VF4 / Akira [ print friendly ] [ command view ]
Virtua Fighter 4 version B/C^
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FAQ
^sidenote: I wrote this FAQ for both versions of the game, why? most of the
VF4's in the US arcades right now is the version B type, but the one released
onto the PS2 is the version C type. I tried to point out differences between
the 2 whenever possible, but if I don't catch them all, I'm only human
written by ReCharredSigh
e-mail me at peesigh@hotmail.com
(and title all your messages as "VF4 Akira FAQ comments", else i will ignore
them; it's also come to my attention that some of you guy's emails that i send
back to you get bounced, and that i have no way of telling you this, so from now
onward if you give me an email and don't get one back by 3 weeks(i usually reply
before then), that means that your email got bounced back to me; try sending your
email again using a different address)
version 2.0 346 KBs Beginners, don't be discouraged, what you need to look at is
summarized in the "what's the reasons to read this FAQ" section.
June 24, 2002
Copyright 2002 ReCharredSigh
First of all, lemme sum the legal mumbo jumbo regarding this FAQ in the simplest
terms, please don't be like those snobby lawyers that twist every word to their
own benefit, it's really degrading of you:
===================================================================================
1. I am not responsible for harm to you due to something in this FAQ, whether it
was in the computer sense(i.e. your computer crashed while you tried to save this
FAQ) or in the arcade playing sense(lost/won and got beat up due to some technique
in this FAQ).
2. This FAQ is free. Plain and simple. That means trying to make money off of
this FAQ is wrong, and that this FAQ can't be included in any publications in any
way for money profit. You can find it free at the websites I listed.
3. For you people who do write free publications(most likely on the web) and want
to use this FAQ for aid in some way, give me credit if you want to use anything
from this FAQ, you don't need to quote me on everything, just give me credit at
the beginning/end of your work, and I will have no beefs against you. If you want
to post this FAQ on your website, please e-mail me first asking permission, else I
will be pissed off.
4. And lastly, if you don't want to obey the above, please just ignore this FAQ,
and read some other.
5. What characters Sega has created, is of their entire copyright. I have in no
effort tried to take one of their works as my own.
6. You can find this FAQ at the following sites:
Gamefaqs.com, http://www.gameadvice.com, http://www.neoseeker.com
Virtuafighter.com
There is also a small chance that this will appear on CreeD's FTP server site;
he did ask me for the FAQ ;)
If you didn't find it there, chances are it isn't in the latest version.
===================================================================================
WHAT TO EXPECT IN THIS FAQ
note: since I wrote such a long FAQ, it helps to navigate around if you use the
"find" feature(CTRL+F, then type in the subcategory JUST AS IT APPEARS in
this table, i.e. A.General Strategy)
0.CREDITS
I.INTRO
A.Storyline of Akira
B.Why choose Akira
C.What's the reasons to read this FAQ
II.MOVE COMMANDS
A.General Move Commands
B.Move Command Summary
C.Akira's Normal Attacks
D.Akira's Hopping Attacks
E.Akira's Turn-Toward Attacks
F.Akira's Special Attacks
G.Akira's Reversals
H.Akira's Throws
I.Akira's Ground Attacks
III.COMBOS
IV.STRATS
A.General Strategy
a.Beginner Player's Section
b.Advanced Player's Section
c.The Option Select(Defense)
d.Misc
Stance
Countering
Initiative frames
Weight/height/width
Damage scaling system
Guard cancelling
Crouch dashing
Evading/Dodging
Tech-rolling/Quick-rising
Throws
Wall dynamics
Reversals
Sabaki
Inashi
Crumble stuns
Staggers
K.O. Hits
Flowcharts
Custom strings
Fuzzy guard
Machi
Yomi
Okizeme(TR staggering/backstaggering)
CD cancel
Rising attacks
B.Character specific strategies
1.Lion
2.Lei
3.Pai
4.Kage
5.Jeffry
6.Vanessa
7.Lau
8.Jacky
9.Aoi
10.Shun
11.Wolf
12.Sarah
13.Akira
14.Dural
V.REVISIONS
VI.IN CLOSING
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Sega(www.sega.com) and its AM2 department
-Yu Suzuki, you have always made the best 3D fighting games that I have seen.
Keep it up; you're doing a good job making VF more popular around the US, maybe
if you keep it up, we'll find VFers abundant in US arcades someday.
VirtuaFighter.com
-For being such a great site for VFers. I got a LOT of stuff from this site.
All of you deserve a huge thanks for helping me make this FAQ happen. Here
goes the list of people on the site to thank(sorry if I forgot some names):
CreeD:for some technical info such as best followups after the BG, if a
SPoD is guarenteed after an inashi, best followups after a ST
Mr. Bungle:for the excellant FAQs he had online; the revision B counterability
FAQ, the combos FAQ, and the VF3tb Kage FAQ(for writing the option
select and fuzzy guard specifics); all these helped to write stuff
about their respective sections
FeixaQ:for helping answer some of my questions about Akira, such as what
was guarenteed after a BG
Nutlog:for providing the excellant backstagger combo with Akira, as well as
his damage scaling FAQ, which I used to write the damage scaling
section; it's an excellant FAQ BTW, check it out if you have time
ken:for his Lei dojo which most definitely helped to write anti-Lei strategies,
and for starting the anti-rising attacks forum which helped to write
some okizeme specifics
ice-9:for his excellant Jeffry, Lion, Pai, and Sarah dojos, all which helped
to write their respective strategies against them. and if you're a
beginner, you can read those dojos if you want to get good at the
respective characters; just beware, they're strictly for revision B only
uk-guy:for the excellant Kage FAQ, which some snippets were used to write the
anti-Kage section, as well for some of the combos that he posted online,
and a few little things here and there. he also helped me INCREDIBLY,
giving me hints on fighting Kage, as well as new thoughts on Akira's
attacks
SummErs:for writing the excellant throw escape article(or translating it anyhow),
helping to determine the best thing to do after certain escaped throws;
this definitely helped me write the situations about Akira's throws as
well as the situations to do after the opponent's escaped throws. in
addition, it is a very great article; check it out if you have time.
and for helping edit my anti-Jacky tactics for me. oh yeah, he helped
me revise my anti-Pai strats, and I also give him credit for the VF4
storyline, which i cut and pasted
GLC:for writing the revision B movelist which helped to get down Akira's moves,
as well as some of the specifics of the game(newbies, if you're confused
about the dynamics of the game, reading his FAQ would help). sorry I didn't
ask you for permission to use your FAQs beforehand, but it's all good; all
is forgiven, no? ;)
MisterWhite:directly gave me advice on Akira. Thanks man, and yes, I will try
to help give you advice on your Wolf flowchart FAQ
Myke:last, but not least, for the site, and the excellant version B and C
movelists, as well as all the excellant articles he wrote; sabakis,
evading, and the break falling articles. all these helped to write certain
aspects of Akira such as moves that the opponent can evade, or what attacks
Akira can evade, as well as touch on the concept of break falling; all of
them are excellant articles, and I strongly suggest that if you have time,
you go and check them out; they would tremendously help your knowledge of
the game. in addition, he has written some seriously good posts in the
forums, which i used to help write this FAQ.
VirtuaProject.com
-Another good VF website to check out. I got how to walk in 8 directions from
this site.
Gamefaqs.com
-For providing a place to put this FAQ.
Joji Suzuki(joji.g@channel1.com, us003263@pop3.interramp.com)
-THE man, because like many VF players he got me started on how to use Akira
through his VF2 Akira FAQ. I will forever thank him.
Weili Huang(whuang@pandemicstudios.com.au)
-For giving me an excellant email detailing the specs on Hakkyoku-ken.
actarus(actaruseufor@hotmail.com)
-For giving me a rundown of Akira's martial art style.
Silent J(silent_j_@hotmail.com)
-My online game chatting buddy. I wrote this FAQ for people who are still
hooked on VF like him.
God
-For the air I breathe, the ability to live and everything I've got. Oh yeah, and
putting up with all those losers in the world like me.
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===========
A.Storyline
===========
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VF1 Storyline:
Hakkyoku-ken is one of the foremost Chinese martial arts. During the Second World
War, the Japanese army developed their own Hakkyoku-ken techniques to improve
their infantry's fighting ability. Akira Yuki is the son of the man who developed
these techniques. He serves as the assistant instructor at Yuki Budokan.
Hot-blooded and impulsive by nature, he also can be naive and intemperate. After
completing his training under his father's tutelage at the age of 23, he went on a
quest to test his abilities. When he got word of the 1st World Fighting
Tournament, he decided to enter.
VF2 Storyline:
The only person to whom the ultimate martial art of Hakkyoku-ken is handed down.
Realizing that the last time he lacked experience; Akira is now testing the results
of last year's training and practice. During the last Tournament, Akira was a bit
too "enthusiastic" and his attitude was met with much disapproval. He was
humiliated by Kage and bears a grudge against him.
VF3 Storyline:
Realizing that he lacked experience from his failure to win the First World
Fighting Tournament, Akira went through rigorous training to prepare himself for
the Second World Fighting Tournament. Akira returned home, with the second
tournament trophy. Yet as he was about to proclaim his victory, his grand-father
told him, "Don't flatter yourself. You haven't mastered anything yet." In order
to answer the question, "What is true strength," Akira resolved to fight in the
tournament once more. On the eve of the Third Tournament, Akira is about to
demonstrate his prowess. Are we ready to see what deadly powers Akira will
unleash?
VF4 Storyline:
After Akira failed to win the tournament, he went back to Japan and told his
grandfather about the disappointing results. With further encouragement from
his grandfather, Akira decides to continue his training in the mountains. This
time, Akira trained harder than ever, while trying to understand exactly what
"true power" really is. However while training, Akira received an invitation
for the 4th world tournament. Akira decides to join the tournament to test out
the new skills he has learned and try to find the "real" power within him.
Short analysis of Hakkyoku-ken:
Ok, I made a BIG mistake in writing my analysis of Hakkyoku-ken. Weili Huang,
a Hakkyoku-ken student for 5 years sent me an excellant email describing in
detail the specifics of Hakkyoku-ken, so I'd thought I would just paraphrase
what he said:
The japanese have no influence in Hakkyoku-ken, but still think this is the most
powerful chinese martial art. The chinese however disagree because they've never
believed in invincibility. According to a japanese friend of Huang, the japanese
never saw this martial art, so they go to Huang's instructor to ask him to teach
them. However, Huang himself states that he learns Hakkyoku-ken to practice
its "one-hit" techinique and to beef up a martial art that he is learning. Also
in point is that japanese probably got influenced by a japanese manga known as
"Kenji;" the story deals w/chinese martial arts and the author believes that
Hakkyoku-ken is the most powerful of them. Some of the sensei in Japan will
teach their students this art based upon the manga. Akira's Grasping Mind throw
actually belongs to the Shaolin Art, but since it came from the comic book, this
is why you see the move. 95% of Akira's Hakkyoku-ken is genuine though, according
to Huang.
The chinese word for Hakkyoku-ken is BaJiQuan, or Eight-Extremity Fist. It is a
Northern chinese style of martial art that stresses knocking down the opponent
in a single blow. The practioner has a philosophy of "never afraid of a thousand
techniques, but do afraid of one." The art stresses "Bear Step, Tiger Form" style
of attacking; break the opponent's defense like a bear, then give a short quick
blow like a tiger. It uses eight parts of the body to attack; hands, elbows,
shoulders, knees, feet, head, hips, and buttocks. Releasing of internal strength
is also common practice in Hakkyoku-ken; practitioners will stomp their feet in
order to add power to their strikes.
Huang also states that going to
http://www.sega.com/games/post_gamegame.jhtml?PRODID=827 and clicking on the
Official Game Site link will lead to accurate information about Akira's martial
art.
Another person replied to me; actarus(actaruseufor@hotmail.com) showed me how
the style of Akira could come from the martial art Xingyiquan, which has 3
internal martial art styles(Baguazhang, Taijiquan, and Xingyiquan); he pointed
me to the site below and stated that parts 2 and 3 would explain it.
http://martialarts.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cis.ohio
-state.edu%2Fhypertext%2Ffaq%2Fusenet%2Fmartial-arts%2Ffaq%2Ftop.html
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==================
B.Why Choose Akira
==================
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Akira is obviously the main character of Virtua Fighter. He is one of the best
characters in the game, in fact, I think he is THE character in the game! The
biggest reason is his power; 99% of what he does either inhales life by itself or
used properly in combos. Akira is also versatile; he has no really useless move.
His option select is also one of the best because he is in the possession of many
reversal-type moves. It's even arguable that he has some of the coolest attacks
in the game.
There are a couple of weaknesses with Akira though; many of his attacks are
linear and he doesn't have many quick, safe, and or long-ranged low-level attacks.
In addition, he is the most un-button masher friendly character in the game.
While it doesn't take much to know how to play Akira properly, the actual commands
for many of his key moves(knee, shoulder ram, double palm, SPoD to name a few)
either require precision & speed or require knowledge of the crouch dash to use
properly.
But all in all, his damage potential more than makes up for it. And for you VF
veterans who are just starting to give VF4 a try, Akira's play has been improved
upon once again, making it easier to use him than in the past games. If you
can learn to get past the technical control needed to play Akira well, you'll find
he's quite easy to pick up on and you'll LOVE the way he deals out damage and
just plain kicks @$$.
I just want to comment on something; Akira is not cheap; he is not broken to the
point where his most effective tactics are uncounterable. In fact, no character
in VF4 is cheap, and no tactic is cheap; if you think something is cheap, most
likely it's because you don't know how to counter it. Main point, if you become
predictable with a tactic, you die. This is the basic rule of VF.
SPEED-Many of Akira's attacks come out very quickly and recover quickly, making
them perfect for poking at the opponent. The downside is often those same poking
attacks leave the opponents with at least 3 frames of initiative, so berzerking
with Akira is not an option. Some of his insanely damaging attacks take a very
long time to recover, but then, this is VF, where big damage=big risk, so it's
justified. The only thing I wish might be better is if Akira's low backfist came
out faster; he needs a quick low-level attack that recovers quickly. BTW, Akira's
regular movement is decently quick(still not insanely fast though).
POWER-Akira is a friggin sick bastard. There is a simple reason people have
nicknamed Akira a pig in VF4; his damage potential is immense. If you don't kill
your opponent from at most 3 well-placed knockdowns in a round, you're not
playing Akira right. His combos have the potential to drain away close to 50% life,
and his bodycheck is the game's single most powerful attack, with a potential to
take out close to half of the opponent's lifebar all by itself. His throws aren't
that powerful by themselves, but they still do solid damage(at least 60 points for
his staple throws). The best part though is despite Akira's moderate damaging
throws, they come into their own when you do them near a wall, because Akira can
do some very sick wall combos that are started from his throws. Arguably the
strongest character in the game.
OFFENSE-Akira has many good poking attacks, good anti-dodge attacks, a good number
of combo starters(and enders), a number of great mid-level attacks and good throws.
He is deadly from close range up to about mid-range, and has some of the most
powerful QR/TR punishing tactics in the game, making him a good offensive character.
Do beware though that many of Akira's attacks are linear, or they don't hit low(and
come out quickly). Because of this lack of low attacks, Akira's guessing games
revolves around middle attack/throw, unlike some characters who rely on a variety of
throws, or the middle/low striking game.
DEFENSE-Akira has incredibly good defense. He has many options including his
reversals/parry, his evading bodycheck, punch, standing shoulder and low punch.
And that's just grazing the surface. He has better options for his option select
because he has more ways of defending against attacks.
RANGE-Akira plays best at mid-range to close-range. He doesn't have a fast, long
range kick(like Kage/Lau's heel kick), which might benefit him greatly and lengthen
the distance that he could fight effectively. But he can use his dashing attacks
to get the job done. Akira also doesn't have a fast circular attack, which is
arguably one of his biggest weaknesses; many of his attacks are linear, and those
that do track dodgers are a bit slow.
WEIGHT-Akira is considered a mid-heavy weight, which is good. Weight is sorta
compared to vitality in VF because the lighter characters float slower in the
air, giving the opponent more oppurtunity to do damage. But because he's heavy,
he doesn't draw the short straw here.
EASE OF USE-Akira is one of the hardest characters to master in the game. It's
not his style of play per-se that makes him hard to use(he can be played rather
mechanically if you prefer), it's the dexterity you need to play effectively with
him. Many of his big-damage attacks require speed and precision movements, and
for the beginner, it's quite some time before he/she can do this. In addition,
Akira is the most un-button masher friendly character in this game. You simply
can't button mash with Akira, there's nothing that comes out if you do. The good
part is that it's the move commands that make Akira hard to use, not his gameplan.
He's actually become a lot more easier to use compared to previous VF games, heck,
I don't think you even NEED to use his 3-hit strings in this game! It still takes
some time before a beginner can learn to win with Akira, but it's worth it; a good
Akira player can take apart most characters in about 3 knockdowns; sometimes 2
if you have sick yomi skills.
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C.What's the reasons to read this FAQ
=====================================
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I think the reasons are simple enough;
-Simply put, to learn how to play Akira well. This is the main focus of this
FAQ; to educate you the reader about close to everything I think is necessary
for you to get good at Akira; that includes the basic stuff, as well as the
more advanced tactics that are found. If you are curious about the game system
(I don't exactly cover everything there), try the general FAQ at VF.com. Last
notes, if you are a person who isn't used to the huge sized fighting game FAQs
I've written, lemme just say this; please give this FAQ a chance. Maybe you don't
need to read every single word, but I promise if you take the time to read some
tips here and there in the FAQ and then put them into use, you just might find
yourself playing a bit better. So enjoy.
-Take a look at the main FAQ hosting sites, and you'll find a fairly sorry list
of FAQs for VF4. The reason is simple; a lot of the FAQs written are basically
glorified movelists with 4 line long strategies and the best part of the FAQ is
the covering of the items each character gets(and even then, the item FAQ does
way better on this part). For a casual gamer who doesn't have time to kill on
the forums at VF.com, this makes it extremely hard getting into VF4 without doing
something wrong. This is why I wrote this FAQ(and I also congratulate Robyrt,
UKGuy, Nutlog, GLC, and Hyun amongst the few for having attempted to correct this
problem with their great FAQs as well). This FAQ also has the purpose of
transitioning people who are either ex-VF2/3 players or Tekken players or even 2D
players for that matter into this wonderful game.
-Beginners, to help you find what's most helpful to you, I listed what you should
look at in order of getting you best acquainted with the game(don't forget to
look up the general FAQs to find out general stuff):
1)beginner's player section
2)general move commands
3)move command summary(to look up the commands for the most useful moves)
4)combos
From there, just look up whatever else interests you; the misc section might
shed some light on some of the dynamics of VF4(although it won't give the whole
picture; a general FAQ by GLC would help entirely)
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Here's a quick legend to help orient you with what means what
f: Tap the joystick towards the opponent once
b: Tap the joystick away from the opponent once
d: Tap the joystick towards yourself once
u: Tap the joystick away from yourself once
G: Tap the button that is labeled "Guard" once
P: Tap the button that is labeled "Punch" once
K: Tap the button that is labeled "Kick" once
+: And(i.e. for+P means "tap forward and punch together")
[]: Items in brackets can be "charged," or held down to increase damage
F: Tap and hold the joystick towards the opponent briefly
B: Tap and hold the joystick away from the opponent briefly
D: Tap and hold the joystick towards yourself briefly
U: Tap and hold the joystick away from yourself briefly
N: Let the joystick go into the neutral position
/: diagonal direction(i.e. up/for means tap the diagonal up-forward)
HCB: half-circle back(f,d/f,d,d/b,b)
HCF: half-circle forward(b,d/b,d,d/f,f)
QCB: quarter-circle back(d,d/b,b)
QCF: quarter-circle forward(d,d/f,f)
H: attack can only hit standing people, and must be blocked^ high
M: attack can hit both standing and crouching people, and must be blocked^ high
L: attack can hit both standing and crouching people, and must be blocked^ low
sL: attack can hit both standing and crouching people, and may be blocked^ at any
level
G: attack can only hit a person knocked down and on the ground
Ht: denotes a high throw
St: denotes a side throw
Bt: denotes a back throw
Ct: denotes a catch throw
Lt: denotes a low throw
Gt: denotes a ground throw
*: note the description
FS: move requires to stand first(if you are crouching, you can just do a dash
to immediately stand)
FC: move requires a crouch first(this is NOT the same as D, as there are numerous
ways to crouch)
O: no effect on opponent
Note in the above legend,
^ means that it only pertains to strikes. throws and reversals can't be blocked.
reversals with a certain hit level can only reverse attacks at that hit level.
=======================
A.General Move Commands
=======================
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Standing Dash/Instant Stand
===========================
f, f or b, b
Keep in mind that you can guard-cancel your dash to make it more controllable.
Also, some attacks need to be initiated from the standing position. If you
are crouching, simply buffer in the dash right before you do the command and
it should come out normally. Dashes can almost be cancelled with anything, even
more dashes or crouch dashes.
Crouch Dash
===========
d/f, d, D/F or d/b, d, D/B(the "d" part is optional; d/f, N, D/F or d/b, N, D/B
also works)
A slower, but more useful version of the dash. Crouch back-dashing is back in
VF4, so you can use it now. Korean stepping isn't as useful in VF4, so don't
try going crazy cancelling dodges into crouch dashes and vise versa. Crouch
dashing is a bit different in VF4; you don't really need to hold down as long
the 2nd d/f or d/b command to crouch dash; in fact, you only need to tap the 2nd
directional command to crouch dash, and this enables your "FC" moves to come
out a lot faster than before when the crouch dash took longer to pull out. In
addition, you can now do crouch dashes from a crouched position and cancel them
into more crouch dashes, which would prove useful backing out. Crouch dashing,
is of course, most useful to Akira, since he has so many "FC" moves.
Run
===
f, F
If you are farther than 3/4 of a dash, holding the 2nd forward will cause your
character to run until he/she gets hit, stops in front of the opponent, until
you let go of the F, or press guard. Use to close long distances.
8-Way Walk
==========
B/F, then hold joystick in any direction
A new addition. If you hold back or forward, your character will begin to
inch forward or backward. While inching, if you hold the joystick in any
direction, your character will walk in that direction, so now it is possible
to walk into or out of the screen for positioning. It's not as useless as
it seems; if you have a touchy opponent, you can start 8-way walking to get
them to try to attack you; then just do a MC dodge to dodge their attack and
then attack them. For Akira, the 8-way walk holds particular value, when
it comes into play after your standing double palm connects.
Escaping Throws
===============
Against standing throws, key in P+G and the last direction command that your
opponent's throw is, and for low throws, do the same, except use all buttons
in place of P+G. You must key in the commands no later than 10 frames than
when the throw is starting. That's about equal to 1/6th of a second. Given
it's hard to escape throws with only one command, but you can use special
option-select tactics to increase your chances of escaping a throw.
Guard Canceling
===============
G during move initiation
Very useful especially when you want to do only 1 input and don't want anything
else to come out. For instance, standing punch is very useful. Suppose you
want to punch to draw an opponent to crouch and then want to sidekick them to
stagger them. But because of the punch-kick combo, you don't want that
standing kick to automatically come out, so what do you do? Simply press guard
after punch, and then you'll be able to do the sidekick without worry, get it?
Guard Buffering
===============
Hold G while inputting commands, release G for the last command
Also useful. Suppose you want to do a deep bodycheck. But since it has such a
long input, you don't want that twitching to give it away, right? Simply buffer
in the b,f while holding guard, but release guard, then press f+P+K. Makes your
actions harder to read. Speaking of guard buffering, Akira probably has the best
guard-bufferable move in the game, the SDE. Read the super dashing elbow section
for more on this.
Hop
===
u,hold P or u,hold K (the up direction can be any up direction)
There is no more high jumping in VF. Hopping is still risky though, so don't go
for it a lot.
Dodge
=====
u(or d),N (any up or down direction will be fine)
The dodge has been toned down. You can no longer do those swirling Korean Step
maneuvers. In addition, the distance you dodge is toned down too. It's harder
to dodge throwers I hear now. The regular dodge is very much useless because it
moves the character nowhere at all, maybe just for slight positioning, and even
then, it's still not that good for it; the opponent tracks you during the entire
time, and the startup, speed, and recovery of the dodge are all slow. The most
useful dodge is when you execute it like a reversal ie right when an attack is
about to hit("MC dodge"), that's when you dodge much further and faster with a
grunt(or it could be a special sound effect you hear as well), recovering faster
than usual, and this dodge you can cancel into crouch dashes. The direction you
tap obviously determines which way you dodge. That's a new addition to VF4; the
ability to evade in a diagonal direction.
Getting up
==========
Once knocked down,
-tap P to stand up faster
-tap u to kip up
-tap u+G to side-roll into the screen
-tap d+G to side-roll out of the screen
-tap b+G to back-roll
-tap K or d+K repeatedly during any of that to execute a rising kick or sweep
Nothing much else to reiterate, except that rollers are vulnerable to low/mid
attacks during the roll, and kippers are slightly vulnerable to anything that
would hit a standing opponent just as they are almost fully recovered. Both are
vulnerable to ground attacks, given that the attack has enough hit detection and
is in the proper range to tag the rising opponent. Don't try the rising attacks
unless if you know you will avoid some stomp/pounce. I don't cover anything
about rising attacks, but GLC's general FAQ does, so if you're interested about
Akira's rising attacks, the framestats about them and the like, look up his FAQ.
To get up just when you touch the ground
-tap P+K+G just as you touch the ground to immediately kip(abbreviated QR as a
quick rise)
-tap d+P+K+G just as you touch the ground to immediately side-roll out of the
screen(abbreviated TR as a tech roll)
-tap u+P+K+G just as you touch the ground to immediately side-roll into the
screen(abbreviated TR as a tech roll)
A new addition to VF, tech-rolling/quick-rising enables you to avoid those pounces
a lot more now, but even more important, lessens the damage that can be dealt
from attacks. Basically anything that could hit OTB can now be tech-rolled to
avoid the damage(like Kage's TFT combos ending in the running slide). But most
importantly, you can avoid throws that give out their damage when the opponent
touches the ground! However, there is the new VF4 okizeme strategy called
backstaggering, which if done right can cause QR/TR's to turn into 80% damage
combos, but all in all the new QR/TR system balances the game out considerably,
toning down ura strategies. You must learn how to tech-roll/quick-rise
successfully, or Wolf and Kage players will just inhale you alive.
uk-guy's notes on QR/TRing:
"It is possible to TR/QR and take damage or no damage depending on timing. Some
moves (usally certain grabs) will allow you to QR/TR but to do the 'just break
fall' you have to time a TR/QR just as you hit the ground to take NO FURTHER
damage. If you do not time QR/TR on the exact frame of ground hit you will still
QR/TR, but you may still take a little damage."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
======================
B.Move Command Summary
======================
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Damage points are given based on Wolf's Giant Swing(80 pts), and not the lifebar.
It usually takes about 200 points to kill someone.
Time is based on frames, and there are 60 frames per second. You'll need this
info if you want to find out the execution speed of the attack as well as the
initiative you gain afterward or lose(you need to look at the move descriptions to
see the execution time, reverse level and initiative frames(which are given in the
order of "initiative if blocked"/"initiative if normal hit"/"initiative if MC")).
On the notion of initiative frames, if you gain more than 8 frames of initiative
you have a chance at a free throw. The initiative frames and speed I put down in
the move descriptions are based ON THE REVISION C VF4, this is important to know,
and I'll point out changes from REV B to REV C if I know any. If I'm uncertain
about a piece of information I'll put a "?" in place of it.
Note: the damage and hit levels listed here are based on the revision B game;
if there are any differences in revision C, I point them out in the move
descriptions. I DO NOT cover Akira's rising attack options; if you want them,
GLC's excellant version C general FAQ does nicely.
***Normal Attacks***
====================
Description |Command |Level |Damage |Notes
----------------------------------------------------------
Punch |P |H |12 |
----------------------------------------------------------
Low punch |d+P or D+P |sL |9 |
----------------------------------------------------------
Roundhouse kick |K |H |25 |G-cancel possible
----------------------------------------------------------
Low kick |d+K |L |10 |G-cancel possible
----------------------------------------------------------
Side kick |d/f+K |M |24 |crouch-stagger
***Hopping Attacks***
=====================
Description |Command |Level |Damage |Notes
----------------------------------------------------------
Hopping smash |u+P,release P |M |25 |
----------------------------------------------------------
Hopping punch |u+P,P |M |25 |
----------------------------------------------------------
Hopping kick |u+K,release K |M |25 |
----------------------------------------------------------
Landing side kick |u+K,K |M |20 |
***Turn-Toward Attacks***
=========================
Description |Command |Level |Damage |Notes
----------------------------------------------------------
Turning punch |P |H |12 |continues into P sequences
----------------------------------------------------------
Turning smash |d+P |M |14 |
----------------------------------------------------------
T. roundhouse |K |H |30 |
----------------------------------------------------------
T. shin kick |d+K |L |10 |
----------------------------------------------------------
Turning sweep |D+K |L |30 |
***Special Attacks/Combos***
============================
Description |Command |Level |Damage |Notes
----------------------------------------------------------
Punch-kick combo |P,K |HH |12+20 |G-cancel possible
----------------------------------------------------------
Punch-body blow |P,P |HM |12+12 |
----------------------------------------------------------
Elbow |FS,f+P |M |19 |crouch-stagger
----------------------------------------------------------
Dashing elbow |f,f+P |M |20 |crouch-stagger,MC-float
----------------------------------------------------------
S. dashing elbow |f,f,f+P |M |20 |crouch-stagger,normal-float,MC-crumble
----------------------------------------------------------
Single palm |FC,f+P |M |20-35 |
----------------------------------------------------------
Standing palm |FS,b,f+P |H |25 |flop,-2 DP
----------------------------------------------------------
Double palm |FC,b,f+P |M |20-55 |
----------------------------------------------------------
S. double palm |QCB+P |M |30 |normal-crumble
----------------------------------------------------------
Low backfist |FS,d/f+P+K |L |22 |MC-crumble
----------------------------------------------------------
S. jumping kick |f,f+K |M |20 |normal-float
----------------------------------------------------------
D. jumping kick |f,f+K,K |MM |20+30 |
----------------------------------------------------------
Shoulder ram |FC,f+P+K |M |30 |normal-float
----------------------------------------------------------
Standing shoulder |d/f+P+K+G |M |15 |sabakis HP/HE/LP
----------------------------------------------------------
Standing shoulder,|d/f+P+K+G, |M |15+ |MC-crumble
power elbow |P |M |20 |
----------------------------------------------------------
Body check |b,f,f+P+K |M |20-80 |
----------------------------------------------------------
E. body check |d(or u),P+K+G |M |20 |dodges
----------------------------------------------------------
2-fisted strike |b,f+[P+K] |M |25-45 |standing guard-stagger on max power
----------------------------------------------------------
Power fist |b,f+P+K+G |M |28 |backsteps
----------------------------------------------------------
Overhead smash |b,d/f+P |M |25 |force crouch,-1 DP
----------------------------------------------------------
Yoho |d/f,d/f+P |M |35 |normal-float
----------------------------------------------------------
F. break guard |FS,f+P+G |H |5 |standing guard-stagger
----------------------------------------------------------
D. break guard |FS,d+P+G |M |5 |standing guard-stagger
----------------------------------------------------------
Wall climbing |f+P+K+G |wall,M |20 |standing guard-stagger,normal-crumble,
jump kick | | | |MC-crumble, can't be dodged
----------------------------------------------------------
Knee |K+G,release G |M |30 |normal-float, see move analysis
----------------------------------------------------------
Stun palm of doom |P+K+G, |M |18+ |RBC can't be escaped
|b,d/f+P+G, |Ht |22+ |
|d,f(or b)+P |M |30 |
----------------------------------------------------------
Dragon lance combo|d/f+K+G, |M |19+ |
|f+P, |M |20+ |
|b,f,f+P+K |M |30 |
----------------------------------------------------------
Akira special #3 |FS,d+K+G, |sL |10+ |Overhead smash:
|f+K, |M |10+ |force crouch,-1 DP,
|b,f+P |M |15 |slam on float
***Reversals***
===============
Description |Command |Level |Damage |Notes
----------------------------------------------------------
High reversal |b+P+K |H |30 |reverses HP/HE/HK
----------------------------------------------------------
Middle reversal |d/b+P+K |M |30 |reverses MP/ME/MK/SK/KN/KF
----------------------------------------------------------
Low reversal |d+P+K |L |30 |reverses LP/LK
----------------------------------------------------------
Parry |b+P+K+G |H or L |0 |inashis HP/HK/LP,stumble
----------------------------------------------------------
Parry, |b+P+K+G, |H or L |30 |-2 DP
standing palm |f+P | | |
***Throws/Up-Close Attacks***
=============================
Description |Command |Level |Damage |Notes
----------------------------------------------------------
R.T. and punches |P+G |Ht |40 |
----------------------------------------------------------
Elbow rush |P+G |St |40 |QR/TR possible
----------------------------------------------------------
Big finish |P+G |Bt,Ct |55 |
----------------------------------------------------------
Pull-in throw |f,b+P+G |Ht,Ct |0 |force crouch
----------------------------------------------------------
"",dodge |f,b+P+G,u or d|Ht,Ct |0 |
----------------------------------------------------------
"", |f,b+P+G, |Ht,Ct, |25 |opponent must guard with
reverse body check|u(or d)+P+K |M | |u(or d)+G, respectively
----------------------------------------------------------
"", |f,b+P+G, |Ht,Ct, |20 |-1 DP, opponent must guard
shoulder smash |P+K |M | |with f+G
----------------------------------------------------------
Stumble throw |FS,b,d+P+G |Ht |10 |staggers
----------------------------------------------------------
Surprise exchange |d/b+P+G |Ht |0 |turns opponent around
----------------------------------------------------------
Reverse body check|b,d/f+P+G |Ht |25 |turns opponent around
----------------------------------------------------------
Close-in ram |b,f+P+G |Ht |50 |QR/TR possible
----------------------------------------------------------
Grasping mind |d/b,f+P+G |Ht |60 |-1 DP,QR/TR possible
----------------------------------------------------------
Inverted bodycheck|d/f+P+G |Ht |50 |
----------------------------------------------------------
Wall bodycheck |d/f+P+G |wall,Ht |65 |
***Ground Attacks***
====================
Description |Command |Level |Damage |Notes
----------------------------------------------------------
Ground punch |d/f+P |G |12 |
----------------------------------------------------------
Jumping punch |u+P |G |25 |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
========================
C.Akira's Normal Attacks
========================
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Don't ever forget the basic normal attacks, especially the punch and low punch,
both are extremely useful for poking at the opponent and setting them up.
Punch
-----
(PG for punch-guard)
reversability level: high punch
execution speed: 12
initiative frames: +2 / +5 / +10
Remains one of the most useful poking attacks in the game, even if Akira doesn't
have the fastest punch in the game(Sarah, Aoi and Pai have the fastest punches at
11 frames, Kage's is now a midweight speed jab). However, Akira still has
one of the faster punches compared to other characters. If it touches the
opponent at all, you gain initiative. Also has a ton of priority due to the very
fast speed. The only real weakness of this attack is that it hits at the high
level, has limited range, and is rather weak. Use it to flowchart and to set up
your offense. And defensively it can be used to stuff attacks and to reset the
momentum of the game to your favor if you are up close. Always remember to press
guard after the punch if you aren't going for the canned punch-kick combo or the
senbon punch. When using the PG in combos, hold forward before doing it to gain
a bit more range so that you don't fall too far out of range(this tip is also
good for the PK and PKG). A last note; a throw after a MC PG works very
effectively(look at the frame stats, it is guarenteed), as long as you are in
range. However, you must remember NOT to key in the throw as soon as possible; you
should wait a split second before doing the throw to connect it. Thus you can turn
a simple weak attack into a 80 point sequence(12+6 and about 62 more points for
one of Akira's staple throws) as long as you are in range after MCing with a PG;
don't forget this. Akira's PG when blocked gives him the most initiative of all
the 12-frame punches; 2 frames, so PG--> elbow is a powerful flowchart, as he has
one of the faster elbows, making it virtually uninterruptable even when blocked,
and giving you +5 advantage if it MCs.
Low punch
---------
(abbreviated LP)
reversability level: low punch
execution speed: 12
initiative frames: -4 / +3 / +5
Remember when the LP was amazingly sick in VF2? Well, it's back. The speed of
the low punch is now quick as ever(for Akira, it's actually as fast as his
regular PG!) and great for beating out the opponent's offense. Considering how
it brings you to a crouch almost immediately, it can be used to beat PG-throw
flowchart options as well as many high attacks. You gain initiative if you hit
the opponent, but by far if you MC them, go offensive, you have a ton of
initiative at that point. So is it as broken as before? Not really, Sega made
sure that while the low punch was abusable, that it wasn't that abusable(you
reading me, or am I just sounding redundant?). The LP can now be blocked at a
high level, and if it is, the LPer loses some initiative, enough that if he tries
another LP and the opponent tries a quick mid-level attack, the mid-level-er will
win. And the low punch still has limited range. But all in all, good for
flowcharting, and because it puts you into a crouch, remember that you can go
for a "FC" move after the low punch, it won't combo, but makes it come out
faster. A throw isn't guarenteed after an MC LP, but it is a good bet.
