-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
==========================================
(INCREDIBLY LONG) CVS2 N-GROOVE IORI GUIDE
==========================================
(intended for the arcade, Dreamcast and PS2 versions)
v.1.7, last updated 7/5/03
By Buktooth88 (my first FAQ!)
===========
FAQ HISTORY
===========
-6/3/03, v1.0: This was actually an unfinished version that I sent in on
accident. Two notepads open, slapped the 1.0 on the wrong one, you know
how it goes.
-6/13/03, v1.3: My "finished" version plus a few more tweaks here and there
in the movelists section and a lot more stuff in the match-ups section. Also
fixed the formatting of the whole thing (which was really tedious and took
like an hour). Also made the match-ups section a bit more beginner friendly.
-7/05/03, 1.7: In the process of making a Morrigan guide, and applied a lot of
my new format ideas to this guide. There's now a quick reference frame data
list, a "how do I read Buktooth's movelists section" with explanations on my
newer (and hopefully, clearer) notations. I deleted all the parts of the
movelists that indicated whether a move had to be parried high or low, since
nobody really cares and it really cluttered up the way the whole guide looks.
Formatting within the movelist is also more uniform for better ease of
comparison, and all my new notations are applied also. Look for lots of
changes within the special moves and supers portion of the movelist. I
realized that out of laziness, I made the data on a few moves either
near-unreadable or just plain wrong. Running Grab in particular.
Added 'things Iori can crouch' section.
Added 'groove specific tips' section
For those of you who have seen the v1.0 already, updates within the guide will
be marked with the date they were added. However, the stuff left out between
the v1.0 and my v1.3 won't be marked since I don't want to go through the
whole guide and find out what they were. I did add a few things on 6/13,
though.
This guide is meant to be viewed in Notepad. It's readable in other programs
but the lines will look all funky.
Unpublished work Copyright 2003 Campbell Tran
This document is protected by US Copyright Law, and the Berne Copyright
Convention of 1976. It is for private and personal use only--it cannot
be reprinted in part or in whole, or reproduced in any way or in any
form (written or otherwise). It is a free document that cannot be used
in any sort of commercial transaction, including selling it or giving
it away as a gift. This FAQ cannot be referenced, altered, or used by
anybody (including webmasters, publishers, and magazine staff) without
my express written permission. This FAQ was created and is owned by
me, Campbell Tran. It can be found exclusively at (www.GameFAQs.com).
All copyrights and trademarks are acknowledged and respected that are not
specifically mentioned herein.
Plagiarism is a crime and is punishable by law. I'll git you sucka!
The CvS series and all of its characters are (c) Capcom of Japan and
(c) SNK/Playmore of Japan.
-----
NOTE:
-----
This guide is intended for advanced level play. If anything here is unclear
because of my terminology or notation, ask somebody on the forums at
www.shoryuken.com. It's country's largest Street Fighter site; somebody can
help you there. Do NOT e-mail with inane questions!!
Anyway, on with the guide!
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=================
TABLE OF CONTENTS
=================
1. WHY PICK N-GROOVE IORI?
-strengths
-weaknesses
-stats
-objective
-recommended ratio/placement (added 7/5/03)
2. MOVELIST (completely re-formatted 7/5/03)
-how to read Buktooth's movelists (added 7/5/03)
-normal moves
-command normals
-normal throws
-special moves
-alpha counter (added 7/5/03)
-counter roll (added 7/5/03)
-supers
-quick reference frame data list (added 7/5/03)
3. COMBOS YOU SHOULD KNOW
-ground combos
-jump-in combos
-Scum Gale combos
4. SCUM GALE SET UPS
5. STRATEGY
-full screen - 3/4ths range
-half screen range
-point blank range
-opponent in the corner
-things to keep in mind
6. THINGS IORI CAN CROUCH (added 7/5/03)
7. GROOVE SPECIFIC TIPS (added 7/5/03)
-N-Iori vs C-Groove
-N-Iori vs A-Groove
-N-iori vs P-Groove
-N-Iori vs K-Groove
8. KEY MATCH-UPS
-N-Iori Vs C-Sagat
-N-Iori Vs C-Cammy (major update 7/5/03)
-N-Iori Vs A-Bison
-N-Iori Vs C-Guile
-N-Iori Vs C-Chun
-N-Iori Vs Any groove Blanka
-N-Iori Vs A-Sakura (added 7/5/03)
-N-Iori Vs Any Groove Vega
-N-Iori Vs C-Rolento (added 6/13/03)
-N-Iori Vs A-Rolento (added 6/13/03)
9. CREDITS
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==========================
1. WHY PICK N-GROOVE IORI?
==========================
Well, the most common 2 reasons people pick Iori is either they're:
A) A fob
B) An SNK nazi fanboy
Me? I use him because he has some of the best offense in the game, and aside
from a few bad match ups (REALLY bad) could easily be top tier. Let's see... he
has the best roll in the game, arguably the best "bread and butter" combos, the
most threatening command grab, a strong ground game revolving around his RC
rekka ken and standing roundhouse, he's in a three-way tie for shortest
character in the game (if it's crouchable, Iori can crouch it) and... well, his
last name spelled backwards is IMAGAY! What more could you want?
oh yeah, and why N-Groove? Because it's his best groove. A-Groove Iori is okay
but he suffers from a serious lack of offensive options. N-Groove Iori benefits
a LOT from being able to run, roll (and in turn, Roll Cancel), low jump, and
Counter Roll.
-----------
WEAKNESSES?
-----------
Well, Iori is a little too dependant on risky moves; his fireball, his RC rekka
ken, and his low roundhouse. Also, his best ground move, the standing
roundhouse, can be crouched by anybody shoto-sized and smaller. Also, since
Iori is a mix-up character he is inconsistent by nature. Some days you guess
right every time, some days you can't grab an opponent to save your life. Iori
CAN still play pretty effectively without his mix up game, but that's where his
main strength lies. Lastly, a few characters counter Iori fairly hard...
namely, Bison, Blanka, and Honda,
------------------------------------
IORI'S STATS (made up by your truly)
------------------------------------
On a scale of 10, 5 being average:
Offense Rating: 9
Defense Rating: 7
Practical Damage: 9.5
Potential Damage: 5
Speed: 4
Jump: 6
Roll: 10
Normal Moves: 7
Special Moves: 9
Supers: 6
Overall: 8.5
----------------
IORI'S OBJECTIVE
----------------
Iori's what? Since people play better and more focused when they have a set
goal in mind rather than "uh...imma just hit guy and win! And do combos!", it's
good to know what your character's main objective is before playing. A kind of
a fighting game thesis, if you will.
Iori's objective is to get within point blank range of his opponent.
(Simple, right? It's supposed to be)
Why?
Simple. When you're up close you have the threat of the Scum Gale grab, which
lends itself to high damage 50/50 mix ups, all of which knock down the opponent
and set up another mix up.
How is this objective accomplished?
In order of best method to worst method:
1) Knocking the opponent down
2) Getting 3/4ths to full screen, throwing a jab fireball and running after it
3) Establishing Iori's strong mid-range ground game, which drains the
opponent's guard bar. The draining of your opponent's guard bar entices him to
make mistakes that enable you to achieve method 1).
4) By trying to roll through or jump/low jump over your opponent's moves.
Since 1) is hard to do on a good opponent and the distance for 2) can be
difficult to establish, Iori spends most of his time doing 3).
---------------------------
RECOMMENDED RATIO/PLACEMENT
---------------------------
(added 7/5/03)
For the most part, Iori should be a ratio 1 character and should be assigned
the leadoff spot in your team. Why? He's a great battery and builds meter
really fast while not needing to use it himself. Four out of five games with
Iori he never uses a super AND has a full 3 bars before he dies. However, Iori
CAN be a good ratio 2 anchor character in a counter character situation. If
your opponent has ratio 2 Cammy, Guile or Vega last in his line-up, by all
means, give the extra juice to Iori.
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============
2. MOVE LIST
============
---------------------------------
HOW TO READ BUKTOOTH'S MOVE LISTS
---------------------------------
(added 7/5/03)
(all frame data is taken from Famitsu's Capcom Vs SNK 2 Millionaire Fighting
2001 Official Guidebook. Ebay it! It's a must have!)
As far as I know, I'm the only person that includes a frame data listing in a
2D fighting game faq, so that means I had to come up with a format myself.
I've been trying several different formats here and there... this is my latest
version. My apologies if it's unclear or difficult to read... but there's a
limit to how simple I can make the charts look without pictures or graphs.
Hopefully it will be cleaned up with a better format in a newer revision. For
now, it's not very intuitive so please read all the junk below explaining all
the notation before reading on.
Format for the move list is as follows:
(1) (2) (3)/(4) (5)/(6)/(7) [(8)/(9)/(10)], Invul [(11)]
(1) Name of the move
(2) Damage it inflicts on opponent
(3) Frame advantage (disadvantage) if move hit. DOWN or DN means the move
knocks the opponent down
(4) Frame advantage (disadvantage) if move is blocked
(5) If move is chainable into itself or not. o=yes, x=no
(6) x or o referring to whether move is bufferable into special moves
(7) x or o referring to whether move is bufferable into supers
(8) number of frames it takes the move to hit (how fast the move is)
(9) number of frames the move has an active hit box (how meaty the move is)
(10) number of frames of recovery the move has
(11) If a move has an 'invul' with a box, that means that the move has a
certain number of invincible frames. However, it doesn't necessarily mean your
ENTIRE body is invincible. So, each reading refers to the number of frames
that contain invincibility, and immediately after it will show WHERE you are
invulnerable.
For example, Invul [10 full/8 lower]
In the above example, the first 10 frames of the move have full-body
invincibility, then the next 8 frames after that are only invincible from the
waist down (lower body).
Muiti hitting moves are encased in {} brackets. Morrigan's low jab is
[3{3/3}6]. The move has a 3 frame start up, then the first hit is active for
3 frames. The second hit is active for 3 frames after that, then there's a 6
frame recovery period.
Fireball moves will have | between two numbers. The first number is how long it
takes the fireball to come out and the second number is how long the recovery
is.
For example, Morrigan's fireball is [18|38]. The fireball takes 18 frames to
materialize, and Morrigan is prone afterwards for 38 frames.
All supers have a small invincible start up before the "super flash". This is
why sometimes an opponent's limb is fully in your body when the super flash
occurs. The start up time before the super flash is represented by a
number, then a : (is that a colon or a semi-colon? I forget). The number after
the : represents how long it takes for the super to hit AFTER the super flash.
For example, Morrigan's Darkness Illusion super is [5:4/44/13].
5 frame (invincible) start up before the super flash, flash happens, then a 4
frame delay before super has an active hitbox on it (which lasts for 44
frames).
Certain moves have 2 readings in certain places. This means that move has two
separate points with different properties. The first number always refers to
the part of the move that comes first. To use Morrigan in another example:
Close Standing Fierce 800,800 +2/+2 x/x/o,x/x/x [5/6/22]
---------------------
The first part refers to when Morrigan's hand is about at her waist level. The
move does 800 damage, has a +2 advantage, and is only bufferable into supers.
The second part of the move (when Morrigan's arm is fully extended upwards) has
for the most part all the same stats, except it is NOT bufferable into supers.
Unfortunately, for two-part moves frame data is unavailable for the second
parts. The second part of the move obviously comes out slower than the first
part, so keep that in mind.
Lastly, GROUND means whatever it is, it lasts until the character reaches the
ground. There's often recovery once the character reaches the ground also,
which is represented by a number immediately following GROUND. This applies to
moves that you can do in mid-air, since you can do them at any point in the air
there's no way to accurately determine how long it takes the character to reach
the ground.
For example, Morrigan's jumping shell kick is [7/GROUND/7]. It has 7 frames
start up, then has an active hitbox all the way until Morrigan reaches the
ground, and from there it has a 7 frame recovery time.
Whew! Well, on to the movelist! Hopefully I haven't discouraged any of you with
that long-winded explanation above. -_-
------------
NORMAL MOVES
------------
-Close standing jab 400 +7/+7 O/O/O [2/4/6]
-------------------
Iori's close jab is very useful for many reasons:
1) Comes out in 2 frames, making it Iori's fastest move. 2 frames are as fast
as moves get in CvS2 with the exception of Zangief's SPD, which is the only 1
frame move in the game. So what does this mean? Whenever you're in a situation
where you have to mash a move, such as trying to avoid a throw, this is the move
to mash.
2) +7 advantage, also the most out of any of Iori's moves. 7 frames is a fairly
huge advantage as far as CvS2 goes, meaning most links afterwards are
brain-dead easy if the jab hits, and if blocked you have ample time to set up
stuff safely like walk up to your opponent again and get another close jab. A
perfectly timed close jab tick into Scum Gale (8 frames) is theoretically
irreversible by jabs or throws. All tick throws can be escaped by jumps,
however.
3) At 400 damage, it's the most damaging out of all of Iori's weak attacks that
can be chained together.
-added 7/5/03 - Correction. Since in CvS2 you cannot be grabbed for 6 frames
after leaving guard stun, the close jab into Scum Gale tick can indeed be
interrupted by jabs and throws. The window (6 frames = 1/6th of a second) is
still pretty small for your opponent so they'll miss their jab quite a bit.
-Far standing jab 300 +5/+5 o/o/o [2/4/8]
-----------------
While sharing almost the exact same traits as the close jab, the standing jab
doesn't have that many tactical uses; You're too far away to tick into throws,
and Iori's walking speed is too slow for repeated walk up jabs to set up
anything threatening. If you're at this range hit low strong instead.
-Standing strong 800 -5/-5 x/o/o [7/3/25]
----------------
This move has the special property of being able to chain into Iori's f+strong.
There's only one instance in which I use this move, and that's to combo after a
connected Scum Gale. Even though it's a far reaching bufferable move, buffering
into fireballs is not safe, and the move itself leaves much to be desired in
terms of priority and speed. It reaches farther than the f+strong, but at that
distance a fierce rekka ken will completely miss. Needless to say, a whiffed
rekka ken will lead to a lot of hurt.
-Close standing fierce 1200,1100 +0/+0 x/o/o,x/x/o [3/6/24]
----------------------
For the commas above, the reading on the left refers to the first portion of
the fierce, where Iori's fist is around his waist level. The second reading
refers to when Iori's fist is over his head.
Outside of combos, the main use for this move is for anti-cross ups. Close
roundhouse is your main anti-cross up, but you'll want to use close fierce
against characters with bigger jumps like Blanka.
-Far standing fierce 1300,1400 -5/-5 x/o/o,x/x/x [7/5/26]
--------------------
Reading on the left of the commas refer to when Iori's head is going OUT.
Reading on the right refers to when Iori's head is going UP.
This move doesn't really have much tactical use since the distance to get the
bufferable version of the fierce is really specific. However, the bufferable
version happens to be Iori's most damaging bufferable move, and there's ONE
useful set up to get it shown below (see Running Grab).
-Close standing short 500 +3/+3 x/o/o [3/4/10]
---------------------
It does 100 more damage than the close jab, but the jab chains into 2 more jabs
plus a short which is ultimately a LOT more damage than this will get you. The
only thing this has going for it over the close jab is this hits low.
