PHARAOH ANAKARIS FAQ v0.2
for Marvel vs. Capcom 2  (Japanese DC version)
by Chris MacDonald

Unpublished work Copyright 2000-2001 Chris MacDonald

This document is protected by US Copyright Law, and the Berne Copyright
Convention of 1976.  It is for private and personal use only--it cannot
be reprinted in part or in whole, or reproduced in any way or in any
form (written or otherwise).  It is a free document that cannot be used
in any sort of commercial transaction, including selling it or giving
it away as a gift.  This FAQ cannot be referenced, altered, or used by
anybody (including webmasters, publishers, and magazine staff) without
my express written permission.  This FAQ was created and is owned by
me, Chris MacDonald <kmegura (at) yahoo (dot) com>.  It can be found
exclusively at (www.GameFAQs.com).  All copyrights and trademarks are
acknowledged and respected that are not specifically mentioned herein.

I expressly forbid the following publishers/publications from using this
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law.

All Capcom characters and series are (c) Capcom Co., Ltd.  Strider is
(c) Moto Kikaku.  All Marvel characters are (c) Marvel Characters, Inc.
With that out of the way, on with the FAQ....


=================
TABLE OF CONTENTS
=================

 1.  all about anakaris
 2.  pros and cons
 3.  basic commands
 4.  normal abilities
 5.  special moves
 6.  hyper combos
 7.  combos, etc.
 8.  choosing your assist type
 9.  choosing your partners
10.  strategies
11.  moves anakaris has lost
12.  author's note

There is a companion file to this FAQ--it's a general information guide
for MvC2, containing movelists for all the characters, tables and charts
of information, glitches, and other stuff like that.  You can find it
at (www.gamefaqs.com), or my page, (i.am/kao).


========================================================================
1.  ALL ABOUT ANAKARIS
========================================================================

Anakaris is a mummified pharaoh who came back to life 2000 years after
his death to save his people from invaders.  In Vampire Savior, we
learned that he had moved his people to a hidden world in the center
of the earth in order to protect them.  What's this have to do with
MvC2?  Nothing, since that game has no plot.  For all we know, Anakaris
is out shopping for a new sarcophagus and wants to buy one off Abyss.

Although he was never a particularly strong character in the Dark
Stalkers series, Anakaris was fun to play with as he had a wide variety
of moves that were either weird, funny, useful, or all three.  If you
practiced with him, you could hold up pretty well.  In Marvel vs.
Capcom 2, he's been stripped of many of his moves, his previously useful
attacks have been toned down, and his little funny actions and whatnot
have been tossed out with the trash.  That being said, this FAQ was
written for the Anakaris fans like myself, who will use the guy no
matter what horrific changes Capcom makes to him.  If you don't mind
playing with some pretty serious disadvantages, then Anakaris is the
character for you!


========================================================================
2.  PROS AND CONS
========================================================================

So, is Anakaris the right character for you?  Let's see what makes him
a good and bad choice:

 + Anakaris can rack up lots of HC power with his Miira Drop.
 + If used correctly, most of Anakaris' HCs can do tons of damage.
 + Many of his attacks have a very long range.

 - He's the slowest character in the game, in terms of jumping, and
   has a pretty awful walking speed as well.
 - He takes lots of damage from attacks, ranking in just behind the
   likes of Gouki, Strider, Kobun, and Roll.  Yet in spite of that
   his attacks still do average damage.
 - He has no ground or air throws, and only one special move throw.
 - If blocked or missed, Anakaris takes forever to recover from his
   launcher.  On top of that, it has a very bad range.
 - He only has one special move that is really useful on it's own.
 - He only has one special move that can actually be comboed.
 - None of his attacks reach the other end of the screen--they all stop
   short.  If someone is far enough away, Anakaris cannot reach them
   no matter what.
 - Only one of his HCs actually insures a good amount of damage, but
   it's nearly impossible to land.  His other HCs do lots of damage,
   but only with proper timing and in specific situations.
 - Finally, he's a pretty tall and thick character when standing.
   This makes him a big target for attacks and combos.

As you can see, the cons definitely outweigh the pros.  Anakaris is not
the kind of character you want to pick if you're planning on winning a
match, because he has so many drawbacks.  But if you're up for that
kind of challenge, keep reading.


========================================================================
3.  BASIC COMMANDS
========================================================================

------------------------------------------------------------------------
FAQ NOTATION
------------------------------------------------------------------------

This section outlines the basic controls for all characters:

[ Controller Layout ]  -------------------------------------------------

 ub  u  uf      Jump Up-Back            Jump Up         Jump Up-Forward
   \ | /
b -- n -- f     Walk Back / Block       Neutral         Walk Forward
   / | \
 db  d  df      Crouch / Low Block      Crouch          Offensive Crouch

Obviously, when facing left, the controls are reversed. :)


[ Button Layout ]  -----------------------------------------------------

LP  HP  PA      Light Punch        Hard Punch        Partner Button A

LK  HK  PB      Light Kick         Hard Kick         Partner Button B

This is the default arcade set up.  On the default Dreamcast controller,
PA is the left trigger, and PB is the right trigger.  The Start button
pauses the game, which is why you have to use Start + LK (or MK) to
taunt (they really should have done it the other way around, IMHO).  In
the arcade version, you need only press Start to taunt.

Anytime the FAQ specifies that MP or MK is to be used, that means you
have to use it in a chain combo, since Medium Attacks only come out if
LP or LK is pressed during the animation of a Light Attack that hits or
is blocked.  For example, Anakaris' crouching Medium Punch won't come
out unless you do an LP or LK attack that hits or is blocked, then
crouch and press LP again.


[ FAQ Abbreviations ]  -------------------------------------------------

 qcf        -  Roll (d,df,f) on the joystick.
 P / K      -  Press any Punch or Kick button.
 PP / KK    -  Press any two Punch or Kick buttons.
 x~x        -  All possible ranges are allowed (for example, ub through
               uf, or LP through HP).
 (air)      -  The move can be performed while on the ground, or while
               in the air.  Any move that can be performed in air can
               be done from the ground by adding ub~uf at the end, and
               pressing the button the moment you leave the ground (you
               could do the Pharoh Cobra Blow as b,uf + PP, as an
               example).  Note that some air-only moves can be done just
               off the ground, too.  For example, you could do the Ouke
               no Sabaki as: qcf,uf + K to make Anakaris jump and
               immediately do the move.
 pushblock  -  Another name for Advancing Guard (press PP when blocking)
 s./c./j.   -  standing / crouching / jumping (referring to combos)
 sj.        -  super jumping
 a / B / y  -  Alpha / Beta / Gamma (referring to assist types)
 (movename) -  Means I don't know the official name for the move.
 HC / DHC   -  Hyper Combo / Delayed Hyper Combo
 H / h      -  "H" means the move is hypercancelable (cancels into an
               HC) before or once it hits, "h" means the move can only
               be hypercanceled before it hits.
 Taunt      -  Press Start + LK / MK (for the DC), or just Start (if
               you're playing the arcade version).  The Japanese name
               for this is 'Chouhatsu', and it appears that way in the
               button config. menu.
 PCB        -  Pharaoh Cobra Blow

Note that any time you are supposed to press a button in the FAQ, you
can usually do it in the reverse (by releasing a button).  For example,
you could hold PP, tap b,f, and release to get Anakaris' Pharaoh Cobra
Blow.


------------------------------------------------------------------------
BASIC COMMANDS
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Standing Block         Hold b when attacked
Crouching Block        Hold db when attacked
Mid-Air Block          Hold b / db when attacked while in air
Advancing Guard        While blocking, press PP  (can use repeatedly)

Dash                   Tap f,f / press PP
Backstep               Tap b,b / press b + PP
Slide / Stop Movement  Press d during a dash or backstep
Dash Jump              Press uf while dashing
Super Jump             Tap d,ub~uf  (can no longer super jump via KK)
Universal Launcher     df + HP, then ub~uf to s.jump
Escape Roll            b,db,d + P / K when knocked down
Chouhatsu (Taunt)      Press Start + LK or MK  (arcade ver.: Start only)

Tech. Hit (Escape)     Any dir. but d / u + HP / HK when grabbed  (air)
Tech. Roll             Attempt a Tech. Hit after a throw connects
Hold Recovery          Shake joystick and tap buttons when in a hold

Variable Attack        Press LP + LK / HP + HK to switch in PA or PB
Variable Assist        Press PA or PB
Variable Counter       b,db,d + PA / PB while blocking  (Level 1+)
Variable Combination   Press PA + PB                    (Level 1+)
Snapback               qcf + PA / PB                    (Level 1+)
Delayed Hyper Combo    Do an HC during your own HC x2   (Level 2+)

Partner Order Change   Hold PA or PB before a battle (at the VS. screen)
                       to make your 1st or 2nd partner switch places
                       with the lead character.


------------------------------------------------------------------------
ANAKARIS, Absolute God of Gold
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Miira Drop                     qcf + P  (air)
Cobra Blow                  H  b,f + P  (air)
Hitsugi no Mai              H  d,d + P / K  (air)
Ouke no Sabaki              h  In air, qcf + K
Seija no Ayumi                 b + LK
Tenchuu                        b / f + HK
Idainaru Bohi                  In air, f + K
Seinaru Bohi                   In air, d + K
Ooinaru Bohi                   In air, df + K
Kuuchuu Dash                   In air, tap f,f / press PP

Pharaoh Magic                  HK,LP,d,LK,HP  (air)
Pharaoh Illusion               LP,LP,f,LK,HP
Pharaoh Cobra Blow             b,f + PP  (air)
Hitsugi no Utage               d,d + PP  (air)

    partner assist         variable counter        variable combination
    -------------------------------------------------------------------
a:  HP Cobra Blow          HP Cobra Blow           Pharaoh Cobra Blow
B:  HP Miira Drop          HP Miira Drop           Pharaoh Illusion
y:  HP Hitsugi no Mai      HP Hitsugi no Mai       Hitsugi no Utage

Chain Combo Type:  [Ground 5]  [Jumping 3]  [Super Jumping 6]
A.Rave Launchers:  [Crouching HP]  [df + HP]
A.Rave Finishers:  HP,HK
Ground Throws:     None.
Mid-Air Throws:    None.
Flying Attack:     None.
Knockdown Attack:  Crouching HK
Variable Attack:   Ooinaru Bohi
Snapback Attack:   Standing HP

      Damages       L P     M P     H P     L K     M K     H K
      ----------------------------------------------------------
      Standing       4       7      13       4       7      13
      Crouching      4      4*2     13       4       7      13
      Jumping        4       7      13       4      7*2     13
      Superjumping   4       7      13       4       7      13

- The Ouke no Sabaki can only be hypercanceled during a super jump.
- The Cobra Blow and Hitsugi no Mai can only be hypercanceled while
  on the ground or during a super jump, not during normal jumps.
- When performing button-press HCs, make sure that you don't press
  in a direction and a button at the same time.  For example, the
  Pharaoh Illusion will not come out if you press LP,LP,f+LK,HP.
  You have to make sure you press LP, then LP, then f, then LK, then
  HP.  This is important for Anakaris because he has two button-press
  HCs (more than anybody else).


========================================================================
4.  NORMAL ABILITIES
========================================================================

One of the neat things about Anakaris is that he's got some pretty
unorthodox ways of getting around, and he has some pretty weird attacks.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
MOVEMENT
------------------------------------------------------------------------

WALKING

Anakaris' walking speed has been increased a touch.  He's still slow as
hell, but you can still outrun the likes of Thanos and Blackheart.  In
the previous games, he would pause with each step while walking backward
or forward, a bit like Mega Zangief.  If you need to get somewhere in
a hurry, you're better off dashing and backstepping instead of lumbering
around all day long.

DASHING AND BACKSTEPPING

Anakaris' dash and backstep are both really short, which is a shame
when you look at characters like Cammy and Iceman who can clear the
entire screen just by tapping b,b or f,f.  However, they're both
very fast, making them good for moving out of range of an attack or
dashing up underneath somebody in air.  Try to use these instead of
walking, especially because you can get in more hits from a dash-in
chain combo than a walk-in one.

