Zangief Strategy guide

[Justin C. Hogue]

I have been asked to post my Zangief guide, so here it is. I also
included a tutorial on how to learn the SPD and examples for CE and HF.

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Strategy guide for Zangief--compiled by Justin Hogue
ho...@cs.arizona.edu

General train of thought with Zangief

When playing Zangief, there are many things to keep in mind when deciding
what to do
---you do more damage-period.
---know what you can and can't take to get in a throw.
---So long as their feet are on the ground, you can get them with the
screwdriver.

Unlike most other SF2 characters, who have some form of defense or have
some way to force the enemy into action, Zangief does not. Instead, you
must fight like a boxer, working your enemy into a bad situation that he
can't get out of, then let him have it. Zangief DOES NOT require jab
wrestle to win, just lots of patience. For those who haven't even
played Zangief at all, here are his throws.

Standing--close
*strong punch --Pile driver--puts enemy close and frees you up to place
yourself where you want to be--moderate damage
*fierce punch --Suplex thingy--Puts enemy miles away, but hurts about
like honda's throw
*forward kick --over the shoulder (name?)--best looking throw, puts enemy
at moderate distance and does a good amount of damage.
*Roundhouse kick--plip-over-and-smash-head--most gruesome looking,
puts enemy at moderate distance and does good amount also,
but you get up quicker (if you mess up, you accidentally
do that stupid double kick and are screwed)
Standing--far
(this is usually judgeable (spelling?) but when your shadows almost
touch)
*Strong punch--iron claw--grapple move that puts enemy close
*Fierce punce--chin smash--hard to perform, but if you get it going,
it hurts--alot.

Crouching--Close
*Strong Punch--Flipover--low damage for a throw, but puts enemy real
close and frees you up to move instantly. Your
best defense vs. jab throw.
*Fierce Punch--Toss--lobs enemy miles away, but frees you up to move
instantly

Crouching--Far (same distance as before)
*Strong or Fierce punch--wrench enemy's stomach--the computer makes this
one go light speed, but you may be lucky to get it going fast
Fierce should do more damage than strong, but I rarely
use this anyway.

--Zangief also has punches (believe it or not)
close
*jab--Kind of a swat like thing. Great for opponents right above you.
*strong--Knifehand sideways slap.
*fierce--rears back and throws his whole body into this one. Very slow
recovery, very big damage.
*short--shin kick
*forward--head stomp.
*roundhouse--very slow double kick.
far
*jab--straight punch.
*strong & fierce the same
*short--longer range shin kick.
*forward--sideways kick--much like bisons in appearance.
*roundhouse--grunting Zangief pulls his leg up to head level kick.
crouch
*jab--short but sweet.
*strong--much like crounching fierce, just faster.
*fierce--big gut punch--very slow recover.
*all kicks are the same, but roundhouse (obviously) trips them.

ANY POSITION---
*spin joystick 360 and hit any punch--Spinning pile driver
puts you as far across the screen as possible, but hurts like hell
and has one heck of a range. More later.

And also, we can't forget his moves---
*All three punch buttons--lariat--great for passing fireballs through
you, then hitting a disabled ryu/ken in the face with it. Can be tripped
but cannot be hit in face.
*HYPER FIGHTING ONLY: three kick buttons super fast lariat, but you walk
slower. Can be hit in face but cannot be tripped.
*Jump straight up--hold up and fierce--shin drop
surprisingly useful at times, surprisingly not at others.
*Jump at enemy and hold down while hitting fierce--belly flop
nice pressure move, but be sure to hit them low, or they can
take the hit and throw you.

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How to begin with Zangief.....
One of the best (only) real weapons Zangief has that causes an opponent
grief is the Spinning Piledriver. Its my favorite counter attack. Any
opponent who whifs an attack by you is complete bait at almost any range.
Few people do this, though, because the 'driver is hard to pull of with
out causing a moonshot instead of a piledriver. Here is the way I learned
it.

Instead of standing, stay in defensive crouch. Spin joystick rapidly
(but not too fast--it won't help) back around to defensive crouch and hit Jab.
you will notice as you
practice that you can grab an opponent from about 3 of your widths. Try
this on the computer (best on Honda, Bison and, get this, Zangief) by waiting
and performing the throw when they get into range. After getting good at that
learn to perform the throw while retreating--moving backward. This time,
move the stick from back to defensive crouch and continue the circle like before
now you can do a standing pile driver with a circle and one eighth. Now
if you start playing like this on 1p and 2p sides, you will be able to
do an advancing throw just like a retreating throw as the other player.
Viola! you can do a standing throw from any stance or direction! Once you
show how well you can execute this, it will change the way people face you.

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"Basic moves"
All the characters in the game have basic moves/defenses--i.e. Ryu
uses the roundhouse kick to defend agains air attacks, etc..
Here are some basics...

*MOST (not all) air attacks can be thwarted by a Fierce punch or
strong punch. Jab works better against opponents directly above
you. The Lariat (see above) works well also. Avoid
attacking Blanka/Chun Li from the ground when they jump, and
try to avoid punching Ryu/Ken if they jump from far away
(they can kick your hand)
*The roundhouse sweep is a staple of fighting with Zangief. It does
plenty of damage, has a few pixels of range on Ryu/Ken, and is
very fast. This is a great way of "basically" holding off your
opponent (assuming you really want them far away)
*Jab is the best defense against blanka's speedball, and the crouch
jab seems to work best. Unlike the old SF2, the lariat will
rarely help against this attack unless you start it before blanka
takes off. For the most part, you are Shit out of luck when
it comes to torpedo attacks, as nothing with Zangief is 100% against
these.
*The Lariat is the best defense in the game against that damn torpedo of
bison's. Worst case scenario, Bison will pas right through you.
*Honda's torpedo went from foolish in the old version to deadly. Zangiefs
lariat does allow you to move, but it will only defend against 25%
of honda's torpedos now (it was a great defense in the old version)
Jabs, strongs or fierces work, but they must be timed well. if you
have enough warning, jump at him and over the torpedo (yes, it does
work for me).

---------------
There are alot of things floating around about Zangief I can dispell for you..
--it does not matter what way, counter or clockwise, you spin the joystick
when doing the 'driver. The only thing that matters is where you start,
as that is the DIRECTION you will go (i.e. right or left).
--I don't know how widespread this is, but many people I asked before figuring
out the 'driver for my self said you had to spin it and hit jab, but
to do it again required 2 spins and Jab. Any stuff like that is crap.
--Yes, it appears that if you use Fierce instead of Jab on the 'driver
the range is increased, but I can't seem to find any difference on damage.

--------------
This is the expanded version, as I have some time to kill and people
keep asking me how to get around things. Well, here we go.

**RYU**
Ryu's main weakness is his lack or horizontal movement from the uppercut.
If a Ryu player throws a fireball alot and uppercuts you when you punch,
then try jumping from a moderate distance, and don't attack. The Ryu player
should stick to his pattern and uppercut, but meeting nothing since you
didn't stick a body part out to hit. Let him have it. Also, if you have
a problem with the fireball-roundhouse trip thing, try walking through the
fireball with the lariat. If you are far away, fast fireballing ryu still
can't get you, and maybe you can even taunt him into a roundhouse sweep, which
gives you alot of time to SPD him after. If you are closer, jump over and
hit Fierce early, as this punch arcs down alot. To hit through the hurricane
kick of Ryu or Ken, use a crouching fierce. the timing is wierd, but it
can me done. Ryu can pump out fireballs really fast, so unless you are very
close, walking through the fireballs and hitting ryu it not a good idea, since
he can come out and uppercut you very fast. I've found if you must walk
through a fireball, use the HF edition super lariat--you end it faster and
can't be tripped.

**KEN**
Somewhat opposite of Ryu, his uppercut is to far reaching to miss, but his
weakness is the fireball. If he does this, and you are realtively close,
you can lariat, walk through the fireball and keep walking until the lariat
hits stunned ken in the face. Jumping over and early fierce works also, as
does the aformentioned defense against fireball/trip. Ken's slow recovery
makes it to where if you know his fireball timing well, you can keep him from
doing anything to you with them. Use the lariat, and if you don't have the
time to get to him, walk backward--it's like the programmers meant for Ken not
to be able to catch you in time to block. Don't be impatient with Ken--
if you try to hit him outa the air and he gets you, your big body will
soak up a huge combo, as the quad is very easy to perform on Z. Crouching
fierce will help you with hurricane kicks (same with ryu).

**CHUN LI**
Some people are complete cake, others can make this beauty hell to fight.
Chun Li's poor range and damage are the real weaknesses, but her speed is
astounding. good players can make you screw up and take lots of damage.
Avoid being tripped at all costs, since she can start the wind kick and
pile on damage. Try to use Chun Li's jumping against her--if they jump, wald
forward so you end up on the other side of her, and she misses. Since she
just landed, you can throw her without a problem--or not? Alot of Chunnie
pros can reverse that fast, but you can prevent this by using the SPD instead
of a normal attack. If the do the hurricane, any crouched punch will do the
trick. Watch for head stomps! If she does them, keep walking back, blocking
the whole time. Sooner or later she has to hit the ground, then SPD. Chun
Li is played very different by different players, so you kinda have to
improvise. Some people will stand in one place, jump up and down doing the
roundhouse kicks. Well, this is really stupid. All you need do is wait
until she is just about to hit the ground, jump up and fierce her when she
comes up for the next jump--in other words, get her between jumps. If you
must lariat through a fireball of Chunny's, use the fast one, as it ends fast
and she can't trip you.

**HONDA**
Again, easy against some, hard against others. Although its hard to hit
his 100 hands, you can jump over and fierce early and get him, too late
your big body will land on one of the hands and you will be toast. Unlike
the old version, your lariat will not get honda out of the torpedo, so
this time you gotta work on it. I use a well timed (any) punch, or just
block it. If you have alot of warning, you can jump at him as he comes,
thus going right over him, or jump back, land and do the SPD. Watch out
for honda pros who jump from far away, as you can't hit them with the fierce
or lariat without taking it in the face. Watch for patterns on the big
guys long recover attacks (fierce, standing roundhouse). You can jump
over these and SPD when you hit the ground, no opposition. If you must
jump at honda, do it from far away, so that big chop won't get you. If they
do the new pattented but launch, block it as high up as possible. Honda
has a long recovery after it, so if you manage to block high you can SPD.
Experiment with lariats to stop him, but I haven't found that to work well.

**BLANKA**
Oh, yes, Blanka. That damn ball, all the damage, and the fact he has
all that range seems undefeatable--but wait. Alot of people use the crouch
fierce and try to hold you off. The crouch fierce of Blanka makes him
trippable (spelling) from far away also. Don't walk so far, wait for it,
and roundhouse trip. If they fall in love with the roundhouse trip of
Blanka's, trade damage or (better yet) jump over the expected kick and SPD
when you hit the ground. Another anoying thing they may do is jump up
and roundhouse alot. Same as Chun Li here, just wait until they are going
to hit the ground, and then fierce early to get them on the way up for the next
attack. This works better if done from a good distance so you don't get hit
by the damn kick. Crouch jab works well on the ball, and get this
YOU CAN SPD BLANKA THROUGH THE ELECTRICITY!!!!
Great crowd pleaser.

**Zangief**
This is a wierd one. Try not to become obsessed with SPD'ing them too
much. Zangief is very vulnerable to another Z's lariat, so if you get
tripped and they go for the air hit-throw thing, do the lariat. Watch for
the roundhouse, and be sure you know the range better than he does, and
you will come out ok.

**Dhalsim**
Not as hard to defeat as people think. If you must jump, the belly
flop is good for exchanging damage, for which you always do more. Dhalsim's
kicks can be hit by a crouch fierce, but make sure you don't get tricked into
doing this, then get hit in the face. you can lariat through the fire, but
not the flame, and even then I don't recommend it, as Dhalsim is the only
character that can hit you even if you try to get away. Be very patient.
If you get pinned all the way across the screen by fireballs, and jumping
only gets you kicked. Try the belly flop from before, or an early fierce
to hit his oncoming leg. Jumping straight up and the shin kick (remember,
up and fierce) works well also. If they do that constant drill thing
(forward slide, you get fooled, they jump up and drill you constantly)
wait until they jump and lariat, it gets them every time. If they do the
drill from far away, try to get them to hit you as high up on your body
as possible. If you do, you can even block it and still get a SPD off
before they can do anything.

**GUILE** ( revised for hyperfighting )
Guile can give you so many options you could puke. Kicks, punches, slice
kick, jump up and kick ...... the list goes on. The first thing to do with
guile is to make a plan right away. Try to figure out how much he likes
sonic booms, forward kicks, etc, then use this against him. Lots of
extra-defensive guile players are very easy to fool. They will throw
a sonic boom and hit you, unless you get in the air right after they
throw it. If you see one of these guys throw one jump at them immediately,
they won't do a thing so you can just land safely and SPD. Others will
throw sonic booms and forward kick/punch you etc. In this case you must
jump and hit fierce early, as this will cause them to block or halt their
movement (aside, many guiles who get you with forwards do it by walking back
a bit, and the fierce forces them to block so they can't do this.) Yet
others will jump and hit you. These people you must simply outguess.
One good option is to throw a forward kick at the top of your jump. Don't
do the super lariat foolishly--Guile can simply backhand you and you also
get hit by the sonic boom that once was passing through you. If they just
stand there and do forwards, you can simply roundhouse the forward or
super lariat through them and SPD after you are through. I still win alot
of matches against Guile players, but mostly by improv. If I discussed
every option, this would get big fast. Parting note--If you get close,
keep on jumping, but do so erratically. If you don't give Guile the time
to charge a sonic boom or razor kick, you can really mess him up. If Guile
EVER stands up, go get him.

***Balrog***
Lariat's are great against him. Try to avoid jumping at all cost, as
he can get you with a nice uppercut. Although the lariat works well,
75% of the charging uppercuts will get through the lariat, so be carefull
if they know that. HF balrog's that get a 3,4 or 5 twisting punch have
a long lag time, you you can try an SPD.

***Sagat***
Thanks to HF, this isn't as bad as it was. Low tigers can now be passed
by the super lariat. Jumping after a low tiger is almost stupid, unless you
can predict when they will do it, as they will uppercut you every time.
If you jump from far away in hope they will uppercut and miss (see ryu above),
they might do a tiget knee. Like guile Sagat will give you many options.
An early fierce will keep you fron being knee'd, but very little works
on the uppercut--the shin drop (on the off chance you jump up right on top
of him) or and early fierce should trade damage. You do less, but at
least it's ground. Wade in, don't rush. Blocked tigers don't hurt much,
and if you can lariat through or jump over a high tiger you can hurt
them badly.

***Vega***
Patience student. Watch for all possiblilties. To win this match requires
alot of throws (huh). That's right. Your hits are so damn slow that it's
almost silly to perform them. If you throw a fierce, Vega can see it, jump,
land and throw you before you recover, so if you wanna win the secret is set
him up. Keep manuevering until you can throw or he does something stupid.
A roundhouse works exceptionally well on the roll, and the screaming eagle
can be thrwarted by a jumping strong or, the best I've seen, walk back
as soon as you see Vega jump, then start the lariat once he hit's the wall,
and continue walking back. This works all the time, unless they leave the wall
AFTER you start the lariat--if you do, you quit right when he gets to you.
Don't worry so much about being hit by Vega a few times, as it is inevitable,
but make sure you don't get hit too much that you can't come back. Vega
can be SPD'd between jabs ONLY if you block the first few. Works best if
you let him jab you back until you are past the hand and only the claw hits
you.

***Bison***
he sucks. The torpedo can be easily thwarted by the lariat. In the CE,
Bison can pin you with the double kick. The best defense against that on
both versions is to jump and do belly flops--he can't hit you. I do those alot
when trying to make ground. If you have a problem with B doing the head stomp
and throwing you, do the fast lariat after he stomps you, he'll get hit
before reaching the ground. Not many Bison pro's here but one, and I can
beat him pretty well.

This is getting pretty long, so I will cut it off here. If any body cares
for more info about Zangief/Balrog/Honda, e-mail me at
ho...@caslon.cs.arizona.edu
I love talking about SF2:CE, and am a complete junkie.

--Jowfus Justin Hogue ho...@caslon.cs.arizona.edu