Street Fighter 6: Beginner's Guide To Kimberly (2024)

This article is part of a directory: Street Fighter 6: Complete Guide

Kimberly is one of Street Fighter 6's most charming newcomers. While she is a fresh face, she's also the fourth representative of the Bushinryu school of ninjitsu. This means that longtime Street Fighter fans will most certainly be familiar with her play style, especially if they played Guy, Maki, or Zeku in the previous titles. However, for all the familiar elements, such as the signature chain combos, elbow drop, and that noteworthy Bushin variation of the Tatsu, Kimberly has a number of her own unique moves and abilities.

Related: Street Fighter 6: Beginner Tips

These attacks range from her Vagabond Edge, which pops opponents up into the air, and gives her an avenue to land the devastating Nue Twister, to her unique Shuriken Bombs, which can be used to create tricky setups that can be quite difficult to block. Moreover, while she has that classic command run, she has more follow-ups at her disposal than any Bushinryu disciple that came before her. This guide will help you wrangle Kimberly's expanded moveset, and help you get more out of this prodigious ninja.

Move List

Special Moves

Unique Attacks

Chain Combos

Super Arts

Kimberly Move Breakdown

Bushin Senpukyak

⬇️↙️⬅️ + K

This is Kimberly’s Hurricane Kick. You will notice that it is pretty radically different from Ryu and Ken’s. Guy players will be familiar with this more vertical variation. It is a great anti-air (especially the OD version), and it will be used for combos as well. The Bushin Senpukyak can also be performed mid-air, where it is a pretty formidable air-to-air attack.

Sprint

⬇️↘️➡️ + K

Kimberly is primarily defined by her command run. On a basic level, you can see the three attacks as providing one of three purposes. Her LK follow-up is an anti-air (we’ll get into that in a second), her MK follow-up is a slide, and her HK follow-up is an overhead. If you are a new player, playing against other new players, then you will initially be able to switch between the MK and HK follow-ups to create a simple mix-up situation. However, we would strongly caution against using her command run this way as both of these attacks are extremely unsafe.

However, once you start adding in the run-stop, which is performed with the P, or just allow the move to rock, which will give allow you to run up to them and follow up with further attacks (put a pin in that), then you can start to use this is these attacks on occasion, just to keep your opponent guessing.

The Sprint will help you close distance. Best of all, if your opponent throws a fireball, you can duck right under it with the MK follow-up, and punish them. But more often than not, you are going to want to use the P follow-up to halt your momentum. If you are lucky, your opponent may even make the mistake of attempting to time your run with a heavy normal, only to take a big swing and miss, leaving them vulnerable to a juicy counter-attack. The P follow-up is quite fast, so you will be able to call out overly enthusiastic opponents quite effectively with it.

Now, as for the anti-air follow-up… You aren’t going to be using this to punish people jumping at you. That’s not happening. There is just way too much startup. However, what you may find is that jumping away from a charging Kimberly and sticking out a heavy normal mid-air is a fantastic way to stop Kimberly’s Slide AND her overhead. This is where the anti-air follow-up attack is extremely useful as they will be at the perfect range to get swatted out of the air with it.

Hidden Variable

⬇️↙️⬅️ + P

Kimberly's Hidden Variable attack sees her throw down a smoke bomb, shimmy backward, and then rush toward the opponent. It will serve one of two purposes. You will use it to get in on your opponent, as it is quite fast, or you will use it as a tricky offense tool. Used skillfully, you can use the Hidden Variable attack to cause your opponent to whiff their normal. It is a little risky, but it is just another tool in your arsenal to help perplex your opponent. The OD version is extremely potent, as it drops you right on top of your opponent. It is a fantastic way to get in and is worth the two Drive Bars.

Vagabond Edge

⬇️↘️➡️ + P

This is your go-to move when it comes to piecing together Kimberly’s combos. The heavy and OD versions of this attack pop your opponent up into the air, which makes them extremely useful for putting together hard-hitting combos. However, even the light punch version has utility, as it is your go-to ender for combos that start off of light attacks. While this move plays a huge role in Kimberly's game plan, you never want to throw this out by itself. Always combo into it!

Genius At Play

⬇️⬇️ + P

This attack is almost exclusively for setplay. Much like the Vagabond Edge, you don’t want to throw this attack out if your opponent hasn’t already been knocked down or popped up. Instead, you are going to look to use this attack after sweeping your opponent, or anti-airing them with a Bushin Senpukyak.

Kimberly Bread And Butter Combos

Jumping HP, HP, HeavyVagabond Edge (⬇️↘️➡️ + HP), Jumping HP

This is a very, very sub-optimal combo. However, if you are just starting off, it is very easy to do. Eventually, you will start to replace the jumping heavy punch with a Nue Twister, and you will start landing it without having to hit the jumping heavy punch first, but if you are super new, this combo can get you over.

LK, LP, Light Vagabond Edge(⬇️↘️➡️ + LP)

This isn't exactly a heavy-hitting combo, but it starts with light attacks, which means that if you are up close, there isn't a whole lot of risk going for it. If the light attacks are blocked, you are safe, and if your opponent tries to land a Drive Impact, you will have time to either jump or do your own Drive Impact.

