Version 1.0 Date began: 1/7/01 THE ADVANCED FFFFFFFFF OOOOOOOOO RRRRRRR EEEEEEEEE SSSSSSSSS TTTTTTTTTT FF OO OO RR R EE SS TT FFFF OO OO RRRRRRR EEEE SSSSSSSSS TT FF OO OO RRRR EE SS TT FF OOOOOOOOO RR RRRR EEEEEEEEE SSSSSSSSS TT LL AAA WW WW WW LL AA AA WW WW WW WW LL AAAAAAA WW WW WW WW LL AA AA WW WW WWWW LLLLLLLLL AA AA WW WW TEKKEN TAG STRATEGY GUIDE BY Petr(pronounced Peter) Kovar; email: IJKcreative@aol.com Yes I do know Tekken 4 will be out in the next month or so, but I couldn't find any Tekken Tag Forest Law guides that managed to impress me. So I decided to write my own for the hardcore Law players out there, somewhere, if there are any left. Copyright and other stuff: If you wish to read my guide you must promise to give credit to me if you take any of my info. The strategies in this guide may not always work and I don't expect to be blamed for any stuff ups you make via this guide. Now onto the guide.. CONTENTS: 1. Move conventions 2. How Law and I became the best of friends (well, partners really) 3. Why Law? (a general intro to Law) 4. Move strategies and ratings (I rate the moves on their importance and give ways to use them) 5. General strengths and weaknesses 6. Law compared to other characters (Law Vs the Tekken Tag crew) 7. Juggles (the strongest juggles I know for each of his launchers) 8. Tag info (who to pair up with) 9. General Strategy 10. Credits 1. Move conventions: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1= square 2= triangle 3= cross 4= circle f= forward b= back d= down u= up += at the same time eg. 3+4 *= means neutral i.e don't press any thing for a brief moment /= is used as a + sign with direction symbols eg. d/f+3 means press down,forward, and cross at the same time. ~= press very close together eg. in f+2~1 the 1 and 2 would have to be pressed nearly at the same time. NOTE: If a move is written in CAPITALS eg. U/B+4 means hold up and back. Don't just press it and then let go. Lower case means just press. 2. How Forest Law and I became the best of friends: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I'm a martial arts freak; I've always admired Bruce Lee and watched his movies over and over again until I was forced to get some Panadol. One day (sometime around 1995) I went over to a friend's house and he asked me if I wanted to play Tekken. I didn't have a clue what he was talking about for I didn't own a PSX back then. When he showed me the game and how it's played, I got quite excited and joined in. When we reached the character select screen I scrolled through the characters and to me they all appeared pretty weird. Though when I reached the name Law I was stunned at the dudes appearance. I turned to my friend and said "Hey isn't that Bruce Lee." and he answered, "No! That's Law." I was kind of confused at first but in the end I chose him for he appeared to be the only normal character in the game (I had a thing for normal characters back then). We began to fight and as you'd expect I button bashed for I didn't have a clue what to do. Though soon enough I performed Law's Run Up to Drop move, "Wow what was that?" I yelled, the move really made me jump in excitement. I fought on only to perform a rising somersault kick. I was really impressed with what the little polygon dude could do. Since then I have stayed with the cool Bruce Lee wannabe from Tekken 2 until Tekken Tag. And when he changed from Forest to Marshall I was even happier, for what Marshall lacked, Forest improved. Too bad Forest isn't in Tekken 4. 3. Why Law? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Now that you know a bit about me, let's move onto Forest. Well we all know that the Mishima family dominates the Tekken tournaments. But that's only (in my opinion) because they have some of the strongest (and cheapest) moves out there, and aren't really risky to use. Sure you can do Thunder and Wind Godfists all day and knock out a full health bar even before the match starts. But then what's the point of playing strategically. I'm not saying that all Mishima (notice I say Mishima and not Kazama i.e. Jin and Jun) players are crap and cheap, there probably are some good Mishima players, I use Heihachi myself. It just really gets on my nerves when I see a Heihachi or Kazuya player who thinks he's the Tekken God when all he does is just uppercuts. The point I'm trying to get at is that Forest isn't the kind of character that has an immense amount of super damage attacks. He has some, but not as many as say Kazuya or Heihachi (or Paul the Death Fist freak). Law doesn't have fancy stances like Lei or Ling Xiaoyu which makes him very easy to get used to. He has many moves that are safe in emergencies even though they don't always do a lot of damage. His speed is very good, though he should be way faster considering he is a Bruce Lee clone. He has a decent number of throws to chose from, mainly because he is a mix of his father Marshall and himself. His ten strings are great as well, and do very good damage even if all hits don't connect. Forest has a total of 6 ten strings and they can be divided into two sections. The first section is what I call the counter hit ten strings. These are the ones, which start d/f+1,2,2,1. If the first few hits of these ten strings connect on a counter hit then the rest of the combo is guaranteed. On the down side though, if they are blocked early they can be easily reversed or