NORMAL JUMPS

Anakaris has the worst jump in the entire game.  I mean, even Spiral's
is faster (and she can do the Kyuukouka Dance to drop down quickly).
When you jump, Anakaris leaves the ground at a snail's pace, then
floats slowly across the screen in a low, broad arc.  And I don't mean
Dhalsim-slow, I mean dead people could jump faster than he could.
Believe it or not, you should never jump with Anakaris, unless you have
to do a mid-air move like the Ouke no Sabaki (and even then, you're
asking for it).  If there's one consolation, it's that only your body
can be hit once you start jumping, so you don't have to worry about
someone attacking Anakaris' legs while they're unravelling upwards.

SUPER JUMPS

Anakaris' super jump is a much better way to get around then walking or
jumping.  You can super jump, then air dash to clear a lot of distance.
Super jumping can also be used very advantageously for Anakaris, since
he has a lot of mid-air moves and can stay in air indefinitely during a
super jump by using the Ouke no Sabaki, Hitsugi no Mai, or even whiffed
Miira Drops.  It's a great way to avoid Hyper Combos and even Variable
Combinations!

AIR DASH

See the special moves section.  To basically sum it up, his air dash
is really long and slow, making it very good for moving around and
avoiding attacks.  However, it can't be used for any of the tricky air
dash stuff that you can do with faster characters like Rogue and
Chun-Li.  His air dash is also a better alternative to jump-in combos
since his jump is so lame, although it makes them harder to perform
since he'll be higher in the air than during a normal jump-in combo.


------------------------------------------------------------------------
STANDING ATTACKS
------------------------------------------------------------------------

STANDING LP:  KATSU  (Scold)

Anakaris thrusts his arm down-forward, striking with his fingers.  It's
a jab, it has gigantic reach, and you can poke like hell with it.  Makes
for a good dash-in lead for a combo.

STANDING MP:  MICHIBIKI  (Guidance)

Anakaris does a downward chop.  This move has worse range than his
standing LP...you may want to stick with his standing MK if you're
comboing from afar.  On the other hand, some people can crouch under
his standing MK, but they can be hit by this move.  So against small
opponents, use this move to combo, and against larger ones, stick with
his standing MK.

STANDING HP:  SHUKUSEI  (Enforcement)

Anakaris holds out his arms, which form into the huge biting head of a
cobra.  Some characters can crouch under this attack--Roll and Kobun
can actually stand beneath it.  Although his standing HK offers more
protection against low attacks, it can't be used effectively as a
dashing attack as his HP can, and besides, his standing HP has more
range.  This makes a dashing HP a great way to hit someone from far
away (assuming they're recovering from an attack and are unable to
strike back), since you can then combo into the HP Cobra Blow for even
more damage.  If they block, nab them with an HP Miira Drop.  The best
thing about this move is that for a standing HP, it comes out pretty
damn fast!

STANDING LK:  SEISAI  (Sanctions)

Anakaris remains still while kicking out with one leg.  Nothing really
special about this move, but it can hit opponents who can crouch under
his standing LP (namely Kobun).  The range is not as good as his
standing LP, but this comes out a touch faster, which is why I prefer
it.

STANDING MK:  SHINBATSU  (Divine Punishment)

Anakaris leans back while striking out with the sole of his foot.  Use
it in combos ;)  Some characters can duck under this, but it has a
longer range than his standing MP.

STANDING HK:  TENCHUU  (Heaven's Punishment)

Anakaris leaps into the air and 'makes like a sarcophagus.'  If you
press b / f + HK, he drifts backward or forward while doing this move.
The Tenchuu may seem too weird to be useful, but it's actually got some
good qualities.  It hits high enough for people's low attacks to miss
(like Ryu's crouching HK), and since you can control the direction, you
can move out of the way of people's attacks.  On the other hand, some
characters can crouch beneath it, moreso than Anakaris' standing HP,
so be careful.


------------------------------------------------------------------------
CROUCHING ATTACKS
------------------------------------------------------------------------

CROUCHING LP:  KISEKI NO TE  (Miraculous Hand)

Four of Anakaris' wrappings become rigid and fly forward.  Good for
poking.

CROUCHING MP:  SEI'IKI NO WANA  (Holy Precincts' Trap)

Anakaris punches with his hands, which rise vertically out of the
ground as they travel forward.  This move hits twice, but if blocked,
your opponent can hit you while you recover.  I recommend canceling
into a special move (like the Miira Drop), if this attack is blocked.

CROUCHING HP:  SEI'IKI NO MAMORI  (Holy Precincts' Defense)

Four hands rise vertically out of the ground around Anakaris while
spinning around.  This is Anakaris' launcher, and if there's a worse
launcher in the game, I'd like to know what it is.  This move lasts
_forever_, and if it's blocked or it misses, your opponent can leave,
go play some other arcade games, come back, and attack you all before
you recover from this move.  I mean, one time Wolverine even air blocked
this, landed, and did a Berserker Barrage X on me while I was still
doing this attack.  That wouldn't happen with any other character.  If
you're not sure that you can nail your enemy with this move, for god's
sake, don't do it.  If you do it and miss or it's blocked, you might
as well cancel into a special for the hell of it--it can't get any
worse.

The other huge drawback of this is that it has no horizontal range.
Even though it can hit on all sides of Anakaris (so you can hit people
jumping over you), the range of the move stops right where Anakaris'
four arms stop, so it's not easy to combo (you can proceed it with two
hits only if you dash, otherwise, you can only do LP or LK, or LP,LK
before doing this move, unless you're in a corner).

Note that this move does more damage (16 points as opposed to 13) when
used as a unique launcher (df+HP).  You can't chain into a unique
launcher, but you could always do a jump attack, land, then do this.
Of course, Anakaris' jump sucks, so you're in trouble either way ;)

CROUCHING LK:  CHI NO WAZAWAI  (Earth's Calamity)

Anakaris' feet come out of the ground a short distance away from him.
This is another good poke with good range, just a bit more than his
crouching LP.

CROUCHING MK:  CHI NO SAKEBI  (Earth's Clamor)

While crouching, Anakaris turns and sort of sweeps his disembodied
feet across the floor in a half-circle, like a slower but further
reaching version of his crouching LK.  In the Darkstalkers games,
this move had more reach than his crouching HK (by one pixel), but
now it's noticably shorter than his crouching HK.  This is still
a very handy move because you can block safely if it's blocked,
unlike his crouching MP.  And although it does less damage than his
crouching MP, it still has a longer range.

CROUCHING HK:  CHI NO GEKIRIN  (Earth's Imperial Wrath)

Anakaris' feet come out of the ground far away from him.  This is
Anakaris' knockdown attack, and it has an excellent range, making it
easy to sweep people from a far distance.  You can be punished if
it's blocked though.  In the corner of the screen, the Hitsugi no
Utage makes a good OTG follow-up.  If you land a Miira Drop out in
the open, don't forget to dash up and OTG them with this move!


------------------------------------------------------------------------
JUMPING ATTACKS
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Comments for Anakaris' superjumping Punch attacks are also included here
since these stay the same when superjumping, unlike Anakaris' Kick
attacks; he has one set of Kicks when jumping, and another when super
jumping.

JUMPING LP:  SHI NO KIZASHI  (Death's Omen)

Anakaris sticks a tiny foot out from beneath him.  This has a bad range,
but it's really the only jumping attack he has for people who are
directly in front of him.

JUMPING MP:  SHI NO YOGEN  (Death's Prediction)

Anakaris sticks out a longer foot at a downard angle.  This move has the
tendency to miss if you're too close to your opponent, but at least it
doesn't knock them downward like his superjumping MK does.

JUMPING HP:  SHI NO SHUKUMEI  (Death's Destiny)

Anakaris sticks out his feet at an steep angle beneath him.  This is a
good finisher since it hits downward, so you can even use it after his
superjumping MK.


JUMPING LK:  OU NO NAGEKI  (King's Lament)

One of Anakaris' feet comes out at an angle from the ground.  Like
the rest of Anakaris' Kick attacks, this move really offers him no
protection, and is more used for hitting people on the ground.  This
move can hit someone off the ground with ease.  However, Anakaris'
leg is just as vulnerable to attack as his actual body.

JUMPING MK:  OU NO UREI  (King's Sorrow)

Anakaris' leg comes out of the ground, followed by another one.  This
move does very good damage if both hits connect--I recommend it.  This
move can hit someone off the ground with ease.  However, Anakaris' leg
is just as vulnerable to attack as his actual body.

JUMPING HK:  OU NO IKARI  (King's Wrath)

Both of Anakaris' legs fly out of the ground.  An okay move, but it
doesn't really offer anything over his jumping HP aside from a wider
hit zone.  This move can hit someone off the ground with ease.  However,
Anakaris' leg is just as vulnerable to attack as his actual body.


------------------------------------------------------------------------
SUPER JUMPING ATTACKS
------------------------------------------------------------------------

When super jumping, Anakaris' Punch attacks are the same as his jumping
ones, but his Kick attacks are changed like so:

SUPER JUMPING LK

Legs come out of Anakaris' underside and he kicks diagonally upward.
Good for hitting people above you, obviously.  Otherwise, nothing too
special.

SUPER JUMPING MK

Legs come out of Anakaris' underside and he kicks diagonally downward.
Someone hit by this move is knocked downward, meaning all you can
really follow it with is a super jumping HP.  Stick with the super
jumping MP if you had other combo finishes in mind.

SUPER JUMPING HK

Legs come out of Anakaris' underside and he kicks straight forward.
Well, the horizontal range is good--this is useful if you're trying
to hit someone from afar.


========================================================================
5.  SPECIAL MOVES
========================================================================

Anakaris' list of special moves is pretty small now, compared to his
previous incarnations.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
MIIRA DROP  (Mummy Drop)                              QCF + Punch  (air)
Damage: 22 points
------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Portals appear on the ends of Anakaris' arms, separating his wrists
from his hands.  His hands then emerge from another set of portals
a certain distance away from him and wave around in air, if the move
misses.  If it hits, the hands wrap his opponent up in bandages,
then bring him back over to Anakaris, who waves them around before
slamming them to the floor.)

The Miira Drop is Anakaris' most useful move, and you should be abusing
it every chance you get.  People will call you cheap for constantly
throwing them around, but this move is really all Anakaris has to put
up a good offense.  The move itself only does average damage (in Vampire
Savior, you could spin the joystick to increase the amount of damage
done in a 2P battle, but this feature has been removed), but there are
tons of other reasons why you should use this move, described below.

Firstly, you get an _insane_ amount of HC power from landing a Miira
Drop. It's something like 40% of a level every time it connects.  A
simple "combo" like a blocked s. LP, c. MP, LP Miira Drop will get you
half of a level easily.  By overusing the Miira Drop, you can rack
up five levels of power in no time flat.  If you think that sounds too
good to be true, well, your opponent gets a lot of HC power as well;
by the time I had hit 3.99 levels dead on with Anakaris, soley using
the Miira Drop, my opponent had gained about 2.5 levels.  And while
Anakaris himself doesn't benefit from having a lot of HC power (since
his Hyper Combos are so unorthodox), you can always switch in someone
who can make use of all that power (Juggernaut, anybody?) and kill off
your opposition with ease.

The biggest asset of this move is that it comes out really fast; in
fact, the sound cue is about the only thing your enemy has to clue them
into an incoming Miira Drop.  This means you can do this move out in the
open whenever you want and have a very high success rate, as long as you
know the ranges.  Since you only have two strengths (LP is just in front
of you, HP is just less than half the length of the screen away), you'll
need to be able to know when to use the move, as there are plenty of
places your opponent can stand in order to avoid getting hit.

One weird thing about this move is it's hit range; someone can stand
just in front of or behind your hands and not get hit (thin people can
even stand between Anakaris and an LP Miira Drop)!  You'd think this
mean that the hit range was rather small, but I've had this move catch
people who I thought were out of range a bunch of times.  So I'd guess
that anyone in the immediate vicinity of your hands can also be
captured, but you should really take this as a nice bonus when it
happens and not rely on it to save your butt in battle.

