HF Balrog Guide --- Three Punch Method
This Space for Rent
Esteemed student of Balrog, you have come a long way since SF2. Now
realize the true potential of the great Balrog.
Balrog is the most challenging character to play well, mainly because you
sometimes need to press as many buttons as you have fingers (4) all at the
same time. But if you've learned all the other weird moves in SF (and
especially Sub-Zero's slide in MK), you can play Balrog.
This is an advanced guide. If you do not understand most of the terminology
here, don't try to play Balrog. Start with easy characters and then progress.
You have been warned.
1) The Haymaker
First, you need to learn to punch. I don't mean any punch. I mean you need
to be able to do the turn-around (Haymaker) punch one after the other, just
like the computer.
Hold down all three buttons with your fingers, your index finger on the jab
button. If you play cross-handed, then I'm sorry. Go buy some coordination.
Now, after you charge for the haymaker (about 1 second), let go of just the
jab button and then press and hold it down again immediately. After you're
through doing the haymaker, let go of the jab button and press it again.
Do this as much as necessary until you get a feel for Balrog's minimum
charge time for his haymaker. This charge time is important. It is the
same charge time for ALL of his moves.
2) The charging uppercut
This ones easy. If you can do a sonic boom, you can do a charging uppercut.
Just stay in defense or defensive crouch long enough to charge (1 second).
Do a sonic boom motion with a kick button.
The interesting thing is doing the charging uppercut WHILE holding down the
punch buttons. If someone dares to jump in on Balrog, do the charging
uppercut by hitting the short kick button with your thumb. After you knock
the opponent out of the air, you can follow-up with a haymaker if s/he's not
expecting it.
3) Haymaker through the fireball
There are two instances in which it's safe to do the Haymaker through the
fireball. Close and far. Do not do it from medium range. Most likely,
you'll get hit by a DP or some other move.
To do this move, simply let go of your jab button when the fireball is
just about to hit you. Do not do it any sooner. Watch your character
closely, the speed of the fireball should not mess up your timing if you
concentrate on what you're doing. This is a very simply move and requires
only the minimum amount of movement to perform any move in SF2 (letting go
of one button). You should be able to react to fireballs even when you get
within Ken/Ryu's footsweep range. I've done it.
Do this move through fireballs from far away to get yourself closer to
your opponent. If you jump over the fireball from that distance, you will
be at a disadvantage due to Balrog's long hang time. Balrog should spend
very little of his combat time jumping.
4) The rushing straight punch
You can perform this attack by letting go of any one of the punch buttons
while doing a sonic boom motion. If your opponent is expecting you to rush,
then you can do a jab rushing punch which will put you in front of your
opponent so that you can counter his missed attack.
The important thing to remember about this move is that you can charge it
up and the haymaker at the same time. It is performed the same way as the
haymaker (letting go of one button), except that it includes a sonic boom
motion.
This attack hits crouching opponents. You can simply react to most characters'
missed roundhouse attacks and snag them with this attack. Sometimes you can
followup with another attack to make your opponent dizzy, which will happen
very often if you play Balrog well.
5) Normal attacks
Crouching roundhouse:
Still has very good priority. Use it to counter Honda's hands (but not from
too close). Use as a followup to a haymaker or missed rushing uppercut.
Headbutt:
If your opponent starts blocking too much, add in a headbutt grab to keep
'em honest. Don't worry about the stigma of being cheap. It's cheaper to
block all day against Balrog. It's not necessary for an effective Balrog
attack, but certainly enhances the overall Balrog strategy if you force
your opponent to make mistakes.
Crouching fierce:
If you're close to someone and want to knock them down quickly, use the
crouching fierce as opposed to the crouching uppercut. you'll be surprised
at its speed. It's also good against airborne opponents.
Standing strong:
Good for knocking airborne opponents, but you should use rushing uppercuts
if you can't. If you're not charged, this is a good substitute.
Standing fierce:
Hits crouching opponents, so stick this thing out every once in a while
after your combos or rushing attacks. Don't do it too much. Just remember
to be unpredictable.
