The Pop Off: Street Fighter Rant

Alright I am really sick and tired of playing this game and not because I think its bad or good.


I can't get any quality competition to get better in this game while other regions are able to play people on a consistent basis who are good and not even have to play that much to still be able to compete at a really high level.

In this area what all I have is wolfkrone and for us to play we just play online since we are like a hour and a half away from each other. Yea I have hella Viper matchup experience but the rest of the characters in the game? Not really so whenever I lose in this game I always feel like I lost not because I was out played but I just don't know what the hell is going on. In this game it boggles my mind. SF2 for whatever reason is way easier to understand. The game in general and match ups too, but this game I am like how the hell do I open someone up you can just tech every grab with delay tech or mash tech when there is a block string and don't press a button at right time and you won't ever get counter hit. Like seriously? I have seen someone do this and it is just frustrating how much easier it is to not get hit opposed to how difficult it is to hit.

Yea I used Akuma for what 3 years but he isn't fun I don't like how he plays but I like him art wise so I kept using him but now I am trying to figure out who better suits me. I dislike how you can tech grabs hella easy and I hate how certain chars like viper don't even need to they just burn kick or ex seismo to get away from it and both these moves are safe. Most chars at least need two bars to FADC a reversal and make sure the attack doesn't whiff but nah viper can just toss shit out safely since burn kick has decent range and ex seismo is 3/4ths of the screen as it is.

Anyway I keep wanting to play this game and keep trying to practice regardless having no consistent quality competition but its hella tough cause my fundamentals as a player only go so far until knowledge of the game comes into play.

The Pop Off!

This time on the Pop Off: The subject is MK players.



You might hate me after reading this but I am really just trying to evolve the mk scene.

Anyway first things first this is a rant but its all real talk. I haven't gotten this irritated in a while but its getting pretty ridiculous.

Alright first off I am sick and tired of people saying Kung Lao is so strong. You know what he loses the SAME MATCHES now that he lost in the last game but it seems like most of you players lack the brain capacity to figure out how to fight him. How the hell do you place characters like Cyrax, Kabal, Reptile and Kitana under him? Are you really that stupid? Do you not know how to block low.

You know Kung Laos biggest weakness are people who just crouch low and guard? Guess what his options are when you do that? Overhead that doesn't lead into ANY COMBO AT ALL or a damn throw which if he decides to dash at you upon throwing you he can't block your wake up attack so he has to walk up to you and block. This is a bug that is still in the game that they haven't fixed yet and won't be fixed.

Another big weakness of kung lao is he has not one answer to defend against players who d4 him all day. All he can do is jump in. He doesn't have a mid string starter all he can do is roll and hes at a slight advantage depending on where he is on the screen. If he does roll too close hes neutral if he does it far away hes advantage but slightly, however all you have to do is stay crouched and he can't get any damage off of you. If he tries a cross up jump punch from that range guess what?! It whiffs and you get to hit him.

Characters with low hit boxes totally limit all of his options. First he can't jump at low hit box chars cause his jump in whiffs. He can't teleport and do anything because all options whiffs when you crouch even as a low hit box char and he can't come in and do a string because all of his strings begin high. SMH its like you guys don't even know how to use training mode. Yea i know we are limited options but you can still figured out stuff with what we have there. Just set the dummy to duck and you will see what I am talking about.

As far as low hat goes just freaking block low. If he hits you with the overhead from 24 so what. His pressure goes away and now he has to work hella hard to try to get back in again. Its like this for both versions of the game.

Tom Brady and Reo why the hell are you guys rating Kung Lao so high on your tier lists?! Neither one of you are Kung Lao specialists or have indepth knowledge of his matchups like I do. Please just stop it. Kung Lao is not top tier in this game. He is high tier at best. I wouldn't even say he was top tier in the last patch either but well most people just panic when he gets close instead of realizing hes all smoke and mirrors. Intimidated by his speed smh when he really doesnt even have speed its just the dive kick.

And for the last time STOP MAKING TIER LISTS BASED AROUND HOW YOUR MAIN CHAR DOES AND WHAT CHARS YOU HAVE A HARD TIME AGAINST! Matchups vs Matchups is the way to go. Please adapt that formula thank you.

Also I am tired of people getting hella hype for Cyrax's shit. Are you kidding me 70% combos and resets which are kindergarten easy to do? Like man what the hell. Kabal's shit is hella easy mode too. Don't tell me instant air gas blast is hard to do. If you think it is I will show you at the next tournament how easy it is and how stupidly dumb Kabal is. Its like you guys just don't know how to come up with shit besides combos. Everyones fundamentals are shot, but I guess I can't really expect much from a online based community where you can't develop fundamentals because online you can't even anti air properly.

Reptile is also hella easy to use like come the hell on man really? There should be 10x's more reptile and cyrax players in this country.

