A Complete Match-Up Thread

Classic Fighting Games Ultra Street Fighter IV
1

I’ve decided to make a proper matchup thread, it’s quite difficult to find information from the current matchup links thread and a lot of the info on the specific posts is incorrect. It’s going to take me a bit to sift through all the other threads to add more info for all the characters. Also if you want to add anything please do and I’ll update it asap.

Please only add things if they are solid fact, if you THINK something MIGHT punish something, please test it thoroughly first, I don’t wanna be updating with information that is wrong.

Abel

Spoiler
  • you can always try to grab Abel out of his non-Ex rolls as long as they land in front of you, if he manages to roll behind it won’t work though
  • back st.mk xx flame and back st.hk will punish Abel’s non EX rolls

Adon

Spoiler
  • back st.hk beats Adon’s dive kicks, including EX-dives, every time if timed correctly, worth practicing this in training mode

Akuma

Spoiler
  • Use slide mk to go under his air fireball(s) and then grab (or use b.hp xx mp/ex flame).
  • If you block his far s.hk, the second hit will whiff. Grab him.
  • lk/mk tatsu can be hardy punished on block
  • If he uses air fireball(s) on your wakeup, use U1 (it doesn’t work on crossup air fireball).
  • Try to put Akuma in the corner, then stay at 3/4 screen. If he does any demon flip, and soon as you hear akuma screaming, use b.mp xx HP fire to beat it clean.
  • Use j.mp to beat demon flip on reaction. It should perform with good reflexes.

Balrog

Spoiler
  • Balrog’s j.hk can beat or trade with your b.hk if timed correctly so it could be better to focus attack it
  • his dash punches can be focused except for the overhead punch and the diagonal upwards punching one (dashing low uppercut)

Blanka

Spoiler
  • can punish blocked balls with st.hp
  • EX horizontal ball can be punished with st.hp even if it hits you
  • focus attack ex rainbow rolls
  • be very careful about jumping because Blanka can punish easily with up balls
  • Dhalsims U1 can punish a blocked U1 from Blanka
  • if Blanka uses a slow horizontal ball to land in front of you, you can always grab him as soon as he lands
  • can yoga tower to avoid horizontal balls and Blanka’s slide
  • Dhalsim’s U2 punishes: Blanka balls (blocked, EX on hit as well), blocked up balls, electricity, U1, Super, unsafe slides
  • Dhalsim’s U2 also punishes Blanka’s U2 but you have to jump towards him first

C. Viper

Spoiler

More info needed

Cammy

Spoiler
  • I find using focus attacks on her jump ins better than trying to anti air her
  • can throw her if she uses a deep spiral arrow
  • you can duck to make her hooligan combination whiff (the move where she curls up in a ball and flies through the air)

Chun Li

Spoiler
  • back st.mp and back st.hk don’t seem to work too well against her as anti air, I find it’s better to jump and catch her in the air with Dhalsim’s pokes
  • Chun Li can use U1 to punish your fireballs on reaction assuming she is close enough

Cody

Spoiler
  • Cody can use EX-ruffian kick to slide under your fireballs so be careful using fireballs if you are a medium distance away from him

Dan

Spoiler

More info needed

Dee Jay

Spoiler
  • Dee Jay’s sliding kick will beat your j.hp snipes etc, so be very careful about trying that on him

Dhalsim

Spoiler

More info needed

Dudley

Spoiler
  • it’s very hard for Dudley to get in if you have a fireball always up from a distance
  • be careful jumping because he can get across the screen very easily before you land

E. Honda

Spoiler
  • can focus attack the second part of sumo splash quite easily on reaction
  • can also back st.mp sumo splash once he is in the air
  • punish Honda’s MP and HP headbutts with s.hp and punish LP and EX headbutts with s.lk

El Fuerte

Spoiler

More info needed

Fei Long

Spoiler
  • if he uses chicken wing to get in (the kick where he flips forwards) you can focus attack it on reaction as long as the first part of it doesn’t hit, which it won’t if you are quite a distance away from him

Gen

Spoiler
  • can catch Gen’s wall dives on reaction with j.mp/ back j.mp

Gouken

Spoiler

More info needed

Guile

Spoiler
  • very hard to slide under Guile’s sonic booms consistently because of the different speeds of them

Guy

Spoiler

More info needed

Hakan

Spoiler
  • good Hakan players will not use unsafe slides, so use tower to bait and punish them

Ibuki

Spoiler
  • better to use back st.mp for anti air, seems as though back st.hk doesn’t work too well against her

Juri

Spoiler

More info needed

Ken

Spoiler
  • back cr.mp or back cr.hp his spinning leg kicks
  • back st.hk beats all his jump ins if spaced correctly

M. Bison

Spoiler
  • stop using fireballs when he has U2, he can use it on reaction

Makato

Spoiler
  • Makato players seem to have an obsession with focus attacks, so be careful about spamming st.hp

Rose

Spoiler
  • all of Dhalsim’s slides beat Rose’s slide clean

Rufus

Spoiler

More info needed

Ryu

Spoiler
  • back cr.mp or back cr.hp his spinning leg kicks
  • back st.hk beats all his jump ins if spaced correctly
  • Dhalsims U1 will punish a blocked U2 (the shoryuken Ultra) from Ryu but you will need to wait until he starts falling down
  • can easily jump over a random U1 from Ryu, even if you’re directly in front of him and punish with U1
  • it’s pretty easy to slide under Ryu’s fireballs

Sagat

Spoiler

More info needed

Sakura

Spoiler
  • try to keep her as far away as possible, it’s very hard to get rid of her if she gets close

Seth

Spoiler
  • Seth’s U1 can punish Dhalsim’s U1, even from full screen, so never throw out a random yoga catastrophe if he is standing
  • use j.mp to catch Seth’s wall jump

T. Hawk

Spoiler
  • blocked condor dives can be punished with st.hp
  • Blocked Condor Dives can be punished with U2
  • up flame seems to hit T.Hawk quite well when he jumps and hits him when he uses condor dive as long as he doesn’t fall short

Vega

Spoiler
  • can catch non-EX wall dives with j.mp
  • can also slide under wall dives and punish with st.hp

Zangief

Spoiler
  • can st.hp his lariats, although if you do it too early your punch will go through him
  • A good Gief will punish teleports with lariat 100% of the time, don’t try to be cute with teleports againt him
2

Reserved

3

Reserved.

