THE COMPLETE X-MEN VERSUS STREET FIGHTER COMBO FAQ
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jchensor@ucla.edu
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==========================================================================================
Title Art by Galen Komatsu (th
e X-Men part) and James Chen (the Vs. Street Fighter part). The X-Men
portion of the Title Art was taken from Rich Joseph's X-Men: Children of
the Atom FAQ v8.0. The Street Fighter portion was designed by myself based
on the Alpha Series logo.
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*******************************************
* VERY IMPORTANT NOTE... PLEASE READ: *
*******************************************
For clearest reading of this FAQ, it is best viewed with a type-writer
font (example: Courier) with top/bottom margins at 1.0 inches or smaller
and left/right margins at 0.5 inches or smaller with a font size at 10
point or smaller (try different combinations of fonts, sizes, and margins
to see if you can find a format that looks the most clear). If you want to
be EXACT, use a set up where there are 90 characters per line and 54 lines
per page. You can tell if the margins and font sizes are right if the
Title Page fits on exactly one page. Below this is a margin tester to see
if your set-up is right:
________________________________________________________________________________
__________
This is a margin tester. If the above and below lines fit on one line,
you're doin' fine!
________________________________________________________________________________
__________
Once again, a summary:
Font: Typewriter-type, like Courier
Top/Bottom Margins: 1.0 inches
Left/Right Margins: 0.5 inches
Font size: 10 point
If you are unable to find a way to view this FAQ properly by changing
the margins and changing the font sizes, please e-mail me and I will see
what I can do to help you out. Hopefully, you'll be able to fix the FAQ so
that it looks all right.
Also, some people may not be familiar with the terminology I use for
this FAQ. In this FAQ, I use the terms Jab, Strong, Fierce, Short,
Forward, Roundhouse for the six attack buttons in my combo descriptions.
Some people are more familiar with an a, b, c and x, y, z (or even A, B, C
and a, b, c) notation for button notation. Also, others are used to a
Weak/Soft Punch, Medium/Medium Punch, Strong/Hard Punch and Weak/Soft Kick,
Medium/Medium Kick, and Strong/Hard Kick notation. Thus, if you use a
notation other than the one I have used, I recommend that you use the
Replace function of your Word Processor to replace the terms I use with the
terms you are more familiar with. Please do note that some of the margins
and spacing of the combos may be altered in strange ways if you do this.
Here is a diagram of which buttons are which if you are unfamiliar
with my terminology:
() () () PUNCHES
Jab Strong Fierce
() () () KICKS
Short Forward Roundhouse
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Table of Contents:
- What's new in this version
- Intro
- The Basic Components to the Combos
- Multi-Hit Moves
- Special Moves/Super Combos
- Special Move Cancellation (Buffering)
- The Magic Series (Chain Combos)
- Basic Rules
- Rules for Ground Magic Series
- Rules for Regular Jumping Magic Series
- Rules for Super Jumping Magic Series
- Combo Classifications
- Regular Combos
- Dashing Combos
- Jump-In Combos
- Juggling Combos
- Off The Ground Combos And Rolling
- Flying Screen Combos
- Air Combos
- Set-Ups
- Launchers
- Super Jumping
- Regular Jumping
- Types of Air Combos
- Super Jumping
- Regular Jumping
- Tips On How To Perform
- The Reaction Problem
- The Timing Problem
- The Fireball Problem
- The Confusion Problem
- Character Switching Combos
- Combo Combinations
- Jumping Combos Into Dashing Combos
- Two Air Combos In One
- Sweep Into OTG Combos
- Throw Combos
- Air Throw Combos
- Character Specifics
- LEGEND (includes a lot of sub categories... too many to list)
- THE X-MEN
- Cyclops
- Storm
- Wolverine
- Gambit
- Rogue
- Sabretooth
- Juggernaut
- Magneto
- THE STREET FIGHTERS
- Ryu
- Ken
- Chun Li
- Charlie
- Dhalsim
- Zangief
- Cammy
- Bison
- Akuma
- Special Thanks/Closing
- Appendix: Extra Things That Need Mention
- Team-Up Super Combo Combos
- The Police Van
- Note on Infinite Combos
WHAT'S NEW IN THIS VERSION
- Everything is new! This FAQ hasn't existed before now. :-)
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*********
* INTRO *
*********
Well, Capcom has finally done it: after hiding Akuma in X-Men:
Children of the Atom, people have long wondered how those from the Street
Fighter world would fare against those from the Marvel Fighting Games
world. Well, Capcom lets us answer that question with their third and
latest installment to the combo-filled Marvel Fighting Games series.
Ever wondered what it would be like being able to do a 12+ hit combo
with Chun Li? Or how about a 20+ hit combo with Cammy? Well, wonder no
more because Capcom has finally given the pleasure of doing long-winded and
flashy combos to your favorite characters from the Street Fighter world.
X-Men vs. Street Fighter gives you the opportunity to do some of the
strangest combos ever seen.
And to help you get to the point where you can whip out these 20
hitters in your sleep, I present to you my Combo FAQ. Hopefully, this FAQ
will help you pull off those wild and crazy combos that will dazzle
spectators, give you an adrenaline rush, and, most importantly, frustrate
and destroy your opponents. Hopefully, this FAQ will help you produce
large numbers on the "Combometer" (this is what I call the hit-counter that
appears on the side of the screen that tells you how big your combo is...
pronounced com-BOM-uh-ter).
Please note that the first half of the FAQ deals with the system of
combos in the game. It is VERY technical and explains everything in great
detail to help those who desire a deeper understanding of how and why
everything works. However, for those of you who just want the combos, feel
free to jump right to the middle, where all those crazy combos are listed.
Note: Remember, this is a FAQ dedicated to helping you DO COMBOS.
This FAQ will not help explain how everything works or give you details on
moves or tell you game system details like how the super meter works. It
may be a good idea to pick two characters to start with, learn their moves,
and THEN try and learn the combos. This FAQ assumes that you already know
a lot of the basic structures and systems of the game, like how the super
meter works or how character switching works or that there even IS
character switching. If you are very unfamiliar with this game, it may be
more productive to learn the game to a small extent before utilizing this
FAQ.
Also, for those of you who are already familiar with the Marvel Super
Heroes combo FAQ that I had written before, you may only need to browse
through most of the technical information. Most of the technical aspects
of the combos in X-Men Vs. Street Fighter are similar to those in Marvel
Super Heroes. Thus, a lot very similar information is provided in this FAQ
that was provided in the Marvel FAQ.
And now... without further ado...
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**************************************
* THE BASIC COMPONENTS TO THE COMBOS *
**************************************
There are many different kinds of combos in X-Men Vs. Street Fighter.
However, all of the combos are made up of different combo rules and
different techniques and systems. This section lists the basic components
of every combo for the game. Understanding the very basics behind every
combo is a key factor in learning how to do combos effectively.
-=Multi-Hit Moves=-
What better way to do a combo than to just hit a button that makes your
character perform a move that hits more than once? Some examples are
Sabretooth's Standing Fierce, Ryu's Toward + Strong, and Magneto's Standing
Roundhouse, all which hit twice, for an easy 2-hit Combo. They don't
require much skill and they don't look at all impressive, but they count as
combos anyhow.