-Far standing short 500 +3/+3 x/x/o [6/6/8]
-------------------
AKA "kickin 'em to da curb". Other than randomly whiffing it every now and then
as a fake fireball, the only use for this move I have is for combos. See combo
section.
-Standing forward 1000 -6/-6 x/x/o [6/3/26]
-----------------
I probably don't use this move as much as I should. It's quick, has surprising
range, and even more surprising priority. I'd use it against characters that
can crouch the standing roundhouse if you can get into the range to use it.
6/13/03 - Some Japanese players like to punish whiffs with s.forward into
super, but I find that whenever I bait a whiff I'm too far away to hit with a
s.forward. I just do a low/standing roundhouse instead. I also noticed that
Japanese players have set-ups for COUNTER HIT s.forward and buffer the super on
reaction, but to me that's in-humanly difficult (the window to buffer is 3
frames long, 1/20th of a second). That super isn't one that you want to have
blocked.
-Close standing roundhouse 1400 +3/+3 x/x/o [6/3/21]
--------------------------
Best used as an anti-cross up, only a few characters can get over this move
that I can think of (Blanka and Chun Li). Also has the distinction of being
Iori's most damaging move that can be buffered into a super. The link from a
close jab is a one frame link though, meaning it's a little too difficult to
do really consistently. How does Iori manage to kick so high with that funky
little cord tying his legs together?
-Far standing roundhouse 1300 -2/-2 x/x/x [9/7/22]
------------------------
Iori's best poke by far, despite having the distinction of being one of Iori's
two crouchable moves. Any character bigger than a shoto is fair game, however.
You can use it fairly liberally against the characters that cannot crouch it
to slowly drain their guard meter and entice them into making a mistake that
will get you the all-important knockdown Iori needs to get in. Be aware,
though, that the move is not safe against a fast roll and that Sagat can punish
you hard with a standing fierce into super if you whiff it.
(6/13/03 EDIT: I accidentally put the following paragraph under LOW
Roundhouse!)
Yet another great use for this move is to anti-air an opponent's straight up
jump. A straight up jump is the best way to punish Iori's RC rekka, which is
one of his best moves. Being able to punish those straight up jumps is key to
being able to use the RC rekka kens without fear of retaliation. However, a few
straight up jump moves beat Iori's standing roundhouse, most notably Sagat's
and Bison's jumping roundhouses.
6/13/03 - Here's a list of characters that cannot crouch Iori's roundhouse:
Raiden
Geese
Chang
Sagat
Eagle
Yamazaki
Bison
Blanka
Honda
Benimaru
Kyo
Rugal
Guile
Todo
Balrog
Dhalsim
Terry
..uhh, I'm pretty sure there's a few more. I'll add them in the next update.
7/5/03 - As promised, the forgotten characters that cannot crouch roundhouse.
Kyosuke
Joe
Zangief
7/5/03 - Standing roundhouse is also a good "run counter". Whenever you see an
opponent running at you from more than 1/2 screen away, just hit standing
roundhouse as soon as they get into range. Not much they can do about it
besides RC or a pre-emptive roll, and both of these options require the
opponent to be in N-Groove... a rarity these days.
-Low jab 300 +3/+3 o/o/o [3/4/8]
--------
No real reason to use this, really, since you have low shorts that hit low and
standing jabs that are faster and have more range.
-Low strong 900 +5/+5 x/o/o [4/6/9]
-----------
A great move to throw out every now and then or to build meter, as it has high
priority and recovers fast enough to be nearly impossible to punish on
reaction. As the frame data shows, this move links into itself. Although it's a
one frame link, 2 low strongs into fierce rekka kens does a whopping 4000
damage without a power up. That's clearly enough damage to be an incentive to
go for the combo when the opportunity arises... particularly situations where
you can throw out the low strong meaty, therefore making the link much easier
in the process. Also, the +5 frame advantage basically insures the next move
you throw out will not get beaten by your opponent and will actually produce a
lot of counter hits. This makes guard crush strings like low strong, low
strong, standing roundhouse possible.
The basic rule of thumb is if you're close but not within point blank range,
hit low strong. It will beat most anything, and if blocked you can immediately
do a standing roundhouse after for a nice big chunk of guard bar.
Whiffing it intentionally can also be pretty good against certain characters,
as it tends to beat a lot of long range moves... especially the low ones.
Blanka's low fierce and slide, Dhalsim's limbs, shotos' low forwards... they
all get beat cleanly by this move.
6/13/03 - the move also makes for Iori's best and safest meter builder in a
pinch. I really wouldn't make turtling and building meter a core strategy with
Iori, though, since he builds meter so much faster just by playing normally.
However, if you're a few slivers away from having that 2nd meter, by all means
mash on low strong.
6/13/03 - Sometimes your opponent will randomly be able to block a rekka ken
after a max range low strong. Even worse, sometimes it whiffs completely for no
apparent reason. 99% of the time it works fine, but sometimes the low strong x2
combo goes awry.
-Low fierce 1100 -1/-1 x/o/o [4/5/20]
-----------
Iori's other crouchable move. It doesn't really matter, though, since you'll
probably never use this move as anything except as an anti-air at the 45 degree
angle. It works fairly well as anti-air as long as you stick it out early
enough, but it does tend to trade with the really high priority jump ins. When
you use it as anti air you can buffer it into a fierce fireball to make your
opponent land on it, but I would recommend throwing a jab fireball instead so
that you can run after it and use it as cover to attempt to get in.
-Low short 200 +5/+5 o/o/o [4/4/8]
----------
Used mainly as your low combo starter and as a roll punisher, this move is
pretty self-explanatory. Low shorts x3 into rekkas whenever the opportunity
arises. The +5 frame advantage also lends this move into being another good
Scum Gale tick, with the added advantage that people tend to sit and block
after blocking one low short... they expect two more. The main weakness of
this move is its relatively slow speed at 4 frames. When situations arise where
you need a fast move, mash on standing/low jab (depending on distance) instead.
-Low forward 800 -2/-2 x/x/o [5/4/20]
------------
I hardly ever use this move since low strong is just better all around. Also,
the animation of this move is very misleading. Iori's entire foot doesn't have
an active hitbox on it, making the move a lot shorter than it looks. Its
actual range is nearly identical to Iori's low short, which is a lot better
move to use in more situations.
-Low roundhouse 1300 DN/-16 x/x/x [9/4/36]
---------------
In my opinion, use of the low roundhouse is what makes or breaks an Iori user.
The move is usually essential to get in against an opponent with good defense
since you can't always rely on low jumping, rolling, or guard crushing your way
in. How is the move used? Well the best application of the move would be to
punish a whiffed move that you baited out. The less recommended use would be to
catch somebody standing from roughly 1/3rds screen distance away. This works
most often against footsie-reliant characters like Chun Li or Cammy since
they're generally never crouching unless you're right next to them.
The move has tremendous recovery, meaning throwing it out without being SURE
it's going to hit will certainly be the death of you. At max distance it's
generally safe if blocked, but most any level 3 super will punish it fairly
easily. If it's whiffed, well... you're gonna get hurt. Bad.
A connected roundhouse rewards you with the all-important knockdown that
insures Iori's way in. After a successful low roundhouse you can either walk
forward a bit and go for cross up/non-cross up roll mix ups, or run forward a
bit and go for a jumping cross up. An opponent that tech rolls the low
roundhouse is impossible to punish, unfortunately, so the best thing to do if
this happens is to throw a jab fireball and run after it.
7/5/03 - SOMETIMES you can punish a tech-rolled low roundhouse with another
run-up low roundhouse. Doesn't really work if the first low roundhouse was at
the absolute max distance, though, and it works a lot better on big characters.
Try to low roundhouse tech rolls on reaction, rather than guessing. However, of
all the times that I've whiffed a low roundhouse against an opponent who didn't
tech roll, I don't recall being punished for it once. In fact, I've hit several
uppercuts on people who've tried to punish it. Hrmm... to be safe, though, I'd
recommend RC rekka'ing instead of doing uppercuts after the whiffed low
roundhouse.
-Jumping jab 600 [3/22]
------------
NOTE: All of Iori's straight up jump moves are the same as his jumping forward/
backwards moves.
I don't use this personally, but I've seen many good Iori users use this as
their preferred jump in. It has pretty good priority and sticks out for a long
time, too. Low jumping and immediately pressing jab is an overhead on every
character in the game, but you might as well use jumping strong if you're gonna
do that.
7/5/03 - This probably Iori's best option if you want to jump directly on top
of your opponent's head. Jumping roundhouse and strong also work well for that
purpose, but I've noticed that this move beats a lot of anti-airs meant to hit
directly above the opponent's head. Use this when jumping on an opponent in
the corner.
-Jumping strong 900 [4/7]
---------------
Probably Iori's highest priority jump in, also a decent air to air due to its
high speed. Range is a little lacking, though. Low jumping and immediately
pressing strong is also an instant overhead on every character in the game. Do
it while jumping backwards to make it safer. Low jumping forward and hitting
strong gives the overhead surprising range, though; you can still connect it
after doing three low shorts.
6/13/03 - Dunno why I didn't add this before, but low jumping BACKWARDS and
doing overhead strong still works, and is a whole lot safer. You do have to be
quite a bit closer, though. It works after doing one jab/short.
-Jumping fierce 1300 [11/3]
---------------
Iori's highest damage jump in, so this is the one to use when your opponent is
dizzy. It comes out painfully slow, but not slow enough so that you can use it
for fakes to land a Scum Gale.
-Jumping short 500 [4/22]
--------------
I don't think I've ever used this move before. It sticks out for while so I
guess it would make for a decent pre-emptive air to air.
-Jumping forward 900 [5/10]
----------------
Pretty much the exact same thing as jumping short. I don't like the angle of
these two moves... too straight forward. This is an overhead on Sagat-sized
characters but I don't see why you'd want to use this instead of jumping
strong. When used as overheads the ranges on the two moves are almost
identical.
-Jumping roundhouse 1200 [7/8]
-------------------
This is the move I press 90% of the time. Has a good degree of priority, speed
and air coverage. Pretty good range, too. When low jumping this is really the
only move to use since you should never low jump in range to use the jumping
strong.
6/13/03 - Since Iori's jump doesn't have a lot of horizontal range sometimes
you can actually pressure an opponent with repeated jumping/low jumping
roundhouses to work the guard bar. Even though it doesn't look it, for some
reason I'm told that Iori's jumping roundhouses are difficult to uppercut.
---------------
COMMAND NORMALS
---------------
-Geshiki Yumebiki [f+strong (strong -> f+strong]
-----------------
800 -8/-8 x/o/o [8/7/24]
One of the most useful command normals in the game, this gives Iori his best
long range bufferable move. F+strong into a fierce rekka is great for guard
crush, and can also be used to punish moves from a distance such as a blocked
Chun Li super or Cammy uppercut (you have to run forward a bit for the latter).
Also, if you can't risk getting close enough to guard break somebody with close
fierce into jab uppercut you can try doing f+strong into Running Grab which
does the exact same amount of guard damage. It's not a combo, though, so you
CAN be punished for it. I've used it quite a few times and have never once seen
it avoided, though. Another nice thing about guard breaking with Running Grab
is that it leaves you at the perfect distance to guard break with a BUFFERABLE
far standing fierce, which is Iori's most damaging bufferable move. You can
also punish a blocked Blanka Ball with a kara cancelled f+strong into fierce
rekka kens, but it's a bit too hard to be practical. Just run up and low
roundhouse instead.
Something to be aware of, if you do f+strong into rekka or Running Grab and
your opponent happens to jump when you do the f+strong, your rekka or Running
Grab will not juggle and your opponent will land out of the air and be able to
do a free combo. Since opponents jump up and down against Iori quite often this
happens a bit more than I would like.
-Geshiki Kofun In "Shinagami" [f+forward]
-----------------------------
1000 +0/+0 x/x/x [33/3/17]
One of the worst manual overheads in fighting game history. It's so slow the
game should reward you with a guaranteed dizzy if you ever hit with the move.
The only use for this move is for CC resets, but this FAQ is about N-Iori so I
won't go into those.
-Geshiki Yuriori [(in air) b+short]
----------------
500 [5/12]
NOTE: unlike in KOF, inputs for command normals don't switch when you cross up
an opponent in CvS2. Hold back in the diretion Iori jumped from and you will
always get this move, regardless of the side you end up on.
Iori's one and only cross up. Highly useful since Iori's objective is to get
into point blank range, and cross ups accomplish just that. Unfortunately, the
move will never produce an ambiguous cross up; the opponent always has to block
in the other direction. Another negative point: Iori's jump has very little
horizontal range... the max range you can successfully cross up at is the tip
of Iori's standing strong. That can sometimes be a difficult range to
establish except after a knockdown. Other than crossing up, the only other use
for this move is as a fake. For example, jump at the front of your opponent,
hit b+short which whiffs, then go low or grab him. Ghetto? Definitely. But it
does work from time to time.
Something to remember, Iori's b+short is exactly that: a short. It doesn't
produce much hit stun when it hits, so doing low shorts after a b+short won't
always combo. Close jab WILL combo 95% of the time, though, so use that
instead. It's not like Iori has very good high/low mix ups after the cross up
anyway.
The b+short has a lot of range, somewhat reminiscient of Gen's Mantis-style
jumping forward in the Alpha series. You can use that in conjuction with Iori's
limited horizontal range on his jumps to immediately cross up an opponent
again after you've just crossed them up. If you're feeling really spunky, you
can go for a THIRD cross up if you want. Again, I wouldn't recommend crossing
up more than once since the b+short hardly does any stun or guard damage. The
main reason behind crossing up more than once would be to confuse your opponent
(and then quickly mix it up with a grab or low short attempt) or to try to
elicit a response from them like jumping.
6/13/03 - Something I just started doing, but hitting b+short REALLY late in
your jump will sometimes get your opponent to block low, or if you jumped WAY
past them, walk right into your cross up. It comes out really fast and hits
from pretty far away, so you can press it almost right before you hit the
ground. Makes for a pretty decent mix up.
------
THROWS
------
Sakahagi (punch throw)
--------
Damage - 1800
Range - 52 pixels
[3/1/13]
Damage and range are standard among throws. After the throw you can run and go
for a jumping cross up, but I would recommend running a bit and rolling
instead. The side Iori ends up on looks totally ambiguous. One of the most
ambiguous roll cross ups in the game, actually. If the opponent tech
rolls there isn't much you can do about it unless he's in the corner, so again,
just throw a jab fireball and run after it. Unfortunately, this throw resets
the opponent's stun meter, and does not let Iori take advantage of the 2nd
player corner cross up glitch (none of Iori's moves do).
Sakahagi (kick throw) (yes, it's the same name. What do you expect? It's
-------- pretty much the exact same throw!)
Damage - 2000
Range - 52 pixels
[5/1/13]
Exact same as above except that it's a kick throw, meaning higher damage,
slower speed, harder for opponent to break out of.
Kuzukaze (AKA Scum Gale)
--------
hcb,f+any punch
Damage - 0
Range - 52 pixels
[8/1/32]
Listed here for ease of comparison, the specifics of this move are written in
detail in the 'special moves' section.