interrupted as they are too slow and predictable (unless you're up against someone like Gun Jack). The other ten strings I call the confusing ones. These begin d/f+1,3,2,2 and I call them this because they are faster and not as predictable as the ones before. Because the 2,2 part (as in d/f+1,3,2,2) is easily avoided the rest of the ten string comes on fast and tricky to back it up. After the ten strings come Law's parries. As most of you know, Law is the Tekken King at parrying, which is one heck of a useful title. As well as the normal non damage parries Law has a parry that actually does damage. Just think how useful that is. There you are eating Paul's Phoenix Smasher's with an inch of health left. Then Paul comes in again to finish you of. He does the crouch dash, he pulls back his fist, he's seconds away from victory... when you pull of your Fake step parry turning him around with your Tricky Fist counter. You move in and do the Dragon Bites back throw, and he's out. Around half a health bar gone with two moves. You may think that this is unlikely to work, however who were you gonna be whacking if that Phoenix Smasher smashed you? Yourself of course. Parries are excellent reversals as they can not be reversed, and guess what? Law can parry all kinds of attacks. This includes low, mid, high, air and no, not unblockables. The next thing is Law's superb juggle damage, with the main reason for this being his somersault kicks. As much as we all would like to call Law cheap for his flipkicks we all now that they are very punishable if whiffed, and very reversable if you pay attention. About half or more of Law's juggles come due to his somersault mix ups, which he can link together to make the fight look more like Olympic Gymnastics. As well as somersault launchers, Forest also has several uppercut starters like his Dragon Storm which has to really hit on a counter otherwise an experienced adversary will block it or reverse. Then there's his Dragon Upper, which is more reliable as it is a one hit juggle move. He's also got the basic d/f+2 uppercut and the u/f+4 jumping kick, which are both fast reliable one hit launchers. Then there's everyones favourite Forest Law move the Junkyard Combo. Don't you just love killing your opponent with that move over and over again. In Tekken 3, the Junkyard wasn't really a juggle move, but now in Tekken Tag, you can easily add the Double Flipkick on the end to really piss your friend of. 4. Movelist with importance ratings (I rate the moves on their importance) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Law has over 70 moves. To master him, you have to find a purpose for everyone of those (or at least most). Below I have divided his movelist by the importance of the move. Each move shall be rated and the reason for the rating shall be given ('R' stands for 'Reason'). The most important moves are rated with a one (1). These are the moves you should use the most and learn first. The rest of the moves are either a 2 or a 3. The moves with a 2 are still important but shouldn't be overused as they are possible too risky, slow etc. 3 are moves that you should use if you really have no other choice or if there is a huge opening and the move the opposition has preformed has long recovery time. You will find that I have given some strategies on the moves under the 'S' section. The following moves I rate 1: GRAPPLING ARTS Command Place Name Damage Escape 2+4 front Hopping Frog 30 2 R- This throw leaves the opponent very close allowing initial damage such as Dragon's Tail added. Aswell as Dragon's Tail, moves like Dragon Judgement can also be used. d/f+1+2 front Chastisement Punch 30 2 = 1,2,1+2 = Bulldog Drop 35 -- R- With the first, Chastisement Punch throw, you may land a Dragon's Tail if you're lucky. However, for the Bulldog Drop you can lay in some maximum slaughter of your choice. f,f+3+4 [~5] front Dragon Knee [tag] 28 1+2 R- Once again leaves opponent quite close for perhaps a Junkyard and can also be used as a tag throw. f+2+3 front Run Up Drop 30 1 R- A very fast throw, although not always the easiest to connect. It is an excellent way to finish moves like the Rave War Combo (F+2,2,2) that is stopped after the second hit. 1+3 or 2+4 or 2+5 back Dragon Bites 50 -- R- It does excellent damage and to make things even better, you can add stuff like Dragon's Tail after it. SPECIAL ARTS Command Name Damage Range Properties F+2,2,2 Rave War Combo 12,5,10 hmh R- A very fast three hit combo. It interrupts very well hits high and mid and can be delayed for a long period of time. It is an excellent set up move for your stronger attacks and juggles. S- If it doesn't hit on a counter, it is a good idea to end this move on the second hit. The last punch is a high backfist and if it's ducked, you will be left very open. If it is blocked then add a quick move like d/f+2. Or if you see your opponent getting ready to attack go for the low jab to somersault. If the first two hits do connect, then you can add on a Run Up To Drop, or back dash out of trouble and strike with a Dragon Storm. d,d/f,F+1 Power Jab 12 h Knocks down = ~4,3,4 = Shaolin Spin Kicks 16,12,12 hhh on counter hit = ~4,u+3 = Roundhouse - Somersault 16,30 hm R- It may look like an ordinary jab, but I think it's slightly faster than Law's normal one. Any way, this is a very good move if you want to tag out. S- If you're against a bulldog then