There's a much easier way to land the Miira Drop instead of just doing
it on it's own, and that's to treat the move as if it were comboable.
It's not...but it comes out so fast that an opponent cannot attack or
move out of the way in time.  The ranges work perfectly for this
purpose, as your opponent will be knocked within range of the LP Miira
Drop after 1 to 3 hit or blocked attacks, and in range of the HP Miira
Drop after 4 or more hits.  Of course, if you make a punch or kick
attack and it hits, you'd be much better off doing a chain combo and
finishing with the Cobra Blow, which really combos, but this method
works great when your normal attacks get blocked.

However, there is a catch.  Remember how I said that a character who
is getting hit or is blocking attacks cannot get away from the Miira
Drop in time when you cancel into it?  Well, they can still duck to
avoid it.  Even if you're clobbering them with a full-fledged chain
combo, they can hold down the entire time, and the instant you go for
the Miira Drop, they'll duck out of harm's way.  This even applies to
the big guys like Sentinel and Juggernaut.  So if you are going to use
the Miira Drop like it's a comboable move, try to cancel into it after
just one or two hits, since your opponent will have plenty of time to
crouch if they sit there getting hit by or blocking an entire 5 or 6-hit
chain combo beforehand.

To make up for this, the Miira Drop can grab anybody who is standing
(even Kobun), except for characters who have been transformed by your
Ouke no Sabaki, and your enemy's assisting characters.  So if your
opponent calls in Thanos to do his launcher, you wouldn't be able to
Miira Drop him--you'd just miss and (since your hands are so close),
you'd take the hit.  And while the Miira Drop is truly inescapable in
the air, you have to keep in mind that it's air-to-air and ground-to-
ground only; you can't pick up a standing character with this move
while you're jumping, and you can't snatch someone out of the air
while you're standing, either.  Also, although it's really fast, it
cannot grab people out of block stun, so don't think you can have an
assistant throw a fireball, and then get a free Miira Drop if they
block it.

So enough with how to land the Miira Drop.  Let's talk about when it
hits or misses.  First off, this move has amazing priority.  Against any
sort of move with startup, in can catch that person out of it (for
example, it will grab Psylocke out of her Psi-Thrust HC).  You don't
want to do this against a move that comes out instantly, because the
Miira Drop isn't _that_ fast, and besides, Anakaris' hands can be hit
when they're wagging about.  Yes, you read that right.  One of the
problems with missing a Miira Drop or trying to grab someone out of a
quick-to-start move is that you're basically giving them an even bigger
target to hit.  Sure, the hands do not stay in air forever, but it is
a window of opportunity that you don't want your opponent to have!

Once the Miira Drop actually hits, you get a lot of good things going
on, and a few bad things as well.  Since the Miira Drop is a throw,
Anakaris is totally invincible once he's grabbed his opponent.  Normally
this is not a big deal, but since Anakaris has such a long reach, it's
possible for someone to fire a projectile, then you grab them, and the
projectile passes through you harmlessly.  In this aspect, the Miira
Drop is a great defense mechanism against projectiles, because there's
enough startup lag on most fireballs to allow you to land the Miira
Drop.  For example, if Guile is in range and tosses a Sonic Boom, you
can nab him easily and watch with glee as the Sonic Boom just sails on
past you.  Of course, if you miss, then Guile gets an easy hit, as the
Sonic Boom would go right into your waving hands ;)  If this sounds a
little tricky, it's not--I do this to fireball-happy people all the
time, and I'm nowhere near being a master Anakaris player.  So anyway,
try this when you have the chance; all you have to do is make sure
you're in range for the Miira Drop to hit.

Another benefit of landing a Miira Drop is that you will throw your
opponent behind you.  For one thing, this means you can get out of
corners easily by swapping places with your opponent, but is also means
it's easy to throw your opponent into the corner.  Not only is this
good for trapping them, but you actually recover fast enough from the
Miira Drop to combo them.  In the open, this is limited to a dashing,
crouching LK or HK, but in the corner, you can do full combos like a
standing LK,MK,HK,LP Cobra Blow, or even an HP Cobra Blow into the
Pharaoh Magic.  Obviously, your opponent could roll after the Miira
Drop, but if they're stupid enough not to, it's free damage.  You can
even do air combos as well (jumping back HP, LP Miira Drop is a nice
one), but I haven't found any that are particularly damaging.


------------------------------------------------------------------------
OUKE NO SABAKI  (Pharaoh's Judgment)                  In air, QCF + Kick
Damage: 10 points
------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Anakaris' real face emerges from his mask and spits out a mass of
swirling souls, which grow larger as they fly diagonally downward.
The souls either dissapate after a while, or if they hit, turn their
opponent into a small creature.  His opponent remains transformed for
a short period of time, or until hit.  In their transformed state, all
they can do is walk around, jump, and crouch.  Pressing any P or K
makes them worship Anakaris, but this cannot actually hit him and has
no purpose aside from showing your opponent that you admit defeat.) ;)

The Ouke no Sabaki has become a pale shadow of it's former self, but
it's still a great move to use because of the damage opportunities it
gives you.  In the previous DarkStalkers games, this move could be done
in air repeatedly, could hit right after it was fired, and a transformed
opponent remained that way for a fixed period of time, no matter how
many times they were hit.  Now it can only be done in air once (unless
you're superjumping), and hitting a transformed opponent with any attack
immediately returns them to normal instead of keeping them transformed.
One weird change is that, unlike in that game where you couldn't use
some moves while your opponent was transformed, you can now use any move
you like.  The only ones you should avoid is the Miira Drop (it can't
hit even if you're both in the air and at the same height), and the
Ouke no Sabaki, which simply uncursed an opponent when it hits.

Of course, that's assuming you actually get it to hit.  Whereas this
projectile previously drifted down in a nice angle, it now comes out in
a steep descent, reducing it's range severely.  What's more, it cannot
even hit until the flying spirits 'grow' to their full size, which
prevents you from hitting people right next to you--it's now really only
effective against far away grounded foes, and useless against airborne
opponents.  Since the spirits dissapate as soon as they get near the
ground, the only way for this move to hit someone on the far side of the
screen is to jump to your full height (and you never want to jump with
Anakaris unless you like getting your butt kicked), or to superjump and
attempt it on the way down.

You have to be careful about using this move in corners too, since it
won't dissapate, but will fly offscreen while you sit there in the air
like an idiot.  If I want to use this move without superjumping, I
usually jump and do it right off the ground, since Anakaris will drop
down fairly quickly afterwards, or I'll do it as qcf,uf + K.  This
detracts from the range, but it's better than leaving yourself open
while you jump to your full height.  Also, avoid using this move on
assisting partners, since it simply knocks them away without
transforming them.

As you can guess, I do not recommend using this move whenever you can,
because it's not worth it.  Only in situations where you will clearly
connect (say when someone is doing a beam super and you are jumping
over it), should you attempt this.  And that's not to say that you
shouldn't use this move, because if it lands, you have a free shot at
doing a lot of damage.  In a world of V. Combinations and DHCs, it
shouldn't be that hard to beat the stuffing out of your transformed foe.
If you want to try it, it's also easier to connect with the Pharaoh
Magic during this time.  Your opponent can't block, after all, although
they can still move and jump around, so try to get them into a corner
first.

Alternatively, you can attack your transformed opponent by dashing in
and do a crouching LK into a launcher and air combo from there.
Another option would be to switch in a teammate with better offensive
abilities because a) your transformed opponent cannot block, so if
they're hit by the tag-in, you can juggle them any way you like, and
b) even if you miss with the tag-in, you still some time left to attack
them.  This also allows the beleagured Anakaris a free tag-out so that
he can start earning back lost life.  Despite what you may have heard,
a transformed character still takes the same amount of damage from
attacks that they normally do.

Another important use of the Ouke no Sabaki is against people with
'timer' moves, like Strider's Ouroboros, Spiral's Metamorphose, Rogue's
ability drains, etc.  If you transform a character while their timer is
onscreen, the move automatically ends.  I got quite a kick out of
transforming Shuma-Gorath right after he'd activated his Chaos
Dimension, effectively wasting 3 HC levels ;)  Just remember that this
move can't beat out Hyper Armor, so while you could hit Silver Samurai
out of the Koori mode, you couldn't do it if he did Koori 3 times
(since that gives him hyper armor).

This move can be hypercanceled out of off of a superjump, but I haven't
found any real uses for it.  Trying to time it so that it combos into
one of his supers or leaves your opponent with no time to get out of
the way has not been too successful for me yet.


------------------------------------------------------------------------
COBRA BLOW                                      Press b,f + Punch  (air)
Damage: 16 points (LP) / 18 points (HP)
------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Anakaris' arms extend straight forward, the hands merging together into
a gigantic statue-like head of a snake.  After reaching their maximum
distance, the snake head snaps it's mouth shut, and the the whole mess
retreats backwards).

The Cobra Blow is pretty useless except in combos, because it's his only
real comboable move.  On one hand, you can use it on it's own somewhat
effectively because the move reaches it's maximum range (which is huge)
rather quickly, so it's easy to punish someone from afar with a well-
timed Cobra Blow.  This gives it an advantage over the Hitsugi no Mai
(which is slower), and the Miira Drop (since the Cobra Blow has a
slightly longer range and can hit most crouch blockers).

So why should you not use it on it's own?  Well, this takes some
explaining.  Basically, the move cannot hit anything until the 'body'
of the snake has reached it's maximum length, at which point the
snake head closes it's mouth.  Just before it closes it's mouth and
as it does so, this move can hit someone.  And we're not talking just
the snake head; if you're standing right next to Anakaris and he does
a Cobra Blow, you'll get hit when the mouth closes, even though it's
beyond you.  Similarily, if you jump over the head thinking you can
attack the arms without worry, you're in for a nasty surprise if you
attack while the snake head is biting, because then the arms can hit
you as well.

The problem with all this is that while the Cobra Blow extends to it's
maximum length rather quickly, the whole length of it is vulnerable to
attack before the snake head bites.  Afterwards, while the whole thing
is retreating, it is also vulnerable to attack.  So if someone is quick
enough, they can attack you while you start this move (even Juggernaut
can jab you out of an HP Cobra Blow), or they can simply block the head
and attack you while you're pulling your arms back.  You're pretty much
inviting your opponent to kick you around by doing this move out in the
open.  What makes it even worse is that it's not like the move has a
lot of priority when the snake head is biting--you're more likely to
trade hits instead, which is very detrimental to Anakaris.  After all
he takes way more damage than most other characters.  This really
ticks me off because in previous games, the Cobra Blow hit multiple
times, making it much safer to use.  Now it's disadvantages really
outweigh any of it's benefits.

So, should you use this move outside of combos?  Well, the LP Cobra
Blow reaches the 'about to bite' stage faster than the HP Cobra Blow,
so it's less of a risk, even though it has a shorter range.  I do
use this to smack people out of the blue sometimes.  One problem is
that some characters can duck beneath this (which is pretty lame
considering the same characters will get hit by the HP Cobra Blow).
So as you can see, it's not really worth it.  After all, there's the
annoying move command--I tend to mess up and get Miira Drops sometimes.
I'd much rather accidentally "combo" into an LP Miira Drop than attempt
a LP Cobra Blow out of the blue and get a Miira Drop instead, because
it has a shorter range than the Cobra Blow.

In combos this move shines, because it has a huge range and can easily
be tacked on to just about any chain you can create.  Nevermind that
it's his only real combo ender.  The LP version combos from all of his
attacks with ease, excluding his crouching HP and HK, and any jumping
kick.  The HP version, unfortunately, only combos off of a standing
HP or HK, but at least it has a much bigger range to make up for it.
Another problem is in the air, you'll only be able to combo with the LP
version, and that will only combo off of his jumping Punch attacks or
his super jumping kicks (it can't combo off of normal jumping kicks).
Finally, as the Cobra Blow knocks a character upward, hypercanceling
into the Pharaoh Cobra Blow or another HC is not recommended.


