In terms of how easy his combos are, Akuma is not a hard character till you get into the more advanced combos and you can usually get by with some basic BnB and hit confirms. In terms of the level of detail you need to have as Akuma that is where he is a hard character to play, but very rewarding if you can play him that way.
I find that I am so use to playing Akuma any more than when I go back and try to play Rufus or Ryu that I have a hard time thinking in a much simpler offensive scheme. At the same time some people prefer a more simplified scheme. It is all about the person. I personally like have options.
People pick their characters for a variety of reasons. I think the majority of players don’t sit down and try to make a rational decision about what character to play, and just pick a character with initial appeal.
In fact, I think Akuma players are the most likely to be fanboys of their character. I know this is true for me and JR Rodriguez
Look at me, I suck with Akuma yet can’t stop playing him.
He and Gouken just click with what I like in SF4.
I have played a lot of Ryu and Sagat, and just get bored…
It sounds like if you want to improve your game with Akuma you’re just plain going to have to spend more time in training mode. You can’t afford to miss damage opportunities or make careless mistakes with this character.
Personally I’m not with the crowd that swears by playing one character til death do you part. Don’t think of switching fighters as some kind of commitment or something, but if you want a character to focus primarily on as an alternative to Akuma, the obvious choice is Ryu. I wouldn’t recommend it though. Akuma’s skill ceiling is alot higher than Ryu’s. If you can reliably SRK people out of the air, and consistently hit SRK, FADC, Ultra, you’re pretty much set for Ryu. Akuma on the other hand, will push your limits much more noticeably. He requires proficiency in all facets of the game. If you have any weaknesses as a player, they will show. Because of this, you will be a better player faster if you continue adamantly practicing your game with Akuma than if you switched to Ryu.
Also, you mentioned you freeze up with you get a knockdown? When in doubt, cross up tatsu.
My Akuma story has got to be the most unique. Haha
When I was starting out, I was using this really cheap PS3-controller-wannabe pad. The problem with that was when you hit left or right, the rubber would move in a way that would hit up as well. That means that you would randomly jump up or back whenever you do anything that requires a back or forward input.
With that, imagine doing an Ultra input with double qcf motions. It gets very frustrating!
That’s why I used Akuma because his ultra only has one directional input. Hehehe
Since I started using a decent stick, I started to explore other characters because I don’t have to worry about hardware deficiency anymore.
But at the end of the day trying out various chars, I would still get this feeling of confirmation that Akuma still gives me the best “feel” when playing the game. It just feels like I have the most control over Akuma than any other.
If you don’t have that feel, then MAYBE you should try something else.
That is the exact feeling I get too, of having all the options in the game at my disposal, while some characters only have a few.
Sadly, that does not mean I CAN use them, just that I could :bgrin:
Anyway, it’s a game, I knew Ryu and Sagat (and most of the cast tbh) were not for me because I wasn’t having as much fun as with Akuma, Gouken and Dan!
Yeah I’ve started to put myself back into the lab trying to work on my inconsistencies. I really need to heed to the saying of “no practice, no progress”. :karate:
Keep in mind that some of Akuma’s BEST punishers are simple:
s.hp (or c.hp if you need to stand 'em up) > lk tatsu > hp SRK
Simple, lots of damage. Land this with consistency when the situation is ripe and you’re gonna start evening the score significantly. Use it in EVERY situation where possible rather than opting for something simple like a sweep or throw.
Focus on defense and punishment. Until your consistency with his many FADC options (i.e. hp tatsu, lp srk, fadc red ball) becomes fluid, save those stocks for cancelling out of bad choices - such as a blocked SRK or perhaps to lead an offensive with EX air balls. This will help maintain some self preservation and keep you in the game longer to develop your familiarity with the character. Its difficult to learn a great deal when you get KOd quickly via poor choices or perhaps mistakes.
you know akuma isn’t for you when you don’t enjoy playing hi and or you enjoy/perform better with a different character…it’s that simple…I’ a little late on the draw but that’s like asking how do I know my favorite color is red?..just wowzers…
there’s a reason I started playing cammy…I do better with akuma because of his familiarity to me along with match-up knowledge and the fact that he’s just plain a more all around better/solid character…but I truly enjoy playing cammy she just fits my style of play…wish I would have figured that out from the start…but money on the line I’m gonna play akuma…akuma’s still fun to me…just cammy’s more my taste.
^exactly hopefully one day I’ll be confident money on the line with cammy but until then…same with you and honda…honestly though your honda is damn scary even when I am playing akuma…hhs->super…goodbye world.
Honda is one of those characters that seems a little bland because he doesn’t have many attacks, but man his attacks hurt. Mistime your air fireball and you get nailed with a Sumo Dive. Also his air attacks have insane range.
Honda has that NJ.HP has SO much priority and it hurts like 10 bitches on a bitch boat, his ex headbutt is safe as hell and has tons of priority on jump ins and hurts a ton. But to be fair it?s an uphill battle for Honda. He needs to get in to do damage, and let?s face it. As akuma we have to tools to keep him away and make him jump in on us to get in. I really like playing good Hondas. It?s a thinking match.
I disagree with your analogy. People change. There are times in your life when you may feel like you may need a change and that can be applied towards anything. I know people that change there favorite colors or have more than one. Life is all about choices. Many players from time to time go through some sort of phase where they think about “experimenting” because they feel kinda “meh” about there main character of choice. But what matters at the end is if you keep going back to your original main, then thats probably who you should stay with…“just wowzers” :rolleyes:. My reason for creating this thread was to get some thoughts on what other Akuma players felt/did if they had ever gotten to a point where they thought about switching mains. And I just shared my situation to get the ball rolling. It’s not like I was being a :crybaby: trying to get help to find someone to pick a main for me because Akuma is too hard and I can’t Ultra people all the time for the win.
True but when Honda gets Super and/or Ultra, it cuts down considerably how much you can zone him and make him come to you. Also if he has the lead with both, you’re going to him.
So far I would also say to stick with Akuma because he is the only character that forces you to learn every aspect of the game, thus preparing you better for Super and an eventual main change.
As much as I dislike the concept of a “main”, I too have come to the conclusion that if you aren’t unemployed and living alone you can learn at most 2 characters at the top level, and I would say 2 others as alts, unless you have a real talent for SFIV.
I still play random pick all the time, but that’s just me.
:wtf:
Since you obviously missed the point I was trying to make, I’ll just let it go. It’s starting to become obviously that your opinion = fact. :rolleyes:
