Lion Rafale Character FAQ version 2.0 – 4/24/02
Virtua Fighter 4 (US version for PS2)
By Dennis “SpEkKiO” Tsao ([email protected])


 ----     ----  ---------  ---    --
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 |   |    |   | |   ---  | | ^ \  | |
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 |   ---  |   | |  |___| | | | | \| |
 |______| |___| |________| |_|  |___|

             -------      ---    -------     ---    ---     -------
             |      |    /   \   |   ___|   /   \   |  |    |   ___|
             | |~~| |   /  ^  \  |  |___   /  ^  \  |  |    |  |__
             |  --  |  /  |_|  \ |   ___| /  |_|  \ |  |    |   __|
             |  |~\ \  |   -   | |  |     |   -   | |   --- |  |___
             |__|  \_\ |_/   \_| |__|     |_/   \_| |______||______|


*****************
TABLE OF CONTENTS
*****************
1. Introduction
2. Profile/Bios
3. Movelist
4. Combos/Juggles
5. Item List
6. Credits

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
REVISION HISTORY:
2.0 – Made several corrections and is pretty much finalized.
1.1 – Added details on how to obtain each item.
     Added many more combos/juggles.
1.0 – Finished first draft and submitted to gamefaqs.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


*****SpEkKiO’s MOST MEMORABLE VF4 MOMENT*****
<http://www2.bc.edu/~tsaod/VF4moment.JPG>  <--Make a caption for this!


--------------
1.INTRODUCTION
--------------

First I want to emphasize that I do not claim to be an expert Lion
player. This guide is meant more for beginner to intermediate players.
I greatly urge everyone to contribute to this FAQ. Any contributions is
greatly encouraged, appreciated and will be credited. With that said...

Virtua Fighter 4 is one of those games that just forces you to
specialize in a single character because of the amazing amount
of depth that each character has. It may be very difficult to
choose which character is right for you because once you have
committed to your first character, it may be difficult to
switch. Most people tend to choose their first character by
their first instincts, usually by the appearance of the
character or familiarity with a similar type of character from
another fighting game. I suggest you go through the tutorial and
familiarize yourself with a few characters before committing to
one.

Lion Rafale is my character and I will give you a few reasons why I
think he maybe the right character for you. I am not an expert, merely
an average, decent player and might be able to help you get started.
Lion is a very easy character to start out with that also has a lot of
depth, so he is a good character for beginners and experts alike. His
double kicks are very easy to execute and win games with because they
do really good damage and constantly knockdown the opponent giving you
the offensive edge. Beginners can find themselves winning games against
much more experienced players by constantly pressuring and keeping them
on the floor with lion. At higher levels of play however, one would
need to incorporate more of Lion’s excellent arsenal of poke moves,
throws, comobos and dodges into because Lion is one of the fastest
characters in the game and an excellent poker. Guessing games become
really important because Lion has a vast array of high, mid, and low
attacks along with a multitude of throws to pressure and knockdown the
opponent with.


--------------
2.PROFILE/BIOS
--------------

NAME: Lion Rafale
COUNTRY: France
BIRTHDAY: 12/24/1979
SEX: Male
BLOOD TYPE: AB
JOB: College Student
HOBBY: Skateboarding, Collecting Knives
HEIGHT: 5 ft. 7 in.
WEIGHT: 139 lbs.
B/W/H: 35/33/35
FIGHTING STYLE: Tourou-Ken (Preying Mantis)

After two defeats at previous Tournaments, Lion returned home doubting
his own abilities. Proud of his son despite his losses, Lion’s father
encouraged him to return to training and helped him regain his pride. A
few months later, the invitation for the Fourth World Fighting
Tournament arrived. With renewed confidence, Lion left home, claiming,
“I am the only one who will win the championship!”