make them eat this move. It doesn't do a lot of damage, but it knocks the opponent back a bit on a normal hit, and on a counter it knocks them down. 4,u+3 Roundhouse - Somersault 16,30 hm R- An excellent all round move. Use this to score high in juggles, or use it to trick your opponent into attacking. This move is very deceiving as it can perform a follow up very quickly. S- It's and excellent move for confusing especially if you add throws after it for people will be expecting a Junkyard or Dragon Storm. b+1,2,1 [~5] Dragon Storm [tag] 12,12,15 hmm Juggle R- Has good reach for a punch, comes out fast enough to interrupt, can be delayed for a decent period and if connects right it sets up the most lethal juggles. S- Do not over use this move, as it leaves you very open if blocked. (Back Turned)1or2 Dragon Back Blow 15 h R- When your back is facing your opponent you are in a very vulnerable stage. Mastering this move will reduce those chances by a mile. 2,2 Rave War 6,10 hh R- A quite fast two hit combo which should be used mainly as an interrupter. d/b+2 Dragon Whip 15 m = ~4 [~D] = Spring Kick 25 m R- Both hits will only hit on a counter. If they do a lot of damage is inflicted. S- This move is also good for fast d/f+2 type launchers. Using just the Dragon Whip is recommended as long as you're ready to low jab or do the dragon Back Blow. b+2,3,4 [~5] Junkyard Combo [tag] 12,8,22 mlm Juggle R- Do I really have to explain. This move has been getting on the nerves of so many players that it's not funny. It is probably Law's best move. The reason being it's versatility. It is fast so it's good at interrupting. It is a juggle which delivers damn fine damage. It is quite tricky to block. And finally it is supa dupa at attacking opponents who are rising from the ground. d+2,3 Mid Jab - Somersault 8/10,21 mm R- Law's fastest somersault mixup. And excellent interrupter and a very fast and quite powerful juggle launcher. WS+2 [~5] Dragon Upper [tag] 22 m Juggle R- A very good juggle starter with decent power. It's speed is not too bad, but against experts you'll have to time it well. SS+2,1,2~1 Dragon Judgement 10,7,10,27 mmmm R- Unless you input the sidestep very quickly it'll be kind of predictable. Most people know Law has dangerous sidestep attacks so they'll keep back if you do so. This move is excellent against a person rising from the ground and against a back turn. This is because it's so fast. D/F,d,d/f+3 Dragon Slide 17 L R- Probably Law's trickiest moves, but it's well worth it. Laws Dragon Slide is so fast that a standing opponent has practically no chance unless he's psychic. The crouch is the only part that makes it predictable. SS+3+4 Double Dragon 16,22 mh R- Packs awesome power if it connects. Leaves you open if it's blocked. A very hard move to block if the first hit connects. any jump+4 [~5] Quick Catapult [tag] 25 m Juggle = 3 = Twin Catapult 21 m Juggle R- This combination makes the most of juggles extremely energy reducing. In itself, if whiffed can be punished though only if your opponent has distance. Close up, a low jab can save your life. d+3+4 [*D] Frog Man [lies down] 25 or 27 mm R- An excellent move against bulldogs. Is fast and if you whiff it you have the safety option of lying down. d/b+4 Dragon's Tail 25 l R- The best low move Law has and boy is it a good one. Though be careful when using, as if it's blocked then Law trips and is very open. b+1+3 or 2+4 High Parry -- -- R- Parries are always better then reversals because they can't be reversed. Your opposition will have a hard time causing damage if you parry their every attack. d or d/b+1+3 or 2+4 Low Parry -- -- R- Harder to use then the other parry, but more effective as it sends the opponent of balance. b+1+2 Tricky Step (parry) -- -- = *1 = Tricky Trap 12 h = 2 = Tricky Fist 12 h = 3 = Tricky Step In Kick 22 h = 4 = Tricky Low Kick 15 l R- In my opinion, this is probably the best punch parry in all of Tekken Tag. You have a range of four different moves each useful for something different. The following moves I rate 2: GRAPPLING ARTS Command Place Name Damage Escape 1+3 front Dragon's Fire 7,23 1 R- This throw looks great but in actual fact isn't that useful. Since Law whacks the opponent so far away, your only chance is to do a dashing attack. 1+3 or 2+4 or 2+5 left Headlock Kick 40 1 R- The throw alone does decent damage but doesn't really give you the range to do a follow on to your grounded opponent. 1+3 or 2+4 or 2+5 right Nut Cracker 42 2 R- Same thing here. SPECIAL ARTS Command Name Damage Range Properties 1,2 Double Punch 5,12 hh R- It's speed is pretty crap, considering this is Bruce Lee's clone we're talking about. f+1+2 Dragon Hammer 23 m Bounce Juggle on counter R- A handy move with decent speed and power. It's very useful on a counter hit though, if you can manage to get it. 3,4 [~5] Head Kick - Somersault[tag] 18,21 hm Juggle 3,3,4 [~5] Double Kick - Somersault[tag] 18,10,21 hhm Juggle 3,3,3,4 [~5] Triple Kick - Somersault[tag] 18,10,10,21 hhhm Juggle R- These variations set up juggles very nicely, if they hit. It is not likely that you well connect both the head kick/s and the flipkick unless you're fighting an idiot. Use these combinations to interrupt slow strings when you have distance. 