He had both s.hk and f+hk. s.hk was similar to his old school s.hk. f+hk was his overhead which is much improved over his old one. It has lots of range similar to Hugo’s mk overhead.
In A2 his far rh and close rh was the same, it was a overhead regardless. You could also combo after it. Was this possible in the E3 build?
Breakdown of the e3 build of Birdie. Feel free to correct anything that’s wrong.
Birdie:
General Impressions:
[list]
[] Birdie is surprisingly really good in this build of SFV. I’d say tied for 2nd best character in the build maybe slightly higher than Cammy.
[] Really interesting character in this version of SF. Never liked the character play style in the Alpha series but in SFV he’s really interesting.
[] Birdie is far from a conventional grappler character like Gief or Hugo. He feels more like a mix of Balrog and Alex, imo.
[] Has huge comeback factor with his V-Trigger damage and his confirms into Super.
[] Excellent footsie game and really scary in the corner.
[] His jump is kind of floaty but he has long range jumping normals to compensate.
[] Really slow walk speed but he has fast short range dashes.
[] Combofiend showed on stream that if you leave Birdie in idle stance long enough he’ll flick a booger at the opponent. It counts as a projectile and does 1 point of damage.
[/list]
Normals:
[list]
[] s.Jab is mostly a confirm normal into jab Bull Head. It has some situational anti-air purposes like against Cammy hooligan mix ups.
[] cr.Jab is one of the best pokes in the game and extremely good in footsies. It’s very reminiscent of Balrog’s cr.Jab, imo. Chains into itself and into s.Jab as we all saw Tokido, Fuudo, and RB do.
[] s.Strong is a new looking normal for Birdie. It’s absolutely amazing for whiff punishing and an overall great footsie tool.
[] cr.Strong actually looks more like his cr.Fierce from the Alpha series. It doesn’t deal 2 hits like in SFA but it’s faster and is an amazing anti-air. It worked great against Cammy dive kicks and hooligan but lost to Bison’s j.Fierce.
[] s.Fierce is the same as his s.Fierce in Alpha but it doesn’t deal two hits. The start up is slow but the range is amazing and it also covers the aerial space in front of him. It’s not a good anti-air but great at pro-actively controlling space.
[] cr.Fierce is actually his b+Fierce from A3 but it only does one hit. It has a separate animation on block.
[] s.Short is somewhat similar to his s.Short from the Alpha series. It links into his cr.Strong on hit. Once people found out about the jab combo we never saw s.Short used again.
[] cr.Short wasn’t really used to begin with and looked pretty similar to the Alpha counter part, IIRC.
[] s.Forward is similar to its Alpha counter part. Another good poke during the neutral game.
[] cr.Forward is similar to its Alpha counter part I think. It wasn’t used very often due to his other buttons being better.
[] s.RH is similar to its Alpha counter part. It’s one of his crush counters and I think you can dash cr.Jab after wards but need to react fast to the crush counter.
[] cr.RH is the same sweep he had from the Alpha series. Just another tool in his footsie game.
[] j.Strong is his cross up but it needs to be hit deep if you want to continue the combo.
[] j.Fierce and j.RH is his most used jump in due to it’s long range. You actually jump farther out with these normals making it harder to AA him.
[/list]
Command Normals:
[list]
[] df+Fierce - Birdie does a slide head first. It goes underneath fireballs but the range is really short.
[] f+Fierce - Birdie does a shoulder tackle. If you charge it the first few frames has 1 point of armor on it. If it hits close up you can combo cr.Jab after wards. It’s also his other crush counter but the most you can get from it is s.Fierce I think.
[*] f+RH - It’s the same command overhead as Alpha 3. It does 2 hits now.
[/list]
Throws:
[list]
[] Both his forward and back throws look different than his SFA version.
[] He no longer has his air throw from A3.
[/list]
Specials:
[list]
[] Bull Head (hcf+P) - The same move as the Alpha series but it’s no longer a charge motion. All of them cause a knockdown on hit and are V-Trigger cancel-able. Jab version travels the least distance, hits once, and his primary combo ender. I think the Jab version was unsafe at point blank range. Strong version travels farther, does 2 hits, and is unsafe on block. Fierce version travels full screen, does 3 hits, and is unsafe on block. In the EX version, Birdie does two headbutts for 4 hits (I think), travels full screen, deals the most damage, and is unsafe on block.
