VF4 / Jacky [ print friendly ] [ normal view ] Jacky Quick Start Guide
Written by CreeD
INTRODUCTION This guide is for VF4 version C (the current PS2 version) Some of it will apply to Evo, and some will not. I welcome any additions from people who play evo regularly, and if I can get more evo play, I'll figure out how to add evo tricks.
CONTENTS - I. MOVELIST
- A. Top Tier Moves
- B. Second Tier Moves
- C. Third Tier Moves
- II. OFFENSIVE STRATEGIES
- III. DEFENSIVE STRATEGIES
- IV. COMBOS
- A. PRACTICAL
- B. IDEAL
- V. QR/TR SYSTEM
- A. SETTING UP BACKSTAGGERS
- B. BACKSTAGGER COMBOS
---------- Movelist (sorted by usefulness, roughly) ----------
Top tier moves (Punch, Low Punch, Elbow, Throw)
JAB/HIGH PUNCH [command] (or +) [exe] 12 [guard] +1 (-1 far) [MC] +9 [damage] 12 pts.
Strategy: The jab is used to set up guessing games. In a neutral situation, the opponent can stop any attack or throw in the game with either a high punch or a low punch. They can also get out of throws or mid attacks by using fuzzy guarding. Your goal when using a jab should be to stun them a tiny bit. This small stun guarantees that if they try to attack with a quick high or low punch, the attack will come out too late to beat jacky's + or knee. ...Also, if the opponent is stunned sufficiently, holding down on the stick won't be enough for them to be able to duck a throw. Basically a successful jab sets up a 50/50 guessing game for jacky: Attack or throw.
Jab tricks:
- jab --> throw. It takes eight frames to throw, and a MC jab stuns the
opponent for 9 frames. A throw isn't guaranteed (they can attack you out of it) but punch-->throw happens so quickly, it often works because they don't react in time. The same thing works if you use a jab as a guaranteed counter to a blocked attack: If you have a guaranteed jab, you also have a guaranteed throw. An opponent who knows that might be expecting you to throw, and they'll be entering throw escapes to get out of that throw. By doing jab-->throw, you will screw up their escape timing and get the throw anyway.
- jab --> elbow. This is a strong flowchart. It's like doing your fastest
attack immediately followed by your second-fastest attack. Generally, even if the jab is guarded, the elbow will interrupt any attack the opponent tries to do after your jab. This is a safe way to poke and encourages the opponent to block after they see a jab (which means you can start mixing in jab --> throw)
- jab --> beatknuckle or knee. This is the other half of the 50/50 guessing
game I referred to. If you eat a jab (either as an interrupt, or as a guaranteed counter to a blocked move) you are stunned long enough that jacky can do a slow attack like +, or +... and your high punch/low punch can't come out in time to stuff it. On the other hand, if you don't attack right away, you leave yourself open to the jab --> throw trick.
- P and PP canned combos. Jacky has awesome built-in options after one or two
punches... he can hit at any level, and some of the attacks are quite good. After punch, you can perform a quick sweep with d+K which is a fairly safe way to irritate people into guarding low. After two punches you can go into f+P vs. people who like to crouch, or poke with d+K vs people who always guard high, or use u+P vs spastic opponents who try to low punch right away after seeing PP. If the opponent is very defensive, you can go into all the elbow combo variations (PP,elbow,backfist,sweep for example) or you can push them back with P,P,b+P,K. You can also gamble with PPf+K, hoping the small delay between the second punch and the knee tricks them into eating it. For the most part, the mixups are fair. If the opponent always guards high, they can only take a little damage from P,d+K or PP,d+K. However they may fall for P,P --> throw if they always guard high.
- +jab --> if you hold forward on the stick while pressing P, you get a longer range
jab, and it's a little stronger (it always has +1 advantage if blocked). Also, some combos require you to do the long range jab. So get in this habit.
LOW PUNCH [command] + [exe] 12 [guard] -4 [MC] +5 [damage] 12 pts.
Strategy: This is better than a jab because it's a low attack instead of a high one. A high punch can be beaten by any low attack, and by some other attacks that make you duck during the animation. A low punch doesn't have this vulnerability. In a high punch vs. low punch situation, the low punch wins. As a result, even though high punch is a great move with better stats and less risk than the low punch, low punch gets used more often. It should be said that some moves will always crush low punches. So you can't get away with low punch every time.
Low punch tricks:
- low punch --> throw. If I had to name the single best "trick" or strategy in
VF4, this is it. You're using the fastest attack in the game (pretty much) to stun the opponent, and low punch's speed and the fact that it hits low means it has priority over almost everything. It gives you +5 frames advantage, and if the opponent doesn't react right away with an attack, your throw will succeed. If they DO keep somehow beating the throw, you can mix this up with stuff like low punch --> knee or low punch --> elbow.
- low punch --> dodge. After a low punch, the opponent is frequently tempted
to attack in order to regain the advantage. Often they will attack with their own low punch. So if you do a low punch, dodge (or even low punch, back dash.. or low punch, backwards crouch dash) ...it will avoid that counterattack and allow you to nail them during their attack recovery. So use low punch as bait and then find a way to make the opponent's attack whiff.
- low punch --> FC uppercut. If a low punch interrupts their attack, an
uppercut (FC, +) will beat any attack they try. If you successfully interrupt their attack, the uppercut produces a heavy stagger which virtually guarantees a nice +,, combo. If they decided to block, Jacky's uppercut has very safe recovery.
ELBOW [command] + [exe] 14 [guard] -5 [MC] +8 [damage] 19 pts.
Strategy: Elbow is one of the best blends of risk and reward in the game. It has the potential to stun the opponent for 8 frames or stagger them, it hits both standing and ducking opponents, it's fast enough to beat everything except a high or low punch...yet it's very safe if blocked. The elbow is best used in situations where the opponent has just a tiny disadvantage - such as when they just had a safe move like their low punch blocked. In those situations, an elbow comes out before any attack the opponent can try, and it's a very strong way to stuff predictable low punches.