* * *
-=Special Moves/Super Combos=-
Not much harder to do are the Special Moves and Super Combos that
automatically get you a higher number of hits. These can be more
impressive, however... especially the Super Combos. Examples of
automatically multi-hitting Special Moves are Ken's Dragon Punch, Storm's
Typhoon, Dhalsim's Yoga Flame, Wolverine's Berserker Barrage, Rogue's
Rushing Punches, and Juggernaut's Earthquake. Examples of multi-hitting
Super Combos are Akuma's Mesatsu GouHaDouKen Rain, Cammy's Spin Dive
Smasher, Charlie's Sonic Blades, Chun Li's Thousand Burst Kick, Bison's
Psycho Crusher and Gambit's Royal Flush. These all get you some-what
impressive looking combos but aren't out of the ordinary.
* * *
-=Special-Move Cancellation (Buffering)=-
X-Men Vs. Street Fighter still retains the daddy of all combo systems:
buffering. The method of allowing you to cancel normal moves with special
moves is still possible to this day and is still one of the most effective
methods of creating a combo. The whole principle behind this combo method
is to hit the enemy with a normal move and then cancel the normal move's
animation (and, thus, their delay) with a special move so that the special
move hits faster than the opponent can recover from the first hit. When I
say Special Move, that includes Special Moves, Super Combos, Character
Switches, and even Team-Up Super Combos.
Just as in Marvel Super Heroes, X-Men Vs. Street Fighter gives the
player MUCH more freedom of normal move cancellation compared to Classic
Street Fighter II. In X-Men Vs. Street Fighter, you now have the freedom
to cancel ALL normal moves (grounded, jumping, super jumping) at ANY point
in its animation whether you hit the enemy or not (in Street Fighter, you
could only cancel CERTAIN moves in only CERTAIN frames of animation only if
they actually made CONTACT with the enemy)! This goes for ALL normal moves
including Cyclops's Low Fierce Optic Bullet, Juggernaut's Toward + Fierce,
and and Chun Li's Offensive Roundhouse Somersault Kick. This allows for a
great freedom of combos.
But as with anything, there are always exceptions to the rules. In
this game, the only exceptions to the Special-Move Cancellation rule are
the Overheads: the moves that are done on the ground and must be blocked
standing up. The Overheads in this game are are Ryu's Toward + Strong,
Ken's Toward + Forward, Charlie's Toward + Forward.
* * *
-=The Magic Series (Chain Combos)=-
In X-Men Vs. Street Fighter, the Magic Series system still rules the
game, as it did in the two earlier Marvel Fighting Games. Basically, the
Magic Series is a system in which the fighters are allowed to cancel one
normal move into another different normal move. For each character, there
is a specific "rule" that their Magic Series follows and each of these
rules can be different for when they are on the ground, Jumping, or Super
Jumping.
Basic Rules: Some basic rules about Magic Series: You have to actually
make contact with the enemy before the next move can be chained. For
example, with Cyclops, you can chain the Jab button into the Roundhouse
button. However, you have to make sure the Jab Punch actually hits the
enemy (whether they block it or not) or it cannot be chained... in other
words, if you whiff a Jab punch, you cannot chain it into the Roundhouse.
Also, if the move you start with hits, you can chain into the next move at
ANY further point in that moves animation. For example, if you perform
Ryu's Standing Fierce, you can chain that into a Low Roundhouse immediately
when the Fierce, or you can wait a while before you chain into the
Roundhouse. Any point after the move makes contact is chainable.
If a Magic Series is more than two buttons long, you can skip any of
the middle buttons and jump straight to later buttons in the series.
However, you can never go backwards in a series. For example, Wolverine's
Ground Magic Series is Jab -> Short -> Strong -> Forward -> Fierce ->
Roundhouse. However, he can choose to just do a Jab -> Strong -> Forward
-> Roundhouse, skipping Short and Fierce all together. However, he cannot
do a Jab -> Strong -> Fierce, and then back to a Forward. You can only
progress forward in the series.
Rules for ground Magic Series: When performing a Magic Series while on
the ground, you can cancel the appropriate normal move with a Standing,
Crouching, or any other specialty normal move so long as the button you
press still follows the Magic Series. For example, Chun Li can chain her
Standing Short into a Standing Roundhouse OR a Low Roundhouse. She can
also chain it into her Offensive Crouch Roundhouse Flip Kick... any of
three is possible. Also, she could have started the chain with a Standing
OR Crouching Short. Any version of any button works AS LONG AS IT FOLLOWS
THE SERIES. However, again, the Overheads are exceptions to this rule as
Overheads cannot be chained INTO anything. You can chain a move into an
Overhead, but not an Overhead into another move.
Rules for Jumping Magic Series: Basically the same as Ground Magic
Series. Just like the Ground Magic Series, you can do any version of a
button that you want. For example, you can do a Short Drill with Dhalsim
and chain it into a Jumping Fierce or into a Headroll (which is done by
holding Down and pressing Fierce).
Rules for Super Jumping Magic Series: Like the Ground Magic Series
and the Regular Jumping Magic Series, the Super Jumping Magic Series allows
you to do any version of a button. For example, with Cyclops, you can do a
Jumping Jab into a Jumping Roundhouse OR a Jumping Jab into a Jumping Down
+ Roundhouse.
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*************************
* COMBO CLASSIFICATIONS *
*************************
Now, with all of the basic components to combos, you can do many
different things with them. This section here lists all of the different
types of combos possible using the basic components. Throughout this
section, I will classify combos in the terms of locations. For example, in
the Dashing Combos section, I will say that it is a Ground-to-Ground combo,
meaning that these combos are done when you are on the ground attacking an
enemy on the ground. The first location applies to you and the second
applies to your opponent.
* * *
-=Regular Combos (Anywhere to Anywhere)=-
The first type of combo possible, of course, is a normal combo using
any of the four, basic components. A good example of this is a basic Magic
Series Combo with Ryu: Crouching Short -> Crouching Forward -> Crouching
Roundhouse. Another example is a basic Special Move Cancellation Combo
with Gambit: Standing Roundhouse canceled by a Cajun Slash. Another
example yet is doing a Jumping Fierce canceled by an aerial Cannon Drill
with Cammy. These regular combos work everywhere including while jumping,
like with the Cammy example.
* * *
-=Dashing Combos (Ground to Ground)=-
There is no better way to initiate ground combos than by Dashing in
this game. By doing a Dash before your first move, you can add more hits
than if you did the combo without the Dash. This works because, when you
Dash, your first attack will carry some left-over momentum from the dash
and, thus, your first hit won't push you away from the enemy as far as a
non-dashing version of the attack would. For example, when Chun Li fights
against Ken, she can do a Dashing Standing Short -> Standing Roundhouse
Magic Series against him. However, if you do the exact same combo without
Dashing, your Short kick will actually push you too far away so that the
Standing Roundhouse, which has little horizontal hitting range, will
completely miss your opponent. The extra Dash inserted at the beginning
allows Chun Li to put in more hits for her Ground Magic Series so that she
will not slide too far from the enemy from the initial hits, making the
last move/moves whiff. Thus, when someone like Wolverine leaves himself
open for a combo after missing with the Tornado Claw, it is much better to
start a combo off by dashing at him and comboing him than to just start it
from standing next to him.
