Tekken Tag Tournament: Waning Moon Mini-FAQ
revision 1.0
1-25-00
By: Pete Hahn
"HAN"
[email protected]
Disclaimer: This document may be reproduced electronically, as long as
it remains unaltered in any way. Please give proper credit
where it is due. This document Copyright 1999 Pete Hahn.
Document created and best viewed in edit.com
spacing check: 1234567890
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Table Of Contents:
1) Introduction
2) Conventions Used
3) Move Execution Tips
A)Wang
B)Ogre and True Ogre
4) Move Set Ups
A)Wang
B)Ogre and True Ogre
5) Move Follow Ups
A)Wang
B)Ogre and True Ogre
6) Credits/Thanks
{ 1 } I n t r o d u c t i o n
This mini-faq is designed to share my knowledge of one of the most
potent moves in all of Tekken Tag Tournament (and probably in any
Tekken game, period); The Waning Moon throw. Only 3 characters have
this move: Wang, Ogre and True Ogre. This throw has a complex motion,
but it is the same motion for all three characters ALMOST. Please
read the Move Execution Tips to see differences between the three as
far as execution is concerned. The motion for this throw is: tap the
down forward diagonal twice in succession (and you've got to be
accurate), then hit both the right punch and right kick buttons at the
same time. The character with the Waning Moon will then procede to
grab the opponent, spin behind their back, and hit them with both
elbows in the back. The opponent will then stagger away from the
Waning Moon character, stunned and dropped to their knees. During
this time where the opponent still has their back turned and is
recovering, you have initiative to attack their unguarded back for a
slight moment. If you did the throw with Wang, he can immediately
tag to his partner, and they can execute a follow up instead of
Wang. Wang's partner will come in to the stunned character's front
side, and will have the initiative to attack.
As you can probably tell, this FAQ is an in-depth FAQ on only ONE MOVE
for these characters. This FAQ is only meant for intermediate
to high level play. Please don't waste your time reading this FAQ if
you aren't serious about learning this move; Someone could literally
spend a week mastering the execution ALONE.
The Waning Moon is a difficult move to use, but that doesn't come
without it's strong points: The Waning Moon throw can lead to the
most potent combos in the game, hands down. Imagine being able to do
nearly 100 points of damage in one combo, completely turning a losing
round in your favor...seems unfair doesn't it? Like I said before, the
move is extremely hard to execute, and this is how I can justify using
the Waning Moon to it's full potential. To put it bluntly: If a Paul
scrub can get lucky and hit me with a counter hit deathfist, I am
losing 60+ points of life with that one move...and Paul's deathfist
is only a quarter circle motion and one button. If he can get 60+
points with that much ease, what's wrong with doing a motion easily
more than twice as difficult to get 100 points of damage? Trust me,
once you get the motion down and are able to set it up properly,
you'll be just dying to take advantage of the damage you can inflict;
and you'll be doing it without mercy or remorse because you spent the
time to learn this most difficult move. (Evil laugh...)
{ 2 } C o n v e n t i o n s
Note: You'll find my conventions very close to those of
Tekken.Net...I'm already used to them, and they are pretty
much accepted to be a standard in the Tekken community.
Moves Conventions
Special "HAN" convention used later in the FAQ: WM = Waning Moon
- - -
1 = left Punch | 1 | 2 | 5 |
2 = right Punch - - - button layout
3 = left Kick | 3 | 4 |
4 = right Kick - -
5 = tag
u = tap u (d=down, b=back, f=forward, ect...)
U = hold up (D=hold down, B=hold back, F=hold forward, ect..)
d/f = tap down and forward diagonal
D/F = hold the down and forward diagonal
qcf = quarter circle forward (qcb=quarter circle back, ect...)
hcf = half circle forward (hcb=half circle back, ect..)
n = nuetral (no joystick input)
WGF = Wind God Fist (f,n,d,D/F+2)
EWGF = Electric Wind Godfist (f,n,d,d/f+2) hit 2 right after d/f
~ = immediately follwed by...