Elbow tricks:
- elbow stagger --> throw. If the elbow hits a crouching opponent, it will
cause them to stagger backwards, which gives you a lot of initiative. You can throw the opponent as soon as their stagger animation ends, and the only way they can prevent this is by struggling to recover fully and then attacking you before your 8-frame throw finishes executing. If they prove they can do that successfully, mix up elbow stagger --> throw with elbow stagger --> knee. ---If you want a small amount of safe, guaranteed damage.. you can watch for the elbow stagger and then simply tap K when you see you got it. The kick comes out fast enough to hit them while they're still staggering.
- elbow --> throw. A MC elbow stuns for eight frames, and a throw comes out in
eight frames. Your opponent must use an attack to stuff the throw, and by attacking they risk getting interrupted by a combo starter like jacky's beat knuckle or knee. This is the exact same 50/50 guessing game as listed above for MC jabs.
- elbow, backfist (+,). This is a great canned elbow combo, maybe the best
in the game. The second hit is a fast "special high" which means the opponent must duck under it in order to get guaranteed punishment against jacky (and even then, they barely have time to throw him). If they try to low punch after the elbow, the backfist crushes it (and any other attack). If they block both hits, jacky is relatively safe. Abuse the crap out of this move until the opponent proves they know how to deal with it, and then start being more cautious with it. You can also occasionally do +,,+ to catch people trying to punish jacky after the first two hits.
- elbow stagger --> b,f+K+G. This works because after an elbow stagger, people
like to recover and low punch or dodge. b,f+K+G is one of those rare attacks that can beat BOTH options.
THROWS
Sadistic Hanging Knee ++ (65 points)
Jacky's best throw... it inflicts the most damage and has a convenient command, which means that you can easily crouch dash into it. Some stuff to keep in mind when using it:
- It can be tech rolled, which means that you can play tech roll mindgames afterwards.
If the opponent fails to tech roll, you have a chance for at least a ground kick. That's 78 points of damage total, which is very close to the maximum throw damage you'll see in VF. Lazy opponents and average players may eat an + pounce if they fail to TR.
- Using the built in crouch dash allows Jacky to zoom in from halfway across the screen
with this throw, the risk is that if you delay the second for too long before pressing +, you will zoom in and do a weak + throw.
- This is a great throw to use after elbow staggers, since an elbow stagger sometimes
pushes the opponent a little too far away for an immediate throw.
Trip'n'Hammer ++ (60 points)
Jacky's second best throw, and the most popular throw because of its simple motion. Damage is better than average. Trip'n'Hammer basics:
- If you dash into this throw, all you really need to do is enter ++.
In that sense, dashing into this throw is as easy as dashing into a ++ throw.
- When you finish the throw, the opponent cannot TR and you can play wakeup guessing
games. Expert players may prefer this throw because you have a much bigger advantage against a grounded opponent than you do against someone who TR/QRs.
- If you're in a crouch and need a quick throw, this is the best to use. You need to
only move the lever twice to do this throw from a crouch: once to forward, once to back. If you want to enter the throw command, you need to go from a crouch to neutral, then back to , then back to neutral, then back to . That means entering the trip'n'hammer is just a tiny bit faster than entering a sadistic hanging knee. That slight difference in speed could matter in situations where you barely reacted in time to throw.
- You will be open stance after this throw no matter what. If you prefer closed stance
or want to switch Jacky's foot position for his , combo, press P+K+G after this throw.
Clothesline ++ (40 points)
We suddenly go from killer throws to a pretty crappy throw. This throw is only average damage and leaves Jacky grounded, which means he has no way to pressure the opponent afterwards. However, good opponents will break Jacky's best throws and this is one you can use that they're unlikely to break. If by some miracle they do break it, Jacky is grounded and might even eat a ground attack. Strategies:
- This turns into a killer throw if the opponent's back is to the wall. The clothesline
wall throw does 65 points of damage and leaves Jacky in a pretty good position.
- This throw reverses the ring (switches your position with your opponent's) even if it's
escaped... however if your back is at the edge of the ring and you use this throw, you lose any chance to turn the tables on the opponent, they can roll to safety afterwards while you're still struggling to get up. The trip'n'hammer is better in these situations.
One Inch Punch + (25 points)
If Jacky's clothesline is his third best throw, this is definitely fourth best. It guarantees a ground kick which brings the damage up to 38, almost the same as the clothesline and you get to pressure the opponent while they're down. It's also a different command from any other three throws. Strategies:
- Use it any time you just want quick surefire damage against an opponent who is very
good at escaping throws. This is rarely escaped.
- If you use the ground kick after this throw, you lose a little time to position
yourself for okizeme (pressuring the downed opponent). You may prefer to forego the ground kick and instead try to hurt the opponent for trying a rising attack.. for example, you can hold and to hop over the opponent's fallen body, and if they try a rising attack right away you can connect with a backturned + into their back. This sets up a very damaging combo for you. You can also try sticking close to the opponent and attempting to interrupt their rising kick with a knee for a damaging float combo.
Northern Light Bomb ++ (40 points)
This is Jacky's worst throw because it has the same throw escape motion as his best throw. That means if the opponent is doing throw escapes for Jacky's ++ and you try this throw instead, they still escape, and what's worse Jacky ends up grounded and they end up standing. The opponent can get a ground attack on you and pressure you while you get up. Beyond all that it's only average damage with no okizeme potential, there's no reason to ever use this when you could use a sadistic hanging knee instead. Strategy: Don't use it.
Side throw + (40 points)
Use it. Nothing executes as fast as a side throw, so if you dodge a quick attack and end up at the opponent's side, there's no guarantee you'll be able to do any better than this throw (the damage is actually 53 points after you take your guaranteed ground kick)
Back throw + (50 points)
As back throws go this is pretty crappy, average damage. If you can connect a knee combo or something else on the opponent's backside, you'll get a much nicer reward. In some situations, you may want to try a fast 8 frame back throw instead of a slow 17 frame knee.
General Throw Strategy: There's so much that goes into the VF4 throw game I could never outline it all in a quick faq. I'll try to hit the important stuff.
#1. After blocking some attacks, a throw is guaranteed. You can't eyeball the opponent's attack and "guess" whether or not it has bad recovery, you just have to know which common attacks are throwable if blocked, and which are not. Some general rules for what's throwable:- if a move starts a float combo, it's usually throwable.
- if a canned combo that is three hits or more, you can often throw after
blocking it.
- a lot of basic combos are throwable if blocked.
- if a move does a ton of damage, it's usually throwable if blocked.
