The Wind Gust Dragon and Water Storm Dragon, otherwise known as Yun and Yang
are the adolescent gang leaders of Hong Kong. The pair of them live with their
uncle and keep a small shop in the heart of the city. They both attain great
support from their "God fathers" the crime lords of Hong Kong. The pair of
them are also known to cause a fair bit of mischief all in the name of good
"fun".
Both Yun and Yang fight in a style of Chinese Gong (Kung) Fu which seems to be
rooted deeply in Kempo. Since their grandfather, none other than Gen of
original and Zero Street Fighter fame, taught them their fighting style, I
wouldn't be surprised if this was true (Gen actually fought in the "animal"
arts of Mantis and Crane). Despite the fact that their fighting style is the
same, the two have very branched techniques. Yun concentrates on instantaneous
and fast hits like gusts of wind while Yang prefers a flowing style which flows
like the sea. "Be shapeless, like water… water can flow, or it can crash"
(Bruce Lee).
In terms of the game, I remember back in the original Street Fighter III when
Yun and Yang were nothing but palette swaps of eachother. Those days are far
behind now as Yun and Yang are different enough to be considered completely
different characters! First it should be noted that Yang is far from the
strongest character in the game. He doesn't deal a whole lot of damage, takes
quite a fair bit himself, and has only average priority. However I can say
that, when played well, he is a very fun character to use and can hold his own
against anyone you care to name. His strategies are varied and his game of
pressure is excellent.
+ Fast special moves which are almost all controllable
+ Long impressive chain combos
+ A brutal high-low game
+ 3 useful supers!
+ He just looks really cool
- Physically quite weak
- Takes a slightly higher amount of damage than most other characters
- Average priority
- Specials are vulnerable if incorrectly used
- Normals aren't as good as Yun
Standing: A stabbing poke to the neck area. Your basic jab, used in combos
and such, I've heard that it makes a good anti-air but I have yet to see it.
Crouching: Same stabbing poke but to the leg area. I only use it for combos,
but it is LIGHTNING quick and as such I have often used it to stuff opponent's
attack before they even pull them off!
Jumping: A stabbing poke downwards at a 45 degree angle. Not very useful at
all as it has short range and can't be used well as an air-to-air attack do to
the angle it's pointed.
MP
Standing: Yang steps forward, lowers his head and pokes his elbow out. A
great move with superior range and priority. Add to this the fact that it can
be chained into a HP and Palm strike and this will be one move that you will be
abusing quite often. The recovery time is also minimal so you don't have to
worry about any big retribution… if any at all.
Crouching: A downward poke to the opponent's feet. You can't chain it
from/into anything but its rather quick and a little deceiving. As it stands,
I use it as a quick, low damage counter and thanks to the fact that it hits so
low you can counter certain moves… but its really not that useful.
Jumping:
HP
Standing: Standing close Yang does a two hit chop punch upwards. It's a
decent low damage air counter (I wouldn't recommend it though) and the recovery
time is minimal so you should be okay sticking it out.
Standing far away Yang does makes a step forward and extends his arm almost all
the way out while stabbing at the opponent's neck. This is an EXCELLENT move
with high priority, average priority and extreme range. This is your main
stuffing move as it is fast enough that, with some anticipation, you can hit
opponent's out of critical moves. The power is quite pleasing as well. My
main poke.
Jumping: Long poke downwards. It comes out rather quickly, but the range is
only average. The priority is pretty good and as such can be used pretty well
as a jump in. More to the fact, it also works well as an air-to-air counter
when the opponent is slightly below you.
Crouching: An interesting move. Yang hits forward with his usual poking palm
and then angles upwards to hit again. For a move of this type, the range is
AWFULLY short but it sure looks cool. As for its usefulness… you can't really
poke with it, but the fact that it hits upwards is useful for countering
Hurricane Kicks and Tornado Kicks which you may have ducked under. I must
mention that the priority is quite high.
LK
Standing: A quick shin kick. It won't combo into itself and it isn't really
the greatest/fastest poke but you can buffer a teleport afterward which makes
for some great mix ups.
Crouching: A dinky little kick that hugs the ground. The range is not very
far at all, but it's a good move to stick out after landing from a Toe Press
since it must be blocked low. Unfortunately it can really only combo into
itself and the damage is pretty laughable.
Jumping: An awkward looking jump kick which is aimed pretty horizontal. While
its laughably weak, the range is actually quite good and can be used to snuff
air attacks with relative ease.
MK
Standing: Yang has three versions.
Up close (within a throwing distance) Yang will perform a vertical version of
the splits (ouch) which launches the opponent high into the air. Feel free to
follow this up with any air attack, Senkyuutai or Zenpou Tenshin. There is
quite a bit of recover in terms of lag though. While this use to be Yang's
primary (or mine at least) air defense, it is now nearly useless as your
opponent must be extremely close for you to be able to use it. As it stands,
it can be used as an air counter, but good luck timing it.
Far away Yang will perform a quick headshot. This move is a great poke with
only minimal recovery. This is negligible however taking into account both its
speed and range. Throw this out periodically to annoy your opponent (some
people actually walk right into it!) but beware as smaller characters can duck
under it.
Holding Forward + MK will make Yang do your infamous Gong Fu hop kick. This is
Yang's overhead, and not a bad one at that. The speed is pretty good, and if
you know how to mix it up then you won't often be punished even when it is
blocked. The damage isn't that heavy (are any of Yang's moves heavy?) but you
can generally hit opponent's quite often with it. One thing to note is that
even though Yang appears to be off the ground, he can still be hit by certain
moves (Ibuki's sweep comes to mind) but avoid others. I advise you be careful.
Still, its eons beyond his leap attack.
Crouching: This will soon become one of your standard moves. Yang gets low
and runs his leg across the ground quite a ways. The damage is only moderate,
but the move is both fast and can be comboed into the Mantis Slashes (a blocked
MK should never end without tagging on at least one Mantis Slash). Its
priority is very high for such a quick move, and I often use it in my footsie
game or to punish missed moves (buffered into Mantis Slashes of course).
Beware however as there is a teeny bit of lag afterward.
Jumping: One of your primary jump-ins. Yang performs your typical Gong fu
style jump kick. The range is pretty good as is the priority (it has semi good
stuffing power). One thing to note is that you can combo it into a MK Toe
Press. Mix it up by doing the Toe Press sometimes and leaving it out at
others. This is absolute hell for parry happy players.
HK
Standing: Yun got the better HK as Yang is left with this awkward looking
Roundhouse kick to the face. The range is excellent and damage is quite
pleasing, but compared to Yang's other moves this sucker is slow. There are
instances in which you can use this, especially when countering far off moves
that he could otherwise not reach, but pulling this out in the middle of
nowhere will get you killed as the lag time afterward is pretty hefty.
Crouching: Yang's infamous Roundhouse Sweep, compared to other sweeps in the
game this one is FAST. You can use it often to keep opponent's off their feet
and, if you pull it early enough, you may even find yourself countering moves
BEFORE they come out. Despite having a miniscule amount of lag time afterward,
I am rarely punished except by the fastest of moves.
Jumping: Yang's "stolen" kick from Chun-li's olden days. Yang will perform a
mid air kick which reaches up to his face. This move has EXCELLENT priority in
an air-to-air scenario but it is just a tad slow. I would never use this as a
jump-in however (with a possible exception against Hugo) as it just isn't aimed
in the right direction.
Throws
Knee Bash
Motion: LP + LK
Yang will grab his opponent's head and continually smash it into his knee. The
faster you mash the buttons, the more hits you are likely to get. Has the
potential of being his strongest throw.
Foot Propel
Motion: Forward + LP + LK
Days of Lei Woolong from Tekken come to mind as this is his exact throw. Yang
will grab his opponent, place his feet on his/her chest and kick off. Cool
throw, low damage.
Back Toss
Motion: Backward + LP + LK
Yang will drop to the ground, grab his opponent and push him up and over with
his legs. Good move for getting out of the corner (and actually switching
places with your opponent!)
Cartwheel
Motion: Forward, down-forward, down, down-back, back + Kick
See "Special Move" Section
1.3 – Special Movelist
Torou Zan or Mantis Slashes
Motion: Down, down-forward, forward + Punch (x3)
EX-able: Yes
Yang delays a fraction of a second and then rushes forward while crouching low
swinging his arm outward infront of him as a streak of light follows his
motion. If performed again then Yang will swipe outwards with the same arm,
and if done a 3rd time then Yang will swipe in once again accompanied by a much
larger flash. This can be done in a combo or delayed for timing purpose. The
higher the punch, the farther and faster Yang will go, but his lag time will
also increase. When Exed Yang can perform up to 5 Mantis Slashes very quickly
and the punch will only control the distance as the speed will remain constant
(but very fast) for all 3.
