Arcana Heart for PS2 - Saki Guide
Version 1.00 by Joshua Vaughn, a.k.a. Mikadok on GameFAQs/GameSpot and
I Kei I on Gaia Online and Shoryuken.com
Xbox Live Gamertag: I Kei I
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Copyright info
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Copyright 2008 Joshua Vaughn
All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by
their respective trademark and copyright holders.
This may not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal,
private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed
publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any
other website or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited,
and a violation of copyright.
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Legend
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U = Up
D = Down
F = Forward
B = Back
u/f = up/forward
d/f = down/forward
d/b = down/back
u/b = up/back
qcf = quarter-circle forward, or d, d/f, f
qcb = quarter-circle back, or d, d/b, b
hcf = half-circle forward, or b, d/b, d, d/f, f
hcb = half-circle back, or f, d/f, d, d/b, b
dp = Dragon Punch motion, or f, d, d/f
rdp = Reverse Dragon Punch motion, of b, d, d/b
360 = full circular motion
j. = jumping
s. = standing
c. = crouching
dj. = double jumping
IAD = instant air dash
(A) = Light Attack (Square)
(B) = Medium Attack (Triangle)
(C) = Strong Attack (Circle)
(S) = Special Attack/Homing button
A+S (R2) = Throw. There are two normal throws for each, done with A+S
neturally or with left or right held, respectively. For most of the
characters, the neutral throw is a mulithit throw that will launch their
opponent. Others have a multihitter that will leave their opponent in a
stun long enough to follow up with a combo.
A+B+C (L1) = A.Act or Arcana Activation
+ = Means to press any noted directions and buttons simultaneously, such
as in f+A
xx = cancel into the next move
When buttons are noted together without separation, such as in ABC, it
means to press noted attack buttons simultaneously.
When explaining combos later in the guide, the number notation normally
seen in refernce to games such as the Guilty Gear and Soul Calibur series
may be used. For those unfamiliar, here is a small explanation that will
hopefully clarify it.
The notation in question coincides with the numberpad on your computer
keyboard.
7 8 9
4 5 6
1 2 3
So in short, 8 would be up, 2 would be down, 4 would be left, and 6 would
be right, with the other numbers representing the diagonal directions. In
other words, the motion qcf+A would be abbreviated thorugh the number
system as 236A.
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Terms
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OTG = Off The Ground. Basically means that a move can pick up or hit a
knocked down opponent, so long as they don't tech roll.
TK = Tiger Knee (explained in detail below)
(SC) = Move can be Super Cancelled
HC = Homing Cancel. Press S just as any physical attack either lands or is
guarded. This will allow you to cancel the animation of a move, similar to
Roman Canceling from the Guilty Gear series, though it also allows you to
literally home in on your opponent's location by holding the button,
sending you dashing or flying wherever they are as you would when normally
holding the button. Needless to say, this is important to know so that you
can take any combo opportunities a launcher might present.
FHC = Forward Homing Cancel. The same as the aforementioned Homing Cancel,
except you will dash straight forward instead of taking to the air or
being able maneuver yourself in any sort of angle during the dash. Done by
pressing forward as you do an HC.
BHC = Backward Homing Cancel. The same as a Homing Cancel in every way
except for the fact that your character will make a small movement
backward before dashing forward. Done by pressing backward as you do an
HC. Backward Homing Cancels have small windows of invincibilty on them
until the initial backward movement is complete.
GHC = Guard Homing Cancel. Just as with a normal Homing Cancel, except
that, as the name implies, this is done as you guard an opponent's attack.
As with a normal Homing Cancel, there are three variations, those being
neutral, backward and forward. The forward variation is crucial to
remember, since as you move forward a barrier of sorts forms in front of
your character for a scant moment or two that will clash with any
subsequent physical attacks. Utilize this to keep yourself on the
offensive as much as possible.
Tech Recover = S when knocked down, as you hit the ground, or during a
strong knockback as you're about to hit the wall. Not all moves allow a
tech recovery.
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Why use Saki?
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Saki's movelist (sans arcana when speaking as such) is rather linear, but
her moves aren't difficult to pull off, and the ones that are used most
often are quite effective, doing good damage and being easy to combo into
from a multitude of situations.
