Date started: 01.01.15
Last revised: 01.3.02, 2002.4.12
Street Fighter 3: The Next Generation
I love SFIII because it takes a lot of technique to be good at it, unlike the “Versus series” where supers can be exectued with a simple QCF + PP/KK and do a lot of damage. The final boss Gil is my favorite Street Fighter boss ever because he is not too easy to beat (unlike “Versus” bosses) and yet is not too easy to beat.
So what kind of game is SFIII? Like SF Turbo and the Alpha series, SFIII is a one-on-one best of three rounds game. The other features of this game are parrying, no air guard (like SF Turbo), dashing (not like a “Versus” dash – a hop), hop attacks, super cancel (cancel select moves into super), and the super arts system. All of these are self-explantory except for parrying and super arts, which will require some explaining. Parrying involves pressing forward or down before getting hit by an attack, which sets up counter attacks. I will discuss further later on in the paper. The super arts system requires each player to choose one and only one super of his/her choice. The choices available depend on which character you choose. Supers vary in gauge length, available number of gauges, damage, priority, and some other differences I will discuss throughout this FAQ.
Here is an outline of the contents of this FAQ:
I. Basics
II. The Characters
III. The Final Boss: Gil
IV. Parrying
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I. Basics
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A. Universal moves:
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Dash: à, à or ß, ß
Be aware that you cannot block during a dash.
Hop attack: \/, \/ + P/K
High jump: \/, /\
Parry: à or \/
Roll (after falling or being thrown): \/
The timing for the roll is to enter down as soon as your character
hits the ground.
Judgment:
When both characters have the same amount of life at the end of the
round, three girls will each give their opinion of who won during the round.
Each girl will hold up a sign with the face of the person they favor.
Double KO: Both characters get a victory.
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B. Victory symbols:
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V: The symbol that appears when a round is won with either a normal move, special move, throw, or time.
S: This symbol appears when an opponent is finished off with a super.
P: This symbol appears when an opponent is finished off with a perfect (took no damage).
C: This symbol appears when an opponent is finished off with chip damage.
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II. My Favorite Characters to use
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My favorite characters to use are Ken, Yun/Yang, Ryu, and Ibuki because they can combo their super easily (except for Ibuki). I don’t like to use the other characters because it is much harder to combo their supers.
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1) Ryu
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I didn’t like Ryu at first because his “stinky foot” move kept killing me. However, I have come to realize that his standing kicks (MK & HK) are hella better than Ken’s and it is much easier to do low parrying and keepaway with Ryu. However, his Shin Shouryuken is hard to combo, making comebacks a little tougher with Ryu than with Ken. His normal moves do a lot of damage though, making him more of a non-super character. Ryu’s Shin Shouryuken can be comboed in limited situations, but don’t expect to use it as your main offense.
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Colors:
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LP: MP: blue-gray dougi w/ blue headband
LK: MK: white dougi w/ blue headband
My favorite is the MK color. I don’t like the other colors.
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Normal moves:
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S. HK
Ryu does an axe kick that looks like Ken’s 2 hit axe kick except that
it is much faster.
This is Ryu’s best move – I use it for air defense, keep away, and
attacking after a parry. It can be comboed afterwards, but who cares
– this move is excellent keep away.
Sakotsu Wari: à + MP
Ryu punches downward for 2 hits. This move comes out very fast
but is short range. This move can only be blocked standing.
Stinky foot: HCF + K
Ryu turns and does a side kick. This move has very bad recovery
time. It does do a lot of damage though.
I hate this move! Doing this move out of nowhere has killed me
so many times.
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Supers:
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Shinkuu Hadoken:
Ryu throws a fast 5-hit Hadoken.
Although this is Ryu’s trademark super, it is not that good in this
game. It cannot be comboed that easily, doesn’t do enough damage,
the bar is huge, and only one bar can be built up. I suppose the
one good point of this super is that it can punish anyone who throws a
projectile, but if your opponent is smart and doesn’t throw a projectile,
this super is pretty much useless.
Shin Shouryuken:
At close range, Ryu does a 3-hit Shouryuken that does about 40% damage.
If the first hit completely misses, Ryu does a weak 5-hit Shouryuken.
This is Ryu’s best super because of its invulnerability factor
and damage. Most humans also pick this super.
Denjin Hadoken:
Ryu throws a electrical Hadoken that builds the opponents stun bar.
The longer you hold the button, the more it will stun.
I don’t use this super cuz it doesn’t really do any damage. The
only time it’s good is if the opponent’s stun bar is high
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Combos:
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1. C. MK à Hadoken
This combo works well, but if you enter the QCF motion too early, Ryu
will do the “stinky foot” attack, which leave Ryu very open. Because
of this mess up move, I try to avoid going for this combo as much as possible.