3,f+3 Head Kick - Step In Kick 18,15 hm 3,3,f+3 Double Kick - Step In Kick 18,10,15 hhm R- A similar combo except there is no flipkick. Again should be used for interrupting as it is too easy to parry or reverse. d+3,3,f+3 Rave Kicks - Step In Kick 8,10,15 lhm d+3,3,3,f+3 Rave Kicks - Head Kick - Step in Kick 8,10,10,15 lhhm R- Slightly less predictable then the previous, but shouldn't be over used. Good against opponents who are rising of the ground. d+3,3,4 Rave Kicks - Somersault 8,10,21 lhm Juggle d+3,3,3,4 Rave Kicks - Head Kick - Somersault 8,10,10,21 lhhm Juggle d+3,3,3,3,4 Rave Kicks - Double Head Kick - Somersault 8,10,10,10 21 lhhhm Juggle R- Probably the best variation out of Law's kicking combos. Quite good at atacking rising opponents, hits all three ranges and it's damage is decent. D/F+3,3,3 Step In Combo 18,10,16 mlh R- A mixture of a Step In Kick and a stronger version of the Rave Kicks. Hard to connect so should really be only used as a counter for distance attacks. (While running)+3 Leaping Slash Kick 30 m R- Dodges low attacks pretty well, has good strength with average speed by it's side. d+3,4 [~5] Crouch Kick - Somersault[tag]12,21 lm Juggle R- Good against rising opponents and has very deceiving recovery time. Your opponent may think you're vulnerable from you crouch, but you stun them with a low jab, or a fast rising attack. WS+3,4 [~5] Twist Kick - Somersault[tag]28,25 hm Juggle R- The same move as the normal rising Twist Kick. The only difference is that the somersault comes in handy, if the Twist Kick is whiffed. any jump+3,4 [~5] Jump Kick - Somersault [tag]25,25 mm Juggle R- Good against an opponent who is doing a low kick. The Jump Kick will dodge it, while the somersault shall launch on a counter hit. From crouch, any jump,4 [~5]Fake Somersault - Sky Kick [tag]15or22or25 m Juggle R- A good trick move against an opponent who is expecting a somersault kick. The following Sky Kick will hit him sky high. d+4,3 Low Kick - Somersault 7,21 lm Juggle R- Same reason as Crouch Kick to Somersault. d/f+4,3 Front Kick - Somersault 15,21 mm Juggle WS+4,3 Face Kick - Somersault 12,21 mm Juggle R- These two moves are literally the same except one is done standing, while the other from a rising crouch. Should only be used as counters otherwise they leave you very, very open. STRING HIT ARTS Command Hits Damage Range d/f+1,2,2,1,3,3,3,4,3,4 10 10,5,6,5,7,6,7,7,10,25 mhm"hh"Lhhhm d/f+1,2,2,1,3,d+3,3,N+4,4,4 10 10,5,6,5,7,6,6,8,15,38 mhm"hh"Lm"lLm d/f+1,2,2,1,3,d+3,3,3,4,4 10 10,5,6,5,7,6,6,7,7,38 mhm"hh"Lm"lLm d/f+1,3,2,2,3,3,3,4,3,4 10 10,6,6,8,6,6,7,7,10,25 mlm"hhLhhhm d/f+1,3,2,2,3,d+3,3,N+4,4,4 10 10,6,6,8,6,6,6,8,15,38 mlm"hhLm"hlm d/f+1,3,2,2,3,d+3,3,N+3,4,4 10 10,6,6,8,6,6,6,7,7,38 mlm"hhLm"lLm R- Law's ten hitters are quite good. Fast do enough damage and aren't the easiest to block... for beginners and some intermediates. Be careful when you're using them and don't over use them. The following moves I rate 3: SPECIAL ARTS Command Name Damage Range Properties f+2~1 [~5] Poison Arrow [tag] 40 m R- It's not that its a bad move, but it is so useless. It is so slow and even moves with average recovery time can block it after a whiff. Should only be used as a counter though it surprisingly has decently short recovery time. b+1+2 Tricky Step -- -- = 1 = Fake Step Blow 43 m = 2 [~5] = Dragon Upper [tag] 32 m Juggle = 3 = Low Fake Step 10 l R- For me, this has never been successful. It takes ages to do an attack, the step totally gives it away making it the most predictable move Law has. I guess it can be used while your opponent is recovering from something like the Falling Leaf combo or from a juggle. d/b+1+2 Dragon Fang 100 ! = u,u = Cancel -- -- R- The cancel really saves your but half the time. Use this when you have distance or time on your side. 5. Law's general strengths and weaknesses: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nearly all Tekken characters have some weaknesses, nearly. An example of a no weakness character is Nina, she is just too god damn perfect. If you can find a weakness she has, then congratulations 'cos many people can't. Anyway, Law isn't perfect like Nina which gives you that challenging edge. You should concentrate on strengths and weaknesses equally or rather more on weaknesses. Strengths aren't always important because all characters have them. Weaknesses however aren't as common. When you are about to verse someone, consider the "characters" strengths and weaknesses as well as your own. There's nothing worse then going into battle not having a clue what to expect. If you can, first observe what your opponent does if you've never seen him fight before. Attack with a fast safe pokes, and get ready to reverse a reversal just in case your opponent is better then you thought. Let them attack and watch the combo's and retaliations. Don't give away your best moves at the beginning and if your adversary comes at you crazy with killer combos dash back and get ready to parry. Forest Law's strengths: 1. He is fast, one of the fastest males 2. His parrying abilities are excellent 3. His juggling delivers huge damage 4. His punches have close and long ranges 5. He has many defensive moves against bulldogs such as Frogman and the backwards somersault (u/b+4) 6. He has more throws then an average character 7. He can attack all ranges, low, high and mid 8. His power up can be cancelled and delivers the second most damage in Tekken Tag after Kuma's Fatal Wind and Gun Jack's Dark Greeting 9. Attacking opponents who are rising from