, = followed by... (i.e. "3,4" = left kick followed by right kick
_ = or (i.e. "3_4" = left kick or right kick
ss = side step
+ = and (i.e. "3+4" = left kick and right kick simultaneously)
ws = while standing from crouch
bk = move leaves back turned towards opponent
bt = back turned towards opponent
jg = juggle starter
fc = from crouch (i.e. character in full crouch animation)
rc = move recovers in a crouching position
ch = counter hit
ob = opponent shows back when hit with a move with this property
gb = opponent's guard is slighty broken, giving you the advantage
Hit Levels
l = hits low (must block low)
L = hits low and grounded opponents
sm = special mid, can be blocked high or low
SM = special mid, hits grounded oppponents
m = hits mid, must block standing up
M = hits mid and grounded opponents
h = hits high (can be crouched under)
H = his high and grouded opponents
! = unblockable attack
!m = mid unblockable (cannot be crouched under)
!M = mid unblockable that hits grounded opponents
!h = high unblockable (can be crouched under)
!H = high unblockable that hits grounded oppponents
{ 3 } M o v e E x e c u t i o n T i p s
General: This is the Golden Rule of an aspiring (or already a master)
"Waning Mooner": Know thy joysticks. Unless the competition comes
home to you (ahem, Sauer...), you're going to have to adjust to the
diagonals and feel (looseness/tightness) of the sticks everywhere
you play. This might mean buying 2 games worth of tokens and playing
Wang/Ogre on both sides of the machine so you can get used to the
sticks' feel and practice the motion...it might mean doing this 10
times a day for the next week. Just don't get discouraged. And for
Pete's sake (sorry, I had to say it), don't go into a tournament
expecting to pull a Waning Moon comeback if you haven't scoped out
the sticks and fully adjusted to them beforehand. Back in the good Ol'
days of Tekken1, the Waning Moon was simple 2+4 throw - I would love to
have that back!
I personally find the double d/f tap easiest to execute on Happ's
"Ultimate Joystick," since the stick's shaft is thinner than others.
It allows for more precise diagonal movement. The downside that many
compain about is that the joystcks seem "jumpy" and will oftentimes
hop in the middle of movement or crouch dash. I remedy this by sitting
in a stool in front of the game. This accomplishes several things:
First, it rests my legs. Secondly, I more easily can align
myself with the center of the stick so I don't get "jumpy" unless I
start to loose my concentration and so I feel the d/f (and other)
diagonals much easier. If only American arcades would install the
Japanese style "ball" sticks...they are super accurate with precision
diagaonl movements, and it is also easier to tap directionals faster,
which is useful in performing "Crazy Legs" and other fancy footwork.
I guess we Americans are too rough on the sticks; even the Happ sticks
tend to bend at the shaft under rough play. There have been times
where I have replaced a joystick on our TTT machine where
I work after as little as 4 days, because the mashers decided to
have a competition or something and the shaft is bent. Don't even
think about getting the Japanese style sticks for a long time; they are
even more fragile than the Happ sticks.
A) For Wang: Wang's execution of the Waning Moon is actually harder
than Ogre's (slightly). It seems that Wang must be more accurate
with his taps, and also slightly faster. You can try button
buffering the 2+4 part (hold 2 or 4, do the d/f, d/f taps, then hit
the other button while still holding the first), but I would
recommend against it because you will get either a ss+4, d/f+2
or d/f+4 if you aren't 100% accurate. Wang's Waning Moon is going
to take more time than Ogre's to learn; I would recommend learning
Wang's first -- Ogre's will come out that much easier. To be
consistent is the goal; when you are, you will be feared because of
it. The escape for the throw is a dual button escape: 1+2.
However, the escape must be input within 12 frames (about 1/10 of a
second) from the time the opponent was grabbed. That means that not
many except "Crazy Fingers" himself should be escaping your Waning
Moon on reaction... it would have to be anicipated. That leads me
to the next point on landing a Waning Moon...DON'T BECOME
PREDICTABLE WITH IT'S USE. You'll be doing other Wang users and
myself a great disservice by conditioning the opposition to be
ready for it. After a f+1 counter hit, go for a hopkick or a f+4
if you landed a Waning Moon the previous round with the same set up.
Don't make the Waning Moon your only counter for a missed move;
if the opponent escapes your Waning Moon, you've overused that
set up that preceded the escape.
If you can't get it at first, you might try doing why do every now
and then...find a time at the arcade where you won't be challenged,
then set up a stool and bring some rubber bands. What I usually do
is play on the second player side (my d/f taps are less accurate on
this side), and take a rubber band and force the player one stick
into a back (left) position. Make sure that it is all the way in
the left position, then pick your team (Wang and any character whose
follow ups you want to verify/practice), and then pick Nina and Anna
for the opposite player side. Round 1...Nina/Anna will start
walking back. Dash up in their face and throw a basic jab (1).
