Street Fighter 3: Third Strike
Remy Guide v1.1
7 September 1999
Written by Dave Connoy (
[email protected])
Preface
=======
Well, it's been a long time since I've written any kind of game strategy and
I thought I might get back into it. After some surprising success with Remy
after only playing 3rd Strike for a couple weeks, I thought I'd write down
what works for me. Keep in mind I write this not because I think I'm any
great shakes at the game (I particularly fear that these strategies could be
taken apart by someone that's a very skilled at parrying) but rather because
I simply want to see more literature on SF3. This is the first FAQ/guide
I've written for any SF game (despite playing them a lot) so there'll
probably be some bugs to work out. E-mail me with any suggestions, or
comments on how this guide's strategies helped you (or sucked for you).
This guide was written (and is best viewed) in MS-DOS Edit, with five-space
tabs and 77-character lines.
Contents
========
Introduction
Normal Arts
Special Arts
Super Arts
Combos
General Strategy
Dealing With Parrying
Storyline Crap
Conclusion
Version History
Credits/Thanks
Introduction
============
Well, the third incarnation of Street Fighter III is upon us, and along with
some TOTAL FREAKS (what's with Twelve? Is this Killer Instinct???) comes the
return of Chun-Li (ya tai!), and a (in my opinion) much needed Guile clone.
One might think that Guile (well, a Guile-like character) wouldn't fare too
well in SF3, what with parrying and all, which is probably true. But Capcom
seems to have added to Remy what a Guile clone would need to survive in SF3--
namely, shorter charge times (VERY short), short projectile recovery (REALLY
short), a low projectile, an uncounterable distance-covering special, and
quirky ES projectiles. Effective use of all of these can make Remy a much
more aggressive character than his charge nature might imply.
This guide will follow typical strategy guide layout--normal moves first,
then special, then Super Arts, and finally combos and general strategy. To
minimize duplicated effort I'm going to assume the reader is familiar with
the general gameplay features of SF3:3S, like parrying, super jumping, and
Enhanced Special moves. For info on all of these and more, consult Kao
Megura's excellent SF3:3S general FAQ, also available at www.gamefaqs.com.
Let's begin...
Normal Arts
===========
A quick note--I use the "old school" names for the six attack buttons:
Jab="Light Punch"
Strong="Medium Punch"
Fierce="Hard/Heavy Punch"
Short="Light Kick"
Forward="Medium Kick"
Roundhouse="Hard/Heavy Kick"
Jab
---
Standing: A quick body blow. More range than your average jab, but overall
you might as well be using low jab or low strong.
Close: A knife-hand jab to the opponent's face. You can link a couple of
these together. Again, low jab is probably better.
Crouching: While the range is horrible, it has total priority (never been
stuffed). Multiple low jabs (three at most) can be linked together for
a combo.
Jumping: Your typical jumping jab--high priority and very "sticky". Probably
not bad for air-to-air if you stick it out early, but you certainly
won't be rewarded with much damage.
Strong
------
Standing: Remy throws a straight knife-hand punch at head-level. If you
don't have a FK charged, this works well for taking out a jumper that
isn't landing right on your head. It'll invite air parries if you use
it this way a lot, though.
Close: A downward chop. Even shorter ranged than it looks.
Crouching: Fair-ranged knife-hand punch with *great* priority. If you're in
range, just stick this bad boy out and it'll eat all of Ryu/Ken's low
kicks--hell, practically any normal attack in the game. I have never
seen this even trade with, let alone get stuffed by, any other normal
attack. Also your number one normal to combo off of--low SB, short FK,
and Super Arts combo every time.
Jumping: Same animation as jumping jab, but (of course) more heavy and less
sticky. Angles downward a lot, so it might beat some low fierce-type
anti-air moves (unconfirmed).
Fierce
------
Standing: A heavy body blow, animation similar to standing jab (but slower).
Once while spazzing :) I saw this actually beat some low move the other
guy was doing, which was unexpected. (Note to self: provide information
that will HELP the reader.)
Close: An uppercut. Not of much use on the ground due to very short forward
range. If you're studly, combo this into a FK or Super Art.
Crouching: Remy sticks his open palm straight up into the air. Great defense
if the opponent's jumping in on your head, but absolutely pathetic range
against an opponent on the ground. In either case, it does send the
opponent high into the air for a juggle if it hits. Late ES FK or Super
Art II are probably the followups to use, if you actually go for this.