This is Yang's bread and butter move. Not only is it fast and averagely
damaging, but its also EXTREMELY versatile since you have control of all 3
slashes. As a general rule, you must learn to react instantaneously as to
whether or not the first slash hits or if it is blocked/whiffs. If you hear
the crackle of broken bones, perform the motion again and again until all 3
slashes come out thus comboing for some reasonable damage. If you hear a
block, immediately stop. The first Mantis Slash has little to no recovery at
all and seldom will you find it ever being countered. The second slash however
has pretty bad recovery and the third, well, expect to be eating a combo after
getting that one blocked. Since the priority is pretty good on the Mantis
Slashes, you can use them to get ahead in a footsie game. If you find an
opponent who enjoys parrying your slashes, delay the second one a half second
and then perform it, you'll probably ruin them as they finish tapping forward
realizing that you didn't do anything. Of course as always, combo at least one
after a crouching MK (a single Mantis Slash has less recovery than the MK
itself) but it can be good to throw these out by themselves without the MK
since their priority is higher.
The EX version has the added advantage of 2 extra hits, and always has the
recovery of just a little longer than the first hit of the Mantis Slash, no
matter how many you perform. The only bad thing is that it is fairly difficult
to consistently pull out all 5 slashes in a combo fashion because you must do
them so quickly. If you can perform the EX after a MK, your better off for
being able to do so, but if not, it doesn't hurt to throw out an EX Mantis
Slash here and there because it covers distance VERY quickly (Unlike the un-
EXed version) and you may just catch your opponent by surprise.
Senkyuutai or Roll Kick
Motion: Down, down-forward, forward + Kick
EX-able: Yes
In the LK version Yang thrusts himself off the ground with his arm with his
foot aimed almost straight up. In the MK and HK version Yang will perform a
roll across the ground first before the thrust. MK causes Yang to roll about
half a screen forward while HK makes him travel almost a full screen's
distance.
The Roll Kick is a very hard move to use effectively, but when you can, it can
be deadly. First off, the damage dealt is not really all that great, and its
priority is maybe a tad above average. It should be noted that as Yang rolls
he is vulnerable as I've been sweeped and, yes, even thrown out of this move!
However, if during a roll, Yang encounters his opponent before reaching the
distance of the button used, he will automatically go into the thrust.
That being all the bad things said, this is probably also Yang's best and most
reliable anti-air move. If you have a jump happy opponent then performing the
LK version nets you about the same results as a Dragon Punch with the added
bonus of two hits if performed when the opponent is deep enough. While the
priority actually isn't that high, there are rarely occasions when I've been
knocked out of this move, although I have frequently traded hits. As it
stands, this is the version I use most as it is very reliable.
The MK and HK versions I use primarily to snuff predicted fireballs. Yang's
roll is, least being said, quite fast and can counter fireballs with ease. You
can also use it as a quick getaway if the opponent is bearing down on you with
an endless flurry of uncounterable jump-ins. This is far more effective than
using a Teleport since there's no startup. You should, however, NEVER use this
if your opponent is simply standing like a dumbass because if you get blocked,
kiss your Gong fu butt goodbye. Unless you telegraph your opponent pulling out
a missed move and you use this to counter, I wouldn't ever advise using this
move if your opponent is grounded.
The EX version increases the speed to nearly double the normal version and adds
an insane amount of priority plus a garunteed 2 hits. I generally don't use it
much out of combos except to counter the obvious fireball here and there. No
matter what 2 kicks you use, Yang will always perform the roll before the
launching kick.
Byakou Sushouda or White Tiger Twin Palm Strike
Motion: Down, down-back, back + Punch
EX-able: No
A nasty move and one which only expert Yang players can really put to effective
use. Yang will pair his fists together and then push forward with his palms
(and his entire body). Unlike Yun's version, Yang puts slightly more range on
his Twin Palm Strike which can either aid your distancing or throw it off
(depending on what you're use to). The LP version has minimal startup and
damage, the MP has slightly increased startup but more damage and the HP
version is SLOW but takes a nice chunk of the opponent's lifebar away.
Admittedly I have yet to use this move to its full potential. Due to the slow
nature of its startup (Yang is vulnerable throughout the entire move) I am
often hit out as opponents rush in to hit me. However, as I learn, I find this
move increasingly useful simply because of the extreme priority it has. I've
taken out everything from Elena's array of annoying kicks to a Shoto's Dragon
Punch to Dudley's own Rocket Upper! It's all about distancing and if you can
get this down pat, your Yang shall be feared far and wide as a stuffing king.
Another note to make about the Twin Palm Strike is that it can be cancelled.
By this I mean it both ways. 1.) You can cancel it into Supers but more
importantly 2.) you can abort the move by performing it with 2 punches instead
of one. If you do this, Yang will begin the motion for the palm strike but
stop just as he brings his hands back. Naturally this opens up the doors for
all kinds of sadistic mind games as you can really mess up opponents by giving
them what they THINK is a window of opportunity and then canceling quickly.
For example, when fighting an opponent you can try pulling off a Twin Palm
Strike a few times doing nothing but harmlessly pushing you away as they block
from their get up. The next time, abort the move and you will often find that
you have cancelled your Twin Palm Strike right at the time they decided they'd
try to parry you. There you go, an open window to pull off a nice damaging
combo. Another trick to try is pulling out random Twin Palm Strikes during a
match, then cancel one when up close. Often times the opponent's immediate
reaction is to simply block fearing to take damage and those with slower
reactions may not notice until the last second when you walk right out of the
move and throw them. Remember, it's all about mind games.
Toe Press
Motion: [During a jump forward/straight up] Down-forward + Kick
EX-able: No
Yang spreads his arms out in the air and quickly drops down at an angle with
one leg extended downward in a diving kick fashion. LK results in a very steep
descent, MK a medium descent and HK ends up with him kicking down in nearly the
normal landing trajectory.
The Toe Press is one of THE moves which must be mastered to play Yang
effectively. Although in no way as good as Gouki's own version (but let's face
it, why would it be?) it is still exceedingly useful when placed in a variety
of confusion tactics. First of all, as an actual attack, the Toe Press is
pretty weak. The priority is pretty good, but it's parried rather easily.
It's also rather weak and, if performed at the wrong time, can get you
seriously punished even if you manage to connect with it!
This being said, the Toe Press is FAR from useless. First off, you must use
all 3 versions to get the absolute most out of this move. The LK version
should be used to stop short of your opponent, placing you right in front of
him/her and poising you in the perfect position to either start a high low game
or possibly even throw. If you expect an attack, parry low and go into a big
combo. The MK version should be used intermittently with the jump-in MK and
the jump-in MK -> MK Toe Press chain, especially against parry-happy opponents.
Indeed, it is a thing of wonder to find an opponent who can accurately
telegraph the three every single time! If you use the Toe Press by itself,
make sure to aim low so Yang connects with the attack lower than the opponent's
chest, this way you can immediately move into a combo and avoid such counters
as the Powerbomb/Megaton Press. HK Toe Press is the most difficult to use, but
also the most reliable once you get it down. First, there are two situations
you will find the HK the most useful. First, it can be used from nearly a full
screen's distance in the same fashion as the LK version. Use it to stop just
short of your opponent and then confuse the crap out of him with a high-low
game he wasn't expecting. However the second, and infinitely more useful use
of the HK Toe Press is to use it very early as a cross up attack. The idea is
to perform the Toe Press early enough in the air that Yang's will connect with
your opponent in the head, just around the forehead area. This will cause Yang
to pass over to the other side of the arena thus causing your opponent to block
in the wrong direction. Follow this up with your quickest, meanest combo for a
very flashy and skillful move or a Cartwheel/Teleport to add more confusion to
the madness. Either way, your opponent will be dazed and confused by the time
you finish leaving you with a very satisfied grin.
Cartwheel
Motion: Forward, down-forward, down, down-back, back + Kick
EX-able: No
Yang leans forward and grabs, if he connects he'll perform a cartwheel over his
opponent's shoulders landing him on the opposite side and giving him a margin
of time to strike his opponent as they stand dazed. If he misses, he'll lose
his balance and grab the air while taking an eternity to recover.
This is, in no way, like Ibuki or Necro's command throw. It's slow, really
slow. Slow enough that the opponent can throw you before you can throw them
(though few people have reactions that fast). This move isn't without its uses
though. In certain instances of turtling, you may want to confuse your
opponent by Cartwheeling them into a combo, and it can be useful in moderation
with the Toe Dive. Unfortunately the move immediately makes anything chained
afterward combo-buffered meaning that damage will be greatly decreased. This
being said, it is actually quite difficult to get that combo on the end of the
Cartwheel because the window of opportunity after the flip is about ½ second,
so I suggest you react quickly.
Kaihou or Teleport
Motion: Forward, down, down-forward + Kick
EX-able: No
Yang kneels down and becomes a blur before quickly reappearing a distance away.
