The New Akuma Match-up Thread *Recent Update*

Classic Fighting Games Ultra Street Fighter IV
1

This is the new thread since Duggish wanted a new owner of the old thread and a mod didnt get back to me about making me owner of the old thread. I’ll do my best to keep up with Duggish’s amazing work so far :-D.

Disclaimer:
I am merely the thread owner and updater; all information in this thread is from the community as a whole. If you have a contribution to make on a particular matchup, this is the place to do it. I will be checking in on the thread periodically to add new information found within the discussions that take place. I am summarizing what people post into a list, so if you feel that I am missing crucial information on a matchup then please don?t hesitate to point that out.

Some basics to remember when you?re having trouble with a specific matchup:
Remember the basics. SRK their jump-ins, zone with fireballs, build demon with FA’s when you can. There are lots of different matchup specific situations that you can take advantage of, but never forget the basics of your character.

“Your opponent is doing x. What tools do I have that are designed to counter this?” More often than not, you have an answer within your own tools without having to find something specific to the matchup.

OFF TO THE MATCH-UPS!!!

Updates:
10/27/2009: Copied old info and made new thread
1/20/2010 : General edits adding some demon opportunities and new information found recently. Added Fei Long, Gen, Ken, Ryu strategies.

General Info: http://www.eventhubs.com/guides/2008/aug/29/akuma-street-fighter-4-character-guide/
Frame Data: http://www.eventhubs.com/guides/2008/nov/13/akuma-gouki-frame-data-street-fighter-4/
Matchup Vids: http://streetfighterdojo.com/sf4/characters/akuma.html

Abel

[details=Spoiler]Abel

Guaranteed Demons:
Blocked Rekka (CoD): Super only, after the 1st hit
Blocked Wheel Kick: Super only
Blocked Super/Ultra: Super and Ultra
Roll: if he gets predictable u can either super or ultra.

Tatsu > Sweep?
No

Strategy:
Abels?s ability to land his ultra with relative ease and ability to get in through your fireballs can make this match a pain for an Akuma player. Luckily for us, Abel doesn?t have a consistent AA.

In general, Abel has a hard time dealing with jump-ins and pressure. Feel free to apply pressure with HK’s and various jump ins. Once Abel has his ultra, your zoning game is severely hampered; if he catches you throwing a fireball when activating his ultra, he will pass through and put the hurt on you. If Abel gets on the offensive, just look for an opening to teleport out and try to take back the initiative, just be wary of his Ultra. His CoD has armor on it so it will absorb one hit of an attack I have seen many Abel?s use it for offensive pressure whiffing falling sky?s to gain meter to get in unharmed. If you are up against an Abel that likes to do this buffer demon into a sweep and if he decides to EX CoD you then you have your demon.

  • Always be looking for the roll to get an easy throw/demon opportunity. From there you have an easy jump in setup.
  • Use RH kicks to apply pressure, but be wary of his meter, EX COD will blow through and put the hurt on.
  • He has poor AA, so abuse cross ups and demon flip mix ups but do not go crazy on him he can autocorrect falling sky a bit.
  • Zoning is fine early in the match, but once he has ultra be careful when throwing fireballs.
  • When on the defensive look to teleport out, but again, watch that revenge meter he can throw out the ultra and tag you on your recovery.
  • The hk, s.lp loop is viable on Abel, and you can start a good pressure and mixup game by ending it with a sweep.[/details]

Akuma (Gouki)

[details=Spoiler]Akuma (Gouki)

Guaranteed Demons:
ex flipped red fb (ex flip must be on guess, demon can be on reaction)
blocked shoryu
ducked LK tatsu (stand up and kara it)
blocked flip sweep
blocked LK or MK tatsu
blocked HK tatsu (super only)
dashed Air Fireball

Tatsu > Sweep?
Yes

Strategy:
Akuma mirror matches are largely dependent on who has the better footsie. Since the simple fact remains that what you have, the other player has as well. When you have an opening go for it cause this match relies heavily on who capitalizes their damage. Getting backed into a corner is a big no no, since then you end up playing right into insane mixup from Akuma’s arsenal. Especially if he pins you down with air fireballs its pretty hard to get out because a teleport can be punished for massive damage by demons either super or ultra. Getting into a fireball war is a massive guessing game since both sides have the same fireballs and demon flip should not be abused since the regular sweep can be demoned.

  • Shaku sparingly.
  • Capitalize on damage whenever you can.
  • Do not demon flip slide when they have meter you will be demoned.
  • Be on your toes.
  • Do your best not to get backed into a corner it might just be the death of you.
  • Don’t abuse teleports they can be punished by demons even though the window is small don’t give the opponent that window.
  • Standing Roundhouse buffer, or low forward/sweep is a good idea against close enough air fireballs.
  • Stay out of Round House range it will bring the pain if it connects.[/details]

Balrog (Boxer)

[details=Spoiler]Balrog (Boxer)

Guaranteed Demons:
Blocked Dash Straight: Super, must hit deep
Blocked Dash Low Straight: Super, must hit deep
Blocked Dash Overhead: Super
Blocked Dash Upper: Super/Ultra
Blocked Dash Low Smash: Super/Ultra
Blocked TAP: Super, must hit deep
Blocked Headbutt: Super/Ultra
Blocked Super/Ultra: Super/Ultra

Tatsu > Sweep?
Yes

Strategy:
Balrog can be a tough matchup; his combos can do heavy damage and stun, he has several options to get through your fireballs, has a solid AA, and a strong mix up game. Stay cool, play patient, and you?ll soon realize that it?s not too bad of a matchup one you learn some of the options Akuma has to deal with this matchup.