5) Sythesis... putting it all together.
Now that you have some basic Balrog moves, you can begin to feel his
potential. I find that HF Balrog can hold his own against Ken/Ryu/Guile,
now and is very effective against Blanka. Zangief and Honda pose a larger
threat than the above characters. This is good, it'll make people play
other characters if a well played Balrog is holding the machine against the
regular characters.
Balrog can be played in a very aggressive style or a very defensive style.
This combination makes him more versatile than Ryu, IMO. I may abandon
Ryu as my all-purpose character in favor of Balrog!
5a) Aggressive Style
This is the most fun to play. You get your opponents dizzy often and make
the matches quick. In this style of play, just remember that you have a
very short charge time. Try to charge up often as you can. Your opponents
will often jump away. Do a rushing roundhouse uppercut if you sense that
they might be able to escape by jumping back. In general, wait for an
opening, and then make a relentless attack. If you do a rushing attack from
far away, you have time to charge for another rushing attack which you're
carreening across the screen. Follow it up with another rushing straight
punch OR a rushing short uppercut. After you miss the rushing short uppercut,
you can usually get the headbutt in right away. Do this every so often to
keep players off-guard. This will set up your rushing straight punches to
hit every so often. If you're getting hit out of your combos, then you're
being too patternish. There's no reason to be with Balrog. Simply end your
flurry of attacks and counter-attack their counter-attacks! Remember to
do haymakers followed by haymakers every so often. This usually inspires
fear into your opponent. And remember that you can charge for your rushing
attacks after the haymaker. If your haymaker connects, follow it up with
a rushing straight punch. I haven't found the timing to buffer this move
yet, but the computer seems to do it so nicesly so it won't be long now...
The rushing straight punch usually hits after the haymaker connects anyway.
After that, you're opponent is like to be dizzy. Then have your way with him.
5b) Defensive style
You'll probably get ahead at some point when playing Balrog and would like
to play defensive. Balrog is very good at this. If you remain charged
with the haymaker AND the rushing attacks, it'll be very hard for your
opponent to jump in.
Any time your opponent jumps in, attack with a rushing uppercut so that
it hits your opponent while s/he's at the top of his arc. If they attack
and hit you, you can get the headbutt off in time. And if you miss, you'll
slide under your opponent and have enough time to turn around and punch or
grab your opponent into the headbuttufuouco.
If your opponent is attacking your rushing attacks and getting away with
it (unlikely), then simply let them attack early in the air, and hit them
with the haymaker as they land. Time it so that it hits them at the brief
stun time when they land so that you can follow it up with a rushing attack.
If you want to play safe, simply nick off a little energy when you hit
their body as they block when jumping in. You can do this to Blanka all
day, and then smack him with a rushing uppercut when you feel lucky. Oh
yeah, some Blankas like to jump straight up and down to avoid your rushing
low attacks. Fine. Time your rushing uppercut so that it will hit Blanka
when he's in the air. Sometimes, Ken and Ryu get into this habit, too.
Same solution.
Well, this is only part of the evil of Balrog presented here. I played
in an arcade where I considered the opponents sub-par. They could not
beat my Zangief, and had a very tough time with my Ryu. Balrog was fairly
successful against these scrubs, but I don't think he's really been put
to the test yet.
Have fun with Balrog. I'm sure the Three Kick Buttons method would work
too, but it's hard to let go of just one button with your palm! Sheng Shou
Fang allows you more control of your Balrog! Hopefully, Balrog will
dominate HF machines, getting revenge for his pathetic performance on CE.
--
Eu-Ming Lee (aka CyberGeek) el2...@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu
If you have nothing good to say, sit down, shut up, and post to USENET.
Seth James Killian
I don't actually have much to say, I just felt sorry that no
one had followed up your huge Balrog guide :(...
Probably to advanced for what must be novice Balrog's, I mean
how many really great Balrogs did you see come along in CE? Practically
none. Give them time. Incidentally, you can hold down all the punch
buttons while still using the roundhouse and short even if you play
cross handed. In fact, it might actually be better, because a cross
handers thumb would be on roundhouse, the most important button for
keeping you alive long enough to charge up the devastating "final"
setting. No more cross handed cracks, or I may have to go all the way
back home just to remind you what a lowly cross hander can do...
