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Capcom vs. SNK 2 Raiden FAQ:

VERSION 1.00

-Created, Edited and Compiled by: Psychochronic
of Shoryuken.com

Another form of Psychochronic Literature!
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Last Update: May 18, 2006
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Notes before reading this document:
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Table of Contents:
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1) Version Changes
2) Character Biography
3) Legend
4) Pros and Cons
5) Basics
6) Movelist
  -Normals
   *Standing
   *Crouching
   *Jumping
   *Command
  -Special Moves
  -Super Combos
7) Groove Specifics for Raiden
8) Contact
9) Credits
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Version Changes:
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1.00 - May 18, 2006:
Compilated on March 30, 2006 but completed on May 18,
2006 due to various research and other FAQ documents
made during that timeframe.
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Character Biography:
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Raiden (pronounced RAIden (like the side-scrolling plane
shooter), not REIden (as the character from Mortal Kombat))
is a video game character from the Fatal Fury series of fighting
games. He is a large character wearing a blue wrestling suit
and mask with a yellow lightning bolt down its center. In
certain games, he appears in a blue wrestling suit and is
unmasked. In that form he assumes the persona of Big Bear,
and bears a strong physical resemblance to real-life wrestler
Vader. The Big Bear persona is mainly used when he plays
himself off as a face (fan favorite; good guy) whereas the
Raiden persona is mostly used if  he plays himself off as a
heel (hated villain; bad guy).

Birthplace: Alice Springs, Australia
Birthdate: March 3, 1964
Height: 2.02m
Weight: 210kg
Blood type: O
Fighting style: Professional Wrestling
Likes: His mask collection, Country rock, Beef steak
Dislikes: Koalas
First Appearance: Fatal Fury

Known Players to use Raiden:
-Chikyuu (N-Groove; Japan)
-Desora (K-Groove; Japan)
-Psychochronic (K-Groove; Canada)
-VDO (P-Groove; United States)
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Legend:
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U = Up
UF = Up-Forward
F = Forward
DF = Down-Forward
D = Down
DB = Down-Back
B = Back
UB = Back
QCF = Quarter-Circle Forward
QCB = Quarter-Circle Back
HCF = Half-Circle Forward
HCB = Half-Circle Backward
360 = 360 Degree Motion
720 = 720 Degree Motion
P = Punch
LP = Light Punch
MP = Medium Punch
HP = Hard Punch
K = Kick
LK = Light Kick
MK = Medium Kick
HK = Hard Kick
CC = Custom Combo
RC = Roll Cancel
JD = Just-Defended
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Various Points:
(+): Pro (Positive note)
(?): Unknown (Tentative note)
(-): Con (Negative note)
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(+): With a Level 3, can do massive amount of
damage off of a crouching LP.
(+): The highest health points at 15600 (assuming
Raiden is a Ratio 2).
(+): The highest stun points at 80.
(+): Farthest normal throw range in the game at
85 pixels (P throw only). Very useful tool, more
so than his Thunder Crush Bomb usually.
(+): Raiden is the only character in the game
that can make good use of the Tech Throw Glitch
without help from the opponent. Combined with
his far throw range, he can make the glitch come
into play more often than you would think.
(+): RC Front Suplex (there are many that aren't
due to too many conflicting special move inputs)
makes a good wake up, since his Thunder Crush
Bomb grabs fast enough (3 frames) so that he
can't be thrown out of it before his "unthrowable
time" goes away. His Thunder Crush Bomb is
also mostly safe to opponents jumping away
from it.
(+): Has a useful mix up to his Thunder Crush
Bomb or his Destruction Drop with crouching
LK into a Combination Body  Blow. If Raiden
has a level 3 ready, he can get a lot of damage
out of a right guess.
(+): Combination Body Blow easily combo off
a standing/crouching LP/MP, leading to big
damage if a Level 3 is ready. The Headbutt is
safe against many characters.
(+): Giant Bomb has more invincibility time than
most anything. The only things that beat it in
that category are Ryo's and Haohmaru's useless
Level 3 only supers. Safe at the right distances,
can be used to beat supers and CC's.
(+): Poison Breath leads itself to a crazy corner
game. It also reaches farther (about the length
of Raiden's crouching LP before normal sized
characters can crouch it) and hits lower sized
characters (shoto sized characters and up have
to block it up close). If it hits, Raiden can juggle
a Level 3 Flame Breath if available.
(+): Raiden's Destruction Drop has a lot of range
and is mostly safe to opponents jumping out of it.
Level 3 version is the longest ranged grab in the
game by 2 pixels.
(+): Flame Breath is a useful anti-air. The Level 3
version is jugglable, which is where the bulk of
Raiden's potential damage comes from.
(-): Probably the worst ground game in the game.
He has almost no useful ground moves of note.
Decent sweep and that's about it. Most Raiden,
players that play their ground game consists of
trying to get a lucky roll, Giant Bomb or a Roll
Cancel Combination Body Blow.
(-): The slowest run in the game.
(-): No anti-air. Crouching HP is garbage and
has to be done really early for it work, and even
then it gets beat a lot. Flame Breath is only good
at Level 2 or higher and the cumbersome input
method makes it tough to pull out without
anticipation.
(-): Overall defense is probably the worst in the
game also. In addition to having no anti-air, his
ground moves are slow and he doesn't really have
a reversal-type move to get out of sticky situations.
He generally has to Counter Attack if he has meter
(he usually spends most of his meter on Counter
Attacks) or hope a random Giant Bomb will work if
he doesn't.
(-): Same horrible jump arc as Ryo and maybe worse.
Unlike Ryo and Zangief, Raiden's jump-ins are all
pretty bad. Jumping HP and the his command splash
in the air have decent priority, but they require Raiden
to be at a range that he has problems getting to due
to his crap jump arc.
(-): He's too big of a target. Raiden is the probably
the biggest character in the game and as a result,
he can't crouch under a ton of stuff such as Rock's
and Rugal's standing HK's. Pretty much any low
jump move can be an overhead on Raiden.
(-): Though his close game is very good, Raiden has
the hardest time of any character getting into that
range.
(-): Combination Body Blow -> Headbutt is punishable
on block by most any fast super. Even many Level 2's
can easily hit it for free.
(-): The tech throw glitch can be just as detrimental to
Raiden as it is to the opponent. Since the opponent is
mostly invisible, stuff like low jumps and overheads
become especially hard to deal with.
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Basics:
*Does not explain the Grooves, just the sub-systems and
systems of what's in the Grooves.
[C] = Available in C-Groove
[A] = Available in A-Groove
[P] = Available in P-Groove
[S] = Available in S-Groove
[N] = Available in N-Groove
[K] = Available in K-Groove
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Air-Block [C]: Hold B in the air:
Allows to block attacks and projectiles while in the air but
not supers.

