_____________________________________________________________________
/·/---------------------------------------------------------------------·
[  Game     ]   :   Garou : Mark of the Wolves
[  System   ]   :   Arcade
[  Author   ]   :   Kertra
[  E-mail   ]   :   kartel <at> servihoo <dot> com
[  Version  ]   :   Final
[  Date     ]   :   June 14, 2002
·---------------------------------------------------------------------/·/
' ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ '
'              © 2001-2002, Kertra. All rights reserved.              '
'                                                                       '
'  This document is Copyright 2001-2002, Kertra and is protected by   '
'  US Copyright Law, and the Berne Copyright Convention of 1976. You    '
'  may not use this for profitable purposes. Any reproduction, partial  '
'  or integral, of this document without the author's permission is     '
'  illegal and strictly prohibited. Webmasters, please refer to the     '
'  Copyright section for my conditions if you want to host this FAQ.    '
'                                                                       '
'  All of the info contained in this FAQ has been confirmed and tested  '
'  by myself along with help from direct/indirect contributors but as   '
'  nobody is perfect, there may be errors/mistakes that you can point   '
'  out simply by e-mailing me. The author is not responsible for any    '
'  black eyes that may arise due to a sweet damaging combo connecting   '
'  against a scrub or a crowd laughing at you, the Garou player, after  '
'  you screwed up a pathetically easy combo. Should the first case      '
'  happen, strike back. Should the second case happen, question your    '
'  skills. In any case, welcome to my third MOTW FAQ and I hope you'll  '
'  enjoy your stay!                                                     '
'                                                                       '
'  Garou : Mark of the Wolves and all related characters © 2000, SNK.   '
'                                                                       '
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#   #   #   #   #   #   #   #   #   #   #   #   #   #   #   #   #
# #                         #  #  #                         # #
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' '
The latest version of this FAQ can be found at GameFAQs.
Best viewed in WordPad . Anything else may make you go Riot of the Blood.
Say no to everything! Say yes to nothing!
Why you should read this guide: - You have nothing to do.
- You want to suffer from severe brain
damage.
- You want to get ready for Mark of the
Wolves 2.
If you are French, play "IV My People" by NTM, Zoxea, Busta Flex and let's
get rappin'.
Otherwise, "Gravel Pit" by Wu-Tang Clan will do.
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
___TABLE OF CONTENTS_________________________________________________________
"How do we prove we exist? Maybe we do not exist."
- Vivi
I. Introduction
II. Control Notation
III. Feint Moves
IV. Just Defense
·-Guard Cancelling
V. Movelist
·- Rock Howard
·- Terry Bogard
·- Kim Dong Hwan
·- Kim Jae Hoon
·- Hotaru Futaba
·- Gato
·- Bonne Jenet
·- Marco Rodriguez
·- Hokutomaru
·- Freeman
·- Tizoc
·- Kevin Rian
·- Grant
·- Kain
VI. Break Moves
·- Rock Howard
·- Terry Bogard
·- Kim Dong Hwan
·- Kim Jae Hoon
·- Hotaru Futaba
·- Gato
·- Bonne Jenet
·- Marco Rodriguez
·- Hokutomaru
·- Freeman
·- Tizoc
·- Kevin Rian
·- Grant
·- Kain
VII. T.O.P. System
·- Rock Howard
·- Terry Bogard
·- Kim Dong Hwan
·- Kim Jae Hoon
·- Hotaru Futaba
·- Gato
·- Bonne Jenet
·- Marco Rodriguez
·- Hokutomaru
·- Freeman
·- Tizoc
·- Kevin Rian
·- Grant
·- Kain
VIII. Super Moves
·- Rock Howard
·- Terry Bogard
·- Kim Dong Hwan
·- Kim Jae Hoon
·- Hotaru Futaba
·- Gato
·- Bonne Jenet
·- Marco Rodriguez
·- Hokutomaru
·- Freeman
·- Tizoc
·- Kevin Rian
·- Grant
·- Kain
IX. Potential Powers
·- Rock Howard
·- Terry Bogard
·- Kim Dong Hwan
·- Kim Jae Hoon
·- Hotaru Futaba
·- Gato
·- Bonne Jenet
·- Marco Rodriguez
·- Hokutomaru
·- Freeman
·- Tizoc
·- Kevin Rian
·- Grant
·- Kain
X. Best regular flowcharts
·- Rock Howard
·- Terry Bogard
·- Kim Dong Hwan
·- Kim Jae Hoon
·- Hotaru Futaba
·- Gato
·- Bonne Jenet
·- Marco Rodriguez
·- Hokutomaru
·- Freeman
·- Tizoc
·- Kevin Rian
·- Grant
·- Kain
XI. Chain/break combos
·- Rock Howard
·- Terry Bogard
·- Kim Dong Hwan
·- Kim Jae Hoon
·- Hotaru Futaba
·- Gato
·- Bonne Jenet
·- Marco Rodriguez
·- Hokutomaru
·- Freeman
·- Tizoc
·- Kevin Rian
·- Grant
·- Kain
XII. Character analysis
·- Rock Howard
·- Terry Bogard
·- Kim Dong Hwan
·- Kim Jae Hoon
·- Hotaru Futaba
·- Gato
·- Bonne Jenet
·- Marco Rodriguez
·- Hokutomaru
·- Freeman
·- Tizoc
·- Kevin Rian
·- Grant
·- Kain
XIII. Infinites
·- Kevin Rian
·- Grant
·- Kain
XIV. Misc
·- Cross-over chart
·- Cancellable moves chart
·- Trivia
·- Secrets
·- Basic tips
XV. Outro
XVI. Legal disclaimer
XVII. Contact info
XVIII. Revision history
XIX. Credits
IMPORTANT NOTE: Marco Rodriguez is also known as Kushnood Butt and Tizoc as
The Griffon Mask and uh...vice-versa... SNK screwed up with
the translations again... :)
Terry Bogard owns you all for free!!
(Press CTRL+F to find the section or part you're interested in quickly.)
=============================================================================
I. INTRODUCTION
=============================================================================
"It's like I'm assisting suicide. Hate not me, hate your weakness!"