----------
3.MOVELIST
----------

This is a condensed movelist along with my personal short opinion. Each
move is rated on a 5 star scale by me, this is just my personal
opinion, which is merely meant as a guide and should not be taken as
concrete truth. Any moves that involves multiple P’s and K’s can be
shortened/stopped at any point. i.e. the Triple Punch – P,P,P can be
stopped at just P or P,P. You can also hold G before the last punch to
stop it.
A comprehensive movelist along with damage and high, mid or low attack
information can be found here:
< http://virtuafighter.com/commands/index.php?chara=lion&ver=c>

This is a list of the conventions that I will use throughout this FAQ.

u = up        uf = diagonal up and forward
d = down      ub = diagonal up and back
f = forward   df = diagonal down and forward
b = back      db = diagonal down and back

hcb - half circle back ( f, df, d, db, b )

P = Punch      K = Kick       G = Guard

Any capital means to hold that direction, ie: D = hold down.


:::ATTACKS:::

~Quick Punch~ – P+K+G - ****
Faster than a regular P, good for interrupting.

~Triple Punch~ – P,P,P - ****
Very fast, if first punch hits, next two are guaranteed. Good for quick
damage, interrupting and finisher. I use this a lot to just keep
smacking and pressuring.

~Double Punch, Low Swipe~ – P,P,d+P - ***
Last low swipe is a knockdown but can easily be block. CPU almost
always blocks the low swipe but it can be effective vs humans.

~Double Punch, Dodge Swipe~ – P,P,b+P - **
He spins to the side before the final swipe causing a slight delay in
timing and is a knockdown if connects.

~Punch, Heelkick~ – P,K - **
Quick punch followed by a kick.

~Low Punch~ – d+P - ****
Very fast, good interrupting tool.

~Meteor Punch, Strike~ – qcb+P,P - ****
It’s a sabaki, meaning it deflects opponent’s attacks and then hits
them. Deflects all high and mid attacks I believe, very useful.

~Elbow, Poke~ – f+P,P - ****
This thing covers a lot of ground. Lion dashes across the screen and
hit two fast mid attacks. Useful when you’re far away and also very
good for ring outs because it pushes the opponent pretty far even if
they block it. Lion’s best ringout tool!

~Rising Uppercut~ – D,f+P - ****
Mid attack that juggles on counterhit, follows that does insane damage
can be found in the combo section below. One of the best moves from
crouching, can be done off a crouch dash.

~Lunging Poke~ – f,f+P - ***
Face first crumble if this connects, setting up juggles. Dashes half
way across the screen for this poke.

~Helix, Reverse Helix, Hop Kick~ – b+P,P,K - **
Long and slow series, hitting high and mid. It’s flashy but not that
useful, easily blocked.

~Lunging Low Poke~ – b,df+P - ****
Slides across the screen while ducking for a low hit that knocks down.

~Shadow Drill Claw~ – df+P,P - ****
Two fast mid attacks that knockdown, very useful against opponents
blocking low.

~Double Creeping Peck~ – D,df+P,P - ***
Two fast low pokes, play guessing game mixups with the rising uppercut
and the backflip throw.

~Double Dodging Peck~ – db+P,P - ***
Same as above but slightly faster.

~High Kick, Hop Kick~ – K,K - ****
Jumps in the air for 2 high kicks, interrupts a surprising amount of
moves while doing very good damage.

~Double Low Kick~ – d+K,K - *****
This is one of the best moves against humans. Two low kicks that
knockdown, forces people to block low all the time leaving them wide
open for your mid attacks. CPU usually blocks this though.

~Low Kick, Hopping Roundhouse~ – d+K,K+G - **
Useful to mix up with your double low kicks, but the roundhouse usually
wiffs over their heads since they’re blocking low so I don’t think this
is that useful.

~Knee~ – f+K - ***
Fast knee that hits mid.

~Double Jump Kick~ – f,f+K,K - *****
Jumps forward and kicks twice, very useful in juggles.

