by now everyone should know that Kuma has 2 grapple moves, Rock n’ Roll Circus and Headbutt. my question to you guys is why bother using Circus?
Headbutt deals more damage, you can link the headbutt from a roll, and (for me) the 360 motion is much easier to execute than HCB, F. and the most important thing is that headbutt leaves Kuma at close range where IMO his best range is, while Circus puts Kuma midscreen.
So, aside from Circus looking infinitely cooler than Headbutt, are there any other reasons to use it instead?
I’ve only played the game for about 3 hours, but i noticed that the Headbutt Command throw can be DUCKED UNDER and will whiff. Circus however cannot be ducked. Circus does slightly less dmg too, but its strength is the fact that it won’t whiff on someone who is crouching.
headbutt is an overhead grab meaning it only connect if opponent is standing. IF not it will whiff, You’ll do Circus as it traditional command grab and is unavoidable , they too complement each other if mix up properly.
Also circus has a lot of positioning potential if set up for it properly. It switch sides and put Kuma in perfect position for set ups or safe tags.
So LP circus should be your goto command grab since it hits crouchers and has the longest range. If you are point blank go for HP circus. Use Headbutt when you absolutely know yur opp is standing. Might be possible to scare opp into standing with b+FP to setup the Headbutt…
Circus is also good if you are cornered as it puts the opponent in the corner…I mean Kuma doesn’t really have any corner pressure worth noting but your partner might.
Also, it’s insanely difficult to do standing 360 with Kuma on the player 2 side by going clockwise on the stick, because you get megaton claw instead, gotta remember to switch the way you spin the stick…this isn’t really a point in favor of circus though since you’re technically going counter-clockwise on P2 side with that as well.
Alright, does anyone have a consistent sure-fire way to GUARANTEE that you will get circus instead of headbutt? The inputs are so similar and if you’re moving back and forth for footsies and spacing, if you go to do circus almost always headbutt comes out, and you lose half health on a punish. I can almost never get circus to come out when I need it. The input for headbutt seems to take precedent on the inputs.
You get circus if u press forward, you get headbut when u go to up-back. Not sure how you are missing the inputs, i have never once messed up the inputs.
Some controllers aren’t precise, it overlaps with 2 different moves, and of course there’s the human factor. It’s a pretty dumb mapping IMO. HCF+K would’ve made more sense IMO.
I have a hard time with it because I’m on a controller and because of the 2 overlapping moves.
The motion for circus is the same as for tekken, so im guessing thats why it wasnt changed.
While some moves sorta overlap, its pressing forward at the beginning and ending with forward that distinguishes the circus from any other partial overlapping moves. I play on stick, and have played tekken for a long time, so the circus motion is second nature. I guess pads could have a rough time, but i doubt it. Im guessing its just a lack of familiarity, and given time and practice it will be second nature.
I have it harder on a pad because I shortcut the inputs. Most of the time, you have to distinctly press each command to get it to come out but I can kinda wiggle/fudge it to do it quickly.
Though, I think I just figured out what I was doing wrong in regards to Circus.
the best way to not make a mistake is to make sure to pass through neutral when going from back to forth in the circus motion. i’ve been trying to that and it helped me considerably. and i use pad, so it’s not impossible, and should be easier on stick. due to the slight delay to make sure i don’t miss i can’t out-throw a zangief, but as a reversal it is quite easy, and also on the opp wake.up.
as for it’s uses and which is better - circus is what you should always go for. and the lp version at that. it’s as fast as zangief’s spd and catches both standing and crouched opps. the only reasons to use headbut is for - movement, just use the roll to move kuma but don’t do the additional P for the command grab. when the opp is switching and you’re not at a distance to punish effectively (it’s better some dmg than none, rigth?), and lastly, but not 100% effective, when the opp char is low on life and retreating to make a raw tag. if he is backdashing and trying to tag out he will have to be standing. i’ve ended many rounds like this and the only time i used headbut was to catch them trying to escape.
actually i disagree, kuma has a good pressure game, specially on corner. as for your difficulty in making 360º on p2 side… you do everything reversed on p2 side, why should the 360º be different? =p
still, doesn’t excuse the fact that the overlapping moves of kuma are somewhat retarded. his circus command throw should be, as someone else stated, a 360º kick move, not half circle back, forward punch that can either come out as a headbut or megaton claw~