Starting out with Taka #2

Note: This was written by Kurita Oyakata and translated by Modelah.

Kurita Oyakata's VF5FS Beginner's Blog post

Hi, I'm Kurita. I've been playing Taka since VF3 came out, so he's been my main character for well over 15 years! On the subject of years, I've just entered my 40's! Looks like he'll be my main for the rest of my life, lol. Although there's more than a few of us old dudes playing VF, that doesn't mean it isn't a game for people new to the fighting game scene. With that in mind, I've put together a little guide that I hope will be useful for newcomers.

Profile:
・Titles: JAVA TEA Battle Kōshien- Winner, Monster Hunter 3rd Media Tournament- Winner
・Winning moves: mashing , reckless and rage DC'ing (permissible only once every 10 years).
・Subs: Vanessa (VF4~VF5), Dudley (SF3~SSF4), Siegfried (SC5).
・Opponents I'm confident against: Players who aren't familiar with Taka, especially Lei-Fei, Aoi and Eileen players.
・Opponents I struggle against: Sarah players who know Taka well. Also, most Jacky, Jean, Pai and Vanessa players.

Taka's Characteristics, Strengths and Weaknesses
Taka is the only super heavyweight-class character in the game, because of this the 'Taka System' (as we like to call it) gives him very unique properties. More on that later. His damage output potential is terrifying, but he tends to struggle defensively against certain characters, making him a character of extremes at times.

However, as players have to learn Taka-specific combos in order to maximise the damage they can inflict on him, for inexperienced players a match against Taka can be an intimidating prospect.

Why?

Taka's nitaku game is brutally straightforward, and extremely powerful.
Taka has the best throws and one of the best mid attacks () in the entire game. This makes his nitaku game extremely powerful, almost to the point where you don't have to learn any other of his moves at all.

Taka's reach and power make him dangerous at all distances.
Taka has great combo potential, both his and launchers lead into his strongest combos and have insanely long reach. Both are punishable on guard, but against players who don't know punish effectively you should be using these often.

Taka can ringout opponents easily.
Combos off can carry opponents a long way for a ringout victory. is also great for pushing opponents over half-walls.

Taka's size is a sword that cuts both ways, however:

Taka's weight class properties make matchups difficult for the opponent and Taka.
There can be large differences when Taka is hit by an opponent's attacks:

-Some moves that knockdown other characters won't knockdown Taka (like Lei-Fei's etc.)
-Some strings that other characters can defend against will hit Taka in their entirety (like Jacky's etc.)​

There are pros and cons depending on the character Taka is facing, and the difference between a good and bad character matchup for Taka can be huge.

The 'Taka System'
・For knockdown moves, if the damage point value is less than 20 they won't knock down Taka.
・Some strings are guaranteed against Taka; there isn't a rule on which ones, they're predetermined.
・When hit by a knee launcher, Taka won't be launched but instead has a unique collapsing animation.
・When knocked down Taka stays down longer, and because of his size he can be prone to OTG (off the ground) combos.​

Basic Skills
Don't try to use all of Taka's moves when starting out, at first you should get to know his basic attacks well. When you're comfortable with those, gradually add more moves as needed to broaden your options. The notes written for some of the following moves may echo what was written in Kashin's Taka guide, so be sure to check that post out too.

Close range:
- Once you learn to hitcheck the first hit (see Kashin's post), you'll see that this is an awesomely powerful mid attack. That can be hard at first, but train yourself to see how your opponent reacts after the first hit before doing the follow-up . The follow-up is very delayable but can't be interrupted. If you train yourself to delay the follow-up you'll be able to hit opponents who guard the first attack but drop their guard early.

- The damage is low but this move executes fast, and knocks down the opponent. This move is great for ringouts or for trying to hit opponents into walls for wall combos. Depending on the situation this is a very strong move.

- A low attack that will knock down an opponents who guard standing. Punishable on guard but very useful unless the opponent anticipates it.

- A high headbutt that knocks down and gives you a combo opportunity, this move is mostly used for punishment after guarding something big. Think of it as an elbow-class attack almost, and look for the right opportunities to use it.

Mid range:
- A big move that can really turn the tables in your favor. This has great reach, and can be followed by a powerful combo. If you hit this just as your opponent tries to throw you... it feels awesome.

- A little slower than but has longer range. This is best used to punish big moves that whiff, but sometimes you can just throw it out and pray your opponent will walk into it.

