Last Blade 2 Character Guides/Advanced System thread

Kyokuji · January 19, 2006, 12:48am

This is just an advanced system FAQ since a lot of people seem to want to know how to play the game at higher levels.

**Tier List

http://forums.shoryuken.com/showpost.php?p=2712993&postcount=1

**(Character guides)

**Videos

Updated Jan 31, 2007
You can find some Japanese match videos on my youtube account:

DarkOne Combo Video

KoFUnion Combo Video

Also some of Abar’s stuff:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Kea1wjzca9I&mode=related&search= (Lower your volume before you watch this one)

UPDATE: New videos:
http://forums.shoryuken.com/showpost.php?p=4390473&postcount=311
http://forums.shoryuken.com/showpost.php?p=4547159&postcount=329

**A-CHO Ban List

http://forums.shoryuken.com/showpost.php?p=3528855&postcount=93

General Advanced Game System FAQ:

Notation

:snka: = Light Slash
:snkb: = Hard Slash
:snkc: = Kick
:snkd: = Deflect/Repel/Parry AND Ground/Air Recover

:snkc::snkd: = Throw
:snkb::snkc: = Overhead/Unblockable

Hold :l: or :r: on the ground to roll in either direction while you’re getting up.

DM’s/SDM’s

DM’s are always done with :snka::snkb: SDM’s are always (with one exception for Shigen) done with :snkb:. SDM’s are only available on Power/EX, and most DM’s can be part of speed chains.

Motions are always:

:qcb::db::r::snka::snkb:/:snkb:
:qcf::qcf::snka::snkb:/:snkb:
:hcb::hcb::snka::snkb:/:snkb:
:r::hcf::snka::snkb:/:snkb:

Speed combo specials

Initiated with :d::d: :snka:/:snkb: (A hits high, B hits low) on Speed/EX modes. Drains an entire super bar and can’t be spammed at low health.
You must block the :snka: version high
You can jump straight up over them close-up if you’re not in extended hit stun.

Everyone has 4, but they all share one basic one.

:snka::snkb::snkc: :snka::snkb::snkc: :snka::snkb: :qcf::snkc:
(Don’t mash your way through it, time each hit right about when the other one finishes. You can however mash out the last :qcf::snkc: part)

There are only 2 or 3 variations on the other ones, so it’s just a matter of memorizing a couple of them.

A good low hitting/launching one that a lot of people share is:

:snka::snkb::snkc: :d::snkc::d::snka::d::snkc::r::snkb::snkc: OR
:snka::snkb::snkc: :d::snkc::d::snkc::r::snkb::snkc: (Less common but it’s used for Setsuna’s and few others).
You can cancel off the :r::snkb::snkc:

You can pseudo-trap an opponent into trying to block one of these by doing them off a hitting hard slash, but they’re only ever guaranteed off a deflect or an overhead stun.
Good players may be able to low-jump :uf: deflect one if you try it off a hard slash.

Downed attacks

:df::snkb: or just :snkc: when the person is on the ground. The :snkc: tends to have less recovery lag. Be careful with these when the person is able to ground recover. Especially with the :df::snkb: because it can have some bad lag on it with certain characters. Some characters can get a ground attack-in after their throw or a sweep.

*Amano’s ground attack will also hit standing opponents for some reason.
*You can chain off certain ones. Pretty useless except for whiffing certain moves quickly to get meter.

Overheads

Only available on Speed/EX.

Done with :snkb::snkc:. Some have more range/speed than others. Hibiki, Lee, Kaede, and Zantetsu have fantastic overheads. Amano and Mukuro have the worst. These hit high obviously, but they’re more effective than they are in most games.

Overheads will stun you if you’re blocking low. Otherwise you get launched.
If you stun with an overhead, dash-in and follow quickly with a combo or throw. If you launch them, dash in to see if they’ll try to quick recover, or chain a special after if your character can do it. If they don’t recover, you can probably at least get a ground attack :snkc: off or something.

Unblockables

Only available on power. Use these very sparingly. They’ll get you murdered at high levels. You can hold these longer by holding the buttons down, but eventually the game makes you let go. This is helpful, because generally everyone has the same unblockable timing so it becomes easy to deflect. If you can extend the charge time, you can mess some people up.