------------------------------------------------------------------------
HITSUGI NO MAI  (Dance of the Coffins)    Tap d,d + Punch or Kick  (air)
Damage: 20 points
------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Anakaris gestures towards his opponent with an outstretched palm, and
a large sarcophagus falls from the sky, hits the floor, and flies back
up.)

This move has it's uses, but it's not really abusable.  The first thing
you'll want to learn are the ranges: LP is closest to you, then comes
HP, LK, and finally HK, which is furthest away.  You don't want to miss
with this move, as you're left wide open until the sarcophagus starts
to fly back up again.  Since the sarcophagus doesn't hit on the way up,
anyone can simply dash forward and / or jump over to you and attack you
before you recover from the Hitsugi no Mai.

On the upside, the coffins can destroy some normal projectiles (for
example, it can stop a Hadou Ken but not a Psycho Field).  It can also
stop some HC projectiles (Sonic Break, Stampede Sword), but this isn't
recommended as you only destroy one projectile and the rest come right
at you.  Otherwise, it cannot destroy HC projectiles (not even Dan's
Shinkuu Gadou Ken).  Beams cannot be negated, either; the coffins
simply bounce off of them like they do with projectiles.  If someone
is close enough for you to hit them and their projectile, the coffins
hits the projectile and not them, unfortunately.

The coffins can also hit someone off of the ground, although the only
time when you will be able to do this is after a successful Pharaoh
Magic.  I use this move mainly to punish people who leave themselves
open, and as a distraction after hitting PA or PB to bring in a helper.
Otherwise this move does not have a lot of uses; it can't be comboed
into, and while it does good damage, it's very easy to see coming.  I
only recommend doing this move from as far away as possible, or when
superjumping.  See the neat thing about doing this move after doing
a super jump is that Anakaris can start his next coffin toss the
moment the current one hits the ground or his opponent.  This means
that you can sit in the air and throw coffins all day, using the '2P'
icon to keep track of where your opponent is.  This is more annoying
then useful (except when fighting Abyss), but it's an easy way to waste
time when you're ahead in the game, and the scrubs will hate you for
it. ;)

Although the move can be hypercanceled into, this is hard to do and is
only really useful for a Hitsugi no Utage setup, as none of his other
supers are effective when used from afar.  You can hypercancel into his
other HCs from up close, but standing next to your opponent and hitting
them with an LP Hitsugi no Mai is about as smart as wearing all black
and running back and forth across the freeway at midnight...you're going
to get hit ;)


------------------------------------------------------------------------
SEIJA NO AYUMI  (Saint's Walk)                      Press b + Light Kick
Damage: 7 points
------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Anakaris lifts up a leg high above himself, and brings it down in a
vicious axe kick.)

This move has good range and it's an overhead.  You can chain into it
from a standing or crouching LP, too, and chain out of it into his
standing or crouching HP, HK (yay!), or any special move.  I like
doing this move against an opponent and if they stand, then chaining
into a low HK, or doing a Miira Drop.  Try doing some low attacks (his
crouching kicks are his only attacks that have to be blocked low), to
get your opponent to start crouch-blocking, then pull this on them.
A character with fast attacks can hit Anakaris out of this move, as
Anakaris delays for a moment before dropping his leg.  Another problem
is that you drift backward every time you use this move, unless you
input it as f,b + LK or chain out of it.  Some people may prefer the
'Bohi' overheads (see below).


------------------------------------------------------------------------
SEINARU BOHI  (Sacred Tombstone)                 In air, press df + Kick
OOINARU BOHI  (Great Tombstone)                  In air, press d + Kick
IDAINARU BOHI (Greatness Tombstone)              In air, press f + Kick
Damage: 7 points for any version
------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Anakaris' lower body turns into a pyramid, and he flies in in the
direction inputted with the joystick.  The Kick button used has no
effect on the move itself.)

In a game of superjumps and air dashes, these moves are not as useful
as they were.  In terms of movement, you are carried a very short
distance, and so you may miss your opponent unless you're close, and
it makes them useless when trying to fly over fireballs.  Since you
recover after the move ends, these are not 'safe' moves to get you
back down to the ground, although you can always use a mid-air attack
while falling afterwards, unlike his jumping special moves and supers.

You can put in these moves at the end of chain combos (remember to use
HK if your previous attack was MP or MK), but as they knock someone
down, comboing into a special or HC is not recommended.  One good thing
is that all of these moves are overheads; you may have seen the CPU
Anakaris jump and then immediately do a Seinaru Bohi to hit a crouch-
blocker.  This is a touch faster than the Seija no Ayumi, so you can
always mix up the two to throw people off (this faq is to be found
at game faqs dot com only)  Since you can combo out of these attacks,
it's even possible to do a Bohi move, then land and do a combo, or
(my favorite), land and combo into a c. HK to mess up your opponent ;)


------------------------------------------------------------------------
KUUCHUU DASH  (Mid-Air Dash)                 In air, tap f,f or press PP
------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Anakaris flies across the screen while in his jumping animation.)

This move is not really good for an aerial offensive, because Anakaris
covers a lot of ground, and he falls forward even while attacking, so
you can't use it to be all over your opponent like Rogue can.  Still
though, this move is superb for either getting away from or getting
close to people, because you literally go all the way across the
screen, which means that as long as you can get off the ground, you
should have no problem getting out of corners or sailing over attacks
and hitting people even when they're across the screen.

If there's a drawback, it's that you can't immediately dash after
jumping; you have to wait until Anakaris has lifted himself up a ways
before tapping f,f or PP has any effect.  I generally stick to doing
this move from afar so that I can dash in over someone's attack and
combo them with a falling LP,MP,HP preceeding the actual combo (see the
combo section for more info).  Also, Anakaris' dash is the only move in
the game (aside from Blackheart's air dash and backstep), that you can
cancel out of normal attacks with.  For example, if you hit someone with
a jumping HP and then hit PP, Anakaris will dash _before_ the recovery
animation of the jumping HP comes out.  I don't know how useful this is,
but it could be used for quick escapes or something (hit n' run tactics,
aheheh)!  If you cancel into his PP air dash, you can't do any normal
attacks, but can still interrupt the air dash with special moves or
Hyper Combos.


------------------------------------------------------------------------
SNAPBACK: SHUKUSEI  (Enforcement)                         qcf + PA or PB
Damage: 10 points                            (costs 1 level of HC power)
------------------------------------------------------------------------

(This is the same animation as his standing HP: Anakaris holds out his
arms, which form into the huge biting head of a cobra.)

Since this attack uses the same animation as Anakaris' standing HP, it
shares all of that move's drawbacks; small characters can crouch
beneath it (Roll and Kobun can stand beneath it).  It does have a great
range, though, although you can't dash and slide forward during this
move like you can with a normal HP.  Of course, being a Snapback, you
can combo this move from a standing HP, or any other normal attack,
as well as his Seija no Ayumi (overhead into snapback...how wicked is
that)!?  Generally speaking, it can be use as a substution for the LP
Cobra Blow in combos...for example, you have to finish a standing
LP,LK,MP,MK,HP combo with an HP Cobra Blow, but if you dash in, you
could finish with an LP Cobra Blow or a Snapback.

Some of you may scoff at Snapbacks since they do so little damage, but
hey, Anakaris earns enough HC power to Snapback all day long, and it's
a great method for getting rid of pesky opponents or bringing someone
back in who has a lot of recoverable life (like a helper you just
nailed with a Hyper Combo), since they'll lose it all upon coming back
in.  And in combos, there's nothing your opponent can do to avoid
getting knocked out by a Snapback!


========================================================================
6.  HYPER COMBOS
========================================================================

------------------------------------------------------------------------
PHARAOH MAGIC                           Tap HK,LP,d,LK,HP quickly  (air)
Damage: 4 hits, 59 points                    (costs 1 level of HC power)
------------------------------------------------------------------------

(A golden stand appears beneath Anakaris, who rises off the ground.
He looks up towards the sky and spits a curse from his mouth, which he
grabs and throws forward, the words of the curse forming into a colored
orb surrounded by spinning souls, a la his Ouke no Sabaki.  The orb
flies diagonally downward, and dissapates after hitting the floor or
walls.  If the orb hits, Anakaris' opponent is burned and held in place
while he spits out two more curse orbs which hit his stunned opponent
with ice and lightning attacks [every time I see those orbs I have a
"King of Dragons" flashback] ;)  Finally, Anakaris gestures at his foe
and a huge sarcophagus falls from the sky and flattens his opponent,
then rises back up into the sky).

This move was never a particuarly useful attack in the Darkstalkers
series, but in MvC2, it's hands-down the most useless move in the
entire game.  It's blockable, slow as molasses, and has an awful range.
Since it flies downward, your opponent can jump over it with ease.
It's even been weakened--instead of going through fireballs, it gets
canceled by them.  That's right, you can throw a Hadou Ken or use a
Banishing Flat to destroy the Pharaoh Magic projectile.  Probably the
only good thing that was carried over from Vampire Savior was that if
your opponent gets hit by the projectile, their own fireball will
vanish into thin air, instead of knocking you out of this move.

What's more, if any of the spell orbs miss or are blocked, the move
ends (and yes, it is possible to position yourself so that the first
orb hits and the second one misses, such as in a DHC).  And as long as
I'm talking about the faults of this move, the Pharaoh Magic is also
the lamest looking super he has; hey, this is a Versus game, they
should have given him the Pharaoh Salvation or Decoration animation
instead.

You can combo into this move, but I've only ever found two ways to do
so.  The first method is sort of lame; you have to be relatively close
to your opponent, do a Hitsugi no Mai, then hypercancel into the
Pharaoh Magic.  The problem with this is that doing the Hitsugi no Mai
from up close leaves you open to attack.  The other method only works
in the corner, but you can start off with a Miira Drop to prevent your
opponent from attacking you, which is a plus.  What you have to do is
get your opponent cornered and be right next to them, then do an HP
Cobra Blow and hypercancel into the Pharaoh Magic (comboing into the
Cobra Blow or doing it from further away won't work).  Obviously doing
the HP Cobra Blow on it's own is like inviting Death to your house for
dinner, but you can always preceed the Cobra Blow with a Miira Drop.

Doing so makes the timing of the Cobra Blow a little harder, but it
gives you more opportunities to land the combo since the Miira Drop
is an easy way to throw your opponent into the corner of the screen if
you're already there yourself.  So basically, whenever you're near the
corner of the screen, it's possible to go for this combo, which does
lots of damage. If all that sounded like a bit much just to connect with
this HC, well, try connecting with this move _without_ comboing into it.
It's impossible, really.  The only time when you can do this move on
its' own and have a chance of it connecting is if your enemy is
transformed, since they can't block it.  Of course, they can still jump
or move out of the way, but hey, I told you this HC was hard to hit
with.  Like the Ouke no Sabaki, you can also attempt it when your
opponent is doing or recovering from a move, but since Anakaris will
stick out his feet when you press HK, this really prevents you from
using it in the air to hit beam HC users.

If you ever do manage to connect with this move, then you are rewarded
with pretty high damage.  It's not as much as his other Hyper Combos,
but at least it's guaranteed and not dependent on timing or location.
You're also given the the world's easiest chance to OTG (assuming your
opponent doesn't roll).  Since you recover as the giant sarcophagus
hits, you can simply dash forward and crouching LK them off the ground,
then do whatever you want.  Or knock them off the floor with a Hitsugi
no Mai or Hitsugi no Utage (though the Utage won't do much damage unless
they're in the corner--see the Hitsugi no Utage entry for more details.
Otherwise the Hitsugi no Mai does more damage).  The Pharaoh Magic is
also a great opener for a DHC, since Anakaris' opponent stays stunned
after being hit by a curse orb, ensuring that the incoming character
will have an easy time landing their move.  Considering how hard it
is for the Pharaoh Magic to connect, though, you may want to have
Anakaris as your middle-man instead of being first up for the DHC.