Seth "Buttafuoco" Killian
Philip John Stroffolino
having some problems adjusting to HF. Following is a list of the combos
which I use on TCE, and strategies versue various computer opponents.
Many of the combos do not seem to work on HF - is it just my timing?
Also, any updates or critiques on my strategies would be appreciated.
BTW: I don't think I have the coordination to continuously hold down
three punch buttons for a "FINAL ROUND" blow - how much does it hurt,
though? An idea: can you switch from the three punch buttons to the
three kick buttons while charging it up (holding down all six for one
second)?
(A) jump in close to opponent while charging, hit them at the last
second with ROUNDHOUSE, folowed by a charging ROUNDHOUSE uppercut,
followed by a standing strong. *note: this does not necessarily work
unless the opponent is standing when they get hit by the jumping punch
(also does not work against the computer Blanka for some reason). In
this case, hit them with a ducking ROUNDHOUSE after the jumping
ROUNDHOUSE.
(B) walk in range while charging up a turn around punch with the punch
buttons. Release and charge back. As soon as the TAP hits, hit the
opponent with a charging ROUNDHOUSE uppercut, followed by a standing
strong. *variation: use the three kick buttons for the TAP, and hit
with a charging straight punch afterward. You can try for a standing
fierce after this, but with no guarrentee (it will usually hit computer
opponents anyway). The advantage of this variation is that the range
and timing is slightly more lenient.
(C) hit the opponent with a flurry of ducking (or standing jabs) while
charging and finish with a charging straight punch (opponent must be
standing when you begin this combo for it to work).
RYU: walk up to him and nail him with a standing fierce punches when he
attempts to fireball. You can also block a fireball, and jump over next
one and hit him with (A). For some reason, you can finish the combo
with a standing roundhouse either as the third hit (instead of strong)
or as a fourth hit (if you are in range) every time.
KEN: nail him with well timed charging uppercuts as he jumps around.
If he hurricane kicks, hit him with ducking forward or roundhouse. If
he dragon punches, hit him with and charge punch (or TAP) on the way
down. Occasionally he will fireball - see RYU.
CHUN LI: you can destroy her with standing forward, strong, and fierce
all day (she will rarely block these punches). In fact, you can shut
your eyes and keep pressing strong. If she bounces on your get, you can
nail her with a running punch. You can also hit her easily with
charging uppercuts when she jumps. note: it is difficult, but if timed
right, you can TAP her right as she gets up (she will block).
ZANGIEF/HONDA: use standing fierce at a reasonable distance to keep
them away and frequently hit them. You can use (A) or (B) when you stun
them (whichever is convenient, distancewise). *note: Honda may jump in
on you - use a standing roundhouse, or charging uppercut - i.e. charge
during your standing fierce. Zangief may give you trouble if you mess
up. Either grab him, block, or use a ducking roundhouse as he comes in
on you as you get up. You may need to jump and punch (straight up or
back) once or twice - is is not recommended that you try this too often
or you will get spinning piledriven. By the way, you can jab Honda's
headbutt, and ducking Roundhouse his hands (neither makes out).
note for DHALSIM, GUILE, M.BISON, and VEGA. It is safe and recommended
to try (C) on them when you knock them down (get close). You can also
try a ducking roundhouse right as they get up.
DHALSIM: if he stretch kicks, you can uppercut the limb. If he does a
two fisted stretch punch, you can nail him with a ducking roundhouse and
make out. When he fireballs, jump over 'em (possibly with (A)). When
he dives at you, you can either jab and hit him or block and grab him
(easy). A nice combo that works well on him because he won't throw is
to charge up for a TAP while bashing him with your head, releasing it
just he escapes, grabing again, and repeating.
GUILE: he is trouble for Balrog. Three methods for the computer:
1. Press the attack with standing fierce, hitting him as he sonic booms,
releasing a TAP when if and when you block the first hit from his double
leg sweep spin.