Your Ultra plays a very large role in this matchup. If you throw a fireball and Balrog decides to EX charge through it, you can catch him with an ultra. If he headbutts through it, you can Ultra provided it?s not too late. If he jumps in at you, teleport out or ultra if you have it. Try to stay a safe distance away, zoning with fireballs and watching for rush punches. If you don?t have ultra and he EX charges through your fireball, be ready to teleport out. In general play very safely, zoning at all times while looking for that chance to demon for big damage. If it?s not an EX charge, feel free to try to HK him and if you?re close enough then combo.

  • All of his specials can be punished by Super on block
  • Learn to buffer the demon after throwing fireballs, pressing FP only when you see him EX through
  • Pay attention to his movements:
  • If he jumps, he lost his Head butt charge
  • If he moves forward, he lost all Rush Punch charges
  • Always be on guard never go forward too long or you’ll risk eating dash punches in the face
  • Be wary of his TAP, only throw fireballs from a safe distance and vary the timing on them
  • Don?t jump in on him, his AA is too solid. NEVER jump in if he?s has ultra or super.[/details]

Blanka

[details=Spoiler]Blanka

Guaranteed Demons:
Blocked close slide
Blocked far slide (Super only)
Blocked ball
Blocked up ball
Blocked Backstep ball (a reversal is too fast, wait a bit)
Blocked Super/Ultra (a reversal is too fast, wait a bit)

Tatsu > Sweep?
No

Strategy:
Blanka can be a tough matchup for Akuma. EX ball passes clean through fireballs, the slide can go under poorly spaced fireballs on reaction, and he?s got some strong pokes that tend to break Akuma quickly. A lot of your regular zoning game is stripped away in this matchup, but with patience and careful baiting you?ll find yourself with the upper hand more often than not.

Very well put post on your general game plan for fighting Blanka. Throwing max range hado occasionally is not punishable by EX ball and should be your main strategy. Baiting EX ball using a jab hado is a great way to fish for that easy reversal Ultra. Teleport out when he approaches and just play the game at your own pace. Beat Lightning with any low hit (spaced properly) or with a fierce SRK. FADC that into your fierce Shaku and they?ll be much more hesitant to throw it out as frequently.

-Don?t jump in; lightning will win

  • Punish blocked ball with ultra when you can
  • Again, watch his movements, and know which moves he has lost charge on
    -Punish slides with sweep if out of range for anything else
    -Teleporting though his ultra is fun and works every time[/details]

Cammy

[details=Spoiler]Cammy

Guaranteed Demons:
Blocked cr.HK (Super only)
Blocked close drill
Blocked far drill (Super only)
Blocked Spike
Blocked Super/Ultra
Spin knuckle can be c.mk/sweep kara demoned since she is airborne when she is spinner.

Tatsu > Sweep?
Yes

Strategy:
Cammy is an odd matchup. Her Spiral Arrows are safe from the right distances, and can be linked into her cannon spike, giving her a nice mixup option out of it. In the right hands she can put up a good fight, but the advantage is still in your hands.

Cammy is a matchup that can be odd to handle at first, with her ability to get past your zoning game. Only play a fireball game from to full screen vs her, and if she gets close you can teleport out. She has to get close to deal her damage, and with no projectile to meet yours, playing keep away will be your best bet. Stay out of the air, her AA kick has invincibility I think all of the way up. Hooligan combo cannot throw crouching opponents, and it?s other option is a sweep. Guess what you do? Block low. Cammy doesn?t really have an answer for the low block, if she tries to cannon drill in for a 50/50 throw or cannon spike, you can teleport out and reset the match. SRK her jump-ins and dive kicks.

When on the offensive, try to bait her AA and punish accordingly; I wouldn?t recommend jumping in at her at all. Play a ground game, using focus attacks to close the distance. Once you are close, she cannot safely use them anymore. Use that knowledge to your advantage. It?s overall a simple match, your basics will really come into play here. Out-turtle Cammy all day.

-s.mk can beat a far Spiral Arrow
-FA?s work on everything except for close HK Spiral Arrows and that crappy backfist.[/details]

Chun-Li

[details=Spoiler]Chun Li

Guaranteed Demons:
Blocked f+MK (Super only)
Blocked Spinning Bird Kick (Super only)
Blocked Hazan Shu (deep)
Blocked Super/Ultra

Tatsu > Sweep?
Yes

Strategy:
First thing to know: Chun can and will out-poke you. Your optimal ranges are at full screen, and in her face. Her are at about 1/2 and 1/3 a screen’s distance, where her pokes and hasanshu can come into play. Once she has ultra ready the only safe fireball option you have is a full screen, jump back air fireball. Play this one fairly runaway, zoning until you have an opening to get in, or she has Ultra.

Once she has ultra, you can no longer zone with fireballs as effectively. While some may simply stop throwing them altogether, watch what she does: if she loses charge, feel free to throw a fireball. They’re still very useful as well as needed to create an opening vs a solid Chun. Just because you can’t spam them doesn’t mean you have to resort to full screen runaway…just be wary.

-Demon flipping in while she has meter is risky, but aim for the center for the best results vs EX sbk
-The vortex works well on her, just keep that ex bar in mind…
-After a tatsu > sweep: step forward into MK Demon Flip kick, it should be positioned to beat out the EX sbk[/details]

C. Viper

[details=Spoiler]Crimson Viper

Guaranteed Demons:
f+MP (Super only)
Blocked MP Thunder Knuckle (Super only)
Blocked HP Thunder Knuckle
Blocked Super/Ultra

Tatsu > Sweep?
Yes

Strategy:
Viper. With a cross up heavy playstyle, many combos into her ultra, high stun combos, ability to cancel moves and use super jumps?a good viper can be one of the toughest matchups out there. The key to beating her is to know what the hell she?s actually doing.

Viper can use her aerial Flame Kicks to attack from in front of you, on top of you, or cross you up and hit behind you. Teleporting out is the 100% safe choice, but beware firing it off too early, she may cancel the move and then you?re in trouble. Using a Shoryu against the flame kicks can work, but it?s a risk/reward situation if you guess where she?s going to be incorrectly.