- Iori Yagami
This is a System & Combo FAQ for Garou: Mark of the Wolves (which btw got
Best DC Fighting Game on DC if you didn't already know!). I'm writing this
because there is no good Combo FAQ for the game. The System part has been
added because while all the new features of the game are very important, I
haven't seen any guide that deals with those exclusively and as the author
of 2 character guides for the game (Butt and Terry -- along with a Kain
Infinites FAQ which has been removed now), I received a lot of mails from
people requesting help on the Feint Moves and the rest.
So, here I am, writing this big FAQ in the hope that upon reading this,
players will realize how complex Garou is and they will stop punching
buttons without even knowing what's going on. I am also giving descriptions
of all the Super Moves and Potential Powers since they are another important
aspect of the game. I highly recommend that you read James Kuroki's FAQ too
as it contains full movelists for each character along with move descriptions
and tons of stuff.
Well, what originally intended to be a S & C FAQ turns into a full FAQ /
Movelist. There are quite a few mistakes in the lists in Kuroki's FAQ (no
offense to him of course) and so, I decided to work on my own lists. I have
done my own translations in most cases except a few ones which I directly
took from his FAQ -- this explains why our move names differ but that doesn't
really matter, right? :) I've only put movelists though -- again, Kuroki's
FAQ is great because it has descriptions for every move, something which I
can't be bothered with (tight schedules...).
Finally, keep in mind that all the info contained in this FAQ was verified
with the Neo-Geo version of the game which is just the same as the Arcade
version. It also applies to the Dreamcast version of course but just to
get things clear, don't mail me stuff that can only be found in the DC
version (like the art galleries and I know how some things were seriously
messed up during the conversion) because I won't bother to add those.
This FAQ is written with the assumption that you have played a SNK fighter
before and that you are quite familiar with the terms associated to all
fighting games. If, however, this is your first fighting game (and you did
well to start with MOTW!), there are a lot of terms in this FAQ that you
probably will not understand and which will only confuse you. Should this
be the case, I advise you to read Andrew Park's (aka EX Andy) Beginner's
Guide which can be found under The King of Fighters '97 listing at GameFAQs.
Even though MOTW is a different series, the same terms apply and will help
you fully understand my FAQ.
GAROU: MARK OF THE WOLVES GAME DATA
-----------------------------------
Genre: Fighting
System(s): Arcade, Neo-Geo, Dreamcast
Number of players: 1 or 2 -- 1 ; Story Mode
2 ; Versus Mode
Number of characters: 10 selectable + 2 hidden on Arcade
12 selectable on console -- 2 are off-screen
Publisher: SNK
Rating(s): Arcade & Neo-Geo - Among Top 5 Games (Neo-Geo Freak, C+)
Dreamcast - Top Fighting Game of 2001 (GameSpot)
If you want my opinion on any of the ports, then you can just read my reviews
available at GameFAQs. </shameless plug>
=============================================================================
II. CONTROL NOTATION
=============================================================================
"Repeat after me: I will never take on a god again."
- Omega Rugal
/¯         /¯
ub   u   uf                      | A |       | B |
  |  /                         _/         _/
b -- n -- f
/  |                           /¯         /¯
db   d   df                      | D |       | C |
_/         _/
General Notations:
--------------------
n    - neutral                             A     - Weak Punch
d    - down                                B     - Weak Kick
u    - up                                  C     - Strong Punch
b    - back                                D     - Strong Kick
f    - forward
Special Notations:
--------------------
db   - down-back                           P     - Press A or C
df   - down-forward                        K     - Press B or D
ub   - up-back                             AB    - Low dodge attack/
Break move
uf   - up-forward                          CD    - T.O.P. Attack
qcf  - d,df,f                              START - Taunt
qcb  - d,db,b
hcf  - b,db,d,df,f
hcb  - f,df,d,db,b
dp   - f,d,df
rdp  - b,d,db
c    - charge for 2 seconds
h    - hold last button
NOTE: A/B/C/D position may be different. The buttons always represent the
same thing though.
Button configuration can be changed on home versions.
All commands assume that you are facing right.
=============================================================================
III. FEINT MOVES
=============================================================================
"The object of war is not to die for your country, but to make the opposite
son-of-bitches die for theirs!"
- George Patton
Feint moves are not new but they have undergone some changes to make this
feature even better. A feint move is the opening animation of a special
move (specific to each character). However, your character will only perform
the opening animation (can be any number of frames) and will even cry out
in some cases but he/she will not perform the whole move. Instead, your
recovery time will decrease such that you will have time to attack your
opponent again without the latter being able to block since he's still
himself recovering from your previous attack.
In fact, the feint moves even enable you to perform normally impossible
combos like a standing C onto a crouching C cancelled into a special move.
In some situations, you even have the possibility to include more than one
feint move in a combo for a lot of damage. Basically, you are just recovering
faster than your opponent and thus have the advantage of an unblockable
attack.
This is the primary utility of the feint moves but they also have other
uses. The one I've described above can be used both against CPU opponents
and characters.
Another use is to confuse your opponent since you'll trick them into thinking
you are really going to perform the move. What happens is that he'll think
that you will soon have to recover from the special move or another case is
that he'll hope to counter you before being hit himself. You then only need
to attack him since you don't have to recover from anything and he'll very
likely drop his guard.
There are only 2 commands for the feint moves, regardless of the character:
f + AC, &
d + AC.
As I've explained above, here is the easiest combo you may pull with a feint
move:
stand C -> feint move -> crouch C -> special move
This is only the easiest example. There are a lot of combos you can pull
for each character and you can use any special moves you want, Super Moves
and Potential Powers too.
You may even go up to 3 feint moves with certain characters and under
certain conditions like this example -- one of Terry's combos.
stand C -> feint move -> stand C -> feint move -> hop -> crouch C
In some cases, you may feint a move and perform a normal move but on hitting
the opponent, that hit won't register as a combo. It happens that the hits
don't add but it _is_ a combo, so give it what you've got.
Although there are only the 2 commands listed, each feint move represents
an existing move for that character. In some cases, one holds for either
version of the same move while in others, each feint move is different, i.e.
the first one may be a special move and the second one a P.Power.
