Street Fighter 4 Chun-Li Combos

Character Overview

Chun Li is mostly like her Capcom vs. SNK and SF3: Third Strike versions, although she has some Super Turbo elements. Her ground game is great, and she has a lot of poke attacks.

• Strengths •
+ Very good mix up game that will keep your opponent guessing.
+ Foot and move speed are fast, and her normal attacks have good priority.
+ Her move set is very diverse which helps her adapt to most situations.
+ Nice set of poke attacks and excellent defensive ability.

• Weaknesses •
- Chun-Li does not have consistent anti air options.
- Ultra attack is mediocre compared to the other fighters.
- Many of her moves can leave her open to counter attacks if not executed correctly.
Special Moves

A (2) next to an arrow means to hold the joystick in that direction for 2 seconds to 'charge' the move.

With moves that charge by holding back or down, you can use the diagonal positions to charge up as well. For example, if you're holding back, you can jump backwards or block low and still maintain your charge.
Light
90
Medium
120
Hard
120
EX
150

Joystick Joystick Joystick (Press Kick Button Rapidly)
• Lightning Legs (Hyakuretsu Kyaku) •
A solid chip damage move still, although the recovery after coming out it can leave you open to certain attacks. This also comes out quick enough that you can use it in some combos.

Chun's Lightning Legs are also good for knocking people out of Focus Attacks. Focus Attacks can only absorb one hit, but Lightning Legs hit multiple times in a short duration, so if you can anticipate a Focus Attack for your opponent — they'll eat some kicks to the face.
Light
50
Medium
60
Hard
70
EX
100

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick
• Kikouken (Fireball) •
This most closely resembles her Super Turbo fireball, and it's a good projectile because of its tricky speed and fast recovery time.

The Punch button pressed determines the speed, range and power of the projectile. The Light version goes almost a full-screen's distance and flies slow enough that you can follow the projectile and throw your opponent after they block it, like Guile.

Hard punch flies the shortest distance, but goes fastest and does the most damage. Medium is a mix of the two.

This move doesn't combo that well, EX version works much better in this regard.
Light
100
Medium
120
Hard
150
EX
200

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick
• Overhead Flip Kick (Hazan Shuu) •
Chun Li does the splits in midair and comes down with her legs out, this must be blocked high. It has a very quick recovery time, usually being safe from counter attacks, plus you can use it to go over the top of projectiles.

Your Overhead Flip Kick isn't a high priority attack and most other moves will counter this, so be careful when and where you use it.

Regardless, this is a great pressure/mix up tool. Your opponent must constantly be wary of you coming in with a fast attack that must be blocked high whenever you're somewhat close to them.
Light
200
Medium
210
Hard
240
EX
170

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick
• Spinning Bird Kick •
*Armor Breaking*
Chun Li flips upside down and spins with her legs split to attack the other fighter, and it's not very useful as it leaves you open to counter attacks more often than not. Bleh. The EX version on the other hand...

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick
• Command Combo Kicks •
This series of three moves starts out with Chun kicking midrange and leaning back a bit, the next attack (Medium Kick) with launch your opponent up into the air where you can finish them with multiple juggling kicks.

Note that the last part of the move does NOT require a charge motion and that these moves are only available one after another. So you can't start the first move and immediate going into the Juggling Jumping Kicks.

If your opponent is in the corner you can juggle them after finishing this off with her Super or Ultra.

Joystick Joystick Joystick (In the air)
• Air Throw •
When you're close to the other fighter in the air, do a normal throw command. This can be a very useful move because it can't be reversed and the range is pretty good. Some think this is one of Chun's best anti air moves.
EX Moves
Light
90
Medium
120
Hard
120
EX
150

Joystick Joystick Joystick (Press Two Kick Buttons Rapidly)
• EX-Lightning Legs (Hyakuretsu Kyaku) •
More damage and hits than the normal version and you can juggle after landing this.
Light
50
Medium
60
Hard
70
EX
100

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick
• EX-Fireball (Kikouken) •
This version hits twice, comes out faster and goes full screen distance. It's usually best off to use this in combos instead of her normal fireball.
Light
100
Medium
120
Hard
150
EX
200

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick
• EX-Overhead Flip Kick (Hazan Shuu) •
Like the normal version, but it does more damage, comes out quicker and knocks down when it hits.
Light
200
Medium
210
Hard
240
EX
170

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick
• EX-Spinning Bird Kick •
*Armor Breaking*
Generally regarded as one of Chun's best moves because of its priority and invincibility. This move does NOT have vacuum-like properties like in SF3, but it's still a great move and can be used to counter some air attacks.
Super and Ultra Moves
Super
340
Ultra
367-510

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick
• Senretsu Kyaku (Super Lightning Leg Kicks) •
Not a very good Super, and most players feel like you're better off using Chun Li's EX attacks instead. It does not travel full screen, and if the opponent blocks it in the corner you're wide open to counter attacks. Also if this hits the other fighter in the air, most of the hits won't land, so it's really only effective against grounded opponents.

This does have some use in guaranteed hit situations and combos, but use it very sparingly.

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick
• Housenka (Ultra Lightning Leg Kicks) •
*Armor Breaking*
This almost flies a full-screen's distance and goes through fireballs, making it a very deadly to projectile throwers. But like her Super, if blocked it leaves you open to counter attacks so you must be careful.

You can use the threat of Chun's Ultra to keep projectile characters from throwing them out continuously. After one or two hits from this, they'll learn to use different tactics when you have Revenge meter.

Like her Super, don't use this against jumping characters because most of the hits will not land.

Her Ultra has a few frames of "start up" animation before it hits, so work on your timing to counter projectiles. You almost need to predict when they're coming out.
Combos

• Jumping Hard Kick, Crouching Hard Punch cancel into EX-Kikouken, cancel into Level 2 Focus Attack, Dash Cancel, Command Combo Kicks •
Powerful combo. You can also do just the early parts of this sequence for some good damage if you have trouble pulling the whole thing off.

• Crouching Light Kick, link into Crouching Light Punch, link into Crouching Medium Kick, cancel into EX-Kikouken •
Solid combo. Easy to confirm you've hit with this and nail the other fighter with an EX-Fireball.

• Jumping Hard Punch 2x, Standing Medium Punch, Cancel into Hard Punch Fireball, Cancel into Super Lighting Legs •
Pretty solid way of landing your Super in a match, although the damage on this is good even without the Super on the end. Some people prefer a Standing Hard Punch for extra damage instead of Standing Medium Punch, but the Standing Mediums hit twice, giving you more time to charge for your Fireball.

• Crouching Light Kick 2x, Cancel into EX-Lightning Legs, juggle with EX-Lighting Legs, juggle again with EX-Lighting Legs (if opponent is in corner) •
A great ground combo and a rough price for your opponent to pay for getting hit with a Crouching Light Kick.

• Jumping Hard Kick, Crouching Light Kick 2x-4x, Cancel into EX-Lightning Legs, juggle with Ultra if opponent is in corner •
A variation on the above combo. Unless your opponent is close to the corner you won't connect a lot of hits from your Ultra, so you're best off not using it outside of this situation unless you only want to take off a small amount of life. You can also sub in pretty much any one of Chun Li's jump in attacks for the Jumping Hard Kick.

• Jumping Hard Punch 2x, Crouching Hard Punch, Cancel after first hit into Medium or EX-Spinning Bird Kick •

• Catch airborne opponent with Jumping Hard Punch 2x, juggle with EX-Spinning Bird Kick or EX-Lighting Legs •
Normal Moves

Note this is not a complete list of all of Chun Li's normal moves, just the ones we think are noteworthy.

Joystick Joystick Joystick
• Flip Cross Up Kick (Kouhou Kaiten Kyaku) •
Chun Li flips forwards and kicks with both legs in the opposite direction. If done around sweep range, she will jump over the other fighter's head and cross them up.

Joystick Joystick Joystick
• Crouching Medium Kick •
Chun's Crouching Medium Kick is back, and still very good. You can use this move to cancel into her Fireball, Super and Lightning Legs.

Joystick Joystick Joystick (In the air)
• Head Stomp •
The old school Chun Li move is back, and it's not terribly useful, but sometimes a situation arises where it makes sense to use this.

Joystick Joystick Joystick
• Backflip Kick •
Chun Li flips backwards and sticks her knee out.

Joystick Joystick Joystick
• Hop Kick •
This makes you hop forward quickly and kick your foot out. The recovery time for this move is very short and you can usually follow it up with another attack before your opponent can counter.

Joystick (In the air)
• Wall Jump •
When you're close to a wall, press in the opposite direction of it, and you'll jump off.
Video: Chun Li Trial Challenge: Street Fighter 4

Walkthrough: How to complete Chun Li's Trials in Challenge Mode

Note: Chun Li has some of the most difficult Trials in the entire game, but going through all 10 of them will give you a pretty good idea what her core combos are and how to use most of the moves.

While some of the Links and Cancels are difficult to pull off, getting through these will really help you improve your execution, so try your best and keep practicing.

If you're struggling with understanding any of these notes, make sure you check out the video over on the right so you can see the moves being executed.

Completing this is one heck of a ride, so if you manage to get through all ten, your execution is outstanding.

Street Fighter 4 Cammy Combos

Character Overview

Cammy might best be thought of as a miniature wrecking ball. She has a number of devastating combos and can absolutely destroy players in a short period of time.

She's best played as an in your face, offensive rush down character. Her foot speed coupled with a nice move set can make her a very formidable character in the right hands.

Cammy is underrated by most players.