Remember that it is key that you do not attack too fast with your
first attack. The point of Dashing-In is also to make sure you're as close
to the enemy as possible so you can sneak in the most hits. In order to
ensure that you are close to the enemy and hit them with all your moves,
you must do the attack a little AFTER you start Dashing. For example, say
you are Wolverine and you want to do a Dashing Combo against Juggernaut and
want to hit him with a full Jab -> Short -> Strong -> Forward -> Roundhouse
Magic Series. If you dash at him but hit Jab too early in your dash,
you'll stop your Dash too soon and you won't be as close to Juggernaut as
you would have wanted to be, thus giving you the chance of missing with
your last hit. However, if you Dash and attack a little later after your
Dash starts, this will make sure you are closer to Juggernaut, giving you a
better chance of landing all five hits. Needless to say that this is
highly dependent on the distance between you and your enemy. If you are
already next to each other, only a short pause is needed. If you are a
screen away from the enemy, you can't get close enough with a Dash no
matter what.
* * *
-=Jump-In Combos (Air to Ground)=-
This type of combo is the use of the Magic Series to give yourself
more hits when initiating a combo from Jumping. For example, if you are
using Cammy and you jump in at Magneto, you can do a Jumping Roundhouse,
land, and do a Crouch Short -> Crouch Roundhouse combo. However, utilizing
a Jump-In Combo allows you to perform a Jumping Jab -> Jumping Short ->
Jumping Strong -> Jumping Fierce when you jump in at Magneto and all four
attacks will come out before you land! Plus, you can still tack on the two
hits from the ground afterwards.
This is a VERY VERY VERY important technique to learn for this game
for characters like Wolverine and Cammy. It allows you to trick other
players into getting hit by combos. For example, if you are Dhalsim, you
can attack with the Short Drill (Down + Short) from the air. If the enemy
stands up and blocks it, they tend to fear that you are going to attack
with a move that hits low when you land, like a Low Short for example.
Thus, they tend to crouch block after the initial hit. Thus, if you learn
to chain Dhalsim's Short Drill into a Forward Drill into a Headroll, and
they duck in the middle of ANY of those attacks, they will get hit by your
moves since the Drills and the Headroll cannot be blocked low. Thus, you
can continue on for a nice, nasty combo. As said before, Wolverine and
Cammy are also good at this and even characters like Ryu can occasionally
fool people into taking hits really well with this technique.
An important thing to know to do these combos more effectively,
however, is that in order to add many hits from normal jumping at the
enemy, it is better to start the first hit VERY HIGH on your Jump Arc. For
example, in the previous Cammy Vs. Magneto example, you have to hit the Jab
Button right when Cammy starts on her way down from her Jump. If you wait
too late to hit the Jab Button, there won't be enough time for her to get
in all four hits before she lands.
Also, it is important to note that the smaller attacks, such as Jab
and Short, permit more hits. Using the Cammy example again, she can get in
four hits ONLY if she uses Jab and Short for the first two. If she tries a
Jumping Strong -> Jumping Forward -> Jumping Fierce -> Jumping Roundhouse,
the Fierce or Roundhouse will miss because the previous two moves come out
slower than the Jab and Short, preventing her from getting all four hits in.
So, in the long run, it is debatable which is better: doing four hits
with weaker attacks or two hits with stronger attacks. For example:
Wolverine can jump against Sabretooth with a Jumping Jab -> Jumping Short
-> Jumping Strong -> Jumping Forward. However, he can opt for a Jumping
Fierce -> Jumping Roundhouse instead. Which is better? To put it simply:
for more hits and a more impressive looking combo and to confuse the enemy
more, do the four hits from the weaker attacks. For more damage, do the
two hits with the stronger attacks. I will leave it at that.
* * *
-=Juggling Combos (Ground to Air)=-
Juggling is basically any combo that keeps your opponent in the air while
you are on the ground hitting them. This can come in MANY forms. For
example, If the enemy jumps backwards in the corner, Wolverine can catch
them out of the air with a Low Strong and chain that into a Standing
Forward into a Standing Fierce, all which will combo against the enemy
while the enemy is still in the air and you are still on the ground. All
three hits will connect and "bounce" the enemy in the air a little.
Another example is after Dhalsim performs the Yoga Noogie against you while
you are in the corner. After he releases you and you fly from his hands,
he can do a Yoga Flame and nail you before you hit the ground, thus
juggling you out of the air.
You can also juggle the enemy with a jumping attack. For example,
after you perform a Berserker Barrage against an enemy with Wolverine in
the corner, you can jump after the enemy and hit them with a Jumping Jab
before they land. This is considered juggling but do take note that if you
chain that Jumping Jab into a Jumping Roundhouse, you're heading into Air
Combo territory.
There are many forms of Juggling Combos. This isn't the most useful
type of Combo, however. It is almost exclusively used most effectively for
Air Combo set-ups after OTG Combos and for Flying Screen Combos (see the
next two sections for more details).
* * *
-=Off The Ground Combos and Rolling (Anywhere to Ground)=-
The Off the Ground Combo (OTG Combo) breaks the rule of combos that
says: "A combo is a series of hits that the opponent can do nothing about
once the first hit makes contact." You can actually prevent yourself from
being OTG Comboed if you are aware of them (in MOST cases... see section
entitled "Flying Screen Combos" for exceptions).
So what is an OTG Combo? This is a combo where you knock the enemy
onto the ground with a Knock-Down move (any move that makes the enemy fall
down onto the floor so that they end up lying on the ground) and then combo
them off the floor while they are still lying there. The basic way it
works is this: when an enemy is lying on the ground, they can be hit by
moves that hit low enough (sweeps, downward punches, etc.). When hit by
these moves, regardless of WHAT they are, the person hit will fly off the
ground only a SMALL distance and then land quickly. During the time after
they are hit before they land, they cannot block anything because they are
stuck in reeling animation. Thus, you can actually hit them in that period
of time with any move that will reach them.
A good example of this is with Gambit. If you sweep someone with
Gambit, the enemy hits the ground. You can OTG Combo them, however, if you
cancel the Low Roundhouse into a Strong Cajun Slash. The Strong Cajun
slash will leap up, knock the enemy off of the floor with the first
downward swing, and then juggle the enemy in the air with the next two
hits. So even though you knocked the enemy down, you can still combo them
afterwards.
Other examples of how this can be very useful is with Magneto. If you
perform a Magnetic Tempest and hit someone when they are right next to you,
they will hit the floor after the Magnetic Tempest is finished. Magneto
recovers afterwards quickly enough to Low Short the enemy off the floor and
chain that into a Low Fierce, which will knock the enemy upwards, setting
them up for an Air Combo (see section entitled "Air Combos" to see how that
works). So even though the enemy gets knocked down, you can still do the
combo.
But there is one catch: even though you can hit them off of the floor
after you knock them over, the enemy is not doomed for certain. Remember
that in X-Men Vs. Street Fighter, you can roll the instant you hit the
floor after being hit by a move that knocks you down (with one exception...
see "Flying Screen Combos" section for more details). So, in the previous
Gambit example, after you sweep the enemy with the Low Roundhouse, if the
enemy is ready for it or reacts quickly enough, he can roll the instant he
hits the ground and avoid the Cajun Slash. Anytime you can OTG an enemy,
they can roll away before the OTG hits.
One thing you should take note of regarding OTG Combos: there is
actually only a VERY small window that you can hit people off the floor
while they are lying there. For example, with Rogue, you can Low
Roundhouse the enemy and cancel that into her Super Rushing Punches. The
Super Combo will OTG the enemy and continue to bash the enemy like normal.
However, if Rogue delays even just one second, the Super Combo will whiff
and just fly uselessly over the enemy on the floor. The window is smaller
than it was in Marvel Super Heroes. In most cases, there is a very small
amount of time you have to OTG the enemy after they are swept, especially
after enemies land on the floor after falling from a very high height. You
can usually only OTG the enemies the instant they crash on the floor. So
in order to OTG them, you have to stick your move out so that it meets the
enemy the same time they hit the floor. An example of this is with Cammy.