2. S. MP à Hadoken
3. Close range S. MK à Hadoken
4. Close range S. MK à HK Tatsumaki Senpuukyaku
This combo does very good damage. I use this combo a lot after
blocking Gil’s charge.
5. Low parry, S. HK
I go for this combo a lot. I do the low parry when I am in the
sweep range of the opponent.
6. High parry, S. HK
I go for this combo when the opponent is slightly out of range.
7. Low parry, close range S. MK à Hadoken à Shin Shouryuken
This is one of the ways I like to link the Shin Shouryuken.
8. C. HP à HP Hadoken à Shin Shouryuken
Make sure you visually see the C. HP come out before cancelling.
9. HP Shouryuken à Shin Shouryuken
I use this combo on Gil after blocking his charge move.
10. (into corner) Shin Shouryuken, HP Hadoken
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2) Ken
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Ken is the first player I mastered and is my best character along with Yun/Yang. I like Ken because he can combo his supers easily and has good non-super combos. His normal moves are also very good. Compared to Ryu, he doesn’t do as much damage but is a little quicker. Furthermore, Ken’s moves aren’t as good for keepaway.
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Supers:
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Shinryuken: QCF, QCF + K (2 gauge)
Ken does a Shouryuken that flies straight up into the air.
When the K is rammed, it does a maximum of 16 hits for 30% damage.
This super is invulnerable and has huge suction range.
This is my favorite super for Ken because it can be comboed easily
(super cancel a Hadoken and Shouryuken), be used as anit-air, has huge
suction range, is invincible, and you can have 2 of them. There have
been games where I thought I would lose but pulled off 2 Shinryuken to
make a huge comeback. This is one of the most versatile supers in
the game, if not the most versatile.
For more detail, please refer to my Ken FAQ.
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3) Yun/Yang
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Basically, Yun is the Wolverine of Street Fighter 3 – he is quick, has an excellent jump-in (dive kick), a good standard combo, and good supers. He also an excellent, long reaching sweep. To win with Yun, you need to go offensive and cancel the standard combo into any super. Keep in mind that Yun has bad defense.
I started using Yang on 00.12.14. When I can pull off his super consistently, I can win rounds the fastest with Yang. However, I have a lot of trouble doing the super facing left. I like using Yang because of his moves and Genei Jin. I think the Genei Jin juggle looks hella cool.
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Supers:
==============
Tenshin Senkyutai: long range, projectile counter, very easy to combo
Genei-jin: super bar is insanely tiny, does 30% damage, easy to combo
Tenshin Senkyutai is Yun’s most versatile super, while Genei-Jin looks the coolest, does the most damage, and builds up faster than any super in the game. I don’t like Sourai-Rengeki cuz it only does 10% damage.
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4) Ibuki
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I don’t know why, but I like Ibuki for some reason. I started using her because I was tired of Ken. However, of the characters I can use, I am the worst with Ibuki. She does little damage and takes a ton. I have a very hard time winning with her – I was jumping for joy the first time I beat the whole game with her after $10 of trying.
Advantages
So what’s the best way to win with her? I usually play hit and
run with her. If they’re far away, I throw a Kunai or do a Hien (stomp
kick) to lure them. If they’re in mid-range, I sweep them.
If they’re at close range, I do a 2-hit combo cancelled with a Tsumuji
(fast roundhouses) or a Raida. I use Kasumi-Suzaku to chip and Hashin-Sho
to cancel 2-hit combos. I haven’t figured out a good, consistent
way to use Yoroi-Doushi.
Disadvantages
Although the above sounds simple, there are a lot of disadvantages
Ibuki has that gets in the way of winning with her. Other than being
weak, Ibuki also does not have good anti-air attacks. Her options
are S. MP, S. HK, and Kaza-Kiri, which must be done early or she will get
beat. Those options suck compared to Ken’s S. HP, which will win
most of the time, if not tie (I’ll be making a lot of comparisons to Ken,
since he is my best character). Ibuki’s combo reliability is also
not very good – although her punch combos work well, they have bad range.
Her kicks have better range, but don’t combo if the opponent is too far
away. Furthermore, Ibuki’s main combos are standing - her only
crouching combo leaves her vulnerable if it doesn’t connect. Another
thing to note about Ibuki is that she has very short throw range.
==============
Colors:
==============
LP: MP: HP: gray & red
LK: MK: HK: blue
My favorite color is blue. I don’t like the other colors.
==============
Normal moves:
==============
à + S. MK:
Ibuki hops forward while doing an axe kick. This attack cannot
be blocked crouching.
I like to use this move for offensive pressure because it goes over
sweeps and has good recovery.
à + S. HK:
Ibuki hops while doing the splits.
Although this move goes over sweeps, she is vulnerable if it doesn’t
connect.
Slide: C. MK
This move sucks cuz nothing can combo after this and Ibuki is
left wide open to hurt. It will go underneath Gil’s fireball, however,
which is kind of cool.