• Strengths •
+ Exceptional foot speed. Cammy is one of the fastest characters in the game.
+ Some very, very powerful combos.
+ An outstanding Ultra move. Has a couple of ways she can set this up after landing an attack.
+ One of the best offensive rush down characters. Very hard to stop once she gets going.
+ Flies below the radar. Very few players regularly play against Cammy, so they may not be familiar with her bag of tricks.
+ Has many tools for dealing with projectile throwing characters.

• Weaknesses •
- Below average stamina.
- Great defensive players can give her problems, keeping her outside of her effective zone.
- Technical character. You need to have excellent execution skills to play her at a high level.
- Jumping Light Kick is crap cross up move.
Special Moves
Light
100
Medium
120
Hard
140
EX
160

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick
• Spiral Arrow (Cannon Drill) •
Cammy spins herself forward along the ground. The Kick button pressed determines the distance this travels and amount of life it takes off.

This attack works very well in combos. Cammy can set it up by confirming she's hit with a string of Crouching Light attacks and then follow those with her Spiral Arrow, taking off a nice chunk of health and scoring a knock down.

Your Spiral Arrow is not an attack you'll want to spam through the whole match though, as it can be punished on block. Since this must be blocked low however, you can catch an opponent who's standing to counter your barrage of offensive moves with the occasional Spiral Arrow.

Coupled with Cammy's other Special Moves, this is a very good attack.
Light
120
Medium
140
Hard
150
EX
160

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick
• Cannon Spike (Burst Kick) •
Your version of the Dragon Punch (Shoryuken). This has a bad habit of whiffing ducking players if you're not close enough, which makes it extremely easy to punish. However, on block, Cammy flies away a solid distance, which can still be punished, but the window to do so is reasonably small, so if your enemy isn't expecting it, you may get away.

This is a wicked move though. As long as you time your Cannon Spike correctly, it will beat out most other moves in the game when it's in its first few frames of animation. It's only in the latter parts of the move when Cammy's hitbox is more susceptible to other attacks, meaning that if you time it correctly, you should rarely trade hits.

If you ever need to get an opponent off of you, this will do the trick.
Light
160
Medium
160
Hard
160
EX
160

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick
• Quick Spin Knuckle (Spinning Backfist) •
*Armor Breaking*
Light
100
Medium
100
Hard
100
EX
120

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick
Joystick Joystick Joystick when close to throw
• Hooligan Combination (Frankensteiner) •
Note, the damage numbers to the right are for Cammy's Slide Kick part of the Hooligan Combination. Her throw always does 130 damage, unless you grab your opponent in the air, then it does 140 damage.
Light
70
Medium
70
Hard
70
EX
80

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick
(While jumping forward in the air)
• Cannon Strike •
EX Moves
Light
100
Medium
120
Hard
140
EX
160

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick
• EX-Spiral Arrow (Cannon Drill) •
This does a bit more damage than the Hard Kick version (160 if you land both hits, compared to Hard Kick which does 140). It also travels through all projectiles.

Since this doesn't have full screen range, your ideal placement when you want to hit your opponent on reaction to them tossing out a fireball is about 3/4ths of the way out or closer.

Because Cammy has great mid-range and up close options, your opponent will often use projectiles to give them more breathing room. Making them think twice about throwing out random fireballs will give you better spacing and set up more opportunities for you to abuse Cammy's outstanding footspeed.
Light
120
Medium
140
Hard
150
EX
160

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick
• EX-Cannon Spike (Burst Kick) •
Of all of the things you should be spending your EX meter on, this move won't often be one of them. It has an extra frame of invulnerability (6) over the Hard and Medium Kick versions (5), and it does slightly more damage as well, but it's not all that different besides that.

Considering what you can do with Focus Attack Dash Cancels (FADCs) and a few of Cammy's other EX moves, you're best off rarely using this attack and spending your EX meter else where. About the only time you'll want to throw this out there is for reversal situations where you absolutely want the most invulnerability possible.
Light
160
Medium
160
Hard
160
EX
160

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick
• EX-Quick Spin Knuckle (Spinning Backfist) •
*Armor Breaking*
This is almost identical to the Medium Punch version, except for one important attribute — it's invincible during it's start up frames of animation.

Because you can juggle with Cammy's Ultra after you land her Spin Knuckle, if your opponent eats this once, it can lead to a big damage combo. And even if they block, you should be safe from counter attacks.

The problem is Cammy can still be thrown out of this or hit with an attack before she actually sticks out her hand — she takes awhile to actually get to a hittable state.

As such, this is more of a counter/physic move than anything else. If you can predict what your opponent is going to do, blowing through their move and juggling with your Ultra is awesome. And considering the pressure a good Cammy player can apply, you can make your opponent make some mistakes or get into some bad habits to set this up.

What you're left with is a streaky move. Against some players you may have quite a few chances to set this up, against others who play a bit smarter and carefully, you probably won't be able to use this very often.
Light
100
Medium
100
Hard
100
EX
120

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick
Joystick Joystick Joystick when close to throw
• EX-Hooligan Combination (Frankensteiner) •
Cammy's EX-Hooligan Combination has a higher arc, travels faster and will "track" based on whatever position your opponent is standing at, and these properties make it a pretty good move.

You can use it from point blank of full-screen's distance to keep the other fighter guessing. Players who are used to having Cammy fly at a lower to the ground arc with her Hooligan Combination can be caught off guard to see her coming much faster and at different angle, giving you an opening to grab them or set up her slide.

All of the same tricks that work with her regular Hooligan Combination apply here. Also the slide after an EX-Hooligan does a bit more damage over the regular versions.
Light
70
Medium
70
Hard
70
EX
80

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick (While jumping)
• EX-Cannon Strike •
Unlike the normal version of Cammy's Cannon Strike, you can do this while jumping straight up or backwards. This enables you to do a "Tiger Knee" like motion while you're still on the ground so that the instant you jump, your EX-Cannon Strike comes out. Here's a visual.

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick So instead of jumping and doing this move, the last input counts as the jump, but all of the inputs before also count towards the motion, giving you an instant Cannon Strike. Note, you have to perform this fairly quickly or the game won't register the motion for your Strike.

This technique opens the door for several tricks from Cammy.
Super and Ultra Moves
Super
400
Ultra
379-540

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick
• Spin Drive Smasher (Super) • *Armor Breaking*

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick
• Gyro Drive Smasher (Ultra) • *Armor Breaking*
Combos

• Jumping Hard Kick, Crouching Light Kick, Standing Light Kick, Crouching Light Kick, Cancel into Spiral Arrow •
Easy combo, does good damage and sets up some other tactics because your opponent is stuck blocking 3 light attacks.
Video: Cammy Trial Challenge: Street Fighter 4

Video walkthrough of Cammy's Trial Challenges in Street Fighter 4. Watch ►

Movie courtesy of Kalelulen4
Walkthrough: How to complete Cammy's Trials in Challenge Mode

Going through all 10 of Cammy's Trials will give you a pretty good idea what her core combos are and how to use most of the moves.

While some of the Links and Cancels are difficult to pull off, getting through these will really help you improve your execution, so try your best and keep practicing.

If you're struggling with understanding any of these notes, make sure you check out the video over on the right so you can see the moves being executed.

Note, all of the Cannon Strike combos must be landed VERY deep, or you won't combo. Spacing on Cammy's Trials is critical.
Normal: Trial 1 • Standing Medium Kick.
• Crouching Medium Kick.
• Towards + Light Punch and Light Kick (Throw).
• Backwards + Light Punch and Light Kick (Throw).
• Jump, Towards + Light Punch and Light Kick (Throw) while your opponent is in the air. Normal: Trial 2 • Cannon Spike (Front Kick).
• Cannon Drill (Spiral Arrow).
• Spinning Backfist (Quick Spin Knuckle).
• Hooligan Throw, Press Towards + Light Punch and Light Kick (Throw) when close.
• Cannon Strike.
• Spin Drive Smasher (Super).
• Gyro Drive Smasher (Ultra).
Normal: Trial 3 • Standing Medium Punch, Cancel into Cannon Spike.
• Standing Hard Punch, Cancel into Cannon Spike.
• Crouching Medium Kick, Cancel into Cannon Drill.
• Crouching Medium Punch, Cancel into Cannon Drill. Normal: Trial 4 • Jumping Hard Kick, Standing Hard Kick, Cancel into Cannon Spike.
• Jumping Hard Kick, Crouching Medium Kick, Cancel into Hard Kick Cannon Drill, Cancel into Spin Drive Smasher (Super).
• Hooligan Throw (Press No Buttons so a Slide comes out), Cancel Slide into Spin Drive Smasher (Super).
• Spinning Backfist, juggle with Ultra.
Normal: Trial 5 • Standing Medium Punch, Link into Crouching Medium Kick.
• Crouching Hard Punch, Link into Crouching Medium Kick. Hard: Trial 1 • Jumping Hard Kick, (Close Range) Standing Light Kick, Link into Standing Light Punch, Link into Crouching Light Kick, Cancel into Cannon Drill, Cancel into Spin Drive Smasher (Super).
Hard: Trial 2 • Jumping Hard Kick, (Close Range) Standing Light Kick, Link into Standing Medium Punch, Link into Crouching Medium Kick, Cancel into Cannon Drill, Cancel into Spin Drive Smasher (Super). Hard: Trial 3 • (Deep) Cannon Strike, (Close Range) Standing Light Kick, Link into Standing Hard Punch, Cancel into Cannon Spike.
Hard: Trial 4 • EX-Cannon Drill (Only hit once), juggle with Cannon Spike, Cancel into Focus Attack, Backwards Dash, juggle with Ultra. Hard: Trial 5 • (Deep) Cannon Strike, (Close Range) Standing Hard Punch, Cancel into Cannon Spike, Focus Attack Dash Cancel, juggle with another Cannon Spike, Cancel with Focus Attack, Backwards Dash, juggle with Ultra.

