Appendix: The Do and Doughnuts of Kicking Ass in Namco x Capcom
The game itself contains pretty good tutorials on the basics of actual gameplay, so we won't be covering that. However, we WILL be covering all the characters and how effective they are, and how to best use them.
They will be given two letter ranks, one for their early game usage, and for one for their late game usage, as they all improve massively by endgame.
General tips and strategy will be given for using the characters for maximum asskicking potential as well.
With the exception of Saya, who was included in the following image just to round it out and is obviously unplayable, I will cover the characters in order as depicted, following each row from left to right.
1. Ryu (Street Fighter Alpha 3)
Early Game Rank: B
Late Game Rank: A+
Ryu is pretty useful off the bat, generally being able to combo enemies pretty well since day one and has more range to his long distance Hadoken spam than Ken from the start. His only weakness is that he's slightly less powerful than Ken early on.
By late game, especially after the "Evil Ryu" arc concludes, he closes the distance with Ken in most regimes and his combos get even better, though Ken will always deal more raw damage on average.
His spell pool is decent but nothing amazing, but it will give him decent support and healing buffs.
2. Ken Masters (Street Fighter Alpha 3)
Early Game Rank: B+
Late Game Rank: A+
Ken actually starts off somewhat more useful than Ryu because he does more raw damage and has a cheaper and even better spell pool. Ryu still has the edge in combos and long distance attacks, but Ken is a great boss killer due to his tendency to deal tons of damage with his flaming shoryuken.
By late game, his Hadoken game is about early game Ryu useful, but he has no other major improvements, not that he really needs them.
His spell pool is great for killing bosses and is quite cheap to spam as well.
3. Sakura Kasugano and Karin Kanzuki (Street Fighter Alpha 3)
Early Game Rank: B+
Late Game Rank: A+
Early on, Sakura will be your primary damage dealer and combo spammer, and Karin will be pretty crap for this purpose.
Karin becomes even better than Sakura by late game in those areas, but Sakura will always have a slight edge in doling out critical hits.
Their spell pool is a tad pricey but is a support mage's wet dream, able to cripple enemies while buffing them, complete with a free turn spell.
4. Megaman Volnutt and Roll Caskett (Megaman Legends)
Early Game Rank: B
Late Game Rank: A
Early on, Mega is gonna be pulling most of the weight for this team, though all the good support spell that make Mega a one man ass kicking machine will always come from Roll, including a free turn spell.
Late game has Roll add a ton of pain to Mega's attacks, the Crash Bomb attack being surprisingly damaging to many bosses.
They are constantly crippled by being long distance attack only fighters, but in that role they will serve you well.
4. Demitri (Darkstalkers)
Early Game Rank: A
Late Game Rank: A+
Demitri will always be one of your strongest fighters, even from the start.
All the late game does is make his combo game better, and he's one of the few characters who can be as many as ten levels lower than some bosses and still be able to go toe to toe with them, that's how powerful he is.
His spell pool is all about buffing himself to do more damage, is cheap, and very spammable.
5. Judas (Tales of Destiny 2)
Early Game Rank: B
Late Game Rank: B+
Since you get Judas pretty late, not a lot changes aside from a slight change in his attack timing at most, but if you can get used to the slightly odd timing of his combos, he can do respectable damage at worst.
His spell pool is a mix of everything, and if you slap some Mp Regen and Mp cost down items on him, he can make a very excellent support mage.
5. Stahn and Rutee (Tales of Destiny)
Early Game Rank: B+
Late Game Rank: A+
Stahn and Rutee aren't too bad when they start out, but they kinda blow in terms of being raw damage dealers, mostly because their attacks are of the "death of a thousand cuts" type. Still, even early on, they are great at comboing.
Late game kicks this into overdrive, and they get surprisingly useful against some bosses no other characters can scratch half as well. The combo spam also gets so intense Rutee's Braid Rose attack can net her up to three additional combos if properly timed.
Their spell pool is firmly in support mage territory, but they have a high MP pool, the spell prices are decent, and their "Acid Rain" spell can make several bosses far less painful.
6. Wonder Momo and Bravoman (Wonder Momo and Bravoman)
Early Game Rank: B
Late Game Rank: A
Early game users of these two will probably find Bravoman is slightly more useful for combo chaining while Momo is better at damage dealing.
Late game shifts it to where Momo will be best at both, and her "Wonder Typhoon" is an easily spammable damage and combo dealer.
