This thread is a quick reference WIP to be linked to from my other thread. I ask if you have any question to refer to the A2 thread. Each section has a picture next to it to make it fairly easy to scroll thru and find what you are looking for.
Hitboxes available in my dropbox and the facebook page:
Character Basic guides:
The following are basic guides to get you started for each character. The information listed has been gathered from various players through the years both from watching, playing, and talking on GGPO to various online/offline players to include Maxstah, Endy/Endy22, B-IzM, BBH, seh, Dreamfire, Doujinshi, css, purplehaze, Aquashark, randomdps, Agito, TheBee, WOLFwatcher, zoo, blazeu25 and many others I can’t possibly remember.
Charlie 101
Posted: 2008-04-03 1:14 AM MDT
Charlie 101 Oh yeah here we go.
Charlie has an incredibly good defense and offense. He has alot of good thing going for him and a few bad, so we will start there.
Pros:
AA monster, high priority normals for anti-air (s.mp, s.mk, s.hk) as well as lk flash kick which beats anything and his AA cc.
Great projectile, though its not as good as guile’s in other games, not giving frame advantage like guile really, but come out fast and has good speed and trajectory and does allow for combos when thrown from afar.
C.mk is universal poke with far range and is really annoying
Cons:
Easy as hell to cc thru his AAs, and due to him being so solid, alot of people will try jump-in cc.
Outside c.mk his normals are so-so, f+fp is so slow, and other normals are more for AA.
ACs arent all that great with them being slow and sometimes missing.
CC isnt damaging like other characters.
****Normals Breakdown:
STANDING
s.lp- Just a normal standing lp, nothing too special about this, can AA sometimes and you can s.lp walking pressure on whoever cant duck this.
s.mp- A really good anti air, he does a quick uppercut. Cancel this ino a sonic boom to keep up pressure. I usually cancel into a lp boom if I AA with this.
s.fp- I straight punch that I havent really found much use for.
s.lk- A quick kick to the shin, I use this rarely, seems to have decent priority but no range :(.
s.mk- Another great anit air when your opponent jumps in fram afar, such as Sagat jumping in with rh. Can cancel into specials.
s.hk- Ugly angled kick which is good or anti-air, same uses as s.mk with a little more power behind it.
CROUCHING
c.lp- This is your combo starter. Combo’s easily into sonic booms, flash kicks, supers.
c.mp- Limited anti air ability, better to stick with your other choices IMO. Good to cancel into sonic boom for pressure or use in combos. Seems to have ok priority, seems slow to me compared to other characters c.mp’s.
c.fp- Probably top ten useless normals in A2. Looks like Guile’s godly c.fp from other games but gets beat by everything. I fucking hate this move.
c.lk- I like this normal, cancels easily into booms and supers. Decent range, I like to walk up and poke with this.
c.mk- His best ground all-purpose poke. Great range, speed, hits low, and has great recovery. Quite annoying when playing a Charlie player because this move can very effectively keep you out due to its range. Seems to leave you on even frames, maybe very slight frame advantage.
c.rh- Eh. This move doesnt really suck but really isnt great. Slow coming out and heavy recovery. I really dont use this at all, unless Someone whiffs a dp, etc from afar.
JUMPING
j.hp- This move is dope, hella priority, speed, and if done close you get the throw. Best air-to-air period.
j.mk- GREAT range on this jump in and pimp cross up, use to punish fireballers, and dont swing if you think a dp is comin, cc their ass on recovery. great jump-in.
j.hk- Great jump-in too, good priority and awesome angle.
SPECIAL
f or b+hk- This is his foward moving hop kick. Good range, but slow in this game. Very useful for moving forward after a sonic boom.
f or b+mk- Slow ass overhead which im pretty sure leaves you at neg frames. Use at MAX distance to be safe, I usually will do it after a boom.
f+fp- This normal is best used as a anti-jump. Good in the corner when doing soni boom pressure, toss is out it you think they will jump and it will it them :).
****Specials Breakdown:
Sonic Boom:
The best fireball in terms of release speed and recovery, and a key part of zoning and pressure with Charlie. This is very hard to punish and with good charging techniques you can keep up a while vs ryu’s. This isnt as good as later games since point blank it doesnt leave you with much if any frame advantage, but still allows combos from certain ranges.
Flash Kick:
Probably the best AA in the game, easily beating jumps in with the lk version, and easily beating ground moves with mk version.
****Supers:
Sonic Break:
Very useful super since it seems he first sonic boom comes out no matter what which ean at worst it will trade making it very reliable AA. As far as chip goes I would just cc. Good to push opponent back, can delay booms by spacing punch input. Good AA, but i would cc instead.
Sonic Blitz:
This is the super you want to combo into, decent damage and combos off light attacks at any lvl, safe on block.
Somersault Justice:
Better in A3. When comboed you usually miss hits making it weaker to combo into than Blitz after a cross up, but looks better. Unless going for chip or style points, stay away from this super unless comboing from a jump in (Which gets all the hits).
****Custom Combos:
Oh yeah, CCs, another reason this fucker is annoying. And if they block your cc, or you can see they will, dont fucking flash kick! Sonic boom, its safe. Note that his cc leave him in prefect cross-up position.
Lvl 1:
c.rh xx lk flash kick, hp sonic boom xx hk flash kick
c.rh xx hk flash kick x2
For chip and/or block:
This CC is really good because you can walk behind these unlike other chip ccs. Walk behind these and go for a counter hit, overhead, or throw. Make sure to start out with c.rh, cause if they do get hit they get juggled.
c.rh xx lp sonic boom x4
Lvl 2:
c.rh xx hk flash kick x 3
Lvl 3:
c.rh xx lk flash kick x3, mk flash kick, hk flash kick
c.rh xx lk flash kick, hk flash kick x3
Anti-Air Custom Combos
Now these are very important, specifically to punish people who look to jump after a sonic boom, also allow you to walk after a boom and punish hard, since they arent worried about a charged flash kick. Now in most cases they can jump to where if you try to AA you will get beat, mainly wen theyare looking to jump immeadiately after a boom. That when you hit’em with AA cc.
Activate:
s.mp if they ae higher up(into any lvl ground cc)
c.lp if they are lower to the ground (into any ground cc)
Now hit them with this a couple times and Im sure they will think twice about jumping >_<.
^^^^CHARGE TECHNIQUES^^^^
This section is important to learn fo any SF game, if you use a charge character. This is quick charging, the most effective way to maximie your charge time. Perform every sonic boom in this way:
charge b-f-b+p
Instead of the normal motion you execute the sonic boom ending in back+punch. This allows you to start harging for the next boom immeadiately after throwing he next one.
Sonic boom, SOMERSAULT!!!
This way of performing a sonic boom allows for the execution of a flash kick about a tenth of a second later after throwing the boom. You can actually flash kick while the boom is on screen. Perform it in this way:
charge b-f-b-db-d-df+lp
So after charging you go foward, back, then roll to down foward+lp. Hit up and kick a tenth of a second later and a flash kick will come out. neat huh?
