Tekken Tag Tournament: Kazuya Mishima Strategy Guide Final Version October 12, 2001 FAQ written by Devil_Jin for the Arcade and Sony PlayStation 2 E-Mail Address: MCDevilJin@tekken.cc Yahoo IM Screen Name: Devil_Kazuya_28@yahoo.com AIM Screen Name: DevilLee19 IRC and Tekken Zaibatsu Screen Name: Devil_Jin EZBoard BBS Screen Name: MCDevilJin Visit my BBS here: http://pub21.ezboard.com/bmcdeviljinstekkenbbs Unpublished Work Trademarked (TM) and copyrighted (c) Devil_Jin 2001- 2002. All Rights Reserved. IMPORTANT: YOU MUST READ AND AGREE TO EVERY PART AND EVERY WORD OF THIS DISCLAIMER. USE OF THIS FILE CONSTITUTES ACCEPTANCE TO THIS DISCLAIMER. Unpublished work Copyright 2001-2002 Devil_Jin *********************************************************************** *********************************************************************** ** MY PRAYERS GO OUT TO THOSE WHO LOST THEIR LIVES IN THE TRADEGY OF ** *** THE WORLD TRADE CENTER AND PENTAGON BOMBING, ON SEPTEMBER 11TH, *** **** 2001. HOPEFULLY, THE SCUMBAGS RESPONSIBLE WILL BROUGHT TO **** ***** JUSTICE, AND WE'LL HAVE A CHANCE TO RECOVER AS A NATION. ***** *********************************************************************** *********************************************************************** This FAQ and everything included within this file cannot be reproduced in any way, shape or form (physical, electronical, or otherwise) aside from being placed on a freely-accessible, non-commercial web page in it's original, unedited and unaltered format. This FAQ cannot be used for profitable purposes (even if no money would be made from selling it) or promotional purposes. It cannot be used in any sort of commercial transaction. It cannot be given away as some sort of bonus, gift, etc., with a purchase as this creates incentive to buy and is therefore prohibited. Furthermore, this FAQ cannot be used by the publishers, editors, employees or associates, etc. of any company, group, business, or association, etc., nor can it be used by game sites and the like. It cannot be used in magazines, guides, books, etc. or in any other form of printed or electronic media (including mediums not specifically mentioned) in ANY way, shape, or form (including reprinting, reference or inclusion), WITHOUT THE EXPRESS WRITTEN PERMISSION OF THE AUTHOR (Devil_Jin). This FAQ was created and is owned by myself, Devil_Jin . All copyrights and trademarks are acknowledged and respected that are not specifically mentioned in this FAQ. This FAQ was written for GameFAQs (http://www.gamefaqs.com), Tekken Zaibatsu (http://www.tekkenzaibatsu.com), and Catlord's Tekken Collection (http://www.catlord.com) ONLY. I don't want it to be put up on any other web sites at this point and am not above explaining this to your ad banner guys or whoever else I can get ahold of if you decide to violate this disclaimer. To continue, this FAQ and everything included herein is protected by the Berne Copyright Convention of 1976, not to mention International Copyright Law. Remember that plagiarism is a crime, and that this is a copyrighted work - stealing from this guide is putting yourself at risk, plain and simple, because the law is on my side. I feel the need to mention that the following publishers/publications/companies have ripped from many Tekken authors in the past, namely: the Ziff-Davis Video Game Group (publishers of EGM, Expert Gamer, etc.), and Game Cave. If you want to show your appreciation for having this nice free FAQ to read, please do so by not reading any of these rags, or refraining from buying anything at Game Slave - er, uh, Cave ^_^. And I mean this to full effect - THAT _ESPECIALLY_ MEANS ALL OF YOU ASSHOLES AT GAME CAVE! YOU'VE BEEN STEALING EVERYONE'S FAQS FOR BLOOD MONEY FOR TOO LONG, AND IF I FIND OUT YOU ARE GOD FORBID _SELLING_ MY FAQ (WHICH IS _MY_ WORK THAT I POURED MY SWEAT AND SKILL INTO), I AND MANY OTHERS WILL TELL YOUR PROVIDERS TO SHUT YOUR ASSES DOWN FOR GOOD AND SEND YOU BACK TO THE TOILET YOU CAME FROM!!! Author's Note: I would especially like to thank Chris MacDonald, a.k.a. Kao Megura, for his incredibly-thorough Copyright Statement. This man is the best FAQ writer ever for a reason, and it's sad that the populace that reads his FAQs feel the need to rip it for petty reasons such as monetary gain, impressing someone by making them think THEY wrote it themselves, etc., and it's even sadder that these same fans have forced him to retire from FAQ writing from all this stress. To all you people I've mentioned (you know who you are), I give you a hearty, well-meant "FUCK YOU!" The Tekken series, Kazuya Mishima, and all related events/characters are (c) of Namco Hometek. All Rights Reserved. This FAQ can be found at (and ONLY at): Tekken Zaibatsu (http://www.tekkenzaibatsu.com) GameFAQs (http://www.gamefaqs.com) Catlord's Tekken Collection (http://www.catlord.com) If ANY other sites I am not aware of aside from GameFAQs, Tekken Zaibatsu, and Catlord's Tekken Collection have this FAQ on their site/database, I _URGE_ you to mail me the site address, name, and/or link. NO OTHER SITES SHOULD HAVE THIS FAQ ON IT, _NONE_ WHATSOEVER!!! ================= TABLE OF CONTENTS ================= 1. Conventions - Movement Conventions - Linking and Special Conventions - Grounded Positions - Extra Combo Conventions - Move List Abbreviations 2. Strategy Guide Introduction 3. A Special Note To A Good Friend (Revised) 4. Latest Revision History - Version 11.0 - Version 12.0 - Final Version 5. Credits/Sources 6. Kazuya Mishima's Bio 7. Tekken 4 8. Strengths and Weaknesses - Overall Analysis - Strengths - Weaknesses 9. Moves List - Throws - Attacks - Unblockables - Strings 10. Frame Data - Throws - Attacks - Unblockables 11. Moves Analysis - Ranking Chart - Throws - Attacks - Unblockables 12. Combos - Jugglestarters - Stun-Combo Starters - Standard Combo Arts - Counter-Hit Combo Arts - Class 1 Combo Arts - Class 4 Combo Arts - My Favorite Juggles - My Favorite Tag Juggles 13. Strategy - Story Time - The Art of the Crouch Dash - Unofficial Moves - Official Moves - The Wavedash and Lightdash - Sidestepping - Okizeme - Taking Advantage of Frame Data - Custom Strings - OB Strategies - Chickening - Commonly-Reversed Moves - Bait For Chickens - Countering/Interrupting 14. Versus Fights - Alex/Roger - Anna Williams - Armor King - Baek Doo San - Bruce Irvin - Bryan Fury - Devil/Angel - Eddy Gordo/Tiger Jackson - Forest Law - Ganryu - Gun Jack - Heihachi Mishima - Hwoarang - Jack-2 - Jin Kazama - Julia Chang - Jun Kazama - Kazuya Mishima - King - Kuma/Panda - Kunimitsu - Lee Chaolan - Lei Wulong - Ling Xiaoyu - Michelle Chang - Mokujin/Tetsujin - Nina Williams - Ogre - Paul Phoenix - Prototype Jack - True Ogre - Unknown - Wang Jinrey - Yoshimitsu 15. The Best Partners for Kazuya 16. Submitted Strategies - Kazuya VS Anna Strategy - Kazuya VS Michelle Strategy - Kazuya VS Julia Strategy 17. Upcoming FAQs 18. Review Of Versus Book's TTT Perfect Guide 19. All About Me 20. In Conclusion... ======================================================================= 1. Conventions ######################################################## ======================================================================= MOVEMENT CONVENTIONS (Note: These are assuming your character is facing to the right. If they are facing to the left, reverse all b, f, B, F, SSL, and SSR commands. 1 - Left Punch 2 - Right Punch 3 - Left Kick 4 - Right Kick 5 - Tag d - tap Down u - tap Up f - tap Forward b - tap Back d/b - tap Down-Back d/f - tap Down-Forward u/b - tap Up-Back u/f - tap Up-Forward D - tap and hold Down briefly U - tap and hold Up briefly F - tap and hold Forward briefly B - tap and hold Back briefly D/B - tap and hold Down-Back briefly D/F - tap and hold Down-Forward briefly U/B - tap and hold Up-Back briefly U/F - tap and hold Up-Forward briefly N - Neutral joystick position (Joystick is not touched) SS - Sidestep (u,N or d,N) SSL - Sidestep Left (u,N) SSR - Sidestep Right (d,N) qcf - Quarter-Circle Forward (Move stick from down to forward) qcb - Quarter-Circle Back (Move stick from down to back) hcf - Half-Circle Forward (Move stick from back to down to forward) hcb - Half-Circle Back (Move stick from forward to down to back) LINKING AND SPECIAL CONVENTIONS + - Moves must be done together ~ - Moves must be done IMMEDIATELY after the other _ - Or (When used between two moves, they are interchangeable) < - Move following the < has the option of being slightly delayed [] - Brackets surrounding an item indicates an optional output () - Parenthesis indicates moves grouped together {} - Curved brackets indicate buttons needed to break a throw CH - Major Counter-Hit CL - Clean Hit GROUNDED POSITIONS PLD - Play Dead Position, face up & feet away KND - Knockdown Position, face up & feet towards SLD - Slide Position, face down & feet away FCD - Face Down Position, face down & feet towards EXTRA COMBO CONVENTIONS WGF - Wind Godfist (f,N,d,d/f+2) EWGF - Electric Wind Godfist (f,N,d,D/F~2) TGF - Thunder Godfist (f,N,d,d/f+1) big - Can only be done on big characters cc - Crouch Cancel (tap u during crouch) iWS - Instant WS (d~d/b_d~d/f+button) (,) - The hit in parenthesis misses during the combo MOVE LIST ABBREVIATIONS BK - Your back facing the opponent OB - Forces opponent's back to face you OS - Forces opponent's side to face you OSB - Forces opponent's side to face you when blocked JG - Jugglestarter BN - Bounce Jugglestarter RC - Recover Crouching after a move CH - Requires a Counter-Hit DS - Double-Over Stun FS - Fall Back Stun LS - Lift Stun GS - Gut Stun KS - Kneel Stun HS - Hunch-Over Stun TS - Trip Stun CS - Crumple Stun CFS - Crumple Fall Stun CF - Crumple Fall BS - Low Block Stagger SH - Stagger Hit GB - Guard Break FL - Float # - see corresponding footnote c - CH modifier (eg. JGc is a juggle starter on counter hit) cl - Clean Hit modifier (eg. DScl is a double over stun on clean hit) co - Crouching Opponent Modifier (eg. KSco) cco - CH on Crouching Opponent Modifier (eg. FScco) h - Attack hits High (block High or duck) H - Attack hits High and on ground (block High or duck) m - Attack hits Mid (block High) M - Attack hits Mid and on ground (block High) l - Attack hits Low (block Low) L - Attack hits Low and on ground (block Low) Sm - Attack hits Special Mid (block High or Low) ! - Unblockable hit - Unblockable hit which can be ducked {!