-------------
ALPHA COUNTER
-------------
(added 6/13/03, I forgot to add this in the original!)
Actually, I'm writing this at school and I don't know the exact stats of the
Iori's alpha counter off the top of my head, so I'll add this in my next
revision.
7/5/03 - As promised, here it is:
Counter Attack
--------------
300x2 DN/-42 [4{3/9}48] invul [4 full/12 feet]
Iori's counter attack (alpha counter) is a weaker, less invincible version of
his strong uppercut. I generally don't use this much, but the more I think
about it, the more it makes sense. Iori's main objective is to establish point
blank range, most often accomplished by knocking the opponent down with a move
that lets Iori get near the opponent before they get up. This is perfect for
that! Not only is it a near-effortless way to reverse momentum back into your
favor, it also sets up a roll cross up beautifully!
Before I wrote this guide, I generally only used Alpha Counters to avoid guard
break and when blocking safe Alpha Counters like Rolento's and Blanka's. By
Alpha Countering their Alpha Counter you regain momentum AND put your opponent
on his back with hardly any guard bar left. For the most part, though, I used
Iori's excellent Counter Roll instead with great results.
DON'T use Iori's Alpha Counter against jump-ins and jabs/shorts. Your opponent
will be able to block the majority of the time. That can possibly cost you the
match, as you just gave your opponent a free combo, lost a super, AND lost a
huge chunk of your guard bar!
Against opponents who have the ability to tech roll, you can easily run a tiny
bit and punish the tech roll with a low roundhouse.
------------
COUNTER ROLL
------------
(added 7/5/03)
Counter Movement
----------------
Horizontal Distance: 132 pixels
Length: 29 frames (27 fully invincible, last 2 frames fully vulnerable)
All Counter Rolls have the exact same stats as their normal counterparts,
except for the obvious meter and guard bar penalties.
An often over-looked yet very powerful tool Iori has (even by myself), Iori's
roll also makes for the best Counter Roll in the game also. So how is a Counter
Roll used properly? Well, the main use for them would be to punish otherwise
safe sequences, such as Sagat doing low fierce into low tiger super. You block
the low fierce, see the super flash, then mash Counter Roll on reaction AFTER
seeing the super flash. Free combo! (well, it costed one meter)
Aside from supers, you can also use it with a little bit of anticipation on
things like Guile's low strong into Sonic Boom or Ryu's low fierce into
fireball.
Also, you can use Counter Rolls to punish things that are safe only if done at
a distance, like say Hibiki's slashes or (if you're REALLY fast) Sagat's
standing forward.
Even if you Counter Roll something and don't have enough time to get a free
hit, most often your opponent will freeze and try to block whatever you do.
Counter Roll into Scum Gale!
-------------
SPECIAL MOVES
-------------
-Hyakuhachishiki Yamibarai (AKA fireball)
--------------------------
qcf+any punch
jab: 800 -12/-12 [12|45]
strong: 900 -12/-12 [12|45]
fierce: 1000 -12/-12 [12|45]
As far as ground fireballs go, Iori's is the second best in the game. That's
not really saying much, though, since ground fireballs as a whole really suck
and are vastly inferior to conventional air-based fireballs.
Unfortunately, Iori's fireball is a very necessary tool for him, both as a
footsie tool and as a means to get in. 3/4ths to full screen away throw a jab
fireball and run after it to get in. 2/5ths to half screen away use it as a
footsie tool. Any closer and you should never use it. NEVER buffer a fireball
off of a normal move. Your opponent can easily roll on reaction and kill you.
Also, since varying ground fireball speeds really doesn't get you anywhere,
always throw jab fireballs since those you can follow easily. The other two
speeds are unnecessary to the way Iori plays.
One of the main reasons that Iori is dependant on his fireball is because CvS2
is a game where you cannot walk backwards if there is something on the screen
you can block. Meaning, if Iori throws his fireball and runs after it, his
opponent cannot keep his distance by walking backwards as he will go into his
blocking animation. This is a very handy tool, especially when fighting
characters who walk backwards stupidly fast like Vega, Cammy and Chun Li.
The fact that the fireball is so essential to Iori and that it's a ground
fireball is really bad. Characters that can easily punish ground fireballs like
Bison, Blanka or Honda all give Iori a really hard time. RCing the fireball
doesn't really make a difference either, since you never want to do the
fireball up close, and if you RC it from far away the invincibility is gone by
the time your opponent reaches you with a Psycho Crusher or Blanka Ball or
whatever. Bleh.
-Hyakushiki Oniyaki (AKA uppercut)
-------------------
dp+any punch
jab: 1700 DN/-33 [4/10/38] Invul [4 full/10 lower]
strong: 1800 DN/-42 [4{3|9}48] Invul [7 full/9 feet]
fierce: 2000 DN/-51 [4{2/2/5}59] Invul [6 full/7 feet]
Well, it's an uppercut. Fills all the basic criteria for an uppercut;
invincible, un-airblockable (when timed deep) anti-air, beats pretty much any
move on the ground also. Like most uppercuts in the game you always want to use
the fierce version for anti-air and jab version to hit ground moves. Iori's
uppercut has a lot of horizontal range, which is good since you can anti-air
jumps from farther away, but also bad since you'll go right past jumps that are
right on top of your head.
At 4 frames, it's a little too slow to punish certain supers like Sagat's
level 3 hotfoot super or Sakura level 1 kick super, but it still gets the job
done for the most part.
(6/13/03 EDIT): Even though the frame data suggests that it's impossible, you
actually CAN punish Sagat's level 3 hotfoot super with Iori's uppercut. Nice!
The fierce uppercut's damage is above average at 2000, which also results in a
good 20 stun points, the most stun out of any of Iori's moves. If you want to
go for the dizzy and have the presence of mind, end your combos with a fierce
uppercut rather than rekka kens... it's only 200 damage less. Speaking of
combos, this is the move to do after a low jump hits. A simple low jump
roundhouse into fierce uppercut combo does 3200 damage and 32 stun points...
that's half of the way to a dizzied opponent right there.
-Nihyakujuunishiki Kototsuki In (AKA Running Grab, capitalized so that there's
------------------------------- no confusion)
hcb+any kick
short: 1800 DN/-18 [5/32/12]
forward: 1900 DN/-18 [5/48/12]
roundhouse: 2000 DN/-18 [5/64/12]
contact: [4/5/29]
7/5/03 -
The above frame data for the three button strengths represent what happens if
Iori never makes contact with the enemy. For example, a roundhouse whiffed
Running Grab has 5 frames start up, runs for 64 frames, then has 12 frame
recovery. If at any time during those 64 frames of running Iori makes contact
with his opponent, he then takes 4 frames for his arm to whip around, which has
an active hitbox for 5 frames, and has a 29 frame recovery. Whew! Writing and
explaining frame data isn't easy!
Most of the time I wish this move simply didn't exist, since 90% of the times I
use it is totally on accident screwing up the command for RC rekka kens. As the
-18 frame disadvantage tells you, this move isn't anywhere near safe if
blocked. It's also very vulnerable if the move whiffs completely also, unlike
Kyo's.
It does have its tactical uses, though. As stated above, the move does almost
the exact same amount of guard bar damage as a jab uppercut (if you don't know,
that's a lot), so if your opponent's guard bar is flashing and you can't get
close enough to do a fierce into jab uppercut to guard break you can do
f+strong into Running Grab instead. And again, guard breaking with a Running
Grab just happens to leave you at the perfect distance to get a damaging far
fierce into rekka kens. Another use for this move is to chip somebody to death.
If you're not within fierce uppercut range to chip somebody (fierce uppercut
does 325 points of chip damage), the next best option is to f+strong into
Running Grab, as that does 300 chip damage. 2 Rekka kens only do 200 damage,
and a fireball does 100. 300 damage from the running grab is enough to insure
that you never fall victim to the "Magic Pixel" that has claimed many a player.
RCing the move can be useful from time to time, like when you REALLY need that
chip damage to kill the opponent but can't find a way to f+strong them, or to
punish somebody buffering moves into a fireball. You could theoretically use an
RC Running Grab as an anti-air from afar, but I wouldn't recommend it since the
move comes out pretty slow.
-Hyakunijuunanashiki Aoihana (AKA rekka kens)
----------------------------
qcb+any punch
1st hit: 400/500/600, -5/-5 [12/4/29]
2nd hit: 400/500/600, DN/-13 [12/4/37]
3rd hit: 800/900/1000, DN/-33 [16/8/40]
THere's a 25 frame window to cancel the first rekka into the second rekka. From
the second to third hit there's a 27 frame window to cancel. The different
damage numbers correspond to different button strengths.
Outside of its obvious use in combos, the rekka ken doesn't have much use.
Start RCing it, though, and you have a different beast entirely. The result is
a high priority (invincible, even), high damage (2200 if you get all 3), long
range (Iori's longest ranged move, farther than his standing/low roundhouses)
poke that enables Iori to compete with the Sagats and Cammys of the world.
The catch? The move carries a ton of risk behind it. As much as a fireball,
even. The move is most easily punished by either a straight up jump (which
results in a full jump in combo since Iori conveniently moves right under them)
or a well timed roll. The move can also be baited into whiffing and then easily
punished also. As if that weren't enough, the move isn't even totally safe if
blocked! As you can see from the data above, the move carries a -5 frame
disadvantage, enough for a few characters to get a low forward combo in.
However, the move is mostly safe if blocked around max distance, though. You
can actually punish attempts to hit a well-ranged RC rekka ken with... another
RC rekka ken! DO NOT fall into the habit of doing RC rekka ken, then another RC
rekka ken, though. It's killed me more times than I care to remember.
If your rekka ken is rolled through, try to get away from the opponent by doing
the second and third rekkas. This works well if you're in the middle of field,
but if you're opponent was in the corner you're not going anywhere.
So given all those ways to punish the move, how does Iori go about using the RC
rekka without getting killed? The first step is to punish your opponents
attempts to stop the rekka ken; anti-airing straight up jumps with either
standing roundhouse or a super, punishing rolls with Iori's easy assortment of
damaging rekka ken combos. The second step is to try to not fall into patterns;
even if you punish every single random straight up jump or roll that your
opponent does you will still get killed if you fall into the habit of RC rekka
ken'ing in the same situations every time. Once you've got your opponent
grounded and playing the ground game with you, THEN you can throw in the RC
rekka kens every now and then.
The second and third rekka kens are obviously very unsafe, so do not continue
the series unless you SEE the first one hit. Luckily doing the first rekka ken
and then reacting to whether it was blocked or not is pretty easy, just watch
your opponent's sprite and then continue if you see the sprite flinch.
Aside from its usefulness as a powerful footsie tool, I also use the RC rekka
ken to pressure fallen opponents in the corner, since you cannot cross them up
with your rolls or jumps like you normally can. Meaty RC rekka ken (done from a
good distance) is almost totally safe for the most part. If the opponent wakes
up and does anything besides block he gets hit. This conditions the opponent to
not wake up with uppercuts or supers, which in turn lets you do Iori's powerful
mix ups on rising opponents.
You can punish an opponent tech rolling rekka kens by running forward a bit and
doing f+strong into rekka kens. It's great when you get it but it's a little
difficult. People who get hit by that usually never tech hit again, though.
Heh.
After knocking an opponent down with the rekka kens you can either run forward
a bit and superjump for the b+forward cross up, or run forward a bit and roll
to cross up. For the most part the second option is better since it's really
dificult for your opponent to wake up with an uppercut since the cross up
happens so fast. However, doing a super jump cross up every now and then is
recommended to keep your opponent on his toes with some cross up b+short into
Scum Gale set ups.
6/13/03 - Unlike most cross-up setups, since Iori's rekkas have a good deal of
recovery, the cross up b+short after a connected rekka series isn't meaty. In
fact, your opponent has time to jump before you hit the b+short. C-Groove can
air block it and land safely far enough away to be out of Iori's mix up range,
but other grooves take the hit and bounce, allowing you to throw a meaty jab
fireball they have to land on which also covers your run-in. That's even worse
than blocking the cross up, so most non-C-Groove players will just get up and
block the cross up. If you are playing against C-Groove, just do the roll
mix-ups. Another thing to add about the b+short cross up on wake up, it's a lot
more difficult to uppercut than other cross ups. Since Iori crosses you up late
you cannot do the normal f,df,d,db method for cross up uppercuts. You have to
actually wait till the last second and input the uppercut command in the other
direction.
6/13/03 - Something to keep in mind: If you roll after knocking the opponent
down with rekka kens and end up in FRONT of your opponent, you have a slight
advantage since your roll ended just before your opponent gets up. However, if
the roll ends up BEHIND the opponent, the opponent can actually throw you for
free since it takes a bit longer to get to that distance. Mix it up. If you end
up in front of your opponent and he's mashing on throw, you can easily get
counter hit jabs/shorts into a combo.
6/13/03 - Something I forgot to add. Iori's rekkas (as well as Kyo's) do very
little stun damage. A full triple-hit series gets you 2200 damage, but only
does 9 stun damage on the opponent. This is one of the few moves that is the
exception to CvS2's "stun = damage/100" rule.
Man. That's a lot written about one move. It's a necessary move, though. It's
like Iori's missing link.
-Kuzukaze (AKA Scum Gale)
---------
hcb,f+any punch
Damage - 0
Range - 52 pixels
[8/1/32]
NOTE: 12 frame window given after a successful grab
The move that makes Iori truly scary when up close. By the numbers you wouldn't
think the throw is that good; it's really slow, range is the same as any normal
throw, it's nearly impossible to RC... but when you account for the fact that
by landing this grab you get anywhere from 3400 damage to 6560 it presents a
huge scare factor for the opponent whenever Iori gets in close.
A whiffed grab has a pretty long lag, so an opponent jumping straight up out of
the grab can usually punish you pretty hard. A connected grab automatically
switches sides with the opponent, so you might want to think about that before
grabbing a cornered opponent. Personally? I'll choose a grab over a positional
advantage every time.
Since the grab doesn't do any damage, it also doesn't retain your opponent's
stun meter. However, if you add a tick before the grab your subsequent combo
WILL add to the stun meter. Another thing to think about before grabbing an
opponent.
One of the best tactical uses of the Scum Gale is to grab opponents who like
to wake up with reversal RC moves. As we all know, RC moves can be grabbed in
the first few frames. Start your Scum Gale a bit before they get up and you'll
grab them out of their reversal RC every time.
The distance a successful grab leaves you at is kind of quirky. It's close
enough so that you can get a close fierce/roundhouse, but far enough to get far
jabs/shorts. I didn't even know those two move sets had different distance
requirements until writing this faq. -_- Anyway, Scum Gale distance leaves you
with a few combo options. If you don't have a super I would always do close
fierce into fierce rekka kens. It only does 58 less points of damage than the
strong -> f+strong chain and is a lot easier to time. If you DO have a level 3
ready to use then you the most practical combos are strong -> f+strong chain
into super or standing jab, jab, short super. The latter is easier to time and
does about 200 less damage. You might think that getting the strong after grab
is really easy but trust me, you WILL mess it up eventually. Sometimes it's
better to be safe than sorry.
