Kamen Rider: Super Climax Heroes/Kiva

Introduction

Kamen Rider Kiva

Kamen Rider Kiva is a talented violinist who believes all humans are music, and wants them to get buddy-buddy with Fangires.

In this variation, Kiva has access to his Emperor Form, during which he becomes exceedingly difficult to attack safely.

Emperor Form is a strong character taken on normals alone, but also has one of the fastest moves in the game: Dogga Hammer. Once he's transformed, the opponent has to play scared of him, or else give him a lot of free opportunities to clobber them.

Playstyle

Kamen Rider Kiva (Power Up) makes attacking feel like a really bad idea, and then cuts his opponent down while they cower.
Pros	Cons
Ridiculous Punishment: Emperor Form's Dogga Hammer is one of the fastest moves in the game, making almost anything punishable on block. He can even swing successfully between hits in a lot of strings. High Average Damage: Both of Kiva's forms have access to a Rider Art follow-up that deals a lot of damage, and a string that combos into it without RC. Strong Normals: Even in Base Form, Kiva has a decent set of normals, but once in Emperor Form, his normals are very strong in all situations. Power Up Style: Power Up Style characters are universally capable of refreshing their Guard Gauge and damage scaling by transforming.	No Offensive Gimmicks: Kiva is leaning entirely on his normals and one useful special. If you wanna get through the opponent's guard, you've gotta do it the same way as everyone else. Pretty Normal in Base Form: Base Form Kiva's not a bad character, but has a very minimal kit. Reaching Emperor Form quickly should be your priority.

In this variation, Kiva trades away Emperor Form's straightforward power for a striker that takes some time to start up, but covers the screen in highly damaging fireballs.

This isn't really a fair trade in terms of picking the stronger version of Kiva. That said, Castle Doran is a pretty fun striker to play with. If you're familiar with Tron Bonne's assist in Marvel vs Capcom 2, which deals massive total damage but doesn't combo on its own, you'll recognize something similar here.

Playstyle

Kamen Rider Kiva (Support Attack) calls upon Castle Doran to bombard the opponent.
Pros	Cons
High Average Damage: Kiva has access to a Rider Art follow-up that deals a lot of damage, and a string that combos into it without RC. Striker Can Deal Massive Damage: Normally intended to hit twice, it's possible for Kiva's striker to hit 4 times and deal a really silly amount of damage for a single move.	Striker is Very Difficult to Use Efficiently: Castle Doran's projectiles have a long travel time and a wide spread, so this striker is difficult to use reactively and requires a plan ahead of time. Pretty Normal: Base Form Kiva's not a bad character, but has a very minimal kit. In this variant, he really has to flex every part of that kit to its maximum. Starved for Meter: Kiva struggles without spending meter to RC strings or call his striker, but he doesn't build a ton of meter either.

Form Select

Base Form

Emperor Form

Move List

Normal Moves

5LLL

5LLL File:KRSCH Kiva 5L.png File:KRSCH Kiva 5LL.png File:KRSCH Kiva 5LLL.png	Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. 5L - Y - - - - - 5LL - Y - - - - - 5LLL - Y - - - - -

5LH

5LH File:KRSCH Kiva 5L.png File:KRSCH Kiva 5LH.png	Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. 5L - Y - - - - - 5LH - Y - - - - -

4/6LLL

4/6LLL File:KRSCH Kiva 46L.png File:KRSCH Kiva 46LL.png File:KRSCH Kiva 46LLL.png	Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. 4/6L - Y - - - - - 4/6LL - Y - - - - - 4/6LLL - Y - - - - -

4/6LHH

4/6LHH File:KRSCH Kiva 46L.png File:KRSCH Kiva 46LH.png File:KRSCH Kiva 46LHH.png	Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. 4/6L - Y - - - - - 4/6LH - Y - - - - - This string can be followed up with a Combo Jump into its aircombo follow-up string, jLHS. This launcher is a pretty useful tool for Support Attack Kiva especially; Combo Jump is fairly expensive, but there's less reason to save Rider Gauge without Emperor Form. 4/6LHH - Y - - - - -

2/8LLLL

2/8LLLL File:KRSCH Kiva 28L.png File:KRSCH Kiva 28LL.png File:KRSCH Kiva 28LLL.png File:KRSCH Kiva 28LLLL.png	Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. 2/8L - Y - - - - - 2/8LL - Y - - - - - 2/8LLL - Y - - - - - 2/8LLLL - Y - - - - -