The only time when this move can easily connect is against a helper,
which is both good and bad.  The good thing is that since an assisting
character cannot block, you can hit some of the slower ones with the
Pharaoh Magic without fail, and they are held in place while you do the
entire sequence on them.  The bad news is that your opponent is free
to super jump over to your backside and attack you, or just blow you
up with a beam super, or whatever.  At least if they get hit by the
spell orbs, they get trapped, too ;)

Finally, against a character with Hyper Armor, Anakaris will do the
entire Pharaoh Magic sequence as long as each spell orb hits.  All of
the orbs (and the large sarcophagus) are blockable.


------------------------------------------------------------------------
PHARAOH COBRA BLOW                 Press b,f + both Punch buttons  (air)
Damage: Up to 78 hits, 92 points             (costs 1 level of HC power)
------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Anakaris appears inside his sarcophagus.  He opens the lid and remains
like that for a limited period of time.  During this time, pressing any
Punch or Kick button makes giant snakes come out of the coffin and fly
straight forward, then retract, just like a long-range Cobra Blow).

The Pharaoh Cobra Blow, like the rest of Anakaris' HCs, can either be
used correctly for tons of damage, or used incorrectly for almost no
damage at all.  To know when to use it, you have to understand how the
move works:

The button used determines the height of the Cobra Blow; LP is highest
(from the top of the sarcophagus), HP is lower, LK is lower than that,
and HK makes you fire a snake head from near the bottom of Anakaris'
coffin.  You can do combinations of buttons, like pressing LP + HP to
make the top two snakes come out, or HP + LK to get the middle two, or
even press three or all four of the buttons to have all the snakes come
out.

When a snake is fired, it travels forward until it reaches the edge of
the screen, then it retreats back into Anakaris' coffin.  Note that
a snake hits more times (7 total), the further out it is allowed to
extend.  This means that doing this move when you're close to a wall
allows the snakes to recover faster, but for less damage.  Doing the
move when you have the whole screen in front of you means the snakes
hit more times for more damage, but take longer to recover.  Doing
this move out in the open may also create the very desirable 'vacuum'
effect, where the multiple hits actually pull your opponent towards you
instead of knocking them away, insuring more hits and preventing your
challenger from recovering.

So what does all this mean?  Unlike your standard Hyper Combo, the
Pharaoh Cobra Blow requires that you use the proper spacing and timing
in order to use this move successfully.  If you just mash on the
buttons, you're sure to get some hits, but you might leave your
opponent a window of opportunity in which to block, and you won't get
as many hits as you could using one of the methods described below.
To better see how to use the Pharaoh Cobra Blow, take a look at these
little playfield diagarams.  "A" is Anakaris, "O" is your opponent.
The 'walls' represent the corners of the playfield (either the actual
corners or just the edge of the screen, depending).  These method
apply to whether you're on the ground or in the air, btw.


Fig.  |                |   This is the optimum setup for the Pharaoh
 #1   |A O             |   Cobra Blow.  Since Anakaris is in the corner
      `----------------'   and his opponent is right next to him, you
the snakes will hit for maximum damage.  The method I suggest is to
press all 4 buttons to fire all the snakes at once, and once they come
back, fire all four snakes again.  You should be able to do this about
three times.  If you're in the air, try firing your highest snake (LP)
to juggle them, then rapidly mash LP+LK and HP+HK to alternate between
both sets of snakes.  The four-button method can work in air, but it's
easier to knock your opponent down.  Doing it this way is more likely
to create the 'vacuum' effect described above.


Fig. |                |    This is the reverse of the previous setup.
 #2  |O A             |    Unlike the last example, timing is irrelevant
     `----------------'    since the snakes come back so fast.  Simply
mash the buttons like mad to get the most hits and damage.  This also
works if you're both in the air.  You can't get as much damage as the
first example but if you're a good masher, you can still get quite a
lot of hits in.


Fig. |                |    Since you're not in the corner of the screen,
 #3  |     A   O      |    the cobras won't hit as many times, and since
     `----------------'    your opponent isn't close by, you'll get less
hits.  The best way around this is to fire one snake (I prefer LP, but
you may want to use a lower one against smaller opponents), then rapidly
alternate between LP+LK and HP+HK, the same method used in the previous
example when you're both in air.  This will usually create the 'vacuum'
effect, allowing you to pull your opponent in and still do lots of
damage.


Fig. |                |    Although your opponent's in the corner, you
 #4  |          A   O |    aren't close enough to mash the buttons for
     `----------------'    lots of hits.  You can try the same method
used in Figure 3, but you won't get a lot of damage no matter what you
do.

Fig. |                |    This is the worst possible time to use the
 #5  | A            O |    Pharaoh Cobra Blow.  You're so far away that
     `----------------'    there's no way to keep your opponent in hit
stun unless you cycle through the hits (hit the four buttons in any
sequence and quickly repeat), but this will get you about the same
damage as a single Miira Drop!

Obviously, you'd flip the diagrams around if you were on the other side
of the screen.  The distances and spacing aren't exact--it's just there
to give you a general feel of what your locations should be.  Also, if
you don't like the firing methods mentioned here, you can always create
your own--there are a lot of combinations that will work with this
move.  It's just that I've found that the four-snake method and the
alternating between LP+LK and HP+HK methods are the ones that get me
the most hits and damage.  This also applies to block damage...since
the snakes hit more times the further out they can extend, you'll
get way more block damage in the Fig. #1 situation than you would in
any of the others.

So now that you know how this move works and how to get the most out of
it, let's look at the Pharaoh Cobra Blow's weaknesses.  One flaw is that
the input command is weird--mess up and you dash forward, obviously.
This can be a real problem if you screw up at the wrong time (I always
mess up this move and Hayato's Byakko Hou).  You can try inputting this
move as hcf + PP, but this sometimes results in the Miira Drop.  I like
using the hold PP, tap b,f method myself.

I'd like to say that this is a good move to use to catch people who make
mistakes (such as a blocked HC), but that's not really the case, as the
PCB has a bit of startup lag, and is only useful if you block your
opponent's attack from up close.  And while the PCB can destroy normal
projectiles, no idiot would throw a projectile from up close (where the
PCB could really hurt), and from far away, you're not going to get a lot
of damage.  You can use this move to seriously mess up helpers who are
on-screen (especially the type that come charging at you, so they're
nice and close), but make sure you Snapback the helper in afterwards
before they get a chance to recover their lost life.  Finally, this
move can OTG with HK (the lowest snake), but the damage will not be that
good unless you've got your opponent right up in the corner so you can
mash like mad.

During the Variable Combination version of this move, Anakaris sends
out cobras automatically.  This is sort of a mixed bag because you
can sometimes get lots of hits, but sometimes you won't, or else maybe
it won't combo all the way.  However, this move is great when you have
other people's HCs going to keep a character in place because the PCB
will do tons of damage (it even does great block damage)!  Obviously,
though, you can't do this type of Pharaoh Cobra Blow in the air since
it's a V. Combination.


------------------------------------------------------------------------
HITSUGI NO UTAGE                     Tap d,d + both Punch buttons  (air)
(Banquet of the Coffins)                     (costs 1 level of HC power)
Damage: 7 hits, 99 points
------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Anakaris repeatedly gestures towards his opponent with an outstretched
palm, while many large sarcophagi fall from the sky, hit the floor, and
fly back up.  For those of you who have seen it, it's basically his
EX Hitsugi no Mai, but with bigger coffins).

The key to this move is _knowing_, with absolute assuredness, that your
opponent is at the proper distance from you before you begin this move.
This is because if your challenger is in the right place when you do
this move, the falling sarcophagi will combo for multiple hits and a
ton of damage.  If you mistime this move, then your opponent may only
take a few hits, or they may be able to simply block them all for only
minor damage.  Another problem with this move is it's range; if they're
too far away, none of the coffins will hit, and if they're close to
you, they can just attack you as this move starts up, since it's very
slow.  So, you don't want to use this move unless you know you'll get
in the multiple hits.  Otherwise it's just a waste of an HC level, and
you're left open for so long that just about any sort of offense can be
mounted against you.

AFAIK, the only way to get maximum damage is to have your opponent in
the corner, since otherwise the falling sarcophagi knock them too far
forward or backward.  Anakaris has to be standing a short distance
away--a little bit inside the range of his standing LK.  If your
positioning is right, all seven coffins will combo for 99 damage.

Believe it or not, there's a way to position yourself perfectly every
time, although chances are you will not have the time to pull it off
in the heat of battle.  Once your opponent is in the corner, crouch
for a moment.  When crouching, the hem of Anakaris' gold loincloth
should be lined up with the triangular edge of the HC gauge that's
furthest away from you (so if your opponent is on the far left
corner, you'd be lining yourself up with the left edge of the 2P Hyper
Combo Gauge).  If you've lined it up perfectly, the yellow 'oval' of
Anakaris' lower half is in exact alignment with the triangle edge, and
none of the background can be seen.  If you're off, you'll see a thin
line where there is space between you and the HC gauge.

Despite being able to align yourself properly, this move simply can't
do all 7 hits on characters who are short (like Ryu), or thin (like
Storm).  On larger than average characters, you have a bit of leeway
in getting your position (against Colossus, you can actually be a
step or two off and the coffins will still combo).  Since you can't
combo into this move on the ground, a smart opponent can knock you out
of it with a quick attack, too.  For this reason, you may want to
superjump before doing this, although you have to be careful not to
veer back or forward while superjumping.

Another method that works on most characters except for the thin and
small ones is to knock down an opponent while they're in the corner of
the screen using Anakaris' HK or the Pharaoh Magic, then hit them off
the ground with the Hitsugi no Utage.  If your positioning is right
(it's a bit inside of the maximum range...you don't have to be exact
as the above setup), then three of the sarcophagi combo for 57 damage
total (using HK) or 77 damage total (using the Pharaoh Magic), which is
pretty good, all things considered.

Anyway, these are about the only times this move is useful on the
ground.  There are other distances that work, but I've only ever gotten
about three comboed hits from doing the move in the open.  In the air,
you can get a guaranteed four-hit combo with this move, but you have to
be very fast, and this only works on certain characters.  See the
section on combos for more info.  Like the Hitsugi no Mai, the coffins
will go through projectiles (normal or HC), but will merely 'bounce'
off of beams.  Unlike the Hitsugi no Mai, they can hit someone off
the ground after being knocked down by Anakaris' crouching HK, although
the opponent rolls away after the first hit, so you get crap damage
unless they're in the corner of the playfield.

The Variable Combination version of this move is just like the normal
one.  Since you _are_ doing a Variable Combination, starting off with an
HC this slow is asking for trouble.  Make sure Anakaris is your second
or third character, so that your opponent is already stuck in hitstun by
your first character's attack when the coffins start falling.


------------------------------------------------------------------------
PHARAOH ILLUSION                               Tap LP,LP,f,LK,HP quickly
Damage:  Up to 10 hits, 88 points            (costs 1 level of HC power)
------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Anakaris seals himself in a sarcophagus and shoots offscreen, only to
return as a giant upper torso with detached, controllable hands.  He
remains this way for a while or until hit).

As dumb as this move seems, it can actually result in a lot of damage.
Unfortunately, if you mess up, your opponent can block and wait out the
HC (and it doesn't last more than a few seconds anyway), or they can
hit you (one hit will do) to knock out out of the move.  Note that
this is Anakaris' only HC which can't be used in mid-air.  Anyway, the
Pharaoh Illusion is controllable like so:

   Left hand moves right (upper)           Press LP
   Left hand moves right (lower)           Press f + LK
   Left hand moves up (upper)              Press u + LP
   Left hand moves up (lower)              Press LK
   Left hand moves down                    Press d + LP
   Left hand moves diagonally downward     Press df + LP
   Left hand moves diagonally upward       Press uf + LK
   Body moves left or right                Hold b / f

 The same attacks can be done with HP and HK to control the right hand.
 Even if you're on the other other side of the screen when you do this
 move, HP and HK still control the right hand.  Obviously you'd switch
 the controls, though (so technically, it would be f + LK to make the
 left hand move in from the lower part of the screen, and b + HK to
 make the right hand do the same thing).  Note that when moving the
 body, releasing the direction makes Anakaris drift back to the center
 of the screen.  Finally, all hand attacks do 10 points of damage (of
 course the damage will be reduced with multiple hits).