[] Bull Horn (Hold and Release P) - The move is completely different from the SFA version. Instead of doing a charging headbutt he does an upwards headbutt similar to Rog. You only need to hold one Punch and they all do the same thing. There’s no difference between the strength you hold down. It’s projectile invincible and can act as an anti-air and reversal. The EX version, however, is similar to his SFA version. He does a charging headbutt first then brings his head back. It has armor during the start up frames.
[] Hanging Chain (qcf+K) - Birdie swings a chain and shoots it towards the opponent. If it hits he tosses the opponent with the chain. If you hold down the Kick button he continues to spin the chain until you release the button. If you press punch during this time he will cancel the attack altogether. The Short and Forward version shoots the chain forwards. The RH version shoots the chain at a 45 degree angle. The chain goes through fireballs but you need to be pretty close for this to work. The start up on the chain is slow so this is mostly done as a read rather than on reaction. The EX version travels the farthest (still not full screen) and has armor on start up.
[] Killing Head (hcb+P) - This is Birdie’s new command grab. It’s reminiscent of Balrog’s regular throw where he does a few headbutts. The Jab version has the most range and is meant for tick setups. The Strong version has less range and does a bit more damage. The Fierce version has minimal range and is meant for punishes. The EX version has start up invincibility and is meant to be used as a reversal. does more damage as far as I know.
[*] Bull Revenger (hcb+K) - This is his jumping command grab. Birdie does a hop, wraps the opponent in his chain, and then tosses them. It’s meant to go over fireballs and other attacks. It’s really slow on start up and is meant to be used as a read for the most part. The short version travels the least distance and can be used for tick set ups. Forward version travels farther and does more damage. RH version travels full screen and does more damage. The EX version start up is actually the same animation as his Bull Revenger super in Alpha 3 where he’s doing a swimming dive. You can direct the grab by holding down a direction during the start up. It actually grabs earlier when he’s in the air then when he lands like the normal versions. It has the slowest start up and we didn’t see much use for it.[/list]
Super:
[list]
[] Huge damage on this super and can be confirmed into from his Bull Head special.
[] Goes through fireballs but need to be close for this to work.
[/list]
V-Skill:
[list]
[] You can’t have more than one V-Skill on the screen.
[] Neutral V-Skill - Birdie eats a donut that strictly builds V-Gauge. It builds slightly under 25% of 1 stock. You want to use this at full screen especially if they’re trying to zone you with fireballs.
[] Back V-Skill - Birdie eats a banana and then tosses the peel on the ground in front of him. It builds a very small amount of V-Gauge. The banana peel is active for a very long time and is excellent space control. You can use the banana to screen control and go for the anti-air chain to catch jumpers. It hits low and the opponent is stunned briefly. You have a brief amount of time to confirm into a combo after wards.
[] Down V-Skill - Bridie drinks a can of soda and rolls it on the floor. It gives slightly more V-Gauge than the banana and he only gains V-Gauge when he tosses the can. The can travels full screen and hits low. Again you have a brief amount of time to confirm into a combo if it hits. It has really long start up so you want to use this at full screen and then try to go for either the anti-air chain, command grab setup, or use the can as a means to approach the opponent.[/list]
V-Trigger:
[list]
[] Birdie’s V-Gauge is three bars, which is the same as Bison. It takes a long time to charge up unless your using his neutral V-Skill a lot.
[] The activation of V-Trigger has a long recovery. You cannot use it like Bison, Cammy, or Ryu to freeze time and go for an anti-air. The recovery is extremely punishable if you do it close to the opponent. Characters have enough time to just raw super the recovery of his V-Trigger.
[] The fire he spits out after he eats the pepper has no hit box on it.
[] Birdie’s V-Trigger increases the damage on everything and augments some of his special moves.
[] Doing Bull Head and Bull Horn while in V-Trigger drains the meter faster. I can’t remember if his other specials do the same.
[] Using his V-Skill during V-Trigger does not replenish his meter to keep the V-Trigger going.
[] Bull Head does more hits and has armor on start up.
[] Bull Horn does 2 hits and launches the opponent higher in the air. In the corner you can juggle into his super after wards.
[*] Hanging Chain gains armor on start up I think but I can’t remember.
[/list]
V-Reversal:
[list]
[] Performed by pressing f+PPP
[] Birdie sneezes on the opponent as his V-Reversal.
