Kizuna Encounter/King Lion

King Lion

Introduction

“

HA, HA, HA. FINALLY, A BRAVE OPPONENT!

”

King Lion is King Leo's body double, or his "shadow." He is easily one of Kizuna Encounter's strongest characters, and takes a very direct rushdown approach to his gameplan. He will chop through zoning and get in close to unleash some of the most smothering pressure this game has to offer. Every mixup he has will give him further offense if they pay off, and his damage and hitconfirms are both incredible. His projectiles and effective range on his normals are both kind of lame, but he sticks to his opponent like glue and can easily delete them with only a couple of correct reads.

Strengths	Weaknesses
Strong mixup offense and one of the best overheads in the game High damage and great hitconfirming ability His Guard Cancel and Nightmare Knocker counter make him difficult to pressure reliably Multiple ways to combat zoning, including his own sword projectiles and Earth Chopper	His combos change a lot depending on spacing and if his opponent is standing or crouching Beast Blow is laughably easy to Guard Cancel Neither of his projectiles are suited for zoning due to their long recovery on whiff Middling range on his normals used in footsies and combos

Light Attacks

c.5A

c.5A File:KE lion c.5A.png	Damage Guard Cancel Level - M o 1 Startup Active Recovery Block Adv Hit Adv 5 4 8 ±0 +5

c.5B

c.5B File:KE lion c.5B.png	Damage Guard Cancel Level - M o 1 Startup Active Recovery Block Adv Hit Adv 8 7 8 ±0 +5

f.5A

f.5A File:KE lion f.5A.png	Damage Guard Cancel Level - M o 1 Startup Active Recovery Block Adv Hit Adv 5 4 8 ±0 +5

f.5B

f.5B File:KE lion f.5B.png	Damage Guard Cancel Level - M o 1 Startup Active Recovery Block Adv Hit Adv 4 5 6 +2 +7

2A

2A File:KE lion 2A.png	Damage Guard Cancel Level - M o 1 Startup Active Recovery Block Adv Hit Adv 5 4 8 ±0 +5 A basic low jab. Its recovery is faster than 2B, leaving it even on block at worst and giving it more use for tick setups.

2B

2B File:KE lion 2B.png	Damage Guard Cancel Level - L o 1 Startup Active Recovery Block Adv Hit Adv 5 3 10 -2 +3 Integral low mixup and pressure tool. Starts a bunch of your best combos. pursuit

Strong Attacks

c.6A

c.6A File:KE lion c.6A.png	Damage Guard Cancel Level - M o 3 Startup Active Recovery Block Adv Hit Adv 7 5 12 +6 Pop-up Close range upper. It might catch people trying to jump away, but the range and knockdown on hit limits its utility.

c.6B

c.6B File:KE lion c.6B.png	Damage Guard Cancel Level - M/M x/o 3/3 Startup Active Recovery Block Adv Hit Adv 5/13 8/5 11 +7 +11 Wicked fast axe kick. Despite appearances, is a mid. You can combo into a lot of stuff off of this, but sometimes the second hit will whiff if you connect from too far away.

f.6A

f.6A File:KE lion f.6A.png	Damage Guard Cancel Level - M o 2 Startup Active Recovery Block Adv Hit Adv 6 5 12 ±0 +4 Midrange punch. Combo filler at best, mostly because the next move outclasses it entirely.

f.6B

f.6B File:KE lion f.6B.png	Damage Guard Cancel Level - M o 2 Startup Active Recovery Block Adv Hit Adv 3 7 15 -3 +1 Insane. One of Lion's longest range combo starters, and his absolute fastest normal. This will whiff punish all sorts of stuff, and can combo into 6C at just shy of max range. Very good tool to bully the opponent with at midrange.

3A

3A File:KE lion 3A.png	Damage Guard Cancel Level - M o 2 Startup Active Recovery Block Adv Hit Adv 6 5 18 -6 -2

3B

3B File:KE lion 3B.png	Damage Guard Cancel Level - L RC 1 Startup Active Recovery Block Adv Hit Adv 4 6 14 -6 Knockdown An alright sweep. It does decent damage as a pursuit, but its range is right around the same as 2B, so its best use is just for annoyance. Pursuit

Weapon Attacks

5C

c.5C File:KE lion c.5C.png	Damage Guard Cancel Level - M o 3 Startup Active Recovery Block Adv Hit Adv 8 4 19 -1 +3 Sword swipe. Strangely stubby range, but it consistently combos into Beast Blow. It has its uses as combo filler due to this, as a lot of other attacks that connect into it can drop due to spacing.

f.5C

f.5C File:KE lion f.5C.png	Damage Guard Cancel Level - M o 3 Startup Active Recovery Block Adv Hit Adv 8 4 19 -1 +3

c.2C

c.2C File:KE lion c.2C.png	Damage Guard Cancel Level - L o 3 Startup Active Recovery Block Adv Hit Adv 8 4 19 -1 +3 Sword hilt bash. Functionally, it's 5C while crouching, with the added benefit of hitting low.

f.2C

f.2C File:KE lion f.2C.png	Damage Guard Cancel Level - L o 3 Startup Active Recovery Block Adv Hit Adv 8 4 19 -1 +3 Identical to the close version, but with a longer reaching hitbox. Good counterpoke/whiff punish tool during footsies.