If she does the Spin Dive Smasher to an enemy in the corner, she can
actually Crouch Short them after they hit the ground after the Spin Dive
Smasher finishes. However, if she does it too early or too late, she'll
most likely miss. In order to OTG the enemy, she has to time her Crouch
Short so that it hits the enemy the INSTANT they land on the floor.
Technically speaking, there is no such thing as an OTG "Combo" because
OTG combos are mainly Juggling Combos initiated by hitting the enemy off
the ground. After you knock the enemy off the ground, you can try to combo
them in the air for as long as possible but this, then, has become a
Juggling Combo. So Juggling Combos and OTG Combos go hand in hand.
Without Juggling Combos, OTG Combos would be useless.
The reason why OTG Combos are so good is because they usually allow
the player to create longer combos. You can add many hits into a combo
sequence if you add in a good OTG section. However, the bad part about OTG
Combos is that the enemy can roll away and completely avoid the rest of the
combo. If they do NOT roll, however, the combo will keep going and your
Combometer will still rise. So even though the combos are escapable, they
will still continue the Combometer going if they do NOT roll away.
There is one major limitation to OTG combos. It is NOT possible to do
2 OTGs in one combo. After being knocked off the ground once, you can no
longer be hit off the floor again until you land and are able to block.
Thus, if you do a combo that knocks the enemy down, OTGs them off the
floor, and knocks them down again, you will no longer be able to OTG them
again because the game only allows one OTG per combo.
* * *
-=Flying Screen Combos=-
The Flying Screen: a strange system that was also present in Marvel
Super Heroes is carried over into X-Men Vs. Street Fighter. The Flying
Screen is the phenomena that causes the screen to scroll VERY quickly after
a character is struck by a certain move in certain situations. The view of
the game follows the person who was hit and the person who initiated the
hit is scrolled off the screen in a hurry. Once the screen stops moving,
the person who was hit will just lie there and the other player will hop
into the screen from the side.
So what are some examples of moves that cause the Flying Screen?
Wolverine's Berserker Barrage is one. If you hit the enemy with the
maximum number of hits of this move, the person getting hit will fly really
quickly to the side while Wolverine disappears from view as the screen
scrolls to follow the flying body. Another example of this is Ken's
ShinRyuKen. After it finishes hitting the enemy, the enemy is hurled with
great speed away from Ken's flaming column but the view follows the person
being hurled, not Ken. Ken, on the other hand, scrolls off the screen only
to hop back in after the hurled body lands on the ground. Also, all
official "Air Combo Finishers" will cause the Flying Screen to be initiated
(see the section entitled "Air Combos" for more details).
When the Flying Screen is activated, certain conventions are
completely disabled for a brief moment. For example, normally, a person
who is knocked to the floor can perform a roll to escape any further
punishment, as explained above. However, when the Flying Screen is
initiated, the enemy who was struck and flying through the air canNOT roll
upon landing at that instant.
The restrictions, though, are more noticeable against the person who
did the attacking. After a Flying Screen is activated, the player that was
doing the attacking can no longer perform ANY special moves, whether they
are special moves or super combos. They can also no longer Super Jump.
These limitations go away as soon as the person being hit is finally able
to block again.
Although these limitations would seem really limiting to the person
trying to perform the combo, it can actually help him/her. If you are too
close to the corner of the playing field (one of the two edges of the
playing field), there is no where for the person who is hit to fly away!
Thus, after getting sent into the Flying Screen, they will just hug the
corner wall going up, and then down and hit the floor. So essentially, if
you hit the enemy while you are in the corner and they are sent into the
Flying Screen and you can recover quickly enough, you can add extra hits
AFTER or BEFORE they land! And they can't roll away from any attacks you
hit them off the floor with!
Here's an example of how to take advantage of the Flying Screen: if
you're Wolverine and you do a Fierce Berserker Barrage against someone in
the corner and you get all hits to connect, the enemy will be sent into the
Flying Screen but he won't fly away from you because you're both in the
corner. The enemy will merely fly against the wall up and then down.
Wolverine recovers very quickly after the Berserker Barrage so by the time
the enemy is on their way down from the air, Wolverine is free to move
again. Thus, he can actually jump up, meet the falling body and hit it
with a Regular Jumping Air Combo (see "Air Combos" section for more
details).
An example of being able to take advantage of the fact that they can't
roll after a Flying Screen is when Juggernaut hits the enemy with a
Juggernaut Punch while in the corner. The Juggernaut Punch will initiate
the Flying Screen and floor the enemy, but Juggernaut will recover quick
enough to nail the floored enemy with, say, a Crouching Short. Since the
Flying Screen was initiated, the enemy has no ability to roll away from
this. Unfortunately, a Crouch Short is about the best Juggernaut can do
because he can't cancel it into a Special Move.
* * *
-=Air Combos (Air to Air)=-
Once again, the Air Combos are still the most "special" kind of combo,
as the words "Air Combo" still appear at the side of the screen when you
perform them (On Japanese versions, the words" Aerial Rave" will appear).
However, Air Combos have been reduced slightly in the ease of performing
them because some new technicalities have been introduced since Marvel
Super Heroes. Now, it's not as easy to pull them off as before, but they
still aren't too difficult in the long run.
The actual definition that I give Air Combos is: "A series of hits you
perform on an airborne enemy while you yourself are airborne." For
example, if you juggle an enemy in the air while remaining on the ground,
it is not considered an Air Combo. If you jump at an enemy and hit the
ground-based enemy with two hits from a Jumping Magic Series, you do not
get an Air Combo message. It only counts as an Air Combo if both
characters are in the air.
**NOTE: This section is VERY long and it might get confusing after a while.
To help make things clearer, here is an "outline" of what will be
discussed. First of all, I will describe the three different ways to set
up an Air Combo: Launchers, Super Jumping at the enemy, and Regular Jumping
at the enemy. Then, I will describe the two different types of Air Combos:
Super Jumping Air Combos and Regular Jumping Air Combos. Then, I will go
into a section on tips on how to perform Air Combos, since a lot of people
tend to have problems performing them correctly.
-Set-Ups-
Set-Up #1) Launchers --- In X-Men Vs. Street Fighter, there are many
moves that, when striking the opponent while they stand on the floor, will
knock them off of their feet so that they are no longer on the ground.
There are three kinds of these moves: 1) Launchers: these will knock the
opponent off the ground and up into the air at relatively high heights; 2)
Strikes: these moves will knock the enemy off their feet but not in an
upwards direction so that they can't be used for an Air Combo set-up. Most
of the time, they knock the enemy straight across the screen; 3)
Knock-Downs: These are your basic sweep attacks... ones that drop the enemy
to the floor, like most Crouching Roundhouse Kicks. Obviously, since these
do not knock the opponent upwards, these cannot be used as Air Combo
set-ups on their own.
The Launchers are by far the most useful for Air Combos because they
knock the opponent right into the range for an air combo. Launchers will
knock the enemy straight up into the air regardless of whether the enemy is
hit out of the air or off of the ground right into range of an Air Combo.