Jumping: An elbow drop (like Dudley's flying roundhouse). Knocks the
opponent to the ground if it connects during air-to-air. While it's
probably better than roundhouse in air-to-air, I still doubt it can beat
Ken/Ryu's jumping roundhouse or air HK (and no way will it beat Ken's
unholy ES air HK). Roundhouse is preferable for jump-ins (for me at
least).
Short
-----
Standing: A standing kick to the opponent's shin. Crummy range, you might as
well use low short.
Close: A knee, like close forward. Probably good for close-in fighting, but
you should be using low moves as much as possible so you're charged for
the FK.
Crouching: A little more range than the low jab. Massive priority as well--
if it's in range, it *will* hit unless the opponent does a move for
going over low kicks (like Yun/Yang's F+Forward).
Jumping: A flying knee attack. Typical jumping short; priority, sticky, but
no range.
Forward
-------
Standing: Remy kicks straight out in front of him. If it only had enough
range to kick over Ken/Ryu/Akuma's low forward and roundhouse, it'd be
useful for poking...
Close: A knee. Comboable, but anything except a high SB is difficult. Also
chains into standing roundhouse.
Crouching: A low kick with major range. Ever so slightly more range than
Ken/Ryu/Akuma's low roundhouse, so it can punish missed sweeps, but you
have to be quick (kick during the end of their animation to get their
still-outstreched foot). Master the range of this move and use it so
the very tip hits; any closer and you should be using crouching strong.
Joystick forward: Remy takes a step forward and swings his leg at the
opponent's shin. Despite its appearance, this is an overhead! Nice as
a wake-up call for opponents that just turtle when you get them in the
corner.
Jumping: Straight-out jumping kick (as opposed to roundhouse's downward
angle).
Roundhouse
----------
Standing: A high roundhouse kick to the head area. Despite its appearance,
not too effective against jump-ins.
Close: Two-hit high kick. I wonder if you could combo that first hit, but
even if you could, it's likely it'd provide less damage than a fierce or
even a strong.
Crouching: A double footsweep a la Guile. First sweep has a little less
range than crouching forward; second sweep a little more. Generally not
too useful because you're just screwed if the opponent elects to jump.
Any character can hit Remy with any quick normal, special, or Super Art
in between the sweeps. Only try using this instead of low forward once
you've got the opponent afraid to jump lest he be FK'd.
Jumping: A downward-angled jump kick. Good to start jump-in combos, but not
too great priority for that, or air-to-air. You shouldn't be jumping in
much anyway.
Throws
------
Remember to use whatever throw will put your opponent closest to the corner.
Also, don't forget about throwing an opponent that does a jump-in attack too
high, unless they're a fan of landing into a hopping overhead or DP.
Jab+Short: Remy grabs the opponent and delivers three quick hits to send
them flying. Leaves opponent further away than the directional throw
does.
F+Jab+Short: Remy seizes the opponent's arm and delivers a heavy spin kick.
This will leave the opponent in front of you.
B+Jab+Short: Same as above, except Remy switches sides with the opponent.
Hopping Overhead
----------------
Strong+Forward: A tiny version of jumping short. While it's a bit faster
than Remy's other overhead (F+Forward), Remy also leaves the ground so
it's more obvious too. Remember that the joystick must be neutral, so
you can't keep your charge while doing this. :(
Personal Action
---------------
Fierce+Roundhouse: Emitting a barely audible "hmmm...", Remy rests his chin
on his hand and studies the opponent, as if trying to figure out how and
why they suck so much. Charges up some Super Art meter and allegedly
increases the amount of stun damage subsequent attacks do, but it takes
so long to execute that you'll probably get punished for doing it with
what we in the industry call a "phatty bo-batty combo".
Cool Thing
----------
Crouch for a second: Remy will brush his hair away from his face. Damn, this
game's animation is hella smooth.
Special Arts
============
Something to know about just about all of Remy's specials is that their
charge time is *very* short, and their recovery very quick. It is impossible
for an opponent to punish Remy for throwing a projectile unless they predict
it far in advance, and most moves made to do so (Yang's rollkicks for
instance) won't go under the low SB anyway. Likewise, if the opponent is
made to block the Cold Blue Kick, the only guaranteed retaliation is a Super
Art; any other counter can be blocked/parried by Remy (or eaten with a low
strong in the case of normals). Knowing this, use these moves to pressure
your opponent a LOT! Unlike Ken or Ryu, Remy need not fear an opponent
punishing him for throwing a projectile, regardless of the players' relative
positions. Okay, let's get on with it.
