Johnny Cage Thread - "I make this look easy!"

Zoidberg747

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Johnny Cage
300px-MK9_Guide_Johnny_Cage.jpg


Johnny Cage is a Hollywood movie star. Originally entering the Mortal Kombat tournament to display his fighting skills and prove himself to skeptical movie critics and the movie-viewing public, who believed Cage was nothing more than an actor who relied too much on stunts and camera work and not a real proficient fighter. Eventually, Cage becomes one of the most important defenders of Earthrealm. Though he occasionally lapses into his former selfish and materialistic ways, he has always been a brave and loyal warrior for Earthrealm.

Notations
Spoiler:
360: X=1, Y=2, A=3, B=4.
PS3: Square=1, Triangle=2, X=3, Circle=4.
-EX: Enhanced Special
-B=Back, F=Forward, U=Up, D= Down, J=Jump, +=press together.
-Wall = Combo performed on the far side of either side of the level.
-Dash = Press forward twice.


Johnny Cage Specials and Styles
Spoiler:

Style Moves
Spoiler:

Out Take-1,1,1: easy three hit combo for 10% damage
Showtime-1,1,F+1: same as above except its 12 % damage
Stand In-1,1,4: Three hit combo for 13% damage
Cross Cutting-1,3,2: Nice three hit combo that does 15% damage and knocks your opponent back
Widescreen-2,1,F+2: 3 hit combo for 15%, one of Johnny's best combo starters
Director's Cut-2,1,B+4: Same as above except ends with a low hit, pretty useless honestly
Take Two-F+3,2: Quick combo for 7%, pretty useless as well
Money Shot-4,4: Only useful when you start with Widescreen and end with Money shot(2,1,F+2,4,4=24% damage)
Thats the Ticket-F+3,3,B+3- 4 hit combo for 16%


Special Moves
Spoiler:

Low Forceball-DF2: Johnny's projectile attack, good for zoning(Although zoning with johnny is stupidXD)
High Forceball-DB2: same as above except misses a lot. Both moves hit high so you should just use low forceball
Flip Kick-DB3: A good move to get your opponent away from you, but is not a good combo starter(even though it launches them in the air, you cannot attack before they hit the ground). It is a good wake-up attack
Nut punch-BD+1: A good move to stun your opponent, however it hits high so dont try and use it on someone who is blocking high
Shadow Kick-BF4: A good way to close the distance between you and your opponent

Enhanced Specials
Double Low ball: does two hits instead of one and does 11% damage
Double High Ball: Same as above but the first ball is higher
Ultra Flipkick: Adds 3 hits onto the flipkick for 16% damage
Eclipse Kick: Literally will kick across the ENTIRE screen to your opponent. VERY effective against zoners or blockers
Nutcracker: Adds 4% damage to the attack causing it to be 15% damage


X-Ray
Spoiler:
Johnny's X-ray is a unique but tricky one. First thing you should know is that in order to perform the X-Ray, you must get hit WHILE the X-Ray is starting. Otherwise you can also combo after it if your on the wall(or dash after, it took me a couple tries to get this concept haha). The fact you can combo off JC's X-ray makes it one of the best in the game. I do a very simple X-ray 4,4, but you have many options to do some MAJOR damage.