Roundhouse kick
---------------
reversability level: high kick
execution speed: 14(16 if done while holding F)
initiative frames: -1(-14 if holding F) / - / -
It's still useless as heck due to the PK combo. In a serious match, I doubt you're
ever going to connect it, the moderate startup time is just inviting your opponents
to crouch dash and throw you. It will hit those who dodge to his front, but bleh,
whatever. The priority of the roundhouse kick seems a bit better in this game
though, and if you MC, there's a good chance of being able to combo after it, so
the reward is there. Maybe in juggle combos, but Akira has more damaging options
in that case. You can use it to draw attacks though if you use the guard button to
cancel it and draw a whiffed throw animation or to trick your opponent into doing
a slow recovering attack.
Low kick
--------
reversability level: low kick
execution speed: 14
initiative frames: -15 / -6 / 0
If I am not wrong, this is Akira's fastest true low-level attack. It's basically
this low side kick aimed at the shin. Has better range than the low punch, but
comes out slower. Its semi-circular animation means it will track opponents, those
who dodge to Akira's front, but not those who dodge to Akira's back. However, the
recovery isn't that good, blocked or hit. Shouldn't be used except a few instances.
Of course, it you do want to use it, preferably use it near max range to take
advantage of the decent range, and try to get it to MC when you do. There are some
uses for the move; when the opponent is getting down to about 10-20 points of life
left, this is an easy way to finish opponents off; this tactic has been used a bit.
(Speaking of when you finish opponents off with the low kick, if you feel evil,
you can hit with about 3 low kicks OTB after you KO with a standalone low kick)
Also in revision B only, if you MC with the low kick, your double palm will be
guarenteed(uk-guy stated this, and also questioned whether it'd be possible to
MC low kick into a throw like VF3ob)! Also, when you G-cancel the low kick, it
will switch your stance, and this is the best way for you to do so; useful for
baiting(think of your QR/TR punishing games with DFS and SPoD).
Revision C changes: The low kick is actually a linear attack. Thus, it is much
easier to evade in this version of the game, so the attack isn't as useful for
stopping people who MC dodge.
Side kick
---------
reversability level: side kick
execution speed: 16
initiative frames: -5 / 0 / +8
Akira's side kick isn't really a side kick, it's more of a long ranged "stomp"
aimed at the quads. Comes out at a decent speed and has good range. Usually you
won't use this move frequently for Akira, although it is good for staggering, but
usually there are better, faster options. It is worthy to note the MC initiative
frames though; if in range, a throw is guarenteed! But since a blocked side kick
leaves you with a disadvantage and the side kick isn't that quick, you should
reserve the usage to once or twice per match. The sidekick however comes into
its own when you use it for okizeme; under the right conditions, a sidekick can
hit a person who is QR/TRing, and stagger them, giving you initiative. And in
even more stringent conditions, if you use the sidekick correctly, you can
actually cause the opponent to fall on their knees away from you, giving you
a HUGE oppurtunity to connect a big damage move! Read the okizeme section
in the misc section for more on this. This move is harder to dodge than other
sidekicks since Akira switches stance giving it slight tracking ability.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
=========================
D.Akira's Hopping Attacks
=========================
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hopping attacks are risky as ever, only use them in rare occasions. Just keep
in mind that they can't be reversed.
Hopping smash
-------------
reversability level: -
execution speed: 35
initiative frames: -11 / - / -
Slow, but knocks down the opponent. That's all I have to say. Only use against
the scrubs.
Hopping punch
-------------
reversability level: -
execution speed: 26
initiative frames: -9 / -1 / -
Again, slow. You shouldn't be using hopping attacks.
Hopping kick
------------
reversability level: -
execution speed: 10
initiative frames: -5 / - / -
Don't use except in rare occasions. Probably your best hopping attack though to
note; startup is insanely quick, and recovery leaves you with a disadvantage,
but nothing's guarenteed.
Landing side kick
-----------------
reversability level: -
execution speed: 10
initiative frames: -11 / -7 / -
Slow in startup and recovery, don't bother with.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
=============================
E.Akira's Turn-Toward Attacks
=============================
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Due to an absence of turn-away attacks, Akira's turn-toward attacks don't play
a large role in his game. But sometimes, an escaped throw may place you with
the back to the opponent. Keep in mind unlike the past, you can't do many
back-turned maneuvers anymore; almost any tap of the G button or the directional
joystick places you back around.
Turning punch
-------------
reversability level: high punch
execution speed: 11
initiative frames: -7 / -4 / +1
This continues into the general punch followups. Does slightly more damage at
the cost of slightly slower speed compared to the regular punch. Leaves you
with a massive disadvantage if blocked, though you might be able to lessen that
recovery if you continue into a PKG.
Turning smash
-------------
reversability level: high punch
execution speed: 17
initiative frames: -8 / +1 / +1
A good mid-level attack to turn around with. Comes out slightly slow though,
and leaves Akira with a chance to be thrown if blocked.
Revision C changes: this attack is a linear attack in this version of the game,
which means you won't be able to use it to nail dodgers. Doesn't really
matter, cause Akira doesn't rely on turning attacks anyhow.
Turning roundhouse
------------------
reversability level: high kick
execution speed: 14
initiative frames: -2 / - / -
Useless, just about as useful as the regular roundhouse, except with a
probability that you can't cancel the kick.
Revision C changes: in this version of the game, the turning roundhouse can hit
dodgers who dodge in a particular direction. However, if they dodge in the
opposite direction, they'll get hit.
Turning shin kick
-----------------
reversability level: low kick
execution speed: 17
initiative frames: -9 / -4 / -1
Pretty much the same use as the regular low kick. Not that useful, given the
chance to be countered if blocked.
Turning sweep
-------------
reversability level: low kick
execution speed: 15
initiative frames: -17 / - / -
A good way to turn around, being fast, and hitting low-level, and knocking the
opponent down. Don't get it blocked! Too bad you can't crouch dash to let the
sweep come out faster(I think).
Revision C changes: this is a linear attack, and so will not hit people who
attempt to MC dodge in any direction
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
=========================
F.Akira's Special Attacks
=========================
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Concerning Akira's special attacks, he has the least number compared to other
characters, however, he might have the highest number of useful attacks; almost
all of his moves have very good uses. And most of them have huge damage potential
if used correctly; the 3-hit strings and the bodycheck especially. Have fun; fool
around.
Punch-kick combo
----------------
(PK for the punch-kick combo, PKG stands for the senbon punch)
reversability level: high punch, high kick
execution speed: 12, 12
initiative frames: -2 / +2 / -
Useful as ever. If your punch connects, the kick is pretty much guarenteed,
provided you didn't delay the attack. It provides together about 30 points of
damage for a good damaging, fast attack. Due to the punch's slightly slower
speed, not as many things are PKable now, but due to the increased throw range,
that more than compensates for that. If your PK ever connects, press the attack,
you have a slight advantage in frames. If you cancel the K during its animation,
you get the PKG, which is the senbon punch. The senbon punch moves Akira closer
to the opponent as the cost of a slower recovery to the PG. This makes it
somewhat more useful in juggle combos where you want to follow up with a close
ranged attack after a punch. It is also more useful for punch-throw techniques
if you are near max-range for the punch.
Punch-body blow
---------------
reversability level: high punch, middle punch
execution speed: 12, 10
initiative frames: -8 / -7 / -1
If your opponent crouches after a high punch, the body blow will connect because
it is a mid attack. However, due to the slow recovery, you shouldn't always
go for this option, notice how much advantage the opponent gets when it is blocked
or hits. In fact, never use it; it's high throw counterable if blocked.
Elbow
-----
reversability level: middle elbow
execution speed: 13
initiative frames: -6 / -2 / +5
This is not a bad move, in fact, it's a very good move! It tends to be overshadowed
by Akira's DE and SDE, however, in rev C the DE and SDE are slower, so it tends to
be more useful in that rev. Otherwise, this is the fastest elbow in the game,
running at 13 frames. You will use it for 2 reasons, to stagger opponents and then
force a throw/strike guessing game, or to MC and go offensive(huge initiative if you
manage to MC the opponent; at 5 frames, you can force a throw/strike guessing game
as well!); trying PG--> elbow is an awesome flowchart tactic, as your elbow will
become virtually uninterruptable; StPm(blocked)--> elbow is also uninterruptable.
Dashing elbow
-------------
(DE for dashing elbow)
reversability level: middle elbow
execution speed: 14
initiative frames: -3 / +2 / -
Akira basically rushes forward then strikes with an upward elbow strike.
This attack still remains one of Akira's most useful attacks, in fact, still
one of the best attacks in the game. The execution is very fast, the range
is decent, and the recovery is good enough that if blocked or hit, you are safe
from any counterattack(although you do lose some initiative if blocked, so don't
go overboard pressing the attack after it, of course if you hit, you have
initiative, continue to pressure). This is a very good attack for flowcharting.
Of course, be ready to input a throw or guard break if they keep blocking
afterward, poke with another attack, dodge or crouch-dash or dash, etc. The
ideal situations you want to get after this attack is either to stagger them
(they need to be crouching) or to MC them. If you stagger them, in most cases
if they don't struggle hard enough, your PK is guarenteed. If they are intent
on struggling hard, then dash forward while they are staggering and then throw
them just as they come out of recovery. And if they are intent on throw-escaping,
then hit them with the shoulder ram as they come out or any other high-potential
damaging attack you want. Starting to see why getting this attack to stagger is
so important and leaves you with a ton of initiative? In addition, if you MC
them with this, the opponent will be juggled, so you can follow up with some
power attacks for good damage. Also beware, this attack is very linear, so get
too predictable, and you're asking for a MC dodge.
Revision C changes: the DE's speed is now as slow as the SJK's startup. still a
safe attack if blocked though. However, all in all, the SDE is still better than
the DE, because the results afterward are much more favorable when using the SDE.
Super dashing elbow
-------------------
(SDE for super dashing elbow)
reversability level: middle elbow
execution speed: 14
initiative frames: -6 / - / -
Basically, the same animation as the regular dashing elbow, but with a farther
linear reach, switches Akira's stance. Anyways, the SDE comes out at the same speed
as the DE and its recovery is very similar to that of the DE, so if it's blocked, be
careful about being aggressive afterwards. Still linear, so don't abuse against
someone who knows how to dodge. It is probably Akira's best mid-range attack,
enabling you to stay out of throw range, yet still attack your opponent. Compared
to the DE, if you hit, you gain a lot more options to you. You still stagger them
if they crouch(dash then do the throw/hit guess game), but now you juggle them
slightly if they get hit normally. If you get this attack to MC, you don't juggle
them; they get put into a semi-long crumble stun, enabling you to follow up with a
power attack like a deep bodycheck, dragon lance combo, or double jumping kicks for
some massive damage(you Tekken fans, this is like Kazuya's Demon God Fist with an
elbow ^_^). You should always use the SDE over the DE because it has the potential
to do a lot more damage. It is also one of the safest ways to change his stance
during a game. It is one of the best guard bufferable moves in the game; by simply
holding guard and tapping forward repeatedly, you only need to let go of the G
button and tap P to do the SDE. Try this and watch if the opponent moves; if they
do, do the SDE; this is Akira's lynchpin move(and arguably the best move in the
game). The fact that it changes stance makes it a bit harder to dodge than you
originally think, as this gives it slight tracking ability.
Revision C changes: the SDE's speed has been tinkered with. The recovery is still
fast enough to make it uncounterable, but the opponent will suffer less blockstun,
making Akira lose a bit more initiative when blocked; be extremely careful. The
startup has also been tinkered with; the speed is now comparable to the SJK.
However, the SDE will still play a big role in your game(the damage potential and
staggering mind games are still there). Just that you can't abuse it as much since
it doesn't come out/recover as quickly.
Single palm
-----------
(abbreviated SgPm, m-SgPm for a SgPm done right after a crouch dash)
reversability level: middle punch
execution speed: 16(15 if done up-close)
initiative frames: -7~-3(up-close) / +2~+6(up-close) / +6~+8(up-close)
Akira crouches slightly then rushes forward and thrusts his palm forward at the
midsection.
Unlike the past, the SgPm never knocks down. It is now always uncounterable, but
you still lose initiative if blocked; don't push too hard afterward. However, a
good attack to use in your offense, and often if you hit the opponent, you'll
gain initiative, so always press the attack. It is worthy to note that it is
better doing this attack close instead of far away; it comes out faster, does more
damage, and gives more blockstun or hitstun, thus better initiative, so try to use
it in close range. Again, because it's linear, you don't want to get predictable
with these. It comes out fairly quickly, does good damage, and can give you the
initiative to press the attack, especially on an MC. Learn how to buffer these
out of a crouch dash to make them especially useful. As a standalone attack, it's
most useful pushing the opponent back towards a wall or towards a ring out, or if
you want some breathing room between you and your opponent(the initiative frames
don't tell the entire story, you're basically playing a midrange game after it
connects). However, the SgPm also comes into its own use whenever you get a
successful stumble throw or forward break guard; the autopalm(d,f+P, or an
automatic single palm) will always be guarenteed after the 2 said moves. And often
you can follow up that SgPm with more followups for some guarenteed combos. So,
to reiterate, either use it to poke, push the opponent back, or after a stumble
throw or break guard. You can also use the m-SgPm as a backstagger tool; it works
just as well as the sidekick, except it will do more damage, and it will cause a
back-turned crumble stun instead(followups are non-escapable!) instead of just a
regular stagger; combo in a SPoD for massive damage. As for flowchart options
after a SgPm, uk-guy recommended crouch dashing backwards into a DblPm, or doing
an LBF(he says both tactics are STRONG). This move is also THE best wall stagger
attack in the game; it will push the opponent very far back, so when you corner
the opponent, do a SgPm; if they touch it at all, they will hit the wall and
stagger, giving you a free SPoD!(in the rare case that the opponent hits ANOTHER
wall going backward from the SPoD, combo in a DBC for a ludicrously high 135+ pts
of damage!)
Revision C changes: the SgPm is a special mid level attack in this game, in
other words, it will not give out its damage when the opponent is crouching and
blocking; doesn't matter, Akira usually uses other mid-level attacks to hit his
crouching opponent, like the shoulder ram.
Standing palm
-------------
(abbreviated StPm)
reversability level: high punch
execution speed: 14
initiative frames: +1 / - / -
Akira steps forward then thrusts his palm forward at head level.
This attack has been improved from VF3, even though its damage is no longer
range dependent. It will actually come out faster than the SgPm and hits high
(besides having a much shorter range), it recovers faster, and takes drunken
points from Shun. In addition, the best part is now the StPm puts the opponent
into the leg-flop knockdown animation, which sets up free juggle combos. Try
almost anything you'd like, but some recommended followups include PG-->m-DblPm,
or DJK in open stance. The only thing is to treat this like a slow high punch,
and you'll be ok; don't use it to beat quick attacks out, but mix it in with your
pokes. And don't think that this has the same range as the SgPm; it is just
slightly further in range compared to the PG. When you get it blocked, an elbow,
PG, or LP are all extremely great followups, because you gain 1 frame of
initiative, making quick pokes uninterruptable. It's also one of Akira's best
dodge-then-attack moves according to uk-guy, and less riskier than dodge-then-BC.
Double palm
-----------
(abbreviated DblPm, m-DblPm for a DblPm done right after a crouch dash)
reversability level: -
execution speed: 12
initiative frames: -12 / - / -
Akira crouches slightly, rushes forward then pushes the opponent with both hands.
Still one of those big damage-big risk attacks of Akira, however, Akira's DblPm
was beefed BIG TIME, in terms of its speed. It's now literally as fast as your
PG(!), but recovers slow(still counterable, although now only a standing throw or
12-frame punch is guarenteed) and always knocks the opponent down. Thus, it is
dangerous to throw out the DblPm at random unless in order to mC low opponents(it
is the fastest mid attack, so it'll connect on opponents that recover low in -12
frames or more, making it an excellant mCing tool for Akira)or in juggle combos.
The double palm works wonders in juggle combos as it is one of Akira's most
reliable and powerful juggle combo enders, in fact, it plays a role in Akira's most
powerful juggle combo. If you ever want to use this effectively, it is imperative
that you learn how to pull this out right from a crouch dash. It's actually not
that hard; simply do d/f,d/f,b,f+P(d/f,d/f,QCB,f+P is easier and also works) all in
one smooth motion and you've got it. Flowchart options; after an LP, a DblPm works
wonders(remember the speed and damage; you'd beat a lot of attacks even if the LP
is blocked!). This is also one of Akira's best attacks right after a QR/TR. When
you do the m-DblPm version as a standalone attack, doing a backwards crouch dash
instead of a forwards crouch dash makes it much more harder to interrupt, making it
a sick move(especially at midrange).
Revision C changes: the damage has been tinkered with; the DblPm will now do 45 pts
max damage as opposed to the 55 in revision B, but the DblPm is still very useful;
don't take the reduced damage as a sign to use the DblPm even less; you should
still use the move in your game.
Standing double palm
--------------------
(abbreviated StDblPm)
reversability level: -
execution speed: 24
initiative frames: -10 / - / -
Akira rears back with both fists above him, then punches forward at the midsection
with both palms.
This is arguably one of Akira's best new moves. It comes out insanely slowly(which
is incentive NOT to use it up-close, or there's a big chance that it gets beat out),
but is uncounterable. The main reason why this is so deadly though is that it
puts the opponent into a long crumble stun on normal hit. One of Akira's most
deadly combos as of right now is to do a StDblPm, walk towards the opponent's back
foot, and then do a DBC. This simple combo takes off 55% life at maximum,
but still will usually take off close to 100 pts. However, you need to remember
that this attack comes out very slowly, and has limited range, so you can't throw
it out repeatedly hoping that it will connect; set the opponent up for it. Use it
correctly, and your opponents will think you are cheap(but don't let the word cheap
stop you from using this attack). Tips: during the rearing back animation Akira
might have potential to dodge some high and mid level attacks, so that might give
you ideas of when to use it, this attack probably works best at close-midrange. In
addition, it can sometimes make a good round opener.
Revision C changes: the StDblPm will now do 23 pts as opposed to the 30 pts in
rev B. Furthermore, the attack's recovery has been tinkered with; Akira is throw
counterable if the attack is blocked. And if you manage to hit an airborne
opponent with this attack, they can't TR/QR. All in all, with the reduced damage
that the DBC does, the StDblPm is fairly useless in rev C; the max damage you can
do with a StDblPm-->DBC combo is about 75 pts, hardly compared to the 100+ pts you
could do in rev B. Take into the consideration that Akira is counterable if the
extremely slow attack is blocked, and that there are other combos that do more
damage for much less risk, and you can see why it's fairly useless trying the
StDblPm in this game, even with the long crumble stun on normal hit. Still good
for setting up backstagger oppurtunities though.
Low backfist
------------
(abbreviated LBF)
reversability level: low punch
execution speed: 25
initiative frames: -4 / +3 / -
Akira rears back, then lunges forward hitting low with a backfist.
This attack has been beefed some from VF3. Still slow to come out(don't use it
up-close, where you have a good chance of being beat out, but use it at midrange
where it'll become much harder to interrupt), but still uncounterable if blocked.
In addition, it hits low, ducks very low(it sometimes seems to beat out LPs and
many high/mid moves once you get past that slow startup) and tracks dodgers very
well, which makes it arguably the best low attack in the game. In any case, it
leaves Akira at a crouching position after the attack, and so your guessing games
after a LBF are very similar to that of the LP(alternating between ShRm/SDE/DblPm
and a random throw/break guard can be a very rewarding guessing game at an
intermediate level, and might even catch some experts here and there). If you do
MC with it, it will now put the opponent into a short crumble stun, so be ready to
hit the opponent with something hard; DJK seems to be a staple followup, and the
total damage is very high. All in all, this is one of Akira's best moves; make
good use of it, just don't abuse it up-close.
Single jumping kick
-------------------
(abbreviated SJK)
reversability level: middle kick
execution speed: 14(13 if done after a successful guard break)
initiative frames: -14 / - / -
Akira hops up and does a punt kick in midair.
This attack is nowhere as useful as it was in VF3. This is because a SJK after
a break guard or stumble throw will not fling the opponent sky high. Thus,
this attack is very much useless, and still having a semi-slow speed in startup
and recovery, means you will almost scrap this attack and never use it. It
does have a very low hit detection though, giving you the ability to scrape
grounded opponents off the ground with it.
Double jumping kick
-------------------
(abbreviated DJK)
reversability level: middle kick
execution speed: 14(13 if done after a successful guard break), 11
initiative frames: -25 / - / -
Akira does his SJK, then follows with his other foot doing another punt kick.
This attack is a true combo in most cases. Still a big damage attack for
Akira, it proves more usefulness in this game due to the toning down of the SJK's
juggling capabilities. And the recovery is still VERY bad(bad enough not to
warrant this move as a standalone attack(much) despite the quick startup). Thus,
it is entirely confined to use inside of juggle combos. The best place to use
this attack is after crumble stuns and wall hits, and maybe even some select
juggle combos. Works wonders and does incredible damage. If you end wall combos
with this, there is a small chance that a TRing opponent will recover to land
a throw or PG counter on you before you recover, so always key in option select
after you end your wall combos with this or the DBC. Do beware that if you
want to combo a crumble stun into this, that you must key in the DJK as soon
as possible; the 2nd kick of the DJK doesn't hit as low as the 1st kick, so it
is possible for the 2nd kick to whiff but the 1st kick to connect if you wait
too long. As a standalone attack, it is uninterruptable after a normal hit of
a LP or LBF. It is difficult to dodge making it useful against those who do
a TR into a dodge. In +14 frame situations the DJK is guarenteed as a mC tool;
remember this, as this makes it one of the strongest mC weapons in the game.
Finally, if you're feeling gutsy, the 2nd kick can beat out low rising attackers
(the 1st kick will dodge the attack, while the 2nd one nails them).
Shoulder ram
------------
(abbreviated ShRm, m-ShRm for a ShRm pulled out immediately from a crouch dash)
reversability level: -
execution speed: 16
initiative frames: -13 / - / -
Akira quickly stands while lunging forward to hit the opponent with his
shoulder.
This is hands-down Akira's best juggle combo starter. Arguably the attack which
has the highest damage potential for Akira because it knocks the opponent into
the air on a normal or MC hit, it comes out at a decent speed, but is very much
counterable if blocked(although the opponent has to act quickly). And maybe
arguable as one of the best juggle combo starters for VF, since it can't be
reversed and leaves Akira standing instead of in the air, thus making it better
than the stereotypical knee. It will track those who dodge to Akira's back, but
not those who dodge to his front. Also seems to have pretty good priority. However
it does seem to have some limited horizontal range. There are so many followups
after this attack, and even more if you MC and/or the opponent is lighter. To be
any good with Akira, you need to be able to do the m-ShRm whenever the opponent
is vulnerable and whenever you know it will MC the opponent. As a side note,
since the attack must be initiated from a crouch, all you need to do to get this
attack to MC is simply crouch dash a high attack and immediately hit f+P+K for the
ShRm. Also one of the easiest guessing games for Akira to do is to get into a
crouch(LP, crouch dash, or LBF), then either ShRm if the opponent tries to hit
back or duck, or throw/guard break if they stand block. uk-guy stated how the
crouching animation makes the ShRm more useful than other juggle starters, and
how in open stance it has a higher chance of beating attacks, such as Kage's
d+K+G in 50/50 situations.
Revision C changes: the ShRm is a linear attack, making it much easier to dodge now;
Akira can't use this attack to hit those who try to dodge to his back. In addition,
the counterability of the attack is much easier for the opponent; PGs that are
slower than Sarah's and Pai's will hit Akira before he recovers.
Standing shoulder
-----------------
reversability level: middle punch
execution speed: 19
initiative frames: -6 / 0 / +3
Akira basically does a slow overhead smash with his fist.
Akira's new move is his only "hitting sabaki." This attack will override anything
that can be reversed as a high elbow and high and low punch during the animation,
giving it huge priority against the said attacks. Thus, the best way to use this
move is to execute it when you think the said attacks will almost hit you(timing
for the sabaki is early to mid-early in the shoulder animation); you will always
beat them out(and it should be rather obvious when you do sabaki instead of
normally hit the opponent; you'll see the attack knocked away by Akira).
Otherwise, don't use this attack; it comes out slowly, and is very much
counterable if blocked(though you can delay the elbow to hit opponents).
Revision C changes: the standing shoulder's recovery has been improved; Akira
is not throw counterable if the attack is blocked, making it much easier to use
this attack more often, but you still lose initiative; beware of that. uk-guy
suggested the parry after a blocked standing shoulder since many people go for
a LP afterward. Doing multiple standing shoulders in a row according to uk-guy
is a powerful tactic.
-->power elbow
reversability level: middle elbow
execution speed: 19, 20
initiative frames: -14 / - / -
Akira follows up his standing shoulder with a dashing elbow that looks a lot like
the stun palm.
When the power elbow connects normally, the opponent will be knocked down and you
can combo them slightly before they hit the ground. I believe the standing shoulder
into power elbow usually connects if the shoulder does too. If you MC with
the power elbow by itself, the opponent is put in a semi-long crumble stun. Feel
free to follow up with almost anything you like; the scenario is similar to that of
MCing the opponent with a SDE. Keep in mind that if you manage to knock them down
with this attack instead of putting them into a crumble stun, then just try to
follow up with an AS3. Just don't pull out the attack if it will get blocked; it
is counterable if blocked. The power elbow can be delayed after the standing
shoulder, so you can use this tidbit to fool opponents into trying to attack you
after a blocked shoulder to get an MC and then to combo into a DBC or DJK.
Body check
----------
(abbreviated BC, DBC for a deep BC(b,f,F+P+K))
reversability level: -
execution speed: 13
initiative frames: -27~-24(up-close) / - / -
Akira rushes forward low then stands and turns his body to hit the opponent with
his back.
Definitely one of Akira's best attacks; the BC will always knock down and comes
out very quickly, at about the same speed as your DE or SDE. It might even
dodge some high attacks during the rushing animation. However, why this attack
is so deadly is because at point blank range, this attack becomes the single
most powerful strike in the entire game; 80 points! And expect even more if
you MC someone at close range. That said, this attack still has its atypical
weaknesses; the recovery is very, very slow(I heard this move is counterable with
Akira's StDblPm, which goes to show how slow it is), so only pull it out when you
know it will connect. 2nd, the damage is very much range dependent, and will
only give out massive damage when you are point blank; slightly out and the
damage will be very low(down to about 20 pts). Thus, it helps if you do the DBC
more times than not; the computer will read the forward taps as the beginning
of a dash before the BC command gets registered, which gives the move a higher
chance of hitting at maximum damage slightly out. That said, how do you work this
attack into your game? Well, whenever you're up close and you either block
a slow recovering attack, or get an attack to whiff(like MC dodging), immediately
pull this out. Another way is to anticipate an attack that has a slow startup
(like for instance, an attack that is being charged), and then hit the opponent
with it. The other place to work this attack in is in combos; specifically, if
your opponent gets slammed into the wall and bounces off or you get the crumble
stun on your opponent, a DBC will often connect. The DBC also hits very low to
the ground, enabling you to use it in OTB combo situations. Just beware; when
you connect it near a wall or as a wall hit and the opponent TRs, they have a good
chance of connecting a throw or PG counters; key in the option selects just in
case.
Revision C changes: the BC will do a damage range of 20-65 pts. This is a HUGE
change to Akira, because he used to be able to do up to 80 pts of damage for the
BC up close. Akira can't do absolutely horrendous damage anymore(granted, 65
pts is still a very broken number, but Akira used to be able to win just by
connecting a MC up-close DBC). The fact that both the StDblPm and DBC are toned
down in damage means that you should no longer combine the two together as much in
rev C; the total damage is about 75 pts, not that ludicrous 100+ pts in rev B.
Of course, the DBC is still one of Akira's most important attacks, it's just that
you shouldn't expect to win that quickly anymore if you connect this attack.
Evading body check
------------------
(abbreviated eBC)
reversability level: middle punch
execution speed: 19
initiative frames: -15 / - / -
Akira dodges then spreads his arms out to hit his opponent with his back and arms.
This attack has become slightly more versatile in this game; Akira can now control
which direction he dodges, and you can even delay the eBC command slightly. That
said, it still plays a big offensive role in Akira's game; due to the dodging
animation, if executed slightly later against linear attacks, it will have a
higher priority and often beat out other attacks, knocking the opponent down. It
comes out slower than the original BC and its damage is only decent, but its
priority is the main incentive to using the attack. Simply go into a poke, and
then when the opponent tries to hit back, pull out the eBC and you'll beat them
out. Like the BC though, don't whiff or get the attack blocked; the recovery is
very bad. The opponent needs to evade away from Akira(opposite the direction he
dodged) in order to successfully MC dodge the attack. Keep in mind something;
unlike the BC, the eBC is actually a fist strike, so it can be reversed. When you
do connect the move, you have a guarenteed ground punch, so don't pass up that
extra damage.
2-fisted strike
---------------
(abbreviated DFS for Double Fisted Strike)
reversability level: -
execution speed: 18(49 if fully charged)
initiative frames: -3 / - / -
Akira rears back then does a lunging strike where he hits the opponent with both
of his fists. Hard to describe exactly how it looks, you'll know when you see it.
I think you'll begin to like this move a lot more in VF4. Due to the fact that
the DFS can now be charged, doing the non-charged version of the attack makes
it come out at a speed slightly faster than the SPoD; this is great(in VF3, the
attack came out like molasses, making it near useless), because now you can work
it into your game a lot more. The recovery is still great, making it impossible
to counter, and it will still track dodgers and rollers very well, making it a
great poking tool now(provided you don't abuse it too much, of course). Notes on
the ability to track dodgers; though hard, if the opponent does a MC dodge at the
last moment towards Akira's back, the attack will miss, so keep that in mind. And
in this game, it can now START your combos. The tradeoff for all this? Well, it
now only does 25 points. If you keep holding down the P+K buttons though, the
startup of the attack can take even longer than VF3; however the attack will now
do a maximum of 45 points, and get this; if blocked, the opponent will stagger,
giving you free combos. As for followups after a blocked DFS, uk-guy suggested
a standing shoulder if the opponent likes poking w/PGs, mid reversal/parry against
LP or mid-level counter attempts, SPoD against throws, or dodge--> StPm. Try to
surprise the opponent after a blocked DFS; the recovery's only -3, although it
looks like it's longer, so you may see your opponent go for big-risk attacks;
use this to your advantage. The move is very useful for beating TR attempts
when the opponent TRs towards Akira's front; mixing between SPoD and DFS against
TRers can be a powerful tactic. Also useful against people who TR, then try to
dodge. And finally, uk-guy stated that this move has great range(good for hitting
backdashers or backward crouch dashers); a backdash into a DFS is an extremely
powerful tactic and you can combine the 2 commands into one; you just need to hit
f+P+K during a backdash to get a DFS.
Power fist
----------
reversability level: -
execution speed: 23
initiative frames: -16 / - / -
Akira steps back then lunges forward to hit with his fist at the midsection.
This new attack is for the most part purely a style move; the recovery is bad if
blocked, and the startup isn't that good either; it is so slow. However, this
attack is unTRable, and you can always get in a low kick for a backstagger
oppurtunity. In addition, it will track dodgers very well, unless if the opponent
MC dodges at the last second towards Akira's back. The main incentive to using
this attack is that Akira will backstep slightly before he attempts to hit the
opponent; when you find yourself in close-mid to midrange situations(like after a
SgPm), the power fist can be a great followup against aggressive opponents or
rising attacks; you'll avoid their attack then run back in to knock them down.
You can also try using this after a dodge; trying to delay your eBC can get you
thrown, but this won't work if you use a power fist in place of the eBC. Remember
though, this is a style move; you usually would only go for this if you wanted to
set up a backstagger oppurtunity, or to show off. There are better attacks to
achieve what the power fist does.
Overhead smash
--------------
reversability level: middle punch
execution speed: 24
initiative frames: 0 / +2 / +11
Akira raises his hand then comes down with an overhead fist strike.
All I'm gonna say about this attack is that it is not usable at all. It will
force your opponent to a crouch(and leaves Akira crouching too I believe), and
will take off some drinking points from Shun, but it has a pretty slow startup.
Ok, so it's uncounterable if blocked, but what gives? If you have that much time
to do a slow, safe attack, you might as well go for the StDblPm. And there's
better attacks to sober Shun with. I do want you to note though, that against
low-level opponents, this can be a very cool option; look at the initiative
frames given you when you MC them! There is one new use I discovered for this
move; if done near a wall, it will produce a strong wall stagger much like Akira's
SgPm!
Yoho
----
reversability level: high punch
execution speed: 17
initiative frames: -13 / - / -
Akira steps forward low then stands up and does a 2-handed upward strike.
Still a slow attack that is counterable if blocked. However, it's not as useless
as it seems; you can potentially dodge some high attacks with this attack.
However, the best parts of this attack are that it will juggle the opponent and
that it gives out good damage. It works best after a crumble stun; against
lightweight characters you can follow the yoho with an AS3 and a ground punch for
great damage. Otherwise don't use too much; it is way too risky to be used as
a standalone attack. This move according to uk-guy is Akira's most powerful
juggle starter; upon MC the damage goes upward of 50 pts, or basically a throw.
Try this move after a successful parry and attempt to combo the opponent; you
just might find yourself doing huge damage.
Forward break guard
-------------------
(abbreviated fBG)
reversability level: high punch
execution speed: 12
initiative frames: - / -10 / -9
Akira does a small uppercut.
The startup is FAST, the recovery is terrible if it hits the opponent at all
(Akira is very much counterable), and the damage is terrible(5 points). However,
it still one of Akira's combo initiators and best options against defensive
opponents, because the main way to use this attack is against a standing opponent
who is blocking(much like a throw). When done successfully in such conditions,
the opponent will stagger backwards as his/her arms are knocked upwards. If the
opponent struggles, Akira has +17 initiative against the opponent. The SJK is
no longer a good option after a fBG(it doesn't juggle the opponent sky high
anymore), the best followup is to go for a StPm, which is guarenteed and leads to
StPm combos. You can also try tapping d,f+P for the SgPm, and you'll have a good
chance of landing some special SgPm combos as well(more on this in the combos
section), or if you're near a wall, to go for Akira's power SgPm wall combo(hint
hintSPoDhinthint). However, I'm sure a perfectly buffered yoho or knee will also
be guarenteed; experiment if you're cocky. Just remember; don't use the SJK as a
followup anymore. Try this move after a weak wall stagger, since nothing Akira
does is guarenteed there(which is incentive for the opponent to block right into
a fBG), or in your pull-in throw mixups.
Downward break guard
--------------------
(abbreviated dBG)
reversability level: middle punch
execution speed: 16
initiative frames: - / -12 / -12
Akira does a small upward elbow strike.
It is exactly the same as the fBG, except it will come out slower, at the
price of recovering slightly faster. It hits mid, but compared to the fBG, the
initiative you gain afterward is +12 if the opponent struggles; ok, so your
m-DblPm is guarenteed, but for what? The fBG comes out faster, and gives you
more powerful options after it hits. Arguably Akira's most useless move because
it's easily overshadowed by the fBG; nothing huge is guarenteed after the dBG.
(although if you're near a wall you can still try for the SgPm--> SPoD combo)
Wall climbing jump kick
-----------------------
reversability level: -
execution speed: 43
initiative frames: - / - / -
To be honest, I have never used or seen this attack; Akira needs to face a wall
up close to do this, so it's fairly hard to use often, since he has no turn-away
attacks that can set up for this when he's cornered. For the most part, people
don't use wall-specific attacks in VF4 at all. And it's fairly slow to execute
too. It's not completely worthless though, and Akira might actually have one of
the best wall attacks in the game; the startup reeks, but it can't be evaded,
can't be reversed, causes a stagger when guarded, and a long crumble stun on a
normal hit or MC. uk-guy noted that you can try using this on grounded opponents;
do an inverted bodycheck so the opponent ends up close to the wall, m-SgPm
up-close to cross over their body, then execute the wall climbing jump kick and
it should beat out their rising attack; flashy and effective.
Knee
----
reversability level: knee kick
execution speed: 17
initiative frames: -9 / - / -
Akira hops forward to hit the opponent with his knee.