- if a move leaves the opponent sort-of-on-the-ground but not technically
grounded (i.e. they can't choose how to get back up), you can throw. For example kage's +++ causes him to land on his ass and get up slowly. Pai's +, leaves her in a splits position on the floor, jeffry's missed pounce leaves him facedown on the floor, etc.
Key things to remember when throwing after blocking an attack:- The move must have -8 recovery or worse. Check VFDC's movelists to see
recovery frames.
- The move must recover close enough to throw. Lion's ++ is not throwable.
Akira's double palm LOOKS too far away to throw, but actually is throwable.
- Some moves are hard to throw because they're only -8 or -9 recovery. Akira's
knee is a good example. So is jacky's sidekick. You need good reflexes to throw these before the opponent can recover and attack you.
- Even if you get the timing for throwing blocked moves, you need to mix up
your throws. All of jacky's throws can be escaped, and your opponent is allowed to enter 2 or 3 escape commands during the recovery of his move. So don't do a predictable throw like ,++ every time. Mix throws often.
- If your opponent proves pretty good at escaping throws, you can use a big
attack instead and crush them during their throw escape attempts. If this seems too risky and unreliable for you, you can use the safe and fairly reliable P-->throw trick outlined earlier.
#2. After jacky's inashi reversal into backfist, a throw is guaranteed.
Keep the stick at neutral to reverse high and mid punches, then press immediately after catching the opponent's punch. Jacky does a backfist to their face which stuns them. During this stun, jacky can do any throw he wants. Usually you are NOT allowed to throw the opponent during their hit stun, but this is a rare exception. Remember to use an unpredictable throw here, the opponent has a lot of time to see it coming.
#3. After some attacks MC, you have a lot of initiative and can throw.
After an interrupt from a high punch, low punch, or elbow.. a throw is not guaranteed, but it's a good gamble. The opponent needs to have reflexes and well-trained reactions to avoid a throw in these situations. And if they prove they can get out of throws here, you can mix it up by using knees or +, combos instead.
#4. Brain throws.
Some throws work just by virtue of people being predictable. A large portion of the population of the USA will guard high if you successfully block their sweep or any other low attack. Some of them will dodge. Either way, a throw will win. They must break their own mental habits in order to stop eating these throws. It's also effective to condition the opponent so that they expect to see a certain pattern, then break that pattern by throwing. For example jacky does a puntkick and the opponent is staggered. Jacky dashes forward and the opponent spazzes and does a low punch when they recover. Jacky puntkicks again and crushes the low punch. Now when jacky dashes forward, the opponent thinks "I'd better guard this time"... that's the perfect time to try a throw. Another common flowchart: Low punch, uppercut... low punch, uppercut.. they get used to seeing it, so they guard after every low punch. Now do low punch, throw. You get the idea.
---------- Second tier moves (FC uppercut, beatknuckle-backfist, puntkick, hook combo, heel sword, knee, middle spinkick, dodge attack) ----------
FC UPPERCUT [command] FC,+ [exe] 15 [guard] -3 [MC] NA [damage] 22 pts.
Strategy: This quick uppercut starts a near-guaranteed combo for jacky. If it interrupts the opponent's attack, they are knocked backwards onto their ass in a heavy stagger animation. From here, jacky can connect with a very reliable +,,. The best part? It's faster and safer than the knee or beat knuckle. The reward for a successful combo is 22(times 1.5) + 15 + 10 + 14 which is 72 points. That's quite a bit of damage for a move that's only -3 when blocked.
FC Upper tricks:
- If you go into the elbow combo right away after this move staggers, the elbow might
whiff if the opponent doesn't struggle. You can handle this 2 ways: Dash a tiny bit and then elbow, which is still hard to struggle out of, or gamble on a big move like a knee (hoping the opponent is intentionally not struggling at all). I think the half dash is the best, safest bet.
- On a normal hit, Jacky is +2 frames, which means an elbow will stuff the opponent's
low punch (or any other attack). So if you ever hit with this move without getting the stagger, an elbow is a pretty good idea anyway. The only way to avoid that elbow is for the opponent to dodge or guard, which means you can start mixing up throws.
BEAT KNUCKLE, BACKFIST [command] +, [exe] 16 [guard] -6 [MC] NA [damage] 20+12 pts.
Strategy: This two hit canned combo starts simple float combos, and the damage from these combos is pretty good.
Standard combos: -+, -> ++ -> + (ground kick).. misses against akira, wolf, or jeffry. [68 pts] -+, -> -> ,+ ...won't work vs. wolf or jeff, skip the punch vs. them. [67 pts]
The sequence is also kind of safe if blocked - the opponent has no guaranteed counterattack, though jacky will have to guess right to avoid punishment. Usually if a move starts a combo and is safe if blocked, there has to be a catch.. and there is. Two catches, actually - 1. Despite the swift animation, the beat knuckle is a relatively slow attack (16 frames). The opponent's punch is usually 12 frames, so jacky needs quite a bit of initiative for a beat knuckle to stuff a jab/low punch. 2. The opponent can duck or do a low attack between the first and second hit. If they haven't trained their reflexes, most of them will just block.. but smart opponents will duck under the backfist and throw jacky, or even dodge it. Beatknuckle-backfist tricks:
- blocked elbow-backdash-+,. Learned this from blonde-one. After a
blocked elbow, jacky can simply back dash for a half step and avoid most kinds of retaliation... a punch, a low punch, an elbow... then if he cuts loose with an immediate beat knuckle, he can catch the opponent during the recovery of their whiffed attack.
- +(hits)-backdash-+,. Works on the same principle as the above trick.
- +(MC)-+,. The + stuns the opponent for 5 frames, so by
the time they can execute a low punch, jacky's beatknuckle has already arrived and smacks them out of it. That's assuming they have trained themselves to react to low punch with their own low punch. A lot of opponents just freeze (see the low punch section).
PUNTKICK [command] + [exe] 16 [guard] -10 [MC] NA (stagger) [damage] 30 pts.
Strategy: This evil move causes a hefty 22% damage on MC, aaand causes the opponent to stumble on their ass. The stumble animation is automatic with or without a counter. The opponent can struggle out of most followups easily, but even if they do, jacky still has time to dash up close and inflict a nasty guessing game on them.