Here is the list for what the feint moves represent for each character:
|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|
|   CHARACTER      |         f + AC          |          d + AC          |
|__________________|_________________________|__________________________|
|                  |                         |                          |
|  Rock Howard     |      Shine Knuckle      |         Reppu Ken        |
|                  |      (qcf,qcf + K)      |         (qcf + A)        |
|__________________|_________________________|__________________________|
|                  |                         |                          |
|  Terry Bogard    |    Weak Burn Knuckle    |    Strong Burn Knuckle   |
|                  |        (qcb + A)        |         (qcb + C)        |
|__________________|_________________________|__________________________|
|                  |                         |                          |
|  Kim Dong Hwan   |    Weak Shiden Kyaku    |    Strong Shiden Kyaku   |
|                  |        (qcf + B)        |         (qcf + D)        |
|__________________|_________________________|__________________________|
|                  |                         |                          |
|  Kim Jae Hoon    |       Shakka Shuu       |       Hou'ou Kyaku       |
|                  |        (qcf + P)        |      (qcf,qcf + K)       |
|__________________|_________________________|__________________________|
|                  |                         |                          |
|  Hotaru Futaba   |       Hakki Shou        |      Sou-Shou Shin       |
|                  |        (qcf + P)        |        (qcb + P)         |
|__________________|_________________________|__________________________|
|                  |                         |                          |
|  Gato            |        Shin-Ga          |          Rai-Ga          |
|                  |        (qcf + P)        |       (f,d,df + K)       |
|__________________|_________________________|__________________________|
|                  |                         |                          |
|  Bonne Jenet     |   Many Many Torpedoes   |          Aurora          |
|                  |      (qcf,qcf + P)      |       (qcf,qcf + K)      |
|__________________|_________________________|__________________________|
|                  |                         |                          |
|  Marco Rodriguez |    Haou Shoukou Ken     |     Kyokugen Ko Hou      |
|                  |      (qcf,qcf + P)      |       (qcf,qcf + K)      |
|__________________|_________________________|__________________________|
|                  |                         |                          |
|  Hokutomaru      |     Karakusa-Giri       |        Shuriken          |
|                  |        (qcb + P)        |        (qcf + P)         |
|__________________|_________________________|__________________________|
|                  |                         |                          |
|  Freeman         |       Full Blast        |         Phobia           |
|                  |      (qcf,qcf + P)      |       (f,d,df + P)       |
|__________________|_________________________|__________________________|
|                  |                         |                          |
|  Tizoc           |     Hercule's Throw     |     Daedalus Attack      |
|                  |     (close, hcf + B)    |      (qcf,qcf + K)       |
|__________________|_________________________|__________________________|
|                  |                         |                          |
|  Kevin Rian      |       Hell Rotor        |       Hell Arrest        |
|                  |       (qcb + P)         |     (close, hcf + P)     |
|__________________|_________________________|__________________________|
|                  |                         |                          |
|  Grant           |       Kokuen-Ryuu       |     Majin Haten Dan      |
|                  |       (qcb + P)         |      (qcf,qcf + P)       |
|__________________|_________________________|__________________________|
|                  |                         |                          |
|  Kain            |     Schwarzer Panzer    |     Himmlisher Atem      |
|                  |     (charge b,f + K)    |      (qcf,qcf + P)       |
|__________________|_________________________|__________________________|
=============================================================================
IV. JUST DEFENSE
=============================================================================
"We seek the meaning of life because we are mortal."
- Philosopher Minu
This is another new feature in the game and, without doubt, the best and most
important one. Just Defense occurs when you defend a move at the last second.
As you do so, the words "JUST DEFENDED" will flash across the screen and if
you play close attention, you'll notice how your character will have a new
blocking pose where he'll seem to be repelling the attack with his bare
hands. In fact, this is to enable Guard Cancel which is one of the advantages
of Just Defense.
Just Defense is, I'll say it again, one of the most important aspects of the
game and this alone can decide the outcome of a match. Firstly, for each time
you Just Defend a move, you'll recover some life. And this is made sweeter by
the fact that you actually have the possibility to Just Defend multiple times
against moves that cause multiple hits.
That is, you can Just Defense Terry's Power Charge on the first hit and if
you remain blocking for the other hits, you'll have performed it once and
will gain back some life. However, if you are skilled enough to release the
direction between each hit to press it again so as to achieve Just Defense
3 times in all, you'll have gained even more life back.
In fact, most anti-air moves like the Rai-Ga and the Rising Tackle can be
avoided this way as it is impossible to block such moves. You don't have
the ability to block while you're in the air, this isn't MvC fOO!. So, it
is essential to become familiar with the option.
The amount of life you gain depends on the nature of the move and also how
damaging the move is. For instance, you'll gain much more life back from
a Just Defended Power Geyser than from a mere Power Wave. As you can see,
anything can be Just Defended.
The last advantage is that Just Defense gives you the ability to Guard Cancel
out of it such that you'll recover before the opponent and thus attack them.
This explains the weird stance of your character as he performs it. Once you
have Just Defendeded a move, you can quickly counter-attack the surprised
opponent with your most damaging combo. All you need to do is to perform
whatever motion you intend while your character is still in the Just Defense
stance and it'll come out more quickly.
(Refer to subsection for more info on Guard Cancel).
It is essential to master Just Defense or, at least, to become familiar with
it because you'll need it a lot at the higher levels of MOTW. Some opponents
take a lot of time to pull out their moves and if you have mastered the
option, you'll easily be able to protect yourself while dealing damage at
the same time. And vets will know that Kain can be easily defeated this
way... :)
--- GUARD CANCELLING --------------------------------------------------------
I have received a few e-mails requesting help on Guard c+Cancelling, so I'll
try to give concise notes on it in this subsection. Guard Cancelling can
only be achieved during a Just Defend. The name of the feature itself is
relatively easy to figure out; it's jusr as if you were blocking and you
then cancelled that block into a move.
As you Just Defend any move, your character takes a blocking position but
if you pay close attention, you'll notice how he/she seems ready to attack
at the same time (okay, I know this doesn't make any sense but you've got
to see it to understand :)). This is when you need to input the command of
a special/super move and the latter will be a Guard Cancel. You need to be
quite quick with the command and this isn't as easy as it sounds. Don't
worry though, it becomes easy once you get the timing. When done right, the
words 'GUARD CANCEL' will appear on the screen.