} - Unblockable hit which hits grounded opponents *!* - Unblockable hit which hits big grounded opponents " - Indicates block point in Strings NEW TTT MOVES If Kazuya has a new move in TTT that he did not have in Tekken 2, I typed that move on the Moves List in CAPITAL LETTERS! ======================================================================= 2. Strategy Guide Introduction ######################################## ======================================================================= Well, thank you for taking the time to plop your Tekken-playing asses down in front of this computer screen and read this tome of Kazuya goodness. The reason I've compiled this FAQ is rather simple - ever since Tekken 2 first came out, Kazuya has ALWAYS been my favorite character in every Tekken. He's just a MAJOR bad-ass, with some awesome attacks with which he can demolish many an opponent in no time flat. In Tekken 2, Kazuya was within the top five characters in the game - he had very powerful juggles, re-defined the meaning of "stun" with his incredibly-powerful Demon Gut Punch, had the nigh-invincible, Mid- hitting Wind Godfist, and was the first character in Tekken to recieve a Sidestep of some sort - however, to make that particular advantage even more deadly, Kazuya could enter his Crouch Dash (the most important Mishima move) by simply tapping d/f, from which he could go into a vicious guessing game with his Wind Godfist and Hell Sweep. He had power, speed, and ease of use all combined into one deadly package - the only real weakness he had was the lack of an Attack Reversal. In the words of tragic in his excellent Tekken 2 guide, "If he had a reversal, he would be rated number one or two hands down." - and he hit it right on the mark. Kazuya, much to the displeasure of many Tekken 2 vets, was excluded from Tekken 3, and mostly replaced by his son, Jin Kazama. While Jin was given several qualities that Kazuya lacked (he actually had an Attack Reversal, along with the best moves of his mother, Jun Kazama), several of Kazuya's staple attacks and characteristics, such as a WS+2 Demon Gut Punch, the Wind Godfist (the BEST move ever in Tekken), and the Mist Step were either changed, weakened, or altogether scrapped. While newer players to Tekken didn't really care, just as slikatel stated, Tekken 2 veterans knew that those attacks were the heart of Kazuya's power and effectiveness. The absence of a Mid-hitting Wind Godfist severely hampered Jin's Crouch Dash game. It is a strong opinion (but when you think about it, it's more like a fact) that if Jin had been given a Mid- hitting Wind Godfist in Tekken 3, he would be the strongest character in the game, although smart players could mixup with the WS+2 Uppercut and Hell Sweep. Well, Tekken 3 is now old news, and Tekken Tag Tournament is in (well, kinda). TTT has EVERY single character ever to grace a Tekken game in this sucker (well, sadly excluding Doctor B. and the useless Gon from Tekken 3) - and that means Kazuya is back to kick ass, and he's come packed with several new moves and quirks that have acclimated Kazuya to TTT's multi-faceted game engine. Although he has been toned-down in many areas, with practice, Kazuya is one of the most frightening match- ups for any opponent, and STILL one of the game's top characters. Virtually everything in Tekken has changed since the heyday of Tekken 2 - so that's where this guide will come in handy for the aspiring Kazuya player. This guide is meant for the intermediate to advanced Kazuya player, so if you don't know about the general game engine, check out the Tekken Zaibatsu or read up on one of the two Tekken Tag Tournament books. If you're gonna buy one of the books, I highly suggest the Versus Books guide, because even though it's been cut up like a Scream flick, it's still a shitload better than the Prima book. Although I am not the foremost authority on how to kick ass with Kazuya, I am good enough, and a very observant learner, so remember that this is not THE way to play Kazuya and win, but the way that I play Kazuya and win. So, for those that want to learn just why Kazuya is so feared in match play, read on... and most of all, enjoy the FAQ. - Devil_Jin ======================================================================= 3. A Special Note To A Good Friend #################################### ======================================================================= This is old, but I didn't want to delete it and restucture the entire FAQ yet again... To Kian Chong Lee (ILuvMomo): For those that do not know yet, ILuvMomo, Kazuya extraordinare and good friend, has recently announced his retirement from all things Tekken and has stopped posting at the Tekken Zaibatsu. This to me is a truly sad occurence, as he's without a doubt one of the most intelligent Tekken players I've had the priviledge of speaking with. We've both been credited with having some of the best FAQs out for TTT, and while I myself would not agree to that when it comes to my FAQ, I would be lying if I didn't say that Lee's Kaz FAQ is a work of art. He truly has the best FAQ for Kazuya by FAR, and I'd be hard-pressed to even touch the level of strategy and work in there - and his gigantic Julia FAQ with DayFul is even better. You'd never expect so much strategy and advice crammed in there on one character. He was just hitting his stride as a great FAQ writer, but sadly, as he announced, he's being drowned in personal troubles stemming from his Tekken play, and has officially quit as Tekken player and FAQ writer. I do not hold that against him. Obsession is a horrible thing when not aimed correctly. I wish you all the best Kian, and hope you'll keep in touch. It was great having you there all this time to help with revising my FAQ and placing your well- observed criticisms in the places I needed it. Your witty sarcasm was also funny as hell. And it sure was fun watching me, bluu, and Rev flame right? Again, I wish you all the best and will continue to spread the strategy of our favorite Mishima. Best of luck with getting your life back in order. When I next play P-Jack and block his f+3+4, I'll dedicate the cup of coffee I'll drink during the horrid recovery time to you, before I drop a WGF on him. Cheers! - Mark Campbell (a.k.a. Devil_Jin) UPDATE - Well, here's good news - Kian is back and posting on TZ yet again, under the s/n of kianchong. From what I gather though, he's decided not to write any more FAQs, which I guess is good for him. And get this - he's flaming left and right and in the process, making me damn proud! Nice to have ya back dood! ======================================================================= 4. Latest Revision History ############################################ ======================================================================= This keeps track of the last three revisions: v10.5 - Well, screw that promise about not having any more updates for a while. I didn't realize I had so many errors here and there... semi- minor update, added Catlord's site as a carrier of my FAQ, added info on Gut Punch, Right Splits Kick, and a few other moves, added "Electric Wind Godfist" (don't worry, it's a joke... just read it) and added a lot of Submitted Strategies. v11.0 - Well, I've found out new info on the Right Splits Kick, Hell Sweeps, Gut Punch and WGF, changed the title of the FAQ around a bit (to better represent the content of it), removed the stupid "EWGF" joke, stopped being lazy and included everyone into the Versus Fights section, removed the High Pounce stuff (it appears Kaz DOESN'T have this move after all... big loss, right? ^_^), removed the Fighters.Net address (since Fighters.Net is gone), changed the roman numerals to regular numbers, got rid of the Links section (too many to keep track of), basically refined and corrected my mistakes all over the place, found other miscellaneous data, AND own the PS2, TTT, and the TTT Perfect Guide from Versus Books to confirm my stuff. This was originally going to be the final revision, but I decided that there had to be room to make changes if anything came up (like the Frame Data for a blocked WGF and the possible follow-ups), so for the time being, this will be the last update in a long time unless something really major comes up. v12.0 - I've removed two of the FAQ locations, fixed an error here and there, and added OB Strategies to the Strategy section. Ah, the pressures of being an FAQ writer... Final Version - Ok, this time I could care less... I'm done with the damn thing. Tekken 4 is almost out, and PLENTY of Tekken 4 info is abounding, so I decided to include that stuff in a whole new purty section ^_^. I've gone into more detail with some of the VS. Strategies (Baek especially), fixed up most errors I could find, and decided to stop being lazy and went into depth with stuff I needed to include. There are of course going to be errors, but that's the end of it. The FAQ will officially NOT be updated anymore. ======================================================================= 5. Credits/Sources #################################################### ======================================================================= Like I've stated before, I feel that the people that inspired me and motivated me to create this FAQ are the ones that deserve credit for this FAQ. Let's get this on... - Rev, hey, it's always fun getting flaming lessons from you dood. I have gone from being wimpy-ass Devil_Jin to being one of the baddest motherfuckers in the Tekken Zaibatsu (or maybe I'm just full of myself)thanks to your "kind tutelage", if you can call it that. To be honest, your FAQs are pretty damn good anyways (if not for the info, for the personality all over it), and I do admit you are my main inspiration for writing this stuff in the first place. Props go out to Exar Kun, whose Heihachi and Kaz FAQs are quite good themselves (even though outdated and kinda lacking when it comes to useful strat). And Kian, well, you already know how good your FAQ is ^_^. - Victar, keep it real, man. For those that haven't read it yet, I urge you to check out his site and read