Hisako spooks the competition! – Killer Instinct character breakdown

Iron Galaxy’s ‘Ghost Girl’ has arrived and newcomer Hisako is scary. Iron Galaxy went all in with this one, making her as creepy as possible – and boy did they hit the nail on the head! At first glance, she seems to have many design nods from the girl in The Ring. Even her introduction animation is enough to send shivers down your spine. The attention to detail in Hisako is impressive, from the way she drags a trail into the ground with her Naginata when she walks both forward and back, to the scuttle-like dash as she bolts forward. They truly have created a fantastic character.



Hisako’s archetype is considered a ‘counter-grappler’, which basically is exactly what it says on the tin. She has two main combat traits. Firstly is the ability to delay the second auto double-hit for medium and heavy attacks for more power and altered breaker window timing. The delayed second attack makes for great counter breaker bait. Hisako’s walk speed is the slowest in the game, but her forward dash is one of the quickest and ducks under projectiles. Naturally you will find yourself dashing for movement frequently. Back Heavy Kick (HK) allows her to scurry backwards into the ground and appear behind the opponent. This tool is great for closing distances against ranged combatants, but can become predictable and punishable if you abuse it. Her normal attacks sport impressive range thanks to her Naginata. Down HK sweeps low and down Heavy Punch (HP) anti-airs much like the rest of the cast. She also has access to a wall jump, also making up for her slow walk speed. This allows her to escape cornering situations for when the opponent is pressuring you.

Her second trait is the Wrath Meter. Much like Aganos’ chunk system, the Wrath Meter gives Hisako extra abilities. Firstly her medium and heavy normal attacks all strike as counter hits. This leaves the opponent reeling for longer and does increased damage, allowing for a good poke game (which is enhanced by the fantastic range on her normal). If you have 50% or above, you gain access to Hisako’s biggest weapon, physical counter attacks. Just got Shadow Countered? Throw back an easy Wrath Counter and listen to your opponent complain in the background as your attack ignores Thunder’s Shadow Triplax super armour. Triple punch performs a high counter and triple kick performs a low. A successful Wrath Counter stops the opponent short and opens a combo for you. Goodbye Aganos’ super armour, See you later Sadira’s aerial party and au revoir to Riptor’s hi/low game. While this may seem very broken, you can’t just throw them out constantly. The recovery on them allows for punishment if you miss-predict. You also can’t count command grabs or projectiles. To recover your Wrath Meter, Hisako must stand still for approximately three to four seconds for a full charge.



Hisako has access to three special attacks. The first one (On Ryo Zan) is a interchangable three-hitting attack very similar to Orchid’s Ich Ni San. Performed with quarter circle forward punch, each punch button has a different use. LP hits low, MP an overhead and HP a mid. This allows for a good hi/low mix-up opener that your opponent has to 50/50 guess (or read you very well) to block. This attack also acts as a linker in combos. This can also be performed in the air to recapture if you are at full Wrath. Her second special is Influence. This grab causes Hisako to dig her Naginata into the ground and impale her opponent onto it, leaving them to slouch on it for a second (very in keeping with her Japanese styling) before booting them off. This currently holds the crown for fastest command grapple in the game. Causing roughly 8-14% damage, it holds some particularly useful extras to it. If you’re at full Wrath, it turns into a combo opener. It also causes a hard knockdown (when not at full Wrath), allowing Hisako plenty of time to recover Wrath. This is Hisako’s second linker option for combos, slicing through them in style. Her final special move (another command grab) is Possession. This one differs from Influence by sucking the foe in from a distance with a high pitched scream. Should the opponent be hit by it, Hisako enters their body and contorts them before leaving. This is avoidable by jumping during the pull. This can be difficult to react to when in close range (similar to Thunder’s blocked attack > Call of the Earth). In terms of combo enders, On Ryo Zan causes a wall splat, Influence causes a heavy knockdown (allowing you ample time to build your Wrath back up) and Possession is the damage ender.

Might make for an interesting kiss…

Shadow On Ryo Zan causes five forward moving swings of the Naginata. This is her only Shadow Linker. Shadow Influence performs a scurry forward (allowing a grapple from outside of close range) resulting in a hard knockdown. This causes roughly 16% damage. Finally, Possession increases the suck speed and doubles the damage.



Instinct Mode is when Hisako becomes a truly dangerous threat. She gains full, un-depleting Wrath. This allows Hisako to counter hit and Wrath Counter (which doesn’t need to be correctly predicted as high or low) to her heart’s content. If you get inside your opponents head, play mind games with them and pop Instinct, the game’s probably going to be over quickly. Being able to read your opponent is a big key in making Hisako a success!



Here are a few tips and tricks to bear in mind:

• While Wrath Counters are good, don’t abuse them unless your opponent is very predictable!

• On Ryo Zan can be interrupted by opponents attacks between swings, but equally, you can Wrath Counter back!

• Your Wrath meter is your power, sometimes it’s better to pass on the extra damage from Possession ender to get a hard knockdown and gain your Wrath back.

• The timing on the final swing of Shadow On Ryo Zan is a little different from the rest of the swings. Not many people know this.

• Counter hitting an opponent with a regular Wrath-infused attack leaves them reeling and open.

• Hisako’s wind up doubles are one of her best tools. As mentioned before, they make fantastic Counter Breaker bait as well as throwing off the timing of the Combo Breaker window.

So that’s Hisako ladies and gentlemen! One of the best stylings of the entire Killer Instinct roster, with a genuinely authentic and well-designed Japanese feel to her. Not forgetting to mention how damn fun she is to play as and the sweet satisfaction of landing Wrath Counter after Counter. Do you have your own tips and tricks? Let us know below!

Check out our Aganos Guide if you liked this one – http://www.voletic.com/articles/killer-instincts-aganos-rocks-into-action/