Kisame (SCON4)

Kisame Hoshigaki
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HP	230
Guard Gauge	1840
Jab Speed	Frame 15
Jab Height	High
Backdash Type	Normal

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Summary

Kisame trades away some of the agility of his swordsman brethren, Zabuza, for the chakra-sapping sword Samehada. Similar to in Vanilla, Kisame emphasizes a simple gameplan with the undeniable power of meter drain.

Press at Character Select.

Press at Character Select.

Gameplay

Moveset

Basic Moves	Notes
	Frame 15 high jab
	Techable bounce. Hits low.
	Staggers
	Hits mid, staggers
	High crush 6-14f, low crush 15-35f, staggers
	Knocks down
	Spinning Launch
Throws
	Normal Throw. 20 damage.
	Slam or "Swordsmen" throw. Does 40 damage and untechable bounces the opponent.
Special Moves
	Vertical sword slash. Seldom used in neutral due to being an easy sidestep. Can combo after .
	Spinning launch, high crush 11-31f. Steals just under 2 bars of chakra. Can link with or in some scenarios
	Sweeps
	Counter, launches and steals chakra. Activated can be y-cancelled ().
	Drains 25% chakra. Uncharged staggers. One charge drains about 45% chakra and sweeps. Two charges is unblockable, drains about 65% chakra and sweeps, though is unlikely to ever connect. Hits OTG and can if opponent is in the air. Uncharged unavoidably hits OTG after and is good option.
	Sends opponent flying away, pushes on block, and turns around Kisame
	Staggers
Super Moves
	Super with long range vertically and ahead of Kisame, steals around 2 bars of chakra
	Shark Bomb jutsu. 75% chakra. Kisame's only ranged attack.

Strategy

Like Zabuza, Kisame opens the opponent frequently using his overhead aerial slash, . The attack auto-cancels on landing, resulting in plus frames (approximately between 6 and 17 depending on how far Kisame is from the ground when the attack is blocked) and leading to a strike/throw mix. The quickness and range of can punish opponents for recklessly mashing in neutral or attempting to take their turn back after a Kisame string. can also be used defensively to punish blockstrings which lift Kisame into the air.
As counterplay, once Kisame jumps, the opponent can sidestep to put Kisame off-axis and avoid and punish . While gives Kisame a powerful mix on block, the vast majority of Kisame's strings past are slow and allow the opponent to 4B or sidestep to punish Kisame for over-committing. As such, much of Kisame's guard pressure will rely on , , and .
There is a one-frame window just before Kisame lands in which the hitbox of will be displaced resulting in an unblockable attack that also hits to the sides of Kisame, known as the Phantom Sword glitch.
Kisame's signature punish, > drains chakra both mid-combo and during the super, making it one of the most devastating combos in the game. Kisame can then press his advantage due to his opponent likely being left with little or no meter. The combo requires a just-frame input for . Kisame's just-frame window is 2 frames due to the amount of active frames on his .
is a deceptively fast high crush and is a good option against characters with fast high jabs such as Lee or Gai. also high crushes. Activated saps chakra and can be leading to his BnB. Kisame's is poor and should be used sparingly.
Zabuza and Kisame's backwalks are faster than most other characters and are able to walk backwards out of some blockstrings.
, Kisame's only ranged attack, beats projectiles and can be used to whiff punish or punish charged attacks at range. It also hits on-the-ground (OTG) and can finish combos or rounds. Against Kankuro, Kisame may have trouble cancelling his due to the shockwave hitting Karasu. Kisame can instead combo with .

Combos

Combos	Notes
>	BnB super combo, steals chakra mid combo
>	More damaging variation
> >	Longer variation at the wall
> > > >	Difficult combo that links with for a short super confirm with chakra drain. Must walk back a little before .
> > > >	Optimal damage for opponent at 25% from a throw
> > >	Possibly his highest damage combo into super but it only works in the corner and is character dependent

Changes from Vanilla

(May be outdated. Please contact an editor with further updates.)

• Health: decreased from 240 to 230
• Guard: decreased from 1920 to 1840
• 5Y: does normal overhead throw
• 2Y: is slam throw
• Grabbable Move: JB Ground Hit
• All non sword moves: do -2 damage (except 5B and 5B(B))
• 5B: elbow hitbox appears on active frame 2
• 5BBB(B): can now be delayed
• 6B: staggers
• 2B: ends sooner
• 2B(A): changed to be 6A
• 8B: high crushes on frame 6
• 8B(B): added as 6B with follow ups
• JB: shockwave hitbox is now -1 on hit (was -8)
• 5A: +5 damage and block damage, more lift on hit
• 5A(A): has more lift on hit
• 6A: uncharged juggles better, hitbox appears one frame sooner, hilt hitbox is larger; final hit on 1 and 2 charges is a sweep
• 6A2C: is unblockable; sweep ender is untechable
• 4A: Window for activation improved
• A4A: is unblockable and drains chakra
• 8A: high crush changed from 1-end to 11-32 to match the animation better
• JA: phantom sword glitch applies to both players; hitbox is active for one more frame
• 5X: hitbox appears one frame sooner; drains 50% meter (GNT4 is 47.8%)
• 2X: requires and costs 75%; changed to a single hit from a multi-hit move
• GRKnJ: changed to a custom 6B

Resources

Guides and Info

LINKS TO INFO AND GUIDES

Gameplay footage

• Kandle vs Abbock and Lemo, Combo Breaker 2022 top 4
• Kandle vs Ricky Ant and IceBro, CEOtaku 2022 top 4