The advantage of Guard Cancel is that it takes your opponent before he can
block and thus, it's a sure hit. Anyway, if you're good at Just Defending
close attacks, you would be wise to spend some time getting familiar with
Guard Cancelling. It will be of a tremendous help and will allow you to win
in close situations.
(Note: For those familiar with Strret Fighter III: Third Strike, Guard
Cancelling is just like Parry. After all, MOTW is SNK's response to SFIII.)
=============================================================================
V. MOVELIST
=============================================================================
"Only a fool trusts his life to a weapon!"
- Gray Fox/Cyborg Ninja
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Basically, this is a rewrite of Kuroki's FAQ because there
are some quite important mistakes in it. All the credit goes
to him for most move names since they aren't on SNK's page
anymore. (But I changed some names though -- own knowledge.)
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
The movelist for each character is seperated like this:
|------------- [Throws] ------------|
|--------- [Command moves] ---------| -> Some chars. don't have command moves.
|--------- [Special Moves] ---------|
|---------- [Super Moves]-----------|
|------- [Potential Powers] --------|
(BR) next to special move indicates that it is a break move.
(BR -- X) means that only a certain version of the move is a break; obviously,
it will be either A / C or B / D.
T.O.P. Attacks have been left out since I've spent a seperate section on
those with all descriptions.
Feint Moves are also in their own section.
Quick notation:
---------------
dir.     : press the listed direction
qcf      : roll the joystick from d to f (d, df, f)
qcb      : roll the joystick from d to b (d, db, d)
hcf      : roll the joystick from b to f (b, db, d, df, f)
hcb      : roll the joystick from f to b (f, df, d, db, b)
charge   : hold listed direction for 2 seconds
360°     : rotate joystick clockwise once
720°     : rotate joystick clockwise twice
P        : press A or C
K        : press B or D
(air)    : ground move can be performed in air too
hold     : hold button to delay the move
empower  : hold down button to make move become more powerful
/        : either command or button can be used
?-?      : indicates that the range between the first move and the
second move may be used (eg. b-f means any direction among
b,db,d,df and d can be used) -- range always anticlockwise
*        : indicates that move is a follow-up (the move cannot be pulled
alone)
Sources for move names and lists:
---------------------------------
* James Kuroki's MOTW FAQ
* My KOF 2001 FAQ
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
ROCK HOWARD
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|--------------------------------- [Throws] --------------------------------|
Koku Sen                                       close to opponent, f / b + C
|------------------------------ [Special Moves] ----------------------------|
Reppu Ken                                      qcf + A
Double Reppu Ken                               qcf + C
Hard Edge                                      qcb + P
Rising Tackle                                  charge d,u + P
Shinkuu Nage (BR)                              close to opponent, 360° + C
Rassetsu*                                      after breaking Shinkuu Nage,
hold AB and release to perform
Crack Counter Jou-Dan                          qcf + B
Crack Counter Ge-Dan                           qcf + D
Rage Run "Dunk"                                qcb + B
Rage Run "Shift"                               qcb + D
|------------------------------- [Super Moves] -----------------------------|
Raging Storm                                   qcf,qcf + A
Shine Knuckle                                  qcf,qcf + B
|----------------------------- [Potential Powers] --------------------------|
Raging Storm                                   qcf,qcf + C
Shine Knuckle                                  qcf,qcf + D
Deadly Rave "Neo"                              hcb,f + A, A, A, B, B, C, C,
D, D, qcb + C
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
TERRY BOGARD
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|--------------------------------- [Throws] --------------------------------|
Buster Throw                                   close to opponent, f / b + C
|------------------------------ [Special Moves] ----------------------------|
Power Wave                                     qcf + P
Burn Knuckle                                   qcb + P
Power Charge                                   f,f + P (x3)
Crack Shoot                                    qcb + K
Power Dunk (BR)                                f,d,df + K
|------------------------------- [Super Moves] -----------------------------|
Power Geyser                                   qcf,qcf + A
Buster Wolf                                    qcf,qcf + B
|----------------------------- [Potential Powers] --------------------------|
Power Geyser                                   qcf,qcf + C
Buster Wolf                                    qcf,qcf + D
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
KIM DONG HWAN
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|--------------------------------- [Throws] --------------------------------|
Tai-otoshi                                     close to opponent, f / b + C
Tai-hineri                                     in air and close to opponent,
any dir. except u + C
|------------------------------ [Command Moves] ----------------------------|
Big Jump                                       d, ub-uf
Sankaku-tobi                                   in air and near corner,
opposite dir.