Play Style
Charlie can be played aggressively or defensively, 99% of the players you see will be the latter. Though Charlie can be very effecive defensively, a well rounded player will learn how to use both, thus making it harder to adjust to your play style. Some players are mostly offensive (S4v is an example) while some can go hardcore turtle (Me, guilty). But the problem with that is if you cant play him both ways you are bound to run into some problems. So best to try to balance both.
Patternizing: A no-no
Alot of Charlie players I notcied will patternize a hell of alot more than with other characters. 80-90% of them will boom after a c.mk. Dont do that shit. Mix up your poke string as well as you can, other wise you are gonna get countered easily. Ever play someone and kick their ass, but about 3-4 matches down the road you are having a hard time or losing? You are probably doing alot of patterns they caught on to. Like in the corner, you throw a sonic boom, most people follo up with a c.mk or c.rh. They almost always do. They other options they had were:
- Throw another sonic boom
- nothing, punish jump attempt or cc a dp atempt
- walk up throw
- f+fp to punish jumpers
- Jump-in and start another poke string.
- f+rh to punish mashers
Now the situation is gonna dictate the action, but its better than just c.mk or c.rh. You are just gonna get AC’d. Mix it up.
Sonic Boom, Sonic Boom, pause Sonic boom…
Using the quick charge technique explained earlier, this ca be very effective versus some characters. As soon as they block a boom throw another one, use different speeds. Just keept booming as fast as possible, you are doing it right if as soon as a sonic boom is blocked, one is coming out. this builds meter very quickly and can force your opponent to jump, eating a CC. When they get jump happy, ocassionally pause, if they jump, CC, normal AA, or Flash kick. Rinse repeat.
Counter CC
Now like I mentioned earlier about jump in cc’s, Charlie get that done alot to him because his solid ground game. If you suspect your opponent plans on this, or patternizes by always doing this, save your cc to counter CC, free damage for you. Some matches I would just sit back and boom and just wait for the cc to counter it.
General Combo’s^^^*^
All these can be done after a cross up mk:
c.lp x2, c.lk xx sonic boom
c.lp, c.lk xx mk flash kick
c.lp x2, c.lk xx any lvl Sonic Blitz (or Somersualt Justice)
Comboing into super is real good with charlie, dont save it for cc, the damage is the same or more.
Corner combos coming to a FAQ near you!
Sodom 101
Sodom is fun, and not enough people use him IMO, probably cause you have to work to win :D. His CC is dope (sorta) and he has decent pokes. Along with good specials, Sodom is well rounded for the most part. Be advised I dont claim to be a Sodom expert, but I think mine is decent :D. Anyway feel free to add any knowledge to this intro duction to Sodom, cause I am not all knowing. So if this ends up like a scrubby gamefaq I blame BBH, just cause I can, lol. If you dont know the terms used in here, sorry Im too lazy to make a legend. Terrible format, but the info is there lol, just read everything. Btw, in the normals section I actually say what they are good for, not just describing looks, so dont skip it. I suck at this.
Normals breakdown (they are all the same, close or far)!!!
s.lp- I dont use it really, just seems like a normal lp to me.
c.lp- Eh, dont use this much, c.lk is better just cause it hits low.
j.lp- This has good vertical range, but I havent had much use for it, doesnt seem to have good priority either.
s.mp- This is a decent normal, mainly cause it gives frame advantage. Ugly looking though.
c.mp- A wierd attack, Ive had alot of luck using this as a distance AA vs characters. Either that or everytime I used it they didnt attack.
j.mp- same as j.lp but more damage.
s.hp- Stabs high with both weapons, good damage. Whiffs vs most the cast, very helpful to zone characters that cant duck it. Use that shit vs gief and sagat, good to hit fireballs too.
c.hp- Uppercuts. Decent AA, but not the greatest, will get beat by early jump-ins or chun (whore)
j.hp- Slashes downward with both weapons. I love this move, good air-to-air, good to hit fibeballers, I would love to see the hitbox on this thing. Jump back hp is dope.
s.lk- Gay ass looking kick to the shin, can walk up and repeatedly do these, but not to much if they have meter, seems to give some frame advantage.
c.lk- Little kick to the foot, ok range. This is what I use to combo after a meaty.
j.lk- I use this a bit, good vertical range and priority, I just dont use too much because people like to mash throw. BUT as a CROSSUP, its awesome.
s.mk- I love this, straight kick that beats alot of shit, good poke, decent range, cancellable too. Best whiff punisher, s.mk xx hp slash.
c.mk- Bleh slow, cant cancel. All this has going for it is that it hit low. I dont like it.
j.mk- I believe same as j.lk, I dont use it.
s.hk- Decent poke, good range, but slow, you gonna get that ass CC’d if you whiff. Kick straight out while moving forward slightly.
c.hk- Use wrong, this move will get you killed. Straight up free CC, sweep, etc if not used right. This move is safe when use as anti-air, though alot of times it gets blocked, but you are safe. Goes under fireballs, which is its best use. Use with caution, is a good move though.
j.hk- Dropkick bitches. Good air-to-air and god priority, overall a good move, but had the same problem as gief, if you use it to punish a fireball, you might get hit in the head with it.
MEATIES!!!
s.mk is his best simply because it has alot of hit frames, and if you mess up, you are safe. If hit super meaty, you can link a c.fp into combo finisher of choice, I would do qcf+lp, cause if you mess up you are safe. Other than that c.lk xx qcf+hp is your best bet.
c.mk is a decent meaty cause it hits low, but all you can get off is c.lk xx hp slash, but the link is so so, have to be sorta precise.
s.mp doesnt have too many hit frames, but if you mess the meaty up, you still have enough frame advantage to link c.lk xx hp slash, meaty or not.
meaty qcf+p, cc setup, safe if blocked or hit, cant combo after, but beats wake up cc blowout attemps.
s.hk is a meaty but you get pushed to far away to link anything, if you even could. But it is a meaty.
Specials!!!
qcf+lp slash- Used right, this bitch is annoying. No one can duck it and is safe on block at any distance.
Ok this move is dope, combos from s.mk or c.hp. Completely safe. Hell do point blank and block, they cant cc you. When distance right, you can sweep if you they fireball, do it again, jump up, etc, play with there head. Ive done this move like 5 times in a row csuse i had people scared to hit me. Once they get hesistant, you can even go for a grab super, if in range, and it is only escapable by dp/cc. Since this game allows you to grab jumps (gay).
This is his best move, with good priority. The move sets up his ac and supers perfectly. There are alot of things he can do after this is hit or blocked.
-
Wait to see it they jump, then mp scrape AA
-
Slide if expecting a fireball
-
720 grab super, make sure they have no meter cause this can be ccd
-
Scrape super to punish jumpers for 2-3 hits juggle, and safe on block
-
another lp scrape
-
jump in fp
qcf+mp slash- Use when you believe someone will jump, risky though, because most characters can crouch this shit. I have not ever been punished when this was blocked, they tried though. Characters who cant duck this have a very hard time (Gief, sagat), because it will catch their jump. Used right you can lock them down. Use this instead of qcf+lp if they cant duck it. NOTE: If done too close it can be punished by cc, but it is safe 99% of the time.
qcf+hp slash- This move is good in far combo cause it knocks down. Always follow up with sweep, in case they safe roll. Beware, if blocked, free CC or combo.
