Oiboi

Firstly, we have a matchup thread; this should probably be there. Secondly, You just have to play safe and get in close range to mess up Axl. Use P Toss with the ghosts to break his pressure to get close, or go for counter hits with the dog. The sword is difficult to use to get in (Axl can just poke zappa). But, Axl's defense isn't too good, and he's relatively easy to combo, so play it safe and get in his face. I can't remember, but I believe the summon will counterhit most of his pokes. Obviously, get Raou and throw DA's at him alot (since the only thing he can do to projectiles is try to counter them) until you get hit. Really, I'd say this fight is about evenly matched; Zappa's invul frames will help to get close, but Axl has a lot of tricks to keep his pressure going, so it just comes down to how good the players.

I do long dog combos all the time o_O What's the point of using the dog if you can't combo with him? Random note, I was messing around in Training just now, and decided to see how long I do an edguy loop (dash in, Edguy, RC, repeat). Turns out, it lowers untech time for each hit, making it impossible to combo past the 16th (at least, combo from Edguy). Not sure if this works with other moves in it, but regardless, no character lives past about the 6th or 7th hit anyways, I was just curious. Didn't know that they would lower untech time like that though o_o.

I prefer to do my dog combos from 2HS 2D. These two meaties are amazing in the corner, especially if you pressure/pressure on wakeup into it. The 2D will pop them up, letting you get into doing stuff like 9 j.K j.S 8D j.K j.S j.K 8D, or whatever the hell you want in there. The Dog helps to keep the combo going, and if done right can catch them as pressure after the tech or hit them again. Certainly, this isn't the only option, as shown, but it can do just as much or sometimes even more damage if done right, as well as upping the dizzy modifier a ton. It's also a terrifying mindgame, intimidating your opponent by not only giving you orbs, but taking a huge amount of damage from them. This also works to a limited extent midscreen (on Pot, for instance, you can do 2D, wait for it to finish as you air combo, then do 6D, 8D to juggle him as you land, jump up again continue and reposition the dog to extend all across the screen. Really funny to see since it's untechable if done right:v: )

This is why I don't summon without combos. If you opponents on the ground when Raoh comes out, you've got a big advantage, and can start charging a DA on their heads as they stand up, forcing them to guard or die. From their, the possibilities are endless if you don't launch it. If they somehow zone out of your pressure, just throw DA's at them, mixing up the K,P, and S tosses (this all depends on match up. For sol, Throw K tosses more than anything, for instance.) until you get a hit confirm or they start guarding, letting you rush in for pressure. Don't be silly and think your invincible; Zappa's hit box includes Raoh when Raoh is attacking (j.HS is very easy to get counter hit @_@) so be careful. Keep in mind you still have those jewels of pokes, 6P and 5K when you have Raoh, which is very good to play with an opponents head. 2HS works on people who aren't familiar with the matchup (it's tricky and doesn't look like a low), and charge a DA on them from there, gaurded or not. Ultimately, Last Edguy is a combo extender/big damage move. It will work as a counter in many situations, but don't get nuts with it and throw it out whenever, it's like Zappa's form of an Ice spike. Roman cancel almost every time you can (though some combos don't require it), it'll help you combo. Overall, just play smart with Raoh. Eventually, opponents will try to get more offensive when Raoh comes out, so try to find a hole in pressure and counter hit them into a combo. Zappa love ftw.

Here's some more from the quote database: Henage no edage! [split nose hairs!] (Random) Mate, nakami ha robo janai no ka!? [Wait, you're not really a robot!?] (Random) MaaaaiiiiuuUUUHH!! (Random) Saikin kami ga nobi teki te sa, ano ningyou! [Recently the doll's hair grew back when I cut it!] (Random) Zen'in, Wapu ni sonae ro! [All Hands, Prepare for Warp!] (Random) Ikuze! SHOUNE MODO! [Here goes! POWER-SAVE MODE!] (Random) TARGET SCOPE OPEN!! (Random) This isn't all of them, so check out http://www.guiltygear.ru/files/faqs/Guilty_Gear_Quote_Database.txt for more (special thanks to Blade for this ) Edit: One more for the sheer awesomeness of it: INU KOWAEE!! [FEAR THE DOG!!] ("Dog")

http://www.guiltygear.ru/releases.php?lang=en§=books Anyone know where I can find any of these graphic novels, scanned, scanlated, a place to buy them, or any of the above? Much thanks to any help in advance.

