Kim Kaphwan overview & gameplay guide

After a long absence from Fatal Fury, Kim Kaphwan is finally back! This staple of SNK fighting games is a close-range pressure character whose ability to string together damage and blockstrings is matched by few, if any, in the cast.

While Jae Hoon is about defense and footsies, and Dong Hwan is about acrobatics and mix-ups, Kaphwan is about pressure and punishment. He is absolutely relentless up close, with good normals, strong specials, and the return of his Haki Kyaku stomp. This once-infamous special lets Kaphwan stomp multiple times in a row, locking down the opponent, or go into a stance whose options enable high/low mix, call out mashing, or even cash out into high damage with a Counter Hit. You can use these techniques and the threat of an invincible reversal to intimidate the opponent into clamming up, giving you free reign to hammer away at their guard and REV gauge.

Kaphwan has one other unique quirk: he’s uniquely strong in the air, too! Boasting a cancellable air heavy, a strong divekick special in Hishou Kyaku, a powerful air-to-air move in Kuusen Kyaku, and an air super, Kaphwan can simply rule out jumping as a means of escaping his pressure, or call out certain anti-airs. Add on top of that his flashkick and good normals for hop checking, and the skies are all but off-limits against Kaphwan.

Kaphwan’s main issue lies in struggling to gain or retain momentum without resources. With no long-range normals, neutral skips, or anti-fireball moves of any kind, you may have to commit hard to get in on more passive opponents. He also has a tendency to reset to neutral inconveniently often due to the poor advantage on his soft knockdowns. Once he’s in, though, it’s up to the player to make it count with his suffocating offense, obliterating opponents’ health bars and patience in the name of that sweet justice.