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I rank it N,C,K/P,S,A

You REALLY REALLY REALLY need running to do throw ticks with Yamazaki and to set up low forward options. Without running, you can’t use low rh to it’s maximum effectiveness.

For example, when I have him in K groove, every time I knock down or whip as anti-air, I can get some good mixups and usually free damage. C,A,P can’t do that.

JD is OK to stop RC with. Level 1 super works just as well though. N/C Yamazaki really don’t fear Blanka elec that much because of level 1 grab. Something I really wish I had when I play K-Yamazaki. You have to JD 6-7 hits to make standing up not an automatic penalty. Pretty hard when they can just switch buttons while mashing. Usually you always come out in a penalty unless you’re holding super.

You can go a long ways playing Yamazaki without low jumping too much. I can play 10 game streaks low jumping with him maybe 5 times total. It’s nice to have just to HAVE (for stupid tricks like low jump rh, land, super). It’s not like with Blanka where when you choose him in low jump groove, you use it all the time.

Roll is really nice to have. I don’t roll very much when I play N-Yamazaki simply because I’m a K groove player naturally, but you can provoke interesting responses just by rolling from the right distance. Dumb things like low jab, low jab, low forward, stand rh, roll. People tend to react poorly to patterns like that where the roll doesn’t seem to give advantage, but will when they try to poke it.

The main weakness that K groove Yamazaki has is the top 2 characters. Sagat, and A-Sakura. K Yama obviously has some issues with A-Sakura, just naturally. He’s also too big to get out of RC hurricane. If he’s in the corner and you can’t JD ALL of a hurricane, that’s GG. Against Sagat, he fails because he has no anti-air without a super. Sagat can jump in rh all day. Yamazaki’s best try at that is like…jump back forward or low jump fierce. He really doesn’t have very good fast anti-air. Sagat takes advantage of that, as does low jump groove Blanka. You start really wishing for RC strong whip just for something that works reliably.
Another main drawback with K Yamazaki is that his supers can be avoided just by keeping distance for 10 seconds. Unlike Blanka or Sagat or Cammy you can’t soften them up, time your rage and then go. Yamazaki just doesn’t work that well with that kind of thing. I turn it into an advantage by being random as hell. Whenever I have an opportunity for random super, I do it. This makes people you play with frequently very very nervous. If they know you’re random and one of the moves is a grab, they’ll bail out in many amusing ways (DP for no reason, jump straight up for no reason, run to the corner whenever you have meter). This gives you a big edge on people you play frequently. It tends not to work on people you don’t have history with. It’s definitely better to have supers you can sit on like C groove. With K you MUST be random, or watch your super get wasted pretty often.

N groove has most of the stuff that helps out, so I think it’s the best. One of the things I notice is that S,N,K Yamazaki plays very very aggressively. I corner people even known for offense with him, just because he has such priority, the other side is always on the defensive.
On the other hand, C,A,P Yamazaki turtles. A LOT. Especially P groove Yamazaki. P Yama is good but ALL turtling and lots of baiting a whiff, then fierce xx fierce whip. It’s not difficult to parry with P Yamazaki simply because you control so much space; there are only a handful of moves that can hit you from the distance the fight is fought at, so you can just sit on those, wait for it, parry, then fierce xx knife. P Yamazaki has no reversal besides super, so lots of the P groove tricks don’t work with him. Luckily, he’s rarely pressured, so it’s not an issue, but falling down near a corner with P Yamazaki and not having super means you better parry 3-4 hits or you’re almost certain to get broken by Sakura, Kyo, etc.

Depends on your playstyle. Almost all the good Yamazakis besides me play C groove. They are all notorious turtles though, and couldn’t find towards on the joystick with both hands, a flashlight and a map. I play K/N just because if I play C groove, it’s highly likely I’ll fall asleep playing.
Pick what feels best for you, although N/C are your best choices. Start there, then branch out.

–Jay Snyder
Viscant@aol.com

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thanks jay ill most likly put him on my c groove team…the bad thing is i cant practice right know cause my friend has my ps2…soooo ill get back as soon as i get my system.

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IM STILL UP FOR HELP PEOPLEZ! LOL;)

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well…i agree with kaze_kami…hes dash is way to slow…so K or N would be best for him…plus his hcbx2 hp super gose good with K groove:p

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C vs N

I like C groove for viscants low forward super or light command grab set up. and if they jump straight up free anti air or super. he also if air blocks most attacks he lands b4 and has 1. a free grab super if not a level one or low forward, dust claw. Zaki can also abuse his rcs to gain levels twos the whole match. Zaki is almost always at a level 2. He also gets 3 AC’s. N groove is good for him to keep the pressure on but a good player can easily stop a rush down zaki. Its very hard to stop a good zaki zoning in C groove. gives cbs problems in C. and when he is in N he can not sit on his meter at 2 or 3 when he needs that comeback super into a cancel. In N groove u only have ones unless u stamp so they can turtle til the meter runs out. But definately I agree with Viscant that C and N are his best grooves. I just prefer C over N.

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N and C are Yamazaki’s best grooves for none other than the fact he has rolls and A groove won’t cut it. Yamazaki has about the quickest roll in the game which allows you to roll and throw someone within a second. I make people scream in agony as many times as I roll and throw people. Just watch out for rolling through some moves, his roll is so quick he might get caught in the move.

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N-Groove is BY FAR THE BEST YAMAZAKI GROOVE. I mean… right now it’s insane that anyone would try to argue otherwise.