Take care when zoning from max range, many Vipers will try to sneak a little bit closer so that they can Seismo you as you?re throwing a fireball. Remember that her Seismo cannot reach full screen, and just watch for when she creeps forward. Avoid getting hit by a Seismo at all costs, she can and will combo a burning kick afterwards + Ultra.

-Her Thunder Knuckles can be difficult to deal with, try to bait one and neutral jump, or tele out.
-Watch for EX Thunder Knuckle and punish appropriately.
-While she has no projectile to meet yours, baiting her to jump for an AA Ultra will not work since she can easily change her trajectory during the flash by using a burning kick.
-you can c.mk kara demon her burning kicks. Use it to get under the burning kicks and u can avoid some damage with it.[/details]

Dan

[details=Spoiler]Dan

Guaranteed Demons:
Blocked Koryuken
Blocked MK or HK Dan Kicks (Super only)
Blocked Super/Ultra

Tatsu > Sweep?
Yes

Strategy:
You can do one of two things. You can take Dan seriously, or you can think he?s a joke. I would rather take him serious and win. Do not go Air to Air with Dan his Dankus are god like and I haven?t found a great way around them so I try to avoid going to the air with Dan. If you feel very cocky you can srk if you?re at the right distance or c.fierce. His hadouken is a joke but is viable upclose. He can change his air trajectory with a taunt so be careful of shenanigans I haven?t seen a Dan player use this to his advantage but hey this is a match up thread you should know about matchups. His ultra is very useful at the right distance it can punish your c.mkxxhado which will hurt.

-be wary of ultra it can go through fireballs at the right distance.
-do not go air to air with him you are superior on the ground as it is.[/details]

Dhalsim

[details=Spoiler]Dhalsim

Guaranteed Demons:
Blocked Mummy deep
Blocked Drill deep
Blocked Drill shallow (super only)
Blocked Slide
After being hit by jump back HP
Blocked point blank Super (Super only)

Tatsu > Sweep?
Yes

Strategy:
Dhalsim is going to play keep away. Keep in mind that at full screen he can?t fireball you effectively and that his limbs will not reach you. Don?t jump, that?s what he wants. Just wait and bait his fireball, throwing occasional Shakus out to stuff them. All of his ranged options require some sort of action from you in order to be effective, be it jumping or trying to focus a fireball. If you find yourself cornered, try tossing out a fireball or two followed by an EX flip. Teleports are only going to get stuffed, since Sim?s never going to be close enough to you for it to be safe. Note the guaranteed demon off of a connected j.hp. Once you have ultra, fish for the j.hp from Sim, if he?s jumping backwards just throw the ultra and it will catch.

-Teleport out from ultra setups
-If you can safely get in close, feel free to apply pressure since Sim?s close game is garbage
-Full screen away renders his fireball game almost useless and his limbs will not reach
-Focus Attacks can be a good way to get in after zoning and seeing what his tendencies are[/details]

E. Honda

[details=Spoiler]E. Honda

Guaranteed Demons:
Blocked Butt Splash (Super only)
Blocked ex Butt Splash (Super only)
Blocked far Super (Super only)
Blocked close Super
Blocked Ultra
Blocked Ultra (between hits)

Tatsu > Sweep?
Yes

Strategy:
There are 2 primary tactics to deal with Honda. One is to simply zone and runaway, which is very effective; the other is to apply constant pressure, crossing up frequently to mess with their charge. With proper zoning you can generally keep the lead on a Honda, but you have to play it smart. It only takes a 1 or 2 errors to push the game into Honda?s favor. The key is to simply out zone him, forcing him to come to you?look for his lost charge as the go-ahead to get in.

  • TK FB into mix-up is a hard pressure game for Honda to deal with.
  • When he has ultra, be wary of the possible AA use when applying pressure.
  • Focus attack butt slams that are on their way down for free meter/combo.
    -Forcing Honda to take the offensive is the safest option, as well as being easy to do[/details]

El Fuerte

[details=Spoiler]El Fuerte

Guaranteed Demons:
Blocked Quesadilla Bomb
Blocked Run slide (Super only)
Blocked Super
Backjumped Ultra

Tatsu > Sweep?
Yes

Strategy:
Fuerte?s strong point is his ability to force a tough wakeup game. Teleport out. Don?t become too predicatble with this, as good Elfs will punish you, but know that this matchup is made much easier just by having this tool. Zone as you normally would, being cautious for the EX run and wall jump?this match is heavily in your favor, just don?t become predictable with your fireballs. When you are pressing the advantage, go crazy with it?when he is pressing the advantage just escape and zone until you have your chance.

-Standing HK will connect with both hits, and Elf doesn?t have an answer.

  • teleport out of mix ups.
    -if you can try to pin him in an area and don?t let him out or make him come to you. He has very limited ways to approach you.
    -do not throw fireballs from half screen and closer he can ultra you.[/details]
2

Fei Long

[details=Spoiler]Fei Long

Guaranteed Demons:
Blocked double kick (deep)
Blocked Rekkas (mash Super, if he stops or delays at any time he will get caught)
Blocked Flame kick
Blocked Super/Ultra

Tatsu > Sweep?
Yes

Strategy:
Fei Longs pokes are god like he is super fast and hella annoying to keep up with but you have answers to everything he can dish out. He has the flame kick just like you have shoryuken so be wary of jumping in on him so much it can be FADCed into ultra. Not the full thing but still its something and any damage dealt to akuma is not good damage. When he has EX meter he can chicken wing you if you fireball him be wary of that do not do all willy nilly with fireballs anyways you are not ryu. Rekka is hella unsafe if it gets to the third hit punish that shit with either c.jab, c.strong, c.fierce, etc into bnb combo for some damage on bruce lee I mean fei long ;-). Demon flip palm and try to bait the flaming kick it is very punishable and dont we all like punishable.

