Want to know what the best Street Fighter 6 Kimberly combos and special moves are? With every new Street Fighter game, several faces make their debut, and this game is no exception. One of them is Kimberly – an American girl who uses the same bushido ninja fighting style as Guy from the Final Fight series.
However, Kimberly is more than just a modern reskin of a classic character from the long-running fighting game series. Her repertoire uses more flair than Guy’s rather traditional Bushin-style, including one of the game’s truly match-altering super arts. We spent some time with her and fellow newcomers Luke and Jamie during a previous Street Fighter 6 beta, gathering tips on the best Street Fighter 6 Kimberly moves and how to work them into the longest, hardest-hitting combos.
How to play Kimberly in Street Fighter 6
Kimberly’s fighting style in Street Fighter 6 requires her to close the distance to her opponent with the help of her special moves and normal attacks. As soon as she’s within striking range, she has many ways to start combos, keeping your opponent on their toes.
Kimberly can produce up to two spray-based Shuriken Bombs to throw out to the ground which explode after a few seconds. They can be challenging to work into combos, so you need to think carefully before you throw them toward your opponent. If you want to draw your enemy in, throw a Shuriken Bomb behind them to force them forward.
Street Fighter 6 motions
Here are the most important motions for Kimberly in Street Fighter 6:
- Quarter-circle forward – push down on the d-pad or stick and quickly rotate to the direction your character is facing.
- Quarter-circle back – push down on the d-pad or stick and quickly rotate in the opposite direction to the one your character is facing.
- Double tap down – tap down twice and follow up with a button to perform a special attack.
- Overdrive – known previously as EX moves, this is the same move, but you press any two punches or any two kicks. It consumes two bars to the Drive Gauge to execute.
Street Fighter 6 Kimberly special moves
Bushin Senpukyaku – Quarter-circle back + Kick
This is Kimberly’s version of an aerial spinning kick. You can also perform this while jumping forward, however, it’s best used at the end of a close-range combo to score some extra hits. The Overdrive version hits more times than the heavy version and is quicker on startup.
Vagabond Edge – Quarter-circle forward + Punch
Kimberly lunges forward with a chop. The strength of the punch determines the distance covered and the nature of the follow-up hit. Light punch hits the opponent once, medium punch follows up with a kick that knocks the opponent down, and heavy punch causes a kick that launches the opponent into the air. The Overdrive version is the same effect as heavy punch but with a shorter start-up time. Both heavy and Overdrive versions can be canceled into a forward jump, which can lead to aerial combos or a standard Nue Twister.
Hidden Variable – Quarter-circle back + Punch
Kimberly disappears briefly in a cloud of spray paint before appearing next to the opponent. The Overdrive version has her reappear in the air close to their head.
Sprint – Quarter-circle forward + Kick
One of Kimberly’s most important moves, Sprint, has a ton of variables during both the Sprint itself and the Arc Step follow-up that all have different effects.
- Any punch button: Emergency Stop – cancels the sprint before it reaches your opponent. There is no difference between the regular and Overdrive versions.
- Light kick: Torso Cleaver – executes an anti-air kick. The Overdrive version hits twice.
- Medium kick: Shadow Slide – executes a sliding attack to hit low and knock down the opponent. The Overdrive version hits twice.
- Heavy kick: Neck Hunter – executes a swinging kick that hits overhead. The Overdrive version hits twice.
- When Sprint hits the opponent: Arc Step – this will kick off the opponent’s body before leaping back a short distance. You can perform one of two follow-up moves after the Arc Step.
- Any punch button after Arc Step: Bushin Izuna Otoshi – dive onto the opponent for a throw. The Overdrive version causes a hard knockdown.
- Any kick button after Arc Step: Bushin Hojin Kick – a swift diving kick onto the opponent. Hits the opponent twice in the Overdrive version.
Genius at Play – Double tap down + Punch with no bombs
If Kimberly has no Shuriken Bombs, she will create one or two bombs if you use the Overdrive version after a short animation.
Shuriken Bomb – Double tap down + Punch with at least one bomb
If Kimberly has one or two bombs, the strength of the punch determines how far she throws it. Light punch throws it close to her, while heavy punch throws it fullscreen. The bomb explodes two seconds after hitting the ground.
Shuriken Bomb Spread – Double tap down + two punches with two bombs
If Kimberly has two bombs, this Overdrive attack will simultaneously throw a Shuriken Bomb near and far away from her. They will explode after two seconds.
Nue Twister – Quarter-circle forward and punch
This aerial throw only works if your foe is in the air and you’re jumping near them, making it a great anti-air option or ender for a combo that launches the opponent. The Overdrive version will cause a hard knockdown.
Street Fighter 6 Kimberly Super Arts
Level One: Bushin Beats – Quarter-circle forward x2 + Kick
Kimberly rushes forward and knocks the opponent onto the ground before landing a few kicks and punches as they are prone. This has a variant called Bushin Thunderous Beats which adds an explosion at the end of the sequence, but it requires she holds at least one Shuriken Bomb.
Level Two: Bushin Scramble – Quarter-circle back x2 + Punch
If the first diving hit of this super art connects, Kimberly will perform an aerial combo, finishing in a throw. This move can also be performed while jumping forward.
Level Three: Bushin Ninjastar Cypher – Quarter-circle forward x2 + Punch
After connecting with a close-range punch, Kimberly will detonate a whole bunch of spray cans and hit the opponent until they are knocked down, causing massive damage. This move has a unique property in that merely pushing the buttons will boost Kimberly’s walking speed and attack power for the rest of the match. She does not need to land the hit to get this bonus.
Kimberly combos
With enough practice and discovery, you can find all sorts of ways to link up Kimberly’s attacks and turn them into multi-hitting combos, but we thought we’d give you four very basic combos to help you get started.
One thing you should definitely consider, given how close you’ll be getting to your opponent, is throwing them instead of going for a combo. This helps keep your foes on their toes by making your moves more unpredictable. Creating and using Shuriken Bombs after knocking an opponent down
LP, MP, HP, HK
A very basic but hard-hitting target combo that knocks the opponent down. Some variants to this target combo require you to push down on your d-pad or stick during the HP and/or the HK inputs, but these don’t change much of the combo regarding how the opponent blocks it. If you hold down during both HP and HK inputs, Kimberly will throw the opponent, but even the throw bit is blockable.
Back + HK, Down LP xx Heavy Bushin Senpukyaku
This is a fantastic corner combo, beginning with an overhead attack. You can then follow it up with a light punch to link into the heavy Bushin Senpukyaku to get the most amount of damage from this cheeky little combo.
Standing HP xx Sprint > Arc Step > Bushin Hojin Kick
This is a great option to throw out as the opponent is trying to gain the advantage at a middle distance. If you land the Standing HP, they’ll be stunned long enough for the Sprint to connect with the opponent, automatically triggering the Arc step. You have a choice here of performing a safe Bushin Hojin Kick for the full combo or the Bushin Izuna Otoshi to attempt a risky throw instead.
Jumping HK, MP, HP xx Heavy Bushin Senpukyaku
This is fairly similar to some of the other combos you’ve seen, but if you connect with a Jumping HK, either from a leap or by using the Overdrive Hidden Variable, this is a good way to get some bonus damage.
Those are all the Street Fighter 6 Kimberly moves and some combos to get you started. Feel free to take her into training mode and practice more to get the timing down on the button presses. As such, she’s currently one of the better characters in the Street Fighter 6 tier list. If her gameplay style is too chaotic for you, plenty of other characters in the Street Fighter 6 roster, including series veterans Ryu and Chun-Li, are available that you may get on better with.
