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Sailor Moon Super S, or How to break a game in 5 minutes
So you've seen the video, and you're wondering to yourself....holy shit, how does that work? Well due to the fairly large influx of emails and other messages I've recieved, I figured that it was time I let you in on how this character breaks this fairly decent fighting game for Super Famicom.
First we have to get all the annotations out of the way regarding this title so you can follow along with all of my termonology about how shit works. There are two sets of punches, two sets of kicks, a back dash, and special moves that are performed(for the most part) just like in any other fighting game. From here on out we will denote the attacks as follows:
Movement
Back = b
Down = d
Forward = f
Up = u
Various combinations of movements will be noted together (such as uf = up+forward, or db = down+back)
Attacks
Weak Punch = wp
Weak Kick = wk
Fierce Punch = fp
Fierce Kick = fk
Ducking attack = Holding down and pressing an attack. A "d." will appear before the move (example: d.fk = ducking fierce kick) in a combo
Jumping attack = Any attack performed after your character is airborne. Usually "uf + attack" denotes that it's a jumping attack, and most combo starters are jumping attacks.
Advanced Movements
Back Dashing = Tap backwards twice quickly (works with all characters). Dashing = Tap forward twice quickly (only with Sailor Moon/Sailor Uranus). Will be shown as (dash) when used in a combo
Half Circle Forward = hcf
Half Circle Backwards = hcb
360 Throw = 360degree motion + either kick button
360 Throw (shortcut variation) = hcb,uf + either kick button (far more reliable, easier to pull off for novices)
Uranus' Special Moves
F,DF,D + either punch (sliding the pad/rotating the stick from forward to down)
360 Throw (noted above)
QCF + either punch (like Ryu's "hadoken")
Uranus' Super Move
HCB,HCF + FK
Ok, now that you understand this part(it should be common knowledge by now if you've read any other fighting game forums/faqs), we need to get to the specifics.
Chain Combos:
Example: wp,wk,d.fp
Much like the original Street Fighters (which this is a clone of), this game allows characters to chain moves together if done at the right interval. Each character has their own set of chain combos and nothing is universal in this game (some might be shared, but nothing is shared by all). Keep in mind that this is NOT like MvC2 or the Darkstalkers series. These chain combos take practice to perfect, and are not user friendly at first.
Back Dash Canceling (BDC for short):
Example: Block an attack, then tap b,b (quickly) to dash backwards.
Example 2: If your attack connects or is blocked, tap b,b (quickly) to dash backwards.
In this game you can backdash with ANY normal character as a move connects with your blocking animation (or even if one of your own moves is blocked and/or connects). This technique allows characters with slower moves or long range type attacks to block an attack/special move, dash backwards to a safe distance, and then cancel out of said dash into their own special move/normal move/etc. Quite usefull for normal play, and very abusable by anyone with high level knowledge of fighters.
Forward Dash Canceling (FDC for short):
Example: Block an attack, then tap f,f (quickly) to dash forward.
Example 2: If your attack connects or is blocked, tap f,f (quickly) to dash forward.
Similar to Snk vs Capcom Chaos's Hyper Dash Cancel, this allows you to forward dash as a move connects with your blocking animation (or even if one of your own moves is blocked and/or connects). However...out of all the Sailor Scouts in this game, Sailor Moon and Sailor Uranus are the ONLY two that have available forward dashes. Sailor Moon's is an arching dash that goes up in the air (damn near useless), while Sailor Uranus' dash is a horizontal one (insanely exploitable).
The second example is ONLY for Sailor Uranus and is used when you want to cancel (almost like the 2-in-1 technique) into a dash after your attack has connected. It's frame specific, and takes practice to get the technique down. You insert Uranus' dash anywhere between the first and third frames of her attack animation and viola, you've dash canceled an attack. However, if you do it any later than this, then there is a 90% chance that your followup attack (after the dash) will not combo.
How Uranus' = GOD TIER:
Unlike Sailor Moon's FDC, Uranus' dash is far more exploitable and actually seperates her from all of the other characters. How so? Well one only has to look at what is available for her as a character in this game...
She has a 360 throw:
Full 360 (360 motion + either kick) OR Shortcut Variation (hcb,uf + either kick)
Her 360 throw is actually ALOT easier to pull off than in other fighting games as it doesn't require a full 360 motion. Sure, she "can" use the same technique one would use to perform a normal 360 (noted above), but since her move isn't built around the 360 degree motion it's far easier to pull off consistently using the 360 Shortcut Variation (noted above).