The harder the kick used, the farther Yang will go but also the longer the
initial "blurred" state lasts.
Yang's teleport, and probably the single most underused move I've ever seen in
a character's aresenal. First of all the teleport is fast, really fast. We're
not talking Gouki speed here, we're talking LIGHTNING! This being said, it is
fairly easy to be exactly where you want to be in a fight in an instant. The
teleport is not only fast, but the varying distances make it a great move for
playing mind games with your opponent. Try performing multiple teleports over
an opponent's fallen body. By the time they get up, they don't know which way
to block. Need to put pressure on a retreating opponent? No problem, rush'em
and they'll be flustered to find that you're STILL in their face even after a
hasty retreat. This being said, I wouldn't abuse this move TOO much as there
is a starting and ending lag. During the point in which Yang is "blurred' he
is still completely vulnerable. Due to this, I wouldn't suggest using this as
a means of escaping a corner trap (the Roll Kick is far superior anyway) nor
would I attempt any feats of ludicrous bravery by tempting fate with a teleport
through a super. I would also be ready with a parry after finishing a
teleport, just in case your opponent has immediate (yet misguided) reactions to
fear. = )
More strategies for the Kaihou in the Strategies section.
I – Raishin Mahakan
Motion: Down, down-forward, forward, down, down-forward, forward + Punch
Bar Length: Long
Number of bars: 1
Yang stomps the ground with his foot while stabbing forward with a speared
palm. If he connects, he will quickly pass through his opponent as they are
hit repeatedly around the neck area.
This is, in my opinion, Yang's best super. First of all, Yang generally
charges the super bar rather quickly, so even if you whiff you could
potentially have it charged in a short amount of time. Second, this super does
the highest damage of all of Yang's supers (with the possible exception of the
Sei-ei-enbu) with the least amount of recovery time, rarely will you find
yourself getting countered very badly after being blocked. This being said,
there are some guidelines that should be followed if you want to use this super
art to its fullest potential.
First off, the Raishin Mahakan has a slight delay before the move actually
comes out. This has some interesting effects in the fact that the delay often
works to your advantage if you can think well ahead in a fight. While the
super does not combo after the typical MP -> HP -> Back + HP chain combo for
more than a few hits, it can have wondrous effects if your chain is blocked.
Often times, opponents will try to counter you after blocking or parrying the
final Back + HP (Modified Twin Palm Strike) not realizing that the special move
can be cancelled into the Raishin Mahakan. What does this mean? Performing
the super right after the Modified Twin Palm Strike can, and will on many
occasions, catch your opponent in the middle of their counter attack. This
being said, the Raishin Mahakan has excellent priority and 95% of the time
you'll end up on top.
Second, the Super can easily be used as a counter move due to its long range
and high priority. Found an incessant Ibuki player who tries to put pressure
on you as you stand up? Raishin Mahakan for a nasty surprise.
Thirdly, the Raishin Mahakan can be comboed after a crouching MK. Use this
well, but be aware that the move becomes combo buffered and does less damage
(about 90% of a non-buffered Raishin Mahakan)
An interesting note is that this move can be also used with some degree of
competency as an anti-air move. However your timing must be excellent, as you
must hit your opponent square in the body if you want all the hits to connect.
Touching an opponent's legs as they descend will net you probably 3-4 hits
maximum unfortunately.
II – Tenshin Senkyutai
Motion: Down, down-forward, forward, down, down-forward, forward + Kick
Bar Length: Medium
Number of Bars: 2
Yang rolls into what looks like a supped up version of the Roll Kick. Instead
of hitting twice with the leg thrust, Yang goes into a long 8 hitting flurry of
kicks.
This super art isn't what it was from Second Impact. The damage has been toned
down (especially in combos) and its priority isn't what it used to be. Due to
this, it has fallen behind the Raishin Mahakan, but that doesn't mean that this
super isn't useful.
First off, the number of bars and length of them makes this the ideal super to
use if you like EXes.
As for the super itself, it covers distance like nothing else. There's no
denying that this super's fast, really fast. Due to this, you can use it as a
far range counter with ease (although with Yang you should never be far away
anyway). While you can use it in this manor, I've more often seen it used
after his MP -> HP -> Back + HP chain combo, and while the combo buffered super
becomes very weak, the combo itself still does enough damage, has enough style,
and can connect often enough that it is still quite formidable.
There are a few weaknesses to the Tenshin Senkyutai however. First of all, as
Yang is rolling his priority is pretty low. I've been hit out of the roll by
almost anything you can name. Sweeped, thrown, even OVERHEADED out of the
roll. While this is a big problem against he computer, the super's quick
nature makes it difficult for a human opponent to pull this off. Unfortunately
there is a second, and much more serious problem with the super. If you are
blocked or parried, Yang still performs the rest of the super launching himself
into the air like a dork. Like any Shoryu Reppa type supers, you are basically
left open to any degree of pain that your opponent decides to inflict.
III – Sei ei Enbu
Motion: Down, down-forward, forward, down, down-forward, forward + Punch
Bar Length: Very Small
Number of Bars: 1
Yang gathers energy around himself and multiple images of him. During the
duration of the super (about 7 or so seconds) Yang's damage is decreased, but
he gains the coverage and damage of a pair of images that trail and perform all
the actions that Yang himself performs.
This is, without a doubt, the super in the entire game which requires the
highest skill level to use. First of all, humans are a fickle sort. There are
two ways most will react to seeing Yang call his "helpers". Either act super
defensive, or super offensive. First of all, dealing with a super defensive
opponent can be done with a quick game of high-low. Utilize Yang's overhead
and crouching MK -> Mantis Slash combo to put the pressure on your opponent. A
super offensive opponent is a tad more difficult to deal with. Utilize the
already high priority of your jumping HP or HK to swat those who jump-in (with
the power of the multiple images, priority shouldn't be a problem) and dashes
can be stopped by a simple crouching MK -> Mantis Slash combo (it hits 12
TIMES!). Remember to follow up with a Toe Press into yet another combo before
they have the chance to assault you again.
While figuring out what to do while shadowed is difficult, harder still is
figuring out when to initiate the super art in the first place so as to have
the maximum amount of time and best opportunity to inflict the maximum amount
of damage. As far as my experience goes, it is easiest and most useful to
perform the super after knocking down your opponent, then follow up with an
immediate jump into a HK Toe Press and then into a combo (if hit) or a high-low
game (if blocked). Few individuals can parry all 3 hits of your Sei-ei-enbu-ed
Toe Press so exploit it. Note that if your timing is good, you can combo the
crouching MK off of his forward + MK overhead which means death for those
people who consistently block low. If in doubt, the Cartwheel has enough
coverage now to make it worth using as you can now move into a nice damaging
combo and follow up. The main basis is, be creative, mix up your attacks and
make sure that as soon as you hear the crunching of bone, press into the
longest most stylish combo you know. = )
General Strategy
It is true that Yang is only a shadow of his former self. He's been slowed
down and his priority has been lessened since the days of Second Impact. He
also deals less damage while taking more damage than his counterpart, Yun (who
is, admittedly, more effective than his older brother). How does one make due
with these weaknesses? Attack, attack, attack and don't get hit. Uh, yeah,
easier said than done. Well, as a general note with Yang, if you play him
right then you should barely ever be getting touched.
Defensive
Yang's absolute worst level of play, a defensive Yang is pretty much a dead
Yang. If you ever actually find that you need to retreat for any reason
whatsoever, a quick double tap backwards yields one of the best back dashes in
the game (a backwards flip) which is both fast and covers a great distance. In
a defensive position, there are few strategies that Yang can call upon. His LK
Roll Kick and close range MK make for decent anti-airs should your opponent try
to come down on you. Actually I digress, the LK Roll Kick is actually a very
good anti-air if you can time it right (try to perform the motion just as the
opponent reaches the peak of their jump). Naturally you can always parry into
a chain combo which knocks the opponent down (thereby giving you leeway to
breathe and start a new pressure game). The Twin Palm Strike is actually very
useful in a defensive position and if you use it enough, your opponent will
start to fear it (which is its real use). Use the LP and HP versions
intermittently to confuse your opponent as they will always try to counter the
HP version, but instead get hit by a LP version. Also be aware that Yang's
version of the Twin Palm Strike pushes out further, so you may have to adjust
your distancing accordingly. The standing (far) HP is also a very useful
defensive move simply because it has great priority and is quite fast to boot.
I've seen it counter jump-ins with a great degree of competency (very strange
because it doesn't look like an anti-air at all) but even more important is
that it counters missed chain combos (the sort that Ibuki, Dudley and Yun can
dish out) quite well, thereby causing your opponent to use them less
frequently. A good defensive trick is to back dash into the corner, wait for
your opponent to follow up and then make for a LK teleport. This way, your
opponent lands where he/she thought they would intercept you and immediately
turns your defensive position into a far more useful offensive one.