the ground 10.His few power shots come out quite fast Forest Law's Weaknesses: 1. He's too predictable at times, the amount of moves he has is quite small compared to others 2. He lacks any decent kicking combinations beside his somersaults 2. He leaves himself open many times forcing to finish many combos early 3. None of his front throws do a great deal of damage 4. Doesn't take a lot of damage to knock out i.e. his hit points are low 5. Lacks any very damaging power shots (his main damage range is around the 30's and high 20's 6. Law compared to other characters (Law's strengths and weaknesses compared to other characters) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Although characters have a natural advantage and disadvantage over others, it isn't impossible to beat them. It just means that you're gonna have to fight harder then usual. Below, I have compared Law to all the characters in Tekken Tag. It is all general knowledge and won't work 100% of the time, but it gives you a rough strategy against each of the characters. The characters that have an asterisk beside their name are Law's trouble source. If you come face to face with them, get ready for a hard fight. The characters with a plus sign are not as hard but still aren't easy. The ones with no mark you shouldn't have much trouble with. * Anna & * Nina Williams: They are both very fast and Nina is equipped with a reversal. They are one of Law's hardest opponents. Remember to parry a lot as they will otherwise poke you to death. Dash back and attack with fast long reaching attacks like the Dragon storm. Armour King & * King: Armour King is fairly easy, just watch his Stagger Kicks and power shots. King is another story. He can poke very well, has a tonne of throws and multis, and can reverse Law's somersault kicks. Play a little more defensive then usual as King's Stagger kicks are very overused, but attack enough for Law's speed is his advantage here. When playing defensively watch that he doesn't throw you, better still keep him at a distance and attack him with long range attacks. Baek Do San & Hwoarang: Remember, Baek's strength is in his legs, and hands are always faster than feet. Just watch for his little kick combos and get distance when possible. You can easily interrupt his strings with your Rave War, Machine Gun Arrow, Dragon Whip to Spring Kick and anything fast enough to beat Baek. If he starts his combos from a distance then get ready knock him flat with Poison Arrow. Hwoarang is quite different from his master. Hwoarang makes more use of his hands to try and lure you into attacking so he can land a big kick in your face. He still does Tae Kwon Do though, so remember the golden rule: hands are faster then feet. Unlike Baek, Hwoarang doesn't do as many combos and he has the feet change thing, motion switch it's called. His combos are based around the same principles, so get ready to interrupt and of course parry. Don't over use multiple punch strings like the Machine Gun arrow otherwise Hwoarang will knock you aside with moves like Nose Bleeder (b+4). With Law's Bruce Lee spirit on your side you should handle the Blood Talon easily. + Bryan Fury & + Bruce Irvin: Being kickboxers their punches are the fastest out of the guys. Bruce's main weapon is the speed of his punches which he combines with his legs. Bruce has many PK (punch kick) combos. So it isn't wise to try to parry for you are likely to mispredict which one he's going to do. The main thing against him is to continuously attack with fast safe moves. Don't give him breathing room but once in while dash back and let him attack. If he hits you don't retaliate straight away as that's what he's waiting for. Bryan is quite different though his punches remain the same speed. Just make sure you don't continuously attack otherwise Bryan's Hammerdriver (1+2) will thrash you. Also remember that he has a punch parry equipped with a counter just like Law's Fake Step parry. Don't be too offensive but don't be too defensive. What ever you do, don't try to interrupt his strings. Dragon's Tail should be used cautiously because if you're blocked then Bryan can assault you with his excellent range of crouching moves. Eddy Gordo/ Tiger Jackson: Well, they say that nobody knows all of Eddy's moves and they're probably right. The main weapon Eddy can hit you with is his confusing strings, there are many of them. But with Law, you can interrupt his strings with many moves as long as you are quite familiar with Eddy's strings. If you're not, then make sure you stay in close and interrupt everything he throws at you. Also watch for his throws for his Rodeo Spin hurts quite a bit. His front throws leave you quite close him making it easy to add a following move before you can get up. Many of Eddy's moves are low so have your low parry ready but be careful as if you don't parry the low attack right then the next is bound to mid and knock you down. +/* Forest Law: What can I say, this could be an extremely hard fight, or it could be head slapping easy. It all depends on how good you are with Law and how good your opposition is. If you both are at the same level of experience then it's really just luck if either of you win. Though remember, he's got everything you have, whether he can use it or not concludes his experience. +/* Ganryu: Just saying his name ticks me off. I hate the fat blob! His style proves quite