When the opponent is knocked upwards into the air by a Launcher, he or she
becomes stuck in what I call "reel flight." This essentially means that
they cannot block, move, or do anything during this time that they are
being knocked upwards into the air, making them vulnerable to any attacks
you may throw out on them. This reel flight lasts up until right after
they begin falling back down. In X-Men Vs. Street Fighter, they have given
players a bit more leniency on doing Air Combos. Before, in Marvel Super
Heroes, the enemy's reel flight ended just as they began their downward
fall. Now, in X-Men Vs. Street Fighter, you can still combo them slightly
AFTER they begin their downward fall because they still are not able to
block at that point. However, after that point, they can block everything
again. So remember, it is always preferable to hit the enemy while they
are still going UPWARDS in their reel flight. By the time they start
falling back down, your air combo can be blocked.
To use a Launcher successfully, you must hit the enemy with it and
then cancel your Launcher with a Super Jump to follow the reeling enemy
into the air to combo them. Thankfully, Capcom made it so that you do not
have to do the complete Down, Up motion required to Super Jump after
hitting the enemy with a Launcher. You merely have to hit any of the three
up directions to send your character Super Jumping after the enemy that was
launched by your move. This only works after Launchers, however. If you
hit the enemy with non-Launchers, you cannot Super Jump after hitting them.
If you hit the enemy with a Launcher, however, the game will automatically
make you Super Jump as soon as you touch any of the three Jump positions
with the Joystick. So after you hit the enemy with Launcher, immediately
hold Forward Flip (or Straight Up depending on the situation) upon contact
to make your character Super Jump and then start your Air Combo. A side
note: you can ONLY cancel your Launcher with a Super Jump if it HITS the
enemy. If they block your launcher or you whiff with it, you cannot cancel
it with a Super Jump.
Side note: Before, in Marvel Super Heroes, I had classified three
different types of Launchers: Launchers, Small Launchers, and Air
Launchers. However, in X-Men Vs. Street Fighter, there is actually only
one type: Launchers. All official Launchers in this game are accompanied
by a large, blue "energy circle" or "hit spark" when the Launcher hits the
enemy. These are the only moves that allow you to Super Jump by merely
holding up after the move makes contact. However, Capcom is really not
very strict on counting what are or are not Launchers. There are some
moves that are NOT accompanied by this "energy launch" that can still be
used as Launchers, evident by the fact that you can still just hold up and
Super Jump after the enemy. I will count these particular moves as
Launchers, since you can still do Air Combos after them.
What I used to call "Small Launchers" are moves like Wolverine's
Crouching Strong. This move will knock the enemy off their feet, but only
VERY slightly. The enemy will not be in range for an air combo (not
knocked high enough) but won't be too far away for more hits (not knocked
far away enough). Thus, after a move like Wolverine's Low Strong, you can
still chain a Standing Fierce afterwards which will juggle the enemy out of
the air. Due to the complete lack of Air Launchers, Small Launchers have
lost a lot of importance.
Speaking of, Air Launchers in Marvel Super Heroes were moves that only
counted as Launchers if they hit the enemy out of the air. In other words,
if you hit the enemy with an Air Launcher while they were on the floor, the
enemy would NOT fly upwards, but stay grounded. Air Launchers are extinct
in X-Men Vs. Street Fighter. No move that would not have launched a
grounded enemy will launch the enemy if it hits them out of the air
anymore... except for ONE exception: Juggernaut's Standing Neutral Fierce
punch. This is the ONLY sign of an Air Launcher still in the game, but
since it is only one, I will not count it as anything special.
Set-Up #2) Super Jumping --- In this second set-up for Air Combos, you
can actually Super Jump after an enemy who is already airborne and start
comboing them right there and then without setting them up with a Launcher.
This, however, is not as carefully set-up and the same combos that you used
after Launchers may not connect with every hit as the enemy is not always
in such perfect positioning. The enemy can be Flying, Super Jumping, or
Regular Jumping... it doesn't matter. You can just Super Jump after them
and start Air Comboing them. This is a good strategy against players who
Super Jump constantly and attack from the air without regard to their own
safety.
Set-Up #3) Regular Jumping --- The best time to do this one is when
your opponent Regular Jumps at you. You can regular jump up at them and
try to hit them first with your air combo. This is basically the same as
the second method, except you're just regular jumping and not Super
Jumping. There is also one more difference, but that will be explained in
the next section.
-Types of Air Combos-
1) Super Jumping: The most noteworthy thing about Super Jumping Air
Combos is the presence of "Air Combo Finishers." Basically, an Air Combo
Finisher is any move that, when done in an Air Combo, initiates the Flying
Screen. For every character, the Roundhouse button is an Air Combo
Finisher... in other words, if you Super Jump and hit the enemy with a Jab
and chain that into a Short which is then chained into a Roundhouse, the
Roundhouse attack will initiate the Flying Screen, knock the enemy away
with great velocity, and the view will follow the person being hit down to
the floor.
Roundhouse is not the only Air Combo Finisher. For the majority of
characters, Fierce is ALSO an Air Combo Finisher. However, there are some
cases where the character does NOT have a Fierce Air Combo Finisher, like
Cammy. Her Fierce does not end the combo nor does it initiate the Flying
Screen. Some Special Moves also act as Air Combo Finishers. Wolverine's
Drill Claw and Ryu's HaDouKen (Fireball) are also Air Combo Finishers,
initiating the Flying Screen and knocking the enemy away with great speed.
Most special moves, however, are NOT Air Combo Finishers. Ken's Air
ShouRyuKen (Dragon Punch), for example, does not initiate the Flying Screen
nor does it knock the enemy down with great speed. In fact, it doesn't
knock the enemy down at all. After they are knocked upwards, the enemy can
block on their way down just like normal.
Generally, the rule for an Air Combo is to try and end it with a
Special Move in X-Men Vs. Street Fighter. Not all of them are Air Combo
Finishers, but in general, they do the most damage. Cammy, for example,
does a MUCH larger amount of damage if she uses the Cannon Drill in an Air
Combo compared to just using normal moves.
Some special cases allow you to actually hit the enemy AGAIN after the
initial Air Combo and Flying Screen initiation. For example, if you end an
Air Combo with the Drill Claw, which is an Air Combo Finisher, that is
aimed Diagonally Upwards with Wolverine, you will knock the enemy slightly
upwards. Since you are in the corner, the enemy will start falling back
down and pass by Wolverine again, who is still hovering in the air after
the Drill Claw. Thus, in this time, Wolverine can land MORE hits on the
enemy while they are both on their way down. If he hits them with a Magic
Series and ends with an Air Combo Finisher (whether it be Fierce or
Roundhouse), they will take the damage and still hit the floor afterwards,
unable to roll or block. You can even hit them with just another Fierce or
Roundhouse after the Drill Claw and the enemy will fall back to the
floor... as long as it is an official Air Combo Finisher. HOWEVER, if
Wolverine does NOT hit the enemy with an Air Combo Finisher and stops at a
Jab, Short, Strong, or Forward, the enemy will recover afterwards and can
block on their way down again. The Flying Screen will still be present all
the way until they land, so you still won't be able to do a Special move
until then.
Another way that this can happen is just that the Fierce chain into
the Roundhouse fast enough for the Roundhouse to hit the enemy before they
fly away fast enough. For example, with Gambit, Fierce and Roundhouse are
both Air Combo Finishers. However, if you're in the corner, you can
actually Launch the enemy up into the air and do a full Jab, Short, Strong,
Forward, Fierce, and Roundhouse Air Combo. The Fierce knocks them
downwards and the Flying Screen is initiated, but the Fierce can STILL
chain into the Roundhouse. Thus, in certain cases, the Roundhouse will
come out fast enough to nail the enemy before the Fierce knocks them too
far away.