2/8LH

2/8LH File:KRSCH Kiva 28L.png File:KRSCH Kiva 28LH.png	Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. 2/8L - Y - - - - - 2/8LH - Y - - - - -

5HHH

5HHH File:KRSCH Kiva 5H.png File:KRSCH Kiva 5HH.png File:KRSCH Kiva 5HHH.png	Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. 5H - Y - - - - - 5HH - Y - - - - - 5HHH - Y - - - - -

6HHH

6HHH File:KRSCH Kiva 6H.png File:KRSCH Kiva 6HH.png File:KRSCH Kiva 6HHH.png	Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. 6H - Y - - - - - 6HH - Y - - - - - 6HHH - Y - - - - -

2/8HH

2/8HH File:KRSCH Kiva 28H.png File:KRSCH Kiva 28HH.png	Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. 2/8H - Y - - - - - 2/8HH - Y - - - - -

jL

jL File:KRSCH Kiva jL.png

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. - Y - - - - - Kiva sticks out his knee. Has active frames until landing. Kiva uniquely has access to his aircombo string (jLHS) without first using a Combo Jump. This allows Kiva to meet opponents in the air with jLHS, giving him one of the game's precious few air-to-airs. This aircombo string is also delayable and has a lot of untechable time, enabling a complex "dustloop" combo.

jH

jH File:KRSCH Kiva jL.png	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. - Y - - - - - Visually identical to jL, but does more damage.

Special Moves

5S

Bloody Punch 5S File:KRSCH Kiva 5S.png	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. - Y - - - - - Kiva throws a lunging straight punch. Does a lot of damage, but has no tracking, and it's very bad on block and on whiff. Mostly sees use as a meterless combo ender.

DS

Catena Release Any direction + S File:KRSCH Kiva dS.png	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. - N/A - - - - - Kiva poses, breaks the chains binding his leg, and changes the stage's visuals for a set duration. While under this effect, Kiva deals more damage. This is very quick to execute, so you may as well sneak it in sometimes.

JS

Diving Kick jS File:KRSCH Kiva jS.png	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. - Y - - - - - Kiva backflips, and then divekicks. A little slower and a little more evasive than a normal divekick, and still very unsafe on block.

Universal Mechanics

Throw

Throw 4H File:KRSCH Kiva Throw.png	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. - N - - - - - Kiva's throw. Deals notably low damage for a throw.

Dash Action

Dash Action File:KRSCH Kiva DA.png Air Dash Air Dash	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. - N/A - - - - - Kiva airdashes. A generic mobility tool. Costs .5 stocks of the Rider Gauge.

Rider Art

Rider Art File:KRSCH Kiva RA.png High Speed Dash High Speed Dash WAKE UP! WAKE UP!

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. - Y - - - - - High Speed Dash type Rider Art. Costs .5 stocks of the Rider Gauge. Has access to a follow-up by pressing Rider Art or Special Attack at no additional cost, which does a soccer kick into a cinematic. Useful to end combos and whiff punish. Kiva is also able to use this Rider Art in directions besides forward. When using the follow-up from other directions, it will face the opponent. When hitting the opponent out of an attack while they are off-axis, Kiva's final hit will miss and his opponent will be temporarily frozen in place afterward. Kiva can take advantage of this to fully charge his meter before following up with an unburstable combo.

Style Action

Style Action Power Up Style Only File:KRSCH Kiva SA.png Power Up Power Up	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. - N/A - - - - - Kiva transforms into his final form, Emperor Form, at the cost of 3 stocks of the Rider Gauge. Doing so also refreshes damage scaling and the Guard Gauge.

Support Style Action

Style Action Support Attack Style Only File:KRSCH Kiva Support Attack.png Support Attack Support Attack

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. - Y - - - - - By pressing Style Action, Kiva (Support Attack) can call his striker to launch an attack. This costs 2 stocks of the Rider Gauge, or 4 stocks when executed from hitstun. Castle Doran appears in the background and launches a spread of four fireballs into the arena. Takes a pretty long time to reach the arena, but is difficult to evade completely and deals a lot of damage. This is the entire reason you picked this version of the character, so you probably want to spend a lot of meter on it. Thankfully, it's pretty good for neutral, and in combos it's both a lot of damage and basically unburstable, since the fireballs continue approaching even if Kiva's in hitstun.

Combos

Base Form

• 6HH > RC > 2LH > 5S
• 6HH > RC > 2LH > RA follow-up

Standard combo with one RC. It's usually best to save your meter (especially when going for Emperor Form), but the Rider Art follow-up deals more damage.