his incredible Tekken fanfiction. His latest, and finally finished fanfic, "Phoenix Reborn", is an essential read for any respectable Tekken fan. His site, Victar's Mortal Kombat/Tekken Fanfiction Archive, is very comprehensive, with a huge list of crazy links and fanfics. Check it out at: http://members.aol.com/sglkht - Raijin Aoki for his absolutely incredible Lee Chaolan Tribute movie. I love it more than any movie of Tekken so far! The BGM RULES! If you are a Tekken fan, download it. _Now_. LEE KICKS ASS!!! - Kevin, Amaro, Trekk, and my pal Kenny at Time-Out Arcade in Danbury Fair Mall, CT, for killing my ass (well, Amaro, I almost always beat Kenny and I haven't seen Kevin in a while...) with your mad skillz... especially Amaro with his insane Baek/Hwoarang team, cuz his New Haven skillz are to be feared, rekonized, and rezpekted, cuz he iz just beez- naughty. Kenny, keep working on your game dood, you'll get good someday. Of course, you can start on the path by blocking my Thunder Godfists first, and you'll be on your way (lol)! Trekk, it was fun getting wasted by you ^_^. I swear next time I'm gonna put up an even fight, God dammit! - Castel, for supplying all the masses with your sick knowledge of the greatest fighting game ever made. Keep it coming, man! AND _BIG_ PROPS GO OUT TO TEKKEN ZAIBATSU FOR THE COMBOS, CONVENTIONS, FRAME DATA, AND ENDINGS!!! - Agent316, for having the crazy skills (he's got the best editing I've ever seen!) to make those insane movies! Keep it up and visit his webpage at: http://www.geocities.com/martb_perez - The guys at Tekken Zaibatsu's Forums: Reverend C. (the well-known "Asian Sensation"), tragic (who's T3 Yoshi FAQ is the greatest Tekken FAQ known to man), Catlord (mad cool dood, I talk to him on IRC), prizim, SPMAN (gorrila-boy Cuban), Night (bluu's bastard love-slave), tomhilfiger (Mr. American Wavedash), KOFTEKKEN and jjt (owners of the immensely-helpful TTT Advanced Techniques FAQ), Chinky-Eye, 7ronko, DatBastardSho (one of the kuhlest doods in the Tekken community, with a great Jun FAQ), Chinky-Eye (King Of Twin Pistons), Renick (excellent FAQs dood!), Shukudai, Ikazushi, ~NewUltraCowLand (who is now the godlike Johnny On The Pot/Perfect Pot... I believe that's 'nuff said), Vegetta X (one of the biggest morons I've even seen, without a doubt), Chris Mishima, Proxer (Defender of "Kazuya does NOT have EWGF!"), FusionTech, toshinjin, EDDYRULZ69 (I mean I69EDDY, another idiot), KaNE (fellow Vegetta X hater and Asian Sk8er), avkazama, RedFooT, elfty (plays a mean Baek I hear), and my main mans bluu (MoFo Ultraflamer # 2), Exar Kun, ILuvMomo (Ultimate Master Of The 1,2,2), Joshimitsu, Triple Lei, Guppie, J&H, SeanPyro, and Trekk. You guys kick ass in Tekken and are cool to debate, argue, chat, and/or bitch with. Keep it up. Thanks Chinky for the Twin Pistons info and strats, thanks 7ronko and Rev for the 13-frame WGF info, and thanks bluu for all the Hell Sweep data (and thanks also go to ILuvMomo for including this info in his FAQ where I could find it!) and the invincible WGF info. You ROCK, my sexy love slave! (LOL) - The maddest props to none other than Johnny On The Pot, or as he used to be named, ~NewUltraCowLand, for doing the impossible and KICKING THE LIVING SHIT OUT OF CALI! WITH THE OGRES NO LESS! And did I mention he killed Calipower, tomhilfiger, AND the God-like MIC? Yep, the new U.S. champ has arrived, and those months of his trash-talking about GA has paid off. Makes me blush when I remember how much I used to flame that guy when he was mad stupid. He's much chiller now and definitely cool to talk to. Now I'll hop off the JOP nut train, thank you very much. - And I can't forget Annaquin, or as we Zai goers call him, Analquin. Apparently, he is NOT the biggest moron ever, and posted up whack strat and retarded videos as a front to his surprisingly GREAT skills. I still like that word "Annaquinish" though... ^_^ (I bet Rev is kicking himself in the ass now) - Now that Annaquin has revealed his true colors, it's time to turn the Tekken Zaibatsu Ass-Clown Award to Ali Vegas, who has wasted our time for months bitching about how Ling Xiaoyu was the best character in TTT, and in the process got the entire forum on his ass with his asinine shit-talking and refusal to go out and PROVE his endless parade of bullshit. He is THE ultimate Tekken troll. Maybe if you pull a JOP and PROVE your "skills" in a tournament, we might listen to you and not make fun of your absolutely whack arguments, dick! Ryokimitsu, I give you kudos for putting this ass in his place every five seconds. - The Tekken Salute BBS, for being what was the most hardcore BBS ever for Tekken strats, even if it NEVER freakin' updated. It's been closed down for a while, but I've heard rumors that it's up again, so if it's true, perhaps I'll go and check it out... - UnknownHP and 666 for having a kickass TTT movie site. Their capture card is even better than Castel and Agent316's! Here's the site (be warned, it's in Japanese, although the movies are easy to find): http://www.coara.or.jp/%7Ekei666/ttt/tetutop.htm - Chris MacDonald, better known to the FAQ world as Kao Megura, for his well-put, comprehensive Copyright info. This man is the best FAQ-writer on the planet, no doubts about it. You simply cannot dispute the knowledge of Kao Megura, God Of FAQs, no matter who you are! Thank you man, you are an inspiration for many. Enjoy your retirement, you deserve every bit of it. I hope you can write some more killer FAQs some day. - BMW, for cracking out with all the mama snaps on IRC and for being the owner of a sick Tekken website. And thanks for those quick little Kazuya Mist Step videos. Here's the address: http://www.tekkenstuff.hypermart.net - And finally... ME, for having the time, energy, friends, and desire of Tekken to create my very first website AND Tekken BBS! Although it's not really populated much anymore, perhaps when something new comes up in Tekken (which should be soon, since Tekken 4 is out), I'll post there some more. On that note, I'd like to thank my moderators: Exar Kun, ILuvMomo, Triple Lei, JyH, Joshimitsu, Guppie, and Sean Pyro for being awesome sons of bitches and helping to make the site your place for the everyday Tekken fan. Check it out at: http://pub21.ezboard.com/bmcdeviljinstekkenbbs In the words of my man Joshimitsu, "Uh... go there." ======================================================================= 6. Kazuya Mishima's Bio ############################################### ======================================================================= Kazuya Mishima's history is quite convoluted, so it's difficult to include everything in detail, but here goes... Kazuya is the son of Heihachi Mishima, the head of the extremely wealthy Mishima Financial Empire. Throughout his childhood, Kazuya was the victim of a nearly- endless string of physical abuse from Heihachi, who believed solely in building a child's strength by beating them during their training exercises. Then, at the age of five, Heihachi threw Kazuya into a ravine, which left a huge scar running from his upper-right shoulder to his lower-left adbomen. Kazuya as a result grew up devoid of emotion, and things only grew worse when Heihachi adopted a Chinese orphan named Lee Chaolan when Kazuya was around 13 years old. From the first time they saw each other, an intense rivalry and hatred flourished between Kazuya and Lee, to which Heihachi exploited to the fullest. He openly embraced Lee into the Mishima family as a way to incite Kazuya's jealousy and hatred so that Kazuya would grow up and make Heihachi proud when he inherited the MFE. However, this only made Kazuya's hatred for his father blossom into murderous rage. When Kazuya was around 18, he left the MFE to search the world to secretly gain power to overthrow his father, while at the same time living off of his father's money - he devised plans while maintaining the cover of a spoiled, rebellious rich-boy turned vagabond. It was at this time he was troubled in his dreams by an entity known as Devil. In exchange for possessing Kazuya, he would grant Kazuya almost limitless power in order to overthrow his father. Kazuya accepted Devil's offer, and became an agent of evil. Now all Kazuya needed was an opportunity to strike... During the year 1995, Heihachi organized a blood-sport tournament called the King of the Iron Fist. The winner would recieve a large cash sum, as well as becoming the new owner of the Mishima Financial Empire. Kazuya was one of the lucky few who recieved an invitation. So now, fueled with unholy power, Kazuya entered, and proceeded to not only demolish Lee, but topple Heihachi as well, throwing him off of the same cliff that he himself had been thrown at the age of five, believing him to have perished, although he would find out that he had survived later on. Kazuya became the new President and CEO of the Mishima Financial Empire, and then instantly began corrupting it with his evil power. In 1997, Kazuya organized the second King of the Iron Fist tournament. During the course of events, Kazuya fell in love with the "Ecology Fighter", Jun Kazama, and were drawn together by the supernatural power of Devil. In the final match of the Iron Fist, Heihachi, who had come out of hiding to topple all challengers in the tournament, fought Kazuya again in a bloody battle. This time, Heihachi defeated Kazuya, and made sure he would never come back to menace him again by throwing his corpse into a raging volcano, while at the same time, Devil was battling a pregnant Jun Kazama for ownership of an unborn Jin's soul. Jun emerged victorious, and fled to the isolated Japanese island of Yakushima to raise Jin away from the horrors of his father and grandfather's crimes. Now, the confusing thing about TTT is that it is considered separate from the Tekken series in terms of storylines, but the fact that Namco included endings for the characters in the PS2 version of Tekken Tag makes it a bit harder to swallow. His presence in Tekken Tag is supported by the strong evidence in Tekken 3 that he, indeed, survived at the climax of Tekken 2. This is clearly shown in Eddy Gordo's ending in Tekken 3 for the PSX, where he reveals that the leader of the crime