You can also tack on Kimberly'sBushin Beats super (⬇️↘️➡️⬇️↘️➡️ + K) to the end of the combo if you have enough meter.

HP, HeavyVagabond Edge (⬇️↘️➡️ + HP), Nue Twister (⬇️↘️➡️ + HP in the air)

Off of a heavy punch, Kimberly can pop her opponent into the air, and then slam them back down to the ground with her Nue Twister. This attack also combos off of her MK cross-up, so it is pretty juicy for a meterless combo.

The trickiest part about this combo is landing the Nue Twister. However, so, just practice the heavy Vagabond Edge into the Nue Twister part in training mode. The secret is to input the command the moment your feet leave the ground.

Crouching MP, Crouching MP, ODVagabond Edge (⬇️↘️➡️ + PP), Nue Twister (⬇️↘️➡️ + HP in the air)

Not only does this move start from a safe poke that confirms into itself, but it also does a hefty amount of damage. This is definitely the trickiest of the combos listed here, but with a little practice, you will be landing it consistently. Like the previous combo, you want to perform the Nue Twister super fast.

Crouching MP, Cr. MP, ODVagabond Edge (⬇️↘️➡️ + PP), Jumping MP, aerial OD Bushin Senpukyak (⬇️↙️⬅️ + KK), Bushin Scramble (⬇️↙️⬅️⬇️↙️⬅️ + P)

This combo is basically the same as the previous one. However, it leads directly into Kimberly's Bushin Scramble super. Needless to say, this is a devastating amount of damage, and it all comes off of a medium punch!

Kimberly General Gameplan

Kimberly has a number of truly impressive qualities. She is fast, she is quite capable of converting a number of her normals into damaging combos, and she has a number of tricky, evasive attacks for closing space and eliciting whiffed attacks. However, alongside these incredible strengths comes a substantial weakness: Kimberly's normal attacks are stubby. This means, that she is pretty mediocre when it comes to traditional zoning. To accompany her short limbs, she also doesn't have a projectile. And no, her spray cans don't count because you should never use them as a projectile!

Thankfully, while Kimberly doesn't have a projectile of her own, she does have a number of ways to effectively deal with her opponent's projectiles. If you are looking to approach your foe cautiously, her Water Slicer Slide (↘️ + MK) is quite capable of sliding under a fireball, and this attack is, in fact, safe when used at a distance. Another fantastic option is her Shadow Slide, which is the MK follow-up to her Sprint. This comes out rather quickly and will slide under your opponent's fireball, and trip them. Of course, something like Guile's OD Sonic Boom will be a little too fast for you to be able to react with the Shadow Slide, so there is one more powerful tool for getting around a projectile.

Once you are in the range of Kimberly's normals, you will want to rely on three normal attacks: her crouching medium punch, heavy punch, and medium kick. Her crouching medium punch is stubby, but it is fast, safe, and can be canceled into specials. Better yet, it combos into itself, making it a great way to confirm a combo. This will be the first hit of many Kimberly combos. Her heavy punch gives you the most damage if it hits, but it is punishable if it is blocked (though your opponent will need to be sharp to capitalize). The medium kick is easily Kimberly's best poke, she can also convert it into any combo that you could do the crouch medium punch. However, if it is blocked, it is as unsafe as the heavy punch, though it will push your opponent further away. Also, unlike the crouch punch, you can't combo it into another normal, which makes it harder to confirm.

If a character has a projectile attack, then they often want you to jump over it so that they can slap you out of the air. This is the classic 1-2 punch of the Hadoken and Shoryuken. Well, with Kimberly, she can jump over the fireball, but then halt her momentum with her Elbow Drop (⬇️ + MP). If you get the spacing of this just right, you can stop your jump early enough so that you will be out of range of an anti-air special (such as a Shoryuken), while still hopping over the fireball. This means that you will be safe no matter what, and if your opponent doesn't realize what has happened in time, they will be left extremely vulnerable as they sail into the air, just begging to be hit by a bit combo!

Now, once you are up close and personal, you will get to see the full potential of Kimberly. Try to pressure with her crouching medium punch. This attack is extremely fast and safe, and if you hit with it, you can convert into a big combo for massive damage. Kimberly can also convert her cross-up (which is MK in the air) into a number of extremely damaging combos (literally every combo in the combo section can be started with her cross-up). Once you land a knockdown, you can also place down her Shuriken Bomb (⬇️⬇️ + P) to create an ambiguous and difficult to block attack sequence.

You can also use your Hidden Variable (⬇️↙️⬅️ + HP) as a ready-made shimmy. Try knocking your opponent down, then, just as they rise, use the Hidden Variable, to dodge whatever attack they try to use when waking up, and then follow up with a nice, juicy combo. The OD Hidden Variable is particularly good, as it will have you appear above your opponent.

Once you have your opponent cornered, you really want to do everything in your power to keep them there. Often they will try to jump out, so, either look to meet them in the air and land the Nue Twister, or use your Bushin Senpukyak (⬇️↙️⬅️ + K) as an anti-air to hit them as they try to land on you with an aerial attack. Conveniently, this will also send them right back to the corner.

Use Kimberly's impressive range of oppressive tools, and you will quickly find that once your opponent is in the corner their chances of winning the match decrease substantially.

Next: Street Fighter 6: Complete Control Guide