Ushiro-geri                                    in air, b + C
|------------------------------ [Special Moves] ----------------------------|
KuuSaJin (BR)                                  f,d,df + P
Hishou Kyaku                                   in air, d + K
Shiden Kyaku                                   qcf + K
Raimei Zan                                     qcb + K
Ashi Binta                                     hcb + C
|------------------------------- [Super Moves] -----------------------------|
Super Dong Hwan Kyaku                          in air, qcf,qcf + A
Raimei Dan                                     qcf,qcf + B
|----------------------------- [Potential Powers] --------------------------|
Super Dong Hwan Kyaku                          in air, qcf,qcf + C
Raimei Dan                                     qcf,qcf + D (empower)
Ore-sama Hou-Ou Kyaku                          qcf,qcf,qcf + C
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
KIM JAE HOON
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|--------------------------------- [Throws] --------------------------------|
Tai-Otoshi                                     close to opponent, f / b + C
|------------------------------ [Command Moves] ----------------------------|
Shou-Kyaku Hou                                 press B during backstep (b,b)
|------------------------------ [Special Moves] ----------------------------|
Shakka Shuu                                    qcf + P (hold)
Ryuusei Kyaku                                  qcf + K
Hangetsu Zan                                   qcb + K
Hien Zan (BR)                                  charge d,u + K
Tenchuu Zan*                                   d + D from (D) Hien Zan
Hishou Kyaku                                   in air, d + B / D
Hassei Waza {1}*                               d + B / D from Hishou Kyaku
Hassei Waza {2}*                               qcb + B / D from Hishou Kyaku
|------------------------------- [Super Moves] -----------------------------|
Hou-yoku Ten-Shou Kyaku                        qcf,qcf + A
Hou'ou Kyaku                                   qcf,qcf + B
|----------------------------- [Potential Powers] --------------------------|
Hou-yoku Ten-Shou Kyaku                        qcf,qcf + C (hold and let go)
Hou'ou Kyaku                                   qcf,qcf + D
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
HOTARU FUTABA
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|--------------------------------- [Throws] --------------------------------|
Ten Ranku-tou                                  close to opponent, f / b + C
Hanten-tou                                     in air and close to opponent,
any dir. except u + C
|------------------------------ [Command Moves] ----------------------------|
Kou-shuu Da                                    in air, d + B
Kuuchuu Furi-Muki                              in air, CD
|------------------------------ [Special Moves] ----------------------------|
Hakki Shou                                     qcf + P
Sou-Shou Shin                                  qcb + P
Ko-bi Kyaku (BR)                               qcb + K
Ten-Shin Shou                                  f,d,df + K
Ren-Geki Shou                                  in air, qcb + K
Shin-Jou Tai                                   close to opponent, hcf + D
|------------------------------- [Super Moves] -----------------------------|
Sou-Shou Ten-Ren-Ge                            qcf,qcf + A
Ten-Shou Ran-Ki                                qcf,qcf + B
|----------------------------- [Potential Powers] --------------------------|
Sou-Shou Ten-Ren-Ge                            qcf,qcf + C
Ten-Shou Ran-Ki                                qcf,qcf + D
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
GATO
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|--------------------------------- [Throws] --------------------------------|
Dai-en Shin                                    close to opponent, f / b + C
Dan-Zetsu Dai                                  close to opponent, f / b + D
|------------------------------ [Command Moves] ----------------------------|
Sai-Gaku                                       f + A
Mu-ran-Geri                                    f + B
Kuuchuu Furi-Muki                              in air, CD
|------------------------------ [Special Moves] ----------------------------|
Shin-Ga                                        qcf + A / C
Tsuika Kougeki*                                f,f + A / C from Shin-Ga
Hou-zan Sai Heki-Ga                            charge d,u + C
Rai-Ga (BR)                                    f,d,df + K
Fuu-Ga                                         qcb + K
Kou-Ga*                                        A during Fuu-Ga
Sen-Ga*                                        B during Fuu-Ga
Kyuu-Ga*                                       C during Fuu-Ga
Katsu-Ga*                                      D during Fuu-Ga
|------------------------------- [Super Moves] -----------------------------|
Zero Kiba                                      qcf,qcf + A
Tatsu Kiba                                     qcf,qcf + B
|----------------------------- [Potential Powers] --------------------------|
Zero Kiba                                      qcf,qcf + C
Tatsu Kiba                                     qcf,qcf + D
Ten-Ryuu Retsu-Kiba                            f,d,df + AB (x3)
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
BONNE JENET
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|--------------------------------- [Throws] --------------------------------|
Bye-bye Boo                                    close to opponent, f / B + C
Falling Crush                                  in air and close to opponent,
any dir. except u + C
|------------------------------ [Command Moves] ----------------------------|
Big Jump                                       d, ub-uf
|------------------------------ [Special Moves] ----------------------------|
Buffrass                                       qcf + P
Crazy Ivan                                     qcb + P
The Hind (BR)                                  qcf + K
Gulf Tomahawk                                  qcb + K
Harrier Bee                                    in air, d + K, K, K, K, K
|------------------------------- [Super Moves] -----------------------------|
Many Many Torpedoes                            qcf,qcf + A
Aurora                                         qcf,qcf + B
|----------------------------- [Potential Powers] --------------------------|
Many Many Torpedoes                            qcf,qcf + C
Aurora                                         qcf,qcf + D
Ab Oi Mademoiselle                             A, B, C during Just Defense
(tap quickly)
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
MARCO RODRIGUEZ
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|--------------------------------- [Throws] --------------------------------|
Kyokugen Zu-Tsuki                              close to opponent, f / b + C
|------------------------------ [Command Moves] ----------------------------|
Kyokugen Hiji                                  f + A
|------------------------------ [Special Moves] ----------------------------|
Kohou Ken                                      qcf + P
Kohou (BR)                                     f,d,df + P
Hien Shippu Kyaku                              qcf + K
Jou-dan Harai                                  qcb + A
Ge-dan Harai                                   qcb + B
Ryuu-Sen Ken                                   hold C and let go (empower :
4 levels)
Ko-Sen Kyaku                                   hold D and let go (empower :
4 levels)
|------------------------------- [Super Moves] -----------------------------|
Haou Shoukou Ken                               qcf,qcf + A
Kyokugen Ko Hou                                qcf,qcf + B
|----------------------------- [Potential Powers] --------------------------|
Haou Shoukou Ken                               qcf,qcf + B
Kyokugen Ko Hou                                qcf,qcf + D
Ryuuko Ranbu                                   qcf,qcf,qcf + C, tap C --
4 levels :
Level 1 : 0 -- 2 times
Level 2 : 3 -- 6 times
Level 3 : 7 -- 9 times
Level 1 : 10+ times
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
HOKUTOMARU
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|--------------------------------- [Throws] --------------------------------|
Hikkaki                                        close to opponent, f / b + C