syndicate called the "Organization", as well as the man who ordered the hit on Eddy's father, to be non other than Kazuya Mishima. Now, Tekken 3 takes place roughly in the year 2016, 19 years after the second King Of The Iron Fist tournament in 1997, and Eddy is 27 years old in 2016. When Eddy was 19, around the year 2008, his father was murdered by the Organization, and Eddy spent 8 years in jail. The hit on Eddy's father was executed 11 years after Kazuya's supposed "death" at the hands of Heihachi, PROVING that he is indeed, alive, or was alive at least until the time of Eddy's father's death. ======================================================================= 7. Tekken 4 ########################################################### ======================================================================= For those not in the know, Tekken 4 has been released across the world. And the good news? Kazuya is not only alive - he's the main character! ************************ ************************ ** TEKKEN 4 STORYLINE ** ************************ ************************ In the midst of the 3rd Iron Fist, Heihachi and his scientists tried to find a way to merge Ogre with the Devil gene - the DNA that had manifested in his son, Kazuya, giving him immense power - and create a living organism, with which Heihachi would use to conquer the world. Since he himself did not carry the Devil gene, and his son was (to his knowledge) dead, he found the gene in his grandson - Kazuya's son, Jin Kazama. Knowing that it was only a matter of time before Jin would transform - and become a threat - Heihachi orchestrated a plan to kill the unsuspecting, trustworthy boy. All he needed was an opportune time to strike... Heihachi carried out the plan after Jin had vanquished True Ogre, with him and a few Tekkenshu soldiers shooting him dead. The plan was to use Jin and True Ogre's cadavers for experimental purposes to find the combined power of Ogre and the Devil gene. Unbeknownst to Heihachi, this act of violence did not end the menace - it TRIGGERED Jin's transformation, turning into a nigh-unstoppable killing machine. Devil Jin proceeded to kill the Tekkenshu grunts and then mopped the floor with Hei himself. Devil Jin flew off into the night, leaving a battered, bruised Heihachi on the ground, writhing in pain but alive (he's one tough 73-year-old bastard, that's for sure). For the next two years, Heihachi searched the world for his Devil grandson to no avail. He simply could not be found - there were no traces of his existence whatsoever. Then he came upon a startling discovery. Pictures came into his possession, showing a corpse, burnt and covered with cuts and scars, with two long protrusions sprouting from his back. Protrusions that looked very much like wings. The pictures were over twenty years old, so it was conclusive proof that apparently someone had found Kazuya's body, although HOW it existed was itself baffling. Knowing full-well what possession of Kazuya's body could do in the wrong hands, he set out to find the perpetrators, and make them pay dearly. Soon enough, a name came up - the G Corporation... ********** The minds behind the discovery of Kazuya's corpse were known as the G Corporation, a huge conglomerate with offices in Nepal and Nebraska that specialized in biotechnological research. Twenty-two years ago, they had retrieved a burnt and scarred body from the volcano under the tip that Kazuya Mishima, the Devil-possessed former owner of the MFE, had just been thrown in after being defeated by Heihachi Mishima. Kazuya was reputed by the crime underworld to be nearly indestructible, and the recovery team was indeed able to retrieve the remarkably-preserved corpse. The G Corporation spent close to 20 years trying to discover a way to reanimate Kazuya so as to harness Devil's power. The G Corporation used their incredible biotechnology on Kazuya's DNA to reanimate his body in their Nebraska laboratories. It was successful, and Kazuya retained all of his memories - the catch, however, was that he now had the body of a 49-year-old, as if he had aged from 1997 all the way to 2018 (which seems to directly contradict Eddy's T3 ending, since in that ending Kazuya is assumed to be alive almost a decade before 2018, so apparently, Eddy's ending did not take place in the official Tekken storyline). Indebted to the G Corporation for reviving him, Kazuya set out to help discover how to merge his own persona with Devil's so as to make himself even more powerful. The experiment was brought to a crashing halt, though, when Heihachi and the Tekkenshu, who had recieved word that Kazuya's body was being held in the Nebraska laboratories, arrived and proceeded to lay waste to the G Corporation's personel and equipment only hours after laying waste to the G Corporation's Nepal building and taking their information. Kazuya, enraged that his father thwarted his plans once again, demolished the Tekkenshu squad and went into hiding. Desperate to find Kazuya and eliminate him once and for all, Heihachi organized the fourth King Of The Iron Fist tournament to draw out Kazuya. The prize would be ownership of the Mishima Financial Empire and of course, a hefty prize sum. Kazuya, knowing that entering will give him a shot at revenge with Heihachi, enters the tournament. ************************** ************************** ** TEKKEN 4 KAZUYA INFO ** ************************** ************************** Yes, Kazuya is back and he's ready to kick ass in Tekken 4. Things aren't exactly peachy, however, if you're expecting the TTT dominator. If you've been up-to-date with Tekken 4's information, you'll know that the general consensus was that Kazuya had been RAPED in Tekken 4. Don't get me wrong - he's not really weakened, but he's been balanced out VERY well. Most, if not all, of his useful moves have been modified or changed in some way. He's apparently gained a bunch of new moves, but I haven't seen all of them yet. I'm glad to say though that Tekken 4 is in my arcade now, so I spent a few hours of quality time with Kazuya. The main changes I know of are below... - Kazuya's 1,1,2 is now like the Ogres' version - the final, third hit no longer is guaranteed after the first two hits unless it's on Counter- Hit. Being one of Kazuya's main attacks to answer a blocked attack, I would say this hurts him a fair bit... I guess it's time to fall back on the Ogres' tried-and-true tactic of using 2,2 to counter blocked attacks. Apparently though, the regular 1,1 seems to give Kazuya a MAD frame advantage now, even more so than it used to be. - In what is one of the more shocking changes made to Kazuya's arsenal, Kaz's almighty Wind Godfist... sucks. Well, kinda. The properties of Kazuya's WGF in Tekken 4 are really fucked up. First off, Wind Godfist - AND Electric Wind Godfist - both only launch on Counter-Hit. On a normal hit, it only staggers them (as if you did a WS+1,2 Twin Pistons on a Jack). Perhaps the worst change of all - it hits High! That's REALLY bad. Thankfully, however, Kazuya now has the EWGF... even though it's not really anything super-special anymore. So now you really HAVE to use it to interrupt, since using it any other time will put you in more danger than it's worth. I was pulling the EWGF more than a few times on the decent sticks, so apparently it is identical to Jin's old EWGF and has a bigger slop factor than Hei's. Due to his new attacks though, Kazuya juggles are as powerful as ever. It's quite obvious that the offensive aspects of this move are severely fucked now, though. No more pressuring crouching opponents, because they can duck it, and even if it hits it won't juggle. So now you really don't have a choice but to use it for interrupting. Thankfully, this now means that previously impossible juggles are now quite possible - WGF, 1, WGF, 1, WGF, and WGF, 1, 1, TGF work 100% when done right. Putting it bluntly, though, while the WGF/EWGF is definitely useful when mastered, it is nowhere near as effective as it was in previous Tekkens. - And finally, we have Kazuya's Twin Pistons. In what is definitely the biggest raping of all for poor Kaz, the WS+1,2 has been royalled FUCKED. It's now identical to Jin's gimpy-ass T3/TTT Twin Pistons! The second hit is no longer guaranteed on normal hit - only on CH. Worst of all, it no longer juggles crouching opponents - regardless of CH! This is probably the only change I REALLY object to. Suffice to say, this was Kazuya's best attack in TTT. I mean, abusing Twin Pistons from CD was a hard enough technique to learn properly... and now it's DEAD. Don't get me wrong, TP was definitely too powerful in Tekken Tag... but God, I'd give it a slower block recovery or something... not totally destroy it. It is of course still useful for interrupting, though. - Kazuya still has the Wavedash in Tekken 4. Problem is... who in the fuck would want to use it now that it's really WORTHLESS? All they have to do is block Low, and that's it. EWGF and WGF will whiff. Twin Pistons will not juggle even if on CH (since they're ducking), and even if the first hit connects normally, they can block/Parry/reverse the second. Hell Sweeps can be blocked or Low Parried, and from what it looks like it needs a deep Clean Hit or CH to trip now! From some threads at the Zai, however, many players are now throwing in Kazuya's new b+1, which hits Mid, into the Crouch Dash mixup, so perhaps they aren't quite dead yet. However, considering that Mishimas can be jabbed out of the Crouch Dash now (especially by Paul/Steve/Law), it's safe to say that abusing it is a foolhardy tactic in T4. - The Demon Gut Punch, more or less, is much better than the old TTT incarnation. On a Clean Hit, the DGP's stun can NOT be escaped at all, and as an even weirder property: if you do the Gut Punch (d/f+2) right afterwards, IT STUNS, REGARDLESS OF CH OR CLEAN HIT! Needless to say, a combo like CH WS+2, d/f+2, b+3,1, f,N,d,d/f,f+4~4 does craploads of damge with minimal effort. Also due to his new moves and additions to his arsenal, Kazuya's juggling power is MUCH better then ever before. And when factored in with his multitude of stuns, Kazuya is basically THE juggler/combo-er in Tekken 4. - Juggles, in general, have been massively