You can be jabbed/thrown out of these so know when to use them, and really later on, I wouldn’t use them much at all. Also, most people will either let go right away or hold them down all the way. If they’re holding it, jab them quickly.

*Washizuka and Kojiroh can move forward with their’s if they charge them, so back the hell up if you can’t deflect or jab them out.

Super cancels

Only available on Power/EX. Not all of them are all that useful. Basically lets you cancel certain specials into super moves.

Power :r::snkc: cancels

Exactly what it sounds like.

Power normals

Normals will chip and are safer on block on power. They will not chip kill a near dead opponent however.

Blocking

You can’t block ground attacks while you’re in the air.
*You can only air block when jumping straight-up or backwards. Anti-airs and projectiles can be air blocked EXCEPT Akari’s fireball.

Defending against high-low

Overheads must be blocked high as well as some supers. Keep these things in mind. Remember that most overheads will come out in this order and you can either jab them out of it, block it, or deflect it:

:snka: > :snkb::snkc:
:snka::snka: > :snkb::snkc: (Moriya can’t do his overhead off AA).
:snka::snka: :snkb: > :snkb::snkc:

So low block and when you see the pause for the overhead come out, switch to high block, jab or deflect. In a worst case scenario just attack, so even if it hits, you don’t get stunned.

Replace :snkb::snkc: with :df::snkc: and you have the same patterns for sweeps. This is why you always want to block combos low if possible. If they do a sweep, you don’t have to switch your block. If they do an overhead, they come out slowly anyway so you can just switch.

Hibiki and Zantetsu have quick overheads which look almost the same as their :d::snkb:'s but after a while you get used to them. I haven’t gotten hit by either in a while. Just remember that Hibiki and Zantetsu’s :d::snkb: hits right away, while the overhead animation is more jerky and hits later. Hibiki’s overhead animation is also less crouched.

Low-jumping

Tap :ub: OR :u: OR :uf:.
This game has the touchiest low-jump out of all of SNK’s fighters. In KoF, you can tap it pretty hard and still get it out, but you really have to tap it lightly in this for it to work.

Getting around

If you’re doing a jump-in, it’s almost always better to be dashing or low-jumping while you do it. A straight high jump-in is just way too predictable.
Try to get low jumping down. It’s not completely necessary until you get to higher levels, but it’s very helpful. It makes it a lot easier to get in, start combos, and zone with jump attacks without getting parried.

Ground/Air recovering

Press :snkd: to ground recover a second after you hit the ground, or :snkd: ONCE in the air after you get launched up. Don’t press it twice or you’ll parry on the way down and you’ll be a sitting duck. You are NOT invincible while ground recovering, so make sure you’re a certain distance away when you do it. Or around characters like Kaede/Kojrioh/Lee/Zantetsu/Akari/Moriya who can punish ground recoveries easily, don’t do it much at all.
Just know when to do it and when not to. Never do it in the corner.

*You can attack/use air specials on the way down from an air recovery.
*You can ground recover out of a lot of stuff you can’t air recover from
***You can’t ground recover from stuff that knocks down immediately, like sweeps, or attacks that send you flying like :r::snkc:. **

Wake-up/On wake-up

If someone’s trying to jump straight up on you for a jump-in while you’re on the ground, get up with a jumping (straight-up) :snka: or :snkc: depending on the character.
If someone tries to roll towards you, jump back and greet them with a jump attack. Be careful though, these can get parried. If they start to parry, just jump back, dash-in throw instead.

***Again, you shouldn’t deflect when you’re getting up, or the other guy is getting up. It’s way too risky. This isn’t like 3rd Strike where you can safely option select.

On the ground

In case you missed it, hold :l: or :r: on the ground to roll in either direction while you’re getting up. Or nothing to stay where you are. Don’t get predictable and always roll one way.

Deflecting

First off, you know should know that you can deflect while standing, crouching and in the air. Crouching deflects will generally only work on crouching attacks, while air deflects will work on almost anything. Air deflects are much stricter on timing however.
Last Blade’s deflects have a miss animation on them, so be very careful when you use it, also the trail of blue shadows will make it easy to spot one.

