UPDATE: Akuma, Adon added, E. Ryu’s CCs added.
How you would record yourself. Because i remember when i was trying to record me and my friend’s 3S matches and like it just wouldnt record right…like we choose the wrong characters or some shit. Like how do you circumvent that? i can record fine if i am spectating though.
No clue! Well these guides should be done soon, since Doujinshi will be doing Gen also, Ill do Sak, dreamfire will do Sagat. So after that Ill go more in depth with each guides, and Ill try to record matches from the tourny going on today, or have someone else record them.
Shit, I just noticed my rep says I have to buy MrWizard a McRib, rofl! Also thank MrWizard for recovering thes thread.
kara-cancelling:
Has a miniscule role in A2 but it does have its use. Basically karaicancel and normal into a move to build meter faster than normal. Some character can build meter very fast, ex. Ken c.fp kara into lp dp builds good meter, or c.fp kara into lp backroll with rolento, or c.fp kara into fireball with all shotos. Just something to keep in mind, almost every character can do this, Ill list best things to do soon.
Kara-cancels for meter:
Chun- c.fp xx kikoken or overhead
Rolento- c.fp xx lp back roll
Birdie- c.fp xx 360+lp
Shotos- c.fp or c.rh xx hadouken, lk hurricane, or lp shoryuken
Sodom- c.fp xx lp jitte scrape
Zangief- c.fp xx lp glove
Guy- c.mk xx lk hurricane
Rose- c.fp xx mp or hp reflect
Charlie- c.mp xx sonic boom
yea kara cancels are pretty useful wen tryin to build meter quickly, i use it occacionally wit adon, c.mp to l.k jag knee cuz it gives nice meter, tougher to doon pad than on stick imo.
lemme get that mango sagat 101 plz
Gen 101 by doujinshi
SPECIAL MOVES
So-ryu Stance (punch stance or PPP stance)
Hyakurenkou - Press any punch rapidly
Gekirou (dp) - F, D, DF + any kick
Ki-ryu Stance (kick stance or KKK stance)
Jasen - Charge back for 2 secs, then press forward + any punch
*Oga (Wall Jump) - Charge down for 2 secs, then press up + any kick
*Oga Options
After reaching wall, press forward - Gen does a jump kick toward opponent
After reaching wall, press back - Gen cancels wall attack
After reaching wall, press up - Moves Gen to ceiling
After reaching ceiling, press back - Gen performs dive kick to left
After reaching ceiling, press forward - Gen performs dive kick to the right
After reaching ceiling, press down - Gen performs dive kick downwards
SUPER COMBOS
So-ryu Stance
Zan’ei - QCF x2 + any punch
Shitenshu - QCB x2 + any punch
Ki-ryu Stance
*Koga - While jumping, QCB x2 + any kick
Jakoha - QCF x2 + any kick
*Koga Options
Lk - jumps toward left wall
Mk - jumps to ceiling
Hk - jumps towards right wall
After reaching wall, press Hk - performs long jump kick towards opponent
After reaching ceiling, press Lk - performs dive kick to the left
After reaching ceiling, press Hk - performs dive kick to the right
NORMALS
So-ryu Stance
st.lp - Good poke to abuse up close. Can’t be ducked and has advantage on block.
st.mp - Decent poke. Can anti-air in some situations.
st.hp - Slow normal. Can combo into super up close in punishment situations.
st.lk - Has decent speed and a small advantage up close.
st. mk - Good mid-range poke. Can combo into super.
st.hk - Also a good mid-range poke. Very quick start-up with nice range.
cr.lp - Pretty much a carbon copy of st.lp, only crouching.
cr.mp - Good ground poke that has more range that it looks. Combos into super.
cr.hp - This should be your primary crouching poke. Quick and has amazing range.
cr.lk - Main combo starter. Verifiable way to land a super.
cr.mk - Good ground poke with nice range. Can combo into super.
cr.hk - Awesome move for playing footsies. Has a LOT of range.
