Monthly Archives: December 2009

Weekly Screenshot: 109th Seize Grab Technique

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Since this week’s Fun With SF4 vol.1 video postponed the TACV schedule, we’ll have to go with another prize. How about this? Whoever comes up with the best title gets to decide the game highlighted in the next few screenshots. As always, the rules are one entry per person and i’ll choose my favorite on Monday.

kizuna-kim-gozu-01

KE Kim Young-Mok’s Counter Dangetsu Zan is triggered by blocking Gozu’s Metsu Sassou, which might be the coolest-looking special move in Kizuna Encounter.

Unfortunately Gozu initiates it by teleporting high above the screen before diving downward with claws extended. The camera stays zoomed out almost until he reaches the ground. Blocking it momentarily suspends him in the air, allowing the camera time to zoom back in, so that the character sprites look sharp for this screenshot.

Fun With SF4 vol.1

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After two months and five characters’ worth of TACVs, i thought everyone might enjoy something slightly less technical and considerably more accessible. Check back in a fortnight for C.Viper’s turn at the customary TACV treatment.

Until then, enjoy! As always, i hope you see something new.

0:08 His quick dash and fast lvl2 Focus Attack startup make Fei Long one of only three or four characters in the game who can link a dash-canceled lvl3 Focus Attack into a lvl2 Focus Attack before the opponent falls over, without requiring any interrupt setup. Fei’s command grab doesn’t increment the combo counter so the whole sequence only counts as six hits. As someone pointed out, the rest of the combo could have been nicer, but i happen to like fire Rekkas and there’s never a good reason to use them otherwise.

0:15 Cammy’s LK Cannon Spike connects for free after an anti-air lvl3 Focus Attack, then her HK Cannon Spike juggles on its own and her HK super adds one last hit. The trick to this combo is doing the LK Cannon Spike as early as possible so it hits near its peak.

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Trivia Quiz 01 Solutions

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Even though only one person was brave enough to formally respond to last month’s CPS1 trivia challenge, i think a lot of people had fun discussing various questions on SRK. With that in mind, i’ll give this whole quiz idea another chance in the near future before giving up on it.

As promised, here is the complete answer sheet. If you haven’t had an opportunity to look through the questions yet, now’s the time to go back and do it. Click the link above if you want to avoid spoilers, or continue reading for the solution key.

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CV Spotlight: Renegade / UltraDavid Zangief Double Feature

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Not one, but two Zangief videos for you viewing pleasure. Both of these are incredibly informative Street Fighter IV strategy videos, and they certainly do contain combos. Check ’em out if you play Gief or hate playing against Russian wrestlers or enjoy acquiring advanced gameplay information about games you don’t play strictly for academic purposes. You know, for theory fighter, forum arguments, and such.

SF4 Zangief Punishments and Errata

First up, Renegade covers an insane number of common as well as obscure situations which arise during matches. He provides Gief’s most damaging way to punish everything you’re likely to come across. After all, Zangief may not land as many hits as those other characters with lightning legs and fire boots, but he certainly knows how to make them count.

Option Selects – Zangief

UltraDavid has compiled a thoroughly comprehensive rundown of Zangief’s option select capabilities. Once you learn these tricks, half the game will practically play itself. More importantly, you’ll gain a better understanding of how the game’s decision system functions. That way if you run into someone who always seems to be guessing right, you’ll have a much easier time breaking down what they’re actually doing to spot a weakness. By the way, this happens to be the first half of his two-part strategy guide. Keep an eye out for the second installment, which should be available shortly.

Street Fighter Footsies Handbook, Chapter 2

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It takes a long time to look through enough footage to find clear examples of these concepts, but i’ll try to continue this series on a weekly schedule as long as i’m able. Hopefully you got a chance to practice some of the lessons covered in last week’s installment and found a place for them in your gameplan. Here are a few more pieces.

Element 04: When your opponent is looking to punish your standard pokes, try whiffing a crouching light kick a few pixels outside their sweep range. If they mistake it for a slower attack, they’ll leave themselves open when their counterattack misses. Be ready to punish the whiff or simply walk up and throw them during their recovery period. This tactic works best during mirror matches and against opponents who can hit your medium pokes on reaction.

Evo2k8 SF3:3S Finals: Ohnuki (Chun Li) vs Mike Watson (Ken)Element 05: If your opponent starts overusing the feint explained above, take a quick step forward and attack with your strongest combo in sync with their rhythm. Light attacks may be fast, but they’re certainly not immune to mindgames. Mike Watson is known for making excellent use of such fakes, but Ohnuki’s 3S Chun Li found a way to make him pay.

Element 06: Always be on the lookout for changes in your opponent’s behavior, especially when they gain access to super meter. When people start edging back and forth at mid-range, that’s a sign they’re fishing for something to nail with a super. Remember what Daigo’s SF4 Ryu did to Poongko at Capcom’s International Exhibition? Stick to quick normal moves in that situation. Don’t test their reactions with slow special moves. Or better yet, lock them into block stun then bait the super from a deceptively safe distance.

By now you should be starting to see what veteran players mean when they say everything has a counter. Footsies is more than technical knowledge. It all hinges on constant analysis of your opponent to determine which tactic to apply at any given moment. Look for patterns!

Rule #1: Never get predictable. If you can’t read your opponent’s intentions for whatever reason, or if you simply lose track of your opponent’s train of thought, do not under any circumstances fall back to your default gameplan. Play it safe or do something random, something your opponent has never seen you do before. Otherwise you’ll find yourself walking (or flying) home with a bewildered look on your face, trying to remember what exactly it was you got hit by.