Johnny Cage Mortal Kombat 1 Character Guide by Curbolicous

Once again, the star of the show in on the Mortal Kombat 1 stage, a new interaction of the Johnny Cage we all know and love. For this guide, Dashfight brought on board top NRS competitor Curbolicous to help guide you through Johnny's gameplan, kameos, and combos.

Johnny Cage's Gameplay Basics

Best Buttons

• B3: Good combo launcher or extender.
• B4: Good reach and pushback.
• D1: Goes really far, and has good recovery.
• D3: If your opponent is ducking your highs you can punish them with this.

Best Strings

• S1,1: +3F on block, which guarantees a F3,2 follow-up. Completing the string with either 2 or 4 is not recommended.
• F1,2,3: Advancing move and it can be safe on block on account of the pushback.
• F1,2,4: Combo starter, only do it on hit, very unsafe on block.
• S2,1,2: Probably one of the best meterless combo starter. 
• S2,1,4: Low into overhead, you can cut it short and work in a couple of grabs.
• F3,2,1: Best mid to start a combo with DB3(AMP)

Specials

Johnny has a Hype Meter; performing certain specials and using the stand switch input during it will cause him to taunt, increasing his Hype Meter. Once full you can activate it by using FDB4. This makes it possible to special cancel into special moves from special moves themselves.

• BD1: Good combo ender. Amplifying it means you can directly convert it into a combo. Allows for Hype Meter build-up.
• DB1: A parry with a side switch.
• FD3: Allows you to build up more Hype Meter by using your stand switch.
• DB3: The Normal version is not great, but amplified it allows you to follow up for a combo.
• DF3: Command dash and goes through an opponent.
• BF4: Amplified version is great. It has armor for 1 hit and is remarkably fast. Allows for Hype Meter build-up.
• FDB4: When your Hype Meter is not full, you can use it to build it up.

Best Kameos For Johnny Cage

Johnny Cage's Bread & Butter Combos

All these were performed with Cyrax as the Kameo selection.

Meterless

• 39% - S2,1,2, J.2, S2,1,2, DASH, F1,2, BD1, KAMEO, J.2,4,4
• 31% - F1,2,4, DASH, B3, DASH, F1, DASH, F1,2, BD1, KAMEO, J.2,4,4

Meter

• 41% - F3,2, DB3(AMP), J.2, DASH, S2,1,2, DASH, F1,2, BF1, KAMEO, J.2,4,4
• 39% - F1,2, DB3(AMP), J.2, DASH, S2,1,2, DASH, F1,2, BD1, KAMEO, J.2,4,4
• 38% - S1,1, DB3(AMP), J.2, DASH, S2,1,2, DASH, F1,2, DB1, KAMEO, J.2,4,4
• 32% - BD1(AMP), KAMEO(H), DASH, S2,1,2, J.2, S2,1,2, DASH, F1,2, DB1

Thow

• 22% - F-THROW(AMP), J.2, S2,1,2, DASH, F1,2, BD1

Hype Meter Full

• 48% - S2,1,2, J.2, 4, DB1(AMP), KAMEO(H), DASH, 4, FDB4, BD1, BD1, DF3, 2,1,4, BD1, BD1, KAMEO(H), DASH, S2,1,2, DASH, F1,2, BD1, BD1, BF4