4

T. Hawk:
Blocked Condor Dives can be punished with U2

5

Hakan: Good Hakan players will not use unsafe slides, so use tower to bait and punish them.

O-S happy Cammy: change char and counterpick! lol

6

mk flame or sthk punishes abel non ex rolls.

7

You mean mp flame and back st.hk?

8

he means b.s.mk xx flame and b.s.hk

9

You can’t punish Honda’s EX Headbutt with U2

10
  • I hear Yoga Mummy can beat Honda’s headbutt quite consistently on reaction.
  • A good Gief will punish teleports with lariat 100% of the time, don’t try to be cute with teleports againt him.
  • Gief punishes U1 with Lariat.
  • Be careful using st.mk to punish jumping blanka, he can beat it cleanly with j.hk
  • Against Blanka, U2 punishes: Blanka balls (blocked, EX on hit as well), blocked up balls, electricity, U1, U2, Super, unsafe slides
  • Use EX Up flame to counter Chun’s jump-ins.
  • Use EX Up flame to counter Akuma’s, Gouken’s, Cammy’s and Guy’s demon flips.
11

From full screen Cody can dash and ex ruffian if you try to fireball him from full screen. iirc

12

I like this thread, so I try to fix infos to go by what I’ve learned and tested in training mode.

It depends on distance. If Sim has time to stretch his leg, the HB will whiff. But It’s risky… I don’t think can be done on reaction. Simple punish MP and HP headbutts with s.hp and LP and EX with s.lk.

Right.

Almost every char can punish U1 on reaction. Gief can punish lariat also with green hand EX, spd, normal grab ecc… so it’s not matchup-specific.

Be careful to use s.mk as antiair :slight_smile: Normally It works only and the the right distance (far) and if the opponent is at this maximum height of his jump.

Right, I add: to punish Blanka’s U2 fullscreen, first jump in and then use your U2.

Are you sure it will not trade? I haven’t tested yet.

Unfortunately Akuma can do a deep demon flip and beat EX Up flame.
Vs Cammy should work well but I’m not sure.

Every char can bait an EX flame simply doing the lp/lk version, so take care.

13

My akuma tips:

  • Use slide mk to go under his air fireball(s) and then grab (or use b.hp xx mp/ex flame).
  • If you block his far s.hk, the second hit will whiff. Grab him.
  • lk/mk tatsu can be hardy punished on block
  • If he uses air fireball(s) on your wakeup, use U1 (it doesn’t work on crossup air fireball).
  • Try to put Akuma in the corner, then stay at 3/4 screen. If he does any demon flip, and soon as you hear akuma screaming, use b.mp xx HP fire to beat it clean.
  • Use j.mp to beat demon flip on reaction. It should perform with good reflexes.
14

yeh that’s why I didn’t add a lot of the stuff that was posted before, Gore, 1 thing that I should have said is please only add things if they are solid fact, if you THINK something MIGHT punish something, please test it thoroughly first, I don’t wanna be updating with information that is wrong.

Thanks for the tips though everyone so far.

15

Yeah. Sometimes also a test in training mode is not enought. You should try in real match, versus a good opponent.

Scott, I think you can fetch a bunch of tricks from the specific threads… of course only the solid ones :wink:

Then, we can discuss here if they’re solid or not.

16

Akuma: If Akuma has got U1, use overhead j.hp only at maximum range and never if you’re cornered or he can use U1 on reaction.

17

Same theory applies to Abel’s U1.

18

s.mp and s.mk stuff Jaguar kicks start up pretty well at mid range.

19

Rufus: The only key to win this match-up is to keep Rufus away, because once he get in the match finished
keeping Rufus away is easy here are some options:

  • try not to use fireballs alot , especially when Rufus is mid-screen or more near ( U2 of Rufus can catch u when throwing fireball even if u are full screen )
  • use anti-air’s like st.HK , j.MP and b.HK they are very useful when Rufus try to get in by jumping
  • when in corner, its difficult and you must find the right time to get out, for example i wait until Rufus do a cross-up and then i do EX Blast, or when he do the Messiah Kick i s.lk befor he star the hit of the move.
  • do NOT jump toward Rufus, his j.HK followed by Snake is very powerful and the damage is insane
20

Zangief:
j.HK beats lariat. never j.FP in that match

Rufus:
Dash backwards and get rufus into the momentum of chasing you down then, when he jumps, teleport behind him and j.HK before you hit the ground to hit him and create full screen distance.
Don’t fireball at all unless rufus is in the middle of something, like being reset. You need to be able to respond as soon as effing possible at all times.
Keep him at just under full screen. st.MP is your best mid range ground poke as it recovers fast enough for you to manage a surprise jump.
s.HK is the idea long range anti air in this matchup. It not only shuts down dive kicks and most jumps at just under full screen but it also hits galactic tornado.
Don’t focus on finding ways to do damage against Rufus. Focus on ALWAYS being ABLE to respond. You don’t want to be tied in an animation of an attack that wasn’t necessary when rufus jumps leaving you with too little time to gracefully anti air. If you let him in once, you lose. This is a match where you focus on staying ready and able, not doing damage.