Kim Dong Hwan overview & gameplay guide
Character specification
Character Trivia
Son of taekwondo master Kim Kaphwan, and no stranger to the martial art himself—a true taekwondo prodigy, as he puts it. Dong Hwan’s unabashed, happy-go-lucky lifestyle after the previous tournament earns him a stern reprimand from his father, which promptly takes him down a peg or two. Turns out it’s just the kind of wake-up call Dong Hwan needs, though—and so, adamant that his grasp of taekwondo will someday surpass even his dad’s, the fledgling fighter (secretly) dives headfirst into his own unique brand of training.
Difficulty
MEDIUM star star
Fighting Style
Taekwondo
Kim Dong Hwan Gameplay Trailer
PDF Command List
Gameplay Overview
Kim Dong Hwan is an aggressive rushdown character that thrives when he's in the opponent's face and specializes in making them guess what's next.
His combos and general gameplay have pretty high execution, however he can easily do 30% of a lifebar without using a Rev Art or Super. Many of his moves have multiple Brake points, adding onto his pressure and mix. Dong's most unique aspect is his air movement, being able to use Air Raimei Zan as a pseudo jump, up to 3 times in the air. What that essentially means is he can easily extend his jump or avoid things he otherwise wouldn't. His great air normals and crossups (jB and Mule Kick) only enhance this danger.
Dong's biggest issue is fittingly enough, inconsistency. His stubby range and slow speed means he has a hard time getting in against some of the cast. And whilst the Rev Art versions of his moves are amazing for pressure, they scale insanely hard, leaving him with quickly stagnating damage and worse reward for more cost. And outside of counter hits, only clC can start his high damage combos, whilst his Light confirms are extremely limited.
Still, once you get the hang of things, you can enjoy leaving your opponent guessing for their life as you DONG IT UP.
Pros & Cons
thumb_up PROS
- Damage: Dong Hwan's damage off of his normal specials is above a lot of others, only helped further by his supers and Super Dong Hwan Kick loops.
- Constant Mix: With a toolkit as big as his, Dong Hwan can easily keep the opponent guessing as to what his next move will be, and get a big reward when they finally crack open.
- Bombastic Punishes: Counters and Punishes allow him to start his normally restricted combos from anywhere, with 2C and High Dodge losing their biggest weaknesses.
- Fly? No, jump good.: Dong's air game is one of the best there is, being able to essentially jump multiple times.
thumb_down CONS
- Stubby: Part of being a Kim is being stubby, but Dong suffers from it harder than his dad or brother ever have. He can struggle with punishing some moves that others can, or struggle to get his pressure going. His run being slower than usual doesn't help matters.
- Lackluster Confirms: Dong's special cancellable normals usually lack range or good scaling, this generally forces him to settle with low damage confirms or confirm with a super from his much better pokes which takes away from his high damage potential
- Meter Management: Dong relies heavily on using his EX specials whether it be for his amazing air game or relentless pressure and he needs it even more for his higher damage potential combos. This usually puts Dong in a predicament where he has to choose to either be conservative with meter for dumping damage or use it to make up for his lackluster traits.