difficult for Law as he uses a lot of dodge based attacks, and moves that can't be parried. The moves I'm talking about are his shoulder rams and body tackles. So don't try to parry, unless you see an obvious punch or kick which is quite rare. Ganryu has all advantages on his side. You may think that because he's fat that he's slow, well you're wrong. His speed is quite good even though Law is faster. You'll really have to attack from a distance and when you see him coming nail his fat but with Frogman or a Retreating Somersault (u/b+4). Because he's big, he isn't the easiest to sidestep. When he throws you, don't fall for the foot stomp. If you wanna knock him with Charge Power Punch when he's about to do the stomp, make sure you have decent distance. For the move is very deceiving, as I found out. DON'T try to use Charge Power punch when he sits down. Ganryu isn't as hopeless as Gun Jack who take ages to rise. He has moves in which he rises as he does so. Against him use mainly long reaching mid moves like Dragon Storm and Junkyard and all the rest of them. Ganryu's tackles go under high attacks and he will squish you if you try Dragon's Tail. Gun Jack, * Jack 2 & P. Jack: If you give him a chance, Gun Jack will wipe you out with just a few hits. Thankfully, unlike Ganryu, Gun Jack is very slow. You can really just go full out and take the offensive side, for he won't be able to do anything as he's so slow. Just watch out for his Double Axe (d+1+2) which goes under high attacks and does a great deal of damage. Because of this don't attack with moves like Machine Gun Arrow from a distance. Stay in close and clean him out. If you do by any chance get some distance, remember that he's got longer reach. Wait for him to come and parry or interrupt what he throws at you. P.Jack is the same but he doesn't have the Double Axe move. Still he is slightly faster than Gun Jack so be more careful when attacking. Jack 2 is probably the hardest of Jacks, mainly because his speed is greater then both Gun Jack and P. Jack. His moves do a lot of damage and are quite fast. Here you have to be more defensive and parry his moves. His lack of moves makes him predictable so let him come to you and if he comes in throwing range punch him back out of it. All in all be careful. + Heihachi Mishima & + Kazuya Mishima: Remember what I said at the beginning? Thunder and Wind Godfist's. Yes now you remember. Heihachi is mainly a power character, but if you come close and poke him crazy he'll hit you with the super fast Demon's Breath or Shining Fists. So attacking in close range isn't recommended. Stay at medium range so your Junkyard and Dragon Storm reach but also so you can see his Thunder Godfist coming. It's not wise to wait for a while and then go in to attack, as Heihachi's Hammer to Power Punch does high damage on a counter hit. In close range short pauses are recommended as they give time for the old man to retaliate. Heihachi isn't a combo character but his Hell Axle (u/f 3,4) is parryable. If you use moves like Junkyard and Law's Dragon Whip to Spring Kick you will overpower Heihachi. His lack of moves should give you yet another advantage. Kazuya is very similar. He doesn't have the Demon's Breath but he has the Demon Godfist (d/f+2) which stuns and is pretty fast. Your speed should be your weapon and parry. Don't do somersault kicks unless they are guaranteed to hit. The Main thing to worry about Kazuya is that his punches stun when they hit. The number of moves Kazuya has is very small so take note of what moves are mainly used and get ready to parry. * Jin Kazama: Jin has fast moves as well as strong ones. He attacks all ranges and has reversals. Because of his mixed style it is hard to determine what he will use next. Here you'll have to mix the game up. Stay mainly in medium range and when going in close attack fast and hard and then away so he can't reverse. Don't be predictable or he'll reverse your every move. Make use of your juggles and somersault kicks. Remember his Wind Godfist hits high and can be ducked under. Jin has very few low attacks and because of this he will use his Spinning Demon to trick you. Stay on guard, block his Spinning Demon and retaliate with you Dragon Upper and deliver a killer juggle or do a rising somersault. + Julia Chang & Michelle Chang: They have good mix ups but even still they are quite predictable if you're playing defensively. Remember they can't take much damage so when you see them beginning their Bowleg combos, dash back and get ready to do either a Double Flipkick or Poison Arrow. They are quite fast too with their 8 frame jab beating everything you have, besides your parry. * Jun Kazama: Very annoying with her combos so play on the defensive side so her combos don't land on a counter hit. Jun plays better on the attack so keep her blocking but watch for her reversals which she is bound to use at any cost. Also watch for her Thunder Fall Kick (3+4) which she is likely to use to jump over your attacks and land on a counter. Make sure her combos don't hit on a counter and you'll be all right to parry and kill. + Lei Wulong: Lei has many mix ups and a tonne of tricks to pull of from all of his 12 stances. Yes 12! He's got his animal stances, back turn and Play Dead. Lei Has a good defensive game with his Play Dead and Cannon Ball in which he moves his head back first. Attacking and defending should be