6/13/03 - The range of the grab is 52 pixels, which is the range of any normal
throw in the game. This means whenever you're in range to Scum Gale the
opponent, they can also grab you by mashing on throw. In fact, the opponent's
throw will win the exchange every time almost. This makes it essential to mix
up the grab with close jabs/low shorts. Jabs and shorts will beat anything an
opponent tries to do to counter the grab (not uppercuts or supers, obviously),
including jumping straight up. It takes a few frames for a jump to leave the
ground, so when they try it your jab/short hits them while they're still on the
ground, allowing you to combo them. Anyway, back to the range thing, 52 pixels
is just long enough to grab them after ticking the opponent with ONE close jab.
No further.
------
SUPERS
------
-Urahyakuhachishiki Yasakazuki (AKA pillar super, wine cups, waste of meter)
------------------------------
qcb,hcf+punch
level 1: 800 DN/-15 [4:22|50]
level 2: 800 DN/+29 [4:22|50]
level 3: 800 DN/+29 [4:22|50]
NOTE: this super can be delayed by holding down the punch button. If the super
hits (good luck) it does 200 damage per second for 3-5 seconds depending on
level. Can be mashed out of, though.
Do yourself a favor. Don't use this super. Your other characters can make much
better use of the meter. It's ONE questionable use is to chip somebody to death
(that doesn't have a level 2/3 ready) with a level 3 pillar super from full
screen. If they block it it does 400 points of chip, if they roll you should be
able to punish it. However, since Iori is best used as a battery and placed
first in the lineup I wouldn't advise doing this.
7/5/03 - During a recent tourney, I saw a SoCal player who went by Hung Bee
(sp?) do a fairly interesting set up involving the lv1 pillar super. If he ever
connected with the 1st and 2nd rekka kens in the corner, he would let his
opponent drop and immediately do a lv1 pillar super. The super would hit really
meaty when the opponent got up, getting you a free mix up of your choice. Me?
Personally I would get the guaranteed damage from the 3rd rekka ken (1000 pts)
and just do normal opponent wake-up mix ups and save the super. If I wanted to
discourage an opponent from waking up with an uppercut I'd do an RC rekka.
Still, it's in interesting and inventive set up that I might steal every now
and then to mix things up.
-Sansennihyakujuuichishiki Yaotome (AKA super, rush super, combo super)
----------------------------------
qcf,hcb+punch
level 1: 2200 DN/-10 [4:8/8/33] Invul [8 full/ 12 upper]
level 2: 3700 DN/-10 [4:8/24/33] Invul [14 full/22 upper]
level 3: 5000 DN/-10 [4:8/40/33] Invul [22 full/30 upper]
Your basic all-purpose super; functions as anti-air, anti-fireball, anti-poke,
works in combos. There's a few unique things about it, though: the upper body
invincibility granted to the move give it the ability to punish fireballs from
much farther away. Other supers run out of invincibility if you do it too
early, and if you wait long enough to go through the fireball the opponent has
usually recovered already. The upper body invincibility also makes ths move
great for punishing straight up jumps, even at level 1.
6/13/03 - If you try to anti-air with the super and your opponent didn't press
anything they will be able to land and block it every time. Fortunately most
people never jump up and down without pressing anything, and if they do you can
just standing roundhouse them instead. Something to think about vs P and K
grooves, though.
On the down side, the super's damage is pretty low. Level 1 damage is the same
as a set of fierce rekka kens, so you should only use level 1's as straight up
jump anti-air. Level 3 damage is a below-average 5000. Not earth shattering,
but still enough to warrant its use. One should note that a connected level 3
super switches sides with the opponent also.
The range on the level 1 version of the super isn't nearly as long as you'd
think it is. It's roughly the same range as a fierce rekka. Luckily, that's
well within the range to hit Sagats, Blankas and Bisons jumping up and down.
The range on the level 3 is obviously a lot better, and it has an added
benefit: When you're throwing fireballs as a footsie tool and your opponent
jumps straight up over it, sometimes when you try to anti-air their straight
up jump with a level 3 they get pushed BACK into the fireball they just jumped
over. This not only makes the super safe, it gives you frame advantage AND puts
you right into point blank range for a free mix-up. Doesn't happen EVERY time
your opponent jumps over your fireball, though. It's kinda random. =/
Whenever you hit with the level 1 super you get a free roll cross-up that's
one of the most ambiguous out of all of Iori's set ups. Also, your opponent
can't tech roll to safety since you can't tech roll supers. Run forward about
half a second and roll. TOTALLY ambiguous. Makes up for the measly 2200 damage
pretty well... justifying the use of a meter. Iori gets meter fast anyway.
Unfortunately, hitting with a level 3 doesn't set up much of anything since
your opponent is thrown really far away and Iori doesn't recover until the
opponent is almost fully standing. Just throw a jab fireball as they're getting
up and run after it.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------
QUICK REFERENCE FRAME DATA LIST
-------------------------------
(added 7/5/03)
Close standing jab 400 +7/+7 o/o/o [2/4/6]
Far standing jab 300 +5/+5 o/o/o [2/4/8]
Standing strong 800 -5/-5 x/o/o [7/3/25]
Close standing fierce 1200 +0/+0 x,x/o [3/6/24]
Far standing fierce 1300 -5/-5 x,x/o [7/5/26]
Close standing short 500 +3/+3 x/o/o [3/4/10]
Far standing short 500 +3/+3 x/x/o [6/6/8]
Standing forward 1000 -6/-6 x/x/o [6/3/26]
Close standing roundhouse 1400 +3/+3 x/x/o [6/3/21]
Far standing roundhouse 1300 -2/-2 x/x/x [9/7/22]
Low jab 300 +3/+3 o/o/o [3/4/8]
Low strong 900 +5/+5 x/o/o [4/6/9]
Low fierce 1100 -1/-1 x/o/o [4/5/20]
Low short 200 +5/+5 o/o/o [4/4/8]
Low forward 800 -2/-2 x/x/o [5/4/20]
Low roundhouse 1300 DN/-16 x/x/x [9/4/36]
Jumping jab 600 [3/22]
Jumping strong 900 [4/7]
Jumping fierce 1300 [11/3]
Jumping short 500 [4/22]
Jumping forward 900 [5/10]
Jumping roundhouse 1200 [7/8]
Geshiki Yumebiki [f+strong (strong -> f+strong)]
800 -8/-8 x/o/o [8/7/24]
Geshiki Kofun In "Shinagami" [f+forward]
1000 +0/+0 x/x/x [33/3/17]
Geshiki Yuriori [(in air) b+short]
500 [5/12]
Punch throw 1800 - 52 pixel range [3/1/13]
Kick throw 2000 - 52 pixel range [5/1/13]
Kuzukaze (AKA Scum Gale) 0 - 52 pixel range [8/1/32]
Fireball
jab: 800 -12/-12 [12|45]
strong: 900 -12/-12 [12|45]
fierce: 1000 -12/-12 [12|45]
Uppercut
jab: 1700 DN/-33 [4/10/38] Invul [4 full/10 lower]
strong: 1800 DN/-42 [4{3|9}48] Invul [7 full/9 feet]
fierce: 2000 DN/-51 [4{2/2/5}59] Invul [6 full/7 feet]
Running Grab
short: 1800 DN/-18 [5/32/12]
forward: 1900 DN/-18 [5/48/12]
roundhouse: 2000 DN/-18 [5/64/12]
contact: [4/5/29]
Rekka Kens
1st hit: 400/500/600, -5/-5 [12/4/29]
2nd hit: 400/500/600, DN/-13 [12/4/37]
3rd hit: 800/900/1000, DN/-33 [16/8/40]
Scum Gale 0 - 52 pixel range [8/1/32]
Pillar Super
level 1: 800 DN/-15 [5:22|50]
level 2: 800 DN/+29 [5:22|50]
level 3: 800 DN/+29 [5:22|50]
Rush Super
level 1: 2200 DN/-10 [4:8/8/33] Invul [8 full/ 12 upper]
level 2: 3700 DN/-10 [4:8/24/33] Invul [14 full/22 upper]
level 3: 5000 DN/-10 [4:8/40/33] Invul [22 full/30 upper]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
=========================
3. COMBOS YOU SHOULD KNOW
=========================
NOTE: I'm not going to go and list every single Iori combo here. I'm just going
to list the practical ones you should use in certain situations to help you
win. Again, this is an N-Groove Iori guide. No custom combos here.
- Low short x3, fierce rekka kens (2758 dmg)
The most basic, yet most often used Iori combo. It has everything you need; a
quick starter in low short, hits low, easy to do, good damage. Decrease the
number of shorts if you're farther away. A rekka ken will still combo off of a
max range low short.
- Close jab, close fierce, fierce rekka kens (3800)
This is the combo to do if your opponent gives you a fairly big opening like a
whiffed uppercut. The link from close jab to close fierce is brain dead easy
and is the most practical high damage combo in almost any given situation.
- Low strong, low strong, fierce rekka kens (4000)
Another big damage combo, this one off of low strong. Again, the link isn't
particularly hard, but it isn't easy enough to do 100% either. Counter
hit/meaty low strongs make it easy, though, and you hit with low strong enough
to think about trying to get the maximum possible damage from it. If you're not
comfortable with the low strong link, do low strong into standing jab instead.
That's a 3400 damage combo.
- Low short x2, standing short, level 3 super (6080)
Not the most damaging level 3 combo, but it starts low and is really easy.
Besides, Iori hits those low shorts pretty often.
- Close jab, standing jab x2, standing short, level 3 super (6800)
The best combination of damage and practicality when comboing a level 3 super.
It's really easy to do: 3 jabs, qcf+short, hcb+punch and you're golden.
- Close jab, close roundhouse, level 3 super (7160)
Iori's most damaging ground super combo. The link from close jab to close
roundhouse is a one frame link, so I wouldn't advise trying this unless you
really need the extra damage. The best way to do this combo without messing up
is jab, qcf+roundhouse, hcb+punch.
- (in air) cross up b+short, close jab, close fierce, fierce rekka kens (4258)
It might seem kinda anal-retentive to list this combo, but its just to remind
people that Iori's close jab is far more consistent comboing off of the b+short
cross up than anything else.
- Jumping roundhouse, close fierce, fierce rekka kens (4600)
Simple. Iori's best jump in combo. If the opponent is dizzy jump in with fierce
instead for 100 more damage.
- Jumping roundhouse, standing jab x2, standing short, level 3 (7760)
Iori's best jump in super combo in terms of damage and practicality.
- Jumping roundhouse, close roundhouse, level 3 (8120)
Iori's most damaging combo. I wouldn't recommend doing it in a tournament
though, since the close roundhouse gives you plenty of ways to mess up. Best
way to do the is combo is: jumping roundhouse, qcf+roundhouse, hcb+punch.
- Jumping roundhouse, close fierce, fierce uppercut (4400)
Sacfrifice 200 damage points for 11 more stun points... a pretty good trade in
my opinion. To get this combo to work the jumping roundhouse must hit slightly
high... otherwise you won't get all the hits of the uppercut.
- Scum Gale, close fierce, fierce rekka kens (3400)
The basic grab combo with no meter. Don't try to add more damage to it because
I guarantee you you'll mess it up a lot more often than you'd like.
- Scum Gale, standing strong -> f+strong, level 3 super (6560)
The basic grab super combo. Pretty easy, but still screw up-able.
- Scum Gale, standing jab x2, standing short, level 3 super (6320)
200 less damage, but much easier to execute with consistency. On skinnier
characters you may need to walk forward a tiny bit, but it's still easier to
get every time than the strong -> f+strong chain combo in my opinion.
- Scum Gale, walk up a bit and close fierce into fierce uppercut (3200)
Works best on fat characters, you should use this if you're going for a dizzy.
32 stun points is quite nice.
- Low jump roundhouse, standing jab x2, fierce rekka kens (3958)
Iori's 2 frame jabs make comboing off of low jumps easier than with most
characters. I wouldn't risk it and would just combo an uppercut instead,
though. Does more stun damage anyway.
- Low jump roundhouse, fierce uppercut (3200)
Self explanatory combo, but this is the one you should be doing off of your low
jumps. 32 stun points!
- Low jump roundhouse, level 3 super (6440)
Again, self explanatory. It isn't as easy as you would think, though. I guess
Iori's super is a little slow.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
====================
4. SCUM GALE SET UPS
====================
A whole section for these? Well, yeah. Without this move Iori wouldn't be half
as deadly when he's up close. Also, opponents squirming to escape the grab will
give you lots of counter-hit jabs/shorts.
-Close jab, grab
This is the best set up for a few reasons: theoretically, the frame advantage
of the close jab makes it impossible for your opponent to hit or throw you out
of the scum gale. Second, you can mix it up with walk up jab jab low short
while still under the protection of the close jab's frame advantage for one of
the deadliest 50/50 mix ups in the game. If your opponent tries ANYTHING to
counter the throw besides an uppercut or a super, your walk-up jab jab short
counters it and you get a nice, damaging fierce rekka combo. If it's blocked,
unfortunately Iori's slow walking speed prevents him from easily getting all
the way back in to grab range... you'll have to work your way back in again.
6/13/03 - Actually, you CAN be hit or thrown out of a close jab tick into Scum
Gale. Unlike older Capcom games, in CvS2 you cannot throw the opponent the
first few frames he leaves guardstun, much like an opponent waking up. Need
proof? Try to do close jab into Scum Gale as fast as you can without actually
buffering the jab. You'll get a whiffed jab every time. To successfully grab
the opponent you'll need to slow it down slightly and leave a tiny gap.
However, the gap is fairly small, small enough so that an opponent mashing
something to get out will at least have to time it well. I've heard many
complaints from grabbed opponents saying that they were mashing jab or throw,
but still got grabbed.
-opponent waking up, grab
this works best after you condition your opponent with meaty RC rekka kens.
Since the only way to avoid getting hit by RC rekka kens is to block, it
perfectly lends itself to this set up. Mix up with low shorts, which will
punish almost everything your opponent tries to avoid the grab. This works
especiallly well against P and K grooves.
-cross up b+short, grab
This makes the short stun of the B+short work FOR you since you can grab your
opponent pretty much immediately upon landing. It's a pretty smooth transition
and will catch almost anybody by surprise. Mix this up with landing with close
jab, which if blocked is ANOTHER set up for the grab.
-low short, grab
another basic tick into the grab, this works because the opponent always
expects you to do 3 shorts whenever he sees the first one. The +5 frame
advantage doesn't hurt either. Mix up with low short, wait, low short x2.
-empty low jump, grab
To get this to work you usually have to condition your opponent first with
empty low jumps into low shorts. Either way is a good mix up as long as you
don't get hit out of the air. Works best if you jump over a move you can't
quite punish in time with a low jump roundhouse. Also, empty low jump, low
short, grab is pretty tricky if you can pull it off.
-empty cross up, grab
Works better if you stick out a move that doesn't cross up like jumping short.
Inputting the command for the grab can be a little tricky; wait till after
you've switched sides with the opponent and THEN start inputting the command
for the grab. Mix this up with empty cross up into low shorts.