Dash [C/A/P]: Tap Fx2:
Allows to slightly dash/hop across the screen a bit.

Run [S/N/K]: Tap and hold Fx2:
Allows to run across the screen until the F motion is let go.

Safe Fall [A/N/K]: Px3 after a knockdown before you touch
the ground:
Allows to slightly get up faster after a knockdown.

Tactical Recovery [C/P/S]: Hold Px3 when you're knocked
down:
Allows to delay the character's wakeup by getting up a
second or two longer.

Roll [C/A/N]: LP + LK:
A short dash-like tactic towards the opponent with some
invincibility frames. Minimal recovery time making the player
not able to attack after and not vulnerable to throws. Very
easy to abuse.

Roll Cancel "RC" [C/A/N]: LP + LK 5/60ths of a second before
a move is executed:
Allows any move (normal, special or super) to be completely
invulnerable for 0.4 seconds. A glitch that's hard to execute
and legal in high-levelled competition. Not available on the
Gamecube and XBOX version.

Dodge [S]: LP + LK:
Allows the character to move into the backgound for 0.5
seconds. Very easy to abuse but invulnerable to throws.
Also allows an attack to be done afterwards. P does
Raiden's standing MP which does a knockdown and
K does his standing close MK.

Counter Attack [C/A/S/N]: While blocking, F + MP + MK:
Allows to immediately attack while in block stun. Each
character has 1 Counter Attack and can be blocked about
75% of the time. Raiden's Counter Attack is his standing
MP. Each Counter Attack uses 1 level of meter.

Counter Movement [N]: While blocking, B/F + LP + LK:
Allows to immediately Roll while in block stun. Holding B
allows to do a back dash as holding F allows to do a Roll.
Great to get out of corners or to sneak behind supers like
Chun-Li's Hoyoku-Sen. Each Counter Movement uses 1
level of meter.
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Movelist:
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NORMALS:

Standing:
LP: (FAR/CLOSE) Raiden does a chop attack that
comes out very fast and is cancellable to various
moves such as Combination Body Blow or Poison
Breath. Can also be used as anti-air if timed right.

