Sarah Combos

u+K, b+K FL:u+K. Amazing, that never ocurred to me. Good work Vansen.

Off topic a little but I'm baffled by the Flamingo Cannon combo. The final part (the Dragon Canon) hits high I believe but i've never had the chance to experiment. It makes sense though as having two combos that hit at the same level moot.

Also, in the VP Sarah FAQ it lists Sarah Low punch Sabaki as also effective against mid level punches. Is that indeed correct or is it a typo?

I returned to the Casino last Saturday after a month only to be spanked by a warmed up UK Guy so I didn't get much time try anything out.

 

The flamingo cannon combo ([FL]K,K,K+G) ends mid-level in my experience. I've hit crouching defenders with it AFAIK and gotten the legs up animation. BTW, I've been using the simple PPK on the bounce here. The second punch always whiffs, but the kick almost never misses. I keep forgetting to try the P-sidekick... does that work too? Oh, and d+P+K,K which was mentioned before in this thread I believe... still tons of stuff I gotta try. =) I've had terrible luck with d+P+K,K though, as if I can't find straight down on the joystick I only get a low punch... yuck!

I believe that Sarah's sabaki only works vs. low punches too. Maybe the mid-punch is an artifact from the test version. <shrug> I've tested it vs. Kage's chops, with no luck, but my timing may have been off... need to test more. I'm leaving it as is in the VP movelist until I see something more official at a Japanese black book corrections site.

Anyone figure out any follow-ups to Sarah's sabaki yet? sweep? punt kick-side kick? crouch dash-rising knees?

Ooh, I just noticed that most of the flamingo stance attacks are listed as NOT reversible. Damn, I hope that's not an error. That would be a really good deal for Sarah... the character voted most likely to be reversed mid. More testing to come... =)

 

Flamingo moves NOT reversible (VirtuaProject: Basically everything but Px combos is free and clear)... sounds rather hard to believe (especially for the kick combos), but even if they can be reversed, at least a good bit of them hit high.

Hmmm... if u+K has some nice followups, has anybody tried u+K+G floats?

 

Ack, I thought so... time to start editing movelists again.
Thank you Myke!

 

Any float that will give you PPK will give you P-Sidekick. Are you saying that the Cannon combo floats the opponent thus allowing a combo?

To follow up her Sabaki I use the Heel Sword Slash>Toe Kick-Punt Kick. It does very good damage and becuase of the animation of the Heel Slash it's much easier to follow through than the Spin Heel Sword.

 

I believe Sarah's sabaki P+K puts her in to FL so the punt kick side kick is not an option. What Adio added is probably the best follow up.

All moves (not sure about the sweep or evading cresents) are counterable as Myke correctly put it (he should know, he's played me enough times).

Another combo which will connect better against rising sweepers:
u+K - d+KK

Currently no one has mention her FL low P counter. Being a Sarah player since VF2 I've never had the pleasure of using counters so its not in my playing style.. YET! Just want to let you guys know that it counters more that I first thought. Lion's numerous lundging low pokes and even Akira's low single fist thing-a-ma-jig (no idea of what that moves is called or the input commands) The best follow up after the counter, while your opponent is on his / her ass is:
f+K+G - d+KK

 

Her FL cannon combo doesn't give you much air time as the normal DC would. Moves like chop - kick don't work aginst a good majority of opponents (light weight have to suffer though). Kick flip is an good option and I'm sure the first kick in punt kick side kick will hit, not sure about the second kick. Also b+P+K will hit as well I'm sure.

Just on b+P+K, if you connect against a crouching defender they stumble, but for how long? A Kick flip will hit no matter how fast they shake but anyone know if I can Heel Sword Slash>Toe Kick-Punt Kick?
Very greedy I know... LOL

 

The Heel Sword Slash is pretty slow so I don't know if it's guaranteed. Though, I'm sure it would work if your opponent simply didn't block

Does a Double Rise Kick knockdown a crouching oppoonent on an MC? If so then the only course to take would be a FL: Kickflip.

 

Haven't tested it, but I'd assume the second punt kick will miss on heavies... in that case a d+K+G should do more damage.

 

Any float that will give you PPK will give you P-Sidekick. Are you saying that the Cannon combo floats the opponent thus allowing a combo?

The cannon combos gives you the legs flopping up animation. It's an "on the bounce" combo. For some reason a high punch will hit an opponent that goes down this way. If you try PPP afterwards the second punch always misses. I've been using PPK simply because the kick does more damage than the third punch. I had a question about the P-sidekick because of the second punch missing I didn't know if the sidekick would hit either even though it has a lower hit detection than a high punch. (Note that I use the ub+K+G heel sword by itself to get the exact same OTB combos as the [FL]K,K,K+G)

I think someone mentioned earlier in this thread that after the leg flopping up animation you could do P --> b+K --> [FL]u+K. Maybe I'm wrong... I don't have time to review this huge thread right now....