The only way I have found to make this move do any real damage is to hit
your opponent with the startup animation of Anakaris flying off screen
(worth 10 points).  This is not as impossible as it seems as you can
combo off it from any two hits against normal-sized and larger enemies
(I use a dashing s. LP,MP, which is used to perform the move anyway,
since it counts as LP,LP, and you can just stick in f,LK,HP to finish
the move).  This will knock the opponent into the air, and you can then
juggle them back and forth between your hands by using the upper hand
animations (just press LP,HP,LP,HP or the reverse to knock them into
your other hand).  Another method is to hit them with Anakaris'
launcher, then quickly input the Pharaoh Illusion to make the startup
combo.  This results in you performing the Illusion in mid-air, so that
you can hit your opponent, but Anakaris will sink down if his opponent
falls down to the ground.

The sure-fire way to get lots of hits is to start off at a moderate pace
and then increase the speed to prevent your opponent from flying over
your hands, although you can always stick in an upper attack (u + LP or
HP) for the final hit if they begin to move out of range.  This results
in about 81 points of damage (including the 10 from the startup hit).
Or you can just spaz on the buttons, but I've only ever gotten one hit
more (for 88 damage) this way, and you might knock your opponent out of
the way.

If you don't combo the startup, you're asking for trouble, because one
good hit to any part of your body except the hands, and this move ends
What's worse, since Anakaris falls out of the air from very low to the
ground, he's fodder for both ground attacks and throws, _and_ any
number of aerial raves, air throws, etc.  If you are going to attempt
this move without the startup hit, try using LK or HK (no directional
press) to knock a character into the air, then use the same side Punch
button to start juggling them (so if you knock them up with LK, time an
LP press and it will hit, you can then juggle with HP,LP repeatedly).
There are other juggling patterns, but this one seems to be the easiest
and most effective.  Some larger characters will be hit by the upper
hand animations, so you don't need to lift them up with LK or HK before
you start tapping LP,HP repeatedly.

In the Variable Combination version of this move, Anakaris' hands move
automatically.  Since they move at random, you'll sometimes get a few
comboed hits, but he may just end up flailing in the air while your
opponents on the ground.  It's just a huge waste of HC power.


========================================================================
7.  COMBOS, ETC.
========================================================================

Here are some combos (complete with hits and damages) for Anakaris.
Note that the damages may change depending on how well you mash the
Pharaoh Cobra Blow or time the Pharaoh Illusion or Hitsugi no Utage.
Like all characters, Anakaris can't hypercancel during a normal jump,
so if you want to do something like Cobra Blow -> Pharaoh Cobra Blow,
make sure you attempt it on the ground or during a superjump.  Then
again, that's not a very good hypercancel anyway ;)

One neat thing about Anakaris is that you can (usually) switch his Punch
and Kick attacks in his ground and jumping combos, which you may need to
do if you're out of range (for example, his j. HK hits people on the
ground at times when his j. HP would miss).

Finally, note that for any combo that uses a standing HP or HK, you can
substitute in a Snapback, or use it after the HP or HK (yes, even though
his s. HP and Snapback have the same animation, it doesn't mean you can't
use them both in a combo).  The Snapback can also be used in place of
finishing with a LP Cobra Blow--the range is a little shorter but it's
still a long-range move, after all.

 1  s. LP,MP,HP, HP Cobra Blow                                     4/40
 2  s. LK,MK,HK, HP Cobra Blow                                     4/40
 3  s. LP,LK,MP,MK,HP/HK, HP Cobra Blow                            6/46
 4  s. or dash in s. LP, c. MP (1/2 hits), Pharaoh Cobra Blow     55/71
 5  c. LP,LK,MPx2,MK,HK                                            6/31
 6  c. HP, aerial rave  (example used: sj u. LP,LK,MP,MK,HP)       6/43
 7  c. HP, sj u. LP,LK,MP, LP Cobra Blow, Hitsugi no Utage         9/91
 8  c. HP, sj u. LP,LK,MP, LP Cobra Blow, LP,LK, (f+HK)            7/??
 9  c. HP, sj u. LP,LK,MP, Pharaoh Cobra Blow                     72/102
10  c. HK, OTG Hitsugi no Utage near corner                        4/57
11  c. HK, OTG Pharaoh Cobra Blow in corner                       50/74
12  Pharaoh Magic, OTG Hitsugi no Mai                              5/76
13  Pharaoh Magic, OTG Hitsugi no Utage near corner                7/99
14  Pharaoh Magic, (can dash in) OTG Pharoh Illusion               5/64
15  Pharaoh Magic, (can dash in) OTG Pharaoh Cobra Blow           54/116
16  Pharaoh Magic, dash in, OTG c. LK, c. HP, aerial rave         11/86
17  Dash in s. LP,MP, Pharaoh Illusion                            12/91
18  Hitsugi no Mai, Pharaoh Magic                                  5/77
19  Hitsugi no Mai, Pharaoh Cobra Blow                            52/83
20  Hitsugi no Mai, Pharaoh Illusion                              10/98
21  Hitsugi no Mai, Hitsugi no Utage near corner                   8/116
22  Hitsugi no Utage near corner                                   7/99
23  LP Cobra Blow, Hitsugi no Utage                                2/31
24  LP Cobra Blow, Pharaoh Illusion (only on big characters)      10/94
25  HP Cobra Blow, Pharaoh Magic                                   5/75
26  HP Cobra Blow, Pharaoh Magic, Hitsugi no Mai                   6/91
27  HP Cobra Blow, Pharaoh Magic, Hitsugi no Utage                 8/113
28  HP Cobra Blow, Hitsugi no Utage                                8/114
29  HP Cobra Blow, Pharaoh Magic, c. LK, c. HP, aerial rave       12/97
30  Miira Drop, HP Cobra Blow                                      2/40
31  Miira Drop, HP Cobra Blow, Pharaoh Magic                       6/95
32  Miira Drop, HP Cobra Blow, Pharaoh Magic, Hitsugi no Mai       7/104
33  Miira Drop, OTG s. LK,MK,HK, LP Cobra Blow                     5/59
34  Miira Drop, OTG s. LP,MP, c. HP, sj. u, aerial rave            9/64
35  Miira Drop, dash in OTG with c. HK                             2/35
36  Miira Drop, dash in OTG with c. LK                             2/27
37  Any "Bohi" attack, LP Cobra Blow                               2/23
38  Jump uf, immediate LP,MP,(df+HK), LP Cobra Blow                4/33
39  Jump uf, immediate LP,MP,HP, LP Cobra Blow                     4/39
40  Jump uf, immediate LP,MP,(df+HK), s. LK,MK,HK, HP Cobra Blow   7/50
41  Air dash or jump in late LP,MP,(f/df+HK), LP Cobra Blow        4/33
42  Air dash or jump in late LP,MKx2,HP, LP Cobra Blow             4/34
43  Air dash or jump in late LP,MP,HP, land, jump uf LP,MKx2,HP    7/47
44  Air dash or jump in late LP,MP,HP, land, jump uf LP,MP,HP,      ...
    LP Cobra Blow                                                  7/55
45  Air dash or jump in late LP,MP,HP, land, dash in s. LP,MP,      ...
    c. HP, aerial rave                                            11/57
46  Air dash or jump in late LP,MP,HP, land, dash in LP,LK,MP,      ...
    MK,HP, HP Cobra Blow                                          11/57
47  Do #45, but after c. HP, do sj u LP,LK,MP, LP Miira Drop       9/51
48  c. HP, Pharaoh Illusion                                        9/89
49  Do #45, but combo c. HP into Pharaoh Illusion                 14/96


Notes on performing the combos:

 3.  If you dash in first, you can use the LP Cobra Blow, although for
     less damage.
 4.  Try to make sure your opponent is either in the corner, so that
     you can mash for the PCB, or that they're next to you and have
     a lot of space behind them, so the snakes can extend to their
     full length and you can time them for maximum damage.
 5.  This is my old favorite all-crouching combo from Vampire Savior ;)
 6.  This is the aerial rave I'll be using for all the other combos
     with raves in 'em, just so you know.
 7.  You have to do the LP Cobra Blow hypercancel into the the Hitsugi
     no Utage really fast for it to work.  Furthermore, this combo has
     to be done out in the open in order for it to hit.  This combo
     works only on the wider characters--others may get hit by the Utage
     but not for the full amount.  From what I've tested, it works on
     the following characters:

     Amingo, Anakaris, Cable, Colossus, Doom, Hulk, Sabretooth, Shuma-
     Gorath, Silver Samurai, Strider Hiryu, Tron Bonne, Venom, Zangief.

     It will only work partially on these characters:

     Cammy, Captain America, Captain Commando, Cyclops, Felicia, Iron
     Man, Jill Valentine, Jin, Juggernaut, Marrow, Omega Red, Rogue,
     Sakura Kasugano, Sentinel, Spiral, Thanos, Vega, War Machine,
     Wolverine (both types).

     On everybody else, the Utage misses entirely.

 8.  This is the only theoretical combo in the list...I've gotten as
     far as connecting the LP after the mid-air LP Cobra Blow but no
     further.  It should be possible, though.  If anyone gets this to
     work and wants to tell me the damage / how they did it, by all
     means, drop me a line.
 9.  If you don't jump straight up, the MP may miss.  Again, it's best
     to have your opponent in the corner so you can mash the PCB, or
     have them next to you but with a lot of space behind them so you
     can time the hits for lots of damage.
10.  This combo requires that you have your opponent at the proper range
     for the first falling coffin to hit, and for the other coffins to
     snag your enemy while they're being hit.  Some thinner characters
     may not take all the hits--wider characters work better.  Like most
     Utage combos, this can be done in the open, but for far less damage
     (since you'll only get one hit).
13.  Same as #10.
14.  This is sort of a joke combo, since the Illusion OTGs for only
     one hit.  It just looks cool ;)
15.  Do this in the corner so you can mash like mad.  It doesn't work
     well out in the open.
17.  This only works on average and larger characters.  On thinner
     characters, it will miss.  Since the LP,MP already counts as part
     of the entry, you can input the Pharaoh Illusion simply as f,LK,HP.
18.  Same as #10.  Hypercanceling out of the Hitsugi no Mai is really
     tricky since you need to do it once the coffin is onscreen but
     before it's come down too far.  Unlike combo #20, you don't have
     to be right next to your opponent for the Pharaoh Magic to combo,
     but you still have to be really close.  Follow the Magic with
     whatever OTG combo you like.
19.  Same as #4.
20.  You have to be up close and do the LP Hitsugi no Mai if you want
     the Illusion to combo.  Again, the hypercancel timing is tough.
22.  This only works on some characters (the wider they are, the more
     likely it will hit)), and you have to be lined up perfectly.  As
     stated in the Utage section, you can get the perfect range every
     time by lining up the circular, golden hem of Anakaris' clothing
     with the silver triangular edge of the 2P HC gauge (if you're on
     that side), or the edge of the 1P HC gauge (if you're on that
     side).  The yellow hem should lie along the upper edge " / " of
     the triangle with no background showing through, just gold-on
     -silver.
21.  You'll only get one hit of the Utage, unfortunately.
25.  Anakaris' other Pharaoh Magic combo.  You have to do the HP Cobra
     Blow to a cornered opponent, and you have to be close.  I highly
     recommend sticking the the Miira Drop version (#28), since doing
     the HP Cobra Blow on it's own is suicidal.
27.  This requires that you move back a bit so that the first coffin of
     the Utage will hit.  Some thinner characters may not take all the
     multiple hits.
28.  See #10.
30.  I wonder, is this unescapable?  I know you can roll before Anakaris
     can c. HK you, but what about attacks that hit higher up?  For
     combos #27 through #31, you have to have your back to the corner
     of the screen, and you must be able to throw your opponent into
     the corner with the Miira Drop in order for the combo to work.
     In some cases, if you're not close enough, you can dash forward
     before doing the rest of the combo (this won't work with the
     HP Cobra Blow, though, since it needs a lot of time to come out).
31.  You can follow up the Pharaoh Magic with something else, just like
     in the other combos listed here.  Be creative ;)
33.  Believe it or not, the HP Cobra Blow won't combo off of the HK.
     Must have something to do with juggling them off of the Miira
     Drop.
34.  The spacing is a little tricky (that's why I like #33 so much),
     but it's possible.  Just practice.  Alternately, you can dash
     in and do s. LK, s. MK, c. HP.
35.  Since you can do this combo out in the open, you should do it
     _every_ time you land the Miira Drop (unless you throw them into
     the corner, where there are all sorts of other high damage combos).
     I mean, even if they roll out of the way of the c. HK, they'll end
     up in the perfect range for an HP Miira Drop upon your recovery
     (or you can do a standing HP into the Miira Drop if you want to
     add in some variety).
36.  This is possible out in the open, but not really useful ;)  Unless
     you throw them into the corner and want to follow it with something
     else ;)
37.  Anakaris' worst combo.  Well, at least it's in there.  If you're
     too high up, the LP Cobra Blow will miss.
38.  For #38 through #40, you have to start attacking the moment you
     leave the ground.
40.  If you don't do the first three hits fast enough, you won't land
     fast enough to finish the combo on the ground.
41.  This combo only works against taller characters.  Since I consider
     Anakaris' jump to be Satan-spawned, try the air dash instead, it
     works just as well and is a lot faster.  Sure it's slow to start
     (you have to jump to use it, after all), but you can jump up from
     the other side of the screen, then dash across it and still be in
     range to attack.
42.  See #41.
43.  Like #41, but it works on all characters.  You may wish to switch
     j. HK for j. HP if your opponent is out of range.  Since you're
     left defenseless after this combo, you may want to cancel into a
     special move for the hell of it.  This combo is more for show ;)
44.  For #44 through #47, see #41.
47.  The actual damage is 51 from the combo, plus 22 for the Miira
     Drop, for 73 damage all told.  Doing this combo twice will leave
     someone with almost no life left!  Remember, this is a real combo
     since the Miira Drop is inescapable in mid-air.
48.  This isn't as tricky as it seems.  Simply input the command for the
     Pharaoh Illusion during Anakaris' c. HP launcher, and the startup
     animation combos for 2 hits.  If you don't want to enter the whole
     command, you can always crouch and quickly tap LP,HP,LP,f,LK,HP,
     which results in a c. LP,HP combo ending in the Illusion startup.