toned-down in Tekken 4. Only a few characters have massive-damage juggling capabilities now (Kazuya is one of them), and few rarely exceed 30-40% damage unless you factor some cheap wall combos in. The game is much more reliant on poking, Okizeme, and Sidestepping. Of course, for those that don't poke the best (Kazuya), juggling is going to be your main/standby form of attacking. - The universal Low Parry is back in Tekken 4. - The Sidestepping system has been totally revamped. Now you can Sidestep infinitely to the left or right by holding Up or Down, or do the regular SS from Tekken 3/TTT with u,N or d,N like before. Crouching is now done with D/B. However, the continuous Sidestep is pretty damned slow and really not useful, so the regular SS still seems to reign here. - And did I mention Tekken 4 has WALLS? Yep, and they figure in PROMINENTLY with gameplay and ESPECIALLY with juggling. Just about every character has a juggle or two they can use when bouncing some poor bastard off the wall. Beginning to see the possibilites? I got some unfortunate people in some NASTY wall traps with Kazuya and that evil new b+3,1,4,1 combo of his. Thankfully, Wall Tech Rolls are possible, so it's not like a wall trap is the end for you (but damn near close it seems). - The old 1+3 throws as we know it are gone. They've been replaced by the new Position Change, which basically exchanges the player's standing positions. I believe the old 1+3 throws are now F+2+4. The new Position Change is INCREDIBLY useful, make no mistake about it. It allows a defensive guy getting pummeled against a wall to grab the attacker, throw him into the wall, and then the tables are turned, of course. This usefulness is kinda downsized though because the frame count for these (and the 2+4) throws are much longer than ever before. - As for new moves with Kazuya, he's gained a whole lot to round him out. Here's his new additions: Split Elbow - b+1 Entrails Smash Combo - d/f+1,f+2 Glorious Demon Fist Combo - f+1+2,f+2 (I believe it only works on hit) Corpse Slash Punch - SS+1+2 Wicked Raid - b+2 Spiral Backfist - b,b+2 Electric Wind Godfist - f,N,d~D/F~2 Demon Slash Kick - f,N,d,d/f+3 Advancing Kick to Lead Jab - f+3,1 Blazing Demon Fire Rush - b+3,1,4,1 Flash Kick - b+4 Demon Stomp - d+4 (grounded opponents... looks fucking bad-ass!) - Another big change is the addition of Soul Calibur's Just Frame Attacks. For multiple-attack chains, like Paul's new Iron Mountain chain (d+4,2,1), EXACT frame-timing is required inbetween hits to get the whole thing out - you can't mash it out like in previous Tekkens. Unfortunately, though, Namco has not released Tekken 4's Frame Data yet. - The CONFIRMED characters in Tekken 4 as of this writing: Kazuya Mishima, Paul Phoenix (d+4,2 is cheap again, he's got a perfect new d+1+2 shoulder tackle move, cheap 1,2, and some incredibly-evil wall combos... ARRRGH!), Ling Xiaoyu (massively improved), King The 2nd (who has several of Armor King's moves from TTT), Marshall Law (complete with goatee and some cool new punch links), Yoshimitsu, Hwoarang (with a few of Baek's moves), Heihachi Mishima (the boss... and my God, he's wearing a Sumo diaper! EWGF is also there too... but now it slams you spinning across the screen!), and three new characters: Craig Marduk (who killed Armor King, that bastard!), Steve Fox (a boxer dude who uses sways intstead of kicks, and has the fastest goddamned punches I've ever seen!), and Christie Montiero (who is the female Eddy Gordo of Tekken 4... as well as being almost naked 90% of the time). Jin Kazama is the first Time-Release character (his ENTIRE arsenal is new!), followed by a "new" character, Violet - which if you didn't know yet, is actually Lee Chaolan in disguise - Nina Williams, Lei Wulong, Bryan Fury, and Julia Chang. The rumored next characters are Kuma/a Jack, Combot (basically Tekken 4's Mokujin), and Heihachi. =======================================================================8 . Strengths and Weaknesses ########################################### ======================================================================= OVERALL ANALYSIS Kazuya is the most hardcore of all the Mishimas. His attacks intimidate more than any other of the Mishimas' attacks do, and his whole attitude exudes a simple, bad-ass "I'm gonna kick the shit out of you, then spit on your fucking carcass" arrogance that we all know and love. He thrives on landing Counter-Hits perhaps more than any of the other Mishimas as well - examples are Kazuya's Demon Gut Punch, Gut Punch, Twin Pistons, and of course, the Wind Godfist. He has the fastest Wind Godfist in the game in that it can be executed one frame faster than any of theirs can (except Devil). Kazuya's Crouch Dash games are also the deadliest of all the Mishimas. Kazuya's only drawbacks are a lack of variety, lower juggling power compared to the other Mishimas, and the slowest-recovering Wind Godfist of the Mishima clan (explained below). While his arsenal is limited, he benefits in that just about all of his attacks are useful in some way. IMHO, he has the most "effective" arsenal in the game. Having 20 or so moves may not be much, but it's better to have 20 or so useful moves than 70 moves with limited use, right (*cough* *hack* *JULIA* *haff*)? Added to that, Kazuya is THE pick that almost all of the tournament players (and winners) choose when they want to win. Go to Korea or Japan and you see Kazuya is the most picked character in tourneys along with Jin. In the right hands (with a lot of Instant WS Twin Pistons/Hell Sweep mixups from your Crouch Dash/Wavedash, although it isn't really NECESSARY), Kazuya can beat anyone and everyone. And if that isn't reason, who's a bigger badass than Kazuya? ^_^ Thought so. STRENGTHS - Kazuya has the most elaborate arsenal of stun attacks in the game, and when given an opportunity to unload, his stun combos hurt more than anyone else's (yes, even more than the Ogres, believe it or not). He has the insanely-powerful (although crappy) Demon Gut Punch, the extremely-useful Gut Punch, and the powerful Glorious Demon Fist with which to stun them and combo. His most powerful stun move is the Demon Gut Punch (if it hits on CH and they do not escape the stun), as it has decent speed, easy to do, hits Mid, Double-Over Stuns on Clean and Counter-Hit (Fall-Over Stun on Clean Hit), does insane damage (50+ points!), and Kazuya can follow-up with almost any of his moves for a powerful combo. However, it has been toned-down a LOT in TTT, as a stun can be Tagged out of or the opponent can simply hold Forward to fall quickly and escape the stun (regardless of hit type). Your best bet is to rely a lot more on the Gut Punch since it does insane damage as well, can't be escaped, is fast, inflicts block-stun in-close, and can lead to some powerful combos. - While not having as much finesse and damage as Jin or Heihachi, or having a Class 1 Launcher like Devil, Kazuya's juggles are powerful and simple. It only helps that he is gifted with possessing the best jugglestarter (and perhaps the best move overall) in Tekken - the Wind Godfist. While it now can be blocked standing or crouching, and is not as good as Heihachi's due to his much broader juggle options (and shorter block recovery and EWGF...), it is still Kazuya's best launcher (and one of his only) by far, and a low-blocked WGF will stagger them slightly, allowing Kazuya for the most part to be safe if blocked. It is also immensly helpful that the WGF cannot be reversed or parried in TTT. The altered blocking is not too much of a setback, as the WGF was always better-used when countering an opponent's attack or hitting them if they whiffed, and to add to it, a blocked WGF leaves Kazuya open to VERY few attacks, but be careful - some characters CAN hit you with nasty stuff (Ogres 2,2, Hei 1,1,2, Bruce f+2,f+4, etc...). To make up for his pathetic Demon Gut Punch in the While Standing department, Kazuya has the EXTREMELY useful Twin Pistons, which hit Mid twice, execute in 11 frames, launches to a cozy height for several moderately- powerful juggles, combos guaranteed from the first hit, recovers very fast, is easy to do, and can be worked into your Crouch Dash strategies, so Kazuya can use the nigh-unbeatable mixup game from his Crouch Dash by mixing up his Hell Sweeps and his Twin Pistons to create a nasty guessing game. And of course, the d/f+2 Gut Punch is more than an equal to the Demon Gut Punch in almost every way. - Kazuya possesses the Mist Step (f,N), which is a quick Sidestep that can lead into an automatic Crouch Dash by tapping d/f. From his Crouch Dash, he can go into three very useful attacks - the Thunder Godfist, Wind Godfist, and Hell Sweep, and one of the most useful movement properties in the game, the Mist Step Cancel. These three attacks come out more deceptively from the Mist Step Crouch Dash than in a normal one (and faster if done with Mist Step Cancel), so it is best to go into the Mist Step as often as possible as it basically comes out of nowhere. As a bonus, it is also has a much easier joystick motion than the normal versions. - Many of Kazuya's attacks leave him with a sizeable frame advantage on block AND hit - the Right Splits Kick, Leaping Slash Kick (on block), first two hits of the Flash Punch Combo (on hit), Stature Smash (on hit), and close Gut Punch (on block) are prime examples. Kazuya can employ some VERY nasty guessing games when the player takes frame advantages into use, so as a rule, when you have frame advantage, ALWAYS use it! WEAKNESSES - Kazuya's biggest and most glaring weakness is that the Demon Gut Punch (WS+2), potentially his deadliest move in Tekken 2, has been toned down so massively that it is near-uselessness in TTT at high-level play. Not only is it slower coming out, it also recovers longer than it did in Tekken 2, and has much less priority. But the worst by far is that the stuns can be escaped easily by holding Forward or Tagged out of, and the escape window is a long 20 frames, unlike Bryan's CH WS+3 or Paul's CH QCF+1. When combined with the lag time and recovery time, lessened damage potential since Tekken 2, as well as the predictability of it, you're going to find it close to impossible to land a successful