Ki-ryu Stance
st.lp - poke that only hits big characters that are standing. Smaller characters can duck it.
st.mp - an overhead that’s quick on start up.
st.hp - a “scoop” like punch that’s very slow. Generally not worth using.
st.lk - an OK poke up close I guess.
st. mk - a pretty good poke that has decent range despite how ugly it looks.
st.hk - a two-hit kick that only hits big characters when they’re standing.
cr.lp - a normal that’s somewhat slow.
cr.mp - looks exactly like cr.lp but seems to have a lot more priority.
cr.hp - a strange looking attack that has strange properties. If you counter-hit with this attack, it does 2x damage to your opponent. If you get hit while performing this move, you take 2x damage. It’s really not worth using seeing how slow it is on startup.
cr.lk - pops opponent in the air that can juggle into Jakoha in the corner.
cr.mk - decent start-up that has pretty good range.
cr.hk - awesome anti-air that can beat a lot of stuff clean.
ALPHA COUNTERS
So-ryu stance
AC Punch - Damaging, but doesn’t knock down. Hard to use this AC to your advantage.
AC Kick - Works against early jump-ins but will miss against deep jump-ins.
Ki-ryu stance
AC Punch - Deals massive damage and works well against close-ranged attacks.
AC Kick - Has a lot of range making it very useful against projectiles.
CUSTOM COMBOS
So-ryu Stance
Lvl 3 - cr.hk, hk Gekiro (hesitate after first hit, then press hk four times rapidly) x3
GENERAL STRATEGY
So-ryu:
This is the stance you’ll be in the majority of the time once you have meter. Both of Gen’s supers are able to be comboed into from this stance. A simple cr.lk x2 can lead to a damaging level 2 combo and can set up the perfect distance to a crossup jump mk afterwards. Gen is also able to chain light attacks into heavy attacks in this stance making this more of the attacking stance of the two. The main objective is to land a super once you get a level 2 or level 3. Poke with cr.hp or cr.mk with some added tick throws then go for a crossup jumping mk for big damage!
Ki-ryu:
Ki-ryu’s supers are not good enough to warrant the use of at all. Koga is generally not worht using because it doesn’t have any startup invincibility and is fairly easy to get hit out of on reaction or by alpha counters. Jakoha can only juggle from the corner off a cr.lk. So this stance is useful when you don’t have meter or are trying to build meter. Gen can be pretty mobile in ki-ryu due to Oga. He can run away fairly well to get meter. Lp Jasen is a quick attack that will most likely hit your opponent many times during the course of the match. If you must use meter, use kick alpha counters to beat projectiles and mid-ranged attacks. Otherwise, save all your meter for So-ryu.
COMBOS
So-ryu
cr.lk x3, cr.hp
cr.lk x2, cr.mk, cr.hp
cr.lk x2, cr.mk, level 2 or 3 Zan’ei
Sakura UNO CERO UNO
Sakura is very high in the tier list, and for a good reason, being right there with Gief in the high tier group, right under the big 4. She is very difficult to fight, and one knockdown can win her the round.
Pros:
Very good pokes
Builds meter fast
Awesome cross-up
Damaging combos
BnB leads to free cross up
Punch throw leads to free cross up
Only character who can (easily) combo after a overhead
Can rape anyone with 1 knockdown
Cons:
Can be hard to get in
No reversal outside cc/super
Has problems getting in on top 4
Normals Breakdown
s.lp- Very good poke, with good frame advantage and cant be ducked by most characters, annoying poke tool up close.
s.mp- Very good poke, with good frameadvantage and priority, use to stuff attacks like you would shotos c.mp.
s.hp- great range and cancellable, good poke canceled into fireball or hk hurricane.
s.lk- good range, mainly used to combo into hp shou’oken.
s.mk- Very very good anti-air, not used as much as c.fp. Very good angle to it, similar to Adon’s df+mk.
s.hk- Sakura’s main poke, good range, priority. Very very abusable 
c.lp- normal low jab, nothing too special about it.
c.mp- ugly looking attack that usually beats low hits, but not much use other than that, all her other normals are better.
c.fp- A great anti-air, that beats damn near anything. On the ground can be cancelled.
c.lk- Her best normal up close, leading to her BnB and tick throws. I hate this move
c.mk- Decent range, good priority.
c.rh- Her sweep, not the best recovery, good range.
j.lk- great air-to-air and great ranged jump in.
j.mk- her cross-up. Uber good, and can hit either in front or behind evne though you are crossing your oppenent up. Such as bs move, abuse it.
j.hk- Great angled jump in.
j.mp- great air-to-air, on the same level of greatness as Rolento’s j.lp
j.hp- Very good air-to-ground move with alot of priority when out.