C. HK:
This sweep comes out very fast and has almost no recovery time.
==============
Special moves:
==============
Raida: HCB + P
Ibuki grabs the opponent and sends a powerful punch into the opponent’s
side.
This move does a lot of damage.
Kubi-ori: HCF + P
Ibuki slides on the ground. If it connects, she twists the opponent’s
neck.
This move is good for getting vulnerable opponents that are falling.
Make sure that it connects, or Ibuki will be left vulnerable. This
move can also go underneath fireballs.
Tsumuji: QCB + K, K/ \/ + K
Kunai: QCF + P (in the air)
This hardly does any damage, so I just use it to get turtlers
to come close to me.
Hien: Backwards DP + K
The LK version is very close range, the MK goes about half the
screen, and the HK goes about ¾ of the screen.
This move can be cancelled with a Kunai and Kasumi-suzaku.
Kaza-kiri: DP + K
This move can be cancelled into a super art.
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Supers:
==============
Compared to Ken’s supers, Ibuki’s supers aren’t the easiest to use.
Kasumi-Suzaku is very weak; even if it combos, it does very little damage.
I use it for mainly for chip damage, but even then, you have to position
it precisely or it won’t do jack for chip. Hashin-Sho does a decent
amount of damage, builds up quickly, and can be used as a counter.
For example, this super will nail Ryu & Ken after they’ve thrown a
fireball at close range, whether or not it hit. But most of the time,
you’ll have to combo this in a close standing combo. Furthermore,
make sure the opponent is completely on the ground when you do this super,
or only a few hits will get in. And make sure this super hits, or
Ibuki will be left wide open to damage. I have no idea how to combo
Yoroi-Doushi effectively – sure, it does a lot of damage, but if I can’t
get it to connect, it’s useless. It does do good chip damage, but
if I wanted to chip, I would have just picked Kasumi-Suzaku, which is much
easier to build up.
Kasumi-Suzaku does very little damage but builds up fast and
does good chip damage. Hashin-Sho can be comboed or can counter mistakes
from midrange distance. Yoroi-doushi does a ton of damage, but can
only connect at close range. Hashin-sho and Yoroi-doushi can cancel
the Kaza-kiri.
Kasumi-suzaku: QCF, QCF + P (in the air), hit P rapidly. 2 small
bars
Ibuki throws a lot of kunai in a diagonally down direction.
Without ramming the buttons, it does 15 hits. If you ram the punches,
it will do 20 hits.
This super can be comboed off of the foot stomp as long as it
is cancelled early. However, even if it hits, it does not do much
damage. This super should be used more like Blackheart’s air Judgment
Day - to chip at the opponent. Because it builds up so fast, the
chip potential should be pretty good. As soon as I get two bars,
I throw a super just to chip. Just be careful about the positioning
– if you’re not at a high enough and steep enough angle, the opponent will
barely get chipped. I like to chip after a knockdown. If the
opponent is not in the corner, all the hits won’t get in because s/he will
get hit back.
Hashin-sho: QCF, QCF + P, 2 small bars
Ibuki rushes forward and does a 6 hit combo.
Although this super is kinda weak, it can be followed up with
a HK Kazakiri and builds up very fast. It can also be comboed off
any normal move except the sweep. This super is also very fast –
it can nail Ryu and Ken after blocking their Hadoken at close range.
The only problem is that if you don’t connect you will be left very vulnerable.
Yoroi-doushi: QCF, QCF + P, 1 huge bar
Ibuki does a Raida that ends with a ball the size of Chun’s Kikosho
from the VS series. If Ibuki grabs the opponent, it does 2 hits and
40% damage. If Ibuki does not grab the opponent, it does about 12
hits and very little damage. If the super is blocked, it will push
the opponent far away from Ibuki.
Although this super can do a lot of damage, you have to be very
close in order to get the maximum damage. It can also only combo
off of the MP. It is good for chip damage though, and although she
is vulnerable afterwards, not many characters can punish her from such
a far distance.
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Combos:
==============
1. S. LP à MP/HP Raida
2. S. LP, S. MP à HP Raida
This is Ibuki’s most powerful combo without a super art.
3. S. LK, S. MK à MK Tsumuji
This combo doesn’t always connect because the LK and MK that come out
aren’t always close range. However, it is safe if it is blocked.
4. C. HK, S. HK (2 hits), S. MP/S. HK
The last hit will get in only if the second HK was the front kick version,
which only comes out as close range.
5. S. HP, C. HK, S. HK
6. (at close range) Low parry, S. MK à Tsumuji
7. (against jump-in) Parry, S. MK à Tsumuji
8. High/low parry, S. LK
I do this to keep the opponent away.
9. à + MK, Low parry, S. MK
This is a good way to get close the opponent safely.
10. Hien à MP Kunai
I don’t throw the HP Kunai because it can be dashed underneath too
easily.
