STREET FIGHTER III 3rd STRIKE: SEAN FAQ -= SAL's guide to gettin' jiggy with it =- STORY: "Wow, Mel's grown so much hasn't he hon? Look at how small he is in this picture. This was taken less than a year ago, wasn't it?" "Oh, that was when you lost that little match with him wasn't it?" "Ouch, don't remind me! Haha, I should've known better than to let him throw me his hardest punch when he was just at that height..." "Hee hee, after always teaching him to be strong I'll never forget the look on his face when you almost started crying like a baby. Hey, look at this picture. Isn't he that boy from Brazil you were training? What was his name..?" "Hmmm, Sean. And it was more like babysitting if you ask me. What a nuisance. Remember how he used to follow me around all the time like a lost puppy?" "Come to think of it, I'm not sure I would have remembered him at all if we hadn't decided to look through the album like this. What ever happened to him anyway?" "He kept bugging me to train him, and he was always so impatient about it. The only thing I could think of to get him to leave me alone was to tell him he needed to spend some time training by himself." "Hmmm, and he's the impatient one huh?" "Very funny. The only way I could even get him to go back home was by saying I'd see how he was doing if he came back in a year." "Well in that case, you'd better get ready then shouldn't you?" "Huh?" "It's been almost a year now since we took those pictures, remember?" "Oh right, the North American tournament's coming up again soon, and that was just before the last one. But, come on... there's no way he'd do it. He had such a short attention span, he probably forgot all about it before he even got off the plane going back..." "I'm just kidding dear. I'm sure he's forgotten all about it by now too. Come on, let's get some sleep... it's getting late." "Yeah, you're right... I'll be up in a minute." (Hmmm... that kid was such a pest. He'd never give up once he put his mind to something. But, he wouldn't really come back would he? I know I said I'd meet him in a year, but there's no way he'll be waiting there. If it were Ryu we were talking about then it would be a completely different story... I mean, if Ryu said he'd do something there was no question about it that it'd be done. Ryu's always kept his word no matter what, for as long as I've known him. No matter what... damn... even after all these years you still have such an effect on me, don't you old buddy? Okay kid, I said I'd be there so I will, no matter what...) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ NORMAL ATTACKS: This is only a list of his useful attacks. If it's not listed here, you probably don't want to be using it for anything. JAB Punch + SHORT Kick A normal throw, where Sean shoulder slams his opponent down next to him. F/B + JAB Punch + SHORT Kick Another throw, with Sean doing a leg toss which lands the opponent far away. STRONG Punch (far) An extremely good keep-away attack. It's speed, range, and priority are all excellent for a medium-strength normal attack. Use it often to keep enemies out of your face, intercept jumpers, or just to build up your Super bar. STRONG Punch (close) A short jab. Chain a Roundhouse onto it if it connects. Not good for much else. D + FORWARD Kick Great combo setup move, and very quick with good priority. A Short Tornado Kick can be chained onto it, or a Dragon Smash if in close enough, or any Super Art. STRONG Punch + FORWARD Kick Simple overhead attack. With all the other overheads he's got you don't really need it much, but you might want to throw it in every once in a while to keep them on their toes. FIERCE Punch (far) You can't combo to or from this move, making it quite limited, but it's speed and priority aren't too bad. It bears a striking resemblence to Chun-Li's standing Fierce, but with less range. FIERCE Punch (close) Quick uppercut. Not much range, but excellent comboing ability. This can chain the most moves of any normal attack, and should always be used to start combos whenever possible. F + FIERCE Punch A two hit headbutt that must be blocked high. Can be chained after the close Fierce, which doesn't combo due to the lag time at the beginning of this move, but is still a very useful link. It also has enough range to be used on it's own, and is an excellent way to greet a fallen opponent as they're getting up. D + FIERCE Punch A different uppercut than the standing Fierce. Not as good for combos, but a far better air defense, especially when the opponent is coming down directly above you. FIERCE Punch (while jumping) Standard aerial punch. The jumping Roundhouse tends to be a better combo starter, but this usually works better for air-to-air combat. ROUNDHOUSE Kick (far) Excellent air defense, especially against opponents landing in front of you rather than on top of you. Use in conjunction with the crouching Fierce as a