-Jumping roundhouse, run up a bit, grab
The huge frame advantage the jumping roundhouse gives you covers your run in,
and from there you can mix up standing jabs or the grab.
-Jab fireball, run after it, grab
This is one of my favorites. If you run after a jab fireball and your opponent
decides to block it you basically get a free move your opponent has to block
since it's a block combo after the fireball. You can wait a bit and do low
shorts or an RC rekka ken if they try to do something, and if they're just
going to sit and block you can run all the way up to them and grab them. Very
satisfying.
6/13/03 - A lot of people have trouble performing a Scum Gale while running.
It's not that hard, really. You're already running, so just roll the stick
around to back, then hit forward and punch at the same time. Is it that hard?
-Cross up roll, grab
This a powerful addition to cross up/non cross up roll games you do on opponent
wake up. Since you often don't know what side you're going to end up on
yourself, the easiest way to perform the motion for the grab is HCB as you're
crossing up the opponent, then hit F,B+punch. Whether you cross up your
opponent or not you'll still get the grab. If you mess up the command you'll
get a normal grab which isn't that bad either... worst case scenario you
might get a fireball, though. That's REALLY bad. This one takes a bit of
practice to master, but it's really powerful tool for Iori... especially with
his great roll.
-6/13/03 - overhead low jump strong, land and grab
Not the safest tactic, but is still useful if you incorporate the low jump
strong overhead into your game. However, to get this to work you'll have to
condition your opponent a few times with overhead into uppercut when you land,
and that's not exactly safe either. Still, the mix-up is good to try on an
opponent you can't seem to grab or get counter hit jabs out of.
-6/13/03 - low jump jab, grab
I never do this myself, but a number of people suggested I should. The reason
I don't do this is because it's almost exactly like the overhead strong set up,
but without an overhead. Low jump jab into grab looks pretty smooth, but an
opponent mashing anything at all (which they will probably do seeing how it's
just a jab) will interrupt the grab. So, you have to land with an uppercut a
few times to condition your opponent. Again, not the safest thing to do. At
least with the overhead set-up you get the surprise factor and the quasi-free
damage from the overhead to offset the risk a little.
-6/13/03 - power up, grab
I generally only do this while the opponent is getting up, therefore making
this pretty much exactly the same as the "opponent waking up, grab" mix up
listed above. However, adding the power up not only lets you do a super combo
after the grab, it has the added effect of "stunning" your opponent mentally
for a second. Sometimes, anyway. Mix ups are exactly the same as the "wake up"
ones... power up then grab, or power up then low short/close jab.
-6/13/03 - whiff close roundhouse, grab
A really goofy alternative to the above mix up, I've only done this once and
it worked (I was actually TRYING to do a "power up, grab" mix up. You know the
deal). Close roundhouse recovers deceptively fast and has a nice "what the
hell" effect on your opponent since the move looks so weird.
-6/13/03 - Cross up b+short, low jump cross up b+short, grab
This is a little more fancy than I usually get, but it has a fairly good
success rate if you use it in moderation. The second cross up is fast enough
to surprise the opponent, but not fast enough so that they won't block it.
However, a lot of times they'll be thrown off long enough for you to grab them
after the second cross up. Mix it up with empty low jump cross up grab, empty
low jump cross up low shorts, and low jump cross up b+short into jabs and you
have a pretty potent attack sequence. Empty low jump cross up into grab works
especially well but the grab is kind of tricky to pull off. Wait until you're
ALL the way past the opponent and THEN start inputting the motion for the.
Otherwise you'll get something bad like a point blank rekka ken or something.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
===========
5. STRATEGY
===========
A lot of Iori's main strategies were covered in the move list, but I guess I'll
do it separately here for the sake of organization.
--------------------------------------
RANGE 1: FULL SCREEN - 3/4THS DISTANCE
--------------------------------------
This is easy. Throw a jab fireball and run after it. The most common reaction
from the opponent is to jump straight up over the fireball. There are a number
of counters to this depending on the timing of your opponent's jump:
Too early: This happens quite a bit. Your opponent jumps up too early and is
going to land on the fireball. It's pretty easy to tell when it's going to
happen also. Run up to your opponent and roll when you get within range. If
your opponent decides to stick out something on the way down your roll dodges
it, they land on the fireball and get hit. Your roll conveniently puts you in
the perfect position to combo off of the hit fireball. If your opponent wisely
decides not to stick out anything on the way down from the jump, he lands and
blocks the fireball. Your roll ends while your opponent is still in blockstun,
and you've easily established the desired point blank range.
Too late: Your opponent jumps right before the fireball was about to make
contact. This gives you two main options: you can get directly under the jump
and low fierce it for guaranteed damage, or you can walk behind the opponent to
establish the point blank range and immediately do a mix up when your opponent
lands. While it seems like the latter would always be the better option, a
number of characters have good cross up moves from their straight up jumps that
would foil your attempts to get behind them.
Just right: Your opponent jumps at the perfect time, where you can't get under
him in time to low fierce and he's also not going to land on the fireball. In
this situation just uppercut while running. Since you're already holding
forward on the stick all you have to do is roll the stick to d,df and hit the
button. Low jumps would also fall into this category, but those are a lot
harder to deal with. If your opponent is in a low jump groove and jumps really
late, just be ready to uppercut as soon as he leaves the ground since none of
the low jump grooves have the ability to air-block.
Nobody really does this, but if your opponent decides to jump forward instead
of straight up you can punish it with either one of Iori's anti-cross up moves
or an uppercut depending on when the opponent jumped.
Opponents who try to roll behind the fireball can be easily punished with a
simple low short x3 into fierce rekka combo.
Once you punish their attempts to avoid the fireball enough times, your
opponent will most likely decide to sit tight and block the fireball. The block
stun from the fireball lets you run all the way up to your opponent and easily
establish the desired point blank range.
If your opponent has an easy way to counter your attempts to throw a fireball
from full screen like Bison or Blanka, just walk forward a bit to establish
mid-range. The only character that can give anybody a problem establishing
mid-range is Dhalsim, but nobody uses him so don't worry about that.
--------------------
RANGE 2: HALF SCREEN
--------------------
This is where you'll be spending most of your time. You can still throw a
fireball and run after it here, but there are a few key differences:
1) Your opponent is in range to take counter measures to your fireball like
jumping over it and killing you.
2) If your opponent decides to block the fireball, you still cannot run all the
way up to him and start the point blank mix ups. To combo off of a mid-screen
fireball you have to run up and do a max range f+strong. If you want to run
closer you'll have to condition your opponent to not stick out anything by
running up and doing RC rekkas.
You can also go into "attacking mode" from here and actively try to earn
yourself the knockdown or guard crush, whichever comes first. Even though
you're bound to take a few hits here and there from attacking your opponent,
it's often worth your while to at least make the attempt every now and then
since Iori's game revolves around getting close to your opponent.
The most basic thing to do is to run right at your opponent and mix it up.
While running at your opponent try doing an RC rekka the moment you get into
the range of the move your opponent is most likely to do, like say... Cammy's
standing roundhouse or Blanka's low fierce. If it worked, great. You just
scored yourself 2200 damage plus a knockdown. If it was blocked, you didn't
really get anywhere but you're still okay. If it was punished, well... ouch.
You either are being too predictable or you have to condition your opponent
into not doing random rolls or jumps.
Instead of running up to your opponent and doing an RC rekka, you might want to
try simply rolling instead. Same basic effect but with a few differences:
1) If your opponent pressed something relatively quick like a low forward, RC
rekkas would have punished it but a roll won't.
2) If your opponent jumps straight up or rolls, you're generally still safe. In
some instances you can actually get a free hit on your opponent.
3) If the opponent doesn't press anything at all, you've automatically
established point blank range. Congrats.
4) You can run a little closer and go for a cross up roll to try to confuse the
opponent.
A relatively risk-free thing to try is to run right outside your opponent's
"twitch" range and stop yourself with standing jab. Watch your opponent's move
whiff and low roundhouse him. If he didn't do anything, standing roundhouse to
work the guard bar and try something else.
Another thing to try is to WALK into your opponent's "twitch" range and low
jump roundhouse. If your opponent hit a button, you either get a low jump
roundhouse into fierce uppercut combo for lots of damage + stun + knockdown, or
you simply get a blocked jumping roundhouse to accelerate the guard breaking
process. If your opponent didn't press anything, you run the risk of getting
hit out of the air... most of the time your jumping roundhouse will be blocked,
though. If you feel like your opponent is actively looking for low jumps to
uppercut you can simply do an empty low jump from your jumping roundhouse's max
range and watch their uppercut whiff. Run in and kill accordingly.
One of the riskier things attempts to get in is to run at your opponent and
cross them up. If they stuck out something, great. You're right at point blank
range. If they didn't stick out anything you're likely to get hit with a
walk-back uppercut.
You probably notice that all of these attacking options revolve around your
opponent sticking out something. If you get your opopnent to totally turtle up
with your attacking options you can either:
a) run CLOSER to your opponent and do the same options, or
b) use the opportunity to guard break your opponent.
If a) isn't working, you can try to run even closer still (maybe even all the
way up into point blank range) or play it safer and work the guard bar. Low
jump roundhouse and standing roundhouse your opponent continually. Once your
opponent's guard bar hits about 1/2 you'll probably elicit a response from him
that you can try to counter.
If you want to play it safe and not attack, opting to work the ground game
instead, your offense revolves around 3 main moves: Standing roundhouse, RC
fierce rekkas, and low roundhouse to punish whiffs. Usage of these moves was
covered in the movelist; Standing roundhouse liberally against big characters,
RC rekkas when you think they're gonna stick out something, low roundhouse to
punish whiffs or catch your opponent standing.
Small characters are a lot harder since you lose the usage of standing
roundhouse completely and have to rely solely on RC rekkas and low roundhouse;
two VERY risky moves. Unfortunately, all the good short characters also have
very longe range (Chun Li, Cammy, Sakura), so getting closer to use your
standing forward
to replace the standing roundhouse isn't a very good option. My advice would be
to keep faking the rekka kens and to react to whatever they try to do to punish
it. If that's not working go ahead and throw in a rekka ken every now and
then... if you get the hit you're rewarded with the big knockdown. If that's
not working either I would try dashing back and either throwing a fireball and
running after or faking a fireball and reacting to whatever they do.
Against characters that grossly outrange you like Cammy or Vega you'll have to
resort to using fireballs as a footsie tool. Get them to whiff their big long
ranged move and throw a jab fireball. If they roll or jump you should be able
to easily punish them, and if they block you have the option of running after
the fireball to establish your desired range.
--------------------------
RANGE 3: POINT BLANK RANGE
--------------------------
Ah, the mecca. This is where your continual struggle against your opponent's
defense gets you. Really, there isn't much strategy involved here; just pick
from any of the throw set-ups and mix-ups listed above and go with them. I get
a ton of mileage out of just using the close jab, grab mix ups and the opponent
waking up grab mix ups, but I still use all the other ones sporadically to keep
my opponents on their toes. Pretty much every mix-up is totally 50/50, except
for opponents who like to uppercut. Baiting an uppercut gives you even more
damage, though, so smart opponents won't be doing that too often.
Since Iori's walking speed is very slow, messing up your mix up will usually
result in you being pushed out of point blank range. Sometimes you can salvage
it by doing the attacking options listed in the mid-range sections, but most
often you have to suck it up and find another way back in. When I push myself
out of the point blank range, I generally just do a low strong, standing
roundhouse to continue working on the opponent's guard bar. On the upside,
once you get in you have the potential to end the match quickly with a
successful series of mix ups. Make them count!
6/13/03 - If you tried to do a jabs/shorts mix up and your opponent blocks it,
you can still try to create a counter hit which will result in knocking your
opponent down. Iori walks too slow to do walk up jabs/throw games effectively
like Chun Li, but you can still try to salvage something out of the situation.
After your opponent blocks your two jabs/shorts, wait a split second and then
do a standing jab/low short/low strong into rekka. If your opponent pressed
something, you just got a counter hit into rekka kens combo and scored a
knockdown. If it was blocked, well you're still pretty safe a drained a bit of
guard bar. Next time, after your opponent blocks your jabs/shorts mix up walk
up the a bit and then do the jab/short/strong. If your opponent STILL didn't
bite on the bait, walk up even FARTHER next time. I guarantee your opponent
will press something before you get into grab range. If not, then well shit,
grab them!
6/13/03 - Another thing to remember, even if you tried bait a counter hit
with jabs and your opponent blocked them, you're still within range to do a
low jump overhead strong on most characters. Mix it up when you land with
either an uppercut or a grab and a lot of times you'll successfully salvage
your failed mix-up attempt.
---------------------------
RANGE 4: OPPONENT IN CORNER
---------------------------
This is a pretty fun situation to be in. Happens quite often also since one
connected series of rekka kens will take your opponent from the middle of the
field all the way to the corner.
Against big characters you can just go on auto-pilot and roundhouse away.
Punish rolls with low short combos, punish jumps with your anti-cross up moves.
Straight up jumps are sometimes close enough to be countered with a low fierce,
otherwise standing roundhouse/super if you can.
Against small characters you can use your RC rekka a little more freely here
since you're not in danger of whiffing it. Again, punish all jumps and rolls,
then periodically RC rekka ken every now and then. If they stop giving you
moves to RC rekka, you can go for the guard break by rushing with low strongs
and f+strongs into rekkas.
6/13/03 - Be aware, though, that if your opponent rolls through your RC rekkas
in the corner that YOU are into corner, and you cannot escape punishment by
doing the second and third rekkas like you normally would be able to
mid-screen.
6/13/03 - If you knock down an opponent into the corner with rekkas, you
obviously cannot cross them up with b+short or rolls, so just throw a meaty jab
fireball and run after it which is just as good. If your opponent was already
in the corner when you knocked him down with rekkas, just do basic wake-up
mix-ups like the grab/low short mix up as your opponent gets up, meaty low
strongs on fidgety players, jump straight up roundhouse on slow players or
against characters like Rolento who often wake up with a super you can jump
over and punish (trip wire).
----------------------
THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND
----------------------
-Iori has by far the best Counter Roll in the game (Guard Cancel Movement to
all you nerds). You can counter roll almost any super if it's buffered from a
normal on reaction (just see the super flash and mash f+roll) and get a nice
fat combo for free. It doesn't stop there, though. If there's a certain safe
pattern that's bothering you, like Guile's low strong into sonic boom, just
counter roll the low strong and beat up on Guile for free. If a shoto does the
normally safe pattern of low fierce into fierce fireball, you can actually
counter roll the FIREBALL and still get a free combo.
-Iori is tied with Athena and Maki as the shortest characters in the game. If
it's crouchable, they can crouch it. The moves they can crouch that none of the
other short characters can are Kyo's standing roundhouse, Eagle's standing
fierce, and Ryo's standing strong. Ryo's isn't that big of a deal, but Kyo's
and Eagle's definitely are. The majority of Kyo/Eagle players don't know this,
so be sure to be ready to capitalize on their whiffs with a low roundhouse.
-You have access to the best roll in the game. Use it! Sure, your roll will get
punished a lot, but it's often your best tool to penetrate a strong defense.