11. Hien à Kasumi-suzaku
Hien sets up the Kasumi-suzaku perfectly.
12. Kunai à Kasumi-suzaku
I always try to throw the Kunai first in case I mess up entering the
super. I use this combo when I want to chip at the opponent.
13. S. LP, S. MP (1 hits) à C. HK, Tsumuji, or Hashin-sho
You have to cancel the MP extremely fast, so I usually don’t try for
this combo.
14. S. LK, S. MK à Hashin-sho
15. S. LP à Hashin-sho, HK Kazagiri
16. C. MP à Yoroi-doushi
This is the only way I know how to link this super art.
17. C. MK à Hashin-sho, Yoroi-doushi
You have to cancel the C. MK right away – you don’t have time to confirm
if it hit or not. This is probably best for falling opponents.
18. à + MK, C. HK
This is not a true combo, but is good against humans because it is
messes up their block direction. I do this combo after a sweep cuz
Ibuki can get jump attacked during her hop.
19. C. LK, C. LK, C. HK
This isn’t a true combo either, but it pushes the opponent away.
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VS Ryu/Ken:
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The Shotokaners give me a hella hard time when I use Ibuki. Although it is cheap, I use a one pattern strategy that the computer falls for pretty well. When the Shotokaner is on the ground, I just do a S. LK. As soon as I see the opponent jump, I do the S. MP immediately. The reason why I use this strategy is because my typical strategies seem to be ineffective against the Shotokaners – if I miss a parry against a jump-in, I take a ton of damage; if I do Hien I get Dragon punched out of the sky.
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VS Gil:
==============
Charge:
S. LK, S. MK à HP Raida
Head stomp:
Parry both hits, S. LK, S. MK à HP Raida
Missed Axe kick:
S. HK
Jump-in:
Parry, S. MK à Tsumuji
Resurrection:
· à + MK
· Tsumuji?
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III. The Other Characters
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5) Dudley
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Dudley is a close range combo fighter whose attacks are all punches. Because his attacks have short range, you have to get close to do maximum damage. He has some nice long combos (3-4 hits), has okay air defense (Jet Uppercut), and has decent supers. He does not have good crouching combos. Basically, if you want to do long, close range punch combos, Dudley is your man. I have pretty much given up on Dudley because it is too hard to combo his super and his supers don’t even do that much damage if it connects.
==============
Colors:
==============
HK: white shirt, white pants
This is the only color I like.
==============
Normal moves:
==============
All of Dudley’s moves are punches. The punch buttons do straights, while the kick buttons do hooks.
S. MP:
Dudley does a fast straight that has decent range.
I like to use this for keepaway.
S. HP:
Dudley does a straight that reaches farther than the S. MP.
This has bad startup and bad delay.
C. HK:
Dudley swings both of his arms at ankle level, sweeping the opponent.
This move has slow startup and bad recovery.
==============
Special moves:
==============
Jet Uppercut: DP + P
Dudley does an uppercut.
This move can be cancelled into a super art.
==============
Supers:
==============
His supers can only cancel the Jet Uppercut.
Rocket Uppercut: QCF, QCF + P. 2 big bars
Dudley does a LP Jet Uppercut, MP Jet Uppercut, and HP Jet Uppercut.
This super does 12 hits.
I like to use this super the most because it cancels the Jet
Upper nicely.
Rolling Thunder: QCF, QCF + K. 1 huge bar
Duddley does a bunch of punches while ducking.
I don’t use this super because it doesn’t look cool.
Corkscrew Blow: QCF, QCF + P. 3 medium bars
Dudley does a corkscrew straight while charging forward a short
distance. LP travels the shortest distance, while HP travels the
farthest distance.
==============
Combos:
==============
1. S. LK, S. MK, S. MP, S. HP (2 hits)
2. S. MK, S. HK, S. HP
3. Jet Upper à Rocket Uppercut
This combo will also on airborne opponents.
4. (into corner) C. HK, S. HP, MK Ducking Upper, Rocket Uppercut
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6) Sean
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Because Sean is Ken’s student, his moves are similar to Ken. However, unlike Ken, he does not have a Hadoken and some of his moves also tend to leave him vulnerable if blocked. Don’t ask me about his fighting style cuz I don’t know how to use him.
Supers:
All of Sean’s supers are decent; however, supers can only cancel the uppercut move. Hado-burst is like Shinkuu Hadoken except weaker, faster, and can hold 3 bars. Shouryu Cannon is like Shouryu Reppa except that it juggles more. Just like Shinryuken, you need to ram the buttons (punches) to do max damage. Hyper Tornado is a rush-up super.
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7) Elena
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Put simply, Elena is a keepaway character. Her combos really suck – it’s all about keeping the opponent away with her long kicks.
Supers:
She can combo 2 of her supers off the Uppercut kick, but there is not many opportunities for that. The Healing can be used anytime.