Non-men Tsukuri                                in air and close to opponent,
any dir. except u + C
|------------------------------ [Command Moves] ----------------------------|
Sliding                                        df + B
Kuuten Keri                                    df + D
Ni-dan Jump                                    in air, ub-uf
|------------------------------ [Special Moves] ----------------------------|
Shuriken                                       qcf + P
Kuuchuu Shuriken                               in air, qcf + P
Karakusa-Giri                                  qcb + P (hold -- dash)
Kuuha Dan (BR)                                 qcf + K
Rakka-Zan: Kyou                                qcb + B (air)
Rakka-Zan: Jitsu                               qcb + D (air)
|------------------------------- [Super Moves] -----------------------------|
Chou Hissatsu Shuriken                         qcf,qcf + A (press AB to end)
Ougi - Chou Hissatsu Tatsumaki                 qcf,qcf + B
|----------------------------- [Potential Powers] --------------------------|
Chou Hissatsu Shuriken                         qcf,qcf + C (press AB to end)
Kyuukyoku Ougi - Chou Bakuen Tatsumaki         qcf,qcf + D
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
FREEMAN
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|--------------------------------- [Throws] --------------------------------|
Gore Fest                                      close to opponent, f / b + C
|------------------------------ [Special Moves] ----------------------------|
Nightmare                                      qcf + P
V.O.D.                                         qcb + P (x3)
Phobia                                         f,d,df + P
Morbid Angel (BR)                              hcf + K
Crow                                           qcb + K
|------------------------------- [Super Moves] -----------------------------|
Full Blast                                     qcf,qcf + A
Creeping Death                                 qcf,qcf + B
|----------------------------- [Potential Powers] --------------------------|
Full Blast                                     qcf,qcf + A
Creeping Death                                 qcf,qcf + B
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
TIZOC
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|--------------------------------- [Throws] --------------------------------|
Griffon Tower                                  close to opponent, f / b + C
Grif-Fall*                                     df,df +  C from Griffon Tower
Gri-Hug                                        close to opponent, f / b + D
|------------------------------ [Special Moves] ----------------------------|
Justice Hurricane                              close to opponent, 360° + P
Active Crash                                   in air, qcf + A
Active Tupon                                   f,d,df + P
Poseidon Wave (BR -- C)                        b,d,db + P
Hercule's Throw                                close to opponent, hcf + B
Olympus Over (BR -- D)                         qcb + K
|------------------------------- [Super Moves] -----------------------------|
Big Fall Griffon                                close to opponent, 720° + A
Daedalus Attack                                 qcf,qcf + B
|----------------------------- [Potential Powers] --------------------------|
Big Fall Griffon                                close to opponent, 720° + C
Daedalus Attack                                 qcf,qcf + D
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
KEVIN RIAN
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|--------------------------------- [Throws] --------------------------------|
Poli-Throw                                     close to opponent, f / b + C
|------------------------------ [Command Moves] ----------------------------|
Poli-Kick                                      f + B
|------------------------------ [Special Moves] ----------------------------|
Hell Rotor                                     qcb + P (empower -- 3 levels,
press D to cancel)
Hell Arrest                                    close to opponent, hcf + P
Hell Snipe                                     f,d,df + P
Hell Trap (BR)                                 qcf + K
Creeper                                        qcb + B
Creeper: Low Attack*                           A during Creeper
Creeper: Mid Attack*                           B during Creeper
Creeper: Cancel*                               C during Creeper
|------------------------------- [Super Moves] -----------------------------|
Lucky Strike                                   qcf,qcf + A
Gattling Freezer                               qcf,qcf + B
|----------------------------- [Potential Powers] --------------------------|
Lucky Strike                                   qcf,qcf + C
Gattling Freezer                               qcf,qcf + D
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
GRANT
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|--------------------------------- [Throws] --------------------------------|
Ankoku Otoshi                                  close to opponent, f / b + C
|------------------------------ [Command Moves] ----------------------------|
Ma-Heki                                        df + C
|------------------------------ [Special Moves] ----------------------------|
Kokuen-Ryuu                                    qcb + P
Kyou Chou-Jin (BR)                             f,d,df + P
Messhou Hisetsu {1}*                           d + K from Kyou Chou-Jin
Gou Retsu-Shou                                 f,b,f + P
Gou Dangai                                     qcf + K
Messhou Hisetsu {2}                            in air, d + K
|------------------------------- [Super Moves] -----------------------------|
Majin Haten Dan                                qcf,qcf + A
Majin Engetsu Rin                              qcf,qcf + B
|----------------------------- [Potential Powers] --------------------------|
Majin Haten Dan                                qcf,qcf + C
Majin Engetsu Rin                              qcf,qcf + D
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
KAIN
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|--------------------------------- [Throws] --------------------------------|
Schwarze Mond                                  close to opponent, f / b + C
|------------------------------ [Special Moves] ----------------------------|
Schwarze Flamme                                charge b,f + P
Schwarze Panzer                                charge b,f + K
Schwarze Lanze (BR)                            charge d,u + K
|------------------------------- [Super Moves] -----------------------------|
Himmlischer Atem                               qcf,qcf + A
Himmlische Seele                               qcf,qcf + B
|----------------------------- [Potential Powers] --------------------------|
Himmlischer Atem                               qcf,qcf + C
Himmlische Seele                               qcf,qcf + D
=============================================================================
VI. BREAK MOVES
=============================================================================
"Sorry, mister! You see, I'm strong!"
- Rai
As you may have seen in the movelist section, some moves have been marked
with (BR) and these have been referred to as Break Moves in the key.
Break moves involves stopping some special moves before they stop by
themselves and following with another attack if you want. This is achieved
by pressing AB during the move and as you do so, your character will stop
the motion and will recover faster.
The break moves are another important aspect that is essential in beating
the game and in mastering your favorite character. If you pull your breakable
move and it's blocked, you can thus stop it and will recover faster. This
will make it harder for the opponent to hit you as you'll be able to block
his attack. Thus, you won't be so easily punished. Of course, you need to
remember that only a couple of moves are breakable for each character.
Another advantage is that if that move connects, you can break it and follow
with another move, even Super Moves or P. Potentials. Breaking gives way to
more damaging combos involving more moves and is thus very important.
As you can see, you'll need to be able to break the moves quickly to take
advantage of it and add more hits or simply to recover faster if your attack
is blocked.