Yama’s run is vital for him to get anywhere. His dash isn’t cutting it, and it forces him to play a wall-up game in the Capcom grooves. With run AND roll, Yama always has a feasible way to get into his ideal range - just outside of the range of his standing roundhouse.

Yamazaki likes to have rolls, not just for RC dust kick but so he can roll to get into a position to headbutt/grab super people. It’s very hard to attack Yama because of the risk his roll has on your offense. If he’s in your range, you are forced to get out of the way somehow, and those all involve risk.

Most importantly, a stocked N-Groove is always a risk. A stocked N-groove can do a level 1 grab super and STILL have a painful anti-air option available to him - something no other groove can do. Break stock into anti-air super on reaction is so easy to do on most characters (only Vega and maybe Blanka are impossible to do this on).

But enough about that… let’s see the problems Yamazaki has to tackle in other grooves:

C-Groove: Probably second best. C-Groove Yamazaki has to turtle up more, though, and I don’t like it. If I want to turtle, I’ll play Honda in N/C Groove or whatever. Airblock helps KIND OF, except Yamazaki shouldn’t really jump that much anyway.

A-Groove: Yama’s custom isn’t very easy to do or very versatile, which leaves you with basically C-Groove Yama with no airblock and quickrise instead of delayed getup. No one can really make a case for him, except maybe as a battery.

P-Groove: There’s a player here that plays a very good Yamazaki in P-Groove, but the problems show. You don’t have a PALPABLE anti-air threat without a super, and you don’t have a way to sneak a way into grab range without parrying your way in, which is easier said than done. He has lots of parry tricks and he IS good, but it’s a lot of work and he probably needs a full meter to really play.

S-Groove: Dr.B plays this groove. He’d probably know more about it than I do. IMO, it’s not really that good because Yama likes roll way more than dodge. But his dodge attacks are good, and he can be a real nuisance when his life gets into the red zone.

K-Groove: I honestly don’t think K-Yama is very good even though the few Yama players I’ve seen that win tournaments use him in this mode, because like I said, Yama likes the roll a lot more than JD or “get owned and then kick your ass” factor. But if you can overcome this, and play the timer game, then sure.

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Does anyone have to good strats for going against balrog?

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what about counter, i just started yama, and was under the impression that it was his best non-super, anti air.

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Most people will say you shouldn’t use counters, blah blah it’s too risky… and it is, but if you want to surprise your opponent or you’re playing a scrub abusing a jumpin then why not. I stick to RC strong arm/rc dust though.

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counter is risky on the ground because they can crouch attack you, but if theyre in the air with their leg out, then theres nothing they can do to stop themselves from hitting yama in the face, and getting launched across the screen.

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when i play when him i do stand lp stand lk then qcb lk’mk’orhk qcb hp its an aright combo

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HEY YO its me, its me, its RDG (RUSH DOWN GOD) VDO here, just wanna comment on this Yamazaki thing.

I feel that P-groove Yamazaki is the best cause ofcourse you have the option of parrying everything your opponents do (if you are good enogh) which will make your foe very afraid of even thinking of attackin you, their only and best bet will be to rollcancle against you. Yamazaki is a very strong character, very offensive, and has hella priority on alot of his attacks j. feirce punch, j. forward kick, s. fierce kick, c. fierce punch aswell.

HE IS A MONSTER!

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k groove yama owns p groove yama.

fast meter build up.
when hes raged hes does :eek: :eek: damage.
jd is all u need:cool:

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HEY YO I’ll take that bet anyday!

That is k- yama, against p- yama…my p- yama!

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Aright I will Tell u what use what i think is best
I use C Groove Yama I use J.MK S.HK As My pokes
When i Use the Gullitine I always Think that when the Super Guage Gets BacK real Fast And some body always Jumping to Get Yama Since he always use the (QCB Hp) Serpent Slash to keep them away 5 Opitons U Can use when the Chars Are Jumping Toward u 1.Qcb Mk 2. Hcf Hk When they Kick u 3. S.HK Poke 4.Gullitine 5. U Jump MK

I have beaten Sagat Players QcB Hk Works Great.
Stand Hk Doesn’t Keep him back just takes alot of DMG
And when HE shoots the Tiget Shot just Roll Then Combo and so on
And with C groove the Air Guard Is good For him since he doesn’t Shoot a fireball Only Reflects one
Yamas 1 of my fav i will have to say the First yama Player i saw in a Video was VDO at Forgo.net and i had no idea he was that good until i started to play and He became My Top 3 and 1 thing is for sure i will not use Yama in K-Groove Too Slow! AND HE CAN NOT ROLL OR EVEN DASH!

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Run is WAY better for Yama than dash, and how Is a K slower than C? And why are you reflecting fireballs, and why is this scrubby Sagat you’re playing throwing fireballs?

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I do not Reflect FIreBallS Jackass and the Sagat that i play doesn’t do what u are talking about! With C Yama CAN ROLL and when yama Rolls whe is much Faster Belive me play me 1 of these days ANd i will show u my Yama!!

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Anyone have some serious P Yama advice? I’m slotting him second on the team so he’ll come in w/ meter or close. I guess I’m just curious about how to make my zoning game most effective and keep them out.

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I play P yama as my first character I dont depend on supers(any P player shouldnt rely on supers in my opinion)

I depend on parrying alot to get in and stuff

Parry FP, dust kick, snake arm all day

Abuse HK to zone, standing MP is a good anti air

Yamas jumping hk and lk are great to jump in with

I pretty much started on C groove and watched the DJ-B13 video as like a base but then I moved to P