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Pros
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+ Her moves give quite a few clash frames, which, if utilized properly,
can prove to be useful in turning a situation to her favor.
+ Many ways to combo you from several situations, even horizontally across
the stage.
+ Her supers all launch her opponent, making them easy setups for air
combos.
+ d/f+C in mid-air gives her a decent high/low game when used properly.
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Cons
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- Very few special moves have actual use most of the time due to their
lack of a speedy recovery.
- A couple of her more useful normals either have poor recovery time, poor
startup, or both.
- Linearity of her movelist in general means that she either has to press
an offense more than usual than others, or rely on her arcana moreso than
others.
- Despite the many clash frames, she has few ways outside of supers to
come out ahead after clashing, due to the nature of her special moves.
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Saki
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Normals to keep in mind
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Again, many of Saki's moves in general may clash with an opponent more
often than not. There are a few to keep out there every now and then,
though, being more than noteworthy enough.
c.A - A quite quick low jab sweep, as per usual, this is a quick enough
move to chain two or three of them together, but unless your opponent is
something of a large target in comparison to her, you want to land this
and go straight into...
s.B - ...this kick. Noteworthiness on its own due to it being rather fast to
come out for a mid, it has decent range, and it's jump cancellable. If you
hit this deep enough, you can immediately tack on...
s.C - ...this forward hopping kick. On its own, it isn't much of a threat
because it's slower than her other normals, and even if you land the
aforementioned normals beforehand, this won't connect unless the first two
hit deeply enough. If it DOES coonect, however, you have yourself an
opening to land a free super. This is also, along with s.B, a crucial move
for some of her juggles.
j.B - Jump cancellable and fairly quick to execute, this move can stuff
quite a few other normals when you come in with it with an IAD.
j.C - The length this kick covers is nice, and it can actually cross up
the opponent. It also has a good vertical height on it, which makes it
great for air-to-air confrontations overall.
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Movelist
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Command Moves
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f+B - A backhand blow that has a few clash frames to it and strikes
somewhat high, so it goes without saying that it makes it a decent anti-
air for people that like to dash/fly in.
f+C - This thing doesn't have as quick a startup as other characters' f+C
attacks, and what's worse, it recovers more slowly as well. If you have to
use it, stick to doing so in combos, since that's about the only time you
can hit it reliably, and even then, don't stick to it religiously, since
there are usually other options.
d/f+C in mid-air - This is a VERY important move for Saki. It gives her a
quick overhead to use and overall provides a good high/low mixup game for
her. That's its primary use, however, so you can't expect to get away with
doing it repeatedly.
d.f+C - Saki's launcher is decent, not having too much startup time and
not being horrible on recovery. Nothing much to say about it other than
the fact that it can combo from s.B.
Throws
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A+S - Three swift attacks that put the enemy in a bit of hitstun, opening
them up for more punishment if you're quick on things.
b or f+A+S - A simple throw where Saki tosses you behind her. Only use
this one when you want to throw your opponent into a corner that you'll be
near enough to to stay on them when they wakeup. Otherwise, stick to her
first throw for the extra damage opportunities.
j.A+S - A two hit air throw where Saki plants two hits into you, the
second one sending you for a wallslam, which means that you can't follow
up on it unless the opponent doesn't recover, which isn't likely.
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Special Moves
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Claimh Solais: Hold d, then press u+A, B or C
A somersault kick in the vein of (you guessed it) Guile from the SF series
(though the actual animation is more akin to Charile's). As is usually the
function with these sorts of moves, it serves as a viable anti-air.
Problem is, matches in this game in particular tend to move along at such
a pace that you never have next to any time outside of combos to toss this
in, and even then, it'll rarely get used. A and B get one hit each, with B
floating her up higher, and C gets two hits, the second launching the
opponent up, so if you hit it, follow up.
Brionac: Hold b, then press f+A, B or C
A forward thrusting kick that changes in distance dependent on the button
pressed. A goes the shortest distance and has the shortest recovery time,
and is usually the only one that should be used normally, while the C
version travels the farthest and has the longest recovery time, which
means it should be used sparingly. An interesting thing to note, however,
is if a cornered opponent guards the C version and you do a BHC the very
moment it's guarded, you'll be sent back a considerable distance to where
you'll be relatively safe from most anything.