2) Regular Jumping: There is only one main difference between Super
Jumping Air Combos and Regular Jumping Air Combos: the lack of Air Combo
Finishers. The Fierce and Roundhouse buttons, instead, will knock the
enemy to the floor with great speed. However, instead of flooring the
enemy, the Fierce and Roundhouse will knock them to the floor so that they
will bounce off the floor. After bouncing, the enemy is able to block
again.
There is a LOT of inconsistency between characters these days
concerning Air Combos. A lot of characters have different timing problems,
different height adjustments, different Magic Series... in fact, some
characters are better off not ever performing an Air Combo!! Therefore, in
the "Character Specifics" half on the FAQ, I am going to include a
paragraph entitled "Air Combo Tips" for each character, as each character
has their own problems and their own advantages. Thus, a lot of detail for
each specific character won't be gone into here about Air Combos. Check
the paragraph of your favorite character for in depth tips on how their Air
Combo behaves.
-Tips On How To Perform Air Combos-
By now a lot of you Marvel Super Heroes freaks won't need this
section. You guys have already practiced your Air Combos to the point
where you can do them in your sleep. Well, this section is still here for
one main reason now: to help all you Street Fighter fanatics compete with
the Air Combos from your expert Marvel Super Heroes players. So this
section is dedicated directly at you Street Fighter fans to help you pull
of those nasty Air Combos so that you too can get those nice, long combos.
1) The Reaction Problem: When it comes to using Launchers for Air
Combos, one problem may occur: the enemy blocks your attack. When you go
for Air Combos, your opponent may not be so nice as to let you hit them
with your Launcher every time. In fact, they will probably block more than
half of your Launchers. Thus, half the time you will find that your Air
Combo attempts must be aborted. However, sometimes you WILL get a miracle
Launcher to connect and the enemy is knocked high into the air. However,
since you were so used to having the enemy block it, you reacted too late
to them actually getting hit, Super Jumped too slowly, and your Air Combo
failed.
There is a simple solution to this problem: ***never believe your
opponent is going to block your Launcher.*** In fact, this is the
Fundamental Theorem of Combos: "Never believe your opponent is going to
block your combo for it is always easier to react to them blocking it and
abort the combo mid-way than it is to react to them getting hit and
continuing the combo after you notice them getting hit." After you hit the
enemy with your Launcher, hold Up for the Super Jump anyhow. If the enemy
is hit, you'll go into your Air Combo. If they block it, NOTHING WILL
HAPPEN. Your move can't get canceled by a Super Jump since it was blocked.
So merely let go of the controller and start blocking if you notice the
enemy blocked your move. You can react quicker to the fact that the
opponent BLOCKED your Launcher than to the fact that they got hit by it so
always believe you're Launcher is going to hit.
2) The Timing Problem: A more elementary problem is merely getting off
all the hits in the air. Some people have trouble, at first, timing the
hits so that they will all connect. I've seen many people attack too late
and fly past their enemy, attack too slowly so their combo just stops
connecting, or hit their buttons too sporadically and only get 2 hits
instead of potentially 5 or 6.
The two most likely problems are 1) You aren't timing the buttons
rhythmically. 2) You're doing nothing wrong (I'll explain). When you do
Air Combos, it is VERY important that you do NOT HIT THE BUTTONS LOTS OF
TIMES until you see the move hit and then switch buttons and hit that
button LOTS of times until it hits. You also cannot hit the buttons really
quickly and expect the whole combo to finish itself just 'cause you hit the
right buttons, like you can with a UMK3 "Dial-A-Combo" or a Tekken "Typing
Combo". The best way to do Air Combos is to develop a nice, steady
rhythmic timing for each button so that you only hit each button once. If
you develop this timing, you can do Air Combos with your eyes closed...
seriously. The rhythms may be different for each character, however. For
example, Sabretooth has a VERY easy timing and is BY FAR one of the easiest
to do. His timing is VERY fast and very steady. However, Chun Li's is
bizarrely slow, and very delayed so that the timing is a LOT slower than
Sabretooth. Experiment with your character. The X-Men generally use
quicker rhythms while the Street Fighters generally use slower rhythms.
Warning, though: don't do it TOO fast... you can potentially do it SO fast
that you skip moves. Learn a good consistent timing.
The other problem is that you're doing nothing wrong. Some characters
have moves that simply aim in the wrong direction. For example, Cammy's
Jumping Forward Kick aims up and can't hit anything next to her. So if you
get into the air and do a Jab, Short, Strong, Forward Air Combo, the
Forward will most likely miss and the Air Combo will fail. So skip the
Forward button altogether to get a simpler, easier Air Combo. Of course,
against very large opponents like Juggernaut, you can hit them even with
those high aiming moves. If there are any moves that are recommended to
skip, I will mention that in the "Details about the Air Combos" section for
each character in the "Character Specifics" half of this FAQ.
3) The Fireball Problem: This problem occurs for only characters will
Air fireballs and Crouching Launchers (Ryu, Cyclops, and Magneto). A lot
of the times after you Launch the enemy into the air, you go up for the Jab
hit and instead comes out a Jab Fireball, be it a HaDouKen, Optic Blast or
EM Disrupter. This occurs because when you go from a Crouching Launcher to
Forward Flip, the controller passes from Down to Down/Forward to Forward to
Forward Flip. The fireball code is in there and so when you hit Jab, the
fireball comes out instead.
To fix this problem, this is what I do: hit Up on the controller
EARLY. As SOON as I hit the button that is my Launcher, I immediately hold
Up. Thus, by the time I hit Jab, the fireball won't come out. That
prevents the fireball from coming out and you can proceed with your Air
Combo. Another solution is merely to just be more careful when going to
Up. Do it more carefully and don't sweep it around the front, doing the
fireball motion.
Some characters will have this problem more seriously than other. It
really is a minor problem and doesn't happen that often. Bering careful is
really the best advice I can give if you have this problem.
4) The Confusion Problem: Lastly, another problem that can occur once
in a while is just pure confusion. Sometimes I launch the enemy and jump
after them and forget which buttons I should try and use. In the above
Cammy example, you might forget to skip Forward until it's too late and
thus, you either pause too long because of your realization that you
shouldn't hit Forward and whiff the Fierce Punch, or actually hit Forward
and miss the enemy all together, missing the rest of the combo. A good way
to solve this is to, with each character you use, keep it set in your mind
which combo you want to do and what moves you are planning to use before
you go up for it. That way, you can do the whole combo with great ease and
control and not have to remember things at the last minute. I basically
have each character's Air Combo dead set into my mind now so that it's
completely second nature to me for which buttons to hit in an Air Combo...
so much so that if I want to change it, I have a hard time changing.
* * *
-=Character Switching Combos=-
This form of combo isn't flashy, isn't awesome, isn't anything but
EXTREMELY practical. The reason that they are so practical is because,
after switching characters, your new character has a fairly significant
delay upon entering the screen... so significant that the majority of the
time, the enemy can Super Combo you before you recover. This can get VERY
frustrating and cause you to wonder, "When the heck am I supposed to change
characters?!?" Well, one answer is Character Switching Combos.
