Sunday, June 27, 1999

KUMA STRATEGY GUIDE
HONEY TO DA BEAR: by abrar rana


This is my first attempt at writing a faq and so please keep this fact in
mind when reading this guide, OK. The idea for writing a faq on Kuma of all
people, came about because I could not find any good faqs out there on DA
BEAR of Tekken.  There is only one faq out there on Kuma by Mike Zaimont and
thats it,nothing else.

No matter which arcade you play at, you will seldom find any good Kuma
players, in fact chances are you might never encounter any Kuma players at
all.  There is a widespread belief that Kuma is the worst character in the
game, that he is slow, has no okizeme potential and cannot poke.  Well
hopefully after reading this faq and trying to play Kuma with the tactics
suggested you can help change this negative perception of Kuma.

SYMBOLS:

1  2 = lp  rp
3  4 = lk  rk

WS= while standing
WC= while crouching
~ = immediately after
+ = at the same time
SS= side step
CH= counter hit

f= forward
d/f= down forward
d= down
d/b= down back
b= back
u/b= up back
u= up
u/f= up forward
n= neutral

Directional symbols in capital letters means Hold in that direction.

MOVE EVALUATION:
Kuma is an animal (duh) and most of his moves look like an attacking vicious
bear and this should be used to your advantage when playing against human
opponents. Intimidating with pokes and growling moves is what Kuma is all
about. Kuma has no means of parrying or reversing attacks and hence your
gameplay should also allow for good defense when needed.  For a very good
idea of how to play Kuma, check out the Japanese tournament movies ( at
www.tekken.net ) where the winner used Gunjack as his character in the whole
tournament and his style of Gunjack play can be modified to suit your Kuma.
If you cannot find these movies, contact me at [email protected] and I'll
arrange something.

Kuma is not slow but the moves you use can make him slow and useless.
Following are the moves I consider worth using as part of your gameplay and
I'll go through them regarding their pros and cons and when to use them:

f+1,1,1 (Bear cannon): Kuma's best attacking poke option and the f+1 has
very big range and should be used as a stand alone poke at any time.
Basically use this whole Bear cannon string only when the preceding move has
connected. For example if a f+2 hits then do the Bear cannon after it
otherwise stop after the f+2 is blocked.  After the Bear cannon string
connects, you have the option of doing another Bear cannon as a combo but
the last hit of the second Bear cannon may not connect if your timing isn't
right.

2,1,2 (Jab-elbow-uppercut): Most important thing to remember is to normally
stop this move at the second hit so basically just use the Jab-elbow as the
last hit is generally blocked. On a CH you can go full steam and do the
whole string as the last move has a good chance of connecting.  The 2,1 is
one of the best pokes among all the characters and should be used liberally
and at anytime to interrupt the opponent.

f,f+2 (Demon uppercut):  This move juggles and is very useful also as a
juggle ender.  It can be followed up with the Jab-elbow-uppercut for some
decent damage.  There are many juggle options after this move but stick to
the jab-elbow follow up for its ease of execution and decent damage.  You
can fool around with this demon uppercut and f+1 moves and work out various
juggles to suit yourself.

f+2 (power-punch): A variation of the normal right punch. Both look the same
but this f+2 punch does more damage than the normal 2 punch.

d/f+2 (right-uppercut):  This is Kuma's second best poke and juggler move.
The best way to use it, is by this juggle, d/f+2,f+2,f+2.  This can set up
okizeme options later on.

b,d/b,d,D/F+2 (Grizzly claw):  A very useful stand alone move and comes out
fast. It can be used when your opponent whiffs any move or also after some
juggles like the one immediately before (d/f+2,f+2,f+2). There is a small
window of opportunity when the opponent's character is tech-rolling or
recovering, and you can slam him with the grizzly claw if timed right.

WS+1,2 (uppercut to grizzly claw):  Use whenever you duck your opponent's
high attacks. Otherwise if you want to use it just as a quick attack, tap
down on the directional stick and press 1 to get the WS+1 and only if it
connects you can immediately press 2 for the grizzly claw follow up.
Another good way to set up an opponent with this move is to do a few attacks
and juggles starting with the WS+1 and then later on in the game just do the
WS+1,2 and Seeing the WS+1 the opponent charges with a poke and gets hit by
the grizzly claw.  All this is achieved in a very short space of time and it
comes with practise, so be patient.