Below is the list of the breakable moves for each character:
|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|
|      CHARACTER          |          BREAKABLE MOVES          |
|_________________________|___________________________________|
|                         |                                   |
|      Rock Howard        |   Shinkuu Nage (close, 360° + C)  |
|_________________________|___________________________________|
|                         |                                   |
|      Terry Bogard       |     Power Dunk (f,d,df + K)       |
|_________________________|___________________________________|
|                         |                                   |
|      Kim Dong Hwan      |       KuuSaJin (f,d,df + P)       |
|_________________________|___________________________________|
|                         |                                   |
|      Kim Jae Hoon       |    Hien Zan (charge d,u + K)      |
|_________________________|___________________________________|
|                         |                                   |
|      Hotaru Futaba      |      Ko-bi Kyaku (qcb + K)        |
|_________________________|___________________________________|
|                         |                                   |
|      Gato               |       Rai-Ga (f,d,df + K)         |
|_________________________|___________________________________|
|                         |                                   |
|      Bonne Jenet        |        The Hind (qcf + K)         |
|_________________________|___________________________________|
|                         |                                   |
|      Marco Rodriguez    |         Kohou (f,d,df + P)        |
|_________________________|___________________________________|
|                         |                                   |
|      Hokutomaru         |         Kuuha Dan (qcf + K)       |
|_________________________|___________________________________|
|                         |                                   |
|      Freeman            |        Morbid Angel (hcf + K)     |
|_________________________|___________________________________|
|                         |                                   |
|      Tizoc              |   Strong Olympus Over (qcb + D)   |
|                         | Strong Poseidon Wave (b,d,db + C) |
|_________________________|___________________________________|
|                         |                                   |
|      Kevin Rian         |         Hell Trap (qcf + K)       |
|_________________________|___________________________________|
|                         |                                   |
|      Grant              |     Kyou Chou-Jin (f,d,df + P)    |
|_________________________|___________________________________|
|                         |                                   |
|      Kain               |  Schwarze Lanze (charge d,u + K)  |
|_________________________|___________________________________|
=============================================================================
VII. T.O.P. SYSTEM
=============================================================================
"You mess with BORO, you get SORRO"
- BORO
T.O.P. stands for Tactical Offensive Position. Before the first match when
the character pics pop up, your lifebar will appear along with a white bar.
As you will then see, this causes your lifebar to de divided into 3 distinct
parts. These are the beginning, middle and end parts. You now have to choose
where you'll set the T.O.P. in one of those 3 places. The choice is actually
up to you since each player may find it more useful in a certain part (I,
myself, always place T.O.P. in the beginning part since I can use it to get
Miracle wins).
After having placed the T.O.P. gauge, you will logically fight. Once your
lifebar reaches that part which is in the orange (thus T.O.P.) section, your
character will start to flash as the words "T.O.P. IN!" appear. As long as
your remain in the T.O.P. area (i.e. your character remains flashing), you'll
be able to benefit from certain advantages.
Firstly, you'll be able to use your T.O.P. attack. Each character has a
different T.O.P. attack although the command is the same regardless of the
fighter, i.e. CD. Your T.O.P. attacks can be used in combos for certain
characters and in general, these are very useful.
You will also recover some life slowly when you are not hit. The life gained
is quite small but very helpful since you'll have recovered some substantial
life back if you're not hit for a long time. A great thing to do is to Just
Defense all your opponent's moves while in T.O.P., this is a great way to get
SS+ wins.
Also, while you are in T.O.P., your offensive power increases similar to the
Counter Mode in KOF. All your attacks will be more powerful and you will thus
have a great advantage as it will also enable you to cause guard crush on
your opponent if you're playing aggressively.
As you can see, T.O.P. is yet another important aspect of the game. Your
character returns to normal once his lifebar falls out of the T.O.P. range
after he's hit.
Now, I'll move on to describing the T.O.P. Attack of each character.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Rock Howard »»»»»»»»»» Overhead Kick
Just like the name! Rock will do a cross-up and kick the opponent from high
up. Of course, it isn't always a cross-up but that's how you should use it
as it will enable you to then take your opponent by surprise. The Overhead
Kick is a bit slow to come out and cannot be comboed. Moreover, the recovery
time is lame and if it misses, you'll be open for anything. The Overhead
Kick shouldn't be used often because it can get pretty predictable since the
range is always the same. Actually, just use it a couple of time to cross-up
and to fool the opponent.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Terry Bogard »»»»»»»»»» Max Dunk
Terry will ram into the opponent with his shoulder (the animation is like a
low Power Charge) and will then continue with a 2-hit Power Dunk. The first
attack needs to connect for Terry to do the whole move. Otherwise, he'll
stop at the first hit and in this case, watch out for the recovery which
is very lame! If the whole move is blocked, be even more afraid because the
recovery is even bigger. The Max Dunk is quite powerful too and comboable.
However, it is slow to come out and Terry can be easily thrown out during
the first frames. So, use it exclusively in combos -- jump D -> stand C ->
Max Dunk is very damaging and a sure winner!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Kim Dong Hwan »»»»»»»»»» Kaiten Dong Hwan
Dong Hwan will kick the opponent high once and will follow with a spinning
attack. The whole move hit 5 times and is powerful enough. The Kaiten Dong
Hwan is quite quick to come out but a well-timed projectile will easily
stop him in his tracks and if you're unlucky enough, you'll be open for
anything afterwards. It also has a nice recovery but if it misses against
a close opponent, that won't change anything since Dong Hwan still needs to
get up after charging forward like a mad bull. Comboable and you would be
wise to take advantage of this instead of using it like a stupid masher.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Kim Jae Hoon »»»»»»»»»» High-Angle Neri Chagi
Jae Hoon will lift his foot up before bringing it down for an axe kick. The
fact that he needs to turn around, raise his foot and turn towards the
opponent to strike down again makes the High-Angle Neri-Chagi a sloooooooow
move. However, the very good thing is that his T.O.P. attack has no lag
whatsoever and it is amazing at causing guard crush. Since it is so slow to
come out, there's no point in wondering whether it is comboable...There are
drawbacks to using the High-Angle Neri-Chagi but if you are careful enough
and time it well, pull it 3 or 4 times and you'll earn a helpful guard crush.