-Rekkas unsafe on third hit capitalize.
-Blocked flame kick punishable.
-Overhead is very fast be careful teleport to reset if you cant handle pressure.
-Pokes are fast and good be careful he can counter hit you many times.[/details]

Gen

[details=Spoiler]Gen

Guaranteed Demons:
Blocked Gekiro
Blocked Mantis Super/Ultra
Whiffed Crane Super/Ultra

Tatsu > Sweep?
No

Strategy:
Gen is a very rare character and when you encounter him its a total mind fuck because chances are you dont have much experience points against him so Ill try my best to say what I can about him and if someone knows anything please tell me. Having two stances is very unique and you should look at what stance he is in he can not change stances when he is blocking so applying pressure is a great idea to prevent any of that wall diving into ultra he has. His pokes arent amazing but they are useful and they can lead to his hands combos so be wary of that. His cross up is super annoying cause it looks like it hits you in the front but it actually hits you in the back so be careful of that also. Aside from the basics I have so little match up knowledge and videos for reference that I am at a loss for words.

-watch out for cross up its ambiguous.
-blocked waterfall kicks is punishable take advantage.
-apply pressure it prevents him from changing stances.[/details]

Gouken

[details=Spoiler]Gouken

Guaranteed Demons:
Blocked cr.HK (Super only)
Blocked Dash punch (must hit deep)
Blocked ex Dash punch
Blocked Flip sweep
Blocked Tatsu
Blocked Super/Ultra

Tatsu > Sweep?
Yes

Strategy:
Gouken is a difficult matchup. He is a shoto but then hes not so you can not play him like hes a ken or ryu or something. His rush punch can be demoned so buffer that shit like there is no tomorrow. His parry is completely useless if you show him once or twice that you have the demon flip palm. It will break his armor. Demon flip throw will not be parried use these tools and mind fuck him. His pokes are mediocre at best and you can out poke him right outside his poke range. The back throw is a weird tech. its not right away like every other throw its a little delayed so u see it and then tech give it a milli second training mode will be ur best friend it can help find the sweet spot for teching. After that you have basically taken out most of his options so destroy your old brother and make sure he doesnt get up this time for good ;-).

-demon flip palm is your best friend.
-demon flip throw is your second best friend.
-pressure him into making mistake and punish them.
-his rush punch is demonable at any distance any time during its animation abuse this.
-Do not get cornered. Corner ultra set up hurts like a bitch.
-TECH THE BACK THROW![/details]

Guile

[details=Spoiler]Guile

Guaranteed Demons:
Blocked Flash kick
Blocked f+MP (Super only)
Blocked target combo (Super only)
Blocked cr.HK (do it between the two kicks)
Blocked Super/Ultra

Tatsu > Sweep?
Yes

Strategy:
Guile has great defense. Akumas is better. This is a match of patience and attrition, but one where the cards are stacked heavily in your favor.

Guiles basic gameplan involves throwing sonic booms to zone, and waiting for a flash kick opportunity. Dont jump in, force him to come to you. The match is very basic, if he presses forward behind a sonic boom you can Shakunetsu if youre at max range, jump back air hadou to force him to block, or teleport through him if hes right behind it. But theres really nothing Guile can do to force Akuma into a bad situation. If hes far, your ranged game beats his, and if hes close you can always teleport out. If you do happen to be on the offensive, try to bait the flash kick since its the only thing Guile really has to deal with pressure at the risk of exposing himself Guile really doesn’t have the tools to hang with Akuma.

-Be wary of his target combo: c.mk, overhead punch. Its quick and dirty.
-If the Guile you are playing is using the sweep, punish it every time.
-Keep patient, stick to your roots and play very basic runaway.[/details]

ken

[details=Spoiler]Ken

Guaranteed Demons:
Blocked Shoryu
Blocked f+MK (Super only)
Blocked LK or MK Tatsu (Super only)
Blocked HK Tatsu
Hit by his HK Tatsu (Super only)
Blocked EX Tatsu (Super only)
Blocked Super/Ultra
Blocked Super (between uppercuts)

Tatsu > Sweep?
No

Strategy:
Ken is a very bad ryu. So how about we take our ryu frustration out on his best friend ;-). Kens EX tatsu is a dirty move it tricks you into thinking he is at a severe frame advantage. Do not get caught in this move. It leads to mix up and we are the ones supposed to be doing the mix up not ken! Do not go air to air with him you are superior on the ground stay there. Learn his kara throw range and anticipate it by looking for patterns and teching accordingly. His air tatsu will beat out a lot of moves dont get hit by it. His cross up tatsu can lead to ultra so dont get tagged by it. Its gonna sting. His over head is fast but not too fast so punish accordingly or be safe and block. His forward step kick is not free pressure EX srk to get out of it or c.mkxxhado it if you are close enough.

-be wary of kara throw anticipate it by looking for patterns.
-do not get caught in EX tatsu it will hurt.
-air cross up tatsu can lead to ultra be careful.[/details]

M. Bison

[details=Spoiler]M. Bison (Dictator)

Guaranteed Demons:
Blocked close slide
Blocked far slide (super only)
Backstepped Stomp (Kara the demon)
Blocked Psycho Crusher (any aside from max distance lp/EX)
Blocked MK, HK, or EX scissors
Blocked close Ultra

Tatsu > Sweep?
No

Strategy:
Bison can be a tough matchup for Akuma with his tricky aerial game and solid rush down techniques on the ground. Learning to walk backwards to negate his air game and taking care when zoning are key to this matchup.

Walk backwards when he flies up in the air, if its a Stomp then punish with your BnB of choice; if its a reverse, then just watch what he does and react accordingly. If he does a reverse and comes right at you with it, you can time an SRK to beat it clean every time. Be wary of air fireballs, as he can c.hk(slide) right under them. When zoning only occasionally throw fireballs, or else you risk a psychic EX Stomp or teleport for big damage on punish.