Their spell pool is a bit pricy, but they have a free turn spell usable on anyone, so so they make good support mages, though can also double as enemy crippler mages as well.
7. Wayahime and Taki (Bravoman and Soul Calibur)
Early Game Rank: B-
Late Game Rank: A
Early game is just Taki alone, and while she's a decent support mage, her damage/comboing is ho-hum and her defense is a tad poor.
Late game pairs her with Wayahime, and not only does her damage/combing improve, the two of them get a much better super attack than Taki had by herself.
Their spell set is expensive but good at enemy crippling and free turn spamming.
7. Heishirou Mitsurugi (Soul Calibur)
Early Game Rank: C
Late Game Rank: B
Mitsurugi is the worst at doing combos in the game, no question. Regardless, he still does an amazing amount of raw damage and serves as a great tank even very early on.
Late game files off some of the worst parts of his combo game, but that's about it.
He does have a very cheap Demitri style spell set though.
8. KOS-MOS (Xenosaga I)
Early Game Rank: A
Late Game Rank: A+
KOS-MOS is the most game breakery character you can get, and you get her from the very start. Early game she will do an obscene amount of damage, has great combos, and has no less than four very useful
spells that make bosses a LOT easier to kill.
Late game just makes her even better, adding a free turn spell and 5% MP regeneration per hit she lands, and since she can always land a ton, she has little danger of ever depleting her mile high MP pool.
9. Shion Uzuki and M.O.M.O (Xenosaga I)
Early Game Rank: B
Late Game Rank: A
These two characters are mage based from the very start, making great healers, have a great long range attack, and Shion has some decent close range status attacks as well. They are crippled by low HP, defense, and raw damage though.
Late game obviates some of these weaknesses, and Shion's "Queen's Kiss" ability can be awesome in the right situations, as she can drain MP from enemies with HIGH MP pools and refill her own, and that means she can heal everyone on the battlefield ad infinitum depending on how many MP pinatas are around, and there are many in the late game.
10. Fong Ling and Hsien-ko (Resident Evil: Dead Aim and Darkstalkers)
Early Game Rank: B
Late Game Rank: A
Early on, Fong Ling will be slightly more useful, as her grenade spam can really lay on the damage to many enemies.
Late game, Hsien-ko does more damage, and her gong attack alone can do an amazing amount of combo hits.
Their spell set is most supportive and while decent cost for the most part, is not all that impressive, but they do get a free turn spam spell later on.
11. Captain Commando (Captain Commando)
Early Game Rank: A
Late Game Rank: A+
The Captain is one of those game breaker characters that starts awesome really early on, does nice combos, and hits HARD.
Late game just makes him better at all the above.
His spell pool is awesome support mage stuff, but very pricey, his only real flaw, but they include free turn spamming spells.
12. Mack The Knife and Baby (Captain Commando)
Early Game Rank: B+
Late Game Rank: A
Mack and Baby start off at good comboers but their damage cap isn't quite a good as the Captain's early on.
They get slightly better at that late game, and their comboing just gets borderline awesome insane good.
Their spell pool is small, but include a free turn spell and some self healing, and that's all they really need.
13. Guy and Sho (Final Fight and Captain Commando)
Early Game Rank: A
Late Game Rank: A+
These two are undisputed masters of doing tons of hits that chain right out the gate, and while their spell pool is small, it's enough to buff them in all the right areas, and they get a free turn spam spell too.
Late game they can chain even MORE hits together, and with a proper setup these guys can pull TWO super attacks on the SAME turn.
14. Sir Arthur (Ghost and Goblins)
Early Game Rank: B+
Late Game Rank: A+
Arthur early game is not all that bad, especially at long range, but his attacks don't chain very well, though they do decent damage overall. He can attack at short range, but he really sucks at it.
Late game buffs his best long range attacks to do multiple hits per shot, and his combos and damage shoot through the roof.
His spell pool is small, but good for attacking buffing and very cheap.
15. Gilgamesh and Kai (The Tower of Druaga)
Early Game Rank: B+
Late Game Rank: A
These two play totally different, with Kai being the long range, Gil short range, but even early game neither is bad at both, though Kai is a swiss army knife of elemental magic for any occasion, while Gil
only has a fire attack that is good for that.
Late game makes Kai even more deadly and combo useful, and Gil's attacks get downright obscene damage wise against foes vulnerable to them.
