a jagi that can win a tournament? WRONG.

a jagi that can win a tournament and can OCV the last 3 teams? HELL YEAH.

the older entry of the 2:

0回戦 5様（Shin）・HIGE（Thouther） VS ぽち（Mamiya）・イチ（Ken）

1回戦1 ジョイソル（Ken）・ひろt（Toki） VS ぽち（Mamiya）・イチ（ken）

1回戦2 本部（Toki）・日本刀（Shin） VS アクセル（Juda）・マサト（Rei）

1回戦3 QMZ（Jagi）・鉄（Rei） VS ミッヒ（Raoh）・ザァパポヨ（Thouther）

1回戦4 ヅャギ（Jagi）・L.E.D（Toki） VS 孔明（Toki）・J.King（Rei）

2回戦1 アクセル（Rei）・アクセル（Juda） VS イチ（Ken）・ぽち（Mamiya）

2回戦2 QMZ（Jagi）・鉄（Rei） VS J.King（Rei）・孔明（Toki）

準決勝 QMZ（Jagi）・鉄（Rei） VS マサト（Rei）・アクセル（Juda）

2nd part of the tourney, the newest blog entry:

1回戦1 本部（Toki）・日本刀（Shin） VS ひろt（Toki）・ジョイソル（Ken）

[1回戦2 ザァパポヨ（Thouther）・ミッヒ（Raoh） VS L.E.D（Toki）・ヅャギ（Jagi）

2回戦1 本部（Toki）・日本刀（Shin） VS J.King（Rei）・孔明（Toki）

2回戦2 ザァパポヨ（Thouther）・ミッヒ（Raoh） VS イチ（Ken）・ぽち（Mamiya） <-- CRAZY ken. must see.

3回戦1 HIGE（Thouther）・5様（Shin） VS J.King（Rei）・孔明（Toki） <-- very exciting match.

3回戦2 QMZ（Jagi）・鉄（Rei） VS イチ（Ken）・ぽち（Mamiya） <-- jagi action, wtf!

決勝 QMZ（Jagi）・鉄（Rei） VS HIGE（Thouther）・5様（Shin） <-- jagi trying to pull of a bounce combo that actually looks usable in a match. argh.

決勝 QMZ（Jagi）・鉄（Rei） VS マサト（Rei）・アクセル（Juda） <-- finals.

Command Normals

Ganzenryozanha: 6A

It's a karate chop overhead. Very loud, but probably usable in mixups. You can combo off of it with some boost trickery.

Hokuto no Backhand: 6B

A backhand attack, it has 1-hit super armor on upper body and will blowback on CH.

Unblockable Strike: AB

Nothing special here AFAIK. It's unblockable and does -1 stars.

Blowback Strike: CD

Nothing special again. Short range distance so it's not great, but easy to combo into and sets up into big damage. -1 stars and wallbounce ahoy.

Launcher: AC

Interesting launcher. Ken strikes very high (about 45 degree angle with his body), which means this launcher can easily miss people who are ducking (even in combos). However, since it still works against targets in the air, it can still be used to setup some combos.

The launcher also has a weird launch effect. The enemy goes up and comes back down, and has a very long untechable time. It is possible to launch the other person and continue with a ground combo in the right situations.

Command Throw: BD

Standard command throw, -1 star and only hits standing people. This command throw is very long so it is good to punish certain moves with (like Juda's dam break super). Gives Ken a stupid chunk of meter for connecting. Also, you can combo off this command throw naturally, giving it some neat possibilities.

Specials

Hokuto Ryugekiko: 214A

High parry, may be possible to reflect some projectiles as well. Only can remove a star on CH (easy to do or not?). Can be used like a blowback if you boost it on CH.

Touki: 236A

A very small projectile that only travels a short distance. It's more useful than it sounds. Good for catching people randomly. Does not normally remove stars.

Hikou Seieikou: 236C

Short range punch attack. When it connects, the enemy will take block damage even from normals. A staple in combos for Ken, as it will let his rushdown be effective even if the other person blocks it. Also removes -1 star on hit.

Hokuto Hieiken: 623B (air+)

Anti air fly kick, flys at roughly a 45 degree angle. While the move isn't invincible, Ken can air dash during the recovery, making the move much safer. On counterhit, this move wall slams. Using it as AA, if Ken can score a CH against an airborne enemy, he can setup for very high damage wallbounce combos.

Tenha no Kamae: 214C

Powerup move. The next attack Ken throws will knock off -1 star if it connects, but Ken loses the charge even if the attack misses or is blocked.

Remember that this star bonus STACKS, so you can use it with an unblockable or heavy strike or super to knock off -2 stars. Guard Cancel will also still remove a star.

Hokuto Ujou Moushouha: 623A/C (air+)

Uppercut. Ground A version is not invincible but is very safe and knocks off -1 stars. Possible combo material in the event you need an extra -1 star or cannot finish with a super.

Ground C version has small invincibility (this isn't Vulcanic Viper guys) but travels far into the air. Still boostable to make it more safe.

Air version properties are unknown, but even the A version moves Ken upwards.

Hokuto Jaraikou: 236D

Dashing punch. Fast, reletively safe. Jump Cancelable on hit. A staple in combos, but also can help Ken get 'in' on an opponent.

Hokuto Shichishiki Heizan: 214A (air)

Diving punch attack. Very, very unsafe without boost. It's an overhead and you can TK it, so it can be useful as a mixup. Can be used to end a few combos, but not really an ideal move to use.

Supers

Hokuto Zankaiken: 214214C (?)

Ken jumps into the air and strikes pressure points on the enemy's head. If he actually manages to connect, the enemy loses -1 stars and gains a 3 second counter. If the counter hits 0, the enemy dies instantly.

First of all, this super uses 2 Aura stocks, making it expensive. Second, it's impossible to hit someone who isn't comatose (or at least Dizzied) with the super because it is so slow and obvious. Third, it doesn't even guarentee you win the match... the time says 3 seconds but is actually much, much slower (maybe 10+ seconds?). Forth, it doesn't work on Thouther, period.

Do not use this super. If you dizzy the other person, just do a big damage -3 star super combo. If you use it randomly during a match, people will laugh at you.

Tenha Kassatsu: 236236A

Beam super. Your mainstay combo ender and a decent source of star damage. You'll pretty much use this every chance you get. Uses up 1 Aura so it's cheap too.

Musou Tensei: 214214B

Same as Raoh's super. Gives Ken the ability to parry high attacks by hitting Forward as the attack strikes him. Teleports him behind the other person to possibly let him punish attacks. Note that teleporting isn't instant. Ken can teleport 7 times before this wears off.

Very good super to use, it just gives Ken additional options to deal with pressure. He doesn't need it as much as Raoh, but it still helps.

Instant Kill

Hokuto Hyakuretsuken: 236CD

Ken strikes again at a 45 degree angle above his head (looks a lot like his launcher). Of course if this connects, the enemy is hit with a 100 hit combo that kills them.

The angle of this IK makes it a little difficult to connect with. It doesn't seem to like OTGing very well, so you need to be a bit more tricky getting into it.

Combos

In particular I need more of these. I don't have easy access to the game so please help me out in this section.

[Mid/Anywhere]

IAD j.A C |> etc.

Start most any of the other combos here with this, for your high/low mixup.

2B 2B 2D 623B

Standard mid screen combo when you have no boost or aura.

2B 2B 2D 236236A, 236236A

Combo for if you only have Aura, second one will give you extra damage but won't remove another star of course.

2B 2B 236CE 6CDE 6, 2C D 236D > IAD j.C |> 66 D 236D > IAD j.B/C |> B D 236236A

Standard combo if you have 1 Boost stock. High damage, -3 stars. If you don't have 1 Aura stock by the end, you can cancel the j.C into 214A to at least end with something. I tend to cut off the final B D at the end just to make buffering to the super easier.

2B 2B 236CE 6CDE 6, D 236D > IAD j.C |> 236D > IAD j.A |> D 236D > IAD j.C |> 66 D 236D > IAD j.D? |> 236236A

Alternate version, more damage?

CD 6, D 236D > IAD j.C |> 236D > IAD j.C |> 236D > IAD j.C |> 236D > IAD j.A |> D 236D > IAD j.C |> 236D > IAD j.D |> 6CDE 6E D 236D > sjc.A B A B D |> 236236A, 236236A, 6E 2B

Uses 3 Boost stock and 2 Aura stock, it's 100% life on Rei and probably others.

CH 623B, 66 j.B |> D 236D > IAD j.C |> 236C, 66 D 236D > IAD j.C |> 66 D 236D > IAD j.C |> 236D > IAD j.B |> 236236A

Combo off CH 623B, does a LOT of damage.

CD 6, 2C 236C 6E, D D 236D > IAD j.C |> etc.

If you start from the blowback, you can do this version instead.

BD, 236236A

Sounds silly, but you get -2 stars and 33% life from Kens regular command throw.

623C(3) ACE, D, |> 236D > etc.

Odd glitch with Ken's uppercut. Try boosting the third hit and you will do his ground launcher, and retain some ground properties until you hit the ground (allowing you to do a standing D in the air). Very strange.

[Mid, VS Heart or Standing Opponent Only]

2B 2B D 236D > IAD j.C |> D 236D > hjc.A B A B C |> 236D or 236236A

Similar combo. More damage/more reliable?

VS Jagi and Mamiya, you must delay the initial IAD j.C slightly.

VS Toki or Kenshiro, you may follow up the combo with a 623A for -1 extra star.

[Corner]

2B 2B 2D AC, D 236D > hjc.A B A B C |> 236D or 236236A

It's a corner specific juggle. May be possible to get extra hits ...

BD, B D 236236A

Same as mid, with two extra hits.

(Low in the air) j.214A, |> 2A D 236D > etc.

If you TK the 214A or otherwise connect with it very low to the ground, you can score a combo off it in the corner. Just go into your usual loop.

Throw, 2A D 236D > IAD j.C |> D 236D > sjc.A B A B D |> 236D/CD/236236A

[Combos into IK]

(Standing) 2B 2B D 236D > IAD j.C |> 236CD (0 Star)

(Close) 2B 2B 236CD (0 Star)

(Corner) Throw, 2A, 236CD (0 Star)

(High) 236236A, 236CD (-1+ Star)

2B 2B 236CE 6CDE 6, 236CD (-2 Star)

2B 2B 236CE 6CDE 6, 623A 6E, 236CD (-3 Star)

2B 2B D 236D > IAD j.C |> D.c CD 6E~D 623A 6E~D 236C 6E~D, 236CD (-3 Star)

          Exe     A/D     Dmg     FaV     Etc
c5A       5       -3      9       4       --
c5B       8       +3      9       5       --        
c5C       9       0       10x2    6+7     -- 
c5D       7       -16     20      7       --
f5A       5       -3      7       4       --
f5B       7       +3      7       5       --
f5C       11      -4      18      7       --
f5D       7       -13     18      8       --
2A        5       -3      6       4       --
2B        7       +8      6       6       hit low
2C        11      -4      17      7       --
2D        9       -4      14      8       hit low
JA        3       --      6       5       overhead
JB        4       --      6       6       overhead
JC        10      --      15      7       overhead
JD        9       --      5x3     6x3     overhead
A+C       17      +3      20      8       --
C+D       18~33   -8      20      7       -1 star
Max C+D   34~38   -8      20      7       -1 star
GC        9       -1      10      7       doesn't KO
A+B       39      --      6       7       unblockable, -1 star, doesn't KO      
N. Throw  4       --      14x2    6x2     --
B+D       9       --      0+3x8   8x2+7x6+8  -1 star

oyg 03-30-2007 06:17 PM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mr. Heart - Iteyo! Infinite ftw

Hi, and welcome to the Mr. Heart section of HnK. I have a few stuff to put in here, a few of my own, and some lurked information snatched from elsewhere. Any questions, comments, complaints, please post.

