"Critique My Akuma!" Video Blog Thread

Classic Fighting Games Ultra Street Fighter IV
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@ Loyalsol: Even if he crosses you up with the claw dive? I’m pretty sure he can stuff my c.HP with a cross up. And claw players are very fond of using the cross up claw dive (though not that player in my video). I haven’t seen any videos of Akuma vs. Claw where the Akuma player stuff it with a c. HP, but if you can show me some, I’d appreciate it.

@ kyarisan: Any tips from anyone is most welcome! I’m not the greatest Akuma player either, but if I can help someone, I do. So, getting into your comments:

Vega: Yeah, well this was pretty much my first match EVER in almost a month (maybe more). I hate Vega because, even though people keep saying how “shitty” he is, he’s a pain to keep up with when he starts bouncing all over the place. And then there’s his cross-up claw dive. Always had trouble with it. With Bison, I can deal with his normal stomp patterns. Straight jump with HP or MK stuff him pretty much all the time. But Vega’s different because he can throw you sometimes and his dive comes at you much faster it seems. I had a much better match this morning against another Vega and I was doing pretty much what you said: keeping the pressure on and closing the gap. Though I still lost, but at least it wasn’t a total rape like in the video…

Sagat: Y’know? Maybe it’s just me, but whenever I play against a Sagat, Ryu, Ken or Gief, I always seem to end up with the mashers that are constantly jerking their joysticks in a perpetual QCF + HP motion and always seem to interupt my combos. I was having problems with that before, so I wasn’t about to play this recklessly when I’m having issues with my timing. So no footsies there. Plus I always seem to eat Tiger Uppercuts when I try to stick out my MK or I get a j. HK + tiger knee combo. So yeah, I’m a bit tentative when meeting a Sagat online. Plus, the connection wasn’t that great. I missed a whole bunch of moves. Didja see that Demon flip that sailed right over him and landed in a sweep kick behind him? Yeah, that was supposed to be a dive kick but the input didn’t come out. Notice in the 3rd round where he jumps in at me, begging to be knocked out of the air by an anti-air srk, but instead I bust out a c. LP? Lag spike killed my FWD joystick input. You talked about me using jab DP a lot instead of fierce? The problem is that on block, it leaves me hanging so much more than a whiffed jab DP. Though at the end, had I used MP or HP srk, I would’ve probably won the match instead of him absorbing my LP srk and ending it with an Ultra.

Bison/Balrog: Yep, they weren’t the best I’ve ever met. In fact, most times, Bison (dict) matches give me almost as much headaches as Vega (claw) does. For Balrog, I got his pattern after the first round and just stayed away while chucking air FBs to try and bait him to headbutt through them (which he obediently did). I’m not too sure about pressuring Rog on his wakeup though because of that headbutt: many were the times I tried jumping in on him and I ate a headbutt into a massive juggle combo + Ultra (when players have had it). Though not in this video. I thought the matchup for Rog was basically just keep your distance and zone all day, then punish the mistakes. As for “vortexing”, I did see the Lord’s vids and, as you probably saw, I tried to implement what I saw there after a knockdown or throw. Problem is, 50% of those attempts where cross-up tatsus. They just never came out. Oh, it’s not the game or connection’s fault this time. It’s my hands! I can’t seem to get the Jump + QCB motion correctly for it. At least not in order to use it effeciently… Not yet at least, but I will practice it. :wink:

Ryu: You’re right, he didn’t respect my Akuma, but I knew that. Not that I could do a whole lot about it that night, with me playing like a scrub, but hey, at least I won that match!! I did attempt a couple of BnB’s against him, but the first one was blocked, and the 2nd one (in the 3rd round I think) came out as random nonsense: I think I tried a cross up j. MK, then a c. MK that I wanted to combo into a LK tatsu for the BnB, but instead the last move came out as a demon flip? I don’t know. Weird…

Anyways, thanks for the excellent tips, guys. I’m gonna have to practice up some more. I had a much better run this morning against some better competition, but unfortunately, I couldn’t record it. I’m defenitely going to watch vids of Akuma/Gouki vs. Vega/Balrog to brush up on the fundementals of that matchup as I just HATE it when I get saddled with a stupid claw!! Even though he isn’t picked very often online. :stuck_out_tongue:

Hopefully, I’ll have something better to show you guys next time.