Street Fighter 4 Blanka Combos

Character Overview

Blanka is a quick and reasonably strong fighter. He's very difficult to pin down and has some great ways to score damage and play games with his opponent's head.

Players who use him are typically offensive minded and can pull off relentless offensive barrages. But Blanka also has a solid defensive game as well. His EX-Upwards Ball when timed correctly will beat most jump in attacks and he has some good escape moves as well as solid 'poke' options.

Where the Beast runs into trouble is having a few moves that can easily be punished when they're blocked and consistently getting in on defensive players who know all of his tricks can sometimes spell trouble.

Blanka is generally considered to be one of the better characters in the game, and if you prefer a playing a somewhat wild and risky, but also very rewarding style, you'll likely enjoy using this character.

• Strengths •
+ Great tools to deal with Fireball spammers.
+ Exceptional mobility and good speed overall.
+ Strong character, his moves take off a good amount of damage.
+ Above average stamina (defense).
+ Good anti air options.
+ Very damaging Super move.
+ Mind game master. Because of his moves and speed, Blanka can keep his enemies off guard with the best of them.
+ Great range on his Cross Up attack (Jumping Medium Kick).
+ Not easy to anti air him because of the angle of his jump and range of his air attacks.

• Weaknesses •
- Doesn't have much variety in his combos. You're going to be using the same ones frequently, which makes you more predictable.
- Several of his moves can be punished if blocked — if they're not used properly.
- His Ultra requires a very high level of skill to use in combos.
- Can have problems consistently scoring damage on defensive players who know all of his tricks.
Hop Trickery

Blanka can maintain his charge for an Upwards Beast Roll even while he's hopping back and forth. The key is to do the Hop from the diagonal down-right or down-left positions. Like so...

Joystick Joystick Joystick or Joystick

This enables Blanka to move all through the stage and get in on his opponent quickly and threaten to do some damage.

When Blanka gets close with his hop, he can either go for a throw or use his Upwards Roll to smack the other fighter if they're attempting to counter. Also getting close quickly with his hop and attempting a cross up works well here too.

It's not difficult for good players to counter Blanka's Hop Trickery — if they know what's coming. So keeping them off balance and not knowing what to expect is a big key when you're hopping back and forth.

Also after you score a knock down, hopping back and forth over the other fighter's body so they don't know which side you'll be on as they stand can work wonders. Not only do they have to worry about which way to block, but you can open them up for a few more throws because they'll be focused on blocking.

After a Crouching Medium Kick, you can Cancel into Blanka's Hop, so this sets up yet another mind game for your opponent. Jump in, either with a cross up or a normal attack, then do a Crouching Medium Kick, Cancel into your Hop to land on their other side and immediately go into an Up Ball or throw. You can be grabbed as you're coming out of your Hop, so you don't want to get predictable here, but this is another solid trick to add to your arsenal.
Cross up with Jumping Medium Kick then Throw or Combo

Blanka has a simple, but effective throw set up in Street Fighter IV. Because his Cross Up move (Jumping Medium Kick) has very good range, you'll often be in a good position to land it during matches.

If your opponent blocks this, you can throw them as you land. They of course can counter this tactic by way of a Reversal or Teching your throw, but you may get a couple of throws in there before they're wise to what you're doing.

When they attempt to counter your throws — start going for your combos. Jumping Medium Kick, Crouching Medium Kick, Linking into Standing Light Punch and Canceling into a Hard Punch Beast Roll works well here. It's a 4-hit combo and a staple of most Blanka players.

When your opponent starts fearing your combos, go again for the throw, constantly keeping them in a loop of having to guess what you're going to do next after you land a cross up attack.
Special Moves

A (2) next to an arrow means to hold the joystick in that direction for 2 seconds to 'charge' the move.

With moves that charge by holding back or down, you can use the diagonal positions to charge up as well. For example, if you're holding back, you can jump backwards or block low and still maintain your charge.

Important Note: With all of Blanka's Beast Rolls, the strength of button pressed determines the speed and power of the move.

• Light attacks go the shortest distance and do the least damage.

• Hard attacks go much further and do the most damage.

• Medium is a mix between both moves.
Light
120
Medium
130
Hard
140
EX
150

Joystick Joystick Joystick (Press Punch Button Rapidly)
• Electric Thunder •
Blanka sits in one place and electricity shoots out of his body. This move comes out pretty quickly and can be used in combos. It does solid damage when it hits, but the range is terrible.

Outside of combos, this is mostly a, "surprise!" move for when your opponent is attempting to throw you or is trying random attacks, you can sometimes catch them off guard with it.

The punch button used determines the speed, range and power of this move. Light fires out the slowest rate of electricity, does least damage and has the smallest range, but it's easier to execute. Hard fires out bolts much faster and will hit a blocking opponent two or three times, it does the best damage and has a smidgen more range over the Light Electricity. Medium is a mix of the two.
Light
100
Medium
110
Hard
120
EX
110

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick
• Rolling Attack (Beast Roll) •
*Armor Breaking*
This is either a bad or great move, depending on who your opponent is. While you can find some use for your Beast Roll regardless of the character you're fighting against, in some matches you'll be calling on this constantly and in others you'll want to avoid it almost entirely.

The reason why is some characters can punish a blocked Beast Roll without blinking an eye, so you'll only want to throw his out there to punished missed moves and the like.

On the other hand some characters have a really difficult time with this move and you can constantly throw it out there, at least until they have an Ultra meter, to chip away at their life and make them afraid of throwing out random moves.

This attack also works excellently in combos and can be Canceled into your Super at close range.

The Hard Punch Beast Roll travels the longest distance and does the most damage, as such it'll be what you use most often. The Light Punch version travels a much shorter distance and recovers quickly so it can trick your opponent into thinking they need to block when they shouldn't. This opens up the door for you to walk up and throw them, use electricity, etc.

This attack is armor breaking, so you can use it to break any Focus Attacks you see coming.
Light
110
Medium
120
Hard
130
EX
120

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick
• Backstep Rolling (Hop Back Arcing Roll Attack) •
Blanka hops back and then forward at an arcing angle. This move knocks down when it hits your opponent, and can be used as a 'cross' if done from the right range. The problem is it's heavily punishable when blocked and good players probably won't fall for being crossed up by it very often.

Considering the other moves Blanka has, this doesn't have much use.
Light
100
Medium
110
Hard
120
EX
120

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick
• Vertical Rolling (Upwards Beast Roll) •
When you execute it, you'll fly forward and up, and it's a pretty darn good anti air move when you time it correctly.

The Hard Kick version has quite a bit of range so you can catch unsuspecting airborne players with it.

Light Kick tends to have the best results when your opponent is jumping in on you and is in close proximity, as Medium and Hard Kick Up Balls will sometimes fly right past the other fighter.

This move works wonders when coupled with Blanka's Hop, see the Hop Trickery section above for more information.

Joystick or Joystick Joystick Joystick
• Hop •
A great move. It's faster than Blanka's normal dash, plus it allows him to keep an Upwards Ball charged up because you can use the diagonally down-towards and down-back positions to hop around.

While his Hop can be stopped if you're not careful with it, tricky players can use this move to constantly move around the stage and keep their opponent guessing which direction they'll be coming from next. This move has massive mind game potential.

Joystick Joystick Joystick
• Beast Slide •
The range on this is really good, but the recovery time is terrible if blocked from up close. This works wonders against projectiles though — as it travels right under them.

It's another, "surprise!" move from Blanka. Your opponent may not think you can hit them, much less with an attack that hits low from long range, but landing a few of these can really open up other areas of your game.

This isn't an attack you'll want to abuse, but it's also not something you want to forget about either. Random Beast Slides will catch many players off guard and force them to block low more often, and will tame fireball chuckers as well. Just make sure you use it from long range.

Joystick Joystick Joystick
• Coward Crouch •
You can duck under projectiles with this. Works great and yet another tool you can use to deal with projectile throwers. This will even go under Sagat's Low Tiger Shots.

Blanka will stay down for a period of time unless you press another direction besides down on the joystick, OR you can use his Hop command to quickly get out of the Coward Crouch.

This will also let you avoid some moves, like cross up attempts, but it's not practical because there's a bit of recovery time in which your opponent can land another attack, and considering Blanka has some other good options for anti air... you're probably best off just sticking to this to avoid fireballs.
EX Moves
Light
120
Medium
130
Hard
140
EX
150

Joystick Joystick Joystick (Press Two Punch Buttons Rapidly)
• EX-Electric Thunder •
Visually this looks like it has more range than it actually has, but it's the same as the Hard Punch version of this attack. It does a bit more damage, but besides that it doesn't offer much. You're probably better off spending your EX meter else where except in some rare cases where you need to do some extra damage.
Light
100
Medium
110
Hard
120
EX
110

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick
• EX-Rolling Attack (Beast Roll) •
*Armor Breaking*
Because of Blanka's speed and mobility many characters will try to control your spacing with their projectiles, and this move will help negate their ability to do so. You EX-Beast Roll does slightly less damage than the Hard Punch Beast Roll, but it travels through all projectiles, including Super and Ultra Fireballs.