Johnny Cage Kombos
Spoiler:
-14 hits 49% Wall Combo F+4, 1, 2,2,2,2, 1,1, 4,4, Enhanced Flip Kick.
-8 hits 29% F+4, 1,1, Dash~ 1,1, Dash~, F+2 (Let both hits land), Shadow Kick
-8 Hits, 28%: B3, B3, F3, 2, EX Flipkick (Wall).
-7 hits 28% NJ+2, F+4, 1,1, Dash~ 2,1, Shadow Kick
-7 hits 24% F+4, 1,1, Dash~ 1,1, Dash~ 2,1, Flip Kick
-7 Hits 22% B+3, 1,1, Dash~ 1,1, Dash~ F+3, Nut Punch
-5 hits 24% 2,1 F+2 4,4
-5 hits 27% F+4 2,2,2 U+2
-6 hits 42% X-ray 4,4
Kombos Kredited to DCP:
-14 hits 39% Wall Combo F+4, 1, 2,2,2,2, 1,1, 4,4, Enhanced Flip Kick.
-10 hits 40% Wall Combo (Any Launcher), 2,2,2,2,2 1,1,4, Nut Punch
-8 hits 29% F+4, 1,1, Dash~ 1,1, Dash~, F+2 (Let both hits land), Shadow Kick
-7 hits 22% (Leads to great mix-up opportunity) B+3, 1,1, 1,1, F+3, Nut Punch
-11 hits 52% X-ray dash D+3 2,1 F+2 4,4 shadow kick
Kombos Kredited to Tom Brady:
F+4(or B+3)2,2,2,2,2 1,1,4 Nut punch(Must have opponent cornered)


Tactics
Spoiler:

VS:
Spammers: Dash block and use shadow kick to close distance, once you get in close kombo the crap outta them. EDIT: After facing a ton of spammers today i found an easy solution. Since Johnny is one of the fastest characters in the game, all you have to do is duck and dash until you corner your opponent(Use flip kick to make sure they dont jump over you) Once you have them in the corner they are basically screwed

Zoners: Use shadow kick to close distance and rush them, try to keep them from getting behind you, keep them in front of you so you can control the fight. Or again use crouch dash. Once you get a zoner in the corner they are done for. Johnny has a few zoning options but you should never try to zone an actual zoning character.

Keepaway players: same as zoners, except you want to keep as close to them as possible and just keep attacking. Try cornering them and using a simple corner combo(my favorite is F+4, 2,2,2 uppercut(around 27% damage and is just a simpler version of Tom Brady's combo F+4, 2,2,2,2,2 Shadow kick or flip kick).

Rushers: Johnny Cage is the best rusher in the game, he is the fastest as well. If someone tries to rush you as Johnny, they are putting themselves at a disadvantage, so you should try rushing them and beating them at their own game. HOWEVER if you face a good kung lao or something(Probably Johnny's worst matchup. like that then use your forceballs, flip kick, and 4,4 attack to keep them at bay.


Matchups
Spoiler:

These are from my experience(little) and other users in this threads experience. If you are facing a projectile of any spammer USE JOHNNY CAGE. His dash is so fast that it only takes 5 dashs to get across the entire screen. Other than that he is great against zoners(do the same thing you do for spammers). Most rushers will also be grossly ineffective against Johnny, but their is a select few who might give him trouble

Pick Johnny Cage If your opponent picks:
Stryker- considering most of strykers attack require you to get in close, he is very easy with Johnny. Not a 100% win opportunity but a damn good one.

Baraka- Lag and frame rate make his style moves impossible to pull off, he has no zoning options forcing him to go up close... the list goes on. Baraka should be a really easy win for Johnny.

Noob Saibot- If Noob tries to get in close with Johnny he has no chance, but even if he tries to zone a couple dash blocks and Noob will be stuck int he corner, and with Johnny Cage that means instant death.

Jax- Most of Jax's specials are grabs, which to do against Johnny would be pretty stupid, and he has no zoning options. This is another easy win.

Reptile- Other than his elbow dash Reptile is way too slow to do anything to Johnny.

Jade- Most Jade players rush, so they are easy for Johnny.

Smoke,Scorpion- Block Dash+Punish= easy ass fight

Sindel- Johnny is Sindel's worst nightmare. He's fast, can close distance quick, and can punish you if your cornered. Sindel's fireballs do nothing against Johnny because of how fast he is, and even her Knock Off combos cant stop Johnny from cornering her.

DONT Pick Johnny Cage if your opponent picks...

Kung Lao- His spin move takes away Johnny's corner game, which really makes it hard.

Mileena- after facing a couple Mileenas online I found the biggest problem was Mileena can interrupt a lot of Johnny's combos with her roll, and can teleport from above causing him to always look out for that as well, and she has a lot of kicks that can break a low block.