Puntkick tricks:
- puntkick-puntkick. After the first puntkick, the opponent's instinct may be
to struggle and immediately low punch. However a second puntkick will usually beat that low punch due to timing and range issues. You can put the opponent on their ass again and at this point they've lost almost half their life and are staggering. A third puntkick or a "brain throw" would be pretty demoralizing here.
- puntkick-throw. This works best vs. poor strugglers, they way elbow
stagger-throw does. It also is a nice mixup to puntkick-[attack]. Note that good opponents can get out of this 50/50 guessing game (and pretty much all of the 50/50 games I mention) by doing a dodge-throw escape. However this is difficult to do, takes a lot of inputs (so it's easy to screw up), and not everyone is aware of the trick. On top of that, you might do E-DTE perfectly, only to eat one of jacky's throws that you didn't predict.
- +(MC)-puntkick. This is exactly like + -> +, listed
above. Jacky has stunned the opponent for five frames, so if they try to /+, the puntkick will arrive just in time to crush their jab. The puntkick also has nice forward range and will catch a backdash.
HOOK COMBO [command] + [exe] 13 [guard] -6 [MC] NA [damage] 10+8+20 pts.
Strategy: If the first + interrupts the opponent's attack, the rest of the hits are guaranteed. If all three hit, an + pounce is also guaranteed (no tech rolling is possible after the special knockdown the third punch causes). So total damage from the combo would be: 10 (times 1.5) + 8 + 20 + 25 pts. That's 68 points of damage from a move that is just one frame slower than jacky's punch. It's also a guaranteed counter to any blocked attack that has -13 recovery or worse. On top of all this, it's also safe if the sequence is blocked (-6 and the enemy is pushed back a ways). This is a low risk and high reward move, so of course there's a catch - all three hits are high, so if the opponent ducks, he can punish you. So keep it in mind as a guaranteed counter to blocked attacks, not so much for surprise interrupts. Common moves that you can punish with +:- Lau's big lifting palm, upknife-palm, dodge attack, or -+- combo
- Akira's shoulder ram, yoho, bodycheck, jumping kicks, or dodge attack
- Kage's PPPK, cartwheel kick, or f,f+K
- Pai's double swallow kicks or PPKK combo
- Jacky's beatknuckle, elbow-heelkick, KK, double sidekick, or dodge attack
- Sarah's dragon cannon, elbow-knee, triple sidekick (any variation), PPPK
(any variation), any rising knee combo, and puntkick-sidekick
- Wolf's b+K+G (or b+K+G,K), also f+P,P (bodyblow, overhead hammer)
- Jeffry's shot knee-elbow, b,df+P-P (either hit), dodge attack
- Shun's dodge attack, OMP, +,, +,(any variation), mule kick
- Lion's meteor punch or
- Aoi's cancelled + variations, ,
- Vanessa's +, heel sword, dodge attack,
- Lei Fei's knife hand-lifting palm, puntkick, or dodge attack
HEEL SWORD [command] ++ [exe] 20 [guard] -6 [MC] NA [damage] 30 pts.
Strategy: This is very slow by VF standards, but it's very worth using because it always gives jacky simple, damaging combos and is safe if blocked. It's a good move to use from medium-to-long range to override jabs and predictable low punches. If it hits, regardless of the circumstances, you can always follow with an easy + (pounce) for 25 points. Total damage for a ++ interrupt and pounce = 70 points. You can actually combo from the ++ and get up to 85, but the combos have very specific conditions. It's easiest and safest to just take your guaranteed 25 point pounce.
Heel sword tricks:
- Heel Sword vs rising sweeps. If you stand just a hair outside of sweep range
and use a heel sword, you can squash your opponent's low rising attacks. It's easier vs. short opponents, taller opponents have longer legs, so they might interrupt your heel sword.
KNEE [command] + [exe] 17 [guard] -12 [MC] NA [damage] 30 pts.
Strategy: Not quite as slow as ++, but also not as safe. This move gives you you serious damage potential on any hit, but has really bad recovery at -12 frames. Still, it's not useless. It's a simple command, the reward for your efforts will be 40-45% of their life, and it doesn't need a counter hit to give you a combo. If you like this move, you should learn the advanced defensive techniques in this game, i.e. learn the timing for a double throw escape into guard, or dodge into double throw escape. If you can do either of these with some reliability, you can throw this move out and get away with murder. Notice the recovery is exactly -12. Everyone except wolf and jeff can get a guaranteed P or P,K combo on jacky after the knee, so be aware of people trying P-throw to screw up your attempts to throw escape. A trick to landing the knee in combat: Do it after a small crouch dash. You can catch people just at the end of dodges that way, where an immediate knee might have been avoided.
Knee tricks:
- +(MC)-knee. The low punch gives you +5, the knee barely has time to stuff a
punch or low punch. However you need to commit to doing +, + without any delay. The problem with committing to +, knee is that if the low punch didn't MC or didn't hit, your knee is gonna lose. You can't wait and see if the + interrupted, then decide to knee. Either way, there's always the danger your knee will just be evaded/blocked. So this trick isn't that hot.
- Knee-vs-throw: throw this out when you think the opponent will try either a
throw or a throw escape.
- Knee-vs-dodge: Vs. a predicted dodge, if you throw out the knee the instant
AFTER the opponent starts to dodge, it often smacks them as they slip to the side.
- Knee-vs-rising attack: It's hard to stuff high rising attacks, but the
move I find has the easiest timing for it is the knee. If you start it at about the same time the opponent's leg starts moving, you'll knock them out of high rising kicks, and occasionally your knee will hop cleanly over rising sweeps. When that happens, you can try for an elbow stagger, but a find mind game might be to wait for the opponent to hold guard, then throw.
Knee combos: See my complete list later. These will get you started.
+ -> ++, -> ++ -> + (ground kick) [89 points] This is by far the best knee combo, it pretty much never fails except vs. wolf and jeff, who are too heavy. Vs. anyone else, it's an easy 44% of their lifebar. + -> -> ++ -> + (ground kick) [83 points] This is the variation you can use on wolf and jeff. It's only 3% less damage.
MIDDLE SPINKICK [command] ,++ [exe] 17 [guard] -15 [MC] See Notes. [damage] 25 pts.