When you couple the easy 360 she has with a dash, it makes all the difference in the world. Get this....she can cancel out of her FDC INTO her 360 throw right as her dash stops (read: you can buffer her 360 so it is executed the exact same frame she ends her dashing animation). This means you can competitively play a foot game with someone, cancel into a dash off of your own blocked poke, and get a free 360 throw while your opponent sits there with a befuddled "wtf?" look on their face.
While that alone would make her an insane ground game character, she also has the ability to FDC from blocking an opponents move into her 360 as well. If the opponent tosses out a fireball like move where they have delay, this is almost 100% guarenteed. You just time the dash so it is performed on the first few frames of your block animation and all of a sudden your standing infront of your opponent who is STILL in their "fireball delay" animation for a free 360 throw.
She has an infinite:
After any jumping attack, crossup, or even a FCD... wk,d.fp(dash),wk,d.fp(dash),wk,d.fp(dash),etc etc
This infinte would NOT be possible without the help of her FDC. However, this infinite is NOT easy in the least and it needs the player to be able to time these attacks perfectly (practice will be a must for this to be pulled off without fail).
The timing on the infinite revolves around two parts:
The easiest part to do is canceling her ducking fierce punch(d.fp) into he dash itself. It can be done at the exact frame the ducking fierce punch (d.fp) hits or even a few frames after.
The hardest part is landing her standing weak kick (wk) on the SAME frame the dash ends. What makes this infinite even harder isn't the motion itself, but that if you DON'T do this infinite in the corner, you will have to adjust your timing on the standing weak kick (wk) due to the fact that when out in the open, her ducking fierce punch (d.fp) makes the opponent move back farther than normal (thus, the time spent in the dash animation will change).
Uranus + BDC = evil:
As explained above regarding the FDC(and it's exploitable properties), her BDC is just as broken. Just as with any other characters backdash, she can BDC the second an attack is blocked. This leads into a whole different type of gameplay for her due to her long legged kicks (which come out quite fast), which have the ability (coupled with her anti-air special move) to keep an opponent at a specified range disallowing them to follow up with any attacks that will put Uranus in a compromisable position (commonly known as "runaway" or "ranged lockdown"). To further her runaway abilities, you must take note that BDC/FDC is not restricted to standing/ducking blocked attacks, but air attacks as well.
Example:
Your opponent jumps at you and attacks. You block, and BDC/FDC
You have the ability with this character to block, then FDC or BDC. This gives you strategical advantage in any situation that starts with a jumping attack. You can BCD away from them, you can BDC past them to the opposite side (perfect for countering cross-up attempts), you can FDC underneath them and then back dash(putting you on the other side of the screen), or you can just FDC and 360 (works best on jumping attacks that hit high). It's all up to your play style and how the dash cancelling techniques work best for you.
After BDC'ing a standing/ducking normal or special move, she has what no other character has...the ability to dash DIRECTLY back into the face of the opponent. This not only allows her to block, BDC, then forward dash in for combos/infinites/360, but it allows her to start poke strings, setups, range games, and all other kinds of nastyness. If you see a high end Uranus player in action, it's going to look almost random in what she does to punish the opponent due to how many different variables she has to deal with any situation.
Why BDC/FDC a special, then use her 360/special moves/combos/super? Instead of waiting for the block animation to end, dash canceling gives you an instant opening to land whatever you want. Some characters have such a small window of delay when doing a special move (making them safe against normal players) that you will not land anything on them unless you use the dash cancel techniques. This almost totally nullifies the opponents ability to use anything other than quick pokes, as any special they toss out can be FDC/BDC'ed into almost anything you want to do to them for free. It's almost disgusting to know that this technique makes Uranus unbeatable by any other character in the game if played correctly.
Her super move (hcb,hcf+fk) can be comboed easily AND can be canceled into/from a BDC/FDC:
Her super, while requiring you to be around 25% health (like the old Fatal Fury titles before they adopted a "super meter") does a good 40-45% damage on it's own, is fully comboable off of her Fierce Punches (both standing and ducking), can be used immediately after her ground fireball (it stuns the opponent long enough), AND you can dash cancel (forwards or backwards) into it. This ability in and of itself should make any opponent you play SCARED to let you get below 25% life without immediately trying to rush you down and kill you. It's a free 40-45% damage that is unlimited in use, highly reliable, and exploitable as all living hell, this gives her the ability to make a come back in any match.
Now that you've read all of this, go grab the rom somewhere and check it out for yourself. Everything above works, is useable IN GAME, and will make any opponents you have hate you and call you a cheap bastard. Who woulda thought that picking this game for a quick 1:08 video, would result in a game breaking strategy that completely rewrites how the game should be played?
MrWhitefolks |
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