around 50% each. If Lei comes rushing in with his Razor Rush let him come and block and parry if you can. If you can't parry his Razor Rush wait for him to get into his animal stance and try to parry again. With a bit of luck Lei will do some sort of punch. Don't continuously attack but put him under pressure so he goes to the ground. From there you can nail him with either Dragon's Tail or even better the Junkyard Combo. Ling Xiaoyu: Too sweat to kill? Not for you. Her sidesteps and evading is excellent, kind of matches Law's defensive style of parrying. Her speed is similar to yours if not slightly better. So knock her out from a distance with Poison Arrow. If she goes into the Phoenix position, dash back. From there you can either attack with a Junkyard or dash back again and sidestep, move in and do a low hit to somersault. A more weirder solution is to keep dashing back at which point you'll be at the edge of the screen and she'll be up standing. From there you can try some sort of Charge Power Punch trick such as powering up and cancelling a few times. Then power up again but don't cancel. When Ling is in the back turned position attack with a fast low kick eg. d+4 or 3 or do a low jab. The better solution is not to attack but instead do Frogman or the Reverse Double flipkick (u/d+4,3). Don't leave yourself too open as Ling has fast good damaging attacks that hit mid and can't even be ducked in an emergency. + Paul Phoenix: The power house from hell is still here. He's been here from Tekken 1, and he hasn't given up yet. You probably know this but I'll tell you just in case. WATCH OUT FOR HIS PHOENIX SMASHER'S! As well as that, his Falling Leaf is equally annoying so stay on guard. Paul can reverse so be careful. Don't try to parry his Phoenix Smasher unless you're very confident, cos if you miss time it, Paul will send you flying. Use your speed against him and use very safe moves. If you do that then Paul has nothing left to do but to go home. Yoshimitsu & Kunimitsu: Watch his uppercut (d/f+2) and interrupt his ten strings as soon as they start. Watch his Flea tricks and healing and you should have no problem. Kunimitsu is practically the same except she has less moves. Watch her Skyfall (u,1+2)), her disappearance thingies (b,1+2) and her knife stabs which are quite fast. * Lee Chaolan: Lee can be quite difficult. His speed is greater then Law's and he has moves for every situation. He is very good at close range and can also perform Paul's Shredder Combo (f,f*3,4...) if you are too far away. Stay and vary the ranges you are in but make sure you don't continuously attack or Lee will Silver Whip you to death. His hit points are quite low (lower then Law's) so a good strategy would be to move back when he begins his Laser Edge Machine Gun mix ups and then hit with Poison Arrow or something that does decent damage. Try not to get thrown as Lee's throws leave you close to him and Lee is an expert at low kicks. Lee's strategy will be similar to yours as his health is low and he needs counter hits to do decent damage. Parry a lot and if you see your chance throw in a few ten strings. Play defensively but attack enough for Lee's moves don't do super damage and for the most you can take some hits like his Silver Whip. Know which moves he can throw Hitman after and don't get hit by his Hitman moves. Wang: Wang is the same as Michelle or Julia except he has very low health points. + Alex/ Roger: Fight them as you would fight King or Armour King. Watch for their Wind Up Punch mix ups and don't get hit by their Animal Uppercut. */+ Kuma/ Panda: They can be really annoying. Think of them as Jack 2 and Ganryu put together. They are fast and do a lot of damage. They all have the old Jack punch combos only their's are faster. Watch for their Rolling Bear and the Hunting positions. If you're not careful Kuma and Panda will do a lot of damage before you know it. Parrying should be easy. Remember if you wanna cause more damage after your parry do the Tricky Trap and add Dragon's Tail after it. + Ogre and True Ogre: The only good thing about these weirdoes is that it's hard to predict their moves because they are a mixture of so many characters. Watch their unblockables and remember that True Ogre has very good arm reach. Devil/ Angel: These are just Kazuya with lasers. They have the Wind Godfist and their Twin Pistons don't have to be done from a crouch. Their Thunder Godfist is less powerful then the Mishima one, but that's only because if it hits, Devil can do a flying slam (f,N,d,D/F,2,U/F). Fight them as you would Kazuya and watch out for their Reverse Air Laser (3+4,3+4) which can be deceiving. 7. Juggles ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As we all should know by now, one of Law's main strengths are his juggles. below I have written the strongest juggles for the best launchers. Launcher/s: Dragon Storm & Dragon Upper (B+1,2,1 or WS+2) Command Damage Hits 1. U/F+4,3 71 or 54 5 or 3 2. f+2~1,5,d (Law needs to be partnered with 71 5 a character who will do the Poison Arrow tag with him.) This juggle only works for Dragon Storm. 3. 4,u+3,d/f+3 (works best for Dragon Storm) 75 6 4. 