Oh, no doubt. Just noticing things is all. He definitely picked up later, albeit missing a few punishing opportunities. Overall, not bad at all:keke:

Japanese players know how to move a lot better than american players, because if they don't, they'll get served. Even the scrubs play like that. Thing is, he's turtling way too much... Though it seemed to work for him, in any case. Not bad at all. Edit: Oh, and he also dropped a ton of combos. Maybe it was cuz he doesn't use stick, but wow...

The writing does say Four, and Zappa really does like to insult his opponent. Though, most of the time when he talks during an attack, he's saying something like "HELP ME!" or "GET AWAY!", or something to that effect. He also likes to announce his summons in some fashion, though the sword summon sound is difficult to catch in the middle of a fight because it's so low (I think he says The Great Razor or something, I read it in the quote database a while back, so I can't remember exactly). Obviously the most famous one is the ghost summon, a.k.a. mamamamamamamamamamamamamama... But that's probably because thats the only sound americans can reenact lol, I'd love to see someone do Raohs voice perfectly. Edit: On another note, his reaction to certain characters in arcade mode after beating them is interesting, particularly when S-Ko freaks out at Johnny, and she also reacts to Jam for some reason. Surprisingly, she doesn't react to Axl, possibly debunking the myth that she's Axl's old girlfriend? Who knows, but man is it funny to see what he says about people (Anji's an exhibitionist apparently).

RCing the last hit of the sword spin makes it safe. Works as a pretty decent mix up too if used right. On Eddie, I like to do P ghost toss, FRC then either throw a S/HS (depends on distance) then rush, or rushdown immediately. The pressure from the P will force him to defend or get hit (Eddie has no move that will get rid of it besides Drunkard shade, but I'm not even sure if it works on the P toss, and if it does, he'll still get hit by the S/HS toss from recovery) and will open him up for pressure. The dog can be useful here too, if placed right, just be careful of little Eddie. The sword can be good to help interrupt pressure in some instances, since it's rather fast and can gatling pretty easily to help get rid of little Eddie.

Do you need combo ideas, or visually see how there done? We have plenty of notated combos in the sticky, so remember to use that. There are combos for Sword, Ghosts, and Raoh, and they can certainly help a match if you know them and pull them out randomly.

Falling straight down on the enemy with j.hs is recipe for win. Also, J.D can cross over with the last part of the hit (It messes a lot of people up because they thing the attack is done already).

Just got around to looking at some of your vids Zoogstin, not bad at all. You've got you defense down pretty well, but I saw a lot of chances where you could have punished. Seems you've played Titanium Beast alot and he's made you fear his HOS a bit; try to see the holes in his pressure and GET OFFENSIVE. This throws even some of the most seasoned players off if you do it right. A prime example was when he was holding you in the corner in the first match, he had a gap and you simply blocked. Get in there and use Zappa's invulnerable frames, Teach him to fear you. Try to get unpredictable throws too; the one airthrow he broke wasn't a bad idea, but he knew it was coming. If you see a hole in his pressure, a throw can mess him up. But like I said, not too shabby. Get offensive, but don't lose your defense. I'll watch more stuff later, and try to record something (need to get a hold of some local players to get some casuals in, wonder when Dan's getting back :3)

I wish America had hardcore arcades like in Japan. They get so much more serious competition it's ridiculous, you can just walk into a random arcade and probably play someone at least decent. I've heard even there scrubs can kick most American players' asses. I'm so gonna go to Japan and hit up as many arcades as I can. If anything, I can learn stuff while getting beat into the ground... Keep up the blog man.

Regular moves do chip damage if the gaurd bar is cranked up though, right? So it's likely that thats what happened... though I could be totally wrong regardless and it does do chip, I'm not sure. It would make the move a bit better if it's true.

Yeah, Raoh gatlings into almost anything now... Welcome back! :3

My best description of the timing for 236S FRC is that it feels very similar to the other sword FRC's in timing, but like Zoogstin said, it's distant dependent. As in, after the hit connects, the timing is similar to 623HS FRC or 63214HS FRC. And Cryingohn, of course it's bound to get you killed, that's why I said not to use it unless it's out of a poke or as part of pressure.

Generally speaking, aerial rushdown with the sword is asking for trouble. It will work on some characters, or those who don't have much experience, but even with j.HS j.236HS, unless you RC, you're gonna get grabbed or killed. Best rushdown tactic with the sword is to run in with 236S, which has priority over a lot of moves (but not all, be careful not to overuse it, it can be punished pretty easily) or attempt a 6P, 5K, f.S or 5HS tactic. For instance, 6P 2D 236S FRC f.S 2HS aircombo works off of one of Zappa's best moves, 6P, and if you can do the FRC, gives you a huge opportunity for damage. This combo will also work with 5K, 2S 2D as well. As for blocked pressure strings, unless you FRC 236S or get a counterhit into the followup, don't use it as your gonna get punished even worse. I've seen an aerial j.HS FRC j.S j.S land c.S 2D etc work before as well. Risky, but nice reward.