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As far as Vega’s dive attacks, you can focus absorb them and punish, but it’s really easy to block once you’ve seen it enough times and you can identify the area above your head he ends up being at, I can’t really explain it I would just recommend playing the matchup more. Eventually you’ll start to just “get” it and you’ll laugh at the move. Balrog can’t actually headbutt you if you time your jump-in properly, if you are descending as he’s waking up and you have your move out you can land and block the headbutt in time, allowing you to punish however you’d like. Maybe you should use training mode? Set Akuma to record and sweep him, then do a jump-in as he’s standing himself and while youre landing hold d/b for a few seconds. Akuma should hit Balrog. Then use Balrog and try headbutting the Akuma on wakeup… once you get Akuma to block youll know you timed it successfully and you can use that timing.

Sagat mashing out of a string can be an issue even for the pros, I’ve seen it happen to Akumas using the RH loop. But you should be using stHK often, on hit or on block you can sit back for a second and bait uppercuts. If they appear to be calm during your stHK you can apply more pressure. Also if you’re having trouble doing the RH loop just use stLP after a RH and then do the tatsu into SRK or sweep, whichever you’re more comfortable with at the moment. But you need your BnB to beat Sagat, so you have to get working on it.

Balrog is definitely about zoning and keeping your distance. However on knockdown you have the advantage and you should press it until you are at neutral again, and then go back to zoning.

You are left extremely vulnerable after any whiffed dragon punch, but you should only use it if you know your dragon punch will connect or if you have meter to FADC it. That’s why I said to take the random risky dragon punch out of your game.

I’m glad to help, hopefully you’ll work out your execution flaws soon. If anyone thinks I’m giving him bad advice please correct me, but I don’t think what I’m saying is very in-depth info.

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The cross up dive you will have to counter otherwise, but with the other move (the one he can grab you from) if the Vega player is simply lining up over your head with it then c.HP stuffs it. You have to force them to be clever with it or else you will just sit there swearing at the screen. That will defeat the majority of noobs, as far as adjusting for more advanced tactics I will relinquish that to other Akuma’s since I don’t play a single person who is insanely good with Vega.

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As someone else said, vs balrog you gotta land your first knockdown and then apply hell of a pressure. If you see that he likes to use ex rush punches on wakeup to escape your vortex setups, a few demon flip palms will indeed calm him down and from there you can mix him up as you please.

When you got ultra zone the shit out of him with ground fireballs (mix fierce and jab versions) and if you see him do TAP or any ex punch, it’s really easy to ultra on reaction (buffer the demon).

My main has always been balrog and akuma was kinda easy till he got ultra, then the matchup became almost impossible…if akuma has life lead AND ultra, balrog is screwed

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^rog can space tap to rape demon…just outside midscreen is perfect range.

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I find vs claw all you have to do is get a knockdown then apply pressure. When he is down if you just stand next to him and throw out crouching jabs it beats all of his moves on wakeup. A lot of simple moves have priority over his moves.

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With Vega the first step is to learn how to Fucos his cross ups, cause they’ll try it at least once.

Some Vegas, thats really all they have… some are better though. Focus a cross up & dash out, you can do a Cl.HP B&B after without much effort when you get accustomed, if they do it front ward then just Focus them.

When you get passed that some really do some other shit that can get irritating, like constantly evading. Still, i wouldn’t say he’s the hardest match up for the skill levelim at.

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^Jump back HP, HK, LK stuffs his FBA and evades his horizontal slash usually. After you counter these he’s got no choice but to close the distance or attempt izuna drops

If hes at this distance will his tap reach if you stand still?

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I think to be even more basic. Even before learning the MU’s properly, I would suggest you go into training mode and practice BnB’s until they become like muscle memory.

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Bruce Lee said it best, I think: “Boards… don’t hit back.”