Note that the Raishin Mahakan is an excellent stuff for opponents who like to
put pressure on you when you get up. Otherwise, you can also use it to stuff
in-between moves that don't combo (you must know your opponent very well to
pull this off).
Mid-Range
While Yang simply doesn't have the reach to deal with mid-range big boys like
Remy or Urien, he does have a few strategies he can employ in this situation.
First of all, his crouching MK has quite a bit of range on it which makes it an
effective poke. Remember to generally follow this up with at least one Mantis
Slash for damage and protective purposes. Again, his standing HP also makes a
formidable poke for hitting opponent's out of mid-range moves. Unfortunately
Yang's overhead simply doesn't have the distance necessary to make it a
frequently used move at mid-range (Unlike Ibuki's) so I would suggest that you
use a MK Toe Press instead, just don't become too predictable with it. Yang's
standing MK makes for a great poke too, it has long range and comes out very
quickly. You may want to note the fact that smaller characters can duck under
it however, leaving you very open so make sure it either connects or is
blocked. His standing HK can also poke, but be careful since it is so slow.
If you find yourself walking back and forth with your opponent with pokes here
and there, execute a LP or MP Twin Palm Strike, you may find your opponent
startled by the sudden change that they won't react fast enough. Also remember
that his Raishin Mahakan has pretty good range, so you may find that you can
fit it in as your opponent tries to poke you. This is especially useful
against Urien, Gill (yes Gill) and the shotos.
Offensive
Without a doubt, the preferred place to be fighting with Yang as he is mainly a
pressure character. In order to worm your way inside, use frequent Toe
Presses, jumping MK -> Toe Press chains and normal jumping attacks. This is
meant to mess up the timing of those individuals who are hungry for parries.
Remember to use varying distances on the Toe Presses so as to confuse your
opponent into parrying when he doesn't need to, or parrying early, etc. A LK
or MK teleport can also gain you much needed ground in a short amount of time,
but make sure to do it as your opponent is reeling from a past attack, while he
is on the ground, or otherwise occupied as there is a moment of vulnerability
which could get you hurt rather badly. I would generally advise against using
Yang's dash because it's pretty slow compared to dashes like Sean's. Maybe use
it once and a while but never when your opponent is standing because they have
ample time to give you a quick jab into a combo.
Once inside, there are numerous things to be done. The first and most obvious
is to combo away. Generally your jumping MK -> MK Toe Press -> MP -> HP ->
Back + HP combo is the safest to pull off and puts you at such a distance that
it is difficult to counter you. Even more so, the delay after the Twin Palm
Strike is quite misleading, try pulling off the Raishin Mahakan. The delay on
the super and the delay after the Twin Palm Strike is perfect to mislead an
opponent into THINKING they have an open window to attack. Alternately, if you
don't have a super charged you could try to parry almost immediately after the
Twin Palm Strike because it is generally quite assured that your opponent will
try to counter.
In terms of a mix-up game, Yang's most potent weapons are his forward + MK
overhead and crouching MK -> Mantis Slashes. Neither has a great deal of
recovery time, although you have to be quite close to use the overhead attack
or you might whiff. Remember to stick in a LP Twin Palm Strike now and then to
give your opponent what seems to be a break from your constant assaults. If
you play your cards right, your opponent will leap at the opportunity to get
out of that corner you've pasted him to.
Another nasty confusion strategy involves almost constant use of Yang's
Teleport and Cartwheel. Try using a MK Toe Press and land deep into your
opponent, then follow up with a LP -> LK chain. Note that you can chain the LK
teleport from the LK, so do so. At this point, your opponent may be dazed and
confused so you can try one of two things. If you want to end it right there,
simply throw them as they concentrate on which way they're supposed to be
blocking. Alternately, if you want to be really risky, cartwheel throw them
into a combo, or hit LK as you hit the ground again and then LK teleport again.
By now your opponent should be reeling from the innate headache which you have
just given him/her so pull out into a big combo or super art. Against humans
this can be a very effective little strategy that is beautiful in both looks
and execution, but just be sure to get the timing down pat. A split second too
early and often times the cartwheel wont come out, and a split second too late
and your opponent will have had the time to recover his/her senses.
Special mention needs to be made when the Sei-ei-enbu is activated as Yang's
entire base of attack is centered around getting a single move to hit, because
once this happens almost anything you do will pretty much chain together
nicely. When activated your main focus should be a forward + MK / crouching MK
-> Mantis Slashes mix up so that one way or another your opponent gets hit.
From there just go into simply combos but don't try for anything too fancy (the
multiple images tend to mess up big combos). If you can get two crouching MK -
> Mantis Slashes chains to connect, you've already done quite a bit of damage.
Add to this the fact that the super is charged almost constantly and you may
find that you can activate it WITHIN combos (good luck, try after a close
standing MK launcher) because its within these types of combos that Yang's true
power becomes evident (admittedly my skill is not this far along yet).
Character Specific
Alex:
In my opinion Alex is one of the more overpowered characters in the game.
While he is a tad on the slow side, fact remains that he just deals way too
much damage and takes way too much damage before going down. In the case of
fighting a very skilled Alex player, you could be in a heap of trouble. Your
jump-in combos can be snuffed with his Knee Smash and often times he'll be
grabbing you out of teleports if you aren't careful. What can you do about
this? In terms of getting in close, Toe Presses aimed for the legs will
generally get you some offensive ground without fear of being thrown. Remember
that Alex is another character of primary offense, but the difference between
him and Yang is that Alex is pure power while Yang is pure speed. This being
said, Alex cannot initiate moves very quickly and this is where you can hit him
hard. When you first play him, you'll notice how Alex basically spends most of
his time swinging his arms about, and you should take advantage of this
accordingly. Countering anything he whiffs / blocks should be rather easy. Be
aware of his standing HP as it is an overhead, but if you block it he's left
open for a pretty long time. His Flash Chop is also a very vulnerable move
that you can knock out after being blocked. If you dash about often you can
often get him to miss the Hyper Bomb.
After a while you'll begin to notice that while you can attack Alex after his
moves, parrying will dictate that this will soon become counterable and thereby
dangerous. The next stage to take is to beat out Alex BEFORE he performs any
moves. As it stands, in terms of speed your Light moves beat out his, your
Mediums beat out his and your Hard's beat out his! Take the two instances
above. Instead of countering his HP, beat him out with a MP -> HP -> Back + HP
chain combo. Instead of blocking the Flash Chop, look for it and perform a LP
Mantis Slash to take him out before he can get the move out in the first place.
Alex will use any opportunity to get his Power Bomb in, and as such, don't
ever, EVER teleport in front of him (even if he's reeling, its dangerous).
Instead, use quick back dashes and long range teleports followed by quick moves
to mislead him into whiffing his Power Bomb, which gives you TONS of time to
counter. Remember, thanks to Alex's slow speed, the name of the game is to hit
him hard with quick, low risk moves. With this strategy down, the big man
should give you little trouble. You basically want to combo him to death, and
keep the high-low game to a minimum (unless he's REALLY turtling… but Alex is
generally not played this way).
Chun-li:
Maybe I complain too much, but Chun-li is another horribly overpowered
character. She's fast, she's got LOADS of priority and let's face it, she's
freakin' STRONG. Its hard to deal with her because usually she'll be all over
you before you can get all over her (no I don't mean that way, don't be
perverted). Assaulting you with a jumping MK into a big combo (a simple
crouching MK -> Hokyou Sen will decimate nearly half your energy bar). Her
footsie game is primed too with the crouching MP/MK and Flip Kick to give her
just about all the priority she needs over Yang. As you can see this is a
fight I pretty much dread.
If your opponent is stupid enough to use fireballs, it should be noticed that
Chun-li has some HORRIBLE fireballs. Simply jump over the slow projectile and
Toe Press into a big combo. Failing that, Roll Kick past it as her recovery
time is not very good. When she jumps in with her MK (expect it, her other
jump-ins aren't very good) you can either LK Roll Kick or parry into a LK Roll
Kick. Either way works well with the parry being obviously safer if you can
pull it off. While you can snuff her out of the air, the one thing Chun-li
lacks is a definite ability to snuff you out of the air. If you meet air-to-
air with her you will surely lose to the priority of her jumping MK, however
should you be fortunate enough that she does not meet you in the air she can do
little more than block or parry your jump-in. Sure she has her standing MK,
but its got pretty bad range and the priority isn't really all that high
(except in the last few frames of animation). Just beware of players who
choose the Tensei Ranna super, as this makes for an excellent anti-air (most
players will pick the ludicrously overpowered Hokyou Sen however). That being
said, try to jump-in on her at times when you know she won't be intercepting
you.