Look for opportunities to get a cross-up roll, which is nearly impossible to
punish with anything other than a throw. If you have trouble visualizing where
Iori's cross up roll distance is, it's exactly the distance you end up at after
making your opponent block 3 shorts/jabs. If you still can't picture that, then
it's right outside the range of your low strong.
-If anybody was wondering, here's the stats on Iori's roll:
Moves 132 pixels across, is invulnerable for 27 frames, is vulnerable for 2
frames
2 frames! There's 60 frames in a second, so you figure out yourself how long
that is. To put it simply, punishing a perfectly placed cross up roll with a
combo is nearly impossible; the opponent's move will almost always go the wrong
way.
-Iori's low jump strong is an overhead on any character in the game if done
immediately after leaving the ground. That's basically 900 free damage whenever
you might need it. Come down with either an uppercut or a Scum Gale for a
really ghetto, yet effective mix up.
-6/13/03 - Also listed above in the move list, but here's a list of characters
that cannot crouch Iori's standing roundhouse:
Raiden
Geese
Chang
Sagat
Eagle
Yamazaki
Bison
Blanka
Honda
Benimaru
Kyo
Rugal
Guile
Todo
Balrog
Dhalsim
Terry
Kyosuke
Zangief
Joe
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
========================
6.THINGS IORI CAN CROUCH
========================
(added 7/5/03)
This gets its own section because there really isn't anywhere else it fits in.
It's too big to go into the 'things to keep in mind section' :P
Anyway, as I stated earlier in the guide, if it's crouchable... Iori can crouch
it. So the following is not only a list of what Iori can crouch, it's also a
comprehensive (I hope) list of every crouchable move in the game that certain
other characters cannot crouch. Make sure you know what your other two
characters' crouchable moves are.
Ryu hop kick
standing far jab
standing far roundhouse
Ken standing far jab
standing far fierce
hcf+k funky kick
Chun Li standing jab
close strong
Spinning Bird Kick
the second hit of Lightning Legs (free hit!)
f+forward
Guile standing far strong
backfist
standing jab
standing far fierce
Zangief standing forward
standing strong
standing fierce
Dhalsim standing jab
Blanka standing strong
Balrog standing fierce
standing jab
standing short
rush punch
Vega standing jab
standing strong
Red Impact (the level 3 only super)
Sagat standing jab
standing fierce
Bison standing jab
standing far strong
Sakura standing far fierce
standing jab
standing far strong
second hit of roundhouse hurricane kick
Cammy standing far strong
standing far jab
Morrigan standing far jab
standing close jab
Dan standing jab
standing roundhouse
Eagle standing far fierce (!)
Maki standing jab
standing close fierce
standing close roundhouse
standing far roundhouse
Kyosuke standing close jab
standing far strong
flash kick
Rolento standing far roundhouse
Akuma standing far jab
standing far roundhouse
Kyo standing far short
standing far jab
standing far fierce
standing roundhouse (!)
Iori standing roundhouse
Terry standing far strong
standing far jab
standing far fierce
Ryo standing far strong
standing far jab
standing far roundhouse
Mai standing far fierce
Kim standing far fierce
KuuSaJin (triple kick move)
first hit of HanGetsuZan (half moon kick thingie)
standing far strong
HoouHiTenKyaku (launcher super)
Geese standing jab
standing far fierce
Yamazaki standing far strong
Raiden poison breath
standing close fierce
standing far strong
Rugal standing close fierce
standing far jab
standing far roundhouse
second hit of low fierce (the part that goes really far)
Vice standing far strong
standing far jab
Benimaru standing fierce (which throws a wrench into his custom)
standing far strong
standing far jab
Yuri standing far jab
Saifa (reflector)
King standing far jab
standing far forward
standing far fierce
standing far roundhouse
Nakoruru standing close jab
Joe standing far jab
standing far fierce
Todo standing close strong
standing far strong
Athena standing far forward
Rock standing close roundhouse
standing far roundhouse
Haohmaru standing far jab
standing far forward
standing close roundhouse
Chang standing fierce
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
=======================
7. GROOVE SPECIFIC TIPS
=======================
(added 7/5/03)
------------------
N-Iori Vs C-Groove
------------------
The popularity of C-Groove has really shot up as of late. Fortunately for Iori,
most of C-Groove's bonuses and tendencies aren't really much of a bother for
him.
Air Blocking:
------------
While slightly annoying, still not a really big deal for Iori, since the only
move you're likely to have air-blocked is your jumping/low jump roundhouse.
Each air-blocked jumping roundhouse does a fat chunk of guard bar and pushes
your opponent towards the corner, so everything's peachy in the end.
Adjustments Needed: None
Frequent Alpha Counters:
-----------------------
This is the real annoyance. Spend the whole round jockeying for position,
finally get in, then BAM. You're back out again at the press of two buttons AND
took 600 damage. 10 seconds later, your opponent has another level 1 ready.
Adjustments Needed:
1) Bait the alpha counter - Not in a Alpha 2 sense where you draw out the alpha
counter and uppercut it (though that's certainly a viable solution if you can
do it), but getting them to input the Alpha Counter command without blocking
anything. Why is that good? Well, for a lot of characters, it isn't. But
against certain characters like Sagat, Rolento, Chun Li and Ryu, it is.
When your opponent hits f+strong and forward without blocking anything, the
game automatically recognizes the command as simply f+forward. When Sagat does
that he gets standing forward, a REALLY laggy move. Rolento gets his ground
pogo move, which is very vulnerable but is also an air-based move. Do an
uppercut or Running Grab to punish that. Chun Li gets her f+forward step kick,
which Iori can crouch under and punish. Likewise for Ryu, who gets his hop
kick.
2) Alpha Counter the Alpha Counter - There's a large number of slow Alpha
Counters that are often blocked, but still safe like Rolento's, Bison's,
Blanka's etc. Even though you didn't get hit by the Alpha Counter, you're still
pushed out of that point blank range you worked so hard to get into. By Alpha
Countering their Alpha Counter, you not only regain the momentum and get a free
mix up, your opponent is almost always near guard crush also having just lost a
large chunk of their own guard bar by Alpha Countering.
Level 2's/Holding on to the super:
---------------------------------
This is pretty annoying also, since once your opponent gets to level 2 you
usually have to fight a lot less agressively. Fortunately, since Iori is best
used as a leadoff character you usually have about half the round to get buck
wild on your opponent before you have to slow it down.
Adjustments Needed:
1) Slow down - Don't take any unnecessary risks to get in, as a level 2 will
often hurt just as much, if not more than a level 3. Lean on standing
roundhouse and RC rekkas more and focus on pushing your opponent to the corner.
When the opportunity arises (usually opponent wake up) try baiting the super
with an RC rekka. Also, crossing up a downed opponent with a roll and attacking
afterwards is still basically safe except charge supers (which CvS2 will always
steer in the right direction for no apparent reason) since you mess up your
opponent's inputs by switching sides.
Faster Jumps:
------------
All low jump grooves take longer to leave the ground as the game gives them
extra leeway (sp?) for inputting the low jump command. C and A grooves leave
the ground in two frames, with Honda, Zangief and Raiden being the exceptions.
Their jumps have a five frame start up to facilitate their 360 motions. All low
jump grooves take 6 frames to jump.
Adjustments Needed:
1) Speed up your jab/short mix-ups: You suspect your opponent thinks you're
going for a jab into Scum Gale tick, so you do jab, wait, jab jab. If you don't
do it fast enough, your opponent sometimes will be able to jump in between.
However, you can easily hit them out of the air with a close fierce/roundhouse
on reaction but that's not nearly as much damage as the successful mix up would
have got you, not to mention the knockdown.
2) Go for cross up b+shorts less: If you knock your a C-Groove opponent down
and do a normal super jump b+short cross up your opponent will be able to jump
and air-block it. From there he gets to land safely and the match is resetted.
Go for roll cross ups instead.
Roll Cancels:
------------
The one thing that 99% of America doesn't know how to fight against. Counters
to different Roll Cancels sometimes differ per character, but most the most
common counters are listed below.
Adjustments Needed:
1) Roll on reaction: Self explanatory, and works against the vast majority of
Roll Cancel moves in the game. Again, Iori's excellent roll suits this purpose
real well. The most common RC moves that get countered by rolls are Sakura's
hurricane kick, Sakura's fireball, Iori's own rekkas, any fireball, Chun Li's
Spinning Bird Kick (which Iori can crouch anyway), E.Honda's slaps, Yamazaki's
arm whips, and Vega's rolling claw.
2) Jump up/back: Counters almost any Roll Cancel that rolling won't. Also,
randomly jumping up and down is pretty safe against most characters. Problem
is, it's really hard to jump over a RC move on reaction; it HAS to be done
either in anticipation or randomly. Jumping up/back counters prominent moves
such as Chun Li's lightning legs, Blanka's electricity (as long as he doesn't
keep mashing), Rolento's patriot circles, Rock's elbow, and Yun's rush punch
thingie.
3) Throw it: This mainly applies to opponents who wake up with Roll Cancel
moves way more often then they should. It's also the best counter to Blanka's
dreaded RC electricity. When an opponent knocks you down and you anticipate an
RC grab as you're getting up, the best solution by far is to pre-emptively
throw your opponent.
4) Counter Roll: this only applies to a handful of moves, but when it does work
it's a major advantage for Iori. A few RC moves that can be punished with a
counter roll: Most fireballs (if blocked somewhat close), Vega's rolling claw,
------------------
N-Iori vs A-Groove
------------------
A-Groove is a pain to fight, but that's more because every A-Groove team has
Bison on it than anything else. The groove-specific things aren't too much to
worry about.
Random Customs:
--------------
Even the best A-Groove players do it from time to time. Here are the most
common scenarios:
-Roll into custom: You really shouldn't get hit by this unless your opponent
rolled through one of your RC rekkas. Practice punishing those rolls!
-"Anti-air" custom: By "anti-air" I mean customs that start with low forward
and hope that their opponent disabled their trip guard in the air by sticking
out a move. People who do this are easily baited by empty jumps, or even
better, empty LOW jumps.
-Dash into custom: This one can be pretty scary since your opponent can easily
mix it up with dash into throw. My advice would be either to take the throws
and wait for him to eventually mix it up with dash into custom, or jump
straight up if you have fast enough reflexes. Be careful though, if you jump
too late your opponent can still activate and low forward you during your
"takeoff" animation.
-Jump behind you, custom: This one gets me more than I care to admit. I'm
always mashing on those low shorts when somebody misses their cross up distance
on me. Bleh. If you predict your opponent doing this, immediately jump over him
as he's about to land. You can often get a free b+short cross up into a fat
combo if he activates. If he doesn't, you probably still got him to block the
cross up and established the point blank range.
-Jump at you, custom: Designed to bait people into trying to uppercut their
jump, this is another one I fall for a lot more than i should. I love my
uppercuts! Anyway, if your opponent has a custom ready, NEVER anti-air them
from the ground. Either go for air-to-airs or stay out of the jump in's range
and make them block something when they land.
-Walk up, custom: The simplest one, yet most effective. For some reason,
this set-up never really caught on in America. It's a huge footsie tool for
A-Groove players, as they can mix it up with walk-up throws or walk up and do
guard crush patterns.
-Wake up, custom: Simple enough, just do your RC rekka as they get up later
than usual and you'l counter the CC activation clean.
Adjustments Needed: All listed above.
Roll Cancels:
------------
See C-Groove.
Faster Jumps:
------------
See C-Groove.
------------------
N-Iori vs P-Groove
------------------
I have VERY little experience against P Groove as there isn't a single P-Groove
specialist in my area. Most of the following is pure theory-fighter but it
makes pretty good sense in my head. -_-
Wake-up Parries:
---------------
Self explantory.
Adjustments Needed:
1) This is a guessing game that's totally in your favor. Just mix up standing
jab (which has to be parried high) with low shorts and Scum Gales. Grabbing a
P-Groove opponent as he's getting up works especially well, since most
P-Players that I've seen can't resist going for a parry of some sort. Also, I'd
recommend doing standing jab more often then low short since players tend to
try to parry down a lot more often than parrying forward.
Jump-in Parries:
---------------
We've all seen this a million times...empty jump in, try to parry something,
mash on throw when you land. Fortunately for Iori, throws aren't instant in
this game like they are in Third Strike so you can actually make them block
something when they land without getting thrown.
Adjustments Needed:
1) Run under them: One of the things that makes me happy that I still play this
antiquated groove, running under your opponent and hitting them out of the air
from behind is by far the best option. It's parryable, but your opponent has to
parry the other way and I have yet to see somebody do that yet. Also, even if
the move is parried your opponent is still facing the wrong direction and
usually cannot punish you.
2) Wait until the last second, mix-up when they land: If you don't have time to
run under your opponent this is the next best option. Block high until your
opponent is so close to the ground they can't possibly stick out a move before
reaching the ground, then commit to standing jab/low short/Scum Gale mix up. If
you want to Scum Gale your opponent immediately when he lands without getting
grabbed yourself you'll have to do the grab when the opponent is a little
in the air. Standing jab is the most consistent option, since by jumping in and
blocking your jab your opponent is pretty much voluntarily giving you a free
mix up.
The weakness to this strategy is if your opponent actually did a jumping attack
you'll have to block it and deal with whatever guard crush string or mix up he
does next.
3) Test your opponent's parrying skills: I would almost never recommend doing
this, but most of us just can't resist. Including me. :P Rather the usual
jab into uppercut or air-to-air attacks that I'm sure any good P-Player is used
to, I'd recommend low fierce at the tip (which is a good anti-air anyway) into
jab uppercut. The parry timing for the uppercut is a lot slower than it looks
so it should catch your opponent at least the first two or three times you try
it.
4) Roll!: Yes, it's a pretty gay solution, but it's pretty much 100% safe.
After rolling you can immediately jump and go for a b+short cross up (watch out
for parries!) or just play normally until your opponent jumps again. Hopefully
you'll be able to run under it and counter it.
Ground Parries:
--------------
Besides jumping up and down, ground parries are P-Groove's only defense against
Iori's RC rekkas. Since it's really hard to parry RC rekkas on reaction,
P-players will probably be looking for the only real "set-up" for an RC rekka:
.. a blocked RC rekka. Besides that, the other main instance a P-Groove
player goes for a ground parry is after he whiffs a move.
Adjustments Needed:
1) Mix it up: while this should go without saying, mixing up your moves and
timing is the best way to throw off ground parries. For example, your opponent
blocks an RC rekka and is expecting another one. You can do a whole bunch of
things that would never work against any other groove (other than K) like run
up and grab afterwards, sweep, roll, etc. Take advantage of the fact that both
Iori's run and roll look similar to his rekkas.
2) After a whiffed move: Ideally you should be able to punish the whiff every
time with a low roundhouse or something, but not all of us are fast enough to
able to do that every single time. Just mixing up standing/low roundhouse after
a whiffed move works well enough, and it's also a good opportunity to low jump
roundhouse in since they usually aren't looking for it.
Low Jumps:
---------
Definitely something to get used to... but for the most part easily dealt with
after some practice.