360+punch grab- Yay, I love this move. Cancels and grabs form s.mk at any range in corner. Midscreen, point blank s.mk, c.lk xx 360 will grab.
Set-ups ( what I do)!!!
Corner*
1.Meaty s.mk, c.lk xx 360+lp
A.s.lk, s.mk xx 360+lp
B.walking s.lks, cancel into 360+lp
C.jump up, j.hp xx 360+lp
Midscreen
1.Any tick into 360, qcf+hp to get close, grab on wake-up with 360+lp
2.Any tick into 360, qcf+hp to get close, s.mk xx qcf+lp
You can mix it up however you want, just make sure they dont see the grab coming. Also if meaty s.mk hits, link c.lk xx qcf+hp.
360+kick RUGBURN!!!- This is what yo want to combo into, cause it hurts. Alot. Crazy priority, will grab any limb, even sims from fullscreen, Also grabs yoga flames lol. Combos only off a c.hp midscreen, s.mk in corner will work. This is his cc ender. If blocked you aare fucked :D.
j.hp, c.hp cc 360+hk is the only combo you should be doing if the opponent is dizzy.
DP+k Counter- Also known as the move you use to get kicked in the face. Dont use it. Just dont.
qcd+hk safe roll- good to use time from time, can be thrown. 3 hits and safe on block.
ACS
qcd+p- Its basically his qcf+mk. Use only vs jump ins and fireballs, good ac.
qcd+k- His sweep, good for ground moves.
Throws
f+hp- He tosses you way up and away, fllow up with hp slash to get close if not teched.
f+hk- He tosses you low, can juggle with any lvl super, stick to lvl 1. You miss alot of hits at higher lvls and its a waste of meter. Good to kill off a mofo. Lvl 1 juggle for two hits, all on some (Bison)
Supers!!!
qcf x2 +p- Combos at all level from any cancellable normal. Not the greatest super but I do combo off of a crossup, c.fp xx super, because its gets all hits. Safe if blocked, but comboed from a distance isnt too wise cause the last hit usually misses.
720+p- His grab super, best bet is j.hp then super, or meaty s.mk, super, but escapable by CC/dp. Not consistent tho, sometime they can just jump. Wierd.
Knock’em down, keep’em down
Thats the rule of thumb, Sodom has a hard time getting to people, so when you got them down keep’em there. Sodom is good vs a cornered opponent. Several thing you can do after a knockdown:
-meaty attack into 360 tick (stated above in 360 section)
-throw
-jump up, do nothing, throw
-go for a meaty combo ex. s.mk, c.lk xx hp slash
-jump up come down with fp, tick into super/360
-jump up, come down with hp, 360+lp
-walking lks into hp throw
-meaty s.mk, s.mk xx 360+lp
-walking lks, s.mk xx 360+lp
-meaty s.mk, walk up throw
-block if you think they will cc
You will stay in the corner after a 360 ticks, then mix up again with the above options.
-walking lks, s.mk xx qcf+lp which leads toooooooo:
- Another qcf+lp
- If you have opponent hesitant to attack 360/720 (if in distance)
- qcf+mp if you think they will jump, (knocks down, refer to knockdowns)
- jump in fp
- Super if the chip/trade will kill them
- c.rh if in c.rh sweet spot
- do nothing to bait cc, AC
CCs
Unfortunately, his good cc is if they are standing, so blow out ccs are great. Crouching opponents suck. gotta be precise.
Standing
http://ggpo.net/dojo/replays/watch/777717/
Lvl 1 c.mk xx qcf++mp x2, c.hp xx 360+hk
This cc does about 45%, which is awesome for a lvl one. Higher lvls just add more qcf+mps, end with c.hp xx 360+hk for max damage. I think lvl 3 you can get 7 slashes.
Crouching
This sucks, because all you can use is qcf+lp, which at lvl one is fine, because you can:
c.mk, qcf+lp, qcf+lp, 360+hk
Actually i been messing around a bit and for most cases you can just qcf+lp, end with 360+hk. No c.hp though, you will be too far. You CAN combo into his 360+p grab, but it does less than the combos above.
…but at higher levels (depending on distance) you get pushed away, so you have to trip and juggle with hp slash, which sucks, or you can mash random shit, then 360+hk to end. I usually have them standing, so idk lol.
AA CC
activate, c.hp, then start juggling with qcf+mp or hp.
Ive had limited success with s.lp into mp scrapes
I’ll add more as time goes on, this is just basic shit, feel free to add info or tell me I suck, either or is fine.
Taunt CC*
End any CC with qcf+hp, and then hit taunt.
Ex. lvl 1 activate c.mk xxqcf+hp xx taunt
Um yeah so, E. Ryu 101.
Evil Ryu is fun to use, IMO better than good ol’ Ryu though no one will agree with me.
****Differences from Ryu:
Multihit Dragon Punch: This sucks IMO. Why? Cause the fp version hits anything but wont knock down unless close, leaving you open to get your ass kicked. Lp version is one hit, good for anti-air but low attacks beat it clean.
Hurricane Kick: They all knockdown now doing 1, 2, or 3 hits depending on strength.
Teleport: Pretty dope to have, allows for some nice set-ups or just to get the hell out of dodge on wake-up.
Juggle ability: This is nice to have, thing like sweep xx hurricane juggle.
Supers: Though supers play a minimum role in SFA2, he gets Akuma’s uppercut super, a welcome addition to his arsenal, hurts too.
Infinite Blowout CC: At any range your opponent will get blown back by CC. This is too good, allows you to cc thru any pokes string, things like rolento’s walking jabs etc, as well as combo into cc off mp, jabs etc. To see how good this is have E. Ryu be full screen away and have rolento slide, he will et blown back. You can reversal wake-up with out any fear of being stuffed. Only specials move will not get blown back, to include supers.
Life: Sucks ass.
Dizzy: Happens fast.
Though Im not sure, his f+mk seems better to me.
****Normals Breakdown:
Standing:
Lp- Quick jab, with small frames advantage, you can walk and do these on any opponent that can’t crouch them.
Mp- Quick one arm uppercut, good anti-air and cancelable to a special move.
Hp- Straight punch which can be used as anti-air in some instances, and stop hurricane kicks etc. Not cancelable.
Lk- Good ranged kick to the shin, cancelable, good priority and range.
Mk- Ugly axe kick which can be used as a anti-crossup.
Hk- A roundhouse kick to the face. Good meaty to whoever cant crouch it, gives hella frame advantage, but despite look isnt a anti-air.
Crouching:
Lp- Little jab to the shin, not really all that great range wise.
Mp- A straight punch with good priority and frame advantage, cancelable.
Hp- Uppercut, probably one of the best normal anti-airs in the game. Also this is a super meaty, allowing link after ward.
Lk- Quick kick to the foot, combo starter, cancelable
Mk- A good reaching low kick, probably overall bset poke, gives frame advantage, awesome meaty, and cancelable.
Hk- A really good sweep with good range, usually a poke string ender. Note that if not cancelled its a free cc on you, and if you cancel into a hadouken, free cc on you if your opponent has a lvl 3.
Jumping:
Mp- A two-hit upward punch in the air, use to juggle after a connecting air hurricane kick on a grounded opponent.
Hp- A fist to the face >_<. Good jump in with good priority, especially when done early.