Dealing with her amazingly good footsie game can be difficult but not
impossible. Don't forget about the power of your standing HP as a basic
counter to a lot of moves, but also to take priority over that stupid crouching
MP/MK. Your standing MK makes for an excellent poke as well, but be cautious
about overusing it as Chun-li is one of the characters that can duck under it
without taking a scratch. With Chun-li it is generally safer to block low than
high, but be aware of her Axe Kick (she's had it since Zero) as it is both fast
and fairly damaging. Counter this with a quick parry and chain combo (she ends
up on the ground). Finally, try to keep Chun-li off balance, she has a problem
with getting up as she's got almost no high priority wake-ups to mention.
Dudley:
Dudley is actually one of the characters that I have less trouble fighting with
Yun/Yang. Maybe it's just his amazing stage music that gives me energy, I
dunno. As it stands, Dudley's basic strategy can be played two ways. Poking
with high priority, high damaging moves while walking back and forth is one
that I have come to know and love. This kind of player will often advance and
retreat very quickly, then at certain times bust out with a highly damaging
move which can kick (punch?) the crap out of you when you sleep (which is what
the whole "dancing" is meant to do). How do you deal with this? Don't fall
asleep. With Dudley going back and forth like a moron, be ready for a Machine
Gun blow because that's what he'll use mostly to surprise you. I have a habit
of parrying the first blow, blocking the next few hits, and Red Parrying the
last hit to give me a HUGE window of opportunity. As it stands, even blocking
the last hit will give you ample time to lash out with a crouching MK -> Mantis
Slashes combo. Other moves he'll sporadically whip about is the Ducking (not
crouching… its his special move) Straight. Again, if you learn to look out for
the Ducking, then you'll have few problems parrying the Straight and then
counterattacking with something big. Another thing I've noticed is players who
walk right up to you and then perform the Cross Counter. I find this a really
stupid thing to do, as I'm not fooled at all. I meet them back with a
crouching MK -> EX Mantis Slashes combo (well… as often as I can pull it off on
a Dreamcast controller. ARGH!). He'll also bust out with his forward + HP
which is basically just the Straight. This is a little harder to see coming,
and I suggest blocking it unless you've got reactions of lightning. Also be
aware that he may try a crouching HK which juggles you possibly into more
damage (the Ducking Straight is a move often utilized afterward). However the
launcher is incessantly slow and thus you should be able to block or even parry
it (I find it really hard to parry down on a DC controller). As for his
supers, only the Corkscrew Blow needs to really be feared, the Rocket Upper is
only good when comboed and can be brutally countered when whiffed. As for the
Rolling Thunder, blocking it equals death for Dudley.
The other kind of Dudley player is the "I'm on offense but only 'cause I wanna
use my brutal 1-2-3 Chains". I find these Dudley players a BIT more dangerous
simply because of the aggression factor. If you really have the time, learning
to parry the 1-2-3 chains (from what I've heard, you parry all 3 versions the
same way, i.e. with the same timing) just takes away Dudley's entire game. At
this point proceed to slap him around the arena like squash ball. However I
personally cannot parry all 3 hits of the 1-2-3 chains so I pretty much am
stuck blocking them (some of them leave openings for countering at the end).
The trick I use to beating him when he's like this is to put constant pressure
on him so I can avoid the Chains completely. Unlike Yun/Yang, Dudley must be
in very, very close to use his chains so they combo together correctly (almost
within throwing distance). Basically what you want to do is get him into the
corner, knock him on the ground, and Toe Drop / MK -> Toe Press chain into
either a combo or high-low game. For the jump-in, don't worry too much about
the Jet Upper. It has low priority (I've managed to hit him out of it
countless times). Rather worry about the crouching HP. Basically, you want to
land the Toe Press just as Dudley is getting up, and aim for his hand. This
way, he has no time to perform his crouching HP and you're Toe Press takes
priority over his standing LP any day of the week. If you perform the MP -> HP
-> Back + HP chain then you're left relatively safe (from anything Dudley can
dish out anyway) and in enough of a position to teleport behind a possible
counter and possibly throw. The High-Low game is riskier, but the results
netted after being successful warrants its use. Yang's overhead is a little
slow to hit Dudley (especially with his lightning fast jabs) so you need to
learn to hide your overhead behind a façade of other moves. Tryin standing up,
jabbing, crouching and jabbing, throw in a LK and a crouching MK -> Mantis
Slash combo to close the distance again. Periodically throw in an overhead and
you shouldn't have too much trouble.
Elena:
It's strange, at first I had HORRIBLE trouble with Elena but now that I've been
playing the game faithfully for a few good months, I find her one of the easier
opponents. Most Elena players try to keep you at mid-range with her wide array
of annoyingly high priority kicks and wide assortments of fast, misleading
overheads. For a lot of players (not me, I'm not good enough) it's a simply
matter of parrying EVERYTHING (I've seen it done) because her moves "flow" so
they're rather easy to see coming. My strategy? Depends solely on what super
she's using.
Without the healing super, you can play her poking game if you want.
Distancing is the key. Get just barely out of her legs reach and perform a LP
Twin Palm Strike. Like Eddie Gordo from Tekken 3, a lot of Elena players chain
buttons together into a sort of flow. This being said, they often aren't even
aware that you're performing the Twin Palm Strike until you've already done it,
in which case they're already flat on their back. If you can't distance and
can't parry, just block her moves (they generally are low kicks with the
sporadic overhead). The overheads are hard to deal with at first, but once you
learn to look out for them then you'll recognize their animation and hopefully
realize that you need to STAND UP. In Elena's case, you may want to ditch the
crouching MK almost entirely, it won't help too much since she pushes you so
far out. Instead, look for her crouching MK or overhead. Counter after the MK
or before the overhead with a quick HP Mantis Slash chain. Nine out of ten
times this will get her on the floor. At this point, jump-in and Toe Press
because her anti-airs are horrible (her Scratch Wheel is an absolutely crappy
anti-air). Then combo her to (she doesn't play high-low very well).
The game changes entirely when she's playing with a healing super. The name of
the game is constant pressure, but thankfully with the "brothers" this isn't a
big difference from their normal style of play. Again, Toe Presses will do the
job nicely when buffered into a combo. Her sweeps is really, really slow and
obvious so you should generally be able to block that fairly easily and counter
with some Mantis Slashes. You can pretty much expect her to Heal if she
manages to floor you. Keep pressure on her and trap her in the corner to which
she cannot escape even if you need to take some damage to get her there. When
the super bar fills, the opponent's train of thought generally changes to "I
must get out of the corner and use my super!". Good luck, your Yang should be
pretty much charging her every 2 seconds without relief. If she attempts to
jump out of the corner, either greet her in the air with a jumping HP/HK (her
jump is pretty slow) or LK Roll Kick her face back into that corner. You may
actually want to take a moment to back off a bit, and then perform a HP Twin
Palm Strike. Players often mistake that opportunity to try and counter you,
and if your distancing is right you'll hit her right out of a sweep. In
general, don't give her any leeway to even think of activating her super and
Elena will go down like a ton of bricks.
Gouki (Akuma):
Big trouble. Expect mainly to be playing against scrubs, because anyone who
really (and by really, I mean truly) plays any sort of Street Fighter will
realize that picking Gouki will lead to a beating (in real life of course).
Really, this guy just dominates the entire game. Sure he takes "more" damage
than most characters, but that doesn't mean a damn thing when you can't even
lay a finger on him!
Gouki players generally stay super offensive. You'll be seeing jump-ins very
often, especially that Dive Kick. The Dive Kick will often take priority over
your LK Roll Kick, and more often than not he'll be bearing down on you too
fast for you to even get that counter off anyway. If you can see Gouki jumping
for a distance, meet him in mid-air with a jumping HP or HK and smack him back
down to earth (his air-to-air moves only have average priority). This being
said, if he lands a Dive Kick you can expect a crouching MK -> Fireball ->
Super Fireball combo. Remember to block low after the Dive Kick so you don't
get comboed. If he chucks fireballs at you, try to Roll Kick past them to
close that distance. To get inside, I wouldn't really recommend the Toe Press
very often because his Go-Shoryuken has crazy speed, priority and damage. Try
teleporting inside or a quick dash when he doesn't expect it. Once in this
range, your infamous MP -> HP -> Back + HP chain, crouching MK -> Mantis
Slashes and ever useful standing HP should be your tools of pressure. If you
see Gouki go into his Ashura Warp, remember that it is vulnerable at the
beginning so use your chain combo to knock him out of it. Many Gouki players
will jump the gun when they see a opportunity to attack, so try a MP -> HP ->
Back + HP chain combo and then perform the Raishin Mahakan afterward, you might
catch him in mid-counter. After a few combos, big or small, Gouki will go
down, and you can feel proud of yourself for having done so.