~Double Hopping Kick~ – u+K,K - *****
This is the single most useful move against the CPU in kumite, follow
this up with a pounce and it takes off almost half their life. Walk up
to them as they’re getting up and do it again, it will hit them if they
try a get up kick because this has priority. Note the pounce is not
guaranteed because it can be techrolled, but it does hit the cpu 90% or
more.

~Side Kick~ – df+K - ****
Long range mid attack, he sticks his foot out pretty far. Use it when
they’re blocking low at medium distance.

~Handplant Kicks~ – db+K - ****
He leans back and kicks up, good surprise and dodges a lot of attacks.

~Flip Over Kick~ – uf+K - ***
Jumps over very fast and knockdown.

~Double Poke~ – P+K - ***
Leans back and does a fast mantis poke, face first knockdown.

~Sweeping Hand~ – d+P+K - **
Swipes their feet.

~Double Handed Peck, Kick~ – f+P+K,K - **
Steps forward, hits with 2 hands while turning around followed by a mid
kick.

~Hook Poke, Double Mid Poke~ – b,f+P+K,P,P - ***
Very fast triple strikes to the mid section.

~Mantis Strike~ – b+P+K - ***
Chargeable. Face first crumble knockdown, sets up juggles. He leans
really far back in the startup dodging high attacks, kinda slow tho.

~Spinning Uppercut~ – u+P+K - *****
Fast uppercut that charges forward. This thing is brutal when mixed
into combos and is a juggle starter by itself. The distance covered and
priority is also really high. Check my combos/juggles section below for
more info.

~Twisting Low Swipe~ – df+P+K - ***
Charge forward and takes out their feet, knockdown.

~Dodging Swipe~ – db+P+K - ***
Dodges to the side while swiping low.

~Sweep~ – d+K+G or df+K+G or db+K+G - ***
Standard spinning low sweep. The d and df versions knockdown while db
doesn’t but leaves you facing away.

~Lunging Spin Kick~ – f+K+G - **
Huge roundhouse spin kick that sends them flying across the screen.
Knocks them far enough back so you’re safe from retaliation if this is
blocked. One of Lion’s slowest moves tho.

~Half-Moon Kick, Sweeping Hands~ – b,f+K+G,d+P or b,f+K+G,db+P - ***
Jumps forward in a tucked roll, kicks followed by a low swipe that
knockdown.

~Half-Moon Kick, Kick-low Slide~ – b,f+K+G,d+K - ***
Same as above except with low kick at the end, knockdown.

~Evading Swipe~ – u,P+K+G or d,P+K+G - ***
Sidesteps, spins and does a 2 handed poke knockdown.

~Forward Dodge~ – uf+P+K+G or df+P+K+G - **
Ducks and slides diagonally forward.

~Back Step Dodge~ – b+P+K+G - ***
Slides way back, good get away move.


:::HOP ATTACKS:::

Just press P or K while hold a direction and then you can press P or K
to attack in the air while either rising or descending to hit mid or
low, not going to dwell on this.


:::GROUND ATTACKS::: (only when opponent is down)

~Ground Swipe~ – df+P - ****
Fast ground hit when they’re close.

~Pounce~ – u+P or uf+P or ub+P - *****
Very abusable vs CPU or humans who don’t techroll. Fast, good damage
and flies across the screen no matter where they are. I do this
everytime they’re down.


:::BACK TURNED ATTACKS::: (only when you’re facing away from opponent)

~Punch~ – P - ***
Do this when they’re close or charging at you. Fastest back turned
attack.

~Low Swipe~ – d+P - **
Hits low.

~Back Kick~ – K - ****
I abuse this to the extreme after the turning kick, does strong damage
and knocks down. Hits pretty far too.

~Hopping Low Kick~ – d+K - ****
Low kick that knockdown, very useful.

~Vacuum Punch~ – P+K - **
Double punch.