Don't let me get started on kitana. Yea you can crouch her shit and shes "kind of free" on wake up. But what is really going to stop this bitch from running away forever and throwing instant air fans.

Another annoying topic. Will you guys stop blowing up casual matches online and offline. Casuals are what they are casuals. Do you really think people are playing as serious in casual matches as they are in tournament? That is asinine. Its understandable you all feel like you have a great deal to prove which is good I respect the hunger but unfortunately it doesn't mean shit unless it is in tournament or a high stakes money match for a set amount of matches. Until then cut the crap on the casuals. Yea arturo got double flawlessed in casuals right before the tournament but then he raped that guy in the tournament. Anything can happen in one game and especially in casuals where people don't care. Trust me I had to go through the same shit a bunch of years back so don't make it seem like I am trying to have some elitist attitude that is just how it is. The game is different offline and in a tournament atmosphere. Just trying to make sure you guys are prepared so you can perform.

Casuals are for finding out new strats or just testing the waters. No one cares about your casual wins. I know however there are some players who keep count on every single casual match they have ever played someone knowing the counts from years ago like for no reason. MK players if you guys want to be taken seriously you need to drop this attitude like yesterday.

Also cut the crap with the online shit seriously. Like seriously what is this 6 years ago? You online warriors with your Neo in the matrix power ups need to get a reality check.

In a offline tournament the atmosphere is different. Both you and your opponent move at the same time, both of you can actually punish everything that is punishable and etc etc. You can't have the edge because you are used to playing underwater and other people aren't. Also tournament is 2/3 until grand finals which is usually 3/5 or sometimes 4/7. You don't have a million games so you better come with a solid game plan or you won't be going too far.

Updates!

Its been a long time....I shouldn't have left you....without a new entry to inform you (aaliyah - try again pun)

Whats up everyone? IT DOESNT MATTER WHATS UP!?!?!?! lol jp

Anyways a few quick updates with myself.

Been in the lab with MK trying to find out a new more solid way to play the game and also trying to get better in MVC3 and Tekken since I feel like I am weaker in those games than in MK9/SF4. While of course also staying solid in the games I am strong in.

SF, MK and MVC are all getting updates very soon. Any day now for MK, UMVC3 will be out in november and SF4 2012 should be out before christmas according to Ono.

Trying to decide on who to main in SF because well Akuma doesn't fit my playstyle or way of thinking. In MVC3 I think I will just use the Magneto, Wolverine, Akuma team since when I did play it a lot that is the team I have had the most success with.

Mortal Kombat is a different beast for me right now. Everyone is awaiting the nerfs and buffs of characters especially for Kung Lao who is supposed to get nerfed the most but we will see. I think the low hat nerf won't be as big because it isn't really needed to win just something extra. It doesn't take away from Kung Lao's core gameplay strategy in my opinion. 

Anyway I will be starting up a youtube series very soon here partnering up with machinima once I have my capture equipment up and running properly. I hope you all tune in and see what I have in store for you all.

I will be doing tutorial videos, combo videos but only combos that work in practical tournament situations. Of course I will be going over strategies and how to get better at whatever fighting game you are trying to become good in. Even with no one to play in your area.

That is it for now. Until next time...

On Blast: Mortal Kombat Match ups - Kabal

Fighting Kabal


I keep seeing hella people falling victim to Kabal tactics because they aren't in the know so I am here to save you all the headache and let you know what you need to know on how to fight the burnt masked man.


No! Do not do this! : Jump at him cause you will get hit by a air fb and get spinned.

Yes! Do this!: Dash block stay in range where he can just randomly dash and force mind games. The closer you are the harder it is for him.

- Make him burn meter so he can't EX dash you. Also f+3,1 is no longer a block infinite you can jump out of hit him out of whatever he tries to do. He is actually 0 or -1 on block after the cancel all he can do is follow up with a special or not cancel. If he does that well you are knocked down and out of the mixup. If you block any projectile upclose besides his air one he is punishable on block.

- Punish his Dash!!!! I swear I see everyone block it and not punish it like what the hell man.

- Also his qcb 2 or his sword move is a overhead. The saw is low. He can't hit you with air fbs if you just crouch. What that will force him to do is dash and cancel his dash into his swords which is safe btw but if you screw up his spacing it is harder for him. Which is why the key to fighting kabal is staying next to him and on the ground. Don't jump unless you are in a position where he can fb you.

PS: Shout outs to michaelangelo =D

My thoughts on fighting against Kasumi

Notation:
       Up
      123
Left 456 Right
      789
     Down

Punch = P
Kick = K
Free = F


vs Kasumi
You want to avoid an upclose game at all costs. She is too fast and will put you in a deep critical stun very quickly which you want to avoid. One stun can be the entire round and I stress when I say one stun. What you want to do is keep kasumi at a middle distance where all she can really do is 6p or 6k to try and get in. Everything else is too slow or risky. The biggest issue right here will be 6k which stuns and on counter hit gives a ground bounce for a juggle.