While this is a good move against fighters with projectiles, it worthless against those who don't have them. You should always stick to your regular Beast Rolls unless you're trying to travel through a Fireball.
Light
110
Medium
120
Hard
130
EX
120

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick
• EX-Backstep Rolling (Hop Back Arcing Roll Attack) •
An underrated move. The EX version of this attack gives you a lot of mobility in the air, which can create some difficult situations for your opponent because it's not easy to tell which side they need to block on.

Also works well if you make your opponent think you're going to hit them and just miss entirely, land and throw them.

Blanka is invulnerable while he's initially hopping back, so you can use this to blow through some moves and fireballs, and if you meet your opponent in the air you should knock them down if they didn't anticipate this attack.

Also works well as an escape move because of the initial invincible frames. If you're feeling threatened simply fly all the way across the screen.

This is a potentially high risk attack, because if your opponent blocks it, it's likely you're going to be taking some damage after wards. That said, it's still very useful in some situations because it isn't easy to counter if you don't expect it. One more thing to add to your bag of tricks.
Light
100
Medium
110
Hard
120
EX
120

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick
• EX-Vertical Rolling (Upwards Beast Roll) •
A good anti air and reversal move. Has some frames of invincibility and it does the same damage as the Hard Kick version.

The EX-Vertical Roll has a gigantic range, which can be problematic because you'll sometimes overshoot the other fighter. This works well when your opponent is in the right position, but it's not fool-proof. You'll only want to use this over the normal move if you need the additional frames of invulnerability or the crazy (surprise!) full-screen range.
Super and Ultra Moves
Super
400
Ultra
412-600

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick
• Grand Shave Rolling (Super Beast Roll) •
Blanka charges up and rolls along the ground at his opponent. You can hold the punch button when you execute this move to have Blanka stay in place, and then release it at the opportune time.

Blanka can Cancel into his Super after an up close Beast Roll or Crouching Hard Punch. In these scenarios his Super does a ton of damage and they're not too difficult to set up, because you can use one of his normal combos ending in a Beast Roll or Crouching Hard Punch and still Cancel into into his Super.

The biggest problem with this attack is his EX moves are pretty darn useful too, so it's really up to the player if they want to have the big damage potential of his Super available as often as possible, or if they'd rather spend his bar on EX moves during the match. This decision often comes down to the character you're fighting against. In some matches steadily using your EX moves is very important, but in others you'd rather have bigger damage potential.

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick
• Lightning Cannonball (Ultra Beast Roll) •
Blanka's Ultra is a solid move. It does a lot of chip damage, and like most Ultras in the game, it has some invincibility so you can use it to counter moves, throws attempts and the like.

Holding all three punches after you execute this move will cause Blanka to roll in place, and letting go will make him roll forward on the ground. Most likely you'll have to roll in place for a bit to land all of the hits from your Ultra because it tends to go too quickly and you'll roll right under your opponent if you don't delay it a bit.

Blanka's Ultra can be easily punished after being blocked, so you almost never want to throw it out there unless you're positive it's going to hit or kill the other fighter with block damage.

At close range Blanka's Ultra hits low, but this first hit has about the same range as his Crouching Light Punch — not very far, then it hits high, then low again. This can be tricky to block for new players, but anyone who's had a bit of experience against Blanka will be able to block this with ease.

It's also possible to Link into Blanka's Ultra from a Crouching Light or Medium Kick. So you can combo into it after a Focus Attack or Jump in attack — it's just really hard to do so.

In most matches your Ultra is mostly going to be used as a Reversal and chip (block) damage attack to wipe your opponent out, and again it works really well for this because it takes off a lot of power when it's blocked. You'll also see some experts use it in combos, but this takes a lot of practice and timing to be able to do so.
Hopping into a Ultra or Super

You can incorporate the motion for Blanka's Hop into his Super or Ultra. You start by charging for the move by holding back or down-back for two seconds, then press towards and 3x Kick to Hop, then quickly go from back to forward and press the needed Punch buttons to activate the attack.

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick

This lets you gain ground very quickly so you can punish moves that would normally be out of your Ultra or Super range.

You can also use it to nail an opponent who sticks out a poke or another attack in response to you hoping forward, but if you do not guess correctly, they'll be in a great position to punish you.

Also this motion works if you cross (jump on the other side of the other fighter) with your Hop, just complete the move as you normally would and it should come out even though you're facing a different direction.
Combos

• Jumping Hard Kick, Crouching Medium Kick, Cancel into Hard Punch Beast Roll •
You need to hit somewhat late with your Crouching Medium Kick to give yourself enough time to charge up Blanka's Beast Roll. This is Blanka's Bread and Butter combo.

• Jumping Medium Kick, Standing Light Punch, Cancel into Light Punch Electricity •
Make sure you stop mashing Light Punch as soon as your electricity comes out. If this is blocked your opponent will still be stunned for a bit, which gives you time to stick out another move and make them block a 4th attack as long as you didn't mash too long on Light Punch.

• Cross Up with Jumping Medium Kick, Crouching Medium Kick, Link into Standing Light Punch, Cancel into Hard Punch Beast Roll •
Good 4 hit cross up combo.

• Crouching Hard Punch, Cancel into Super •
You can still land your Super after this even if you're at max range with Blanka's Crouching Hard Punch. This is actually a pretty good combo as it does 500 damage total — roughly half your opponent's life bar.

• Beast Roll (Close Range), cancel into Focus Attack or Super •
This only works at close range and the Beast Roll must land for the subsequent attack to combo.

• Jumping Hard Kick, Crouching Medium Kick, Cancel into Hard Punch Beast Roll, Cancel into Super •
You'll probably have to hold the Punch button you pressed when you did the Super so you can let go at the right time to juggle the other player for maximum damage.

• Level 2/3 Focus Attack, Dash, Crouching Medium Kick, Link into Standing Light Punch, Hard Punch Beast Roll, Cancel into EX-Focus Attack •
Good combo and puts you in a strong position to do more damage if you want to dash out the Focus Attack instead of letting it hit.

• Level 2/3 Focus Attack, Dash, Crouching Medium Kick, Link into Ultra •
The timing on this is very strict. If you can pull this off consistently in a match you're doing something.

• Crouching Light Kick, Link into Standing Light Punch 2x, Cancel into Hard Punch Beast Roll •
You can also add a jump in attack to the start of this combo. A pretty good 4 or 5-hitter as the extra Standing Light Punch will often catch people unaware.

• Crouching Light Kick 3x, Cancel into Beast Roll •
The three Crouching Light Kicks should always give you enough time to get your Beast Roll charged up.

• Standing Medium Kick (Close), Link into Standing Hard Kick •
Pretty difficult Link, but if you're not charged up, not a bad option.
Normal Moves

Note this is not a complete list of all of Blanka's normal moves, just the ones we think are noteworthy.

Joystick Joystick (air)
• Jumping Medium Kick (Cross Up) •
Like his Super Turbo attack, you can use this to cross up (make them block in a reverse direction) your opponent when jumping in. Great hit box on this move, which makes it difficult for the other fighter to dodge your cross attack.

Joystick
• Standing Hard Kick (Anti Air) •
One of your best anti air normals. It's fast and has solid priority. If you're not charged up for an Upwards Ball, this works in its place.

Joystick or Joystick Joystick Joystick
• Rockcrusher (Two-hit Headbutt, Overhead) •
An alright move — until you learn you can use it as an an Overhead attack. Hold Medium Punch while you do this, Blanka's Rockcrusher will look nearly the same but it will have a short pause in the animation and it becomes an Overhead Attack that must be blocked high.

This is fairly deceptive because Blanka's normal Rockcrusher (without holding Medium Punch) can be blocked either high or low, but the overhead version gives you another way of pestering the opposition when you're in close up.

You cannot Cancel into other moves with the overhead version of Blanka's Rockcrusher like you can with the regular attack.

Joystick Joystick (air)
• Anti Air Claws •
A great anti-air attack when you do not have a ball charged.

Joystick Joystick (air)
• Jumping Hard Kick •
A few players have a really difficult time using anti air normals against this attack, which makes it a great jump in move in some matches. It has deceptively good range, it's powerful and you can set up most of your combos with it.

Street Fighter 4 Balrog Combos

Character Overview

Balrog is one of the best characters in Street Fighter 4. He has decent speed, is powerful, has some great combos plus is adept at mixing up his attacks. He even has a solid defensive game to boot.

The ideal situation for the Boxer is to be up close and rushing down the other fighter. To do this you need to break down their defense, but doing so is dependent on the character you're going up against.

All of the fighters have different ways to get Balrog off of them, but you also have various ways to get back inside and mix up your offense with a combination of high and low attacks along with some cheese.

Rog runs into the most trouble against heavily defensive characters who can keep him out. Bad match ups are few and far between for him though, as a recent tier listing has him as the 2nd best character overall.

• Strengths •
+ Great power — attacks take off a lot of damage.
+ Easy to land his Ultra after a Headbutt.
+ Lots of good combos.
+ Super is powerful and very useful.
+ Running Low Uppercut breaks armor which comes in handy against some characters.
+ Crouching Light Punch is an outstanding move.
+ Super meter charges up quickly because of his style of play.
+ EX-Running Uppercut is freaking awesome because of the combo potential.
+ Pinning him down is difficult because of his Headbutt and Turnaround Punch.

• Weaknesses •
- Can have problems against heavily defensive players.
- Well-timed projectiles give him trouble.
- Has a solid learning curve. Knowing when and how to properly use his Running Punches takes time.
- Headbutts and some of his Turn Punches aren't safe if blocked which can present problems against some Fireball characters.
- Timing on some of his charge combos takes a lot of practice to learn.
Staying Charged Up

Balrog can keep his Running Punches and Headbutt charged up even while executing some of his special moves.

