Street Fighter IV - Tips for an old SF2 fan

[manasecret]

I was perusing the PS3 section at Blockbuster, when my eyes fell upon Street Fighter IV. The perfect rent for me. It's a game I've been wanting to try since it came out, but a game I'll never buy.

But I haven't seriously played a Street Fighter game since SF2. I know all the moves for that game, and they're still here, but I notice there are tons of updates to make it interesting.

So, I need help.

1. How do you string combos together? Is it just a matter of knowing the right combinations?

2. How do you pull off the ultra move, the one that zooms in to your character? I've got the other lesser ultra moves down I think, just press two punches or kicks.

3. Any tips for Rufus specifically? He's a funny character, but I kind of got his moves down and found him fun to play.

4. How do I go about not sucking? I can't get past the 3rd round!!

[Zen]

If this is just a rent you shouldnt worry much about technical stuff and just have fun with it.

1. This game isnt about huge combos, some moves do link into one another but you should really start with basics, for example as Ryu the oooold combo goes like jumping fierce(hp), crouching forward (mk), hadoken, just the crouching forward-hadoken part works great as a poke with push back, you can finish it off with any of his special moves (tatsu,shoryu). combos in this game go around linking moves that give you enough of a frame buffer.

2. the ultra should be on the character's move list, im assuming by lesser ultra you mean the ex moves, in this game you get a super that fills up normally as you attack (ryu's being 2 fireball motions and a punch) and the ultra which fills up as you get attacked, you can use it at half full or wait till its complete for a lot more dmg. (ryu's being the same 2 fireball motions and all 3 punches)

3. I dont really play Rufus, so whatever info I could give you on him would be scrubby.

4. Practice makes perfect, specially against a human opponent.

[Bube]

The best way to get better at SFIV, I've found, is to not play it. I get worse at it every time I do.

[TheSlyMoogle]

I was perusing the PS3 section at Blockbuster, when my eyes fell upon Street Fighter IV. The perfect rent for me. It's a game I've been wanting to try since it came out, but a game I'll never buy.

But I haven't seriously played a Street Fighter game since SF2. I know all the moves for that game, and they're still here, but I notice there are tons of updates to make it interesting.

So, I need help.

1. How do you string combos together? Is it just a matter of knowing the right combinations?

2. How do you pull off the ultra move, the one that zooms in to your character? I've got the other lesser ultra moves down I think, just press two punches or kicks.

3. Any tips for Rufus specifically? He's a funny character, but I kind of got his moves down and found him fun to play.

4. How do I go about not sucking? I can't get past the 3rd round!!

Haha, why didn't you just PM me :p

1. It's character specific. This game doesn't have gatlings or chain combos really well for the most part, and if a character does they're call target combos. Basically this game is all links. Linking means Doing a move the first few frames after the recovery of the move proceeding it. Basically doing a move after your recovery and hitting the opponent who is still in hitstun from your previous move. In other words a lot of light punches and light kicks in street fighter. This game is cool in that it gives you a mode in training that shows a lot of the possible links and combos. I think it's called challenge mode. For example chun li can link 3 low shorts into ex lightning legs. I would suggest checking out challenge mode for your character.

2. For the Ultra super you do the regular super motion and press either all 3 punches or all 3 kicks.

3. I would suggest going to challenge mode with rufus (Combo training). Also there are some nice vids for tutorials.

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4. I would say watch the tutorials, and also sf games have always had mean AI.

[manasecret]

5. What about cancels, technicals, or any other moves like that? What's the trick to those?

6. I found throws to be strange. I could be trying to throw over and over with Rufus against Abel, but it seemed like his always outranked mine. If both players try to throw at the same time, do some throws "outweigh" others?

[TheSlyMoogle]

Oh forgot to say that SSF4 will be totally worth it, I can't wait because I only really played Alpha 3 and I played Guy and I was very good with him, and now he's going to be in 4 and I'm super excited. :D

Oh and also Rufus's ultra is lovingly referred to as "Raise da roof!"

[TheSlyMoogle]

5. Technicals in this game are throw breaks. There's also focus attacks which is both mid kick and mid punch at the same time, you can dash cancel a focus attack. A fully charged focus attack cost 50% super meter to dash cancel, but this is also how some combos are done in the game.

6. Throwing at the same time or within a couple of frames of each other results in said technical or throw break. Now that being said Abel has a command throw, which probably out ranges and out prioritizes a normal throw. Also different characters have different throw ranges, and certain moves make characters throw invulnerable.

[Zen]

5. Technicals in this game are throw breaks. There's also focus attacks which is both mid kick and mid punch at the same time, you can dash cancel a focus attack. A fully charged focus attack cost 50% super meter to dash cancel, but this is also how some combos are done in the game.


This one's a bit confusing, while you can indeed cancel a focus attack the fact that canceling a fully charged focus attack costs super meter is wrong, what WOULD cost you this 50% meter is actually focus cancelling a special move, for example: Shoryuken -> Focus Attack (this cancels the shoryu right after it hits AND costs 50% meter -> dash cancel (which costs nothing).