Hugo:
This is interesting, as Hugo players vary GREATLY from player to player. They
basically wait for you to do something, block and then throw. This being the
case, you really have to be careful when throwing around stronger moves with
more recovery. First, Hugo's priority is a strange thing indeed. I have yet
to truly figure out how it works. You're pretty much better off blocking high,
too many of his moves are overheads. Stay mid-range so he can't throw you too
often, but as you are getting up from a knock-down, always crouch (Hugo can't
throw crouching opponents when they get up off the ground). I wouldn't
teleport too much, unless you do so very far away, as he can throw or POUND you
as you're vulnerable. The Toe Press is also a rather ineffective way to get
close to him due to the fact he can throw you if you aren't deep enough. So
what can you do? First off, jump at him if he performs a move from far away,
this way you pretty much guarantee he can't air grab you. I would use the MK -
> Toe Press air chain into a simple combo to try and down him, but be sure it
leaves distance between you if he blocks it. Poking him is generally a good
idea, but watch out for players who can parry consistently, even more so
against opponents who can parry consistently and do the 360 from a standing
position. If he charges you, simply duck and punish him with a big combo. If
he dashes at you, make sure you hit him AS he's dashing or you can be sure
you're gonna get thrown. If you keep moving around, Hugo shouldn't pose too
much of a problem. Oh, and I would recommend either the Raishin Mahakan or,
even more so, the Sei-ei-enbu. Due to Hugo's large size, you can perform some
pretty freaky combos on him since you can jump, kick him, and land before the
shadows are done kicking him thus leading to some MONSTER combos.
Ibuki:
Ibuki is definitely not the super strong powerhouse she was in previous games,
but she is still fairly dangerous if played correctly. For the most part, her
priority is way beyond yours and her speed beats yours out, so you need to take
advantage of your farther reach and more useful combos. For the most part,
Ibuki players are based on complete offense, which is difficult to deal with
since Yang is also based completely on offense. First, the easiest thing to
deal with is her jump attacks. While most of her jump attacks aren't so great,
the MK has great priority and a very far range. Players tend to abuse this one
more than the others, but I've found a loop hole after about 25 rounds with my
friend's Ibuki. Yang's jumping HP, in any situation and at almost anytime,
will beat Ibuki's jumping MK. Since her descent from her jump is generally
quite fast, its hard to pull off a LK Roll Kick, so instead meet her in the air
with your own jumping HP. Trust me, you'll beat her out a good 95% of the
time. At this point you may find your opponent jumping a lot less, but this by
all means should not mean that you should be jumping more. Her Kazekiri is an
anti-air to be feared and, unless you can parry it well, it will knock you out
of all but the best timed Toe Presses (aim for her head before her foot gets
that high). This being said, you may now encounter the ground player. He/she
will hop back and forth and perhaps perform the teleport now and again. This
player is a little harder to deal with, but note that Ibuki's dash is actually
a little more vulnerable than it looks. You can actually smack her out of the
ending which is surprisingly long (longer than it looks anyway) but be careful
if she dashes right in front of you, she does pass through you. I like to meet
each dash with a LP Twin Palm Strike, but your own preference may vary. Next,
Ibuki will often perform her chain combo followed by a crouching HK which is
delayed slightly. Basically if you can't parry well, block the first 3 hits,
and hit her with a trio of Mantis Slashes or a Raishin Mahakan just as she's
breaking out with her crouching HK. After this the player will generally stop
with the HK at the end of the chain, but if they don't, feel free to punish
them again. Now that her chain combo is taken away, remember your own chain
combo (MP -> HP -> Back + HP). Remember that you've got quite a bit of range
on this move, so use it accordingly. Some players realize that Ibuki is one of
the few characters fast enough to hit you after the Modified Twin Palm Strike,
so perform the Raishin Mahakan after it to give her a nasty surprise. As for
her own supers, the Kasumi Suzaku is a common super to see just whipped out for
block damage. If you can, try to avoid blocking it (I've never seen anyone
parry it before) because it deals nearly the same damage. Keep moving so she
can't aim it properly, and then teleport behind her and punish her when she
misses. The Yoroi Doshi is your basic super, you don't want to miss anything
with really long lag time up close or you're going to be eating it. If you
can't deal with the Yami Shigure, I don't even know if this FAQ can help you.
As it stands, fight Ibuki at a distance just beyond her limbs, because that
distance is just within your limbs. If you can take away her moves
systematically, she has nothing left.
Ken:
Shotos are generally a big problem, but in terms of Street Fighter III they
aren't too bad (except for Gouki). While Ken is as effective a player as he's
ever been, his priority has been toned down (which is a good thing) and his
recover times after his various fancy kicks have also been lengthened.
Basically, expect Ken not to assault you from the air, but if he does generally
he'll be going for a MK cross-up. Use your trust LK Roll Kick to prevent this
from happening. In general, Ken players like to walk up to you, poke you a bit
with high moves, and then perform a quick crouching MK into a fireball just to
make you feel stupid. Coax him by blocking low. This will force him to use
his exceedingly slow overhead move, which you can counter with a quick chain of
LP Mantis Slashes. When you see a Hurricane Kick coming your way, crouching
and either hit him out of it with a crouching HP or wait till he lands (the
shotos are more vulnerable now) and perform a quick crouching MK -> Mantis
Slashes combo to punish him. If he tries dancing over your head with LK
versions, time a LK Roll Kick to hit him where it hurts (i.e. the groinal
area). When pushing an assault, I would advise against jumping unless you're
pulling off the deepest Toe Press you've ever done in your life, because Ken
simply controls the sky with the HP Shoryuken. Its priority and raw power is
something that is unmatched in 3rd Strike. Instead, consistently teleport over
his body, and as he gets up try to aim yourself about a mid-screen away from
him. Often he'll throw out one of his ridiculous looking kicks to try and
catch you and this is when you can counter him hard. Also, sometimes you can
walk right in on him and either parry or block because often times Ken players
have this immediate reaction to pull off a Shoryuken as a get-up move. This of
course leaves Ken open to any degree of pain to which you wish to inflict upon
him. The Twin Palm Strike is also a good move to use on Ken simply because his
moves are to a point where you can telegraph them with a good degree of
competence. Simply stand outside of his kick range and push him slowly and
methodically into the corner where you can play with his mind. The Shippu
Jinrai Kayku is the only super which you may have problems countering, but even
then a quick crouching MK -> Mantis Slashes combo will put him in his place.
Makoto:
A VERY difficult character to fight, especially when in the hands of someone
who knows what they're doing. The basic premise of Makoto is Hayate, poke you
a bit, jump at you with the ridiculously long ranged HP and then trip you with
a HP. While her Hayate is a very fast special move, it's got a lot in terms of
recovery time. Even the LP version can be snuffed and countered with your
crouching MK -> Mantis Slashes combo. If you can parry it… well, you're
opponent will soon discover that the Hayate is not the amazing move it was
originally thought to be. Makoto's next main method of transportation is
jumping (her dash is too vulnerable and her walking is snail pace). I would
NOT recommend using your LK Roll Kick to knock her out of the air because her
jumping HP has deceptively long range and a huge amount of power as well. In
fact it is even difficult to knock her out of the air with your HP and HK. So
what can you do? Jump before she does. While Makoto is mainly an offense-
based character, she simply lacks the speed that allows her to get in very
quickly. If you can Toe Press her before she can reach the peak of her jump,
then you've basically got no problems. While her crouching HK does seem like
an anti-air, its priority is very picky and will lose out to the Toe Press 95%
of the time. I've seen very few players that can utilize the Fukiage in the
correct manor and her Tsurugi (the special move in the air) is way to slow to
stop your assault. Once you have her in the corner, keep her there! Makoto is
a character, which has much difficulty dealing with corner traps. Keep her
pinned with Mantis Slashes, and poking moves. Generally you don't need to
worry about using your overhead, she can't counter it very easily. She may try
that grab move on you, and if you see her pull you up by your neck and strangle
you, immediately jump up and Toe Press. Unless she combos you, you'll get the
drop on her as she attacks in vain. If you see her use the Tanden Renki your
immediate reaction might be to run away. Don't, she can't block. Especially
against Yun/Yang, even the most skilled players can't parry everything, and
once you hit her with SOMETHING it will often lead to a big chain combo that
can gain you a lot of ground. While Makoto is one of the stronger characters
of the game, I find that she really gives the "brothers" very little trouble.
Necro:
I don't fight him very often, and to be quite honest I really don't know why.
Necro is an excellent character with huge potential, but I guess people don't
like the whole "Dhalsim" syndrome which surrounds him. In any case, Necro will
almost always try to keep you at a distance with his extendable limbs. If you
can parry well, its simply a matter of parrying mostly his standing HP and
crouching HK, but for those of you who can't parry too often this is your
primary time to use your Toe Press or Teleport. You want to time Toe Presses
as he is throwing out a standing HP as more often than not you can hit him out
of it and gain ground at the same time. Once you're about half a screen's
distance from him, aim a Toe Press so that you'll land right in front of him.