LK: (FAR/CLOSE) Raiden does a small kick that has
fast time on it. Good for tick-throws and Thunder
Crush Bombs when getting closer.

MP: (FAR) Raiden his a palm push that can be safe
on block depending on opponent and is also his
Counter Attack and P Dodge Attack. Somewhat a
dice roll using if used as anti-air but can be unreliable.
(CLOSE) Raiden does an elbow which has some fast
time into it and can be cancelled to a Combination
Body Blow if timed quickly.

MK: (FAR) A side kick that has some horizontal range
but some sweeps can beat it. Not very useful. (CLOSE)
A quick kick to the mid-section. Also has K Dodge
Attack and can go in for a tick-throw or a quick
Destruction Drop.

HP: (FAR) Raiden does a simple punch to the opponent's
mid-section. Comes out fast, has good recovery time
and guard damage. (CLOSE) Raiden does an elbow-
like attack to the opponent. Similar to standing far HP,
Raiden has a bit of recovery time down and it's very
noticable.

HK: (FAR/CLOSE) Raiden does a drop-kick on the
spot he stood on without falling down to the ground
after just like Hugo's. An overhead which can beat
out most crouching attacks and sweeps. Also does
decent guard damage.


Crouching:
LP: Raiden does a short punch that has quick time
and can setup for a Combination Body Blow after
a few hits.

LK: Raiden does a short kick that comes out fast
and has short-range. Good for close attacks for those
cheap chip hits and it's cancellable to do a simple
Combination body Blow afterwards.

MP: Raiden does a short punch similar to crouching
LP that has a little bit more recovery time.

MK: Raiden does a short kick similar to crouching LK
that has a liitle bit of more recovery time but can be
cancelled if timed fast.

HP: Raiden does an upwards swinging hammer attack
that does two hits if done up close. Bascially his only
normal that resembles anything close to an anti-air but
not very reliable.

HK: Raiden does a sweep that has good distance
for a character his size. Obviously for his massive
size, he can't go through mostly all incoming attacks
unlike some people. Does decent guard damage and
good for footsies.


Jumping:
LP: Raiden does a forward palm attack in the air.
Only has horizontal instead of diagonal range,
very light thrust, not very offensive.

LK: Raiden does a short kick in the air that has some
corssup on his hitbox. Good to do before nailing a
throw or combo but that hitbox can affect various
ground crossups such as stalling projectiles from
the opponent such as Guile's Sonic Hurricane.

MP: Raiden does a forward palm attack in the air
similar to jumping LP except it does a slight bit
more damage.

MK: Raiden does a downward kick that's set at an
angle. Doesn't have the horizontal range so most
air-attacks that do have it such as Sagat's jumping
HP can beat it.

HP: Raiden does a clapping-chop attack in the air
which can leave him open for anti-air attempts.
Comes out fast but focuses more downward
such as his Splash.

HK: Raiden does his standing HK animation in the
air. Very good for an aerial attack, decent guard
damage and good horizontal reach.


Command:
Splash: D + HP (only in air):
Raiden presses his body down-forwards in a splash
position. Great for countering some anti-airs and is
good for crossups.


SPECIAL MOVES:

Giant Bomb: Charge B then F + P:
Raiden crouches down as he says "Ready..." then
quickly stands up with a charging shoulder and says
"Go". Has some good invincibility on startup which
can go through fast-travelling moves such as Bison's
Psycho Crusher. Can be safe in some distances and
can beat some supers depending on level but not
safe on block depending on which button pressed.
Also deals a good amount of guard damage.

Poison Breath: HCB + P:
Raiden spits out a poison that surrounds the opponent
in green flames when hit. Very quick on startup but the
HP version has long recovery time. Best on corners or
anti-air.

Super Drop Kick: Hold Kx2 then release:
Raiden slightly jumps towards the opponent in his HK
animation and yells "Drop Kick". Great as an overhead
and probably passable as an anti-air. Also great for
surprise attacks and to break a footsie game but has
slow recovery time.

Thunder Crush Bomb: 360 + K:
Raiden grabs the opponent as he does a powerbomb
then jumps straight up to the air and throws the
opponent down. Must be very close to execute as
it doesn't have the tick-range such as Zangief's
Spinning Pile Driver but it comes out really fast
after a roll, parry or just-defended.

