Okay, here is an attempt to get us a new matchup thread with a (hopefully) better OP to make it easier for people to find information on whatever matchup they need. I’ve started with Azrael’s matchups as a base, and have been trying to tweak them or add where needed. You’ll note not every character is done yet, but that’s why I’m posting this. Feel free to contribute with any useful matchup information that I’ve omitted, and it shall be updated! General contributor credits: Azrael and MagMan.
For the purposes of this guide, a counter is something you can do to stop the move during the start up or active frames, a punish is done during recovery frames (generally after block, but also through fireballs or something like that). It’s also important to note that anything that can be punished with sweep can be punished with Hosenka (and vice versa) range permitting. A few other definitions:
Footsies range: mid range where fireballs begin to lose potency and pokes become more powerful. Roughly a third of a screen apart to c.lk range.
Disclaimer: as of now, the guide is probably more incomplete than finished. Matchups that weren’t included in Azrael’s original post that have been filled out are mostly based on my experience with them so far.
The General Gameplan
[details=Spoiler]
Basically, Chun is a footsies monster. You’re going to want to utilize that against most opponents. Most fights are going to be “what normals can this character not deal with and what range should I fight them at.” This guide will basically tell you that. It will also tell you how to deal with your opponent’s difficult tricks and what you can punish. From very far away, Chun-Li has a decent fireball but isn’t going to be winning any fireball wars with it. Her fireball is very good to walk behind to close space with an enemy when she needs to get in. To get in, Chun has a very good focus and dash (her forward dash is the fastest in the game), and her Hasanshu can be used to go over fireballs and is a quick overhead with some range.
Mid range is where Chun shines. Overall, Chun’s best poking normals are going to be (roughly in order) s.mp, s.fp, c.rh, s.rh, and c.mp. These reach the farthest and control various areas of space. Not all of her major poking normals will be useful in every fight (s.fp isn’t so good against shotos) but if you don’t know what to do, those are a good place to start. As said before, she does have a great focus, and she’s +1 when dashing after a blocked level 1 focus. You do have to be careful with most pokes against enemy focus attacks, as they eat your pokes (except s.mp which is pretty safe against focus).
Up close, Chun has a decent mix up game, especially against opponents who don’t have a good reversal. You can use Hasanshu as an overhead (be careful using it against focus as it will get destroyed), her shorts are quick and safe as lows, and she has a great throw. Some characters cannot effectively deal with her df.rh flip kick on wakeup. Chun does have some problems dealing good damage without meter. Her Ex Legs are safe on block and are the cornerstone of her offense. They deal good damage, knockdown and juggle the opponent for other combos.
As far as antiairs, Chun’s best antiair normals are going to be df.lk, s.mk, s.fp, c.rh, j.fp, air throw, and s.rh, somewhat in that order. Furthermore, c.mp and c.mk can be used to lower her hitbox and dodge some moves. Finally, Ex SBK is probably her best overall antiair, but it does obviously require down charge and meter and will get stuffed by moves that hit high and in the center.
When choosing an ultra, Kikosho is a great ultra that deals extra damage on basically anything. Hosenka can be chosen if it is particularly good at punishing moves (since it starts up fairly quickly) or shutting down opponent’s options (like fireballs). Hosenka also deals good damage, but only full combos off juggles in the corner, and not on every character in the cast.[/details]
Combos you should know
[details=Spoiler]
These first combos are bnb type things that you should also be able to combo off a jump in or focus attack:
[LIST]
[]c.lk x2 xx Ex Legs
[]c.lk, c.lp, c.mk xx Ex Legs
[]c.lp x2, s.fp (super link possible)
[]cs.rh xx Ex Legs
[*]c.fp xx mk SBK (super link possible)
[/LIST]
Here are some more situational combos:
[LIST]
[]antiair df.lk dash Ex Legs
[]antiair j.fp x2, jump d.mk x3
[]antiair j.fp x2, ultra 1 (into the corner), ultra 2 (anywhere)
[]antiair j.fp x2, Ex SBK
[/LIST]
Generally off any Ex Legs you can Ultra 1 (into the corner) or Kikosho (anywhere). Ex Legs can also juggle into Ex SBK in the corner. If the Ex SBK sends a target into the corner, you can also combo into either ultra.[/details]
Option Selects
[details=Spoiler]- cr.short, roundhouse~forward~short EX legs
- j.fierce, HCB+taunt. Option select for double fierce/roundhouse hasan-shu
- j.fierce. grab+fierce. Option select for whiffed land throw or jump double fierce
- j.fierce cr+taunt. Option select for back dashers, punishes with sweep.