Command Normals
f+mk- Best overhead in the game. Great range and frame advantage allowing for combos after, does not even have to be meaty, but does have to be point blank, very good when done after a cross-up:
- f+mk, link c.lk xx hp shou’oken
- f+mk, link c.lk xx hurricane super
Very underused combos, great move to have.
Alpha Counters
Punch- She does a lp dp, nothing special.
Kick- Does her sweep.
Throws
Punch- The only throw you should be using. This throw does decent damage and allows for a perfect cross-up. Forget kick throw exists.
Specials Breakdown
Hadouken- qcf+p (mash p to charge)
Very good zoning tool from afar. Release speed isnt great, recovery is good. This move can be charged by pressing punch, which also builds more meter. The best way to use the charge variation is as anti air, normally in fireball fights. The fully charged version had a huge hitbox, so if you expect them to jump, charge then release. At worst the hadouken will trade, and does good damage. Kara-cancel c.fp into this for meter.
Hurricane Kick- qcb+k
Different than other shotos, she actually travels in a arc, going higher and farther the stronger the button pressed. Hk is the most useful version, going over fireballs and giving great frame advantage on block. Lk and mk can be cc’d or hit on block pretty easily. Be careful when using hk, since it can be cc’d when they have meter (or ac’d).
Shou’oken- dp+p
Her main combo move, and should only be used for that. Lp is not anti-air despite its looks, and all versions are like negative 8 billion frames on block.
Supers
Shinkuu Hadouken_ qcf x2+p
Pretty much worthless super. Not safe on block, weak damage. Yes it can anti-air for 3 hits, but thats meter you could have used for a anti-air custom.
Midare Zakura- qcf x2+k
Her shoryureppa type super. Nice damage on this, and worth comboing into at lvl 3. Lvl 1 does good damage, but not so much more than her BnB to be worth it, but still, I aint mad if ya do.
Haru-Ichiban- qcb x2+k
Her spinning kick super. Instant low, and put opponent in blockstun after super is over, letting you continue the pressure. Can be comboed into, good damage.
Custom Combos
Sakura doesn’t have the strongest customs, but still good damage and tool to have.
Lvl 1- c.rh xx hk hurricane, hp dp
c.rh xxhp dp, hp dp
lvl 2- c.rh xx hp dp x3
c.rh xx hk hurricane, hp dp x2
lvl 3- c.rh xx hk hurricane, hp dp x3
Anti air CC-
s.lp or s.mp xx hp dps (for lvl 3 use mp dps, end with hp dp)
For her ground custom, getting all hp dps can be hard to time, you can make it easier by:
- Replacing 1 hp dp with mp dp
or
- Using mk hurricane instead on hk hurricane.
C-C-C-C-Combobreaker
>>>>c.lk x3, s.lk xx hp dp<<<<
This is your main combos, easy to hit confirm, great stun, and damage. Anytime you land a c.lk, it shoud end in a s.lk xx hp dp. Best BnB in the game hands down. Learn it, love it, live or gtfo. More on this in general strat.
- s.hp xx hp dp (use to punish)
- c.lk x2, super
- s.hp xx hurricane kick (Hk vesion)
- f+mk, link c.lk xx hp dp
- f+mk, link c.lk xx qcb x2+k
- s.mp, link c.lk xx hp dp
- s.mp, link c.lk xx super
General Strategy
Knock down. Cross up. Combo. Repeat. Thats what it breaks down to, but you have a few options when you get up close and they are blocking. You want to try to keep close to land BnBs.
Starter, c.lk x2
If hit continue to BnB.
If blocked you can do a couple things:
- walk up throw
If successful, you have a free cross-up. If they blocked your cross up, start back at c.lk x2. Another thing to do is empty jump into BnB.
- walk up, counter hit c.lk, s.lk
Do this to counter them trying to throw you. If blocked, walk up throw or go for cross up.
- Cross-up j.mk
If blocked go back to c.lk x2, or hesistate then throw, or f+mk into combo.
- counter hit c.rh
Do this if you think they are mashing then go for cross up, if blocked match is reset.
5.counter hit s.fp xx hadouken
This will push you back out.
Basically, try to stay on your opponent to land combos or grab. Her acs arent great but if hit they are non-rollable so, in some cases, a free cross up.