4,u+3,d/b+4 (works best for Dragon Upper) 61 4 5. u/f+3,4 (works best for Dragon Storm) 71 5 Launcher: Junkyard (hard to connect) (B+2,3,4) Command Damage Hits 1. U/F+4,3 74 5 2. ~f+2~1 74 4 3. ~f+2~1,d (Law needs to be partnered with 71 5 a character who will do the Poison Arrow tag) 4. d/b+2,4 66 5 Launcher/s: Twin Catapult (U/F+4,3) Command Damage Hits 1. d+2,3~d/b+4 80 5 2. d,d/f,F+1,d/b+4 63 4 Launcher: Somersault Kick (U/F+4) Command Damage Hits 1. WS+3,4 59 3 2. U/F+4 49 2 Launcher/s: Somersault Variations- If your juggle begins with a somersault variation (eg. Crouch Kick to somersault, Head Kick to Somersault, Low Jab to Somersault etc), then it is best to finish it of with a somersault variation of your choice. 8. Tag info ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Many say that Law needs to have somebody strong like Paul or King to back him up. This is believed because Law has low health points and needs a heavy hitter on his side. But in my opinion, if you find a partner for Law that is suitable and you work very well with, then stay with him. My team is Law and Xiaoyu. Sure they both have very low health points and don't do decent damage, but I found that the two worked well together. They both can parry very well, and have very fast and evasive attacks. Though to have a team like mine, you have to be at a quite high experience level otherwise the heavy hitters will eat you for breakfast. I can't tell you the best partner for Law as everybody learns differently. Personally, I think that all the characters that can do the Poison Arrow Tag with Law, are a good idea to choose from. Below I have written down teams that I would choose. BAEK & Law: Law loves to punch, Baek loves to kick. This makes it a very confusing team for your opponent. EDDY & Law: A very similar team, but even more confusing. As you probably know, Eddy's the master of confusion and so will back up Law small variety in a flash. BRYAN & Law: A very dangerous team that nobody will mess with. Bryan's vicious array of swift yet strong punches and kicks complements Law's lack of power shots. KING & Law: I'm not sure why this is good, but people say so, which is why I've added it. JIN & Law: Jin is one of the best characters in Tekken Tag. He makes up once again for Law's lack of power shots. HWOARANG & Law: Played well, Hwoarang and Law can drain very good damage of their opponent. They can pull of the deadliest of tag juggles and complement each other well. When punching comes together with hard kicking and confusing combos there isn't much the opposition can do. HEIHACHI & Law: Two juggle masters, one with muscle strength, while the other having lightning speed. A very good team with the small weakness of, lacking variety. LEI & Law: Lei's confusing Kung Fu mix ups and quite crippling kicks go well with Law's Dragon Stuff. LING & Law: THE BEST TEAM BECAUSE IT'S MY TEAM! Just kidding. Very good on the defensive side. Both Ling and Law can parry and Ling has many sidestepping moves aswell. They are both speed characters which gives them the weakness of low health points. NINA & Law: Anyone good with Nina is always a good back up. Nina's large variety and few weaknesses, help Law's limited number and easy to counter moves. PAUL & Law: Law and Paul have very good Poison Arrow tag combinations. Teaming up with Paul is similar to teaming with Heihachi. Paul's heavy hitters really can save Law's but when he needs it. 9. General Strategy ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Attacking: Law has quite fast punch strings which vary but are good at poking and interrupting. He attacks with three hit combos and is a very good juggler. Whenever you launch someone with a juggle, do as much damage as possible. Law's single power shots are quite sparse and aren't the best in the game. Even still, Law can do a lot of damage with his somersault mix ups and Dragon's Tail combos. He can do all this, but if he makes a mistake, he can be punished very harshly. Don't continuously attack as you are likely to whiff an attack and get your head stomped on. Also take advantage of any rising or rolling opponent that are close by. Your Junkyard can flatten them easily. If you are up against someone slow keep them under a lot of pressure and interrupt everything they throw at you. On the other hand. If you are versing a swift fighter, keep at good distance and play defensively, parrying there every move. Defending: It is always better to defend with Law, as he can parry very well and if he sees an opening, his Dragon stuff will leave the opponent in a wheelchair. To defend, you have to be a good blocker, or at least a damn good interrupter. Remember interrupting is a part of defence. And you should interrupt when possible with good fast and decent damage moves. Also make sure you don't leave yourself open because Law's health points aren't something to brag about. Parry as much as possible and be very cautious with what you throw at your opponent. 10. Credits ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Credits go to Tekken Zaibatsu from whom I got the movelist. And to Namco as I got a lot of info from their mag about the Tekken Tag characters. The authors of Forest Law guides deserve some credit too as they inspired me to write my own. And, um, that's it I think... oh no, how could I forget. Bruce Lee deserves major credit as if it wasn't for him then there wouldn't be any wannabe's like Forest trying to impersonate him. Also credit goes to my friends Mylo, Benny, Glenn, Jensen, Mouhsin and Dion for being my punching bags and training dummies against Law. Date finished: saturday 7/14/01 8:38pm