Hm, I notice Zappa isn't in that list. Well, seeing as how no ones done one for Zappa, I'll put in my two cents: Pros: +New Unsummon FB helps control the match more appropriately. +"Timed" Summon allows some control for which summon you will get. +New P Ghost toss greatly enhances the ability to control the screen (As many characters could simply stay out of range or use projectiles to stop a toss). +New Air Sword move (j.236HS) and FRC's open up more combo opportunities and big damage. +Dog Chaining helps maintain pressure and damage. +Still has massive amount of invulnerable frames and awkward fighting style, and small size helps him get around attacks. +New Raoh hit properties and 2 new Darkness Anthem attacks help apply pressure and do combos more effectively. +Weight and size force other characters to make specific combos to fight him. Cons: -Average defense and 'easy' to combo (depending on character and experience) can really hurt him if they hit him. -Many moves leave him open to counterattacks (Last Edguy, naked 5HS and 6HS, etc.). -Still mostly situational. Sword can only deal proper damage off counterhit; Ghosts don't deal a lot of damage. Tension is more important now. -Some characters can do very effective loops on him. -Varied Matchups. Mostly even now, but can have major trouble against certain characters (Slayer, Dizzy, Potemkin of course, etc.) I think that about does it. Some of the other Zappa players might have more to add, but this is my general idea of it.

Your right, my bad. I usually don't use the dog bite after an attack unless I'm doing a dog bite trap in the corner or something (which means I've already hit them).

2D is still unblockable, just doesn't give orbs on second attack. I don't know about anyone else, but I freaking love the new sword. Usually after I land a sword swipe, you don't need to FRC and can run in and get a free OTG uppercut/orb. Doesn't do a lot of damage, but it's a quick way to annoy your opponent (doesn't work on wallbounce unless it's counterhit, and even then you can just combo from it). One thing I found out on accident while fighting a friend, you can actually negative edge out of throwbreaks. This happened as I was doing the swordswipe and he attempted to grab me just as I hit HS, which caused a throwbreak. He blocked it, and it's not reliable in the slightest as throwbreaks can happen at any random time, but it's a fun little thing to know. With the sword, midscreen, 63214HS FRC 66 5S (I believe either close or far will work, depends on how close you can get) 2HS(1hit) 8 j.K j.S 8 j.K j.S j.HS 236HS That also works in the corner with some tweaking (don't need to dash if your fast enough). Here's another fun midscreen combo, though it's pretty simple and short, it's prime for causing rage: c.5S 2HS (both hits) 63214HS -It will all connect as well as giving an orb and knockdown. Run up for the OTG uppercut if you feel like it. This will not work in the corner, the second hit whiffs (it may also be character specific due to size). Edit: Almost forgot: After quite some time playing Sol, I found out a few ways to get around his stuff. A properly timed unsummon can beat Grand Viper, and dashing in 2K, if timed perfectly, can get around gunflame's startup (you have to cancel into summon to invulnerable through it all). You have to be right in there face for it to work, and the momentum from the dash should carry you through the startup.

I meant, anything can happen. As mentioned, theres probably going to be one person amazing at it, and then everyones gonna do it. Personally, it sounds like a damn fun thing to practice, especially in casuals with friends, or knowing you could possibly win a tournament match simply because you've got good timing on your SB.

Still, it's technically possible. After the famous Daigo parry, I'm not going to say SBing every hit is impossible; just very difficult. It seems like an interesting change to the system, at least. After more consideration, I agree, I don't think it will break the game, but it'll become a large factor in matches, I'm sure.

What I meant for SBing unblockables possibly breaking is like SBing Eddie's 22HS FRC into an overhead; I've seen a vid of Chipp SBing a level 3 mistfiner, so it can go through multiple attacks apparently. Not being able to SB on wakeup is good to control it, of course, but it seems like a risky change to the system. But then, that's why they didn't add any new characters, so that they could fix the system. That's just my view on it, anyways. It probably won't break it, but I'm just thinking about it.

Yep, May 31. Slashbacking Unblockables suddenly made this game a lot crazier, I think... Hard to say if it's gonna work right or just break the game. Either way, this gives everyone a lot more options.