In this distance your best options are safe pokes that keep her at bay like crouch jab or a 3k which usually has a lot of range and is quick for most chars or 3p if you are say Ayane. Can also use long ranged highs as well because Kasumi's jab while being fast has no range. 6p will counter hit some moves so be careful however because of the distance she has to follow up with a string she can't really extend the stun since she will be so far away.

What you will also want to do is guess counter 6k. I recommend waiting for any subtle movements and then hold. This of course will deal a lot of damage depending on the character you have. Chars with good jumping mid kick holds are Gen Fu, Hayate and Kokoro for example. As long as you keep Kasumi out you will win.

Remember if she gets in then starts all her ridiculous deep critical stun string pressure into okizeme nonsense you will most likely lose because it is a problem trying to keep Kasumi off of you when she gets in. With a launching 6f+p and a crouching grab too that leads to juggles and her ridiculous on the ground game you might want to lay off trying to hold and take the critical combo because you basically give her bonus damage. Also don't forget about her teleport parry. Try not to get too predictable with your attacks or she will bust this out on you. Also be weary of using low and mid kicks for she has a really good low and mid kick hold.

If you want me to post more thoughts on how I approach match ups leave a comment, and tell me which character you would want. The character with the highest amount of requests I will do.

I hate snow! I missed out on a once in a life time trip to Japan =\

Where do I start man.....really bummed out. Past few days including today and future days I will be feeling pretty down about this. The worst part is I had no control over what went on. Who knew that a blizzard would come in and stunt my trip to Japan for the DOA:Dimensions location test? Not only that but I was going to meet Tecmo-Japan, Team Ninja and Hayashi the new head of Team Ninja.

Being able to go out to eat with them and give them my thoughts on my out look of DOA and what I think they could do to improve it. On top of that play the newest DOA game and play it against Japan's best again but in a new game. Ugh this sucks. I know it will get worst the more I hear news about the game cause I should have been there. I keep trying to tell myself there will be other chances to go but I really don't know. Oh well I will just continue on with my own goals there was absolutely nothing I could do about it.

I was really looking forward to this trip. I had went and paid $200 for an emergency passport and everything and didn't even get to use it =\. I hate snow. Everyone who lives in my city talks about moving out. Well I finally feel like that. I hate this place now.

On the bright side of things..........................................................Yea

My birthday is next week on the 10th pretty whatever I end up doing on my birthday couldn't replace how much fun I would've had in Japan. I even was going to hit up Safari arcade and play some SSF4AE. Ugh this is hella lame. Oh well I will try to make my bday fun regardless of this nonsense. 

After my birthday MVC3 comes out yay. Other than that nothing to look forward to till March and April....

Sorry for the overly emo post. Just finally got to express how I feel. I tried to ignore it but everything just hit me.

How to Play Dead or Alive: Dealing with the Defensive Hold

Dealing with the Defensive Hold







There are two types of situations in the game where Defensive Holds aka Counters/Reversals show up in the game. This is inside Critical and outside of Critical. Outside of critical is pretty much when you or your opponent are able to move around freely and attack one another. Inside critical is basically when one of you has become staggered by an attack and this is when you are trying to break free of the stagger so you can fight again, and at the same time your opponent is trying to hit you with more attacks to deal damage or set you up for more damage either with a launcher, knockdown, knockback or bait you into a throw for even more damage.






I hope this helps some of you players understand more so how Defensive Holds work because a lot of people tell me how they dislike the hold and the primary reason is because they don't know how to properly deal with it.



Outside of Critical:
To avoid getting countered you have to properly mix up the way you attack and not rely on the same hit level and formula of attacking. Also try to use attacks that are harder to react to while of course throwing in attacks they are a little bit slower to throw off your opponents timing. Also it is a lot easier to get countered low or high because there isn't a mix up between punches or kicks like their is for middle attacks. Middle attacks are really good to use for poking. Use lows and highs when you see your opponent is trying to hold you mid to throw them off and discourage them from trying to hold you. You can also mix in throws.

Inside of Critical:
Inside critical holds deal less damage so you can take advantage of this. You want to make sure you are mixing up your launchers and or knock down attacks if your character doesn't have a launcher to cover a specific hit level. For example Kasumi has a high kick, a mid punch and a mid kick launcher and she also has lows that knockdown as well.

The opponent only has a 25% chance of choosing the correct counter and of course they can "try" to react but it is hard. The more options you character has of course the better and then they still have to worry about reacting too fast and then getting thrown. On top of that you can option select their hold with a regular standing grab and a crouch grab and then follow up with an attack, a throw or a offensive hold.

