Alright folks, I know this is very early days but I want to expand this over time as people get more experience.
So far out of the new Ultra characters, Hugo is the one who struggles the most due to his lack of ways to deal with projectiles without meter, his size and general slugishness.
But could this mean Dan the man actually beats someone in the roster? Are Gadokens too much for Hugo to bypass? Is LK Danku-Kyaku pressure upclose being neutral on block and beating out Hugo’s EX lariat armor too much?
Playing both characters it’s a bit hard to say so I’d like to hear some input on anyones experiences with this so far.
I dont think so. Hugo is going to be hard. dd+mk and ch.mk can punish Gadokens. his DP and ultra 2 cover 2/3 of the screen so Dankick and his float jump are easy to react to. st.hp has armor beating out dan’s pokes.
Hugo is a weird character but i think he beats Dan pretty bad in the long run.
I haven’t had much trouble with the Hugos I’ve faced thus far. He certainly has his advantages, but as long as you’re on point with your Koryukens he has to advance along the ground, and you can use that opportunity to zone him out. Not just with Gadokens, but with s.MK, Knees, and EX Danku.
Putting offensive pressure on a fallen Hugo can be scary, because (if he has meter) he can hurt you if you’re airborne as well as on the ground, but it’s still key to winning the matchup with Hugo just like any grappler. A good player doesn’t expect you to run up to his grappler character while he’s getting up and throw him. A good player certainly doesn’t expect you to do that two times in a row. Then once you’ve convinced him that you’re suicidal and will be doing crazy things like that, that’s when you instead bait out his reversal to land a punish.
Of course, someone who’s not a good player as Hugo is going to be churning butter if you’re anywhere near him while he’s getting up. You’ve got to identify the type of player you’re up against and play accordingly!
I actually enjoy this match up unlike the Gief match which I despise! Xiahou Mao’s suggestions are good advice. It’s pretty easy to land dankyu’s as he’s moving forward and to whiff punish some of his slower normals. anti-airing his jumps are tricky because if he empty jumps a lot of the time your dp will whiff. Getting just out of his poke range and randomly running up and throwing is a lot of fun Don’t go crazy with the light dan kick or he’ll air grab you. I usually do two in a row and hopefully bait out the air grab and punish when he lands.
From my experience poking Hugo with Dan’s medium kicks in combination with Gadoken actually works surprisingly well but remembering to try and go for LK Danku to not become too predictable, like any grappler if you start forming a pattern they will adapt and just grab you.
Also due to Hugo’s size if you land a hit or trade against an airbourne Hugo with LK Koryuken Dan can often combo into other things as a result.
This is also one of the few MU’s where I feel Haoh Gadoken is a more appropriate Ultra as it’s easier to combo with if Hugo screws up an air grab attempt for you to LK Koryu > U2. The pushback also helps since Hugo is often too slow to go after you for using it on block unless near the corner. However U1 might be just as useful for Hugo’s armored moves on reaction since his armored EX Lariet absorbed multiple hits.
You have to be careful of Hugo’s rather long range normals too, while some are sluggish the range he gets is pretty big so be wary of him doing crMK knockdowns at max range.
Don’t go crazy with the light dan kick or he’ll air grab you. I usually do two in a row and hopefully bait out the air grab and punish when he lands.