Fragarach: dp+A, B or C in the air
A crescent kick aimed downward that smacks the opponent down hard. Saki
will float up higher during the move with stronger buttons on input. Tiger
kneeing the A version is a decent thing to do every now and then to catch
unsuspecting opponents jumping or flying in, and it makes a nice
substitute for her d/f+A midair move as an overhead every now and then as
well.
Orna: Hold u, then press d+A,B or C
Basically a short, powerful version of her d/f+C midair attack, this move
has an input that makes this move even more rare to see in battle. You can
buffer it into a couple of her standing combos, but outside of that, you
aren't liable to use this much, either.
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Super Moves
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*Liath Fail: qcb+A+B
Your standard multiple somersault kick super, this move is important
because it can be used in many situations both offensively and defensively
due to the speed the kicks come out at, and is especially easy to link
into most of her normals either airborne or grounded.
Garbh Dagda: qcf+A+B
Saki rushes forward and delivers a combo with the final hit launching the
opponent. There are a number of ways to utilize this move for various
combos, though that will be covered in that section. An important thing to
note, however, is that hitting an opponent with her s.C, be it during a
combo or whatever, means that you can land this for free. Just don't toss
this out against an airborne opponent, because it will whiff.
Of course, I myself would encourage whomever plays to use any arcana that
they feel befits them best. These are just my personal recommendations for
Arcana for Saki to use.
*Tempstas, Arcana of Wind: Saki, with her rushdown capabilities, yet
overall lack of techniques compared to the others, benefits well from the
added mobility, and it adds even more to her already extensive juggles.
*Bhanri, the Arcana of Lightning: The arcana recommended for her as it is
actually works out quite well for Saki, making life both at a distance and
in close for her much easier, due to its lightning bolts and the ability
it adds that allows you to clash with attacks by simply dashing forward.
*Niptra, the Arcana of Water: The Water arcana's bubbles make some
situations much easier for Saki to deal with since they can screw with
your opponent's combos and offensive assaults. Not a bad choice for Saki
overall.
**All of the Arcana and their abilities are covered in full in my Arcana
Guide.**
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Combos
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This will cover a few of Saki's combos. Requirements for execution
(corner, aerial, arcana requirements etc.) will be noted when necessary.
- A-A-c.B(charge d)-c.C-u+C
- A-B(charge b)-C-f+A
- A-B-C xx 236AB->HC->A-B-dj.A-B-623A xx 214AB
- Netural A+S throw->FHC->c.A(charge d)-c.B-c.C-u+C
- A-B-C xx 236AB->FHC at fifth hit->A-B-C->IAD-B-C-623A; you can also
follow with options from the following combo after the IAD point.
- Neutral A+S throw->FHC->c.A-B-C xx 236AB->FHC at fifth hit->A-B-C-
>IAD->B-C, land, then j.A-B-dj.A-B-C-623A xx 214AB->HC->A-B-C xx
214AB; opponent must not be cornered; if you have Tempestas as your
arcana, you can land, then j.A-B-dj.A-B-C-623A xx 214AB->HC->A-B-
dj.A-B-C xx 214AB instead.
As you might've surmised, the key to playing Saki effectively lies in
pressuring your opponent with a good rushdown game. Don't rely on special
moves that you won't be too likely to hit and keep yourself as close to
your opponent as you can as often as possible.
Stick to her normals, both command and otherwise, moreso than her special
moves to keep your opponent on lockdown as best as you possibly can,
throwing a high/low mixup game in their face with her d/f+C midair attack
and c.A and c.B sweeps to poke.
Finally, don't be afraid to fall back on her qcb+A+B super when you find
yourself in a situation where you feel your opponent is going to lay down
a lot of offense. The kicks will break things up by either beating
whatever they do out, or clashing with most anything they try, afterwhich
either way, you can get right back on the offensive.
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I hope that this guide is helpful to whomever may read it. Any information
I might have missed will be added in future updates with proper credits
given.
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Special Thanks
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- To Atlus, for releasing this gem of a game stateside. Here's hoping for
an Arcana Heart 2 release in the near future. :)
- To a good friend offline, for pre-ordering this for me.
- To my friends for being willing to delve into this wonderful fighting
game (and several others as well) with me.