Applying pressure is a great way to deal with a Bison, he has no solid AAs that can cope with the pressure, and cross-ups can wreak havoc on him. Keep the pressure up, but dont become predictable with your jump ins. In fact, dont jump in if hes crouchingtrust me you dont want to get headstomped as Akuma. If you see him stand up when at close range, know that he lost charge and you can jump in or demon flip in fairly safely. Know the ranges of his MK and HK pokes, and be wary when in that zone; you can focus these attacks, but unless its a lvl 2 focus, just backdash afterwardsif it happens to crumple you can always dash forward and fierce SRK him as hes falling.

-Note if he makes a noise while jumping, if so its not a normal jump
-Check the distances hes jumping at and whether or not its a special or just his jump
-Backwards jumping HP beats his headstomp cleanly unless youre in the corner
-EX Scissor Kicks will go through fireballs at a bit less then max range. Take care when he has meter.
-Light scissor kicks are safe on block. Teleport out to stay safe.[/details]

Rose

[details=Spoiler]Rose

Guaranteed Demons:
Blocked slide (Super only)
Blocked Soul Spiral (Super only)
Blocked Soul Reflect
whiffed AA throw
Blocked Ultra

Tatsu > Sweep?
Yes

Strategy:
Push normals and cross-ups, combo whenever you can, try to stay as close as you can and lighten up on the possible Hado’s when she has ultra she can and will use it. She can ultra your jump ins too be careful. Her pokes are alright so be careful u might get hit out of one or 2 of yours.

-RUSH THAT SHIT DOWN!
-no fireballs when she has ultra. She can ultra you.
-no jumping in unless you safe jump she can ultra you.[/details]

Rufus

[details=Spoiler]Rufus

Guaranteed Demons:
Blocked Messiah Kick (do after first hit, if he flips you’ll still block, so repeat)
Blocked f+MK (Super only)
Blocked Super/Ultra

Tatsu > Sweep?
No

Strategy:
Rufus has many options to rush you down with. Knowing where the holes are in his approach so that you may punish them is half the battle.

Rufus players will use his dive kicks to triangle jump over your fireball game, his Tornado to nullify the ones he doesnt jump over, and his advancing normal moves (f+mk, d/f+mk) to get in. If youre watching for them, you can beat dive kicks clean with an SRK or a FA. Be extra careful when jumping, since his j.HK > EX Snake Strikes will do HEAVY damage to Akuma; not to mention he can easily go into Ultra from it as well. Just avoid jumping when in range for his j.hk.

In general, a defensive style is optimal, since Akuma cant handle the high damage combos that Rufus can throw down.

  • Teleport out when under heavy pressure
  • When zoning, watch how he deals with your fireballs and react accordingly
  • Dont let dive kick pressure lock you down, learn to SRK them
  • Messiah Kick can also be SRKd on reaction
  • Dont jump with him he can j. Roundhouse -> Ultra you.[/details]

Ryu

[details=Spoiler]Ryu

Guaranteed Demons:
Blocked cr.HK (deep)
Blocked Shoryu
Blocked f+MP (Super only)
Blocked Tatsu (Super only)
Blocked ex Tatsu (deep)
Jumped Ultra
Blocked Ultra (close)

Tatsu > Sweep?
No

Strategy:
Everyone has been asking about this matchup and its surprising since everyone says online is ryu and sagat city. First things first. He is a very solid character and you should have a tough time dealing with him. He has an answer for everything luckily so do you. His light srk is not spammable show him that if you are not deep in when he does it then do nothing. If you are close to him then you can c.jab to bnb him for damage and teach him not to spam it. I love to see if I am up against a spammer by throwing out a few light punches that combo on him and stop short to see if hes spamming srk. If he is you make him pay for trying to spam. If he doesnt remember that next time and combo him. If he has ultra do not for the love of god jump on him. You will get srked and ultraed for no meter cost to him and it will hurt im telling you it will hurt. Walk in and out of c.mk range and bait that shit and punish him for it. His sweep is horrible punish it with ur own sweep if you are too far away then atleast c.mk him. Do not throw fireballs close if he has super it will hurt and likewise with ultra but you can zone him with fireballs. If he likes to fireball fireball fireball tatsu then look for it and c.fierce it at the least or srk it if you feel gutsy and know the timing it is possible. This match up involves a lot of mid games. I like to intentionally demon flip palm short sometimes you will get a srk or 2 for a punish out of it. Do not try to safe jump ryu its not possible. Once you get a knockdown try to capitalize it to the best of ur abilities you need it. Try to stay out of the corners he has that stupid ultra set up with EX tatsu and its gonna sting.

  • Dont jump when he has ultra.
  • Zoning is very important in this match up stay out of his c.mk zone but do go in if you see an opening.
  • Light srk is punishable by c.jab bnb.
  • Do not try to safe jump him you cant.
  • Demon flip mix up is essential in this match up.[/details]

Sagat

[details=Spoiler]Sagat

Guaranteed Demons:
Blocked Tiger upper
Blocked close Tiger Knee
Blocked Super/Ultra

Tatsu > Sweep?
Yes

Strategy:
Oh, Sagat. Top tier health, top tier damage, top tier combos, top tier. Luckily we can force Sagat to come to us unlike most of the cast, and that plays fairly well into our favor. Spacing, rhythm, and an appropriate amount of caution are key to winning this matchup.

At long range there will be a fire(fight!)ball fight. More than likely player will spam until one of them decides theyve had enough and closes the gap; make that person be Sagat. FA some of his fireballs to build up your ultra while jumping over or blocking the rest until your health has recovered. Use red fireballs on occasion to force chip damage or if youre lucky, beat one of his shots.