Strategy: This move is unique in that it's fully circular, but hits mid. That means that in situations where a crescent kick fails (ie the opponent ducks, or low punches) it will hit, and also it will smack dodges like any other crescent kick. Despite the recovery and slow execution, it's a very good move because it covers all options... if you have enough initiative (like after an elbow stagger) it beats everything the opponent does except holding guard. It's also good after tech rolls.
DODGE ATTACK [command] dodge,++ [exe] 21 [guard] -14 [MC] +3 [damage] 25 pts.
Strategy: After either a slow dodge (dodging when the opponent isn't attacking) or a MC dodge (dodging during the opponent's attack).. this is the only attack you can use that will come out DURING the dodge. Any other attack has to happen AFTER the dodge. So with that in mind, you should ignore the relatively slow 21 frame execution, because usually there's no way the opponent's attack will stuff it (duh, you're dodging their move). Normally a high risk and low reward move doesn't deserve 2nd tier placement, but it's the only move that can effectively outprioritize any attack and get you out of bad 50/50 guessing games (such as attack-or-throw).
The recovery is crappy, and depending on who you're facing you will eat either a small combo or at least a 30 point P,K. The opponent also has a world of options like throw or P-throw. So don't let this move get blocked. Use it whenever you expect a predictable retaliation (especially if you think the retaliation won't be safe jab/low punch). For example, a lot of people will try an elbow or some other mid attack after blocking jacky's rising sweep or +.
If the dodge attack hits, you have a little advantage. For some reason, trying a throw here seems to work waaay more often than it seems like it should. It must have something to do with the heavy stun animation the kick seems to cause. Jacky also seems too far away to be able to throw you. Aside from that, keep in mind that the dodge attack is really not always going to be +3... it's hitting as a minor counter usually, not MC.
dodge attack tricks:
- +-dodge attack. The opponent's first instinct after +, even if it
they didn't successfully block it, is to try to elbow stagger jacky. Nobody can resist attacking here.
- puntkick-dodge attack. This works only at long range, where the opponent
cannot throw you. Jacky is only -10 after the puntkick, so if they cannot throw you they have no guaranteed counterattack. That doesn't stop people from trying anyway.
---------- Third tier moves (high backfist, low backfist, PP-backfist-K, PPu+P, PK, lightning kicks, kickflip, beatknuckle-spinkick) ----------
HIGH BACKFIST [command] + [exe] 15 [guard] 0 [MC] NA [damage] 22 pts.
Strategy: I almost made this a second tier move, but you really can't land it unless you're screwing around or know exactly what the opponent is going to do. Still, it's a VERY safe poke (no disadvantage if blocked) and has decent range, and on MC sets up a really damaging and easy combo. It's just a little slow... and since it hits high, it's easily avoided by people who move in a crouch.
high backfist tricks:
- The best combo is + (crumple) -> ++ -> + (pounce) for 88 pts.
To set that up, you need a situation where you have a little frame advantage and the opponent is tempted to do throw escapes. One such situation would be after blocking the opponent's high rising attack.
- If you don't do the max damage combo after the low backfist, you can set up a very
damaging backstagger combo. For example, if you do + (opponent crumples) --> ,,+. The opponent will land facedown, head towards. If someone ever tech rolls in a face down, head towards position, you can time a sidekick at the end of that tech roll to hit them in the BACK, which obviously cannot be guarded. The result is a nasty backstagger animation. Use the backstagger to land a knee or b+K+G combo on them. It's not guaranteed but they really need to be prepared to struggle out of the backstagger in time to block your attacks. Remember, it can only happen from certain setups, like high backfist --> PPknee.
LOW BACKFIST [command] + [exe] 15 [guard] -8 [MC] +2 [damage] 15 pts.
Strategy: This is a relatively weak low poke, but it gives enough initiative on MC to force a throw-or-elbow guessing game. It's also rarely blocked since it hits low, and is pretty much jacky's only good low attack. It's not elbow counterable if blocked, which is nice. That makes it effectively uncounterable except to immediate low throws. On MC, the low backfist combos into a sweep for a nice 40+ pt knockdown. It's worth occasionally committing to both hits.
low backfist tricks:[list]
- LBF-kickflip. This old bastard has been around forever. If the low backfist
MC's, a kickflip (at 14 frames) comes out fast enough to beat any attack they try, including a low punch. It's demoralizing to eat the kickflip, and the damage (over 1/4th lifebar for just the kickflip) makes it almost worth the gamble.
- LBF-dodge. The opponent might be tempted to elbow you after the lbf, so dodge
and you might get a chance to at least try for a side throw.
PP-BACKFIST-SPINKICK [command] +, [exe] 12 [guard] +3 [MC] NA [damage] See Notes.
Strategy: The opponent would have to be sort of retarded to get hit by this, right? But if they flinch after jacky's and eat the +, the K combos and they lose 23% life. Jacky does four high attacks in a row (so they can duck and punish him at any time).. but this is one of those sequences that induces brainfreeze. First, if someone blocks the initial punch, they are forced to guard the second. Then, if they know about jacky's -elbow, they will probably just keep guarding. So they end up blocking the backfist. At this point they -should- wake up and low punch or crouch, but if they don't, they are punished by losing three frames of initiative and being pushed back really far. It's not a bad technique when someone is close to a wall, and it's also a good way to push people out of the ring (the final hit smacks dodges in either direction). There's no trick to using this, it's all instinct and situational =)
PPu+P [command] + [exe] 12 [guard] -4 [MC] NA [damage] 18 pts.
Strategy: No subtlety to this one, it's like +, but without all the small advantages like pushing people out of the ring and smacking dodge attempts. You're simply gambling that the third punch will catch them off guard and knock them head over heels for a guaranteed + pounce (total damage for third hit + pounce = 52 pts). If it's blocked, jacky is pretty safe (only -4, and the opponent is pushed away). Also the + is a special high attack, so it will stuff ANY attack they try (like low punch). I have no tricks for +, but you might want to try it when the first is guaranteed.
PUNCH-KICK [command] , [exe] 12 [guard] -8/-6 [MC] +9/+5 [damage] Varies, See Notes.