Most Necro Players will try to hit you out of the air with the back + HP
uppercut move which has great vertical range, but lousy horizontal which means
you can chain combo him. Some players will use the Back + HK move in which
case there's a far greater chance of you getting hit but with fast reactions
you can learn to recognize one over the other and thus stay airborne for a
length of time accordingly. There is also the pesky Electric Shock move. This
comes out quickly (well, the LP version does) but is pretty low on damage.
Again, for those who can parry, power to you because this move won't give you
too much trouble. For those who can't, aim Toe Presses to land just before or
far after Necro. Preferably before your opponent, you can chain combo him as
he recovers from the Shock. If your opponent is simply too hard to jump-in on,
try a teleport which puts you just behind Necro. Be careful as his numerous
long range moves can knock you out of your opening animation, but once behind
Necro, there's few things he can do as you are "phasing" back in (I wouldn't
recommend doing it if he has a super bar though).
Once inside your basic high-low game can play hell with Necro simply because
any of his moves short of a LP or LK have horrible startups at close range.
Wade in and hack at him with whatever you feel like. Typically, Necro players
will try to knock you down so they can get far away. Things to look out for
are the crouching HK (at close range you should be able to see it coming a mile
away). The Flying Viper is a fairly quick and effective move to knock you to
the floor, so block high when possible (don't worry about him sweeping you, his
sweep is SLOW). He'll rarely pull an Electric Shock when you're on the ground,
but if he does it's fairly easy to see coming and completely blockable. The
only other move you may need to watch for is the Snake Fang, but it's pretty
slow and has low priority. A LP or even a MP chain combo will knock it out.
At close range, Necro shall be at your mercy.
Oro:
I find myself rarely facing Oro and for good reason, he simply isn't as
powerful as he's been in past games. While his moves are strangely misleading
in terms of range and priority, they just come out so slowly to benefit him in
a fight against Yang. Many Oro players will try to keep you at mid-range with
varying types of Sun-Discs depending on your range as well as his standing MP.
The Sun-Disc is really quite tiny however and can be dodged rather easily since
it takes up so little of the screen (even the EX version with "homes" in on
you). After jumping a Sun-Disc, you may see Oro players pull off a backward +
HP which causes Oro to initiate this really high priority uppercut. When faced
with this, there are a few options open. Naturally you can parry the move,
which is actually easier than parrying most other anti-air attacks. Otherwise,
a quickly performed Toe Press will cause Yang to hit Oro in the mid-section
instead of on top of the hermit's fist. This tends to annoy Oro players
greatly because they lose their basic means of defending against the air. If
you find trouble doing either of these, a simple walk in or Teleport can easily
be used against Oro as he has no really damaging moves which are quick enough
to counter short of a super (and even those are pretty slow). Once up close,
he may try to grab you with the Slam Throw, but this can be easily blocked and
countered. You should have no problem keeping Oro pinned against the wall. If
he opts for a double jump, dash backwards (his double jump is SLOW) and pound
him back into the corner again. If he manages to get off a Tengu-Stone, it
would be wise to simply turtle for a bit, wait for him to jump at you and then
teleport to the other side of the screen. By the time he catches up with you
again the Super Art will be over.
Q:
Sorry, can't help you… never fight him.
Remy:
Like Elena, this is a battle which I once had great difficulty with, until I
understood the basis of Remy's game. Any Remy player worth playing against
will know the infamous Light of Virtue -> Cold Blue Kick double team. For most
characters this spells death, but luckily Yang is one of the few who is speedy
enough to counter the Cold Blue Kick after Remy performs it. Upon taking this
away, Remy becomes a far less effective character than before. Don't let this
mislead you into thinking that you've immediately won however, as Remy is still
a very good character even without his cheese. First, this guy has a huge
repertoire of anti-air moves. Naturally you're pretty dumb if you try to jump
at him as he's ducking because nothing, and I mean NOTHING you do in the air
will take out his Flash Kick. In some cases however, opponent's will over use
the Flash Kick since it does have such high priority, so try jumping at Remy
and then performing a LK Toe Press so that you land just in front of your
opponent. Certain individuals' immediate reaction is to Flash Kick which
leaves him open to any degree of pain you wish to inflict. That being said,
even if he's standing he's still got a wide assortment of moves to smack you
back to earth, all of which have high priority and hurtin' power. While Remy's
anti-air game is nearly flawless, his ground game is even BETTER. Since being
drawn in the typical "my legs are way too long for my body" anime fashion, Remy
is one of the hardest characters (along with Gill and Urien) to walk in on
simply because his kicks have such long range. A good Remy player will keep
you at mid-range and pelt you with standing and crouching kicks, Low Light of
Virtues and Cold Blue Kicks. Admittedly, you can't really walk/dash-in which
leaves you a bit stuck. What to do? A Teleport can be a very handy move to
stick in while Remy's whiffing air since his kicks don't really have the
greatest recovery times. Furthermore, teleporting constantly causes Remy
players to lose their charge, another big plus. As it stands, I generally stay
at close range, never backing away since Remy's close range defensive game is
only average. LK Teleports help to maintain the confusion level which causes
players to make errors when they "think" they're charged. One thing I would
suggest is to learn to parry Remy's kicks, because they are relatively easy to
see coming. If you can do this, and cover bits of ground at a time you'll find
yourself at close range in no time. Big whistles to watch out for are his
crouching MK, Low Light of Virtue and standing MK. His crouching MK has enough
speed and range to counter anything you might whiff from anything at mid range.
His Low Light of Virtue must be blocked low and the EX version is particularly
misleading (it's the EX move you'll see the most). In fact, for the most part,
good Remy players won't even touch their supers, instead pelting you with
continuous EX Low Light of Virtues. His standing MK is also a long range quick
poke which can cause you a heap of trouble if you don't learn to either parry
it or see it coming enough to Mantis Slash (it will knock him out). On the
upside, Remy's only true getup move is the Flash Kick, so if you can fool him
into performing it as soon as he gets up (parry as soon as you see him stand)
then he's pretty much left open to your own walloping. As far as I can say,
this is one of the most interesting fights in the game simply because the two
characters are quite even, but in completely different ways.
Ryu:
While significantly weakened from previous (or future… have you SEEN Capcom vs
SNK?) incarnations, Ryu still remains a strong character who can inflict
maximum damage with minimal skill. Like all Shotos, he has very few weaknesses
and way too many strengths to make him a "True" fighters choice (I know I'm
gonna get nasty e-mails back about this one). As it stands however, I think of
the 3 shotos Ryu is the weakest, and thus most fair to play against. In any
case…
Ryu's strength is rooted in almost brute force. Jumping at him, for the most
part, is a big no no because his Shoryuken has extremely high priority.
Alternately, you could perform a HK Toe Press to land far away from him, thus
causing Ryu to whiff the move, but lets face it, you don't really gain any
ground from this. On the other hand, the Toe Press makes an excellent counter
to fireballs, so if you see Ryu chuck them out, simply hop and Toe Press into a
chain combo. That being said, Ryu players nowadays rarely use their fireballs
from far range so you may not get to use this technique much. Walking in on
Ryu was never really a great idea since his Hurricane Kick is a great way to
pound your face into the ground not to mention his Chop Kick. If the player
gets predictable with this however, you can opt to walk in and crouch causing
Ryu to fly over your head. At this point you can knock him out with a
crouching HP. Conversely, if Ryu walks towards you it should be noted that he
has few moves which can knock out your standing HP. If he starts jumping at
you, strangely enough, he has few moves which can knock out your LK Roll Kick
making you pretty good defensively against him. I would suggest you play this
fight mainly at a mid range level (just within range of your standing HP, but
out of range of any of Ryu's moves). Playing him offensively is very difficult
because he has quick, high priority moves which Yang has difficulty countering.
My suggestion would be to meet him at mid-range and attack using your HP and
crouching MK -> Mantis Slashes chain.
Sean:
Um, I know there are great Sean players out there, but I personally haven't met
any and thus, am under the impression that he is the new Dan (God here comes
some e-mails from rabid Dan fans). This being said, I really have no trouble
with Sean because, while he's pretty strong, you have priority over just about
anything he does. Since you aren't a fireball character his Sean Tackle is
just about useless against you so if he uses it, crouching MK –> Mantis Slashes
him. Be a little mindful of when you jump in because his new Sean Uppercut is
pretty strong (albeit a bit slow). Put pressure on him as soon as he stands to
ensure a safe landing. Admittedly, Sean's normals are pretty good, but for the
most part they're too slow to stop the onslaught which you should be pressing.
Sean's defensive game is pretty brutal so don't worry about getting punished
too often. Super Art wise, Sean's Hado-Burst is a fast super which he
constantly has charged… too bad you can counter it even IF you get hit! His
Shoryu-Cannon is fast and damaging, but the range is so minimal that you almost
have to be in throwing range to get hit (let's face it, with Yang's range you
don't need to be THAT close). As for his Hyper Tornado… er, I've never really
been hit by it before. Just push your chain combos and supers until he goes
down like a rock.
