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AYAME NAKIRI is a high-speed rushdown character that excels in closing in on opponents from the midrange. She posesses the smallest hitbox in the game, and an average-high damage output. While from far away Ayame doesn't have many options due to lack of a projectile and the need of "Oni Flip" to close distance, when close Ayame becomes a beast in pressure with good buttons like 2M, 2H, moves like "Asura's Fury (L)", a fast ground dash which can be easily microdashed into 5L, 2L or even a grab, as well as a mixup option with the use of "Karma and Shiranui" and good okizeme, she leaves little to no room for the opponent to escape.

However, Ayame of course has her weaknesses, the lack of a projectile makes it that she struggles with characters like Botan, Aki and Sora, and all her special moves leaving her at a bad position if not used correctly, or used in a wrong spot. (Exceptions being "Oni Flip", though the opponent can easily mash out of it on block, as well as the player having to be careful due to the opponent being able to hit them during the leap. And "Asura's Fury" if the player just uses the first slash) Causing the player to be aware of what to use next if they don't want to be hit.

Ayame is a very, very friendly beginner character. And a good play for those that seek high mobility, great pressure and decent-to-high damage.

Before moving onto the moves of the character, i wanna clarify that i will be using the japanese notation to describe these. If you're clueless what i'm talking about, i'll leave this image here so you can understand correctly everything that i'll be saying next.

This is the Japanese/Numeric annotation system:



Without further ado, let's begin.

・5L

Fast, yet short normal that is useful for things like abare however you will rarely use it for abare, trust me. and close-up pressure with the addition of Microdashing and/or 2L. Can be good as a combo starter if close enough and the opponent is not blocking.

[DEALS 25 DAMAGE ON HIT]


・5M

Mid-range poke, good for close pressure and comboing. It may look like it has a long hitbox, yet it really doesn't, while its a good move to keep pressure on after locking the opponent with 5L/2L, it leaves Ayame's hitbox open to some certain longer normal attacks if the counter-hit is not timed correctly, like Korone's or Sora's. So do not attempt to counter-hit with this button much.

[DEALS 60 DAMAGE ON HIT]


・5H

Another Mid-range poke, good to continue combos, awful on block because the opponent can easily mash after blocking it if close enough. However it can be followed up by 2H, which can be later on be followed by a jump backwards, or a jump into j.5H to continue pressure. It causes the opponent to wallbounce if hit on the corner, which opens route to more combos.

[DEALS 85 DAMAGE ON HIT]


・2L

Much like 5L, fast normal to keep pressure on after 5L, Microdashing 5L, 2L chain, etc etc. THIS is the button you will mostly use to abare out of the opponent's pressure, trust me. Also, it hits low. Nothing much else to be added.

[DEALS 20 DAMAGE ON HIT]


・2M

One of the two long-pokes Ayame has. A good roundstart option against opponents who simply try to walk forward and attack. can be chained into 5M and vice versa, you will use this move a lot to catch the opponent off guard. It has slightly larger hitbox than 5M as well.

[DEALS 55 DAMAGE ON HIT]


・2H

Ah yes. The BUTTON.
2H is the most ESSENTIAL move out of her normals and her other long poke. A good Ayame uses this move a LOT be it for comboing, roundstart, etc.

The hitbox is LARGE, and the move hits two times, the first hit drags the opponent close while the second pushes him away, however if landing the second hit only while the opponent is in the air the second slash will hit twice. it also causes the opponent to be launched briefly in the air if hit on ground.

A lot of stuff can be comboed after this normal, 22L/M/H, 236L/M/H, even 236S, the Superstar Attack, hell you can even do Demon Cutter Loops with it (5M>5H>2H>22L>5H>22L>2H>22M). It also allows Ayame to do actual air combos (5M>5H>2H>22L>5H>2H>j.5M>j.214L/M/H), the jump can be ONLY done after the second hit lands and it must be timed correctly. On block however you're forced to either jump away from the opponent or find another way like canceling it into 214L/M (w/ a little risk ofc), the move is minus and the opponent can easily punish you after it.

It can be used as an anti-air, however it is not very recommended as you gotta time it exactly right for the second hit to land, as well as it extends Ayame's hurtbox for other air moves to hit her.

