Complete Chun Li Strategy Guide: SNES SFII
Richard Lawrence
to a file for viewing ( "s <filename>" in most readers).
The following is my complete strategy guide to playing Chun Li on SNES
SFII. Hope it helps some of you out. Email addresses are at the bottom
if you have comments.
The Indispensable Chun Li Strategy Guide for the SNES
or: How To Beat Level 7 Without Having a Hernia
This guide is the "intellectual property" (yeah, right, there's an
oxymoron - intellectual video game discussion) of myself. You are free
to distribute it, copy it, revere it, throw it away, but you can't
quote it without my permission. 'Course, I would always GIVE the
permission, but that's besides the point.
Version 1.0 of this guide is being released as of 12/92 upon an
unsuspecting world, to help out those poor unfortunate souls who are
having trouble tromping the computer.
Why Chun Li?
It is my opinion that Chun Li is the strongest champion in the SNES
version of Street Fighter II. There are several reasons for this.
* Great range on offensive moves - because of her jumping ability,
particular the "bounce off a wall" move, Chun Li can strike over a
great range offensively. Ken and Ryu have great offensive attacks,
but have to use vulnerable special moves to get around quickly.
* Extremely fast - helps on both offense and defense, she can block
quickly when in trouble and turn it into an attack instantly when
the opportunity arises.
* Easy controls - no "move here, here, and here" for an attack. The
most difficult move she has is the Whirlwind Kick, and as we'll
see later, you don't even need that to be deadly.
Using Chun Li and a Capcom joystick (see next section) I can
consistently finish the game without loosing a battle. I've come
*very* close several times to completing an entire game without being
hit.
I will be releasing guides for the other characters, but Chun Li is
my favorite so she gets the lead role.
A Word on Joysticks
If you are playing SFII with the default SNES control pad, you are
a) insane and b) must have little bitty hands. My advice to ANYBODY
looking to get enjoyment out of this game is loose the pad instantly.
There are several full sized joysticks out there. I have looked at the
CH Joystick, the Capcom Fighter Power Stick, and the ASCII products,
and a few others. I decided on the Capcom product, but that doesn't
necessarily mean it is the best for you. It had the layout I wanted,
lots of features, and a good feel. Some may be afraid of its plastic
construction, but believe me, I have tortured mine extensively and
it's holding up well so far.
The big priority in a SFII joystick is the configuration of the
button repeat functions. The CH stick looses here with no repeat at
all; I recommend you avoid any such stick. You need to be able to
assign various auto-repeat speeds to individual buttons. Not important
to SFII but important to shooters is the ability to have a button
continuously fire; the Capcom does all of the above.
Description of Moves
Here is a brief summary of moves described in the manual, and what
they are good for.
Shoulder Throw: <push towards opponent and hit "L">. Crucial against
Ken and Ryu. Note that Chun Li does *not* need to be touching the
character to perform a shoulder throw - she can be a little ways away.
Shoulder throws also work in mid-air, where they are almost
indefensible. Not safe to use against E. Honda.
Head Stomp: <push down and any kick key>. This move is important
because with it you can hit other characters even when they are
"invincible". Examples: Blanka when he is electric, Bison/Honda when
in a torpedo, Dhalsim when he is stretching (you can hit any part of a
stretching Dhalsim with the head stomp and hurt him!). Keep the head
stomp in mind as your counter to any special attacks that involve the
opposing character directly. These special attacks generally commit
the character to a course of action that he must stick with for a few
seconds. For example, when Blanka turns on electricity, he has no
control over what happens until he comes out of it. This is the
perfect opportunity to do a flying leap and come down with a head
stomp. His electricity will not hurt you, and you'll damage him
without giving him any chance to block.
Lightning leg: <push any kick key repeatedly - you should let the
joystick do this for you>. Note that there is a big difference in the
different lightning legs. The best is the medium ("A" button). The
Roundhouse lightning leg ("R" button) kicks very high and can be
countered with a properly timed punch, but it does the most damage and
has some specialized uses. The light lightning leg is the slowest
repeating and can actually be countered by waiting for the first hit
and timing a return punch. Stay away from it; it's useless.
Whirlwind kick: <push down 2 seconds, then up and a kick key>. I
consider this move almost useless. You gain a second of
invulnerability when you are inverted, but it's easy to block and wait
for Chun Li to spin around at the far end of the kick, then throw her
as she is coming out of it. Also, this move can be difficult to
perform unless you set it up by "charging". Charging is when you begin
the movement of an attack when you are still moving from a previous
attack. For instance, let's say you jump straight up. Immediately
after hitting up, you can pull down and hold the stick, then when you
land you can push up and a kick and you will "instantly" launch into a
whirlwind kick, because you were charging it as you came down from
your previous jump. Charging is important in the lightning leg kicks,
but stay away from the Whirlwind unless you want to show off.
There are several moves I rely on consistently in my strategies.
They are described here so you will be familiar with them in the text
afterwards.
The straight up Roundhouse: Simply push up on the stick and press
Roundhouse kick ("R" for default configuration). Chun Li will leap
straight up in the air and do a sort of circular roundhouse. This kick
has amazing range, both left to right and vertically. Note that you
can time this kick so the roundhouse starts anywhere from when you
first jump up to when you are almost touching the ground after coming
down again. This kick is *very dangerous* to opponents, since it has
wider range than just about any other kick, and you are more or less
impervious if you time it correctly.
The pre-charge lightning leg: From a standing position, push diagonal
up on the stick and Chun Li will do a spinning forward move through
the air. At the halfway point, press and hold a repeating kick key.
The kick key can be anything from a roundhouse to a light kick. Chun
Li will do a kick in mid-air (so if your opponent jumped at the same
time he will likely be hit) and when she lands will instantly launch
into a lightning leg.
Variant: The head stomp/lightning leg: Push diagonal up to jump,
then immediately push DOWN on the stick, then push and hold a
repeating kick key. Chun Li will jump up, go into a head stomp as soon
as you hit the kick, and upon landing launch into a lightning leg
right away. The beauty of this attack is that most of the time she
will end up facing the opponent with the lightning leg, *even if you
mistimed the kick and jumped over the opponent*. In other words, if
you land on the wrong side with this kick, most of the time you'll be
covered anyway! Try it, I'm not kidding.
The wall bounce: Jump up and diagonally so as to hit the edge of
the screen. While you are in the air, before you actually hit the
edge, pull the stick up and diagonally in the opposite direction of
the initial jump. You will hit the edge, and instead of falling
straight down you'll start a new jump in the opposite direction. You
can do this even when standing right next to a wall/edge of the
screen. It's an important move because it's the longest leap you can
make, giving you a great range of attack when you are near the edge of
the screen. Use it to get out of trouble if you get cornered. Vega can
also do this move; watch out for it.
Ok, now that we've got the moves down (practice them on level 0 until
you are comfortable with them), let's look at the stages/characters.
The following are loosely organized from easiest to hardest. They are
all based on Level 7 play. The computer will vary it's techniques on
other levels; you're on your own (but they are much easier).
1) Bonus stages: For both the brick pile and the destruction of the car,
the weapon of choice is the Roundhouse lightning leg. Have the button
held down when the screen first appears, even before you get the
"start". This way as soon as the round starts you'll launch into a
lightning leg that destroys the first section. When you see Chun Li
start kicking, let go of the key (she'll continue the lightning kick,
don't worry) and wait for her to finish the kick. For the bricks, just
do a diagonal forward jump and when in the air, hit and hold the
roundhouse lightning kick again. You'll get one quick hit from the
air, then you should land on top of the first level (not the very top)
of the pile and start pounding away. Just stand there holding the key.
If you didn't waste any time, you can get 27 seconds out of the bricks.
For the car, after the first section is blown away, jump on top of the
car, run across it, fall to the ground on the other side and walk up
close. Then just hold down the roundhouse lightning leg again. You
should be able to finish the round with 22 seconds to spare.
2) Chun Li vs. Zangief: Zangief is a pushover. Believe it or not, you
can completely eradicate this sucker with *one move*, the straight up
Roundhouse. When the round starts, wait for Zangief to walk towards
you (he will always take the offensive) and jump straight up in the
air. If he jumps in response, immediately hit the roundhouse key and
you'll nail him in the air (your range is better than his). If he
doesn't jump, wait until you are on the downward part of your jump,
then hit the roundhouse key. Normally you'll kick him in the face with
this move. You'll have to practice the timing of the downward
movement, but trust me, you can do play the entire round with perfect
scores with just this one move. The timing is tricky if he does an
upward kick as you are coming down, though.
When you land, just repeat the above process again. You might have to
wait for him to walk towards you a little bit so he'll be in range for
the kick.
Just about the only thing Zangief can do about this is block as you do
the roundhouse. If this happens, either jump straight up again
immediately and repeat the roundhouse (eventually he will miss a
block), or land, pull down and hit roundhouse. You'll kick sideways
with both legs, balanced on a hand, and usually this happens too fast
for him to move from his previous block to the new position. After you
hit him once with this, go back to the straight up and down jumps with
the roundhouse in the air.
Against Human Zangief's: You'll still tear this guy apart, even if a
really good human player is in control of Zangief. Keep in mind that
your straight up roundhouse kick has better range than his spinning
clothesline, which you'll find human opponents rely on a lot. Your
only fear is mistiming the straight up roundhouse: if you don't get
the kick in, you'll land on your feet directly in front of him, and
that's bad news. Never tangle with Zangief in close range, even if
you're not going to use my tactic (it's a tick, and other players
might insist that you not use it). If you make an agreement not to use
the straight up roundhouse, use your jumping ability to jump in, hit,
and jump out, and if he backs you up bounce off a wall to keep from
being cornered.
3) Chun Li vs. Ryu: Yeah, that's right, as a computer opponent I
consider Ryu totally worthless. Let me give you a template to beat
level 7 Ryu every time:
a) Before the round even begins, have your stick pointed towards Ryu
so you'll be walking towards him. As the round starts, take one or two
steps and then press "L" for a shoulder throw. *Computer Ryu starts
99.9% of the rounds by walking towards you, and will subsequently fall
for this throw every time*.
b) After the shoulder throw, do a pre-charge lightning leg towards
Ryu (jump up and diagonally towards him, hold down the Roundhouse
button as you jump). You'll land and promptly start pounding him, as
soon as he stands up from the throw. Even if he blocks you'll be
hurting him. As the kicks hit him, he will move slowly farther away
from you. Let go of the kick key after the first two hits, and wait
for the lightning leg to expire.
c) if you've followed the above, Ryu will be up against the far
right wall right now. You have two choices. You can repeat step (b)
above, but if you do, you'll loose the chance for a perfect round,
because as you land with the lightning kick revved Ryu will strong
punch and hit you, although you will hit him after that. The other
choice is to jump towards him, and immediately pull down and hold a
repeating kick key. You'll head stomp him 1-2 times, then bounce off
the wall and backwards.
Here's a generalization: after being hit with a repeat attack such as
the lighting leg, 95% of the time the first thing that any character
with a distance weapon (Ken, Ryu, Dhalsim, Guile) will do is fire that
weapon. In the above scenario, this would happen between (b) and (c),
but as Ryu is throwing his fireball, you'll be leaping through the air
and preparing a head stomp. This same tactic works well for all of
these characters, but especially Dhalsim. The key is, after a
successful lightning leg, jump TOWARDS the opponent to avoid his
subsequent distance attack, and have an offensive move prepared.
If you've followed the above scenario, then after the head stomp in
step (c) Ryu is probably heavily damaged and you are a little ways
from him on the left after bouncing off the wall. He will almost
certainly fire a fireball. Just jump straight up in the air, and watch
it go by. Repeat as necessary. _Eventually_ he will tire of this and
come walking towards you again. When this happens, just repeat from
step (a). You'll kill him with the first throw or so.
Human Ryu's: Any human player worth a damn is only going to fall for
the opening shoulder throw once or twice, and after that he'll vary
his opening attack. In this scenario, start the round by moving AWAY
from Ryu. If he fireballs, try to jump straight up, but don't worry
about if you can't, just let the block happen. Then look to the
section below for responses to typical Ryu/Ken attacks.
Response to the Hurricane Kick: If Ken or Ryu goes into a Hurricane
kick, if you are close (1 body width) from it, go into a block right
away. Let it hit you a couple of times, then as he is settling to the
ground, push forward and hit "L" to shoulder throw him. Note: the
computer opponent will follow a hurricane kick with a Dragon Punch.
Keep the block through the Dragon Punch, then catch him on the way
down from the punch with a throw. *After a throw you should always go
on the offensive*. Do a pre-charge lightning leg kick after a throw.
If you are a few steps away when Ken/Ryu starts the Hurricane kick,
wait until he is about 1 body width away and then hit "L" for a fierce
punch. It's kind of funny actually, but Chun Li's hand in this
configuration ends up in a very delicate location on Ken or Ryu, and
there's no defense for them once they are committed to the Hurricane.
Try it yourself. The best range on this is achieved if you push the
stick towards the opponent right as you hit "L".
Response to the Dragon Punch: See above. Block backwards, but stay in
the area. Wait for him to start to come down, then push forwards and
"L" to throw him. Go on the offensive from there. Computer Ken/Ryu's
will almost always do more than one Dragon Punch in a row. It takes a
*long* time for them to recover from a Dragon Punch. If you are less
than three body widths away when they do a Dragon Punch, you will have
time to walk up, wait for him to start coming down, and Shoulder Throw.
Response to the Fireball: Simple, either jump straight up (preferred)
or block. The dangerous ones are the slow fireballs. Crafty human
opponents will try to lure you into jumping straight up with a slow
fireball, then walk towards you while you are in the air. If this
happens, try to roundhouse right before you touch down again. It gets
them every time. To make the timing on this less crucial, stay AWAY
from a human Ken or Ryu on the screen. Remember to back out of being
cornered by using the bounce off the wall trick.
Response to a jumping Ryu/Ken: A favorite trick of the computer is to
have Ryu/Ken jump around, and a lot of human players do this too. If
the computer player is jumping back and forth, just ignore it -
eventually he will fire a fireball instead of jumping. If he starts
jumping towards you (or a human player does), watch the distance that
he jumps. Place yourself at the position you think he will land with
his next jump. When he is about halfway through this jump, do a
standing roundhouse (just hit the "R" key). Your standing roundhouse
has longer range than the flying roundhouse that Ken or Ryu is
probably attempting. You'll hit him as he's coming down and bounce him
backwards.
Special note: it is dangerous to try to jump diagonally away from Ken
or Ryu, because their fireballs travel at about the same speed as your
jump, and you may come down right in the middle of one. Jump straight
up and down when needed. You *can* do the diagonal jump, but it
requires precise timing. Don't tackle it until you are comfortable
with beating these guys.
4) Chun Li vs. Ken: First, read the above section, especially the
responses to attacks. Keep in mind that Ken and Ryu are *the same
character*. The only difference between playing the two of them on
level 7 SNES is the opening - Ryu will always start by moving towards
you (making him easy to throw).
The best opening move against Ken is defensive; start by backing away
from him. It's very likely that he will launch into a Hurricane Kick.
Let it come, keep the block by pulling away. He will follow the
Hurricane with a Dragon Punch. Again, let it happen, but after he
starts to come down, push forward and hit "L" to throw him. You've
just performed step (a) from the Ryu text - just follow that template
and you'll be all right.
Ken is more fond of the Hurricane kick than Ryu, and also jumps more.
Read the "Responses to xxx" section in Ryu above - all of the
responses are the same for either Ken or Ryu.
If you want to gamble against the computer, open the round with a
fierce punch. If Ken is doing a Hurricane Kick you'll nail him. Most
of the time otherwise he'll be jumping away and there will be no
effect, but there's the chance that he will throw a fireball, in which
case you will be nailed yourself.
5) Chun Li vs. Dhalsim: The template for Dhalsim is very close to what
you do for Ryu/Ken, except for the opening - here goes:
a) First move of the round should be a diagonal jump towards
Dhalsim. After you've started this, Dhalsim will do one of several
things - he'll Yoga Fire, he'll jump straight up, or he'll do a
stretch attack. Any way you slice it, the attack of choice is to hit
the "A" button after you start the jump and hold it. You'll either
hit him in the air if he jumps straight up, or you'll hit him as you
come down in the other cases. Then you'll launch into a lightning leg
that will throw him backwards.
b) after you throw him backwards from the attack in (a), basically
repeat the same move, jump diagonally up and towards him, come down
with a lightning leg revved. You can use the roundhouse if you want,
Dhalsim doesn't seem able to counter it as others can.
c) after step (b), Dhalsim will be up against a wall (the right
one). It is usually safe to just keep performing step (b), but there's
a chance he'll counter it. If you are after a perfect round, diagonal
jump towards him (quickly, after he comes out from under your
lightning leg) and head stomp him, then bounce off the wall. After
that, you can go defensive for the round and wait for him to come to
you. I usually prefer just finishing him off in the beginning, though.
6) Chun Li vs. E. Honda: Honda is not really THAT hard, he's just got
a few special considerations compared to the other players.
The basic template for Honda is to just flying leap towards him and
rev a lightning kick as you come in. Just like you would against other
characters. As with the other characters, this attack is less
effective when Honda is backed up against a wall - jump in and head
stomp him, then jump away. Keep the following in mind.
a) Always use a regular lightning leg against Honda (the "A" key).
He has the timing to counter both others.
b) if Honda blocks while you are in the air (he will cross his hands
in front of his face), IMMEDIATELY let go of the lightning leg key and
pull the stick diagonally backwards from him. When you land, you will
still do a short lightning leg attack (from the previous revving).
After this kick finishes, Honda will jump towards you. If you followed
my instructions the timing will be perfect to jump right out from
underneath him, *keep the stick held diagonally backwards from him*.
You'll want to jump away from him to get some maneuvering room.
c) If Honda is doing a Hundred Hand Slap, you have to be just
outside the range of his hand when you jump in and lightning leg him.
This is a safe attack when properly executed (you won't get hit) but
if you are two far away when you jump in, you'll land in the range of
his hands rather then in his body, and the hands will hit you.
d) Unless you are *sure* that Honda has just been stunned, DO NOT
ATTEMPT to Shoulder Throw him. He is unbelievably fast with the Bear
Hug. If you get caught in a bear hug, start pounding all the buttons
and swirling the joystick around (basically, spaz out). This will
break you out of it faster.
e) If he torpedoes (Head Butt), jump straight up and come down with a
head stomp. Nails him every time.
f) Again, never stand close to Honda. He will start the Hand Slap
and pound you. Jump in with a lightning leg revved and jump out. That
basic sequence will beat him 90% of the time with nothing else.
Human players with Honda are usually much easier to beat than the
computer. Keep in mind that you have much faster jumping, your head
stomp is great against him, and your airborne Roundhouse has good
range against him. Most of the stuff above will work fine against a
human opponent.
7) Chun Li vs. Guile: Guile has some tricks up his sleeve, but they
can all be countered. Here's a basic template.
a) First move of the round should be a straight up jump. Guile will
either start walking towards you, Sonic Boom, or walk backwards. MOST
of the time he will walk towards you, and then crouch down a few steps
away. It may not look like it, but he is in range of your air
Roundhouse kick when he is crouched down. You have to wait until you
are almost touching the ground again, then hit "R". You will kick him
in the head, sending him flying backwards.
b) immediately jump diagonally towards him. Rev the lightning leg in
the air as you come down (you can use Roundhouse lightning legs
against Guile). You'll come down and start pounding him...release the
leg and wait for it to expire.
c) Like Dhalsim, Guile will always follow a lightning leg attack
with a Sonic Boom to counter. The best thing to do to jump *straight
up*. It's very dangerous to jump towards Guile when he Sonic Bombs,
unlike Dhalsim/Ken/Ryu with their fireballs. The reason is that he
will do an immediate flash kick and nail you.
General guidelines: If you can't finish him off with the opening
template, move out into the open, but not up against the wall. Wait
for Guile to approach you and jump straight up. If he kneels, start
with (a) above. Avoid Booms by jumping straight up and down.
Sometimes Guile has a weird little sequence he follows when Chun Li
jumps straight up. He'll stand just outside the range of the
roundhouse you let loose. After you land, he'll pause a second and
throw a fierce punch. The trick to this is to hesitate a second after
landing, then jump straight up again and roundhouse. The sequence is a
little tricky, but luckily you won't get damaged much even if he
connects with his fierce.
Do *not* jump diagonally in against Guile unless he has just been
kicked in the head or thrown back. The computer can instantly unleash
a Flash Kick and nail you hard. There is nothing practical you can do
against a Flash kick except avoid it. Like the Dragon Punch, it takes
a little time for him to recover after using it, and you can use the
opportunity to throw him.
Against Human Guile's: Guile matches up well with Chun Li, so a good
Guile player can give you a hard time. Keep in mind that your airborne
Roundhouse kick has a greater range than his, and your straight up in
the air Roundhouse can be timed to extend farther than any of his
punches. Counter Flash Kicks by leaping away if close. If you're far
away and he Flash Kicks, try to leap towards him, catch him coming
down and do an Air Shoulder Throw (push towards him and hit "L"). This
does a lot of damage.
Guile's sweep has a better range than yours, so don't go toe to toe.
Instead, leap straight up as he approaches and roundhouse.
8) Chun Li vs. Blanka: Now, Blanka can be a problem. He's fast, he has
STRONG offensive moves, and the computer plays him pretty well. Still,
it's possible to master the moves to beat him consistently.
Your basic pre-charge lightning kick is still an important move. In
fact, open the round with it - when you hear "Fight!", jump diagonally
towards Blanka, and come down with the lightning leg firing. I usually
use the normal, but you can also use Roundhouse. It's possible that
Blanka will jump up or towards you as his first move. If he goes up,
you should be able to hit him with your kick. If he jump towards you,
you'll have to react VERY quickly and switch to an air Shoulder Throw,
otherwise you'll be hit.
Assuming you got him with the initial lightning leg, jump in and
pound him with another, then jump in and head stomp. At that point you
will bounce off the wall (after having head stomped him) and away.
It's more important than usual to stay clear of Blanka. He has very
good range on all of his close in attacks, more than just about
anything Chun Li has except the fierce punch/lunge.
The preceding sequence should have him pretty damaged, but unlike
most of the other characters, Blanka is very erratic in actions from
this point on. If he starts jumping towards you, jump away, wait for
his next jump, and time a jump towards him to hit him as he is coming
*down* (you're reasonably safe with this move). Otherwise, move in
and attempt a pre-charge lightning leg again. Here's some things to
look out for:
a) If he starts jumping straight up and down, Blanka is thinking
about a Rolling Attack. Chun Li's Head Stomp works against the Rolling
Attack, but it's hard to time it as the Rolling Attack is so much
faster than other character's moves. It's safest to just jump straight
up and avoid it, or block if you have to. Remember that if you can
punch or kick Blanka when he's in a Rolling Attack you will do more
than normal damage. If you see him suddenly crouch down when he's far
away from you, he's definitely about to unleash a rolling attack.
b) Blanka is hard to stun, and doesn't stay that way long when you
do manage it. Don't trust a stun against him, and that means be careful
with attempts at a Shoulder Throw.
c) Blanka is the only character that I recommend you stay away from
the straight up Roundhouse. He's got too many attacks that can counter
it.
d) Never, ever try a Whirlwind Kick against Blanka. I don't use the
Whirlwind anyway, but Blanka will invariably time a Rolling Attack just
right when you try the Whirlwind to pound you.
8) Chun Li vs. Balrog: Balrog can do massive damage, but as an opponent
he's a moron. Basically, treat Balrog the same as Zangief, that is, he
is very susceptible to the straight up Roundhouse. Here's a typical
sequence:
a) Start the round by jumping straight up. Balrog may rush in or
walk in trying to punch you. Either way he'll be in range as you come
down from the straight up jump, that's when to release your airborne
Roundhouse. You'll hit him in the head and he'll fly backwards.
c) After hitting Balrog with a Roundhouse is the ONLY time it is
safe to do a flying jump into him with the lightning leg. Do so now,
use Roundhouse as the Lightning Leg. He will probably crouch down and
block.
d) Immediately after coming out of the lightning leg Balrog will
jump diagonally towards you. Jump straight up and Roundhouse to hit
him as he comes in.
You can beat Balrog entirely by just standing in one place and doing
straight up Roundhouses, just like Zangief. The key is to jump up
when he is farther away than you are used to, because he will probably
rush in the last few steps, and you don't want to be on the ground
when that happens. Even if he is walking he will make it into range,
barely. Just takes a little practice to get the jump point right.
It's obvious that you shouldn't get backed into a corner with Balrog.
As with all the end bosses, if you let yourself get up against a wall,
you may never even have a chance to jump out before you are dead.
9) Chun Li vs. Vega: Vega requires the most precise timing of any
character to counter, but after you learn this timing you will beat
him very consistently. It's easy to get frustrated with him and think
that he's impossible to beat (I did, at first), but stay with it.
General guideline: When leaping away from Vega (you will do a lot of
this) ALWAYS combine the backwards leap with a standard kick.
General guideline #2: If you are staying on the ground, you are doing
something wrong. Start jumping, it's the only way to beat Vega.
a) Vega starts every round (at least on level 7) with a leap away
from you. Just stand there. He'll start walking towards you after the
leap. Note that Vega is a pain to play because his move set as far as
jumps, etc. is basically the same as yours. Here's the tricky part: as
Vega is coming towards you, you want to wait until he is JUST close
enough that you would hit him with a forward leap/regular kick combo.
However, most of the time when you try this he will leap away quickly
enough that you won't hit him. I usually leap backwards if my first
attempt was unsuccessful - Vega will probably leap forwards directly
after he lands, so you want to be going backwards. Wait for another
opportunity to try again.
c) If you hit Vega with the above leap, do NOT lightning leg him.
In fact, never Lightning leg him on just one kick. Instead, leap
towards him a second time and try another flying standard kick. If
you hit him again and he falls backwards, then you can try the
lightning leg, but be aware that you will simply have to learn when
you can and cannot use the lightning leg against Vega. You might
want to just stick with leaping back and forth at first.
d) This is a little weird, but something to try if you can't get
the timing right on step (a) and you're just jumping back and forth
is to get hit once. Vega's behavior changes after he has either been
hit or hit you. He will start bouncing off the edge of the screen
when this has happened (just like Chun Li can) and this is a weak
point for him. When Vega jumps backwards towards the edge of the
screen, do NOT jump after him - if you do you'll be hit. Rather, wait
for him to hit the edge, and start his bounce back towards you. If you
wait until just after this bounce back towards you has started, you
will be able to jump diagonally towards him, hit a standard kick, and
hit him as he comes down.
e) If Vega starts climbing the cage, walk to whichever side of him
has more maneuvering room, stop about 1 1/2 body width away from him
on that side, and wait. You should be prepared to a diagonal jump
away from wherever Vega is when he is on the wall. As soon as he jumps
off the wall, jump diagonally up and away from him, simultaneously
hitting a standard kick. You'll hit him as he comes down. He often
does several wall-climb attacks in a row, so be prepared for another.
f) If you get Vega in a lightning leg, it's safest to just assume
you should jump diagonally away as soon as it is completed. Let go of
the kick button immediately after starting the lightning leg, and pull
diagonally back on the stick. You'll finish the kick and then jump
away. Vega has a variety of nasty counters after he comes out from
under a lightning leg.
10) Chun Li vs. M. Bison: The first thing to know is that the computer
basically cheats like hell when playing Bison. Don't get frustrated
about it. Bison is the only character left that despite a solid
understanding of how to beat him, can still kill me with a fair
consistency. On the other hand, I've gone double perfect rounds on
him innumerable times, so he's not invincible.
Bison is unpredictable. The only given move for ever round with him
is the very first one: you should jump straight up in the air. If he
does one of his "jump halfway across the screen" leaps at you, hit
Roundhouse. Otherwise, wait until you are coming down, he will be
walking towards you. Do a last second Roundhouse before you land to
hit him in the head.
The rest of these moves are basically reactions to various things Bison
will attempt.
a) Against the Flaming Torpedo: Jump straight up and come down with
a head stomp. Unfortunately, the computer will bring Bison out of
almost all his Torpedoes _already_ blocking, so he'll probably block it.
It beats getting hit with it, though. You'll have better success
actually hitting him with the stomp if you try to time it so you will
hit him just as he starts coming underneath you, rather than in the
middle of his body.
b) STAY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SCREEN. If you get close to the wall,
you are toast. Once you allow Bison the beginning of a strong
combination attack, it's basically over.
c) The air is your friend again. Do a lot of jumping. Bison is also
susceptible to the straight up Roundhouse kick, but be aware that he
will block a good number of them. You have to keep jumping straight up
again and Roundhousing in the hopes you'll catch him out of a block.
One thing that works to your advantage is that he will try a power
punch sooner or later. If you see his hand turn electric while you are
in the air, your Roundhouse *will* hit him. You should anticipate this
and as soon as you hit the kick, be leaping towards him with another
Roundhouse, which will also hit. Then decide whether to get in another
kick (lightning leg is possible) or just jump away to the middle of the
screen again.
d) You can beat those flying kicks that Bison does by jumping straight
up and Roundhousing. As usual, you have better range than most of his
stuff.
e) If you catch Bison in a lightning leg, let if fly and let go of
the kick button. He will probably block it successfully, but as usual
he will be knocked backwards as he blocks. He'll end up a little ways
away from you after you come out of the leg. Almost always his
response will be to leap in towards you with a flying kick. The response
is to jump straight up and Roundhouse (as above), but in the special
case of him recovering from a lightning leg, wait about a half second
before you jump straight up. Otherwise you'll miss him with the kick, and
he'll hit you.
Well, that's about it, folks. I'll be writing the other characters up
later. I may revise this document as well; send in your suggestions and
comments to the email addresses below. Have fun playing. If you are new
player to the game, don't expect it all to come at once. I guarantee you
that all of the strategies here will work, but you may need to get
comfortable with controlling Chun Li first. Also, don't expect to walk
into an arcade and be a champion. The timing is entirely different, and
the computer opponents are smarter.
Contact me:
Internet: ri...@grebyn.com rlaw...@synoptics.com
CI$: 71101,2272
GEnie: R.LAWRENCE14
--
Rich Lawrence, Synoptics Systems Engineer DOD#9630 ri...@grebyn.com
'92 Seca II "Yuri" CI$:71101,2272 GEnie:R.LAWRENCE14
215 years ago my government gave me certain inalienable rights.
Since then, they've been trying to correct their mistake.
-=THE JESSTER=-
> A Word on Joysticks
>
> If you are playing SFII with the default SNES control pad, you are
> a) insane and b) must have little bitty hands.
My hands are as big or bigger than most people's. As for my sanity, well I
guess that's debatable.
> My advice to ANYBODY
> looking to get enjoyment out of this game is loose the pad instantly.
This advice is rediculous for two reasons. First of all, I and many I know can
play just fine with a standard SNES pad (I've even gotten to the point where I
can do zangief's SPD fairly consistantly). Secondly, most sticks available
that try to emulate the SFII arcade layout are rediculously expensive. I have
no intention of paying as much for a joysick as I did for the game its self
(much less pay for two of them.)
Also, game play more resembles the arcade if you don't have turbo switches on
your buttons. This strategy guide is incredibly biased in that you repeatedly
suggest maneuvers that aren't possible without a turbo feature.
> Description of Moves
> Here is a brief summary of moves described in the manual, and what
> they are good for.
>
> Shoulder Throw: <push towards opponent and hit "L">. Crucial against
> Ken and Ryu. Note that Chun Li does *not* need to be touching the
> character to perform a shoulder throw - she can be a little ways away.
> Shoulder throws also work in mid-air, where they are almost
> indefensible. Not safe to use against E. Honda.
>
This can also be done with the medium punch, or "X" button.
> Head Stomp: <push down and any kick key>.
This move, on the other hand, requires the medium kick or "A" button. It won't
work with just any kick key.
> This move is important
> because with it you can hit other characters even when they are
> "invincible". Examples: Blanka when he is electric, Bison/Honda when
> in a torpedo
These characters are not "invincible" durring these moves. All characters have
one or more ways to knock their oponents out of these moves. The only real
"invincible" moves in the game are the Dragon Punch (invincible on the way up,
quite vulnerable on the way down), and Vega's purely defensive backflip, and
even the head stomp can not get through these moves. I would also just like to
add that the Tiger Uppercut is not invincible. I have managed to knock Sagat
out of it a couple of times.
> Note: the
> computer opponent will follow a hurricane kick with a Dragon Punch.
>
> 4) Chun Li vs. Ken: First, read the above section, especially the
> responses to attacks. Keep in mind that Ken and Ryu are *the same
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> character*. The only difference between playing the two of them on
^^^^^^^^^^^
> level 7 SNES is the opening - Ryu will always start by moving towards
> you (making him easy to throw).
>
This is simply not true. There are major differences in the way the computer
plays these two characters. First of all, only Ken follows up the hurricane
kick with a DP. Ryu likes to follow it up with a throw so it is dangerous to
simply block and "let it happen". In general Ken really overuses the DP where
as Ryu rarely uses it. This is why I find Ken a much easier oponent to defeat.
Simply block his DPs, move in, and throw. This also seems ironic considering
Ryu's the one who is always saying "You must defeat my Dragon Punch to stand a
chance." then he rarely uses the thing.
> 9) Chun Li vs. Vega:
[Lengthly discussion of this match up that was a lot more complicated than it
needed to be deleted]
Just about the only thing you need to know about Vega is that if you knock him
down, he will almost always jump immediately upon standing up.
Now all you have to do with most characters (won't work with Zangief or
Dhalsim.) is knock him down once (I usually do this by waiting for him to jump
off the wall and jumping up over him as he lands to attack him), then keep
jumping over him as he stands up and fierce kick/punching him back down.
Three hits like this and he's dizzy. Slam him, then continue. Sometimes, he
may back flip out of this sequence. Follow him with more jump attacks until
he manges to attack you or jump onto the wall or something. Then start over.
> 10) Chun Li vs. M. Bison:
> b) STAY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SCREEN. If you get close to the wall,
> you are toast. Once you allow Bison the beginning of a strong
> combination attack, it's basically over.
>
Actually, I have no problem with Bison cornering me. In fact, Bison is one of
the easiest of the bosses if you know how to handle him. Just about the only
way to consistantly beat him with all characters is to play DEFENSIVELY.
Simply block all his moves (don't worry if he backs you into a corner) and wait
for him to make a mistake. How to deal with his mistakes depends on your
character. Some characters can easily knock him out of the air when he decides
to back off and jump kick you. Some have good counters for when he head stomps
you against the wall. Any character can get an easy hit in after blocking a
head stomp in the middle of the screen. Any character can also easily knock
him out of his torpedo when he decides to do one.
Other than the comments I've made here, the strategys in the original post
seem to work fine.
--
---------------------=THE JESSTER: MASTER SMART ASS-TER=----------------------
-= Pick a quote, any quote: =-
-="There's a giant sea monster attacking the cape!... Do you have any tartar=-
-= sauce?" -Wild Cat =-
-="Tatsu-Maki-Sen-Pu-Kyaku" -Ryu =-
-="I say you are the messiah, Lord, and I aughta know, I've followed a few."=-
-= -John Cleese =-
-="...True love prevails over all. She got hit by a truck." =-
-= -5 guys called Anthrax =-
-="This is a country, where tobacco kills 400,000 people a year so they ban =-
-= artificial sweeteners... because a rat died!" -George Carlin =-
-=Complaint of the week: =-
------------------------=Christmas is over already?!=-------------------------
Richard Lawrence
>
>> My advice to ANYBODY
>> looking to get enjoyment out of this game is loose the pad instantly.
>
>This advice is rediculous for two reasons. First of all, I and many I know can
>play just fine with a standard SNES pad (I've even gotten to the point where I
See the first two words? "My advice". Advice: view or consideration of a
thing, hence, an opinion. You can follow it or not as you see fit, but
calling it "rediculous" is non constructive.
>Also, game play more resembles the arcade if you don't have turbo switches on
>your buttons. This strategy guide is incredibly biased in that you repeatedly
>suggest maneuvers that aren't possible without a turbo feature.
*Wrong* answer. I can make any of the moves I describe without the
turbo. In fact, that's how I play since I worked out the strategies.
This guide was meant to help players having trouble beating the
computer. The turbo switch gives you one less thing to worry about when
you are trying to beat level 7. Revving the lightning leg is almost
impossible (for me) with that bitty pad, so maybe that is the source of
your disbelief.
>> Shoulder Throw: <push towards opponent and hit "L">. Crucial against
>
>This can also be done with the medium punch, or "X" button.
Yes, although I never do it that way.
>> Head Stomp: <push down and any kick key>.
>
>This move, on the other hand, requires the medium kick or "A" button. It won't
>work with just any kick key.
Noted, and will be changed. I use "A" almost exclusively unless I know
it's safe to roundhouse or roundhouse lightning leg.
>
>> This move is important
>> because with it you can hit other characters even when they are
>> "invincible". Examples: Blanka when he is electric, Bison/Honda when
>> in a torpedo
>
>These characters are not "invincible" durring these moves. All characters have
>one or more ways to knock their oponents out of these moves. The only real
>"invincible" moves in the game are the Dragon Punch (invincible on the way up,
In common english usage, putting quotations around a word draws
attention to it, and in context is often used to indicate derision from
the author. Examples: "moderate" conservatives, "sort of" pregnant.
Putting quotes around invincible indicates that I don't believe that
they really are.
>even the head stomp can not get through these moves. I would also just like to
>add that the Tiger Uppercut is not invincible. I have managed to knock Sagat
>out of it a couple of times.
With Chun Li, a straight up Roundhouse will do this. The problem with
the Tiger Uppercut is that Sagat moves so far horizontally when
delivering it, much farther than Ken or Ryu with the Dragon Punch.
>
>> 4) Chun Li vs. Ken: First, read the above section, especially the
>> responses to attacks. Keep in mind that Ken and Ryu are *the same
>> character*. The only difference between playing the two of them on
> ^^^^^^^^^^^
>> you (making him easy to throw).
>>
>
>This is simply not true. There are major differences in the way the computer
>plays these two characters. First of all, only Ken follows up the hurricane
You say tomato...if the template I provide is followed, they are the
same character, because I trash them both with equal aplomb. It's true
that Ryu will often follow a hurricane with a throw, but it's not true
that if you in block mode that you will neccesarily be thrown (only if
you are up against a wall). Besides, I never let them finish a hurricane
anyway. As listed in my moves, a fierce (especially while pressing
forward) will nail a hurricane every time.
>> 9) Chun Li vs. Vega:
>[Lengthly discussion of this match up that was a lot more complicated than it
>needed to be deleted]
>
>Just about the only thing you need to know about Vega is that if you knock him
>down, he will almost always jump immediately upon standing up.
I'm sure people who are trying to learn the game will find that very
edifying, and be able to parlay that knowledge into instant victory.
*You* may find the text verbose, but it's meant for people who are not
experienced.
>> 10) Chun Li vs. M. Bison:
>> b) STAY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SCREEN. If you get close to the wall,
>> you are toast. Once you allow Bison the beginning of a strong
>> combination attack, it's basically over.
>>
>
>Actually, I have no problem with Bison cornering me. In fact, Bison is one of
If you allow Bison to back you into a corner, then you are almost
certainly writing away your chance for a perfect round (worth 80,000
against Bison). Sure, you can stand and block, but you can do that in
the middle of the screen too. He's much more likely to either torpedo
(as you say, easy to counter) or leap in the air from the middle of the
screen. Conversely, at the edge he's much more likely to go into a combo
involving scissor kicks and head stomps, most of which you can block but
some will probably hit you. A newbie player will almost invariably allow
a heavy hit (scissors, or roundhouse) and after that on level 7 it's SOL
time.
>Other than the comments I've made here, the strategys in the original post
>seem to work fine.
Everybody learns to play from their own perspective. Cast any
deprecations you want, I *know* that my strategies work, because I use
them all the time to play lossless games (I still haven't yet completed
an entire game without being hit - two nights ago I made it to Balrog,
and the bastard caught me somehow and hit me). But if you choose to pick
nits in public rather than through e-mail (where I specifically
solicited replies) then kindly do so with a little more tact.
>
>--
>---------------------=THE JESSTER: MASTER SMART ASS-TER=----------------------
>-= Pick a quote, any quote: =-
>-="There's a giant sea monster attacking the cape!... Do you have any tartar=-
>-= sauce?" -Wild Cat =-
>-="Tatsu-Maki-Sen-Pu-Kyaku" -Ryu =-
>-="I say you are the messiah, Lord, and I aughta know, I've followed a few."=-
>-= -John Cleese =-
>-="...True love prevails over all. She got hit by a truck." =-
>-= -5 guys called Anthrax =-
>-="This is a country, where tobacco kills 400,000 people a year so they ban =-
>-= artificial sweeteners... because a rat died!" -George Carlin =-
>-=Complaint of the week: =-
>------------------------=Christmas is over already?!=-------------------------