Also, pressing D once deflects, pressing :snkd: again after the deflect causes a knock-down. It’s usually better to go for a combo after instead of the knock-down. Unless you’re deflecting an air-attack. You can’t use the knock-down :snkd: if it’s an air to air deflect, but you can use an air normal/special immediately after.

There are generally a few things you should deflect:

-When someone is blindly rushing down/pressuring you.
-Really obvious jump-ins
-When someone jumps straight up next to you
-To counter anti-airs/air to air attacks.

** You can deflect some supers, but you cannot deflect projectiles. **

How to deflect combo strings

Generally, you can only deflect light hits on the first hit. However, you can deflect any hard attack they throw in the string.

Just block the first hit high and switch to low block during the string (Or go from low to high). Then before their hard attack comes out, deflect. For some reason, switching your block position like that allows you to deflect in block stun. Think of it kind of like red parrying in Third Strike.

*** You can deflect while still holding back **

Know when to deflect

I listed a bunch of situations where it would be a good idea to deflect. Now obviously, the good players know these as well, so they’re gonna try to fake you out. Be very careful when you deflect. I can easily jump straight up next to you, have you whiff a deflect, then run in and throw you. Also, it could seem like I’m blindly poking you with A, but then I switch it up at the last minute to a throw when you try to deflect. People who’ve been playing a long time, generally have a good idea of when someone is going to try and deflect or attack. So try to get deflecting down, but use it conservatively.

Gauge your opponent’s patterns, and remember it’s very dangerous to be deflecting too much around mashers or new players. Most of them will just mash out random attack strings like A, A random pause special. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tried to deflect what I thought was an incoming hard slash, and ended up eating a random super instead.

Also, you can greatly reduce the lag on a low-jump air deflect by deflecting late in the jump.

*Try not to deflect when you’re getting up, or the other guy is getting up. You’ll likely just get hit by a jump-in or late combo.

Guard canceling

Uses up all your meter. Allows you to deflect an attack a split second AFTER you’ve blocked it. This is helpful for avoiding chip damage. Also, it’s basically near guaranteed damage when you need it. These are much more helpful on power since your meter fills faster and they do more damage.

The motion for these is :l::db::d: :snkd: while blocking. I find it helps to mash the the whole motion several times when you’re learning.

Poking/Normals

Generally, jumping :snka: or :snkc: is going to be your best air to air attack . Also different air attacks have different properties depending on whether the opponent is above you, below you, or right beside you.

Quick list of good air-air attacks for each character

(Amano, Akari and Lee’s :snkc: and Moriya, Kagami and Zantetsu’s :snka: are annoying. Yuki’s air attacks all pretty much suck. :snkb: is OK, but it’s slow)
(If you’re finding it hard to gauge the angle, just use the “All around” ones)
(If I list more than one attack per character, it usually means multiple attacks will work. Doesn’t mean that one isn’t better than the others, but it’s hard to go in-depth into that in a general FAQ. I highlighted some of the ones I thought were really good, or better than the other ones in most situations)
(Some are better or worse depending on whether you jump or low-jump. All the close/cross-up ones are better with low-jump)

Below you:

:snka: for Mukuro, Akari, Shigen, Moriya, Hibiki, Lee, Zantetsu, Kojiroh, Setsuna
:snkb: for Mukuro, Juzoh, Kagami
:snkc: for Yuki, Mukuro, Lee, Kagami, Kojiroh, Washizuka, Setsuna, Juzoh, Amano, Akari

Beside you:

:snka: for Kaede, Moriya, Kagami, Okina, Shigen, Hibiki, Juzoh, Zantetsu, Kojiroh, Washizuka, Setsuna
:snkb: for Juzoh (From further back)
:snkc: for Lee, Okina, Mukuro, Amano, Akari, Setsuna, Juzoh

Above you:

:snka: for Juzoh, Shigen, Hibiki, Zantetsu, Kagami, Kojiroh, Washizuka, Setsuna
:snkb: for Yuki, Lee, Kaede, Moriya
:snkc: for Amano, Okina, Akari, Lee

Jump-ins:

:snka: for Yuki (Close-up only), Akari, Kaede, Okina, Shigen, Moriya, Hibiki, Lee, Zantetsu, Setsuna, Kojiroh, Washizuka, Kagami
:snkb: for Akari, Setsuna, Mukuro (Close-up only/Crosses up), Kaede, Okina, Moriya, Hibiki (Close-up only/Crosses up), Zantetsu (Close-up only/Crosses up), Kagami, Yuki
:snkc: for Yuki (Close-up only), Amano, Lee, Akari, Kojiroh (Close-up only/Crosses up), Washizuka (Close up only/Crosses up), Setsuna, Mukuro, Kaede (Close-up only/Crosses up), Shigen (Close up only/Crosses up), Moriya, Hibiki, Kagami (Close-up only/Crosses up)

All around:

:snka: for Kaede, Washizuka, Kojiroh, Moriya, Kagami, Hibiki, Shigen, Okina, Zantetsu
:snkb: for Juzoh, Yuki
:snkc: for Lee, Amano, Akari, Mukuro

Last Blade is very heavy on air poking. Especially low-jump air pokes. This is because there is very little lag between getting off the ground and landing after your jump. Also, jump attacks tend to have very high priority. For example, you can keep a lot of people back with just Kagami’s jumping A. Also, know when to go high or low. If you try a jump-in and they block the first hit, use a low attack or a dash-in throw after. A standing attack is almost guaranteed to get deflected.

You can use an early jumping attack to make them whiff a deflect, and then just run in and throw or wait a second and start a combo.

Pokes on power, will put the opponent in kind of a semi-guard break animation, which makes it easy to throw like 3 A’s out in a row. Also, normals will do chip damage on power.

Be careful with hard slashes. They’re very easy to punish/parry.

Dashing

You can stop a dash by pressing back on the joystick. Also, if you dash attack and press back and attack, you’ll do a regular standing version of the attack instead of the dashing one. Also, you have to have been dashing a certain span of time for a dash attack to come out. Otherwise you get a normal standing one.

Dash attacks

Rarely should you ever dash attack someone head on. This is just asking to get parried. Instead, use them after you stun with an overhead, or to punish whiffed attacks from afar. If you have to mix it up, go for a dashing sweep (Dash + :d::snka:/:snkb:/:snkc:). Certain characters have guaranteed dash attacks on people who are ground recovering from a knock-down/launch.

Jump-cancelling

You can dash under someone who’s in the air and use a low poke to hit them as they land. You do this by quickly jump-canceling the dash just before you hit the button. This only works just as you’re crossing over. Any later and you’ll end up facing the wrong way.

Throwing

Throws are a huge part of Last Blade 2’s game, because of the dash speed/lack of jump recovery. Get dash throwing down pat, and get dash command throwing down especially. They’re the easiest way to punish missed deflects, and they make it so you can punish one without even having to wait for the animation to come out.

Basic/Advanced combo strings

General

**Keep your specials/DM’s inside your combos. Unless you know it’s safe to use, or it’s a projectile for zoning. If you’re not comboing, spend your time using pokes/air pokes/throws or very brief speed chains instead of spamming specials. You’d be surprised how easy it is for the other person to punish a whiffed special.

Think of it like Third Strike where it’s very poke centered. Except more on air-poking than ground footsies.**

Speed chains

Your most basic attack string is:

:snka::snka: :snkb: > Special move/DM OR :df::snkc: OR :snkb::snkc: OR :r::snkc:/:snkb:

Advanced attack string:

:snka::d::snka::d::snkb: > Special move/DM, etc
Only works for some characters. Kaede, Juzoh and Shigen for example don’t have low hitting A’s, and Moriya can only chain after his :d::snkb: from a very specific distance, so it’s pretty useless for him.

Advanced attack string 2:
(For characters who can’t chain or can’t chain well off :d::snkb:)

:snka::d::snka: :snkb: > Special move/DM, etc

Most people can use their supers in their speed chains. The exceptions are Amano, Kagami, Kaede/
O. Kaede and Okina.

Many characters can also chain specials off low attacks which is very helpful.
You can start combos with :l::snka: to make them come out a bit faster on certain characters, but you lose too much range for me to recommend it for everyone.

Power links

These are generally quite difficult, and will separate top level players from the upper mid-level ones. Basically a link is an attack that hits immediately after the lag from the first attack goes away rather than cancelling one into another, but the whole thing still counts as a combo.