Once Sagat decides to move in, the going gets tough. At mid range he will be looking to Tiger Knee in. You can use your standing HK to poke at this range, but play it safe more often than not. The Demon Flip can work wonders against Sagat, use it when hes going to fireball or as a mix up after some of your block strings. He can Uppercut these on reaction, so dont be afraid to bait this with a HK or MK demon Flip from close range; youll fly past him, and your standing HK can catch up to his whiffed upper.

-Make him come to you, you can always win a fireball war
-Don’t fall for his strings into safe knee, mix up the teleports with a j.RH Tatsu to get out of there

  • Jumping in is generally not a good idea, since trades are greatly in his favor
  • If Sagat has ultra, you must play it very safe
  • HE IS ROUND HOUSE LOOP BROKEN TEIR. Abuse that shit. Good for stun and u can get the knockdown.
  • Forward throw -> 2 dashes -> medium demon flip palm will whiff behind him if he tries to uppercut very useful.
  • Make him come to you and destroy him.[/details]

Sakura

[details=Spoiler]Sakura

Guaranteed Demons:
Blocked f+MK (Super only)
Blocked Shouoken
Blocked MK or HK Shunpukyaku (Super only)
Blocked Ultra

Tatsu > Sweep?
Yes

Strategy:
Sakura has sick mix up so you want to try to get out of it. You can out zone her so there is no pressing need to go on the offense but you can if you really want to rush her down she has no real answers aside from c.fierce if you jump on her also srk. Her EX tatsu can lead to resets which can lead to mix ups, it can lead to ultra, it can lead to dizzies, it can lead to hurt do your best not to get caught in it. Aside from that her damage out put is subpar and you can and should take her down easily.

  • Out zone her.
  • EX tatsu can lead to pain so try to pressure her so she cant do much.
  • Fireball is bad abuse your zoning tools.[/details]

Seth

[details=Spoiler]Seth

Guaranteed Demons:
Blocked Super

Tatsu > Sweep?
Yes

Strategy:
Recently getting attention due to his ability to keep away, treat this matchup like Dhalsim with more tools. As we know he takes damage like an infant and that must be exploited if/whenever you get the chance. If you miss an opportunity for a big combo, it might have been the only chance youre going to get.

One thing to remember about Seth and his ultra in particular, is that he has many ways to land it. Once he has his ultra ready to go you essentially cannot fireball, jump, or walk forward more than a single step or so. It doesnt do much damage, but if youre low on life then it will actively shut down several of your options.

  • Get in, deal your damage and get out
  • Be careful with your actions when he has ultra ready
    [/details]

Vega (Claw)

[details=Spoiler]Vega (Claw)

Guaranteed Demons:
blocked Flying Claw
blocked Flipkick
blocked d/f+MK (super only)

Tatsu > Sweep?
Yes

Strategy:
When playing against Vega, its back to basics; Shoryu his jump in attempts, teleport when needed, and force him into action with fireballs. FADCing his Wall Dives will give you an opportunity to punish, but beware the throw. If you seem to always get thrown, simply short teleport out. Vega has no answer to your teleport, and sometimes this will lead to a free punish combo. Once you have the lead, just sit on it and run away, theres not really anything that Vega can do to stop you.

For a change of pace, you can take the offensive in this matchup. His wanna-be flip kick is not a reliable AA, so feel free to cross up and dive kick pressure him into making a mistake. Pressuring with the HK works well to get you in range, once youre there just stay in his face looking for that opening to dish out a big damage combo. If he flips away, walk forward a bit then HK to catch him with a heavy combo.

-Teleport away from his Wall Dives if youre unsure about how to handle it

  • Be wary of throwing fireballs when he has ultraas in dont.
  • Abuse his lack of a good AA to put pressure on and gain the lead
  • Watch for patterns when he uses his dodging flip; bait and punish [/details]

Zangief

[details=Spoiler]Zangief

Guaranteed Demons:
Blocked far long sweep (super only)
Blocked close long sweep
Whiffed Lariat (hit the recovery, not the Lariat)
Blocked Green Hand
Hit by Green Hand
Blocked ex Green Hand

Tatsu > Sweep?
Yes

Strategy:
Zangeif. A simple enough matchup, but mess up twice and it could be lights out for Akuma.

If you get knocked down, teleport out. If you dont, its going to hurt. Use lots of fireballs to zone, mixing in properly spaced sweeps and HKs. Unless the HK connects, jump back or teleport away. Theres not much to this matchup, just try to read what he does in reaction to your zoning game and be ready for it. If he tends to green hand, block and punish; for lariats if you have the spacing down you can Demon Flip him as long as the dive kick is centered on his body. Use fireballs to bait a lariat, and punish with ex flip for big damage. Then return to your regularly scheduled programming and stay away.

  • Stay away.
  • Sweep his lariats
  • Aim for Time Over if you have to
  • Stay away![/details]
3

O_o cool, cool.

4

how do we contribute/edit the sections?

5

Just post here…

and good luck with the format I used, gotta like…organize the info into paragraphs. I still recommend just going with bullet points, unless the masses disagree. Snarf.

Thanks again broski.

6

no need to thank me its just for fun and since i really wanna make a good match up thread that is constantly being updated.

7

The Akuma mirror is largely dependent on tricks since a lot of the zoning and wake-up games don’t really apply. The opposing Akuma as well as yourself can teleport or otherwise escape out of a lot of situations that would normally put another opponent under a lot of pressure. Akuma travels by demonflip much of the time, so anti-airing with your typical shoryuken becomes a very risky proposition, and red fireballs should be used sparingly in fear of ex flips on reaction.

Whoever can poke better and capitalize on opportunities seems to win this match-up. You wouldn’t think so, but Akuma has a hard time getting out of a corner against another Akuma, if the opponent traps you effectively with moderately spaced ground fireballs, and mixes it up jumping in with air fireballs as a shield, going into a three-way mixup with either a low attack, overhead, or throw as the fireballs connect.

