The way matchups work in 3s, counter picking makes a lot less sense than in other games. Generally, if a character is rank A on a tier chart, that character has good matchups against almost all characters B rank or lower. So like, if you counter pick someone with Chun, you should have just played Chun in the first place because she is strong against every other character in the game.
Changing from Q to Hugo is the wackiest counterpick I’ve ever heard 
tournaments for 3s should be character locked.
would picking sa3 elena vs hugo or oro be a counter pick? LOL
LBR: ramza KILLED Justin’s Chun during winners, which is why he chose Elena in Grand Finals. Besides being kind of similar, she has certain other tools that Chun doesn’t like close anti-throw normals and in some occasions a Shoryu.
But yeah, 3S really is the type of game where you can get away with one main more than others. However the player wants to play in tourneys is their own business, but I’ve learned to stick with my best character(Q…sigh) and just roll with it. Even if I don’t win it’s still fun to play anyway(I do play to win btw).
And anyone who goes to Japan to try and collect is gonna be depressed when they come home with random Kinnikuman action figures or some Evangelion clock. I dunno how it is for Tokyo tourns, but over here we just sell what we win. :V
pherai: My first main was Hugo but then I transitioned to Q around 2005-6. That Ken player played aggressive against me, which at the time I didn’t have much answers for, so I switched to Hugo to see if his style would change any. It didn’t, so yeah.
aku:
towards + roundhouse is an anti throw normal with chun, and we all know that it can even link to sa2. she also has ex spinning bird kick which is a pretty good reversal. unless elena has an anti-throw normal that isnt able to be parried high? dont think elena has any other tools over chun lol.
i know you know all that but thought id point it out 
True, but Elena can do damage almost as good as SA2 without having to stock a full Super, which Chun can’t really do. She can also juggle in the corner for good damage which Chun can’t. Not to mention it was Justin playing him, so he could probably make the best out of Elena’s “Chun Lite” mixup game.
I don’t think Chun makes it impossible for those characters. Until she’s got meter, the only thing she can do is poke, play keep away, and move in with Kara Throws. The pokes can be nullified with some smart playing and proper parrying. Plus when she’s knocked down, she only has EX Spinning Bird Kick to get them off of her, and even that has start up. The key to beating Chun is to pin her down, don’t let her escape, and destroy her ass after knocking her down. Easier said than done though. I think of Yun as being a true counter to those guys. He’s fast, has a great mixup, can link into almost anything, plus Genei Jin.
It’s not impossible, but it really is insanely hard for those characters to beat Chun. They may have an ace or two up their sleeves to be able to get damage on her(Oro’s 100% stun Tengu juggle, Necro being able to stun juggle Chun easier), but getting there is an uphill battle. I remember ThyAllMighty talking about how MOV would tell him to switch from Oro to anyone else against his Chun, and whenever he played an Oro he’d just roll his eyes.
key words are “at higher level.” I’m sure aku understands, necro/oro/alex against Rikimaru/MOV/Nuki will never win. Even Genki knows it.
I believe in Genki’s s.lk > SAII.
Yeah, it’s true…I was just trying to cushion the blow for Alexander this time around, haha.
There are a few vids of these guys beating Chun, but they were either complete miracles, or the Chun didn’t know the matchup; best example I can think of being Ricky Ortiz vs KSK at Evo2K3. The real top Chuns know the game too well to let the opponent get away with miracles. It may be heartbreaking, but that’s how it is.
It’s not to say you shouldn’t ever play those characters because everyone has their own strong points and uniqueness. It’s just their worst matchups happen to be Chun. Prepare for the worst, is all I can say.
Uhhh Makoto vs Q?
I’m well aware of the decisions I’ve made in life. :sad:
Though to be fair, Mak vs Q isn’t really as unwinnable as it used to be. It’s still really really really hard though.
I think the Elena counter pick thing was more of a surprise factor that made ramza get confused. Chun is far more superior in that match up. She can beat command grab with back dash super too. High low options for super. Cl st rh is basically a shoryu for chun when doing it on wake up. Not to mention Elena can get 100% stunned. But the counter pick worked for Justin so I guess it was what he wanted.
I also think Alex and oro vs chun is impossible without some wacky playing that leads to a miracle.