Hit stun is long as hell in this game, so there are a lot of link combos available.
They’re all very reliant on timing. Mashing only works for Mukuro’s links and maybe Lee’s :d::snkc: links.

Some like Kagami’s, are 1-framers

For a basic idea of what I mean. Try to chain Lee’s :snkb: from his :d::snkc: (x1-3) and then follow-up with
:qcb::snkc: (x3) OR :hcb::snka: > :qcb::db::r::snka::snkb:. You might get it a few times, but the trick is to be able to do it consistently in the middle of a fight.

An easier one to try is Mukuro’s:

:l::snka: (x1-3) :r::snkc: > :dp::snkb:
OR Lee’s:
:l::snka: :snkb: :hcb::snka: > :qcb::db::r::snka::snkb:

The main advantage of most of these links is damage. Power mode doesn’t have any chain combos so people think you have to rely on pokes. This is true to some extent, but the fact is, these power links often do more damage than most speed chains. Also, one of their biggest advantages is that they let you turn every low poke, into a full combo. Imagine if almost every character in Third Strike had
:d::mk: > SAII, and that’s what this is like, only a lot harder.

You need to have low-jumping down to be able to use these effectively. The only way you’ll get them off most of the time, is through a low-jump jump-in/cross-up.

Combining power-links with speed chains

Here’s where things get a bit interesting. Speed players noticed how you could link lows to highs and started using these links to get into speed chains from their low pokes. An example of this is Lee’s
:d::snkc: (x1-3) > :snka::snkb::d::snkc::d::snkc: > Special/DM. This only works for characters with low-high links obviously.

Some people also use them for extra damage. Like :l::snka: (x2) with Kaede and then on the third :l::snka:, go into the rest of his speed chain.

Blocked strings

Deflecting makes attacking a defensive foe a lot more risky, so you have to be careful.

If the first hit of your combo gets blocked, it’s usually best to just either stop completely, or end quickly with :df::snkc: OR :snkb::snkc: (slides are not as safe as sweeps unless from max range).

On power, be careful when you go for your links. Don’t try them off blocked attacks. If the first hit gets blocked, stop completely or switch to a low attack/dash-in throw or something.

Random mix-ups list

-Dash-jump :uf: whiff air attack, dash-in throw
-Jump straight up, whiff air-attack, dash-in throw
-Low-jump :uf: close up, dash-in throw.
-Low poke, dash-in throw.
-:snka: > :snkb::snkc:
-:snka: > :df::snkc:
-Low-jump :uf: whiff air attack :snkb::snkc:
-Low-jump :uf: whiff air attack :df::snkc:
-Whiff low poke while the opponent is waking-up, and then low-jump cross-up/jump-in/dash-in throw.

Corner cross-over

With certain characters if you knock the opponent up in the corner, dash over the body and then stop when they get up, you’ll be in front of them again when they stand which can be very confusing visually. How useful this is, is debatable and varies from character to character.

Miscellaneous crap

**-If you’re just starting out. Use Speed mode first, and get comfortable with it. The learning curve on power is quite a bit more steep. **
-Contrary to popular belief. EX is not overpowered. You take like 150% damage, which doesn’t make it worth it on most characters.
-Lee and Zantetsu have air chains. O. Kaede has them with a glitch.
-Zantetsu has a bad bug with :snka::snkc: (together) where he can chain it infinitely in the air. This is banned.
-Speed Setsuna/Power Mukuro are probably the most beginner friendly characters.

moeller61 · January 22, 2006, 2:02am

Nice, I’ve been trying to learn this game.

System_1 · January 22, 2006, 2:19am

This will be excellent becuz i’ve just started using Kaede…

Iczer_one · January 22, 2006, 4:24am

Very good read, and i think this will help a lot of people who just started with the game. :tup:

Also loved the Kojiroh Guide, there is quite some stuff in there i left untouched so far, especially with P-Kojiroh (Speed is not only better but much more fun, hands down). Kojiroh is very fun to play around with, i think i’ll stick with her for a while.

Kyokuji · January 22, 2006, 11:17pm

Made the Kojiroh and Mukuro guides more legible.
Added a list of air-air attacks to this guide as well.
Ironically despite writing a guide on her, Kojiroh and Yuki are probably my worst characters. I can still win fine with them, but I’m not confident using them at all.