- cr.jab 3K cr.short EX legs. Back dash option select killer[/details]
Vs. Abel - Ultra 2
General Strategy
[details=Spoiler]Abel is pretty easy to beat up close as long as you’re paying attention. Use standing strong or walk up jabs, they’re focus safe and beat a lot of his stuff. It will lose to his Ex Change of Direction, but you can throw him out of that on reaction. When pressuring, the only things you really have to worry about is Tornado Throw. Normal TT is throw immune but strike vulnerable (conversely, Ex TT is throw vulnerable, strike immune), meaning he’ll grab you out of shorts or jabs but you can just throw him, so you can abuse throw.
If he tries to go to the air jump fierce, standing fierce, standing or crouching roundhouse are your best options, with sweep being your best overall option. If he gets too close for sweep, standing forward, neutral jump fierce, crouching strong or roundhouse are better. You can use low forward to avoid crossup attempts.
His ultra 2 changes the game a lot, it?s going to be pretty lethal if you aren?t sitting on down charge for EX SBK, or back charge for EX Kikoken. Your other alternatives based on spacing and reactions are going to be to jump/hasanshu over him. You can cancel the jump landing frames of jump into hasanshu, so you can get away with that sometimes to go over him. If you’re close enough, you can also headstomp off U2 and land behind him safely. Just be careful when he has U2 ready. Breathless only goes about 3/4ths screen so do whatever at the end of the screen.[/details]
Counters and Punishes
Spoiler
Coming soon.
Contributions: Fake Steve
Vs. Adon ? Either Ultra
General Strategy
[details=Spoiler]Adon doesn?t have great tools to deal with up close Chun-li pressure since his DP is pretty mediocre as a DP, so you can do that when you get in, and zone with fireballs when he?s far away (beware of ex Jaguar Tooth). MP kikoken is an extremely useful tool in the match, Adon doesn’t have anything to do about it until he gets Ultra 1. Most of his options around fireball can be stopped with s.fp. His U1 is fast, far reaching, and hits hard, so stop using fireballs when he has it. Be careful of following fireballs to close space, since MK and EX Kick (as well as Ultra 1 if he has it) will go over and punish you. Your ideal range will be around where your standing roundhouse reaches. Standing roundhouse is a good move in this fight as it can stuff instant air jaguar kicks and all manner of normals from far away. Standing medium punch and fierce also work and will be necessary when Adon starts countering with his lower pokes and dash (which goes under s.rh’s hitbox). It’s hard to use focus in this fight since his s.rh is two hits from most of its length and a lot of his moves are multihitting.
Up close Adon is pretty managable with some standing and crouching jab spam, it stuffs most of his specials and normals. Sweep is very good most of the time but loses badly to Adon’s s.rh. You can use s.fp and c.rh to punish his stronger normals on whiff, and use s.mp xx legs for the others. Close up is where you have to worry about his ridiculous throw, be very quick about teching. Avoid being in the corner, since that?s where he can really turn on the pressure. If you do get in the corner, Chun’s close standing roundhouse can be used with some effectiveness against Adon. If he does close up jaguar kicks, you can go under them with some well timed c.mps. If you score a knockdown, meaty cr.mk beats many of his options, and you can throw him out of a lot of things too. Chun does have a second active frame sweep combo against Adon: cr.MK xx LK Legs > cr.LP > Sweep
Either ultra seems usable, if you have good reactions it’s probably better to use Ultra 1, since Jaguar Tooth, and grounded and air versions can be countered with Hosenka on reaction when he goes to the wall, or when he lands on whiff.