If you win a tourney at mikado you get to pick a DVD out from the ones they sell. At club sega you get a laminated type business card that says 1st place champion. I know it sounds lame but I think its dope. I was sooo close to getting one. Really bummed me out. And other places just offer a free drink to the winner.
I’ve actually been playing q a lot recently and I don’t think makoto vs q is as bad as people say. I mean I know it sucks but q has some tool to keep her at distance and great ways to punish.
One guy from sf4 comes along asking about 3s.
And literally everyone helps this one guy to adjust and play it.
I love the 3s community.
best counterpick ever i witnessed was at Battle of Destiny 2008 semifinals when Harmonaz after losing first game vs Cyrox’s Yun switched from Akuma to Q and took the set. Amazing and hilarious!
A lot of things were covered, some things that might be helpful.
1- Don’t play this game at all like SFIV, in fact, look at 3S as an entirely different animal all together. Look at it as “starting from scratch” and play the game from that perspective.
2- 3S will take a lot of time to learn, and learn well. Sit down and play as often as you can for just practice, whether it be with a friend or another beginner to the game. Practice, practice, practice.
3- Do NOT expect to be good or win games, especially at first. Go into each and every fight for practice and fun only. If you win, consider it a bonus. Every game will be rewarding in that you gain some experience, and if you stick with it long enough you will start to read your opponents better and know what to do in certain situations, and steadily getting more and more wins.
hey did kazuya beat kuroda/mov (chun?) recently? i remember hearing about his performance in one of the quals earlier this year and couldve swore kazuya beat that team.
i didnt literally mean its never ever going to happen. im just saying against mov/rikimaru chun its like 9-1, 8-2. ive witnessed sebastian (thyallmighty) oro take down rom and ricky chun in a row in a team tournament earlier this year.
for the record i have mad respect for low tier specialists that are actually good. had a phase where i would hate on top tier when i FIRST started the game, then i had the mentality of why would you not play high tier, and now i have mad respect for every character that is not sean and twelve lol. maybe someday ill have more respect for those 2 characters too.
also playing chun at high level is not easy either. for those bitching about chun being too good (or mak or whoever you think is too good) try playing them and see how well you do in higher play (means against the stronger american players offline or japan). its not easy
shout out to ysb, tm, fuji, sugiyama, pierrot, kazuya and higa.
Yeah I never got the whole attitude surrounding playing a lower tier character. Often it just seems like the person wants a cop-out so when they lose they can blame something other than themselves and when they win it’s a bigger deal than it should be. It’s mentally an easy road to take playing a low tier character. If you don’t try it doesn’t matter and if you do try and lose you have an excuse for yourself.
I think people with a weak mentality flock to lower tier characters for that reason. Some people though just end up on a lower tier character because they’re a good fit and they enjoy using them.
Everyone likes the underdog. It’s great to see less common characters being taken to the limit and succeeding. The fact that you can do that at all is great. Great players love the game. That’s what makes them great. In every game you’re going to have the same issues as far as balance and popularity, but it really doesn’t matter if you honestly just love playing the game. Of course you’re playing to win but winning itself isn’t what’s fun. Playing a low tier character is no different from high tier in this respect.
This is a good summary. Everyone had great input.
I got my self on GGPO and lost 150 strait matches or so in the last 2 days. I don’t know how much effort I’m going to put in this game considering its age, my comfort in sf4 already and mvc3 coming out, but i at least want to give it a try especially since there might be a “3S HDR”. But this is tough, everyone I’ve played so far has been doing so for YEARS.
For one thing this game amazes me how even “fast” normals are unsafe and are massively bait able, even a dam jab. krazy stuff to me. I could pick up a thing or 2 from this game. Like getting out a corner without a special. Seems like you have to poke your way out considering alot of these 3s characters corner juggles and resets.
And is it me or is using a DP as an AA like stooopid hard in this game? Jump arcs are so shallow and there hardly any invincibility on the move and they are very vertical. deep breath
Oh is cr.throw tech in the game???
Yeah it is. It’s not nearly as good as it is in SF4 though.
For what its worth, there is an abundance of resources for getting good at 3s at this point since the game has been out for years. Catching up isn’t as hard a task as it may seem if you apply yourself. Every time I visit Japan I seem to meet someone who has been playing half as long as me or less that can mollywhop me.