At first glance, it'd be easy to assume that Shingo Yabuki is little more than a Joke Character (a la Dan Hibiki), but in actuality, he's a Lethal Joke Character. Simply put, underneath that silly exterior of his, Shingo is a fairly competent Rushdown character with a plethora of ways to close the gap between him and the opponent. Whether we're talking about his signature Shingo Kick (which can be performed in the air, ever since 2003), his take on Kyo's Kototsuki (which got an entirely different move out of the B version), or his all-new Mizukiri (based on Kyo's Munotsuchi follow-up from his Aragami Rekka), Shingo has no shortage of ways to approach his opponent. And once he's close, it can be tough to shake him off owing to his Aragami Mikansei poke, fantastic Light normals, and his Nietogi command grab.
Returning from 98 after a long hiatus are his Critical Hits. Like in some JRPGs, all of Shingo's Specials and Supers have a chance to land a Critical Hit, which not only increases their damage output significantly but also comes with entirely different properties as well. For example, his EX Dokugami hook turns into a Wall Bounce if it's a Critical Hit, while EX Oboroguruma becomes a Ground Bounce (which stacks with his EX Kototsuki), amplifying his already fantastic combo damage that much further.
Pros
Cons
Damage: There's no sugarcoating it - if you want damage, Shingo has it in spades. Even his meterless combos - especially with Critical Hits - can do upwards of 30% if you're lucky. With meter, however, you're looking at around 50% damage with half a bar. And assuming those hits are critical, it can go upwards of 70%. Needless to say, flames or no, Shingo's hits don't tickle.
Critical Hits: Unique to Shingo, his Critical Hits increase his already solid damage output even further and buffs the properties of his Specials and Supers on top of that. Needless to say, you'll raise an eyebrow in amusement and/or relief if they hit at just the right moment.
Lanky Limbs: Shingo's normals have shockingly fantastic reach. All of his far normals can hit the opponent from as far as mid-range, both of his far Punches have amazing reach and are Special Cancelable, and his far Kicks are also great to check his opponents with every once in a while. Most of his crouching normals carry over from Kyo and work like you'd expect them to. And the less said about his fantastic j.D, the better.
Amazing Approach: Skidaddle skidoodle, Shingo controls the neutral. If you make it a habit of whiff-cancelling any character's st.CD, you'll be especially rewarded with Shingo, since he has some of the best approach tools in the game. He has a proper low/overhead mix-up from mid-range thanks to Mizukiri (low) and his all-new Naraku Otoshi (overhead), and on top of that, his Shingo Kick is as amazing as ever, since it easily leaps over most normal projectiles in the game (including Heidern's Cross Cutter) and punishes them reliably. And did we mention he can do Shingo Kick in the air (which means you can do it instantly from a backdash or even TK it)? Needless to say, approaching the opponent won't be much of an issue for Shingo.
Hilarious: If you just want to lay back and have fun, Shingo is the character for you. Being the token comic relief character of KOF, just about everything Shingo does is liable to either crack a smile and/or a laugh, or outright annoy the opponent (which if you're into mind games, works better than you think).
Slow: One of the things that hold Shingo back is his general sluggishness. His jump is as floaty as Chizuru's, his far Heavies are easily outpoked at range (especially his f.5C), his DP is slower than average (making him easy to cross up), and quicker characters will make dealing with pressure a pain for Shingo.
Unpredictable: Unfortunately, Shingo's Critical Hits are a double-edged sword for him as they are for his opponents. Sometimes you'll be lucky to tear their health bar to shreds, while other times you'll just do average damage. And sometimes a Critical Hit can be the difference between ending the round, or your opponent turning the tides against you.
No Projectile: As you might expect, since Shingo is mostly a flameless version of Kyo with none of the technique or finesse, he lacks a projectile to zone with. Unless of course, you consider Shingo himself to be the projectile with how often he lunges forward on a lot of his Specials. In which case, this is again a double-edged sword as one wrong move with Shingo (which is very easy to do) can mean the match between him or his opponent.
Go Big, or Go Home: Suffice it to say, Shingo needs to be in his opponent's face to do any kind of damage, as he's much too slow to play any kind of footsies with his opponent. Heaven forbid you try to outpoke the likes of Heidern or even Kyo with his painfully slow far normals (lights included).