Now quickly go for a Waning Moon Throw. If you messed it up, (and
didn't button buffer the button presses), Wang will try to grab with
a normal 2+4 throw. How can you tell the difference? Wang's hands
grab out the same length when you nail a Waning Moon, but if you
miss, his right arm will grab farther, and you (Wang) will end up
missing Nina/Anna with the normal 2+4 throw. If you did get the
Waning Moon, the slight range increase (due to both arms being
extended) will have enough range to grab them, even with the 1p
joystick walking back for you automatically. Nina/Anna walk back
at the right pace for this to work, so I always use this to practice
my Waning Moon. Another thing that you can use my little training
set up for is to practice tag follow ups; since the joystick will
be held in a blocking position (left) if you tag, you can verify if
your follow up would be blockable had you pulled the Waning Moon in
match play, since Wang's teammate will come out from the right
side.
B) For Ogre and True Ogre: As long as you take my advice and learn
to use Wang's Waning Moon first, I shouldn't even need to put in
this section. The Ogre's can be slightly slower and less accurate
than Wang and still get the Waning Moon to come out. I feel this
was done on purpose; you can't tag Ogre's Waning Moon to another
character, and his follow ups tend to be less damaging than Wang's.
There is one more difference between Wang's and the Ogre's Waning
Moon throws: The Ogre's Waning Moon CANNOT BE ESCAPED! That means
as soon as you make contact with the throw, it's bedtime for the
opponent.
{ 4 } M o v e S e t U p s
General: Ok, if you've got this far in my FAQ, you've already got the
motion down (or you're planning on having it down), so now the
move needs to be set up properly. There are several instances where
Wang and the Ogre's can (and should) pull out a Waning Moon that are
shared:
1) The most common: After a basic jab (1_f+1) counterhit. The opponent
has very little time to duck, and most likely won't be able to throw
out a counter to the Waning Moon before it comes out.
2) Another (uncommon against good competition): After a missed,
slow recovering move. You just blocked the elbow portion of Paul's
d+4,2 falling leaf? Great, punish him for it!
3) As the opponent quick recovers: If you can anticipate a quick
recover get up from the opponent, a Waning Moon is usually a safe
bet. I like this set up combo for Wang: u/f+4 (or any other juggle
starter), D+2, d/f+3,4...then: if they quick recover, Waning Moon...
if they don't quick recover a d/b+4,2 will hit them as the hit the
ground.
4) After a d/f low parry: This set up is pretty effective; I smiled to
myself when I realized the potential of this setup. The opponent
doesn't have much time to react unless you get predictable in this
set up, so keep it fresh please. Wang will have to take a half step
in to Waning Moon after a d/f low parry, since his arms aren't as
long as the Ogre's, but the Ogre's (True Ogre's especially) has some
range to it. You might want to stick in the the half step forward
even if you are Ogre, just to make sure you are in range. This is
your ultimate revenge against people that constantly assault your
legs to annoy you: Heihachi hell sweepers, Laws that use the
Junkyard kick, Jun's annoying sweeps, Lee's infernal D+4,4,4,4 combo,
Jack's d/b+1 and all the others you can think of...now imagine that
anticipated low attack = 70+ points of damage to your opponent.
(Evil laugh...)
A) For Wang:
1) Wang's Specialty: Crouch dash into Waning Moon throw. This is
really hard to get consistently, but it's also very effective.
Don't use the Waning Moon all the time out of a crouch dash, mix
it up with a delayed deathfist or a f+4 to keep them honest.
2) After you've forced the opponent to block a move that induces
guard stun such as ss+1+2 (you'll need to step in to hit it, but
if you cround dash in it'll be more effective) or flying cross
chop (while running f+1+2 or tagging in to Wang, then f,f,n+1+2).
B) For Ogre and True Ogre:
1) After the 1,1 chain attack: This is fairly effective, even more
so if the 1,1 chain hits the opponent. For some reason even
good players fall asleep after being hit witht he 1,1 chain. I
am sure this is due to the monotinous 1,1,2 attack that lots of
Jin and Hei players love to use for a quick, easy counter and
knockdown. Test your opponent on this once; if he evades the
Waning Moon the first time, chances are he'll be more than ready
with a counter the second time.
2) After the d/f+1 elbow: This is the "HAN special" that I devised
a couple of years ago with Ogre in Tekken 3 that still works like
a charm in TTT, especially if the d/f+1 counterhits. Please,
keep this set-up fresh and only call it out in desperate need;
if you use more than 2 or 3 times in one game against someone,
they'll eventually wise up. That means using the d/f+1,2 string
a good amount before you want to hit the Waning Moon, and
switch it it to a hop kick after a d/f+1 to keep them honest
every now and then.