:::TURN AWAY ATTACKS::: (Attacks leaving you facing away from opponent)

~Turning Punch~ – b,b+P - **
Eh, faster but shorter reaching and less damaging than the kick.

~Turning Kick~ – b,b+K - *****
Also abuse this move vs the CPU in kumite! They fall for this a lot and
the follow-ups takes out a huge chunk of their life.

~Hopping Roundhouse~ – b,b+K+G - **
Does a little hop while kicking and spinning around.


:::WALL ATTACKS::: (Only when you’re facing a wall)

~Off the Wall Back Kick~ – f+P+K+G - *
~Backflip off the Wall~ – uf+P+K+G - *
How often are you going to be facing a wall and have time to do one of
these really?


::THROWS::

~Ripping Blade Hand-Autumn Leg~ – P+G - **
Standard throw, I’d try to go for a special throw instead.

~Over Body Knee Smash~ - P+G - ***
Lion’s only side throw.

~Piggy Back~ - P+G - ****
Lion’s only back throw.

~Seven Star Elbow~ – b+P+G - ****
Very easy to do and does good damage. Followup with a ground swipe.

~Surprise Exchange~ – df+P+G - ***
You slide under their legs and get behind them. Followup with either
P,P,P or u+P+K for some good damage.

~Mantis Leaps on the Cicada~ – uf+P+G - *****
One of Lion’s best throws imho. I think this is the only throw in the
game with an uf command so no one ever escapes this. The CPU always
escapes my other throws but never this one so I stick with this a lot.

~Backflip Throw~ – D,f+P+G - *****
You can execute this throw from either crouching position or from a
crouch dash. The follow-ups do massive damage and can be found in my
combos/juggles section below.

~Gathering Cannon~ – f,f+P+G - **
Throws them forward maybe into a wall, but there are usually better
ones.

~Jumping Sky Leg~ – b,f+P+G - ***
Hops off their head and jumps way high in the air while kicking them
back and switching positions. Good for ringouts if you’re at the edge
of the ring. You need guts to try this one since its pretty hard to
execute.

~Mantis Catch, Flying Takedown~ – f,db+P+G, d+P+G - ***
Cool looking catch and takedown. Can be used to mixup throws.

~Eye Scratch~ – hcb,P+G - ****
Lion’s most damaging front throw. Go for this if you can and you can
usually settle for the seven star elbow if you mess this up. But the
downside is that its easy to escape and CPU escapes this a lot.


----------------
4.COMBOS/JUGGLES
----------------

OK, these are a few of the essential combos you will need to succeed
with Lion. Most of these are pretty open ended and you can add/modify
the attacks after each juggle starter. What I listed here is to just
give you an idea what Lion can do and to get you started. Big thanx
goes out to all who contributed!

1) b,b+K -> K -> u+P
  u+K,K -> u+P
These are my standard start off the round combos in kumite. If the
first kick hits, then almost half of their life bar is gone right off
the bat. And it hits most of the time. Last pounce is guaranteed as far
as I can tell.

2) b,b+K -> P+K -> f,f+K,K -> u+P
  b,b+K -> P+K -> u+P+K -> f,f+K,K -> u+P
  b,b+K -> K -> u+P+K -> u+P
Slightly more complicated juggle than above but is faster and more
consistent, the final pounce can be easily rolled out of. Hold P+K as
you do the turning kick to buffer it.

3) b,P+K (chargeable) -> u+P+K -> f,f+K,K
Standard juggle after a mantis strike. May add u+P or d+K,K at the end
if they don’t techroll. Easier to juggle and more damage if the initial
mantis strike is fully charged.

4) f,f+P -> f,f+K,K -> d+K,K
  qcb+P -> u+P+K -> u+P
Standard juggles after any face first crumble knockdown. You can mix
and match these pretty much anyway u like.