6C

6C File:KE lion 6C.png	Damage Guard Cancel Level - M/M x/o 2/3 Startup Active Recovery Block Adv Hit Adv 9/20 3/3 22 -4 Pop-up Integral combo tool. The first hit can whiff on crouchers, but when this connects, you get a guaranteed Minimum Upper into your Pursuit of choice. Watch out for GCs, and don't whiff it. But you will learn to use and abuse this normal if you play Lion.

3C

3C File:KE lion 3C.png	Damage Guard Cancel Level - L/L x/o 2/3 Startup Active Recovery Block Adv Hit Adv 8/17 4/6 18 ±0 +4 Double hitting low, think of it as an extended version of c.2C. The second hit has a propensity of whiffing beyond point blank, but that doesn't diminish its use as a tool in punish combos, as it gives you ample time to confirm into King Straight or Beast Blow.

Jumping Attacks

j.A

j.A File:KE lion j.A.png	Damage Guard Cancel Level - H RC 1 Startup Active Recovery Block Adv Hit Adv 5 - - - -

j.B

j.B File:KE lion j.B.png	Damage Guard Cancel Level - H RC 1 Startup Active Recovery Block Adv Hit Adv 4 25 - - - Jump kick. The range is low, but it is one of the fastest air normals Lion has, so it'll help with air to air battles.

j.6A

j.6A File:KE lion j.6A.png	Damage Guard Cancel Level - H RC 2 Startup Active Recovery Block Adv Hit Adv 4 12 - - - Body splash, and one of Kizuna's rare crossup normals. This means it's good for all sorts of things. It beats crossunder attempts and seems to have surprisingly high priority despite its appearance.

j.6B

j.6B File:KE lion j.6B.png	Damage Guard Cancel Level - H RC 2 Startup Active Recovery Block Adv Hit Adv 4 11 - - -

j.C

j.C File:KE lion j.C.png	Damage Guard Cancel Level - H RC 3 Startup Active Recovery Block Adv Hit Adv 7 7[4+3] - - - Huge downwards sword poke. Great to keep opponents at bay, or bully your way in.

j.6C

j.6C File:KE lion j.6C.png	Damage Guard Cancel Level - H/H x/x 3/3 Startup Active Recovery Block Adv Hit Adv 4/10 4/7[4+3] - - - Super fast two-hit combo, with the second taking the appearance of j.C's sword stab. Powerful air string ender, but not easy to use as a jumpin.

Universal Mechanics

3+A

3+A File:KE lion 3+A.png	Damage Guard Cancel Level - L o 3 Startup Active Recovery Block Adv Hit Adv 5 8 8 +10 +14 Shin kick. Your best low, and what you want to use in tandem with 2B to frighten your opponent out of blocking high. You get all the time in the world to link your biggest combo starter after connecting with this, or keep on pressuring as you see fit if blocked. Use this. A lot. Pursuit

B+C

B+C File:KE lion B+C.png	Damage Guard Cancel Level - H x 3L Startup Active Recovery Block Adv Hit Adv 12 11 10 +8 +22 Overhead hilt bash. Guess what, another insane normal. You keep your turn on block and get to connect into your combo of choice on hit -- just be mindful and confirm their standing or crouching state to optimize your followup accordingly.

B+C(unarmed)

B+C(unarmed) File:KE lion B+C(unarmed).png

Damage Guard Cancel Level - H x 3L Startup Active Recovery Block Adv Hit Adv 9 8 8 +10 +24 You thought Kim had the best overhead in the game? Guess again. Lion's overhead actually becomes even better when he loses his sword, barely even looking like an overhead and starting up at jab speed. You can link this into itself with surprising ease, but getting an infinite off of a high mixup might be seen as unsporting. Wink, wink.

GC

GC (Minimum Upper) File:KE lion GC.png	Damage Guard Cancel Level - M - 3 Startup Active Recovery Block Adv Hit Adv 6 4 38 -20 Pursuit OK KD As Guard Cancels go, its reach is better than most, but the recovery is atrocious. You can still OTG afterwards to get more damage than most Guard Cancels will allow other characters, or even begin your mixup.

Special Moves

214A

Beast Blow 214A File:KE lion 214A.png Dynamite Dynamite

Damage Guard Cancel Level - M/M - 1/2 Startup Active Recovery Block Adv Hit Adv 3/28 14/14 18 -1 Knockdown King Lion dashes forward with a body blow into punch. If either hit connects he launches into a combo that ends with a knockdown. This is incredibly easy to Guard Cancel because of the long gap. This move is his ideal midscreen combo ender despite its lack of OTG followups, because King Lion can dash towards his opponent after the knockdown and force an ambiguous left/right mixup on their wakeup. It’s also by far his fastest attack on startup so this can win mashing wars pretty handily. If the 1st hit is blocked and 2nd connects, there is no knockdown and Lion is H+3F.