Sub zero+CSZ: A good Sub Zero player is hard to corner, because even if you do he will use his Ice clone(CSZ will use his parry)

Raiden- His slam will make life hard for you, as well as his devastating combos, watch out for Raiden.

Cyrax- He is one of those characters that can take half your health just by punishing a special, using a rusher against him is a BAD idea.

Nightwolf- Has a great mixup game according to DCP, and since I have not faced one online yet ill take his word for it.

Anymore you can post and ill try to add them in, thanks :D





If you disagree or want to add something just post below and I will consider it, hope you enjoy the thread!
 
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Re: Johnny Cage Thread, "I make this look easy!"

Very good thread. I know everything that's already here. Also....with this kombo-F+3,2 you can add a Forward Force Ball. It works really well. And if they are jumpy, then you can add a High Force Ball.
 
Re: Johnny Cage Thread, "I make this look easy!"

This guide is nice, but I think that most of your matchups ratings (very hard to win, impossible to lose etc..) are just your opinions.

Examples:

"Nightwolf-7 (Nightwolf does very poorly against rushers, so if you get in close Nightwolf is basically screwed)"

Nightwolf is a good all around character, it's not true that he is screwed if you get close to him.

"Sheeva-6 (she really only has her overhead stomp, otherwise Johnny should beat her with ease)"

What kind of Sheeva user did you face??? Sheeva can do much more than overhead stomp

Cyber Sub Zero-4 (CSZ can be used to zone or rush, so its about an even matchup)

Cyber Sub-Zero is a though opponent for Johnny, his parry move should give JC a lot of troubles and he has good zoning moves...I don't think this match is even.

You should also add Kratos matchup
 
well yeah, it is a mix of opinion and experience when ive fought them online( not with JC though, so it is speculation at this point).
Sorry if you disagreed
EDIT: I have no idea about Kratos, there is no way for me to make a matchup because I cant play or fight him
 
corner combo that's really easy to pull off:

33%
2, 1, F+2, B+3, 4, 4, Flip Kick

the only semi-difficult thing about it is the timing on the 4,4 sometimes is tough

but it's 33% and a hell of a lot easier than the 49% one posted


also a great tip for cage, try and end every string with a nut punch it has good recovery plus if it connects it eliminates a wake up opportunity for your opponent and 9 times out of 10 leaves them open for a sweep, and when they catch on to that their open for the F+4 overhead and you can juggle even more

kitana is a terrible matchup for cage btw, maybe I've just ran into really good players but her fan zone kicks my ass
 
Lots of stuff missing/wrong, but otherwise a decent basic guide.

Probably the best JC player in this forum is you, what about helping him in this guide??? It would be interesting to read your tips about Johnny
 
After school today im probably going to change the matchups guide to just detail the best/worst matchups for johnny, but yeah DCP i had played him one day when I wrote the guide so i have in no way mastered him.
 
corner combo that's really easy to pull off:

33%
2, 1, F+2, B+3, 4, 4, Flip Kick

the only semi-difficult thing about it is the timing on the 4,4 sometimes is tough

but it's 33% and a hell of a lot easier than the 49% one posted

I was trying this combo out last night and couldn't get the Flip Kick to work. I learn combos piece by piece and did so with this combo. I could pull-off 2,1,F+2 and B+3,4,4 and 4,4, Flip Kick. After that I added it all together, but could not for the life of me get the Flip Kick to work. It worked just fine when I was just trying 4,4, Flip Kick, but not when I was using the whole combo. Am I missing something?
 
300px-MK9_Guide_Johnny_Cage.jpg

Johnny Cage Kombos

**NOTE**
These combos are the most USEFUL I have found. Yes I know there is more damaging, and some that can be enhanced. These combos create great mix-up opportunities which in the end lead to more damage.