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8) Alex
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To win with Alex, you need to poke with your long reaching attacks and throw the opponent. Parrying is very useful because it will set up his throws. It’s okay to trade hits with Alex cuz he does a lot of damage and takes little.
Supers:
Hyper Bomb: most powerful super
Hyper Bomb is the most powerful super in the game, easily doing half life damage.
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9) Oro
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I really can’t say much about this guy because I don’t know how to use him. The people I’ve seen use him just do this one launch combo all day because it builds the stun bar fast. They also used Yagyou-dama to chip and/or mess up their block direction. I don’t use him cuz I don’t want to do the same old combo all day like everyone else.
Yagyou-Dama: Does 4 hits.
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10) Necro
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This guy is basically the Dhalism of this game. Use his long arms and legs and keep the opponent away.
Supers:
Use the twirling arms to set up his supers.
===============================================================
IV. The Final Boss: Gil
===============================================================
The things that set Gil apart from everyone is that he does hella damage,
can do good multi-hitting block damage, all of his HP and HK attacks do
chip damage, and his moves have very high priority. His Resurrection
super brings him to full life unless he is hit during the super.
Although Gil is powerful, he does have 3 vulnerabilities that can be
taken advantage of: 1) He takes a lot of damage, 2) he does not attack
low very often, and 3) he does a charge attack that leaves him very open
to any kind of combo.
I got my main strategy to fight Gil from watching other people.
This involves walking backwards the whole time and counter what Gil does.
This strategy works well because Gil rarely does low attacks and this prevents
getting hit by his fast axe attack, which can only be blocked standing.
After knocking Gil down with any attack, I jump backwards so I can
get out of the range of his charge. Otherwise, he will get a free
30% damage.
Charge attack:
This move does about 30% damage. This move can only be blocked
if you against the corner or if the move did not reach you. This
is why you should walk backwards into the corner when possible against
Gil.
The vulnerability of this move is that it leave Gil open to damage
for a split second. This is where I get most of my damage against
Gil.
· S. MP, S. HP à HK Tatsumaki Senpuukyaku: does 25% damage
and builds up the stun bar a lot. Two of these combos will build
up 95% of Gil’s stun bar. Don’t forget to low parry after the Spinkick.
· MP Shouryuken à super: I go for this combo whenever
I have a bar. It is the best way to combo a super against Gil.
Don’t do the HP Shouryuken because it won’t come out in time.
· Shinryuken or Shouryu Reppa: Whichever super you do, you have
to do it super fast. To be safer, I usually just combo any super
with a MP Shouryuken. Shinryuken does 40% damage.
· HK throw into corner, Shipuu Jinrai Kyaku
Stomp attack:
Sometimes Gil makes it obvious that he is going to do this move by
hopping backwards. During that time, you can decide to do a dragon
punch, walk underneath him, etc.
· HP Shouryuken: if he did it from far away and obvious.
· walk behind and HP Shouryuken à Shinryuken. He
can’t block it if he’s still in the air doing his dumb stomp. This
is your best option if Gil makes it obvious and you have a super bar.
· Shinryuken: I usually don’t try this unless I’m ready for
it.
· Block the double hit stomp, throw a HP Hadoken
· Parry both hits, D. C. MK à Hadoken/Shouryuken à
Shinryuken. This will work if Gil landed close to Ken.
· Parry both hits, D. C. MK à HK Spinkick. I do
this combo when I don’t have a super bar. As far as I know, these
are the most powerful combos that will work. Standing combos are
harder to time because Gil doesn’t land right away.
· HP: Don’t use the HP as anti-air for any jump-in Gil does
cuz you’ll just tie at best.
Normal jump:
· Parry, S. HP à Hadoken: I always do this cuz it’s another
way to prevent block damage, build up your bar, and do damage.
· Block it
· Shinryuken: if you’re fast enough.
· Shouryuken: it will tie at best, so don’t do it.
· HP: no
High jump:
· HP Shouryuken: This is the best counter, but only do it when
it will hit.
· Parry, S. HP à Hadoken. The timing is a little
harder though because you have to wait for a long time. It’s better
to do the HP Shouryuken.
· Shinryuken: I usually don’t do this because it only does half
damage. I’d rather save my super for another opportunity where Gil
will suck full damage.
· HP: no
Double fireball:
· Parry it: this is your best option. If you can’t parry
both hits, try to parry at least one of the hits.
· Block it: I usually do this when Gil throws at close range.
· S. HP: only if he threw the diagonal upward one and he’s right
next to you
(missed) Axe kick:
S. HP.
Resurrection:
Gil recovers all of his life after dying once. Gil can only do
this super once a round, and after he uses it, he cannot build up his super
bar.
Once I’ve killed him, I dash at Gil in order to get as close to him
as I can. As soon as the super starts, I do the HK Spinkick from
a walking forward position. I walk forward before doing the move
because that way it is more likely I won’t mess up the move if I do a half
circle than just a QCF.