The best Character Switching Combo is a very simple thing: Sweep into
Character Switch. The Character Switch acts just like a Special Move so
you can cancel your normal move into a Character Switch just like you could
cancel it into a Gene Splice. Thus, if you sweep the enemy and character
switch, the new character entering the screen will actually fly in and OTG
the enemy off the ground!! This will cause them to roll away, giving you
PLENTY of time to end you entering delay. Also, if the enemy ROLLS after
being swept, their roll is long enough to recover too late. By the time
their roll is over, your character is safe and sound and ready to move.
There are other possibilities to this. For example, after nailing
someone with the Yoga Inferno Super Combo with Dhalsim, I switched
characters and was able to hit the enemy off of the floor with my incoming
character (though I haven't always been able to repeat this feat, for some
odd reason). Another example is when the enemy is getting hit by
Sabretooth's Birdie Bullet Spray, Sabretooth recovers before the Spray is
finished. In that time, you can Switch Characters and your new character
will hit the enemy at the end of the Bullet Spray in a combo, and your
character that entered the screen will be safe and sound.
Experiment around and find new ways to enter your characters in so
that they won't get a Super Combo in their face every time.
================================================================================
==========
**********************
* COMBO COMBINATIONS *
**********************
Here's the meaty part: the ability to combine ALL of those different
Combo Classifications in one combo. It is possible to put nearly every
classification into one combo. An example: With Wolverine, do a Jumping
Jab into a Jumping Short into a Jumping Strong. Land and dash with a Jab
into a Short into a Crouching Strong into a Standing Roundhouse. Super
Jump after them with a Jab into a Short into a Strong into a Strong into a
Strong into a Forward canceled by an upwards aimed Drill Claw. Then, as
the enemy falls down past your hovering body, hit them with a Jab into a
Roundhouse. Hit the enemy Off The Ground with a Crouching Short into a
Crouching Strong into a Standing Roundhouse.
YES, this is all one combo. In it, we have a Jump-In Combo, a Dashing
Combo, and Air Combo, a Special Move cancellation, a Flying Screen Combo,
an OTG Combo, a Juggle Combo... and the Magic Series is used everywhere in
there. It's all actually possible and you can eventually do it flawlessly,
hopefully, with enough practice.
* * *
-=Jumping Combos Into Dashing Combos=-
There is ONE essential combination of Combo Classifications that
deserves a LOT of attention and that is what this section will concentrate
on: the Jump-In Combos into the Dashing Combos. As in MSH, X-Men Vs.
Street Fighter gives you the possibility of hitting the enemy from a
Jump-In, land and dash with a move fast enough so that it all connects into
one combo. If you do not learn this technique, it will be difficult to
perform the larger and more impressive combos.
So here are some tips on how to perform a Jump-In to Dashing Combo
since it is such an important part of combos since it helps do the maximum
potential damage in one combo. Jump-In to Dashing Combos is 100% timing
and nothing else. In order to perform this correctly, you must 1) do
however many hits from the air you were planning to do; 2) land with a
Dash; 3) attack quickly enough before your opponent recovers from the hits
from the air.
To start off, make sure you know EXACTLY how many hits you're planning
to do from the air. Jump at the enemy and start attacking the enemy.
After you hit the last move you plan on doing from the air, you must enter
the Dash code by tapping forward on the joystick twice quickly. However,
you must start to do the motion BEFORE you land from the air. So, in other
words, after your last hit from the air, start dashing right away.
However, you ALSO have to FINISH the code right AFTER you land. Thus, you
must hit the first forward on the joystick while not yet landed but hit the
second forward on the joystick AFTER you have landed. THEN, you must hit
the first button in your Dashing Combo quickly enough so that the enemy
does not have time to recover from the air.
Thus, it is logical to try to finish your Jump-In Combo with a Fierce
or Roundhouse as those moves make the enemy reel the longest, giving you
MORE time to connect a Dashing attack when you land. Also, it is logical
to START your Dashing Combo with a Jab or Short, since those moves come out
the quickest. This gives you the most lee-way for timing errors between the
Jump-in and the Dash.
This just takes practice. Once you practice enough, it gets REALLY
easy to do and you'll never do a combo without it ever again. Just
practice it and don't give up because it is VERY important to learn this
technique.
Another thing: there is an alternate way of doing the Jump-in to
Dashing Combos. Since you can Dash by pressing all three Punches, you CAN
also do a Jump-in to Dashing Combo simply by pressing the three Punches
RIGHT when you land and going for your combo VERY quickly after Dashing.
Seeing as how I prefer to use the Double Tap method personally, I can't
offer any tips on doing it this way. Experiment with both methods and see
which suits you the most.
* * *
-=Two Air Combos In One=-
This is a really bizarre form of combo in X-Men Vs. Street Fighter
that some people may not realize is possible. It requires two separate Air
Combos... one normal Jumping Air Combo and one last Super Jumping Air
Combo. The enemy must be in the air when you start this and there are two
ways to do this combo.
Basically, this is how it works: during a regular fight, this
situation comes up a lot... the situation where you jump at your enemy and
he jumps at you as well. Well, the "Two Air Combos in One" Combo
Combination is just the thing you need to do a nice, damaging combo. If
you Regular Jump at the enemy and they just happen to be jumping at you as
well, you can start hitting them on your way down from your jump. When you
land, they will be finish their reel in the air.
In that time, you can do one of two things: a) you can land and
quickly throw out a Launcher attack if the enemy is low enough and knock
them right back up for an Air Combo. Then, of course, you Super Jump and
do your basic Air Combo; b) you can actually Super Jump the instant you
land and continue hitting them on your way up if you're fast enough and if
the enemy is too high up in the air for the Launcher to reach them.
Thus, you connect the two Air Combos together in one. Not the
greatest nor most exciting Combo combination, but they can be useful
against people who jump a lot. Also, one last alternate way to do
something like this: after hitting the enemy with the Regular jump moves,
you can land and walk under the enemy while they are reeling in the air.
They'll be able to block by this point, but they will usually be blocking
the wrong way, since they are not expecting you to walk under them. Thus,
if you throw out a Launcher after walking under them, they usually get
nailed by it so you can get an Air Combo out this way as well.
* * *
-=Sweep Into OTG Combos=-
In X-Men Vs. Street Fighter, sweeps have become more useful than ever
before. That is because there are a LOT of natural Off The Ground moves in
this game. For example, Cyclops's new Hook Kick move can OTG enemies off
the floor with the second hit. Thus, Low Roundhouse canceled into the Hook
Kick will be a two-hit combo. Another example is with Gambit: his Strong
Cajun Slash is a natural and perfect OTG move. Thus, Low Roundhouse into
the Strong Cajun Slash is an easy 4 hit Combo.
Worse yet, for a LOT of the characters, a sweep can be comboed into a
Super Combo, which can be highly devastating to the person on the receiving
end since it is so damaging and so easy to do. For example, Chun Li can do
a Low Roundhouse into the KikoShou Super. Rogue can do a Low Roundhouse
into the Super Rushing Punches. Ryu can do a Low Roundhouse into a ShinKuu
TatsuMakiSenPuuKyaku Super. And all of these combos hurt a great deal.
So if you are playing this game, you must, I repeat, MUST train
yourself to react to sweeps very quickly. In a lot of those cases, a Roll
can mean the difference between life and death. If you can train yourself
so that you can react to sweeps at a moments notice, you should be able to
escape this type of combo. No Sweep Combo cannot be rolled away from. All
sweep combos can be escaped with a Roll. So listen to my advice: TRAIN
YOURSELF INTO REACTING TO SWEEPS. You'll thank me for it.