[TheSlyMoogle]

This one's a bit confusing, while you can indeed cancel a focus attack the fact that canceling a fully charged focus attack costs super meter is wrong, what WOULD cost you this 50% meter is actually focus cancelling a special move, for example: Shoryuken -> Focus Attack (this cancels the shoryu right after it hits AND costs 50% meter -> dash cancel (which costs nothing).

Oh yeah, that's right. I thought I might be explaining that wrong.

Is kara throwing and kara canceling in this game?

[Zen]

I keep hearing about kara throw's, havent messed with it myself, you can kara cancel for sure though, easiest and most traveling being sagat's forward+LK into anything "omfg tiger uppercut fom far away hax!!"

[manasecret]

Thanks for the tips guys! That video of Rufus is really helpful, I'll have to look for more. I still can't get the ultra combo button combinations down.

I decided to give some of the other characters a shot, since some of the most fun parts are seeing all their "stories" and reading the taunts when you win or lose with each character.

I tried Abel, but he's not for me. But fighting against Abel is a bitch with all those rolls. I ended up just crouch low punching and low kicking over and over to keep him away so he would stop whirlwind throwing me.

I ended up playing with M. Bison last night, and got to Seth. Bison has some strong ass moves. I figured they might nerf him from his SF2 days, but it seems like he retained all of moves that made him so hard to beat then.

As for Seth, the first round against him is a cinch with Bison. The 2nd round? Holy shit! He never stops kicking my ass!

[Zen]

If you want an easy basic character to learn go with sagat, all you need to do is do is tiger shot over and over at intervals, use his high kick to stop jump inss, throw them if they get too close, thats a basic scrubby sagat, effective as hell, you can learn from there.

As to Seth, Ive found that his AI is pretty crappy, he used to beat my ass but now what I do is as the round starts, I dont jump in right away because i get anti aired, if you wait for a split second before jumping he will likely use his dhalsim like punch, giving you a free jump in combo, you get at the proper distance, rinse and repeat because he loves using that punch. as soon as he has ultra go on defense because he WILL be trigger happy with it.

That's worked the best for me with seth, I cant just play him normally, I find it funny i beat him with jump ins.

[manasecret]

Yeah I figured out the jump ins thing. I use Bison's somersault air kick, because it charges while I'm blocking and is longrange and quick.

But that strategy doesn't work well when he gets to his second level. He stops using the dhalsim arms as much and likes to come in close and tear me up. He does like to use Sagat's tiger shots, so if I could figure out something to counter those that would help.

[TheSlyMoogle]

Yeah I figured out the jump ins thing. I use Bison's somersault air kick, because it charges while I'm blocking and is longrange and quick.

But that strategy doesn't work well when he gets to his second level. He stops using the dhalsim arms as much and likes to come in close and tear me up. He does like to use Sagat's tiger shots, so if I could figure out something to counter those that would help.

Haha Chun Li's ultra goes through fireballs.

Jk.

You have a few options: guard, jump, focus attack absorb the fireballs. Certain characters have other options. There's really no way to counter a fireball from full screen though. Just keep edging inside a bit. Play the "Footsies" game.

Zen: Kara throwing is very good. It extends your throw range so far. It was really good in 3rd Strike especially for Chun Li. Her kara throw was amazingly good. Mmm chun li.

[Zen]

I understand the advantages for the kara throw but I cant seem to pull them off on demand on an actual fight, last game i really tried was, third strike, but i only got it like once every 8 tries or so, the rest i would just do the attack i was trying to cancel, so i let it go. Training mode, awesome, actual match, no way.... its like now in 4, ryu's shoryu ->FADC -> Ultra, I can do it on wake up, but not in a combo for some reason.

[TheSlyMoogle]

I understand the advantages for the kara throw but I cant seem to pull them off on demand on an actual fight, last game i really tried was, third strike, but i only got it like once every 8 tries or so, the rest i would just do the attack i was trying to cancel, so i let it go. Training mode, awesome, actual match, no way.... its like now in 4, ryu's shoryu ->FADC -> Ultra, I can do it on wake up, but not in a combo for some reason.

Well when I did play 4 I played chun and she doesn't have too much of that FADC thing going on really. So I have no tips for that, but depending on if you're using a pad or a stick:

On stick to kara throw all I would do is position my fingers in a weird claw looking thing. I wish I could take a photo lol. Basically middle finger for the normal and it would be a bit closer to the buttons than my thumb and index finger. So I would just hit it down really fast. It almost sounds like the 3 are hitting at the same time but they aren't. It took a little while, but I finally committed it to muscle memory. I think the biggest thing that helped in fighting games (Especially guilty gear for me) was like once I could consistently do something in training mode all day, committing myself to constantly doing it in matches, even if I screwed it up. Eventually you just are so used to doing it, that it comes to you all the time. It works out eventually.

With a controller the best way to do kara throws is to set a throw button on one of the shoulders and then do the same thing with both hands, making it sound like they're hitting at once but the normal you're canceling gets hit a split second prior to.

Hope that helps a bit.

[Zen]

Yeah, Ive been meaning to get a stick for a while, I think ive peaked on pads, on my config I have no room for a throw button as i use my 2 extra buttons for 3xp and 3xk (harder to do than a throw on a pad)