In terms of antiair, s.mk, df.lk and c.mp usually work.[/details]
Counters and Punishes
[details=Spoiler]Counter: Jaguar Tooth - standing jab, df.lk (when he goes to the wall, follow up with U2, sometimes he’s too far away for dash legs), fs (far standing) hk (when he goes to the wall), Cr.HP xx MP Kikoken (pseudo option-select) just as he comes off the wall. Timing for this is tough but if you land it, the cr.HP wins, is a reset, and nothing I tried with Adon was able to punish MP Kikoken, so as far as I know he’s forced to block, focus, or get hit.
Punish: Jaguar Tooth - Super, Hosenka[/details]
Contributions: Fake Steve
Vs. Akuma ? Ultra 1
General Strategy
[details=Spoiler]Akuma is a terrible fight. You will hate it. From far range, his fireball game is pretty standard, with the added wrinkle of the air fireball. It’s harder to Hasanshu over (still doable) and makes jumping over them a bit harder. You can still focus through, and you can also dash/walk under them from the appropriate distances. After a walk under, you can generally catch him with standing roundhouse or sweep if you’re a little closer. You can also dash ultra them. You can also try jumping at him to see what he does. If he goes for a teleport away, you get a free Hosenka.
If he comes in at you with Demon Flip, air throw or jump fierce are your better options, but you can also dash under and punish on the other side. A neutral jump fierce can beat him out of the air and combo into legs or other fun stuff.
In footsies range you mostly have to worry about his sweep and standing roundhouse which lead to his vortex. His sweep can be focus dashed through into a bnb. On Chun, his standing roundhouse will whiff on the second hit when crouching, so that’s your chance to punish, just use a bnb (it is cancelable into his U2, so be careful if he has that). Your standing strong is great, but does lose to his sweep, so don’t get carried away. Outside of sweep range, standing roundhouse is pretty powerful, his jump and own standing rh lose to it. You can punish his sweep with your own though, on a whiff or block. If he keeps trying to teleport behind you, backdash into walk up sweep works.
If you get into the vortex, you can try to get out with a well timed jump away roundhouse, but it’s pretty advisable to block and try to react from there. Also, you can also try to use lk hasanshu, instead of the jump away. This punishes the throw and lets you reset off the dive kick. Backdashing is not a good idea.[/details]
Counters and Punishes
Spoiler
Punish: c.rh - Super, Hosenka
Vs. Balrog ? Ultra 2
General Strategy
[details=Spoiler]Balrog is a tricky fight for most at the start, but it?s a pretty good fight for Chun. You can throw kikokens all day at him, being mindful for TAP and EX Rush Punches at the correct ranges. If he tries to jump over, standing fierce (close or far) antiairs him with no problem. Avoid using EX SBK since it will lose. EX Rush Punch is easily countered using a throw. All rush punches are punishable on block with super, so that’s going to be a big part of your game. If you?re going to block a rush punch and don?t know if it?s going to hit low or overhead, always go with blocking high. Overhead rush punch will lead into an ultra combo, the low sweep and consequent knockdown aren?t nearly as bad as that. Dash backwards legs is a good way to deal with rush punches and build some meter.
If he decides to just walk at you, use your standing strong, or hasanshu to stop him. Standing strong is focus safe and won’t be vulnerable to headbutt, so abuse it. In footsies range, use focus to absorb jabs and sweeps and punish him for them. Be careful about kikoken on wake up or walking behind your kikokens, it’s a good way to eat headbutt into ultra.
Up close, c.fp meaty isn’t bad, it beats armor, goes under rush punches, catches dash backs, and can be canceled into hasanshu. Off a forward throw, Chun has some great safe jump options, mostly dash forward, jump in target combo. If you land a back throw, jump in forward is headbutt safe. He?ll either miss the headbutt, get hit, or block. Aside from that, meaty df.rh is pretty hard for Balrog to deal with, but if your timing is off, you?ll get headbutted. [/details]
Counters and Punishes
[details=Spoiler]Punish: Sweep - Super
Punish: Any rush punch or tap - Super
Counter: Ex Rush Punch - Throw[/details]
Vs. Blanka ? Ultra 1
General Strategy
[details=Spoiler]Blanka can be a tricky fight, but he?s fairly manageable. Kikoken is going to be a dangerous option from around half screen due to his slide, and always dangerous when he?s sitting on meter and back charge. Blanka?s weird hitbox is going to lead to the standard short short legs whiffing on him if he crouches, c.lk, c.lp, c.mk xx ex legs will catch him every time. Be careful about jump ins and crossups, they all auto lose to electricity and up ball. You can keep him on the ground using Ex SBK to punish jump ins all day, or dodge them with low forward. After blocked balls, you can close with walk up strong punch, or if you have it, Hosenka, which is automatic after a dash or requires timing if you’re not confident in the dash ultra. Against horizontal ball, you can also jump away short.
