Obviously Chun Li has an abundance of combo tools within the SF4 engine. She has plenty of juggle potential, she gets frame advantage in important places, she can do interesting things in the air, she gains vast forward movement from canceling c.HP, and having a slow fireball helps too. It’s no surprise that she ends up with such a dynamic assortment of combos.

0:11 With Chun Li’s back to the corner, the pushback from C.Viper’s s.HK gets added to the pushback from Chun’s s.HK, swiftly propelling Viper backward into the LP Kikoken. Chun Li has just enough time to dash forward and connect her Hosenka ultra – which has ridiculous range. Whiffing DF+LK was completely superfluous, but there’s too much idle time to kill while waiting for the fireball to travel as far as possible.

0:25 This is another take on my Fun With SF4 vol.1 Chun Li combo; except replacing the initial LP Kikoken with an HP Kikoken tightens up the timing substantially. It’s now performed by combining two charge tricks: returning to DB before pressing HP and maximizing the reversal window. Evidently the SF4 reversal window is around 5 frames, so instead of the first fireball coming out when i press HP, it comes out 4-5 frames later – thereby reducing the interval between the two fireballs appearing on screen. In other words, the second fireball would’ve come out at the same time no matter what, but the reversal delays the first one by 5 frames.

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Apart from their charge-back cannonball and button-mash specials, Honda and Blanka share a number of core design similarities. They both have long-range, high-damage normals with just enough frame advantage to get by. Both are bound by slow dashes. Neither can chain light attacks. Neither can combo into lvl2 EX Focus Attack or perform any FADC ground combos without counterhit. It’s no surprise that their basic combos follow the same blueprints.

0:11 Dhalsim’s vertical j.LP reaches into the last active frame of HP Electric Thunder. Blanka recovers in time to whiff HP Rolling Attack and juggle with LP Ground Shave Roll. The super command is delayed to reuse the same charge. This trick is easier to duplicate near the corner, because the Rolling Attack recovers much quicker. Unfortunately, Ground Shave Roll also stops instantly upon reaching the corner. Since Blanka automatically starts rolling on contact, it’s impossible to land more than one hit when starting all the way in the corner.

0:18 There are two components to pushback in SF4. Pressing a button expands the attacker’s hitbox to a specific size. If the opponent is standing at point blank range, that expansion pushes them back before the attack even connects. Take a look at Rufus’ c.HP for an extreme example. The second component is of course the pushback caused the strike itself. In this clip, Gouken’s EX Senkugoshoha thrust counteracts Blanka’s s.HK pre-impact pushback, in addition to acting as a counterhit meaty setup. Then the end flip of Blanka’s close s.HK pushes off against the corner. Combined, these two factors eliminate both components of s.HK pushback in the first combo. The second combo doesn’t have the advantage of Blanka being cornered because he needs the corner to juggle MP Ground Shave Roll after HP Electric Thunder.

0:27 Normally crossups are bad for combos in SF4, because they cause opponents to lean backward, which expands their hitbox in that direction and prevents you from getting in close. However, Blanka’s close s.MP causes so much pre-impact pushback that crossup j.HP doesn’t make a difference. It would’ve pushed the dummy that far away regardless. Blanka is usually not a good combo target but he does have a wide low hitbox, which is enough for something.

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And here is the second video premiered at Evo2k10, prior to SSF4 finals on July 11th, 2010! It’s basically a straightforward combo exhibition, except the main theme is “stylish combos.” It’s hard to define what exactly it means for a combo to be stylish, but i’m sure everyone has used that word to describe one at some point.

Instead of covering every minor detail and pointing out every subtle style element, the following transcript will highlight one or two technical aspects per combo. If any questions remain unanswered, please don’t hesitate to ask them.

0:02 SFA Ken / SFA3 X-Cody / SFA2 Sakura / SFA3 A-Guy varied chain sequence kicks off the video and marks the beginning of the first chapter.

0:18 SF3:2I Ryu’s fully charged Denjin Hadoken is interrupted using Oro’s s.LP to set up a jump-in. Ryu’s EX Hurricane Kick fails to knock opponents away under certain circumstances.

0:23 SFA3 A-Vega’s LP Rolling Crystal Flash lobs one of Blanka’s watermelons, connecting right as Vega recovers. Blanka flashes red at ever hit, indicating that he’s mashing tech inputs.

0:29 SF2WW Zangief’s Lariat backspin catches CPU Vega’s arm and swings back to dizzy him. While dizzy, WW Vega can be OTG’d following any knockdown.

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This is the first video premiered at Evo2k10, before HDR finals on July 11th, 2010! The whole concept is projectiles interacting in elaborate and interesting ways. We tried to avoid inflicting damage to the characters, but sometimes we allowed them to get hit for dramatic effect.

Since the majority of these choreographed sequences are intuitive by design, it’s probably best to simplify the write-up by providing technical breakdowns only for the confusing parts.

0:07 SF3:3S Chun Li’s Kikou-sho acts as a stationary projectile, lasting long enough to wipe out Remy’s entire Light of Justice array.

0:10 CFE Demitri initiates this sequence by sending an ES Chaos Flare through Pyron’s LP Sol Smasher, establishing the numerical discrepancy perpetuated until the end.

0:12 SFA2 Ryus mix CC LP Hadokens and lvl1 Shinku Hadokens to create the illusion of chaos.

0:15 CvS Terry’s lvl1 Power Geyser and Kyo’s lvl1 Orochi Nagi both behave like standard single-hit projectiles, nullifying one another cleanly.

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Vega has all the requisite combo limitations of a non-fireball character. He’s got a few stylish juggle sequences, but not much else. Sakura has one of the worst fireballs in the game, but it still adds variety to her combo openings and allows her to land lvl2 Focus Attacks. Otherwise her LK Shunpukyaku loops would dominate her combo options even more.

0:11 Vega’s Rolling Izuna Drop super is a true throw, so crumple stun is obviously the only way to combo it. Vega must stand close to the corner to minimize his Flying Barcelona Special’s startup time after Viper’s s.LK trades with his lvl3 Focus Attack. Otherwise she’ll drop out of reach before he can get there. Vega actually manages to get behind her here, initiating the grab going left to right. HK Flying Barcelona Special and HP Rolling Izuna Drop versions were used, but i don’t think it makes any difference.

0:20 The rising hit of Vega’s EX Flying Barcelona Attack creates a one-time free juggle state. Trading with Chun Li’s backward j.LP gives him plenty of time to recover and follow up with the last active frame of EX Scarlet Terror, putting her in standard knockdown state. Then Vega has just barely enough time to connect EX Sky High Claw off the opposite wall midscreen, due to its juggle potential of one.

0:27 The trick to this combo is starting out with ample space between the two characters. After Vega’s lvl3 Focus Attack trades with Cammy’s s.LK, the next lvl3 Focus Attack brings the edge of the screen closer to Vega’s back than it would’ve with Vega and Cammy standing right next to each other. This minimizes the startup time of Vega’s Bloody High Claw ultra. Of course i also tried going off the opposite wall behind Cammy, but that idea wasn’t even close to working; at least not midscreen.

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