[] It’s slow on start up (like the rest of the cast) and can be blocked on reaction for the most part.
[] You’re looking to V-Reversal medium/heavy normals or special moves.
[*] It’s not good against deep jump ins or lights.
[/list]
Target Combos:
[list]
[*] d+Fierce, Fierce - It’s pretty much the same as the target combo in Alpha 3 but he doesn’t do the hop forward. It causes a knockdown on hit.
[/list]
Combos:
[list]
[] cr.Jab x2 or 3, s.Jab xx Jab Bull Rush
[] s.Jab, s.Jab, s.Jab xx Jab Bull Rush
[] s.Strong xx Jab Bull Rush
[] s.Short, cr.Strong xx Jab Bull Rush - Needs to be point blank. You can do this after a deep j.Strong cross up.
[] f+Fierce, cr.Jab, s.Jab xx Jab Bull Rush - f+Fierce needs to hit up close for cr.Jab to combo. Ideally, as an anti-air.
[] f+Fierce (Crush Counter), s.Fierce
[] V-Trigger - Bull Rush (3) xx Super
[] V-Trigger (Corner Only) - j.Fierce, s.Strong xx Bull Horn, Super
[/list]
You can cancel any of the Bull Rushes into super. I think after a s.RH Crush Counter you can dash in and combo but I can’t remember anymore.
Does anyone know if there’s any footage of Birdie’s booger flick thing? It’s obviously useless for actual matches, but it might have some combo video usage if they keep it as is.
Thanks. If you can cancel the animation at any point and it still travels, you might be able to combo a jump-in after it XD
Might also be nice for trades if it has minimal hitstun like suggested.
I don’t think you have enough time for a jump in. As soon as he flicks the booger the projectile is already in motion so there’s no way you’d be able to cancel into a jump in.
If it still counts as neutral animation you should be able to jump the frame after the booger is launched. If not, then no, he won’t be able to do anything after it.
SNIP
This list is pretty good for the most part. 2 things though
1.His c.forward kick isn’t like his SFA version. In SFA he had a c.forward that is similar to Abel/Gouken’s c.forward only it had crazy range, probably the longest. In SF5, his c.forward is just a standard low hitting attack that looks similar to his c.roundhouse.
2.I’m 100% sure on this, his EX hcb+P SPD/command grab has no invincibility on it. I tried waking up with this to go through meaty pressure and I was hit out of it several times. I bet the EX version just has added range to it.
Yeah his c.mk in A2 was good poke/anti air. Real annoying.
Ultra david said his EX Version of SPD had no invincibility on it as well.
Hmmm…I had the EX version go through some attacks so I thought it had some invincibility. I remember the range on the EX version being about as bad as the range on the Fierce version. I’m not really sure what the EX version is good for besides additional damage. Maybe faster start up then?
It looks like it starts up faster from what I’ve seen. His regular SPD’s seem very slow.
Yeah I saw a vid of him being jabbed out of it
Every character has the same exact stun gauge? They should Birdie’s stun gauge longer
agreed, it would add more variety, I think that may be hashed out later though
I just hope capcom take BIRDIE as a Surname like they do with ANDORE so it would be a different BIRDIE for from SF1, SFZ and SFV or make somewhat a GANG like RED-HOOD in BATMAN comic books. But I guess they won’t but its not to late to RETCON things for the BETTER and BEST illiteration. Since it would be a more widely accepted reason for purist fans of the story. Yoshimitsu and King is doing that to in his clan in TEKKEN series.
People are saying it’s not invul because Ultrachen said it was throw vulnerable, but they didn’t specify whether it was hitvulnerable.
As obnoxious as your post was to read, you make a good point. This would have made a more elegant way to explain how different this character is every time he shows up.
I love his design. People forget that SF is a rugged and urban fighting game with a cultured audience and his entire character is a manifestation of that. This isn’t KOF where every character looks like an ideal, fashionable, typical person (not that there’s anything wrong with that, KOF has dope character designs). Birdie adds an essense to the game that I actually enjoy; an intimidating, aging biker who loves to drink and party, as well as kick ass. SF characters are usually over-exaggerated, so does his massive beer belly really surprise anyone?
Anyway, on to the gameplay. His normals look great. His damage output is absolutely insane. This guy will be a problem; he has the potential to really dominate in SFV.