If you have never seen the movement commands of Akira's knee, it is the hardest
move to get out, so lemme just tackle what you're supposed to do; tap K+G, but
before 1 frame has past(that's 1/60th of a second) immediately let go of the G
button, and keep holding K. The best way to do this is to press K and G with
your middle and thumb finger, respectively, but sorta scrape the G button as
if you were flicking. On the issue of moving your fingers at 1/60 of a second,
no one's hands moves at that speed, what you do is trick the CPU into thinking
that you are. The arcade buttons need to be pushed down a certain distance
before they register, so just make sure you spend only 1 frame in that area
where the command registers. Don't try to jam the guard button down and try to
pull your thumb off; try to graze it.
Now, if you can't get the move out, don't worry, it really doesn't matter(Akira
has a lot of other tools that perform much like the knee, and you're running
the risk of whiffing a standing kick everytime you go for a knee attempt), but
if you do, this becomes one of Akira's best juggle combo starters(and show off
moves, since a lot of people know just how hard the knee is to get out); the
opponent is knocked upward much like the ShRm, and then you can often follow up
with a DLC or the like. The knee will also hit those who try to dodge to Akira's
back. It is the best knee in the game; the recovery is much better compared to
most other knees, it is the only one that is ONLY borderline throw counterable.
Just remember that the startup is mediocre and the recovery is bad, so only pull
this out when you can get it to mC or MC, and get ready to do option select
defense if it gets blocked.
Stun palm of doom
-----------------
(abbreviated SPoD)
reversability level: middle punch, - , -
execution speed: 20
initiative frames: -15 / -11 / -4 , - / -6 / - , - / - / -
Akira steps forward and spreads his arms to hit the opponent in the midsection
with a palm, immediately does his reverse body check, then turns around and
does a double palm.
The first of Akira's infamous 3-hit strings, the SPoD is back to being an
inescapable, true 3-hit combo; the RBC throw can't be escaped. I didn't put
down the stun palm or 2/3 SPoD by themselves because the initiative you gain
afterward in any case is very bad, so you're obviously best off just getting
good at doing the entire combo. The stun palm comes out slowly and recovers
slowly, so make sure you can nail the attack when you know it will hit AND
you can combo into the RBC.
Anyways, where to begin, oh yeah, how to do the SPoD. Remember this; this
attack must be done insanely quickly, but precisely. DO NOT start tapping
back for the RBC command(which BTW, is now b,d/f+P+G instead of b,d/f+P+K)
until you let go of the P+K+G command. And make sure you complete the command
for the RBC before the stun palm even comes close to hitting, and that the DblPm
gets completed before the RBC starts showing. The SPoD is obviously not easy
to do, so just practice frequently. Just remember; even though speed is
stressed, it's infinitely better that you input the commands correctly and
slowly rather than sloppily and quickly. Practice slowly, then speed up your
timing until you can nail the SPoD on reaction.
Now the beginner will obviously wonder why he/she would want to perfect and
use this slow attack. At first it does seem like a strictly for-show move.
Well, here are the reasons:
1)This is one of VF4's most powerful attacks; 70 points of damage on a normal
hit; its damage is equivalent to that of the crucifix piledriver.
2)This attack also has a very good chance of hitting dodging opponents or even
worse, rolling opponents. In order for the opponent to successfully dodge the
attack, they need to MC dodge towards Akira's front at the very last second.
Mixing up this move with the DFS against people who TR is a very effective
tactic as they must guess which way to successfully dodge your attack.
3)Unlike the BC, the SPoD's damage is not dependent on range(and its range is
also deceptively long); you can actually hit at a max range of close-mid.
4)Amongst the obvious, the stun palm hits middle(great against crouchers).
5)Because this attack is a strike, when executed against a throw, it will beat
out the throw, and it is also one of the best counters to whiffed throws.
6)MAJOR style points(well, at least for the not-so-veteran VF player). Because
so many people know that the SPoD is quite difficult for the average player to
use, they tend to give respect to whoever can nail the SPoD whenever the player
can do it.
Compared to VF3, Akira's SPoD has been beefed; though it does slightly less
damage, it is now a true combo. The best part is that the SPoD is 10x easier
to connect; it is guarenteed after a parry, and can actually be used in
backstagger combos or after wall staggers! So while I believe the SPoD is
still not necessary for Akira to play well, the fact that it is so easy to
connect it might suggest otherwise; you can reverse for 70 points of damage,
as well as take out more than 100 points of damage when the SPoD is stuck
in combos!
Dragon lance combo
------------------
(abbreviated DLC)
reversability level: middle kick, middle elbow, -
execution speed: 16, 20, 13
initiative frames: -16 / -12 / -12 , -15 / -13 / - , -17 / - / -
Akira steps forward and does a modified side kick(the dragon lance), immediately
goes into a dashing elbow(although it looks a lot like the power elbow after the
standing shoulder), then immediately goes into a body check.
First things first; the DLC is not a true combo, and the recovery after any of
the attacks in ANY situation(except for the BC part) leave Akira very much
strike and throw counterable making it saved for a few situations; bottom line,
if you want to do the attack, go for ALL 3 attacks.
As for doing the DLC, much like the SPoD, speed, but precision is the key.
Make sure the joystick goes through the center and that you let go of the K+G
command before you tap f+P for the dashing elbow. Let go of the P, then make
sure you tap back and 2 forward taps for the bodycheck(common mistake is to
not tap back far enough, or tapping forward too quickly, registering as a long
forward tap instead of 2 distinct forward taps). And again, don't wait for
the animations to show to do the commands; do it before the animations even
show(finish the DE before the dragon lance comes out, and be finished with
the bodycheck before the DE comes close to hitting). The good side is that
the DLC is somewhat easier to do than the SPoD, just remember accuracy and speed
and don't let the pace of the game rush your DLC attempt; it helps to get out
the 2 inputs as closely as possible, then you have somewhat more time to do the
BC part of the move.
The DLC does 69 points of damage as its base damage, but it is 10x easier to use
in your game than the SPoD. That's cause it almost has a single purpose-created
use; it is basically Akira's most reliable juggle combo ender(in terms of how
often it connects reliably in a juggle combo). It works especially well after
anything that produces a crumble stun or a float. What's even better is that
the DLC hits at about the level of Akira's waist, making it possible to add some
hits before you do a DLC in a float combo. Even as a standalone attack, the DLC
has some use; when near the ring, it pushes the opponent very far when blocked
or hit; good for RO purposes.
It seems that the DLC was toned down a LOT in the transition to VF4; although by
the damage scaling calculation the staple m-ShRm-->DLC combo should do about 80
points, many people say that the said combo only does decent damage at around
63 points; I guess the DLC was way too easy to add to the ShRm and still garner
81+ points of damage in VF3tb. Even watching the japanese tourney videos you
almost never see anyone finish their combos with the DLC. However, the DLC is
still very consistent in hitting, and looks flashy as long as you don't do it
over and over; however if you are trying to do damage in Akira's combos, try
something else. The DLC is NOT necessary at all for an Akira user to get good
with him in VF4; it might even be his worst 3-hit string! uk-guy notes though
that while damage-wise it's not that good anymore, distance-wise it's still
a good followup; so on open stages, following up combos w/DLC will push the
opponent back; it's still his primary ring-out juggle combo.
Akira special #3
----------------
(abbreviated AS3)
reversability level: low kick, knee kick, middle punch
execution speed: 16, 21, 14
initiative frames: -17 / -13 / -9 -17 / -17 / -14 -17 / -2 / -1
Akira does a standing low kick called the axe blade(looks a lot like his head
down,feet away rising sweep, except with only 1 leg), follows that with a shot
knee, then follows that up with his overhead smash.
The entire move isn't guarenteed to hit all the way once the axe blade hits,
and the recovery after all the attacks in any situation is bad as a standalone
attack; it will do a force crouch, and take off some DPs, but that doesn't
warrant its use as a standalone attack; always go for all 3 attacks.
The best part about doing the AS3 is that it is the easiest 3-hit string to
do for Akira, just remember to do the commands quickly and precisely; let
go of the buttons and let the joystick go through neutral before doing the
shot knee(and again finish the command before the axe blade even comes out),
then make sure to tap back, forward and punch(make sure that you let go of
the K and that the joystick goes through neutral before tapping the overhead
smash, and yes, make sure you tap the commands out instead of blurring them)
before the shot knee starts coming out. Like the DLC, it helps to get out
the 1st 2 moves as closely as possible, then you have more time to do the 3rd
hit of the AS3.
The AS3 is like the DLC; it is a purpose-created combo ender, except you might
wonder why you'd want to do the AS3 in place of the DLC; it does almost 50% of
the damage of the DLC. Well, the AS3 hits EXTREMELY low(like literally OTB),
giving you more chances to connect the AS3 than the DLC, and that in combos,
you can add more fillers to your juggle combo than you could with a DLC.
Lastly, the AS3 when done on airborne opponents will slam them, making a
tech-roll impossible and giving you a good chance to connect a ground punch.
So is the AS3 always preferable over the DLC? No, I don't think so. If you
normal hit the opponent, it's best to follow up with the DLC. However, if you
MC, often the opponent gets knocked much higher, so you should add more hits;
thus in this case, you should use the AS3. The AS3 will also connect in
situations where the opponent gets juggled really low to the ground; the DLC would
typically miss in these cases. The AS3 is also good for a free way to sober Shun.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
===================
G.Akira's Reversals
===================
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Due to the new reversal system, in order to reverse attacks, you need to match
hit level with reversal level; i.e. before you could reverse Sarah's punt kick
with the high reversal; however in VF4 since Sarah's punt kick is considered
a mid-level attack, you need to do the mid reversal to reverse it. Of course,
Akira possesses reversals for every level, and now even possesses a new type
of reversal(technically, it's not a reversal, but an inashi). Reversals should
not be overlooked; they can turn otherwise uncounterable fast attacks into good
damage. Because they have almost no execution time, it doesn't matter how little
frames of advantage you've got; if you anticipate them, you can beat them out.
Remember the general rule for reversable attacks; only attacks that are on the
ground and use only 1 limb can be reversed, so double palms, shoulder rams, and
hopping attacks to give examples can't be reversed. And the general rule for
getting reversals to connect is to set the opponent up for them(which mainly
involves conditioning the opponent to think certain moves can be thrown out
safely). Side note; all the reversals have 1 frame of execution, whereas the
parry has 0 frames of execution; not that 1 extra frame is going to affect you
that much(reversals/parry's are basically instantaneous), but interesting to
note, eh?
High reversal
-------------
Whenever Akira reverses a high attack, he'll usually do either a yoho, or
dashing elbow after parrying the opponent's attack. In any case, the opponent
will get knocked backward. In the case that you reverse the attack and the
opponent gets knocked into the wall, he/she'll bounce off, giving you a chance
at a free BC. The high reversal is especially good for stopping the PG.
The high reversal will reverse all high attacks SAVE for crescents, given the
typical reversal restrictions.
Middle reversal
---------------
Should Akira reverse a mid attack, he will either parry and execute a dashing
elbow or a shoulder ram. In most cases the opponent will go flying backward,
so again, if they hit the wall, they'll bounce off, giving you a chance at
a free BC. The mid reversal is so much more useful to Akira now due to the
new system. Akira can reverse elbows, sidekicks, kickflips, knees, and any
attack that is classified as a mid-level attack except for the crescent. So
in general, this is going to be your most used reversal from now on.
Low reversal
------------
Should Akira reverse a low attack, he'll either grab the incoming punch and
deliver an overhead into the opponent's back(ugh), or parry and counter with
a double palm. The overhead will leave you with an oppurtunity to try your
okizeme, but the double palm should it connect near a wall will give you a
free BC oppurtunity should the opponent hit the wall going backward. Akira's
low reversal has almost always been what has separated him from the pack. And
in VF4, where the low punch has become much more powerful, the low reversal's
power has made a comeback too. The low reversal is an exceptionally great
option after a blocked DE if the opponent is conditioned into LPing to avoiding
what he/she thinks is an attempted throw. BTW, Akira's low reversal, versatile
as it is won't reverse sweeps.
Parry
-----
initiative frames: a successful parry will give you:
+14~+26 against HP, +22~+34 against HK, +25~+37 against LP
Akira puts his hands together at the midsection height then spreads them apart
vertically. If it deflects the opponent's move, the opponent will go stumbling
on their ass. (look up GLC's general FAQ if you want to know what a stumble
is)
Akira's new move, I think this may be arguably his best new defensive measure
now, alongside the standing shoulder. This is because the parry will er, parry
anything classified as a high punch, high kick, or low punch(at first I thought
Akira could parry all high and low attacks, but he can't parry high elbows and
low kicks), and that's a lotta moves that can be parried(most importantly,
you can defend against 2 different hit levels at one time!). In the case of a
successful parry(you will hear a "whhkkksshhht"-like sound), you can of course
go for the automatic standing palm, but the best part is that anything faster
than or equal to an SPoD is guarenteed(technically if you inashi the opponent's
HP and they struggle like mad they can avoid your SPoD, that's the only
exception, but even then, there's the option of doing a parry, letting them
struggle, and then throwing them, or even SDE--> DLC)! This makes Akira's
parry such a formidable weapon, because a successful parry=a massively free 70
points of damage. This is mind-boggling, especially considering how reversals
=free 30 points of damage. As long as you key in the SPoD as soon as the parry
connects, you will be ok.
-->standing palm
execution speed: 23
Akira follows up his parry with a StPm.
Unlike the regular StPm, there is no flop animation, but it will still take off
DPs from Shun, and still does good damage. Hopefully, you're next to a wall,
so you can combo into a BC if the wall hit occurs. But if you know how to do
the SPoD, you should always follow up the parry with the SPoD; it is guarenteed.
And even it you don't, anything faster than a SPoD is also guarenteed, so you
can still follow up with a DBC or SDE.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
================
H.Akira's Throws
================
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Akira has a good variety of throws. They aren't insanely damaging, but they give
good damage(his 2 staple throws can't be tech-rolled and give out about 60
points of damage if done right), so they shouldn't be overlooked, plus, Akira has
quite a lot of throws to choose from. The nice thing though is even though
Akira's throws alone do good damage for throws, when you can do about 2-3 specific
throws near a wall, you have to potential to create some very powerful combos.
Throws now have have an execution time, but they are still the fastest attacks in
the game(8 frames). However, if you're a beginner to the VF series, it's
important to note that normal throws have 0 priority; they will only connect when
the opponent is not attacking; don't try interrupting attacks with throws(except
for the catch throws). In addition, the range that one needs to be in to throw
has been increased; a LOT more things are throw counterable, but not PG counterable
(except Sarah and a few others).
Reaping throw and punches
-------------------------
execution speed: 8
initiative frames: -6 if escaped
Akira trips the opponent then crouch punches them 3 times.
Being the default P+G throw, this throw has the highest priority over other
throws should another throw be executed AT THE EXACT SAME TIME, and gives good
damage. It also places Akira right next to the opponent, giving you a good
chance of okizeme(don't try the ground punch, it's not guarenteed.) However,
being the default P+G throw, this means it will be escaped the easiest. When
it is escaped, the opponent is in a perfect position to try a strike/throw
guessing game, and up close, so be careful of pressing the attack; nothing's
guarenteed, but you're running at a huge disadvantage.
Elbow rush
----------
execution speed: 8
initiative frames: -6 if escaped
Akira will rush into the side of the opponent with an elbow, knocking them down.
Try not to use side throws; they don't do powerful damage, and they can be
escaped(rather easily too, since Akira has only 1 side throw). Not to mention a
QR/TR is possible. It's much better to just hit them with a m-ShRm or DBC.
It is worth noting though that for an opponent to successfully escape this throw,
they have to tap left or right and P+G to escape it, and the side you do the
throw will determine which way they must tap to escape, for instance if you
dodge to their left and throw, they need to escape with left+P+G.
Big finish
----------
execution speed: 11
initiative frames: -
Akira will rear back then punch forward with both fists knocking the opponent
down.
This looks a lot like his DFS. This throw would get the award of most worthless
VF throw. Not only is it a back throw, but it is a catch throw, and it doesn't
do that much damage. So in the rare case that your opponent presents his/her
back to you, the throw is still not guarenteed because being a catch throw the
startup is longer, and gives your opponent a big chance to dodge it. And it's
kinda stupid having a back-catch throw, because a back throw is already
inescapable, so why does it need to be a catch throw? Thus, it is worthless
trying this throw; it is infinitely better to just hit them with a m-ShRm or DBC
if your opponent presents their back to you; maybe against scrubs to show what
they lack in reasoning and reaction time.
Pull-in throw
-------------
execution speed: 19
initiative frames: - / +5 / -
Akira will grab the opponent's arm and drag them forward to a crouch.
Unlike VF3tb, the SDE is no longer guarenteed after the pull-in throw, but now
Akira has automatic followups that must be dealt like a multi-throw. Keep in
mind the pull-in throw is now a catch throw so it has a slower startup; don't
ever try throwing this outta nowhere; the best place is during a slow recovering
attack, one you just MC dodged or blocked. The good part about it being a
catch throw is that the throw can't be escaped though(good against dodgers). The
catch throw also seems to have interesting priority; while it is insanely slower,
and can be interrupted by regular throws anytime during its execution, it will
override standing attacks in their execution phase as long as the throw will grab
them before the attack hits; this makes it great in cases where you have a large
amount of initiative, so that you can interrupt their attacks, but makes it poor
in situations where the opponent can either duck or throw you out of the move.
Note though that the opponent can escape all followups afterwards if he/she holds
F and taps G rapidly(which will escape the shoulder smash)until Akira dodges, then
hold U or D depending on which way he dodges and then taps G rapidly, which results
in escaping the RBC.
-->dodge
initiative frames: - / +5 / -
Akira will follow up his pull-in throw with a dodge either into the screen or
out depending on which way you inputted the command.
The only reason to do this is to gain positioning; as for now, I don't know
whether the dodge is the regular dodge or the MC dodge. There's fairly no
reason to use this at all, except if you think maybe the opponent knows which
throw escape to do after the pull-in throw. Maybe you might want to do this
if you want to keep the pressure on(the pull-in throw keeps the opponent fairly
close to Akira) and not follow up with a RBC or shoulder smash. However, against
someone who knows how to do the special option select against Akira when he does
this throw(read the above info), you can do a pull-in throw-->dodge-->fBG, then
follow up with a combo, because the opponent will be concentrating too hard
on escaping the pull-in throw's followups to pay attention. So there is some
use for this move against overpassive opponents. Some other mindgames submitted
by MisterWhite include following the fBG with a SPoD. There's also a pull-in
throw setup where Akira places his back directly to the wall, then does a
pull-in throw-->dodge, then pull-in throw-->RBC(you have to face a passive
opponent who is holding guard in fear of the RBC followup to have the pull-in
throw connect again, then fearful of being thrown so he tries to throw himself),
bringing the opponent into the wall, then tag a SDE--> wall hit--> DBC for over
80 damage points. You can also try pull-in throw-->dodge x2 into something else,
like fBG-->SPoD| throw.
-->reverse body check
initiative frames: -13 / +20 / -
Akira follows up his pull-in throw with a RBC.
Note that if the opponent keys in the correct directional escape, Akira can
be countered. So mix up which way you do the RBC, or whether you do the
RBC at all. That said, the RBC in this throw should it connect can be followed
up with an almost guarenteed SDE-->DLC combo for great damage.
Revision C changes: the advantage Akira gets after the RBC has been up'd a bit;
now it is much easier to tag on your combos after the RBC, making them much
harder to escape. SDE will be much easier to connect than before.
-->shoulder smash
initiative frames: -10 / - / -
Akira follows the pull-in throw with a hit with the shoulder.
Should the opponent key in the escape, Akira can be countered. So mix it up
with the RBC. That said, if the shoulder smash connects, a well-timed m-DblPm
will combo for 50 pts of damage. If the opponent hits the wall going backward
from the shoulder smash, nothing's guarenteed, but then you can try for the wall
stagger with the SgPm or try to stagger them with the fBG.
Stumble throw
-------------
(abbreviated ST)
execution speed: 8
initiative frames: -7 if escaped
Akira will stick out his leg and knock the opponent down over it, then they
slowly get to their feet.
This throw does very little damage, but stuns the opponent so that they can
be hit with a free combo. The opponent can struggle, but as of right now, the
automatic SgPm(d,f+P) is guarenteed afterward. Furthermore, the SgPm will
combo into additional stuff(more on this later). However, nothing will be
guarenteed after the SgPm if the opponent touches a wall(this is a special case),
so you'll instead have to force a guessing game; try fBG or SgPm. Akira's staple
ST combo(more on this later) will do about 60 points of damage, making it a good
throw. The SJK is no longer a great followup because it will not juggle the
opponent very high. This is Akira's 2nd best throw because the followups can't be
tech rolled(if you do your combos correctly), and a lotta potential lies after this
throw(especially if Akira does this throw with his back to the wall; a lotta
sick wall combos can be started with the ST). It also reverses ring position.
However, don't get too predictable with this throw; if escaped, Akira has his
back to the opponent, but is out of throw range. Nothing's guarenteed, but
obviously the opponent has a slight advantage, but not huge enough that if both
of you attack that the opponent will always win out.
Surprise exchange
-----------------
(abbreviated SE)
execution speed: 8
initiative frames: -6 if escaped, +7 if connected
Akira will push the opponent behind him as he runs behind and turns around.
The SE is fairly worthless, though it was made a bit more useful compared to
VF3. For starters, if you immediately roll the joystick from d/b to f then tap
b and press punch, Akira will automatically do a DblPm as he comes right out of
the SE; it is guarenteed. It's fairly weak damage though; around 30 pts(still
it's guarenteed damage, so if all your throw attempts are foiled, you might
want to fall back on this). Might be more useful if you can SE them into a wall
before doing the DblPm; you could combo off of the wall hit(the minimum being
the pounce for close to 60 pts). If you find your opponent never trying to
turn around after the SE, do a SgPm, and combo into the SPoD. Anyways, if the
throw is escaped, Akira is left at a serious disadvantage; the opponent is facing
Akira's back, and Akira is counterable. So to reiterate, avoid using this throw!
It should only be thrown in when you find the opponent constantly escaping your
other throws, and when you want to try to go for a backstagger. Typically after
the DblPm the opponent falls on their stomach; if they try to QR, a sidekick will
backstagger them, giving you a shot at doing even more free damage. If you decide
to do a SgPm instead of the sidekick, you will back-crumble them, and your SPoD
will combo!
Reverse body check
------------------
(abbreviated RBC)
execution speed: 8
initiative frames: -6 if escaped, +11 if connected
Akira will walk behind the opponent, then do a BC at their back, staggering
them forward.
This throw does some decent damage. It gives Akira initiative with the opponent
having their back to him, however the opponent is a bit farther away compared to
the SE(so the extra initiative frames do jack), plus they can struggle hard then
turn around to escape all followups. And even when you position the RBC so it
puts them right into the wall, they actually can struggle even sooner, making the
RBC even more useless. It is good against those who don't struggle though; you
have potential to do a lot of damage especially when you RBC them right into the
wall, however, I have to remind you that these combos are never guarenteed. If
escaped, the opponent is in range to push a very advantageous strike/throw guessing
game, so don't push hard at all; try to read and react. Like the SE, if you
connect a m-DblPm afterward and the opponent tries to QR/TR, you can try to
backstagger them for a combo.
Revision C changes: the initiative frames after the RBC were tweaked so that the
RBC is a power throw; the SDE is guarenteed afterward, making DLC or AS3 guarenteed
provided the opponent doesn't turn around in a crouched position(more on the combos
in the combos section); also, should the opponent and try to attack you, you can
go for the MC SDE--> DJK combo for HUGE damage! Damage from a RBC into the wall
still isn't guarenteed if the opponent struggles though, although depending on the
stagger they suffer when they hit the wall, you could end up nailing with up to a
SDE--> DBC for huge damage. In addition, the RBC can be used for swapping sides
and ringing the opponent out.
Close-in ram
------------
execution speed: 8
initiative frames: -25 if escaped
Akira grabs the opponent's arm, lifts it up, ducks underneath then rams the
opponent in the crotch and then stands up to knock them away.
The throw does good damage and knocks the opponent far away. However, part of
the damage that the throw gives out(the part that does the most damage) can
be escaped by the QR/TR(if they don't, run up and ground punch for free, if
they do, you should still run up and try to pressure their QR/TR). However,
this is still one of Akira's best throws, his 3rd best; when you corner an
opponent into a wall, do a close-in ram, and all the damage will be unavoidable,
but what's even better is that the opponent will hit the wall, and fall forward,
giving you a free BC oppurtunity, making this a very powerful throw(however,
depending on how far you are from the wall, the opponent can be stuck very high
on the wall, enabling you to follow up with so much more than the BC)! So all
in all, a great throw if you are near the ring end, either for ring outs(in the
case of ring outs, it doesn't matter whether the damage is given or not, as
long as they go out), or wall combos. Just don't get predictable; a lot of
players know that Akira can link the close-in ram with a BC near a wall, so
they'll try that escape a lot when near a wall or near a ring edge(which could
ring Akira out if escaped). Also, when escaped, the opponent is facing Akira's
back, and long range attacks are guarenteed.
Grasping mind
-------------
execution speed: 8
initiative frames: -8 if escaped
Akira grabs the opponent's arm, drags them to a crouch, then rams them with
a headbutt.
This throw is Akira's strongest normal throw(60 points) and the ring out power
is very formidable. This would have been one of Akira's best throws, except
that some of the damage is given when the opponent hits the ground, so a QR/TR
avoids some pts. However, it's not completely useless; if the opponent hits
a wall going backward, all the damage will be given out, and the throw's
damage will not be avoided, so it's even possible to add a ground punch to up
the damage to 70 points(although in this case, it's much better to go for
a close-in ram, because you can follow up with a BC for major damage). In
addition, the ring out power makes it a very good choice when close to the
ring's edge. Do beware, when escaped, the opponent is right next to Akira and
Akira is barely throw counterable, so be ready to throw escape. So when near
the ring's edge, decide whether you want a safe throw, or a damaging throw. If
you want the former, use the grasping mind. If you want the latter, use the
close-in ram.
Inverted bodycheck
------------------
execution speed: 8
initiative frames: -6 if escaped
Akira does an upward elbow on the opponent near their stomach so they flip over
his shoulder and fall down.
Definitely Akira's best throw. It does good damage(which BTW, is untechrollable),
especially with the ground punch. It will also reverse the ring. Often you can
try for okizeme games as the opponent is getting up. However, most people know
this is Akira's best throw, so chances are you'll find the opponent keying in
this escape first. If escaped, the opponent can push for a strike/throw game,
and if you try anything at the exact moment they do, they'll win, in other
words, it's safe but don't push too hard. It should be of note that if your
opponent does a LP right out of an escaped inverted bodycheck(or wall bodycheck
for that matter), it will whiff, giving you a free SPoD.
Wall bodycheck
--------------
execution speed: 8
initiative frames: -6 if escaped
Akira will flip the opponent over his head so the opponent is sandwiched between
the wall and him, then he will bodycheck at close range.
This is basically what happens when you execute the inverted bodycheck with
Akira's back to the wall. It does a lot of damage, especially when you add that
ground punch. Anyways, same scenarios as the inverted bodycheck, except for the
damage. Try to get this in whenever you can; if escaped, the scenario is the
same as the inverted bodycheck.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
========================
I.Akira's Ground Attacks
========================
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Due to the QR/TR system, ground attacks don't play such a big role in games
anymore; however, in the case that you cause a "slam" or "flop" animation, or
hit the opponent onto the wall, you can try for the pounces.
Ground punch
------------
execution speed: 17
Akira crouches and punches the opponent.
A very fast and reliable ground attack. This is more reliable than your jumping
punch. Get this in whenever you connect your inverted/wall bodycheck throws, or
after every AS3 combo. Also, if you ever do a combo that leads to a wall hit,
and you can't hit the opponent with anything else before they land, then add a
ground punch. Basically, whenever you create a knockdown that can't be QR/TR'd,
try for a ground punch.
Jumping punch
-------------
execution speed: 42
Akira jumps and crouch-punches the opponent.
One of the worst pounces in the game, even more worthless due to the new QR/TR
system. There are very few instances where you can connect the jumping punch
reliably, you pretty much have to hope that your opponent doesn't key in the
QR/TR command, and even then, there are still many places where the jumping
punch can be avoided, since it is so slow, and the hit detection is so small.
Try not to use this pounce at all. The only upside is that a missed jumping
punch recovers much faster than a ground punch that misses.
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| 3333 o CCC OOO M M M BBB OOO SSS |
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Now here's the fun part(I bet some of you skipped it all the way down here just
for this); Akira is a combo master. There are many combos you can try as Akira,
and a lot of them will take crazy damage from your opponent. Comboing your
opponent with Akira is just about the greatest fun you can have using him. Well,
nothing else to say, except that let's get it on.
Keep in mind that stance, what type of hit you did, what level you hit at, what
your opponent's weight, height and width are, the damage scaling system and
whether you are close to a wall(as well as other factors) will all determine what
combos you can perform on your opponents. I cover most of these factors in the
misc section.
Here's the typical format for a combo:
#) xx--> xx--> xx| xx| xx
R:
blah, blah, blah
anyways, the xx will basically be a move, and the --> will separate each move.
the | translates to basically "or," the followups are up to you given the options.
the R will show if there is any restriction(specific weight class needed, closed/
open stance, MC, etc) the blah(if there is any) will basically be any thoughts on
the combo
the majority of the combos were either taken from Mr. Bungle's transcribed misc.
combos FAQ, or various posts from ppl on Virtuafighter.com(specially, from
CreeD, UKguy, FeixaQ, Spotlite, and a couple of others)
staple combos that I THINK should be learned if you are going specifically for
damage with as much reliability as possible have a * next to the combo number
CURRENT COMBO COUNT: 105
Standing palm combos:
---------------------
*1) StPm--> PG--> m-DblPm
R: middleweights
This is also a staple StPm combo; get used to doing this a lot. It might work
on all characters, this is probably the best StPm combo; does around 55 to 67
pts of damage; not too bad.
*2) StPm--> DLC| AS3| DJK
R: open stance for DJK, middleweights for DLC
All the combos do roughly 65 points. The DJK ender should be a staple IF YOU
ARE IN OPEN STANCE; if they hit the wall going backward, add on a DBC for up to
96 pts of damage!
3) StPm--> LP--> DblPm
R: none
This should be a staple combo that you should get used to if you're a
beginner, because it will work on all characters. MisterWhite suggested to me
that he usually needs an MC to do this on rev B arcades, but he stated that he
wasn't sure. Neither am I, but this is still Akira's most reliable followup to
the StPm; go for it whenever you are facing heavyweight characters.
4) StPm--> DBC
R: none
5) StPm--> Knee--> m-DblPm
R: I don't think this will work on heavyweight characters, but I'm not too sure
if it will work on middleweights as well.
6) StPm--> DE--> DBC
R: MC, lightweights
A combo submitted from MisterWhite.
Dashing elbow combos:
---------------------
*1) DE--> m-DblPm
R: MC
This is your best DE combo; get used to holding D/F right after doing the DE
so that if it floats, you can immediately key in d/f,b,f+P for the m-DblPm.
This also happens to be your best normal hit SDE combo.
*2) DE--> DBC
R: MC
The combo should do roughly 80 points in rev B.
3) DE--> LP--> DblPm
R: MC
4) DE-->DE| SDE| SJK
R: MC
all of the combos do roughly 50 points
5) DE--> m-ShRm--> DblPm
R: MC
Super dashing elbow combos:
---------------------------
*1) SDE--> DE| SDE| DBC| m-DblPm
R: none
The m-DblPm followup should be a staple normal hit SDE combo, the DBC is also
a good followup if you aren't used to doing the m-DblPm yet. See DE combo #5
for the way to connecting the m-DblPm right after the SDE.
*2) SDE--> DJK| DBC| DLC| AS3
R: MC
All the combos do roughly 80 points or less; go with the DJK or DBC for damage,
or do the DLC for flashiness. SDE--> DJK| DBC are THE staple followups to your
MC SDE, unless if you are against a lightweight. The DBC has potential to do
more damage than the DJK, but it needs to be a near-perfect point blank DBC;
the DJK is always consistent in damage.
*3) SDE--> m-ShRm--> AS3--> Ground punch
R: MC on lightweight characters
The combo does roughly 90 points; it is THE staple MC SDE combo on lightweights;
whenever you get the chance, do this combo! If you want to risk it, you can stop
at the m-ShRm and hopefully try to attack an opponent who TRs to try to get a
backstagger.
4) SDE--> DLC| AS3
R: normal hit
If you haven't mastered SDE--> m-DblPm, you can go for AS3--> ground punch as
a substitute; should work on all characters; don't even bother with the DLC.
5) SDE--> LP--> DblPm| SJK| Knee
R: MC
All the combos do roughly 80 points; screw around with the knee if you can get
it out, otherwise, the DblPm is the easiest followup.
6) SDE--> m-ShRm--> DLC| Knee
R: MC, middleweights for knee
A flashy, good damaging combo.
7) SDE--> Yoho--> DLC| AS3
R: MC
You can add a ground punch after the AS3; if you want, you can stop at the yoho
and try to get a backstagger if the opponent TRs.
Low backfist combos:
--------------------
*1) LBF--> DBC| DJK| DLC| AS3
R: MC
Your staple LBF combo, just be quick on the followups; the DJK works
exceptionally well, and does a lot of damage.
2) LBF--> SJK
R: MC
You can use this combo to pressure opponents who try to QR/TR after the combo.
Standing double palm combos:
----------------------------
*1) StDblPm--> DLC| AS3| DBC
R: normal hit
The DBC followup does more than 100 points in revision B; it one of the sickest
combos you can do in rev B. To get it to hit more than 100 points, you need
to walk(not dodge) towards the opponent's back foot for about 1 second
before doing the DBC. For its simplicity and damage I will say that this
is THE combo of VF4 revision B. If they don't QR/TR the DBC then you have a
guarenteed ground punch.
2) StDblPm--> Knee--> DBC
R: DBC can be QR/TR'd, or knee needs to hit a person into a wall for this to
be a guarenteed combo
Surprise, you can still get close to 100 pts of damage from the StDblPm in rev C!
Too bad it's highly dependant on you being close to a wall, or playing against
a scrub who doesn't know how to TR. But at least it's damage. You can sub
the m-ShRm for the knee if you're going for the wall version of the combo.
Shoulder ram combos:
--------------------
*1) ShRm--> SDE| DJK| DLC| AS3
R: none
The DJK ender is a staple ender to the ShRm; you can go for the DLC if you want
style over damage. Anyways, although the 2 enders will work all the time, there's
really only one place you want to use this; against heavyweight characters IN
OPEN STANCE; otherwise, it's better to do ShRm--> PG--> DLC| DJK; it will connect
on normal hit in all other circumstances.
*2) ShRm--> PG--> SDE| DJK| DLC| AS3
R: none
Should be your staple normal hit ShRm combo; go for the DJK for damage, the DLC
if you want variety; very good against heavyweights, as it is very consistent to
hit. However, it should mainly be used for heavyweight characters(normal hit,
closed stance) and maybe some heavy-mid characters(normal hit); in all other
cases, you should learn to squeeze multiple m-ShRm's and m-DblPm's into your ShRm
combos for HUGE damage.
*3) ShRm--> PG--> m-ShRm--> Low kick
R: normal/MC on middleweights/lightweights, MC on heavyweights
This is one of your staple combos to use against heavyweights(and for normal hits
on midweights), and does a lot of damage(around 80 points on an MC, around 70 on
a normal hit). The counterpart to the ShRm,PG,ShRm,DblPm combo.
*4) ShRm--> PG--> m-ShRm--> m-DblPm
R: normal/MC on lightweights, and MC on midweights
The combo does roughly 100 points; it is your flashiest and one of the best
staple combos against lightweights(although it also works on midweights). Anytime
you have the oppurtunity to do this combo, go for it! Your most powerful and
desired ShRm combo to nail by far; it is tough, but becomes easy with practice.
One helpful hint to getting the m-DblPm in there is to try doing it like you were
doing the SDE,m-DblPm combo, since the height will be about the same.
5) ShRm--> LP--> SgPm--> AS3--> Ground punch
R: MC, closed stance
This does 94 pts; pretty amazing damage, and looks very flashy; if you like doing
something other than multiple m-ShRms in your ShRm combos, try this. Just watch
your stance.
6) ShRm--> PG--> m-ShRm--> DBC
R: MC, middleweights or heavier(heavyweights can QR/TR the DBC)
Before you are able to do ShRm combo #4 consistently, you should aim to practice
to do this to mastery; the DBC is much easier to do than the m-DblPm. A staple
combo, but it does do less damage compared to combo #4(and leaves you with less
initiative, especially near a wall). Once you master ShRm,PG,ShRm,DblPm, you
shouldn't use this combo anymore. Thanks to MisterWhite for this combo.
7) ShRm--> LP--> DblPm
R: middleweights(or heavier?)
One of the most staple normal hit ShRm combos for heavyweight and midweight
characters; well, at least the jap experts use this the most(or was it PG-->
m-DblPm?)