The far st.HK seems to obliterate, which is both good and bad since your opponent can also abuse it. Upon a blocked far st.HK, there is a 0 frame advantage/disadvantage for both players, which sets up a metagame in itself. Either player can choose to poke/counterpoke, jump, walk-up throw, shoryuken, walk back, etc.

Poorly spaced air fireballs while jumping forward or backward can lead to anti-air ultra, which can either be buffered into a cr.MK/HK to lower hitbox, or with far st.HK to traverse under said fireballs. This little trick is put to a halt once your opponent understands the importance of tiger knee’d jab fireballs.

8

nice thanks loltima ill be sure to add that to the info. i figured it would be essential to add an akuma match up since there are a lot more akumas emerging.

9

I appreciate it, but you twisted a lot of what I said here.

First off, AA Demon is amazingly difficult on a demonflip dive kick, AA demon (and AA in general) are LESS effective in the mirror because of this.

For Shaku, you should do it sparingly PERIOD, I don’t think the super/ultra has any bearing on whether you should be throwing red fireballs at all.

Dashing under a fireball and demoning isn’t nearly as good as buffering demon into far standing roundhouse, OR buffering with a crouching forward/roundhouse. (his forward dash has poopy range, roundhouse will push you much further)

10

ok no problem ill fix it thanks for correcting it

11

Akuma is beast

12

so how about the ryu match guys? i noticed it doesnt have any info under there, and we fight a lot of ryu’s in our time correct.

From my experience, the ryu match is super difficult because he can outpoke the hell out of you with Cr. MK xx Hado.

However my mileage with air fb’s outside of Cr. Mk range seems to help me a lot. Doing it very low on those who like to jump them so i can srk or Cr. Fierce the jump in attempt, making sure to watch for the early jump and being ready to hit RH to win the air to air battle.
and going into safe jump/ cross up tatsu mix ups whenever i get the opportunity to move in and gain an untechable knockdown.

outside of that im not too sure how to play the match, because ryu can shut down a lot of (if not all) of akuma’s options from inside Cr. Mk range. and a misstimed jump over that light punch fireball can equal a dp into ultra situation.

if you guys have more info on this matchup i would really appreciate it, because one mistake from the distance we try to keep him at becomes a fat ultra or super combo that hurts.

let me know if im off to a good start, or totally missing the point on fighting ryu.

13

part of the problem with making a new thread like this is there SO much information in the last thread that never-ever-ever-ever got brought to the front page.

I guess what I’m saying is there should be a link on this page to the old thread so ppl won’t just think this is where everythign is at and the other thread is completely useless.

and cross-tatsus are awesome against akuma with akuma because its so easy to just buffer out a demon in case they teleport since all you are going for usually is a trip after the cross.

-As for ryu first thing would simply be to not abuse HK against him (i still don’t know why the info i wrote for a little HK thread was never used anywhere else but MHEE).
-Be more careful when doing your oki-wake up games (I REFUSE to call it a vort–) because for whatever reason it seems his SRK auto correct better than anyone else’s in the game.
-Don’t teleport out of the corner when he has super or you’ll get dinged if they are any good.
-your c.mk poke sucks compared to ryu’s but its still one of your main options against him since he can duck and punish your HK.
-don’t focus at mid-longish range too often becasue its too easy for him to tatsu break it without even thinking.
-personally I’d say 99% of the time hp demon flip resets should NEVER be lk and instead should always be mk or hk becasue akuma can’t afford taking an ultra (only person that can honestly and easily get that type of damage against a demon flip reset).
-don’t JUMP-IN!!! (too much…)
-don’t jump at him if he is already in the air… you will either eat his foot or a mp into ultra/super/EX FB
-don’t jump much at all at him… his normals in air KILL you.

learn to sometimes, especially if you are going to play a bunch of matches with someone and even more so online, stop your strings against ryu because ppl believe its too hard to punish (in lag it almost can be) his lp srk that they just spam it during any combo or block string waiting for lag or yourself to mess up. By just stopping combos you’ll learn if your opponent is a masher and many other things about the opponent. Because ryu is so basic on the surface but has so many different ways to play him it is very important to learn “what type” of ryu the opponent has so you don’t get SRK spammed in the last round because you dropped your first link and end up getting comboed to death.

ryu is similar to akuma in that there isn’t as much “what to use against ryu” but rather “what not to use against” him. watch out for jump fb at ANY distance if he has super…don’t use HK too much…don’t focus too much (if its a good ryu)… bait lp srk spam (don’t drop strings…loland just be careful in general.

14

dont worry i am actually sifting through the old thread it will take tons of time but i will update this thread and take care of it constantly and what u said will surely be posted in a matter of days if not tomorrow thank you for the help with the ryu i did find it odd that we dont have any info on him actually since ryu’s are the most abundant online imo.

15

i guess i didn’t get a reply cause i posted this in a dying thread before…

anyone got any advice for this - i mained ryu since the game came out and i’m making the switch to akuma, been enjoying it for the most part but i have real trouble playing against a friend of mine.

his mains are boxer and dictator, he is pretty good with his combos but he tends to get close, or wait till i get close and block low, and then hold db and fish for a crack in my block strings by spamming jabs/shorts depending on character. i’ve noticed that he does this with any character now though!

obviously as soon as he gets a jab through with rog it can be jab jab short headbutt ultra, with bison it can be short short scissors. he also sometimes does one scissors after the other which i have trouble combatting.

any suggestions in general? i’ve tried using frame traps with c.mp and had some success, and i’ve tried spacing a bit better and using c.mk xx hado, even desperately mashed out some shoryus as soon as he breaks my string but he never stops using this technique and he gets away with it all the time! in general i feel like i should be able to beat him because i’ve beaten a ton of other folk with more advanced combos and tactics on championship matches, but this simple technique just seems to wear me down. it can get really frustrating after a few games with him :confused:

i guess for the most part i should be trying to slow the match down and using well spaced c.mk hados and frame traps among other tools… i guess maybe if he’s stuck on playing like this it means i need to take the game to his pace and punish him, but i was wondering if anyone could suggest any other tips/tricks for dealing with this. it just gets frustrating playing slow all the time against someone, sometimes you just want to deal some damage and get the round over with!