Strategy: Jacky's basic Punch-Kick combo is weird. It changes depending on whether his left foot is forward or his right foot. Your opponent's foot position/stance doesn't matter. There's basically a "good" PK combo and a "Crappy" PK combo. Neither is a true combo as far as I know, but the good one is a punch followed by a fast, safe sidekick. If the opponent ducked after the punch, the sidekick staggers. If they attack, the sidekick MC's and gives +5 initiative. The other variation is a jab then a fast crescent. The crescent gives +9 advantage and cannot be dodged, but it's not so hot because it hits high and comes out pretty slowly. The major weakness for this move is having to keep track of foot position. You can't get the useful P-sidekick whenever you want.
P,K tricks:
- p-sidekick, throw. Works the same as elbow stagger, throw. The same guessing
games apply.
- p-crescent(MC), throw. The crescent gives +9, so a throw is a good gamble.
If they don't react right away, it will surprise them.. it's much less common than similar tricks like P-throw or elbow-throw.
LIGHTNING KICKS [command] ++() [exe] 12 [guard] -12 [MC] -3 [damage] 14 pts.
Strategy: I use one, two, or three lightning kicks as a way to finish opponents off at the end of the round when they have less than 15 pts of life. With the exception of akira's double palm, no other attack in the game hits mid and executes in just 12 frames. The first lightning kick seems to always win vs. low punches. The obvious problem is the recovery... even on MC you're disadvantaged. So you don't use this and plan to get it blocked. The idea is to tempt someone into low punching at some point during the first three kicks (which all hit mid).
KICKFLIP [command] + [exe] 14 [guard] -30 [MC] NA [damage] 38 pts.
Strategy: The most damaging attack you have, and it executes as fast as an elbow. The recovery is... bad =) ..you're not only slow to recover, you're airborne. Still, the potential for 57 points of damage on MC makes it useful at least in THEORY.
Kickflip tricks:
- +-kickflip. Works best if the LBC interrupts. Kickflip owns a low punch here.
- blocked rising sweep-kickflip. The idea is to catch people who try to get
cute and dash in to throw you after blocking a rising sweep (a very common VF trick).
BEATKNUCKLE-SPINKICK [command] +, [exe] 16 [guard] -13 (see notes) [MC] NA [damage] 25 pts.
Strategy: One of the best fourth tier moves until people learn how to deal with it. The kick always combos if the + hits, and it causes the opponent to spin in midair, which means it's difficult to tech roll. You can sometimes get +, -> +. After it's blocked, it looks like bad recovery, but you can press b on the stick to make jacky skip backwards into shuffle step (his stance). This means punishing him after the kick is harder than you'd think, until you figure out that the best thing to do after a beat knuckle is crouch. Then you can duck the kick and throw jacky before he can get away. It should be noted that the kick is special high and circular, so it eats low punches and attempts to dodge.
+, tricks:
- see the notes on +, for some possible setups for this.
---------- Offensive strategies ----------
- Stick to safe moves like punch, low punch, and elbow... use these to set up
bigger, more rewarding attacks... like throws or combo starters.
- Elbow backfist a lot until the opponent proves they can deal with it.
- Low punch, throw. A lot. Any time you're getting rushed down, this is your
catch-all way to take back the round. About four of these wins the match.
- Look to elbow stagger predictable low punches, you only need +2 for an elbow
to beat a low punch. Realistically, +1 is enough (i.e. you stun them for 1 frame after they block your jab).. by the time the opponent reacts and tries to attack with something like +, they will probably have wasted a couple of frames. So your elbow should win.
- From long range, ++ and ,+ aren't bad to gamble with. If
you're too far away to interrupt with a jab or low punch, you're probably not going to get interrupted at all. So worst case scenario is you allow one of these moves to whiff.
- Keep an eye out for both guaranteed throws and throws that will work due to
psychological conditioning. When you have a guaranteed punch counter (after blocking something), work the P-throw until your opponent figures it out.
- Mix up throws when using the paksao reversal or in other situations where the
throw is guaranteed.
- Crouch dashing into the , throw is very strong. It gives the throw some
built-in extra range. If I stagger the opponent and want to throw them afterwards, this is the first throw I think to use. It also works as a long range surprise approach against cautious opponents who like to fuzzy guard or dodge when they see jacky crouch dash up to them. A good mixup to , --> [throw] is --> [FC uppercut]
- If the opponent uses E-DTEG a lot, there are tricks you can use to foil it.
One is to use a "third throw"... a throw that isn't likely to be escaped by either a single or double throw escape attempt. Jacky's 'third throws' are + and ,++. Another useful way to deal with EDTEG is delay a throw (grab them after their slow dodge is almost done). Some attacks will also catch failed dodges for a nice reward, like jacky's knee.
- The delayed throw technique listed above also works against opponents who
fuzzy guard a lot. The preferred throw for me is , ++ because it has the built in advantage of causing them to freeze up when they see jacky closing in.
- After a from-crouch uppercut, if the opponent is staggered, jacky's +,,
is almost guaranteed. However if they don't struggle to get up, an immediate + may whiff. It helps if you do ,,+ (a half dash into +).. but by doing this you risk giving the opponent enough time to recover and guard your elbow-backfist.
- If you want to screw around with blindfighting, jacky's backturned +
gives him monstrous frame advantage, and at point-blank range a throw is guaranteed (they cannot attack jacky out of it). Attacks that cause guaranteed throws are rare, so if you're going to do a risky attack, you might as well do the most rewarding one. Also, people who have played VF for a long time are used to seeing turn-towards sweeps, not the less common turn towards mid attacks (which started cropping up in VF3/4).
- Some rarely used and difficult to anticipate attacks that will kill someone
with a sliver of life: lightning kicks (up to three) ,+ ,+ +, +,
---------- Defensive strategies ----------
- Try to move in a crouch. Crouch dashing forward and back is better than
regular dashes.
- One particularly good use of crouch dashing: crouch dash backwards after your
moves are blocked, but only crouch dash juuuust far enough away to make their attack whiff. Tap guard to cancel the backwards crouch dash and then immediately do an attack. An example: Jacky's low punch is blocked. If jacky tries anything, the opponent's low punch wins. Jacky has buffered a backwards crouch dash after his low punch. Predictably, the opponent elbows and jacky scoots backwards, so the elbow misses. At the same moment, jacky presses guard to stop his crouch dash, then +,. The end result: The opponent whiffs an elbow, and jacky's +, smacks them before they can recover and block it. Jacky went from being slightly disadvantaged to being able to hit the opponent for a decent chunk of life.