8) ShRm--> PG--> LP--> DblPm
R: middleweights
9) ShRm--> PG--> StPm--> SDE
R: middleweights
10) ShRm--> PG--> StPm--> m-DblPm
R: MC, lightweights
11) ShRm--> PG--> StPm--> DFS
R: TR/QR may avoid the DFS
12) ShRm--> PG--> DFS
R: middleweights
13) ShRm--> StPm--> DFS| DJK
R: none
14) ShRm--> StPm--> m-DblPm
R: MC, lightweights
The combo does roughly 80 points
15) ShRm--> StPm--> AS3
R: MC, closed stance
Pretty reliable and does around 80 points of damage.
16) ShRm--> m-ShRm--> m-DblPm
R: MC, middleweights
17) ShRm--> PG--> PG--> PG--> m-DblPm
R: I'm assuming that you need to MC a lightweight to midweight character to
do this
Supposedly, not much damage, but flashy, and requires precise timing; do it
if you're bored.
18) ShRm--> PG--> m-ShRm--> DFS
R: not too sure; maybe MC, and only on mid to light weights?
Knee combos:
------------
1) Knee--> PG--> Standing shoulder,power elbow
R: not too sure about the restrictions as of now; probably works better if
it MCs, and if the opponent is a certain weight(probably mid to light)
-Look up the ShRm combos; most of the knee combos have the same possibilities
and restrictions.
Yoho combos:
------------
-Look up the ShRm combos; most of the yoho combos have the same possibilities
and restrictions. You might have stance issues(yoho,PG,DJK requires you to be
in open stance).
Single palm combos:
-------------------
these combos are assuming that you're doing the SgPm as a standalone move with
the opponent next to a wall so that they suffer the strong wall stagger; all
of these combos can have the beginning SgPm substituted with fBG--> m-SgPm or
the overhead smash
*1) SgPm--> Wall stagger--> SPoD
R: none
The #1 wall stagger combo in the game; just make sure they touch the SgPm, and
you're set; and if they hit a wall going backward from the SPoD, combo in a DBC
for a massively huge 135+ pts of damage!
*2) SgPm--> Wall stagger--> StDblPm--> Yoho--> Wall hit--> DBC
R: none
This is the other staple wall combo that Hong Kong players go for a lot; it
will take 75% of a lifebar, and looks flashy as heck. It essentially does the
same damage as the SgPm,SPoD,DBC combo, except you only need 1 wall and it's
easier for beginners to do, the problem is that if the opponent TRs, there is
a good chance that they can throw you or PG counter you before you recover.
3) SgPm--> Wall stagger--> m-DblPm--> Wall hit--> DBC| DJK
R: none
This is 10x easier than the ST counterpart combo; because the opponent suffers
a strong wall stagger, you have a lot of time to key in the m-DblPm; this is
an easy, yet powerful combo.
4) SgPm--> Wall stagger--> m-ShRm| Knee--> Wall hit--> DBC
R: none
Another easy, flashy, powerful SgPm combo.
5) SgPm--> Wall stagger--> LBF--> DJK
R: none
This is a sick wall combo; it will take off more than 1/2 of an opponent's
life bar.
6) SgPm--> Wall stagger--> Yoho--> DBC
R: none
The combo should do roughly from 70 to 90 points, depending on how well you
connect the DBC.
7) SgPm--> Wall stagger--> m-DblPm--> Wall hit--> AS3
R: none
The combo should do roughly 70 points if you can add a ground punch.
8) SgPm--> Wall stagger--> StPm--> d+K+G--> AS3
R: The opponent can TR/QR to avoid the AS3
If you add a ground punch, the damage should be roughly 70 points.
9) SgPm--> Wall stagger--> StPm--> LP--> d+K+G,f+K--> DBC
R: Possible TR/QR before the DBC?
Forward guard break combos:
---------------------------
general restriction of the fBG combos are that the opponent must block the fBG;
that's it
*1)fBG--> StPm--> PG--> m-DblPm
R: none
This is the best fBG combo, and the one the japanese experts use the most;
you should too; very reliable, does good damage.
*2)fBG--> m-SgPm--> m-DblPm
R: none
This will work as long as you are quick. The SgPm can be done with d,f+P
or QCF+P. Essentially the same as the bread-and-butter ST combo; read that
if you want specifics. It gets very easy when done next to a wall though; the
m-SgPm will cause a strong wall stagger, making it VERY easy to combo into the
m-DblPm, and after they slump against the wall, you can add the DBC for huge
damage.
*3)fBG--> StPm--> DJK
R: open stance?
Staple combo if you are in open stance; don't forget the DBC followup if the
opponent hits a wall going backward.
*4)fBG--> SJK--> PG--> DJK
R: closed stance, possible weight class restriction?
Go for this if you are in closed stance, there might be a weight restriction.
*5)fBG--> m-SgPm--> Wall stagger--> SPoD
R: Opponent must hit wall after the m-SgPm
Staple wall combo; remember that if the opponent hits another wall going back
from the SPoD, you can DBC them.
*6)fBG--> m-SgPm--> Wall stagger--> StDblPm--> Yoho--> Wall hit--> DBC
R: Opponent must hit wall after the m-SgPm
This is the other staple wall combo that Hong Kong players go for a lot; it
will take 75% of a lifebar, and looks flashy as heck. It essentially does the
same damage as the SgPm,SPoD,DBC combo, except you only need 1 wall and it's
easier for beginners to do, the problem is that if the opponent TRs, there is
a good chance that they can throw you or PG counter you before you recover.
7)fBG--> StPm--> AS3--> Ground punch
R: none
This is a staple fBG combo; get used to using it.
8)fBG--> m-SgPm--> PK
R: none
Just remember to hold forward after doing the m-SgPm to give the PK a good chance
of connecting.
9)fBG--> m-SgPm--> ST--> m-SgPm--> m-DblPm
R: opponent must not key in the ST throw escape
This is more of a setup; you have to hope that the opponent believes that you
will goof up the m-SgPm followup, and so blocks the ST followup, and the SgPm
can be done with either d,f+P or QCF+P.
10)fBG--> m-SgPm--> Wall stagger--> LBF--> DJK
R: Akira must have cornered the opponent
This is a sick wall combo; it will take off more than 1/2 of an opponent's
life bar; just have the knowledge to do it. You can actually do the m-SgPm
specially in this case by doing d,f+P, or QCF+P.
11) fBG--> m-SgPm--> Wall stagger--> Yoho--> DBC
R: Akira should have cornered the opponent
The combo should do roughly from 70 to 90 points, depending on how well you
connect the DBC.
12) fBG--> m-SgPm--> m-DblPm--> Wall hit--> AS3
R: Akira should have cornered the opponent
The combo should do roughly 70 points if you can add a ground punch.
13) fBG--> m-SgPm--> Wall stagger--> StPm--> d+K+G--> AS3
R: Akira should have cornered the opponent, the opponent can TR/QR to avoid the
AS3
If you add a ground punch, the damage should be roughly 70 points.
14) fBG--> m-SgPm--> Wall stagger--> StPm--> LP--> d+K+G,f+K--> DBC
R: Akira should have cornered the opponent, possible TR/QR before the DBC?
15)fBG--> Knee--> ?
R: knee must be perfectly timed
I haven't figured out the best followup, but a lotta potential lies after the
knee.
16)fBG--> Yoho--> ?
R: yoho must be perfectly timed
I haven't figured out the best followup, but a lotta potential lies after the
yoho.
Stumble throw combos:
---------------------
*1) ST--> m-SgPm--> m-DblPm--> Wall hit--> DBC| DJK
R: Akira's back to wall
It should be noted that if you aren't near a wall, doing the entire combo up to
the m-DblPm is still considered a true combo, and in fact one of Akira's staple
ST combos; at about 60 points, this makes it a good throw. If you are near a
wall, you can add the DBC or DJK for huge damage. As for specifics to doing the
combo, it's actually tricky; all inputs for the m-DblPm must happen within 2 frames
after the SgPm hits; inputs done during the SgPm won't register. The way to do
this properly is to hold D/F after the SgPm comes out, and once you see it
connect, immediately tap d/f,b,f+P very quickly. It's hard, but this is really
Akira's most reliable ST combo, and the entire thing is guarenteed to connect;
just master the timing.
2) ST--> m-DblPm
R: none
This is a good combo for beginners; you can do the m-DblPm by doing QCB,f+P here,
and if they try to TR afterward, you can try to go for a stagger.
3) ST--> m-SgPm--> Pull-in throw
R: none
This is not really a true combo, but a setup to get the opponent to be thrown
with the pull-in throw; very hard to avoid, as long as the opponent doesn't try
crouching.
4) ST--> m-SgPm--> Wall stagger--> m-SgPm--> Wall stagger--> SPoD
R: Akira's back to wall
After I discovered that the SgPm after a ST into a wall causes a WEAK wall stagger,
I modified this combo to become more of a setup; instead of going for the SPoD
right after(which can be blocked), you can try to go for another m-SgPm, and hope
that the opponent doesn't dodge or reverse, which if they do, gives you the true
combo.
5) ST--> SDE--> DLC
R: On lightweights
Close-in ram combos:
--------------------
*1) Close-in ram--> Wall hit--> DBC
R: Akira must have cornered the opponent
This is hands down Akira's easiest and staple close-in ram wall combo. Very
easy to do and does a lot of damage, just remember the DBC followup.
*2) Close-in ram--> Wall hit--> PK--> DBC
R: Akira must have cornered the opponent, needs a high wall hit
The combo is fairly simple to do. Does a HUGE amount of damage, around 116 pts!
*3) Close-in ram--> Wall hit--> PG--> DJK
R: Akira must have cornered the opponent, needs a high wall hit
Insane damage; 99 pts
*4) Close-in ram--> Wall hit--> PK--> Pounce
R: Akira must have cornered the opponent
For your risk vs reward, this is a powerful combo; 100 pts, and the opponent can't
TR to punish you(compared to the DJK or DBC enders).
5) Close-in ram--> Wall hit--> PG--> DE--> DBC
R: Akira must have cornered the opponent, needs a high wall hit
The combo can do up to a maximum of 113 pts, according to CreeD. Very flashy
and very powerful.
6) Close-in ram--> Wall hit--> PG--> StPm--> AS3
R: Akira must have cornered the opponent, needs a high wall hit
Not that damaging, but flashy. It's fairly hard because it requires good
positioning.
7) Close-in ram--> Wall hit--> DJK--> Ground punch
R: Akira must have cornered the opponent
Very easy to do, very damaging.
Pull-in throw combos:
---------------------
*1) Pull in throw--> RBC--> SDE--> DLC
R: none
A staple pull-in throw combo
*2) Pull in throw--> shoulder smash--> m-DblPm
R: none
The other staple pull-in throw combo
3) Pull in throw--> RBC--> SDE--> m-DblPm| DBC
R: none
MisterWhite suggested that for mindgames you could also try stopping at the RBC,
running in and throwing the opponent.
Reverse body check combos:
--------------------------
remember; all RBC combos are only guarenteed in revision C PROVIDED THE OPPONENT
DOESN'T CROUCH(or followups after the 1st hit after the RBC will miss)
*1) RBC--> SDE--> AS3--> Ground punch
R: opponent can't crouch
The damage of this combo is huge; 79 pts, and pushes the opponent far back.
*2) RBC--> SDE--> DLC
R: opponent can't crouch
The damage of this combo is huge; 80 pts, and pushes the opponent far back.
*3) RBC--> SDE--> m-DblPm
R: opponent can't crouch
Basically, perform the m-DblPm the same way as the SDE,m-DblPm combo; good
damage, a good staple combo.
4) RBC--> SDE--> PG--> m-ShRm--> m-DblPm
R: Against Pai, Pai can't crouch
Always try for this against Pai(and possibly other lightweights). The damage is
amazing; 105 pts! It's fairly easy to avoid though; most people would crouch
after an RBC to make followups not guarenteed. Still, very flashy, and very
powerful.
5) RBC--> m-DblPm
R: none
If the opponent forgets to turn around and tries to QR, you can backstagger them.
6) RBC--> Wall stagger--> SDE--> Wall hit--> DBC
R: opponent can't struggle too hard, Akira's back has to be a 45 degree angle to
the wall behind him
This will only work if the RBC is done at near point blank range; that way the
opponent will suffer a STRONG wall stagger; they can still block the SDE if they
struggle hard though.
7) RBC--> Wall stagger--> m-SgPm--> SPoD
R: Akira's back has to be a 45 degree angle to the wall behind him
If you constantly find your RBC,SDE combo attempts next to the wall being foiled,
try this; sure, they may struggle out in time to avoid the m-SgPm, but then
they'll still hit the wall and suffer wall stagger, enabling the SPoD to combo!
And if they don't, then they'll suffer a back-turned crumble stun, and the SPoD
will still combo! Against Aoi, it becomes more of a 2-way guessing game, since
she can reverse your SgPm with her back turned, so mix up RBC,SDE and RBC,m-SgPm
against her.
Surprise exchange combos:
-------------------------
*1) SE--> m-DblPm
R: none
The canned DblPm is unavoidable for 33 pts of damage. Do the canned m-DblPm
by doing d/b,QCF,f,b+P after the SE. While it's really measly damage, always
look for someone who QRs, cause then you can back-crumble them with a m-SgPm
and add more than 100 pts of damage, turning this into a huge damage sequence.
If the m-DblPm hits them into a wall, you can add a guarenteed pounce to make
the damage more respectable at around 60 pts minimum(there's a possibility that
you can add more than just a pounce).
*2) SE--> m-SgPm--> SPoD
R: Akira's back to wall
While SE,m-SgPm isn't guarenteed in non-wall circumstances, when Akira does
it with his back to a wall, the opponent will either remain back-turned and
suffer a back-turned crumble stun, by which the SPoD will combo, or they will
turn around in time to block the m-SgPm, but it will push them against the
wall causing a strong wall stagger, making the SPoD inescapable(or you can go
for SgPm combo #2 for well over 70% damage)! Just beware of this against Aoi;
she can reverse your SgPm, back-turned or facing you.
Parry combos:
-------------
general restriction of the parry combos is that the parry must actually inashi
an attack(duh)
*1) Parry--> SPoD
R: none
Just to be thorough ;). The "combo" will work on anyone provided the parry
was successful and you keyed in the commands as soon as you heard the whiffing
sound. A staple followup to the parry. It might not be guarenteed if you
inashi'd a HP and the opponent struggled like mad; however anything faster than
or equal to 14 frames is still guarenteed.
2) Parry--> Yoho--> PG--> DJK
R: Open stance, against Kage?
I dunno too much about the specs of this combo, but uk-guy gave me this combo
against Kage, so supposedly similar restrictions(i.e. midweights).
3) Parry--> Yoho--> PG--> m-ShRm--> m-DblPm
R: Open stance, lightweights
Sick damage, try this combo against lightweights instead of the stereotypical
SPoD followup; it'll hurt.
Low kick combos:
----------------
*1) Low kick--> DblPm
R: Revision B only, low kick must MC
Pretty straightforward(and from uk-guy), just remember it and have the knowledge
to quickly tap b,f+P for the followup power hit. It may be possible to MC low
kick into a guarenteed throw.
Standing shoulder combos:
-------------------------
*1) Standing shoulder,power elbow--> m-ShRm--> AS3
R: none
Should be a staple followup to your standing shoulder.
*2) Standing shoulder,power elbow--> DBC| DJK
R: power elbow needs to MC
If you can delay the power elbow to bait your opponents into attacking you, then
you can combo off of the stomach crumble stun for huge damage.
Double fisted strike combos:
----------------------------
*1) DFS--> StPm--> DLC
R: none
*2) DFS--> StPm--> PG--> m-DblPm
R: the DFS must be charged to maximum power, and the opponent must block the
DFS; it will break their guard enabling the rest of the combo to connect
3) DFS--> Yoho--> DLC
R: none
Power fist combos:
------------------
*1) Power fist--> Pounce or Low kick
R: none
Either go for the pounce or low kick. However, the low kick is much more
preferable; it is unavoidable, and if the opponent TRs after the low kick, then
you can backstagger them and light them up.
Backstagger combos:
-------------------
backstagger combos are basically combos that start with a backstagger(read the
misc. section for more info on this); they aren't guarenteed in that the opponent
can choose not to QR/TR and risk getting hit to lose about 80% of their life.
I won't list setups for backstaggers(you should know how in the misc section), but
here I instead list followups that you can perform AFTER you backstagger them;
the 1st hit of each combo here is the one which produces the backstagger
*1) m-SgPm--> SPoD(--> Wall hit--> DBC)
This combo is very formidable(BTW thanks Nutlog for the combo!); the total damage
with the DBC amounts to 71% of damage(plus whatever knockdown setup you used to
get that oppurtunity to backstagger). And even if you aren't near a wall, without
the DBC the entire combo does 55% of damage; not bad. Considering how in rev C
the StDblPm--> DBC combo was toned down, instead you could opt to try for a
StDblPm setup into this combo and take off close to all of the opponent's life.
*2) sidekick--> SDE--> DLC
Take this as your bread-and-butter backstagger combo; very reliable, and does
quite some damage; if you want, you can even do sidekick,SDE,m-DblPm instead.
*3) sidekick--> m-DblPm
The other staple backstagger combo, since it comes out faster.
4) m-SgPm--> m-ShRm--> DLC
According to Nutlog, the m-SgPm when done as a backstagger will crumble the
opponent, thus I created this combo. Follow with a DLC; not too sure if this
combo works as I haven't tried it out, but it looks ok to me; perhaps you can sub
the DLC with a m-DblPm?
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
**************************************
| 4 SSS TTT RRR AAA TTT SSS |
| 44 SS S T R R A A T SS S|
|4 4 SS T RRR AAAAA T SS |
|4444 S SS T R R A A T S SS|
| 4 o SSS T R R A A T SSS |
**************************************
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
==================
A.General Strategy
==================
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here's the good part; even though Akira relies on attacks that have complex
commands to perform, his actual fighting style isn't that hard. He doesn't have
any stances to worry about, and you can actually use very few moves to win with
him unlike Shun. I'll try to write down the "core" moves to use with Akira for
you beginners, then add "variety" moves to mix up the game for you more advanced
players. Akira falls into the category of characters who do best by constant
aggressive poking to set up attacks. There are 3 main types of attacks to win:
pokes, counterhits, and throws. Those are what I tackle in each section. Also
keep in mind that between each move you make, you can dodge, crouch dash,
backwards crouch dash, dash, backdash, guard, as well as do various option
selects by itself or during your dodges and the like.
*****************************
*a.Beginner Player's Section*
*****************************
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
This section tackles the minimum tools you need to play Akira effectively.
Remember that I don't cover everything about each move here; best to look up
the move analysis section for a more thorough explaination of moves.
Pokes:
Pokes are generally attacks that have fast startups and recovery and can be
thrown out to keep the momentum going. In general, they won't do the most damage,
but they will keep the gameflow in your favor. What you followup your pokes
depends on what your opponent does afterward. Your opponent may try to throw/
throw escape, they may try to duck, to stand block, dodge, or counterattack. Keep
these things in mind for your followups.
1)PG
A very important attack; mainly used to touch the opponent at close range. Use
it to interrupt or to keep an opponent on the defense with the guard button. If
you touch the opponent, you have initiative at any point. What you do afterward
depends on what your opponent does; suggested followups for beginners are either
the DE/SDE if they duck, or throw/guard break if they stand. Try PG--> elbow
as a flowchart option; even when blocked, it's very powerful. But again, to
remind you; it hits high, so don't abuse too much.
2)SDE
When you get to midrange to close-mid fighting, start mixing these in to close
back in. Also use these when you think the opponent will crouch or to punish
low attacks. Don't push too hard if you get the attack blocked; of course, you
should vary your followups, but when it is blocked, a dodge works especially
well against aggressive opponents, as it will almost avoid ALL attacks, then you
can cancel the dodge into a crouch dash and follow up with a DBC or m-ShRm for
some huge damage; of course, beware of throwing opponents. Get ready to combo
if you MC. And don't forget about guard-buffering the move!
3)LP
Due to the high speed and priority, whenever you get close, mix these in. It
no longer hits low, but it should be used to interrupt attacks(especially throws
and high attacks) and to put Akira into a crouch(crouch means 50/50 guessing game
with the ShRm and throws/guard breaks for the beginners). Don't push too hard
if you get it stand-blocked. If you MC, you have total initiative; follow up;
throws are good followups, but feel free to press the initiative with other stuff.
Counterhits:
These are attacks that have huge damage potential and should only be thrown out
when you know they will hit or to punish slow recovering attacks that either
whiffed or were blocked. These attacks are typically set up from wise poking.
1)DBC
Make sure to only do this move at close range; at far range, it does crap damage.
Especially useful after an MC dodge. Use mainly when you detect the opponent will
try to counterhit you and you anticipate the attack well enough to hit them before
they hit you, or after blocking an extremely slow recovering attack.
2)eBC
If you detect the opponent will try a linear attack, at the very last second,
dodge and input the P+K+G command, and you'll dodge the opponent and hit them.
Make sure to add the ground punch after it connects.
3)ShRm
After you get yourself into a crouch, whether that'd be by the LBF, LP, or any
other move, you have at the beginner level a classical 50/50 guess; either input
the ShRm if the opponent tries to duck or hit back, or throw/guard break if they
stand block. Also useful if you can duck a high attack and then hit them back
with this. And yes, also useful against slow recovering attacks. If you are
an advanced player, master pulling this out from a crouch dash, that is the key to
using this attack well. Also keep this in mind to hit those who dodge TO AKIRA'S
BACK(if they dodge to his front, you are screwed). If you are playing revision
C, DO NOT attempt to hit dodgers with this. It tends to have better priority when
in open stance.
Throws:
I placed throws in here kinda loosely; these attacks are best used against a
standing opponent who is guarding or against an opponent who is recovering from
an attack. Due to the increase in throw range it has become increasingly
important to know how to counter recovering attacks with throws. Throws are
also very good at catching people who try to dodge; the throw attempt will
track the dodging opponent. Dodging after a TR is especially useful once in a
while, and this can lead into a throw as well.
1)fBG
You mainly want to use these against standing opponents WHO ARE HOLDING GUARD.
Then follow up with a StPm and its followups. Especially useful at the beginner
level when you have your 50/50 ShRm/throw game at a crouched position. Keep
in mind to buffer in the dashing motion or a regular P+G throw will occur.
2)Inverted bodycheck
Your most important throw because it not only gives good damage with the
additional ground punch at around 62 points(around 80 if you've got your back
to the wall), but the throw is untechrollable, and if escaped Akira is not at a
huge disadvantage, but don't press too hard.
3)ST
Your 2nd most important throw because the damage afterward is often
untechrollable, and many guessing games can occur afterward. In most cases
though, it's best to do the d,f+P single autopalm option and followup with the
combos. Don't get predictable with this throw though; if escaped Akira is left
with a disadvantage.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
*****************************
*b.Advanced Player's Section*
*****************************
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
In this section I tackle some of the attacks you can add to add variety to Akira's
game; note that while I don't list the moves I put in the beginner's section,
those moves are still staple moves, and you should still use them, it's just that
I don't want to repeat myself.
Remember that I don't cover everything about each move here; best to look up
the move analysis section for a more thorough explaination of moves.
Pokes:
Pokes are generally attacks that have fast startups and recovery and can be
thrown out to keep the momentum going. In general, they won't do the most damage,
but they will keep the gameflow in your favor. What you followup your pokes
depends on what your opponent does afterward. Your opponent may try to throw/
throw escape, they may try to duck, to stand block, dodge, or counterattack. Keep
these things in mind for your followups.
1)m-SgPm
Should you get pushed too far from your opponent, use the SgPm to close back in
from midrange. Also use it when you want a safe long-range poking attack and
you want a hit to regain initiative(in this case try to nail it up-close). This
attack is in here and not the beginner's section because the SgPm is best done as
a m-SgPm for poking purposes(although you can still work it into your crouching
games such as strike/throw and the like), and that you are left with less
initiative when you touch the opponent with a blocked SgPm, making it less
abusable(and you definitely don't want to whiff the SgPm). It has better range
and priority than the DE or SDE though(Akira sticks his palm in front of him,
so there is better range, which means better priority). In addition, use this as
your main attack to cause a back-crumble in oppurtunities where you could do a
backstagger. Look at the move analysis for followups; in addition, it pushes
the opponent VERY FAR BACK; try this move when the opponent has he/her back to
a wall; even when blocked, as long as they touch the SgPm they will stagger and
give you a free SPoD oppurtunity!
2)StPm
Treat this like a slower high punch and you'll be fine mixing this attack up
in your offense; just don't abuse this attack as much; it is imperative that
when you throw this out that it touches the opponent. And of course, it is
ideal that you hit the opponent with it; guarenteed combos can result. When
blocked, try any of your fast pokes, see the move analysis for followups. It's
very useful after a MC dodge.
3)LBF
I had to debate to myself whether to put this in the beginner or advanced section,
but I settled on the advanced section; the startup of this attack definitely makes
it unabusable, however, if you use this move carefully, at about midrange
and used discreetly, you can often get it to be blocked, normally hit or MC'd.
Because of the insane ability to track dodgers, if you are playing against an
overly passive opponent, if they don't dodge at the last second, this will MC them
if it hits them out of their dodge. Since you recover crouching, you can go
into your FC moves right away. Or throw. But don't get predictable, mix up more
than just throws and FC moves, try another poke.
4)DFS
This is such a versatile move, and fairly safe to throw out at random and get
blocked. Why I didn't put it as a beginner move is because it is semi-slow even
with the speed increase, so abuse of this move obviously leads to a quick game
over. That said, with all your regular poking of PG, LP and SDE, the opponent can
easily MC dodge and punish you; that's when you throw out the DFS to catch those who
either can't time their MC dodges at the very last second, or constantly dodge
towards Akira's front(if they dodge towards Akira's back, you are screwed).
Remember; this move is great for dodgers. And remember; you can combo afterward.
Finally, against an overly passive opponent, just charge the attack so that you
break their guard(but only against the passivest of passive). Mix between this
and the SPoD on TRers to really screw them.
5)Low kick
I debated to myself whether to include this, but in the end, I decided if you have
a good game going and can mix things up well, it's not bad to use this at all at
about the distance between up close and mid range; it will track those who evade to
Akira's front(but not his back), it has some decent range, must be blocked low
(which through careful use can force the opponent to have to crouch right into a
m-ShRm or SDE). Low kicks are also very effective ways to finish off opponents that
are extremely low on life. And in revision B, if you MC with the low kick, don't
forget that a DblPm is guarenteed afterward. G-cancelling the low kick is also
Akira's best way to switch his stance, and if you mix this tactic up with some smooth
movement, you can confound your opponent and force them to make mistakes. But don't
abuse, especially up close; if it whiffs or is blocked, expect to be staggered or low
thrown. If you are playing rev C, don't use the low kick to hit dodgers.
6)Elbow
Again, had to debate this one, but yes, in revision C, Akira's elbow is faster
than his SDE, and actually one of the faster elbows of the game(comes out at 13
frames). So if you think the opponent is going for an LP and you have just
maybe 1 or 2 frames of initiative, then the elbow would be a good choice; the
ideal situation for this move is either to MC(press the attack), or stagger
the opponent. But you lose a lot of initiative if it's blocked; be extremely
careful.
Counterhits:
These are attacks that have huge damage potential and should only be thrown out
when you know they will hit or to punish slow recovering attacks that either
whiffed or were blocked. These attacks are typically set up from wise poking.
1)StDblPm
You know why it's here; insanely slow startup, but safe if blocked, and should
you hit them, you can follow up with that insanely powerful DBC. The key to
getting this is to use it at midrange, where it becomes hard to interrupt due
to the initial animation; don't do it up-close. Another way to use this move is
in the strike/throw guessing games; when you have enough initiative that you
can force a guessing game, you can try to StDblPm an opponent who thinks you
are going to throw, and thus goes for the throw escapes; they'll come out of
recovery in a whiffed throw animation, and boom, they lose 50% life. If you are
playing rev C, there's almost no reason to use this attack; it's extremely slow,
its recovery is slow, the combo damage has been toned down, don't use it, unless
if you are trying for a backstagger oppurtunity(or just showing off).
2)Parry
Due to the new parry, Akira's defensive game has been beefed; IN MOST CASES you
only have to guess between reversing with the parry or the mid reversal now(if
your opponent has a good sweep or has a high elbow, then you'll have to mix
in more types of reversals). So anyways, if you detect high or low safe attacks
that you know have started too early for you to beat them with anything, then
maybe choosing the parry would be a good idea. Always go for the SPoD after
a parry(except for maybe an inashi'd HP and the opponent is struggling like mad,
in that case, it's better to try SDE--> DLC, or maybe throw him after struggling).
And there's probably a great chance that it'll happen after a blocked poke,
especially if the opponent is conditioned to think that you'll throw after the
poke(they'll LP most likely).
3)SPoD
Anytime you detect a throw attempt or throw escape, that's when you do the SPoD,
because you'll avoid the throw AND do big damage. The other place is when
you can condition the opponent to crouch block. And if you catch them at max
stun palm range, that's also very good. It will also track those who attempt to
dodge to Akira's back(but not those who MC dodge to Akira's front). Also use
it on TRers.
4)Standing shoulder-->power elbow
The standing shoulder will sabaki high and low punches, as well as high elbows,
making it a great high priority move. Just execute the move right when the said
attacks will hit you, because the sabaki's effectiveness is greatest during
the early to mid execution animation of the attack. Should the standing shoulder
connect, the power elbow usually will. If the standing shoulder gets blocked,
you can delay the power elbow to hopefully get an MC on the opponent and then
combo off of the stomach crumble stun for great damage. A great option if you
think the opponent is trying to LP to escape a throw attempt. If you are playing
rev C, the standing shoulder is a LOT more powerful; look up the move analysis
for followups; it is a good move.
5)Reversals
Due to the new reversal system there is just too much stuff Akira can reverse
with the mid reversal. I think you know what Akira can reverse and how to
set up reversals. Just remember should you slam the opponent into the wall,
follow up with a DBC. In most cases, you won't have to use the high and low
reversals because Akira can usually use his parry in those cases, but again to
reiterate, if your opponent has a good low kick of some sort or a high elbow,
then yes, you'll have to use those reversals in the game if you want to reverse
stuff.
6)Knee
Consider it a variation of your ShRm(slightly slower startup for the price of
a slightly faster recovery). Well, if you can pull out the knee consistently,
then it becomes a near-abuse combo starter against all those people who can't
reverse knees and have few throws(against these people, if you can do the knee
consistently, scrap the m-ShRm and stick with this). But to be honest, Akira's
knee is very risky, since you're running the risk of whiffing a standing kick
everytime you go for this move. The m-ShRm is safer(as far as getting the
right move out), although you can use the knee to show off. Note that the
knee will hit those who try to dodge to Akira's back.
7)m-DblPm
Well, I guess it comes out insanely fast in this game and has good priority,
and only medium-speed PG counterable as well as throw counterable; can't ignore
that, so occasionally it might make a good counterhit if you predict well.
Anything that is PG counterable by Akira is counterable with this, as long as
you are quick on buffering the move in. Just make sure to start keying in your
option selects if the attack gets blocked. As a standalone move, it's better
doing this when you crouch dash BACKWARDS, making it harder to interrupt.
8)Power fist
The whole point of using this move(in most cases) is to show off and set the
opponent up for a backstagger; it is not a move that you will use except maybe
1/20 matches. But it will track dodgers who evade to Akira's front(if they
evade to Akira's back at the last second, you are screwed), and it has the
potential to dodge attacks at the beginning. Try it after a blocked mid-range
attack or after a dodge. Ideal situations are to get it to dodge an opponent's
attack then hit with the built-in animation.
Throws:
I placed throws in here kinda loosely; these attacks are best used against a
standing opponent who is guarding or against an opponent who is recovering from
an attack. Due to the increase in throw range it has become increasingly
important to know how to counter recovering attacks with throws. Throws are
also very good at catching people who try to dodge; the throw attempt will
track the dodging opponent. Dodging after a TR is especially useful once in a
while, and this can lead into a throw as well. To be honest you only need 2
throws and the fBG for standing guard opponents as Akira(see the beginner's
section), and thus you'll be able to mix it up well. However, if you really
want to mix up your throwing game with Akira(and try to do some powerful wall
combos), then it's best that you try using the following throws as well in your
game(although 2 of those throws will never give out their full damage as
guarenteed unless close to a wall). Of course, when the opponent is escaping
almost every throw you dish out, you should mix in EVERY single throw that Akira
has(that would include the SE, RBC, and the P+G throw).
1)Pull-in throw
Akira's catch throw. Anyways, if you think the opponent is going for a throw
escape after a recovering attack, it might be better to do this over a normal
standing throw(slower execution for inescapability). This is also useful IF your
opponent is trying to attack you back and you have the initiative to use this;
it will override their standing attacks, BUT NOT THEIR THROWS; thus it becomes
more useful against opponents who try to attack you. And remember to variate
your followups; after the RBC followup, do a SDE-->DLC combo, and after the
shoulder smash, do a m-DblPm. Against someone who knows how to do the special
option select against this throw(holds F and taps G until Akira dodges then
holds U or D respective to where Akira dodges and taps G), you can do a pull-in
throw, dodge, then fBG them as they keep holding G. Or do another throw. There's
some other mindgames you can do with the pull-in throw-->dodge; look up the
description of the move in the special attacks section for more info.
2)Close-in ram
Like the grasping mind, you should only do this near a wall or to ring out. If
you connect it near a wall, the opponent will bounce off the wall, so get ready
to add a DBC for massive damage. It's more advantageous to use this over the
grasping mind if you are near the wall because you can do a lot more damage,
however when it comes to ringing out, the grasping mind is better because it
leaves Akira safer when escaped. This throw doesn't, so don't get predictable
with it that you always go for it near a wall.
3)Grasping mind
This throw is best used when close to a wall or to ring out. The whole purpose
of using this throw is either to ring the opponent out, or over the close-in
ram near a wall if you don't want to risk a disadvantageous escaped throw
situation. If you connect it near a wall, add a ground punch to make it a very
powerful throw. If escaped, both people recover very quickly up close and
Akira is throw counterable, so don't press too hard and observe what your
opponent likes to do, also be ready to key in any option selects.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
******************************
*c.The option select(defense)*
******************************
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Here is where the majority of the depth from VF games comes from; often I see
some Tekken players complaining how VF has less depth; it's because they've never
heard of this tactic in VF. Ok, enough of that rant. If you have never heard
of option select, it is being able to enter multiple commands at once and get the
desired options that you want. The option select is what separates a good player
from an average player; without a good option select, you are going to fall for
many throws that grab you when you are recovering, or you may fall to 50/50
guessing games all the time. You will typically begin to implement option select
when you have a disadvantage by at least 5 frames(see initiative frames section in
the misc section). The reason for option select is simple; VF is notorious for
having a very hard to guess throw system; are you going to implement f+P+G to
escape his f+P+G throw? What if he does d/b+P+G? Or attacks instead? It's
questions like this. But if you can implement a throw escape in 10 frames after
the opponent keys in the throw, you can escape his throw, and the VF system
enables you to buffer throw escapes or whatever move command you want to do while
you're recovering from an attack, which is where the concept of this strategy
comes in. Anyways, here's the specifics.
GTE- this stands for guard throw escape. one of the biggest weaknesses of doing
a throw escape during the recovery of a move is that if the opponent did
not try to implement a throw, you end up whiffing a throw. this is bad.
however, if you remember how to do akira's knee, and do a throw escape in the
same way, (tap the direction+P+G,release P very quickly and keep holding G,
or if you're escaping a low throw, tap the direction+P+K+G, yadda yadda
yadda), you will do the escape, but still be blocking when you come out of
recovery. it's actually not as hard as Akira's knee, the timing isn't as
strict, just be sure you implement a throw escape about less then 10 frames
before coming out of recovery. and of course, you can see what's so good
about this, especially when you can combine it with DTE. of course, it will
protect you from the inputed throws as well as any strikes that would be
done after you come out of recovery, but it won't protect you from attacks
done WHILE you are recovering. and keep in mind GTE is useless when you
are staggered. amongst the option selects you have, this is your best
option when things leave you throw counterable over other options. however,
it's still not that bad to use this in cases where you have a disadvantage,
but aren't throw counterable(RTE won't stop EVERYTHING, y'kno).
ATE- this is an attack throw escape. or basically, doing an attack then buffering
a throw escape in. granted, if the opponent blocks an attack which is
clearly throw counterable, and goes for a throw, the attack won't come out
regardless. but if he tried to attack you instead, then you'll get a chance
if you shoot out some quick fast strike like a DE or PG, or LP. you get
the point. you can even try a sabaki or the eBC if you want, but typically,
you want to try a fast attack, otherwise, you'll just get beat out. ATE tends
to work best when you run at a disadvantage, but aren't throw counterable.