==============
Ryu
==============
Charge:
· S. MK à HK Tatsumaki Senpuukyaku
· HP Shouryuken à Shin Shouryuken
Head stomp:
· Parry both hits, dash, C. HP à HP Hadoken à
Shin Shouryuken
· Block, HP Hadoken: this will hit over half the time
Jump-in:
Parry, S. HP à Hadoken
Resurrection:
HK Tatsumaki Senpuukyaku
===============================================================
V. Strategies
===============================================================
Here are some basic strategies that apply to all character in general.
1) Parry projectiles
Not only does that nullify block damage, but it also builds up your
power bar. Once the opponent realizes that you’re just building up
your bar, he’ll go on the offensive. This is also a good technique
to know when you are low on life and can’t afford to take any damage.
2) Don’t jump
In general, it’s best to stay on the ground whenever possible.
The times it is safe to jump are countering another jump, jumping over
a fireball, running away to the corner, and going for a combo when the
opponent is vulnerable. Even if you can air parry fairly well, the
only other times you should jump is when your opponent is better than you
on the ground or time is running out and you need to get close to your
opponent to do damage.
3) Wait for the opponent to jump and counter
Because no one can block in the air, you can usually hit your opponent
as long as you do the right move on time. I usually like to wait
for the opponent to jump at me and pull off a Shinryuken, which very few
people can parry completely.
4) Use the HK for characters just out of combo range
I throw the HK when my C. MK will not reach or the MK à Hadoken
didn’t connect. However, make sure the HK at least makes contact
or you’ll be left very vulnerable.
5) Throw after knockdowns
If the opponent is really close to you after he knocks you down, throw
his ass. By close, I mean so close that if you hit the buttons while
pressing à, you can throw their ass unless they’re doing a super.
It’s better than just sitting there cuz they could do the attacks that
are unblockable ducking. Some of them (like Ryu’s and Dudley’s) are
really fast and hard to switch guards in time. Ken’s throws have
good range, so it’s worth going for.
6) Don’t throw the Hadoken out of nowhere
Be very careful when you throw the Hadoken because if the opponent
jumps over it, you’ll open to lots of hurt. Shinkuu Hadoken, Alex’s
jump and dizzy super, and Yun/Yang’s kick super will also nail Ken.
It’s safest to throw it in a combo or after a knockdown.
7) When your opponent is in the corner
Don’t, I repeat, don’t throw a close Hadoken when your opponent is
in the corner! Even if they get hit by it, Ken will be left vulnerable
for lots of pain. I have Shinryukened people who have done this.
Many other combos and supers can get him too. Instead, so the hop
attack or something that does not have delay.
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VI. Parrying
===============================================================
Although parrying is the most unique and coolest feature of Street Fighter 3, it is also the hardest technique to master. After a couple years of playing off and on, I’ve finally started to get the hang of it, which tells you how difficult mastering parrying can be.
Benefits of parrying
Parrying is blocking your opponent’s attack by pressing forward (à) or down ( \/ ). The unique features of blocking an opponent’s attack by parrying are:
1) It completely nullifies block damage
2) Allows your character to counter immediately when it would otherwise
be impossible to counter
3) It builds up the super bar while giving none to your opponent
4) Allows your character to block in the air.
Although it may not seem that necessary to master, parrying can set
up supers nicely. It is very cool to show off you can parry because
it’s a technique that requires hella good skill and timing. One of
the signs of a master SF3 player is one who can parry everything, especially
multi-hitting supers. And not to mention that it is cool to show
off that you can parry!
The downside to parrying is that if you mess up, you get hit.
This downside makes parrying very difficult to learn. Why?
Because for every mess up, you will lose life, which leads to losing more
battles, then wasting money, and getting discouraged to the point you may
even want to give up learning parrying. So if you want to learn parrying,
you should try to master one stage of parrying at a time. Here are
the stages I went through to master parrying, from the simplest to master
to the most difficult to master (at least for me).
1) Parrying types
Before mastering any type of parrying, it is important to know what
kinds of parrying there are. There are four types of parrying in
SF3. On the ground, there is standing parrying (à) and low
parrying ( \/ ). Standing parrying (à) parries jump-in attacks
and any ground attack that can only be blocked while ducking. Low
parrying ( \/ ) blocks all ground attacks except for the ones that can
only be blocked standing (hop attack, Ken’s Inanzuma Kakato Otoshi, etc.).
In the air, both forward parrying and downward parrying block any type
of attacks. Forward parrying pushes your character away from the
attack, while downward parrying allows your character to fall straight
down from the attack. Forward parrying (à) should be done
to get away from multi-hitting anti-air attacks (uppercuts and supers)
while downward parries ( \/ ) should be used when you want to counter your
opponent immediately.
All I can say is don’t try to learn parrying at first by trying to
parry everything. Start by parrying single hit attacks then move
up.
