Wanted to get a discussion going regarding a choice between of Hugo’s Ultra combos in Ultra Street Fighter 4. Gigas Breaker and Megaton Press.
Going over some of the pros and cons of the two and possible suggestions for preferred Ultras for different matchups.
Gigas Breaker - High damage dealing command grab Ultra dealing the second highest damage in the game (the highest being Hakan’s U1) Can easily turn an opportunity where a regular SPD could happen but with a much much more brutal effect on the opponents life bar. The main downside really is in matchups where the opponent is in the air a lot and has decent enough normals to simply poke any Backbreaker attempts since Hugo has no invulnerable frames on any version of Backbreaker. It’s a command grab Ultra so it functions more or less the same way as others like Zangief in terms of how it’s used but that isn’t a bad thing by any means, just not that much else to say about it.
Megaton Press - A rather odd anti air Ultra, it will grab an opponent during any airborne state such as certain overheads, jumps and backdashes but unlike say T.Hawks Ultra 2, the hitbox reaches much further infront of Hugo than it does actually above and into the air. This can make grabbing opponents who are jumping rather difficult and unfortunately it’s invul frames are very short and CAN be beaten out by a DP unlike Zangief’s Siberian Blizzard. However one big + for this Ultra is the fact it can be combo’d into and from rather far on the screen due to it’s long forward reaching hitbox as Hugo leaps, an example being Ultra Throw > LP Clap > Ultra 2. This can add just that little bit extra damage that a backbreaker combo ender might not be able to provide to give Hugo the victory as well as allow random trades be converted into much bigger damage due to Hugo’s various juggle states caused by his attacks like Clap and frHP Closeline on trade however in some cases the damage scaling really isn’t THAT much more than if he had just ended with Backbreaker and so saving the Ultra meter may be a better option if it’s not guaranteed to kill. Again going back to it’s long reach forward it can also catch near enough every backdash in the game allowing some scary mixup opportunities if the opponent is desperately trying to backdash thinking Hugo might SPD or just to get some space.
A good example of the insane reach infront of him his U2 has is in this match. At 1:48 Hugo jabs Seth until he’s unable to jab anymore, Seth backdashes and Hugo uses Ultra 2 to catch him.
Anyone here had any experience with both Ultras against certain characters or situations they find interesting or useful tech? If there happens to be a use for using Double Ultra brought up I will add it to the OP but in my experience so far I’ve not found a reason to lose out on damage to have both Ultras.
U2>U1
Being able to semi-react to backdashes makes U2 absolutely insane.
Only certain match-ups were your opponent has a good move that’s -1 you should play U1.
When I started using Hugo I used U2 all the time due to UT combo and occasional anti air reaction use. However I soon realised that the damage in UT combo wasn’t much more then finishing with bb. Also I wasn’t great at landing it raw against jumps/backdashes.
When I switched to U1 I found myself winning more matches (currently around 50th on BP). It’s amazing how often U1 lands, people drop strings all the time and you can mash it out for those occasions. If you throw out MP at close range you can do U1 straight after recovery and it will land whether the MP hit or was blocked. This catches so many people as they are left at maximum range and don’t generally think to jump out. E.g. xup splash, MP, U1 or HP clap, MP clap, ex clap, MP, U1 (obscene damage).
Also, after ex lariat on block, U1 will grab anyone who tries a slower punish, works quite a lot.
If you can master dash up U1, this is suprising and really works.
I feel like you should tailor which ultra you choose to the playstyle of your opponent. Generally i feel like U1 with meter is the best way to go, since you can make them scared to be close to you with U1, and then afraid to get into the air with ex.bb. If its not a matchup where you have a lot of trouble getting close, i feel that this combination is best. I also feel that combination is better for fireball fights. As you get closer in and leap attack over fireballs or jump in with j.hp at a distance, you always have the ability to empty jump into U1 to make their AA’s whiff, or snatch up limbs (I’ve done this on many occasions).
U2 is good for characters where you need to end a match with max damage (e.g. ultra throw, 2x ex.clap (or 3x in the corner) U2) or the match is so bad you have to be able to “whiff punish” a jump or backdash (e.g. Rolento or Cammy). But if you’re in a match or playing a player while you can never get out of the mid/long range game, then U1 becomes useless. I think U2 gives maximum damage with scaling, U1 is three hits (versus 1) so it does scale noticeably when used at the end of a match. I’ve bitched to myself a lot about how I feel like i can never close a round with Hugo even though he does a shit ton of damage when he connects.
I share the sentiments, sometimes actually landing a hit is just stupidly difficult so you need to deal as much damage as you can get. U2 feels a bit better for matchups like Guile and Chun but U1 feels a bit better for Ryu and Ken since they aren’t AS bad to try get in on.
How do you feel about using either Ultra vs other grapplers? I personally prefer U2 for T.Hawk considering more of his attacks leave him in the air and he’s more likely to try and jump > condor dive to punish Hugo’s normals compared to Gief who can SPD things like stMP because of his insane grab range. I’m unsure about Hakan or Honda yet.
In my opinion against those kinds of characters (except Balrog) U2 all the way. By “those characters” I mean the characters with body projectiles, since a lot of them can break armor, Hugo doesn’t have a good answer to punish them on block and doing bb on reaction can be strange against Honda or Blanka since you have to do it on reaction, but delayed so you catch them in the active frames, doesn’t trade if you do it with the right timing/spacing.
Against grapplers specifically, always go U2. All of them some obvious jumps and with U2 stocked you force them to stay on the ground while still having the option to ex.bb. For T. Hawk specifically, when you can control the air and take his air mobility away, you force him to play a footsie specific game to which Hugo’s cr.mp pretty much destroys at mid-range (cr.mp can beat condor spire at mid-range where t.hawk can’t use cr.mk but instead can use st.hk). But in general U2 is the go to for grapplers. Oiled Hakan destroys Hugo on paper, i don’t think there’s much Hugo can do versus Hakan unless he’s dry or makes some really bad mistakes. Just being able to focus (red focus) in to hypothetically bait lariat, makes the neutral game almost pointless, not to mention that if Hakan focus dashes in while oiled he gets a max damage combo due to Hugo’s recovery (e.g. oiled DNC tackle xx hp.slide, press) which is almost 300 i think without meter. I suggest against Hakan going to whatever Ultra you feel the strongest with. But U2 gives you a more tactical advantage, but Hakan’s jump is relatively useless, esp against Hugo, nothing that st.hp won’t beat unless he empty jumps really well.
For me it is U2 all the way. The only real downside is, that you have a hard time to punish neutral jumps with it, that are close to you.
Also you cannot just combo into it out of Ultra Throw, you can:
Ex-Lariat (opponent is in the air) -> U2
Focus Crumple -> H Clap -> L Clap -> U2
Focus Crumple -> Late M Clap -> Ex Clap -> Ex Clap -> U2 (if I remember this one correctly)
Focus Crumple -> 2x Ex Clap -> U2 (537 damage I think)
I think there also was a way to OS U2 after meaty Heavyclap.
Focus Crumple obviously also works if you use Red Focus mid combo.
There is also the possibility to U2 after the super, if you hit the enemy while he is airborne with the super for example.
Saying stuff like “It is amazing how often people drop combos” is a very VERY bad way to land your ult 1.
You know someone could just say like: Fuck his Ult Jab Jab jump and there flies your Ult. And this is the main point, why I dislike U1. You can never know, if the opponent is already jumping or not.
Tick SPDs or Tick Ult1 do not change the fact, that your opponent could be holding up just in this moment.
I consider myself a beginner, but those are my thoughts on the matter.