Adjustments Needed:
1) Actively look for low jumps: While some people have fast enough reflexes to
be able to easily uppercut low jumps on reaction, most of the time I'm not one
of them. However, once you've trained yourself to fight on the ground without
having to think about it much, you can actively look for low jumps to uppercut
without hurting your overall gameplay too much. The good part is, Iori's
uppercut has a lot of horizontal range so the low jump attack/empty low jump
mix ups are a little less effective on him.
Some days your reflexes are exceptionally slow... you can be looking for
nothing but low jumps and STILL not be able to uppercut them on time. In this
case I would recommend hitting standing roundhouse a lot more than normal if
your opponent can't crouch it. If they do happen to randomly low jump it'll
probably get stopped by your boot. This also applies to low jumps that are
usually just too fast to hit on reaction like Blanka's, Vega's and Mai's.
If you're having a bad reflex day AND your opponent can crouch your standing
roundhouse, I would recommend going all out and trying to attack them instead.
Rather than unsuccessfully trying to anti-air low jumps and taking hits, put
your life bar to better use by sacrificing it trying to get in and score a
knockdown. You're much more likely to win that way.
------------------
N-Iori Vs K-Groove
------------------
Very similar to N-Iori vs P-Groove, with a few adjustments here and there.
Low Jumps:
---------
See P-Groove.
Jump-in Just Defends:
--------------------
Bleh. Just like P-Groove air parries, these are dumb.
Adjustments Needed:
1) See P-Groove 'jump-in air parries' section. For the most part it's all the
same, but you can take advantage of the way K-Groove bounces after an air-Just
Defend and just get under your opponent and keep low fiercing. Also, Iori's
fierce uppercut is more difficult to Just Defend than other uppercuts since
the timing on the third hit is a little slower than the first two. Even so, the
best anti-air against K-Groove is usually just running under them and doing
whatever you want.
Ground Just Defends:
-------------------
Again, same idea as P-Groove, just less risky for both sides. The main irritant
here is that a successfully Just Defended RC rekka, low roundhouse and standing
roundhouse all give the opponent free hits.
Adjustments Needed:
1) See P-Groove "ground parries" section. Again, it's mostly all the same
stuff. However, K-Groove tends to get a lot more "random" Just Defends than
P-Groove since they're practically no risk to sitting there and tapping DB.
Still, the blocked RC rekka into run up and grab trick works really well. It's
fun to land that too! K-groove obviously doesn't fall prey to low roundhouse
and standing roundhouse mix ups, so your main strategy in this fight should be
to just hit standing roundhouse at increasingly random times and work
K-Groove's short guard bar. It should only take 4-5 blocked roundhouses to get
the guard bar flashing, and that's when results start to come in from the
opponent.
If your opponent Just Defends a jab or short Iori still has the advantage.
Since at that range most every K-Groove player will mash on throw after a Just
Defend, you can get quite a lot of free close fierce into rekka combos.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
================
8. KEY MATCH-UPS
================
-----------------
N-Iori Vs C-Sagat
5:5
-----------------
On the ground Iori actually has the advantage in this match up. With standing
roundhouse and RC rekka ken to work with, all Sagat can do is try to make you
whiff your moves and standing fierce them. RC rekkas against Sagat are VERY
risky, though, since Sagat tends to be jumping up and down a lot in this fight.
If he jumps when you rekka, prepare to eat a nice jumping roundhouse, standing
fierce into super combo. Also, Iori can't anti-air Sagat's straight up jump
roundhouse with his own standing roundhouse; he has to either use his supers or
or make Sagat block a standing roundhouse when he lands. Of course, Sagat can
counter your standing roundhouse when he lands with an uppercut or (more
likely) a roll. Watch out for those and punish accordingly.
Trying to go all out and attack Sagat is generally a lost cause. You can't jump
at him obviously, and his ultra-annoying standing shorts will stop almost
anything you try to do to get in. Again, running up to him and RC rekka ken'ing
isn't advised since Sagat tends to jump up and and down a lot in this match.
Just push Sagat to the corner with the standing roundhouses. From there Iori is
in complete control of the match. Work the guard bar faster from there with
repeated standing roundhouses, counter whatever Sagat does on reaction.
REMINDER: If Sagat (or any other character, really) buffers a move into a super
such as low forward into low tiger super, Iori can easily counter roll on
reaction after the super flash animation and get a big free combo.
6/13/03 - Iori's footsie range in this fight is well outside Sagat's low fierce
and low forward range. If he whiffs either of these moves, low roundhouse him
if you are confident, standing roundhouse if not. At this range the only moves
Sagat can do are his standing short, standing forward, standing fierce, and
fireballs.
Iori's standing roundhouse and Sagat's low fierce have roughly the same
priority; whoever presses it first usually wins. However, since you're hanging
around well outside the range of his fierce Sagat can't randomly press it or
else you can easily punish his whiff with a standing/low roundhouse.
Smart Sagats will do nothing but standing shorts and jump up and down randomly,
since Sagat's standing short is arguably the best normal move in the game; it's
nearly impossible to punish if whiffed and has insane range/speed/priority.
It's not damaging on its own but it all but shuts down his opponent's offense
and sets up the opponent to make mistakes which will all lead to huge damage.
Standing forward isn't generally a good idea for Sagat but most will still
throw it out every now and then. It's his longest ranged normal and has good
priority, but its recovery time is similar to Hibiki's slash. Iori MIGHT be
able to block it and level 3 super him for free. I'll have to test it before
my next revision. Anyway, if Sagat does standing forward and Iori does ANY of
his attack mix ups (RC rekka, roll, jump, etc.), Iori gets a free combo plus
knockdown.
Sagat's standing fierce has a lot of range and players who aren't careful tend
to walk into them a lot. However, Iori can crouch it and easily punish it on
sight with a low roundhouse.
Sagat really doesn't want to throw fireballs either, for the same reason as the
standing forward. Moreover, Iori players can usually roll through fireballs and
punish on reaction.
-7/5/03 - The key things to think about in this match are to stay out of
Sagat's range so you can punish his whiffs, and to find a way to stop Sagat
from jumping up and down. Making him block a standing roundhouse when he lands
is usually good enough... but again, be aware of rolls and uppercuts when he
lands. The guessing game is totally in your favor, though.
-----------------
N-Iori Vs C-Cammy
6.5:3.5
-----------------
Even though Cammy is a short character, I believe Iori wins this match mainly
because he can bully Cammy around with RC rekkas and ground fireballs. Cammy
has a really tough time fighting RC rekkas; she doesn't have any good RC moves
herself to fight it with. Her roll is so slow, Iori can punish HER for rolling
through a rekka ken. Her straight up jump moves to counter a rekka ken aren't
very good either, Iori can counter them easily with a standing roundhouse.
Getting into rekka ken range can sometimes be a problem, though, since it's
within Cammy's standing roundhouse range. You can try matching her roundhouses
with RC rekkas but I wouldn't advise that since at that range she can easily
bait you into whiffing them. If you're out of rekka range throw fireballs
instead. Cammy can't drill through them, and even if she RCs the drill she
still gets caught by the tail end of the fireball. She can try dashing over the
fireballs but almost every player I've seen (even the Japanese) can't do it
consistently and end up landing on the fireball and getting knocked down.
Bonus! Cammy's jump is also fairly slow; you can punish most attempts to jump
over your fireballs unless she jumps EXACTLY when you threw the fireball.
That's basically a guess, so throw plenty of fakes along with your fireballs to
mess her up. If she blocks one of your fireballs, throw another jab one and run
after it since you've just created the ideal distance for yourself.
Most Cammy players will get baited at least a few times by whiffing something
and then immediately rolling. Whiff a low strong, Cammy sticks out her standing
roundhouse, you roll through it and beat her up.
Added 7/5/03 - Iori has two major advantages against "walk back" characters
like Cammy, Vega and Chun. By "walk back" characters, I mean one of their most
effective traits is their incredible backwards walking speed; you can almost
never cross them up without knocking them down first since they walk backwards
faster than your jump and just stay in front of you. They bait whiffs very well
by dancing in and out of your effective footsie range, then easily punish a
whiff with an easy one button long range move (i.e. Cammy standing roundhouse,
Vega low strong). Running at them trying to get in generally doesn't work
either, since their backwards walk is just slightly slower than you RUNNING
forward. They can easily stick out a move while walking backwards that you'll
run into, or you'll stick out a move that you THINK should hit, but your
opponent will just walk backwards out of range and punish you for it.
Anyway, Iori has two major advantages on these types of characters. First, his
ability to run after a fireball. When the fireball is on the screen, the
opponent can't walk back! Unlike other recent games like Alpha 3, CvS2 will
make your opponent go into his blocking animation if you ever hold back on the
stick while there's something to block on the screen (the fireball). The
result? Your opponent is stuck in place while you're running right at them, and
the strategies for that are all listed in the '3/4ths - full screen distance'
section of the Strategy chapter.
The weakness to this strategy is that it works best when the opponent is at
3/4ths to full screen, and any good player will not easily let you establish
that distance. So how do you get that far away? Well, sometimes it's just
given to you after certain knockdown moves that knock you far away. Just get up
and throw a fireball and run after it. The simplest way for YOU to earn that
distance is to jump/dash back and throw a fireball. This is painfully obvious,
however, and you'll probably get punish hard for it eventually. It could lead
to baited opponent jump-ins, though...
The safest way to get far away from your opponent is to use your fireball as a
footsie tool. RC fierce fireball as a poke or after your opponent whiffs a
move. If your opponent blocks it he'll be pushed out to roughly 3/4ths distance
where you can throw another jab fireball and run after it.
Iori's other tool against "walk back" characters is his low roundhouse. His
sweep has incredible range and of course, hits low. 'Walk back'-types generally
never block low unless you're really close so they can make your moves whiff.
Roundhouses from far away will catch them standing (or rather, walking back)
really often. If your opponent catches on and crouch blocks sooner so that he
doesn't get caught by a low roundhouse, that's good also since you now can run
up to your opponent easier without him walking back to keep the distance.
As a final note, with the exception of Chun Li "walk back" characters hardly do
any damage; they let the damage add up over time since they're usually in
control of the match. This tips the risk/reward ratio of random rolls, jumps
and low jumps more in Iori's favor. Go for broke and attack when the
opportunity presents itself.
-----------------
N-Iori Vs A-Bison
2:8
-----------------
Ouch. This match is bad. REALLY bad. You can't ever throw a fireball unless
Bison lost his charge, which he'll probably never do. If Bison has his CC
meter, then you DEFINITELY can't ever throw a fireball. You can't jump or low
jump at Bison because he can standing fierce or low fierce, respectively. RC
rekkas to get in are also bad since Bison can punish you HARD with a jump up
roundhouse, standing strong into scissor kicks (into custom) or simply a roll
into custom. Bison's straight up jump roundhouse also beats Iori's standing
roundhouse.
So what do you have left? Well, against his straight up jump roundhouse low
fierce works pretty well... just hit his leg. Try to keep him on the ground and
push him to the corner with standing roundhouses while working his guard bar. A
good Bison will punish a whiffed standing roundhouse with a slide, a scissor
kick (into custom), or even activate custom and slide on reaction. It sucks. If
you do manage to get Bison in the corner, Bison can simply opt to pay 1300 life
and RC psycho crusher out of the corner. Sure, you get a free sweep, but Bison
tech rolls your sweep and you're all the way across the screen again.
Running at Bison generally isn't recommended since Bison can easily counter
your run with a psycho crusher. If you expect this to happen you can attempt to
counter the psycho crusher with an RC rekka... your fist will hit Bison's feet
and knock him down right next to you. If Bison RCs his psycho crushers, you're
pretty much screwed. No running for you. This is especially frustrating since
Bison tends to sit at the other side of the screen and build meter, while
you're almost powerless to do anything about it except WALK up to him and try
to roundhouse him.
Here's a list of things you can do to counter Bison:
-Blocked psycho crusher - low roundhouse
-Blocked (2 hit) scissor kick - low short into rekkas
-Devil's Reverse - RC Running Grab or fireball
-Straight up jumping roundhouse - Low fierce, super, RC Running Grab, make him
land on a jab fireball
-Whiffed ground moves - low roundhouse if you're confident, standing roundhouse
otherwise
-(added 7/5/03) Blocked scissor kick super (usually during a blocked Custom
Combo) - Counter Roll as early as possible, run up behind Bison and combo him
This match more than any other depends on Iori getting the knockdown and
successfully mixing it up to win. Unfortunately, since it's very hard to attack
Bison more often than not you'll have to keep walking up to Bison and hope he
makes a mistake you can punish. Otherwise you'll just have to roundhouse away
and hope for the best. Bleh.
-added 7/5/03 - Your standing roundhouse DOES outrange Bison's moves on the
ground, so RANDOMLY roundhouse (so you don't get RC psycho crusher'ed) every
now and then to whittle his guard bar. If Bison has close to a full meter he'll
probably just block the roundhouses and let his guard bar go down in exchange
for meter. If he doesn't have that much meter he'll probably opt to try to
fight you on the ground instead. This is where you have a chance to win the
fight. If he has no meter and is trying to fight with you on the ground he's
probably lost his charge. You can now fight him as a normal opponent without
fear of RC Psycho Crusher and random Customs. Better make it count before he
gets his meter again.
-added 7/5/03 - Something everybody should practice, when you block a Psycho
Crusher and have a level 3 ready, super him in the back! It's really pretty
easy to do as long as you wait until Bison is all the way past you before you
start inputting the motions.
Iori's low roundhouse will trade 99% of the time with Bison's jumping straight
up roundhouse. A good trade if you ask me, since you just knocked Bison down
and get to cross him up.
-----------------
N-Iori Vs C-Guile
7:3
-----------------
A counter match probably only the players at Sunnyvale Golfland know about,
this match is pretty similar to Iori vs Cammy. Bully Guile around with RC
rekkas all day. He can't roll, and to punish it with a straight up jump Guile
has to jump almost exactly at the same time Iori does the rekkas. To accomplish
this Guile will have to do a lot of random straight up jumps and those you can
punish easily with standing roundhouse. If Guile throws an RC Sonic Boom and
your rekka goes through it, mash on f+fierce to try to throw.
7/5/03 - Like most other RC against RC situations, when a RC rekka ken goes
through an RC sonic Boom you can often get the second and third hit for free.
However, Sonic Booms obviously recover really fast so I wouldn't recommend
trying this if Guile has a level 2 or 3 ready. If he doesn't by all means rekka
away. What's he gonna punish you with? Low forward?
If Guile ever gains the initiative by making you block a Sonic Boom, look for a
gap (usually after a low forward) and start RC rekka'ing again. Guile can
counter this by using his B+forward sobat to make your rekka whiff and then
hitting your recovery, but if you don't do the rekka ken and he does the
backwards sobat the match is resetted and you can go for another run-up RC
rekka. Just make him block an RC rekka and you should feel in control.
Also, if Guile falls into the jab jab low strong into sonic boom pattern,
Counter Rolling the low strong will earn you a free combo while Guile is still
recovering from the sonic boom.