3) After a ws+2 stun: Unless they Tag escape the ws+2 stun, the
Waning Moon will hit, since the throw itself is inescapable.
4) After a blocked slash kick (while running 3, or f,f,f+3 a couple
steps away from the opponent).
5) After a blocked u/f+3,4 (2/3 hunting hawk) or f,f+4 (bazooka leg).
Feel free to devise your own set ups, and send them this way
(
[email protected]) if they are particularly useful. Of course I'll
give you credit!
{ 5 } M o v e F o l l o w U p s
I will include follow ups that are both guaranteed and not. I will
denote follow ups that are definitely escapable with a "*". The
others, to the best of my knowledge, cannot be escaped, but I could
be wrong. Please let me know if you can verify 100% that
someone has escaped a follow up that I have listed. Remember,
"WM" is my shorthand for Waning Moon in this section.
A) Wang
WM, f,f,f (run in), qcf+2 (deathfist)
WM, f,f,f+3 (run in slash kick)
WM, f,f,f (run in), 1~1,1, d+4,1, d/f+1+2 (no big characters!)
(approx 80% damage)
WM, f,f,f (run in), d/b+4,2, 1, d/b+4,2, d/f+1+2 (approx 85% damage)
WM, f,f,f (run in), d/b+2,4, 1, 1+2 (www.tekken.net)
WM, f,f,f (run in), d/b+4,2, d+4,1, d/f+1+2
WM, tag to Beak, f,f,n+1+2 (blocked), 1,2,3(f), 1,2,3(f), 1,2,
WM, tag to Beak, f,f (run in), 3+4 (hops over opponent) back throw
WM, tag to Beak, f,f,n+1+2 (blocked), 1,2, 3+4(F), d+3
WM, tag to Michelle, f,f,n+1+2 (blocked), 1, f,f+1, f,f+1,
f,f+1, f,f+1,4
WM, tag to Armor King, f,f,n+1+2 (blocked), 1, 1, 1, 1, b+3
WM, tag to Gun Jack, f,f,n+1+2 (blocked), 2, 2, F+1+2
WM, tag to Anna, f,f,n+1+2 (blocked), 1, u/f+1,3, f+1+2
WM, tag to Bryan, f,f,n+1+2 (blocked), 1, d+2, 1, f,f+2
WM, tag to Heihachi, WGF, any follow up (my favorite: 1, 1, 1, b+1)
WM, tag to Ganryu, f,f,n+1+2 (blocked), 2,1,2, d+1+2
WM, tag to Ganryu, f,f,n+1+2 (blocked), 2,1,2, d/f+2, 1+2
WM, tag to Julia, f,f,n+1+2 (blocked), D+1, d/f+3+4, d/f+4,2,b,f+1
WM, tag to Jun, f,f,n+1+2 (blocked), D+1, ws+3~5, (tag to Wang),
f,f,n+4
WM, tag to Jun, f,f,N+1+2 (blocked), 1+4, 1+4,2,d+4
(*) WM, tag to Xiaoyu, f+3+4, side throw
WM, tag to Xiaoyu, f,f,n+1+2 (blocked), 1,2, f,f+1+2,1+2
WM, tag to Yoshi, f,f+1+4 (approx 90% damage)
WM, tag to Yoshi, b,b+1,n+1
WM, tag to Yoshi, u/f+1+2,d
WM, tag to Nina, f,f,n+1+2 (blocked), 1, 1,2, d/f+3,1,2,f+1+2
WM, tag to Nina, f,f+3
(*) WM, tag to Nina, hcf,d/b+2+3, d/b+3+4, any follow up
WM, tag to Law, f,f,n+1+2 (blocked), 1, b+2,3,4
(*) WM, tag to Hwoarang, f,n,d,d/f+4, any follow up
WM, tag to Hwoarang, f,f,n+1+2 (blocked), 1, d/f+1+2, d+4,4
WM, tag to Eddy, f,f,n+1+2 (blocked), 1, 1,2,4~4
WM, tag to Paul, f,f,n+1+2 (blocked), 1, qcf+2 or f+1+4 or f+1+2 or
qcb+3,2,1
WM, tag to King, f,f,n+1+2 (blocked), 2,1, 1+2, 1
WM, tag to King, f,f+2+3 (looks nice!) :)
WM, tag to Lei, f,f,n+1+2 (blocked), 1, f,n+1,2,(1),2,4
WM, tag to Jin, f,f,n+1+2 (blocked), 1, 1, 1, d/b+1
WM, tag to Jin, b+1+4
WM, tag to Jin, EWGF, any follow up
WM, tag to Kuni, f,f,n+1+2 (blocked), 1, b+1,1,(1),1, f+3+4
WM, tag to Kuni, d+3+4 (hard to time, both hits connect!)