2) Parrying fireballs (while on the ground)
Fireballs are what I learned to parry first. If you are a beginner,
this is the parrying you should try to master first. What I mean
by fireballs is single hits projectiles, not super projectiles like Shinkuu
Hadoken. Also, it is easiest to parry fireballs if they are thrown
from far away, which gives you time to prepare for it. I’ve pretty
much got down parrying fireballs, but if it’s close range, I usually don’t
risk it cuz it’s harder to get the timing.
3) Parrying jump-in attacks (while on the ground)
To parry jump-in attacks, wait until the opponent is in the range that
his/her attacks will reach you and then press the lever forward.
I don’t wait to see the attack come out because it may be too late by then.
Depending on the character, the timing will be different.
Once you get that down, the combo I like to do is with Ken is S. HP
à HP Hadoken.
4) Parrying in the air
The key to parrying in the air is patience - wait until the last second
and then press the joystick when your character is about to run into your
opponent. Otherwise, it will be too early and you’ll get hit out
of the sky. I try to parry with the mentality that I’m trying to
hit my opponent with my parry. When I attempt to air parry with this
mentality, I am successful over 50% of the time. If you’re not going
to reach the opponent, try to think of the longest attack the opponent
can throw at you and parry when you think it can hit. If the opponent
jumps at you, just parry the instant your opponent is about to run into
your character. If the opponent is jumping at you, it’s most likely
that they’re going to attack you.
After parrying an anti-air attack, as soon as I land I do a C. MK à
LP Hadoken or sweep. Right now, I’m only doing forward parries; the
downward parry should work the same way too.
5) Multiple parries
Multiple parrying is parrying a multiple hit attack. To parry
multiple hits, let the joystick go back to neutral after every parry.
To make sure the joystick goes neutral after each parry, I completely let
go of the joystick after each parry. This has increased my chances
of parrying multi-hit attacks drastically. DO NOT RUSH IT!
What I mean by rushing is just pressing the lever multiple times like crazy.
If you do, it won’t work. Remember, each character can only do one parry
for each grunt, so if you enter the joystick for more than that rate, the
parry will not work. Always make sure that the joystick has returned
to neutral after each parry.
Multiple parrying takes a lot of practice – I still cannot parry any
multi-hit supers completely. I would suggest first practicing multi-parrying
against Gil’s fireball, which is what I mastered first. The key to
parrying both hits of Gil’s fireball is to not rush the second hit.
I did my first multi-parry ever by parrying Gil’s fireball’s first hit
with a forward parry (à) and then a downward parry ( \/ ).
The reason why I didn’t do two forward parries is that I don’t put the
joystick into neutral after the first parry. By parrying downward
on the second hit, I’m forced to put the joystick into neutral because
that’s the natural way to do a downward parry. However, as long as
you enter the next parry after you completely let go of the joystick, forward
parries will work easier; this is the case for me right now. The
patient strategy to parrying works well for most attacks, so this is what
should be mastered first.
There are some attacks for which doing patient parrying will not work.
These attacks are Shinkuu Hadoken and Oro’s Yagou-dama. Remember,
although you have to rush these parries, it still does not change the fact
that the joystick has to go neutral each time.
Ken says, “Huh!” on the ground and “Funh!” in the air.
6) Low parrying
Finally, after getting some advice from an expert, I’ve figured out
the key to low parrying. As my guide book says, you have to enter
the parry command in anticipation - it is too late to do the parry after
seeing the attack. As the expert told me, he just did a low parry
and did a combo right afterwards. This makes a lot of sense because
even if you parry in perfect anticipation, if you don’t attack right away
you just waste the parry.
This is my opinion, but although the above mentality to low parrying
works, it doesn’t mean you should low parry before every single attack
you do. Just low parry when you’re in range of a crouching attack.
For example, I’ve tried low parrying when I’m walking toward the opponent,
but there is just too much joystick motion involved that it messes up my
fighting style.
Another thing to keep in mind is what kind of attack you want to do
after doing a low parry. Right now, I can only counter with standing
attacks cuz I can’t do crouching attacks in time. Ken’s standing
attacks aren’t that great; I’m trying the S. MK and S. MP, S. HP right
now. The problem with the S. MK is that it goes over some characters’
heads and it doesn’t hit. And if the opponent didn’t attack, the
S. MK kinda leaves Ken open to attack.
Here are the best times to low parry with Ken:
· After connecting with the Tatsumaki Senpuukyaku. If the
opponent doesn’t attack, oh well, I build up my super bar and just walk
away safely.
· After a knowdown, sweep, or throw.
· After doing an attack that was blocked or missed. I
then walk away to gain distance from the opponent.
First, I practice low parrying by just pressing down and doing a standing
attack. Once I got used to it, then I started doing a C. HK.
I plan to do the C. MK next so I can combo a super art.