HtTE- high throw-throw escape. or basically, inputting a high throw, and then
your throw escape. confused? maybe say you are against Jeffry or Wolf who
possess low throws, and say you're stuck in recovery in a crouching
position. buffer in a high throw, and then immediately tag on a low throw
escape. it's of course best when the opponent can low throw and so you're
put in a scenario much similar to this one. of course, if Jeffry/Wolf
decides to knee you, that's a totally different story. i don't need to get
into low throw-throw escape(LtTE) simply because Akira doesn't possess low
throws not to mention that the principles are about the same, but if you
are a Wolf/Jeffry player or anyone who possess low throws, you can try
this option if you are recovering high and the opponent is crouching.
RTE- this stands for reversal throw escape. if you whiff a reveral, you are
vulnerable to a throw. by inputting the throw escape during the recovery,
you can escape the throw if it was done. this makes your reversal a lot
more powerful. RTE is especially useful when you can reverse a very large
arsenal with the reversal command you choose; RTE is one of Akira's most
powerful tools. this is especially useful when you are at a disadvantage(
but not throw counterable in most cases, except for maybe Shun), for instance,
against Jeffry, if you key in d/b+P+K,d/f+P+G, this stops his knee/crucifix
piledriver game.
ETE- evade throw escape. this is basically entering a dodge, then a throw escape
during the evade. this tends to work best when you have a disadvantage
by at least 5 frames but no more than 7; ETE is an especially great option
after a blocked SDE, because either you will evade an attack(evading after a
SDE has a very good chance of avoiding many attacks), which you can cancel
into a crouch dash to DBC or m-ShRm them, or they will try to throw you out
of the evade, which results(in most cases) with an escaped throw.
DTE- this stands for double throw escape. remember how i said as long as you
keyed in the throw no longer than 10 frames after execution, you'd escape
it? that's what this is for. say for instance, you're facing Jacky, who
often goes for either the Trip & Hammer or the Sadistic Hanging Knee throws.
the former can be escaped with b+P+G, and the latter w/d/f+P+G. So suppose
you get your ShRm blocked. enter b+P+G,d/f+P+G quickly together and you'll
escape both. or if you wanted to escape his normal P+G throw and the
Trip and Hammer, you'd enter P+G,b+P+G quickly. a BIG difference between
VF4 and VF3(ob and tb) is that DTE in VF4 enables you to escape 2 command
throws at one time, instead of only the default throw and 1 command throw; you
need to use this to your advantage, or you'll get thrown all over the place.
TTE- now we're getting tougher. the triple throw escape is much harder to enter
than the DTE, and in most cases, very difficult. however, against people
who have very limited throw options(Shun), this can severely dent their
throw counterability game. it follows the same principles as the DTE,
except you add another escape command alongside. however, most people stick
with the DTE because it is much easier to implement, but if you can do this,
go for it; it nearly protects you well.
now you can do things like combine the 1st 5 option selects alongside the last
2 to produce some very formidable defense; for instance, a R-DTE will reverse
attacks and escape 2 throws if it whiffs; a G-TTE done during a move's
recovery will ensure that you escape 3 throws, but given that you do the 3rd
throw escape just as you are close to recovering, will ensure you come out
holding G. and so on; the TE option select is very important if you ever wish
to become very competitive; it limits the opponent's options in countering
you. at very high levels of competition, if you don't have good option
select techniques, you're basically handing the opponent free throw
oppurtunities. this is again why the depth of VF is so great; what if he does
a catch throw instead of a normal throw? or what about if he tries to do a
nonreversible attack? or the idea that he may do a throw that your throw escape
didn't cover? but that's the fun of VF4, and only practice will determine how
well you are at reading these mind games.
there is also a new, special option select available in VF4, that doesn't involve
throw escapes, but can be used to escape ALL throws. Myke of VF.com explained
this new option select that came from the Arcadia magazine. if you'd like more
on this, go to VF.com, to "versus city" and search for "Escape- Crouch Dash
defensive technique."
ECD- this stands for escape- crouch dash. or dodging once, and then inputting
a forward crouch dash during the execution of the escape. it of course, is
useful for setting yourself up to punish whiffed moves, but it will also
work wonders as an option select. it works best when you have a 3-4 frame
disadvantage, since all evades can be cancelled into a crouch dash.
essentially, you have a 4-5 frame window to quickly punch in the ECD option
select; too slow, and if the opponent tried a throw, you'd be thrown. the
beauty of the ECD over an E-GTE is that you won't worry having to escape
the right throw; you'll simply go under the opponent's throw attempt. but
you must key in the commands quickly. you'll know if you did this
technique correctly, because if your opponent tried an attack, you'd MC
dodge the attack, and if they tried to throw, you'd do a slow dodge, but
it'd be cancelled into a crouch dash right under their throw attempt. but
like all option selects, ECD has its weaknesses; don't forget that circular
attacks can't be dodged, and if the attack is delayed, you wouldn't
necessarily be able to crouch dash under it.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
********
*d.Misc*
********
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Here are some miscellaneous strategies that won't fit in the other sections that
I think you should know.
Stance:
Remains an important concept in VF, for you Tekken people, it's sorta like when
you played as Hwaorang and had to watch which foot you had forward. Basically,
if you can see both backs of the opponents or both fronts, then you are in open
stance. If you can see only 1 back and 1 front, then it's closed stance. In
most cases, stance isn't that necessary to pay attention to, but when you get to
ranges and stuff, some things obviously get better in a certain stance, as well
as specific combos. Basically, anything that uses the frontal arm/leg will work
better in open stance, and anything that uses the back arm/leg will work better
in closed stance. In the most general of cases, the stereotypical elbow works
better in open stance(which was why VF3 Jacky players always switched stance at
the beginning of the round), and throws work better in closed stance.
Countering:
Basically, there's the major counter(MC) and then the minor counter(mC). Major
countering is hitting an opponent out of the execution phase of WHATEVER THEY DO(
this is important; you don't need to hit an opponent out of an attack to get it
to count as an MC; hitting whiffed throws/reversals or dodges also count). You
should hear a very high and loud sound when this occurs(the hit color will also be
different). The opponent will get stunned for a very long time, or in the case of
knockdown attacks, they get knocked higher into the air. Major countering is very
important to keep in mind, because most of the time, if you want to get out power
combos, you need to hit the opponent out of the execution phase of their attacks.
Yomi plays a very good role in here. Also remember that major countering does up
to 50% more damage than it would normally do. Minor countering is hitting the
opponent out of the recovery of their attack. Basically, while it isn't as flashy
as major countering, it plays a huge role in your game, because it gives you the
oppurtunity to punish attacks that would go away empty-handed(like a blocked
heelkick from Kage). In addition, it rewards you for 25% extra damage for doing so.
Since the way you hit the opponent with a juggle starter also determines how high
they will fly, here's a handy chart I got from Myke that shows this situation:
_____________________________________________________________
| Highest Float Lowest Float |
+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| MC | MC |Normal/mC| mC | Normal | Guard |
|opponent |opponent |opponent |opponent |opponent |opponent |
|standing |crouching|standing |crouching|crouching|crouching|
+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
Initiative frames:
Basically, this are what those numbers in the move descriptions are, they determine
who recovers first and how much time in advantage they get over the other after an
attack touches the opponent; the 1st number is if it's blocked, 2nd number if it
normally hits, 3rd number if it MCs. Positive numbers indicate you have initiative
by that much, negative numbers the opposite. Basically most attacks are throw
counterable if it's -8 frames for whoever suffers that frame loss. If you are
facing Sarah and some others, if anything is -11 frames it is PG counterable by
them. And the like. So what do you do when initiative is between +1 and +8 for
you? Here's a handy guide, based upon VF.com Myke's post:
advantage is in:
1 frame - Really, at this point, 1 frame advantage is truly nothing; in general
cases, even if you attempt an elbow of some type, the opponent's LP
will still beat you. If you do a m-DblPm and Sarah(or anyone who has
an 11-frame punch), does a PG, your attack will take higher priority,
but cases like that are rare, and why would you be attempting m-DblPm's
outta nowhere?
2 frames- Elbows that execute in 13 frames will beat the opponent's LP. In
revision B, that would mean Akira's SDE. In revision C, his regular
elbow.
3 frames- Any elbow at this point will beat the opponent's LP and PG. Of
course, the elbow's still open to defensive maneuvers, such as sabakis,
reversals, and inashis. If Akira has +2 initiative he can try some
of his quicker power attacks such as DBC or m-DblPm if the Akira player
is feeling risky.
4 frames- Same as 3 frames.
5 frames- At this point, you can actually force a 50/50 guessing game and go
offensive. Most knees will beat any LP attempts here(if your knee
comes out in 17 frames or quicker, they will win out). The opponent
in this case will start using advanced defense option selects, such
as E-GTE. For Akira, you can try either m-ShRm or throw.
6 frames- Same as 5 frames.
7 frames- Same as 5 frames.
8 frames- Anything that gives you 8 frames or more in initiative and recovers
high is throw counterable provided it's in range. If it recovers
low it is throw counterable by anyone possessing low throws. The throw
is of course escapable if the opponent keys in the escape. In the case
that you are the one that's throw counterable, you should key in the
escape before you recover.
Weight/height/width:
If you know anything about VF, you'll know that the opponent's stature can greatly
affect your game(mainly how you can combo them, but there's other internal effects
like how far they get pushed from blocked/hit attacks). The lighter an opponent,
the longer they spend in the air when juggled, and that means a lot. The punishment
light characters can take from a juggle combo can be almost 2x the damage done to
heavyweight characters. In addition, lighter characters get knocked back farther,
so it is much easier ringing out a light character compared to the heavy character.
Height also determines mainly how easy it is to nail the opponent with middle
attacks; against Aoi it is extremely hard nailing her when she crouches with an
elbow; more times than not it will miss. And while it doesn't affect combos as
much, it can also play a good role; seems Pai gets nailed with power combos more
often than Aoi because of this factor. Finally, there's width(waistline,
essentially). Have you noticed that Jeffry is more prone to OTB hits than the
lighter characters? That's cause he's wide enough that it's more likely that an
attack with a low hit detection will hit him when he's down. Enough talking;
here's a handy chart to see how the character's stature stacks up against each other.
Weight Height Width(B/W/H)
------ ------ ------------
Jeffry 1st 1st 121/93/97
Wolf 2nd 3rd 123/93/98
Akira 3rd 4th 115/90/94
Lau 4th 9th 99/90/93
Jacky 5th 2nd 110/87/92
Kage 6th 5th 101/89/90
Shun 7th 12th 88/86/89
Lei 7th 6th 98/85/83
Lion 7th 10th 90/84/88
Sarah 10th 8th 90/57/90
Vanessa 10th 6th 93/57/93
Pai 12th 11th 85/54/88
Aoi 13th 13th 83/53/86
There seems to be some stuff wrong with the offical SEGA data though; a recent post
by Myke showed the tiering of weight class(this is the revision C weight class,
in revision B Vanessa was tiered alongside Aoi):
HEAVY
1st tier: Jeffry Wolf
MIDWEIGHT
2nd tier: Akira Jacky
3rd tier: Lau Kage
4th tier: Shun Lion Lei-Fei
LIGHTWEIGHT
5th tier: Vanessa Sarah
6th tier: Pai Aoi
Damage scaling system:
The damage scaling system of VF4 has a simple principle; the more hits you add to
a combo, the less damage the later hits will do. The intention of this is to
prevent combo damage from going into overkill most of the time.
Here's the general formula(you can use it to calculate the damage potential from
each combo I posted), and remember that if a wall hit is involved, the followup
hits after the wall collision also result in reduced damage(thanks to Nutlog for
the damage scaling FAQ). BTW...
OTB means on the bounce, a good example would be Kage's SE,DP,DP combo; the 2nd
DP hits the opponent just as they touch the ground, so it hits OTB.
the 1st hit will obviously do 100% damage, then it's
=========================================================================
|2nd hit|3rd hit|4th hit|5th hit|6th hit|7th hit|8th hit|9th hit|OTB hit|
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 80% | 80% | 60% | 50% | 40% | 30% | 25% | * % | 50% |
=========================================================================
* Nutlog stated that he wasn't too sure about the exact damage for the 9th hit;
it was either 20% or 25%; the numbers were too small.
finally, damage scaling DOES NOT start if the opponent hasn't been knocked down;
performing combos that use wall staggers, stumbles, and crumble stuns is the
way to doing insanely powerful combos in VF4. Example; Kage's sidekick reversal,
jumonji sidekick,inverted kickflip combo; because the opponent never gets
knocked down until the end of the combo(and since each hit does over 30 pts),
this combo easily does over 100 pts of life(setting it up is a different story).
Guard cancelling:
Basically, the way the machine of VF4 works is that once the command of a canned
combo is done, the machine will look for the next followup input for a certain
time and then if anything similar to the input is done, the computer will
execute the input. If after a while nothing is pressed, the computer will
do nothing. This can become quite annoying at times. For instance, suppose
you want to do a low kick after your punch MCs the opponent. Because of
the potential to do a PK, you'd need to wait a certain time until the possibility
of a kick coming out disappears before doing the low kick(which obviously doesn't
play to your advantage considering how by that time the opponent must have
recovered from the stagger). By simply pushing guard after the punch, you can
instantly execute the low kick after the punch's recovery and it will come out.
This is very important to learn, because execution time is very important, and if
you don't have it down, you will lose. So remember to guard cancel if you aren't
going for canned followups. You can also cancel dashes and crouch dashes, so
that you can avoid attacks in time or make your dashes more useful.
Crouch dashing:
See the general moves section if you want to know how to crouch dash. Basically,
crouch dashing is very important in this game with any character. Only middle
and low attacks can hit you during the dash(as opposed to the regular dash where
throws and various high attacks could hit you). Very important for dashing in
or getting out. There are many uses for this type of dash, one of the main ones
is to duck high attacks while closing in/moving out. The other main use for
Akira is to make his FC moves readily available from a standing position, and the
crouch dash does that effectively; plus, the fact that crouch dashing in VF4 is
much more lenient means you can do FC moves a lot quicker than before. If you
can do the m-ShRm and m-DblPm consistently, you can really freak out some people.
The backward crouch dash has made a return to this game as well, and not only
is the crouch dash commands more lenient now, but you can buffer crouch dashes
into crouch dashes as well as do crouch dashes from a crouching position, so
you should learn to work the crouch dash into your game a lot if you want to
succeed.
Evading/Dodging:
The dynamics of this technique was changed in order to balance the game; the game
feels IMO a lot more like VF2 on the surface because you can only use the dodge
in specific places. However, Sega compensated for this by adding the return of
the backwards crouch dash, so it isn't that bad. Basically, the normal dodge you
do is simply put, worthless. It is slow in every aspect, goes very little distance,
and the opponent tracks you during the entire time. The best way to do it is to get
an MC dodge; to dodge during the execution of your opponent's attack. This dodge
is faster in every aspect, goes a farther distance and the opponent isn't
tracking you(because they just whiffed their attack). Plus you can do a minature
Korean Step; a MC dodge can be cancelled into a crouch dash(which obviously gives
you access to your FC moves immediately; dodge your opponent's attack then m-ShRm
for an easy combo oppurtunity. However, again the knowledge of your opponent's
attack must be taken into context; linear attacks can be dodged in any direction,
whereas circular attacks can only be dodged in a specific direction, and often
only at a very specific time. So all in all, the dodge is still powerful, but
in a defensive way, not an offensive way. Note that against attacks that can
be charged, just dodge in the right direction once the opponent charges, and you'll
MC dodge; no need to wait til they attack(and even better, most charge attacks
are linear except for Akira's, but with even his, if you dodge in the right
direction, there should be no problem).
Tech-rolling/Quick-rising:
New to VF4, TR/QR is very important, because it will ensure that many attacks that
used to hit OTB will not anymore, and that many pounces won't connect as much.
Any damage that hits when the opponent hits the ground(like from a lot of throws)
can be QR/TR to avoid that damage. Make sure that you go for this whenever you
are falling; just remember there are specific cases where you can't QR/TR, and
they include wall hits, slams, flops, and crumbles. Also keep in mind that it
is easier for a pounce to still connect if you are QRing as opposed to if you
are TRing, but that it's easier for the opponent to stagger you if you TR instead
of QRing. And if you TR and hold G during the entire time, the opponent will
track you, so don't do that. Read the general moves section; I stuck in something
uk-guy said on TR/QRing.
Throws:
Throws have been tinkered with in that they now have an execution time(8 frames),
and the range has been increased. Thus a lot more things are throw counterable
but not punch counterable. So the throwing game is even more imperative to
learn well in order to dish damage on your opponent(especially the aggressive
ones). As always, if you whiff your throw, you go through this slow grabbing
animation, so obviously, you shouldn't whiff your throw. Escaping throws are
done by inputting the last directional command that your opponent makes and
the buttons he pushed down. So to escape the ST of Akira(b,d+P+G), one would
have to input the last directional command(d) and the buttons he pushes(P+G).
You can escape normal standing, low and side throws, but not catch or back
throws. There are also some hit throw sequences that can't be escaped. There
is a special way needed to escape side throws; read the info on Akira's elbow
rush side throw if you want to know the details.
Wall dynamics:
Wall dynamics were introduced in VF3, and were fairly difficult to implement
for ALL characters(even for someone who could place the opponent's front to
the wall like Akira, it was still hard). VF4 wall dynamics are a bit more
fun to fool around with. Basically if you hit your opponent with an attack
that doesn't knock down and they hit the wall going backward, they will stagger
a bit, enabling you to combo something in, given that you're fast enough.
If you hit the opponent with something that normally knocks down(or if they're
in the air) and they go backward into the wall, they will bounce off slowly and
fall face flat into the ground. Often you can add some extra hits when this
occurs. And unlike Tekken 4's wall dynamics, whatever damage you can do when
the opponent hits the wall is inescapable. For Akira, if you either get a
wall stagger or wall hit, recommended power followups are the DBC, DJK, or
even the SPoD(although in this case only after a wall stagger). Final notes;
like VF3, some walls are short, others tall, so certain characters(Kage) can
ring you out over the short walls. And finally, some walls in VF4 are breakable
if the opponent hits the wall going backward, a panel of the wall will break off,
leaving a gap that the opponent can be rung out from.
Reversals:
Reversals will only reverse attacks that hit at the same level as it, and only
specific attacks. This is a big change from VF3, so that means people who have
mid reversals that reverse ALL reversable attacks at the mid level get a major
benefit. People like Akira. And of course, make sure to never whiff reversals;
while the recovery is shorter than a whiffed throw, it is still pretty long,
and if you constantly whiff reversals or go for them too often, you will end
up paying for it. Reversals should mainly be set up and mixed into your game;
if you depend on reversals too much, you are going to lose. The way I see it,
they're mainly used to reset the momentum of the game if the opponent is
getting too predictable.
Sabaki:
A sabaki is new to VF4; it is an attack that will override other attacks while
connecting with its own; it is fairly easy to see when an attack sabakis another;
you will see the attack being knocked away and hear some new sound effect;
beware of opponents who possess sabakis, as well as when they are most effective
during the animation and what attacks of yours they will sabaki. And of course,
keep in mind your sabaki; the standing shoulder.
Inashi:
The inashi was introduced in VF3; it is in simple-english terms, a parry; it will
not do damage, but will still give the character initiative; in VF4, a lot more
people were given inashis, especially those who have special stances; beware
of who possesses them, what attacks and when they can inashi. On the subject,
Akira was given an inashi, the parry, which is sick, being able to set up the
SPoD; of course, read the move description for more info, but remember not to
pull it outta nowhere; constantly whiffed inashis spell disaster.
Crumble stuns:
Another new addition to VF4, this one taken from Tekken's double over stun
concepts(which BTW is a pretty cool concept, except the combos you can do are
pretty much all inescapable, yay!), and much like Tekken, there are various
crumbles in the game, 3 specificallly. If the opponent gets their head whipped
back slowly then falls forward into the ground, that's a head crumble. Head
crumbles are the longest, and have the potential to do the most damage. For
Akira, he can walk into the opponent and do a DBC for devastating results.
Another one is the stomach crumble, and it looks the most like the double over
stun. The opponent holds his/her stomach then falls forward. It doesn't have
as much stun as the head crumble, but the opponent besides being vulnerable
to pounces and strikes is vulnerable to low throws. Finally, there's the
foot crumble where the opponent quickly falls backward ending up with their
head forward, feet back and face in the ground. This is the quickest stun, but
if you anticipate it, you can often add some damage here too.
Staggers:
Whenever you get a stagger, you will see that joystick wiggling around on
the screen, which means the recovery can be shortened by mashing. But I wrote
this section to give you guys an idea of what to do if you stagger the opponent,
usually with a ST or SDE. If you have any guarenteed followups that are more
powerful than the PK, you should go for that. But suppose you don't?(like after
a SDE) Then you should dash forward. From there, you can either time your
throw to come out just as the opponent has finished recovering(technically,
it's a true combo if you throw them on the very frame that they can move, because
a throw that grabs at the same frame as a strike comes out will beat it), or
you can hit them with a power move if you know they are trying to escape your
possible throw, or if they keep blocking after the stagger is done in fear of
a strike, then as Akira, you can guard break them. Tonsa possibilities, the
only thing to remember is unless if a power combo is guarenteed, you should
dash in and pressure the opponent.
In the same vein, learning how to struggle out of staggers is very important,
because most likely you'll get caught in a couple of staggers in a good round,
and if you're not good at getting out, you could be eating some major damage.
Just remember that mashing will reduce your stagger time. You can tell when
you can struggle to reduce the stagger when you see a little joystick icon at
the top corner of the screen wiggling back and forth. Just remember that any
input whether that's a joystick direction or a button pressed contributes to
mashing. The best way is to cover all 3 buttons while you vibrate gently while
you swirl the joystick, then when you get close to getting out of stagger, just
hold guard while you continue mashing the punches and kicks while swirling the
joystick. Keep in mind it's useless trying to input any throw escapes during
staggering if you know the opponent will go for one after your stagger time
ends because all inputs will contribute to a struggle, so it's usually best
that you either key d+P the instant you come out or a G-TE or R-DTE.
K.O. Hits:
Not a necessary topic to win, but one where you can fool around. If you K.O.
an opponent with an attack, the opponent will sometimes waver slightly, then
slowly fall down. It is this crumble stun where ANYTHING will combo; even
standing throws. Thus, you can do some pretty cool sequences after you PG
your opponent to interrupt them and it K.O.s them. Like PG-->SPoD, or LP-->
close-in ram, and if the opponent hits the wall going backward from the throw,
I believe you might be able to combo in a DBC(stylish!). Fool around; it's
fun. ;)
Flowcharts:
Granted, no flowchart is going to cover exactly how Akira is played; the number
of followups after each move potentially is the entire movelist; what your
opponent does, how far you are, how much initiative you have, and so forth
will determine entirely what you can do afterward. However, I felt it was
good to place 3 flowcharts for the DE to show you what you can do afterwards;
it is going to be very vague, so don't assume all the options placed here are
the ones you should limit yourself to.
DE is blocked
1.LP(any low attack will do, what you're basically trying to do is to get them
to crouch so you can initiate mid-level attacks)
2.PG(to interrupt any slow attacks or throw attempts; many power hits will
also work depending on what your opponent does afterward)
3.Throw(or guard break, against those who keep holding block even after Akira's
fully recovered)
4.Option select(assuming that you know you lost initiative, it is often that the
opponent can throw you first, so keying in some throw escapes
can be a good thing, and if you're going for it, G-DTE works
extremely well here)
5.DFS(to catch those who dodge; feel free to use other tracking attacks or
attacks that dodge the opponents and hit back)
6.Reversal(or any of the variants, including the sabakis; especially useful
against the aggressive types)
7.SDE(to catch those who crouch, but any fast mid-level attack works too)
8.Dodge(aggressive opponents will attack you after you've lost initiative; a
dodge works exceptionally well here; they can attack you during your
dodge, but then you could do E-DTE or cancel the dodge into a crouch
dash)
9.SPoD(to beat out throws; key in DTE if it's blocked)
10.Crouch dash(good to continue the pressure or against aggressive opponents who
immediately do high attacks)
DE hits
1.DE(keep the pressure on)
2.LP(given the frame stats are working for you, you can often interrupt anything
the opponent tries; also try using true low level attacks to force your
opponent to a crouch)
3.PG(assuming you are in range, a PG will often interrupt anything your opponent
tries afterward, but feel free to add power hits instead depending on how
your opponent reacts)
4.Throw(against those who are holding guard, anything that destroys their block
will do)
5.DFS(to catch those expecting another DE; you of course can fool around with
attacks that track the opponent or dodge and connect)
6.Reversal(or any of the variants, against aggressive types)
7.SDE(any mid-level attack will do, for crouchers)
DE staggers
1.dash-->throw(given the initiative, you can dash and force guessing games.
against the passive ones who are afraid of combos, throws will
connect often; also, throws done to grab at the very frame that
the opponent can move are inescapable. most of the time, you
need to dash to get the throw out, but i believe there are
certain instances where you are so close that you can just do
a throw right as you come out)
2.SDE(to hit those who are keying in a throw escape, but feel free to try more
powerful attacks, and also try dashing forward before doing it to scare
them and keep the initiative)
3.crouch dash(sets up the classic throw/ShRm guessing game)
so you can see, that's a fairly incomplete flowchart, but you get the idea;
there are many options available, and I didn't even really touch on movement
options, so the possibilities are endless; the best way to learn is to practice.
Custom strings:
For you Tekken people who aren't so used to VF, I'm going to list some custom
strings you could try to get how to play as Akira; beware that much like
flowcharting, the possibilities after each move are limitless; you need to
practice to learn how to react, and because in general a lot more moves when
blocked in VF leave you with lost initiative instead of neutral or more
initiative when compared to TK, you need to not push so aggressively as much.
PG-->SDE-->d/b,D/B+K-->f,f-->LBF-->ShRm
here we see that we keep the initiative with a punch to interrupt the opponent
or set up your offense; a followup SDE puts you back into range and will
stagger crouchers, besides being safe to throw out; a backwards crouch dash
makes your low kick harder to stagger being that it is farther away, and the
fact that it is the low kick means the opponent can't evade in a certain
direction; what's more, the low kick will force the opponent to think about
blocking low, even if he gets hit by the attack; a followup LBF moves you back
into range and is low besides tracking dodgers; the opponent is ready to crouch
block, straight into a ShRm combo
LP-->DFS-->SDE-->PG-->fBG
the LP interrupts the opponent, then the DFS moves Akira back into range and
tracks dodgers safely; the followup SDE is safe and moves Akira even closer;
a PG will interrupt any opponent's attacks and keep the opponent blocking for
fear of quick attacks; the followup fBG will then stagger them for blocking too
long
finally, a last one;
m-SgPm-->DFS-->d/b,D/B+K-->PG-->SPoD
the SgPm starts out the offense, being uncounterable; the DFS will track dodgers
and is uncounterable; you crouch dash back and do the low kick to make it
harder to counter and to track some opponents; a whiffed PG makes the opponent
crouch dash in, only to get hit with a SPoD
of course, don't assume that all those custom strings I wrote down are foolproof,
or that there aren't any others; possibilities are too endless, and I can find
at least one wrong thing going on with each custom string I put down, the key
is to experiment and practice
Fuzzy guard:
This is being able to guard middle and low attacks as well as being able to
avoid high and low throws. WTF, you're probably saying as a newbie, is this
cheating? Not really. Basically, there's a certain point when you are rising
from a crouch that the above situations will occur if you block; it's a very
tiny bit, but it's there. Now, granted, the best way to perfect this
technique is to crouch dash a rising opponent and then block when you expect
the rising attack. If you can consistently block the rising attack no matter
if it's low or middle, maybe you've just fuzzy guarded the attack. This
timing when learned can put some severe dents in your opponent's offense.
But is it cheap? By no means, no. If you the attacker or thrower delay
your strike/throw a bit, this "invincibility period" is gone. And it's a very
small frame, very hard to consistently keep stuck in that stage.
Machi:
This is the style of totally defensive play, moving around, waiting for the
opponent to make the first move, and then reacting appropriately. You need
long ranged fast attacks, as well as your reversals, as well as your PG and LP
for interrupting when it gets up close, or anything you might think is suitable
for interrupting. I believe machi play is sort of active turtling, so remember
machi is not the same as setting yourself down and blocking everything, it's
continously dashing/crouch dashing around while you wait for your break.
Remember; the key to successful machi play is movement, and not staying still.
I believe Akira isn't as capable at playing machi style unlike some characters
who have many fast, long-ranged kicks(Sarah stands out the most), but he can
get off decently with what he's got.
Yomi:
This is the style of mind-reading the opponent. While this is physically
impossible for any human to do, there is something called conditioning, where
you create certain scenarios so you get the proper response you want. This is
a must learn if you want to ever land your reversals and power hits. Your pokes
can flowchart to getting the response you want, so fool around with those. For
instance, suppose your opponent is fond of trying to avoid high throws by
low punching a lot. Now suppose he sees that you are fond of going for a high
throw after a blocked super dashing elbow. Just get the super dashing elbow
blocked, and then do the parry. Or suppose your opponent tries going
for the elbow a lot whenever he seems someone crouching, dashing or not. So
just crouch dash in, he'll probably do an elbow, you do the mid reversal. Of
course being that you're doing the crouch dash, if he all of a sudden gets
scared of you doing a mid reversal and decides to block, either fBG or throw.
Just fool around and practice, and you'll see how to apply yomi.
Okizeme(TR staggering/backstaggering):
This is one of the most powerful offensive tactics known, and Akira has some of
the most powerful strategies in VF4 to beat QR/TRers. Many scrubs think this
style of play is cheap, but it's not, it takes a ton of skill to totally kill
someone from okizeme alone. Not to mention VF4's okizeme was toned down with the
introduction of the QR and TR. Basically, it's when you knock the opponent down,
then pressure them when they get up to knock them back down. In VF4, if they
don't QR/TR, then when they get up you can expect side/back/front rolls, kips,
sweeps, or rising kicks. You want to find out how to dodge those rising attacks
then rush in to hit them. A good tool might be a power fist if Akira is just
inside rising attack range. Or figure out how to MC dodge the attack successfully.
Or you can outprioritize the attack; it's hard, but if an attack does more damage
than 20 points(or whatever damage the rising attack will do), and has a longer hit
detection(or basically, when the said attack will hit right when the rising attack
will hit the opponent), it will beat out the rising attack. Akira's DBC is excellant
for this case, but feel free to experiment with other moves like the StDblPm, the
m-DblPm, knee and the m-ShRm. It helps if the attack executes at about 16 to 24
frames, and that you enter it as the opponent is starting to rise. However, the
more often talked about tactics as of right now is being able to hit the opponent
while they are getting up instead of trying to dodge their rising attacks then
hit back.
Concerning people who either kip or QR, they go through 3 phases; the 1st phase,
they are considered on the ground, and thus ground attacks will hit them. The
2nd phase, they are considered as a crouching opponent which is getting into
a standing phase, so yes, if you time your mid attacks or low throws right, they
will hit the opponent. And finally the last stage the opponent can move again.
You of course, want to find those mid level attacks in order to capitalize on this
"WS" state, good attacks for Akira might be the sidekick for stagger oppurtunities,
m-DblPm, DBC, StDblPm, or SPoD.
Concerning people who try to roll to the side, or TR, they go through 3 phases;
the 1st phase, they are considered on the ground, and thus ground attacks will
hit them(although it's much harder compared to a kip, since the opponent is moving).
Then there's the 2nd stage; the opponent is considered a crouching opponent near the
end of the roll, so middle attacks and low throws will snag them during this time.
Finally, the last stage they can move again. Of course, you need to find your mid
attacks to hit the opponent as the opponent reaches that vulnerability state;
besides the mid attacks listed against QRers and kippers, another good one would
be the DFS; because it tracks particularly well; it makes it much easier to hit
the opponent who side-rolls. Also keep in mind that if the opponent holds G during
the roll, your attacks will track them.
People who roll forward or backward are dealt much the same way as those who side
roll, except that they are vulnerable to low and mid attacks during the roll itself;
it's best to try to hit them just as they are beginning to roll; good attacks include
all that were listed for the side rollers.
Finally, there's the issue of backstaggers; basically if you hit a crouching opponent
with their back towards you, they will go onto their knees, leaving themselves
vulnerable to you for a limited period of time. Of course they can struggle, but
you can obviously see how powerful this is; you practically get a free m-DblPm
opportunity(or anything you pretty much like). Now how do you do this? Well,
keep in mind how you could use the sidekick to hit people who QR'd or TR'd. Now,
what you need to do is knock an opponent down onto their stomach. If their head
is facing AWAY from you and they QR, then when they go from crouching to standing,
pull out the sidekick(Akira also has the option of going for his m-SgPm; it will
actually put the opponent into a back-turned crumble; followups aren't escapable!);
you'll get a free backstagger, and you can follow up with your combo as you please.
If their head is facing TOWARDS you and they TR, then when they go into the
crouching state, pull out the sidekick, and much like the QR scenario, you'll
backstagger them and get free followups. Now, as for attacks that lead to these
scenarios, head and stomach crumble stuns will place your opponent in a stomach
down, face towards position; typically, they won't be able to TR, but you can
combo off the crumble stun, and once they try to TR, you can backstagger them
and go for a free attack(imagine StDblPm-->DBC,TR stagger-->DBC, ouch!). As for
QR backstagger oppurtunities, I think if you can follow with a canned DblPm
after your SE(although this has a hard chance of connecting), and the opponent
QRs, then you can backstagger them.
So I bet you're wondering, well how do I defend against such powerful tactics?
Well, it's gonna take a lot of guessing. Generally, you have to consider if
you're going down in a stomach position, then see which way your head is facing;
QR if you're facing towards, TR if you're facing away; of course, they can still
regular stagger you, and their pounces can still hit at the very beginning, but
that's a risk you'll have to take. Also, you might want to just get up quickly
without rolling to the side or kipping or the like, at the risk of OTB hits
from combos and pounces. Also keep in mind how far your opponent is from you
before you try QR/TRing.
CD cancel:
This is the ability to cancel your crouch dash into another crouch dash of the
same direction. This is useful in its own respects; to get out faster while
in a crouched position, or to move in quicker from a distance when your opponent
whiffs a high attack. You'll notice how similar this is compared to the Mishima
wavedash seen in Tekken. Learning when and where to use it can make your character
flashy and harder to read. Here's the best way to do it(modified from Myke's post):
What you do is this:
1)do d/b,D/B
2)tap G and release it; keep holding the D/B input from step 1
3)enter D/B
4)repeat step 2 as much as you like
If you want more info on this, take a look at my Movement System FAQ.
Rising attacks:
As for rising attacks(attacks you can do getting up), I haven't really delved into
what Akira does after certain things(if you are interested, look into the general
moves FAQ), but I will say that anything you input into the computer much like the
stagger contributes to making yourself get up faster, which obviously is a good
idea since you don't want to get hit by pounces. That said, because you don't want
to throw out rising attacks by accident, only rotate the joystick and tap the
punches and guards. A missed rising attack or sometimes blocked rising attack
spells disaster very often. As for your rising attacks, your sweep(d+K) hits low
and your rising kick(K) hits middle. You should only use these against those who
pounce when they're obviously not supposed to; you will connect your attack as
they miss theirs. Rising attacks aren't possible if you QR or TR. A general
notion about the initiative after rising attacks is that if the kick connects and
the opponent doesn't suffer a leg crumble stun(btw when this happens try comboing
or at the very least throw out your pounce), then you have initiative; press the
attack; if it's blocked, you lose initiative, and in the worst cases, you are
counterable; look up GLC's version C general FAQ if you want the actual framestats
and options available to Akira when he tries to do a rising attack.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
===============================
B.Character specific strategies
===============================
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Granted, I am not an expert at VF(although I am a definite avid fan). So don't
expect me to be able to tell you everything you need to do well; in addition,
no matter how much I tell you, that won't make you good unless if you go out
and practice hard yourself.
General format of each character section is:
OVERVIEW: I give a quick intro of the character; what his/her strengths are,
whether they are considered top-tier, what are some of their weaknesses, etc.
GENERAL STRATEGY: What the basic idea behind how the person playing the
character will be, what should be his/her weakness, and how you should apply that
to win out. Also, I include a subtopic called "Some tips" and hint about some
of the things you'll see. I in most cases, used the available online dojos,
my knowledge of the character, and framestat specifics all in an attempt to write
this section.
STANCES: If the character has any stances, I cover this next, with the title
being their respective stance's name. I point out some tidbits here and there,
and kinda hope you get the basic idea.
CIRCULAR ATTACKS: What attacks of theirs are circular, and which way to dodge
them; I used Myke's excellant evading article for this; check it out.
SABAKIS: Any sabakis that they have, and some stuff about them. The sabaki
article by Myke helped here.