To follow up her Sabaki I use the Heel Sword Slash>Toe Kick-Punt Kick. It does very good damage and becuase of the animation of the Heel Slash it's much easier to follow through than the Spin Heel Sword.

Ahh... good suggestion. Thanks. Now I just need for someone to fall for the low punch sabaki... ;>

Yeah, you said you used toe kick-punt before against the legs flopping up animation. What about trying to add a high punch before the toe kick-punt?

I'm having a terrible time getting the toe kick-punt out because I cannot find straight down reliably on our joysticks... I get a low punch when I miss with a df+P+K or db+P+K... sucks.

 

I believe Sarah's sabaki P+K puts her in to FL so the punt kick side kick is not an option. What Adio added is probably the best follow up

Yep, that was my mistake. Sarah cannot punt kick after the low punch sabaki.

Currently no one has mention her FL low P counter. Being a Sarah player since VF2 I've never had the pleasure of using counters so its not in my playing style.. YET! Just want to let you guys know that it counters more that I first thought. Lion's numerous lundging low pokes and even Akira's low single fist thing-a-ma-jig (no idea of what that moves is called or the input commands) The best follow up after the counter, while your opponent is on his / her ass is: f+K+G - d+KK

I think it will become more useful as opponents recognize Sarah's flamingo stance better and start trying to interrupt her kicks or throw attempts with a quick attack like a low punch. I see it as useful against opponents that fall back on the low punch as a way to get out of sticky situations too often. It's nice that Sarah can repeatedly low punch sabaki like Pai's inashi in VF3ob. Have you seen it work against any mid level punches yet?

Thanks to both you and Adio for pointing out the [FL]f+K+G follow up.... saves me a lot of time experimenting there. =)

 

Ahem. Not to sound like an idiot but actually u+K, b+K FL:u+K was already on the list. Still, congrats on pulling it off in a match...

 

I AM WRONG! Please forgive me for any confusion I may have caused.

I wrote:
The cannon combos gives you the legs flopping up animation. It's an "on the bounce" combo. For some reason a high punch will hit an opponent that goes down this way.

[FL]K,K,K+G does not result in the leg flopping up animation like the ub+K+G produces... my big mistake. The K+G part does indeed hit mid, and Adio is right, you would need a major counter to get anything huge in a float combo.

 

Just on "leg flop" animation. I'm sure that the ub+K+G doesn't produce this animation. They bounce violently off the ground but there legs don't go up towards there head like what Kage can produce with that turn around chop - hop kick. Furthermore I haven't found a move of Sarah's that can do that.

 

- Have you seen it work against any mid level punches yet? -

I saw it tonight. Playing against Sarah she did her P+K sabaki aginst my elbow twice. I will have to see what other medium hand / fist / elbow moves this will wotk aginst.

 

That's great. Tell me, did your character go through the stumbling back animation like you would if your low punch was countered?

What did Sarah follow through with?

 

I saw it tonight. Playing against Sarah she did her P+K sabaki aginst my elbow twice. I will have to see what other medium hand / fist / elbow moves this will wotk aginst.

That's probably the error in the black book then.

Elbows and mid-level punches are two very different things as far as reversals and sabakis are concerned. Everyone knows what an elbow is. But to clarify, mid-level punches, when they are reversed, give you the same reversal animation as reversing a high level punch. Mid and high punches need to be differentiated between each other in VF4 because of the new reversal system.

Sarah's [FL]P+K is listed as a sabaki vs. low and mid level punches. It should be changed to low punches and elbows then. When I tested it, it didn't work against Kage's mid level chops.

This is still good for Sarah IMO... stopping elbows is a useful skill. Did you end up on your butt similar to if Sarah had sabakied a low punch?

 

Yupa - Adio,

I will test all tonight. I don't remember if I stumbled or fell on my ass. I was in shock that she pulled it off aginst my elbow. I'll attend the usual Friday night challenges and test some stuff out in the round of mercy with Myke.

 

Doh! Haven't refreshed my memory with your very first post in a while.

Anyway I have a new topic of Sarah descussion, to throw or not to throw. Basiclly is it worth it to throw an opponent after you have blocked there move, or they have whiffed it.

For example: Kage's kick flip. I beleive that it is better for you to DC him instead of attempting a throw. I say this for 2 reasons. 1 I think you do more damge with a DC combo anyway. 2. You can't be reversed (throw or otherwise)

I want to build a list of opposition moves that when blocked can be countered by a DC. I know of 3 absolute definates:
Akira's body check
Kage's kick flip
Aoi's jumping kick

I know there is a lot more but thats a start in my counter flow chart.