Kazuya Guide
Table of Content
- Kazuya Guide
- How to Unlock Kazuya
- Kazuya Moves
- Best Kazuya Moves
- Ways to Punish
- Playing Against Kazuya
Kazuya sits among the more complex fighting character in the Super Smash Bros Ultimate roster. He is, without a doubt, a contender for a top pick in the game. He could be thought of as a high-skill ceiling and flor character. Although at his core, he has simple moves, like a 10-piece combo by just pressing a normal attack, his list of other moves and moves that flow from one to the other or that have different types and hitboxes depending on execution is vast.
He is a heavy damage dealer with a powerful single attack that truly enables him to hammer opponents' percentages high. Nevertheless, to get the most out of him, Electric God Wind, Crouch Dash, and many other moves have to be mastered and chained together perfectly.
How to Unlock Kazuya
Kazuya can only be unlocked by purchasing the Fighter Pack Vol. 2. Either on his own or by buying the whole pack.
Key Strengths & Weaknesses
Kazuya is a very heavy and grounded character. Like other fighting game transposed characters in SSBU, he shares some DNA with Ken and Ryu. His damage potential on stage is relatively high. His speed is not necessarily high, but he does make use of proper spacing to a very high degree. His already high damage is amped up even higher when he crosses 100% as Rage is activated, which applies a 1.1x multiplier to his attacks, all of his attacks. This alone can boost Kazuya's lethality high enough to plot out a comeback on what seems sure loss rounds if opponents can't close out the stock quickly enough.
The most consistent strength of Kazuya, and one that will have players of the character learning potentially forever, is punishing. Kazuya has a great range of options to close gaps and punish opponents for dangerous moves. Electric Wind God Fist is a particularly strong way to punish opponents with a single attack, but even Kazuya's 10-hit combo can be effective alongside his shield-breaking moves like Tsunami Kick.
Balancing the other side is Kazuya's core weakness is in his aerial control and the fact that he is a super heavy character making him prone to long and dangerous combos from other characters. At the same time, for all his attacks, quite a few are slow to come out, meaning overbearing pressure can lead Kazuya to crumble if they can't stop opponents from applying said pressure.
Kazuya Moves
| Input | Short Description | Damage | Knockback |
| Neutral Jab | A series of punches can string into a 10-hit combo by tapping rapidly. | Medium | Low |
| Forward Tilt | Short Kick, useful as a KO option | Medium | Low |
| Up-Forward Tilt | A roundhouse kick with multiple hits | High | Medium |
| Back Tilt | Strong up and forward kick | High | Medium |
| Up Tilt | Two uppercuts, after the first the move can be canceled into a different attack. | Medium | Low |
| Up Back Tilt | Backward jump kick. | Medium | Low |
| Down Tilt | At low percentages, it can help string together a combo, good against shields | Medium | Low |
| Down Forward Tilt | High kick with decent damage, it can damage jumping opponents | Medium | Low |
| Crouch Attack | Like his jab but lower down and with added advantage and hitstun. | Low | Low |
| Crouch Forward Attack | High damage low kick | High | Medium |
| Crouch Back Attack | Often used as a tech chase or to follow up a Dash Attack | Low | Low |
| Uncrouching Attack | Quick punch that causes opponents to crumble | Medium | Low |
| Dash Attack | A short-distance leap kick with a sweet spot that deals a good amount of damage | High | Medium |
| Forward Smash | Charge up attack that has super armor and an incredibly high chance of KOing early | High | High |
| Up Smash | One of his few options against platforms | Medium | Medium |
| Down Smash | Great shield pressure and combo starter | Medium | Low |
| Neutral Air | A diagonally down punch with meteorite hit properties, a great combo starter. | Low | Low |
| Forward Air | Good knockback kick, but often trades with other attacks | Medium | Medium |
| Back Air | Strong, all be it slow, back kick. | Medium | Medium |
| Up Air | Upwards kick that start low for an aerial and is the fastest in Kazuya's arsenal | Low | Medium |
| Down Air | An aerial summersault that sends Kazuya vertically down dealing a fair amount of damage | Medium | Low |
| Grab | Slower than most grabs in the game | - | - |
| Pummel | The most damaging pummel in the game, but also one of the slowest | Low | - |
| Forward Throw | Two quick kicks with somewhat good knockback | Low | Low |
| Back Throw | Good damage in exchange for lacking any real knockback | Medium | Low |
| Up Throw | Largely considered one of the best up throws in the game | Medium | Low |
| Down Throw | Kayuza's only real combo starting throw | Low | Low |
| Input Throw | Kazuya can also do a special input throw by pressing down forward, down, down forward right before pressing grab, launching his opponents backward and dealing a lot of damage | High | Low |
| Neutral Special | A blaster beam that can be angled and used in the air | Medium | Low |
| Side Special | If used up close it will cause opponents to crumble, otherwise still la great damage tool | Medium | Low |
| Up Special | A fully upwards recovery that can be moved forwards or backward slightly, can also deal damage. | Medium | Low |
| Down Special | Kazuya picks up his opponent with a grabbing uppercut and slams them either into the stage or potentially off it. | Medium | Medium |
| Crouch Dash | By pressing forward, down, down forward Kazuya can doge attacks while crouching | - | - |
| Electric / Wind God Fist | Perhaps one of the most complex and useful tools in Kazuya's Arsenal. By inputting down forward and attack at the same time the attack will paralyze opponents. Is very difficult to perform consistently, but well worth it. | High | Low |
| Dragon Uppercut | If in Rage, this move will perform a more damaging version of Kazuya's Down Special | High | High |
| Spinning Demon to Left Hook | A low spin kick | Medium | Low |
Swipe
Best Kazuya Moves
Electric / Wind God Fist
Likely one of the most powerful theoretical attacks in the game. If perform consistently, EWGF can be an absolute nightmare to deal with. But its difficulty also makes the attack exploitable if you try to trigger it each and every time you are up close to the ground with your opponent. Technically speaking, the inputs need to be within 3 frames of each other. Worth noting that the normal version of the attack, although not paralyzing, still produces incredible opportunities for follow-ups with other attacks, such as most air normals.
For this reason, it is worth practicing a full EWGF, but even more important is practicing what to do when its normal version comes out. Forward Smash, Crouch Jabs, and Up Smash are all valid follow-ups depending on opponents' percentage.
Ways to Punish
Punishing is Kazuya's core identity. To start, just normal attacks can be enough to disrupt enemies and punish them for a whiff, especially if they are coming down to the ground from an air attack. But you can refine this approach by selecting exactly how you want to set up your opponents. At higher Percentages, it might be better to go for a Forward Smash to make use of the armor to safeguard against trades.
If your opponent is at the ledge, you can either bait them into the stage to close out with a powerful smash attack or even an EWGF. Or you can use Down Smash to potentially spike them out of the ledge if they were not expecting you to do so.
Playing Against Kazuya
Kazuya is a character that will make the most out of any opening given to him. It is important to remember that when approaching him. His lack of mobility is only a weakness if he is forced to approach the opponent on their terms instead of his. As such characters that can keep their distance, fight off stage or in the air, and escape most Kazuya setups will have a clear advantage. Min Min, Bayonetta, and Pikachu can be good choices. Sephiroth is also a possible pick to fight off Kazuya, primarily on the back of being able to match him on comeback mechanics.