Spoiler:

-14 hits 39% Wall Combo F+4, 1, 2,2,2,2, 1,1, 4,4, Enhanced Flip Kick.
-10 hits 40% Wall Combo (Any Launcher), 2,2,2,2,2 1,1,4, Nut Punch
-8 hits 29% F+4, 1,1, Dash~ 1,1, Dash~, F+2 (Let both hits land), Shadow Kick
-7 hits 22% (Leads to great mix-up opportunity) B+3, 1,1, 1,1, F+3, Nut Punch


Tactics
Spoiler:


You will be using 2,1,F+2 A LOT. This is your best string due to it being interchangeable halfway through. The last hit is an overhead which means your opponent will have to be standard blocking (Not ducking) to block it. If your opponent catches on you can switch to using 2,1,B+4 for a low hit at the end instead.

Another useful string is F+3,3,B+3. Once again the last hit is an overhead, and even if blocked it's safe (which means your opponent won't be able to hit you). If your opponent doesn't have very good defense or you catch them off guard, you can use F+3,3,Nut Punch for extra damage and a good mix-up opportunity.

Use your wake-up! I cannot stress this enough. His Flip Kick is one of the best wake-up moves in the game. It can even go through projectiles if timed correctly.

Lastly, Johnny has a fantastic corner game. There are soooo many options open to him when in a corner. He has a decent speed sweep, so that's always a must. After a sweep connects, use F+4 (His overhead pop-up) because your opponent will more than likely be blocking low. After that just use the wall combo listed and there goes half your opponent's health.
**DO NOT ATTEMPT ANY OF THIS AGAINST KUNG LAO**

Advanced Tactic- Following a sweep to F+4, dash and use Johnny's charge move (B+2) If your opponent doesn't use a wake-up move they will be hit by it 100% of the time leading to another launch (B+3) and another wall combo.



VS:
Spammers: Dash block is your best friend. Once you get close enough to Shadow kick DO IT. Shadow Kick is one of the fastest specials in the game. Against spammers it;s your best friend.

Zoners: Same as above.

Rushers: Johnny has the best pressure in the game other than Kung Lao. Usually as Johnny you can pretty much be in your opponents face even after knocking them down because he has the tools to handle any wake-up attack. With Lao however, you need to play a bit smarter. Since his spin is like the best wake-up in the game, you know your opponent will be using it ALL THE TIME. Once you knock Lao down, bait him into thinking you're going in for them to use an easy spin, then jump back while you're still out of range. 9/10 they will spin due to reflex and you'll have an easy punish.


Matchups
Spoiler:
1. Almost Impossible to win
2.Really hard to win
3.Slight disadvantage
4.Evenly matched
5.slight advantage
6.Really hard to lose
7.Almost Impossible to lose
This is from personal experience of fighting these characters. Johnny is most effective against rushers, but zoners will usually give Johnny a pretty hard time
Scorpion-5

Liu Kang-5

Kung Lao-2 (Having to switch up how you play really effects this fight)

Sub Zero-2 (So many zoning options)

Sindel-4 (many zoning options)

Ermac-6

Reptile-6 (He's soooo slow, you can keep him on lockdown)

Kitana-6

Johnny Cage-4

Jade-6 (usually used to rush, easy for Johnny to rush)

Mileena-5

Nightwolf-3 (makes zoning almost impossible and has good combos/ pop-ups. Be careful against NW)

Cyrax-2 (bomb trap and other zoning techniques are very effective on Johnny)

Noob Saibot-5 (Seriously pretty easy unless opponent is REALLY good with him)

Smoke-6 (Bait. Punish. Rinse. Repeat.)

Sektor-6 (Pretty slow and easily predictable)

Sonya Blade-4 (I'd say the female version of Johnny. She's crazy when up close)

Jax-7 (Jax has no zoning moves whatsoever, and has to get close to do anything)

Kano-3/4 (Has so many tools to shut Johnny down. A very solid character especially after patch)

Stryker-5 (Not much of a threat unless opponent knows his best mix-ups/combos)

Shang Tsung-6 (Dash block destroys this guys)

Baraka-10 (Cake walk)

Kabal-4 (No jump-ins against Kabal)

Raiden-2 (Fast punishing moves, great high-low mixups, and a fast teleport make this a hard fight.)