Must-see Videos:

Heart's section of the DVD combo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8MRLJK8eTs

Tianyuan's Heart youtube playlist: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=0EB719CF6339F90A

Combos

================================================== ====================

BnB hit confirm super:

1) 2A > 2A > 214B > {JA > A+C} or {JC > land > 236236A}

2) CH A (while they're in the air), 63214A, 623A

Iteyo Setups

1) B, CD > autoboost > D, iad j.D, D, 236236C, 236C, j.236C.. try to keep them in the corner..

623A, j.236C, j.A > otg BD grab x 4, c.A, B otg, 236236A. WHEW!

effective against: Ken, Raoh, Shin, Rei

Corner Madness:

1) CD > autoboost > (B), c.D, IAD j.D, c.D, IAD j.D, c.D, IAD j.D, 623A

*I put B there just in case, after the boost, they're halfway down to the ground.

2) C Throw into corner > D, 623A, D, 623A> B (otg), 236236A, B (otg), 236236A

This combo can only be done by 2P Heart. I've yet to confirm this.

================================================== ====================

Strats/Misc Info. (thanks to Nohoho)

Store the Super Armor

Heart's jumping hard punch has one-hit super armor. There's a trick (glitch?) where you can store that super armor if you do the hard punch but land from the jump before Heart goes into the punching animation. The simplest way to set this up is to do a backwards instant air dash and press and hold the hard punch button until Heart lands. Now you can boldly walk towards your opponent and look for a combo starting with a standing weak punch.

Some variations:

1) If you have your opponent in the corner: instant air dash towards after an air throw or Heart's A super grab, hold hard punch before landing and absorb their wake-up attack while combo-ing off a weak punch.

2) The stored super armor beefs up a Heavy Strike (AB) -> Heart's A (236236A) set up.

3) Absorb a long range poke and hit them with a weak Earth Crush (214B).

4) Absorb an IAD attack and hit with standing weak punch.

Note that the super armor doesn't work against Heavy Strikes and special moves and goes away when you block a special move.

When charged, his B throw also has super armor, as well as 623C.

Big Hug Glitch

There's a glitch with the Big Hug (236A) throw (available during his It Hurts! (236236C) super) where Heart's opponent can do a move as they start to get grabbed. For most moves this won't cause any noticeable effect. If they do an invincible move, however, they'll avoid getting thrown and do their move in mid-air.

2P Grab Loops of Doom

Two player Heart can perform repeated grabs on airborne opponents much more easily than one player Heart. Here are three combos with corresponding character/1P-2P restrictions:

1) (corner) D -> 623A x n

Both 1P and 2P Heart: Jagi, Rei

2P Heart only: Raoh, Shin

2) (corner) 2B -> 214B -> (near peak of jump) jA -> AC x 4 (-> 236236A)

Both 1P and 2P Heart: Jagi

2P Heart only: Shin, Rei

3) (near corner) 2B -> CD -> auto boost (hold 6) -> D -> 236236C -> BD x n

Both 1P and 2P Heart: Raoh

2P Heart only: Kenshiro, Rei, Shin

Written out, that third combo is: crouching weak kick -> Banishing Strike -> auto boost -> standing hard kick -> It Hurts! -> grab times n. Just keep pressing weak kick and hard kick together. Because of the star exemption for grabs, Heart takes away all of his opponent's life and all of their stars!

Iteyo! Big Typhoon Infinite:

(researching)

Discuss.

Ok seriously, Juda has a surprising number of excellent defensive options, and probably some of the cheapest and easiest ways to remove stars without doing much of a combo.

jump A is a solid air-to-air move... if it gets blocked, continue chaining

jump B chains into jump A chains into jump B

jump C is a less good air-to-air... also works as a jump in

jump D is probably the best jump-in

the dives (jump d+A/C) will take off a star on counter hit and sometimes seem to be able to cross-up people in the corner a la May's dive. However, this move is generally very unsafe on block, and I'm not sure if it's fast enough to be an effective bait for anti-airs.

far standing C is a good anti-air (will clash with Heart's body splash), but will whiff many (all?) crouchers

far standing D is cancellable but doesn't really combo from much (not counting wall slam)... takes off a star on counter hit.

QCBx2+C (FINGER!) can hit people that seem to be behind him. Yeah, all the big projectiles have WTF hitboxes in this game. This move will counter most anything that can be thrown at you for nice dmg and 2 stars. This super is unsafe on block, air or ground.

QCFx2+C (Dam goes boom) is what you do when you don't know what to do. Seriously. The big damage on this moves comes from the dam blowing up, but if your opponent is blocking the water it's just as well. Has significant invulnerability that seems to be full body. The thing the little guy throws will hit people that are trying to do meaty jump ins, and then they will likely get hit by the exploding dam. Probably the best screen spammer in the game. Note that if they are just getting hit by the water, they can try to alpha counter and will avoid the remaining hits that come from JUST THE WATER. Note that you cannot do this super if the little guy's meter is not full (same as assist call). In general, if this move connects and your opponent has no stars left (or it takes off the last of their stars), it's a free FKO.

d.B and d.A chain into each other

d.A chains and combos into d.C

d.C chains and combos into d.D

any chain ending in d.C (and maybe d.D) will combo into FATAL KO

QCB+B is a guard cancel or a counter when not blocking, but seems to be of limited use against people who are just doing a series of low jabs to you.

QCF+A is the hotness. It can hit people in the air or on the ground, will hold for a pretty long time allowing for a free hit (FKO!) and poisons them. The poisoning lasts for a long time, and is not removed if you get hit. C+D followed FKO is a combo against people who have been grabbed by this move in the air... maybe on the ground as well?

QCF+B is good for keeping people down and seems to be easy to combo.

QCF+C (ground fireball) is very unsafe on block if done close to the opponent.

If either you (NOT SURE ON THIS ANYMORE) or your helper are hit during the special move involving the helper, their meter will empty out. I think it's just if the helper gets hit, actually. Note that this applies if the helper is hit AT ANY TIME while on the screen (incl. before doing the assist, while doing the assist, or after the assist is done). So yes, someone like Mamiya with her piercing arrows is likely to knock out your helpers frequently and randomly. It also seems that many moves can still hit you even after hitting the helper, and the converse seems true as well (i.e. many moves can hit your helpers after hitting/blocked by you).

Your throw will give you a free hit (C+D or FKO are good... you could probably do something better). I do not know if you can throw your opponent when the little guy is already out on the field. I do believe you can throw your opponent even if the little guy's meter is empty or recovering. I don't know if the intense damage scaling on your attack comes from the throw being a throw or from the number of hits which the little guy deals.

FKO projectile and the follow-up psycho crusher weirdly hit behind you.

DP+A is a very good anti air (i think it takes a star on counterhit as well), but can miss people that are right on top of you. Be aware of this especially when you are cornered. Unless they are very high in the air, counterhit DP+A is a free FKO.

Brain-dead way to play Juda:

Get them to block something. Anything.

Then proceed to do basic chains cancelled into either assist calls or fireball. Build meter.

If you think you've really got their number, mix in some A+B or C+D's into your rush.

At any rate, once you have meter you will either use it to finger an attacking opponent or you can just dam super. If they block dam super, boost over to them and QCF+B if you can... this guy will help shield you from alpha counters (if it counter hits them, they lose a star) while you do an A+B. If you haven't got time for either, just A+B them (from the furthest range you can to make it harder to alpha counter) Whee! Star removal!

Using your supers are vital to your success with Yuda. Keep an eye out on your meter since it builds just so fast in this game. If they are rushing you, FINGER them. If you are scared they'll block the FINGER, dam them. If they're blocking your ground chain, dam super them anyway; they'll be forced to block it and you can take a star from them. If they are a full screen away and you have two meters, dam super (the other meter can be used to finger them as they try to hit you). If you get knocked down and are wondering about whether to alpha counter or wakeup super, do the wakeup super. If you don't know what the hell to do, dam super.

Juda is good at taking stars seemingly at random. However, dealing big damage without supers midscreen seems to be an issue... at least for me.

Calling QCF+A while you are cornered is funny, since your opponent can't see the little guy behind you at the startup of the move. Also, since you are already cornered, you can't be pushed back further, and thus it's harder to hit the little guy through you.

Things I need, in descending order of importance:

Actually good midscreen combos (d.B, d.A, d.C, d.D xx QCF+C is a lousy combo).

Combos from A+B and C+D.

Tricky uses of the helpers.

More combos into FKO.

          Exe     A/D     Dmg     FaV     Etc
c5A       5       +1      9       4       --
c5B       6       +3      9       5       --        
c5C       9       0       19      7       -- 
c5D       8       -4      9       8        --
f5A       6       +1      7       5       --
f5B       7       +6      7       6       --
f5C       8       -10     17      7       --
f5D       16      -5      17      8       CH –1 star
2A        5       +1      6       5       --
2B        5       +3      6       6       hit low 
2C        8       -2      16      7       --
2D        11      -2      16      8       hit low
JA        5       --      6       5       overhead
JB        5       --      6       6       overhead
JC        9       --      14      7       overhead
JD        10      --      14      8       overhead
A+C       15      +3      15      7       --
C+D       18~33   -8      15      7       -1 star
Max C+D   34~38   -8      15      7       -1 star
GC        9       -1      8       8       doesn't KO
A+B       41      --      6       7       unblockable, -1 star, doesn't KO      
N. Throw  4       --      4x15    5x14+8  --
B+D       23      --      9x2     8x3     -1 star

After you input 236CD Mamiya will raise her bow at this point tap up/down to adjust where she aims then press A,B,C or D to fire at the bottle she throws vertically into air, each shots deducts an arrow from the arrow gauge, as soon as you hit the bottle it will send about 9 capsules raining down if these hit the enemy it's lights out.

Corner Dribble VS Rei Shin Juda Jagi
2A 2B 2D A+C 8A 8B 8D(let it hit fully) (air) 236A 8D 2D 236236A (ENSNARE/BIND) let Mamiya rise fully above the opponent(if shin just a bit higher then him) at the highest point input whilst in the air B B A C B B B A C B B B B A A wait (Descending B) Land 5B or 2A until you need to get closer E (BOOST) repeat 5B/2A until around 90 hits 5C cancel into (Forward Roll 214 B) 5A Walk forward 5A repeat every time the body bounces down then jump/8A when they're high enough wait 8A 8A LAND 8A repeat until they are low on health and finish with ensnare/bind bow follow up.

VS Roah
DIFFERENCES: After Ensare/Bind going too far above like  the usual set up will cause the set up to drop, instead judge when she's about level in the air with Roah/a slight bit higher

2A 2B 2D A+C 8A 8B 8D(let it hit fully) (air) 236A 8D 2D 236236A (ENSNARE/BIND) in air B B B A A C B B B A C B B B B A (Descending B) Land 5B or 2A until you need to get closer E (BOOST) repeat 5B/2A until around 90 hits 5C cancel into (Forward Roll 214 B) 5A Walk forward 5A repeat every time the body bounces down then jump/8A when they're high enough wait 8A 8A LAND 8A repeat until they are low on health and finish with ensnare/bind bow follow up.


VS Kenshiro
DIFFERENCES: two problems you will have is A: if you jump diagonally after A+C the opponent will drop before ensnare/bind B: if you go to high above Kenshiro after the 236236A (ENSNARE/BIND) he will drop. apart from that it's the same deal as Rei and the others combo.

2A 2B 2D A+C 8A 8B 8D(let it hit fully) (air) 236A 8D 2D 236236A (ENSNARE/BIND) let Mamiya rise level to kenshiro whilst in the air B B A C B B B A C B B B B A A wait (Descending B) Land 5B or 2A until you need to get closer E (BOOST) repeat 5B/2A until around 90 hits 5C cancel into (Forward Roll 214 B) 5A Walk forward 5A repeat every time the body bounces down then jump/8A when they're high enough wait 8A 8A LAND 8A repeat until they are low on health and finish with ensnare/bind bow follow up.