Because his Headbutt can be executed by going from a down-back to up-back position, the moment he comes out of it, he can launch right into a Run Punch, Super or Ultra.

Also, with his Low Running Punch attacks, you can execute them by going from a down-back to down-forward position and the instant he's out of his Low Running Punch — he can Headbutt, because you're never losing your downwards charge.

This sets up a lot of cheese and unpredictability with the Boxer. He can use his Low Running Punches to advance on his opponent while using Headbutts to go through projectiles and counter moves. Having most of his moves readily available makes him all the more deadly and unpredictable.

Maintaining your charge with the above techniques is very important if you plan on playing Balrog at a high level, so make sure to practice and master your execution of Staying Charged Up.
Special Moves

A (2) next to an arrow means to hold the joystick in that direction for 2 seconds to 'charge' the move.

With moves that charge by holding back or down, you can use the diagonal positions to charge up as well. For example, if you're holding back, you can jump backwards or block low and still maintain your charge.

Important Note: With all of Balrog's Running Punches, the strength of button pressed determines the speed and power of the move.

• Light attacks go the shortest distance and do the least damage, but Balrog will stick his fist out faster giving the other fighter less time to react to the attack.

• Hard attacks go a full-screen's distance and do good damage, but his fist takes longer to come out. Medium is a mix between both moves.
Light
100
Medium
110
Hard
120
EX
120

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick
• Running Punch (Dash Straight) •
Balrog does a running punch towards his opponent. This move hits at a mid level so even if your opponent is crouching it should still hit them.

The Light Punch version has the shortest recovery time and it should be safe from counter attacks as long as you hit with the end of Balrog's glove. Hard and Medium Run Punches tend to be easier to counter if blocked because Balrog has more recovery time and advances more distance, but the heavier attacks take off more power.
Light
90
Medium
100
Hard
110
EX
110

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick
• Running Low Punch (Dash Grand Straight) •
Like his normal dash, but it hits low. This is a pretty solid move when used in conjunction with his Running Overhead Punch, as you can keep an opponent guessing what's coming next, either an overhead or low attack.

This knocks down when it lands and they cannot do a quick "tech" get up after wards which gives you some time to set up something else, like a Focus Attack.
Light
80
Medium
90
Hard
100
EX
100

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick (hold punch)
• Running Overhead Punch •
*Armor Breaking*
This has a bit of start-up time (delay before the move comes out) but it comes out quickly enough that it can be difficult to know which way to block. Use this with Balrog's Low Running Punch and keep your opponent guessing. This attack breaks Super Armor.

You can also combo into other attacks after landing this with a Linked normal. Here's what to do against certain characters. The information below assumes your opponent is crouching and you're up close.

* Crouching Medium Punch, Cancel into Headbutt: Abel, E.Honda, Gouken, Guile, M. Bison (Dictator) and Zangief.
* Crouching Light Kick, Cancel into Headbutt: Akuma, Chun Li, C. Viper, Dan, Dhalsim, Fei Long, Ken, Rose, Rufus, Ryu, Sakura and Vega (Claw).
* Crouching Light Kick, Cancel into Running Punch: Blanka, Cammy and Sagat.
* Link into Crouching Hard Kick: Balrog (Boxer), El Fuerte, Gen and Seth.

Light
100
Medium
110
Hard
120
EX
120

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick
• Running Uppercut (Dash Smash) •
A very situational attack. It hits high so the other fighter can crouch under it. If they duck and aren't expecting it, try going into a throw. Even if this does hit, it doesn't knock down.

The Running Uppercut has decent anti-air properties if you have your timing and distances down. Use the EX version when you think you might trade hits.

Some players will throw this out there after scoring a knock down to build up a little Super meter and to quickly gain ground to apply pressure. This works well because the recovery time for this move is fast — and with the Light Kick version — you should never have to worry about still being open after you score a knock down if you want to build a little meter.
Light
100
Medium
110
Hard
120
EX
120

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick
• Running Low Uppercut (Dash Grand Smash) •
*Armor Breaking*
This will hit crouching opponents, knocks down plus is a armor breaking attack. Another situational move, works well against some characters, especially those who rely on Super Armor — like other Balrog players.

You can use this to push your opponent in the corner to keep pressure on them as well because they fly back a good distance if you land it.

Also should be safe on block if you use the Light Kick version from the proper distance.
Light
130
Medium
140
Hard
160
EX
150

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick
• Buffalo Headbutt •
This goes through projectiles if timed correctly. It's also a very good anti air attack if you're charged up, but use the Light Punch version as Hard Punch will miss some times when your opponent jumps in. One of the Boxer's best moves.

It's important that you train yourself to execute this by using the Up-Back motion. This lets you pull off your Ultra to juggle the other fighter if you hit, and also keeps you charged up to use your Running Punches at a moment's notice.

It may sound like a little thing to execute this move with the Up-Back direction, but it gives you so many more options to use in a match.

This is unsafe if blocked, so you can't randomly throw these out there like you could in Super Turbo. Regardless, a potent and powerful attack.
Level 1
130
Level 3
180
Level 6
280
Final
560

Joystick or Joystick (Hold for 2 seconds)
• Turnaround Punch •
*Armor Breaking*
Balrog's High Risk High Reward move. It's also known as the TAP. Press and hold all three punch or kick buttons. The longer you hold down the buttons, the stronger your attack will be.

This move will go through projectiles and the start up animation is invulnerable to attacks, the problem is it can be punished if blocked, and the more powerful you get, the easier it is to counter if blocked.

Most players know this, and it can be used to your advantage. Generally the level 1 version isn't easy to counter from long distances (-2 frames if blocked), and you can sometimes bait the other player into thinking there's an opening and launching right into your Headbutt or another attack since you can maintain your charge while doing this move.

This can be a good attack — and a bad one. Against certain characters like Vega (Claw) it works great to counter his Wall Dives, but you have to be careful when and where you use this. Don't try to get too cute with it.

Some players will use the start up animation to avoid cross ups. This actually works pretty well against a few characters.

You can also use this attack to advance some distance without losing your charge which is sometimes helpful. Also if this lands as a Counter Hit, you can Link a Crouching Light Punch after wards to set up a combo.

The Turnaround Punch is really a mixed bag. Some players swear by it, others avoid almost entirely.
EX Moves

Important Note: All of Balrog's EX Running Punch moves can absorb one attack (Super Armor) and follow through and hit the other fighter. You still take damage if you're hit though, but this will regenerate over time as long as you're not hit soon after wards.

Regardless of if you have Super Armor or not, if a move takes off more life than you have, you will lose the round.
Light
100
Medium
110
Hard
120
EX
120

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick
• EX-Running Punch (Dash Straight) •
The main use for this attack is blowing through projectiles and limbs. There are countless times in a match where having the ability to absorb a single attack and following through to hit your opponent will be handy, especially against projectile throwers.

This should always be safe on block and it does the same amount of damage as Rog's Hard Running Punch, but it doesn't knock down either.

The Boxer's various EX-Run Punches all have their places in his strategies, but this attack is the most straight forward and general purpose.
Light
80
Medium
90
Hard
100
EX
100

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick (hold punches)
• EX-Running Overhead Punch •
*Armor Breaking*
Much like the Hard Punch version of the move, except with Super Armor and it's slightly safer on block. Armor comes in really handy in pressure situations.

A popular tactic is to do a jump in attack, several Crouching Light Punches and Canceling into this. The slight pause before the Overhead will sometimes make your opponent attempt a reversal. If you hit with this, you can go right into a Linked Crouching Medium Punch to combo them.
Light
90
Medium
100
Hard
110
EX
110

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick
• EX-Running Low Punch (Dash Grand Straight) •
While the main feature is the Super Armor, this has even faster recovery time than the Light Running Low Punch and offers the same damage as the Hard Punch version.

This is a good low attack though, because if you've got an opponent who's consistently blocking high this will make them think twice about it.
Light
100
Medium
110
Hard
120
EX
120

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick
• EX-Running Uppercut (Dash Smash) •
An EXCELLENT move because after landing it, you can Link into Crouching Light Punch, Link into Crouching Light Kick, Cancel into the Headbutt and juggle with your Ultra.

If you land most of the hits of your Ultra this takes off 449 damage, and it's a very heavy price for your opponent to pay for throwing something out like a Fireball and having Rog blow through it.

This attack can be ducked under though, so you should use it in situations where you'll almost certain you'll land it.

Balrog already has great anti-air options, and this just gives him one more. If your opponent jumps in from a distance, simply use this move and if they hit you before you punch, you'll absorb their attack and nail them for their trouble.
Light
100
Medium
110
Hard
120
EX
120

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick
• EX-Running Low Uppercut (Dash Grand Smash) •
*Armor Breaking*
This is safer on block than the normal versions, and having the benefit of Super Armor are the main features with this EX attack. While it's more difficult to counter this, it's still possible to do so.
Light
130
Medium
140
Hard
160
EX
150

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick
• EX-Buffalo Headbutt •
The EX Headbutt offers invincibility the entire time it's going up, which comes in handy against Meaty moves and when you need a 'get the hell off me' attack.

Still can be punished if blocked or as you're coming down though, and it takes off slightly less damage than the Hard Punch version.
Super and Ultra Moves
Super
345
Ultra
356-519

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick or Joystick
• Super Running Punch or Super Running Uppercut (Crazy Buffalo) •
*Armor Breaking*
This is a bit better than most character's Supers because Balrog can Cancel into it from many of his attacks, which is sometimes exactly what you need to K.O. the other fighter after one of his combos. See the Frame Data page for more information on which moves can be Canceled into his Super. It will also go through Fireballs during its start up animation.