F+1+2 or f,f+1+2(Claw attack):  Another good stand alone move with which you
can get opponents every time they miss and also when they recover attacking
like the CPU does after a juggle. This move is also very good juggle ender
for most juggles.

1+2,1+2(Double hammer): The second hammer in this move may not connect
evrytime unless you are very close to opponent when innitiating the move.
Good to use once in awhile but never overdo it or you risk becoming
predictable.  In other words use it as a counter.

D+1+2 (wakeup bang): This move can only be done when you have been knocked
down, your feet facing the opponent.  This is a good counter to people who
keep attacking you once you are down (okizeme) and Kuma is very prone to
okizeme due to his big size.

b+1+2(Roaring claw): Kuma's best unblockable. Slow when initiating and you
can be attacked and juggled so be cautious when thinking about using this
move.  Use it when least expected and when some distance away from the
opponent.

b,b+2+3+4(Bear fart): Does tremendous damage if opponent attacks you once
its initiated and should only be used as a taunt at the end of the match
after you win otherwise you'll look foolish.

d+4(Dancing Bear): A move that can be done after some juggles to irritate
your opponent and to get on top of him/her psychologically.  It also does
some damage when it connects.

1+3 Throw (Bear-mauling): Ferocious looking throw where Kuma grabs the
opponent and start biting and mauling them and ends by throwing the opponent
away.

2+4 Throw (Bear-Hug): A very good throw range-wise and sometimes you can
just use it to grab the opponent immediately after the game starts providing
the opponent just stands there.  Use it liberally as kuma's standard throw.

f,f+1+4(Stonehead): Similar to Jin and Heihachi's stonehead moves and also
very good range.  Another advantage to you is that it requires a two button
(1+2) escape.

NOTE:  For the complete Kuma movelist, check out Tekken3 manual:Act 1 by
Tragic at www.gamefaqs.com



STRATEGIES:

Firstly, remember that Kuma is very prone to okizeme (attacking to keep down
a downed opponent) due to his size.  Everytime you get knocked down, your
opponent will just charge in for okizeme as they know about Kuma's
disadvantage.  But you can always turn it around by tech-rolling to safety.
But do not tech-roll always as the opponent can adjust to the roll and
attack you again.  Most of the time it's best to take a hit or two when on
the ground and roll to safety afterwards.  Best option is to roll sideways
when safe and then roll back.  This works most of the time.  And as
mentioned earlier, try to use the Wakeup Bang (D+1+2) when you get knocked
down.

With Kuma blocking is very important and this can come with practise.  You
should know how to block moves of all the other opponents, so learn all the
other characters nicely.  Another thing to remember when playing Kuma is to
interrupt often and never block if you can interrupt your opponent's move.
Use his throws often esp. his Bear Hug and mix them up with pokes like f+1
or f+2.  The moves I have detailed above are the ones you should keep
forever in your arsenal and mix them up often.

Characters to be wary of: Law, Paul, Jin, Nina, Ling and Hwoarang mainly
because these characters have heaps of pokes and power moves plus they have
speed advantage.

When you choose to play as Kuma, basically the impression you are trying to
convey is that your opponent sux, albeit unintentionally. Playing Kuma can
be a lot of fun esp. if you win.

Note: All this info on Kuma also applies to Panda.


This faq will be updated soon as I still have to include some character
specific sections, so check back, OK.

CREDITS:
1) mIrAge, my buddy for excellent competition to practise against and for
saying I was 'nuts' to play Kuma seriously. Thanks man, that was the
inspiration for this faq.  By the way mIrAge is a very good Tekken player,
one of the best here in Auckland, New Zealand, no doubt about that.  HEHEHE

2) Namco for making the best fighting game on this planet.

3) Ben 'tragic' Cureton for his excellent Tekken manual: Act 1 which gave me
the format I used and also a few of the move names.


Any questions, criticisms, corrections or suggestions on this faq are
welcome and e-mail them to me at [email protected]

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