Dribble From Raw Bind Trick
i'm new to this so excuse me if it's not very clear
Video Guide:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwtIHusRQTM

 

Key:

A= Light Punch

C= Hard Punch

B= Light Kick

D= Hard Kick

E= Boost

AB= hitting Light Punch and Light Kick at the same time enables Rei's unblockable

CD= hitting Hard Punch and Hard Kick at the same time pushes the opponent to the other side of the screen. I call it Blow Back.

AC= hitting both Punches will launch the opponent in the air (hold 8 for homing). When you use a special after AC you will knock off a star which is why it will be used in a lot of blow back combos.

BD= Rei's command grab sort of speak. It takes off one star and is pretty useless. Cant grab a crouching opponent and cant grab someone in AB stun. It can be comboed after which make it somewhat usable, but not abusable.

236CD= Rie's Fatal KO.

Move List: (note that all of these take off a star on Counter Hit or after AB)

623A or 623C= this is an uppercut. The A version is used the most because it can be used to continue combos, the C version however can not but has more hit.

214C= Rei dashes toward the opponent with jabbing knife hands. Can launch opponent afterward with another 236C.

Air 236A= Rei throws a projectile that bounces off the floor

Air 236B= Rei throws a projectile that hits the floor and glides across it.

Air 236D= Rei dose a dashing kick that hits the opponent (pushes the opponent to the other side of the wall on counter hit). This is good to use (TKing it) after AB in a blow back combo because it has more combo potential and takes off a star.

Air 214D= Same as 236D except Rei dose a dashing kick away from the opponent. I havent thought of a good use for this unless you are trying to run away.

Air 214C= Rei makes a circular wall around him that last till he hits the ground (acts like a projectile). Really good for mixups.

Air 2B= a diagnal strike, hits once and bounces off after wards. Good if you want to annoy your opponent.

Air 236C= Rei dashes toward opponent like hes about to hug them. On counter hit or after an AB blow back combo you can repeat by pressing 2369C at the right time. After you get too far you can boost it at the same time to continue the combo.

Specials:

236236A= Rei throws several little projectiles. Takes off one star and two stars on counter hit. It is good on wakeup and practically safe on block. Used in lots of combos too.

236236C= Rei jumps up and throws a bunch of projectiles that bounce off the top of the screen and the floor. You can charge it as well. Not too many uses for it but can be used in some combos.

Air 2363214D= Rei dashes toward opponent like he dose in Air 236C and throws projectiles at the opponent. It is pretty good in an air combo, but the pros dont use it that much.

COMBOS

Note That All Damage Is Calculated On Roah.

...2D, IAD, JC, 5C, 623A(2 Hits), J2369C, 9C, 5A, 5C, 236236A

*(If you are too far away IAD jC and continue combo the you can jC+E at the same time to boost you forward and continue the combo)

STARS: 1

BOOST: NONE *

FKO: NO

TENSION: 1 BAR

DAMAGE: 98(45)

STRIKES: 27

...2D, IAD, JC, 5C, IAD, JA, JC, 5A, 5C, 236236A, 2B, 236236A

STARS: 2

BOOST: NONE *

FKO: NO

TENSION: 2 BARS

DAMAGE: 124(69)

STRIKES: 44

...2D, IAD, JC, 5C, JA, JC, J236D, 66, JB, JC, 5A, 5C, 236236A

STARS: 1

BOOST: NONE *

FKO: NO

TENSION: 1 BAR

DAMAGE: 83(38)

STRIKES: 25

...c5D, CD(Link), 6, 5C, AC, 2369D, JB, 2C, IAD, JD, J2369C, J2369D, JB, 236236A (On Shin You Must End With 236236A After The First J2369D, JB)

STARS: 3

BOOST: 1

FKO: NO

TENSION: 1 BAR

DAMAGE: 92(52)

STRIKES: 28

...CD, 6, 5C, AC, 2369D, JB, 2C, IAD, JD, J2369Cx8, J2369D, 236236A

STARS: 3

BOOST: 1

FKO: NO

TENSION: 1 BAR

DAMAGE: 80~90% LIFE

STRIKES: 34

...CD-6-5C-2C-jD-2369Cx4-2363214D (More 2369C's Can Be Done)

STARS: 2

BOOST: 1

FKO: NO

TENSION: 1 BAR

DAMAGE: 92(53)

STRIKES: 27

...2D, IAD, JC, 5C, JB, JC, 236D, 66, JB, JC, 5C, 623A(2 HITS), 2369C, 9C, CD (CAN 236236E~A AT THE END)

STARS: 1

BOOST: 0

FKO: NO

TENSION: 0

DAMAGE: 52(46)

STRIKES: 15

...CD, 6, AB, AC+E, 2368D, JA, Land, JB, J236D, JB, J2369Cx5, J2369D, JA, J2369D, JB, 236236E~A

STARS: 3

BOOST: 1

FKO: NO

TENSION: 1 BAR

DAMAGE: 103(62) ON SHIN [Can be 100% if more 2369C are done]

STRIKES: 35

...2D, IAD, JC, 5C, AC, 23693214D (USE IF THEY ARE ABOUT TO DIE)

STARS: 2

BOOST: 0

FKO: NO

TENSION: 1 BAR

DAMAGE: 59(34)

STRIKES: 12

623C(5 HITS), E, JA, JC, 5A, 5C, 236236A (2 STARS ONLY ON COUNTER HIT)

STARS: 2

BOOST: 1

FKO: NO

TENSION: 1 BAR

DAMAGE: 47(19)

STRIKES: 22

THROW, IAD, JB, JC, 5C, JC, J236D, 66, JB, JC, 5C, 236A(2 HITS), J2369C, 9C, CD, 236236E~A

STARS: 1

BOOST: 1

FKO: NO

TENSION: 0 BARS

DAMAGE: 75(41)

STRIKES: 32

6A, CD+E, E~5A, 5C, JA, JC, J236D, 66, JA, JC, 5A, 5C, 236236A, 2B, 236236A

STARS: 3

BOOST: 1

FKO: NO

TENSION: 2 BARS

DAMAGE: 115(71)

STRIKES: 46

Fatal KO COMBOS

THROW, IAD, JB, JC, 5C, CD, AC+E, JA, 236E~A, 5A, 5C, 236CD

STARS: 2

BOOST: 1

FKO: YES

TENSION: 0 BARS

DAMAGE: -

STRIKES: 11

THROW, JA, JC, 5A, 5C, 236CD

STARS: 0

BOOST: 0

FKO: YES

TENSION: 0 BARS

DAMAGE: -

STRIKES: 7

...CD, 6AB, E, 5C, AC, 2369D, JB, 236CD

STARS: 3

BOOST: 1

FKO: YES

TENSION: 0 BARS

DAMAGE: -

STRIKES: 8

COMBOS FROM TUT VIDEO

from what i saw on the video (in order) so you all have something written for you. i tried them and i need to practice more. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xi9z94yks8M

On Heart

JC, Air Throw, AC, JB, E~J236A, 5C, CD, E, 236CD

STARS: 3

OFF: AIR THROW

FKO: YES

BOOST: 2 BARS

TENSION: NONE

On Rei

BD, E+CD, E+AC, JD~E, 214C, E~5C, AC, JA~E, J236A, 5A, 5C~E, 236AC

STARS: 4

OFF: UNIVERSAL THROW

FKO: YES

BOOST: 3 BARS

TENSION: NONE

On Souther

J2369Cx18, 2369C~E, J2369Cx2, E~2369C, E~2369C

STARS: 2

OFF: COUNTER HIT J236C

FKO: NO, 100% LIFE

BOOST: 3 BARS

TENSION: NONE

On Mamyia

JD, J2369Cx4, J2369D, 66, JB, JD, 5C, 623A(2 hits), J236C, 9, JA, JC, 5C, 236236A, 2B, 236236A

STARS: 2

OFF: JD

FKO: NO, 100% LIFE

BOOST: NONE

TENSION: 2 BARS

On Crouching Rei

2C-(c.5D-IAD-jD)xuntil end of screen-IAD-jD-boost-2Ax2-boost-2Ax2-boost-2Ax3-

(c.5D-IAD-jD)x until end of screen-IAD-jD-boost-2Ax2-boost-2Ax2-boost-2Ax3-

(c.5D-IAD-jD)x until end of screen-IAD-jD-boost-2Ax2-boost-2Ax2-boost-

c.5D-2D-IAD-jC-5C-jC-j236D-jB-jC-5C-236236A-2B-236236A

STARS: 2

OFF: Crouching Rei

FKO: no, 100% life

BOOST: 3 BARS

TENSION: 2 BARS

On Toki

IAD, J236C(Cross Up), J236C, 9C, 5C, 623A(2 HITS), J2369C, 9A, JC, 5A, 5C, 236236A, 2Bx5, E, 2Bx6, E, 2Bx9, 2Bx6, E, 2Bx9, E, 2Bx7, E, 2B7, 2D, IAD, jD, J236C, 5C, JA, JD, J214C, J214C, JC, 5C, 236236C, runover, 5C, 236236C

STARS: 2

OFF: CROSS UP J236C IN THE CORNER

FKO: NO, 100% LIFE

BOOST: 3 BARS

TENSION: 3 BARS

FRAME DATA (Thanks to tianyuan2k4)

        Exec    Dur   Rec   Adv/Dis   FV     Etc
c5A     5F      3F    4F    +2F       4
f5A     5F      3F    4F    +4F       5
2A      6F      3F    7F    +1F       5
6A      24F     4F    16F   -4F       7      Overhead
c5B     8F      4F    4F    +3F       5      
f5B     7F      4F    5F    +4F       6
2B      7F      3F    4F    +6F       6      Hit low
c5C     7F      6F    13F   -3F       7
f5C     12F     4F    16F   -4F       7
2C      12F     4F    14F   -2F       7
c5D     9F      4F    18F   -3F       8
f5D     14F     3F    16F   +/- 0F    8      
2D      14F     5F    20F   -5F       8       Hit low
JA      4F      16F    2F   --        5      Overhead
JB      5F      20F    5F   --        6      Overhead
JC      9F      6F    10F   --        7      Overhead
JD      11F     5F    14F   --        8      Overhead
J throw 21F     4F    12F   --        7      unblockable
Throw   4F      4F    16F   --        ??    unblockable 
B+D     9F      4F    16F   --        8×2+7×2 unblockable 
A+C     16F     7F    13F   -4F       8
A+B     41F     4F    20F   --        7      unblockable, -1 star
C+D     18~33F  4F    20F   -8F       7      - 1 star
maxC+D  34~38F  4F    20F   -8F       7      - 1 star

Hokuto no Ken/Fist of the North Star (2-Disc First Print Edition) signed by Toshio Furukawa (Shin) / Japanese Pre-Order Bonus / Hokuto no Ken (Atomiswave)

Did StayFree just resurrect a dying forum to brag?? Yes, cuz I'm just awesome like that...

*swag dance*

Recently I have been feeling a severe lack of MANLINESS in my fighting games. Luckily, I knew just what to do - I dusted off my PS2, bought a new stick(dear god trying to get a good PS2 stick in Canada was an expensive ordeal ), and busted out my copy of Hokuto no Ken! Now I just need someone to play with...

But getting to the point, I started working on the Hokuto no Ken section over at the Shoryuken Wiki sometime last year, and have updating it very sporadically. Now that I have a stick and can actually play the game, I would like to continue working on it and finish what I started. I think it would be nice if there was complete resource of up to date information to help would-be mohikans get into this awesome game. I still need to add some stuff but I am pretty much done with the pages relating to the game's mechanics, so next up I will be working on the character sections. I have already written a very in depth guide for Raoh, so check it out if interested!

Anyways, if anyone out there is still playing, give me a shout out. I would also be happy to answer any questions you may have about the game, and if you are ever in the Vancouver area, hit me up for some Hokuto.

Note: Please read over the Advanced Systems FAQ for help on combo notation as well as terms and other things.