16

^^^^^when ppl spam jab to hit you out of strings there are two really simple things you can do. 1. You can stop a string (block or otherwise) early and jump for a cross-up/ambiguous tatsu/etc. because they aren’t going to be able to srk/etc you fast enough if they are already spamming out lp. 2. Stop your string early and do a HP SRK. Example of the second would be, on block, c.lp c.lp SRK. There will be a slight delay since its not a real block string where the lp of the opponent will start to come out but because of SRK invincible frames you’ll easily beat it.

and once you do that a few times he will either learn to not spam shit out on block as much or he’ll consistently take a beating. And of course its even easier if they use a srk move because then you just crouch block and punish instead of jump-ins/cross-ups.

and once HE starts a block string you can just teleport out.

and he doesn’t have a “pace” from your description… all you said was that he smashes one button while you try and combo him…lol. That being said it might also help to get more trips and to work on your oki wake-up games as well as working on your strings in general so he isn’t hitting you out of them. Block strings are one thing but you really shouldn’t be getting c.lp’ed out of a combo.

another thing to learn is to teleport, jump, or back dash after he scissors you. this helps in case he is using consecutive scissors.

generally for bison though (or any other character) you want the match to be FAST. Or at least fast while on the attack and slow while on the defensive. Against bison its even more obvious because you want to be backing up a lot of the time until he decides to lose his charge at which point you can start to speed things up and keep pressure on him.

Its the ppl that spam c.lp one time and crouch block the next, then srk another and teleport the next etc etc that are hard to deal with because you don’t know when you are allowed to jump in what. On the other hand ppl like your friend are easy to beat because they use the same thing again and again. The only issue is you’ve never done simple things to counter it yet. And one he HAS to start mixing it up… so can you.

17

^ your Ryu matchup method is super turtly.
-Don’t jump in on him at all ever? All of those tips reversibly apply. Fwd Jump.HP is nasty. Heck fwd jump.lk beats almost every air to air except maybe air-throwers.
-In regards to HK, shouldn’t you not abuse it against any character?
-That auto correct DP thing must be catching on. I haven’t connected a crossup tatsu in 3 days.
-Ne0Russel’s stupid Anti-projectile strategies are working. Today alone I got Ryu super’d and ultra’d after blocking cr.mk before my Fireball came out. Sagat’s ultra connected too before my fireball hit. Goddamn.
-Why is akuma’s cr.mk worse? A ton of my combo’s are relying heavily on cr.MK now. Cr.mk xx fb > fadc > the world. In fact I’m really loving cr.mk xx lk.dflip-throw right now. So good. Cr.mk is still great.

I do believe though, when playing Ryu: simpler is sometimes better. Akuma has more tools than Ryu but Ryu’s set means he doesn’t have quite the mixup but he’s got everything he needs and knows exactly what to do and when. For instance, for a Ryu to AA, he’s gonna lp.srk > ultra, hp.srk > fadc > ultra, cr.HP. Simple. Akuma’s can: lp.srk, hp.srk (and possibly whiff extenuating hits), demon, dash back sweep, focus, teleport, cr.HP and miss, block etc etc etc. Sometimes playing Akuma I confuse myself.

A solid Ryu is definitely a hard matchup, much moreso than a Ken.

18

^^ agreed on the harder than ken thing.

I will try a bit more cr. Mk however its pretty hard to get it in because the ryu’s i play as soon as i hit that range will fireball the hell out of me because they know i am spacing it so that i can hit them.

Ryu is a very fun matchup because of how much of a chess match it really becomes.

I would never really use a reset on Ryu, unless i was going to reset with LP or something that will allow me to block the incoming SRK when they land ( because you know if u are close enough they will do it).

Air to Air LK doesnt really help me out much, and i dont jump too often because i would rather focus fish from outside of Cr. Mk range so that i can get that hit and back out or dash in depending on whether i crumple or not on that fireball.

Otherwise when the pressure is too great i move farther to about 3/4 of the screen away and zone with red fireballs and Neutral Jump MP fireballs on the way down. But always throwing the fireballs with a purpose because if you just spam them you can get moved in on very quickly.

Baiting SRK to me is key in wakeup situations because you can either beat it with a cross up LK or block and punish when save jumping into OS throw. (cross up tatsu doesnt work as much anymore since ppl figured out that you can get beat out).

Baiting fireballs is also good when you have ex meter. Just be sure that you are going to use the demon flip into kick before you see the fireball ( anticipation not reaction) or you can get blocked or srk into ultra’d. (this tactic really relies on knowing your opponent, but you have to in this matchup in order to get damage and set up situations that lead to more damage).

I played a buddy of mine last night and i made sure to take note of everything that works and doesnt work with ryu.

19

Akuma matchup vs. Ryu requires turtling (assuming you are playing a good ryu) for two reasons.

  1. Ryu’s fireball traps are the best in the game, only bad Ryu’s let you jump in on them. Period.

  2. Ryu’s damage output is quite high, even in the hands of a mediocre player. You cannot afford to take damage, because it can be difficult to come back to due aforementioned fireball zoning game.

Abuse the shit out of it against large characters.

You’re doing xup tatsu wrong, mostly likely you’re jumping to close to them. Spaced right a xup tatsu will always work against Ryu’s DP. Vortex would suck otherwise.

20

^ Not connecting in 3 days implies I’m aware of how to perform it.