Zappa in the air

[punch jackson]

I have a hard time using Zappa in the air. Any combos, neat tricks, etc would be helpful.

[faultydefense]

the best advice is to stay on the ground until you get ghost

[4r5]

Guilty Gear has strong roots in Street Fighter, and like Street Fighter you want your overarching gameplan to be based off a strong ground game.

[punch jackson]

I'll admit, I'm kind of nub. I like to air dash in and try to get a few hits in, and follow with some sort of ground combo afterwards. Its a bit harder with Zappa than with Sol or Slayer.

[punch jackson]

I'm sorry for the double post. I suppose a more accurate version of the inquiry I'm trying to make is, what the hell can naked/sword Zappa do in the air that's worth a damn? Follow ups, mix-ups, anything would be helpful.

[4r5]

All versions of Zappa want to be on the ground. You don't get free jump/airdash ins, this applies to practically every single character in the game. You either wait for the opportunity to present itself (like if they do a slow move) or you set it up (like off a knockdown or a followup from a GhostThrow FRC or Dog Attack, etc)

Naked Zappa and Sword Zappa really, really don't ever want to leave the ground, without reason or setup. Ghost Zappa may jump just to get a different angle for a GhostThrow. Dog Zappa can do whatever he wants as long as the Dog is nearby to cover him. Roah Zappa, I'd call you an idiot for jumping, but he does such obscene damage that you can get away with a smart jump here and there. But why would you want to jump when Raoh has such strong zoning from the ground?

But, if you want to jump with Naked or Sword Zappa, setup your jump arc to make anti-airing you trickier. With both, you generally use j.HS. With the Sword, you can do tricks to have the sword lag far behind you, letting you do safer crossups.

[Valentine]

Zappa's air game is some pretty weak shit, but he has a few tools/tricks he can use.

For naked/sword, you can space a jump in j.k>j.s and it'll be safe, then do whatever ground string from there. Always try to end a sword string in swipe for the knockdown, then shenanigans away. Sword also has j.p>j.h, but only recommended after a knockdown.

Naked has j.h, which takes some time to get used to but is pretty nice once you get the hang of it. If you land close to them, you can go into c.s, otherwise just 5p/2k/whatever.

Ghost has j.h, the greatest crossup gimmick in the game. Gives knockdown. Run at them, jump over j.h. Do the same, but airdash backwards immediately j.h. Jump over slow j.h. Best shit ever.

With dog I try to use 8D with jump over/airdash backwards jukes. Decent way to get orbs, but you lose pressure. On the bright side, it pisses your opponent off.

With Raoh you can do a rising j.s>j.p, then jc to make it safe. Jumping in, j.s has great horizontal reach, and I'm pretty sure it goes into j.d.

Zappa's weird, but he's fun to play when you get used to what he has and doesn't have. For the most part, stay grounded so that your air tricks are unexpected and land when you pull them out of the bag.

[Zoogstin]

Zappa can be in the everynow and then if he's playing defensively. For ghosts you can do jump back HS or ghost throw. With the sword you can play defensively with jump back j.S or j.HS (but zappa has great anti-air from the ground like 2HS 623H and of course 6P.

[GreasyGyro718]

naked zappa can punch punch punch punch. or crossup with heavyslash. that's it.

sword zappa can punch punch punch punch or crossup with spinning sword. seriously, that's it.

like everyone else said you don't wanna play zappa in the air unless you have ghosts. i'm not saying to stop jumping, i'm saying don't use him like he can play this game in the air.

also, valentines post pretty covers up zappas air game.

[punch jackson]

Thanks for the help! I guess there really isn't much you can do with him after hopping...

[PhantomLight]

Naked has j.h, which takes some time to get used to but is pretty nice once you get the hang of it. If you land close to them, you can go into c.s, otherwise just 5p/2k/whatever.

It's worth mentioning that the j. HS also has crossup properties, since he kind of flips backwards. His j. Dust is also kind of useful, but I wouldn't rely on it too much outside of combos unless you're trying to knock them into a corner or trying to counter their approach.

[Valentine]

Naked j.h will only hit as a crossup, it has no front hitbox, sadly. I wouldn't recommend j.d, as it has tons of startup and recovery, so if you use that as a jump in, get ready to be thrown. J.s is better for air spacing your opponent, unless you have ghosts. Have a field day then.

[tolore]

I totally J.H'd and had an enemy try and punch me from the front and it extended their hit box through me enough that it traded.

[Zoogstin]

I totally J.H'd and had an enemy try and punch me from the front and it extended their hit box through me enough that it traded.

happens...