Light of Virtue High (charge b,f+punch)
--------------------
I'm going to abbreviate this and the Light of Virtue Low as "SB" (Sonic Boom)
because that's what they are, after all. :) High SBs are decent for taking
out people who jump in from far away, and for attacking tall characters like
Urien that can't duck under them. They are much easier to parry than low
SBs, however. They can be ducked by most characters, but such ducking is
actually a *bad* idea when Remy follows with a CBK.
Jab: Slow high SB. A little tricky to jump over, but that's about it. But,
if your opponent habitually ducks under high SBs, then throw this and
follow with a roundhouse CBK. Chances are the opponent will have to
block the CBK because they didn't get pushed back by blocking the SB;
now you can begin your close-range tactics.
Strong: Medium-speed high SB. Not terribly useful.
Fierce: Fast high SB. Good against people who twitch-jump when they see Remy
throw a projectile at close-ish range--chances are they won't jump in
time and get hit by it on the way up. Also the opening move of choice
against opponents who always jump backwards at the beginning of a round.
ES(all three punches): A fast high SB, accompanied by another SB that breaks
downward at about half-screen and must be blocked and parried low. Very
difficult to parry both hits, but overall not as useful as the ES low SB
(you'll find out why). Good for taking off any last tiny bits of energy
the opponent might have left.
Light of Virtue Low (charge b,f+kick)
-------------------
Probably more useful than the high SBs because they must be parried low,
these also go under any other character's fireball (spectacularly so in the
case of the ES low SB). Ken/Ryu/Akuma's HK can go over this, but not
Chun-Li's SBK.
Short: Slow low SB. This is probably the projectile you'll be using most.
Follow after it with a roundhouse CBK, dash, or super-jump to close the
distance and make your opponent feel the heat.
Forward: Medium-speed low SB. I never use it.
Roundhouse: Fast low SB. Due to its fast speed, this is the easiest SB to
make go under another character's projectile (to hit them during their
recovery) and still recover in time to block their projectile.
ES(all three kicks): Like the roundhouse SB, except a second SB breaks upward
at about half screen and must be parried high. Using this against an
incoming projectile by any other character will result in *both* SBs
going under and hitting the opponent! Like the ES high SB, rather
difficult to parry and good for chipping away tiny amounts of energy.
Rising Rage Flash (charge d,u+kick)
-----------------
Abbreviated as FK (Flash Kick). This is Remy's primary anti-air and wake-up
move. Also good for ending combos, since it knocks down. A pointer: it is
advisable to mix up when you FK your opponent's jumps if he/she's capable of
air parrying.
Short: Since it hits lowest to the ground and has the least recovery, this is
the FK you should use the most, whether it be in a combo, as anti-air,
or to overpower a close normal by your opponent. Be wary of doing it
late against air parry-capable opponents who may try jumping in with
nothing and parrying your FK.
Forward: Somewhere between the other two FKs in distance covered.
Roundhouse: Remy launches himself *way* up there, and far forward as well.
This has its uses: Yun/Yang and Oro both have air attacks that involve
jumping *very* high and then coming down almost vertically. Since the
short FK doesn't hit these headstomp moves cleanly, use the roundhouse
FK to hit the offending stomper on the upswing of their jump from far
away. Also use this to hit opponents who air parry a lot early in their
jump instead of late.
ES: A hugely dominant, long range, two-hit FK. If you *know* you're going to
nail a FK against someone (they're jumping in and you're ready, or
they're just hanging around over your fallen body sticking stuff out),
then use this to hack off a big chunk of damage. It seems to be
completely invincible in its early frames, so use it late against jump-
ins to get both hits and the full damage. You can also use the early
invincibility to hit sweep (or other normal) attempts by your opponent,
even at point-blank range. This yields a lot of damage and is very
demoralizing for the opponent. Basically, this will totally take out
*any* move by your opponent, so use it a lot since you can't parry as
effectively as a motion character.
Cold Blue Kick (d,d/b,b+kick)
--------------
A move Guile wishes he had, the CBK allows Remy to traverse screen-lengths in
the blink of an eye, and with no fear of retaliation (except for an immediate
Super Art) if used properly. Despite its appearance, the CBK can be blocked
standing or crouching. It can only be parried standing, however...