The main drawback with Rog's Super is his EX moves are so useful, you may not want to spend the meter on this too frequently. So usually you'll use this to take off the last bit of life from your opponent, and since it's such a damaging attack, you'll see some good opportunities to use it in this fashion.

Also you can juggle with the Super much like you can with his Ultra by holding a Kick button after doing the motion. Fairly handy and powerful move, but again — so are your EX attacks.

This is not safe if blocked.

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick or Joystick
• Ultra Running Punch or Ultra Running Uppercut (Violent Buffalo) •
*Armor Breaking*
An excellent Ultra when coupled with Balrog's Headbutt. You can juggle the other fighter by holding down a Kick button to do Uppercuts instead of Straight Punches.

If you're having trouble juggling the other player, here's how to maximize damage based on the other fighter's position. If they are...

* In the middle of the screen: Just hold Kick the whole way through.
* In or close to the corner: Kick for first hit, Punch for second, then Kick for the last 3 attacks.
* In corner, but low to the ground (at the level of your head or farther down): Punch for first hit, Kick for second, Punch for 3rd, Kick for last two hits.

This move will go through Fireballs during its start up animation, but there's a big delay before your Ultra goes into a state where you can hit your opponent with it, so you have to predict or juggle your opponent to land this in most situations.

It's not safe if blocked, so you have to be careful when you throw it out there.
Combos

• Jumping Hard Punch, Crouching Light Punch 2x, Link into Crouching Light Kick, Cancel into Buffalo Headbutt, juggle with Ultra •
Balrog's Bread and Butter combo. Not too hard to do and you can always leave off the Ultra if you don't have the meter charged up. You can also sub in a Running Punch instead of the Headbutt if your opponent blocks, since the Headbutt will leave you open.

• Running Overhead Punch, Link into Crouching Medium Punch, Cancel into Buffalo Headbutt, juggle with Ultra •
If you have trouble landing the Crouching Medium Punch, use Crouching Light Kick instead.

• Standing Light Punch 3x, Link into Crouching Hard Kick •

• Crouching Medium Kick, Link into Crouching Light Kick, Cancel into Headbutt •
This is a good Meaty combo, handy as your opponent gets up off the ground.

• Level 2/3 Focus Attack, Dash, Crouching Light Punch 2x, Link into Crouching Light Kick, Cancel into EX-Running Uppercut, Link into Crouching Light Punch, Link into Crouching Light Kick, Cancel into Headbutt •
Timing on this can be tricky at first, but start charging immediately for your EX-Running Uppercut the second you input your Dash command.

• Jumping Hard Punch, Crouching Medium Punch, Cancel into Hard Running Punch, Cancel into Super •
One of Balrog's most damaging combos, but toasts your whole Super bar. Great combo though if you're sure you're going to hit the other fighter.

• Turnaround Punch, Cancel into Super •
In fights where the Turnaround Punch is a viable move, this can be a nasty surprise for the other player. Takes off LOTS of power.

• Crouching Light Punch 2x, Link into Crouching Medium Punch, Cancel into Hard Running Punch, Cancel into Super •
A variation on Balrog's Bread and Butter combo, sometimes handy.

• Jumping Hard Kick, Crouching Light Punch 2x, Link into Crouching Light Kick, Cancel into EX-Running Uppercut, Link into Crouching Light Punch, Link into Crouching Light Kick, EX-Running Uppercut, Link into Crouching Light Punch, Link into Crouching Light Kick, EX-Running Uppercut, Link into Crouching Light Punch, Link into Crouching Light Kick, EX-Running Uppercut, Link into Crouching Light Punch, Link into Crouching Light Kick, Cancel into Buffalo Headbutt, juggle with Ultra •
Yes, this combo is nuts but it doesn't do as much damage as you may think because by the time you actually get them into the Ultra you've racked up so many hits they aren't going to take a ton of damage. BUT, this is a fun one to do to show off.
Normal Moves

Note this is not a complete list of all of Balrog's normal moves, just the ones we think are noteworthy.

Joystick Joystick Joystick
• Punch Sweep •
It's quick, has range and it's a very safe attack. One of Balrog's best regular moves.

Joystick
• Standing Medium Punch •
Arguably Balrog's best anti air normal. It's fast and has solid range.

Joystick Joystick Joystick
• Crouching Hard Punch •
Very close to his Super Turbo move, and it's still good against jumping attacks when your opponent is in the right range.

Joystick Joystick Joystick
• Crouching Light Punch •
This is FAST, and it will stop a lot of tick throw attempts. Plus it's a great way to set up the Boxer's combos. Probably the move you'll use most frequently.

Street Fighter 4 Akuma Combos

Character Overview

The Demon is back and he's powerful. Akuma is most similar to his Street Fighter 3 Third Strike version. He does a lot of damage with his moves and some big time combos he can throw out there during the match.

But he takes more damage when he's hit than any character in the game besides Seth, so eating a few large combos will wipe you out.

Akuma has three handy projectiles in which he can use to help control the match, and his damage potential is still very, very good.

He's versatile in that he can apply a lot of offensive pressure or kick back and use his excellent Fireballs to frustrate some opponents.

• Strengths •
+ Powerful character, takes off a lot of damage when he hits.
+ Excellent offensive options. Lots of ways to mix up his attack plan.
+ Medium and Hard Red Fireballs act like an EX-Projectile.
+ Air Fireball can set up some great pressure situations.
+ You can easily combo after landing a Demon Flip Dive Kick.

• Weaknesses •
- Horrible defensive (stamina) ranking. Can die very quickly.
- Gets dizzied easily.
- Red Fireballs have a terrible recovery time, can leave you wide open.
Setting up your Light Hurricane Kick

Landing Akuma's Light Hurricane Kick sets up a Hard Punch Shoryuken to finish off your opponent, and this sequence does fairly good damage.

You can Cancel into your Light Hurricane Kick after a couple of Crouching Light Punches or Kicks — this gives you time to confirm you've hit your opponent and launch into a devastating combo. This set up lets Akuma apply a lot of offensive pressure.

But the timing may throw some people off initially. For example, when you do a Crouching Light Punch, Crouching Light Kick and Cancel into a Hurricane Kick, if you do the Crouching Light Kick too quickly, you won't be able to Cancel.

Instead you'll want to time the Crouching Light Kick in this sequence so it's more like a Link. Delayed enough that you can Cancel, but also still combo into your moves.

The timing on this can be tricky at first, but being able to land a huge combo because your opponent does not block a Crouching Light Kick is HUGE. Your best bet is to go into practice mode to learn how to combo this consistently.

It will make you a much better Akuma player.
Cross up and cheese tactics

Akuma has a really good cross up move with Jumping Medium Kick. The range is nice, it does solid damage, plus it's easy to combo into other attacks after landing it.

A common tactic for Akuma is to cross up the other player as he gets up off the ground. If they block the resulting attack, throw out either one or two Crouching Light Punches and go for a throw.

If they don't block the cross up, follow up with two Crouching Light Punches, Link into Crouching Medium Kick and do a Fireball, EX-Fireball if you have Super meter, for a 5-hit combo.

Bouncing back and forth between these two tactics after you cross the other fighter up will make most good players attempt to Tech your throws, or try and hit you back with a few Light Punches or Kicks. When this starts happening, after your first Crouching Light Punch pause for a split-second and then go into your Crouching Medium Kick, then Cancel into Fireball.

If the other fighter is attempting to tech or throw out a move, you should hit them, and if they block, you've taken a small amount of chip (block) damage off.

The tactics above work wonders because you're putting yourself in a real good position to consistently cause damage whenever you cross the other fighter up.
Special Moves
Light
60
Medium
60
Hard
60
EX
120

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick
• Fireball (Gou Hadouken) •
This is very similar to Ryu and Ken's fireball. You'll use this to control spacing and pester opponents who have a difficult time dealing with projectiles.

Do not avoid this move in favor of Akuma's other projectiles. It's quick and there's many times in a match where this will work better than his Red or Air Fireballs.
Light
40
Medium
40
Hard
40
EX
80

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick (In the air)
• Air Fireball (Zankuu Hadouken) •
The punch button pressed determines the angle and speed of your Air Fireball. Light Punch flies the most vertical and goes slowest, while Hard flies forward the most and is the fastest. Medium is a mix of the two.

Because of the speed and angle of the Light Punch Fireball, many Akuma players will use it at the peak of their jump against opponents in the corner as they stand up. Then they'll land and follow up with a low attack, or his overhead hit as the fireball is coming in making it difficult to block correctly.

Because Akuma briefly stops moving when he throws this in the air, you can also use this to alter the trajectory of your jump to avoid landing on projectiles or limbs.
Light
50
Medium
100
Hard
150
EX
180

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick
• Red Fireball (Shakunetsu Hadoken) •
This comes out much faster than the version seen in Street Fighter 3 Third Strike. Akuma briefly powers up, and then unleashes a fireball. Hard Punch hits three times, Medium hits twice and Light hits once.

This works much like an EX-Fireball in that the Medium Punch version it will absorb another projectile and keep going through to hit your opponent. The Hard Punch Fireball will absorb both hits of an EX-projectile and continue through to hit the other fighter.

The drawback is it has almost double the start up time and a bit more recovery than Akuma's regular Fireball, so you have to time your execution on this or you'll be setting yourself up for a big jump in combo.

Against top quality opponents, you're not going to have a lot of chances to throw this out there unless they're projectile happy, or getting up off the ground so you can score some chip damage.
Punch
110
Kick
70
Slide
100
Throw
150

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick
• Demon Flip (Hyakki Shuu) •
The button pressed determines how far Akuma flips forward. Light flies the shortest distance, while Hard travels the farthest.