2. Mid-range: block or jump his sonic booms, nailing him when he jumps
at you with roundhouse or a charging uppercut.
3. Run away, and continuously jump at the left wall. For some reason,
he will advance, sometimes jumping at you (the fool!)
note: when he approaches on the ground, either hit him with a ducking
roundhouse or forward, a standing fierce, or a standing forward.
Standing forward (bodyblow) can also hit him (sometimes) when he gets up
(followed by a ducking roundhouse).
BLANKA: Balrog eats him for breakfast!
1. From a defensive crouch, charging uppercut him out of the air when he
jumps (grab him if you go underneath or simaltaneously collide), and
charge punch him (straight or uppercut) after blocking a ball.
2. Nail him continuously with standing fierce from maximum range - he
will never block. When he goes into jump mode, hit him as he lands with
standing fierce).
BALROG: use continuous standing jabs, standing fierce, or ducking
roundhouse. (C) usually catches him off guard.
VEGA: charging uppercut him on his off the wall jump and off the fence
dive. ducking roundhouse his rolling claw. Block his sweeps and
roundhouse. Charge punch him if he backflips. Jump, TAP, or (C) him
when he gets up.
SAGAT: nail him with standing fierce punches as the round begins - he
attempts to fireball right away. Uppercut him if he jumps (he will jump
twice). If he does his standing double kick, you can him him
immediately afterward with a charging jab punch. If you are close
enough, you can charge him (charging uppercut, strong) as a high
fireball goes overhead. You can hit his extended hands if you jump over
a low tiger fireball. Play conservatively, getting close and going into
a defensive crouch, though, because if you make a mistake, you will
regret it.
BISON: go into a defensive crouch. If he approaches on ground, ducking
roundhouse - DO NOT DO TOO EARLY as he will punish you with a scissor
kick, throw. Half the time you will hit him if done right, otherwise
you will knock him back. If he jumps, you can charging uppercut him if
you have the range right. If he headstomps you in the corner, you can
retailiate with a charging high fierce (straight) punch. if he head
stomps you in the middle of the screen, hit him with a standing strong
on his way down. Try (C) on him when you knock him down. It is
somewhat risky (comebacks don't come cheap) to jump at him when he is
getting up. When time gets low, he will predictably flame. Jump over
it at the side of the screen, and hit him on the way down with a
roundhouse. *note: if you get the advantage in health, and you are out
of his standing kick range, but not so far that he would normally jump,
you can jab quickly, and he will not advance, alternately kicking and
duckpunching in place. This is an unsatisfying way to beat him (but
works well when you are going for the perfect game).
Human Guile players:
defensive - block a sonic boom, and jump at him. He will rarely have
time to charge up for a razor kick - chase him with body blows and cheap
grab/spin punch combos. If he does not sonic boom, or just keeps
sweeping, time a TAP to take off some health.
aggressive, esp. those with who are good at combos: your only choice is
to nail him with a standing fierce as he sonic booms. This is tougher
than against Ken or Ryu, but if you hit each other, you will make out.
Human Bison players:
flamers - charge punch him as he is about to flame. Follow up with a
bodyblow, grab... (or ducking roundhouse if they are good at getting out
of ticks)
other - if you get one in a corner, keep on the attack. Most Bison
players have considerable trouble hitting players out of the air (no
uppercut).
Honda - play very defensively, jabbing flying headbutts and charging
uppercutting him if he jumps. If they come in with the hands, punch the
hands with a ducking roundhouse.
When Honda tries the hands, and you both get hit (usually), Balrog
remains standing. Unless the Honda does a headbutt right as he gets up,
you can TAP punch him for a sliver more of health. The damage you both
recieve by the roundhouse/honda hands exchange seems random, but with
some guess work, i.e. when he thinks you will TAP afterwards and
headbutts, you jab instead, etc., you will give most Honda players a
much grief. Besides, it looks like Balrog makes out (because of Honda
falling down), so they usually won't try it again.
note: do not try to jump over the hands - unless the Honda is foolish,
he can back up, hitting you out of the air easily.
- end -