Short: This CBK has friggin' short range. The best (and only real) use for
it is to keep close to the opponent to continue pressuring him/her; e.g.
use a low strong cancelled into short CBK to keep your blocked attacks
from pushing you out of close range. There's a small window in there
where the opponent can DP or super you or whatever, so use this tactic
*very* sparingly.
Forward: Like the middle strengths of Remy's other specials, not as useful as
the extremes. If you have the opponent in the corner and are sure
you're in its range, then try using this instead of roundhouse to close
in so that you'll land lower and safer from retaliation.
Roundhouse: Remy travels across not quite an entire screen (pretty close,
though). Using this to follow in a short SB is Remy's most basic
pressure/pushing tactic. (See the General Strategy section for
details). Oh, I almost forgot--this can go over Ken/Ryu/Akuma's
fireballs, but the timing is pretty strict. Still, it looks awesome
when you do it, and you're in a perfect position to pressure them
afterward... :)
ES: Truthfully, I haven't found a good use for this. While it hits twice, it
doesn't seem to travel quite as far as the Roundhouse CBK (and trust me,
you *want* that extra distance). If you have your opponent in the
corner and want to mix up your corner pressure a little, try it out--but
you should be conserving your meter for ES FKs. Perhaps it can't be
countered by a Super Art like the others can, but I haven't verified
that yet.
Super Arts
==========
Remy's Super Arts aren't *bad*, it's that his ES moves are so good! Thus,
you probably won't be using these too much.
I: Light of Justice
-------------------
Remy throws a big whack of SBs (seven, exactly), a la X-Men Vs. SF Charlie.
Two Super Arts can be charged. Pluses: uncounterable if the opponent blocks
(Remy recovers about as fast as from a regular SB); much harder to parry the
whole thing than Super Art II, as the SBs hit both high and low. Minuses:
Not exactly a ton of damage; if the opponent is crouching then some of the
SBs will miss, leading to even less damage; if the opponent super-jumps over
Remy could probably be hit (and then comboed). Overall, I find this Super
Art to be inferior to Super Art II, but some may prefer it.
II: Supreme Rising Rage Flash
-----------------------------
Remy does a couple three-hit FKs followed by a big four-hit FK. Two Super
Arts can be charged; the bar is just a tad longer than Light of Justice.
Pluses: usable in virtually every situation (anti-air, wakeup, overpower,
combo); good healthy damage if all the hits connect; good comboability off
low strong and okay juggleability off low fierce; Super Art bar is longer, so
you can charge more ES moves. Minuses: you can only expect all the hits to
connect when used against an opponent on the ground (when used against a
jumper, only about five or six hits will register, which means an ES FK is
probably better); if the Super Art misses or is blocked, you are most
probably screwed. Overall, probably the best Super Art if used judiciously.
III: Blue Nocturne
------------------
Remy flashes for a fraction of a second; if hit during that time, he counters
with a flurry of attacks. If not, he poses like a doof for entirely too
long. Only one Super Art can be stored. Pluses: just one--it does a LOT of
damage, considering how short the bar is. Minuses: the window of the counter
attack is incredibly small; it doesn't work against jump-ins; any move with
multiple hits (like a fierce DP or most Super Arts) will probably hit you
right out of it. To boot, only one bar can be charged, severely limiting
Remy's ability to charge up lots of ES moves (and we like our ES moves).
Despite its potential, the weakest Super Art due to the many small negative
factors.
Combos
======
Rather than make an exhaustive listing of combos, I'm only going to list the
ones I use the most. Unlike most characters, Remy does not benefit much from
super-cancelling, as the motions for his specials don't double as the first
part of his Super Art commands. This is fine, because you shouldn't be using
super-cancelling anyway. Moves in parentheses may be left out depending on
the context of the combo. A greater-than sign (">") indicates buffering/
comboing/interrupting/2-in-1ing/whatever-you-want-to-call-it the first move
into the second; commas indicate links or juggles.