Twelve:
By the same token as Sean, I know Twelve is a good character but he's just got
such obvious weaknesses that you can exploit them without trouble. Walking in
on Twelve isn't too difficult, but watch out for some of his odd poking moves
(they aren't hard to block/parry, just learn to see them coming). Coming in
from the air means you'll probably be looking it his standing HP (it looks like
an axe) but that's not really anything to be too worried about (you'll be
knocking it out a lot of the time with your Toe Press). Other than this, you
may find yourself headed off with an A.X.E. In this case, you've got a 50 50
chance of knocking him out. The LP version has fast startup but only low
priority, while the HP has great priority but takes an ETERNITY to come out.
In general, I wouldn't worry too much about jumping in on Twelve because it's
not that dangerous. On the other hand, if Twelve jumps in on you, you're
basically looking at an air dash, HP, D.R.A (Dive) or a combination thereof.
In general, Twelve is pretty weak in the air as his air dash is quite
vulnerable (if you learn to look out for it), his HP has heft startup lag and
his D.R.A has heft recovery (if blocked or parried, not if whiffed). In
general, learning to parry can prove exceedingly helpful here because, with so
few options in the air, Twelve suddenly becomes grounded. Otherwise, Yang's
jumping HK or LK Roll Kick will hit Twelve effortlessly out of an air dash. I
would suggest a LK Roll Kick to counter his (its?) jumping HP because Twelve
aims pretty horizontally. Otherwise you can just block and chain combo when he
lands. As for he D.R.A, constant movement can fool players into missing the
move entirely, or otherwise I suggest simply blocking or parrying (into the
biggest, meanest combo you can conjure). On a lighter note, a few players will
mix in a jumping HK to throw you off. If you're good (or in some cases even
when you're not) you'll realize that this will kill off your LK Roll Kick
anytime. Learn to look out for it (the biggest flag is when Twelve gets really
close to you instead of attacking from far away) and either parry it or dash
backwards and then attack. For the most part, Twelve will attack you from long
range with a myriad of odd poking moves, but unlike Necro it is far easier to
get inside (especially from the air). Once inside you can pound away with a
myriad of high-low games simply because Twelve is slow on the uptake.
Attacking thoroughly and constantly will off Twelve (since he takes so much
damage) before he gets a super bar. If he does, watch out for the X.C.O.P.Y.
When he mimics you he's more powerful and takes less damage. At this point,
fight him like you would Yang, but be especially mindful of when he changes
back. During this time he is completely vulnerable and takes TWICE as much
damage as usual!
Urien:
Urien can be one hard S.O.B if played by someone who does more than spew out
lightning balls. However a great thing (at least I find) about him is that his
moves are easier to parry than most. First, getting inside can be tricky
because Urien has some very effective keep away moves. His Lightning Ball can
be varied which means trouble for your jump-ins if you become predictable (or
if you just can't parry well). Dashing will meet many of his poking kicks
which spells trouble and Teleports can only work semi-effectively against him.
What to do? Your first aim is to knock Urien down. This first hit is crucial,
but how you get it can be rather difficult. Methodically make your way close
to him with careful movements (short hops into Toe Presses followed by
infrequent Teleports can accomplish this) and then floor him. Once floored you
have the advantage since Urien's getup moves are pretty slow. Attack as soon
as he stands and move into a pressured high-low game. The only thing you need
to be wary of is his LP Chariot Rush which can hit you after high lag moves
(but at this range you shouldn't really be using them right? Urien's defense
is high, but his actual defensive play is quite weak as he has trouble getting
out of corners, naturally this is where you want him most. On the other side
of the scope, the most common ways of seeing Urien attack are the Lightning
Ball followed by a Violence Knee Drop or Chariot Rush followed by a pressure
game. If you see the Lightning Ball or EX Lightning Ball it generally denotes
easy parries (his fireball is the slowest in the game) but the Violence Knee
Drop afterward can be trouble. An immediate block followed by a crouching MK -
> Mantis Slashes combo works well but in some cases you won't be able to block
in time. If this happens, throw out two parries and hope that you get them.
Alternately, make sure you're out of range of the Violence Knee Drop before
parrying the Lightning Ball. If you encounter an individual who uses the
Chariot Rush to get around, it should be noted that this move has pretty
horrible lag (even though it doesn't really look like it) and you can counter
with a HUGE combo if blocked. Getting around his arrangement of kicks can be
difficult but just remember to block consistently (preferably low). His
overhead (unlike Gill's) is slower and seems to have less range (thanks to a
lack of Ice/Fire) so you don't have to worry too much about it (in fact it
makes a great place to counter). Fighting Urien requires a certain degree of
caution because he is a character with more obvious weaknesses, but less
obvious strengths.
Yang:
"To know your opponent is to know yourself" - 'nuff said.
Yun:
Admittedly when Yun and Yang were split apart from being simply carbon copies
of one another, Yun became the greater fighter. Not only is Yun faster and
stronger, but he also take's less damage and has more priority! How unfair is
that!? Well, in any case, a Yun on Yang fight can be interesting because the
two of them are far more different than anyone thinks. The main point you want
to exploit is the weakness of Yun's special moves. In all, Yun's specials are
FAR less useful than Yang's for the main reason that they ALL have long
recovery or startup. The Lunge Punch is what you'll be seeing out of him 80%
of the time, but it should be noted that this move has HORRIBLE lag (even the
LP version) that Yang specifically (more so than any other character) can take
advantage of. Specifically, the Lunge Punch at any strength can be
effortlessly countered with the crouching MK -> Mantis Slashes chain. Like
you, Yun will make an effort to nail you with a Toe Press, but unless he times
it super deep Yang has the ability to snuff it after a block with a simple
chain combo. Yun's shoulder charge is effective… just not against fast
characters. Be sure to use a crouching move (preferably something fast) to
knock him out of it BEFORE he elbows you). Finally, his anti-air move is hard
to aim and pretty weak, so don't worry too much about jumping in. Conversely,
you're LK Roll Kick can take out almost all the jump-ins he's got so don't
worry about that. Be wary about walking in too often however as Yun has some
very effective poking attacks. His standing HP, although having some startup,
is quick enough to knock the day lights out of you if you aren't paying
attention, as is his variation of the HP which causes him to step forward (keep
an eye out for it). His standing HK is also a powerful and very painful move
to deal with so I suggest keeping him constantly pressured so he can't use it.
Unfortunately all your work can be for nothing because Yun chain combos far
better than Yang. You may find that after half a fight's work, you may be back
to square one if he pulls of a big combo on you. Be wary of this and be sure
to block whenever you can (I wouldn't advise parrying too much). Remember that
Yun is stronger and faster than you, so play more intelligently to win.
Do's
- Try to keep him pinned, Yang doesn't work very well under pressure
- Learn to parry the Toe Press, you will be ever grateful for having
learned it.
- Keep in mind to use low risk moves against Yang because he can punish you
quickly and painfully for a single mistake.
- Be mindful of his high-low game, not only is it fast but his overhead is
pretty useful.
Don'ts
- Rush out to attack him after missed or blocked combos, the Raishin
Mahakan is a very quick and semi-invincible super which can catch you off
guard.
- Buy into his mind games, especially in terms of the Twin Palm Strike.
Learn to see the instant in which Yang will attack or not.
- Panic if Yang has just creamed you with consecutive chain combos,
remember that he takes a lot of damage and thus the match can be brought
into perspective very quickly.
- Parry too often unless you are extremely proficient at it. Since Yang's
moves are so fast and flow so well, you don't even gain that much space
to attack him in.
Opening Animation(s)
1.) Yang backflips onto the scene and assumes his fighting stance.
2.) Yang poses and then assumes his fighting stance.
3.) (Special against Makoto) Yang bows
4.) (Special against Yun) The two flip past eachother
5.) (Special… forgot how to get it) Yang stands and his white cat walks by.
Standing Animation: Typical Kem-po style stance. Yang bounces more back and
forth while his brother bounces more up and down.
Taunt: Yang brushes his hair up and mutters "Anachia anana" (or something)
Ending Animation(s)
1.) Yang stands with his back facing the screen and mutters a random line in
Japanese.
2.) Yang looks to the screen and mutters a random line in Japanese.
Teo – For endless matches of SF goodness, truly your Ibuki is something to be
feared… but beware the JUMPING HP!
Morrigan – For at least trying… = )
Red Sheep – You've shown me that Hugo's strength knows no bounds
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2.1 – Legal Stuff
Feel free to distribute this FAQ so long as MY NAME IS ATTACHED TO IT! (EGM<
This means YOU!)… Yes, we do have a copyright thing here in Canada…