Miira Drop 'Combos':

     s. LP, Miira Drop
     s. HP, HP Miira Drop
     s. LK,MK, LP Miira Drop
     c. LK,MK, LP Miira Drop
     s. LK,HK, HP Miira Drop
     s. LP, c. MP (1st hit), LP Miira Drop
     Miira Drop into corner, jump ub, j. HP, LP Miira Drop

None of these are real combos (maybe except the last one), since the
ground Miira Drop can't combo.  You could do longer ones, like a full
5-hit chain into an HP Miira Drop, but it's safer to use shorter chains,
which is what I've listed here.


========================================================================
8.  CHOOSING YOUR ASSIST TYPE
========================================================================

None of Anakaris' assists are particularly useful--you tend to get
something good and something bad no matter which one you pick:

ALPHA - Chijou Kougeki Type  (Ground Attack Type)

Partner Assist:        HP Cobra Blow
Variable Counter:      HP Cobra Blow
Variable Combination:  Pharaoh Cobra Blow

This is not a very useful assist type.  The HP Cobra Blow has a good
range, but that is about it's only redeeming feature, both as an
assist and a counter.  Good players can trade hits with it, but at
least Anakaris can recover lost life if you avoid Snapbacks (especially
in combos).  At least the Pharaoh Cobra Blow is a great Variable
Combination, and will get you lots of damage.


BETA - Nage Engo Type  (Throw Assistance Type)

Partner Assist:        HP Miira Drop
Variable Counter:      HP Miira Drop
Variable Combination:  Pharaoh Illusion

This probably makes for Anakaris' worst assist.  The Miira Drop is
easily telegraphed by your incoming Anakaris, and since it's a long
range attack, it will miss people who are too close or too far away.
What's more, Anakaris throws your opponent away from him, and he
does it faster than a normal Miira Drop (since he doesn't shake them
around much), meaning that unless you're next to or behind Anakaris
when he catches an opponent, you won't have an easy time comboing off
of his attack.  As a counter, it's range makes it useless for stopping
close attacks.  And the V. Combination version of the Pharaoh Illusion
is just plain worthless.


BETA - Hensoku Kougeki Type  (Irregular Attack Type)

Partner Assist:        HP Hitsugi no Mai
Variable Counter:      HP Hitsugi no Mai
Variable Combination:  Hitsugi no Utage

This version is not great but it has it's uses.  Anakaris shows up in
front of you, leaving him open to attack, and the Hitsugi no Mai
actually comes down in what would be the LK position because of this.
In other words, as an assist this is not useful for stopping anything
other than mid-range or far attacks.  As a Variable Counter, the
Hitsugi no Mai is just too slow to have any element of surprise.  The
Variable Combination is just the same as a normal Hitsugi no Utage, and
if your opponent is under attack by another character's super, than you
will at least get in a few coffin hits for pretty good damage.

So which one to pick?  Alpha probably has the least faults, and the
best V. Combination.  If you like having an unblockable assist and V.
Counter, then Beta is for you, but you have to know your ranges.  Gamma
is just, well, I dunno, if you like having coffins everywhere, go for
that one.  I tend to stick with Alpha, personally.


========================================================================
9.  CHOOSING YOUR PARTNERS
========================================================================

Personally, I find that Anakaris' best partners are the ones that can
make the most of all that HC power he earns.  Here are the people I
pair up with Anakaris the most often, the assist type I recommend, and
why:

[ SILVER SAMURAI ]  ----------------------------------------------------

 - Favorite Assist:  Beta or Gamma
 - Favorite Color:   Black (it's so friggin' cool...pick with A1)

This may be a little biased because Sammy is my favorite character
after Anakaris.  Seriously, though, you can have a ball with this guy,
because all that HC power Anakaris is earning can be expended on his
sword modes, and trust me, nothing's better than doing 'Koori' three
times and running around with Hyper Armor, instant-recover Shurikens,
and a 'hits low and freezes you' Hyper Combo to go with it.  Did I
mention he takes the lowest damage in the entire game when he's in
Koori mode?  Or if you have a lot of life, try three 'Honoo' power
ups--Combo #9 (listed below), will do 90 points of damage!

Even if you don't like the sword modes, you can still chip off lots of
life with his Chou Shuriken HC and do lots of damage with his easy
c. LK, c. MK, Raimei Ken combo.  And Sammy has some great combos,
especially since his jumping HK crosses up so easily.

As a beta partner, Silver Samurai gives Anakaris what he needs most;
a projectile.  Sure the Shuriken can be destroyed by normal attacks,
but you should be using it to pressure your opponent...so that they
don't have time to negate the Shuriken since you are all over them
with attacks, forcing them to block for good block damage.  Sadly,
the Shuriken is destroyable, and his V. Combination choice (the Chou
Shuriken), is only useful if your V. Combination is blocked.  If it
hits, the Chou Shuriken may launch an opponent out of the way of the
other characters' attacks.

As a gamma partner, Silver Samurai's assist and V. Counter are rather
worthless--all he does is a crouching HP that doesn't launch.  His
Raimei Ken makes an excellent V. Combination attack, though, and if
he's your current character, he'll do whatever HC is available to him
depending on what mode he's in.  This makes it possible for you to
press PA and PB, and a Koori mode Silver Samurai will leap to the
center of the screen and freeze the floor, while your other teammates
come in and attack you from behind!

Combos to try:

1  s. HK, Shuriken (opponent in corner)                             7/31
2  c. HK, OTG with Shuriken (direct downward)                       7/31
3  c. LK,MK, Chou Shuriken (direct upward--only vs. large guys)    20/50
4  s. LP, HPx2, Raimei Ken                                         41/64
5  s. LP, HPx2, Homura Ken  (after using Touki 'Honoo')            46/71
6  c. LK, MK, Homura Ken  (after using Touki 'Honoo')              36/54
7  c. HK, Homura Ken  (after using Touki 'Honoo')                  43/73
8  s. LK, MK, LP Hyakuretsu Tou, Fumikomi Hyakuretsu Tou            8/29
9  Cross up j. HK, c HP, sj. uf LP,LK,MP,MK, HP Shuriken           12/60

2.  This won't work if you have a Touki mode turned on.
9.  This won't work if you have Touki 'Koori' on (since the Shuriken
    comes out slower).

Obviously the damage on these combos changes depending on how many times
you've used his sword modes.

Another combo to try with him (I dunno if it's a real combo), is to get
into Koori mode, throw a Shuriken, then combo into the Hyouga Ken (ice
super) for 4 hits.  You can then take a step back and keep doing this,
and your opponent can't escape (until you run out of HC power)!  If you
have already used Koori before, the damage of the Hyouga Ken increases.
At Level 3, you're doing 58 points of damage per attempt (40 for the
Hyouga Ken, 18 for the Shuriken).  That's sure to kill of anybody after
about three uses!


[ JUGGERNAUT ]  --------------------------------------------------------

 - Favorite Assist: Beta
 - Favorite Color:  Dark Gray (pick with LK)

Even if you don't abuse the power-up glitch, he's way powerful.  Thanks
to Anakaris, you'll always have enough power to do his best combo (jump
in HP, standing LK, standing HP, Headcrush).  Heck, you can even jab
someone and combo the Headcrush off of that.  The beta assist gives you
his too-good-to-be-true Juggernaut Punch, which is fast, has Super Armor
to protect it, and is a great way to keep your opponent scared by using
it when they're not expecting it ;)

Combos to try:

1  s. LP, Juggernaut Headcrush                                      5/64
2  s. LK, s. HP, HP Earthquake Punch                                8/46
3  j. HP, s. LK, s. HP, Juggernaut Headcrush                        7/94
4  j. HP, s. LK, s. HP, LP Juggernaut Punch                         4/57
5  c. LK, c. MK, OTG with HP Earthquake Punch (3 hits), J.Headcrush 9/84
6. c. LK, c. MK, OTG with LP Juggernaut Punch, Juggernaut Headcrush 7/93
7. HP Throw, Juggernaut Headcrush (opponent in corner)              4/73
8. HP Throw, standing HP (opponent in corner, launches)             2/33
9. HP Throw, j. LK,HP, HK Juggernaut Body Press                     4/56

2.  This will not work on small characters.
9.  This only works in the corner.  The timing on the body press is
    difficult--you may prefer using LK which does 52 points overall.


[ COLOSSUS ]  ----------------------------------------------------------

 - Favorite Assist: Beta
 - Favorite Color:  They're all really the same ;)

The great thing about giving Colossus lots of HC power is that you can
run around with Hyper Armor all day long, making it much easier to land
attacks.  His LK Shoulder Tackle assist is a nice way to keep your
opponent busy while you attack.

Combos to try:

1  c. HP, HP Giant Swing                                           2/55
2  c. HK, sj LP,LK,MP,MK,HP                                        6/56
3  s. HK, sj LP,LK,MP,MK, LK Power Tackle, Super Dive, d + P / K   8/104
4  s. HK, sj LP,LK,MP,MK, LK Power Tackle                          6/63
5  s. HK, sj LP,LK,MP,MK, Mid-Air HP Throw                         5/43
6  s. LP,MP, LK Power Tackle                                       3/40
7  c. LK,HK, LK Power Tackle                                       3/47
8  j. HP, HP Giant Swing                                           2/52
9  c. HK, sj u LP,LK, Super Dive (misses), d + P / K (hits)        4/66

3.  Must be done in the corner of the screen.
6.  You can use the HK Power Tackle, but only if you do the combo from
    reasonably close and you don't try to proceed it with an attack.
8.  You have to hit late with the jump attack (any will do, really),
    then do the Giant Swing.

You can preceed any of these combos with a jump-in attack (makes a great
way to connect into his launcher), except for combos #5 and #6.  Note
that doing this prevents you from using these combos on smaller people,
though.