5) D,f+P+G -> f,f+K,K ->u+P
Backflip throw followed by couple of brutal kicks to the skull followed
by a pounce, 85 damage almost guaranteed if your fast enough. Very nice

6) D,f+P (counterhit) -> K,K -> u+P
  D,f+P (counterhit) -> u+P+K -> f,f+K,K -> u+P
  D,f+P (counterhit) -> b,b+K -> P+K -> f,f+K,K
If you manage to score a counterhit off the rising uppercut from crouch
(may be done from a crouch dash), you can follow up with one of these
brutal combos for pretty massive damage. I have listed 3 possible
juggles in order of increasing difficulty.

7) b,b+K -> P+K -> b,f+P+K,P,P -> d+K,K
  P+K -> b,f+P+K,P,P -> u+P
Slightly hard to time, but looks very cool. Damage is decent.

8) u+P+K+G -> u+P+K -> f,f+K,K
  P,P,b+P -> u+P+K -> f,f+K,K
  u+P+K -> f,f+K,K
Anytime u score an evade hit, u can follow up with an uppercut and
double kicks. Or u can just start with the uppercut and end with the
double kicks. This is very fast and consistent, doing decent damage.

9) b,df+P -> b,f+K+G -> u+P
A lounging low poke, which can only be followed by the half moon kick
because of the distance. A long distance and low hit combo starter.

10) d+P+K (when facing away) -> db+K
   d+P+K (when facing away) -> u+P+K -> f,f+K,K
Couple of very cool combos you can do while facing away from the
opponent!

This is all I have for now. I tested all of them to make sure they do
work and gives a pretty good idea of Lion’s combo-ing capabilities.
This is not a comprehensive list of all Lion’s combos, just a few that
work consistently, does good damage and fairly easy to pull off.
Experiment and mix and match moves any way you feel comfortable. Like I
said earlier, I am not an expert, I am merely doing this so we can have
somewhere to pool our knowledge. If you feel I am missing an
important/cool combo, by all means send it to me, you will be credited.
Submit your combos/juggles to: [email protected]


-----------
5.ITEM LIST
-----------

These are all the items that I currently have or are from strychnine’s
and neoarchaic’s item lists from the VF4 message boards. Attached is
also theories on how to obtain each item, most credit goes to
neoarchaic for his excellent translations from Japanese sources. If you
know an item that either definitely exist or doesn’t exist, please let
me know, proof is good too. And also if you know exactly how to obtain
a specific item, please let me know. As always, contributions will be
credited.

BA Item stands for Battle Arena and must be won from other Lions that
has the item in Kumite.
Alternate theories on how to obtain an item is separated by “OR”, that
does not mean both will work, doesn’t even mean either will work, just
2 different theories I have heard of.
* after the item name means that I have tested and proved the theory
and it worked for me.
Also, any item can be won from another Lion equipped with it.
Items are listed in the order that they appear on your edit menu.

:::HEAD:::