Doing a crouching attack after a low parry is the best strategy because
if the opponent doesn’t attack, you will do the hop attack, which is fast,
hard to block correctly, does a lot of damage, and can combo afterwards.
Standing counters are good after a low parry only if your characters
has a safe standing attack. A safe attack that must forces a crouching
opponent to block it, doesn’t leave your character vulnerable, and has
decent reach. Ken’s standing attacks are too short or leave him vulnerable,
so they aren’t that good to use after a low parry. A super art also
cannot combo well after his standing attacks.
My parrying record
Here are the attacks I can parry:
· normal projectiles consistently (Ryu, Ken, Oro, Ibuki)
· Both hits of Gil’s fireball.
· Gil’s double head stomp.
· Maximum 3 hits of Shinkuu Hadoken and Oro’s Yagyou-dama.
· 1 hit of Shinryuken in the air.
· Oro’s 2-hit head stomp
· 2 hits of Oro’s jump-in while he had Tengu-seki activated.
· Sean’s Ryubi Kyaku.
· Maximum 2 hits of Sean’s Tornado kick. I still miss
the 1st hit a lot though.
· Sean’s Sean Tackle once.
· All 6 hits of Dudley’s rushing punches twice, and 5 hits a
lot of times. This is my best multi-hit parry ever. I still
miss the 1st hit a lot though and can’t get the last hit except for one
time.
· 1 hit of Dudley’s Super Rocket Upper and Corkscrew Blow.
· Dudley’s charge punch.
· 1 hit of Elena’s down kick.
· I hit of Elena’s Spinning Beat.
· Maximum 2 hits of Brave Dance.
· Ibuki’s stomp attack (2 hits) once.
· 1 hit of Ibuki’s stomp attack while jumping, both hits once.
· 1 parry of Ibuki’s Kasumi Suzaku.
· Yun’s LK Rolling kick (2 hits).
· I can parry jump-in attacks over half of the time, which still
needs some work.
· I’m starting to get the hang of parrying in the air with the
lever forward.
· I can’t do low parries, although I’ve done it couple times
by accident.
Tossed versions:
really like this game because it is a difficult game to master – the supers are harder to do, it’s a challenge to master parrying, and the final boss always gives me a tough time. It’s not like the VS games, where the supers are easy to do and do a lot of damage, and the final bosses are all lame. It’s just more rewarding to win at this game because it’s harder than the VS games I usually play. I’m getting better at this game, but I’m still far away from being an expert. Until I can master parrying and doing supers without canceling special moves, I can’t say I’m an expert. I also like how the Shouryuken is useful again because there is no air blocking. Yeah! No more “block the Shouryuken” and then kill the guy like in the VS series. This is the only non-VS game in which I can actually do double-fireball supers decently. The graphics are okay.
Shinryuken has helped me to win many battles. The problem with Ken is that he has trouble against characters that are good at keepaway. Ken’s standing kick moves, which are his longest range attacks, don’t cut it because they leaves him too vulnerable. However, if the opponent has better reach than Ken, unless you low parry Ken’s moves just won’t hit. I have not mastered low parrying to the point that I can counter with low moves, so this is a serious problem for me.
At least for me, Ibuki is a very hard character to win with. Although she is quick, she is weak and does little damage. To do damage with Ibuki, you need to do close range standing combos. The Tsumuji (roundhouses) should be used to chip in combos, while her fast sweep should be used to trip opponents that are at midrange. Low parrying would help to get those close range combos to connect.
Here is brief, general overview of the 10 characters in this game.
I will discuss all of the characters, but will only go into detail for
the characters I like to use (Ken, Yun/Yang, Ryu, and Ibuki), who I will
also discuss first.
who are admit most are just plain weird.
I think they are the most well-rounded characters in the game
because they have the best crouching combos, good anti-airs, and most versatile
normal moves. I will often compare the other characters to these
two implicitly, if not explicitly.
Personally, I like the characters that can combo their supers easily. My favorite supers are Shinryuken, Genei-jin, and Tenshin Senkyutai. Here is a little chart to help you decide which characters to use:
Most powerful supers:
Damage Bars
1. Hyper Bomb (Alex) 50% 1 humongous bar
2. Shin Shouryuken (Ryu) 40% 1 humongous bar
3. Yoroi-doushi (Ibuki) 40% 1 huge bar
4. Shinryuken (Ken) 30% 2 huge bars
Most versatile supers:
Normal moves Special moves
1. Shinryuken (Ken) all except S. MK, all
HK
air defense, invulnerable, excellent combo potential, 4th strongest
super
2. Tenshin Senkyutai (Yun) S. punches Hakkei, MK Senkyutai
Excellent combo potential, full screen, projectile counter, 15-25%
damage
3. Shipuu Jinraikyaku all except S. MK, all
HK
Assured combo off of Hadoken, 2 small bars, 15% damage