Combination Body Blow: B, D, DB + P:
Raiden goes forward a bit as he does a punch to the
opponent's mid-section. Does good guard damage
and is the factorial move to setup for a combo after
a few normals.
-Headbutt: QCB + P:
Raiden goes forward a bit as he does a quick headbutt
to the opponent. Good guard damage, safe if blocked
depending on character, a great combo finisher and
also used for  juggling attempts such as the use of
Flame Breath.
-Front Suplex: QCB + K:
Raiden goes forward a bit as he does a grab attempt
which lands the opponent to the other side of the
screen. Can be easily reacted by a simple attack (even
specials or supers) but it's unblockable. Great for
surprise or desperation purposes such as getting out
of corners.

Jumping Lariat Drop: F, D, DF + P:
Raiden does a long forward hop across the screen
while catching the opponent with his legs. Good for
surprises and lucky anti-airs but has bad target range,
leaves him open froim up top and across and has
horrible recovery time.


SUPER COMBOS:

Destruction Drop: 720 + K:
Raiden slams the opponent with his Thunder Crush Bomb
a few times and instead of jumping up and throwing them
into the ground, Raiden instead ends it with a jumping
Lariat Drop. Excellent range if a level 3 is done as it grabs
slightly further and has the potential to take out more than
60% of the opponents life (character and ratio depending).

Flame Breath: HCBx2 + P:
Similar to his Poison Breath, Raiden instead spits out fire
which lasts longer during the animation and does more
damage. The level 2 version can be cancelled into a level
1 version or a Poison Breath. Good for juggling and anti-
air purposes but can be easily avoided by crouching,
parrying or just-defending.

Crazy Train: QCFx2 + P:
Raiden does a barrage of normals rushing towards the
opponent and ends it with a Giant Bomb. Passable on
wakeups and desperations if close to the opponent and
is an alternative to Destruction Drop.
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Groove specifics for Raiden:
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C-Groove:
Stored super lets him hit his Flame Super whenever the
opportunity arises. Counter Attack abuse makes it much
more realistic for him to get in. Access to Roll Cancel
Thunder Crush Drop and Roll Cancel Combination Body
Blow and can cancel his level 2 Flame Breath or Crazy
Train into a level 1 Flame Breath.

A-Groove:
Has access to Roll Cancel Combination Body Blow and
Roll Cancel Thunder Crush Drop but level 1's do crap
damage and it's hard for him to nail a Custom Combo.

P-Groove:
Parrying helps his ground game and also helps with his
lack of an anti-air or reversal. Meter generally has to save
it for guaranteed situations and has an easier time getting
in with parrying though.

S-Groove:
Has access to Dodge, stored meter gives him the choice to
do a level 1 or a  Counter Attack. P Dodge Attack has very
little uses as it's slow and unreliable on ground. K Dodge
Attack is good for tick-throw attempts. Supers do good
stuff for a level 1, red vital plus stored meter is a danger
as he can deal a lot of damage (with level 3's!) which can
turn the tables but has low life in the process.

N-Groove:
Has the ability to juggle his Flame Breath off of a Counter
Attack. Counter Attacks and level 1/3's are still available
along with Roll Cancel's. Run helps his ground game a little,
low jump MP makes his defense a little better.

K-Groove:
Just Defended's help his ground game and also helps with
his lack of an anti-air or reversal. Can do a Thunder Crush
Bomb right after a Just Defended and can be really random
with his Flame Breath or Destruction Drops and has more
damage properties on his normals when on rage mode.
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Contact:
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Contact me! Here are the following e-mails and internet
forums you can find me at:

E-Mails:
MSN Messenger/Hotmail: [email protected]
Yahoo!: [email protected]

Internet Forums:
Gamefaqs.com: brettdude
Shoryuken.com: psychochronic

MIRC (channels on EFnet):
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My Fighting Game Site:
www.geocities.com/psychochronic2004
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Credits:
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Props to those who made this guide possible:

Buktooth for the Pros and Cons explained in the thread
of "Who's the worst character in CvS2?" that was listed
in Shoryuken.com's forums. Guess we now know that
Raiden isn't one of them and he has that disintinct
potential among characters.


Copyright (c) Brett Navarro 2005-2007

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