REVERSALS: Any reversals the character has, as well as what they can reverse.
The various movelists that I listed in the credits helped here.
THROWS: Ok, the format of this section is that first I list what I consider
to be the character's best frontal standing throws that can be escaped, and
follow this up with some descriptions, such as the initiative you have
afterward. Next, I list the other frontal standing throws, and also the
intiative you get afterward. Finally, I delve into other throws, such as
low throws or catch throws. This was a huge section, and I used SummErs'
throw escape article for this entire section, as well as the movelists available.
And of course, the resources I listed were extremely helpful; it'd be helpful
if you looked them up yourself.
REV B COUNTERABILITY LIST: I used Mr. Bungle's counterability FAQ for this; I
simply cut and pasted the moves that are counterable if blocked IN REVISION B;
this is important because if you play the PS2 version, some moves will have
different counterability possibilities, which is why it's best to look up a
movelist with framestats; I simply listed these if you're playing at an
arcade.
(note how I completely got rid of a possible computer strategies FAQ; the best
way to play against the computer is to pretend the computer is a human opponent
as this will help you learn more and teach you to not be predictable, so that
when you do face a good opponent you won't be killed because you repeated some
pattern that would've killed the CPU. otherwise, the computer tends to do
repeatable patterns that leave them open to throws, and its "combos" are nothing
more than juggle starter-->pounce, although it starts getting tougher the more
opponents you beat)
The cool part is given Akira's damage potential, that NO SINGLE MATCH IS HOPELESS
for you; even if it gets down to 10% vs. 90%, one StDblPm and it's down to 10% vs.
40%. And unlike Jeffry, Akira actually is decently quick, which means it isn't
hard to regain initiative compared to the slow characters.
********
*1.Lion*
********
OVERVIEW
It's strange, really, the way Lion is analyzed. Technically, he has nothing
going for him, and yet, he has everything going for him. His attack speed is
rather slow, his damage potential is much lower compared to the other characters,
and yet, he's still considered a very good character if played effectively.
Because Lion is so small and many of his attacks start out looking the same,
this compensates for his slow speed and weak power, as he can force some
very annoying guessing games. Plus, his agility and movement are rather
quick. Most of the time, Lion can stay rather offensive and poke away due to
his ability to force simple 50/50 guessing games that are hard as heck to
predict. And given his small height, some of your middle attacks have to be
treated like they were high level attacks. The match isn't hopeless though;
many of Lion's attacks recover slowly, and Lion himself is considered to be
a middle-light character, which in the hands of a very powerful combo-based
character such as Akira, spells disaster for him. Don't be discouraged when
Lion is pecking at you like crazy, because if he makes 1 mistake, the game will
be half won for you.
GENERAL STRATEGY
What to say; Lion will basically try to poke you to death and throw if you
stay still too much; he really can't combo you. Because he is an excellant
long range fighter, with great agility, you may find him dipping in and out with
his unique backward and forward dodges(which are much better than the reg. dodges),
poking long range then switching to up close range. But here's something to note;
unlike other characters, his basic framework for poking doesn't involve the PG,
elbow, and LP as much; his PG and LP are both slower than most, so it isn't that
useful(still useful, but like I said...). Instead, he will use all sorts of
attacks to poke you to death, that I'm not too sure I even want to bother listing
them(it's of course best if you learn best by experience and what others tell you
too). Keep in mind many of Lion's attacks(usually 2 for each scenario) look similar
in startup, but end up hitting low or middle. Do beware that the lower the skill
level, the more likely the Lion player is going to use his double low kicks.
Also beware his okizeme potential; Lion has it really well. Because Lion is
rather an offensive pecking freak, it actually might play to your advantage to
be defensive, and be on the consistent look for openings. Since he's also rather
small, learn what middle attacks will whiff against him. Learn what's counterable
and what's not; try a counterability FAQ or find some framestats. Overall, don't
get impatient; Akira has the tools to handle Lion; if you hit Lion with any
of your power attacks at all, then the battle's half won.
Some tips:
Lion is one of the better characters who can "blindfight," or fight using
TT attacks; watch to see if Lion turns away, and then try to guess between his
50/50 middle/low guessing game.
Lion's elbow-poke string has some delay between the elbow and the poke; if
you block the elbow and sense the poke, give Lion a nice DBC for some major
damage. This is one of your biggest oppurtunities to hand Lion his behind for
doing the wrong thing; don't forget it!
Many of Lion's attacks duck low at the beginning; this is important to know;
learn what mid attacks will hit him for this reason.
Lion is a master at okizeme and ura(term for getting behind the opponent as
they rise; a subtopic of okizeme); beware of funky stuff that he does as you
are rising or QR/TRing. As you are falling from combos, his b,f+K+G,d+K will
connect if you don't QR/TR, but even if you do, the timing can be quite difficult,
and his pounce is difficult to avoid. Then you have to beware what he tries
when you get up, not limited to strikes(expect some dodges too).
Lion's lunging poke is not counterable, but gives you a ton of initiative. His
low lunging poke is counterable. And both attacks are annoying, because both
start low and either hit middle or low(the lunging poke mid, the low lunging
poke low). They are also some of Lion's best far range attacks, but they are
slow and can be dodged easily.
Lion's dodge attack sucks, period. Even Chibita doesn't use it a lot.
Either I'm nearsighted or something, but according to VP.com's rev C framestats,
Lion is throw counterable if his PK hits OR is blocked(!)
Lion's b,f+P+K is probably one of his best moves; it will come out as quick
as your PG, and only gives him -1 initiative if blocked. All the canned followups
can be blocked high though, and are highly throw counterable if so. The b,f+P+K
by itself hits high.
Lion will also use his TA kick; by itself it is uncounterable, and if it hits/MCs,
he can turn back around with the P+K followup and combo you. However, he does
have his back to you; try a m-DblPm. If you block the P+K, well, you know what
to do. Both can be ducked because they hit high.
Lion's u+K,K is used to beat low attacks. Look for delayed attempts.
Lion's attacks that he will use to regain initiative are the d/b+K and u+P+K; both
are very much counterable if blocked; be on the lookout for these moves when you
are pressing the attack; the d/b+K ducks and rears back as well as hits low, the
u+P+K is also fast like the d/b+K and dodges and it will hit middle.
Lion's d/f+P+K and d/b+P+K look insanely similar; if you aren't paying attention
to which way Lion is moving(into or out of the screen) before hitting, you won't
know whether to counter; both hit low, but the d/b+P+K recovers high and Lion can
be thrown, whereas the d/f+P+K recovers low and probably only counterable with
mid attacks up to the SDE(or an LP) if you act quickly.
I guess I put too many tips down, but basically, a lot of Lion's key attacks are
throw counterable if blocked; however, there are a few that aren't; it's helpful
to look up a framestats list, but some of the ones that aren't counterable are
his elbow, lunging punch, TA kick, b,f+P+K and his d/f+P. Both hits of his
u+K,K are both uncounterable. Study which moves are similar, and the scenarios
afterward, then make him pay.
CIRCULAR ATTACKS
Helix [b+P]
- evade towards front
Low kick [d+K]
- evade towards back
Hopping kick [u+K]
- evade towards back
Sidekick [d/f+K]
- evade towards back
Sweeping hand [d+P+K]
- evade towards back
Double poke [f+P+K]
- evade towards front
Wind-up swipe [d/f+P+K]
- evade towards front
A ton of Lion's attacks are circular or hit dodgers, but these should be the
ones you can MC dodge as long as you dodge in the right direction.
SABAKIS
Meteor punch [qcb+P(P)]
- sabakis HP/HE/HK/MK/KN
Arguably one of the best sabakis of the game, Lion's sabaki will not only defeat
all high attacks, but also anything classified as a middle kick, knee or
sidekick. In addition, when it does hit, the opponent will go into a stomach
crumble for guarenteed combos. Not to mention Lion can do this sabaki on
reaction, because it is most effective during the beginning of the animation. Of
course, notice how it will not sabaki your middle punches and elbows; keep this
in mind and press the attack with those as well as LPs. Just don't be predictable.
If you do block the meteor punch, it is throw counterable. Lion can followup with
the 2nd P if the 1st punch is blocked, and if it MCs, it will also MCs. However,
it too is counterable if blocked.
THROWS
Kickflip throw[FC,f+P+G] Frontal face grab[HCB+P+G] SE[d/f+P+G]
Lion has a very good throw arsenal to mix up, which makes life even more hell
for you. Starting off, the kickflip throw(f+P+G) should be the one escape
you go for the most; while the damage by itself is mediocre, Lion can combo
afterward, and set up some okizeme no matter whether you QR/TR or not. If
escaped the situation is close to neutral. His frontal face grab(b+P+G) does
great damage and leaves him safe if escaped; if you don't struggle hard
enough, the pounce afterward is hard to avoid. Finally, his SE throw leaves
some guessing games he can try; PPP or u+P+K are guarenteed; d/f+P,P then pounce
does better damage but can be escaped(dash forward after the 1st d/f+P then press
G to block the 2nd P then throw as a counter), but then Lion can do d/f+P then
throw as an alternative.
From there, you have your P+G escape(disadvantage for Lion if escaped I think),
another b+P+G escape(Lion's at a disadvantage if escaped), a u/f+P+G escape
(beware of this, it's not often someone gets a normal throw with this, so don't
be caught off guard), 2 more f+P+G throws which both do 50 pts(one of them when
escaped leaves Lion at a disadvantage). Finally, Lion's mantis catch[f,d/b+P+G]
is his catch throw(slow but inescapable); observe which way he dodges then tap
the respective direction(up or down) and P+G to escape that respective throw,
but beware of him stopping at the dodge and throwing you again. To clarify on
Lion's catch throw followups, the flying takedown followup is escaped by d+P+G,
the bulldog by u+P+G.
REV B MINOR COUNTERABILITY LIST
rising uppercut [FC,f+P]
- high throw
uppercut, swipe [df+P,P]
- high throw
overhead poke [u+P+K]
- high throw
standing palm, meteor hand, low swipe [b,f+P+K,P,P]
- high throw
TA half-moon kick, sweeping hands [b,f+K+G,d+P]
- high throw
elbow, poke [f+P,P]
- high throw / P
TA double handed peck, TT kick [f+P+K,K]
- high throw / P
TA half-moon kick-low slide [b,f+K+G,d+K]
- back throw / FC,b,f+P
lunging low poke [b,df+P]
- FC,b,f+P
sweep [d+K+G]
- FC,f+P+K
handstand kicks [db+K]
- d+P / QCB+P
*******
*2.Lei*
*******
OVERVIEW
Lei is the newest character to feed on the "WTF" factor. He seems to play
like Shun, in that he needs to constantly switch his stances and stay about
at midrange. He is the game's most masher friendly character, so you may
find newbies picking him a lot. But anyways, what his real strengths are
are that he has a lot of moves that have dodging properties, he has a number
of excellant strikes(such as some of the best crumble attacks), and is the
most sabaki-dependent character. And his best throw gives him free combos.
But Lei is strictly that; a midrange opponent; his up-close game is hindered
greatly, and he has a throw arsenal that is fairly easy to break out of
(comparable to Sarah's, except no catch throws).
GENERAL STRATEGY
Er, how do I start... Lei doesn't rely on the atypical strategy much like
Shun, but this is what I do know; Lei relies on constantly switching between
stances, attacking from midrange, and trying to get sabaki oppurtunities.
To be honest, I don't know how to play as Lei or how to play against Lei, but
I will say that Lei has a lot of weaknesses, although he has many great
strengths. Although he has a number of good anti-dodging attacks, the vast
majority of his attacks are linear. In addition, Lei has a rather slow speed
for the vast majority of his attacks, either in recovery or startup. And
his throw variety is generally limited. The way to defeating Lei is to get
up close and apply pressure, but not get predictable so that you fall vulnerable
to his sabakis. There's a lot of rules to remember against a Lei, but it gets
simple once you get up close and personal.
Some tips:
Lei has the best sabaki and crumble attacks in the game; not only that, sometimes
the attacks are considered to be BOTH. QCF+P+K, b,f+P+K, [DM]P+K(MC or fully
charged), [TG]P(MC), P+K,P, P+K,P,P, [EV]P+K,P(MC), [EV]P+K,P,P(MC). Watch out
for the QCF+P+K, b,f+P+K, [DM]P+K, [TG]P especially; these are all head crumble
attacks, and can actually set up a possible 80% backstagger combo if you QR/TR
during the wrong sequence; look up ken's Lei Dojo for the actual combo. For the
most part though, Lei's crumble attacks are fairly high risk/high reward moves;
if you block any of the head crumble attacks, he is fairly throw counterable.
Lei's [DM]P,P+K is evil; this is the fastest punch in the game running at
10 frames, the P+K has huge range and can float on MC; in addition, the initiative
given Lei after the P+K is evil; according to VP.com, he's given +7 if the move
is blocked, and +10 on normal or +21 on MC(yikes); look for this move during
the defeat miss stance as it is arguably the best move of Lei; ken rated it 6/5.
The good thing is that the P+K component can be reversed/sabaki'd as a middle
punch.
Unlike some characters, Lei naturally flows from one stance to another.
Lei has a very good okizeme potential; he has some moves that can sabaki/duck/
beat out mid rising kicks; look for them.
Framestats help; look up some at VP.com.
For the most part, I don't know too much about Lei's stances, so instead, I'm
going to cut and paste the pros and cons of Lei's respective stances from ken's
Lei dojo and leave the rest up to you.
INDEPENDENT STANCE
This is going to be used when Lei has the initiative, also gives him the
most options:
pros:
-mid, low, throw variations(look out for the d+K, very fast in startup/recovery
and allows for combo followups)
-auto reversal ANY punch attack(in rev C, it won't reverse LPs though, so keep
that in mind; hit your LP and put the pressure on, or your LBF and the followup
DJK)
cons:
-zero mobility
-auto-reversal only when fully in stance
-MC on any successful hit on Lei Fei(that is, any attack you do will count
as an MC; go for a SDE immediately when you get the chance)
DEFEAT MISS STANCE
pros:
-close to instantaneous stance execution. Most of the DM moves can be done at
any instant or stance.
-fast jab "PP+K"
-fast/charged long range mid attack
-semi-decent float midattack
-certain high attacks are ducked due to his pose
-anti throws to some extent due to stance/feet placement
cons:
-vulnerability to the d+P at close range
TIGER STANCE
pros:
-sabaki(all high/mid) with Head Crumble
-sabaki(low)
-low Attack into MD,IN
-hopping attack into EV
-guard cancel for back-turned
cons:
-need to execute certain offensive moves to enter stance
-limited exit stance options... though with the sabaki options Lei doesn't need them
-usually the Lei player will look for oppurtunities to enter TG rather than not
exit it
EVADE STANCE
pros:
-it evades, back dodges ie "db+P+K+G"
-high/mid sabaki into IN or N
-high/mid sabaki into IN or N or Stomach crumble on MC
-hopping high attack into TG stance
-fast low sweep
cons:
-slow execution ie "db+P+K+G"
-vulnerability to d+P
BACK TURNED
pros:
-stylish and unpredictable from EV and TG stances
-8 way walk will avoid many attacks, because chances are you(Akira) might be
too aggressive when Lei has his back turned(avoid this mentality!)
cons:
-can't block(duh), just be sure you don't push too hard; the good Lei player
knows you are going to jump seeing how Lei is presenting his back to you
usually it's either d+K or K(middle level) when backturned, as well as the K+G
or the forward crouch dash
CIRCULAR ATTACKS
High kick [K]
- evade towards back
Vertical chop [f+P+K]
- evade towards front
High crescent [K+G]
- evade towards front
Double leg crescent [f+K+G]
- evade towards front
Inverted kickflip [u+K+G]
- evade towards front
Hammer(evade stance) [P]
- evade towards front
Although the list seems to suggest that Lei has a lot of circular attacks,
remember that his total number of moves are way more than these; he is a
strictly linear character; this should be kept in mind; careful evading will
avoid the majority of his key attacks.
SABAKIS
Double palm [QCF+P+K]
- sabakis HP/HE/MP/ME
Hammer(evade stance) [P]
- sabakis HP/HE/HK/MP/ME/MK
Backfist(evade stance) [P+K]
- sabakis HP/HE/HK/MP/ME/MK
Hammer punch(tiger stance) [P]
- sabakis HP/HE/HK/MP/ME/MK/KN
Upward kick(revision C only, tiger stance) [K]
- sabakis LP/LK/LC
TT double palm(back turned, tiger stance) [P]
- sabakis LP/LK/SW
Lei is obviously the game's best sabaki-dependent character; he has the most
variety of sabakis, and all of them are capable or reversing a very large
variety of attacks; you should beware of sabaki oppurtunities that are presentable
to Lei and not to present yourself as sabaki bait; the good part is that the
majority of Lei's sabakis will not be able to reverse your low attacks, but then,
there's his auto-reversal from IN stance(in rev B), and the TT double palm from
tiger stance(in rev B).
REVERSALS
auto reversal(independent stance) [n]
- reverses HP/MP/LP(in rev B)
Lei has the best auto reversal, because it will reverse ALL punches. Beware not
to present yourself as able to be reversed in independent stance. In revision
C he can't reverse LPs, so push for the low attacks when this occurs.
THROWS
Reaping throw[d/f+P+G]
In order to balance Lei's great strikes, his throw options are extremely
limited; this is his best throw; it does mediocre damage, but causes a flop
which will give him a free combo oppurtunity. Always key this in as your
1st throw escape. Then watch for the okizeme game afterward. If escaped
nothing's guarenteed, but Akira has initiative.
After that, Lei's throw options are very limited; P+G, b+P+G, and f+P+G are
the remainder of the throw escapes you need to know; only the P+G when escaped
leaves you 2 even; the others give Akira initiative to push. Lei's throws
are all rather weak and very limited, so it is imperative that you have a good
option select against Lei; if you look at it, this strengthens Akira's up-close
game even more against Lei; he sucks at close range, is slow, is linear, AND
if you have good option select, then Lei will not be able to counter the
majority of your power moves, and since you're right on top of him it'll
be hard for him to switch into other stances where his sabaki potential lies
w/o getting hit.
REV B MINOR COUNTERABILITY LIST
single palm [FC,f+P]
- high throw
double leg hopkick [uf+K+G]
- high throw
knuckle, punch [b+P,P]
- high throw
[tiger stance] hammer punch [[TG] P]
- high throw
[independent system] crescent [[IN] K+G]
- high throw
double palm [d,df,f+P+K]
- high throw / P
evading crescent, backfist [u|d+P+K+G,P]
- high throw / P
[independent system] punt kick [[IN] K]
- high throw / P
knifehand, upward strike [df,df+P,P]
- high throw / P / FC,b,f+P
[independent system] sweep [[IN] d+K]
- high throw / P / FC,b,f+P
dodging backfist, TA backcheck [uf|df+P+K,P]
- back throw / FC,b,f+P
double leg sweep [d+K+G]
- d+P / FC,b,f+P
*******
*3.Pai*
*******
OVERVIEW
Pai is considered by many to be one of the easiest characters to LEARN
in the game; however, the higher up the experience ladder the game gets,
the harder it is for Pai to win. This is because Pai needs to use yomi,
conditioning, and to do evil setups. This should force opponents to try
to evade to eat circular attacks or attack Pai into sabakis forcing her to
dictate the game. She's got a multiple array of reversals and inashis, a
good selection of throws, and on top of her plain annoying speed as well
as her PG, sidekick, and LBF. Pai is often played mechanically, and if
played correctly can be so damn annoying. However, this match is entirely
in Akira's favor; Pai is light, and that factor alone should be enough;
Akira is already a damage monster, and when you consider the weight of Pai,
for every damage point Pai does to you, hitting her back would give you
about 3x the amount. Just don't underestimate her.
GENERAL STRATEGY
Pai's general strategy is simple; while people will mix up more stuff
than said, she will rely mainly on her PG and its strings, her sidekick,
her LBF-P, which will continue into her Px strings, throws, and LPs.
From there, expect a couple of things to be thrown in here and there,
like her reversals and inashis, her faster sweep, and her retreating chop
(d/b+P). And maybe expect to see a heelkick here and there at midrange. Her
swipe(f+P) is often added too. It is extremely important for Pai to poke,
but Pai tends to wait for Akira. Good Pais aren't afraid of Akira's staple
moves, just the followups after them. Pais will try to dictate the game by
inviting Akira to attack first, guarding correctly then putting the pressure
on. In other words, Pai tries to lock down Akira's mobility. Your LP works
extremely great against the PGs, and in up-close games as long as you know
you won't staggered. At midrange, try to find a good move to hit her that she
can't hit you with; like a sidekick or SDE. The key to fighting Pai is to stop
her rushes and to keep her from stopping your mobility, and then find those
damage oppurtunities; the difference between Pai and Lau is while Lau does more
damage than Pai, Pai is much more suited on defense, so don't think you'll
get off just by putting Pai on the defensive.
Some tips:
Most prominently, Pai's LBF is slow to startup and slow to recover; easily
counterable. It is essentially a slow LP, except it has the potential to
actually dodge really low attacks like your LP. Most of the time Pais won't
use it alone, they tend to continue onto the P, and then see what you do. It's
usually best to block low after the LBF and remain low then quickly do a ShRm.
BTW, the LBF-P-uppercut string will never be guarenteed, even if the LBF MCs.
Don't worry about Pai's combo starters, they are in general pretty pathetic;
the 2-handed upper(D,f+P) and retreating chop(d/b+P) both need an MC to float,
and are both counterable if blocked(but be quick). The K will always lift the
opponent, but is counterable, the followup K will be middle, but if blocked
also is counterable. Just beware of the K continuing into the canned LBF;
it should be easy to read and see coming due to the slow startup, just don't
be braindead at the moment.
Expect to see the swallow kicks once in a while too, the 1st kick comes out
quickly and is hard to counter; the 2nd kick is very much counterable. Pai
may use these against LPs because she has no low reversal. Try to be on the
defense after the 1st kicks, as SummErs states how it is one of Pai's best
offense and defense tools. It will enable Pai to play a 2-way guessing
game of throws, sweeps, or what not. Learn what your opponent favors, and how
to defend against it.
Beware of Pai trying to set you up to eat her fully charged K. SummErs gave an
example; Pai has Akira near a wall, and she floats him, pushing him into the
wall, but lets him QR/TR, however, when Akira does, the charged K is released
and Akira can't evade it. This is an example of Pai's evil setups. Beware of
always QR/TRing at the 1st possible moment; Pai might have been trying to set
you up to eat moves like this.
Against scrubs, the low kick and its followup hits all can either be ducked or
blocked low.
SWAY STEP
From this stance, the majority of Pai's attacks are either low, or middle.
For the record, she has only 1 standalone low level attack(a sweep) from this
stance, and it's highly counterable if blocked, not to mention slow to startup.
However, her punches from this stance are particularity good in initiative,
although they start up pretty slow. Her punches will carry her into circular
evade stance. Nothing to truly worry too much about in this stance. Pai can
do b+P+K+G to get into sway step, but it's not that fast, so be ready to hit
her.
CIRCULAR EVADE
Much like ths sway step, the majority of Pai's low attacks come out slowly and
are highly counterable if blocked. Other than that, you will find the majority
of her high/middle attacks are faster than her low ones. Her punch from this
stance tends to be good at interrupting. Keep in mind Pai bends kinda low
during this stance. Her double strike(P+K) will juggle opponents, but it is
strictly up-close. Not that much to worry about.
CIRCULAR ATTACKS
The majority of Pai's attacks that are circular tend to be full 360 motions,
so they are impossible to dodge, but if blocked, Pai tends to be in deep shee-at.
However, it is good to learn to MC dodge Pai's LBF at the very last second; while
it's slow, the slow speed makes it easier to track opponents.
SABAKIS
Lunging palm [f,b+P]
- sabakis HP/HE/HK/MP/ME/MK
Pai has a particularly good sabaki; it has very fast execution and good reach,
not to mention she can add a canned P for another palm, to keep the initiative.
However, it's interesting to note that it will still not sabaki any of your low
attacks; use this to your advantage. Just learn how to deal with this move;
most likely you'll see it used quite some.
REVERSALS
High reversal [b+P+K]
- reverses HP/HE/HK
Mid reversal [d/b+P+K]
- reverses MP/ME/MK/SK/KN
High inashi [f+P+K]
- inashis HP/HE/HK
Mid inashi [d/f+P+K]
- inashis MP/ME/MK/KN
Trip [d/u+P+K]
- reverses TRs, side rolls, forward rolls, circular rising kicks
Pai is definitely a character loaded with reversals; don't get abusive. Granted,
the reversals themselves do particularly little damage, although you might want
to beware the elbow reversal because it does push you quite far back. However,
one thing to note is that she can't reverse anything that hits at the low level
and of course, as long as you mix up your hit levels, there's nothing Pai can
really do; if she looks to land that reversal/inashi, you will win. What is
worthy to note is that she has a reversal specifically built for okizeme; it
will reverse TRs, side rolls, forward rolls, and circular rising kicks. You
can only QR, do a straight rising kick/rise w/o kicking, or roll backwards,
keep this in mind. But overall, the general rule is that as long as you aren't
consistently doing the same hit level over and over and mixing in unreversable
attacks in your offense, you should be hard to reverse.
THROWS
Flipover throw[FC,f+P+G] ST[b,d+P+G] Trip & Fling [270+P+G]
Pai surprisingly is a pretty good thrower; she has many throws, all do roughly
60 points of damage, and she has at least 1 throw for every direction, but I
think these are the 3 best throws of hers; the flipover is her best throw(f+P+G),
but remember that you can QR/TR to reduce damage; just beware of her followup
trip reversal. Concerning her stumble throw, if she goes for anything else
other than the crane kick (f,f+K), chances are it won't be guarenteed. After
the crane kick connects, struggle and be ready for guessing games; often a
puncture fist-jumping kick (f,f+P,K) will connect afterward if you are slow.
To point back to the ST, while the crane kick is the only really guarenteed
followup, you shouldn't underestimate it; Pai can force a guessing game of either
a low sweep or sidekick, while you must quickly struggle and try to read and
react; simple guarding is not a good idea; learn to block correctly. The trip
& fling is all in all better than her DDT and serves the same purpose and escaped
the same way(b+P+G); it won't leave Pai at a disadvantage if escaped.
Other than that, besides P+G, you have the d/f+P+G to escape her SE; she can
only do the DSK for guarenteed damage. She also has 3 more f+P+G escaped throws
(all do very good damage and chances are they will be mixed in place of the
flipover here and then, plus they reverse the ring often), and 1 more b+P+G
escaped throw. Finally her low throw is escaped by f+P+K+G, which leads to
another bad situation for Akira, since Akira doesn't fair too well when his
back is turned. Try to avoid this situation as much as you can. Finally, her
back throw; again, nothing's really guarenteed(cept for the K+G followup), but
you're still in an uncomfortable situation; be ready for guessing games; struggle
hard and try to read and react.
REV B MINOR COUNTERABILITY LIST
double palm [FC,f+P]
- high throw
low blue fist, punch, uppercut [df+P,P,f+P]
- high throw
retreating chop [db+P]
- high throw
heelkick [FC,n+K]
- high throw
kick, kick [K,K]
- high throw
kick [K]
- high throw
low blue fist, crescent [df+P,K]
- high throw
pounce [u+K+G]
- high throw
reverse crescent [b+K+G]
- high throw
double moon kick [f+K+G]
- high throw
[sway step ] crescent, lunging punch, sweep [[SW] K+G,P,K]
- high throw / P
evading crescent [u|d,P+K+G]
- high throw / P / b,f+P
double sparrow kick [uf+K,K]
- high throw / P / b,f,f+P+K
triple punch, kickflip [P,P,P,b+K]
- high throw / P / f,f,f+P / b,f+P
triple punch, sweep [P,P,P,d+K]
- d+P / FC,f+P+K
sweep [d+K+G]
- d+P / FC,b,f+P
quick sweep [db+K+G]
- d+P / FC,f+P+K
********
*4.Kage*
********
OVERVIEW
It's too bad that Kage got toned down so much in the transition to VF4; I agree
his ability to set up throws, his throw damage, and his ability to play near
at every distance besides being overall very quick all added up to a very
broken character, but the fact that they toned down almost all of the said
things above makes him only a good middle-tier character in the hands of a
good player. That said, Kage is still one really good opponent being generally
quick, being able to attack at any distance, and possessing some of the game's
best throws. His main strategy obviously centers around getting throw
oppurtunities and using them. Compared to VF3 Kage gained some ability to
do juggle combos outside of throw combos now, so you'll have to beware of that,
but overall the reduction of his quick pokes means this game is more in your
hands than that of Kage; you'll in most cases only lose because you didn't
try.
GENERAL STRATEGY
Kage basically will try to set up throw attempts. That's the basic goal of
any Kage player. His basic flowchart starters are PG, LP, and PPb+P. Then
either the elbow or sidekick to try to stagger you(good thing the elbow's speed
is slower). And from there, Kage will tend to mix in heelkicks at midrange,
his TA sweep, his Van Halen kick for interrupting(its speed was actually toned
down a bit), his d/f+P, FC,d/f+P, and d+P+K to MC you in the hopes of a juggle
combo. Kage was toned down so that he can't exclusively go for throw attempts
and simply try to peck you to death in the hopes of setting that up by becoming
slower, so expect him to try to MC you with some float tools every once in a while.
Basic strategy? I dunno...Kage is very well rounded, however, he was definitely
toned down in every aspect. So basically follow the principle of not giving
Kage the oppurtunity to throw; a note is that he seems somewhat slower than the
previous VF incarnations, so use your speed to your advantage; pressure him and
keep the initiative away from him.
Some tips:
uk-guy wrote, "If you get hit by f,f+P+K+G then TR doublepalm is guaranteed. If
you TR and are near Kage then b,f+P combos and f,f+KK are good options too.
However doublepalm is always guaranteed so if in doubt always do this."
uk-guy wrote, "If Kage whiffs df+P you can stagger him with an elbow or sidekick."
uk-guy wrote, "You can duck the b+P in a blocked PPb+P for a guaranteed doublepalm
or throw opportunity."
After a TR, a really good bet for Akira against Kage is his DblPm, due to its
speed and damage it will take priority over MANY of Kage's attacks.
For the most part, Kage's reliable OTB weapons(backheel sweep and running slide)
are pretty much worthless IF you know how to TR/QR reliably, but do beware TR
stagger oppurtunities. Kage can also cancel his backheel sweep into a TA
position, so beware that.
Should you get staggered by the dragon punch-drop kick, a VERY GOOD struggle
attempt will result in Akira recovering BEFORE Kage.
uk-guy's notes on rev C Kage: "Kage has been improved a bit in version C. His
Jumonji Stance has become a bit stronger thanks to the P+K and K+G crumble
properties. His side and back SE throw now gives +14 frames advantage meaning
(db+)PPb+P and some other attacks are guaranteed now, although a throw attempt will
whiff. The Jumonji reverses now lead to some strong guaranteed combos too. One
big tone down is the b,b+K+G which now only crumbles on MC. Because of the improved
[JM] Kage may try to force a guessing game after his elbow connects or is blocked.
You will need to guess well and attack with stuff like Shrm, df+P+K, d/u P+K+G or
throw to battle his [JM] options."
uk-guy stated, "If Kage likes to do d+P alot, say after PPb+P then do your inashi
for a possible SPoD or even yoho - P - f,f+KK in Open Stance!"
uk-guy wrote, "If Kage goes in [JM] after his elbow be careful. It is not wise to
counter with jabs and elbows because you could get crumbled by the P+K sabaki.
Stick to attacks like ShRm or b,f+P+K. Your dodge move(eBC) can also work well."
uk-guy's notes on Kage's Jumonji reversals,
"Be wary of doing rising kicks on Kage when he is in the [JM]. If you get [JM]
rising kick reversed you can say goodbye to 1/2 bar thanks to the [JM] reversal -
G cancel - uf+K+G - d+P - DP combo! If you get [JM] neutral P reversed Kage gets a
guaranteed DPK before you can recover!"
uk-guy wrote, "Backheel sweep (f,f+K) is Kage's main fully circular attack. Kage
may use it to hit your dodges attempts from a TR. If you block f,f+K remember it
recovers high so you get a throw, or other possible counters like b,f+P - P -
doublepalm."
uk-guy wrote, "A blocked DPK recovers low so cannot be high thrown. However you
do get SPoD or qcb+P or yoho combos!"
uk-guy wrote, "If Kage favors attacking your TR with d+K+G or df+P then RTE can
beat his attacks and throw guessing games."
uk-guy wrote, "A blocked b,b+K+G leads to DblPm, but if it connects in mC Kage has
a couple of frames advantage. If Kage favors attacking with a back-turned attack
in this situation then dodge, crouch dash, ShRm is very effective."
uk-guy wrote, "Some attacks like d+K+G are only throw-counterable. In this
situation Kage may favor the GTE so as not to eat a b,f+P+K or SPOD ETE hit. SO
use your f+P+G into b,f+P!"
uk-guy wrote, "Blocking Kage's d+K gives you a guaranteed doublepalm. Useful near
the end of a match when both fighters are low on energy and a low hit is needed
to win."
uk-guy wrote, "After blocking Kage's uf+K+G attack b+P+K+G-TE works well because
Kage's usually favor doing d+P in this situation."
uk-guy wrote, "Akira's df+P+K can crouch under a lot of Kage's moves if timed right
including low jabs and elbows sometimes!"
If Kage tries a TFT--> rising knee--> combo and ends up doing the QCF+K in place
of the rising knee, you can TR for no damage, then SPoD him.
uk-guy's list on mC counters in revision C against Kage using Akira:
Rev C counters
(more damage may be possible, these are just some off top of my head)
PPP (mC or blocked) = HT
b+PK = HT
PPb+PK = HT / b,f+P
FC,f+K = HT / b,f+P
b+KKK = HT / DbPm
d+P+KK = BT
u+P+K = HT / SPOD
f+K+G = HT / b,f+P
DP = HT / SPOD
DPK = df+K stagger / SPOD
db+K = HT / SPOD
d/u P+K+G = HT / PK
JUMONJI STANCE
Kage's Jumonji stance contains some useful tidbits that Kage can use, but in
general, not too many things he'll use. His sideways roll and stance dodge are
particularily useful, as his knee, and his sweep. He also has some reversals/
sabakis that he can use from Jumonji stance. But that's about it. Kage's Jumonji
isn't that useful that you'll find Kage constantly going for it. Amongst the most
useful ways for Kage to go into Jumonji include after an elbow or helix.
CIRCULAR ATTACKS
Downward float chop [d/f+P]
- evade towards back
Dodging tackle [d/b+K]
- evade towards back
Shuto chop [f+P+K]
- evade towards front
Heelkick [d+K+G]
- evade towards front
In general, the main ones are to beware of the downward float chop, and the
heelkick. Those are main attacks that Kage WILL go for in a game, so especially
learn how to dodge those.
SABAKIS
TA mid crescent [b+K]
- sabakis HP/HE/HK/MP/ME/MK
Circular kick [f,b+K]
- sabakis LP/LK/SW
Clap [P+K]
- sabakis HP/HK
Advancing kick(Jumonji stance) [P+K]
- sabakis HP/HE/HK/MP/ME
Do beware the TA mid crescent and advancing kick; look at the number of things
that they can sabaki. Keep in mind Kage takes so long to go into the 2nd kick
after the f,b+K that it's easy to interrupt him if they do go for the 2nd kick.
The clap has slow execution. Keep in mind Kage has some advantage if the
advancing kick connects. Well, that's about it, just learn what the sabakis
look like and learn how to beat them; Kage has a large arsenal, but if you
know what they are, you shouldn't have problems beating Kage and avoid these.
REVERSALS
High punch reversal [b+P+K]
- reverses HP
Mid punch reversal [d/b+P+K]
- reverses MP
Jumonji punch reversal [n]
- reverses HP/MP
Jumonji sidekick reversal [P+K+G]
- reverses MK
I think Kage was toned down reversal-wise. He now needs to know which level
the opponent is going for reversals in order to reverse them instead of the
past where he could just key in b+P+K. If the jumonji punch reversal occurs,
little damage is done, but Kage has initiative. If the sidekick reversal
occurs, Kage can actually combo into it IF he stance dodges towards Akira's
backfoot and does a dragon punch-drop kick combo. But then, who really sidekicks
Kage when he's in Jumonji? Not to mention Akira doesn't use his sidekick except
for TR staggers. But it will reverse rising kicks so don't go for that when
Kage is in Jumonji. And of course, don't punch/palm Kage when he's neutral in
Jumonji; either LP or throw, or DFS, you get the idea.
THROWS
Ten foot toss[b+P+G] Turnover throw[d/f+P+G] Flipover shoulder throw[b,d+P+G]
Arguably Kage's best asset, Kage is known for possessing some of the best throws.