Sagat 101, Tiger UPPERCUT
Sagat isnt easy to use, but is very good once you get him down. He more for someone who likes to zone/turtle, he doesnt really have much of a rush down ability. But when he hits you it hurts
Pros:
Far reach
Great anti-air
Pure Power
Versatile CC
Cons:
Big
Slow speed
Normal are laggy and slow
Normals Breakdown
s.lp- slow elnow to the face, not any real frame advantage.
s.mp- use up close to combo into tiger uppercut, most characters can duck this, doubles as a close anti-air, but comes out a bit slow.
s.fp- Anti-jump and anti-air. Very good priority. Use to smack someone jumping from afar.
s.lk- good range, but slow to come out and no real frame advantage, decent poke.
s.mk- far ranged poke, real use as a far anti-air. Be careful because if blocked on the ground (or hit) it can be reversal cc’s.
s.hk- far reaching anti-air.
c.lp- slow useless jab.
c.mp- decent priority, cancels into specials or super.
c.fp- powerful hit with decent priority.
c.lk- offers small frame adavantage and can link into itself, usefule poke up close.
c.mk- far reaching low hit, slow recovery, good fram afar.
c.rh, slow sweep, main use as a cc starter.
j.rh- great air-to-air, jump in, his universal air move.
j.lk- His cross up, must be close.
j.mp- has great air to air priority when out.
Command Normal
mk x2 (must be done QUICK)- No real use, and hard as hell to do. Basically a s.mk fake (only does first half of his s.mk animation)
Alpha Counters
Punch- A hard hitting, one hit, tiger uppercut. Use when close or vs air attacks.
Kick- A very fast mid kciks, safer tha his pucnh ac, but not as strong, use on ground or vs air.
Throws
Hp- Mash to get more hit, pathetic damage.
Specials
Tiger shot- qcf+p or k
Kick version goes low, punch version goes high (actually goes over saks fireball). Mainly kick will be used, his main zoning tool from afar. Starts far in front of sagat cause his animation, and does good damage.
Tiger knee- dp+k
Use to advance quickly, or combo into. 2-hits blocked is safe, 1-hit blocked (or hit) can be punished, but is extrememly hard to, leading to set-ups.
Tiger knee, then:
- CC
- throw
- block attack, ac
You can also hp tiger uppercut at your own risk, I tend not to because you are gonna get messed up if they block, cc is way safer. I would only cc at lvl 1, cause if they blcok its not too big a loss.
Tiger uppercut- dp+p
Hp does massive damage when done deep as AA or on the ground, I wanna say roughly 20% damage. Always to deep tiger uppercuts for AA when possible.
Supers
Tiger Cannon- qcf x2+p
Awesome super to use in fireballs fights, not much use other than that.
Tiger raid- qcb x2+k
Safe super to wake up with at lvl 2 or higher, very comboable. Safe on block.
Tiger Genocide- qcf x2+k
Only lvl 3 is worth it when comboed into, does massive damage.
Custom Combos
If you ever dont knock them down (ex. you mess up a sweep, so they are still standing) the cc still works.
lvl 1- c.rh cc hk tiger knee, hp tiger uppercut
c.rh xx hp tiger uppert cut x2
- if you have JUST A LITTLE more than a lvl 1, you can get 2 hk tiger knees in, then dp.
lvl 2- hk tiger knee x3, hp tiger uppercut
lvl 3- tiger knee x5, hp tiger uppercut
^^ hard as hell to do, better off doing 4 knees. either way it hurrts, even if you go for 5 knees into hp tiger uppercut.
Anti-air custom combo:
OH so nice. Since sagat has such a far reaching s,mk, you can AA from far as hell away and get his full custom.
Close aa cc: s.lp xx hk tiger knees xN, hp tiger uppercut.
far aa cc: s.mk xx hk tiger knees xN, hp tiger uppercut.
COMBOSSSS
- meaty c.lk, c.mp xx tiger shot
- point blank s,mp xx hp tiger uppercut
- c.lk x2 xx super
- c.lk xx hp dp
- Corner, combo into tiger raid, hp tiger uppercut juggle.
- j.rh, c.mp xx tiger genocide (lvl 3) OUCH!