Counter-Hit DGP, let alone a stun combo. - Kazuya has no Attack Reversal or any type of Parry outside of the universal Low Parry, so he is forced to block or counter everything coming at him, and pressure is a relatively weak area in Kazuya's defense. Use the Wind Godfist and Twin Pistons FREQUENTLY in this case (i.e., duck high attacks and throws and retaliate with Twin Piston, when mid-range, use WGF and 1,1,2 to override their attacks). - Kazuya's Okizeme game is quite limited. His Low hits simply aren't fast enough, damaging enough, or have enough range to keep them on the ground for the whole fight, unlike guys like the Ogres, Nina, Jin, Heihachi, Law, Xiaoyu, and Paul. - Kazuya's Sidestepping game is pretty lacking. The supposed Triple SS of Kazuya's is mostly bullshit since the Mist Step's SS is dependant on the frame count, so it's not reliable in the least. It is made up for mostly by being able to pull Instant WS and Crouch Dash attacks, but the lack of a true SS attack hurts him a bit. - When Kazuya and Devil are teamed together, they do not normally Tag in and out like most teams. Instead, Kazuya/Devil hunches over, and transforms into Devil/Kazuya, depending on who the partner is. Not only does this make Tag combos virtually impossible, it also leaves Kazuya/Devil open to just about any attack, and while their attack is repelled (much like if you touched Jin during his Force), Kazuya/Devil cancels the transformation. To make matters worse, Devil cannot recieve the Netsu Power-Up, so a Kazuya/Devil team is a big weakness for both members (however, on PS2, Angel/Kazuya IS possible, and very powerful I might add). - Kazuya is generally poor in the area of Netsu Power-Ups if you are a player that relies on them to do damage. Kazuya is a badass mofo ;^), and is often emotionally unnaffected by his partner's plight. It takes around 7 hits on average for Kazuya to get angry and charge-up. Worse, Kazuya has many teams in which he will not gain Netsu, so if you are playing Kazuya, be careful and use a character that has a strong Netsu combination with him (like Gold Tetsujin, but then again, he's got a 5- hit Netsu with everyone...). Ironically, Kazuya gets Netsued with Jun after _10_ freaking hits! You'd think he'd care a little more for his own wife than he would for a walking training dummy, don't you think? - Kazuya lacks quite a bit in the area of throws. He only has one special throw, and his other throws can be easily escaped, so do not rely on grappling with him when in-close. - Kazuya also cannot do the Tag Slide, Tag Slash Kick, or Tag Flying Cross-Arm, hampering his Tag-in game quite a bit and making him more vulnerable when Tagging in than most. However, he can still cancel the Tag run-in normally (u/b,b), with a Sidestep (f,u/f) OR cancel with the Mist Step (f,N). Many thanks Silver Haired Devil for bringing that up. ======================================================================= 9. Moves List ######################################################### ======================================================================= ****** THROWS ****** Throw Name Command Properties Bitch Kicks 1+3 {1} #1 Hip Throw 2+4 {2} #1 Stonehead f,F+1+2 {1+2} #1,#7 = TAG, REVERSE ARMBAR = ~5 #8 Ultimate Tackle D+1+2_D/B+1+2 {1+2_2} #5 = Ultimate Punches = 1,2,1,2,1_2,1,2,1,2 {2_1} #6 STEEL PEDAL DROP 1+3_2+4_2+5 {1} #2 SKULL SMASH 1+3_2+4_2+5 {2} #3 Reverse Neck Throw 1+3_2+4_2+5 #4 #1 - Front Throw #2 - Left Side Throw #3 - Right Side Throw #4 - Back Throw #5 - Tackle #6 - Tackle Attacks #7 - Opponent can Tech Roll the Stonehead. #8 - Special Tag Throw with Jun. Jun comes in and finishes with a Reverse Arm Bar. Total damage is 30. ******* ATTACKS ******* Move Name Command Properties Spinning Backfist b+2 h Quick Demon Slayer 2,2 h,h Left Right Combo 1,2 h,h Demon Slayer 1,2<2 h,h,h TWIN FANG STATURE SMASH 1,2,4 h,h,l Flash Punch Combo 1,1<2 h,h,m Twin Pistons WS+1,2 m,m/JG = TAG = ~5 #1 Demon Gut Punch WS+2 m/FScl/DSc/#4 Tsunami Kick WS+4,4_d/f+4,4 m,m Left Splits Kick f,f+3 m/FL Right Splits Kick f+4 m/GB/SLDc/KSco Demon Scissors 4~3 M Roundhouse u_u/f+4 h = Triple Spin Kick = 4,4,4 L/FL/BS,L/FL/BS,m GUT PUNCH d/f+2 m/GSc/CFScl+c ENTRAILS SMASH d/f+1 m/HS SOUL THRUST f+2 m/KNDc/GS/GB GLORIOUS DEMON FIST f+1+2 m/CFS STATURE SMASH d/b+4 l Leaping Side Kick f,f,f+3_WR+3 m/GS Thunder Godfist f,N,d,d/f+1 m/#2 = Spinning Mid Kick = 3 m = Hell Sweep = 4 L Wind Godfist f,N,d,d/f+2 Sm/JG/SLDc = TAG = ~5 #1 Hell Sweeps f,N,d,D/F+4,4 L/FL/BS,L/FL/BS Mist Step f,N #5 = Crouch Dash = D/F = Thunder Godfist = 1 m/#2 = Spinning Mid Kick = 3 m = Hell Sweep = 4 L = Wind Godfist = 2 Sm/JG/SLDc = TAG = ~5 #1 = Hell Sweeps = 4,4 L/FL/BS,L/FL/BS ************ UNBLOCKABLES ************ Unblockable Name Command Properties Lightning Godfist b+1+4 *!* Lightning Screw Godfist B+1+4 *!* ******* STRINGS ******* String Name Command Block Range Ninestring f,F+2,1,4,4,2,4,3,2,1 hh"mm"Smm"L"m! Tenstring # 1 f,F+2,1,2,2,3,4,4,1,2,1 hh"hh"mm"Lhmm Tenstring # 2 f,F+2,1,2,2,3,4,4,3,2,1 hh"hh"mm"LL"m! #1 - You cannot buffer a Tag if Kazuya is teamed with Devil. #2 - Damage is 43 on Clean Hit and the opponent will be knocked down. #3 - Damage is 18 on Clean Hit if only one Hell Sweep is executed. #4 - Must also be a Clean Hit to stun, and the damage is 37. #5 - Kazuya will Sidestep left if f is tapped on an odd frame number. He will Sidestep right on an even frame number. #6 - Damage depends on proximity. Requires both Clean and Counter Hit to stun, and damage is around 46. ======================================================================= 10. Frame Data ######################################################## ======================================================================= Ok, for the newer Tekken player reading this, you may be reading the FAQ and come up with the term "frames". Now, what is a frame, and what does it do for you? Basically, a frame is an animation taking place during 1/60 of a second during a fight. Tekken Tag Tournament runs at 60 fps (frames per second), which is in fact almost twice as fast as normal television (TV runs at 32 frames)! Now, what does that have to do with all this? Well, in TTT, attacks give you a certain frame advantage and disadvantage in certain situations. For example, Kazuya's Wind Godfist executes in 11 frames, roughly 1/6 of a second, once you've pressed the Right Punch (2) button. When blocked, a Wind Godfist has a 10-frame disadvantage, which means that Kazuya will be left open for approximately 1/6 of a second. If it hits on normal or Counter Hit, the opponent will be launched and fall to the ground afterwards. Dig? Here is another important thing - the frames of a move's execution only pertain to how fast it comes out WHEN YOU PRESS THE BUTTON TO DO THE ATTACK, and does not take into effect the amount of frames per directional input. So, while a Wind Godfist may execute in 11 frames once you press 2, it will take AT LEAST 14 frames overall to come out, because it takes at least 3 more frames when you count the Crouch Dash input (f=1, N=1, d=1, d/f+2=11). It is VERY IMPORTANT to note that sometimes you can block before you can actually input a command - this is often the case with minor stuns and guard breaks. Thus a -12 for example doesn't necessarily mean you can't block for 12 frames - it means that you cannot attack for 12 frames. Most moves with a disadvantage of 8 or less can be considered safe moves as it takes at least 8 for your opponent to execute a standard jab and in some cases your opponent will not even be within jab range and you have to add on whatever amount of frames it take for him to dash within hitting range. Eddy has to ability to shorten recovery time after certain moves with Sidestep or Recover Crouching cancels. Each of the Frame Data List columns contain specific move information. To keep it all as organized as possible, I have divided the list into Throws, Moves, and Unblockables. Command Column Pretty self explanatory, this is how you execute the listed move. The directions are in relation to which way your character is facing, of course. F Hit Column Indicates how many frames it takes for a move to hit after you have finished the command. This does NOT included the number of frames it takes to input the command. B Adv Column The number of frame advantage or disadvantage when the move is blocked. Meaning the amount of frames it takes before you can input a new command. Positive numbers are advantages over your opponent, negative numbers indicate a disadvantage and KD indicates the opponent gets knocked down. This can either be a juggle, stun or any other kind of knockdown. H Adv Column The number of frame advantage or disadvantage on a hit. Keep in mind a hit does not necessarily results in an advantage over the opponent. Frame advantage on stagger moves reflects the amount of stagger frames, this does not equal the number of frames your opponent cannot block attacks. CH Adv Column The number of frame advantage or disadvantage on a Counter-Hit. Keep in mind a Counter-Hit does not necessarily results in an advantage over the opponent. ****** THROWS ****** Command F Hit B Adv H Adv CH Adv 1+3 12 x x x 2+4 12 x x x f,F+1+2 12 x x x ******* ATTACKS ******* Command F Hit B Adv H Adv CH Adv b+2 17 -13 -2 -2 2,2 10,x 0,-13 +9,-2 +9,-2 1,2 10,x +1,0 +9,+8 +9,+8 1,2,4 10,x,x +1,0,-14 +9,+8,+2 +9,+8,+2 1,2<2 10,x,x +1,0,-12 +9,+8,+1 +9,+8,+1 1,1<2 10,x,x +1,+1,-17 +9,+9,KD +9,+9,KD WS+1,2 11,x -2,-6 +9,KD +9,KD WS+2 16 -13 KD KD WS+4,4 11,x -3,-15 +8,-4 +8,-4 d/f+4,4 13,x -9,-15 +2,-4 +2,-4 f,f+3 19 -12 KD KD f+4 19 +11 +8 KD 4~3 25 x KD KD u/f+4~3 24 x KD KD u_u/f+4 25 -12 KD KD = 4,4,4 x,x,x -12,-26,-10 KD,KD,KD KD,KD,KD d/f+2 14 -14 +5 KD d/f+1 16 -1 +3 +3 f+2 20 -1 +8 KD f+1+2 25 -16 KD KD d/b+4 20 -9 +7 +7 WR_f,f,f+3 22 +17 KD KD f,N,d,d/f+1 22 -14 +1_KD +1_KD = 3 x -14 KD KD = 4 x -23 KD KD f,N,d,d/f+2 11 -10 KD KD f,N,d,D/F+4,4 16,x -23,-23 KD,KD KD,KD ************ UNBLOCKABLES ************ b+1+4 43 x KD KD B+1+4 63 x KD KD - d/f+2 will only KD on Clean and Counter Hit. - f,N,d,D/F+4,4 will not KD if it hits at maximum range. - On Clean Hit or Counter-Hit, f,N,d,d/f+1 will KD. - The B Adv of the second hit in u_u/f+4,4,4,4 is -26 when started as u/f+4,4. - d/f+4,4 