Art of Fighting 2/John Crawley

Backstory

John Crawley was a captain in the navy and was a martial arts instructor. His fellow soldiers gave him the nickname "The Mad Dog". He created an acrobatic fighting style capable of killing if needed. During one of his missions, he was shot in the back, but was saved by Mr. Big, who served alongside him. John returned to South Town with Mr. Big, and joined Big's crime syndicate, while staying in the military in order to smuggle weapons for him. Ryo and Robert confront him during their search for Yuri, beating him and causing him to give the location of Mr. Big. After this event, John retires from the military and tries to live a peaceful life with his wife, but is invited to the King Of Fighters tournament, bringing him into action one last time.

Special Moves

Mega Smash - qcf + A (236 + A) [20% spirit meter]

• John shoots a fast blast of energy from his fists
• With red spirit bar, this move will have very short range

Flying Attack - qcb + A (214 + A) [25% spirit meter]

• John quickly leaps forward and spins rapidly, slowing down near the opponent to hit them several times
• This move does lots of chip damage if blocked and is hard to punish

Overdrive Kick - qcb + B (214 + B) [20% spirit meter]

• John unleases several quick kicks, before ending with a spinning punch
• This move will move John slightly forward at the end
• This move has startup and cannot be used as a wakeup option or a combo tool
• John will throw less kicks the less meter he has

Spiral Leg Bomber - d, u + B ([2]8 + B) [25% spirit meter]

• John jumps up, then dives at the opponent while spinning rapidly, landing on them and kicking them several times
• This attack must be blocked standing
• If this move is blocked, the opponent may be able to dash towards you while you are recovering and punish you

Super Move

Mega Smasher - f, hcf + A (641236 + A) [75% spirit meter]

• John forms a large ball of energy, and can unleash it in different directions by holding up, down, or nothing and pressing A again
• If you don't press A again, John will wait a second before unleashing his attack
• This move has relatively short startup and leaves John safe while holding his energy ball by forming a massive hitbox in front of him
• Aiming low will hit standing opponents, even if they are stand blocking

Hidden Super Move/Desperation Move

Atomic Smash - f, hcf + BC (641236 + BC) [75% spirit meter]

• John charges for a moment before unleashing several fast bullets of energy that do massive damage, even if blocked
• This move is the only desperation move that is able to be blocked

Strengths And Weaknesses

John is a very fast and agile character, but he has too many weaknesses holding him back that it is hard to have him be viable without making lots of hard reads on your opponent.

Strengths: John has very fast attacks that can be hard to punish at times, and they do lots of chip as well. A lot of his attacks knockdown as well, giving him lots of oki on a successful hit. He is also one of the only characters with lots of links between his normal attacks, making him an easy character to get basic combos with. He also has a very fast throw that launches the opponent far.

Weaknesses: John's normals are extremely short compared to the rest of the cast, leaving him very weak in the neutral game. He doesn't have any jumping attacks that cross-up and his jumping heavy kick knocks down, but is punishable on block. John without meter has very few options to attack the opponent with, forcing him to keep the opponent away while he charges. This is made difficult as all his anti-air moves do very little damage, such as his standing light kick. John can't combo into any special moves either, leaving him lacking in that extra damage boost that other characters can get from them. John's specials, while hard to punish, have a way to be punished most of the time unless you space the attacks perfectly.