General strategy
Sagats comfort zone is 3/4 to fullscreen away. From here you can far aa and control the pace of the match. Punish all jump attempts hard. WHen the opponent does get close, ac them, or thow to get them away. His CC is very easy to land and is a round winner. Zone with slow fireballs, and punish far jump attempts with s.fp or s.mk, s.rh works too.
More to come.
The next task Im going to try to do is record all ccs and upload them to youtube, I guess with Hyper cam or something. Though Hypercam seems to have a shitty frame rate.
Ill being doing Bison soon X_X
Well I been busy, but Ill will finally be able to finish these up soon.
yeah thats kind of old…it used to happen all the time to me when i was trying to do rose’s cc…i kept getting a soul spark at the end of the throw instead of an air throw and it turned out i was doing a hcf motion instead of a qcf motion for the drills.
Supers can be used also, lvl 3s are best.
Ryu:
Punch- FP shoryuken, used vs jump-ins and when opponent is extremely close. Does have a tendency to whiff vs deep jump ins.
Kick- A fast c.rh with good recovery. Use on the ground, his best ac, since even if blocked its safe.
Ken:
Punch- MP shoryuken, used vs jump-ins and when opponent is extremely close. Does have a tendency to whiff vs deep jump ins.
Kick- Top tier ac. All purpose counter with huge range and damage, able to hit a tiger shot from about 2/3 the screen away rofl. Use in anysituation for 15% damage.
Akuma:
Punch- Multi-hit dp. Only use up close or for anti-air cause if all the hits dont hit, it wont knock down.
Kick- A fast c.rh with good recovery. Use on the ground, his best ac, since even if blocked its safe.
Sakura:
Punch: LP dp, use up close or vs air attacks, good range for a dp.
Kick- A fast c.rh with good recovery. Use on the ground, his best ac, since even if blocked its safe.
Chun-Li:
Punch- A double palm, usable in any situation and gives frame advantage. Doesnt knock down.
Kick- c.mk, extremely fast and great range, good vs any ground attacks.
Rose:
Punch- A rushing grab. Best ac in the game, allows for a c.mp xx lk drill after for a 1/3 of a lvl gain.
Kick. c.rh, use vs projectile, for anything else use punch.
Zangief:
Punch- A grab with little range but great damage, use ONLY when your opponent does a deep jump in or is near point blank or this will whiff.
Kick- A fast s.mk that knocks down. Best ac to use for everything, but does whiff vs some crouching attack.
Sodom:
Punch- Probably the best ac vs projectile, able to hit from very far away. Whiffs vs crouching characters, but almost always guarantees a grab or cc when it does. Hits jump ins.
Kick- c.rh, great range and over all best ac for ground.
Gen:
PPP stance
Punch- A one fisted palm that doesnt knock down with very little advantage, best ac in this stance.
Kick- A 1 hit flying kick thingy, not all that great decent up close.
KKK stance
Punch- a shoulder attack with good damage, only use up close on ground, not vs air attack cause it will sometimes whiff.
Kick- A flying leg kick with great range, awesome vs projectle, comparable to Sodom’s punch ac in terms of range.
Dan:
Punch- Dan flexes. Not very strong and pitful range. Use close to point blank or vs air attacks close.
Kick- A fast c.rh with good recovery. Use on the ground, his best ac, since even if blocked its safe.
Birdie:
Punch- A headbutt good vs air attacks but can whiff alot of ground, decent damage.
Kick- A boot to the head, pitful range and damage.
Rolento:
Punch- A baton twirl to the face, good damage and range.
Kick- A quick far scouter hop, no damage but allows for runaway or a cc from behind. Ac vs projectile then activate works very well.
Bison:
Punch- A VERY quick palm thrust, decent damage and good for all situations, safe on block and even avoid some ac reversal due to quickness.
Kick- Telports behid your opponent for a free hit/throw/cc. AC vs air attack then throw works well, or cc. On the ground it allows for a cc or hit.
Sagat:
Punch- and hard hitting tiger uppercut, very good damage. Use vs jump-ins and close.
Kick- A quick straight kick, good overall vs any situation and safe on block.
Dhalsim:
Punch- s.mp, works well up close and vs jump ins, safe on block.
Kick- A slide. Very very well close and midrange.
Guy:
Punch- c.hp, wokr well vs jump ins, can whiff up close.