These are Kage's best throws, and the ones you should look out for. Of course,
the highest priority escape should ALWAYS be the TFT(b+P+G). Kage was hurt
because his damage potential AND RO potential were both hurt; now he not only
needs to choose which one he wants to go for, but both potentials were toned
down greatly. It is still his best weapon though so if you can reliably escape
this throw you are limiting Kage's offense for sure. Anyways, if Kage fails his
TFT attempt you can QR/TR to avoid the 40 pts damage. If he goes for the knee
he's going for damage, and if he goes for the d+P+K he's trying to ring you out.
In any case, once you get close to the ground, QR/TR(to nullify any chance of the
running slide hitting), but do beware if he's trying to get a TR stagger on you.
The damage and RO potential with the TFT combos are sorta outta your hands, the
only thing you can do is not give Kage the chance to throw you and try to escape
if you think you will get thrown. The turnover throw is the next highest throw
escape priority; the ground kick is guarenteed and gives out good damage. Press
the offense when you escape it. And finally, the flipover shoulder throw(d+P+G).
It's a fairly powerful throw but the ground stomp isn't guarenteed; however you
are in a poor rising situation, so don't try kicking as you get up, and do beware
any attempts to end up behind you. BTW, when all of the said throws are escaped,
Kage has a huge disadvantage; press the attack.
Now because Akira's option select is so good(R-DTE using the mid reversal,
TFT and Flipover shoulder throw already kills his counterability game so
much), expect Kage to actually mix in other throws as well; you have your
typical P+G escape, Kage also has 3 catch throws; one from normal stance, one
from Jumonji, and one with his back turned; all are fairly slow and easy to see
IF you are attacking. And he has some other throws that can be escaped with
f+P+G(some are throw counterable, the SE is not). Speaking of the SE, it's not
a worry for Akira; immediately press d+G when you get thrown by it, and you'll
avoid the kick in the DPK combo and the low back throw. Kage can try elbow
backstagger combos, but they aren't guarenteed after the SE and you can always
struggle outta them.
REV B MINOR COUNTERABILITY LIST
helix, mid-kick [b+P,K]
- high throw
heelkick [d+K+G]
- high throw
dodging sweep [db+K]
- high throw
triple punch, mid-kick [P,P,P,K]
- high throw / P
dodging chop [u|d+P+K+G]
- high throw / P
double punch, helix, kick [P,P,b+P,K]
- high throw / P / b,f+P
TT chop, kick [BT] P+K,K]
- high throw / P / b,f+P
TA kickflip [df+K+G]
- back throw
low kick
- d+P / FC,b,f+P
TA low kick [b,b+K+G]
- d+P / FC,f+P+K
TT low kick [[BT] d+K]
- d+P / FC,f+P+K
dragon punch, drop kick [f,d,df+P,K]
- d+P / QCB+P
**********
*5.Jeffry*
**********
OVERVIEW
Jeffry tends to be a character who is overlooked by the average player, most
people simply think Jeffry is a punching bag. Of course, Jeffry's main
strength is in his power, but also in his variety of throws and strikes.
Almost no one else has a more painful strike/throw guessing game than him;
either you eat a knee and lose close to 50% life(especially if you get hit by
the KKP as a combo ender), or you eat a XPD and lose, well close to 50% life.
He seemed to be a bit toned down from VF3 though; he can't take off 50% life
as reliably now, but he still can. Jeffry basically wants to try to find the
advantage, and when he does, he'll start mixing up stuff. However, faster
characters than Jeffry always have some advantage over slower characters such
as Jeffry, and this you'll need to exploit.
GENERAL STRATEGY
The general strategy of Jeffry is that he'll poke with his PG, DE(expect
the occasional delayed uppercut to catch you, as well as the entire DEU whenever
the DE hits normally or when you are crouching), and LP and sometimes his
regular elbow, and his throws. When he gets things going, expect float
starters like the knee and kenka upper to be added in, as well as attacks that
produce crumble stuns such as the hell stab(f+P+K), d+K+G, and others. But
in general, Jeffry is a character who basically sticks to finding the
advantage, then mixes it up(don't I sound redundant). The best way to beat
Jeffry is to keep the pressure up close, out-poke him and to master your option
selects; once momentum builds for Akira, it will become hard for Jeffry to
recover(especially since Jeffry must rely on traditional defense like Lau, but
is also very slow), so careful poking is a must.
Some tips:
Jeffry's shot knee is insanely good; it is one of his best counterhits, and
will tend to beat almost anything you try; look for it during your rushes; it
is throw counterable if blocked; beware of the canned elbow(it can be delayed
slightly), but if blocked, it too is counterable.
The double hammer combo can be delayed; it is slow to start out, but just keep
that in mind.
Jeffry's b,d/f+P+K,(b or d)+P+G hit throw sequences are the only ones in the
game that can be escaped.
His TKoD is now guarenteed(I think); still, it's a good idea to crouch dash,
so that if he mucks up the command, you'll get a free reaming oppurtunity. He
can also go into the TKoD from the K,K,P combo, provided he hit with the 2nd
kick and not the 1st.
Jeffry's hell stab causes a stomach crumble on MC; usually I won't delve into
crumble stuns, since the damage afterward is guarenteed save for oppurtunities
where you can QR/TR(that doesn't mean you shouldn't watch out for Jeffry's
d+K+G on MC or any of his other moves that cause crumble stuns), but I will
here because when Jeffry gets a stomach crumble, he can combo into a low
throw; it is important that you start doing your low throw option selects
here, because you've got a fighting chance, and you're stuck in a crumble
stun; you can't block, so you might as well try it.
Jeffry's d+P+K on MC gives him a near guarenteed low throw(+6 frames).
Look for Jeffry's triple body blows(d/f+P+K,P,P); he can try throwing after
the 2nd or 3rd attacks hit, the downside is that the 1st body blow comes
out slowly.
I think there's one combo of Jeffry's that I want to touch on; knee(MC), PG,
headbutt, pounce. It will take off more than 50%, but the pounce is avoidable;
make sure you struggle hard and roll to the side.
Given how Jeffry has slow speed and larger throwing range than most, expect
to be mC'd the most with his throws, rather than his strikes. And considering
how he can throw from all angles, including low throws, you might want to
beware which attacks leave you at a -8 disadvantage when you recover low.
R-DTE is especially useful against Jeffry; mid reversal,d/f+P+G,f+P+G kills his
best mC tools.
That's really about it; of course, also beware the headbutt(b,f+P+K) and b,f+P;
both allow for combo oppurtunities if they hit. But in general, a lot of
Jeffry's attacks are very much throw counterable if blocked; look up some
framestats to find out more.
THREAT STANCE
Jeffry has a new stance, but it fairly simple; he can only do a threat stance
P or K. The K will enable a stomach crumble(beware low throws), and hits
middle. It is a fairly useful move(speed/recovery are good, range good, etc).
And his P; well it hits high and knocks down, but if it doesn't, he can
do a hit throw(timing's sorta strict though), and follow up with the ducking
low kick into the butt pounce for 50% life. But that's about it; just learn
how your opponent uses threat stance, then adapt. Jeffry can only get into
threat stance as a standalone move, not as part of a canned string.
CIRCULAR ATTACKS
Ankle kick [d/f+K+G]
- evade towards back
Low kick [D+K]
- evade towards back
Single hell stab [P+K]
- evade towards front
Hell stab [f+P+K]
- evade towards back
Body blow [d/f+P+K]
- evade towards back
Backfist [b+P+K]
- evade towards front
Knee [f+K]
- evade towards front
Amongst the circular attacks you should know to evade are the hell stab and
backfist the most; also, his knee is good to know how to evade.
THROWS
Crucifix piledriver[d/f,d/f+P+G] Backbreaker[b,f,f+P+G] Military Press[b+P+G]
SE[d/b+P+G]
Jeffry really has a very powerful throw arsenal(and arguably it's the best
in the game; not even Wolf has this many command throws with all different
directions), which is why a good option select is so critical to defeating
Jeffry; the good thing is Jeffry still doesn't have a catch throw, and that
outside of the XPD and backbreaker, Jeffry doesn't have many insanely
damaging throws. Anyways, the XPD is still Jeffry's most powerful throw
(escaped w/d/f+P+G); extra range due to the crouch dash motion, and if
escaped, both characters are even(both backs to each other); should definitely
be your more used escape. Then, the(frontal) backbreaker(escaped with f+P+G)
also has good range and does huge damage(maybe even moreso than the XPD due
to the pounce), but if escaped, Akira can push for a throw/strike guessing game.
From there, the military press is also a very powerful throw; while you can
TR/QR to avoid 20 points of damage, if you QR, Jeffry can low pounce, and if
you TR, he can do his shot knee-elbow combo, which still makes the damage
worth close to 60 pts(but it's still not a bad idea to try). If escaped,
you have a guarenteed throw. Finally, the SE; the drop elbow is near
guarenteed, and then he can follow up with a pickup throw and do some more
stuff such as the knee or triple body blow, so while the damage isn't that
much, it will push you very far back. And of course, if he does it near
a wall, he can do a very sick wall combo taking off 50% life; if escaped, press
the advantage.
Of course, any good Jeffry player will not just rely on those throws, but
also his other ones; expect the d+P+G in rare occasions. He can do his d/f+P+G
Fireman's carry throw as a wall throw. What else, he has additional f+P+G
throws; one leaves the both of you downed, the 2nd(the headbutt multithrow
which you either escape with b+P+G or f+P+G) leaves you with advantage. The
multipunch one isn't used much. His b,d/f+P+G throw can be done as a wall
throw, so beware of that.
Finally, you have his low throws; the d/f+P+K+G should be keyed in the most
(press the initiative if escaped), then the f+P+K+G(for its damage, but it is
slightly slower to do compared to the powerbomb, and if escaped, you get a free
throw), and then the d+P+K+G, which does ok damage, but is even when escaped.
But Jeffry basically has throws for every angle(high, low, front, side, back),
and all have at least 2 different commands(that's right, Jeffry has more than
1 default P+G side and back throw). And since he has a slightly longer throwing
range than most, expect to be mC'd the most with his throws; it is imperative
that you learn how to option select, or it'll be game over in 3 throws.
Finally, his ground throw guarentees him nothing(unless if you get pushed into
a wall, in that case Jeffry has a guarenteed throw), but he obviously has the
advantage and it pushes you back for RO distancing; struggle then try to read
and react. And whenever you touch the ground, try to QR/TR or struggle hard
and get up quickly in order to avoid the ground throw.
REV B MINOR COUNTERABILITY LIST
dashing elbow, uppercut [f,f+P,P]
- high throw
elbow drop [b+P]
- high throw
side kick [df+K]
- high throw
elbow, hammer [f+P,b+P]
- high throw / P
knee [f+K]
- high throw / P
shot knee, hammer [b+K,P]
- high throw / P
hell stab [f+P+K]
- high throw / P
headbutt [b,f+P+K]
- high throw / P / b,f+P
ducking low kick [d+K+G]
- d+P / FC,b,f+P
low kick [db+K]
- d+P / FC,b,f+P
***********
*6.Vanessa*
***********
OVERVIEW
Vanessa is the 2nd new character to VF4. She deviates from the stereotypical
female character; she doesn't aim to poke the opponent to death and find some
combo oppurtunities; she actually aims to poke with her special strings and
find oppurtunities to throw; she is also aimed at using both of her fighting
stances to her advantage. By switching around, she can find offense when
she needs it most and power when she needs it. The big downside to Vanessa
is that she doesn't have many power combos, and that she is light. These,
as well as a good option select and a knowledge of how to play each stance
will help you come out on top of Vanessa.
GENERAL STRATEGY
Vanessa's basic strategy is of course to poke. Of course, she relies on the
stereotypical PG, f+P LP as well as her canned strings, sticking in delays here
and there when doing them and sometimes cancelling the followups altogether.
What stance she is in will depend on what she centers on after that. In
defensive stance(DS for short, MT for Muai Thai), Vanessa will center on
utilizing her sabaki/reversal ability and her vast variety of throws. In MT,
she will try to utilize her speed to go offensive and poke you to death. Seeing
how I don't have experience on Vanessa I instead had to look up other people's
posts, then try to generalize it. In DS, your goal should be to outpoke Vanessa
because she is slower in that fighting style; don't give her an oppurtunity to
sabaki/reverse you, and make sure you perfect your option selects against
Vanessa. And don't give her the oppurtunity to connect her dodge attacks. In MT,
your goal is simply to outpoke her; once you remove her greatest asset in this
mode(her speed), you can just pressure her to death.
Some tips:
Whenever Vanessa puts you into a stomach crumble, start entering your low throw
option selects; because Vanessa has a large arsenal of low throws, and because
you can't block, this should be very important; she can't juggle you as well
as others, so you might as well and save yourself from losing close to 50% life.
Speaking of things that cause stomach crumble stuns, her dodging hook is one of
the better dodge attacks in the game; be on the lookout for it as it can easily
link into a low throw on MC. And it dodges a LOT of attacks.
Vanessa's b,b+K+G is a good move for her; it can be guard-cancelled, it is
uncounterable, on full charge it will stagger. She does recover with her
back-turned though, so pressure her.
I guess Vanessa is mainly a character who relies on delaying her strings and
playing with them; it'd be helpful to look up a movelist and see the framestats
of certain blocked moves.
CIRCULAR ATTACKS
Elbow smash(DS) [f+P]
- evade towards front
Dashing body blow(DS) [f,f+P]
- evade towards back
Back kick(DS) [FC,n+K]
- evade towards front
Low kick(DS) [D+K]
- evade towards back
Heavy roundhouse(DS) [b,f+K]
- evade towards back
Dashing elbow(DS) [P+K]
- evade towards back
Super dashing elbow(DS) [d/f+P+K]
- evade towards back
Low crescent(DS) [f,f+K+G]
- evade towards front
Back kick(MT) [FC,n+K]
- evade towards front
Low kick(MT) [D+K]
- evade towards back
Side kick(MT) [d/f+K]
- evade towards back
Dashing body blow(MT) [P+K]
- evade towards back
Dashing elbow(MT) [f,f+P+K]
- evade towards front
According to Myke's post (DS)f+P, (DS)FC,n+K, (DS)D+K, (DS)b,f+K, (DS)P+K,
(DS)f,f+K+G and (MT)FC,n+K are especially good to know.
SABAKIS
Heavy roundhouse(DS) [b,f+K]
- sabakis HP/HE/HK/MP/ME
Vertical elbow(DS) [d/b+P]
- sabakis LP/LK/SW
Low blow(MT) [d+P]
- sabakis LP/LK/SW
The heavy roundhouse is especially insidious because besides being able to
sabaki a large variety of your attacks(make sure you mix in LPs and unreversible
attacks), the followup P leaves Vanessa with initiative IN ANY CASE. Luckily
both hits are aimed high. The other 2 sabakis execute a bit faster, but they
can only reverse your low attacks; long story short, mix it up. If Vanessa
is in MT, you can abuse your SDEs a lot more.
REVERSALS
Auto-reversal [n]
- reverses HP/MP
High reversal [b+P+K]
- reverses HP/HK
Mid reversal [d/b+P+K]
- reverses MP/MK/KN/KF
I think the reversals are pretty straightforward and you should know how
to deal with them already, but it's the auto-reversal that needs explaination;
when you are caught with this, you can struggle(notice the joystick?), but
then you can escape her followups; escape with either G(against the K), d+G
(against the d+K) or the P+G(against the P+G throw). I dunno, try to read
and react; possible option select might work.
THROWS
Flip & leg lock[f,d+P+G] Sacrifice arm lock[d/f,d/f+P+G] Elbow & palm[HCF+P+G]
Spinning takedown[270+P+G]
Surprisingly, Vanessa's throw options are comparable to Jeffry's, and they
are still formidable; they tend to do at least 50 pts of damage, some reaching
the 70s. And save for the f,f+P+G,f+P+G wall throw and the HCF+P+G throw,
when escaped, most of her throws present her with a -6 disadvantage, but in
general aren't counterable. Some even recover with an even initiative, and
some even give her the initiative! Anyways, the flip & arm lock is her best
throw; escaped with d+P+G, does the most damage(actually, her 270+P+G throw
that is escaped with f+P+G does 70 pts, but 270s are never easy to do in
general games), and leaves both characters at an even initiative. Next, the
sacrifice arm lock is also a very good throw because it has a buffered crouch
dash and does decent damage; press the attack if you key in the d/f+P+G
escape. The elbow & palm is probably her next best throw; escaped with f+P+G
and does 60 pts. If escaped, you can actually throw her. While her spinning
takedown is escaped the same way as the elbow & palm and takes slightly longer
to do, it has the virtue of doing a massive 70 pts of damage and being
uncounterable, leaving her with a disadvantage instead.
From there, Vanessa has some other DS throws(you know most of her throwing
ability comes from DS, not MT, right?). Her SE(escaped w/d/b+P+G) leaves
her with a disadvantage. It can be done from DS or MT. She has another f+P+G
throw which escaped is neutral. The wall throw(also escaped w/f+P+G) leaves
her at a disadvantage. When you escape her other 270+P+G throw w/b+P+G, she
is at a disadvantage. In MT stance, her best throws are in order from best
to worst; d/f+P+G,f+P+G,and d/b+P+G(interestingly, besides her P+G throw,
those are all her options from MT throw-wise, much easier to figure out her
out).
Vanessa has only 2 low throws; d+P+K+G and d/f+P+K+G. Both are insidious,
although both do decent throw damage at best(50 and 55, respectively), but
the d+P+K+G is even more insidious; if escaped, Vanessa has a 2 frame
advantage; it's not much, but it's enough to keep you from LPing immediately.
I'm guessing you can do low throw option select, so key in both, and you'll
be able to avoid both throws. Especially useful after stomach crumble stuns.
REV B MINOR COUNTERABILITY LIST
triple punch, kick [P,P,P,K]
- high throw
punch, elbow smash [P,df+P]
- high throw
elbow smash, punt kick [f+P,df+K]
- high throw
slap, body blow [df+P,P]
- high throw
dashing body blow [f,f+P]
- high throw
evading hook #1 [G,u+P]
- high throw
evading hook #2 [G,d+P]
- high throw
elbow smash, roundhouse [f+P,K]
- high throw / P
elbow smash, roundhouse, sidekick [f+P,K,K]
- high throw / P
double punch, low kick [P,P,K]
- high throw / P
lightning combination [b,f+P+K+G]
- high throw / P
low kick [d+K]
- high throw / P/ FC,b,f+P
low kick, punch [d+K,P]
- high throw / P
heel seed [f+K+G]
- high throw / P
evading big boot [u|d,P+K+G]
- high throw / P / b,f+P
sweep [d+K+G]
- d+P
slide kick [D+K]
- d+P / FC,b,f+P
[muay thai stance] double body blow [[MT] f+P,P]
- high throw
[muay thai stance] dashing uppercut, knee [[MT] df+P,K]
- high throw
[muay thai stance] dashing elbow, double punch [[MT] f,f+P+K,P,P]
- high throw / P / b,f+P
[muay thai stance] double knee, uppercut [[MT] f+K,K,P]
- high throw / P / b,f+P
*******
*7.Lau*
*******
OVERVIEW
Lau is one of the game's top tier characters. Nevermind the fact that
he has no sabaki/reversal/inashi of any type, or that he can't play
defensively to win; his damage potential and ability to rush the opponent
down alone gives him the tools to kick ass. The variety of attacks that
he uses is fairly minimal, but the pressure he can put on all characters,
as well as the damage that he can take off is incredible. The guessing
games as to whether he will hit high, middle, low, or throw are all very
hard, fast, and unpredictable, and if you guess wrong, obviously you can
pay with a lot of damage, not to mention if you try to reverse something
that can't be reversed, you could be eating some painful damage.
GENERAL STRATEGY
In general, Lau will try to keep the pressure on, and stay very close to
you, trying his best to keep the pressure on. He typically will stick
to PG(or Upward knife hand-PG), his elbow-palm, his low punch, to poke and
confuse, and then mix in a throw here and there. Once he gets the momentum
going, he will start mixing in stuff like the TA lifting palm, heelkick, and
lunging sweep. It is safe to say if you play Lau like he was in VF3tb, you
will get fairly similar results; there's nothing really that huge that he
gained. Don't crouch too long, and don't get brain-frozen too long. Lau's
looking for that oppurtunity to MC you with his FC,d/f+P,P or variants so he
can connect a triple punch-sweep combo and end the round. Obviously, your
best bet is to turn the tables and attack him as soon as possible; keep him
from rushing you down. The good side is once you put Lau on the defensive,
he has a hard time regaining initiative; he has no sabaki, or inashi, or
reversal of any type. And he is definitely not the midrange fighter that he
appears to be of some extent. Figure out his pattern(if any), counterattack,
then keep the pressure on. If you can, try to play a distance game with him,
staying about somewhere between close-mid to midrange. Keep alert and be
ready for any oppurtunity Lau throws you; there won't be many big
oppurtunities for you to punish a good Lau, so when you detect one, be ready
to mC him at once.
Some tips:
The palm in Lau's elbow-palm hits high, as well as the palm done by itself
or in the d/f+K,P,P string; be ready to crouch dash and punish Lau. Unlike
the VF3 incarnations of the move though, the palm in the elbow-palm is
guarenteed if the elbow hits or staggers. If it is blocked though, crouch
dash and punish Lau. This is one of your biggest oppurtunities to hand
Lau his ass; don't forget it.
Lau's single palm is one of the best attacks in the game; it comes out
in 13 frames, recovers with only a frame or two of lost initiative, and gives
a flop; remember the hit level of it(see above)!
DO NOT reverse Lau's TA Lifting Palm; the reason is obvious; not only is it
unreversible due to being a TA attack; on normal or MC hit it will float
you, and then Lau can finish with a b,b+Pd+PPPd+K combo.
And on the topic of Lau's TA Lifting Palm, this is one of your biggest
oppurtunities to put the hurt on him when you block it; especially when he
continues into the TT Downward Palm; the overall execution between the 2
moves is really slow, so Lau's basically handing you a free MC with your
DBC or m-ShRm.
On the case of Lau's juggle combos, they are powerful, but aren't as nearly
reliable as in the past incarnations; in some cases the sweep in his PPPd+K
string or variants in a combo will hit OTB; when it does, you can TR and
recover BEFORE Lau does, giving you a free hit.
What else concerning Lau's combos; oh yeah, beware when you get too near walls;
like you, Lau is a master of sick wall combos.
Beware of what PPPK variant Lau is trying. If he uses PPP(K+G) and variants
instead, these AREN'T COUNTERABLE. This is important to know, although he
is left at a disadvantage. However, these variants also start 2 frames
slower. It shouldn't be that hard to figure out, because Lau won't be
yelling "OYEAH!" or anything like that(I think).
In revision B, Lau's FC,d/f+P hits HIGH. That's right, you didn't read
a typo. His d/f+P in revision C hits special mid, and if the followup P is
blocked, he is throw counterable; if d/f+PPP connects normal or blocked, he
is also throw counterable. His TA Lifting Palm hits sM in revision C; I'm
sure there's other quirks; look up some framestats and movelists.
CIRCULAR ATTACKS
Body blow[b+P]
- evade towards front
Heelkick[FC,n+K]
- evade towards front
Lunging sweep[f,d+K]
- evade towards front
Low kick[D+K]
- evade towards back
While Lau has a lot of circular attacks that can't really be evaded(crescents,
sweeps, etc), the above are the ones that can be evaded, and the ones you
should pay most attention to.
THROWS
Shoulder whip[d/f,d/f+P+G] ST[b,d+P+G] Face grab[b,f+P+G]
It is safe to say that d/f+P+G should be your top priority throw escape; this
is Lau's best throw; the damage is very high, especially with the additional
stomp(expect close to 80 pts worth of damage). And if escaped, both you and
Lau recover very close to each other, and he has a disadvantage, so force the
50/50 guessing game. If the ST(escaped w/d+P+G) is keyed in, the palm is pretty
much guarenteed, but Lau needs to time it in based on how much you mash. Beware
re-throw attempts. If escaped, Lau has a disadvantage, but is slightly out of
range, pressure him. His face grab with the guarenteed stomp will do about 60
pts of damage; if escaped w/f+P+G, it leaves him with a massive disadvantage
and up close; press the attack.
From there, Lau doesn't really use any other throws. The default P+G throw
when escaped enables you to pressure him(it will be used to switch sides). The
f+P+G throw when escaped is throw counterable(but beware its ability to link
into combos when your back is to a wall, as well as it becoming a wall throw when
Lau is cornered). When the b+P+G throw is escaped(he'll use it to switch sides),
it also leaves him with a massive disadvantage; press the attack.
REV B MINOR COUNTERABILITY LIST
double palm (uncharged) [P+K]
- high throw
heelkick [FC,n+K]
- high throw
overhead smash [d+P+K]
- high throw
body blow, kick [b+P,K]
- high throw
uppercut [b+P+K]
- high throw
uppercut, overhead elbow [b+P+K,P]
- high throw
punch, TA knife, TT palm [P,b+P,P]
- high throw
hopkick [uf+K]
- high throw
triple punch [P,P,P]
- high throw
TA palm, TT mid-crescent [b,b+P,K+G]
- high throw
special crescent [f+K+G]
- high throw
evading attack [u|d,P+K+G]
- high throw / P
triple punch, kickflip [P,P,P,b+K]
- high throw / P / b,f+P
punch, TA knife, TT palm [P,b+P,P]
- high throw / P / b,f+P
superknife [df+P+K]
- high throw / P / b,f+P
upknife, superknife [FC,df+P,df+P+K]
- high throw / P / b,f+P
TA crescent [b+K+G]
- back throw
one leg sweep [f,d+K]
- d+P / FC,f+P+K
triple punch, sweep [P,P,P,d+K]
- d+P / FC,f+P+K
low kick [d+K]
- d+P / FC,b,f+P / FC,f+P+K
double low kick [d+K,K]
- d+P / FC,b,f+P / FC,f+P+K
*********
*8.Jacky*
*********
OVERVIEW
Jacky is simply put, the master of mixing hit levels. If you don't think
he's a top tier, you have been playing too much the Jacky scrub who only
does KK as his main strategy. It will take all the skill in the world to
beat a good Jacky player, and since he's so easy to pick up on, sometimes
even a moderate Jacky player will give you headaches. Like Lau, Jackys
will stick to only maybe 5 moves at maximum, and then mix them up so well
and rush you down with a bunch of jabs and elbows to overwhelm you. DO
NOT treat Jacky as a scrub character; beating a good Jacky is the mark
that you are very proficient with your character.
GENERAL STRATEGY
Jacky basically sticks to poking and rushing you down. He will use only
PG, LP, elbow, and 2 different throws as his flowcharts. It is fairly
simple to defeat Jacky, the biggest part is not getting overwhelmed by
his rushes. For his combos, he will use beat knuckle-backfist or his
knee to start them off. Try not to crouch too long; Jacky can stagger
you with elbow(or beat knuckle in revision C), then follow up with the
canned heelkick for an easy combo. Or, he can use his 2 power attacks
(beat knuckle or knee) to set up free combos when you crouch too long. Like
Lau, Jacky plays best up close. Play mid-range to close-mid for best
results, and try to take the initiative away from him, then force it onto
him. Like Lau, once Jacky starts losing initiative, it'll be hard for him
to recover. However, to say that he can't play mid range or machi style
is also incorrect; SummErs pointed out to me that a lot of people complain
about machi Jackys all the time, so keep that in mind. And be ready for any
mC or MC oppurtunities; good Jackys don't hand you a lot of chances at
these, because they'll be poking you to death. Also watch for his PG; he has
a ton of followups that he can go for after it, including the canned ones,
always be ready for his followups, since they are so simple and easy to
begin.
Some tips:
Almost ALL of Jacky's attacks if blocked leave him vulnerable. This is
an important note to make of. If you block heelkick, knee or LBF, do not
hesitate on putting the hurt on him. The only ones besides the basic
PG and LP that can't be countered is the elbow. In revision C the uppercut
isn't counterable, so beware of that. Maybe looking up some framestats
could be helpful.
Jacky can continue the beat knuckle into the backfist even if it is blocked.
This stops throw attempts and leaves Jacky safe, but the backfist is slow,
and most importantly, hits high. This is one of the biggest oppurtunities
you have to punish Jacky; if you can't train yourself to DBC a blocked
beat knuckle or crouch dash and ShRm, you will lose to Jacky, period.
If you can't teach yourself to crouch dash after a blocked elbow, you will
also lose to a good Jacky. While you aren't guarenteed a free hit, if
Jacky does either the backfist or heelkick followup, they will whiff. This
also applies to the elbow done after PP; the heelkick will go high. A
crouch dash into ShRm works extremely well; just beware of Jacky G-cancelling
and doing another elbow or LP or PG to stop you.
Jacky may occasionally switch his stance to open stance so that his elbow's
range may increase.
Jacky's d/f+P,P+K move can cause a crumble, but the P+K needs to be charged
to maximum power to do so; if blocked, it will stagger you.
Expert Jackys may toy around with the b,f+K+G move(fast,hits dodgers,good
damage), and some of his lightning kicks for poking. The b,f+K+G attack is
especially good for catching QR/TRers due to its circular motion and it being
a mid-level attack. Unless if I(or anyone else) has figured out a way to
successfully MC dodge this attack, when you get knocked down and Jacky has
recovered before you hit the ground, don't QR/TR if you know Jacky will do this
move, or you'll get nailed with some free damage.
Jacky's backstagger combo hurts; it takes off 68% damage all by itself(without
counting the setup knockdown combo); beware of attacks of his that cause
crumble stuns. If you see him turning away during your TR attempt, he may
be prepping to hit you with the TT P+K beat knuckle that starts the combo.
Unfortunately, it's out of your hands; the TT P+K causes a back-crumble, not a
backstagger, so whatever damage happens, happens. The best you can do is to see
if Jacky goes for crumble stuns a lot, and then to just get up normally or QR.
SHUFFLE STEP
Jacky's new stance, it actually doesn't benefit Jacky that much that he will
depend on it that much, to be honest, he has some very good stuff from it, but
because all of his attacks are already so good, he doesn't even need to use
the shuffle step stuff. However, to say that his shuffle step is worthless is
wrong, because he has a good option select in the stance. He can do an iaigeri
with the mid-level K from that stance, but it's hard, I believe. Just like VF2,
if he can do the iaigeri consistently, he can use it to draw attacks or to do
powerful combos. The iaigeri will hit high far away, but middle up close. Jacky
will usually either go for the iaigeri that or the mid-level punch when he is in
shuffle step. The punch is counterable in revision B, but in revision C, it
leaves Jacky safe. You should watch out for this move; upon an MC, it will
cause you to crumble, giving Jacky the oppurtunity to either deal some powerful
damage or lead into his powerful backstagger combo. Most of the other things
Jacky can do in shuffle step aren't that useful; the low kick can be blocked
and countered, and the followup kick will hit high. Last notes, Jacky can do a
special crouch dash forward from this stance. Most of the time, Jacky's
safest way to go into shuffle step is by doing it as a standalone move; most of
the canned strings that end in the shuffle step are rather risky to do.
CIRCULAR ATTACKS
Backfist [b+P]
- evade towards front
Low backfist [d/b+P]
- evade towards front
Beat knuckle [P+K]
- evade towards front
Stepping body blow [f+P+K]
- evade towards back
Low kick [FC,d+K]
- evade towards back
Sweep [d+K+G]
- evade towards back
Knee [f+K]
- evade towards front
Amongst the circular attacks that CAN be evaded, the ones you should know
especially are the LBF, Knee and Beat knuckle.
REVERSALS
Auto-inashi [n in normal stance]
- parries HP/MP
Jacky got slightly beefed in the transition to VF4; he can now parry
high and middle punches. He is actually given about 10 frames of initiative
if he parries your high/middle punches, so beware of any throw attempts.
This is why you don't PG or m-SgPm a neutral Jacky. However, the common
sense is if you do see a motionless Jacky, you don't PG or m-SgPm him of
all ways to punish him; throw him or m-ShRm or StDblPm him!
THROWS
Sadistic hanging knee[d/f,d/f+P+G] Trip and hammer[f,b+P+G]
The above 2 throws are the ones that Jacky will go for; the damage after
both are very powerful and Jacky can even add a ground kick or a low pounce
after the sadistic hanging knee throw to take off even more life. The good
part is that the knee's damage can be TR/QR so that you reduce damage, but
whatever damage that occurs with the trip and hammer, happens. So all in
all, your best throw escapes are d/f+P+G and b+P+G. When both are escaped
you should press the initiative.
The only other throw escapes you might need to know besides the standard
P+G is f+P+G to escape Jacky's jumping clothesline and his wall throw variant.
Situation is neutral for all three in most cases, except the P+G, where you
have initiative.
REV B MINOR COUNTERABILITY LIST
uppercut [FC,df+P]
- high throw
punt kick [f,f+K]
- high throw
sidekick [df+K]
- high throw
knee [f+K]
- high throw / P
stepping body blow combo [f+P+K,P]
- high throw / P
TT beatknuckle [[BT] P+K]
- high throw / P
double sidekick [df+K,K]
- high throw / P / FC,f+P+K
spinning mid-kick [b,f+K+G]
- high throw / P / b,f+P
dodging sidekick [u|d+P+K+G]
- high throw / P / b,f+P
elbow, kick [f+P,K]
- high throw / P / SPoD
double punch, low kick [P,P,d+K]
- FC,b,f+P
low kick [FC,d+K]
- FC,b,f+P
elbow, backfist, low kick [f+P,P,d+K]
- FC,b,f+P / FC,f+P+K
crescent, sweep [K+G,d+K+G]
- d+P / FC,f+P+K
low backfist, sweep [db+P,K]
- d+P / FC,f+P+K
*******
*9.Aoi*
*******
OVERVIEW
Aoi is weak, somewhat slow(her attacks, not her mobility), and light. Those
following elements tend to make people overlook her as being one of the weaker
characters, and in a way, she is. However, to say she doesn't have potential
isn't true; she is the smallest character in the game, and when her size is
utilized so that some of your middle attacks consistently whiff against her,
that spells trouble. Sega was somewhat nicer to her in this game, still has
the best reversal potential, but now can do some decent combo damage, and her
mobility is still great. And of course, her variety of throws are large enough
that she can throw instead of striking for the majority of her attacks. The
good Aoi player will bait you with guessing games as well as her unique G-cancels.
But no one will argue that this game is in Akira's hands; ShRm,PG,m-ShRm,m-DblPm
works the easiest against her.
GENERAL STRATEGY
The general way Aoi plays is to poke with PG, her elbow(and sometimes its canned
strings), and her LP, as well as the throws. From there, Aoi tends to mix in
things like her sweep, lifting palm(d/f+P), her sabakis/inashis/reversals, and
more strikes such as b,b+P+K(can be guard-cancelled, and is a TA attack which
causes a head crumble), f+K+G,P(which causes a stomach crumble), and the double
stop which will cause a stomach crumble on MC. But that's basically it; the
main way Aoi wants to attack you is using her defensive maneuvers as well as
her throws, and sometimes her combos. Use the speed of your attacks to your
advantage, don't keep throwing out moves that are reversible or at the same
level, and try to stay on her. Remember; make sure the pressure is on Aoi
so that she can't lure you into being thrown or reversed.
Some tips:
Aoi may play with her G-cancels to fool you, but just remember that whenever
Aoi cancels her attacks, she is vulnerable to throws and strikes for a brief
period of time(unlike "normal" G-cancels such as the senbon punch).
In version C, a large majority of Aoi's attacks are considered special mid,
but the more notable ones are the double stop and the PPPK. Because of this,
it's overall harder for Aoi to force high/low guessing games in rev C, which
you should use to your advantage; block low whenever Aoi goes for the PPP then
K or d+K guessing game.
The f+P+K,P will still be counterable even if it normally hits.
Keep in mind Aoi does have low throws; why is this fact important? Some of
Aoi's moves place the opponent into a stomach crumble; learn to key in the
d+P+K+G,d/b+P+K+G DTE everytime this occurs. You might as well too, since
you can't block for the moment.
The majority of Aoi's attacks are throw counterable if blocked; look up a
framestats list for more info.
YIN-YANG STANCE
Aoi's yin-yang stance can be done as a standalone move, or after certain
strings, such as the lifting palm and sweep. The whole purpose of Aoi's
yin-yang stance is to inashi attacks; as long as the player is holding
down P+K+G, Aoi will stay in the stance. She can also dodge up or down
during the stance, but if that occurs, you can always throw Aoi. In fact,
throwing's the best way to beating yin-yang stance. As for the attacks that
she can inashi while in the stance, it's HP/MP/HK/MK/SK/KN, which is a lot,
but like I said, she can't do anything else in stance, so don't attack her,
just throw her right out.