Otherwise, I don't recommend using this at all because, even if the recovery
is sweet (although you will now tell me that there is no recovery, so what
the hell am I talking about? :)), any opponent will hit you even before the
move comes out.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Hotaru Futaba »»»»»»»»»» Sen-Kai En
Hotaru will flip in the air as she hits the opponent once with a sommersault
kick. The Sen-Kei En is quick to come out but it has no forward range and you
should pull it only when you are quite close to the opponent. It is also
comboable but be warned that in some cases, the T.O.P. will miss because the
normal move has pushed the opponent away. And since the recovery sucks, you
will be punished for your mistake. Also, don't let its look fool you, the
Sen-Kai is not a good anti-air. Okay, it may work from time to time, specially
against those big and slow characters but otherwise, don't use it against
air-borne opponents. It is very easy to crush and besides, the fact that
Hotaru flips only vertically and doesn't move forward at all makes it too
predictable. Another thing is that the jump isn't that good either. Use her
T.O.P. in combos but even then, be careful. Want something better? Don't use
it at all!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Gato »»»»»»»»»» Mou-Ko Kou Hakan
Gato steps forward and strikes once with his palm (a bit like Jet Li would
do in "The One" -- great movie which you should see). The attack is insanely
powerful but also extremely slow to come out. Gato really takes too much
time to step forward and the palm comes out as if the whole of it is glued
to his body! :(  And I haven't even talked of the recovery yet...Which is,
do I really need to tell you, lame. There are truthfully no situations where
you can safely use the Mou-Ko Kou Hazan because anybody can throw you out of
it. More simply, don't use it!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Bonne Jenet »»»»»»»»»» Rolling Thunder
Jenet will so a sommersault and if that hits, she'll do a thrust attack.
The Rolling Thunder is quick to come out and can be used in combos to ensure
that it connects. Note though that the first hit (during the sommersault)
must connect for Jenet to do the whole move. If it is blocked or completely
misses, she will fall back again and won't perform the diving kick. In both
cases, the recovery is quite lame and you'll quite easily be punished. The
Rolling Thunder has no forward range and this means that she can be knocked
out but luckily, the speed of the move still makes that difficult (which is
great!). It is also an excellent anti-air against agressive opponents.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Marco Rodriguez »»»»»»»»»» Zanretsu-Ken
Although Marco's T.O.P. attack holds the infamous name of the Zanretsu-Ken,
it is not exactly the same as that of Ryo. Marco will still punch the
opponent repeatedly but he does so only 9 times and he always ends with a
quick uppercut. The move is a bit slow to come out but it is surprisingly
comboable after a stand C which makes it useful in such situations. The
recovery is a big problem though. If it is blocked, you will still be in
a difficult situation because Marco takes some time before he can resume his
fighting stance again and if the opponent manages to hop back as you pull it,
you're in for some damage once he finishes. It is also quite easy to Just
Defense it and to Guard Cancel into an attack, so you shouldn't use it
alone. Use it in a combo all the time (or don't use it).
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Hokutomaru »»»»»»»»»» Nin-Pou Baku-En
A very funny move! Hokutomaru places a scroll in his mouth (I suppose he
eventually eats it too :)) and the ground suddenly explodes to enable him
to fly towards the opponent, hitting the latter with his hand. This part
of the animation seems to be a rip-off from Strider Hiryuu's flying pose and
it's very funny. The motion is in a diagonal direction and this makes the
Nin-Pou Bakuen Jump a good anti-air. But you need to time it well though
since it starts before and if you mess up, you'll be counter when you land.
Comboable after a close C/D but you need to cancel on the first hit of the
strong punch. If you let both hits connect, the T.O.P. may not connect
since tbe second hit makes Hokutomaru retreat a few steps.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Freeman »»»»»»»»»» Overkill
Freeman swings his hand forward as a red slash appears above his body. This
slash will cause a grey spark to appear by the enemy if it hits. The Overkill
is a bit slow to come out but it is still comboable. Otherwise, the recovery
time sucks which is why I'd advise to use it only in combos since you can do
so. The times Freeman takes to resume his fighting stance gives your opponent
the time to use practically any combo. The Overkill is also a quite good
anti-air but opponents may be able to predict where it will hit and thus
jump such that you cannot hit them. It has good priority though and can win
in some close situations thanks to its range.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Tizoc »»»»»»»»»» Gri-Dro Super Kick
Tizoc (or The Griffon Mask if you wish) clasps his feet together and performs
a drop kick. He moves forward as he does so and this gives the Gri-Dro Super
Kick a great range. It is, however, slow to come out but even then, it has
good chances of connecting against an opponent who has just messed up. The
cool thing about this T.O.P. is that, instead of falling like he should
normalyl do, Tizoc ends up crouching and immediately gets up upon doing so.
Basically, this means that the attack has no recovery. Rather surprising
considering Tizco's build but hey, I'm not going to refuse such an advantage
either! Very powerful attack too and causes guard crush easily but it's
always better to use it from far. There is a risk you'll be hit out of it
if you pull it close to the opponent since it's so slow to come out. A good
trick is to do a standing C and then, immediately whiff it into the T.O.P.
Grant's far C can be easily cancelled. When you first perform it, your
opponent will think you will really pull one and is bound to attack you as
his far C has a lame recovery. If you cancel the far C into the Gri-Dro
Super Kick, the move comes out faster and will connect. Anyway, even if
they have the time to pull their own move, your friggin' damaging T.O.P.
attack will suck their move in, so why bother! :)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Kevin Rian »»»»»»»»»» Blast Charge
Kevin does a quick shoulder charge followed by a spin attack, hitting 3
times in all. The Blast Charge comes out quite quickly but has a lame
recovery time. As it is, use it only in combos because otherwise, you run
the risk of being punished by a combo-maniac like me! :) Quite useful at
times and being one of the quickest T.O.P. attacks, you can rely on it
against opponents who mess up with their own moves. Quite powerful attack
too!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Grant »»»»»»»»»» Majin Gan-En
Grant charges forward with a sliding kick and if the kick connects against
the opponent (hits or blocked), he'll continue with a shoulder attack and
end with a strong punch. The Majin Gan-En is rather slow to come out and this
isn't a surprise because it is a powerful T.O.P. Attack. The move has a
very nice recovery and can be abused from time to time against less skilled
opponents. The range during the charge is quite good too but makes the move
useless against opponent who are more than half a screen away. A good way
of ensuring the Majin Gan is to combo it after Grant's Gou Retsu-Shou
(f,b,f + P) but you need to be quick to perform the T.O.P. for the latter
to connect.
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