WM, tag to Kuni, b+1+2 (delayed, only 2nd hit connects), D+1,
d/f+3
WM, tag to Kazuya, b+1+4
WM, tag to Bruce, f,f,n+1+2 (blocked), 1, b+4,3,4
WM, tag to Bruce, f,f,n+1+2 (blocked), 1, f+1,2,1
WM, tag to Kuma/Panda, u/f+1+2 (hops over opponent) back throw
(thanks to Douzono "Stone Cold" Takeshi)
WM, tag to Kuma/Panda, f,f,n+1+2 (blocked), f+1,1,1, tag to Wang,
f,f,n+4 slide in (thanks to Douzono "Stone Cold" Takeshi)
WM, tag to Jack 2, f,f,n+1+2 (blocked), 2, 2, F+1+2
WM, tag to Lee, f,f,n+1+2 (blocked), 1, step in, D+4,4,4,4
WM, tag to P.Jack, f,f,n+1+2 (blocked), 2, 2, F+1+2
WM, tag to Devil, WGF, any follow up
WM, tag to True Ogre, f,f,n+1+2 (blocked), D+1, ws+4,4
WM, tag to Ogre, f,f,n+1+2 (blocked), D+1, D+3,3,n+3~5, (tag to
Wang), f,f,n+4
(*) WM, tag to Ogre, d/f+1 (misses), d/f,d/f+2+4, any Ogre Waning Moon
follow up
WM, tag to Alex/Roger, f,f,n+1+2 (blocked), 1, f,n,d,d/f+1
B) Ogre and True Ogre
WM, f,f,f (run in), f+2
WM, f,f,f+3 (slash kick)
WM, f,f,f (run in,) d,d/b+4 (tag, then do f,f,n+1+2 against larger
characters) -- (thanks to Douzono "Stone Cold" Takeshi)
(approx 90% if started with ws+2 stun)
WM, f,f,f (run in), u/f+3,4,3
{ 6 } T h a n k s / C r e d i t s
The author would like to thank, in no particular order:
Name: For: Enter Initials:
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Udey K. Cool guy + Got me hooked on Tekken! UKK
The creator of an awesome Beak
illustration.
Chi-Fu (Jeff) Helping me understand Gamest stuff, ???
and Chi-Yuan for all the times we played at your
(sorry if I place, and for treating us (UKK and
spelled it me) to great food.
wrong!)
SauerKraut Playing at his place, GREAT competition, ???
nice new web site about to be put up,
helping test various tidbits, as well.
Ed Competition, turtling like MAD with ELP
the animals! :)
Mike E. Playing every Friday, competition JZA
Hass R. Brian and Bruce forever!!! HJR
Chris M. Starting to play again and proofreading C M
this Mini-FAQ.
Pete H. Being the video game addict that HAN
made this guide! :)
Kristen E. Everything! ;) KAE
"Crazy Fingers" ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? C.F
Paul Scrubz Being a punching bag for my Wang/Ogre, SCRUB
and inspiring me to find the quickest
ways to dispatch of their kind
The sites that have helped me in writing this FAQ:
www.fighters.net great site for all you fighting game fanatics
like myself.
www.gamefaqs.com for all of my FAQ needs.
www.tekken.net great site for many reasons, (forum, frame data,
combos, ect)...but I must admit, those combo
exhibtions rock. Thanks guys!
www.tekkentagtournament.com nice forum set-up and some move
information was taken from this
site for official move names and
damages.
I would also like to thank all those at Namco that made the TTT
tournies run so well. While the midwest regionals could have been
better with more machines, I think that Namco did the best they
could, given the circumstances. Namco also deserves another round
of applause for creating one of the most fun, addictive, and
strategy-oriented games ever made!
Extra Bonus for those of you that read this far:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Special Tekken 2 Wang 100% Waning Moon combo vs big characters only:
WM, f,f,f (run in), 2,1,1,2,3,3,3,4,4,1 (ten string),
D+4, d/f+3,4, d/f+1+2
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