Mk- His cross-up, self-explanatory.
Hk- Best when used when jumping from far away, good priority.
****MEATIES!!!
These are important because if make it alot more difficult for your opponent to do wake-up reversals on you, and allow link not normally possible.
c.fp- this is a real good one allowing comboing of a cc, c.mk, or c.rh.
c.mk- really good since its a low hit, can link c.lk, c.rh, or cc.
s.mp- this one allows you to easily connect a c.mk or c.rh
s.rh- this only works on certain character but gives alot of frame advantage, enough to link a c.rh.
****Specials Breakdown:
Hadouken:
A fireball. His best poke, good release speed and damage. Throw a hell of alot of these but be smart with it. Throwing smart fireballs will annoy your opponent, just tossing them out will get you killed.
Hurricane kick:
Used for mobility and to punish fireballers, use lk version to pass fireballs when you cant use hk version to hit opponent. Can be done in the air and has annoyingly great priority, also if connected against a grounded opponent allows for a j.mp juggle. Punish whiffs from afar with c.hk xx hk hurricane. Air version decent vs fireballers.
Dragon Punch:
His invincible anti-air. Lp and mp versions seem to have no lower invincibility, only being useful up close. At best you might trade with a low hit, which Ive only done with Ken. Dp’s on the ground tend to suck in A2 and this being multi-hit isnt reliable, best bet is to used as a anti-air or wake-up when opponent is right on you.
Teleport:
Completely invincible from the start but vunerable at the end, good to avoid chip ccs, or use as wake-up. Useful in blocked cc.
Supers:
Shinku Hadouken:
Only real use is to blow thru fireballs, sucks as a AA, and you have better choices anyway. Can combo off light attacks. Lvl 1 does does not knock down, and if to close can be hit.
Hurricane Kick:
Probably the best wake-up super in the game, best used defensively than offensively. Completely safe on block, good chip damage, and good damage. Good anti-cross up when knocked down.
Shoryu-reppa:
Range is bad, but this thing hurts. Combo 2 point blank lks.
Raging Demon:
Horrible in this game, you can be point blank and they can jump, no invincibility so gets stuffed if a move is out. Go for it at your own risk, definite style points if you land it.
****Play Style:
I like to zone with ryu, fireball away, build meter, cc for chip whatever. E. Ryu is scary cause its hard to rush him when he has meter, after a few eaten ccs your opponent wont rush you so much. This is in you favor since his fireball is so good. Some matches I burn a lvl 1 cc as soon as I get it just to push them back or do some mix up, which is effective to an extent. AC’s hurt E. Ryu, but you can also do his cc mix-up to bait it out. If you are getting rushed, no other super should be used other than hurricane kick super for wake up, or cc.
Lvl 1 cc mix-up:
Activate, 4 lp fireballs, PPP teleport
Now this put you in a shield of Fireballs, the teleport instantly recovers in cc, and if your opponent is blocking this you can:
- Throw them, you can actually throw then in between fireball hits.
- Overhead, depend when you hit this you can sometimes combo after due to the fireballs hitting.
- Nothing, let them AC and block, they just wasted some meter.
What to do it you hit them with blowout:
Well if within or a little outside sweep range go for his cc:
c.rh xx lk hurricane xN, fp dp
UPDATED: Better Customs at lvl 3
- c.rh xx lk hurricane x3, fp dp x2
- c.rh xx lk hurricane x2, lp dp, lp dp, hp dp
- c.rh xx lk hurricane x3, hp fireball x4, hp dp
- c.rh xx hp dp, hp dp, lp dp, hp dp.
Neat lvl 1:
- s.mp xN xx lp dp, lk hurricane, lp dp
Note in CC mode E. Ryu’s specials are like regular Ryu’s.
Now thats not it. Due to infinite blowout E. Ryu can COMBO into CC. How? Here’s How:
c.mp
meaty c.fp
meaty c.fp
c.lp
any jump in
Activating after any of these let to continue to combo in CC, starting with a c.rh.
BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE!
Tired of people jumping on you, well then just anti-air cc. Shoto’s have probably the best AA ccs. If no cc is available, used c.fp or s.mp (cancel into hurricane to move close or hadouken to push back). S.mk works as a anti-cross up.
Activate, s.mp xx lk hurricane xN, fp dp
Now if they jump from afar…
Activate, s.fp xx rh hurricane, fp dp
Congrats! You just made you opponent think twice about jumping on you which leads to more hadouken and cc mix-up fun! This is just a quick overview if you have any in depth question feel free to ask.
Also vs fireballers, if you hit a air hurricane kick…
immeadiately jump activate, j.mp xx hurricane, land, continue hurricane kick juggle, end with fp dp.
****Hadouken Knockdown
After a c.mk xx fireball knockdown, hold uf, j.lk at the last second. Its a safe jump in and if it hits go into c.lk x2 fireball. Alot of times they try to throw which leads to c.lk x2 xx fireball another knockdown into the same situation. Repeat til j.lk and c.lk is blocked.
From the blocked c.lk, go for throw, or c.mk xx fireball if you think they expected your throw attempt. If they jump at you when you have meter, cc them with s.mp/c.mp xx lk hurricanes xN, end with hp dp. If they jump from afar, actiavte, s.fp xx hk hurricane into lk hurricanes, end with dp.
C.fp is one of the best meaties and if it hits you can link a c.mk or sweep, if blocked walk forward and throw, or go for a counter hit. S.mk is a really good anti cross up, hitting instantly above his head.
****COMBOS!!!
(next to opponent standing)
c.mk (or c.lk x2) xx lk hurricane, fp dp
(standing or crouching)
c.fp xx hadouken
c.fp xx hk hurricane (hurts sagat bad)
c.lk x2 xx any lvl shoryureppa
c.lk x3 xx any lvl shinku hadouken
Endy22’s Evil Ryu combo exhibition (Thx for the link endy!)
[media=youtube]chCru88njIM[/media]
Full video transcipt coming soon.
Guy 101
This one was done by BBH, Im sure he doesnt mind me posting it, I added some
stuff but 95% of this write up is his.
Inspired by Maxstah’s Dhalsim overview, I’ve decided to do a Guy strategy thread - but there was so much to talk about, this almost turned into a FAQ. Ah well, I think it’s for the greater good because it seems like there are quite a few people who want to learn Guy, but can’t find enough good information regarding him. I may not be THE authority on all things Guy, but I’m giving it my best shot!
Obviously Guy was an overpowered character in SFA1 with redizzy combos up the ass, so it was only natural that Capcom nerf the hell out of him in SFA2. I’ve always been under the impression that Guy was pretty horrible in this game, probably 4th or 5th-worst or so. When GGPO came around I started using Guy as a fuck-around character, knowing that I would probably lose my matches but I was determined to use him anyway because he seemed fun. As I played him more and more though, I began to find little things here and there that made him more and more useful. All of a sudden I was winning more games, and it’s gotten to the point where I consider Guy one of my “main” characters now. I’m not sure where exactly I’d put him in the tiers, but I believe he’s got to be somewhere in the middle. He may be at disadvantages against some characters, but he can still win if you know what you’re doing.