Fasty_McNasty · January 25, 2006, 1:19am

I love the Akari inf. Its so easy…

Kyokuji · January 25, 2006, 1:52am

Easily banned.

Khiempossible · January 28, 2006, 11:40am

fuck that. easy is zantetsu. Easiest infinite i’ve ever performed.

Dracula_X · February 5, 2006, 7:48am

Try doing Kagami’s lol. Nice guides Kyokuji.

Kyokuji · February 8, 2006, 2:22pm

I started up a Last Blade 2 section on the new SRK wiki’.
Any new guides I make will be posted there.

System_1 · February 28, 2006, 2:50am

can anyone give me any tips on using speed hibiki?

also, how do you do fatalities?

Dark_Geese · March 3, 2006, 6:37am

Oh I know Kojiroh very well…speed Hibiki…Kyokuji is well aware of all the other LB2 knowledge on Orochinag i well I’m sure…

Olan · March 21, 2006, 11:58am

any power okina advice?, niggas a beast

Kyokuji · March 24, 2006, 6:18pm

Okina

Power

:d::snka: > :dp::snka:
:d::snka: > :hcb::snkc: (only close up)
:l::snka: (x2), :snka: > :dp::snka:
(Near corner) :r::snkc: > :r::hcf::snka::snkb:
:r::snkc: > :qcf::snkb:
:r::snkc: > :r::hcf::snkb:

Speed

:snka:, :d::snka:, :d::snkb: > :dp::snka:
:snka:, :d::snka:, :d::snkb: > :qcf::snka:
:snka:, :d::snka:, :d::snkb: > :hcb::snka:
:snka:, :d::snka:, :d::snkb: > :hcb::snkc: (only close up)
:snka:, :d::snka:, :snkb: > :qcf::snka:
:d::snkc: > :dp::snka: (Huge range on this, since the :d::snkc: actually moves you forward)
:l::snka::snka: > :l::snka: :snka:, :d::snka:, :d::snkb: > :qcf::snka:
(Corner)(Activate speed combo special :d::d::snka:/:snkb:) (Let it hit)
:l::snka: :snka: > :l::snka:, :snka:, :snkb: > :qcf::snka:

EX

:snkb::snkc: (stuns) > :hcb::snkb: > :r::hcf::snka::snkb:

Gameplay

He’s actually pretty low on the tier list, but he’s one of my favourite characters to use.
He’s a zoning character who can also play tradtional rush-down as long as you’re careful.

If you’re smart, you can probably beat less experienced players just by alternating high/low turtles and the far version of his fishing rod. I’ve gotten a lot of perfects this way. Alternatively, if they’re smart enough to get past the turtle zoning (because it’s relatively easy to, if you just jump straight up and block), then move in with low-jumps :snka:'s and :snkb:'s. If you land a jump-in, follow up with :d::snka: then :dp::snka: > walk forward :df::snkb: or if you’re absolutely sure you’re gonna score a hit, :d::snkb: > :dp::snka:. Hit and run, don’t always try to rush-down with him. Hop back, tos s a turtle or two and then go back in again. His turtles do inflict a lot of damage if they hit, so even one or two hits here and there can really turn the tide.

IMPORTANT:
If the turtle zoning starts to go bad, or they manage to get past one, stop throwing turtles and retreat/re-group. Get to the other side of the screen, and then start throwing them again. If you stay and try to fight them head on, you will lose. Okina excels in keep away and in quick offensive strikes. Clutch fighting is not his strong point.

His super is only guaranteed off :r::snkc: in the corner, or off :hcb::snkb: after a successful parry. You have to start the :hcb::snkb: like RIGHT AFTER you parry.

Don’t use his turtles in combos, don’t use his spinning moves, and don’t use his teleports besides the :snka: version. You can dodge the :snkb: and :snkc: versions just by jumping straight up and blocking. Or in the case of the :snkc: version, I can just parry and punish.

If you land a successful ground-air parry, punish with :d::snkb: or :hcb::snkc: (more on this move in a bit).

The main thing holding him back is that he can’t land his super very easily, but mix-ups between :l::snka:/:snka:/:d::snka: pokes, low jump ins, and :dp::snka:'s can really disorient someone. I used to have him at the bottom of my tier list until I figured him out a little better and I now believe he’s about on par with Juzoh.

