Reiko
Fast and deadly, Reiko is top tier (not god) without a doubt. Why? His mixups and variety of options allow him to confuse many opponents. His throw game is also good. His air attacks all have high priority and are hard to Juggle, his special attacks are good too. His combos inflict good damage but you have to do the right combos in the right situations.
His normal attacks all range in the good and fast side, his Lk is a good deterrent for running foes and his Hk is a nice aa and can be followed by his flip kick for big damage. However his sweep is slow and can be easily punished by Liu, Sub Zero and Reiko himself.
His close combos are better started with Hp wherever is possible and his Hk combos have decent priority and can dish good damage from both options.
His air attacks are all ok specially his j.Hk. His Hp starter is just like everyone else. What makes the difference is the damage done from the following combo. His early SUJK expands his possibilities and helps him to extend his combos perfectly. In MK4 there isn´t many differences between the characters in the Hp/Lp departament so it can be said that all of them share the same properties. Reiko can snuff some nasty combos from his aaHp´s. This is heavily based on where?s Reiko on the screen at the time. He is better at the center of the screen.
On the corner, Reiko is simply deadly. One popup combo and you will be Juggled easily for +40% damage (100% If Max Dam is off). The J.HpHk, Air Teleport, repeat is an inf. Sometimes he will throw you even if you are blocking holding back with his Lk throw.
His Flip Kick is very useful and probably his most valuable move. It can punish blocked sweeps and most blocked weapons attacks. It has a hit limit of 4. If done close to the corner, Reiko will get pushed out of it. At the beginning of a round it can be a surprise hit but try not to be predictable. The Flip Kick is 100% safe if it doesnt hit an opponent. If blocked it has little recovery time but still can be punished. If timed well, you can stick it one Flip Kick out of range just to get in close (sort of a transpostation move). You can use it against crossovers too if you run under them.
His Throwing Star is good for zoning, it can be keep away move. If the Star open in his full circle, it becomes difficult to jump at last moment. Its good to finish combos but isn?t very damaging. It has very little recovery if blocked and the foe must be very close to punish it. As a pressure move is good due to the aforementioned.
The Tele-Grab is a good move. Its a transportation move ONLY in combos and it also setups various traps. In the corner, it can be done infinitely or until the MAXDAM ruins it all… If blocked either the punch, kick or the grab, Reiko He will float defenseless airborne. It can be done in the air. Its a good way to escape from aa traps, fireballs, and etc. At the end for an J.Hk then Teleport and grab, there is a glitch that allows Reiko not to slam the foe with the tele-grab and he will be in an compromised position and the blocking becomes confusing.
The side Teleport is useless, just dont use it. The only good scenario when it can be pulled is to escape from corner pressure.
Reiko with his Wpn is deadly, his B+HP is a very good aa and it punish almost all blocked attacks, being those Wpn or normals. Both Lp and Hp are slow and are not necesary, the Hp version is a little faster though. B+Lp could be the longest reaching Wpn attack but is very slow. This is also the animation Reiko uses when he Drw Wpn in a combo and for some weird reason it doesnt combo! It also leaves him open to a counter. All of Reiko´s standing attacks can be punished by Liu, Sub and Reiko if blocked. Its possible to get multiple Jump HP with weapon mid-screen or corner that will cause very good damage but its worthless except you are feel cocky. Other wise his Wpn jumping attacks are both good. His back jumping Hp is a good aa done on reaction and should be followed by an inmediate Air Tele- grab. His j.Lp as all of the Wnp J.Lp of the game, if blocked high can be punished by an aaHp.
His throws are both good, his Lp grab does good damage and leaves the foe in disvantage. His Lk throw could be one of the best throws in the game, not only it allows you to keep rushing if you connect it but, it can also be followed by a combo.