CIRCULAR ATTACKS
Spinning elbow [f,f+P]
- evade towards front
Low smash [d/b+P]
- evade towards back
Low kick [d+K]
- evade towards back
Side chop [P+K]
- evade towards front
Spinning strike [f+P+K]
- evade towards back
Helix [f,f+P+K]
- evade towards back
Slow double strike [b,f+P+K]
- evade towards front
Spinning roundhouse [f+K+G]
- evade towards back
Amongst the circular attacks which you should beware the most, I believe
the spinning strike is the one, since it can be delayed into canned strings.
SABAKIS
Dodging chop [b+P]
- sabakis HP/HE/HK/MP/ME/MK/SK
Chin slap [f,b+P]
- sabakis HP/HE/HK/MP/ME/MK/SK
TA punt kick [b+K+G]
- sabakis HP/HE/HK/MP/ME/MK/SK
Aoi is in the possession of some of the more versatile and useful sabakis.
The chip slap hits high but is neutral when blocked and advantageous to Aoi
when it hits. Close to the same thing with the dodging chop. The TA punt
kick leaves Aoi's back exposed, hits middle and is counterable. All of these
sabakis reverse the exact same thing, the only thing they can't reverse that
Akira has are low attacks. What's more the timing for the sabaki for all of
the attacks are fairly lenient; it can be done early OR late. So don't throw
out too many sabaki-able attacks at a time.
REVERSALS
High reversal [b+P+K]
- reverses HP/HK/HC
Mid reversal [d/b+P+K]
- reverses MP/MK/MC/ME/SK/KN/KF
Low reversal [d+P+K]
- reverses LP/LK/LC
Ground reversal [P+K]
- reverses G, assuming they aren't the jumping type
TT high reversal [b+P+K]
- reverses HP/HK
TT mid reversal [d/b+P+K]
- reverses MP/MK
Aoi is hands-down the best reversal-based character in the game(Akira comes
in a close 2nd because he can't reverse crescent based attacks). In fact,
she can reverse rising kicks and sweeps, a big shock if you aren't used to
this fact. And she can also reverse Akira's ground punch, which is another
huge surprise if you aren't prepared for this. The good side is that most of
Aoi's reversals are fairly weak. Do beware that she can add on ground throws
for some of the reversals, so be prepared to struggle and get up. As long
as you aren't getting predictable doing the same attacks over and over, you
shouldn't have a big problem handling Aoi's reversal arsenal.
THROWS
Aiki throw[FC,f+P+G] Shiho nage[270+P+G] 2nd control throw[d/f+P+G]
In general, Aoi has a very good variety of throws, but they are still weak.
However, the fact that she has so many means that it will be very hard to
decide which one she's doing, which Aoi can obviously use to her advantage,
considering how her strikes aren't exactly that quick. 1st of all, her
aiki throw can combo into a ground throw, but on top of being able to escape
it, you can QR/TR it. When escaped, push for a throw/strike guessing game.
The shiho nage throw is escaped with b+P+G; it does 60 pts of damage, but
when escaped, enables you to push for the throw/strike guessing game. Finally,
the 2nd control throw does ok damage, but when escaped, the situation is
even.
Aoi can also mix up other throws too; her d/b+P+G throw is weak, but is also
a wall throw, and when escaped, Akira has a guarenteed throw. Her HCB+P+G
throw sets up a throw combo, but as long as you mash d+P+G to escape the followup,
Aoi won't be able to do the 3rd part of the multi-throw; even if she does
the b,u+P+G part, she won't be able to continue into the 3rd throw; just mash
and get up. If escaped(w/b+P+G) the situation is even. She has another 270+P+G
throw which is escaped by f+P+G; when escaped, press the throw/strike guessing
game. Also another f+P+G escape is the HCF+P+G throw which leaves Aoi even if
escaped. Finally, all the other throws I haven't discussed that can be escaped
with f+P+G enable Akira to push the throw/strike guessing game. She also has
a mini-TFT throw to switch sides; when escaped with b+P+G, you can push for
a throw/strike guessing game.
As for her low throws, they're fairly simple to figure out; d+P+K+G,d/b+P+K+G
DTE will escape ALL her low throws. Both throws when escaped enable you to
push for a throw/strike game. Of course, you still have to beware her side
low throw(escaped w/d+P+K+G).
Aoi also has a ground throw which actually does damage(although it's rather
pitiful, about the damage of the average character's pounce). Whenever you
touch the ground from a non-QR/TRable knockdown, struggle hard and get up
quick.
REV B MINOR COUNTERABILITY LIST
double punch, chop, elbow [P,P,f+P,P]
- high throw
elbow, chop [f+P,P]
- high throw
double stop [b,df+P]
- high throw
kick, mid kick [K,K]
- high throw
knee, kick [f+K,K]
- high throw
dashing elbow [FC,df+P]
- high throw
evading attack [u|d,P+K+G]
- high throw / P
retreating chop [b,b+P+K]
- high throw / P
chop, elbow [f+P+K,P]
- high throw / P
triple punch, knee [P,P,P,K]
- high throw / P
pounce [u+K+G]
- high throw / P / b,f+P / b,f,f+P+K
low kick [d+K]
- d+P / FC,b,f+P
triple punch, sweep [P,P,P,d+K]
- d+P / FC,b,f+P
sweep [d+K+G]
- d+P / FC,b,f+P / FC,f+P+K
*********
*10.Shun*
*********
OVERVIEW
Granted, from a far point of view, it appears that Shun has close to nothing;
very slow, very weak, and his throw variety is among the worst in the game.
However, Shun is a very good opponent; his slow speed is compensated by his
ability to move around the ring better than anyone else and that many of his
attacks can be cancelled into him falling down or doing weird stuff. His
strength actually varies depending on how drunk he is at the moment, and has
very good combobility. His throws are rather simple to figure out, but his
throws themselves are actually very formidable. There is one thing I'd like
to clear up; Shun isn't as unpredictable as he seems; he is unpredictable in
the sense that he has a lot of moves and all of them have very funky animations,
but he is not unpredictable in the sense that some of his moves start out
looking the same but end up hitting at different levels or present different
situations when they connect/are blocked(Lion comes to mind). Shun is one
of the characters who got beefed the most from VF3tb to VF4, alongside Sarah
and Akira, so some of his more worthless moves are more usable, and he has
new tricks he can do on you. Remember to take his short height into account,
as it will cause some of your mid-level attacks to whiff entirely when he
crouches. Your most important aspects to master against a good Shun player
are your option select and your yomi.
GENERAL STRATEGY
I simply can't tell you exactly what Shun does in general; unlike the other
characters, he relies on mixing it up as much as possible; predictability
is simply not an option for Shun. But the basic idea for any Shun player is
to dance around the ring with his various dodges and movements, occasionally
moving in to poke(amongst all things with PG, LP, low kick, f+P, sidekick and
a few other things), then to retreat and continue. Because of the nature of
Shun's attacks(they tend to evade right before hitting), Shun tends to play
defensively offensive, using his moves to counter your moves. And of course,
when Shun gets the chance, he will either throw or use his chowan uppercut
(or other combo starters such as FC,d/f+P, which causes stomach crumble on
MC). Early in a match, Shun will actually try to ignore combo oppurtunities
for drinking oppurtunities. It is important for Shun to get these
oppurtunities; when drunk, Shun gains more moves, his already available
moves get beefed up in some way, and his strength increases. What to say;
remember to use Akira's speed to your advantage; you want to bring this match
up close where Akira is naturally faster than Shun and where you can do your
work; don't let Shun control the match moving all around, and don't let
yourself get brain frozen by all his funky movements. A good option select
is a must for beating Shun; it will eliminate the majority of his mC'ing
tools.
Some tips:
Shun has one of the better low kicks in the game; huge range and decently
quick. It suits his purpose well too; as a good spacing tool and to force
opponents to block low into a chowan or other mid attacks that he possesses.
If you block it, buffer in a DblPm or ShRm.
Beware of Shun's standing low kick(d/b+K); deceptive as he is standing. On
a side note, once Shun gets drunk enough(I don't know the exact number, maybe
more than 25 DPs?), PPd+KK will be guarenteed as a true combo. Look for him
to cancel into the falldown option during the standing low kick and/or after
the canned high kick.
When Shun goes for his fall down cancel, he can be thrown or even struck as
he is falling; all contingent on how quickly you act of course.
In revision C, Shun's chowan uppercut was toned down. It hits special mid.
In fact, it's arguable that Shun is the worst character in VF4 rev C because
so many of his bread-and-butter mid moves hit special mid, anyways...
The chowan by itself is one of the game's best juggle starters; relatively
quick, relatively quick in recovery, and hits middle. Look for it to be
used in up-close situations. Remember that you can reverse it as a middle
punch. In revision C the canned backfist hits high, but in rev B, the
backfist hits middle. Look up a framestats list, because there are a couple
of more things that hit special mid in rev C.
Many of Shun's key moves are either slow in startup or slow in recovery if
blocked; look up some framestats.
Against a good Shun player, when he gets drunk, it's sorta outta your hands;
look for him to either drink after connecting a combo starting attack that
either floats you or puts you into a crumble stun(you might be at a slight
advantage if you QR/TR), or after the end of a round. If you find him
drinking when you're right in front of him, act quickly and do as you wish;
his sit-down drink option is rather slow to recover; you might have harder
success if he's doing the standing drink option. Of course, the best way for
Shun to drink is to throw you; look for that.
R-DTE is important to beating Shun's ability to mC you; keying in d/b+P+K,
P+G,d/f+P+G pretty much kills the possibility of him connecting his SE, his
dances w/punches, or his chowan. Of course, the good Shun player will also
fall back on irreversible attacks, but then you could always do G-DTE.
Short list of things that Akira can use to sober Shun if you feel he's too
drunk:
Overhead smash [b,d/f+P]: -1 DP
StPm [FS,b,f+P]: -2 DP
AS3 [d+K+G,f+K,b,f+P]: -1 DP
Parry, standing palm [b+P+K+G,f+P]: -2 DP
Pull-in throw, shoulder smash [f,b+P+G,f+P+K]: -1 DP
Grasping mind [d/b,f+P+G]: -1 DP
I feel it's unecessary to delve in Shun's options from his various stances;
they are fairly easy to figure out(not too many either), and with practice
you can predict what he's going to do(and I really don't consider his "stances"
to be stances, if you know what I mean). And you can always try to hit him
out of his stances; he can't block y'kno.
CIRCULAR ATTACKS
Knuckle [f+P]
- evade towards front
Backpush [d/b+P]
- evade towards back
Spinning low kick [d/b+K]
- evade towards back
Thrust punch [P+K]
- evade towards back
Low kick [D+K]
- evade towards back
Hopping spin kick [K+G]
- evade towards front
Handstand kicks(Handstand) [K]
- evade towards front
Thrust kick(Lying down) [K]
- evade towards back
Sweep(Lying down) [d+K]
- evade towards back
I find it especially useful to know the low kick, the spinning low kick, and the
various lying down kicks; those are used quite often.
THROWS
SE[d/f+P+G] Dances w/Punches[P+G]
This is why a good option select is so vital to beating Shun; his options for
his throws are so limited; DTE already kills BOTH of his most-used throws; TTE
as hard as it is eliminates ALL his throw options. Anyways, for his actual
throws, the SE is one of Shun's best options; his chowan is guarenteed afterward
giving him a chance to do a lot of damage from 1 throw, and even if he can't
connect the triple sweeps as often as before OTB due to the QR/TR, he can use
the SE to set up a free backstagger oppurtunity for even more damage; be on
the lookout for any sidekicks after you QR/TR. Shun may also use the SE to
setup his back P+G throw which also enables him to get drunk. I believe it
may still be guarenteed; just try to read and react; turn around quickly! For
his dances w/punches, this is Shun's main way to build his DPs(his safest way).
And as for your options after escaping his throws, they tend to all be even;
he is not at a disadvantage in any way.
While it is rare that Shun will use other throws, considering how small his
throw options are, he might; b,d/f+P+G requires some DPs to do; there is
nothing guarenteed afterward(I think). He may use the throws of his that
require a b+P+G to escape; b+P+G does decent damage, and 270+P+G does good
damage and builds Shun's drunken points, but requires at least 10 DPs to do.
Of course, he has his 3 catch throws that you need to beware of, but all are
fairly easy to see coming and hard to connect.
REV B MINOR COUNTERABILITY LIST
handstand kick [[HS] K]
- P
mule kick [u+K]
- high throw
double kick, low backfist, toekick [+16 DP, K,K,d+P,K]
- high throw
triple punch [P,P,P]
- high throw
uppercut, thrust punch [df+P,P]
- high throw / P
dodging cartwheel [u|d,P+K+G]
- high throw / P
cartwheel kick [f,f+K]
- high throw / P
spin kick [f+K]
- high throw / P
lunging uppercut [b,df+P]
- high throw / P
low kick, high kick [db+K,K]
- high throw / P / FC,f+P+K
old man palm [FC,df+P]
- high throw / P
triple drunken sweeps [+7 DP, d+K+G,K,K]
- d+P / FC,f+P+K
low kick [d+K]
- FC,f+P+K
*********
*11.Wolf*
*********
OVERVIEW
Wolf is in many ways similar to Jeffry; his combos and throws are painful, and
he can mix up his throws very well. However, he is slightly better than Jeffry
because he has more low level attacks, and a better midrange arsenal. Also
seems to be slightly faster. The tradeoff is that he doesn't have as many
attacks that cause crumble stuns. However, he still plays the same way as
Jeffry; find the advantage, then mix it up. A good poking game and option
select is a must against Wolf.
GENERAL STRATEGY
Wolf basically sticks with the atypical PG, comet hook(he doesn't have an
elbow, but this is his best stagger tool), LP and his throws. From there,
he adds float starters like the short shoulder and knee. In addition, he
can add his long range tools like f,d+K(which leads to a leg crumble), or
moves that have good priority. But of course, it'd be a waste of my time to
list every scenario and move that Wolf has and will use(there are quite a
couple). The main point is that Wolf needs to find the advantage before
he starts mixing up stuff, and your best advantage going for you is your
speed. Keep the pressure up close, keep out-poking him, and master your
option selects. Once momentum starts building for you, Wolf will find it
hard to recover.
Some tips:
Wolf's short shoulder could be one of the highest priority attacks in the
game; though not that fast and throw counterable if blocked, he ducks really
low during the initial animation, enabling him to interrupt so many attacks.
Beware of Wolf's pulling this one out as you are poking him.
Speaking of high priority moves, also beware his b+P; very fast, as well
as a couple others from the midrange space.
Wolf has a low hit throw sequence; PPf+Pd/b+P+K+G; luckily you can escape
it.
Wolf has a lot more hit throws that he can use; beware of the b+K+G-diamond
cutter sequence, and a few others.
Wolf's f,f+P clothesline is unblockable high, but can be ducked; not likely
that many will use this, but against a newbie, you may find this being used
a couple of times.
His run,P+K+G is unblockable high.
A large number of Wolf's attacks(specially his midrange arsenal of kicks)
leave him on the ground, so be ready with some ground attacks if he doesn't
move quickly(or just okizeme).
Wolf can do a shoulder ram feint; beware of this.
His dodge attack is crap, right up there with Lion's; it is a slow catch
throw, easily interruptable, and TR/QRable.
The majority of the time, Wolf will mC with his throws; he has a longer
throwing range than most, his strikes are rather slow, and his throws are
quite powerful, which all the more encourages him to throw.
Although I should be putting this in the throws section, this is useful to
know; Wolf's new 270+P+G throw can be TR'd, and on top of that, when you
do, you will recover BEFORE he does, giving you a huge chance to ream him.
Look up some framestats; it is helpful knowing which attacks leave Wolf
throw counterable or on the ground.
CIRCULAR ATTACKS
Screw shot [HCB+P]
- evade towards front
Sidekick [d/f+K]
- evade towards back
Grizzly Lariat [d/f+P+K]
- evade towards front
Ballet kick [f+K+G]
- evade towards back
Knee [f+K]
- evade towards front
I believe you can occasionally see the ballet kick and grizzly lariat used
the most of these attacks. The knee is also seen a lot.
REVERSALS
High kick reversal [b+P+K]
- reverses HK
Mid kick reversal [d/b+P+K]
- reverses MK/SK
Low punch reversal [d+P+K]
- reverses LP
I find that typically you don't have to worry about Wolf's reversals;
Akira almost NEVER uses any kicks, and he only uses the sidekick when he
wants to backstagger. The LP reversal though, you might want to beware; since
Akira uses the LP for poking, if you get too predictable, you could find yourself
eating a lot more of these than you expect, and when it does come out, it will
leave your back to Wolf; bad idea. However, just place emphasis on other
irreversible moves and mix it well.
THROWS
Giant swing[HCF+P+G] Wrist lock swing[HCB+P+G] Screwdriver[d/f,d/f+P+G]
Wolf really has it made when it comes to throwing; while the options aren't
as numerous as Jeffry's, it is much more painful making the wrong choice, as
he has at least 3 throws all with different command inputs and all do at least
70 points of damage(without possible QR/TRs of course). Of course, the top
priority throw escape is f+P+G; the giant swing is still the most powerful
throw in the game and rings you out far back big-time, but it's not hopeless
even if you can't escape; you can reduce the damage to about 60 pts if you
QR/TR. 2nd of all the wrist lock swing is also just as powerful, but throws
you forward a great distance. If you start getting thrown, immediately key in
P+G to repeatedly escape a possible followup P+G. You can also QR/TR either
of the two throws reduce damage. It is escaped with b+P+G, and when you do,
you can push for a throw/strike guessing game. Finally, the screwdriver also
does as much damage as the wrist lock swing, and can cancel into the
jackhammer(although you can escape it with P+G). If you do escape it, you
can counter with LP.
From there, Wolf doesn't really have any other standing throws with different
command inputs; he can do a b+P+G throw, but if escaped you can counter with LP.
He can do his body slam with d/f+P+G(and it's also a wall throw), but if escaped
he will end up down. He also has a 270+P+G throw(escaped with f+P+G), which does
as much damage as the giant swing, but it too is TRable(and gives you a free
hit), and when escaped situation is neutral.
His catch throws b,b+P+G and f+P+G both lead to a guessing game of either escaping
the followups with P+G, d/f+P+G, d/b+P+G, b+P+G, or f+P+G(whew!). If escaped you
pretty much don't have that much of an advantage or disadvantage; situation is
neutral. For the throw-combos that place you with a slight disadvantage to Wolf
(he'll push you away), I believe nothing's guarenteed, but you can never be too
sure; struggle hard and try to read and react. It's best to look up a FAQ and see
what throws I mean. He still has his frankensteiner, but you can easily duck it.
Finally, he has a last catch throw; f,f+P+G.
Now his low throws; d/f+P+K+G does the most damage(70 pts) and when escaped push
for a guessing game. If he adds another d/f the range gets larger but the damage
gets smaller; same situation if escaped. Next, the d/b+P+K+G also does good
damage, and situation is even if escaped. Finally, the d+P+K+G does ok damage,
and when escaped, push for a throw/strike guessing game.
Like Jeffry, Wolf has a throw at every angle(high, low, standing, crouching,
side, back); it is simply impossible to list all the possible throws he can
do(although I will say if you escape any of Wolf's standing side throws, he
is throw counterable). Learn when he will use his throws, and how to escape
them, as well as the situations you gain after you escape them; try a movelist.
To end, you should beware his ground throw; nothing's guarenteed(unless if you're
against the wall, giving Wolf a guarenteed throw oppurtunity), but obviously
he has the advantage; struggle hard when you are on the ground to avoid it(even
if no damage is caused, you are pushed back for RO distance), and when you do
get thrown by it, struggle hard to reduce the initiative time, then try to
read and react.
REV B MINOR COUNTERABILITY LIST
double punch, uppercut [P,P,P]
- high throw
body blow [f+P]
- high throw
body blow, slam [f+P,P]
- high throw / P / b,f+P
knee [f+K]
- high throw / P
sidekick [df+K]
- high throw / P
short shoulder [b,f+P+K]
- high throw / P
toe kick [b+K+G]
- high throw / P / FC,b,f+P
flying knee [f,f+K+G]
- high throw / P
leg drop [f,d+K]
- FC,f+P+K / SPoD
grizzly lariat [df+P+K]
- d+P/ FC,f+P+K / SPoD
**********
*12.Sarah*
**********
OVERVIEW
Sarah remains a fairly flat character in VF. She was definitely beefed from
the transition to VF4(as a Sarah user, that's something I like), but in general,
she is fairly simple to figure out. As usual, she is fast, and possess good
combobility, but what I think her greatest asset comes from is the ability to
play at nearly any distance the best compared to others; she has one of the
best midrange games in VF. Add to that her new Flamingo stance which gives her
access to almost a move for every situation, and you have to agree, she is
better now. But all in all, Sarah still remains a rather low-mid tiered
character because of a couple reasons; she doesn't have a good low level
arsenal, she is somewhat weak(compensated by her combobility), her throws don't
do too much damage(compensated by the fact that almost none can be QR/TR'd),
she is very predictable(although she has very good variety), and most importantly,
she is so friggin light. And it's not just that fact that she's light, it's the
fact that she is also much taller compared to most of the female characters as
well as being somewhat big-footed(see ukguy's TFT combos in his Kage FAQ if you
want to know why) which leads her to be so easy to combo.
GENERAL STRATEGY
In close range, Sarah sticks to the atypical PG, elbow, and LP poking game as
well as mixing in throws and juggle starters(knee and DC, both which are
highly counterable). When Sarah does her elbow, beware of her delaying a
knee or doing the followup chop to keep initiative. When she gets to midrange(
she is probably best at playing machi IMO), expect to see punt kicks, toe
kicks, and a variety of other kicks thrown in here and there; don't try to
reverse too much or you'll eat the full spin dive and a followup combo. Although
she has a lotta tools to use, she's rather easy to figure out like I've said.
Because her Flamingo stance is so good, expect Sarah to try to use the moves to
go into Flamingo a lot. To be good against Sarah, try to keep her from getting
into Flamingo. Also, because she can be quite predictable, if it gets to that,
you have your reversals/sabaki/parry, so use those. Just remember not to crouch
too long; she has an excellant mid-level arsenal. There's not much to learn about
Sarah; just know what's counterable and what's not. Get her into the air and
combo her; m-ShRm, PG, m-ShRm, m-DblPm rapes lightweights like her.
Some tips:
Like I've said before, Sarah can delay a couple of her canned strings; they
include the elbow-chop, elbow-knee, punt kick-side kick, and toe kick-punt kick.
Beware of pushing the initiative too hard after the 1st hit of all these attacks.
Her moonsault is slow; just beware of Sarah carefully mixing it in to get you
at times.
If you block the chop, the followup kick can be crouch dashed under. The chop
can be ducked.
Sarah has the fastest punch in the game; expect to be countered the most with
punches with her more than anyone else. If you ever block her triple punches,
you can throw her. She has the best punching strings in the game, so expect
to see a lot of mixing up here; look for the punch-sidekick if you crouch under
the punch too much.
Although she has no low reversal, her u+K+G can make a decent substitute; beware
of the said move if you LP too much.
The majority of Sarah's moves, including the key ones are very much counterable;
just beware of max-ranged toe kicks and punt kicks; hard to counter.
FLAMINGO STANCE
Like I've said, Sarah has the best stance in the game; she can do everything
from this stance, except sidestep. Amongst the things to expect, her triple
high kick flowcharts should be taken note of the most. And her low kick-hit
throw. She can also inashi LPs from this stance, so beware of that. Her
sidekick from Flamingo is also very good, as her kickflip. What else, her
dodging roundhouse. And oh yeah, she can still do her moonsault. Finally,
she has 2 catch throws to beware of. It's really impossible for me to list
everything Sarah can do from Flamingo; she pretty much can do everything save
for a reliable juggle combo starter; best to look up a Sarah guide to see
what Sarah can do from Flamingo. And oh yeah, most of Sarah's moves that bring
her into Flamingo tend to leave her with the initiative, making it hard to hit
her out once she tries to get into Flamingo. Again, I repeat; study and learn.
CIRCULAR ATTACKS
Chop [d/f+P]
- evade towards back
Low kick[D+K]
- evade towards back
Hopping crescent [u+K+G]
- evade towards back
Hopping spin kick [f+K+G]
- evade towards back
Tornado kick [u/f+K+G]
- evade towards back
Crash tornado [FC,K+G]
- evade towards front
Flamingo kick(Flamingo stance) [K]
- evade towards front
Knee [f+K]
- evade towards front
Most noteworthy to learn to evade are the hopping crescent, the flamingo kick,
and the knee. It's possible that the DC could catch you as you dodge since
it's slow on startup. The crescent could catch you as you dodge, but it's
slow on recovery if blocked.
SABAKIS
Inside crescent [P+K]
- sabakis HP/HE/HK/MP/ME/MK
Sarah has a fairly great sabaki; it will sabaki all high and mid attacks
except for knees and kickflips(both of which Akira either doesn't have or
doesn't rely on). However, the timing to do the sabaki is somewhat strict and
much like a reversal where you need to anticipate and do the attack early
(the timing needs to be done rather early against the said attacks), so if
the Sarah player doesn't have the timing down right, then just go berzerk. Try
not to get too predictable; either mix in LPs or non-reversible attacks to keep
Sarah from being able to use her sabaki. Keep in mind that even if blocked,
Sarah has an initiative and even worse, this brings her into Flamingo stance, so
be ready to defend against her Flamingo followups.
REVERSALS
Low inashi(Flamingo) [P+K]
- inashis LP
While Sarah doesn't have the ability to guard low from Flamingo, she can parry
any LP attempts you do, then follow up with free combos. So don't LP too much
when Sarah's in Flamingo; just enough to keep her honest. Or mix up your low
kicks.
THROWS
Jumping suplex[f,d/b+P+G] Leg hold takedown[b,f+P+G] Triple knee bash[b+P+G]
These are Sarah's best throws; although most of them are fairly weak, they are
made up by the fact that all of throw damage is un-QR/TR-able. The jumping
suplex(d/b+P+G) is Sarah's best throw; with the guarenteed ground kick, it gets
her around 60 points, reverses the ring, and if escaped, Sarah is safe(but you
can press the attack). Her next best throw would be the leg hold takedown; it
does good damage too(55 pts) and reverses the ring. However, if escaped, Sarah
leaves her side open to Akira. Her triple knee bash does decent damage, pushes
the opponent slightly back, if escaped Sarah is at a disadvantage(press the
attack), and when done as a wall throw, gets HUGE amounts of damage.
From there, Sarah doesn't really have any other throws to worry about. The only
other command throw that can be escaped besides the P+G is the jumping clothesline,
which is escaped much like the leg hold takedown. However, Sarah has 3 catch
throws to worry about; her neckbreaker[u/f+P+G] is slow, but tracks decently and
does good damage, also seems to have good range. Then she has 2 catch throws
from Flamingo; the P+G you don't have to worry about, but the kick tornado[270+P+G]
will do huge damage; 60 pts, has good range although it starts up slowly, plus it
looks demoralizing to get hit by that.
REV B MINOR COUNTERABILITY LIST
triple punch #1 [P,P,P]
- high throw
triple punch #2 [P,P,b+P]
- high throw
triple punch #3 [P,P,u+P]
- high throw
dashing knee [f,f+K]
- high throw
punt kick [d+K]
- high throw
double rising knee [FC,f+K,K]
- high throw / P / b,f+P
punt kick, sidekick [d+K,K]
- high throw / P
knee [f+K]
- high throw / P
evading side kick [u|d,P+K+G]
- high throw / P / b,f+P
dragon cannon [db+K]
- high throw / P / b,f+P
elbow, knee [f+P,K]
- high throw / P / SPoD
shin slicer [d+K+G]
- FC,b,f+P
sweep [df+K+G]
- FC,f+P+K
**********
*13.Akira*
**********
OVERVIEW
In short, it is pretty redundant to point out everything that has been
said; you know how Akira plays, what moves can be dodged, what reversals
and sabakis he possesses, and the throws he will go for. Given how Akira
is basically a powerhouse, I can only list the counterable things below
and wish you luck; it's powerhouse vs. powerhouse, and these types of
matches tend to test who is a better player.
REV B MINOR COUNTERABILITY LIST
double punch [P,P]
- high throw
single jump kick [f,f+K]
- high throw
double jump kick [f,f+K,K]
- high throw
knee [K+G]
- high throw
shoulder ram [FC,f+P+K]
- high throw
double palm [FC,b,f+P]
- high throw / P
standing shoulder [df+P+K+G]
- high throw
standing shoulder, power elbow [df+P+K+G,P]
- high throw / P / b,f+P
bodycheck [b,f,f+P+K]
- high throw / P / QCB+P
evading bodycheck [u|d,P+K+G]
- high throw / P / b,f+P
power fist [b,f+P+K+G]
- high throw / P / b,f+P
break guard (on hit, not stagger) [f+P+G]
- high throw
break stance (on hit, not stagger) [d+P+G]
- high throw
yoho [df,df+P]
- high throw / P
stun palm [P+K+G]
- high throw / P / b,f+P
pull-in throw, shoulder [f,b+P+G,P+K]
- high throw
pull-in throw, reverse body check #1 [f,b+P+G,u+P+K]
- high throw
pull-in throw, reverse body check #2 [f,b+P+G,d+P+K]
- high throw
**********
*14.Dural*
**********
OVERVIEW
Eh, can't really say anything here, nobody put any framestats out for Dural or
any general strats with her; obviously you know she's a canned string freak.
Concentrate on landing attacks that cause crumble stuns instead of juggling her
directly; she's heavy. That's all I have to say.
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|5 R R E V V I SS S I O O NN N SS S|
|555 RRR EEE V V I SS I O O N NN SSS |
| 5 R R E V V I S SS I O O N N S SS|
|555 o R R EEE V III SSS III OOO N N SSS |
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Version 0.1 January 17, 2002.
Started writing this FAQ.
Version 0.2 January 18, 2002.
Added movelist, storyline, why choose Akira.
Version 0.3 January 20, 2002.
Added general moves.
Version 0.4 January 24, 2002.
Began the long analysis of Akira's moves.
Version 0.5 January 28, 2002.
Continued the analysis of Akira's moves.
Version 0.6 February 4, 2002.
Finished the analysis of Akira's moves. Started on the general strategy section.
Version 0.7 February 6, 2002.
Continued the general strategy section.
Version 0.8 February 15, 2002.
Continued the general strategy section.
Version 0.9 February 18, 2002.
Finished the general strategy section.
Version 1.0 February 20, 2002.
Added some combos, will continue to add more.
Version 1.1 February 24, 2002.
Started on the character specific strategies.
Version 1.2 April 1, 2002.
Finished all the character specific strategies(no, it ain't no April Fools Joke).
Version 1.3 April 4, 2002.
More revisions, from advice from VF.com forum member MisterWhite.
Version 1.4 April 12, 2002.
Moved the option select section to a section all its own, due to the idea that
it is VERY important in VF4 to becoming competent. Also gave a LOT more people
in the credits part well, credits for what they helped to contribute.
Version 1.5 April 17, 2002.
After Weili Huang corrected me on Hakkyoku-ken's history, I decided to paraphrase
his post and to stick it in, thanks man.
Version 1.6 April 23, 2002.
SummErs helped edit a couple of anti-Jacky snippets for me this time around.
In addition, I added/edited some of the existing stuff around the FAQ. Plus,
I ADDED A NEW MISC SECTION CALLED THE SHINZ STEP! WHOOHEEE!
Version 1.7 May 2, 2002.
Tiny little correction that I did; some of the ascii art titles were incorrect.
Also, *smack* I can't believe I forgot to credit uk-guy, because I did use his
Kage FAQ to write the anti-Kage section. A couple of his posts helped me to add
some new stuff here: new low kick tidbit, and some additions to Lau's and Wolf's
anti-character strategies. What else, changed the ShinZ step section to be called
the CD cancel section. Added more on Akira's martial art.
Version 1.8 May 13, 2002.
Lesse, I learned a new option select from Myke, which I have put down in the
option select section. SummErs also critiqued my anti-Pai strats, and this is
reflected in the new strats.
Version 1.9 May 17, 2002.
BIG update; uk-guy gave me advice on fighting Kage, and gave me pretty much new
advice on almost ALL of Akira's attacks. SummErs gave me hints on fighting Pai,
and you can see the revised section as well.
Version 2.0 June 24, 2002.
Another update; uk-guy never fails to aid me in improving my FAQ. When he sent
me a rough of his vs Kage guide, it helped me to revise a couple of sections of
my FAQ. First of all, some of the move descriptions have been revised here and
there. I have also reorganized the combo section; I pushed the staple combos to
the front, as well as added some new combos. There were also tiny revisions to
the general strategies section, and elsewhere in the FAQ(too minute to remember).
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|6 6 I N N C C L O O S SS I N N G G|
| 666 o III N N CCC LLL OOO SSS III N N GGG |
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Well, that ended my 1st VF4 FAQ; a lot of the info came from the sources on VF.com
and VP.com. I hoped this VF4 Akira FAQ helped those who started playing VF4.
Of course, people who own PS2s could always look up the trial mode for help, but
for the newbie who got intrigued because maybe he saw 2 veteran VFers going at
it at an arcade and got interested that high-level competition existed in such
an unknown game in the US, that's what this FAQ is for. Hoped it helped you.
Hey, it might even encourage people to pick up VF4 a lot more in the US.
If you want to know, this is my opinion of the tiering for VF4:
Version B:
1st tier: Akira
2nd tier: Jacky Lau
3rd tier: Shun Wolf Jeffry
4th tier: Kage Sarah Lion Lei Vanessa
5th tier: Aoi
6th tier: Pai
Version C:
1st tier: Akira Jacky
2nd tier: Lau
3rd tier: Kage Wolf Jeffry
4th tier: Sarah Lion Lei Vanessa
5th tier: Aoi Pai
6th tier: Shun
Am I going to write any more FAQs? Depends on my motivation and time; Robryt
already wrote a good Sarah FAQ, so scratch that; Hyun did a good Lau FAQ, so
I think I'd just back him. Those 2 characters were alongside Akira my fave
characters(which was why I was thinking of writing FAQs for them). However,
there is still a lack of a good Jacky FAQ, so I'm thinking of that(but haven't
decided), as he is a mainstream character and many scrubs are quick to say he's
cheap.
To beginners who have just begun VF4, I'd like to say, you made a very good
choice; VF4 is arguably the best fighting game as of right now. However, VF4
was made to be a competitive arcade fighting game with joysticks, so if you
own the PS2 version, that's great, but you should get a joystick and some
friends to compete against; just playing the Kumite mode is fun, but the real
fun of the game comes from playing against others and getting good.
To the FAQ writers of VF4(this targets the ones who write 4-line long strategies
and cut-and-pasted movelists): please do a better job of writing a FAQ than
that. Seriously; anyone can get a movelist off the internet, and it doesn't
even have to come from Gamefaqs.com(see credits). And the strategies in some
of those FAQs are pretty laughable, not only because they're vague, but some
of them are just plain wrong. I won't mention any names, but obviously you can
do better than that.
To those Tekkeners who just have started VF4, and think that it sucks. Open
your mind; if you go into VF4 thinking that it's a copy of Tekken and play it
that way, of course it's not going to satisfy your requirements; start over
with a fresh slate. VF4 is designed that you need to really know what you're
doing in order to win. You don't poke the opponent to death; you take note
of the moves you're using, and the initiative frames you often lose after
connecting the move, then implement the correct option select, and so forth.
And don't think that you can master the game in 2 weeks; it takes a ton of
time to master the game. And last words; VF4 is not more masher friendly!
Due to the throw counterability of moves, mashing is almost unexistant in VF4.
VF4 is honestly so much more deeper than TK4; if you don't like the game, you
haven't given it enough thought.
Is anything really cheap? I bring up this topic because scrubs always are
quick to label something they can't beat as being cheap. I will say, only 1%
of fighting game tactics are truly cheap. Something isn't cheap if it has a
counter to it or a way to prevent it; examples? Akira's StDblPm, and his ShRm
combos; sure, these have the potential to do horrendous damage, but in the same
vein they either have terrible execution speed or recovery, justifying their
damage potential. And throws are most definitely not cheap; it takes just as
much skill to escape a throw as it is to connect one. So think before you call
anything cheap. Don't be like some of the scrubs I encounter online who rant
"throwing is cheap!" or "Jacky is so cheap, he's so brainless to play!" For
the most part, scrubs would rather label something as being cheap rather than
learn how to counter it.
To those of you who want to e-mail me.
-I need feedback, plain and simple! Please do that! Anything's helpful, from
criticisms(if you're polite about it) to tips, I'll accept it! I try to give
credit where it's due as well, so don't worry about me throwing something in and
not giving you credit for it.
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Peter: Hey look Brian I won a free Audi!
Brian: No, no, Peter, that's a "T"; it says audit
Peter: No, no, it's a foreign language; the "T" is silent!
Ah, gotta love Family Guy; brings a nice dose of stupidity to life, and what would
life be without a little comedy?
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