(jumping roundhouse), crouching strong>short or ES FK
The basic, bread & butter combo. You can use multiple low jabs instead of
the strong, but I like to keep it simple. If you're too far away then the
short FK might miss, but you'll land out of retaliatory range.
close standing fierce>short or ES FK
Work on this one for when the opponent misses uppercuts or uppercut supers in
front of you, or if you need to mess up an air parrier jumping on your head.
crouching fierce, ES FK or Super Art II
Go for this if you screw up the above combo and get a low fierce juggle, or
if you pick someone out of the air with low fierce. Do the FK/Super Art as
late as possible to get the most hits to register. Also a way to mix up your
air defense against an air parrying opponent.
(jumping roundhouse), crouching strong>Super Art I or II
This is what you'll use if your opponent leaves himself massively open.
Leave out the low strong if you can't cancel normals into supers (but you
should be able to... this game is slow), or replace it with close fierce if
you're really good at canceling normals into supers.
anti-air corner CBK, crouching strong>short or ES FK
This is one for in the corner. If you're doing your usual corner pressure
and they get spooked and try to jump the SB, the CBK will knock them against
the wall and you can tack on a low strong>FK juggle for supafly style points.
General Strategy
================
Okay... where to begin. Well, first off, there's the general principle of
playing a charge character: *always* be charging (diagonally down-back,
preferably, so you can do either special). Start charging again the moment
you let a SB go, unless you're going to follow it with a CBK or dash or
something, but even then you should be charging as soon as you've started the
animation of your followup. When you're knocked down, start charging while
you're falling, so you can wake up with a FK if necessary. Unless you're
used to playing a charge character like Guile or Dee Jay, it will take a bit
of self-training to make this second nature, but once you can, it's worth it.
The beauty of the charge character is that, once charged (and we're ALWAYS
charged) any special attack can be done *instantly*, with just one joystick
motion. To not have to input a clumsy three-point joystick motion to use
your air-defense special will increase your reaction time drastically.
An especially useful characteristic of Remy is that he is a pure charge
character. Unlike characters like Alex or Chun-Li that mix charge and motion
commands, Remy has nothing to lose (in terms of command input time) by
charging constantly. His only motion command (the CBK) is best used after
throwing a SB anyway, so it doesn't require the cancelling of a charge.
Okay, enough with the philosophical mumbo-jumbo. Here's the concrete
strategy for success: patiently, methodically, relentlessly push them towards
the corner, and then keep them there. The first part of this strategy is
accomplished by following jab and/or short SBs with dashes and/or roundhouse
CBKs; the second is accomplished through the fear of the FK.
What Not To Do
--------------
Never, ever walk forward. Use CBKs, dashes, and jumps to travel forward (in
that order of preference), and always behind a slow SB.
Never jump in unless you're 100% sure it'll be over a fireball or your
opponent will be asleep.
Never stick out a CBK without a slow SB in front of it. It's DP or parry
bait if the opponent has nothing else threatening him.
Never throw SBs inside low roundhouse range (yours or the opponent's)--you
risk trading with the opponent's sweep, which is not in your favor.
Don't try to pressure a knocked down opponent with anything but the usual
slow SB->CBK stuff. Sticking out normals above a fallen opponent
invites a wake-up parry, DP, or Super Art.
I'm not going to say "don't parry", but you're not going to be parrying much,
as it causes you to lose your charge. Instead, use low strong or the FK
to outprioritize the opponent's attacks, low forward to hit missed
attacks, and overall aggressive play (outlined below) to minimize your
need to parry. If you're a parry master, you can still use these
strategies to charge up, and then focus your game on the ol' parry into
Super Art once you are charged.
Push It!
--------
First, the push pattern: anywhere outside low roundhouse range (this can be
full screen if necessary), throw a short SB. As soon as you recover (and you
recover fast), do a roundhouse CBK. An opponent that would normally calmly
parry or duck or jump over or block the SB now suddenly finds himself
confronted with the added issue of Remy's boot heading at him at very high
speed. If he jumps, he's screwed--the CBK will pick him out of the air, or
else you'll land in such a fashion that you can easily FK him. If he elects
to stick and the stars are in alignment, the SB and your CBK will hit at very
nearly the same time, which makes parrying both *extremely* difficult. Heck,
simply parrying one and blocking the other becomes somewhat difficult. If
the opponent elects to block both, no love lost; go into the close-range
tactics outlined below. If you're trying this tactic from full screen
distance, then the CBK won't reach the opponent. That's okay, though; you'll
land safely out of DP distance while he's busy blocking or parrying the SB,
and you just might be in low forward range, ready to tag a missed sweep.
Otherwise, get ready to FK an attack, or push some more if the opponent
doesn't do anything right away.