• 2LH > Rider Finale

Because this string crumples, it's an easy point to link Rider Finale.

• 6LH > Combo Jump > jL (delay) jH > microwalk > jLHS

Kiva's aircombo loop. Fits in extra damage using Base Form, so it's an especially useful combo for Support Attack Kiva.

When landing from the first aircombo, walking in any direction cancels landing recovery and enables you to jump again much sooner.

Support Attack

• 6HH > RC > Style Action > 2LH > 2HH > Striker Hits

Basic combo that uses Kiva's striker. Delaying the strings can buy time for the fireballs to connect.

• 6HH > RC > Style Action > 2LH > Micro-Sidewalk > 5S > Striker Hits

Advanced combo that lands all four hits of Castle Doran by hitting the opponent towards its position. Requires a very specific angle and stage position that you must adjust on the fly. Incredibly inconsistent, but when it works, it deals massive damage.

The timing for Style Action is variable based on stage position. Try doing it either during the startup of 2L, or between the hits of 2LH.

Move List

Normal Moves

Emperor 5LLL

5LLL File:KRSCH Kiva Emperor 5L.png File:KRSCH Kiva Emperor 5LL.png File:KRSCH Kiva Emperor 5LLL.png	Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. 5L - Y - - - - - 5LL - Y - - - - - Launches the opponent. 5LLL - Y - - - - -

Emperor 5LHH

5LHH File:KRSCH Kiva Emperor 5L.png File:KRSCH Kiva Emperor 5LH.png File:KRSCH Kiva Emperor 5LHH.png	Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. 5L - Y - - - - - 5LH - Y - - - - - This string has enough advantage on hit to link Emperor Form's dS afterwards. 5LHH - Y - - - - -

Emperor 4/6LL

4/6LL File:KRSCH Kiva Emperor 46L.png File:KRSCH Kiva Emperor 46LL.png	Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. 4/6L - Y - - - - - 4/6LL - Y - - - - - Crumples the opponent on hit, allowing a meterless combo into Rider Art follow-up.

Emperor 4/6LH

4/6LH File:KRSCH Kiva Emperor 46L.png File:KRSCH Kiva Emperor 46LH.png	Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. 4/6L - Y - - - - - 4/6LH - Y - - - - - Knocks the opponent down.

Emperor 2/8LLL

2/8LLL File:KRSCH Kiva Emperor 28L.png File:KRSCH Kiva Emperor 28LL.png File:KRSCH Kiva Emperor 28LLL.png	Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. 2/8L - Y - - - - - 2/8LL - Y - - - - - Launches the opponent. 2/8LLL - Y - - - - -

Emperor 28LHH

2/8LHH File:KRSCH Kiva Emperor 28L.png File:KRSCH Kiva Emperor 28LH.png File:KRSCH Kiva Emperor 28LHH.png	Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. 2/8L - Y - - - - - 2/8LH - Y - - - - - Emperor Form's launcher string. Can be followed up with a Combo Jump into its aircombo follow-up string, jLHS. This launcher is also completely untechable, and can be followed up meterlessly by juggling Emperor Form's dS. 2/8LHH - Y - - - - -

Emperor 5HHHH

5HHHH File:KRSCH Kiva Emperor 5H.png File:KRSCH Kiva Emperor 5HH.png File:KRSCH Kiva Emperor 5HHH.png File:KRSCH Kiva Emperor 5HHHH.png	Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. 5H - Y - - - - - This attack has enough advantage on hit to link Emperor Form's dS afterwards. 5HH - Y - - - - - This string has enough advantage on hit to link Emperor Form's dS afterwards. 5HHH - Y - - - - - 5HHHH - Y - - - - -

Emperor 4/6HHHH

4/6HHHH File:KRSCH Kiva Emperor 46H.png File:KRSCH Kiva Emperor 46HH.png File:KRSCH Kiva Emperor 46HHH.png File:KRSCH Kiva Emperor 46HHHH.png

Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. 4/6H - Y - - - - - This attack has enough advantage on hit to link Emperor Form's dS afterwards. 4/6HH - Y - - - - - Launches the opponent. 4/6HHH - Y - - - - - Launches the opponent on ground hit, though it's intended to juggle as part of the string. 4/6HHHH - Y - - - - - Ground bounces the opponent. This ground bounce can't be ground teched.

