Mortal Kombat 1 (1992) Strategy Guide: Kano

Basics: Special Moves, General Gameplay Guide
Character Guides: Sonya, Johnny Cage, Liu Kang, Kano, Raiden, Sub-Zero, Scorpion

Kano - Rank: 4

Kano is #4 in the tier list, he is not and never will be better than Liu Kang, as many people think. His position could be challenged by a pro Raiden player but because not many players use Raiden, its all a matter of own opinion and experience. Kano has the longest uppercut as a hitting area. His and Liu Kang's uppercuts can hit from about a sweep distance after retaliation. Somehow no matter how good his uppercut is, its not very useful for anti air. Anyway its the perfect punisher for almost everything. Like Cage, after uppercut in corner you can get massive combo damage even bigger than Cage's in revision 5.0. Its though to uppercut through jabs but you can try to connect it as the other player moves forward. If you manage to get one of the broken throws near the corner and the opponent holds block after it you can get unblockable uppercut and combo that will be more than 100% in revision 5.0!

His duck LK is the best in the game. It does about 2 aaHPs damage and if you spam it right it can help you to won a round/match, use it as many times as possible against jabers. It is also an excellent counter for jump kick/punches that are not on top of your character. His HK is not so bad but still slow enough for good anti airs, same LK as Cage's. Kano has very neat jab tactics using his "Whiff" roll, otherwise his LP are good but you can be uppercuted through them. Use HP for retaliation or cancel it with block for eventually aa roll after it. His RH is also bad but not as bad as Cage's, you can try to get it in a step away after jab pressure. His sweep is good but easy punished if blocked.

Kano has one of the best Jump Kikcs in the game. It can hit easy ducked grounded opponents, easy can hit otg, easy can win aa jump kicks duel but, after the block, uppercut retaliation was discovered he loose his potential vs Liu, Raiden, cage and Sonya. Kano has an awesome Jump Punch too. You can use it as a wakeup close early JP but not followed with Roll because if its blocked you risk too much energy, or countered JK followed with combo. Its also the best setup after uppercut in corner. Kano had infinite in revision 3.0 with JP in corner but it is removed in 5.0.

The Roll is his most powerful arsenal. You have two variations of this move. The first is performed by holding Block and then circle counter clockwise. There is a way to actually use it, like just when your opponent decide to throw a fireball to release a block but you will not be able to do that as a surprise more than 1 times in a match (or opponent LOL). The second variation is without block. It has so small startup time that you can actually punish everything in the game with it. From Sonya's Sweep to Scorpion's Teleport Punch. It can be used as a transport move also, if you are from full screen distance than your opponent and lets say he is a turtle scorpion teleporter, perform the roll and you will land right in front of him or at least close enough to start a good jab pressure. You can try to put it in a jab pressure too. If they decide to release the block and you do the roll you can whiff so you will land behind them and often after that the opponent tries to jump or fireball, but you will recover faster so try another roll or knife throw after it. Another option is if they try to crouch lk you, do the roll and sometimes you will hit them through their crouch kick. The ninjas sometimes can be hard to get with a roll in combo because of their falling animation (it will just push them or whiff). The roll is also good unblockable add-on after throw. It has weird collision boxes and sometimes you can do it through fireballs/freeze and etc.

The roll can be used as an Anti Air too. It works very well vs all jumps if timed correctly and against crossovers. Can be used also after blocked JK.

The Knife throw is a weird move. It has good hitting area but because his slow start up and annoying combination its not the best choice for spamming. I will advice to use it mostly from full screen and be careful when you do that vs. Liu Kang or Cage (and good Raiden player) because they can easy jump over it and hit you. You can add aa Roll if you get aa Knife Throw near the corner.

Basic Juggles:

1. JK, Roll
2. aaHPx2, Roll
3. (in corner) Uppercut, JP/JK, Roll or RH

Advanced Juggles:

1. aaHP, JK, Roll
2. JK, JP or JK, Roll
3. Uppercut, JK/JP, aaLP, Roll
4. JK, Uppercut, JP, JP, Roll (about 95%)

Broken Throw Setup:

1. (near corner) Throw, unblockable Uppercut, JK, JP, Roll (100%+)