General Overview
So how should one play Guy? That’s up to you of course, not everyone has to play him the exact same way. But, I generally feel the best way can be summed up in one word - rushdown.
Your general plan of attack should be to land knockdowns. Knocking the opponent down starts a wakeup guessing game that is mostly in Guy’s favor. Look at the things he can do to someone getting up from a knockdown:
- Crouching MK (if they don’t block, they get knocked down again)
- f+MP overhead
- Throw out a crouching LP or LK, then throw (another knockdown)
- Do nothing, then throw
- Do a crouching LP or LK, and if you think they’re going to try to reverse your throw, activate CC instead
- If in the corner, jump straight up and come down with a jumping HK or d+mp, then proceed to do any of the above options (or if you fear an AC, don’t do an attack on the way down and throw when you land)
- Do nothing and bait their wake-up move/super/CC
etc, etc. He has so many options on what to do to someone getting up, so the most important thing to do is to keep all these options in mind and MIX THEM UP! Don’t just alternate between crouching MK and f+MP every time, toss in some throws too. Sooner or later they’re going to pull off some sort of reversal and turn the tide so you’ll have to know when to back off too.
Special Moves
qcb+MK is your friend. Use it. It beats so many normal moves on the ground clean, it’s an excellent counter. It even makes for a great AC reversal if you’re expecting one of your normal moves to be AC’ed (although it mostly only works against kick AC’s). Problem is it leaves you vulnerable to a sweep or CC if they block it, but them’s the breaks. The mk version does go thru fireballs also if the kick hits.
RSX Note* A good way of doing his ac reversal is try to cancel the 2nd hit of c.mk
The LK version of the qcb+K hurricane kick isn’t very useful, it goes through fireballs but usually whiffs against crouching opponents, and even if it hits you only get one hit. qcb+HK will practically always miss crouchers because it goes so high - use it only in juggles (especially if you can buffer into it off an anti-air normal move) and CC’s.
The qcf+P Bushin Grab I generally don’t use all that much, because you’re a sitting duck during the jump. If you use the wrong strength button you’ll usually stop short or fly past them, the latter of which is always dangerous. Nonetheless, it looks cool if you can successfully predict a fireball with it and grab them out of it. Remember that it doesn’t grab if they’re stationary in the corner, but if you can grab them out of certain moves (such as… well, a fireball) you will get the grab. Plus you have a potential juggle in the corner!
If the qcf+P whiffs, you get an elbow instead that does pitiful damage. If you land it against a crouching opponent, you can actually combo after it if you’re fast enough. Try crouching LK into qcb+MK for a 4-hit combo that knocks them down. Be careful though, if your timing is off or the elbow gets blocked, whiffing the qcb+MK will leave you vulnerable.
His qcb+P, Northern Mountain Breaker or whatever ridiculous name it has, is useful for applying pressure. Buffer into it off a blocked normal move and you might hit them if they flinch. Unfortunately it’s only a guaranteed combo after a standing or crouching HP, or a standing MP-HP chain. Whenever you get an opening and you don’t have meter, always do Standing HP into qcb+HP to punish, or Standing MP-HP into qcb+HP if you’re close enough. Even if you screw up your timing and they block, you’ll be safe.
His qcf+K wind dashes… first of all, qcf+HK, K is garbage. Don’t ever use it, unless they’re almost dead and blocking low. There is no reason to ever use this if they have a lot of life, because it puts you at frame disadvantage on hit. Garbage. qcf+MK, K isn’t that useful either, but okay to throw into the mix when they least expect it - usually from full screen distance, since it’s so fast.
The qcf+LK, K dash cancel though? Very, very useful. Buffering into it off a normal move is almost always a good idea since it gives you an opportunity to get back in their face, instead of getting pushed back by the normal move. Of course, a great thing to do after a cancelled dash is to throw since you’re so close to them. If you think they’re going to reverse, use qcb+MK or CC. Or just do a crouching MK cancelled off the first hit into ANOTHER dash, etc. Whenever you throw someone across the screen and they’re not in the corner, use the dash to get close to them. Remember, using the dash cancel is free super meter!
Another thing to keep in mind about the qcf+LK dash is that you do NOT have to push LK again to cancel the dash. Either MK or HK will cancel it, as long as you started the dash with qcf+LK. I find it easier to “piano” the buttons and hit MK immediately after the qcf+LK, instead of hitting LK twice in a row. Your mileage may vary, see what method works best for you.
Other Moves
f+MP is a two-hit overhead. Although somewhat slow (of course), it’s still very useful. After it hits, try doing a standing MP into qcf+LK, K to close the distance, or try a qcb+MK since people often tend to throw out an attack after getting hit by an overhead.
Jumping d+MP definitely has its uses since you can use it to stop your jump short, which is good since Guy’s jump is so floaty. Getting tired of shotos Dragon Punching you? Do an early jumping d+MP to stop short and make them whiff. The problem with this move is that if it hits, it’s very difficult to land it “deep” and combo after it, so you might get thrown after one connects. Use it with caution.
df+HK… I don’t know. Does anyone have a use for this move? I don’t. A move that sends Guy backwards is pointless to me. Maybe if you want to turtle a little bit and build meter instead, that’s a good way to make a getaway… I guess.
RSX note* df+HK makes doing his lvl 3 cc hella easy
Bushin Chain
Standing LP, MP, HP, HK is Guy’s Bushin Chain - his classic attack combo from Final Fight. Unfortunately, it’s not quite as useful in this game.
RSX note* I suck at bushin chain
For one thing Standing LP whiffs against 14 of the 18 characters in this game when they’re crouching. That’s not good. Since most opponents are going to be in crouch block when you’re close, this means you won’t have a chance of even starting the chain up unless something forces them to stand.
And of course, the timing on this chain isn’t easy. It’s hard to properly explain the timing, so I would recommend practicing the timing on your own against a dummy opponent until you can get it down. There’s a certain rhythm to it and the only way to get a feel for that rhythm is by practicing it a lot. Of course, you’ll then have to recompensate your timing a little bit for GGPO lag, but it’s still better to get a general feel for the timing on your own first.
Another problem is that the last hit often whiffs entirely if you’re not close enough. Even worse, if done in the corner, the last hit misses most characters for no reason at all, even if you started it from point-blank range!
So why bother doing the Bushin Chain in the first place? STYLE. Well, I think it looks stylish anyway. Keep in mind it does about 25% damage and a lot of stun too. If you don’t have meter and someone whiffs a DP or super or something, bust out with the Bushin Chain!
If you can’t get the timing down, don’t worry about it too much, because it’s not an absolutely vital part of Guy’s game. It’s just there for fun (and Final Fight fanservice, I guess)
Supers
For the most part, you shouldn’t be using meter on Guy’s super moves. Save the meter for CC’s or AC’s.
qcfx2+P isn’t completely worthless though - at level 2 or 3 it’s a guaranteed anti-air if you can anticipate their jump and do it fast enough. Don’t bother at level 1, it trades hits most of the time. And of course, you can juggle it after a qcf+P Bushin Grab in the corner if you’re fast enough.
qcfx2+K is garbage, unless you’re really good at hit-confirming or something. Depending on the distance you’re at, some parts of the super will whiff sometimes. You can get much more damage with a CC. Pretty much the only time I ever use this super is to kill someone with block damage.