Emperor 2/8HH

2/8HH File:KRSCH Kiva Emperor 28H.png File:KRSCH Kiva Emperor 28HH.png	Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. 2/8H - Y - - - - - Launches the opponent. 2/8HH - Y - - - - - Launches the opponent on ground hit, though it's intended to juggle as part of the string.

Emperor jL

jL File:KRSCH Kiva Emperor jL.png

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. - Y - - - - - Emperor Form's jumping attack, a slash that does not change Kiva's momentum. As with Base Form, Emperor Form also has access to his aircombo string (jLHS) without first using a Combo Jump. It's a little less useful for Emperor Form; jL and jH are slower than Base Form's, so jS often falls out and leaves Kiva punishable if it misses. jLH works as an effective air-to-air nonetheless.

Emperor jH

jH File:KRSCH Kiva Emperor jL.png	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. - Y - - - - - Visually identical to jL, but deals more damage.

Special Moves

Emperor 5S

Zanvat Slash 5S File:KRSCH Kiva Emperor 5S.png	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. - Y - - - - - Kiva poses, turns his sword red, then delivers a leaping slash. Its extremely lengthy startup and recovery makes this difficult to use effectively. Aside from that it does carry a number of positives. It has some invincibility during the leap, buffs Kiva's damage for a set duration, and crumples the opponent on hit.

Emperor DS

Dogga Hammer Any direction + S File:KRSCH Kiva Emperor dS.png DOGGA FEVER! DOGGA FEVER!	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. - - - - - - - Kiva spins the Dogga Hammer around himself for a two-hit attack. One of the fastest attacks in the game, and deals a grip of damage to boot. This special makes attacking Kiva extremely dangerous, and it's also his go-to combo ender. Unsafe on block.

Emperor JS

Garulu Saber jS File:KRSCH Kiva Emperor jS.png	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. - - - - - - - Kiva dives with his sword extended. Very unsafe on block. Sees niche use as a combo ender from 6LL's crumple, since Dogga Hammer will not fully combo from that crumple.

Universal Mechanics

Emperor Throw

Throw 4H File:KRSCH Kiva Emperor Throw.png	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. - N - - - - - Emperor Form's throw.

Emperor Dash Action

Dash Action File:KRSCH Kiva Emperor DA.png Air Dash Air Dash	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. - N/A - - - - - Kiva airdashes. A generic mobility tool. Costs .5 stocks of Rider Gauge.

Emperor Rider Art

Rider Art File:KRSCH Kiva Emperor RA.png High Speed Dash High Speed Dash

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. - Y - - - - - High Speed Dash type Rider Art. Costs .5 stocks of the Rider Gauge. Has access to a follow-up by pressing Rider Art or Special Attack at no additional cost, which does a slash into a cinematic. Useful to end combos and whiff punish. Kiva is also able to use this Rider Art in directions besides forward. When using the follow-up from other directions, it will face the opponent. This Rider Art follow-up's animation will occasionally bug out. This is caused by attacking Kiva during its recovery frames, and affects the next use of Rider Art follow-up. The function of the move doesn't change, but it looks funny.

Emperor Style Action

Style Action File:KRSCH Kiva Emperor DA.png Power Up Power Up	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. - N/A - - - - - Emperor Form Kiva transforms back into Base Form at no cost. Doing so also refreshes damage scaling and the Guard Gauge. As with all Power Up style transformations, this can be used to cancel grounded normal attacks and blockstun.

Combos

• 5LH > 6S
• 5HH > 6S
• 2LH > 6S

Strings which link into 6S. It's easy to extend damage by using 5HHH as a combo filler, then RC and do one of these sequences. These strings can also link into Rider Finale if needed.

• 6HHHH > 6S
• 6LL > 6S

These strings successfully combo into the first hit of 6S, but the second hit is tech-rollable. It's still safe on hit, so it's useful to know you can do this in a pinch.

• 6LL > jS
• 6LL > Rider Art follow-up
• 6LL > Rider Finale

6LL crumples the opponent, allowing for easy follow-ups. As noted above, 6S doesn't combo its second hit, so jS is the preferred meterless follow-up.

• 6LL > walk back > 2LH (second hit only) > 6S

Advanced extension from 6LL's crumple. Requires quite a bit of space to walk backwards and intentionally whiff 2L.

• 5HHH > RC > 5HHH > RC > 5HHH > RC > 5HHH > Style Action (Base Form) > 6HH > RC > 2LLL > RC > 2LH > Climax Time > Rider Finale

Touch of death combo from full resources. While this full combo might not be practical, it shows an example of how to use un-transform to extend damage.