That’s what I feel practice modes is. It’s basically beating the crap out of an inanimate object; sure it’s great for execution, but execution means nothing if you don’t get a chance to use it during a real match and that’s what I’m trying to do by playing online. It’s not easy, but I think I can kill two birds with one stone by doing it this way. :wink:

Well, I went online earlier today to practice what you all suggested… And it was a disaster!! Pros and scrubs were ripping me appart within seconds. I was running scared and confused all over the place. Am I supposed to attack? Back off? Hey I knocked him down, shouldn’t I pressure? Or was that against… Never mind…

Then after a while, I realised that maybe I was trying to bite off more than I could chew. Instead of trying to do everything at once, I decided to go back to being cautious and wait for my chances. Where in the first 10 or so games I was getting vic’d that last few games I started holding my own again. Though now I have a few questions again:

Against Sagat: I tried using the s. RH more, but he kept stuffing it with c. MP. Almost every time. I fared better in the 2nd and 3rd round by baiting TU’s and punishing, but ultimately I lost because I forgot how much good priority his s. RH kick has over anything I try from the air and how quick his recovery is after chucking his tiger shots.

Against Honda: I used to be really afraid of fights against Honda, but am I right in guessing that his wakeup/anti-air game are rather non-existant? I say because I fought 2 Hondas today and my pressure game won me one match and kept me in it on the 2nd.

Against C. Viper: I fought 2 vipers today. The first one I wasn’t prepared for and happened during the first (bad) half of my session. The second one came towards the end and I was able to win mostly because again, on knockdown I went after her with pressure tactics. What kept getting me though is her change-ups while jumping. Those are tricky to judge. Any help in how I can stuff some of them to make her rue coming for an arial attack on me? Normal jump ins with HP or MK don’t really work. DPs miss when she does flaming kicks as do c. HP which leave me open for a counter.

Unfortunately, I had recorded the matches (or so I thought), but for some reason the capture software crashed during my 2nd match of the day and corrupted what was there on the file. I’ll try to get my next set of matches up on youtube if I get the chance.

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against most characters you should pressure after getting a knockdown. That’s a big part of akuma’s game.
Then again when you’re facing ryu (or any character with 3 frame reversal for that matter) you should be way more patient and focus on baiting srk and zoning especially if you got the life lead.

Training mode IS important, you should be able to do akuma’s bnb combos 90% of the times and that ain’t gonna happen only by playing online (or it’ll take ages before it happens).

Akuma has low health, whenever you get an opening you should score at least 250-300 damage or an untechable knockdown if you feel that’s more valuable (when playing against characters with a poor wake up game). This isn’t possible if you can punish something properly or if you can’t hit confirm into your bnb after landing a df or random close c.lp

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You’re miss timing your demon.

Every TAP can be demoned, it just takes different timings for different spacing.

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For sure. But that’s if I didn’t know how to do the BnB’s, which I do. I’m just out of practice. I did take a few minutes to get my timing back on them and now I’m cool. But I still have problems finding the right moment to land one during online matches. Especially since most opponent are now wise to the fact that when Akuma does a demon flip, it’s best to block or you eat a BnB. :wink:

Oh, and I remember why I’m so fond of throwing meaty Zankus on downed opponents: it’s because one of my favorite tactics was to follow it with a demon flip, forcing them to block both the air FB and the df, allowing me to get a free tick throw.

That said, my executions not that bad in general. For example, the most basic combo I can make is the j. HK, c. MK, HP fb. It’s a combo that’s been around since the original SF II and I’ve been doing it since 1991. I can do it with ease in practice mode. But check out most of the online matches I’ve put up. Do you notice those times when a c.MK comes out and nothing else? That should’ve been a c. MK into hadouken, but it doesn’t come out. No matter how many times I’ve practice the execution in practice mode offline (and believe me, I do), online I have trouble getting it to come out with as much consistancy. And that’s why I think practicing this stuff online will serve me better.