[ FELICIA ]  -----------------------------------------------------------

 - Favorite Assist: Gamma
 - Favorite Color:  Black (pick with PB)

I personally think Felicia has been pretty much ruined in this game;
she doesn't have a lot of high damage attacks and a good deal of her
specials are either useless or have limited uses.  She's really only
in here because of one or two good combos that require a lot of HC
power--that's where Anakaris comes in ;)

Combos to try:

1  Rolling Buckler, Sliding Kick, Please Help Me (can then do #2)  ?/???
2  Please Help Me, c. LP / LK, Please Help Me, c. LP / LK....      ?/???

1. This combo is really just a setup for #2.  Once the Rolling Buckler
   hits, press K for the Sliding Kick, then do the Please Help Me,
   juggle with a crouching LP or LK, and do combo #2.
2. You can repeat this until your opponent dies, or you get pushed
   out of range.  Don't forget that you can tap K rapidly during the
   Please Help Me for even more damage.  Of course, your opponent can
   roll, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't attempt this combo every
   so often ;)


[ OTHER CHARACTERS TO USE ]  -------------------------------------------

Really, anybody with a Level 3 HC makes a good partner for Anakaris
because they'll be able to use it more than they normally would.  You
might as well make a Spiral-Shuma-Anakaris team and use them soley
for the Metamorphose and Chaos Dimension, while Anakaris does all the
Miira Dropping. ;)  Dan also makes a good partner, but really only
because you can do stuff like his Shinkuu Gadou Ken -> Kouryuu Rekka
juggle in the corner, and when he starts to get low on life, use him
for an Otoko Michi.  Come to think of it, between Anakaris' Miira Drop
and Dan's taunting, pairing them together would keep you maxed out on
HC power for the entire match ;)


========================================================================
10.  STRATEGIES
========================================================================

Playing with Anakaris takes a little adjusting to because he's quite
unlike the other characters.  This section has some suggestions on to
play a better Anakaris.

1.  Overuse the Miira Drop--Anakaris' sole purpose is to earn HC power.

Use this move until you're blue in the face, and when even you start to
feel like a cheap bastard from all the throwing, ignore your conscious
and keep on gift-wrapping them.  Yes, this move gives your opponent a
lot of HC power to use, and if you're fighting Cable and don't think you
can handle him with all that super power, you have a problem.  You can
play an okay Anakaris without the Miira Drop, it's just that you're
missing out on his best ability.  It's like trying to play as Zangief
without using any SPDs or FABs.  Anakaris can max out his HC levels
faster than anybody else in the game, and he gets to do a lot of damage
at the same time.

So, what do you do when you have a bunch of HC power?  Switch in with
someone else.  Anakaris has some really devastating Hyper Combos, but
they're also really difficult to land.  You're much better off playing
with someone who can really take advantage of a fully charged gauge.
Once you're out of power, bring Anakaris back in, charge back up again,
and repeat.  Do you want to waste the time trying to get your opponent
in range for that perfect 7-hit Utage?  While you're waiting for your
chance at glory, you could have already switched in Colossus, turned
on his Super Armor HC, and waded through a couple of attacks in order
to land one of his high-damage combos.

2.  Never use normal jumps.  Ever.

As I've already said elsewhere in the FAQ, Anakaris' jump totally sucks.
Need to move around quickly on the ground?  Dash or backstep.  In the
air?  Super jump and/or air dash.  Even Anakaris' dashing jump is
slow as heck (though it's better than his normal jump, that's for sure).
It's often tempting to take to the skies, but when you jump, you
basically just coast across the screen holding a sign that says "hit
me baby one more time."  After all, what are you going to do if someone
comes at you with an attack?  If you attack with kicks, well, your
legs are vulnerable to attacks, and Anakaris has no specials he can use
that will allow him to reach the ground unmolested.  Plus you're total
fodder for projectiles, even when jumping backwards, since you stay in
air for so long.

3.  Watch out for lag when you attack.

Anakaris' moves have a lot of lag.  Basically, anything you do that
is blocked invites a counterattack.  The only moves that recover fast
enough for you to block after being blocked yourself are Anakaris'
standing LP, LK, MP, MK, or his crouching LP, LK, or MK.  So if you
start attacking and your normals are blocked, cut it short after
one of these moves, and don't go for his crouching MP or any of his
HP or HK attacks unless you want to get a beating.  All of his special
moves have lag, so take the proper precautions, like only using the
Cobra Blow in combos, never doing the Hitsugi no Mai when close, etc.

If your attack gets blocked, you could always try cancelling into a
Miira Drop to grab someone unexpectedly, or at least an LP Cobra Blow
as it comes out quickly.  Other than that, you're asking for it (I
once did an HP Cobra Blow out in the open by accident, and CPU
Juggernaut responded with an 8-hit Headcrush)!

4.  Play cautiously.

Anakaris is slow and takes a lot of damage, so you have to play
carefully and not take too many risks--otherwise you'll just end up
dead.  Instead, wait for openings and take advantage of his long reach
to hit opponents who leave themselves open.  Instead of trying to land
Anakaris' slow and clumsy launcher, whittle down your opponent's life
with his short n' sweet ground combos (s. LK,MK,HK, HP Cobra Blow does
do 40 damage, after all).  And of course, Miira Drop them whenever
possible; this will annoy the heck out of your opponent and may lead
to them making some mistakes in an attempt to strike back, which you
can exploit to your advantage.

5.  Don't push Anakaris too hard.

Like I just said, Anakaris takes a lot of damage from attacks.  It's
tempting to keep playing with him even when you've lost a good deal
of life, because you can get so much HC power from the Miira Drop, or
maybe you're waiting for that perfect chance to bust out a full-range
PCB and utterly destroy your opponent.  Realistically, though, you'd
be much better off switching Anakaris out and having him earn back
what life he can.  After all, he'll give you enough HC power to bring
him back in any way you like--you can Variable Counter or DHC him in
with power to spare, if you're not playing too wastefully.

6.  Don't forget to pick a cool color!

Okay, this isn't a strategy, I just had nowhere else to put it.  Here
is Anakaris' color scheme:

  LP - White wrappings, gold and blue clothing.
  HP - Cream wrappings, green and dark green clothing.
  LK - White wrappings, red and pink clothing.
  HK - White wrappings, gold and red clothing.
  PA - Brown wrappings, yellow and blue clothing.
  PB - Light gray wrappings, dark gray clothing.

PA is the biggest eyesore and is guaranteed to make your opponent
groan, while PB (monochrome Anakaris!) is the coolest looking, esp.
when you have a black Juggernaut and Silver Samurai on your team (see
the previous section).


Vs. CPU Strategies - Fighting Abyss

First Form:  Superjump and use the Hitsugi no Mai repeatedly--you can
just watch where the 2P icon is and use the proper button to nail him
over and over and over.  You'll kill him in record time and will have
taken no damage _and_ have earned a lot of HC power.  All you really
have to watch out for are the homing sparkballs and his Green Rain
hyper combo.

Second Form:  Just superjump and keep tossing coffins.  Abyss is
powerless to stop you aside from his green bubbles (just pop 'em),
and his Hyper Combo (just block it).  Again, it's possible to kill this
form without taking a single hit.

Third Form:  The Pharaoh Cobra Blow works nicely on Abyss, but you can
always wait for Abyss to rise out of the ground, then do a triple V.
Combination (you should have enough power by now, anyway).  Afterwards,
block his counterattack, and switch in someone else to finish off
Abyss.  That's because Anakaris doesn't really have any good attacks for
fighting Abyss when he has no HC power.


========================================================================
11.  MOVES ANAKARIS HAS LOST
========================================================================

For those of you who only know about this guy from experience with the
DarkStalkers games, here's a list of what he's lost since joining the
MvC2 cast:

Kotodama Gaeshi (Suu)                  (Power of Words Return (Inhale))
Kotodama Gaeshi (Haku)                 (Power of Words Return (Exhale))
 - The Suu allowed you to 'eat' an opponent's projectile, giving you
   a small amount of EX power in return.  With the Haku, you could
   spit back a swallowed projectile, or even EX it yourself.  Without
   this move, Anakaris' only defense against projectiles is to negate
   them with a Hitsugi no Mai (which is really slow), or grab his
   opponent with a Miira Drop before the projectile hits (which is
   impossible if they're out of range).

Togame no Ana                                             (Pit of Blame)
 - An unblockable counterattack move used if people tried to hit you
   while you were on the ground.  With the removal of pursuit attacks,
   this move was not really needed as much, but as it could still grab
   people who were standing or jumping, it would have made a nice way
   to stop people attempting to OTG you.

Naname Fuyuu / Suichoku Fuyuu                (Diagonal / Vertical Float)
Nidan Jump                                              (Two-Level Jump)
 - Anakaris had the ability to float in the air, and to jump up to
   two different heights and move around on the screen.  All of this
   was canned in favor of normal jumps and his air dash.  Considering
   how slow his normal jump is, I don't really think it was a fair
   trade ;(

Reverse Warp
 - One of his most useful abilities, he could backdash while in the
   corner of the screen and show up on the other side.  While his
   walking speed has been increased, the reverse warp would have still
   been a great method for him to sneak up on opponents.

Naraku no Ana                                             (Pit of Hades)
 - An EX (super) move.  This was an unblockable move with bad range,
   but it was still his easiest EX to connect, and it could grab people
   out of the air as well.

Shinjitsu no Oshie                                   (Doctrine of Truth)
 - A weird Guard Cancel that only did a few points of damage.  I can see
   why this was removed (hell, it could miss on a lot of characters),
   but I still liked it ;)

Pharaoh Salvation: Yajuu Mahou                         (Eightfold Magic)
Pharaoh Decoration: Bijo Mahou                   (Beautiful Women Magic)
 - The Salvation was a pumped-up version of the Pharaoh Magic in which
   Anakaris also attacked with gas, meteorite, petrifying, and cursing
   spell orbs.  The Pharaoh Decoration was an alternate version of the
   original Pharaoh Magic--Anakaris would throw love heart orbs that
   would turn his opponent into women after each normal spell orb.  Both
   looked really wicked (and humiliating) if you got them to connect.
   Yet Capcom went in favor of the lame Pharaoh Magic.  Go figure.

Bunri Kougeki: Pharaoh Split                         (Separation Attack)
 - In this move, you could control Anakaris' upper floating half with
   the controller and punch buttons, while his lower body was under
   the control of Khybit, who would kick when you pressed and Kick
   button.  Not really that useful, but pretty fun.

All the extra stuff
 - In addition, Anakaris also lost the funny stuff, like the random
   Khybit appearances during his normal taunt or EX Miira Drop, Khybit's
   appearance during the "Pharaoh" moves, and the Royal Procession taunt
   and all the related moves.  Capcom even canned the 'coin-catching'
   mini-game winpose!  Having been robbed of all his useless stuff like
   Felicia, Anakaris has become a much more boring character to use.


========================================================================
12.  AUTHOR'S NOTE
========================================================================

------------------------------------------------------------------------
SPECIAL THANKS
------------------------------------------------------------------------

GANYMEDE
 - For teling me how to combo Anakaris' launcher into the Pharaoh
   Illusion.

MaSa                                   <http://www.din.or.jp/~ookbmasa/>
 - I got the 'Idainaru Bohi' name from his FAQ.

Chris                                               <www.dashtaisen.com>
 - Some move names taken from his excellent technique guides.  Dash
   Taisen is a fantastic site for finding out official movenames and
   stuff like that.

Ura no Ura (Double Reverse)                     <www2.airnet.ne.jp/~tac>
 - Some moves and quite a few movenames taken from this site.  If you
   can read Japanese, this is a cool page to visit.

All MvC2 FAQ contributors
 - For the information I used from my own MvC2 FAQ.  Thanks guys!


------------------------------------------------------------------------
REVISION HISTORY
------------------------------------------------------------------------

VERSION 0.2  (July 11, 2000)
 - Some contributions were sent in and added, I made a few additions
   here and there, that's about it.

VERSION 0.1  (June 12, 2000)
 - The first release.  All this comes after messing around with Anakaris
   for, like, two straight weeks.  Enjoy.

Unpublished work Copyright 2000-2001 Chris MacDonald

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