<Backwards Cap> - BA Item
<Blue Cap> - With the Prism Cowboy Hat equipped, using 1 K achieve
excellent victories in all the rounds.
<Knit Cap> - Use primarily side throws.
<Suede Cap>* – 5 consecutive wins OR all the rounds receive mainly
throws.
<Helmet (White)> - Use a lot of guards, means just block for most for
most of the match.
<Cowboy Hat (Black)> – In one round, knock down four times or more.
<Eiffel Helmet> – Dunce Item. Lose 10 matches consecutively. Remove by
winning 2 matches consecutively. Can be kept after removed.
<Mantis Head> – Dunce Item. Get hit by d+P frequently. Remove by
winning a match while not getting hit by d+P. Can be kept after
removed. This item occupies your head, ears, and “other” slot while
equipped.
<King Tut's Mask> – Dunce Item. Lose 3 round excellently. Remove by
winning 1 round excellently. Cannot be kept after removed.
<Blond Hair> – Won by collecting all 7 illusionary orbs. Orbs can only
be won from High Kings that carries them in Kumite.
<Silver Hair> – Wear the Blond hair and win 5 matches.
<Red Hair> - Won by collecting all 7 orbs again.
<Blue Hair> - Won by collecting all 7 orbs again.
<Red Cap>* - Win Once.
<Green Cap> - With the Red Cap equipped achieve one victory.
<Black Cap> - With the Prism Cowboy Hat equipped use primarily throws
to achieve victory.
<Brown Cap> - Wear the Black Cap and ??
<Black & Orange Cap>* - Achieve ring out victories for all of the
rounds.
<Reverse Red Cap>* - Win with just kicks OR In the tournament achieve
two consecutive ring out victories.
<Reverse Green Cap>* - Frequently use evade/evade attacks.
<Reverse Brown Cap> - Achieve victory using a counter.
<Reverse Black Cap> - With Reverse Brown Cap equipped use primarily
counters.
<Reverse B&O Cap> - After receiving a lot of damage, comeback and win.
<Red Helmet> - With the white helmet equipped use a lot of guard for
all of the rounds.
<Pink Helmet> - With the Red Helmet equipped use a lot of guards.
<Blue Helmet>* - all rounds within under ten seconds.
<Yellow Helmet> - With the Blue Helmet equipped achieve victory in all
the rounds as quickly as possible.
<Red Cowboy Hat> - With the Cowboy Hat equipped achieve 6 or more down
attacks in one round.
<Cyan Cowboy Hat> - With the Red Cowboy Hat equipped achieve 4 or more
down attacks within one round.
<Blue Cowboy Hat> – With the Cyan Cowboy Hat equipped, use a lot of
throws.
<Prism Cowboy Hat>* – 100 consecutive win item. Lion will automatically
start the 101th match with this item equipped.


:::EARS:::

<Silver Earring> - BA Item.
<Nose Ring> - With the Prism Cowboy Hat equipped win 5 or 10 successive
matches while throwing.
<Skull Earring> - 10 consecutive wins with no earring equipped.
<Dragonclaw Earring>* - Use a lot of evade attacks.


:::NECK:::

<Leather Choker> - BA Item.
<Flare Pendant> - With the Prism Cowboy Hat equipped achieve 5
victories winning every round using shocks.
<Skull Necklace> - 15 consecutive wins or with the Skull Earring
equipped 5 consecutive wins.
<Windheart Necklace>* - Achieve excellent victories for all of the
rounds.
<5 Skull Necklace>* - With the Skull Necklace equipped achieve 15
consecutive victories.


:::OTHER:::

<Pink Sunglasses> - BA Item.
<Yellow Sunglasses>* - Win match using primarily f,f+K,K.
<Green Sunglasses>* - With the Prism Cowboy Hat equipped, win match
using primarily f,f+K,K.
<Silver Knuckles>* - Against Sarah have her use a “Gatling Kick Throw”
and then win.
<Sleeve (Red)>* - For all of the rounds achieve a ringout victory.
<Sleeve (Blue)> - With the Sleeve (Red) equipped use a lot of throws.
<Sleeve (Green)> - For all of the rounds use a lot of air combos.


---------
6.CREDITS
---------

Everyone from the VF4 chatroom on AIM! Without you guys, I wouldn’t
have been so addicted to this game and inspired to write this FAQ.
NuklearExodus, Fallen Blade, GeorgeWang, L4dy Valvinas, Solid Snake X
and all the others, you guys make the gaming experience awesome!

Strychnine’s very good item list with English names and neoarchaic’s
excellent translations on details of how to obtain each specific item.

Big thanx goes out to DeathCab4C, mike92123, Tenchi724, Shaggy42583,
Serenity Now, lukasucre, HououKen, shinkenshi and inxane for their
contributions/inspirations of various combos. Thank you guys!!

R.J. Streety for his informative Jeffery FAQ and I borrowed his control
key heh.

And definitely CJayC for hosting this amazing place called
GameFAQs.com!

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