Attack will counter hit their attack if they happen to try to slow escape out of the critical stagger, but the attack can still get countered of course. The throw will catch them if they decided to slow escape and then block or slow escape and then counter. The offensive hold will pretty much cover all bases but it works like a throw as far as whether they are ducking or standing, but the offensive hold will catch their attacks, grab them out of their guard and grab their holds. It will lose to throws though, but if someone is slow escaping into a grab they are really being risky lol.


The next entry will cover dealing with the start of the round.

Learning fighting games

The important part to learning a fighting game is figuring out all of the attack and defensive options in a game.

For example take a game such as Tekken.

Ways to attack are high, mid, low and throw.

Ways to defend are guard high, low, sidestep, 8 way, back dash, reversal, parry.

Attacks all have different properties such as their advantage or disadvantage on guard/hit.
Does the attack launch, knockdown, wall splat, slam down, cause a stagger?

And then you have ways to counter your opponents defensive option.

Opponent guarding high? Hit them low
Opponent guarding low? Hit them middle
Opponent sidestepping or 8 waying? Use a tracking or homing attack
Opponent backdashing a lot? Use an attack that has long range or get near them via dashing or running.
Opponent using Reversals or Parries? Use a knee/elbow/head attack because those can't be parried.
Opponent using certain attacks in a range to keep you out? Move in and out of that range to cause a whiff then punish.

Fighting games are all about finding the option to stop your opponents option.

When it comes to determining which characters are top tier its all about seeing which character makes the most out of choosing the correct options.

For example Bryan. Great keep out game with 3+4, good lows, tracking attacks, whiff punishment, wall game, combo damage, single hit damage, pokes, mids. He has everything. His only downside is that his punishment when guarding attacks that don't have a lot of disadvantage for their risks such as a hop kick is only like a 1,4 which isn't much it gives advantage but its not as juicy as a knockdown punisher. That is just an example, but that is minor compared to the rest of his tools that he possesses.

Excited for DOA Dimensions being on Nintendo 3DS

I will admit that I was a bit bummed when I first found out the newest DOA game would be on handheld for obvious reasons its not on console lol so I thought it may not be as good as previous games, but up until now I realized why it will be a great thing!


There are a bunch of things that tournament goers and hosts will no longer ever have to worry about.

1. Needing x amount of setups.

We all know running a tournament is hard but getting all the proper equipment and setups is an even bigger hassle. Especially having television sets not only television sets but the proper ones. There have been a lot of tournaments in the past where we have had to deal with slow latency on monitors, but with Nintendo 3DS that will be no more! Everyone will be using the same setup regardless and its cost effective so running an event won't be so much money out of each others pockets!

2. Being able to play anywhere whenever you want to.

I know I hate it when I am travelling to a tournament and I can't do anything but listen to a MP3 player or play a different game on a handheld system, but now we are able to practice on what we are playing on! The possibilities are endless.

3. The DPAD

I personally dislike Microsofts Xbox 360 DPad and I am wish I didn't have to play on arcade stick for certain games such as Street Fighter. I would definitely still be playing on a pad if it wasn't a 6-8 button game but whatever. DOA has always really been a 3 button game and you can add with p+k, or f+k but usually can just press those all with one thumb. Anyway Nintendo has always been good with making proper DPads especially the SNES pad so I am looking forward to playing on it. Also N3DS has 6 buttons X Y A B and L n R.

4. I know everyones biggest gripe is that we can't play it on console (mainly a big TV) but Nintendo has an adapter that you can plug into the regular Nintendo DS that hooks into a TV so you can play games through your TV. Now I know that DOAD won't look as good on a regular TV but if you have a 3D tv then maybe we might get the same effects? Not sure we will have to test it out. This will also work well for streaming too so it covers all bases.


Now last but not least
5. Really good internet latency because Nintendo's netcode is really really solid. I know people who have played Tetris with players from Japan and experienced very minimal lag, so this will be great for our game. Seems like Team Ninja is always ahead of everyone else with or without Itagaki. Honestly I personally am a big fan of Hayashi especially learning that he had a lot to do with DOA3's development.

Oh by the way guys for people who are talking about the health bars. They were like that in DOA2 for the stun threshold. I think it was like that in DOA3 as well I can't remember.

DEAD OR ALIVE DIMENSIONS!!!

I am stupid hype for this game! I don't care if its on Nintendo3DS this game looks freaking good!

It seems like they have put in every stage from all the past DOA games from DOA2-DOA4 and put in some new stages as well like that boat stage.

Raidou looks freaking mean! Finally I get the super evil type character, but when I saw Jann Lee I got really hype. I can't wait to play this game. I hope N3ds can connect to a tv so we can play it in tournaments cause that would be great!

Can't wait and since Hayashi is the head of development now (he had a lot to do with how DOA3 was made) that guarantees the game will be great.