One great tactic I’ve found is that if you’re successful with the turtle zoning, people become very frustrated and they’ll try to get in using whatever means necessary. This usually means that if they get knocked down, they’re gonna roll towards you. Now, Okina’s :hcb::snkc: has to be blocked high, but any half decent player is gonna block low on wake-up to be safe. So what this does is it not only scores you a relatively guaranteed hit (you’d be surprised how long it takes people to figure out how to defend against this), but the way it hits, you end up landing right behind them. If they’re not close enough for you to hit this move at point blank, run forward a bit after the knockdown and wait for them to roll. The running forward will also give them even more incentive to roll towards you since they’ll be thinking “oh shit, he’s moving in now’s my chance”.

Now, if they quick recover, you can nail them with a guaranteed :d::snkb: > :dp::snka: and if they don’t, you still get a free :df::snkb: or :snkc:.

Also, as the guide says. Jumping A for all purpose, C for air-air for him.

He has problems with Moriya, Setsuna, Zantetsu and Lee though because of how quickly they can get across the screen. They can punish a blocked turtle very easily.

System_1 · March 25, 2006, 10:21am

uhhhh… i didn’t know where else to ask this, so if it belongs elsewhere, sorry in advance.

i’m planning on importing Last Blade 2: Final Edition (JP Dreamcast). However, I’ve noticed that there are two different versions. One has a girl with a fan on the cover, with a beige background. The other version has the US artwork, but slightly altered.

Which one is the best version to get?

Kyokuji · March 27, 2006, 1:37am

They’re both pretty bad. They have a problem with the sound being delayed or desynced, and the characters are usually smaller and more pixelated.

The Japanese one has blood and fatalities.
The American one has slightly less pixelated sprites, but no blood or fatalities.

I prefer the Japanese one, but you’re pretty much screwed either way. The delayed sound gets pretty distracting.

In all honesty, I would buy it just to support the developers, but then emulate it, because the arcade MAME version is 5x better than either.

Khiempossible · March 27, 2006, 2:54am

It’s only really bad when you do Speed combos, where after you finish you hear all the sounds that were queued up finish off for 2 seconds. Most BnBs combos aren’t too bad though.

Kyokuji · March 27, 2006, 9:29am

Well, considering you’re either poking or doing large combo strings most of the time, I’d say it’s pretty detrimental to the gameplay.
Very rarely are you doing simple 2 hitters and things like that.

It’s especially bad for power links. The timing is tight enough on most already, but not only does this prevent you from using the sound as a queue, it actually throws you off, because it comes out completely off rhythm.

System_1 · March 29, 2006, 2:09am

kyokuji:

any tips on using speed hibiki?

also how do u do fatalities?

TIA

Kyokuji · March 29, 2006, 6:07am

Fatalities happen randomly and only work if you’re playing with blood enabled. Usually if you finish them with a hard slash or a slashing special of some kind, they’ll get cut in half. There’s 2 types. One where they fall apart in the air and their weapon drops to the ground, and another where they fold and die slowly on the ground.

As for Speed Hibiki:

Bread and Butter with her is:
:snka: :d::snka: :d::snkb: > :snkb::snkc: > Follow-up

She has three follow-up options:
:qcf::snka: (:qcf::snkb: actually does less damage and has way more recovery time)
(Dash-in) :l::snka: > bread and butter if they quick recover (can be repeated x number of times).
(Dash past them) :snka::snkb:, :l::snkc:, :snkb: > Combo of your choice.
Basically, you cross them up even though you’re facing the wrong way. Very confusing visually, so it’s useful this way. It can be avoided by rolling far away enough though.

Another useful combo is just to finish with :df::snkc: instead of :snkb::snkc:. It’s safer on recovery than the :snkb::snkc: is since it’s not as easy to deflect. The two together make for some nice mix-ups.