Alpha Counters
Punch AC is good against jumping attacks and fireballs, Kick AC is good against ground moves. Neither of which do all that much damage, but they do give Guy a knockdown, and those are always good.
Custom Combos
This is where your super meter should be going. Although his CC’s aren’t anywhere close to being the most damaging in the game, they are very solid and give him the potential for an HKD juggle afterwards. Standard CC’s activated against a ground opponent:
Level 1 CC - Activate, Crouching MK, qcb+hp, qcb+hp, qcb+HK - 35% damage or so. You have to be fast to get two qcb+hp - if you’re not fast enough, the meter will run out before the qcb+HK can juggle. If you’re not sure you can connect two qcb+LP’s, do one instead and then the qcb+HK. It’s highly recommended to go for two though, especially if you have about 1.5 meters.
Level 2 CC - Activate, Crouching MK, qcb+HP, qcb+HK, qcb+HK - 45% damage or so. I think the qcb+HP gives slightly more damage than qcb+LP but is also slightly slower - although it’s nearly impossible to tell in a CC.
Level 3 CC - Activate, Crouching MK, qcb+HP, qcb+HK, qcb+HK, qcb+HK - around 60% damage! You have to be fast to get three qcb+HK’s in. If you’re not sure you can do it, try substituting a qcb+MK for one of the HK’s - the damage will end up roughly the same anyway.
RSX note* if you get a blow out of punishing a whiff dp etc, do this cc at lvl 3:
df+hk (1 hit), qcb+hp x5, qcb+hk (about 75%)
An alternate means of starting the CC is to do it with a Standing MK instead of a Crouching MK - this is useful if they whiff a move from a distance. They might think they’re out of range from retaliation, but you can suck them in from half-screen distance with this! Only use a Standing MK if you’re sure they can’t block it though - in any other circumstance it’s wiser to start with Crouching MK because of the whole “Valle CC” effect of catching an opponent in standing block.
RSX note* s.mk cc is nasty, it allows you to punish a lot of shit like blocked fireball or sagats s.mk on block/hit.
However, let’s say they anticipated your CC and were blocking low ahead of time when you activate. Whoops! What you can now do is his f+MP overhead to break their guard, then do a crouching/standing MK into a qcb+P, possibly followed by a qcb+HK if you have enough meter. This isn’t as good as it sounds though, as the f+MP is still pretty slow, and after you land this once, your opponent will be more likely to be on the lookout for this and poke you out of it. If that starts happening, try to keep doing crouching MK’s to try to trip them up. Don’t do them rapid-fire, wait a little bit between each one. If it doesn’t work and you blow all your meter… well, that’s life.
You can also use CC’s as anti-air, but it’s pretty tricky. Unfortunately most of Guy’s normals are too slow to be able to properly use the short invincibility from the CC. I’ve had some success with starting anti-air CC’s with Standing Jab though. If you get an anti-air CC started, don’t bother with the qcb+P, since they’re already airborne. Go straight into qcb+HK’s. If they’re already in the air, you can get two qcb+HK’s even at level 1!
RSX note* His AA cc is a faggot, Ive never seen it trade, basically there are a few variation at lvl 3, lower lvls just hk hurricane.
AA CC 1: s.lp, qcf+hp, qcb+hp x3, qcb+hk
AA CC 2: s.lp, qcb+lk x3, qcb+hk
AA CC 3: s.lp, qcb+hk x3
Another reason landing a CC is important is because Guy is one of the few characters that can take full advantage of the “High Knockdown Juggle” glitch! Which brings us to the next part…
High Knockdown Juggles
What is the High Knockdown (or HKD) glitch? If you’re not sure on what it is, this old alt.games.sf2 post by GGPO’s endy22 explains it in detail:
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.game … 60dbc96cf9
Now the easiest way to land an HKD is to hit them when they ground recovery roll after a CC. So whenever you land a CC, ALWAYS follow it up with a Crouching MK (both hits). If they roll, they get knocked up into HKD state.
If you manage to land an HKD, a qcb+MK (1 hit) or qcb+HK (2 hits) hurricane kick is guaranteed on every character. The HK version is harder to land since it has to be timed perfectly, but obviously it does do more damage than the MK version. I find that the HK version is easier to land on bigger characters like Zangief or Sagat. For the most part I would recommend sticking with the MK version unless you’re sure of your timing - if you whiff the HK version and they recovery roll, you’re in trouble.
Sample of a qcb+MK HKD at approx 87 seconds left in the 1st round of this video. (I’ll replace this with a link of one showing a qcb+HK later probably)
An alternate means of doing the HKD is to do a qcb+P before they hit the ground - if they roll, the qcb+P will knock them out of it and send them HELLA HIGH up into the air, which looks pretty amusing. A qcb+HK is easy as pie to juggle in this situation, if you can actually get the HKD off the qcb+P in the first place. I always forget about it and just do a crouching MK when they’re getting up instead.
Other Juggles
Besides the HKD’s, Guy can also use the qcb+MK/qcb+HK and even his qcfx2+P super in certain instances to juggle people.
As mentioned before, if you land a qcf+P Bushin Grab that puts them in the corner, you can do a juggle afterwards. qcb+MK is guaranteed on every character, qcb+HK seems to work on “big” characters. Or of course you can juggle any level of the qcfx2+P punch super! This looks very stylish and does great damage overall. The timing on this is pretty hard though. I would definitely recommend practicing this offline to get a feel for the timing on these juggles, because it isn’t easy.
Here is a video of B-IzM landing the qcfx2+P super after the grab TWICE in one match (both times are in the 2nd round)
In the corner, Guy’s kick grab (the knee bash) can also be juggled after! But this is pretty pointless because timing a juggle after it is nearly impossible - you don’t know when Guy is going to let go of the opponent, it all depends on how well both you and your opponent mash during it. Generally, Guy usually lets go after the 6th or 7th knee bash if you’re doing a good job of mashing. The same moves juggle here, the qcb+MK/HK or the qcfx2+P super. I would seriously recommend against ever trying for the super though - with the timing being so random, it’s a waste of a super level. Try for a qcb+MK if you’re feeling saucy, and if the moon and the stars align, you might just land that extra juggle hit!
Here is a video of the one and only time I’ve ever been able to land qcfx2+P super after a kick grab in the corner. I’m sorry, VariantX. 
Another thing that should always be kept in mind is that buffering into any of the aforementioned juggle moves against an airborne opponent will also cause a juggle! Say the opponent jumps at you, and you use Guy’s crouching HP as anti-air. Don’t stop there, buffer into a qcb+HK. You might score an extra 1 or 2 hits, and more importantly it’ll knock them down, as opposed to making them land on their feet. Always try to get into the habit of doing this if they jump at you.
RSX note* grab your opponent with mk everytime and count the hits, dont mash thoough. This should lead to the same amount of hits each time, allowing you to know when to super.
Small/Big Characters
There are 4 characters in the game that should be considered “small characters” because of how small their sprite is when they’re crouching, and then 4 “tall characters” who have problems ducking under specific attacks. This has a huge effect on Guy because the small characters are disastrous for him and the tall characters give him a couple advantages he doesn’t have against the rest of the cast.