* * *
-=Throw Combos=-
If you hate throws, you'd better start getting used to them. In X-Men
Vs. Street Fighter, throws have the potential to be more damaging than
ever. That's because for a lot of the characters, they can recover after
throwing you before you hit the floor. Thus, many times, a player can
throw you and then combo you before you can roll or recover.
For example, if Dhalsim performs the Yoga Noogie on you while he has
you trapped in the corner, the last hit of the Yoga Noogie knocks you very
high up into the air and makes you land on the floor. HOWEVER, Dhalsim
recovers before you hit the floor so, before you can block or roll, he can
do a Yoga Inferno and nail you OUT of the air. So if a player plays with
throws, he can potentially drain more than 25% of your energy from a throw.
Another example is Juggernaut. If he throws you with Fierce from
ANYWHERE, he can Juggernaut Headcrush you before you land every time. With
Cyclops, if he grabs you with the Leg Tackle and he lands you in the
corner, he can Low Short you off the floor and chain that into a Standing
Strong, which is a Launcher... then he can perform an Air Combo on you that
includes the Guidable Optic Beam. Of course, in the Cyclops example, you
can roll away in time after the throw... so REMEMBER TO ROLL every chance
you can in this game!!! Failure to roll could result in major energy loss.
* * *
-=Air Throw Combos=-
Throws performed from the ground, i.e. any regular throw such as a
ground Spinning Pile Driver, Cyclops's Leg Tackle, etc., canNOT be put into
the back end of a combo (a throw can start a combo, but a regular ground
throw can never be put at the end or in the middle of a combo). You can
NEVER throw someone out of their reel animation so they ALWAYS have the
chance to perform a Reversal with a Special Move or a Super Combo before
you can throw them.
However, Air Throws in this game are a completely different story. It
is actually possible to COMBO an Air Throw so that the Combometer actually
will keep going up even though you performed a throw and not a hit! For
example, it IS possible for Zangief to Launch the enemy up and do a Super
Jumping Jab into Air Spinning Pile Driver for a 3-hit combo! The
Combometer will actually read "3 hits" if you time it all correctly.
But that's the catch: the timing is VERY difficult to do in most cases
and the positioning is very touchy. For example, Sabretooth can do a Low
Fierce (which is a Launcher) and Super Jump and do a Super Jumping Jab,
Short, Strong... and then combo in an Air Throw afterwards. However, if
the enemy doesn't end up at just the right height and at just the right
distance, it won't combo. Most of the time, you actually end up throwing
them, but not in a combo... you just throw them without adding to the
Combometer. Of course, that's good enough, but it's more impressive to
land it in a combo because after the Air Throw, Sabretooth can do the Super
Berserker Barrage and catch you before you land. Thus, if you can combo
the Air Throw, you'll have a larger combo count, which is more impressive.
A good tip to doing Air Throws in combos is to use a repeated button
so that you won't accidentally do a Chained move. For example, in the
above Sabretooth combo, you can try to throw with Fierce, but any SLIGHT
mistiming will make you chain from the Strong into the Fierce, since that's
his Magic Series. Thus, trying to throw with the Strong button is much
better because you cannot chain from Strong into Strong, giving you a
better chance to land the throw rather than coming out with the next move
in the Super Jumping Magic Series.
* * *
Of course, there are a ton of Combo combinations that are possible.
All you need to do is find them and work at them. If you examine the
combos in the Character Specifics section carefully, you'll find a lot of
different forms of combinations. So keep working on the combos and
remember there are more combinations that just the three listed above.
Good luck!
================================================================================
==========
***********************
* CHARACTER SPECIFICS *
***********************
For each character, I will give specific information. In X-Men Vs.
Street Fighter, the different characters all have different problems,
conveniences, and "feel". So for each character, I will give as much info
as possible. Here is a list of each of the categories I will go through.
-=Magic Series=-
a) Ground Magic Series
b) Jumping Magic Series
c) Super Jumping Magic Series
For these three categories, here are the different series that will be
listed and what their rule is:
- ZigZag - The Series that incorporates all six buttons:
Jab -> Short -> Strong -> Forward -> Fierce -> Roundhouse
- Stronger - The series that lets you go to any stronger attack.
Jab/Short -> Strong/Forward -> Fierce/Roundhouse
- Weak Start - Start on Jab or Short and end with any of the other 4 attacks.
Jab/Short -> Strong/Forward/Fierce/Roundhouse
- None - No Magic Series available for specified situation.
* * *
-=List of Launchers=-
d) Launchers: This is the list of all the character's Launchers.
e) Strikes: These moves are the moves that will knock the enemy off their
feet, but not high enough for Air Combos. They also do not knock the enemy
to the floor so it is also not an OTG Combo set-up. These moves should be
avoided if you are going for a nice, long Chain Combo, in most cases.
f) Knock-Downs: All the normal moves the character has that can knock the
enemy down onto the ground. These can possibly set-up for OTG Combos.
* * *
-=Special Move Codes Section=-
g) Special Move names and motions: I will list these mainly so you can
recognize which moves I am referring to since I do not have official names
for all of the moves.
h) Super Combo names and motions: Same as the Special Moves section.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------
Legend for the codes on performing the Special Moves:
(**note: these codes are all for when character faces right.**)
FB: Fireball Motion (D, DF, F)
| \ --o + Button
o o
RFB: Reverse Fireball Motion (D, DB, B)
| / o-- + Button
o o
DP: Dragon Punch Motion (F, D, DF)
--o | \ + Button
o o
RDP: Reverse Dragon Punch Motion (B, D, DB)
o-- | / + Button
o o
YF: Yoga Flame Motion (B, DB, D, DF, F)
o-- / | \ --o + Button
o o o
*Note: I call it the Yoga Flame Motion based on Street Fighter II Classic
even though nowadays, Yoga Flame is done with a Reverse Yoga Flame motion.
RYF: Reverse Yoga Flame Motion (F, DF, D, DB, B)
--o \ | / o-- + Button
o o o
BP: Banishing Punch Motion (F, DF, D)
--o \ | + Button
o o
*Note: I call it the Banishing Punch motion based on Zangief's move from
Super Street Fighter II Turbo even though nowadays, it is done with a
Dragon Punch motion.
SF: Air Soul Fist Motion (U, UF, F)
o o + Button
| / --o
*Note: In case you're wondering, I call it the Soul Fist Motion because
Morrigan of DarkStalkers fame was one of the first characters to ever use
this code.
SPD: Spinning Pile Driver Motion (360 degree spin on the controller)
*Note: The code for the Spinning Pile Driver is not really a full 360
degree circle on the controller. It has always been merely 5/8 of the
circle. However, it doesn't matter where you start the 5/8 nor where you
end, as long as you complete a full 5/8 of a circle. Most people start it
from walking forward or backwards and just do a full 360 motion because
it's easier to do and makes it more certain to come out.
o
o-- / | \ --o / + Button
o o o
OR
o
--o \ | / o-- \ + Button
o o o
OR
RK: Razor Kick Motion (Charge D, U)
| (charge), o + Button
o |
*Note: When charging for this code, you can charge at ANY of the three down
positions and when you press up to activate the move, you can go to ANY of
the three up positions.
SB: Sonic Boom Motion (Charge B, F)
o-- (charge), --o + Button
*Note: When charging for this code, you can charge at ANY of the three back
positions and when you press up to activate the move, you can go to ANY of
the three toward positions.
+ Punch: Do the motion with any punch button
+ Kick: Do the motion with any kick button