[DEALS 45 DAMAGE ON FIRST HIT, 54 ON SECOND / 86 WITH BOTH HITS LANDING]


・3H

#AYAMESWEEP
It's eh.

The hitbox is extremely small, it hard knockdowns the opponent ofc, but theres nothing much that can be done after it more than setting up meaty pressure with 5L/2L or okizeme. If timed well, it guarantees 22S to hit, which opens up for mixup possibilities.

[DEALS 70 DAMAGE ON HIT]


・j.5L

Fast air normal with mid-close range hitbox. it's really not a good move outside of air poking. j.5M outshines this move.


[DEALS 30 DAMAGE ON HIT]


・j.5M

An also fast (kinda) air normal that covers much more air range than j.5L. It hits twice and it allows to use j.214L/M/H as a combo ender, which allows you to stay close by the opponent before they get back on their feet which is useful for meaty and oki setups.






[DEALS 45 DAMAGE ON FIRST HIT, 54 ON SECOND / 86 WITH BOTH HITS LANDING]


・j.5H

Air normal that covers mostly vertical range more than horizontal. It can be used mostly for oki setups, or for resets after stuff like 2H loops. It's hitbox is quite large, which can hit average-to-tall characters like Botan or Coco quite easily.

[DEALS 90 DAMAGE ON HIT]


・L+M

Simple throw.
In this game, throws are fast. Combine that with Ayame's fast movement and sticky pressure, and you got yourself a way to get some mixups and quick damage by dashing up and grabbing up close.

[DEALS 160 DAMAGE ON HIT]


・M+H

An slow, overhead attack that uses j.5L sprite.
...But let's be honest.

Overheads are kinda awful.
However, you can connect 5M if the overhead is hit close enough.
Either that, or if you're using Ame as collab, you can totally chain it into a full combo.

[DEALS 60 DAMAGE ON HIT]

・236L/M/H

"Asura's Fury"
A sword slashing move that differences are little between the three versions.

・236L

The L version of it is quicker to pull, however its range is significantly short on the second hit, which can lead to hard whiffs if not close enough to the opponent.

・236M

The M version is just a little tad slower, yet it makes it up by giving it way more range than the L version, it can be used as a combo ender, or with the use of a superchat cancel, an combo extender of which you can use 22L after landing the three hits.

It also deals slightly more damage than the L version.

・236H
"Rakshasa's Wrath"

The H version, or the "EX" version of this move is basically the quickness of L ver. and the range of M ver. combined, alongside an extra hit before hitting with the Kanabo. However what makes this version special is the inclusion of a mixup option, depending on which direction the last hit is held (these being 8 or 2), the last hit can be an overhead or a low. The low is basically the 3H sweep, which is mostly just a combo ender.

But on the other side, the Overhead causes the opponent to bounce in the ground, which opens up for superchat cancelling the move with 22L and continuing on with a full combo.

A small protip?
DO NOT use it after 2H.
Otherwise the third hit will whiff and you're gonna be open for punish.

[L: DEALS 40 DAMAGE ON FIRST HIT, 35 ON SECOND, 55 ON LAST / 122 W/ ALL HITS]
[M: DEALS 45 DAMAGE ON FIRST HIT, 45 ON SECOND, 60 ON LAST / 140 W/ ALL HITS]
[H: DEALS 236 DAMAGE W/ ALL HITS (NORMAL PATH) / 258 (LOW/OVERHEAD PATH)]


・22L/M/H

"Demon Cutter"
A large, up slash attack. which of course, have their own three versions.

・22L

The L version of Demon Cutter is basically an combo extender and probably the only thing that could be considered as an "anti-air" for Ayame. It launches the opponent flying upwards, which allows Ayame to follow up with moves like 5H, 2H, 22L again, or even 22M to end the combo.

This move is another essential part of Ayame's combo kit, as you will need to use it almost everytime to combo stuff. however it leaves Ayame extremely unsafe if blocked or whiffed unless you use a superchat cancel 214L to get back into pressure or to evade the opponents counterattack and be allowed to block.

[DEALS 75 DAMAGE ON HIT]

・22M

The M version of Demon Cutter is used mostly as a combo ender, as the second hit leaves Ayame airborne without any chance to follow up.

