I find the N1K2 suffers the same thing as a lot of other planes do in AH2.
I had a pretty good 1vs1 fight in a N1K2 vs a Bf109F-4. I was feeling a bit lenient, and thought to myself I could get the Bf109 whenever I want, so I experimented with a few things.
And then, after a while, I decided to just shoot him down. The F-4 dropped full flaps in desperations and forced a extreme low speed vertical. I was behind him at 400 yards, with my nose angle already at about 60 degrees, and speed was at 100mph.
Now, if it was AH1, the N1K2 pilot would just pull the stick. If he pulls the stick the plane will respond as it always does, and nose up a little more, gain a gun solution, shoot the target down and then recover speed to fly level.
Well, to my surprise, I found that I couldn't do that in a N1K2.
The speed was too low, and I couldn't just force my plane to nose up at whatever speed, unlike in AH1. It was quite a fun experience - the F4 was right in front of me, but I couldn't raise my nose enough to shoot at it.
When I forced the N1K2 a little too much, it went to the verge of a flat spin, began to wobble and shake with imminent stall conditions, and I had to immediately lower the nose to avoid any kind of stall.
...
The plane may feel like a VTOL if it already has a definite vertical status applied at straight 90d up, but in AH2, if the plane does not have enough speed, you won't be able to just force the nose up, shoot the enemy down, and then stall out.