solid anti-air defense. ROUNDHOUSE Kick (close) A quick knee that can be comboed from pretty easily. I'd still recommend the Fierce though, since the F + Fierce can't be linked off of this, and it's basically identical otherwise. F + ROUNDHOUSE Kick An odd hop kick that knocks the opponent back but not down. It's definately one of the strangest looking moves in his arsenal, which makes it rather difficult to parry as a result. Not to be overused, but it can be a relatively safe way to advance forward short distances when trying to get in close. D + ROUNDHOUSE Kick Your standard foot sweep. Only use it if you're out of range with the crouching Forward, as it can leave you open for a lot of Supers and EX attacks if blocked in close. ROUNDHOUSE Kick (while jumping) Standard aerial kick. Generally his most useful jumping attack, though the jumping Fierce tends to sometimes fare better in air-to-air fighting, due to it's higher impact zone. A great combo starter on grounded opponents though, due to it's longer range horizontally. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ SPECIAL ATTACKS: SEAN TACKLE - B,DB,D,DF,F + hold Punch Sean dashes forward a distance, which is determined by the button pressed. Jab is quite a short distance, while Fierce travels about three-quarters across the screen. Holding the button will initiate a two-hit grab at the end of the dash, which must be blocked low. Releasing the Punch button after initiating the move halts it without attacking at all, but avoids the opening that comes from a blocked grab. The EX version is faster and results in a five-hit grab when it successfully connects. Not overly useful in some situations, but generally a good tool in semi-combos or in conjunction with the basketball taunt. RYUBI-KYAKU - D,DF,F + Kick A flying kick that must be blocked high. Like the Sean Tackle, the button determines the distance he travels, with the Roundhouse version travelling about three-quarters of the screen, and Short version going practically nowhere. Blocking the move does not leave him open for counter attacks, but it's quite easy to parry if seen coming, so it's best to only use it early against jumpers or in semi-combos up close, where parrying it becomes much more difficult. The EX version tracks the opponent and hits twice instead of once. DRAGON SMASH - F,D,DF + Punch A bizarre uppercut that definately qualifies as one of his strangest looking attacks. Useful in combos, as it can be cancelled both to and from. When used on it's own, it's slight initial lag time sometimes makes it difficult to use as an air defense. Good if you have the time to set it up properly, such as against high-jumpers, but you should never use it as a point-defense counter attack in the typical Dragon Punch way, since you can be hit out of it during it's brief initial lag time without cost to the opponent at all. The EX version hits twice instead of once. TORNADO KICK - D,DB,B + Kick A spinning kick resembling the common Cyclone Kick, but acts surprisingly different. The button used will determine both the number of hits and the initial startup time. The Short version comes out the fastest, but only hits twice. This is the only version of the move which can be chained onto a crouching Forward Kick. The Forward version comes out slower, but hits three times. This can be chained onto the close standing Fierce or Roundhouse. The Roundhouse version hits four times, but comes out the slowest, and cannot be chained off of anything. The EX version combines the speed of the Short with the four hits of the Roundhouse. With any version, if one hit connects with an opponent on the ground, the remaining hits will almost always connect as a combo. The move can leave you open to some attacks if blocked, but not if it connects, so using it in combos is always safe. ZENPOU-TENSHIN - D,DB,B + Punch A ground roll, much like Ken's from the Street Fighter Alpha series. A great avoidance technique, allowing you to easily escape corner traps in particular. The button used determines the distance you will roll, with Fierce going the furthest. Makes you invulnerable to most attacks aside from those that must be blocked low, such as foot sweeps. Overall it's surprisingly one of the safest teleportation-type moves in the entire game, making it a very nice maneuverability option to have available. BASKETBALL TAUNT - Fierce + Roundhouse Sean catches a basketball from off-screen, and tosses it towards his opponent. While the damage inflicted by it is minimal, this is a key move to set up combos and other attacks. As it is a taunt, it does leave you slightly open initially, so you have to be careful not to set yourself up for a beating instead of your opponent. Use it often, but without becoming overly predictable, and never activate it right up close unless the opponent is dizzy or lying on the ground. In short, just go for it whenever you're at a distance from your opponent and think you can get away with it. The basketball is certainly one of the most useful taunts in the game, and should be considered a standard addition to Sean's arsenal of special moves. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ SUPER ARTS: I. HADO-BURST (3 charges maximum) - D,DF,F,D,DF,F + Punch A very fast projectile which charges up quickly, allowing you to use it often and provide ample fuel for your EX specials. It hits once, usually causing around 20% damage. It can be easily chained into combos just as well as his other Super Arts, and gives him a much needed projectile move that comes in handy in all kinds of situations. If a projectile is thrown by the opponent, use this to cancel and pass through it, and hit the opponent before they recover in time to block. Although it lacks priority against stronger multi-hit projectiles, it will pass through most standard and even EX projectiles with ease. Although it's strength as a Super Art is lacking compared with the likes of Shinkuu-Hadoken type attacks, it makes up for this in it's tremendous speed, allowing it other uses aside from merely a brute-force attack. If the opponent leaves themselves open with any attack, even at the opposite end of the screen, a quick Hado-Burst can effectively take advantage of the opportunity. Taunting is essentially impossible for the opponent to do safely as long as you have a Hado-Burst in stock, unless they've knocked you down first of course. It also makes an excellent counter to use after blocking various attacks in close. Foot sweeps that recover slowly, such as the crouching Roundhouse moves of Ryu or Elena for example, can easily be countered with a Hado-Burst after being blocked up close. Various other normal attacks performed with Fierce or Roundhouse in particular are also counterable through a similar process of blocking and performing the Super before they recover from doing the move. On top of this, it also is an extremely useful air defense against opponents jumping in just ahead of you. Simply throw it out as they're coming down, and watch them helplessly fly away after landing on top of it. Even if the move is blocked it will only leave you as open for counter attacks when done extremely close to the opponent, and even then the opening is a short one. The only thing to really avoid is having an opponent jump over it and take advantage of the opening it leaves you in when it misses completely. This move has lost some of it's priority from 2nd Impact, allowing opponents to occasionally cancel it with a Jab or a throw, but still remains one of the most useful and versatile Super Arts in the entire game. II. SHORYU-CANNON (2 charges maximum) - D,DF,F,D,DF,F + Punch repeatedly A double Dragon Punch type move which scores hits as the button is rapidly pressed, with a maximum damage of around 30-35%. Easy to put into combos, but not very useful on it's own. It's initial priority is rather good against normal attacks, making it a decent reversal, but it leaves you wide open when blocked, so it shouldn't be used recklessly on it's own. Using it as a counter after blocking isn't as easy as the other two Super Arts either, due to it's limited horizontal range during the beginning, and isn't recommended for this purpose. It's ability as an air counter can be quite effective, but it tends not to score as many hits as when used on the ground. Aside from this, it's primary use is often limited only to combos done extremely close to the opponent. While it can prove to be effective in these few select situations, it's significantly lacking in versatility overall, and simply isn't able to do enough damage to make it worth using extensively. III. HYPER TORNADO (1 charge maximum) - D,DF,F,D,DF,F + Punch This one begins with a dash resembling the Sean Tackle, then proceeds to lay the smack down when that first hit connects, inflicting up to about 35-40% damage with it's 12 hits in total. The speed of the initial dash is very fast, making it an excellent move with which to easily exploit any opening in an opponent's defense. This speed also allows it be be used as an effective counter after blocking certain attacks in close, just as was described above for the Hado-Burst. While it's speed and damage make it an ideal method of punishment in a ground fight, the combo portion can't connect on a jumping opponent, limiting it's usefulness against frequent jumpers. It also leaves you open for counter attack briefly when blocked, making it dangerous to take too many open risks with. Using it in combos is an easy way to guarantee the hits, but only on opponents that stay grounded during the combo, which means it won't work to chain it after a Dragon Smash like the other two will. It can sometimes pay off in the end with it's high damage if used carefully, but it's generally not worth the long charge up time it requires. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ COMBO LIST: Moves are seperated by a dash. Combos ending in a Super Art may of course be ended without the Super Art as well. As with the other Shotokan characters, there is a lot of variety you can make out of linking attacks together, such as linking a special attack off of various normal attacks (standing Fierce, crouching Fierce, standing Roundhouse, etc.). Rather than try to list every single combo possibility, which would just be stupid, I've listed the particular variations I use most often. Feel free to make substitutions as you see fit. standing Strong (close) - standing Roundhouse standing Fierce (close) - Dragon Smash (F,D,DF + Fierce) - Super Art (D,DF,F,D,DF,F + Punch) standing Roundhouse (close) - Tornado Kick (D,DB,B + Forward or 2Kick) crouching Forward - Tornado Kick (D,DB,B + Short or 2Kick) crouching Forward - Super Art (D,DF,F,D,DF,F + Punch) See the PRESSURE TACTICS section below for some non-combo linkers. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ GENERAL STRATEGY: As a big fan of Sean in 2nd Impact, I was baffled at how weak he had seemed to become in this game. After being changed almost completely, his incredible abilities had apparently taken a turn for the worse, leaving me frustratingly trying to work with this strange new incarnation of who used to be my best character. I soon passed him off as being useless, and focused my attention to mastering other characters instead. After eventually coming back to him a few months later though, I began to realize that my mistake had been in trying to use him in the same way I had before in 2nd Impact. As I practiced with him anew, I avoided attempting to replicate the old Sean's tactics, and instead began to see him as the new and completely different character that he has become. The first and possibly still the most valuable information I learned about him in 3rd Strike was to forget everything I knew about the old Sean, and instead treat him as a brand new character, and unless you do the same, you may never come to realize this new Sean's potential. That said, Sean's new strategy involves making more use out of the moves that were improved, like the Ryubi-Kyaku and Sean Tackle, while laying off a bit on the ones that have been weakened, such as the Dragon Smash and Tornado Kick. While in 2nd Impact I wouldn't touch the former two moves, they have both been improved enough to become useful, where as the latter simply aren't powerful enough to rely on alone anymore, as you could easily get away with in 2nd Impact. Overall, his moves have become much more balanced now, and making use of all of them is an essential part of a good strategy in 3rd Strike. The only thing worse than trying to use him exactly as you did in 2nd Impact is trying to use him like any of the other Shotokan characters in the game, which any avid Sean user should already know is pure suicide. While Sean lacks many of the qualities that make the other Shotos a lot safer to use, he has by far the best trapping abilities, high-low mix-up patterns, and overall confusion factor (not to mention being the most fun to play, in my opinion). His relatively large arsenal of offensive moves also allows him to constantly assault an opponent without ever having to fall into overly predictable patterns. Since this essentially describes the backbone of any good Sean strategy, the rest of this section will focus on how to maximize the effectiveness of this oppressive nature of playing. PRESSURE TACTICS Sean's true combos are somewhat lacking, but his vast arsenal of high-low switching patterns and confusing attacks can quickly spell the end for an unsuspecting opponent facing a Sean gone berserk. The key to the game is attacking non-stop, mixing up your attack patterns continuously, and generally making your strategy as confusing and unpredictable as possible. Getting your opponent trapped in the corner is a huge asset to this, which can be easily done one of two ways. If your opponent tends to back off more than advance forward, simply start going on the offensive until they've been pushed into the corner. If they're an offensive player who likes to do the advancing on you, then just pull the old switcharoo by retreating into the corner yourself, then using a ground roll (D,DB,B + Punch) to get to the other side of them as they try to close in, leaving them trapped in your place. Once you've gotten in close (preferably with them cornered), it's time to really start messing with their mind. Your basic offense isn't going to be made up of true combos, but rather Sean's vast array of seperate but linking attacks (aka. "semi-combos"). The first set starts with a crouching Forward Kick, and leads into two basic alternatives. Remember that mixing them up is the key. Don't let your opponent know which move you're going to cancel into, and they'll quickly find