Their spell pool is small but slightly pricey, but covers support buffing and healing quite well.
16. Regina and Bruce McGivern (Dino Crisis 2 and Resident Evil

ead Aim)
Early Game Rank: B+
Late Game Rank: A+
These two early game are basically the same as Arthur. Sucky at short range but awesome at long range.
Late game just makes them really good at dealing damage, and their super attack improves dramatically.
Their spell pool is decent, reasonably cheap, and focuses on enemy crippling and attack buffs.
16. Reiji Arisu and Xiaomu
Early Game Rank: A
Late Game Rank: A+
Early game, they will be your best characters, and each is a swiss army knife of attacks for any occasion at both short and long range.
Late game they get even better, do obscene combos and damage, and you'd be an idiot to not keep them front and center in every battle.
Their spell pool is geared for attack buffs and turn spam, though Xiaomu's MP drain spell has the issue of inducing enemy knockback, so use it against foes who are pinned down in a corner or against other characters if possible.
17. Rose ( Street Fighter Alpha 3)
Early Game Rank: A+
Late Game Rank: A+
You get Rose kinda late, so there is little difference between late and early game aside from a minor change in a few attacks to do more damage, but she's pretty effective against a lot of bosses, but aside from Soul Reflect her combo game is pretty crap.
But the reason she gets A+ from the start would be because she's the BEST support mage in the game. She's loaded down with all sorts of useful stuff, including free turn spam and cheap MP draining. Marry that to having mile high MP, and she can spam free turns to everyone in every battle, and that alone makes her worth her weight in gold.
18. Strider Hiryuu (Strider)
Early Game Rank: A
Late Game Rank: A+
Strider doesn't change attackwise between early and late game, but he really doesn't need to, he's got a full kit of awesome stuff out the gate, including a free poison inducing attack.
Late game, however, is when he's doling out critical hits like no tomorrow and his super attack does some insane damage to basically every boss.
He has pretty high MP, and his spell pool is designed to make his asskicking skills better, including free turn spamming.
19. Tarosuke and Taira no Kagekiyo (Shadowland and Genpa Toumaden)
Early Game Rank: B+
Late Game Rank: A+
Early game players will likely get more use out of Tarosuke than Kagekiyo, as the former's Momotaro tends to be good against basically everyone and does great damage and combos well.
Late game, though, and Kagekiyo becomes just as viable, even outclassing Tarosuke in damage in many areas.
However, both make outstanding enemy crippling mages, and late game, they even get a cheap MP draining spell as well
20. Mike Haggar (Final Fight)
Early Game Rank: B
Late Game Rank: A
Haggar starts off the same at Mitsurugi, except he's much better at combos.
Late game, though, and his critical hit rate takes a massive upswing as well.
His spell pool is limited, mostly self support, but it's all he really needs, and it's fairly cheap.
21. Armor King (Tekken)
Early Game Rank: A
Late Game Rank: A
You get him kinda late, so his attacks really don't change, but since he's like the best of King and Heihachi in one package, they don't need to.
His real benefit, though, is having the same skill KOS-MOS has for MP recovery plus a free turn spam spell, so you can have him give someone a free turn, then have him attack someone to recover the MP to do it over and over again.
He has other support spells, but his limited MP supply means the above trick is ideal use of it.
22. Felicia and King II (Darkstalkers and Tekken)
Early Game Rank: B
Late Game Rank: A
These two fall into two niches, Felicia handles the combos, and King II does all the raw damage. Early on, they are good but not outstanding at both.
Late game is when they both improve somewhat, but their real contributions are be excellent support mages, and they have a nice spell list for this.
32. Hideo Shimazu and Kyoko Minazuki (Rival Schools)
Early Game Rank: B+
Late Game Rank: A
Early game, these two are basically a discount version of Rose, except Kyoko is much better at combos and Hideo does the raw damage.
Late game both get even better in their respective niche, but neither reaches the game breaker tier level, though they remain respectable second string fighter.
Their spell set is pure support spells, and while limited, they are all useful spells for this.
33. Jin Kazama (Tekken)
Early Game Rank: B+
Late Game Rank: A+
Jin is a pretty good even early on as a fighter, he just lacks the ability to consistently string together long combos with his better moves.
Late game finally lets him do this, and he turns into a one man ass kicking machine.
His spell set is cheap but purely focused on buffing his attacks, which is all he actually needs.