While you're in the air during the Demon Flip animation, you can do the following:

* Kick button: Dive Kick — A GREAT move, because no matter when you initiate the Dive Kick, whenever you land it, you should always have enough time to go into a combo. This even works against tall characters like Sagat and Zangief. You can hit them in the top of the head and still combo. Nasty.
* Punch button: Hammer Fist An armor breaking move that knocks down when it lands. Can he handy to set up a cross situation.
* Light Punch and Light Kick: Throw — You'll need to pretty close to your opponent to throw them. Does a bit more damage than a normal grab, and it's a good mix up move to add in there when they may be expecting a Dive Kick instead.
* Slide Kick: Pressing nothing at all will make Akuma do a fast slide kick when he lands. Hits low, and will score a knock down.

Light
70
Medium
120
Hard
160
EX
200

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick
• Hurricane Kick (Tatsumaki Zankuu Kyaku) •
Knocks down if it hits, and the Medium and Hard versions of this move can hit multiple times.

The Light version can be used to juggle the other fighter if your next move has a short recovery time. For example, you can hit them with a Light Kick Hurricane Kick and go into a Hard Punch Shoryuken for a 4 hit combo.
Light
60
Medium
140
Hard
160
EX
80

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick (In the air)
• Air Hurricane Kick (Tatsumaki Zankuu Kyaku) •
Light
130
Medium
160
Hard
190
EX
190

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick
• Shoryuken (Dragon Punch) •
A high priority attack. The Punch button pressed determines the strength, range and number of hits for this move.

Light Punch has the smallest range, only hits once and does the least damage, but if you miss with it you're not as open to counter attacks as the heavier versions. This is good for countering pokes and tick throws.

Hard Punch has the longest range, hits 3 times and does the most damage. It's good for finishing off juggles and combos, and as an anti air move. If you miss with it though prepare to take a lot of damage.

Medium Punch is a mix of both Light and Hard version. It hits twice.

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick or Joystick
• Teleport (Ashura Senkuu) •
The joystick motion may be reversed with either 3x punch or kick to teleport backwards.

The punch version of this move will take you forward a full-screen's distance away, and the kick takes you about halfway.

This move has a much faster recovery time than in SF3 Third Strike, making it more difficult to counter-attack Akuma as he's coming out of it.

Joystick Joystick Joystick (In the air)
• Dive Kick •
You must be jumping forward and near the peak of your jump to execute this move.
EX Moves
Light
60
Medium
60
Hard
60
EX
120

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick
• EX-Fireball (Gou Hadouken) •
This attack will absorb one normal projectile and keep flying through to hit your opponent. It hits twice, and it's mainly useful for combos and the like. Sometimes handy for pressure situations and in projectile battles, because it comes out pretty quickly.

Each hit of Akuma's EX Fireball does 60 damage, which is the same amount a regular Fireball does.

If you land this with your opponent in the corner, you can juggle with a Hard Punch Shoryuken after wards if you're close.
Light
40
Medium
40
Hard
40
EX
80

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick
• EX-Air fireball (Zankuu Hadouken) • (In the air)
This throws out two fireballs, somewhat like Shin Akuma in previous Street Fighter games. It's not a fireball that hits twice like other character's EX moves.

These come out at the same angle as the Medium and Hard Punch Air Fireballs, and start up and recovery are faster than Akuma's regular Air Fireball.

The damage if both land is... OK, but it is an excellent offensive pressure tool. Throws these at a downed opponent as they're standing and then get in close to them. If these hit, go right into a combo and if they block the Air Fireballs attempt a throw.

A simple strategy, but an excellent one regardless.
Light
50
Medium
100
Hard
150
EX
180

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick
• EX-Red Fireball (Shakunetsu Hadoken) •
Hits three times like the Hard Punch version, but it has slightly faster recovery time. Recovers in 50 frames instead of 63. It also does 180 damage instead of 150 for the Hard Punch version. This attack is only really useful when you need the extra damage.
Punch
110
Kick
70
Slide
100
Throw
150

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick
• EX-Demon Flip (Hyakki Shuu) •
This move "tracks" based on wherever your opponent is. You can use it from full-screen's distance to punish Fireball throwers. Works from pretty much any distance, although from point blank range it can be difficult to land your Dive Kick.

Also Akuma travels faster than a normal Demon Flip, so he can get into his next attack a bit quicker.

This is a pretty solid move, especially for the element of surprise from long distances when your opponent wouldn't otherwise be afraid of being hit.
Light
70
Medium
120
Hard
160
EX
200

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick
• EX-Hurricane Kick (Tatsumaki Zankuu Kyaku) •
The EX-Hurricane kick makes you spin in place and will vacuum in the other fighter if they're close enough, hitting multiple times.

This is Akuma's most damaging EX-move, so it's an ideal combo ender, although it only does 10 more points of damage than a Hard Punch Shoryuken.

It's also safe from counter attacks if blocked.
Light
60
Medium
140
Hard
160
EX
80

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick (In the air)
• EX-Air Hurricane Kick (Tatsumaki Zankuu Kyaku) •
Can be a decent anti air because of the damage, but you basically have to predict the jump in because Akuma stops all movement and spins in place. Not too many uses for this move in a match unless you're great at predicting jump ins.
Light
130
Medium
160
Hard
190
EX
190

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick
• EX-Shoryuken (Dragon Punch) •
This does the same amount of damage as a Hard Punch Shoryuken, but it offers frames of invulnerability, so it makes it more desirable for some Reversal and Anti Air situations.

You probably won't be using this too much, but it is a handy move in some situations.
Super and Ultra Moves
Super
330
Ultra
456-600

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick
• Super Raging Demon (Shun Goku Satsu) • *Armor Breaking*
This move comes out FAST. Faster than in previous games. It does about 30% damage (character dependent), beats out most normal attacks and goes about a full screen's distance, but it does not go through fireballs.

Without doing a level 2 or 3 Focus Attack, there's no known way to combo into this move.

Some say this Super shouldn't be used pratically ever because the damage is weak and you're better off using Akuma's EX moves, but because of its speed some players find it handy.

Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick Joystick
• Ultra Raging Demon (Shun Goku Satsu) • *Armor Breaking*
Akuma's Ultra travels further than full screen's distance, does about 60% damage when fully charged, it's very powerful.

Like his Super, there isn't a known way to combo into this without doing a crumpling Focus Attack.

This can be a difficult move to land if you're playing against a good player, because in many cases they can just jump away. So you'll want to use this in instances where your opponent cannot recover in time from whatever they're doing. The other fighter attempting a throw, or trying to cross you up can give you good opportunities to land this move, because you can time your Raging Demon to grab them the moment they land or attempt to toss you.

Sometimes as you're getting up off the ground, the other fighter may be trying to stick out a meaty move or throw a Fireball. Time this to go right through it and make them pay a heavy price for being foolish.

Also works good after a missed Shoryuken or any attack that leaves them wide open.

If you're having trouble executing the Raging Demon, make sure you're doing the movements in the correct order. It seems obvious, but many players will press the Light Kick button before they press Back on the controller.

You don't have to be lightning quick to pull off this move, simply tapping out the motion in a reasonably fast matter will get it out there — the most important part is not doing things out of order.
Combos

• Jumping Hard Kick, Standing Hard Punch, Cancel into Light Kick Hurricane Kick, juggle with Hard Punch Shoryuken •
Akuma's bread and butter combo. Great damage and not too difficult to pull off.

• Jumping Hard Kick, Crouching Light Punch 2x, Link into Crouching Medium Kick, Cancel into Hard Punch Fireball •
You can drop the two Crouching Light Punches from this combo if you have difficulty pulling it off.

• Crouching Light Kick, Crouching Light Punch 2x, Cancel into Light Punch Shoryuken •
You can skip the Crouching Light Kick and use a Hard Punch Shoryuken instead after the Crouching Light Punches.

• EX-Air Fireball, Crouching Light Kick, Link into Crouching Light Punch, Cancel into Light Kick Hurricane Kick, juggle with Hard Punch Shoryuken •
Another way to land the core part of Akuma's bread and butter combo.

• Standing Hard Kick, Link into Crouching Light Kick, Cancel into Light Hurricane Kick, juggle with Hard Punch Shoryuken •

• (Opponent in corner, close range) EX-Fireball, juggle with Hard Punch Shoryuken •
You can also add in a few moves before the EX-Fireball, the key here is being close enough to hit with your Shoryuken as your opponent is falling back.
Normal Moves

Note this is not a complete list of all of Akuma's normal moves, just the ones we think are noteworthy.

Joystick
• Standing Hard Kick •
One of Akuma's best normal moves because of the combo potential and speed. Link into a Crouching Light or Medium Kick after wards which sets up some good combos.

Also following up with this move after an Air Fireball is a good tactic to put pressure on your opponent.

Joystick Joystick Joystick
• Overhead Chop •
Akuma's classic Overhead Chop is back. Hits twice.
Unlocking and Selecting Akuma in the arcade version

To unlock Akuma there are two codes arcade machine owners can enter in the settings.

CPU Akuma: C5HSP3GN
Playable Akuma: CHNB9FGC

After the playable Akuma code has been entered, go to any character on the bottom row and press down or any character on the top row and press up. The cursor will disappear and Akuma will be the selected person.

Street Fighter 4 Abel Combos

Character Overview

Abel is like a cross between Fei Long and Zangief with a bit of Alex thrown in. His EX moves are terrific and some of his normals can set up his opponent for easy juggles.

