was too risky to use since it was greatly punishable on block so in situations Iori had to sweep to counter poke, he'd use his fireball instead. In Kyo's case, he can similarly do the same thing just in case Kyo's sweep might not reach in time or is up against a move that might have a hitbox advantage against Kyo's sweep. Just like Iori in previous games, Kyo's fireball is vulnerable to hops so doing a fireball midscreen as a poke is just as risky or even riskier than an actual sweep so keep in mind of the risk and the set up.

Frame Data

	Block							Frames
Move Name	HL	Damage	Cancel Ability	Startup	Active	Recovery	Hitstun	Blockstun	On Hit	On Guard	Notes
Standing	HL	25	ch/sp/su	3	3	6	14	13	+4	+3
Standing	L	30	sp/su	5	3	11	14	12	+1	-1
Standing	HL	80	sp/su	9	5	23	20	18	-7	-9
Close	HL	70	sp/su	2	2+6	11	20	19	+2	+1
Standing	HL	80	-	7	5	21	20	18	-5	-7	Lower body invincibility
Crouching	HL	25	ch/sp/su	4	4	8	14	13	+3	+2
Crouching	L	30	ch	3	4	8	14	13	+3	+2
Crouching	HL	70	sp/su	4	2+5	20	20	18	-6	-8	Second hitbox only hits airborne opponents.
Crouching	L	80	sp/su	8	5	22	-	18	KD	-8
Standing +	HL	75	sp/su	14	6	24	-	21	KD	-7
Jumping	H	45 (40)	su	5	7	-	14	14	-	-
Jumping	H	45 (40)	-	4	12	-	14	14	-	-
Jumping	H	72 (70)	-	5	4	-	14	20	-	-
Jumping	H	70 (68)	-	7	5	-	14	20	-	-
Jumping +	HL	80 (70)	su	12	10	-	-	24	KD	-
Move Name	HL	Damage	Cancel Ability	Startup	Active	Recovery	Hitstun	Blockstun	On Hit	On Guard	Notes