Basic Strategy
Stifle your opponent's movement with quick attacks and then throw them. When they start to abare against your throw attempts look to counter hit them.

As I mentioned above, it's possible to win just by applying Taka's powerful nitaku game with just and a throw, so let's look at how you can set his nitaku game up.

Nitaku with and a throw from
・ is relatively easy to hit as it's fast and also goes under high attacks.
・You'll be at frame advantage on hit and will have a chance to apply nitaku with either or a throw.
・Whenever you're unsure what to do use and try to set the pace in your favor.
Note: Characters with a faster than usual like Pai and Kage can actually beat your even if your connects, so in that case use instead or try to counter hit them with another .

Throw from
・Basic VF, but so effective. Do this whenever the opponent is unable to fuzzy guard.
・Check out Kashin's Basic Strategy.

Throw from
・Buffer a throw input during so it executes quickly. This works great on opponents who rely on standing guard.
・Against opponents who start crouching the throw, use to hit them.

Knock opponents down with and go for oki (wakeup) pressure
・ does far less damage than combos but is great for knocking opponents down for okizeme opportunities.
・Against an opponent's tech-recovery or wakeup after a knockdown, use , or a throw.
・If you're feeling bold use /. This will put the opponent in a unique stun animation on hit and guarantee , which you can follow up with a combo.

Use against punch-happy opponents
・This is an 'armor' type of reversal, meaning that Taka will take damage upon success. This will reverse single-limbed punch attacks.
・Useful against opponents with a lot of single-limbed punch attacks like Lei-Fei, Lau and Eileen.
・This isn't really one of Taka's most used moves but it's definitely useful to keep in the back of your mind.

Basic Combos
First, remember that , is a common component in most combos. Then, after hits get used to dashing forward and connecting with . Next, keep in mind that with it's longer reach is important for linking combo moves. In many cases a simple will usually suffice but there are certain combos that require , so it's better to get used to doing that quickly. Simply get into the habit of holding as soon as your launcher connects.

- Ten'yaburi Combos

, short forward dash, , - a reliable combo for all characters except Wolf and Jeffry
, short forward dash, , - for Wolf and Jeffry
Note: doesn't knock down Taka​

- Aka'oni Midaremage Combos

, , - a reliable combo for all characters except Wolf and Taka
, , - for Wolf (using instead of will work on Taka)
, - for all characters​

- Kachiage Combos

, , , - for all characters except Wolf, Jeffry and Taka. The clears the input buffer to prevent an accidental command. This combo is also possible from Zangeki ().

, , - for all characters except Taka. This combo is also possible from Zangeki ().

, , - for Taka.​

From the author
Thanks for checking this post out. I honestly wasn't sure how much to cover when writing for beginners and I hope this post proves to be useful. Good luck!

Look for me on PSN as 'ISD-55' and on XBL as 'ISD360'.

Kurita Oyakata

Go to Starting out with Taka #1

 

This is a very interesting and entertaining start!
I will follow the progress of this translation

 

This is somewhat irrelevant but, please, can someone explain/guess why Kurita, a former Vanessa player himself, would list Vanessa players under "Opponents I don't like"?!

I am perplexed and saddened by this remark

 

That Japanese phrase can have slightly different meanings.
That heading 'Opponents I don't like' is '苦手な相手- Nigate-na aite' in Japanese.

'Nigate' translates as 'dislike' but it can also mean 'weak point' or 'poor at~', so another way to translate it would be 'Opponents I struggle against'. That's no diss to Vanessa players.

@erdraug are you absolutely sure he's an ex-Vanessa player? If you can confirm that he is, the latter translation makes more sense and I'll edit the post. He sounds 100% Taka, though.

---->

 

@Modelah: VF4 Evolution Final Tournament in Japan. Also:

 

lol, I missed the 'Subs: Vanessa (VF4~VF5)' part. Post edited, thanks @erdraug.

 

I guess it's because Vanessa is really good against Taka (sabaki for his main nitaku mid in DS and great strings/combos on him in OS).
Having a punch sabaki is a key imo, as he is such a punch based character. That's probably why Jean and Jacky are also in the list as their punch sabaki are even better.

 

Kurita is a van player,, in vf4 or vf4 evo there was some vids in the game to watch, vids with homestay, gorgonzola and kurita was playin vanessa, and i have to say he was f***in strong, i remember it coz i saw some combos i never saw before and he used her cvery smartly. I was wondering why i can t find vids of him nowadays, now i understand lol.
Nice work modelah, hehe he struggles vs Van lol take it as example