I. Moves List

Command Normals

6A

A forward charging punch. Very slow startup, very poor recovery time. Very terrible move. I have no idea why you'd ever use this (outside of a random obscure combo or two maybe) because it has no properties that make for a good move.

6B

A decent overhead kick. Fairly useful and may be comboed out of using Musou Insatsu or a boost.

Specials

Hokuto Donryukohou: 214A

Charge up ability. Raoh can stock up to 3 charges. Charge time is fairly fast, very practical, but still punishable if you throw it at the wrong time.

The charges are used automatically for any special move that can utilize them. They give the moves different effects, so check the moves for specifics.

Hokuto Goushouha: 236C

A slow starting beam attack. Hits the whole length of the screen, hits a pretty wide area too. Has a ton of startup and a lot of recovery. Does a good chunk of damage when it hits. Hits 2 times? This move is generally pretty worthless. It's too slow to start and recover, and it's very obvious to see coming. It just doesn't do the kind of damage it should for how it looks either.

Charged up, the move does a lot more damage and hits 4 times instead.

Air Hokuto Goushouha: 236C (air)

Air projectile. Seems vaguely like an air Kaiser wave that shoots down at a 45 degree angle. EXCELLENT move. Great for zoning and playing keep away. After firing, Raoh falls strait down, and cannot do anything until he lands. Move is Post-Boostable to make Raoh fall with the projectile, or recovery-boostable to follow somewhat behind it.

Charged version is much larger, covers an absolutely huge area of the screen. Also wall slams and removes 1 star.

Hokuto Tenshouraigeki: 623A

Fire chop attack. Has long startup, but seems to have some degree of upper body invincibility on it. Floor bounces on counter hit. Boostable. Not very good without a charge up.

Charged version seems to have a lot more invincibility... not sure if it's full body or just upper. Hits twice, slams to the floor, removes a star. Both hits may be jump canceled. VERY VERY VERY good when charged up! One of Raoh's staple defensive moves, this will also let you combo into any of his infinites or other big combos on connect.

Hokuto Rashouken: 623C

Multi-hit punch attack. Decent move, moves Raoh forward a very large distance, combos very easily. Gives Raoh some degree of frame advantage, or at least does not leave him at bad disadvantage. Builds up a ton of super bar. Launches after last hit, Boostable. Overall this move is a good move for beginners, but it is not used AT ALL in combos at higher level of play. He has much better options than this in the long run.

Charged version hits even more times, does more damage. Seems to launch higher than normal version. Removes a stars.

Kanzashi: 214D

Spike attack, Raoh attempts to pin both characters together with a sword. Removes a star, causes a period of time where no character can jump/walk, and neither have pushback. Possible to link 2A after a successful spike with careful timing (5F?)

Charged version... takes off an extra star?

Kanzashi: 214D (air)

Raoh sticks a leg out, if it connects, drops the other person to the floor and then spikes them. Same basic idea as the ground version. Doesn't remove a star. Possible to link a 2A after recovering, but the timing is quite difficult (2F).

No charged version.

Musou Insatsu: 41236D

This move is used to cancel another special attack. It costs 1 Aura stock, launches, and is jump cancelable on hit/block. Only cancels recovery time of moves, not the active time or startup time. If you have difficulty doing it, try performing it later.

Supers

Hikou Shinkessou: 214214A

Anti-air attack with his cape. Hits a HUGE area above and in front of him, does decent damage and removes a star. Decent combo finishing material, but also insane AA against people who like to jump in. Doesn't hit people on the ground (or extremely close to the ground) at all. Removes 1 star normally. Uses 1 Aura stock.

Tenshou Honretsu: 214214C

Slow forward charging attack. Hits a much larger area than it appears to. Deals good damage and removes 2 stars. Fairly length startup, but has a degree of super armor and thus can go through and punish a lot of things. Overall, not something you'll use a lot, but there are some situations where you can use it to stuff or punish something you otherwise could not (such as Heart's club throwing super). Uses 1 Aura stock.

Musou Tensei: 236236B

Raoh forms 7 glowing images of himself. A small flame symbol appears above his boost meter (toward the middle of the screen) to indicate that this is active. Carries over between rounds.

This move allows Raoh to teleport through an enemy attack, possibly appearing on the other side of the person. To use it, you must tap the forward direction right before a move is about to hit (use it just like a Parry from 3S). Can be used against physical and projectile attacks, but does not seem to work on everything. Low hits can be parried by hitting Down.

Instant Kill

Hokuto Mettenba: 236C+D

Long super flash time, but fairly quick attack. Hits a short area in front of Raoh. Has some degree of super armor. If it connects, second hit punches the enemy in the head and they die a horrible painful death.

Overall, not one of the better IKs in the game, but still very usable. You can use the Super Armor from it in a few situations when the other person has some something stupid or predictable, but generally it is best to just combo into it like normal.

Charged Normals

When Raoh has at least one charge up, he can charge a number of his normal attacks. These make them unblockable, have special properties, and use up a charge. To do these, just hold down the button when you are going to throw the normal.

C.f

A double fisted charge punch. Blows back into the corner. Fairly good, hard to jump over/around.

2D

A low sweep. Slides forward. Launches in an upward arc on hit/counter hit. Really good range, but only hits on the ground. Doesn’t seem all that practical. The ability to delay firing the 2D can be useful to catch people in a frame trap though.

j.C

Downward dive punch. Makes Raoh float kind of like Mr.Heart’s j.C. After charging, Raoh rapidly descends at an angle. Blows back, removes a star. Excellent move, very effective. Possible usage as Okizemi or in mixups.

II. Gameplay Tidbits

Comboing off the Spike Attack (214D)

Here's the deal here. Off of either spike attack (air or ground) Raoh can combo a 2A afterwards. However, the timing on this is HARD. From the air spike, you have a 2F window in which to link the 2A. From the ground spike, it is closer to a 5F window.

There is NO trick to doing this. NONE. You simply have to time the punch properly. If you miss it half the time, that means your timing sucks and you just need to keep practicing it. YES it is hard, keep trying.

Banishing Strike Glitch (AKA Fist Cancel)

This is a really helpful glitch that gives Raoh some extra power. Normally, D.f doesn't cancel into C+D. However, C and D both cancel their early frames into C+D (think like Option Select from GG, or a Kara Cancel from 3S) to make it easier to do. So it becomes possible to cancel a D.f into a 2D, but imediately cancel 2D into C+D. This essentially allows you to cancel D.f into C+D.

De-Bouncing using the air spike

Normally when you wall bounce someone, they stay that way until they hit the ground. Many characters have a way to de-bounce the other person and unstick them from the wall. Raoh can do this with his j.214D, which returns the other person to a normal combo state. Now what makes this useful is that fact that when a person is de-bounced, their air juggle weight is RESET. Basically this means you get ANOTHER free combo. This does NOT reset the wall-bounce gravity, so this does not lead to infinites.

Re-Bounce via De-Bounce

Another tricky thing you can do is utilize the free boost meter you get when connecting the C+D attack without any boost to do a de/re/de-bounce combo. The idea is that as long as the number of hits of your combo isn't too high (it's somewhere less than 20), you can actually de-bounce someone via the jumping spike, rebounce them with C+D again, and then de-bounce them a second time. The problem is that the pushback will be massive on the second wallbounce combo. Fortunately you've got boost, so basically what you need to do is:

2C > IAD j.B 6E 214D

Boost your j.B as fast as possible, and you will shoot forward and still be able to combo after the 2C. After spiking them, their air weight is reset again so you've still got room for more combo.

Trickery

Try boosting j.[C] some time. The effect moves Raoh forward rapidly allowing him to strike with his unblockable from long distances.

You can boost the startup of 6B to give Raoh a long range overhead. You can also boost the recovery of 6B to combo into more damage, although the Boost point is fairly late.

You can use Musou Insatsu on almost anything. A nice trick is to charge up in the corner, and cancel the recovery with the Musou. On a counterhit, Musou wall bounces. You can score a big damage wallbounce combo when you do this.

Raoh can IAD very fast, much faster than you would think neccicary (although still slower than most). Basically what you must do is simple IAD as low as possible (it's pretty low), and then hit j.B as soon as the dash starts. Surprizingly, there is no minimum air dash length before you can cancel into a move. Raoh instead of dashing, falls down at an angle with a j.B, much like Magneto. This is an insanely fast overhead and works great as a crossup against people who are knocked down.

Combos

Use all or part of these. These are mostly just primary examples of combos you would do, and don’t include possible differences against characters.

[Anywhere]

2A 2A B D 623C Boost, C A+C > jc.A C C A B 214D |> 2A* B C C+D Boost, 214A/214214A

Standard Raoh ground combo. Ending depends on the situation. In the event you already were charged up, 623C will remove a star, thus removing the need to take off another. Charge up instead.

2B 2D 41236D > jc.B 214D, |> 2AA c.D(1) A+C > jc.A 214D, |> etc.

Version to use when you only have Aura stock and no Boost stock, or want to save your Boost stock.

2A 2BB f.D C+D Boost, D A+C > j.236C Boost |> 2C > IAD j.B 214D, |> 2A*9 c.D(1) A+C > j.D(1) 214D, |> 2AA c.D(1) A+C > j.A 214D, |> 2A*5 2B C C+D

Big combo. Lotta damage. If you really just have to milk it for everything it is worth, you can follow the C+D with a boost into 214214A, then OTG with 2B for a few extra hits.

C+D 6, D.f 623A Boost, C 2C > jc.IAD j.C j.A |> j.A, j.C |> IAD j.B 214D, |> 2A 2B C C+D 6, 2C > jc.IAD Boost j.B 214D, |> 2A*9 c.D(1) A+C > jc.D(1) 214D, |> 2A 2B C A+C > jc.A 214D, |> 2A*6 2B C C+D 6, 214214A, 2BBBBBBB

It's Raoh's 100% for no meter. Go Raoh. Lot of important ideas here.

... 214D, |> 2A*5 2B C 2C 214D, > etc.

Requires a charge up. You can combo into charged ground spike off of 2C.

2A 2BB D.f Boost, 214D, 2A*9 D.c(1) 214D, Repeat

Infinite. Only works on Rei, only while he is ducking.

[Against Air]

j.A B 214D |> 2A B C A+C > jc.214D |> 2A* B C 2C C+D > etc.

Air-to-air version of the above. The air spike won’t remove a star if you connect it without a Grave Shoot (A+C) beforehand, so relaunch into a TK spike to get it. Also works starting from 6K 41236D, and other things.

623A > jc.A C C C C 214D, |> 2AA D.c(1) A+C > jc.A 214D > etc.

Start off any small launcher into a lot of j.C's... it does more damage than most alternatives. If you connect the 623A too low, they won't bounce up high enough for a lot of hits, so you'll have to do jc.A B 214D.

[Near Corner]

Throw > Boost, C A+C > etc.

Starts the spike combo from a throw near the corner.

[Combos into Instant Kill]

2A 2A B D 623C(charged) > Boost, 236C+D (-1 Star)

Very simple combo into IK.

2AA 2B 2D 41236D > j.D(2) |> 236C+D

Another simple one. j.D seems to knock down for some reason, and allows you to OTG IK.

Throw > 6E, 236C+D

Needs near corner?

Throw > 6E C A+C > j.A C C A B 214D, |> 2A 2B C C+D 6, 236C+D (-2 Stars)

Works? If you try and C+D into IK after a long combo, you can miss with the IK because of too much gravity and not doing it fast enough, but I think this one still works.

... j.214D |> 2A B C 236C+D

Spike combo into instant kill.

To cancel C to the IK, you have to delay input a little while. Timing is a bit flakey. If you don't want to risk it, combo to C+D then boost and IK.

2A 2BB f.D C+D 6, D A+C > 2369C 6E |> 2C > IAD j.B 214D, |> 2A 2B C A+C > j.D 214D, |> 2A 2B C 236C+D (-3 Stars)

Well it's a long combo and it'll probably knock off half their life in the process, but now you can do a -3 Star IK combo.