DM combos:
:d::snkc: > :qcb::qcf::snka::snkb:
:d::snkb: > :qcb::qcf::snka::snkb:
:snka: :d::snka: :d::snkb: > :qcb::qcf::snka::snkb:
:d::snkc:, :snka: :d::snka: :d::snkb: > :qcb::qcf::snka::snkb:
:dp::snkc: > :qcb::qcf::snka::snkb:
:dp::snkc: > :d::d::snka:/:snkb: > Speed Combo #1-4
:d::d::snka:/:snkb: > :snka: :snkb: :snkc: :d::snkc: :d::snka: :d::snkc: :r::snkb::snkc: > :qcb::qcf::snka::snkb:
:l::snka:, :d::snkc:, :snka:, :snkb: > :qcb::db::r::snka::snkb:
:snka: :d::snka: :d::snkb: > :dp::snkb: > :hcf::snkc: (Activate speed combo special :d::d::snka:/:snkb:) follow-up of your choice.

Don’t use her :dp::snkb: move, and don’t use her :qcf::snkb: either.
I don’t use her :dp::snkc: much since you can’t actually combo into it. The only time it really has any use is if you know the person’s gonna try to low block, but even then I prefer :snkb::snkc: on most occasions because it has more follow-up options.

I haven’t had much reason to use her :hcf::snkc: either unless the person is being really predictable with jump-ins. I prefer just to use the regular deflect since I can get way more damage off it, at the cost of slightly pickier deflect timing.

For ground poking, use :d::snka: and standing :snka:.
Air poking, use :snka:

Get low jumping cross-up :snkb: down. Great way to pin down inexperienced opponents, if you just low cross-up slash with her over and over. It’s really hard to deflect and has a huge radius as well.

:snkb: is amazing ground anti-air but can be air parried by better players. It does a lot of damage on power, so it’s very useful for punishing predictable air recoveries.

Try dashing past someone on the ground, then using :snka::snkb: > :l::snkc: > :snkb: > Bread and butter. This should nail them when they get up if they don’t see the cross-up coming.

Just like anyone else, don’t use her super randomly. I know it might be tempting because it comes out so quickly, but it’s a good way to get yourself combo’d.

:d::snkb: has absolutely huge range, so use that to your advantage when playing footsies with someone. If you nail it, always follow up with :snkb::snkc:, her DM or :df::snkc: if you think you’re too far to follow up on the :snkb::snkc:.

EDIT: **

Power Hibiki stuff:**

:l::snka: (x2-3), :snka: > :qcf::snka:
:l::snka: (x2-3), :snka: > :qcb::db::r::snka::snkb:
:snka: > :r::hcf::snkb:
:l::snka: :d::snkc: > :qcb::db::r::snka::snkb:
:snka: > :r::hcf::snkb:
:d::snkc:, :l::snka:, :snka: > follow-up of your choice
:d::snkc:, :snka: > follow-up of your choice
:d::snkc:, :snka: > :r::hcf::snkb:
:d::snkc: > :qcb::db::r::snka::snkb: (Learning to hit confirm this from a jump-in will help you a lot)
:r::snkc: > :qcb::db::r::snka::snkb: (Can be useful from punishing missed moves from afar)
:d::snkc:, :d::snka:
:l::snka: (x2-3), :snkb: > :qcb::db::r::snka::snkb: (‘Extremely’ difficult to time properly)
:l::snka:, :snkb:, :dp::snkb: > :qcb::db::r::snka::snkb: (‘Extremely’ difficult to time properly)

She’s still good on power, but she loses her nasty mix-up potential, and her godly cancellable
:d::snkb:.
She’s a much more dangerous poker on power though. You have to be very careful air recovering around her, even if you can parry her :snkb: on the way down. That can easily get baited, and you can end up eating a super.
Dashing forward and sticking out a :snkb: is surprisingly good for stuffing jump-ins early as well since it comes out pretty fast. You have stagger block to your advantage on power as well, so in case it gets blocked, you’re not in too much trouble.

Her cross-up is godly as well. Easily one of the best in the game along with Mukuro, Zantetsu and Akari’s. Never ever try jump cancel dashing under her when she air recovers unless you’re planning to deflect after, because that shit can hit you even if it looks like you’re out of its hit box.
Low jump cross-up :snkb: mix-ups are nasty as well, although you can get out by just jumping straight up and then air recovering if you’re not confident that you can block long enough to retaliate/get out. Still, you can get some nice damage that way on less experienced players.

Also, be careful with her :df::snkb:, people can :snka: you when they get up, because the recovery on it sucks (but not as much as Setsuna’s) so make sure you don’t do it up close.