623A

Minimum Upper 623A File:KE lion 623A.png

Damage Guard Cancel Level - M/M - 3/3 Startup Active Recovery Block Adv Hit Adv 11/15 4/4 33 -15 Pursuit OK KD Large uppercut with some forward movement. This can beat attacks pretty well, but it’s not much of an anti-air because it can be air blocked. This is a reliable combo ender when Beast Blow won’t reach in time, and its knockdown allows you to OTG afterwards. Officially translated as Mini Uppercut, but this appears to be an incorrect translation that only appears in the ACA NeoGeo re-release.

41236A

Nightmare Knocker 41236A File:KE lion 41236A.png File:KE lion 41236A 2A.png Ground Chopper Ground Chopper

Normal 41236A Damage Guard Cancel Level - C - - Startup Active Recovery Block Adv Hit Adv 3 31 14 - Pursuit OK KD King Lion tenses up and if the opponent attacks him with any physical attack that isn’t a low, he’ll grab them and slam them behind him. The knockdown leaves the opponent vulnerable to OTGs, but this also has a canned followup you can use. One possible use for this is to call out a predictable Guard Cancel and punish the opponent for trying to break out of your offense. Follow-up 2A on counter Damage Guard Cancel Level - - o - Startup Active Recovery Block Adv Hit Adv - - - - - It’s basically an extra hit with his sword that looks identical to Earth Chopper. Use it because why would you not want more damage? Maybe you want to use a quicker OTG for oki afterwards.

28C

God Breath 28C File:KE lion 28C.png

Damage Guard Cancel Level - M o 1 Startup Active Recovery Block Adv Hit Adv 20 17 81[18] -23 -18 Rank A projectile. 9F weapon drop window. At max range it becomes a 2-hit attack. King Lion throws his sword straight forward, traveling almost fullscreen before it returns to him. This is pretty much a Hadouken style fireball but with swords. The startup is nice and quick but like with Silent Storm you only recover once your sword comes back, and there's no hitbox on the return trip either. As a weapon projectile, it will blow through most projectiles and stuff grounded approaches. Overall much more suited to fireball wars than Silent Storm if you can make the input work for you. Officially translated as Crush of the Gods, or more literally as God Press. The writers more commonly refer to it as God Breath, hence the title.

63214C

Silent Storm 63214C File:KE lion 63214C.png Recall with A/B Recall with A/B

Body Damage Guard Cancel Level - M/M o 3/3 Startup Active Recovery Block Adv Hit Adv 25/26 1/2 114[18] -12 Pursuit OK KD Rank A projectile. 9F weapon drop window. King Lion throws two swords that beat most projectiles, one along the ground, and one diagonally upwards. Both swords stop just shy of fullscreen and lose their hitboxes before lingering for a good while. Lion only recovers once his swords boomerang back to him, which he can trigger on command by pressing A or B. If one sword hits the opponent or collides with another projectile, the other sword can home in on them for another hit -- this can even happen if Lion gets hit. Lion’s hands also seem to have a hitbox during the toss that knocks the opponent away. Generally okay to control space with, but even with a quick recall you still have an annoying amount of recovery afterwards. Recalling can be done after 27 frames of travel time. A recalled Silent Storm will have 73F of recovery instead of 114. TODO: Clarify what circumstances the Projectile data is used for. Projectile Damage Guard Cancel Level - M/M - 3/3 Startup Active Recovery Block Adv Hit Adv 27/28 36 114[18] - -

236C

Earth Chopper 236C File:KE lion 236C.png

Damage Guard Cancel Level - M/M o 3/3 Startup Active Recovery Block Adv Hit Adv 12/16 4/11* 31 -23 Pursuit OK KD Pursuit 9F weapon drop window. Large downwards sword strike that doubles as his quickest way to destroy opposing projectiles. It’s his strongest OTG, and can connect after Minimum Upper or Nightmare Knocker. You can also get some use out of using this as a midrange anti-air sort of move. If it hits anti-air it’ll knock down and leave them open for another Earth Chopper OTG. On 16F the attack will not knock down and be H-19F but after 17f it will knock down. *Full animation active frames: [1+2+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1]

Desperation Moves

632146A

King Straight 632146A File:KE lion 632146A.png

Damage Guard Cancel Level - M*6 o 3*5/1 Startup Active Recovery Block Adv Hit Adv 20~* 2*6 53 -45 Pursuit OK KD King Lion throws a really big straight punch. He is immune to opposing projectiles during this. You can combo into this off of his C buttons except for 6C. If you don’t need oki afterwards this is your combo ender of choice in red health. *Full animation startup frames: 20/32/44/52/56/64