C+D 6, A+B 6E, D A+C > 2369C 6E |> A, 236C+D (-3 Stars)

Does this work? It should, but probably will require you to be FAR away from the corner to do.

IV. Mixups

... 623C 41236D > IAD j.B/D (crossup) |> 2A 2B etc.

... D.f 41236D > jc.[C] (unblockable)

... 623C 41236D > 236C Boost |> 2B 2B etc.

... 623C 41236D > 236C Boost |> 6B 41236D

Standard pressure mixup. Note that 623C is pretty good for building bar so you can often use it to fill up a meter when it is close to full. Also note that pretty much all of these will work off any setup where you can force the person to block a 42136D ... which means off 2D or anything else you want.

2C ... 2D or IAD j.B

Very simple mixup. 2C is slow and is jump cancelable. Keep them on their toes by either doing IAD j.B (can even crossup) or doing 2D 41236D. Note that because 2C is slow to start up and because Raoh isn't the fastest guy around, these mixups aren't nearly as solid as someone like Rei.

... 623C > Boost 2B ...

Tick throw setup with a Boost. Either do 2B again for a frame trap, or throw into combo.

... j.214D |> 2A* 2B C 6B 41236D > etc.

Not actually a combo. Drop the end of a long spike combo with a mixup into the overhead kick that resets to ANOTHER combo. Hilarious, but don't give up your combos just to do this. Since advanced Raoh players can pretty much kill in a single combo, you won't really use this once you get your combos perfected.

D.f CD, or D.f [CD]

Sounds stupid, but the unblockable blowback can be used as a frame trap device. If the other person is used to trying to tap you out of charging up a blowback, instead let it go early and tag them as a frame trap. Even if they block, you are pretty safe (you can also always cancel to 41236D) and you get a LOT of free boost/aura bar. Since it builds so much Boost, you can often use this to START another mixup or pressure string... such as boosting into 2C and then doing the usual from there.

2C 8 > 236C~E |> 6C ...

Fake out. Jump cancel but then post-boost an air fireball, it will look like you are attacking high but it will wiff. You can then land and immediately throw, or use a low hit if you want. VERY nasty.

          Exe     A/D     Dmg     FaV     Etc
c5A       7       -3      9       4       whiff against crouching opp
c5B       8       -3      9       5       --        
c5C       10~26   -9      20      8       chargeable
c5C(p)    42~50   --      19      8       powered up version, unblockable, -1 star
c5D       9       -10     11x2    7x2     --
f5A       7       -5      7       4       --
f5B       8       -4      7       6       --
f5C       17~33   -12     17      7       chargeable
f5C(p)    49~57   --      17      16      powered up version, unblockable, -1 star
f5D       11      -15     18      16      --
2A        5       -3      6       4       --
2B        7       -2      6       5       hit low
2C        17~33   -16     14      7       chargeable
2C(p)     48~56   --      14      8       powered up version, unblockable, -1 star
2D        11~27   -20     14      8       hit low, chargeable
2D(p)     43~51   --      14      8       powered up version, unblockable, -1 star
JA        3       --      6       5       overhead
JB        8       --      6       6       overhead
JC        10~26   --      15      8       overhead, chargeable
JC(p)     31~39   --      15      8       powered up version, unblockable, -1 star
JD        11      --      7x4     6x4     overhead
A+C       15      -4      22      8       --
C+D       18~33   -8      20      8       -1 star
Max C+D   34~38   -8      20      8       -1 star
GC        9       -1      11      8       doesn't KO
A+B       41      --      6       7       unblockable, -1 star, doesn't KO      
N. Throw  4       --      15x2    8x2     --
B+D       9       --      0+13x2  8x3     -1 star

That’s all for now.

GENERAL

---

Special Moves After the Super Freeze

When your opponent starts up a super move there's a "super freeze" where the game pauses and it (usually?) shows a big picture of the character performing the super. Now, while you can't input any joystick motions during the freeze there's a trick that lets you bust out a move immediately after the super freeze ends. Perform the appropriate joystick motion and then, when the screen freezes, hold the corresponding button down and your move will come out as soon as the freeze ends. The specific example they have is: Ken stands next to Jagi and does towards, down, down-towards. Jagi does his Hokuto Rakangeki(236236C) super. Ken sees the game freeze, presses and holds down hard punch and gets a Hokuto Ujou Moushouha DP that beats Jagi's super.

If you get the timing down you can use this to beat invincible wake-up supers.

Break the Three Star Limit

We know that combos in this game can't take away more than three stars. The exception here is the grab move (BD) -- the star taken away by the grab doesn't count toward the limit. Here's a four star Rei combo (c/o Momiage, iirc:)

http://media.putfile.com/rei4stars

Keep the BD grab in mind when you're looking to punish your enemy's unsafe blocked attack or whiffed move.

When Heart-sama has his It Hurts!(236236C) super active, his grab can snatch opponents after they've been hit and/or while they're in the air... and it's exempt from the three star rule. Some nitty-gritty below.

1P - 2P Differences

There are some differences between the one player side and the two player side. ("one player," ie: starts the match on the left side of the screen) Some combos are easier to perform when using one side or the other. This is of particular importance for Heart. More below but one thing to stress is that you'll want to insist on a coin toss (American style -- in Arcadia they mention rock-paper-scissors) if you're in a tournament match. The winner of the coin toss wants to be on the two player side. This is most important for Ken, Raoh, Shin and Rei players. Again: a) win the coin toss b) choose 2P.

High Scores

May 2006 Arcadia

Presumably one credit + default settings vs. cpu. I know this is dumb -- I also want to test out the code tag for future posts. Bueno?

Character   Score          Name
Thouther    15,875,700     FJC smell the end of the century
Shin        12,613,000     use a different char?
Rei         13,795,100     KENT.K

HEART

---

Store the Super Armor

Heart's jumping hard punch has one-hit super armor. There's a trick (glitch?) where you can store that super armor if you do the hard punch but land from the jump before Heart goes into the punching animation. The simplest way to set this up is to do a backwards instant air dash and press and hold the hard punch button until Heart lands. Now you can boldly walk towards your opponent and look for a combo starting with a standing weak punch.

Some variations:

1) If you have your opponent in the corner: instant air dash towards after an air throw or Heart's A super grab, hold hard punch before landing and absorb their wake-up attack while combo-ing off a weak punch.

2) The stored super armor beefs up a Heavy Strike (AB) -> Heart's A (236236A) set up.

3) Absorb a long range poke and hit them with a weak Earth Crush (214B).

4) Absorb an IAD attack and hit with standing weak punch.

Note that the super armor doesn't work against Heavy Strikes and special moves and goes away when you block a special move.

Big Hug Glitch

There's a glitch with the Big Hug (236A) throw (available during his It Hurts! (236236C) super) where Heart's opponent can do a move as they start to get grabbed. For most moves this won't cause any noticeable effect. If they do an invincible move, however, they'll avoid getting thrown and do their move in mid-air.

2P Grab Loops of Doom

Two player Heart can perform repeated grabs on airborne opponents much more easily than one player Heart. Here are three combos with corresponding character/1P-2P restrictions:

1) (corner) D -> 623A x n

Both 1P and 2P Heart: Jagi, Rei

2P Heart only: Raoh, Shin

2) (corner) 2B -> 214B -> (near peak of jump) jA -> AC x 4 (-> 236236A)

Both 1P and 2P Heart: Jagi

2P Heart only: Shin, Rei

3) (near corner) 2B -> CD -> auto boost (hold 6) -> D -> 236236C -> BD x n

Both 1P and 2P Heart: Raoh

2P Heart only: Kenshiro, Rei, Shin

Written out, that third combo is: crouching weak kick -> Banishing Strike -> auto boost -> standing hard kick -> It Hurts! -> grab times n. Just keep pressing weak kick and hard kick together. Because of the star exemption for grabs, Heart takes away all of his opponent's life and all of their stars!

REI

--

I mentioned this in passing in the anti-Toki thread: Rei suffers from a longer crouching hit stun than the rest of the cast. Here's a list of combos that work on crouching Rei only.

Kenshiro: close D -> CD or 236D

Raoh: close D -> CD or 214D

Toki: close D -> 623B -> 2C

Jagi: 2C -> 2D or CD

Shin: 2B -> AC or (far D -> 214214C)

Rei: close D -> IAD jD

Juda: 2C -> CD

Thouther: far D -> CD

Heart: nothing

Mamiya: far D(1 hit) -> CD

....to be continued...

This time, I am going to make it much better.

A few things first:

1. How to use this guide

Just look at the following index, then click the section that you want to read.

2. Basic notations

7 / 8 / 9       UpBack /        Up           / UpForward
4 / 5 / 6 =       Back / Standing or Neutral / Forward
1 / 2 / 3     DownBack / Down or Crouching   / DownForward

Button Layout:

A C E

B D

A: Weak punch

B: Weak kick

C: Strong punch

D: Strong Kick

E: Boost

3. A tiny introduction

I urge you to go through Basic section. It gives you the fundamental knowledge of the game even you don’t play Shin. I am really surprised that many people often “discover” the basic tricks that are already mentioned more than a year ago. Please do read the whole thing. It’s really important.

4. Quick movelist

UNIVERSAL MOVES:

Throw: close to opponent 4/6+C

Boost: E

Grab: 4/6+BD

Grave Shoot: AC

Banishing Strike: CD (hold)

Heavy Strike: AB

Aura Guard: hold E while blocking

Guard Cancel: 6+CD while blocking

Stagger Cancel: attack button and swirl stick while staggered

Tech Hit: attack button while reeling in the air

Special Wake-up: 8/2 when knocked down

Special Skill 1: 6A

Special Skill 2: 6B

SPECIAL MOVES

Nanto Senkyakuso: 214+B

Nanto Gokutoken: 623+kick

Nanto Ryuhashidan: 236+A

Nanto Hakuhazan: 214+C

Nanto Senjuzan: 236+C -> 236+C

Nanto Gyakushiso: close to opponent 63214+A

Nanto Hakuen Tenshou: 236D / 214D

I won't die by your hand: when own star gauge is empty 412363214+A

SUPER MOVES

Nanto Raishinso: 236236+C

Nanto Senjuryugeki: 214214+C (hold)

ONE-HIT KILL

Nanto Shoshu Tokyaku: 236+CD

And if you just wanna win with some flashy and technical combos, Toki's your dude too.

Post your Toki Combos/Strats here.

Anti-Toki thread is a must read. Has some really good combos/strats there too:

( http://www.dustloop.com/forums/showthread.php?t=745 )

Please leave the hate at the door.

============================================================================

Combos/The art of doing them:

So I've got some combos here, and I've been watching plenty of Toki videos and it seems most of the combos stem from 2D -> 623B. There are tons of variations, depending on your style, character, etc.

Really basic with Banishing Strike finish (can be done mid-screen or corner):

1) 2D, 623B, 2C, AC, rising j.C, j.236A, (land), 2C, AC, rising j.A*, j.236C (2 hits), j.236A, (land), 2A, 2C (2 hits).. Then end with CD or 236236C.

*You can replace j.A with j.D, imho it's a lot easier to connect the air hyakuretsu.

2) 2D, 623B, 2C, c.D, 623B, 2A, 2C (2 hits), j.B, j.C, j.236C (2 hits), j.236A, 2A, 2C (2 hits), CD OTG.

Very good, very hard to do, and can be done midscreen/corner.

3)2C, 2D, 623B, 2A, 2C, AC, etc.

Something to build upon.

4)2C,2D, 623B, 2C, c.D, 623B, 2A, 2C (2hits), 236236C

Easy to get into beginner combo, you can build off of it instead of using 236236C super.

5) 2D, 623B, 2C, AC, j.236C, (land) CD = Mamation's easy 2 stars

6) 2D -> B warp -> 2C -> close D -> B warp -> 2A -> 2C -> grave -> jB -> jC -> hyakuretsu -> j236A -> etc.