If he’s coming to you, pokes and jumps are generally fair game, since without charge, Chun has the advantage. If he’s down, you can meaty low forward to beat upball and lightning and cancel that into legs. Of a throw, cross up short will avoid Ex Upball, which you can counter with a dash up sweep. This is a match you can win with some hardcore down backing, make him come to you and punish the stuff he does. If he chooses ultra 2, be careful about full screen fireballs since they’re punishable. Also watch out for the ridiculous chip damage it deals. You can U1 if he tries to chip you out with it.[/details]
Counters and Punishes
[details=Spoiler]Counter: Horizontal Ball - standing or crouching jab
Counter: Electricity - c.mk
Punish: Electricity - c.mk, sweep from proper range, Hosenka (can dash to punish from across screen)
Punish: Sweep - Sweep, Super, Hosenka
Punish: c.fp - Sweep, Super, Hosenka
Punish: Amazon River Run - Super, Hosenka
Punish: Horizontal Ball - Dash Hosenka
Punish: Ultra 1 - Sweep, Dash Ex Legs, Hosenka (take one step back first)
Punish: Ultra 2 - Hosenka[/details]
Vs. C.Viper ? Ultra 2
General Strategy
Spoiler
Viper is a pretty difficult fight for Chun, since a lot of Viper?s air game straight up beats EX SBK. You also should be wary about full range fireball throwing, since ex seismo beats it, and Viper gets a free super jump cancel in. Thankfully, focus attack beats flame kick even if it crosses up, so feel free to use it. Chun?s wake up pressure against Viper is aided with c.mk, which beats fp TK (but loses to Ex Seismo, so don?t do it against meter). You can beat Ex Seismo using the bnb. To get her out of the air, jump fierce is your best option. All said, she still has difficult up close mixups with throws, her overhead elbow and lows. Close roundhouse is a pretty effective option against Viper’s flame kick, especially in the corner.
Counters and Punishes
[details=Spoiler]Punish: Sweep - Super
Punish: Overhead - Super
Punish: s.hk - Super
Punish: lp or mp Thunder Knuckle - Super
Punish: Seismic Fist (whiff) - Dash Hosenka
Punish: Burning Kick (whiff) - Dash Hosenka[/details]
Vs. Cammy ? Ultra 2
General Strategy
[details=Spoiler]Cammy basically loses a poke war to Chun-Li, with the notable exception of her standing roundhouse, which seems pretty good. You can focus attack it if you see it coming. Her wakeup pressure is generally beaten by EX SBK as long as the dive kicks don?t hit right in the?swimsuit region. Cammy should overall outdamage Chun, so you?re going to have to capitalize big on opportunities and minimize your exposure. Focus attack is pretty effective against Cammy, you can absorb her standing roundhouse, or her low forwards as she fishes for Spiral Arrow cancels, and from most ranges, Spiral Arrow is 1 hit, making it a prime target for Focus punishing. If you block it, there are still plenty of ways to punish it (peep the spoiler). If you manage to land a forward throw, you can safe jump with dash forward j.lk or 1 hit j.fp. Be careful about close up Kikokens after Cammy has ultra, her Ultra 1 will go through them.
As far as anti-airing Cammy, be careful because she can delay her jump in timing with Cannon Strike, which can be the difference between a good antiair and a bad one. Reliable ways to stop her jumps seem to be standing forward, or you can dodge the attack with c.mp which will go under most of them.[/details]
Counters and Punishes
[details=Spoiler]Punish: Cannon Spike - Dash sweep, dash legs, hk hasanshu (combos into cr.lk xx legs)
Punish: Spiral Arrow - Throw, cs.rh, Ex Legs, Super, Ultra
Counter: Cannon Spike - Meaty c.mk
Counter: Cannon Strike (dive kick) - df.lk (timing somewhat difficult), s.mk, j.mk, j.fp, j.rh, focus[/details]
Vs. Chun-Li ? Ultra 1
General Strategy
Spoiler
Obviously, this match is all about the footsies. Just a couple notes on how to beat yourself here, since not everything is always obvious. Hasanshu can be beaten with standing fierce on reaction. You can counter Hasanshu FADC with your own Hasanshu. Antiair with standing fierce, forward, low strong and df.lk. Spam your standing strong, only deviating to use sweep to counter poke. If you’re gonna jump in, choose roundhouse. In footsies range, if you can get a standing strong, you can cancel into hasanshu, and repeat that ad nauseum. It’s a pretty difficult trap for Chun to get out of.
