Notable Normals:
st. lp
st. lk
st. hk
cr. mp
cr. mk xx st.hp
st. mk
The reason I say these are the notable ones, is not that they are especially fast or have great hitboxes or anything, but they are all useful tools in bob’s arsenal of pressure. From what I have learned playing Bob, his “gaufrette” target combos starting with his far st. mk are great tools, each with their own purpose:
-Gaufrettes Cutter- St.mk xx st. mp xx st. hp
Although not a true combo (in between st.mp and st.hp there is a fairly good sized gap), The last st.hp is cancelable into specials. If you cancel into a lk special step into lp follow up, or a hk spinnerball into lp follow up, it is a true blockstring and safe on block. (after special step hits you can follow up w/ combo, after spinnerball you can choose to go into unsafe high/low follow ups
-Gaufrettes Kick- st. mk xx st. mk xx st. hk
The most notable thing about this target combo is that the second mk hits low. Also if you just do st.mk xx st. mk on block it pushes bob very far away so you cannot be punished. Hit confirm into the last st.HK as it is very unsafe on block
-Gaufrettes Punch- st.mk xx st. hp
This does not combo, and is pretty easily punished if your opponent is very quick, but the last hit is an overhead which is pretty easy to combo after w/ cr.mk
Another combo off of the st.mk is: st.mk xx st. mp xx st.hk( xx launcher) Use only if hit confirmed
Now if you were to just walk up and try st. mk you would get blown up every time, which is why its very important to cancel into the st.mk after st.lk or st.lp"
St. Lk is fairly quick and moves him forward a great deal, and it hits low. The spacing is very specific but if you hit with the tip of st. lp you can cancel into st.mk with follow up of your choice. This move is -4 on block (if blocked on last active frame this becomes +1)
St. Lp is much faster but the range isnt as good, but it seems to be easier get the range right for the st. mk
You can also use cr. lp in a block string until your spacing is right to use one of his normals to cancel into gaufrettes stuff.
Cr. mp is a fairly quick good range poke that is 0 frame advantage on block, and if you are close enough you can cancel into a HK spinnerball with lp follow up to get in safely.
Cr.mk is slow but has decent range and if you cancel into st. hp it pushes bob back very far making it impossible to punish. If you can hit confirm this, after the st.hp go into launcher
Cr. hp when used by itself is terribly unsafe but if you cancel a lk special step into lp follow up, it creates a frame trap, where if they try to hit you out of your special step, it will counter hit them, then you can combo into cracker etc.
St.lp xx st. lk xx st.lk Course Picante is terribly unsafe on block but if you cancel a hk spinnerball into lp follow up it becomes safe. (in between the two st. lk there is a 4 frame or so gap you can be hit out of)
St. HK has great range but is incredibly slow and if you wiff it or if they jump over you when you use it, your done for. Use sparingly to surprise your opponent just when they have forgotten you have a normal with that kind of range.
All this by itself doesnt seem very impressive (spinner ball and special step lp follow ups are -2 on block), and easy to block overhead, but Bob does have one other thing going for him…
Jumping; He is tied with Juri for the quickest jump in the game, and if you mix up neutral jumps or cross ups in the middle of your pressure it can be extremely hard for your opponent to anti-air you quick enough (a lot of times they will even be trying to poke back at you which will get you a full combo).
Neutral jump, Hk xx Hk, cr. mk xx st. hp… If you do this from fairly close in the middle of your pressure you just may catch them in a poke and lead to a very nice combo, that you can cancel into launcher, it is also extremely safe on block.
Neutral jump, Hk xx Hk, cr.mk xx cr.hp xx EX spinner ball… On hit this will let you continue to combo into whatever you want, on block after a spinner ball you will end up +1 and will be able to continue pressure.
Bob is all about finding that sweet spot (about sweep range) where the tip of his St. lk will hit that will let you move into his pressure.
And if you ever really want to get in and don’t mind spending 1 bar of meter Ex spinner ball is +1 on block and when canceled of anything it will connect (even st. lk) into a combo.
Keep in mind also that throws in this game have 7 frames of startup and only a very small majority of characters have any 3 frame startup normals at all.
And yes I know the format of this post is terrible, and I recorded a lot of footage of it all in action, but I’m not able to make movies with the .mts filetype my videos are in, so sorry and let me know if you need me to clear any of this up, thank you for reading and for your interest in discovering new Bob tech with me.