Cyber Sub Zero-4 (hardest thing to punish is his drop kick, other than that not too hard of a fight.)

Sheeva-5 (Be careful with her. Most people like to use her unblockable stop after knockdown so use wake-up attacks ALL THE TIME.)

Quan Chi-3 (Dude is a total beast. Be careful of his low-high mix-ups, as well as his trance combos. His wake-up is punished only by Shadow Kick. You can catch them before they slip through the ground)

Conclusion
Johnny is a solid character all around. He has fantastic pressure, is very fast, has a nice dash, great specials, and decent combos. Against characters with no teleport his zoning is amazing. Mixing up his high and low orbs makes it almost impossible to reach him. This combined with his amazing ability to rushdown and keep an opponent on lockdown make him a force to be reckoned with. If you like fighting up close and are willing to trade power for speed Johnny is your character.


Please note that these tactics/combos may not work for you. This is according to MY playstyle and what works best for me. I encourage all of you to put in the time to discover what works best in accordance to your style. Not just with Johnny but whoever else you are interested in. Just because Brady or whoever else says this is how you SHOULD play him doesn't mean it's the best way.
 
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I can't pull out the 2x5 combo on the wall, so I've decided to use a little variant that deals less damage but ends in the same way..

2,1,F+2, 2,1..1,1 (can be done two times). .4,4,nut punch. Deals something like 37/38% damage, if I'm not wrong, and leaves the opponent on his feet ready for a possible mix-up.

---

DCP, one question: You said that after the sweep you usually do the F+4 launcher. On how many characters is it safe? I think that even characters with horrible wake-up options can avoid the hit easily, isn't it?
 
I can't pull out the 2x5 combo on the wall, so I've decided to use a little variant that deals less damage but ends in the same way..

2,1,F+2, 2,1..1,1 (can be done two times). .4,4,nut punch. Deals something like 37/38% damage, if I'm not wrong, and leaves the opponent on his foot ready for a possible mix-up.

It's hard to do it online with all the lag. 2 five times I mean.

DCP, one question: You said that after the sweep you usually do the F+4 launcher. On how many characters is it safe? I think that even characters with horrible wake-up options can avoid the hit easily, isn't it?

It's safe on all except those with a fast teleport wake-up or something like Johnny's flip kick/Kung Lao's spin. I know I've gotten Scorpion countless times with it since his teleport is slower. I'd say don't try it on Johnny, Kano, Smoke, Kung Lao, Ermac is iffy you can still catch him occasionally, Quan-Chi, Reptile.
 
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Thanks DCP.

I really am killing with JC online, I made 5 people rage quit before I could do a fatality on them. Spammers dont like Johnny CageXD
 
Thanks DCP.

I really am killing with JC online, I made 5 people rage quit before I could do a fatality on them. Spammers dont like Johnny CageXD

No problem, dude. Yeah once you get in close it's lights out if you know what you're doing.
 
Nice guide DCP!
The only things in which I disagree with you are some of the matchups, but since you wrote that these are the result of your personal experience is all fine. How do you usually continue your combo out of X-Ray? I usually do X-Ray; fdash; b3; uppercut for 45%. I think I can do more, but online this works 100% of the time even with lag.
 
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Nice guide DCP!
The only things in which I disagree with you are some of the matchups, but since you wrote that these are the result of your personal experience is all fine. How do you usually continue your combo out of X-Ray?

Dash into B+3 followed by 2,1,F+2, 4,4 Shadow Kick. Does about 68% I think. I can't remember exactly.
 
Dash into B+3 followed by 2,1,F+2, 4,4 Shadow Kick. Does about 68% I think. I can't remember exactly.

Ahah, maybe with Shang's Boost. Nay, it does 52%.


(Aso, as soon as we both end exams we have to do some matches.. Still remember how you easily defeated me when I chose JC :p..)
 
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