Kick- c.mk. Good range and best ac overall for guy.
Adon:
Punch- Great up close, deal 4 quick hits gving good damage.
Kick- Does a Rising jaguar, best used vs early jump ins or very close.
Tier List
1996 USA:
- Ken
- Chun-Li
- Rose
- Ryu
- Akuma
- Adon
- Sagat
- Charlie
- Rolento
- M. Bison
- Guy
- Dhalsim
- Sakura
- Sodom
- Zangief
- Gen
- Birdie
- Dan
1996 Japan:
- Chun-Li
- Charlie
- Rose
- Adon
- Birdie
- Rolento
- Guy
- Dhalsim
- M. Bison
- Ryu
- Ken
- Sakura
- Akuma
- Sodom
- Sagat
- Zangief
- Gen
- Dan
Modern Tier List:
Top Tier:
Chun-Li
Rose
Ken
Ryu
High Tier:
Zangief
Rolento
Sakura
Middle Tier:
Akuma
Sodom
Charlie
M.Bison
Adon
Sagat
Dhalsim
Guy
Bottom Tier
Gen
Dan
Birdie
Ironically, Leonhard the best A2 player (that I know of) in Japan seems to main with Gen lol.
Tiers are so close in general in my opinion, here is my tiers based on my own experience and other active players. I stole the format used in Darks translation of VER’s A3 tiers.
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n186/jeffhizzle/chart.jpg
S tier- Straight up can handle everyone and can be played with pretty low skill set and do well.
A tier- All really good, just seem to be missing some vital thing to putt hem in top. Example Rose gets ass raped by Gief if he gets in on her when she has no meter, even though she can handle him, no reversal hurts her alot. And in general you have to be on point with Rose to really do good, nowadays mash mp wont cut it. Sakura can rape anyone, if she knocks them down, due to her cross up being able to cross up OR not even though it does cross up.If that makes sense. Rolento can do a 90-100% cc wish adds to his game nicely since his main goal is to run away and build meter, frustrating the opponent. Zangief simply is a force to be reckoned with and is one of the hardest characters to zone. Highly damaging normals, specials, supers, and devastating ground cc along with farthest reaching Valle cc make him a beast. Due to Akuma’s low health and the devastating power of a cc, 1 mistake he can pretty much die. This is one of the main reasons, along with stun bar, ranked in A instead S. Akuma also lacks a good dp, since the initial hit doesn’t knock down and lp version loses to low hits, he can exactly dp in between pokes when ryu and ken can, and sometimes a mp/hp dp wont fully connect allowing your opponent plenty of time to decide what combo to kill you with. Evil Ryu would fit this tier also.
B tier- Solid. All three do extremely well, but none can do too much direct damage. They all pretty much force you to make a mistake or do something thru pressure. Usually they can pull a win when ahead on life, but can be rough trying to make a comeback. Not super easy to use nor are they real difficult.
C+ tier- Still pretty good, but just not exactly B-tier. None can do real good damage with out meter, and Bison doesnt do good damage with meter (with respect to the game being played). Certain acs hurt Sim quite a bit cause they can hit his limbs. Gen poses no real threat until a lvl 2 is gained, and even still can get zoned out pretty well by most characters, dive shenanigans are useless once opponent has meter.
C tier- Guy has a nasty rush, but easily zoned out and pushed out once in by acs, and his lask of a good ac reversal hurts him more. Floaty jump combined with no real bnb put him down alot, mainly relying on throw/counterhit/cc mix ups. Adon simply cant do anything but poke once opponent has meter, since every move he has is punishable easily by cc. Only poking in a non guard bar game doesnt mix, even if his cc is highly damaging.
D tier- Both have good damage options but take a heavy skill set and amount of patience. Birdie has to rely on hitting his cc to win most the time and Dan just has no far/mid range game. Standing and crouching mk only go so far.
Ew. I don’t like that term Second Tier.
It looks awkward as fuck.
Anyway, is it possible to combo off of a cross-up if your opponent is standing? Seems like I only get it when they are crouching.
Yeah, deep cross up works best after a knockdown.
not only is it better, it’s tech.
I just want to thank RSX and everyone helping with this thread for introducing me to the glory that is Alpha 2. Without you guys I would’ve been stuck thinking Alpha 3 was somehow inherently better my whole life.