All-Star Battle ★ Noriaki Kakyoin
Noriaki Kakyoin, returns as a playable character in the PS3 title. Most of his attacks are similar to those from the Capcom game (Heritage for the Future).
As one of the mass majority of playable characters in the game with the "Stand" Style, Kakyoin can turn Hierophant Green on/off, changing movesets, as well as having access to the Stand Rush ability returning from the Capcom game, being able to attack in conjunction with his Stand. Kakyoin has 1000 HP.
Kakyoin's battle introduction is him lowering his sunglasses before raising them back up (similar to his re-introduction to the group after his recovery from the hospital, minus the visible scars across his eyes). Kakyoin possesses an alternate costume based on his first appearance in the manga (with his hair slicked further back and him wearing his scarf).
Kakyoin is also a character who made an incredible achievement in the All-Star Battle League, being eliminated in the F Group. He was the character most voted to rejoin the League, coming back into G Group (notably composed of only antagonists) and won the battle afterward, making his way to the finals.
Command List
During a fight, Kakyoin can use several different attacks that were featured in Stardust Crusaders.
Medium attack () summons Hierophant Green to strike with its tentacle in a straight 'punch', hitting at medium-long range. It can safely knock the opponent down from a considerable distance while crouching, and acts as a decent air-to-air attack to challenge jumping opponents if performed while in mid-air.
His Heavy attack () sends out a short-ranged Emerald Splash, splays tentacles that cover a wide area downward while in mid-air, or uses tentacles to knock the opponent upward while crouching.
Gameplay Overview
Kakyoin falls firmly into the "zoner" archetype of fighting game character, possessing medium- to long-ranged normal attacks and a plethora of skills that attack the opponent from different ranges, while being more vulnerable than the average character up close. His different attacks cover a large area with some only landing at very specific distances from him, and he is a rarity in being able to execute full combos purely from range. By utilizing abilities such as setting unblockable traps, multiple ranged command grabs, one of which extends along the ground, and applying pressure from afar with his signature Emerald Splash, Kakyoin very easily punishes unwise actions taken by the opponent as they try to close the distance.
Kakyoin does indeed begin to struggle if the opponent successfully gets him into their own attack range, as his abilities are somewhat punishable when properly blocked, though he still has some methods of dealing with foes at close range. Compounding this is severely low damage output to offset his range and esoteric skills, partly due to the combo damage scaling each individual Emerald of the Emerald Splash imparts. As such, Kakyoin must repeatedly and continuously win exchanges to succeed, more-so than other characters.
In all, Kakyoin has much greater control of the battle arena space than most, and excels at keeping his opponent away and out of range while whittling down their health with his various attacks. He forces them to try to maneuver around his tricky onslaught in order to be able to deal any damage to him, lest he retains the advantageous position and steadily secures victory.