- Learn to throw escape, especially when your big moves (like a knee) get
blocked. Remember you can enter 2 and even 3 throw escapes if you've got quick hands.
- Speaking of quick hands, learn to do TE-G or DTE-G.. enter one or two throw
escapes, and when you press [direction]++ for the second escape, let go of and keep holding guard. If your timing is good, you will recover in a guarding position... yet you will also escape throws if the opponent tries them.
- A harder and more rewarding version of the above technique is E-TE, E-DTE,
and E-DTE-G. That's a dodge followed by a fast throw escape, or a dodge followed by two escapes, and finally a dodge followed by two escapes followed by the trick outlined above. The theory is this: If you have a move blocked and they have a guaranteed throw, you will A: dodge any attack they tried B: escape up to two possible throws C: If they did a delayed attack, a two part attack that tracks, or whatever else.. you come out of your dodge with your guard up.
- Learn to fuzzy guard. It's a LOT easier than the crazy stuff listed above, and
almost as rewarding. The idea is simple: When you are in a bad spot and have lost initiative, or if you just want to stay safe and wait for the opponent to screw up, you only need to do the following:
- press down+Guard
- release the stick after about six or seven frames
- keep holding guard.
If you are close to the opponent and not sure if they will do a midlevel or a throw, this technique can defeat both... you're technically going into a crouch, so if they tried a throw, it whiffs. At the same time, you only spend about 6 frames ducking and another 6 standing back up, so if they did a typical fast mid attack (like a 14 frame elbow) .. you will stand up in time to block it. Good players fuzzy guard constantly. You can stand up from fuzzy guarding faster if you press on the stick as you hold guard.
- Don't be scared to use the paksao reversal. It's risky, but it's the most
potentially rewarding reversal (damage-wise) in the entire game.
- When staggered, your best options are to struggle and guard, struggle and
dodge, or struggle and low punch. If you think you're hot shit, try struggling and doing EDTEG (which is outlined earlier).
- When escaping throws, know your opponent's two best throws, at LEAST. Ideally
you recognize every throw by its animation and know the escape, so when you see yourself eating a particular throw, you'll know what to do with it next time.
- A lot of defense is character specific, so I'll be adding that gradually.
---------- COMBOS (taken from my combo guide) ----------
Practical/Bread'n'Butter combos
- + -> ++, -> ++ -> + (ground attack)
[89 pts] works vs anyone except wolf and jeff, vs them you should use in place of ++,.
- +, -> ++ -> + (ground kick) [68 pts]
works on medweights up to lau, vs. heavies use +,,
- + -> ++, + (pounce) [88 pts]
works on anyone.
- FC,+ -> +,
works on anyone, but the opponent may struggle out of it, and if done too early the first hit will whiff
Ideal/Maximum Damage combos
- + followups
------------- >> +, -> ++ -> + (ground attack) [97 pts] [LW, either stance, may need max range interrupt in closed] >> +, -> ++,, -> + (ground attack) [95 pts] [MW up to lau, closed stance] >> ,, [93 pts] [MW up to lau, can substitute + at the end to be safe] >> ++, -> ++ -> + (ground attack) [89 pts] [MW] >> +,, [88 pts] [HW, closed stance. It is possible to land a miracle ,,+ sometimes vs. HW in closed stance. This does 89 pts if you pull it off] >> + -> ++ -> + (ground attack) [83 pts] [HW, open stance]
- +, followups
---------------- >> + -> ++ -> + (ground attack) [73] [MW up to shun. Open stance only for Lei Fei and heavier. Vs Lei, use + at the end of the combo in closed stance] >> ++ -> + (ground attack) [68] [MW up to lau. more reliable than above in closed stance] >> + -> ++,, -> + (ground attack) [71 pts] [Lau, open stance] >> + -> ,+ [67 pts] [Akira, open stance] >> + [69 pts] [Akira, closed stance] >> ++,, -> + (ground attack) [65 pts] [HW, open stance] >> FC,+ [61 pts] [HW, closed stance]
- FC,+ followups
----------------- >> +,, [84 pts] [ALL, tough to struggle] >> +, -> ++,, -> + [90 pts] [MW up to Kage, closed stance, tough to struggle] >> +,, [82 pts] [ALL, somewhat tough to struggle] >> ++ [varies] [ALL, easy to struggle. See ++ combos below]
- ++ followups
--------------- >> + -> ++, [83 pts] [LW (up to lei/lion, but not pai), easier in closed stance vs. lightest, vs. others requires max range open stance] >> + -> +, [83 pts] [LW up to Kage, max range open stance] >> + -> ++ [81 pts] [Pai, requires max range in open stance] >> + -> ++ -> + (ground attack) [80 pts] [MW, easier in closed stance vs. lightest, vs. others requires max range open stance] for 79 pts, same conditions vs. Vanessa] >> + -> + -> + (ground attack) [80 pts] [LW, easier in closed stance vs. lightest, vs. others requires max range open stance] >> + -> + -> ++ [79 pts] [AOI, requires max range max range MC in open stance] >> + -> ++ -> + (ground attack) [78 pts] [LW, open stance. Alternative combos: +, +, or ++, ,,,+ for 77 pts, same conditions up to vanessa] >> + -> + [81 pts] [Varies... vs. Lion in either stance, close range. Vs. Aoi and Lei closed stance, close range. Vs. Kage closed stance, long range. Vs Jacky open stance, long range] >> + (pounce) [70 pts] [HW]
- + followups
------------- >> ++, + (pounce) [88 pts] [ALL]
---------- Tech Rolling, Quick Rising, and Backstaggers(taken from my QR/TR guide) ----------
- Press +++ or +++ to tech roll after a knockdown.
You'll learn from experience that some move slam you to the floor in a special way and can't be techrolled. Also, moves that cause you to hit the ground while spinning are harder to tech roll (you need tight timing). Sometimes you'll hit a wall and land on your face and cannot tech roll. Tech rolls let you avoid taking extra damage after a combo, such as ground hits and pounces, but they put you into a position where you're forced to guess what the opponent will do next. You can't be hit during the tech roll, only at the end of it. There's no guaranteed way your opponent can hurt you if you choose to TR.
