Monthly Archives: April 2010

Autofootsies

17 Replies

As you become increasingly proficient with a character, you naturally develop a repertoire of attack strings that just plain work. Whether it’s a sweep after a low short or an uppercut after a blocked fireball, everyone seems to fall for certain patterns.

Free damage for minimal effort is always nice, but the inherent danger is falling into the trap of playing footsies on autopilot. What happens when you face someone who sees it coming and knows the counter? How quickly do you adapt? Are you prepared to adapt? Have you taken the time to plot out and practice the counter to the counter?

The truth is, you can get pretty far just by watching top players and mimicking their combat maneuvers without understanding the active thought processes behind them. Many beginner and intermediate level players will have trouble overcoming refined tournament tactics.

There’s nothing wrong with relying on proven, successful strategies. However, running into someone who can beat you will set you two steps back – not just one. After all, how can you neutralize their rebuttal if you don’t even know why your gameplan worked in the first place?

Continue reading →

Etc Spotlight: 83 Til – Substance

6 Replies

My friend Metronome asked for help editing a non-fighting-game project a couple of weeks ago and i think it turned out pretty cool, especially considering i had no idea what i was doing. They provided the camera footage, i took care of the groundwork draft, and he added motion graphics – animated text, color overlays, etc.

83 Til – Substance

What does this have to do with Sonic Hurricane? Well, if the name sounds familiar, it’s because these guys hooked me up with a trailer soundtrack and an intro track for my Evo2k7 Guile combovid. It’s the least i could do to return the favor.

By the way, they’ve been involved in making some random comedy videos on the side. Check these out too: The Handshake and Loneliness.

“The words they force-feed us are making me nauseous …”

Weekly Screenshot: Shock and Thaw

24 Replies

Whoever comes up with the best title picks 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.

nwarr-elemental-damage-02

NW Lord Raptor’s Death Voltage trades with Huitzil’s PPP ES Plasma Beam, freezing L.Raptor and electrocuting Huitzil. Frozen sprites are universal for the entire cast, but each character has a unique electrocution animation. Huitzil, Pyron, Donovan, Raptor, and Hsien-Ko have the most interesting electrocuted sprites.

SF4 Grab Classifications

22 Replies

Have you ever wondered why Vega can combo an Izuna Drop after his EX Flying Barcelona Attack? You’re not supposed to be able to connect throws during hit stun, right?

It turns out the EX version of Izuna Drop isn’t a throw at all. It’s actually an unblockable hit. How can you tell? Simply head into Training Mode and set Counter Hit to ON in the Training Options menu, then test the move without connecting anything before it. Hits will trigger the “Counter Hit” message but real throws won’t. To save you some time, here are my findings.

All universal ground throws and standard air throws are true throws.

Zangief’s Spinning Piledriver, Flying Power Bomb, and Atomic Suplex are all true throws. Honda’s Oicho Throw is a true throw. Vega’s regular Izuna Drop is a true throw but his EX Izuna Drop is an unblockable hit.

Abel’s Tornado Throw is a true throw. Falling Sky is a hit. Finish Mid and Finish Low are both blockable hits. El Fuerte’s Fajita Buster, Propeller Tortilla, and Flying Giga Buster are all true throws. Guacamole Leg Throw is a hit. Rufus’ EX Galactic Tornado vacuum is a blockable hit.

Continue reading →

CV Spotlight: majijam’s KoF2k2UM Death Combos

4 Replies

For the past month, (relative) newcomer majijam has been releasing KoF 2002 UM touch of death compilations for each team in the game. He has such an easy time finishing off enemies, that he’s able to include a diverse range of combos for every character.

KoF2002UM Boss Character Death Combo Movie | Clone Kyo
KoF2002UM Psycho Soldier Team | Japan Team | Art of Fighting Team

Needless to say, some of these combos are truly ridiculous. For instance, Japan teammate Daimon starts off the very first hit of a combo by knocking down the opponent, then proceeds to combo various OTGs until the KO message gets in the way. Psycho Soldier Athena performs a combo consisting solely of (nine!) projectiles. And that’s nothing compared to what shenanigans the boss characters pull. Let’s just say Nightmare Geese would’ve made it pretty far as a Dragonball Z villain.