34. Heihachi Mishima (Tekken)
Early Game Rank: A
Late Game Rank: A+
Heihachi is initially a better version of Jin when you get him, and is similar in many ways, but he just can string together combos better.
Late game just polishes him further to where you could use either as an asskicker.
Like Jin, his spell set is purely for making him kick ass better and is pretty cheap.
35. Unknown Warriors AKA Alpha/Beta (Forgotten Worlds)
Early Game Rank: B+
Late Game Rank: A+
Early game, these two are quite good at stringing together combos, but kinda suck at raw damage, though they tend to be great at chaining combos together, which can get them more combos to chain.
Late game replaces all their shitty moves with awesome ones that do great damage and chain well, so by end game they will be the masters of ranged warfare.
They are purely long range only, and their spell pool is limited to buffing themselves though.
35. Slyphie (Forgotten Worlds)
Early Game Rank: A+
Late Game Rank: A+
Slyphie is just broken. Even early game she can chain combos like crazy, has a swiss army knife level utility against damn near anything, and has MP regen per hit like KOS-MOS on top of having an ideal support/healer spell set, and she only gets better with time.
The game makes her a temporary character until very late because of this, but she's still awesome regardless.
36. Chun-li and Cammy White (Street Fighter Alpha 3)
Early Game Rank: B
Late Game Rank: A+
Early game is just Chun-li by herself, and while she's not bad and good at chaining combos, she lacks some raw power.
Late game, when Cammy is added to the team, that flips around and Chun-li really does live up her "Strongest Woman in the World" billing.
Their spell pool is pure attack buffs, and includes a pricey free turn spam spell as well.
37. Hiromi Tenguji and Toby Masuyo (Burning Force and Baraduke)
Early Game Rank: B
Late Game Rank: A
Early game, they are good at ranged attack, especially Masuyo, but Hiromi honestly kinda sucks raw damage, but can combo to a degree.
Late game makes Masuyo do lots of raw damage, while Hiromi shaves off some of her rougher edges.
Their spell pool is limited to buffing themselves, but that's more than enough.
38. Taizou Horii (Dig Dug)
Early Game Rank: A
Late Game Rank: A+
Taizou even early on isn't outstanding on combo chaining, but he can do lots of raw damage right out the gate.
His movesets doesn't change much by late game, he just gets better at doling out raw damage, and he gets critical hits like crazy to compensate for his bad combo potential.
His only bad point is a so-so spell pool with only one or two really useful spells.
39. Gantz and Klonoa (Klonoa)
Early Game Rank: A
Late Game Rank: A+
These two fill two separate niches: Gantz for long range, Klonoa for short range. They are also the only team to have super attacks for both characters.
Early and late game they are pretty good, but any bad points about their damage or comboing are shaved off by game midpoint.
Their spell pool is pure self buffing, but it's all they really need.
40. ServBot and Tron Bonne (Megaman Legends)
Early Game Rank: B
Late Game Rank: A
Early game has these two being decent ranged damage dealers (they have no short range at all), but their combo chaining sucks.
Late game makes them good at both.
Their spell pool though, is kind bad, most of the skills being niche use at best.
41. Morrigan and Lilith (Darkstalkers)
Early Game Rank: A
Late Game Rank: A+
Early game is just Morrigan by herself, and she's a one woman army.
By late game Lilith joins up, and thus they are nerfed by Morrigan's best move being replaced by Lilith's, which is slightly weaker. On the other hand, you gain a pretty cheap free turn spell you can spam, and coupled with Morrigan's MP drain spell, makes them the second best support mage team next to Rose.
42. Sabine and Kurino (The Legend of Valkryie)
Early Game Rank: A
Late Game Rank: A+
These two are the swiss army knife of asskicking. Sabine has a poison dealing attack that is great for combos, while Kurino is good at both combos and raw damage.
Late game just makes them better at what they already do well.
Their spell pool is kind crap though.
43. Valkyrie (The Legend of Valkryie)
Early Game Rank: A
Late Game Rank: A+
Valkyrie early game is basically a more raw damage oriented version of Kurino and Sabine.
Late game will still have her edge them out in this regard.
Her spell pool is somewhat better though, and while it's limited, she makes a good support mage.
....And that's all folks. Now you know how to use the cast to kick ass.
As a bonus, here's some hilarious chibi fanart of the whole cast: