DARK LEGEND System: Saturn (US & Import) COMBO FAQ By: DEATHSCHILD darpeigh@aol. _______________________________________________________________________________ "DISCLAIMER" This 'FAQ' is for personal and private use ONLY, and not for promotional or profitable purposes. NO portions of this 'FAQ' may be changed, altered, displayed or reprinted in any Magazines, Websties or Anywhere else without consent from the author. -Trademark & Copyright- This COMBO/FAQ is (c)copyright 2005 Anthony Gobin. Sega and Sega Saturn are trademarks of SEGA ENTERPRISES, LTD. Data East USA is a registered trademark of DATA EAST USA, Inc. 1850 Little Orchard St. San Jose, CA 92125. NOTE: This FAQ can also be used for the PlayStation version as well!. _______________________________________________________________________________ WHY? There's very few few Gamer's out there who'll actually break a game down before ripping on it and saying it's bad. I read quite a few reviews for Dark Legend (yes even my favorite mag ripped on DL before getting the final product), most of the reviews weren't really bad, but they never really broke the game down far enough to see just how deverse and unique the mechanics i9n DL were for its time. And most gamer's saw that it was made by Data East and said that it's bad. I like Data East, they made quite a few Great games, with adding something to the genre for that which they fall in in with Dark Legend being one of them. Seeing how Frostbyte did a moves list FAQ, I thought I would do one showing off the combos in DL. NAMES: I'll tell you the different names DL has and for what system. Arcade - Outlaws of the Lost Dynasty. JP Saturn - Outlaws of the Lost Dynasty. US Saturn - Dark Legend. PlayStation - Suiku Enbu. The sequal for DL is called: "Suiku Enbu Fuun Saiki" for the JP Saturn (a great game as well). _______________________________________________________________________________ -APPENDIX- 1) - Play Mechanics -GamePlay 2) - Combo System -Weapons -Bare Fisted -Lift -Smash -Spin -Wall -Chain 3) - Control -Set Up -Specifications 4) - Character Combo/s -Shi Jin -Lin Chong -Hu San Niang -Dai Zong -Li Kui -Lu Zhi Shen -Gong Shun Sheng -Wu Song -Ruon Xiao ER -Ruon Xiao WU -Ruon Xiao QI -Choa Gai -Notes 5) - History 6) - Credits _______________________________________________________________________________ 1) - Play Mechanics The Play Mechanics in DL are in familiar territory. You can either fight using your weapon (like Samurai Shodown) or bare fisted (like SF2). Let it be known that if you played the import version of DL then the games speed it quite a bit slower making the animation appear Framey. Why Data East programed the import game so Sllooowww? I don't know, especially when the PS version moves 3-times FASTER, and is as smooth as can be. This Combo/FAQ is for the US & Import Saturn version of DL, but can also be used for the PS version. When you first play a new 2D fighting you you instinctively do the SF2 motions (Dragon Punch, Sonic Boom, Fireball etc....) and you normally do SF2 style 2-in-1's when doing Combos. When I first got DL I was doing your instinctive 'Jump-In Hard Kick, Standing Hard Kick, Fireball/Dragon Punch' combos, and to my avail, had slipped a couple of times and actually had the CPU do a few nasty 'Combos' on me, usaully no more than 5 hits, but still it went beyond the limited 2-in-1 combos in SF2. I'm not bashing SF2, It's just nobody wants to play a game that is Identical in Play Mechanics as another game. And if a game is different and plays/controls differently then SF2 they nag that its Too hard to learn or its Different and they don't want to take the time to learn about it & the Play Mechanics (go figure). I guess what I'm saying is: after I played the game (on level 7 difficulty) I saw Dark Legends (some NEW) Unique and Innovative play mechanics. The combos in DL rival the ones you can do in Weaponlord, KI2, Primal Rage, FH-MkkI, MSH, Martial Masters, Guilty Gear X & Groove on Fight to name a few. This FAQ is to explain and show how different (and not so different) the Play Mechanics and combo system in DL is. GAMEPLAY DL has your Basic Play Mechanics that pretty much ALL 2D Fighters have, they are as follows: -BLOCKING- By holding back (away from your opponent) on the D-Pad against High and Low attacks and Down-Back against Low attacks, you will not sustain any damage unless you block a Special Move. -THROWING- By pressing a certain button or by doing a certain joystick motion you can throw your opponent which vary depending on if you're Armed or UnArmed. -Combos- A combo is: A series of quick, well timed attacks/hits which are unblockable after the initial first hit connects. The combos you see in this FAQ are just something to get you started and showing you the number of Different ways of performing various combos in WL. Practice and practice frequently, and remember; sometimes "simple is more," meaning, sometimes doing a simple 4 hit combo is the difference between winning or getting decapitated by trying to do a 7+ hit one, where there's more room for error. -Two-in-Ones- TIO's form the basis of most combos in DL. A TIO is a normal attack followed quckly by a special move. Basically some frames of animation for the normal move are canceled out when executing the special move. -Chain Hit Combos- A chain hit combo does not require the use of a two-in-one. Instead, you do a series of normal moves that are too fast in sequence to block after the first hit. -Block Damage- B.D. (aka Tick or Chip Damage) happens when you or your opponent sustains damage when blocking/defending against special moves. -RUNNING- Samurai Shodown was the first game to let your character run, and in DL the running is pretty much the same with the acception of being able to run both 'Torward & Away' from your opponent (with certain characters). -STEP- This is a very helpful technique which Data East started in DL. The STEP can be done if you are directly over a projectile. By pressing down on the D-Pad, your character will do a mini jump while on top of a projectile (as many times as needed). By pressing Down-Forward or Down-Back on the D-Pad will let you STEP in either direction. -Whiff- A whiff happens when an attack fails to connect, or you're trying to do the same attack more then 2 times in a row. -Hit-for-Hit- This happens when both players attacks hit each other at the same time. _______________________________________________________________________________ 2) - Combo System WEAPONS - When doing combos with your weapon you're restricted to the number of hits your able to do from the ground. Some characters are able to do a small (usally 2 hits) chain combo... into the juggle sequence. BARE FISTED - In DL you can lose your weapon in 1 of 2 ways: 1) Your weapons guage at the bottom of the screen tension runs out which will send you flying back making you Dizzy. 2) You manually Toss your weapon at your opponent, and if it hits them will make them Dizzy. When you do lose your weapon you fight good ol' fashion Bare Fisted. Note you can only sustain block-damage from a special move. You'll notice your charcter sorta Dodge or Sway when being attacked by your opponents weapon instead of being hit & losing energy (like in Samurai Shodwon). Some advantages to being Bare Fisted are being able to do Chain combos, and Counter (from defense) your opponents attack while they're retracting their weapon. The Combos in DL are based on certain Normal non-special moves (but aren't limited too) and certain Special Moves which will cause the character to do 1 of 4 actions: 1) LIFT - A Lift normally happens when you're next to your opponent. The Lift (will do just that) it will Lift your opponent off the ground causing them to Float for 1-2 seconds, enabling you to extend your combo. The Lift can only be done with both characters on the Ground. 2) SMASH - A Smash can occur when you're either 'Near' or 'Far' from your opponent. The Smash will knock or bounce your opponent off the ground, again letting you extend your combo and juggle your opponent. 3) SPIN - A Spin will happen when you're 'Near' or 'Far' from your opponent. The Spin will cause your opponent to spin around for a few seconds. 4) WALL - A Wall attack (or corner-smash) will send your opponent into the Wall which you are facing. Certain characters can do a Wall attack with a special move, but most are done with a normal attack. CHAIN - Chain combos are mainly done WITH-OUT your weapon. The chain combo system is like the one in Night Warriors, but go much deeper with the lift/smash/spin/wall juggle system (not to mention are ALOT Smoother to pull off). Chain combos let you do multiple normal hits from light to heavy attacks while on the ground. _______________________________________________________________________________ 3) - Control SET UP - The control is for when a player is facing Right, reverse them for when a player is facing Left. The Set Up is as follows: UL - U - UR (Z) \ | / (Y) L - N - R (-) (X) (C) / | \ (B) DL - D - DR (A) [KEY] D-PAD BUTTON/s UB - Jump Back (-) - Start/Pause U - Jump Up (A) - Weak Kick UF - Jump Forward (B) - Medium Kick B - Defend & Walk Backwards (C) - Strong Kick N - Neutral (X) - Weak Punch/Slash F - Walk Forward (Y) - Medium Punch/Slash DB - Low Defend (Z) - Strong Punch/Slash D - Crouch DF - Squat Button combinations - (X)+(A) - Taunt (Y)+(B) - Fake Dizzy (Z)+(C) - Weapon Toss SPECIFICATIONS - In this section I'll tell you what Normal & Special attack does what when doing combos for the individual characters. Some of the Juggle moves you have to either be JUMPING IN, VERTICAL JUMP Up, CLOSE (next to) or FAR (about 1 character length away) from your opponent, in order for the move to work. [KEY] [VJ] - Vertcal Jump (press U on D-pad then button) [JI] - Jumping In [C] - Close [F] - Far s. - Standing c. - Crouching W - Weapon BF - Bare Fisted H - Human Form (Chao Gai only) D - Demon Form (Chao Gai only) Below is a chart of how the Set Up will look like. I'll use 1 of Dai Zong's attacks for an example: [2] [4] \_ __/ | | | | "Lift [C] - s. (Y), W/BF." |__| |__| |__| / | \ [1] [3] [5] [KEY] [1] - Specifies what attack will do. [2] - Specifies if you need to be Close or Far from opponent. [3] - Specifies if you need to be Standing or Crouching. [4] - Specifies which button used. [5] - Specifies if attack can be done either with Weapon, Bare Fisted or with Both. ___________ __SHI JIN__ -Normal- Spin [F] - S.(C), W/BF. Smash [JI] - (Z), W. -Special- Spin - Serpent Punch + (X), BF. Lift - Serpent Punch + (Y), [2nd hit will Lift], BF. Wall - Serpent Punch + (Z), BF. _____________ __LIN CHONG__ -Normal- Lift [C] - Standing (Z), W. Lift [C] - C.(Z), BF. Smash [C] - S.(C), W/BF. Wall [F] - S.(C), W/BF. Wall [F] - Forward + (C), W/BF. -Special- Smash - Cartwheel Kick + (Z). ________________ __HU SAN NIANG__ -Normal- Smash [JI] - (Z), W Wall [C] - S. (Z), BF. -Special- Wall - Vacuum Jasmine Wave, W [Opponent MUST be near corner/wall]. ____________ __DAI ZONG__ -Normal- Lift - [C], S.(Y), W/BF. Spin - [F], S.(C), W/BF [MUST do spinning Roundhouse kick]. Wall - [C], S.(C), W/BF. -Special- Smash - Majestic Teleport Attack, W/BF. Spin - Shadow Charge, BF. Wall - Flaming Ki Punch [Z button], W/BF. __________ __LI KUI__ -Normal- Smash - [JI], (Z), W/BF. Spin - [VJ], (Z), W. -Special- Lift - Mandarin Earth Splitter, W/BF Spin - Drop Kick [C button], BF. _______________ __LI ZHI SHEN__ -Normal- Lift [C] - S.(Z), BF. Smash [F] - S.(Z), BF. Smash [JI] - (Z), BF. Wall - C.(Z), W. -Special- Lift - Shadow Fist + Z [2nd hit will Lift], W. Wall - Silkworm Slash + Z. ___________________ __GONG SHUN SHENG__ -Normal- Lift - [C], S.(C), W/BF Smash - [C], S.(Y), W Smash [VJ] - (Z), BF Spin - [JI], (C), W/BF Wall - [F], S.(Z), W -Special- Spin - Meteor Strike + (Y) or (Z), W/BF Smash - Meteor Fall + (Y) or (Z), W/BF ___________ __WU SONG__ -Special- Lift - Crushing Tiger Claw + (Y) or (Z), W. Spin - Shredding Talon + (C) ONLY, W/BF. Smash - Axe Kick + C, BF. Smash - Rushing Dragon, BF [must do the 3 part 9 hit attack in sequence]. ________________ __RUAN XIAO ER__ -Normal- Lift [C] - S.(C), W/BF Spin [F] - S.(C), W/BF Wall [F] - S.(B), W/BF -Special- Freeze - Shoa Lin Crescent, W/BF ________________ __RUAN XIAO WU__ -Normal- Spin [F] - S.(Z), W/BF Spin [F] - S.(C), W/BF Wall [F] - S.(B), W/BF -Special- Wall - Brilliant Storm, W/BF ________________ __RUAN XIAO QI__ -Normal- Lift [C] - S.(Z), W Lift [C] - C.(Z), BF Smash [F] - S.(Z), W Spin [F] - S.(C), W/BF Spin [JI] - (Z), W Wall [F] - S.(B), W/BF -Special- Lift - Phantom Cyclone Stinger, W/BF ____________ __CHAO GAI__ -Normal- Smash [F] - S.(Z), H/D Smash [VJ] - (Z), H/D Spin [VJ] - (C), H Spin [F] - S.(B), H Spin [C] - C.(Y), H Spin [C] - S.(C), H Wall [C] - S.(Z), D -Special- Wall - Dash Kick + (C) only, H/D Wall - Blowing Fire + (C) only, H Wall - Dark Ki Beam, D _______________________________________________________________________________ 4) - Character Combo/s Now for the fun part, The Combos (some of which will....) in DL are easy to learn but wll take a little time to master. Most combos can be done a number of different ways. But there are certain rules to follow when doing them: 1 - Most combos are started with a Jump In, Lift or Smash attack. 2 - When doing 1 of the 4 actions if you do the same attack consecutively it will cause a Fade to your opponent. An example with Xiao Wu; s.(Z), s.(Z). The first s.(Z) will make your opponent spin, the second s.(Z) will make them Fade. 3 - When doing a SPIN attack to either Li-Kui or Zhi-Shen there is no spin animation for them. 4 - The Wall is the last part of the combo sequence (or is it?). 5 - YES, Some characters are more nastier than others as far as combos go, Shi Jin (cough...) Wu Song (cough...). COMBOS The characters are in the order as on the character select screen. I'm going to list the combos by the amount of Damage each does, Number of Hits, and by Weapon, Bare-Fisted, Wall or Weapon-Toss. Also keep in mind that there are many different ways you can do these combos, but most follow the initial short combos, you're just adding extra hits. Some of the characters are more stronger with their weapons than without, so be careful and watch your weapons tension guage at the bottom of the screen. Unlike some os the newer fighters that have been made, it does not matter how much energy your opponent has left. the combos in this FAQ will take off as much damage if whether your opponent has a full bar of anergy of a half bar, so keep that in mind. If you have the sequal to Dark Legend, (which only came out in Japan) Suiku Enbu Fuun-Saiki, then you'll notice that they toned down the amount of damage per hit and by the number of individual hits you do in them. I'll use one of Shi Jin's combos as an example of how the lay out is going to look for the Combos. [2] _/ | | 50%, 6 - JI.(C), S.(Y), Serpent Sword. |__| |____________________________| / \ [1] [3] [1] - Percent of Damage. [2] - Number of Hits. [3] - The Combo. I'm going to simplify the combos section on how you read them. Instead of writing down the name of the special move and the button, I'm going to use the old (and easy) QCF + (B) and DB - F + (Z) instead as certain combos require the use of certain buttons to get the result you need. Also, some of these combos require you to either take a step toward or take a step back from your opponent wto properly perform combos in DL. NOTE: Usually when you do either a FS (front step) or BS (back step) you'll pretty much just tap the control pad in the given direction to get the desire affect (Lift/Smash/Spin/Wall). So if you see BS or FS it means that after the specific move or special move listed you have to take a step backwrds or a step forward. Refer to the following KEY chart below to see 'What means What' when reading the combos. [KEY] QCF = Press D, DF, F QCB = Press D, DB, B HCF = Press B, DB, D, DF, F HCB = Press F, DF, D, DB, B BS = BACK STEP: Means you have to Tap or Press the D-Pad backwards (away from your opponent) to move your character a very small distance in order to get the result you need for the combo to work. FS = FORWARD STEP: Means you have to Tap or Press the D-Pad forward (torwards your opponent) to move your character a very short distance in order to get the result you need for the combo to work. The BS and FS you see listed above? Basically when you see either of these in a combo, it means that after the last attack you see this after, you'll have to (as I wrote above) take a small step in that direction. You'll only be moving your character about a half character length. This is mostly for when you need your normal attack to perform a SPIN on your opponent. ___________ __SHI JIN__ -Weapon- 35%, 5 - c. Z, F-QCF + Z. 45%, 6 - JI C, s.Y, F-QCF + Z. 50%, 4 - JI.Z, c.Z, F-QCF + Z. 65%, 3 - JI.C, c.Z, F-HCF + Z. -Bare Fisted- 40%, 4 - JI.C, s.C, QCB + X, QCF Z. 55%, 6 - JI.C, s.C, QCB + Y, Y, BS, s.C, QCF + Z. -Weapon Toss- 68%, 7 - JI.Z, s.C, Weapon-Toss, JI.C, BS, s.Z, QCB + X, QCF Z. 100%, 15 - JI.C, s.C, Weapon-Toss, JI.C, c.A (x2), c.B, s.Z, QCB + X, QCB + Z, JI.C, s.Z, QCF + Z, s.Z, QCB + Z. -Notes- Shi Jin is pretty much top tier? He is a true brute. When Shi Jin's armed he's pretty mean, it's when he's Bare Fisted that your opponent should start to be concerned (especially if the Shi Jin player knows what their doing). He has decent combos when he's armed and his Serpent Sword when using the (X) is pretty much invincible and will over-power all other moves (aside from projectile attacks from a distance). And if you want to be fancy you can also do a Serpent Sword with (X) button to go through projectile's (ala SF2 Dragon Punch). His crouching (Y) is great for poking as is his standing (A) as is his standing (Z) when done from a distance. For anti-air attacks his Serpent Sword with (X) is good, but his crouching (Z) is more reliable, faster and you can do it early and get the same amount of damage. Alright, now when Shi Jin is bare fisted is when you truly see how nasty he can be. Shi Jin has one move which has different priorities per button used, which lets you do the same attack in a combo more then once without having it Whiff. This move is his Serpent Punch. You'll be doing this move in alomst all of his Bare Fisted combos. It's also one of the more versitile moves in the game because of the 3 types of priorities it has (which are listed in the above section). The one drawback to being Bare Fisted is he loses almost all of his range and poke attacks. The one thing he does gain is the ability to do greater and more painful combos, one of which will do 70%+ damage if your opponent makes a mistake. Be careful when using Shi Jin's Knee Smash special move. You are pretty much invincible on start up and you will go through almost all attacks including most special moves, but if you miss you're wide open, so use it wisely. All in all Shi Jin is a solid character. Some good Weapon damage chains (basically this is good for damaging their weapons guage at the bottom of the screen) with Shi Jin is to do 2 crouching (X) slashes followed by a crouching (Y) slash and then do a standing (Z) slash, this will do about 1/3 damage to their weapons gauge. _____________ __LIN CHONG__ -Weapon- 30%, 3 - s.Z (2 hits), c.C. 38%, 4 - JI.C, s.Z (2 hits), c.Z. 50%, 5 - JI.C, s.Y, Typhoon Spear, c.Z. 60%, 14 - JI.C, s.Z (2 hits), Spaz Attack. -Bare Fisted- 45%, 5 - JI.C, c.Z, HCB + Z, s.Z. -Wall- 50%, 5 - JI.C, c.Z, s.C, s.Z, QCF + Z. 63%, 7 - JI.C, c.Z, Cartwheel, F+C, s.Z, QCF + Z. -Weapon Toss- 62%, 7 - JI.C, s.Z (2 hits), Weapon Toss, JI.C, s.C, QCF + Z. 90%, 14 - JI.C, s.Z (2 hits), s.C, Weapon Toss, JI.C, c.A (x2), c.B, c.Z, s.C, JI.C, s.Z, QCF + Z. -Notes- Lin Chong, I never got into him (that doesn't sound right?), what I mean is he's a good character, has a couple of moves which are fast and can be pretty annoying when abused, but he doesn't have any Special Moves which can be considered anti-air, which can work against him if your opponent starts a heavy offensive attack where he could possibly keep you trapped in the corner with all but 2 moves he'll do over and over again (cough) Ruan Xiao Wu (cough), which can be quite frustrating if your opponent gets the timing down. Some of his better attacks are his Snowball projectile attack, and his Cartwheel when using (Z) button is excellent for catching people off guard when you use it a combo like: JI (C), c.(B), HCB + (Z), most players will still be blocking low by the time you do the Cartwheel, to which you can follow up with one of the combos that use it from the list above. The best set-up for his Snowball projectile is when you do his standing (Z) from about 1-2 character lengths away from your opponent into his Snowball, this can be irritating, but works non-the-less. Lin Chong doesn't have much for poking. Yes, his standing (Z) when done from a distance is good, but you can't follow it up with some other kind of offensive attack. Lin Chong also has a Berserker Rage super that is itdenticle to Shi Jin's and San Niang's. What the BR does is speed up your character greatly making your almost everything from specials to normal moves faster. But it does drain your health, so use it wisely. ________________ __Hu San Niang__ -Weapon- 28%, 2 - s.Y, F-QCF + X. 35%, 3 - JI.C, s.Y, F-QCF + X. 55%, 5 - JI.C, s.Y, QCF + Z, Samsara Kick. -Bare Fisted- 35%, 4 - JI.C, c.A, s.Y, Air Throw. 38%, 4 - JI.C, c.Z, QCF + C. -Wall- 50%, 7 - JI.C, s.Z (2 hits), JI.C, c.Z, QCF + C. 75%, 2 - Vacuum Jasmine Wave, Vacuum Jasmine Wave. -Weapon Toss- 55%, JI.Z, Weapon Toss, JI.C, c.Z, QCF + C. -Notes- San Niang is one of the weaker characters (next to Gong) when it comes to combos. She has a few good moves, but overall lacks any good moves to use for any interesting and real damaging combos. The 55% combo you see listed above with her Weapon is her most damaging combo, not to mention pretty damn easy to do, but still, you can't really get that fancy/flashy like you can with Shi Jin, Wu Song or say Ruan Xioa Qi when doing combos, but then again, sometimes sticking to the simple is better if playing in a tournament setting. She has 2 really good anti-air attacks her Samsara Kick (which you'll most likely do a Hit-for Hit when using) and her Typhoon Slasher (when using the X button) as the Y & Z button you can be easily knocked out of and don't nearly do the amount of damge. Her Flaming Jasmine Wave (when using the X button) is good for doing tick/chip damage after doing her standing (Y) which has decent-good range and is also a good push-away tactic for her. While San Niang is better Armed, she's actually not to bad when going Bare Fisted. Most characters will gain a new move when they lose or toss their weapon, San Niang gains none, which kinda hurts her a little. Yes she does still have her Samsara Kick which is a good anti-air move, but the fact that she doesn't get anything to make up for a move which gave her a nice juggle combo that did excellent damage, somewhat hurts her overall offensive. San Niang like Lin Chong and Shi Jin also has a Berserker Rage which works identical to that of theirs, so be careful. ____________ __Dai Zong__ -Weapon- 25%, 3 - c.Z, DB - F + Z. 36%, 4 - JI.C, c.Z, DB - F + Z. 40%, 4 - JI.C, s.Y, F-QCF + Z, Air Throw. 56%, 5 - JI.C, s.Y, F-QCF + Z, s.C, s.Z. -Bare Fisted- 35%, 6 - JI.C, c.X, c.Y, c.Z, DB - F + Z. 40%, 5 - JI.C, c.X, s.Y, F-QCF + Z, Air Throw. 57%, 6 - JI.C, c.X, s.Y, F-QCF + Z, s.C, Shadow Charge. -Wall & Weapon Toss- 95%, 13 - JI.C, s.Y, F-QCF + Y, s.C, Weapon Toss, JI.C, c.Z, DB - F + Z, JI.C, c.Z, DB - F + Z. 100%, 12 - JI.C, s.Y, F-QCF + Z, BS, s.C, FS s.C, Weapon Toss, JI.C, c.Z, DB - F + Z, JI.C, c.Z, Shadow Charge. -Notes- Dai Zong is up right next to Shi Jin as for overall offensive power and as far as combos are concered and as far as only losing his Super Ki Beam super too which he'll gain the more usefull Shadow Charge super, he's one of the only characters who'll retain all of his moves with no change in them (aside from losing some range) but nothing that'll hurt his offensive. Once you get the feel for Dai's Majestic Teleport Attack, don't be afraid too overly abuse it, as it's one of the most useful teleport moves (next to Vertigo's in Primal Rage) in most fighting games. Not to mention it's good for surprising your opponent. Yes you can tell when he's doing it, but it's a matter of where he's going. A different kind of tactic with it is to run toward your opponent and when you get about 2-3 character lengths in front of them, do one that puts you back where you started or do one that'll put you just above them so you can shower them with Ki Bombs?. Aside from his Ki Bombs and his standing Y slash he doesn't have that much in his arsenal for poking. When using his Ki Bombs for poking, make sure you're a decent distance away and not to high in the air as they can hit you as you're landing. Before games like Guilty Gear and SvG came along DL and Night Warriors had the "Super Beam Moves." But Unlike those games, the characters in DL who have these (Choa Gai & Dai) types of super moves, these aren't nearly as fast, actually Choa Gai's DKB is pretty fast, but Dai Zong's is sloowww. It's a good move, but his his Shadow Charge is so much more faster, not to mention his Super Ki Beam has a start-up time. You can use it in combos but it doesn't do as much damage as doing it by itself. His Shadow Charge is his best super and has a hidden 'Spin' when using it, making it possible to use it twice in certain combos (what it is, I'll let you figure it out, but it is kinda somewhat technical). You're mainly going to want to play Dai Zong as an 'Attack and quickly Retreat' character. If you try going head to head with say Shi Jin or Xiao Qi, you're most likely going to lose and be punished for pushing your luck. His only true weakness is his lack of range, but other then that he's a solid character. __________ __Li Kui__ -Weapon- 40%, 2 - JI.Z, F-QCF + Y. 58%, 7 - JI.C, s.C, HCF + Z. -Bare Fisted- 38%, 4 - JI.C, c.X, s.Z, F-QCF + Z. 70%, 4 - JI.C, c.X, s.Z, QCF-HCB + Z. -Weapon Toss- 70%, 7 - JI.Z, HCB + X, Weapon Toss, JI.C, c.C, s.Z, F-QCF + Z. 98%, 7 - JI.Z, QCB + X, Weapon Toss, JI.(C), c.X, s.Z, Atomic Earth Splitter. -Notes- NOTE: When doing Li Kui's Mandarin Earth-Splitter, by using 2 buttons at once you can get it to rise in different spots on the screen. Refer to the following chart below to see which button/s does what for his Mandarin Earth Splitter move. The chart is for you're facing RIGHT and if you (Li Kui) are in the corner reverse them for when facing LEFT. _________________________________ Screen - | | | | | | |(X) (X)+(Y) (Y) (Y)+(Z) (Z)| | | |_________________________________| Li Kui is a powerhouse, his moves do great damage, have excellent range to which some of the priorities differ per individual button used and he has good combos both Armed and Bare Fisted. While he is a large character, he's not your typical 'Grappler' character as he has no command throws and while he is big, he can move around the screen pretty fast, which can put him near the top of a Tier list. Li Kui has one of the most damaging special moves in DL, his Black Blizzard Death can take off nearly 2/5 or more on a full life/health bar and it's pretty good as an anti-air attack when done early which will also juggle your opponent for a few hits. While it does excellent tick/chip damage on a blocking opponent it can also leave him vulnerable to attack when he's finishing the move. His desperation moves are pretty good all around, both of which you can use in combos. His Mandrin Death Chop can grab an opponent from the air if they're jumping and it's as fast as Dai Zong's Shadow Charge desperation, and when blocked you'll sorta bounce off them and be pushed a safe distance away from them. His Atomic Earth Splitter is an excellent anti-air attack, has good all around range and does great damage. For poking Li Kui has quite a few moves he can use. You can use almost all of his special moves along with his Atomic Earth Splitter desperation move and for his normal moves his standing Y is good as is his standing C as you can follow it up with a special move, and then back into the standing C again... _______________ __Lu Zhi Shen__ -Weapon- 60%, 3 - JI.C, s.C, Super Earth Scorcher. -Bare Fisted- 35%, 6 - JI.C, c.X, cX, c.Z, QCB + C, QCB + Z. 48%, 4 - JI.Z, s.Z, QCB + C, Choke Slam. 60%, 5 - JI.C, s.Z, s.Z, QCB + Z, Choke Slam. -Weapon Toss- 65%, 6 - JI.Z, Weapon Toss, JI.C, s.Z, QCB + Z, Choke Slam. 72%, 7 - Flying Shadow Attack (Y button), Weapon Toss, JI.C, s.Z, QCB + Z, Choke Slam. -Wall- 86%, 6 - JI.C, Weapon Toss, JI.Z, QCB + C, s.C, Super Earth Scorcher. 100%, 8 - JI.Z, c.Z, Weapon Toss, JI.C, s.Z, QCB + C, s.C, Super Earth Scorcher. -Notes- WHEN you see Choke Slam at the end of Zhi Shen's combos? This is his normal Forward + Z Throw (which does good damage). Zhi Shen has great range when armed, but lasks any real solid or perpetually damaging combos. Now Bare Fisted? is another story. His high and low projectiles are excellent all around, can be overly abused, not to mention strengthen his his overall combos. His crouching (C) has excellent range and can be followed up with either a high or low Freeze Ball projectile. As mentioned above, Zhi Shen is better played weaponless, he just has more options for him and his special moves are just more effective. Zhi Shen has the best throw-range in the game. Though he doesn't have any command throws, his range has about 1/2 of an inch, which if and when you play him you'll notice this. His Super Earth Scorcher desperation move can also grab your opponent out of the air as they're falling down, so keep that in mind when you're down on energy and doing combos. As I mentioned earlier, Zhi Shen's Freeze Ball can very annoying as you can have more than one on screen at once, add to that the ability to switch between high and low and alternate the speed by the button used, making your opponent having to be careful on how he uses the STEP move. Also if you're going to do his Weapon-Toss in a combo? If you're next to your opponent you'll most likely not be able to connect, so if you're are going to use it in a combo just take a step back and then throw it to be on the safe side. Zhi Shen has a move you might not use that much in his Manchurian Fang? But it does have its uses. The best time to use it is either from a distance (as you'll have to charge it up to get the full effect) or after knocking your opponent into the wall and releasing as they're getting up it (if you're too far away from them). ___________________ __Gong Shun Sheng__ -Weapon- 35%, 3 - JI.C (2 hits), CB - F + Z. 40%, 3 - JI.B, s.Y, CB - F + Z. -Bare Fisted- 35%, 3 - JI.Z, s.C, QCF + C. -Wall- 46%, 4 - JI.B, s.C, s.Y, Mongolian Bear Hug. 65%, 5 - JI.C (2 hits), s.Y, s.Z, CB - F + Z. 75%, 5 - JI.B, s.C, s.B, Gong Pinball. -Notes- Gong's special attacks aren't the weakest, they do a decent amount of damage, but they're just awkward. Gong is better played Armed, as he has good reach and his attacks with his giant deal a good amount of damage. The one drawback to having his Guard is when you're next to your opponent most of Gong's special attacks which use his Guard will completely miss them, so be careful when fighting near your opponent. It's better if you do one of his combos and slowly with each hit push your way backwards so you'll be able to connect with his Guard. Gong doesn't have any true anti-air attacks (or at least ones which he'll not sustain damage when doing a hit-for hit exchange). Another drawback is his lack of range and any decent Poke moves?. Another downfall for Gong is that his combos aren't the most damageing. While some of his special moves do good-decent damage and can vary somewhat per button used, his moves just lacky any good priorites too them. Gong has some of the strangest moves in DL which can make him somewhat annoying to learn. He's not a bad character, he's just different, so if you're one of those players who'll usaully pick these types of characters, have fun learning him. ___________ __Wu Song__ -Weapon- 45%, 4 - s.Y, F-QCF + Z, F + C. 56%, 5 - JI.C, s.Y, F-QCF + Z, Air Throw. 65%, 6 - JI.C, s.Y, F-QCF + Z, Shredding Talon, Air Throw. -Bare Fisted- 47%, 4 - JI.C, s.Z, QCB + C, F + C. 73%, 14 - JI.C, s.X, s.Y, QCB + X, QCB + Y, QCB + Z, QCB + C, Air Throw. 88%, 13 - JI.C, s.X, s.Y, QCB + X, QCB + Y, QCB + Z, Tiger Drill. -Weapon Toss- 100%, 18 - JI.C, s.B, F-QCF + Z, Weapon Toss, QCB + C, JI.C, s.X, s.Y, QCB + X, QCB + Y, QCB + Z, Doomsday Dragon. -Notes- Wu Song? He might not have the high number hit combos as a few of the other characters in DL, but the combos he can do inflict excellent damage for so few hits (just look at his 56% 5 hit weapon combo). Aside from Wu Songs standing (Z) and crouching (Y) slashes when he's armed, he doesn't have the best range and if he loses or you decide to toss (which you should only do if you KNOW it will hit your opponent or in a combo) his Weapon, he's loses a good (if not all) portion of his poke attacks. While this will not completely disable him, it does hurt his overall offensive attacking ability. NOTE: When you are doing Wu Songs 3-part Rushing Dragon special move to get the full effect press the buttons starting from (X) - (Z) for each part. So everytime you do the following motion you'll be using the next stronger punch button. His Shredding Tiger is an anti-air move as is his Tiger Drill desperation move and don't forget that if you use the (Z) button you'll Lift your oppoent to start a combo. His Shredding Tiger is also a good tick/chip move. Also keep in mind that Wu Song's command throw will grab your opponent out of the air after certain attacks and is excellent for finishing combos. Wu Song is like Shi Jin when it comes how deadly he can be when doing Bare Fisted combos, though Wu Song's are just a little different but can easily do as much damage. Wu Song isn't a bad character without his weapon, he'll just be a little more challenging when fighting against certain characters. He's a solid character all around. ________________ __Ruan Xiao Er__ -Weapon- 33%, 3 - Water Torture Y (button), Skull Crusher [Y button]. 40%, 4 - JI.C, s.C, s.C, Shao Lin Slash & Burn. 55%, 7 - JI.C, s.C, s.C, Shoa Lin Cresent (C button), s.C, Shao Lin Cresent (C button). 60%, - JI.C, s.C, Tsunami Strike. 89%, - JI.C, s.C, s.C, Shoa Lin Cresent (Z button), s.C, Tsunami Strike. -Wall- 60%, 8 - JI.C, s.C, s.C, F+B, JI.C, s.C, F-QCF + C. 70%, 7 - JI.C, s.C, s.C, F+B, Water Torture, Skull Crusher (Z button). -Notes- Xiao Er is like Gong, in that you can't toss his Water Helper weapon he uses to knock them dizzy, but on a side note if your opponent does manage to destroy it, Er can get him back, which will help his game. Xiao Er's not bad without it, he just loses his very combo friendly desperation move. All of the brothers have excellent range with and without their weapons, though some of the priorities for what their normal attacks actually do will change per character making them not so similar. Xiao Er like his brothers has excellent range with his normal attacks and good-great range with his special attacks. For anti-air attacks Xiao Er has one really good one, his Skull Crusher, but your opponent has to be almost on top of you for your water to grab them out of the air. Something to keep in mind when doing the Skull Crusher move: (X) = 1 slam, (Y) = 2 slams and (Z) = 3 slams, that should explain everything when using it. You can actually cancel out your opponents projectile/s by doing his Water Torture move and pressing the (Z) button. As for poking? You can use his Water Torture, but it can leve you open to attack, unless you're attacking your opponent, at which after doing his Water Torture you'll only be able to hit (or make contact) them up to 2 times, as for if they block it? you can hit them as many times as you're ablr to. His Shoa Lin Slash and Burn has a little lag to it when executing it so be careful. Xiao Er doesn't have that much for poking. Xiao Er is a decent-good character at best (but then again it also depends on who's using him). As you can see he doesn't have the best combos, but his Tsunami Strike more then makes up for the loss of damage and hits. ________________ __Ruan Xiao Wu__ -Weapon- 36%, 3 - JI.C, s.C, s.Z. 41%, 4 - JI.C, s.C, s.Z, QCF + Z. -Bare Fisted- 26%, 3 - JI.C, s.C, HCB + Z. 38%, 4 - JI.C, s.C, s.C, QCF + Z. -Wall- 57%, 8 - JI.C, c.A, c.A, s.C, s.B, JI.C, s.Z, QCF + Z. 75%, ? - JI.C, c.A (x2), s.C, s.B, JI.C, s.Z, Brilliant Storm (Z button). -Weapon Toss- 61%, 7 - JI.C, s.C, W-Toss, JI.C, s.C, s.Z, QCF + Z. 88%, 10 - JI.C, s.C, s.C, W-Toss, JI.C s.C, s.B, JI.C, s.Z, QCF + Z. -Notes- THE 2 WALL combos listed above are done Bare Fisted! Q Xiao Wu is like his brother Er, in that he doesn't have the high hitting number combos like their younger brother Qi, but he can be very effective if played properly. You can actually get your opponent trapped in the corner by alternating between 3 attacks. By doing his standing (C) into his QCF + (Y) back into his standing (C) or (Z) into his QCF + (Y) attack you can pin your opponent in the corner and if they decide to jump you can throw in a standing (B) which will send them into the wall. Like I said if you do this rather annoying technique right? There are ways your opponent can get out of this, it'll just take patience for them. This is also Xiao Wu's best Tick/Chip technique. Xiao Wu doesn't have any good or regular anti-air attacks except for his Brilliant Storm Drop desperation move, which if your opponent is in or near the corner you can actually do it so that it hits them as he's falling back down, which will send them into the wall too which you will be ablr to do a second Storm Drop, inflicting around and up to 70% damage (not bad for only 2 hits). His Phantom Cyclone Stinger is a somewhat decent anti-air attack, but it doesn't deal to much damage and is not the most reliable. His Phantom Cyclone Stinger is good when throwing out his unpredictable Crabs, Frogs & Fish projectiles and mixing them up. Xiao Wu's most annoying move is his Brilliant Storm. It does excellent damage and is pretty brutal for when doing Tick/Chip damage on your opponent. It can also be used as an anti-air move if you're are under your opponent as they are jumping. His chain combos when using his weapon don't flow as smoothly as his younger brothers (Xiao Qi) chain combos. You can normally do his: JI (C), s.(C), s.(C) chain, but if you're not close enough to your opponent when you're landing the JI.(C) you'll be out of range to succesfully connect with one of the other (C) attacks. Overall Xiao Wu is a powerful character and if you could actually be able to chose between his Crabs, Frogs and Fish would make him even pretty much top tier, but thankfully you can't (could you imagine that, actually I don't want to, but still). Xiao Wu is a solid character, and is one of the better pester ones in DL. ________________ __Ruan Xiao Qi__ -Weapon- 35%, 4 - JI.C, s.Z, s.C, F-QCF + C. 44%, 4 - JI.C, s.Z, s.C, Shao Lin Slash & Burn (Z button). 51%, 5 - JI.C, s.C, s.C, s.Z, s.Z. -Bare Fisted- 35%, 5 - JI.C, s.Z, QCB + C. 40%, 4 - JI.C, c.Z, s.C, Shao Lin Slash & Burn (Z button). 55%, 3 - JI.C, s.C, Thunderstorm Arc. -Wall & or Weapon Toss- 62%, 8 - JI.C, s.Z, W-Toss, JI.C, s.Z, QCB + Z. 87%, 6 - JI.C, s.Z, s.Z, s.C, s.B, Thunderstorm Arc. 92%, 15 - JI.C, s.Z, s.Z, s.C, W-Toss, JI.C, c.Z, s.C, s.B, JI.C, c.B, s.Z, QCB + Z. 100%, 11 - JI.C, s.Z, s.Z, s.C, W-Toss, JI.C, c.Z, s.C, s.B, Thunderstom Arc. -Notes- First off, Xiao Qi is one of the only characters in DL who has a desperation move (Thunderstorm Arc) which can be done either Armed or Bare Fisted, which gives him a slight advantage if you were to break or if he tossed it at you (as some characters lose an advantage when this happens). Most of Xiao Qi's normal attacks have excellent range and a few of his special attacks as well. Xiao Qi is better played aggressively as he has a few moves in his arsenal which you can alternate between when attacking your opponent: From a distance you can do his standing (Z) into his Phantom Cyclon Stinger followed by another standing (Z) into his Shao Lin Slash and Burn and so on (if your opponent is blocking your attacks, if they aren't then go into one of the above combos). Xiao Qi has 2 moves that are very effective when wanting to poke and pester your opponent which can easily be followed up by other attacks. His standing (Z) slash and his standing or crouching (C) kick. Even when doing a Hit-for-Hit, if your opponent doesn't hit you with a move that has one of the 4 effects listed in the Combo System section, you'll be able to recover first and maybe even fast enough to hit them with another attack? Just depending on what you did. The one negative for Xiao Qi and aside from his crouching (Z) slash, he doesn't really have any kind of an anti-air attack, not that he needs one. This doesn't really hurt or effect how he plays as Xiao Qi is one of the top tier player in the game. Alright I lied, another drawback for Xiao Qi is his Shoa Lin Slash and Burn has a slight start-up or lag to it when executing it, so be cautious when trying to dp a push away with it. Also Xiao Qi has some of the better chain combos when using his weapon, but he's equally as brutal without it. ____________ __Chao Gai__ -Human- 37%, 3 - JI.C, s.Z, QCB + C. 41%, 7 - JI.C, c.X (x3) s.C (2 hits), QCB + C. 50%, 5 - JI.C, s.Z, QCF + Z, QCB + C. -Wall- 80%, 11 - JI.C, c.X (x2), c.Y, QCF + Z, JI.C, s.Z, QCF + Z, QCB + C. -Demon- 35%, 2 - JI.Z, Air Throw. 45%, 3 - JI.C, s.Z, QCB + C. 48%, 5 - JI.C, s.C (2 hits), s.B, QCB + C. 55%, 10 - JI.C, c.A (x5), s.C (2 hits), s.B, QCB + C. 64%, 3 - JI.C, s.Z, Dark Ki Beam. -Wall- 80%, 8 - JI.C, s.C (2 hits), s.Z, JI.C, c.Z (2 hits), QCB + C. 100%, 17 - JI.C, c.A (x4) s.C (2 hits), s.Z, JI.C, c.A (x5), c.B, QCB + C. -Notes- Chao Gai has excellent combos either in his Human form or his Demon form. The only drawback to his human form is his lack of a desperation move, too which his Dark Ki Beam is one of the better ones in DL. Chao Gai, for the most part is a well rounded character (as he should be, he's the final Boss). He pretty much has everything in his arsenal to hold his own. The only good/decent anti-air move Chao Gai has is his Up Arrows, but thats only in his Demon form. Most of Choa Gai's attacks are pretty fast and don't have that much (if any) lag to them. Yes, his Blowing Miniatures does have a slight lag to it, but you can pretty much connect with a hit even if someone hits you, so there is an advantage when using them. You can also follow or trail the Miniatures with a Dash Kick, which if you're near the Wall with knock them into it (when using the C button). As you can also see, quite a few of Chao Gai's moves whether Normal or Special have one of the combo priorities to them letting you start the juggle sequence in a number of ways. One of Chao Gai's better and somewhat annoying attacks is his Dashing Kick. His Dashing Kick is excellent for counter atticking most of your opponents attacks. Now depending on the stregnth used, it can also leave you open for a counter attack, so be cautious when using it. In Demon form Chao Gai is one of (if not) the fastest characters in DL. Gao Gai also loses his Blowing Fire attack which is excellent when used in combos and for chipping away at your opponents energy, but then again he does gain the Dark Ki Beam. Use Chao Gai's speed to your advantage, also since he does not have a weapon, you'll be able to counter-attack much faster then your opponents. _______________________________________________________________________________ KEEP IN MIND! Some of the combos you see in this FAQ can be done in various ways, especially the Bare Fisted ones. After connecting with a JI.C, almost all of the characters can do between 1-3 crouching (A) or (X) attacks followed by a crounching (B) followed by either a standing or crouching (Z) or (C) attack with which some characters will activate the juggle sequence. THIS FAQ IS ONLY A GUIDE, AS THERE ARE MANY WAYS YOU CAN DO COMBOS IN DARK LEGEND. There is no correct way, there's only certain rules to follow, which are listed in the Combo System section near the beginning of this FAQ. ADDITIONS for Combo/FAQ? The only additions I might (or will) add to this Combo FAQ in the future is a full moves list if I can find someone to translate the PS manual? _______________________________________________________________________________ 5) - History 03/20/98 - Started writing down Combos in notebook (for possible Guide/Book). 12/15/00 - Specified Combo system. 05/01/01 - Hooked up Saturn System to finish writing down individual characters combos for Combo FAQ. 05/10/01 - Confirfirmed ALL Combos. 05/20/01 - Started FAQ Layout. ???? - Sometime in Dec. 2001 put FAQ on hold. ???? - Sometime in 2004 decided to finish FAQ for Dark Legend. 08/29/05 - Decided to finish DL combo FAQ. 03/20/06 - Thought the FAQ would be somewhat difficult to read so I've altered it to make it easier to understand. 04/11/06 - Decided to again change the FAQ. 04/15/06 - Double checked FAQ?. 04/16/06 - Fixed a couple of spelling error/s. 04/17/06 - Added more info for the combos section. _______________________________________________________________________________ 6) - Credits SEGA, for making the SEGA SATURN (ST-V) System. DATA EAST, for making this wicked fighter. You, for reading this my DL combo FAQ. GAMEFAN and GAMERS' REPUBLIC magazines (R.I.P). COPYRIGHT(c) 2006 Anthony Gobin [DEATHSCHILD]....