Close Range
-----------
After making the opponent block a CBK, stick out a few of Remy's high
priority normals to push him back. Mix up low jab, low short, low strong,
and low forward; use each move so that the tip of the limb hits and you
shouldn't need to worry much about getting stuffed. If the opponent does
manage to squeeze a low forward or low roundhouse in there to hit you, then
STOP, block, and wait to see what he does afterward. If he keeps mashing
away, block and let him push you back to where you can throw a SB. If there
are pauses in the opponent's attack, you may want to try to hit a missed low
kick with your low forward, or FK a roundhouse sweep or fireball (this is
risky, but you gain big advantages in damage and positioning if it works).
You're not concerned with doing large amounts of damage here, though it
certainly doesn't hurt if you hit once or twice. Your goal is to push you
and the opponent apart to where your SB and FK become useful. Thus, no
walking forward is needed.
In The Corner: Enforcing The Home Rule
--------------------------------------
Applied correctly, the above strategies will soon have your opponent stuck in
in the corner, and having the opponent in the corner is FUN. While you're
still going to use SBs followed by CBKs to close to close range, the sequence
becomes much more effective (the SB and CBK hit at the same time much more
often). Further, close range fighting will push you to the range where your
FK completely controls the fight, and your opponent no longer has the ability
to easily move out of that range. Once you're just slightly out of low
forward range, you gain the ability to simply ES FK any time you see the
opponent leave the ground, no questions asked. After a few ES FKs stopping
his attempts to jump out of the corner or do moves to hop over your low kicks
or dash in and do a low normal, you have put the Fear Of The FK in your
opponent. Now, mix it up and have fun--try the low strong>short CBK thing,
or try low strong>short SB, then low forward or f+forward. Just make sure
that every once in a while you pause so that you can ES FK your opponent for
trying to get out of the corner. Heck, if your reaction time is good and
you're ahead on life, you might just want to try sitting just outside low
roundhouse range, letting the opponent come to you, and ES FK'ing whatever he
does--but, since one blocked ES FK will end your fun, this is more an end-of-
round strategy. Remember, don't walk forward--let the footsie push you out
to FK range, and close the distance by following in slow SBs with CBKs or
jumps.
Variations
----------
Obviously, short SB followed by roundhouse CBK is not the only way to do this
trick. You can use a dash, jump, or super-jump to close the distance instead
(just don't walk forward; you can't charge), or use a jab SB as the setup
against tall characters or opponents that respond by ducking. Try different
things and see what works for you.
D-FENS
------
Obviously, what I've outlined so far assumes that your opponent is a goldfish
and lets you work him over. Real opponents will fight back. But stay cool,
be patient, and remember than you can take control of the fight with a single
well-placed FK. Remember that you control the fight anywhere--at long range,
you can throw SBs without fear of retaliation; at medium range, your FK can
take out any distance-closing specials your opponent might have; at close
range, your normals have unholy priority and your ES FK stops *everything*.
As soon as you take advantage of an opponent's mistake, whether it's by FKing
him or eating his sweep with a low strong, you can move into your attack
strategy because you're always charged for a special, and said special's
recovery will be short. If the opponent insists on chucking fireballs all
day, just use roundhouse or ES low SBs to go under them, or use the CBK to go
over.
Dealing With Parrying
=====================
Obviously, parrying is the most abuseable feature of SF3. While it's been
made a lot harder to abuse in Third Strike, it still makes or breaks (mainly
breaks) the game and can give a skilled opponent a lot of capability to shut
down the strategies outlined here. There are three ways to use parrying: in
the air, as anti-air, and on the ground.
Foiling Air Parrying
--------------------
Air parrying is a win-win situation for most characters (not Remy, though,
because he needs to maintain a charge). Since characters can't block in the
air anyway, there's nothing to lose by trying to parry an anti-air move by
your opponent. Thus, it's not uncommon to see someone jump in with no attack
at all in hopes of drawing out your anti-air. You have a few options if your
opponent is a fan of doing this. Mix up when you FK his jump--use roundhouse
FK to hit him early a couple times, then use short or ES FK to hit him late
when he thinks you're asleep because you didn't do it right away. Or, switch
to using normals as air defense; standing strong takes out pretty much
anything and low fierce is good if they're landing right on your head (giving
you a juggle combo to boot). To really throw a wrench into someone's air
parrying, you can do a standing strong or fierce *cancelled* into a FK.
