Matchup Summary (Win Condition and Game Plan)
This matchup falls apart for Kazuya if he gets impatient at sword range and keeps trying to jump directly through Sephiroth’s fair, bair, f-tilt, up tilt, Flare, and Shadow Flare layers.
The win condition is to accept the slow approach, use crouch dash, shield, and walking to slip through the gaps in those long hitboxes, and then convert one close-range opening into heavy damage plus ledge pressure before Sephiroth resets spacing.
The frame table also shows that jab, up tilt, down tilt, dash attack, smashes, neutral B, side B, up B, and Scintilla are all punishable on shield by up B, grab, and up smash, while nair is safe and fair or bair can still be thin if spaced, so Kazuya should prioritize whiff checks over automatic OOS swings.
For kills, it is more reliable to carry Sephiroth to the corner and force up B, grab, up smash, and ledge coverage than to bet everything on one center-stage guess, especially once Wing is active.
Full Move Frame Quick Reference
| Opponent Move | Startup | On Shield | Kazuya OOS Candidate Moves | Barely Missed Moves |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jab 1 | 5 | -19 [-19] |
| |
| Jab 2 | 5 | -25 [-24] |
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| Jab 3 | 7 | -23 [-22] |
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| Forward Tilt | 14 | -15/-11/-14 [-13/-8/-12] |
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| Up Tilt | 10/13 | -32/-21/-19/-18 [-31/-18/-16/-14] |
| |
| Down Tilt | 9 | -25 |
| |
| Dash Attack | 14 | -20(-22) [-16(-19)] |
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| Forward Smash | 24 | -33/-29/-32 [-31/-26/-30] |
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| Up Smash | 23 | (-29/-31 front)/(-23/-25/-24 back) [(-26/-29/-30)/(-21/-23/-25)] |
| |
| Down Smash (1) | 21 | -20/-22 [-17/-20] |
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| Down Smash (2) | 21 | -24 [-22] |
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| Neutral Air | 9 | -5 [-4] |
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|
| Forward Air | 13 | -10 [-9] |
|
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| Back Air | 15 | -11 [-10] |
|
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| Up Air | 16 | -17 [-17] |
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| Down Air | 19 | Normal: -27 [-25] | Landing: -19 [-18] |
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| Neutral B | 41 | -28 |
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| Side B | 16—42 | -17 — -15 |
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| Up B (1) | 25 | -27 [-26] |
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| Up B (2) | 36 | -63 — -61/-47 [-62 — -60/-45] |
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| Down B (1) | 38 | -25 [-25] |
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| Down B (2) | 7 | ** | ||
| Grab | 7 | — | ||
| Dash Grab | 10 | — | ||
| Pivot Grab | 11 | — |
Win Condition Checklist
- Use crouch dash, shield, and patient walking to get past Sephiroth’s sword and projectiles without feeding obvious jump-ins.
- Punish jab, up tilt, down tilt, dash attack, smashes, neutral B, side B, up B, and Scintilla on shield with the listed up B, grab, and up smash answers.
- Do not overforce shield punishes on nair, and treat shallow fair or bair as spacing checks you may need to chase after instead.
- Once you get in, push for full damage and corner carry rather than taking a small hit and resetting to long range.
- After Wing activates, keep respecting Shadow Flare timing and down B so your close-range advantage does not turn into a reversal.
Actions to Avoid
- Full-hopping straight into Sephiroth’s sword range.
- Swinging out of shield at every nair, fair, or bair regardless of spacing.
- Panicking against Flare or Shadow Flare and dashing into prepared anti-airs.
- Letting a successful opening end early and returning the game to long midrange.
- Forcing desperate kill swings once Wing appears and getting counter-hit by down B or retreating sword buttons.