----------------
N-Iori vs C-Chun
4:6
----------------
This match is difficult for a few reasons:
1) You can't use standing roundhouse
2) RC rekkas are risky
3) You can't counter her cross up
1) is self explanatory. Chun Li is small. Give her a roundhouse and she'll
crouch it and promptly standing strong into super on you. As for 2), Chun has a
quick enough roll to punish rekkas fairly easily. Midscreen you can usually get
away from her by doing the 2nd and 3rd rekkas, though. However, if she jumps
straight up prepare to eat painful combo. You can counter her straight up jumps
with a standing roundhouse, though. 3) is just what it sounds like. Iori's
anti-cross up moves get cleanly beat by Chun Li's jumping short every time.
Just roll out of there instead.
When fighting on the ground Chun is at distinct advantage since she has one of
the best multi-purpose pokes in the game in her standing strong. It's fast and
doesn't carry that much risk with it. Iori? Well, he has to resort to RC rekkas
and low roundhouses, the kind of big laggy moves Chun Li players thrive on.
Iori also has a hard time attacking Chun, since it's tough getting around the
standing strong and she can also easily counter any of Iori's jump ins with a
simple low roundhouse.
If you can somehow establish a 3/4ths - fullscreen distance, great. Throw a jab
fireball and run after it. Works just as well as it does against everybody
else. If Chun is stubbornly sticking to her standing strong range it's gonna
get tough. Try to bait out a whiffed standing strong and low roundhouse it. You
have to be quick, though, and Chun Li can hit a blocked Iori low roundhouse
with her level 2 or 3 supers. Throwing fireballs as a footsie tool is pretty
dangerous against Chun's fast roll, so I would use it very sparingly. Much like
the Iori vs Bison match, to win this match Iori must achieve his point blank
range and make it count. Fortunately, attacking Chun Li is a lot more feasible
than attacking Bison.
REMINDER: Punish a blocked Chun Li super with f+strong into fierce rekkas. Free
3000 damage plus knockdown!
- Added 7/5/03 - See the "walk back" characters strategies listed under Iori vs
C-Cammy. They definitely apply to Chun Li as well.
---------------------------
N-Iori Vs Any groove Blanka
4:6 (changed from 3:7)
---------------------------
Another tough match, played almost exactly the same as Bison's. Blanka doesn't
have the luxury of being able to roll through Iori's rekkas or scissor kick
into custom, though, so it's a bit more do-able.
Blanka's straight up jumping roundhouse is one of the hardest for Iori to stop.
It's fast enough that supering it is difficult, and standing roundhouse
definitely doesn't work. Low fierce hits Blanka's roundhouse decently if you
hit it really early, but it tends to trade a lot more often than I would like.
Most often the best thing to do is make Blanka block a standing roundhouse when
he lands from the jump. In fact, standing roundhouse is 90% of this match for
Iori since he really can't do much else. RC rekkas work well if you can get
Blanka to stop jumping up and down, but if he's jumping up and down a LOT then
you can probably throw a fireball and run after it. However, Blanka will
usually have his charge immediately after blocking the fireball so he'll be
able to ball right through your RC rekka after the fireball's stun is gone. Of
course you can bait it out by blocking it the Ball and punishing it with a run
up low roundhouse, but to do that you will have to WALK up to Blanka so that
you'll be able to block in time.
Actually, running at Blanka is hardly ever a good idea. Blanka can just do a
Ball to counter your run and there isn't much you can do about it. You can't
block, obviously, and attempts to avoid the Ball with a roll or RC rekka ken
will work but Blanka will go right through either move, leaving him unscathed
all the way at the other end of the screen.
Since the vogue thing with Blanka nowadays is to show off how good you are with
RC electricity, landing a Scum Gale on Blanka's wake up can be quite easy.
Another Blanka-specific grab set up is after blocking a Blanka Ball. Instead of
doing the normal run up and low roundhouse, sometimes you can run all the way
up to Blanka and grab him while he's still expecting to be swept. Not the
safest thing to do, but it might be good to try in a pinch.
In all, the best thing to do against Blanka is just standing roundhouse him
every chance you get. Blanka can easily punish a whiffed standing roundhouse
with his low fierce, but Blanka isn't played to bait whiffs. If the Blanka
player is getting low fierce-happy, just get inside the range of his low fierce
and repeatedly whiff low strongs... you'll beat it clean. As an added bonus
you'll also beat any random slides with low strong also. Iori also crouches
Blanka's low strong so the only long range move Blanka has left to use is his
low roundhouse which can be low jumped or rolled through with some
anticipation. Blanka's sweep will generally lose to standing roundhouse anyway
so it's better to just stick with that instead of trying all kinds of fancy
stuff.
-added 7/5/03 - Even though it looks like it isn't possible, a whiffed Blanka
low fierce is easily punishable by an Iori low roundhouse. Even though it
appears that you're out of range to hit him, hitting Blanka's still-extended
arm is fairly easy on reaction.
Iori's jumping strong seems to work wonders in this fight, and as long as you
hit it early enough it seems to beat Blanka's infamous straight up jump fierce
with pretty good frequency.
------------------
N-Iori vs A-Sakura
5:5
------------------
FUNKY QUIRK: Iori cannot do the normal strong into f+strong chain after a
connected Scum Gale on Sakura. The f+strong whiffs! (thanks Crowbait!)
-added 7/5/03 - This is played somewhat similar to other "walk back"
characters. When Sakura doesn't have a full CC ready there isn't a whole lot of
risk to jumping at her. She also has a small problem with Iori's low jump
roundhouse when it's mixed up with an empty low jump. Against low jump she
has to do either early standing roundhouses, which is difficult on reaction, or
RC hurricane kicks. The hurricane kick will only hit once for piddly damage so
it's nothing to worry about. It does knock you down, though.
Haphazardly rolling at Sakura isn't recommended, though. Her basic combo not
only does really good damage, it also gives Sakura a ton of meter as well. Even
if she throws you out of the roll, her punch throw sets up a whole mess of
different things, all of them scary, all of them damaging.
The main move that will give Iori problems in this match is Sakura's standing
roundhouse. It has incredibly fast recovery, so countering it with rolls or
jumps isn't an option; you have to either RC rekka it or low roundhouse it when
she whiffs it. Neither of these options are easy to accomplish (particularly
the latter) or safe since Sakura can punish these moves hard if whiffed. Iori
also can't match her roundhouse with his own standing roundhouse since Sakura
can easily crouch it; you'll have to use RC rekka as your main ground move in
this fight, and that's really risky since Sakura has an above average roll to
work with as well.
On the flipside, Sakura can't really attack Iori all that well either. Her
fearsome RC roundhouse hurricane kick can be easily crouched on the 2nd hit and
punished, so she has to resort to her inferior (but still powerful) RC forward
hurricane kick. This leaves her at a -1 disadvantage on block, so as long as
you have good timing you should win any priority battles afterwards with
standing jab. If you don't want to risk that, Alpha Countering the hurricane
kick works beautifully and will either get you a free mix up or a free low
roundhouse if Sakura tech rolls. If she's trying to use RC forward hurricane
kick as a ground move, its inferior range makes her use it a lot closer than
the Sakura player would like. That's good for Iori. Also, the move is rather
easy to roll through on reaction which will usually earn you at least a free
low roundhouse depending on distance.
Her other dominant special move against other characters, her dive kick, is
also rendered somewhat useless against Iori. The huge horizontal range on
Iori's uppercut will easily scoop up Sakura's dive kick if it gets anywhere
remotely near Iori, neutering most of Sakura's whiff dive kick patterns
severely. The move is still unreasonably hard to stop as a meter building tool
from afar, so my advice would be to either try to get her to land on a
fireball or to use the opportunity to establish full screen distance and run
after a jab fireball.
As long as you stay out of the corner (where EVERY character dies to Sakura)
you should at least be very competetive in this match. Like many other matches,
the deciding factor will usually be how well you use Iori's low roundhouse and
how well you made your mix up opportunities count.
-------------------------
N-Iori vs Any groove Vega
6:4
-------------------------
This match plays really similar Iori vs Cammy, but you can't be quite so
dependant on the RC rekkas and fireballs. However, Vega's weak stamina causes
him to die after about two successful Iori mix ups, so once you manage to get
in expect to do some serious damage. Vega also doesn't have the luxury of
having a reliable wake-up reversal move. His flip kick trades a lot, and if
Iori blocks an RC rolling claw he can easily Counter Roll and put a big hurt
on Vega.
Getting in on Vega can often prove troublesome, but if you're persistent enough
and mix up your attacks well your patience will usually pay off; Vega doesn't
have anything really damaging to anti-air you with outside of his level 3, and
the most damaging thing he can punish your roll with is his roundhouse throw.
Feh. Take it like a man and keep trying to get in, since all it takes is one
mistake from Vega and the match is potentially yours.
The most effective way I've found to get in on Vega is to bait his low strong.
Since the best Vega players play by baiting whiffs with Vega's foot speed and
subsequently punishing with either low strong or slide (low forward if they're
uncertain), get about half-screen away and whiff jabs/shorts/low strongs. If
Vega low strongs/slides you, you know you can bait him out by whiffing stuff.
Whiff something quick and roll. If Vega stuck out a slide/low strong, big free
combo. If not, he'll probably punish your roll with either a slide or a
roundhouse throw for a bit of damage. No big deal. Try it again in like 5
seconds. If Vega isn't biting on your attempts to bait him into sticking out
something, throw a few fakes and then throw a jab fireball. The fakes should
dull the Vega players reflexes a bit, and if he does jump over the fireball you
should be recovered in time to uppercut him and then move in for the kill. If
he blocks the fireball, throw another jab fireball and start running after it.
If Vega jumps over the second one you should be out of range of his jump in
since blocking the first fireball pushed him back a bit.
If Vega starts doing his run away games he's actually doing you a favor: He's
willingly giving you the 3/4ths to full screen distance you need to to
effectively throw a jab fireball and run after it. A Vega that stands his
ground and fights you on the ground is much more troublesome.
- Added 7/5/03 - For more info, see the "walk back" characters strategies
listed under N-Iori vs C-Cammy.
-------------------
N-Iori vs C-Rolento
7:3
-------------------
(added 6/13/03)
This match is both fun and annoying at the same time. On one hand, you can
bully Rolento fairly well with low jump roundhouse and RC rekkas. He has a
hard time stopping the jumping roundhouse on the ground, and most of his air
attacks lose to it as well (except for jumping jab, but who cares about that).
Your jumping roundhouse will be air-blocked pretty frequently, but that's
okay too since air-blocked moves do much more guard damage and have the added
benefit of pushing your opponent to the corner.
On the other hand, it's annoying since you're chasing Rolento the whole
entire match. When you do manage to get in, most of the time you get alpha
countered (Rolento is tied for best alpha counter in the game. +10 frame
advantage if blocked!) and then you have chase him some more.
For the most part, though, Iori totally dictates the match. Throw a fireball
and run after it, counter what Rolento does. A lot of times Rolento will jump
off the wall and run away, and you just throw a jab fireball and run after it
AGAIN. When you get within half screen and Rolento isn't running around, just
low jump roundhouse away. You might take a jumping jab or a standing strong
here and there, but it'll take like twenty of those to kill you. If he alpha
counters you and you block it, just alpha counter him back and he's on the
ground with hardly any guard bar left.
A few things to remember:
-Rolento can wake up with RC pogo jump. Be especially aware of this when you
have him in the corner, since he can RC pogo jump backwards and come down
with a jumping strong combo. Uppercut it! If you're mid-screen, just be
safe and do a normal throw (into totally ambiguous roll cross up). Trying to
Scum Gale Rolento out of a RC pogo jump is really difficult.
-Rolento's jumping strong beats any normal move anti-air you have. You HAVE
to uppercut, and you have to do it earlier than you think.
-When running at Rolento without the cover of a fireball, Rolento can
easily standing forward -> tripwire you.
-When Rolento is crossing you up, just roll. Don't try to counter it or
block it. Rolento has the Cross Up From Hell: ambiguous cross ups in
several NON knock-down situations.
-When blocking a Patriot Circle, wait until he cannot do a 2nd or 3rd
twirl and THEN hit him with f+strong into rekkas. Don't get caught by delayed
patriot circles! Also, Rolento moves REALLY far forward when he does the
circles, so you often can't punish him when you counter roll it.
-(added 7/5/03) A high percentage of Rolento's Alpha Counters are blocked.
Again, it's safe and gives Rolento a +10 advantage. However, you can quickly
turn the momentum back into your favor by Alpha Countering his Alpha Counter!
Puts him on his back for a free mix up AND he probably has hardly any guard
bar left also.
-------------------
N-Iori vs A-Rolento
7:3
-------------------
(added 6/13/03)
Back in CvS2's infancy, A-Rolento was one of the most used characters in the
game. If you used A-Groove, you used A-Rolento. Now, he's been mostly
replaced by A-Sak/Bison/Blanka teams, and is generally inferior to his
C-Groove version. Why? Air blocking and (plentiful) alpha counters supplement
Rolento's game much better than his Custom Combo.
Anyway, the fight is basically exactly the same as vs C-Rolento except
without the two obvious things: Alpha counters and air blocking. This makes it
much easier for you to get in and stay in. The only thing you have to worry
about is Rolento's Custom Combo, which really isn't THAT much of a threat
since he doesn't have any (useful) ways to land it guaranteed. He has to do
it randomly and hope you stuck out something. While it does good damage if he
does land it, you can bait it out of him the same as you can against any
other A-Groove character.
..More match-up analyses to come in a later revision, with hopefully more
details on the matches above. Next ones are probably N-Iori vs Shotos and
maybe Eagle... MAYBE Hibiki also.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
==========
9. CREDITS
==========
Inkblot
-For creating shoryuken.com, and in doing so, keeping the spirit of Street
Fighter alive.
Ponder
-For thanklessly running the B/Evolution series of tournaments every year,
which give us players a common goal to strive for.
Kao Megura
-For (unwittingly) providing this newbie FAQ writer with a template to go off
of.
Famitsu
-For creating the excellent Official Guidebook for CvS2 that I got all of my
frame data from.
Ohayo1234
-For making me practice a lot more than I would without any encouragement, for
showing me my bad habits and making me break them.
D44Bas
-For being a real down ass nig and giving us American players some insight to
the Japanese SF scene. Back ofu.
Choi
-For continually beating my ass and providing me with the motivation to better
myself (to eventually regulate on you).
Gunter
-For letting me and Ohayo use your place as our practice center. Hurry up and
move to Japan so I can use your place there, too. EHHH!
Crowbait
-For supplying me with the knowledge that Iori can't do the strong chain on
Sakura after a grab.
Jackie
-For being the coolest and somewhat understanding/putting up with me and my
gaming habit. <3.
NO thanks to Running Grab, Morrigan's Valkyrie Turn, Morrigan's standing
forward, Morrigan's close fierce, CvS help uppercuts, Hibiki Black out super,
Sagat's standing short, Cammy standing roundhouse, Vega's standing roundhouse,
Just Defending, and Running Grab.
Peace.
[email protected] - If you need to contact me, make the subject of your
mail something that will catch my eye, lest it gets thrown away with my junk
mail.
You can also reach me on AIM . My handle is Buktooth88, which is also my handle
on shoryuken.com if you want to message me there.