Finally, there's the option of doing nothing at all and throwing them when
they land (which works pretty danged well sometimes).
Foiling Anti-Air Parrying
-------------------------
This is not something you should be doing much, because you shouldn't be
jumping in. But, if your opponent's favorite form of air defense is a parry
instead of a DP or some such, you might be able to get yourself a free combo
by doing your jumping attack super-late (as the opponent might be looking for
you to do your jump-in ASAP). Obviously, this is a once-in-a-great-while
thing. Or, just jump at him, land, and throw, but one throw's damage is not
worth the risk you take by leaping into the air.
Foiling Ground Parrying
-----------------------
You might run into an opponent that is good enough to parry most of your
SB/CBK attacks without losing his cool. Since a parried CBK spells doom for
you (you're relying on its long blockstun), you may want to try doing shorter
CBKs with the intention of coming up short. You'll still be pushing the
opponent toward the corner (though a bit more slowly), but you won't be
"asking for it" any more. Finally, if you run into someone who can parry
ground normals pretty well (goodness knows I can't), you may still not have
much to worry about as the moves Remy uses in close recover pretty quickly,
so the opponent will have to be very quick to hit you. If you happen to
encounter someone that blows you up with a huge combo or Super Art every time
he parries your low strong, you're on your own. :)
Specific Matchups
=================
Here I'll try to give some tidbits that will add to this general strategy
based on who you're fighting against. Since the Galaxy World competition is
not very variety-oriented (read: 100,000,000,000 Ken/Ryu/Akuma players), this
section will be very lacking. :(
Vs. Akuma/Ken/Ryu
-----------------
The strategy in this FAQ was put together while fighting the hordes of
Ken/Ryu/Akuma (ARK for short) players that populate Galaxy World, so the
tactics contained in it are more or less optimized for that matchup. Key
tricks to remember:
--Your low SB goes under ARK's fireballs, but ARK's HK goes over it. If the
opponent seems to understand both these facts, then you'll need to mix up SB
heights a little more, but if they just don't learn, why change up? :)
--You can duck under K/R's HK and it'll sail right over your head. (Not sure
about Akuma.) Proceed to hit him in the ass with an ES FK, but don't jump
the gun; the HK hits on both sides and it really sucks to get tagged by ARK's
back leg after he goes over your head. :(
--Roundhouse CBK goes over fireballs if you're feeling daring. It helps to
do it a little early and from at least a dash or so inside full-screen range.
--If you block ARK's low roundhouse and are reasonably close, do an immediate
short or ES FK and it will hit "for free". If you predict the sweep, piss
him off by ES FKing it as it comes out. :)
--Once the opponent's Super Art bar is charged, try intentionally coming up
short on your CBKs to draw out a missed or blocked Super Art retaliation.
That air fireball can make Akuma a real bitch, but don't be afraid to throw
a low SB under it (if Akuma is jumping backwards as usual). Just like
against a regular fireball, you stand a chance of hitting him on the way down
and still recovering in time to block the air FB.
Vs. Hugo
--------
Watch those CBKs--coming in too high with one will allow Hugo to SPD you.
Better to come up short, and out of SPD range, than fly into his arms. Use
jab SBs constantly--he can't duck them, and his standing roundhouse (the
dropkick) can go over low ones. That dropkick will go over your low forward,
too, so work more on FKing his limbs when in close (use short FK for this so
you don't fall into his arms if you screw up and he blocks it).
Vs. Urien
---------
His fireball is too high to CBK over, so focus on throwing low SBs under it
until he wises up, then start using the usual stuff. His low forward and low
roundhouse have huge reach, so you'll want to be just a leetle further away
before starting to throw SBs again. He can't duck under high SBs. If you
choose to FK his knee drop, chances are you'll trade or even get beaten, so
you may want to consider learning to parry it and doing a low fierce combo.
Vs. Yun/Yang
------------
Due to Y/Y's fast, high jumps, you may want to try using FKs other than short
(which Y/Y can sometimes go completely over) for anti-air. Watch it on
sticking the limbs out in close; Yun's standing roundhouse can spank your low
forward if you try it from too far, and either Kung Fu Boy's hopping kick can
go over it, so use low strong (or nothing at all) more. Overall, this match
will be a lot more defensive than others, as Y/Y are so small and have a ton
of ways to weasel out of your usual attack tactics.