[btw, Kurenai ended one with CD -> E -> 2B -> 632147D vs. Msin in the June a-cho finals. cool extra star]

=============================================================================

Corner Throw loops:

1) throw -> 623B -> 2A, close D, 6D -> 623B -> close D, far D, 6D -> 623B -> 2C(1 hit), 2D -> 623B -> 2C(1 hit), 2D -> 623B -> 2C(1 hit), E~CD, E~AC -> jA, jB, jC, jD -> j236C(4 hits) -> j236A -> 236236C

For some reason, this combo isn't easy against Raoh, so I used an amalgamation of another combo to make it a bit easier.

2) throw -> 623B -> 2A, close D, 6D -> 623B -> 2A, 2C, 5D, 6D -> 623B -> etc..

3) throw, 623B, 2C, 2D, 236D, 623B, 2C, 2D, 623B, 2C, 2D, 623B, 2C, 2D, 623B, 2C, boost, 5something, AC, j236C, CD.

Mr. Mamations scrambled scrambler

=============================================================================

Strats (stolen from Nohoho's anti-toki section, thx!)

Warp Trap

Toki's primary weapon is a trap using his Hokuto Musou Ryubu move. The basic format is:

2A(blocked) -> 2A -> 2D -> 623B -> repeat

What makes this so fierce is the fact that a blocking opponent has only a tiny window to act in between the crouching hard kick and the next crouching weak punch. Additionally, Toki warping behind his opponent makes it difficult to block and he's got a built in hit-confirm option like so:

2A(hits) -> 2A -> 2D -> 623B -> 2C -> AC -> etc.

Minor variations to the warp trap, such as substituting a crouching weak kick for the hard kick or delaying the Ryubu(623B) move a bit can throw off Toki's opponent's timing (ie: their attempts to sneak an invincible move in that "tiny window.")

IAD Counter

Instead of an instant air dash hard kick Toki can occasionally mix in his mid-air counter move to stop their anti-air attempt. The input looks something like this:

9, 9, 214D or 9, 6, 214D

Even if they don't get baited into trying to hit Toki out of the air, his opponent is in danger of getting thrown when he lands.

Vertical Warp Trick

When performed in the air the Ryubu move makes Toki zip back down to the ground. He's invincible mid-zip and a sneaky use for this is:

high jump forward -> 236A -> throw

In a very short amount of time Toki closes the gap and lands that ace throw.

Properties of Towards plus Hard Kick

Toki's upper body becomes invincible immediately as he starts his towards plus hard kick attack. Also, it takes a star on counter hit, so it's handy for interrupting your opponent's attacks.

If you see your enemy doing a Heavy Strike, break out this move to pass right through it and land a counter hit. This should work on everyone but Shin and Juda. After it hits, cancel into a warp (623B) -> crouching hard punch -> Grave Shoot -> etc.

Toki's 6D also beats Juda and Jagi's Banishing Strikes. Both of them use those Strikes frequently, so this counter is something to keep in mind.

This attack works as an overhead against Raoh and Heart. You'll be left at about even initiative if it's blocked so when you have them cornered you can follow up with something else. If it hits, take a small step forward and start a combo with crouching hard kick.

Finally, the towards plus hard kick can be used as air defense against Heart. Try to catch him right as he's landing.

============================================================================

          Exe     A/D     Dmg     FaV     Etc
c5A       9       -1      9       5       --
c5B       9       -1      9       5       --     
c5C       13      -12     19      7       -- 
c5D       13      -12     19      7       -- 
f5A       9       +3      7       5       whiff against crouching opp
f5B       6       -5      7       5       --
f5C       13      -6      17      7       --
f5D       16      -4      17      7       --
2A        5       +5      6       5       --
2B        16      -11     6       5       hit low
2C        9       -7      10      6       --
2C(2nd)   5       0       10      7       --
2D        11      -5      13      8       --
JA        5       --      6       5       overhead
JB        5       --      6       5       overhead
JC        7       --      14      7       overhead
JD        9       --      16      7       overhead
A+C       13      -4      20      8       --
C+D       18~33   -8      20      7       -1 star
Max C+D   34~38   -8      20      7       -1 star
GC        9       -1      10      8       doesn't KO
A+B       41      --      6       7       unblockable, -1 star, doesn't KO      
N. Throw  4       --      28      8       --

UPDATES ON GLITCHES THAT AFFECT THE MAJORITY OF THE CAST (if its a glitch that just affects one person then post it in that characters thread).

LINK

Each character will have their own thread so don't make doubles. If you have a question about a certain character then ask on their specific thread.

If you have questions about how the game works and about the engine then What's all the game system and basics? is the place to post.

If you have any questions or concerns about anything else then PM me and I'll get back to you when i can. In the mean time any simple questions i will post here.

Dr. Stormlocke 02-17-2006 09:08 AM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thouther thread.

Move list, names are taken from Nohoho/Superking(obligatory props for their guides).

And you're better off reading Superking's guide on Guardcrush.net

(http://www.guardcrush.net/forums/showthread.php?t=222)

Weak Punch = A

Weak Kick = B

Strong Punch = C

Strong Kick = D

Boost = E

MOVES:

Kyokusei Jyuji Shohafu: 214 + A

Ground cross/fireball that hits twice, has a pretty long duration, good to use when they're waking up, or in conjunction with the air variety for a somewhat-acceptable defense game.

Nanto Bakuseiha: 214 + A (In the air)

Air cross. Good for pressure and leads into some nice combos. Two hits if close, first is spreading of arms summoning the cross (which has to be blocked high), second is the projectile itself.

Holy Spear: 623 + A or C

Generic Anti-Air, is thrown at a 45 degree angle. Punch used adjusts angle to some degree.

Counterhit spears takes a star.

Kyokusei Jyuji Ken: 236 + A, B, C, or D.

Series of attacks kinda similar to Rolento's baton twirl. 236 + D is an overhead, while 236 + B is a low. If you start out with 236 + A, you can chain into 236 + C, and finally end with 236 + D. This seems like one of his bread and butters. 236 + A, 236 + B, 236 + D also is viable, however it does not chain.

Supers:

Housho Jyujihou: 214 41236 + A

Thouther jumps up and sprouts wings, phoenix style, and descends down at a diagonal angle. I don't find it terribly useful for now. If you are in this air and do this super, you will only do the descent part.

Houou Kotou Kaiten/Speed Up/Magneto Mode: 214 214 + C

You move faster, and your Kyokusei moves become more powerful and hit around 4-5 times. You also toss spears very, very, fast.

Seitei Jyuji Ryou/Pyramid Drop: 236 236 + C (623 + C to throw spear near the start of the super.)

Pyramid falls on opponent and they are riddled with arrows, pyramid then collapses ontop of them. Somewhat slow. Must be blocked high. I've found it sorta useful in fireball wars though. You can enter the other command at the start of the super then he will toss a spear, taking another star from them, this takes additional super however.

FATAL KO/Tenshou Jyujihou: 236 + C + D

Souther does a Guile style flashkick and then launches a phoenix at opponent. If they don't block the phoenix they are 'destroyed'. If you connect with the flashkick, sit back and start humming the music.

Other Important Moves:

A + C: Launcher. A fast kick that launches opponent up, hold up to follow them and continue the combo.

6C + D: (While Blocking) Alpha Counter, a roundhouse, takes a stock of super. Essential.

6A: Overhead, pretty small range.

C + D: A powerful attack that knocks your opponent back against the wall, hold forward to follow. Standing roundhouse type kick.

A + B: Unblockable attack, you can hold it down to make the move come out slower. They lose one of their stars and are staggered if it hits.

Combos: (Thanks to Gwyrgyn Blood!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-3kj7bBwqQ

Combos in the vid are...

1) 2B 2B AC, > jc.C 214A 6 |> AC > jc.A 214A

2) 2B 2B AC, > jc.C 214A 6 |> C CDE

3) 2147A |> AC, > jc.C 214A |> C 62369C, A C 2147A

4) 2B 2B AC, > jc.C 214A |> AC > jc.A 214A

5) 2B 2B 236A 236C CDE 6, AC 2147A |> 66 AC 2147A

6) CD 6, C 2C D 236A E, 2C*15 5C 2141236A

7) AB CDE 6, C 2C 236A, C 623A, (66 C 623A) * 3, 66 AC 2147A

General Strategy/Gameplan/Combos:

I usually start off by summoning the crosses, first an air one, then ground, since the ground one takes a little while to get out. From there see if they are dash happy and start chucking spears. Dash in and poke with 2B. If I connect with a 2b this is the combo I do:

2B 2B, Launcher (A + C) Hold up, Jumping C, Nanto Bakuseiha Aircross, Jumping A, Double Jump, Jumping A, Nanto Bakuseiha Aircross.

The only weird part is setting up for the second cross to hit, I don't think it works on all characters. You can also use the Housho Jyujihou Super as an ender to the combo. If they have no stars and can be FATAL KO'D, you can do Thouther's FATAL KO after this first aircross and it should combo FTW! I pulled this off today and it made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Here's a vid of it: http://members.cox.net/izcer/Thouther%20Fatal%20KO.WMV

Once you get them in the corner, airdash down toward them, do a jumping C and then launch an aircross. If they get hit with that, land and try to go for the combo listed above.

Pressure Strings:

Continue to poke with 2B, 2B and then 236 + A. Wait, do 236 + A again. IAD into Jumping C then aircross~aircombo. Anytime you poke with 2B you have many options available to you, you can poke once then try to go for an 6A overhead, or 2B into groundcross. Once they get used to blocking low, summon a groundcross and do 6AB unblockable attack or jump up and then aircross and continue pressure OR when the groundcross is out do 236+D which is an overhead. 2B, 2B, hesitate, spear also sometimes tags jumpers, and you can boost it into a continued pressure string if it whiffs. The problem is maintaining momentum and not getting alpha countered. Slow down pokes with with 2B and try to bait a counter.

Mixup:

Boosting Thouther's crosses, while taking a decent amount away from your meter, has been adding alot to my game. Generally I will do an aircross low to the ground, boostcancel it, land and poke with 2B into whatever. It's kinda like Millia's Tandem Top. You can also do one higher up in the air and try to boost to the otherside. If after the boost they get hit by the aircross, jump back up, do a few hits like j.b, j.a, j.c aircross. If you have them cornered, knockdown into ground cross, boost cancel, IAD, j.c, air cross, land combo. After repeated uses of this string, do the same thing except DO NOT make an air cross, instead land and do a low into whatever. Odds are your opponent will continue blocking high, anticipating the Nanto Bakuseiha, and your low will connect.

If you get them block 236A, start doing 236D(overhead). As the move begins to put Souther up in the air, boost cancel it before it hits, and go for a low. You can also boost cancel your 236D if they block and throw out an air cross.

Defense:

If Thouther is getting rushed down himself, it's time to use that super meter for your Alpha Counter. Yes, get used to it, since he takes damage like a bitch, and has a guard meter most of the time, you will need to spend most of your super getting them the eff off you.

You can also try to turtle with Thouther, though this is not highly recommended. After an Alpha counter, setup with an aircross, ground cross, spear toss repeat in a random order. Be prepared to be nailed with fireball supers among other things while doing this though.

Other Videos:

HnK DVD compilation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVqnz91SbxQ

Thouther Normal Moves Frame Data: (Thanks to tianyuan2k4!)