- A strong option at the end of the tech roll is to just guard. You can block
any attack at the end of your tech roll, as long as you correctly guess whether to block high or low. Fuzzy guarding at the end of the TR works too.
- The opponent may notice you like to block after tech rolls and go for
a throw (or low throw). If you want to stuff most attacks and avoid being thrown, a low punch is a pretty good attack to use at the end of the roll.
- A rarely used trick when tech rolling is to make sure you don't press any
buttons (especially guard). If you do this, you won't align with your opponent's attack and it's likely whatever move they try to hit you with passes harmlessly to the side. You can punish this whiffed attack immediately or you can dodge. A dodge in the same direction as your roll is especially effective, it places you nearly behind the opponent. The method used to defeat this trick is to dash up and throw you while you start to stand up.
- Quick rising (press ++ when you land) is another way to avoid combo
damage, and simplifies the guessing game for you. When you quick rise, you have only 2 options... block high or block low. If you block high the opponent can throw or sweep you, if you block low they can hit you with a midlevel attack (elbow, knee, etc). They cannot low throw you, thankfully. It's a simple 50/50 guessing game in their favor. Generally a TR is safer than a QR, but there are some situations (listed below) where you don't want to TR.
- If someone tech rolls from a face down, head towards position... they will
end the tech roll in a backturned position for a very short time. They then automatically turn around and start to stand up. If you catch them TRing from this position, you can use a perfectly timed attack to hit them while they are backturned. Not only can they not guard your attack, they can be backstaggered and then combo'd.
The basic ingredients to a typical backstagger combo:- 1. The opponent is crumpled. Use a head or stomach crumple, foot
crumples leave you face up.
- 2. The opponent is hit during the crumple with one or more TR-able
attacks, and they choose to TR.
- 3. A well timed sidekick/elbow/other move hits them the exact
instant the TR ends (while they're backturned and in a crouch)
- 4. opponent is backstaggered.. enjoy your 'free' combo.
BACKSTAGGER COMBOS
backfist -> double high backfist (opponent TR's) -> puntkick -> knee -> ++, -> ++ -> + [176 pts]
notes: This is a typical and highly damaging backstagger setup for jacky. The +, is the most damage you can inflict before the opponent can TR, and the ,+ puntkick is the strongest backstagger tool. You'll need to hesitate a split second, then press forward 4 times to dash and puntkick for the backstagger. Then dash forward and do your standard high-damage knee combo, which works on almost any weight class. If the opponent is lazy, you can get away with a pounce instead of a ground kick at the end.
SS->gut punch -> elbow-backfist(opponent TR's) -> sidekick -> heel sword -> ++ [117 pts]
notes: easy and stylish. It may need closed stance. Press +++, then crouch dash and press P for the gut punch. Use +, for an easy 31 pt tech roll setup. Crouch dash forward, delay a bit, then sidekick them for the backstagger (the delay is gonna be longer than you think, you can almost sit and watch the TRing opponent and then decide when to sidekick). Finish with ++, ++.. you could pounce for 10 pts more damage instead of using a puntkick, but you'd lose cool points.
+, +(charged) -> m-uppercut (TRed) -> elbow -> elbow-backfist -> puntkick [156 pts]
notes: A great "wtf" combo using an obscure jacky move. The hook charges into a pump backfist which crumples. After the crumple buffer a crouch dash and use a + uppercut to set up the TR. Dash forward only once and carefully time a + elbow to set up the backstagger. Then dash in and do a simple +, -> ,+ combo.
+ -> low kick (opponent TR's) -> puntkick -> knee -> elbow-backfist-sweep [144 pts]
notes: I'd like to think I'm the first guy to come up with this nifty little backstagger setup, but it's probably not true. The +,, is a true combo on MC that leaves the opponent facedown. Jacky's recovery is just barely good enough for him to dash forward and use a + low kick to scrape the opponent off the ground and put them in a TR-able position. The next part is hard, you need to buffer , during the recovery of the low kick, allow jacky to dash just a tiny bit, then press K for the puntkick. Your puntkick comes out almost immediately after the low kick for the backstagger, the tiny half dash from tapping , gives you the range you need for it to hit. The rest is a simple dash-and-knee combo.
backfist -> TA punch (opponent TR's) -> TT pump backfist -> puntkick -> knee -> elbow-backfist -> ++ -> ground kick [184 pts]
notes: One of the hardest-to-time combos I've ever had to do. It's very satisfying to pull it off. Do the + interrupt for a crumple, and press ,+ to do a turnaway jab. It helps to press G after the first hit to ensure you don't accidentally do +,. Once you turn away with a punch you must IMMEDIATELY buffer a dash towards your opponent during the recovery of the TA punch. If you buffer the dash, jacky dashes towards them while facing backwards. If you do it too late, he turns around. Now, while jacky is dashing towards the enemy, buffer ANOTHER dash in the same direction. Again, jacky will remain backturned as long as you do it quickly, before he finishes the first dash. Once jacky has done two backturned dashes, you need to hesitate a tiny bit (like 4-6 frames) and then press + to do a turn towards backfist. The backfist, if timed correctly, will create an UNSTRUGGLABLE backstagger, the special kind that allows you to restagger the opponent. Now do an immediate puntkick (,+) and you'll see the opponent ass stumble again, this time it's strugglable. But that doesn't matter... because the puntkick causes a glitchy stagger that makes the enemy fall closer to you. After that, it's very easy to connect with a standard high damage knee combo.
other setups: To play it safe, a fast backstagger followup would be either crouch dash into double sidekicks or dash into a puntkick (,..+, or ,,,+). Jacky's got the three crumple tools listed above and +,, to start backstagger combos. Once the opponent is crumpled with high backfist, there are an endless number of easy and damaging followups to set up the backstagger. ,+ is a good one. P, modified + uppercut is stylish (both are after + MC). To stuff the roll you can use sidekick, puntkick, elbow, and the insanely difficult TT pump backfist. You can also show off and just swat the opponent with a non-stagger tool.. for example ++ would cause a pretty funny facial flop, and ++, should combo if timed correctly. Once the opponent is staggered you can go nuts... knee combos, slam combos, lightning storm, elbow-backfist floats, etc.
That's it. Hope that gets some aspiring jacky players started.
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