Storyline Crap
==============
I'm pretty sure Remy is Guile's bastard child (literally). In his pre-fight
conversation with Alex, Remy mentions that his father called himself a
warrior, but betrayed and deserted his family... sound like any "family man"
we know, hmmm? :) The questions are: what was Guile doing in France, and who
did he hook up with there? Any female French characters in the Capcom
universe (not Poison, I hope:)? Further, who the heck taught Remy to wield a
power so much like his father's without, well, being his father? Charlie,
maybe? Remy's FK does look more like Charlie's than Guile's, actually.
Chances are, we'll never get a straight answer to any of this stuff from
Capcom. I'm not usually a storyline person, but if anyone has any more
official info about Remy's background, I would like to know.
Update: Olawale Awelenge (
[email protected]) tells me that Blair Dame (of
SF EX fame) hails from France. While it's my understanding that the SF EX
storylines aren't "official", so to speak, she's as good a possibility as any
to be Remy's mother. She'd be better than some nameless tart, at least. :)
What's In The Name?
-------------------
I know there's some significance to Remy's name... in Megami Tensei
(Revelations) Persona, there is a Persona called Remy that manifests as a
succubus-like form (a sexy woman with wings and a tail--if you're familiar
with Darkstalkers, Morrigan's one). I know I've heard the name elsewhere,
too, but hunting for "Remy" in Webster's New World Dictionary, Cliffs Notes
On Mythology, and our dirt-old encyclopedia, turned up nothing. Can anyone
shed some light on this?
Ending (SPOILER ALERT)
------
Since I've gotten so many e-mail requests for the content of Remy's ending,
I've decided to save myself a little work and put it here in the FAQ. I've
only seen the ending once, so this is from the best I can recollect (I don't
have any exact dialogue). I'm not in the mood to ROT-13 encode this or
anything, so IF YOU DO NOT WANT THE ENDING REVEALED FOR YOU, DO NOT READ THE
NEXT PARAGRAPH.
*** BEGIN ENDING SPOILER ***
The ending begins with Remy in a cave, delivering a soliloquy about his
sorrow and rage. He explains that he feels these emotions because of his
father's betrayal of his family, and his own inability to "let go" of his
sister. Next, we see that Remy is standing over the body of his sister. Her
eyes are closed and she is encased in a sort of coffin of ice. She is blond
and has a ponytail, and though her name is not mentioned, I'm sure she is Amy
(Guile's daughter from his SF2 ending). Remy finally tells her that he's
going to let her go, and lets her sink into an underground lake. (For
readers familiar with Final Fantasy VII, the scene is very reminscent of the
final scene of the first disc.) After Amy is gone, Remy sees a bright light.
He walks into the light, feeling that in it his destiny awaits...
*** END SPOILER ***
Conclusion
==========
Well, this brings us to the end. I hope you enjoyed reading this little
document, and that it helps you win more with Remy at your local arcade. As
I said in the Preface, these tactics may or may not work at multiple-parry-
capable, Sunnyvale-level competition, but I think some of the tactics here do
defeat even perfect parrying (low SB and CBK hitting at the exact same time,
for instance). Please write me an email if you have any comments or
suggestions about this guide; my email is
[email protected].
Version History
===============
Version 1.0: 6 August 1999. Everything is new!
Version 1.1: 7 September 1999. Minor additions to text here and there. Made
some layout changes to give the guide a more polished look. Added a "Dealing
With Parrying" section. Added some musings on Remy's name, and a summary of
Remy's ending, to the "Storyline Crap" section.
Credits/Thanks
==============
Jason Service for old-school competition
Galaxy World (Route 64 and Gary Ave. in Carol Stream) for getting the game
The unknown folks at said arcade for being test subjects. Play someone
besides Ken or Ryu, please (and that doesn't mean Akuma)
CJayC, for maintaining the all-powerful www.gamefaqs.com
Kao Megura (
[email protected]) for writing the bad-ass SF3:3S general FAQ
Robert Blumel (
[email protected]), whose Remy FAQ provided the names of
Remy's specials
Olawale Awelenge (
[email protected]), for noting the possibility of SF EX's
Blair being Remy's mommy
That's all, folks!
Copyright 1999 Dave Connoy. Unauthorized reproduction of this work or any
segment thereof is strictly prohibited. E-mail
[email protected] to obtain
such authorization.