[DEALS 143 DAMAGE WITH BOTH HITS]

・22H
"Shin Demon Cutter"

The H version, or the "EX" version is not only a GREAT combo extender with above average damage, but also the only reversal Ayame has in her entire moveset. Which as well, can lead to some OUTRAGEOUS, surprising damage with Demon Cutter Loops. (Example: 22H>2H>22L>2H>22M [392 DMG] /or/ 22H>2H>22L>5H>22L>2H>22M [421 DMG])

Also, for some ungodly reason, if timed correctly.
This move IGNORES burst unless they burst after the third hit. So it can be used as a burst bait.

[DEALS 184 DAMAGE WITH ALL HITS]


・214L/M/H

"Oni Flip"
Ayame proceeds to do a frontflip to boost herself up to the opponent.

・214L

The L version of Oni Flip is a free get out of jail card if you end up using a special move in rather a bad position. Like for example, lets say you did 22L but the opponent blocked it. Like stated before, 22L leaves Ayame open for punishment.

If quickly used a superchat cancel into this move, you can avoid getting punished by the opponent, not only that but you will also keep close for any potential pressure. Keep in mind that the opponent can mash out of the hit if Oni Flip was blocked. It is better to just begin defending if they do so.

[DEALS 75 DAMAGE ON HIT]

・214M

The M version of Oni Flip is slower, it's almost the same thing than the L version, however it reaches more far. Its rather a good tool to get closer to the opponent, however the player must have in mind that it does not make Ayame invincible, meaning that she can be interrupted out of the leap.

In the corner, it also can be used as a Combo Extender after landing 5H (which again, it wallbounces).

[DEALS 75 DAMAGE ON HIT]

・214H
"Shin Oni Flip"

The H version, or "EX" version of this move isn't too special, and doesn't do much.
It basically reaches EVEN FURTHER than the M version, almost being a literal fullscreen leap.

If the opponent is caught off guard by this, which... it kinda hardly happens, you can follow up into a full combo without any issues. Also for some reason this move deals less damage than the L/M version...?

[DEALS 65 DAMAGE ON HIT]

・j.214L/M/H
"Heavenly Oni Flip"

The air version of Oni Flip has only two uses. Either to quickly sideswap after Karma and Shiranui's (22S) time bomb is inflicted, or as a combo ender. Nothing more than these two motives.

[DEALS 75 DAMAGE ON HIT]


・22S

"Karma and Shiranui"
An unblockable, wisp projectile that wanders in random directions.

This move is used exclusively for mixup purposes. while it deals no damage on hit, it applies a "time bomb" to the opponent, causing them to eventually take damage. However if they keep blocking, they can nullify the hit.

Using this move during an opponent's blockstring isn't a bad idea, it will guarantee to hit close enough and if quick, you can jump and side swap preferrably with Air Oni Flip so that they dont block the correct direction before the time bomb explodes.

If the time bomb hits, the opponent will meet up with a short stun, leaving them open for Ayame's attacks, needless to say that if the opponent gets hit by it, and however they begin starting being more offensive towards you, the time bomb will make them instantly stop and force them open for a punish.

[DEALS 75 DAMAGE ON TIME BOMB HIT]

・236S

"I'm the Real One!"
Ayame proceeds to summon multiple clones of herself. Though they begin to brawl with eachother, catching the opponent between the infighting and causing an average amount of damage.

This move's purpose is nothing more than just an combo ender, The hitbox of it makes it good that it will land after landing a 2H for example. Not only that, but it deals a good amount of chip damage if you wish to finish an extremely low hp opponent off.

[DEALS 269 DAMAGE IF CAUGHT/HIT]

For now, this has been literally my first ever guide in steam. But i am not done yet, I would prepare more, however it is quite late in the time i've took to write all of this. But I promise I will add much, much, MUCH more stuff.

Next in the to-do list is writing down some basic combos for people to try.
Then after a good time of playing, I will proceed to add more stuff like Matchups, Synergies with Collab Partners, and other things. I plan to play and see this game grow, i've never felt such joy in a fighting game in so long!!

I'am also planning to make an Ayame Mains discord, so that people can join and do stuff like combo showcasing, talking about matchups, and other things!
Any recommendations and/or corrections I need to make, please point them out in the comments!! This was my very, first detailed guide.

But like i said, Everything is being planned, and I promise to deliver!!