Let’s start with the small characters. The 4 small characters are:
Charlie, Rose, Sakura, [another] Guy
So what is the problem Guy has with these characters? It’s just one thing - Standing HP whiffs against any of these characters when they’re in crouch block. This is a huge problem, because Guy’s Standing HP is an incredibly useful ground move, because of the fact that it has good range/priority, and is bufferable (and is one of only two moves that is guaranteed to combo into a qcb+P on the ground). This also affects his Standing MP-HP chain, as the MP will hit a croucher and then the HP whiffs. Another unfortunate side effect of this is that if you go for a throw with Fierce, and it whiffs because you were either out of range or they were in blockstun/hitstun, you’ve just whiffed a standing move at close range and are in prime position to get thrown or CC’ed back. So basically, against any of these characters, you need to get out of the habit of using Standing HP as a poke when fighting them.
Now, the tall characters. These 4 are:
Dhalsim, Sagat, Sodom, Zangief
Yeah, I don’t know why Dhalsim qualifies as a tall character in crouch block and Birdie isn’t, but that’s SFA2 for you. Against any of these characters, Guy’s Standing Jab hits them when they crouch block. This isn’t a very significant advantage, but it means that these are the only 4 characters he’s guaranteed to be able to connect a Bushin Chain on when they’re ducking. Even if they block, you can use the Bushin Chain as a way to keep the pressure on and build meter (although beware of AC’s).
Another nice perk against these characters is that if you connect a qcf+P Bushin Grab against any of them in the corner, you can juggle with an HK hurricane kick instead of an MK one so you get two juggle hits instead of one. Of course, timing the juggle in the first place is really hard to land consistently, and the HK version will leave you a lot more vulnerable if you whiff, so maybe it’s not that great an advantage anyway! (it MIGHT be possible to connect the HK hurricane kick juggle against other characters, but I haven’t found any)
Whew! This is already way too long and there’s a lot of shit I no doubt missed. I haven’t even touched on character matchups or any of that stuff.
If anyone has any questions or anything to add, feel free to post!
EDIT 02/12/08:
Saikyo Dojo Combo Union’s SFA2 Guy Tutorial Video http://www.megaupload.com/?d=TLQXTTH3 , uploaded by Dai_Akira. Thanks!
Random stuff:
c.lk, then c.mk beats people mashing throw
s.lk, c.mp, c.fp, s.lp all anti air, canel c.mp or s.lp into qcb+hk to juggle
Guy is awesome.
Rose 101
http://th103.photobucket.com/albums/m156/anubis_cerberus/street%20fighter%20zero/th_anrosol1.gif
Uh man here we go.
Rose. She can be played various ways effectively, so use whateverstyle fits you whether aggressive or c.mp x100. Hands down top 4 in A2, no arguing about it. And if anyone wondersm Rose has always been my favorite character way before I even knew she was any good.
Pros
Poking- c.mp is a all around get the hell off me move and highly abusable, when used smart any way, dont expect to just mash c.mp and win, but on top of that she does have a very good set of normals, df+mk for example.
Anti-air- c.mp, c.fp, and s.fp pretty much cover almost any AA situation you can run into.
ACs- Hands down best acs, Punch ac is godly and kick ac is too good, more on these later.
Supers- Well, hands down best single super, Soul Illusion. This baby gives you shadows that mimic you and power up all you moves, and is the key to doing unblockables. Fireball and grab super buff as well.
Matches- No bad match-ups imo, being a even 5:5 in general.
Cons
No-wake up moves with out super, this is really bad vs gief
Thats all I could really think of lol
Normals Breakdown
Standing:
s.lp- good little poke that alot of characters can not duck, gives enough frame advantage to link a c.mp, and can stop characters from jump when close.
s.mp- good priority poke, but gets over looked since c.mp is so much better
s.fp- Works as far anti-air in alot of cases, and can cancel into andy super or special move. Good to use vs characters who cannot duck it, canceled into soul spark.
s.lk- Rose does a shin kick with slight frame advantage and very good range. Good use up close, then counter hit with c.lk, c.mp xx drill.
s.mk- Very under used normal, even by me. I beats alot of moves and anything low, and cannot be grabbed once she starts animation. This can actually avoid magic grab if the gief players timing is off, I havent tried this vs regual tick grabs.
s.hk- Abuse this vs people who cant crouch it (Gief, Sagat), great range and early anti airs jumper, good AA from a distance if they do swing early.
Crouching:
c.lp- quick fast liitle poke that links into c.fp or c.mp.
c.mp- All man, if CvS2 Sagat’s c.fp and 3S chuns b+fp had a love child, this is it. This move right here beat a good 98% of the moves in A2 and trades with the other 2%, even works as anti air vs alot of character. Any character wants to get pokey, start pressing this bad boy to stuff their move. If you want to get more advanced, buffer into soul spark while whiffing. Links into itself and very good meaty attack.
c.fp- Her main anti air, just as effective as shotos c.fp. But wait! There’s more! This bad boy can be canceled into lvl 1 soul grab for 40% damage. This move is a very good meaty which you can link a c.mk xx lk drill after (drill misses on small characters unless in corner) also can be canceled into any special or super. Vs Gief jumping on top of you, do c.fp LATE to trade, otehrwise you will get stuffed.
c.lk- Very very good lk, offer enough frame advantage to link into c.mp or c.fp. Good range, I like to walk up and poke with this alot, and this is what I i usually use to stop tick throw vs c.lp.
c.mk- Rose does a quick low hit, decent priority and range. Nothing too special, but is cancelable into anything.
c.rh- Very good ranged sweep, giving her one of the longest Vallee ccs in the game
Jumping:
j.lp- Ive literally never used this, her other normals are so much better
j.mp- Very good air to air vs high jumpers (Bison, sim, etc)
j.fp- Good jump in with decent priority.
j.lk- This is a very good jump in, awesome priority and angle. Beats most anything when done early, but dont do it early above their head, they can just mash grab, jump from a distance. This normal is a instant overhead, which is…well…badass.
j.mk- Very good cross up and air-to-air. This is the normal I use 80% of the time.
j.hk- Awesome ranged jump in, allowing to punish fireballs from afar, very good jump back normal.
Special normals
df+mk- When done at max distance you can counter hit c.mp xx drill, but if not done right you can be hit if you attempt to swing. This normal is so useful once you scare your opponent. Why? Cause…
1.df+mk, block then punch ac, buffer soul spark
2.df+mk (MAX distance), c.mp xx lk drill
3.df+mk, lvl 1 or 2 super fireball
4.df+mk, walk up throw
5.df+mk, cc
There goes some options, fun times. Best option is #1, cause it they swing, you ac, if they dont, c.mp xx soul spark comes out.
Fun huh?
Alpha Counter
Punch- Best ac in the game, use for any situation, wake-up, anti air whatever.
Now, why so good? Its a grab that grabs anything. Rose will dash forward and grab the opponent and switch side, leaving them stunned. This allows for c.mp xx lk drill vs everyone (except chun, drill will be blocked, do soul spark) and s.fp xx hk drill vs Gief. Another reason this is so good is because it BUILDS METER. Yup 1/3 a lvl 1. If you do 3 acs in a row you will have a lvl 1. Fucked up huh? This will not trade with anything, will grab any multi hit move. THIS WILL NOT GRAB FIREBALLS, use kick instead. When alpha countering always buffer into soul spark.