His Tornado Throw and Marceaux Roll combination can play lots of head games with your opponent. Because of his mobility and a few tricks up his sleeve, Abel is capable of staying on his opponent and not letting off.

• Strengths •

+ Great mobility and speed, for a big guy.
+ Powerful character, moves take off a lot of damage.
+ Can juggle with his Ultra move after a Crouching Hard Punch.
+ Change of Direction is a great attack against mid-level and worse players who don't know how to block it consistently.
+ High stamina (defense) ranking, he can take a beating before he goes down.
+ Great rush down game with his EX-Change of Direction and Marceaux Roll into Tornado Throw.
+ His EX attacks are really, really good.

• Weaknesses •
- Can have a difficult time consistently getting in against turtle characters.
- His anti air options are not good.

Special Moves

Light
150

Medium
155

Hard
160

EX
160

or
or
• Change of Direction (Quick Combo Grapple) •
Think of this move somewhat like Fei Long's Rekka Ken. If the first or second hit lands of the Punch version, any subsequent Punch attacks will combo.

Pressing a Punch button after you do the initial move will do an Overhead Attack, and a Punch again will attempt a high grab that cannot be blocked low.

The Kick versions on the 2nd and 3rd hits must be blocked low and are mostly there to throw your opponent off if they're attempting to block high.

Keep in mind, Kick attacks used at any point with Abel's Change of Direction will NOT combo, but you can combo with a Punch on the third attack after you land a Kick on the second hit.

Also the third hit whether you do it with Punch or Kick is an armor breaking move.

This is a really good attack, but if blocked, any part of this move is open to counter attack, so be very careful with it.

The strength of the button pressed controls the range and damage of the Change of Direction. Hard versions do slightly more damage and have a bit more range, Light do the least damage and have the smallest range.

Also when using this in combos, start the Change of Direction with Medium Punch, because the Hard Punch version has a delay that will often keep it from comboing after other moves, like Crouching Medium Punch.

Light
120

Medium
140

Hard
160

EX
180

• Wheel Kick (Flip Kick) •
*Armor Breaking*
Abel does a flip and sticks his legs out, this must be blocked high. You can cancel into this from some of his normal moves to perform a combo. This move is pretty safe from counter attacks if blocked.

Since Abel's anti air options are limited, this will be one of the main ways you'll be knocking the other fighter out of the air. You need to anticipate the jump in from your opponent though because the animation for this move doesn't get to a hittable state until 20-27 frames after you execute it, and it's only active for 7 frames.

Still, it's priority against jumping characters is very good, and once you learn the proper range and timing, it's effective.

The Kick button pressed determines the distance and power of this attack, and also how many start up frames of animation it has.

• Marceaux Roll •
This is most similar to Ken's roll in Alpha 2. It's pretty quick and it can be used to confuse your opponent. This goes through some moves, but you can be thrown out of it.

And being thrown out of it will be your main problem. You have to use this somewhat sparingly and in the right situations, or you'll be tossed all day long. But this works great to slip through some moves and come right out into your Tornado Throw.

The Kick button used determines the distance Abel travels. Light goes the shortest distance while Hard travels a bit beyond sweep distance.

Some people think this is the best move to use to get behind (cross up) the other fighter, because it comes out so quickly.

A popular cheese tactic after a successful Tornado Throw is to take a step forward and do a Hard Kick Marceaux Roll as the other fighter is standing. You'll end up on the back side of your opponent and in good position to do some more damage.

Light
180

Medium
200

Hard
220

EX
200

• Tornado Throw •
A very, very good command grab, although the range it is a bit less than Zangief's Spinning Piledriver. The Light Punch version has the most range, but does the least damage, Hard Punch is the most damage, least range. Medium Punch is a mix of the two.

Coupled with Abel's Marceaux Roll and Dash, you can cover a lot of ground very quickly to get inside on your opponent and repeatedly throw them.

In Street Fighter 4 a character can be thrown after they've been knocked down the moment they're on their feet after getting up. This is unlike previous Street Fighter games where there was a few moments of invulnerability to throws.

This gives characters with command grabs a whole new set of tricks to pull out, and it makes Abel one powerful rush-down fighter.

This move has 5 frames of startup animation (5/60ths of a second). During this time you can be hit by other attacks, but you're invulnerable to throws. The EX version is invulnerable to being struck, but you can be thrown out of it.

Light
140

Medium
150

Hard
160

EX
160

• Sky Fall (Air Grab) •
Abel will grab an aerial opponent who's close to him and slam them into the ground. Note that Abel's feet do not leave the ground when performing this move.

This works great in combination with his Crouching Hard Punch (Elbow Launcher), easy combo, good damage.

The Light Punch version has the most range, but does the least damage (140). Hard Punch does more damage (160) but has the least range.

EX Moves

Light
150

Medium
155

Hard
160

EX
160

or
or
• EX-Change of Direction (Quick Combo Grapple) •
The EX-Change of Direction can blow through one hit from your opponent and still let you land the resulting attacks. And this fact alone makes this move NASTY.

Most players you fight against will like to throw out random pokes to try and keep Abel off of them. He's always such a threat to get inside and throw them it's usually a smart idea to get some moves out there to impede his progress.

But when you start to see a pattern to your opponent's random pokes, simply blow through them with an EX-Change of Direction to score a 3-hit combo.

This will help keep them more honest and open up more holes in their defense for you to get through and abuse them with.

Also keep in mind this move is much like the normal version in that it can be punished if blocked, so don't overuse it.

Light
120

Medium
140

Hard
160

EX
180

• EX-Wheel Kick (Flip Kick) •
*Armor Breaking*
This move goes through projectiles and it comes out much faster than the normal version, so quickly in fact you can use it on reaction to through fireballs.

Also hits overhead. If your timing is good, you can also use it as an anti air attack. One of Abel's best moves to help him deal with an onslaught on projectiles.

It also hits twice.

• EX-Marceaux Roll •
This acts like the Hard Kick Marceaux Roll, except it has invulnerable frames of animation while it's starting up and you're recovering, but you can still be thrown out of it at any time.

Light
180

Medium
200

Hard
220

EX
200

• EX-Tornado Throw •
This attack offers a few frames of invulnerability which helps Abel counter things that would normally smack him. But it's vulnerable to well-timed throws and has slightly less range than Abel's regular Light Punch Tornado Throw.

And it does less damage than the Hard Punch Tornado Throw, plus you'll be spending an EX bar to use it — so you should be careful when and where you throw it out there. But this doesn't mean it's a bad move. Quite the opposite actually.

Those few frames of invulnerability allow you to grab the other fighter out of moves you normally wouldn't be able to.

This can be key in all too many situations as you deal with pokes and pressure tactics from your opponent. Being able to grab them out of almost any attack — as long as you time it correctly, is huge.

Learning how and when to use this attack as a counter will make you a much better Abel player.

Light
140

Medium
150

Hard
160

EX
160

• EX-Sky Fall (Air Grab) •
This does the same amount of damage as the Hard Punch version, but it offers a few frames of invulnerability. Works a little better than the normal version for anti air, but not much. Has about the same range as the Light Punch Sky Fall.

You won't be using this very often, especially considering Abel has better EX moves.

Super and Ultra Moves

Super
335

Ultra
384-551

• Mushin (Multiple Punches & Head Twirl Throw) •
You can cancel into this move from the first punch of the Change of Direction. Abel will run at his opponent and hit him with his fist multiple times and finish off with a twirl grab and slam.

Considering how good Abel's EX moves are, you'll rarely use this.

• Muga (Ultra Head Twirl Throw) • *Armor Breaking*
Abel runs up to his opponent, punches them, proceeds to do a series of grappling moves and finishes by slamming the other fighter into the ground. This move does a lot of damage, but there's a few frames of start up animation which means that it won't hit instantly after you execute it.

This does go through fireballs though, so you can use it against projectile-happy players.

Combos

• Jumping Medium Kick, Crouching Medium Punch, Cancel into Change of Direction 3x •
An easy yet damaging combo. A great way to punish the other fighter for a missed move.

• Level 3 Focus Attack, Dash Cancel, Crouching Hard Punch, Cancel into Sky Fall (Air Grab) •
You need to Cancel Abel's Crouching Hard Punch on the 2nd hit to land this combo. You can also sub in an EX-Sky Fall which has a bit more range and is not as strict on the timing.

• Jumping Medium Kick, Crouching Medium Punch, Cancel into Medium Punch Change of Direction, Focus Attack Dash Cancel, Crouching Hard Punch, juggle with Ultra •
A pretty good combo, and a great way to land Abel's Ultra.

• Jumping Medium Kick, Crouching Hard Punch, Light Kick Marceaux Roll, juggle with Super •
Takes off about half of your opponent's life. This is a good way to land Abel's Super because you can confirm you've hit and nail them with your Super for big damage.

Normal Moves

Note this is not a complete list of all of Abel's normal moves, just the ones we think are noteworthy.

• Elbow (Launcher) •
An elbow attack that results in two hits with the second one launching your opponent up into the air where you can combo them. It's a lot like Urien's elbow in Street Fighter 3, and can be a solid anti air option if timed correctly.

You can also cancel out of this move on either hit, including into his Super or his Ultra, but the timing is tricky on the latter.

• Towards + Medium Kick •
This is a good attack for putting pressure on your opponent. You can Dash out of it after it lands by tapping towards on the controller. It allows you to close the gap between you and your opponent and potentially hit them with an Elbow Launcher into Skyfall, Tornado Throw, etc.

It's fast, has good range and can be used to punish as well. This is one of Abel's best normal moves.