I know it’s not ideal, but I think it will bare fruit for me in the long run. I’m patient. And losing doesn’t bother me much. Just as long as I can pick up experience and get better. That’s what counts. And it’s also why I’m taking advice from you guys on what I should be doing to improve against certain characters. I can beat on CPU controlled versions of Cammy and such, but online, well…

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Bruce Lee Said something far more potent :stuck_out_tongue:

“Fear not the man who practices 10,000 kicks one time, but fear the man who practices one kick 10,000 times”

If only i can remember when he said that

:slight_smile:

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But dude, that’s the thing… Why would you punish the opponent with a cr. forward - hadoken…? You should be punishing with st.fierce - light tatsu - fierce shoryu. I’m not trying to nitpick or anything but like the few before me said, you should be fully taking advantage of Akuma’s high damage output, because he takes hits like a baby.

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Funny you should mention that. :cool:

Match 1: [media=youtube]n4e-afJH5f0[/media]
Match 2: [media=youtube]GDvtSo0-yGk[/media]
Match 3: [media=youtube]WOrpKT6IKvI[/media]
Match 4: [media=youtube]KJlZnNscSE8[/media]
Match 5: [media=youtube]RceEY30Rzhk[/media]
Match 6: [media=youtube]BoPrY7_A3fU[/media]
Match 7: [media=youtube]Ylwzdox0gY4[/media]

Watch the 4th match. I get beasted by Rog, but I did manage to catch him like you said.

It’s not meant to punish. As I said, it’s an old school combo that’s meant to be safe. I use it because even if my opponent blocks the initial j. HK or MK, I go into the safe c. MK, s. FB so that he’s pushed back to a safe distance, allowing me try again. If my opponent blocks and I continue into BnB anyways however, I’m left hanging in the air for a punishing counter combo. I also use it during footsies tactics and if I land the c. MK. By force of habit, I always follow it with QCF + P. I know I should be using LK Tatsu instead, but it’s not yet ingrained in my head. It’ll come! :wink:

As I said, I tend to play it safe for the most part, until I can find an opening. Then I go for the flashy combos. Right now I’m practicing srk FADC into HP shaku, a skill I’ve never had before, though I’m not confident enough yet to use it online (even if my execution with it is now around 70% in practice mode).

Bruce Lee was a f*cking genius!!

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you don’t pressure enough when you score a knockdown on the opponent; use more demon flip, it is extremely invaluable (re: vortex!)
also have to be more consistent in landing BnBs, you had a lot of punishing opportunities but you just hadoken’ed them… practicing it with 90% efficiency in training mode is fine, but if you never use it during a match, then it’s useless

i also noticed you never FADC out of hadoken to pressure more when you have 2+ EX bars, and definitely too much run-away akuma when you could be pressuring with pokes/demon flips

you also never FADC out of shoryuken for that extra shakunetsu damage

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[media=youtube]BVhy-nvXPCY&feature=PlayList&p=C0B3D7133F6014E2&index=1[/media]

Here’s a vid of a casual match with a fellow SRKer. I don’t have ANY arcade Honda experience - this is my first time. Be brutal.

I’m the guy in green, just FYI.

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“Just demon flip more” doesn’t really help me. Against who specifically should I be using it? Rog? I agree. But you saw I couldn’t even score a knockdown against him. Cammy? Umh… No… Her matchup basically says “stay out of the air against her”. That includes DF’s on wakeup.

Checked out a few momochi matches, and he basically plays like I like to play: he waits for his chances, then jumps in and deals damage, then goes back to defending. My main goal is to have a varied repertoire of tactics to use in matches, not just “vortex”…

As for FADC, you’re right, but I am practicing that. My goal is to first incorporate it into my present s. HK, LP SRK tactic (which as you’ve seen, I like to use). In practice, I can FADC out of SRK with 70% consistancy facing towards the right. Towards the left it falls down to 20%… Until I can get better with it, I don’t plan on using it.

I appreciate the advice, but I need more specifics than just general “you need to do xyz move more”… :wink:

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Wouldn’t telling you to use a specific move in a specific situation classify as specific? Just saying…If anything, you need more “general” information, since specifics don’t really sink in with anyone until you play a ton. But since you already play like Momochi, you shouldn’t have anything to worry about.