-Notation-

c = close

f = far

5 = standing/neutral

2 = crouching

F= frame

Exec = execution

Dur = duration

Rec = recovery

Adv/Dis = Advantage/Disadvantage

FV = Faint Value

Code:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Exec Dur Rec Adv/Dis FV Etc

c5A 5F 4F 8F -3F 4

f5A 5F 4F 4F +3F 5

2A 7F 2F 4F +5F 5

6A 25F 2F 16F -2F 7 Overhead, CH –1 star

c5B 4F 4F 8F -1F 5 4F! One of the fastest normal move on ground

f5B 7F 2F 12F -3F 5

2B 6F 3F 4F +4F 5 Hit low

6B 29F 4F 15F -1F 7 Hit low, can auto boost on hit

c5C 10F 2F 20F -9F 6

f5C 9F 2F 12F -5F 6

2C 9F 2F 12F -1F 6

c5D 10F 4F 24F -11F 7

f5D 8F 2F 24F -10F 7

2D 12F 3F 12F +1F 7 Hit low

JA 5F 6F 8F -- 5 Overhead

JB 8F 6F 4F -- 6 Overhead

JC 11F 12F 16F -- 7 Overhead

JD 15F 6F 10F -- 7 Overhead

Throw 4F 4F 20F -- 8 unblockable

B+D 9F 4F 4F -- 8×2 unblockable

A+C 9F 4F 12F +3F 8

A+B 41F 4F 18F -- 7 unblockable, -1 star

C+D 18~33F 4F 20F -8F 7 - 1 star

maxC+D 34~38F 4F 20F -8F 7 - 1 star

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Anyway, this is a work in progress as I and others get more playtime with the game, I hope some of the stuff listed here can help people. Feel free to add anything to it via posts.

Second Hokuto Combo DVD IS COMING THIS TUESDAY!!!

Currently Boosting is all that is done for now. If you find an error somewhere, please let me know so I can fix it.

Anything marked in [ ] is stuff I need to double/triple check in the game later to make sure it is accurate.

I. Notation Guide

Here is the basic notation used by everyone that should help you understand what people are talking about better.

Numeric format of input:

The number listed in the notation are directions. To understand them, look at the NUM PAD on your keyboard. Basically, they correspond like this:

7 8 9       UpBack     Up      UpForward
4 5 6  -->  Back     Neutral     Forward
1 2 3       DownBack  Down   DownForward

Button Layout:

A C E
B D

A - Light Punch

B - Light Kick

C - Heavy Punch

D - Heavy Kick

E - Boost

You may also see them written as P, K, HP, HK, S. These are the official buttons for the console version.

f.D - Far version of Heavy Kick

c.D - Close version of Heavy Kick

j.A - Jumping Punch

jc.A - Jump Cancel into Punch

sjc.A - Super Jump Cancel into Punch

> - Jump, or otherwise leave the ground.

|> - Land on the ground

, - A wait, pause, or Link in the combo (signifies that you do not directly gattling moves together)

[A] - Hold down Punch here

]A[ - Release Punch here

CDE - Hit Heavy Punch, Heavy Kick, and Boost all at the same time.

C~E - Roll from Heavy Punch to Boost. Generally around a 1-2F between button presses.

(236A)*10 - Repeat 236A 10 times or so.

10F - 10 Frames, the unit of measurement for length of time in fighting games. Hokuto runs at 60 Frames per Second.

JI - Jump Install

AG - Aura Guard

IAD - Instant Air Dash

TK - Tiger Knee

II. Boosting

Basics

The basic idea of boosting is that it allows you to move forward rapidly by consuming Boost meter. However, you can boost during moves. This gives you many additional offensive, defensive, and movement options.

Normally during a boost, you cannot stop yourself from moving forward other than by attacking. Normally, you cannot throw, duck, or jump while Boosting.

You can boost almost anything. However, certain moves stop you from boosting at certain times. Supers you generally cannot boost at all. Throws you generally cannot boost until you have actually 'thrown' the other person. You can boost while you are already boosting, to continue moving forward rapidly.

Boosting can generally be accomplished by just hitting the E button. You cannot boost while holding backwards. After a clean CD connect, you can utilize 'auto boost'. To do this, just hold forward after the CD connects and you will automatically boost forward. You can only autoboost a CD that hits the opponent on the ground, or if it hits against an air target outside of a combo.

Recovery Boosting

The first main usage of Boost is to cancel the recovery of a move. The idea is to hit the Boost button as soon as a move has connected, and it will cut the remaining active and recovery time into a forward boost. For comboing purposes, this will allow you to continue combos where you otherwise wouldn't be able to. A basic example for Raoh is to boost the recovery of his rapid punch attack into his launcher:

623C E AC ...

You can also use Recovery Boosting to save yourself when you miss a move. For example, if you throw a heavy uppercut with Kenshiro (623C), you will normally have a lot of recovery time. You can hit boost to move yourself away rapidly and cut recovery time. Note that when you wiff a move like this, you cannot boost until the recovery of the move, not during the active time.

Note: When Recovery Boosting an air attack, you will continue on your 'boosted' motion even after you hit the ground, so you will essentially 'hit the ground running'. You will notice this is not the case with Startup Boosting. Keep this in mind, as it means you cannot immediately jump OR block again after hitting the ground!

Startup Boosting

Another easy usage of Boosting is to boost the startup of a move. What this does is causes the move to still execute, but your character will move forward rapidly before the move goes active. This is especially useful for unblockable strikes and moves with short range. A simple example is to begin charging up a CD attack, and then hit E shortly before it releases.

Note that startup boosting does not cancel out of the move like Recovery Boosting does. Also, if you wiff a move, boosting the active time still counts as startup boosting, whereas if you connect with the move, boosting the active time will count as recovery boosting.

Note: When Startup Boosting an air attack, if that boost causes you to return to the ground (see Post-Boosting for an example of why it would), you will not maintain your boost momentum when you hit the ground, and the air move will simply be canceled.

Instant Attack Boosting

Another important technique you can learn is that you can instantly cancel something into a Boost, but instantly cancel that Boost into another move. This allows you to chain attacks together quickly and easily. A very common example is the input CDE, which is to say you hit Heavy Punch, Heavy Kick, and Boost all at the same time. The result is that you instantly boost into a CD attack. An easy example with Kenshiro is to do:

2B 2B 236CE CDE 6 ...

In this combo, Kenshiro instantly boosts into his 236C, and then instantly boosts into his CD attack. This is a very useful technique and you will use it all the time.

[Check]

There are a number of places where you cannot Instant Attack Boost however. You cannot IAB supers, and you cannot IAB from one special move to another (such as doing 236CE 236CE). You can always IAB command normals (such as AB, AC, CD), but you can never IAB regular normals (such as doing C CE) unless you could normally chain into them from the previous normal anyway (maybe?).

For such situations, use Pre-Boosting instead.

Pre-Boosting

This is basically a slightly adjusted version of Instant Attack Boosting used to get around situations where you normally can't use IAB. The idea is to start a boost, but then almost immediately cancel into a move. An important thing about Pre-Boosting is that it is guaranteed that the Boost does not effect the movement of the special move when you do this. If a move stops you mid air (such as Raoh's 236C), Pre-Boosting it will still cause you to pause in the air when he does the fireball.

To do this technique, all you need to do is input the motion of the move ahead of time (if needed), and then roll from Boost to the button needed to do the move. For example, Kenshiro can do this:

236C 236236E~A

Post-Boosting

This is an extra trick that can be done with Instant Attack Boost. Instead of Boosting immediately into a move such as in Pre-Boosting, you do a move immediately into a Boost.

This technique is useful because unlike Pre-Boosting, it changes the normal movement of the move you are boosting. What will happen is that you will first receive any initial movement changes of the move, and then you will cancel that into the boost effect movement. This allows you to make certain moves move in ways they are not supposed to.

For example, normally Raoh's air fireball (236C) causes him to stop in mid air and then fall strait down. You can modify that behavior with a Post-Boost by doing 236CE. What will happen instead is that Raoh will stop mid air as normal (thus killing all upward momentum), but then the boost will cause him to plummet downwards. Since this is a form of Startup Boosting, the fireball still goes off, but Raoh is chasing closely after it.

An application of this is to confuse the other player. For example, Raoh might do this:

2C 8 > j.236CE |> Throw ...

What will happen is that Raoh will jump, appear to throw a fireball, but instead immediately land and throw the enemy.

Note: Post-Boosting is just an extra trick that can be done with IABing ... functionally they are the same thing. Inputting j.236C~E and j.236CE from neutral nets the same Post-Boosted results because they are both overriding the move's normal momentum (as opposed to j.236E~C where the move's momentum overrides the Boost's). However, because of Hit Pause Canceling, these different inputs may NOT be the same when done while canceling another move! You can use the input j.236C~E from neutral to ensure you don't get a pre-boost, but you will have to be careful when doing this from combos!

Quick Summary

Recovery Boosting: Canceling the recovery time of a move into a boost.

Startup Boosting: Boosting the startup of a move.

Instant Attack Boosting: Used when you want to instantly cancel one attack to another using Boost. It is Recovery Boosting the previous move and Startup Boosting the following move.

Pre-Boosting: Alternative technique used where Instant Attack Boosting doesn't work, basically a usage of Recovery Boosting.

Post-Boosting: Extra trick that can be utilized with Instant Attack Boosting. A usage of Recovery Boost.

Hit Pause Canceling

One very important thing that is not immediate obvious to Recovery Boosting is that it allows you to cancel HIT PAUSE in addition to active and recovery time. Hit Pause is the effect where the game will pause both characters slightly after a hit to emphasize the effect of the hit. This time also normally helps you to buffer moves in a combo. Because you can cancel this time, it allows you to combo things that would otherwise not normally combo. Coupled with Instant Attack Boosting, this becomes very useful for certain combos.

In practical terms, this just means that in some combos, timing your input becomes much more difficult and specific than normal. An example combo that requires this technique is this Thouther combo:

2B 2B 236A 236C CDE 6 ...

It is necessary here because normally, 236C does not cause enough hit-stun for a CD attack to combo into it. What you must do is input the CDE early into the hit pause, allowing Thouther to start moving before the other character even begins his hit stun recovery time.

To put it into numbers, imagine that 236C causes 10F of hit stun on the enemy, after which he can block. If the CDE attack has 15F of startup, it cannot combo even if normally instant boosted. However, if there is 6F of hit pause on 236C, Thouther can instant boost cancel the first frame of hit pause and allow the CD to connect. You'll notice however that this only leaves a 1F margin of error for the combo, NO buffer at all. This is why input timing becomes much more difficult in these situations.

Run Install Boosting

[Check ducking + Aura Guard]

Before I said that you normally cannot jump or throw during a Boost. While this is true, there is a way around it. If you run before boost, for some reason you will retain the ability to jump and throw. This allows for some additional options which can be quite helpful.

To instant boost throw, you can input this:

66 E 4C

You can also use it as a confusing instant crossup technique by doing:

66 E 9 44

This will make you boost forward, jump over, then air dash backwards for a 2 part crossup.

You can also use this to allow you to Tiger Knee moves during a forward boost. For example with Thouther, if you can force the enemy to block his air projectile, you can do:

66 E 2147A

Neutral Boosting Moves Ending with a Backwards Direction

Ever notice that it's difficult to boost a move like Thouther's 214A? That's because normally you can't boost while holding Backwards. The solution to this problem is to return the stick to neutral quickly before inputting the button and boost. You can do this for supers requiring such motions as 214214. So now Thouther might do something like this:

j.214 5AE

or

2147 5AE

or

66 E 2147 5AE

Raoh on the other hand, some times wants to boost cancel his f.D into his ground 214D sai attack. To do this, he must use Hit Pause Canceling and Neutral Boosting to do the job. It looks like this:

[Check]

2B 2B f.D 214 5DE

Boost Meter Consumption

The boost meter behaves somewhat uniquely in how it empties. There are three blocks of meter, each one considered to contain 100% (so the max is 300% boost). Every usage of a Boost (auto-boost or not) consumes some minimum chunk of boost meter. If the current block of boost meter has any remaining boost after this minimum is consumed, it will begin to drain slowly until that block is empty.

For example, if you have max Boost (300%) and use a boost that requires 50%, it will immediately drain 50%, and then the remaining boost in the final block will drain away, leaving 200%.

If, however, you only have 210% boost and use a boost that requires 50%, it will reduce you down to 160% initially, and then continue to drain your second block until it is empty, leaving you at 100%.

