Hayato Kanzaki

[center][size=5][color=#76D5CE]Hayato Kanzaki
[img]https://i.imgur.com/anh7uTF.jpg[/img][/color][/size][/center]

[color=#FCE8E1]Hayato Kanzaki is the main character of Capcom's 3D fighters Star Gladiator and Plasma Sword: Nightmare of Bilstein. He also appeared as a fighter in Marvel vs Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes.[/color]

[center][size=5][color=#76D5CE]Statistics[/color][/size][/center]

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/2ja1H86.jpg[/img][/center]

[color=#FCE8E1]Hayato's size is slightly larger than Marth, with very similar height but a slightly wider hurtbox owing to his wider and more open stance. Weight-wise he falls nearly perfectly into middleweight with a weight of 95 that puts him in the 37th-40th tie. He has a high ground speed, with his 2.3 dash speed putting him right between Greninja and Zero Suit Samus for 7th fastest in the game. His 1.4 walk speed puts him solidly 8th in the game in walk speed. He has a high traction.

Aerially, Hayato moves fast and falls fast. His air speed is tied with Wolf and Lucario for 6th fastest in the game, but he is also tied with Pichu for the 6th fastest faller in the game and high Gravity. This can allow Hayato to have a lightning fast aerial combo and aggression game, but it also makes him pretty strong combo fodder. And while his first jump goes high, his second jump is rather average which can make recovery a bit harder for him. Hayato can perform a wall jump.[/color]

[center][size=5][color=#76D5CE]Plasma Gauge[/color][/size][/center]

[color=#FCE8E1]Based on Star Gladiator's Plasma Combo system, Plasma Sword's Plasma Gauge system and to a degree his Marvel vs Capcom 2 appearance, Hayato brings his [b]Plasma Gauge[/b] with him!

The Plasma Gauge is a bar gauge which can be seen under his character portrait and is broken up into 4 segments. Hayato begins with all segments full. Having the Plasma Gauge full offers nothing on its own, but Hayato can spend the Plasma Gauge in order to gain any number of benefits. A big one is the ability to perform [b]Plasma Combos[/b] with his Standards, which are a bit complex so I will explain that when I get to Hayato's Standards. In addition, Hayato can press A + B to initiate his Smash Attacks in more powerful ways and can spend Plasma Gauge to power up some of his Specials!

One bar of the Plasma Gauge is replenished every 8 seconds if it is empty, so if you emptied the entire bar it would take 32 seconds for it all to come back. There are no "partial bars": You either have a bar or you don't. Overall, the Plasma Gauge is pretty important to Hayato, so keep an eye on it.[/color]

[center][size=5][color=#76D5CE]Standards[/color][/size][/center]

[color=#FCE8E1]That's right, in true Munomario fashion we aren't starting off with the Specials, but instead taking a look at the Standards. That's because Hayato's Standards are incredibly important to his playstyle and a bit complex due to his [b]Plasma Combos.[/b]

Hayato has your standard Jab, Forward Tilt, Up Tilt, Down Tilt and Dash Attack. However, whenever he hits any of these attacks (including against a shield!), Hayato can input a Jab, Forward Tilt, Up Tilt or Down Tilt to cancel the remaining duration and ending lag into them. Rather than just going into the base versions, however, it goes into a [b]brand new version[/b]. Each time Hayato performs this, it costs 1 bar of his Plasma Gauge. Hayato can therefor do this up to four times, with each hit being its own unique move! Think of it like your entire Standards being a toolbox in a Dancing Blades-esque manner! Note that while Dash Attack can initiate a Plasma Combo, it doesn't have any past the first hit. It also should be noted that you can mix and match the hits however you please, so it isn't like you need to go all F-Tilts. For example Jab -> F-Tilt 2 -> D-Tilt 3 -> F-Tilt 4 -> U-Tilt 5 is a valid combo if you have a full Plasma Gauge.

For easier reading, the formatting will go over what each input does for each hit from 1 to 5. The first hit costs no meter and is the general versions you throw out without using a Plasma Combo. And then each hit after is what that input will do on that hit. So hit 2 is what happens on the first Plasma Combo (IE Jab -> F-Tilt 2). Enjoy![/color]

[indent][size=5][color=#76D5CE]Hit 1[/color][/size][/indent]

[indent][size=4][color=#76D5CE]Jab; Hien[/color][/size][/indent]

[color=#FCE8E1]Hayato's basic and single hit jab is pretty simple, as he performs a very swift horizontal slash with his plasma sword in front of him. this attack's primary advantage is its INCREDIBLE speed, as it comes out on Frame 2 (the same speed as a Mario Jab) and has extremely low ending lag. This makes the attack nigh-impossible to punish, so it can be good to throw out in neutral simply to try and catch the opponent's approach. Hayato's attacks are generally risky in terms of ending lag, so having such a quick option is extremely valuable!

While a useful tool, the hitbox itself is extremely lacking in damage. It does a meager 2%, barely even scratching the opponent. Most of the sword is a sourspot that simply lightly pushes opponents away: It can combo into a fast Plasma Combo option but otherwise has no follow-up potential, nor does it push the opponent far enough away to create much space. You basically just got 2% on the foe and maybe interrupted their gameplan a little.

The tip of Hayato's plasma sword is a sweetspot. It still deals 2% damage, but the hitstun is increased notably, blue sparks shooting out of the opponent and them being frozen in place before being popped lightly upwards. Unlike the default hitbox this can combo into an aerial (the vast majority of the time this will be Forward Aerial), but the increased hitstun also allows Hayato to perform more consistent Plasma Combos. You also can try mixing up with a Forward Smash but this is NOT reliable so you need to be in your opponent's head a lot for that.[/color]

[indent][size=4][color=#76D5CE]Down Tilt: Kick[/color][/size][/center]

[color=#FCE8E1]Hayato's Down Tilt is also a pretty simple move that mostly serves as a combo starter. Given you're gonna want these to start Plasma Combos, that isn't too surprising. Anyway, Hayato's Down Tilt is a really simple and light kick forward. This low lag attack deals a mere 2% damage on most of the lag and 3% damage at the foot, but it is fast to come out and fast to end, and you can use it multiple times on opponents close to you. Just make sure not to spam it TOO fast, or you'll enter a Plasma Combo! The leg doesn't hit the opponent up but lightly pushes them forward, although they can DI upwards to escape if, say, they are against a wall. The foot very, very lightly pops the opponent up, but this is enough you can't chain more Down Tilts after it.

The first hit of this combos into Plasma Combos, but you can also Down Tilt into Jab 1 if you Down Tilt the opponent at juuust the right midrange (again, just make sure not to Plasma Combo). You need the opponent to be far enough away that you can combo into the tip of Jab, but close enough you don't get the sweetspot on the Down Tilt and pop them up. This is rarely worth it but it can lead to a bit of extra damage.

In general, you're going to use this against shields and to start combos. Repeated Down Tilts