Heritage for the Future ★ Noriaki Kakyoin
Noriaki Kakyoin appears as a playable character in the Capcom game, and his gameplay is primarily designed for defense. In the Heritage for the Future release, a separate character is included referred to as Fearless Kakyoin (恐怖をのり越えた花京院) or simply "New Kakyoin" in the English Localization.
It is noteworthy that even in the video games (excluding the Super Famicom RPG), especially in the fighting game made by Capcom, Kakyoin's fate in his own storyline is to apparently die, whereas other characters have more pleasant endings (except Midler, who also dies, but by DIO's hands). However, because of how the dialogue was done in the game, some may argue that it could be open-ended, suggesting a possibility of his survival.
The ending seems to imply that Kakyoin died on the trip home inside the airplane, due to the wounds he suffered in the battle with DIO (he unleashes a barrage of knives and one of them hits Kakyoin before DIO himself is decimated from the crossfire), and him keeping quiet about it. This could be otherwise explained as fainting or severe weakening, in the absence of solid illustration that he did die. On the other hand, New Kakyoin's storyline in the game confirms his death, just as it occurred in the original storyline from the manga.
The endings where Kakyoin survives the adventure are in Iggy's and Avdol's storylines. This is because DIO attacks Iggy or Avdol before going after Jotaro, Kakyoin, and Joseph.
Moveset & Gameplay
Easily one of the most powerful and mindgame-rich character, Kakyoin can take almost anyone on, provided he can properly zone, bait and punish. This allows him to provide a serious challenge to powerful characters like Jotaro and DIO. He has limited options up close, but is a very dangerous character played with range.
With the Stand activated, he can dash and double jump in the air. He also has one of the longest reaches in terms of physical attacks - particularly with his Stand attack. His command throws likewise inflict significant damage depending on button presses. His most powerful ability is the Mystic Trap, which can easily pick out careless opponents for a consistent punishing, especially with his 20m Radius Emerald Splash.
Players using Kakyoin must remember, even though this makes him quite an unfair character, that distance is the key. He has plentiful techniques for striking back, punishing or even ticking.
In the arcade version, he has considerable offense power but is slightly slow. This was changed in the PlayStation port and the updated arcade version, but at the price of losing damage strength. He also gained a new super move that helped him in his offensives. Additionally, his appearance with sunglasses (a result of his encounter with N'Doul) is named New Kakyoin or 恐怖を乗り越えた花京院 (lit. "Kakyoin who overcame his fears") in the Japanese version of the game, having different attack methods and physics offsetting him from the original. New Kakyoin loses his mobility, some moves, and some range, making him substantially inferior in comparison to his original self.
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STAND
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NORMAL
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+ IN AIR OK
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, STAND
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