There are a few ways to exploit this to your benefit. First is that as long as you have at least 100% boost, you can boost no matter how full either the second or third blocks are. So, if you have 160% boost and use a boost that only consumes 50%, only your second block will drain and thus you will still have 100% boost left over (and the first block will not drain at all).

Second, you can continue to use boosts while a block is draining. If you have 200% boost and use a boost that consumes 25%, you have 175% left that will start to drain … so you can perhaps boost 2 more times that consume 25% and only use up that second block (which you would lose if you didn’t anyway). The reason you can only boost 2 times instead of 3 is that the meter will be draining between uses, so the leftover boost after 3 uses would probably be closer to 15-20% or less. Keep in mind that if you accidentally go slightly over, you will eat into the next block and then you will have consumed 2 blocks total by the end.

[Need consumption % chart here]

III. Stars

Basics

As you should already be aware, you can knock off all of your enemy's 7 stars to allow you to do a Fatal KO. You get back 1 star each round if you have less than 7, you get back all stars if you get Fatal KOed. You also get 1 star back if the enemy wiffs their Fatal KO.

What knocks off a star depends a lot on the move you use. Some moves guarantee a star, some will only get one on a Counter Hit. Check your character's move list (in game or in the manual) for a list of how many stars each move knocks off.

In general, scoring a counter hit with a special move or command normal increases the star removal by 1.

AB attacks will always knock off a star. CD attacks will knock off a star if they connect (are not blocked). A charged CD attack will only knock off a star if the enemy hits the wall they are sliding towards. They will not lose one if they shake out.

In general, launching someone with an AC attack will make the next air special move you do knock off a star. You can only normally do this once for each special attack (so you cannot knock off 2 stars with Raoh's j.214D if you launch them twice with AC). Note that this star taking property is applied to the move itself, it is not a property of the combo. That means that if the other person techs or lands OTG and stands up and gets hit by the move, then can STILL lose a star (So for example if Thouther misses with a j.214A but it connects after the enemy techs, they can still lose a star from it).

Some characters have special normals which count as launchers just like AC attacks. They can use these launchers to also knock off extra stars just like an AC attack does. The most obvious example is Thouther's 5C attack.

BD Command throws will always knock off a star.

Normally, the max number of stars you can ever remove in a combo is 3. After that, typical star taking moves will no longer take off stars. Dizzying the enemy does reset this number after the current combo is dropped, so it is possible to knock off an additional set of stars after a dizzy.

Relaunch Star Glitches

Thouther's j.214A attack is special in that it is a two part move, the first hit is physical and the second is a projectile. It seems that because of this, a special glitch can be used with the AC launcher. What happens is that each part of the attack counts as a separate attack, so it is possible to knock off two stars by relaunching with a second AC. A typical example combo is:

AC > jc.C 214A |> AC > jc.A 214A

The physical hit will knock off 1 star the first time, and the projectile will knock off the second star on the second launch.

This may possibly be a generic engine glitch, however as far as I know this is the only special move in the game with the properties needed to do this.

Jump Install Star Glitches

Jump Install is a bug that originated from Guilty Gear. The basic idea is that jumps have a few frames of startup, during which time properties get set in preparation for the jump. The jump 'install' then is the act of canceling this jump startup into another move, which then causes the jump to never happen and the next move to execute. Doing this leaves these special jump properties set even though the character never jumps.

To perform a Jump Install, the basic input is the same as a Tiger Kneed motion, except you must input the button press BEFORE you leave the ground as opposed to after, and of course you must perform a ground move as opposed to an air move. The notation tends to look the same as TKing, so typically Jump Installing is specifically labeled as such when used in a combo.

What this means for Hokuto is that the property of taking off a star from a launcher can be 'installed' and used without jumping. Thouther is unique in that his 5C attack counts as a launcher like AC but can also be special canceled, which means he can do this JI glitch very easily:

AC > jc.C 214A |> 5C 62369C(JI), A C 2147A(JI)

The first JI is for a C Spear. The spear normally does not take a star, but will when JIed off a 5C properly. The same goes for the second part, which is to JI into his ground projectile, which also normally does not take off a star. The end result is a -3 star combo.

For other characters, they must JI off an AC but also Boost in order to special cancel. An example for Shin is to do:

CD 6, 5C AC 8 2145E~C

Normally the 214C only knocks off a single star, but when JIed, it will knock off two instead.

Breaking the 3 Star Limit

Despite that typically you can only knock off 3 stars in one combo, there are certain ways to get around this behavior.

BD command throws, when used to start a combo, will actually break the 3 start limit. That is to say that the 3 star limit will no longer apply AT ALL to your follow up combo! It is possible to take 4 or 5 or more stars in a combo because of this.

Mr. Heart has an infinite on certain characters which combos his BD throw into itself repeatedly in Iteyo mode. Because they are BD throws, they break the 3 star limit, allowing Mr.Heart to achieve a very fat -7 star combo.

[Check]

Supposedly there is something related to charged CD attacks that can also break the limit but it is unknown currently what the deal is.

IV. Wallbouncing

Wallbounce Basics

Unlike most fighting games, Wallbounce in Hokuto is actually a 'state' you can be in. Instead of simply bouncing off the wall, you are instead put into a state of being wall bouncy, where any hits that hit you will cause you to be blown back to the wall again. Because of this wall bouncy state, you can make up a lot of new combos.

To put the enemy into Wallbounce state, you need to connect with a move that specifically causes it. Everyone's CD attack will cause wallbounce. Each character has additional moves that can also cause wallbounce, often only on counter hit however. Look up the detailed moves lists for each character for a better idea of what your character can do.

Wallbounce Height + Distance Effects

Each hit that connects during a wallbounce combo will bounce the enemy back against the wall, but each hit also changes how high up on the wall they bounce. Hits may also change how far from the wall the enemy bounces before plummeting toward the ground.

Wallbounce height gravity works pretty much like regular gravity. When the number of hits is low, each hit will raise the enemy up higher against the wall. The more hits into the combo, the more weight, and thus eventually they will begin to drop slightly with each hit of the combo. In addition, after the enemy bounces, they will start falling downward towards the ground. Infrequent hits will tend to cause the enemy to fall in height due to this, which may be a good or bad thing depending on the combo. Likewise, hitting the enemy rapidly at the start of a wallbounce combo will cause them to rise up quite quickly.

Wallbounce gravity is based on the number of hits in the combo. If you have a lot of hits before you start a wallbounce, gravity will still start very high. There appears to be an engine limit on the minimum time a person can be wall bounced and/or how long it can take for them to hit the ground after being bounced, so some simple combos are always possible no matter how strong Wallbounce gravity is (such as Raoh doing CD 6 214214A).

Wallbounce distance is a bit more strange. Basically there is a certain distance that the enemy will fly away from the wall before they will start to fall downwards. Normally this distance is very short, only a few pixels (or none at all maybe) and they drop like a rock. Certain moves and normals will actually change this however, causing what is referred to as 'far-bounce' state. Far-bounce makes each bounce much slower because the enemy has to travel much farther to and from the wall, which makes it possible to do different combos, often allowing much less frequent hits without the normal loss in wallbounce height.

Starting a far-bounce seems to tend to be based on using light hits, usually a j.A or 5A. Which normal or move you use is really dependant on your character and the combo though, so again you'll have to look up specifics for your character on what to use. Here are a few example combos which use far-bounce, the hits which cause far bounce are bolded:

Kenshiro: 2B 2B 236C CDE 6, 2C D 236D > IAD j.A |> 5D 236D > ( IAD j.B |> 236D )*2 > IAD j.D |> 236236A

Jagi: CD 6, c.D D > IAD j.D |> 5A, > ( j.B, j.D ) * 3 |> 236236A

Thouther: CD 6, 2C C D 236A, 2C 623A, ( 66C 623A )* 3, 66 AC 2147A

Raoh: CD 6, D 623A E 2C > IAD j.A C |> ( j.B, j.B ) * 3 |> j.B, 214D ...

Mamiya: 2A 2B 2C CDE 6, C AC 2369A |> 5A, > ( j.B, j.B ) * 3 |> C 236236A ...

Debounce + Rebounce

Normally, an enemy is stuck in Wallbounce state until they hit the ground and they enter OTG state. However, Debounce is a glitch where you can return them from Wallbounce to a normal combo state. The real benefit of this glitch is that gravity is reset when they are Debounced, so you can get even longer combos than normal with this.

Keep in mind however that horizontal pushback is not necessarily reset when you debounce someone. Raoh in particular can suffer this if he spikes someone directly in the corner. Also keep in mind that if you Rebounce someone (more on this later), wallbounce gravity and pushback is NOT reset at all, so they will likely be very heavy and you will get pushed very far back.

Debouncing is somewhat character specific in usage but not really very hard to do. Some moves or supers will simply debounce automatically. Connecting with a CD attack while someone is already bouncing will always debounce them, with any character. Making use of the debounce is slightly harder.

The first way to combo off a debounce is to simply have a move that allows you to. The easiest example of this is Raoh's j.214D. The move removes the wallbounce state but keeps them in a comboable state, so you can continue to combo after the spike as normal. You'll notice that if you launch them again while they are still spiked, they will fly to the high height you normally only get at the start of a combo. An example combo of this is:

2A 2A 2B f.D CD 6, C 2C > IAD j.B 214D |> 2A ...

The second way to combo off a debounce is to combo after a CD attack is used to debounce them from the wall. Only certain characters can do this with their CD attacks. The basic goal here is to hit with the CD attack, but then immediately boost (using hit-pause boosting and Pre-Boosting) into a quick attack (usually 2A) and proceed from there. Here are some example combos:

Kenshiro: CD 6, 2C D 236D > ( IAD j.C 236D ) * 2 > IAD j.A |> D 236D > IAD j.B |> D CDE E~2A D 236D > sjc.A B A B C |> 236236A, 236236A

Rebounce is simply the act of putting someone BACK into wallbounce state after having Debounced them. This isn't useful for most characters, but a few can make good use of it (such as Raoh). Note that as mentioned before, Debounce does not reset wallbounce gravity or pushback at all. An example combo for Raoh that makes use of De-Re-De-Bouncing is:

2A 2A 2B f.D CD 6, C 2C > IAD j.B 214D |> 2A 2B C CD 6, 2C > IAD j.BE 214D |> 2A ...

Opposite Wall Bouncing

<ata>

V. Miscellaneous

Instant Air Dashing

This is a very important set of techniques for every character in the game. Instant Air Dash is exactly as the name suggests ... it allows you to air dash instantly after leaving the ground with a jump. The input for this is to simple do:

9 5 9 or 9 5 6 for a forward dash, or:

7 5 7 or 7 5 4 for a backward dash.

The timing is pretty easy in HnK so it shouldn't be any trouble in general.

One hangup however, is that the timing changes if you are jump canceling. Normally for the input of an IAD you must simply hit the second direction after you have already left the ground for a certain period of time (it's a short number of frames). However, when jump canceling from a move, there is a period of hit pause which is where you normally buffer your jump. Due to this extra hit pause buffer time, you will leave the ground later than if you had just jumped from a neutral state if you input your jump during hitpause.

In practical terms, when IADing from a jump cancelable move, you must delay inputting the IAD motion until hit pause is over (or mostly over). You can also opt to change the input to:

8 5 66

Another hang up is for Mr.Heart players. Mr. Heart can IAD as well, but because of his very slow jump, it is almost always better to do 8 5 66 instead, even from a neutral jump.

Triangle Jumping

An extension on Instant Air Dashing. Unlike Guilty Gear, when you perform an attack during an air dash in Hokuto, you will immediately begin to fall down to the ground instead of continuing on your normal air dash vector. Because of this, you can make a 'triangle' shaped jump pattern by canceling the beginning of your air dash into an attack. An essential usage of this with Raoh is to do:

9 5 6 j.K

Raoh will jump but immediately arc diagonally down forward with his kick. It makes for very mean mixups and rushdowns.

Every character in the game can do this and it is a very essential technique.

Air Dash Boosting

<More to come soon enough>