Kick- This is the AC to use vs fireballs and set-up cross up and unblockable.
Throws
Hp- She grabs the opponent, goes vertical with her hands on their heads and saps life from them. If done with opponent in corner it sets you up for a meaty jump in.
Specials
Soul Spark- Rose’s fireball. Slow coming out but good recovery, when opponent cornered i usually throw like three in a row, try to bait a jump etc. You are not gonna win any fireball fights, dont even try. This has a special property, Rose will actually push the opponent away with her scarf while throwing this out. Ive been saved plenty of times from this, where my opponent did a cc, got pushed back and got hit by the fireball.
Soul Throw- Her grab that isnt AA at all. Dont even bother, cc ender only.
Soul Reflect- These are her fireball reflectors, each with a different property. All version are safe on block and actually useful meaties and good in poke string, EX. cross up mk, c.mk xx hp reflect, df+mk.
Lp- Rose will twirl her scarf absorbing any fireball, except iirc, Charlie’s super. This will absorb one hit of supers. This give you roughly 1/3 of a lvl 1 and powers up your soul spark (chip damage also) with each absorb, up to 6 absorbs (i believe). This power up leads to Rose’s 100% cc. Special note about this though, power up last for ONE soul spark only UNLESS you are in cc. So if you absorb 6 soul sparks then fireball, power up is reset to normal, BUT if you are powered up then cc, each soul spark does powered up damage.
Mp- Rose twirls her scarf in a circular motion, reflecting any projectile forward and key to A2 tennis (patent pending) lol, and her 100% corner combo. Good meaty.
Hp- Does a diagonal reflect and main one used in poke strings. This will reflect the fireball at a 45 degree angle. This is very useful vs Bison and Charlie, as Bison tend to try to headstomp after and Charlie tries to jump after a couple mp refelects from afar.
Soul Drill- This is your special move to combo into. This move does very good damage when rh version is used. Lk drill can be comboed from any medium attack and rh version can be comboed from andy hard attack. Try not to do these when opponent has meter or long limbs, because it is punishable is those cases.
Custom Combos
Rose’s cc is very good due to crazy range on her sweep, at they HURT.
Lvl 1- c.hk xx hk drill x2, soul throw
lvl 2- add 1 hk drill
lvl 3- add another
Simple enough 
Anti Air- c.fp, let them fall a bit, hk drill, end with grab. Im lazy with her I just c.fp x10000, soul throw lol.
Super
Soul Grab- Buff version of her special grab, beat everything and changes per lvl. Truthfully all you need is c.fp xx lvl 1, and other lvls are not worth the meter, maybe lvl 3 is it will kill or you need a quick 50% damage to catch up.
Lvl 1- Regular soul grab animation, roughly 30%.
Lvl 2- Rose does her c.fp, then soul throw. 40%.
Lvl 3- Rose does a rushing punch, c.fp, soul throw. 50%, can combo off light attacks
Soul Spark- I love this damn super, consistently AA’s for full damage at lv 1 and is safe 99% of the time. Good damage at lvl 1.
Lvl 1- Rose throws a 3-hit version of her soul spark
Lvl 2- Rose gets fancy with it and does some acrobatic shit then throw a soul spark.
Lvl 3- Rose does a reflect then soul spark. The reflect will send back any projectile to INCLUDE SUPERS.
*Soul Illusion
Yeah, this gets its own section. Soul Illusion is the best super in the game, hand down. Leads to tremendous damage and unblockables. When canceled from a normal leave you with a ton of frame advantage. Best time to do the soul illusion is when you opponent is cornered or when canceled from a normal. This super allows rose the pressure and acs will trade. HK drill does about 10% chip, If anything trades with a HK drill, Ive seen the trade at 40%, so not worth it for them.
Soul Illusion make throws whiff. This is SOOOOOO god vs birdie and gief. They try to tick, you SI, they go into whiff animation, free s.fp xx hk drill XD
Instant overhead lk in SI mode does good damage. Another use is to throw, ex c.mp xx SI, walk up throw, or point blank SIm then throw. Walk up c.lk is good and is one connects you can sneak in a c.mp xx lk drill.
If opponent jumps , activate SI, c.fp as anti air does 3 hits for good damage and can be canceled into soulthrow super for a solid 50% life.
Here are various ways and combos/unblockables with the SI. All combos are from point blank or after a cross up unless mentioned other wise. Lvl 2 soul spark does tremendous damage in SI mode.
c.mk xx SI, sweep
c.mk xx SI, c.mp xx lk drill
c.mk xx SI, walk forward, c.fp xx hk drill (can just s.fp if they are standing)
c.mk xx SI, lvl 2 soul spark
c.mk xx SI, walk forward, c.fp xx lvl 2 soul spark
c.fp xx SI, sweep
c.fp xx SI, activate cc, any lvl cc
c.lp, c.lp xx SI, c.mk xx lk drill
c.lk xx SI, c.fp xx hk drill
Punch AC, c.mp xx SI, lvl 1 cc
In the corner cancel any mediums attack into a SI then c.lk xx hk drill.
Unblockable
The way this works is doing any meaty to where only the last shadown hits and rose isnt in attack animation from that normal. This isnt easy but not impossible. Here are my set-ups:
sweep, immeadiate SI, meaty df+mk (ub), c.mp xx rh drill
c.fp xx SI, sweep, meaty df+mk (ub), c.mp drill
You can get creative with it, but like a said it isnt easy. c.lk works well also.
Powered up SI
Credit goes to zoo for this. Basically do a cc and only 2 fireballs powers up SI and lets you do crazy shit in the corner. Mp reflect with allow you to juggle in the corner with anything, you can just do mp reflect x6 to kill or get fancy and mp reflect, mp reflect, j.mk, c.fp, j.fp, land and super. But also a hk SI drill will do like 70%. Neat stuff
Alpha Counter CC Bug
If you punch ac some while while they are doing a blocked custom, they will get up facing the opposite direction. When this happens they actually have to block TOWARDS you if you do a meaty attack. EXAMPLE:
You punch ac a blocked custom, c.mp xx lk drill follow up. Jump forward with a meaty j.rh, c.mp xx lk drill. If they didnt hold towards you the rh will hit and you can repeat the process til they block the right way. Also if they know about the glitch you can time your attacks later so they just walk into it :).
Combolicious
Same as above, point blank or after a cross up.
Bread and Butter: c.lk, c.lp, c.mp xx lk drill
c.lk, c.fp xx HK drill
c.mp, c.mp xx lk drill
c.lp, c.lp, c.lk xx lvl 3 soul throw
Corner only:
c.mk xx hp reflect, lvl 1 soul throw
General Strategy
Well play however you feel comfortable, you will have to play differently vs different characters, but the basics are the same. Rose can zone very good vs the entire cast so don’t let anyone run over you. Remember to AA, and punish HARD. One mistake and rose can win the match. I’ll add more later Im tired, never write a 101 at 7 am. When in doubt, c.mp lol.
If you have any questions just hit me up. Ill update this quite a bit im sure.