What could be one of Reiko?s weakness is that he doesnt always have available big damage combos at his disposal. Sure, he has many starter combo options (Flip Kick, any ground Chain, aaHp…)but the attacks that follows them needs correct placement on the stage. The Most damaging variation after the Flip Kick is J.Hk, Air Teleport, SUJK, Flip Kick,… Remember that the Flip Kick has a hit limit of 4. This variation (or BnB)becomes useles after we have moved out of the center of the stage. And in the corner it cannot be done because either the SUJK or the Flip Kick will push you out of the corner.
This can be somewhat fixed but the way is VERY hard. The thing is that if you started the combo with an aaHp followed by a Flip Kick you will pop your foe higher than with a Flip Kick alone. After that you have to run a little distance and then jump with an early Hk. If done right you will cross up (or cross down because you switch sides from below him/her)your foe and he will bounce to the other side after taking the hit. After that J.Hk you have to Air teleport as fast as you can and do your normal BnB SUJK, Flip Kick combo. Remember that this is only if you KNOW that you are either far away from the corner and you are out of the BnB combo range.
Video!
This affects other Reiko combos as well. After HpHpHkHk, Flip Kick combo you have to choose quickly wich combo to do. At the center of the screen the Most damaging is. Early J.Hk, Air Teleport, SUJK, RH. For the RH to connect you have to do the SUJK a bit late. Its 50% so its worth. You can replace the RH for the throwing star if you dont feel confident for an still good 47%. If you are out of combo range, simply do aaHp, J.HpHk for 43%. You can Drw Wpn after the SUJK for 45% and have it on hand.
For corner combos the best option is after the Flip Kick, add 1 or 2 aaHp (depending how far you are of the corner) and do the J.HpHk, Air Teleport inf. 3D combos are flashy and damaging but requires special setups such as being in the middle of the stage and have Wpn in hand and critical timing.
As already mentioned Reiko has an infinite using his teleport in corner (Jump HP HK, Teleport, Repeat). You can try getting various mix with Teleport Jump HP or HK then Jump HP HK, using weapon Jump HP and etc. Its possible for Reiko using his weapon to do max damage combo and continue his juggle with familiar pattern but still its not an inf.
Basic Juggles:
1. HP, HP, HK, HK, Flip Kick, Jump HP HK, Teleport Throw (8 Hits, 41%)
2. HP, HP, HK, D+HK, Flip Kick, Jump HP HK, Teleport Throw (8 Hits, 36%)
3. HK, Flip Kick, Jump HK, Teleport SUJK, Flip Kick, Jump LK (6 Hits, 42%)
4. HK, HK, Flip Kick, aaHP, Jump HP HK (6 Hits, 40%)
Advanced Juggles:
1. HP, HP, HK, HK, Flip Kick, Jump HK, Teleport SUJK, RH (8 Hits, 50%)
Video!
2. HP, HK, D+HP, SUJK, Flip Kick, aaHP, Jump HK, Teleport SUJK, Stars (9 Hits, 46%)
3. (Near Corner) HK, HK, Flip Kick, Jump HP HK, Teleport Jump HP, Teleport Throw *(7 Hits, 42%)
4. (With Weapon) Flip Kick, Jump HP, Teleport SUJK, Flip Kick, Jump HP, Teleport Jump HP (6 Hits, 44%)
5. (With Weapon) HK, Flip Kick, Jump HK, Teleport SUJK, Flip Kick, LP (Max Damage 43% into run unblockable Flip Kick scenario)
Punishers:
1. aaHP, Flip Kick, Jump HK, Teleport SUJK, Flip Kick, Jump HP HK, Teleport Throw (8 Hits, 44%)
2. aaHP, Flip Kick, Jump HK, Teleport SUJK, Flip Kick, aaHP, Jump HP HK (8 Hits, 46%)
Video!
3. aaHK, Flip Kick, Jump HK, Teleport SUJK, Flip Kick, RH (6 Hits, 46%)
4. (With Weapon) aaHK, Flip Kick, Jump HK, Teleport SUJK, Flip Kick, LP (MaxDam 46% into run x Flip Kick juggle)
5. aaHK, Flip Kick, Jump HK, teleport SUJK, Flip Kick, RH (6 Hits, 46%)