Counters and Punishes
[details=Spoiler]Punish: c.rh - Sweep, Super, Hosenka
Punish: Hasanshu (whiff) - Hosenka
Counter: Hasanshu - s.fp, Hosenka
Counter: Kikoken - Dash Hosenka[/details]
Vs. Cody ? Either Ultra
General Strategy
[details=Spoiler]Chun should be able to mostly outpoke Cody, but it?s a fight you have to be careful in because of the ridiculous damage Cody does, and the range on his focus attack. Fireball wars are generally a bad idea, since bad stone is overall pretty silly. Bad stone is also fairly hasanshu immune so it?s fairly risky to try, odds are that without godlike timing you?ll just get hit out. Bad Stone is not to be taken lightly though, as it does deal a lot of stun. It?s pretty hard to punish with ultra 1, I seem to get hit out of it halfway through from across the screen.
Cody doesn?t have great tools to deal with your rushdown, just be careful getting in, his b+mp beats all jump ins as long as the Cody isn?t asleep. Almost all of his specials are punishable with either Ex Legs or Hosenka on block, so you can make him pay for doing anything stupid. Hosenka can be a better punish choice due to the pushback on some of his moves. For antiair, Cody is beaten pretty soundly by df.lk. He should be easy to keep on the ground.
Ultra choice is pretty open here. If Cody is dumb enough to spam specials or jump ins you’ll have plenty of opportunities to use Kikosho. Hosenka is still good because it does punish all specials (again, except lk Ruffian Kick) and it does juggle Cody in the corner.[/details]
Counters and Punishes
[details=Spoiler]Punish: Sweep - Hosenka
Punish: Zonk Knuckle - Hosenka, EX Legs
Punish: Non LK Ruffian Kick - Hosenka, EX Legs
Punish: Criminal Upper - Hosenka, EX Legs[/details]
Contributions: SnakeAes
Vs. Dan ? Ultra 2
General Strategy
Spoiler
Coming soon.
Counters and Punishes
Spoiler
Coming soon.
Vs. DeeJay ? Ultra 2
General Strategy
[details=Spoiler]DeeJay has two main modes. One is the shitty Guile mode, the other is when people play DeeJay like DeeJay. Shitty Guile mode doesn’t have a lot to worry about, his fireballs are much slower than Guile’s. One thing to note is that Ex upkicks is a crazy good antiair and autocorrects really well, so don’t jump at him. Overall, you’re going to try to force him to play like a bad Guile. At long range, DeeJay can work his way around fireballs pretty easily using a short jump d+lk, so be careful for that. His fireballs recover slower, so if you have it you can dash Hosenka him.
He’s going to beat you in a fireball war so you’re going to want to close. Also, watch for Ex Dread Kicks when following behind fireballs, as it is very quick, deals good damage, and goes through fireballs. You can use your standard fireball zoning strategies to get in since his fireballs are like Guile, but slower overall. Jumping over them is a bad idea since his slide has deceiving range.
Up close, DeeJay is pretty easy to work around. If you score a knockdown, DeeJay doesn’t have a good answer to crouching meaty forward as upkicks will go above you, you can also use a crouching jab since it should hit the upkicks. Off a throw, there is a potential safe jump with dash crossup j.lk. This should even beat Ex upkicks (but you should be careful doing it against meter).[/details]
Counters and Punishes
[details=Spoiler]Punish: Air Slasher - Hosenka
Punish: Double Rolling Sobat - Standing Fierce, Super, Sweep, Hosenka (Sweep/Hosenka will not work on LK)[/details]
Contributions: SnakeAes
