-
If Dictator fierce Psycho Crushers you in the corner, you can Ochio him 100% (though remember it will likely crossup).
-
If Dictator fierce Psycho Crushers you in the open for 3 tick damage, I like to just fierce hands him back for basically 3 guaranteed tick damage. You can fierce headbutt him back while he’s still psycho crushing if you have crazy timing, but why risk it.
-
Don’t forget that Dictator has no real anti-air! Just like against Dhalsim, your buttslams are enormously useful in this fight. Probably the worst threat to buttslams are well-timed psycho crushers, but buttslams can also beat mistimed crushers anyway. Reversal buttslam on midrange wakeup, buttslam to interrupt block strings, randomly buttslam to advance and maybe beat crushers (good!) or trade with them and you both wake up close to each other (also good!). Buttslams are deliciously abusable in this matchup! When in doubt, buttslam.
-
Also abuse Honda’s famous tick throw! No anti-air means you can get away with it a lot. Jump in with short, ochio. If your jump-in short hits late enough (i.e. while falling), your ochio will land very often! Also works to an extent with deeper splashes (jumping down+MK) but why risk it.
-
Of course, the other tick throw works very vell too. If somehow Dictator is knocked down in the corner, walk up to him, and as he wakes up, do a meaty low jab -> ochio. I like to input it as f, df, d+(push jab), db, wait for blockstun to end, release jab and quickly push-release it again. Works 100% if you’re doing it right and Dictator has no super.
-
If Dictator is running away at fullscreen, he’s very likely to try either a Psycho Crusher (easy to block, then punish) or a fast head stomp (also block, then punish). So if you can afford to turtle, block high at fullscreen, not low, or you’ll be surprised by how fast the head stomp travels!
-
Finally, as a reminder, remember that Dictator is a charge character, yet he often wants to lose his charge to attack. Be on the lookout for cues as to when Dictator loses his charge (and thus loses an option for a second), or remains charged for a while (and thus is likely to use that charge soon)
For Honda vs Blanka’s jump short -> bite, the first and best counter is to avoid having Blanka cross you up. As long as he doesn’t cross you, you can stop everything Blanka does with a well-timed jab headbutt. The key is that the jab headbutt’s startup frames are actually invincible, so it’s an ideal anti-air, and if Blanka tries to jump short you, simply headbutt it 100%.
The hard thing is once Blanka does cross you up somehow with his jump short! Here Blanka has basically two options, and you must guess the right one to escape the trap:
- If Blanka tries to bite you, beat it with the Ooichou.
- If Blanka tries to crossup jump short again, beat it with an early jumping jab, or in the unlikely event that you have a down charge, escape with a buttslam. Or yeah, just blocking also works.
In general, though, as Honda vs Blanka, you should try to be very defensive and do what you can to avoid being crossed up, because the jab headbutt is in theory the perfect response to every non-crossup Blanka has. Get a life lead at the start somehow, then stay charged and headbutt everything.
Chun Li’s jump kicks is yet another jump-in, so same thing, just use your jab headbutt’s invincible frames to beat it. Once Chun Li can’t jump in on you anymore, the fight is already half won. Also keep your Ochio charged at all times, because her walk-up throw is a real threat by how fast it can be.
Finally, you might be tempted to reaction jab headbutt through Chun Li’s fullscreen fireballs, but that is dangerous because she can walk-up throw your headbutt recovery 100% if she knows the trick! Take advantage of the fact that she’s the slowest fireballer in the game, and let her walk into a corner by just walking up and blocking fireballs.
Once she’s in a corner, it’s like fighting a 10x crappier version of Guile. I like to just sit charged at midrange and wait for her to do anything. If she jumps, punish with headbutt, and if she fireballs, roundhouse buttslam through it on reaction. You’re not in a hurry, and for some reason, nobody ever just stares at midrange Honda and does nothing for very long.
When Cammy is being offensive, buttslam. No, seriously, it pierces her block strings, it smacks her hooligan shenanigans, and it crushes her cannon drills. And when Cammy is being defensive, well… just sit on the other side of the screen and wait. You can throw random headbutts if you feel like it.
One thing to watch out for, though, is her jumping strong, as it beats your headbutts most of the time (obviously it doesn’t beat the invincible startup frames of the jab headbutt). If she starts getting smart with that move, jumping fierce is a good way to slap her out of the sky.
Yeah, command throws always beat normal throws. megamanpb already went through the defensive ochio, so I’ll just list some of my favorite offensive ochio tricks:
-
Jump-in short, ochio
-
On enemy wakeup: meaty low jab, ochio
You can be reversaled between the tick and the throw for these two, but most likely the risk is in getting the tick to hit in the first place. Obviously jump-in short can be beaten with every anti-air in the game, and meaties are alwys vulnerable to reversals, but once that first hit has landed, your ochio is practically guaranteed, and you don’t even need a corner to pull them off. Especially useful against Dictator and Dhalsim, who lack real anti-airs! Don’t try these on Zangief, T. Hawk or mirror Honda, though, because they can reversal command throw you for lots of pain. -
Fierce Hundred Hand Slap (hit), ochio
That one is hilarious. Do the ochio motion and store it, then mash fierce to get the fierce hands. Stop mashing as soon as the hands come out! If the hands hit your opponent and he doesn’t block, wait for his blockstun to end, then hit fierce once more. Instant ochio! It’s not a combo of any sort, so it’s theorically possible to hit you between the hands and the ochio, but I don’t think I’ve ever actually been hit out of it myself. When it works, it does insane damage, nets you great positioning, and it looks flashy to boot. -
Fierce headbutt under your opponent in the corner, ochio when he lands
That’s less offensive and more of a desperation maneuver. Normally, you don’t willingly headbutt under your opponent, but if you happen to do it and smack your head on the corner, always input the ochio as a failsafe: if the enemy doesn’t hit you during your recovery, odds are you’ll be super close to him anyway, so might as well try to pull out a Blanka and throw him right as you recover. -
Whiffed buttslam, ochio
Again a shenanigan desperation move of sorts, very very unsafe to do because buttslam has a million frames of vulnerable recovery, but if you happen to whiff a buttslam right in someone’s face, input an ochio. Sometimes it works through sheer surprise, because whiffed buttslam is a bit faster to recover than blocked buttslam (since there’s no hitpause). Works best when it’s not clear for the enemy whether it’ll whiff or not, so the closer the better. When it does work, you’ll look awesome.