themselves flustered by moves that would normally be easily parried and countered. crouching Forward - Ryubi-Kyaku (D,DF,F + Short) - Tornado Kick (D,DB,B + any Kick) The set above is a great pattern to get used to, because it's so fast and benefits from the initial range of the crouching Short. The Ryubi-Kyaku is extremely hard to parry in this situation, especially when you toss in enough Tornado Kicks to throw their anticipation off, and can get you in closer for the next set of patterns. If the crouching Forward does connect, try to go into a Super Art or a Tornado Kick that will connect (Short or EX). If you end a blocked low Forward with a Tornado Kick, vary the button used to confuse them, by assigning more or less hits to the move than they might be expecting. standing Fierce - F + Fierce - Sean Tackle (B,DB,D,DF,F + Jab) - Tornado Kick (D,DB,B + any Kick) Now this is some great stuff. The combination of being able to chain a F + Fierce (overhead) or Sean Tackle (low) will always keep them guessing as to which way to block, and since it's really hard to change your blocking on the spot with the speed of these moves, guessing is pretty much all they'll be able to do. Note that while these do link, they can't actually combo off of a Fierce that connects, so if it does then it's best to just go into a real combo instead. As with the previous pattern, tossing a nice helping of varied Tornado Kicks into the mix can really play havoc with their mind. Just remember that even the best of players can get frustrated, which in turn leads to recklessness, which in turn leads to you winning the game. Set, point, and match... SHOOTIN' THE HOOPS Sean - useless underdog or cheapness supreme? Master the basketball Taunt and you'll start considering the latter over the former. Tossing out the basketball isn't only a relatively safe and effective combo setup, but it's an essential part of some rather devious traps as well. Keep in mind that tossing it up close leaves you wide open, and tossing it from the opposite side of the screen is useless, since you can't get over to them in time to mix anything up with the impact of the ball. Therefore, the ideal distance for a basketball toss is about half a screen away from your opponent, or slightly closer. After the toss, there's a lot of things you can do. Since the ball's coming in from above, most people will leave themselves open to low attacks while they block or parry it standing up. This gives the Sean Tackle a great opportunity, allowing you to catch people off-guard all the time when coupled with the ball toss. Use the shortest distance Tackle necessary to reach the opponent in order to minimize the time they have to react to it, or use the EX version if you think they'll fall for it anyway. Time it right after the toss so that you're grabbing them just as the ball hits, or slightly after. Practice making it into a three hit combo against the computer to get it down good. Other variations that take advantage of this low opening include dashing in with a foot sweep or a low Forward into a combo. Another thing to try once in a while is coming at them with the Roundhouse Tornado Kick, as people tend to have trouble timing their parrying for both the ball and the flurry of kicks at the same time. Basically, you options here are huge, so if they start to catch on to what you're doing, just try something else. They basically have no choice but to block or parry the ball, since if they let it hit them you'll get the hits of whatever other move you're doing as a combo anyway, so feel free to recklessly rush them without fear of repercussion. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ BONUS BASKETBALL INFO: Sean will sometimes toss a basketball before a match starts, which will either fall short or fly too far to hit the opponent. To correct this, hold forward or back on the joystick to direct the ball's trajectory. If it's going to land short you should press forward, and if it flies too far you should press back. If you did it correctly the ball will hit the opponent, causing dizziness animation momentarily. To choose a basketball stage level higher than three, hold the following buttons and joystick direction before the bonus stage begins. I know this doesn't have anything to do with playing as Sean, but I figured I can justify throwing it in due to the fact that Sean's always the one tossing you the balls (even if you're playing as Sean! What the..?) Level 4 (easy) - down + 3Kick Level 4 (hard) - up + 3Punch Level 5 (easy) - down + Jab + Forward + Fierce Level 5 (hard) - up + Short + Strong + Roundhouse ------------------------------------------------------------------------ That's it... stop using boring old Ryu and Ken and kick it up a notch with Sean, the Shoto with style! :) email me at: bitoku_no_kishi@hotmail.com be sure to also check out my Twelve guide, available at www.GameFAQs.com