can be delayed inbetween hits by 5 frames. ======================================================================= 11. Moves Analysis #################################################### ======================================================================= ************* RANKING CHART ************* I have a ranking chart that I use in all my FAQs that I use to tell you how effective a character's moves are. Now, remember that this is only my opinion of how effective the move is, and is NOT the final word on it's power - it's my opinion on how useful it is, and ONLY an opinion. However, just to let you know, I DO consult several others on it if I am not totally sure of it, so rest assured that my opinions do have merit to them (usually)... * - One of Kazuya's worst moves, plain and simple. This move will basically get Kazuya into a shitload of trouble if used more than once per match play. These moves usually have a lot of recovery or lag time, or they may simply do little damage and are easy to see coming or easy to block. Keep away from it. Do NOT overuse this in any way, you will get beaten badly for it. ** - This move is not very useful. While it may have tactical value in certain situations, it may come out slowly, or be extremely predictable, and easily blocked. Outside of certain special situations, this should generally not be used if you're trying to win. Kazuya has better options and/or substitutes for this. Try to limit your use of this to about two or three times every few matches. *** - A good, effective move that Kazuya can employ reasonably in match play. This move has an even balance of strengths and weaknesses - it may be incredibly powerful, yet come out incredibly slow, or it may simply have a difficult joystick motion with poor/mediocre results. However, it is generally a good move that Kazuya can bring out semi- often. These are usually comprised of Kazuya's throws, and a few of his power hits. **** - A great move for Kazuya to use in match play, and one he can bring out quite often. These comprise many of Kazuya's moves. These are usually quick pokes with fast recovery or little lag time, or they may be quick, powerful attacks like a jugglestarter. Overall, it is an excellent move that can pay-off in the long run when used wisely, and will be a highly-employed attack for Kazuya. ***** - One of Kazuya's best moves by far. These usually comprise powerful jugglestarters, stun attacks, or they may be very fast attacks with insane priority that are good for overriding other attacks. These attacks should be included in almost every strategy that Kazuya uses, as the reward is HIGH if it hits. This move can even be abused at times, due to its power/priority/speed. ****** THROWS ****** ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Throw Name Command Escape Rating ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Bitch Kicks 1+3 1 *** The old favorite of Kazuya from past Tekkens, the Bitch Kicks are definitely a crowd-pleaser when you connect with more than one in a row =^). However, unlike what I thought previously, they are out of range for a d/f+4 to connect, which means that it's not quite as good as Jin's speical 1+3 (only with Jun or Kazuya on team), which guarantees him a b+4, d+3, or d/f+4 (and does more damage to boot). The only real problem is the ease of escape, but hey, it's damn cool-looking, so it's worth the risk once in a while. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Throw Name Command Escape Rating ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Hip Throw 2+4 2 *** This is rather plain-looking, but in truth it can actually be pretty useful. It only does 28 points of damage, but since it leaves Kazuya's opponent right at his feet in the PLD position... can we say "Okizeme games"? Or perhaps "OB Trap"? It's not TERRIBLY useful though, since they're only stunned for a little bit before they can get right back up. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Throw Name Command Escape Rating ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Stonehead f,F+1+2 1+2 ***** This is Kazuya's best throw by far, and unfortunately, his only command throw. However, it does slightly more damage than a normal throw, is easy to do, requires a double-button escape, and Kazuya can follow it up with a d/f+4 or d+3 Front Kick for even more damage if they don't Tech Roll. As always, the best use of this usually comes from the Crouch Dash - f,N,d,d/f,N,f+1+2. It's easy and the CD gives it insane range. Like some of the throws in TTT, they can Tech Roll this throw (it's also much easier to do in TTT), but ironically, it seems to do more harm than good. Unless the opponent holds Forward, Kazuya can get a guaranteed Leaping Stun Kick (U/F,3) if they try to Tech Roll, although they can escape that by holding Forward. Regardless of whether they Tech Roll or not, I find that it's best to SSL and throw out a Right Splits Kick (f+4) when you see them twitch - they will be forced to block it, giving you hefty 11-frame advantage with which to start CD mixups or go for CHs with the Gut Punch, or eat it, and since they will be considered crouching if they Tech Rolled, they'll be smacked in to a KS stun and open for a free WGF and nasty juggle! Simply evil. = Tag, Reverse Armbar = ~5 - ***** Kazuya has an extra Tag Throw that he can use aside from the regular one that everyone else has. What he does is perform the normal Stonehead, knocking the opponent into Jun, who wrestles them to the ground for an Armbar. Although it inexplainably does less damage than a normal Stonehead, it does look very cool, and Tags Jun in safely, so if you happen to be partnered with Jun, go for this when you hit with the Stonehead and need a safe Tag. Jun also gets a free FC,d/f+2 afterwards if she's quick. Sad that it's one of that team's few redeeming qualities... ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Throw Name Command Escape Rating ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ultimate Tackle D_D/B+1+2 System * Although the Ultimate Tackle gets weaker and weaker due to the new ways of reversing them added in each Tekken installment, it is still an OK move for characters like King, Paul, and Nina (with their multi's), but to be honest, Kazuya's Tackle just really sucks. The only thing he can do after the Ultimate Tackle is the Ultimate Punches - no Cross-Arm Lock or Leg Cross Hold. So, basically, it's best to only do this to throw in a surprise every now and often, as the Ultimate Punches do pathetic damage and are easily escaped. Hell, those with Attack Reversals and Mid/Punch Parries can even reverse this, so stay away from it in match play. BTW, this can also be executed from a Crouch Dash by tapping 1+2... but it's still pretty useless. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Throw Name Command Escape Rating ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Steel Pedal Drop 1+3_2+4_2+5 1 *** This is one of Kazuya's new throws (side throws weren't added until Tekken 3, so Kazuya recieved both left and right side throws in TTT), and it looks very cool. Kazuya takes his opponent's leg, and basically whips them over his head and slams them into the ground HARD. It does a good 40 points of damage, and of course is effective when you've wrapped around an opponent's side with your Sidestep. It also leaves them stunned on the ground for a while, so go into your CD/WD game for some mean Okizeme. The only problem is that seasoned opponents will escape every time. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Throw Name Command Escape Rating ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Skull Smash 1+3_2+4_2+5 2 *** Another of Kazuya's new throws, the Skull Smash looks like Law's back throw (the Dragon Bite), except Kazuya punches them right in the forehead with a nice big crunch (OWWW!!!). Like his other side throw, it does 40 points of damage, looks cool as fuck, sets them up nice and close for Okizeme, and of course fits right into Kazuya's side game. Just like the Steel Pedal Drop, use this when you've whipped around an opponent, but be aware that most opponents will escape. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Throw Name Command Escape Rating ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Reverse Neck Throw 1+3_2+4_2+5 None *** It's not the greatest of back throws as it does a measly 50 points of damage as compared to Yoshimitsu's/Gun Jack's 70 points, and it also looks very boring, but hey, 50 points in any case is great! Of course, it is best used when you run/Sidestep under a flying opponent, such as when Devil/Angel does the Devil Blaster/Reverse Devil Blaster, True Ogre's Hell's Flame, Yoshimitsu's Moonsault Slayer and Deathcopter, and Armor King/Ogre/True Ogre's Jumping Knuckle Bomb. They'll fly right over your head, only to realize they've landed into some PHAT damage. In the words of Ben Cureton, FLOUNCE! ******* ATTACKS ******* ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Attack Name Command Rating ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Spinning Backfist b+2 * Think of the Demon Slayer. Got that in your head? Now, think of the final, slow, uselessly-High-hitting backfist thing at the end. Here you go. Avoid it like the plague. By far the most useless move in Kazuya's arsenal. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Attack Name Command Rating ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Quick Demon Slayer 2,2 * Do NOT do this move. While it inflicts OK damage if it hits, both hits go High, leave Kazuya wide open if ducked, recover crappy, and aren't worth the risk. Kazuya has much better options. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Attack Name Command Rating ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Left Right Combo 1,2 **** This two-punch combo doesn't have as many options as Jin's, but it still leads into two different and semi-useful links. However, it is also excellent in that it has forward movement, is totally safe if blocked, and guarantees either the Demon Slayer or Twin Fang Stature Smash combos on a hit. Because of its excellent recovery time, you should throw this out freely in your in-close game, but be warned that experienced/fast players will duck and punish Kazuya with a WS attack if you abuse this (watch out for Jin - one WS+2 and you'll lose 30-40%). ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Attack Name Command Rating ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Demon Slayer 1,2<2 ** While this move goes High for all three hits, there are still some places where you can stick this in and get good results. First, if it is blocked, Kazuya will be moderately safe from retaliation, as the recovery is decent. Second, it is a very fast, easy juggle finisher for those who are just starting Tekken, as it does good damage. However, once you master your Crouch Dash, you'll be using the Thunder Godfist and Wind Godfist a lot more often in your juggle enders, but if you don't want to risk whiffing, go for this, although the 1,1,2 is still better. Third, if the first punch connects, the entire combo is guaranteed, and does decent damage. However, you're much better off with the regular 1,2 or even the 1,2,4. For more info on this move, mail/contact ILuvMomo, the King of Kazuya's 1,2,2 (LOL). He'll tell you how "good" it REALLY is (lol). ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Attack Name Command Rating ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Twin Fang Stature Smash 1,2,4 *** A new link for Kazuya in TTT, and a very effective one... when used sparingly. Kazuya throws out the one-two punch, then flows straight into the Stature Smash. The last hit isn't blocked (the Stature Smash feints a high kick, and instead goes Low) too often, but decent/good players will tap d/f to Low Parry the kick every time. The whole combo is guaranteed if the first punch connects, though, and while it won't exactly kill them in terms of damage, the ticks will add up after a while. If you know they'll block the last hit though, cut the string short - the recovery is a crappy 14 frames. That's the same recovery time as a Thunder Godfist, which means you'll get a WS attack or even Hop Kick for your troubles. Remember to be careful when using this against good players - if the 1,2 is blocked, they love to duck and Low Parry the final hit. Due to that, it is best used as a mixup tool with d/f+2 and d/f+4,4. Another effective mixup to use after they've wised up to a few 1,2,4's is to switch up and do 1,2, then throw out the Gut Punch. They'll duck to block the Stature Smash and get punched in the mouth for some nice damage, and if they threw anything out, WHACK, Counter-Hit! Go into a quick Lightning Godfist or u+4,4,4,4. It's also a decent finisher in juggle combos as the Stature Smash slams them into the floor pretty hard ;^). ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Attack Name Command Rating ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Flash Punch Combo 1,1<2 ***** This is the Mishima standby combo, and by far one of Kazuya's main offensive and defense attacks. The first two hits go High, then Kazuya busts out a fast Mid that will knock them down if it hits. However, the reason it is so effective and hits so often is that the final Mid can be delayed slightly. So, throw out 1,1 (if blocked, Kazuya recovers before they can attack), and wait for them. If they block, end the link, but if they twitch after they've ducked/blocked the first two hits, throw the final Mid and put them on mat. Its fast speed will override almost any single High/Mid attack. And since the first two hits (or single 1) gives Kazuya a mad frame advantage (9 frames), it's prime time to mix up with WGF, Gut Punch, throwing, or Hell Sweep, since it's guaranteed if they try anything afterwards (and it will be a CH too!) other than to block/duck. After they eat a few Hell Sweeps, they'll start blocking low... which is when you do the 1,1,2 and make them pay. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Attack Name Command Rating ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Twin Pistons WS+1,2 ***** = Tag = ~5 At first, I really didn't use this move too much because of my blind faith in the Demon Gut Punch as well as the change in controller input (as an odd paradox, I use Heihachi's and Devil's Twin Pistons all the time). I thought it was simply a weaker substitute of the WGF and DGP, but now I realize that Twin Pistons is used in different situations, and in the situations that you can use Twin Pistons... it is an EXCELLENT move. Now that I've found out that the DGP stuns can be escaped by holding Forward, and that Tsunami Kick, while fast and very useful, is only inflicts damage and nothing else, this is in fact Kazuya's best move from the While Standing position BY FAR. While Kazuya's Twin Pistons have been weakened a bit in TTT since Tekken 2, they still remain a main part of his strategy, and are the fastest-executing Twin Pistons of all the Mishima family. And listen up: for all those people who say "I can just WGF instead of Twin Pistons!" are gonna learn the hard way - believe me, I was one of them. You're not going to have time to do the Crouch Dash before a character with fast jabs/low jabs like Julia/Michelle, Bruce/Bryan, Yoshi, or Xiaoyu will snuff you easily. And God help you if you think you can pull off the Demon Gut Punch as a substitute for Twin Pistons. Even lately I've talked to some of the people at the Zai and they're like "When you duck and need to attack you should use WS+2 Demon Gut Punch." (Another sign that Zai is now overrun by way too many scrubs...). GET THIS THROUGH YOUR HEADS - Twin Pistons just plain KILLS Demon Gut Punch in terms of usefulness. How, you say? If you're in close and you're getting pestered, say, by a masher Hwoarang or Baek or even a 1,1,2 Mishima scrub, you can duck their kicks/1,1,2 and Twin Pistons them for a free juggle! You will not have time to pull off a WGF and definitely not a DGP in such pressure (play a good Bruce or Lee and you'll know what pressure is), and if you are trying to get off a quick jugglestarter, you should go for this. I mean, does DGP execute in 11 frames like Twin Pistons and have crazy priority? NO! It takes 16 frames and the priority has been fucked, and that's enough for you to get snuffed when you would have hit them with Twin Pistons. IF it hits, sure, it'll do a big chunk of damage, but you're not gonna get a combo, because it's easy to escape the stun! And even worse, if you get the Demon Gut Punch blocked, you are going to get a Hop Kick or power hit for your troubles. However... A blocked Twin Pistons = NO GUARANTEED RETALIATION. There is NO risk whatsoever: it has disgusting priority, combos guaranteed for an instant launch (on non-fatties of course), and has almost no recovery time, so a blocked TP won't leave you vulnerable AT ALL. The only hitch is when the first hit is blocked - if your opponent has either a Mid/Punch Parry, Attack Reversal, Sway (qcb), or Bruce uses d/b+4, they can reverse/Parry/avoid/counter the last hit. However, that's why should always buffer a Chicken on the second hit in case they have reversals. This is also guaranteed to work if you block a Mishima Hell Sweep or Low Parry a kick - they will be displaced for 23 frames on the low-block stagger, and 16 frames on the Low Parry - ample time to get the WS+1. DGP won't be fast enough. Tsunami Kicks will work, but won't give you a free juggle like TP does. Just make sure you're close. It also works well when you're ducking and near the opponent, as they will be expecting a WS move and may stand to block it. Surprise them by standing and throwing them, or cutting low with Hell Sweeps. And if they choose to be idiots and continue to duck, let loose with the Twin Pistons. Now, what if they are the pitbull type that likes to stay in your face? You can always test the waters by sticking out a d+1, which is quite possibly the best setup. If it's blocked, you'll be ok, if it hits, you'll poke them out of any attack they throw out AND gain a crazy 9-frame advantage. Either way, even if they block, do WS+1,2 to keep up the pressure. This will even work well in your Okizeme... if you feel they will stick out the Mid Kick, you can bust out Twin Pistons prematurely and hit them, sending them back to the floor once again. As a jugglestarter, this isn't bad at all - it is VERY fast, is an instant combo and launch (plus it launches higher than Jin's), does pretty good damage, hits Mid for both hits, has very fast recovery, and can start some good combos, as it launches almost as high as a WGF. However, you cannot set up Tag combos with this, as it will not knock them high up enough for your partner to come in and continue the combo, and this will also not launch the big guys like the Jacks, Ganryu, and True Ogre - it will only imbalance them, but hitting with a standing 1 or 2 will knock them slightly into the air for a short juggle (chase after them with 1, 1, f+2/WGF for decent damage), even though they can prevent juggles by tapping f quickly. However, as any knowledgable Tekken player knows, by FAR the most important strategy for you to master is to use this in your Crouch Dash strategy to mixup with Hell Sweeps. This can be worked into your Crouch Dash/Wavedash strategy by inputting f,N,d,d/f, then tap b or d/b. By tapping b or d/b at the end, it cancels the CD and puts Kazuya in a While Standing position - train them to eat the TP by going for a couple of Hell Sweeps and getting them to block low. After they've gotten hit a few times, go into the Crouch Dash and see if they block low or not. If they don't, do Hell Sweep again, and if they do, pull out the TP and slam them with a combo (I suggest WS+1,2, 1,2, d/f+4,4 for style points, or a simple WS+1,2, 4 for simplicity and damage). The CD/WD cancel to Twin Pistons alone makes Kazuya the most powerful character in the game (only Jin is better, and the advantage is slight). Every player I've talked to says that this move is the evilest technique in the game when abused. However, there's going to be times when you don't have room to CD and cancel to Twin Pistons. You need to learn how to get it out right then, no WS delay. That's when you need to learn the Instant WS trick mentioned in jjt and KOFTEKKEN's awesome Advanced TTT Techniques FAQ. To do this, input d~d/b,N, or d~d/f,N (d~d/b,N is easier and works better), and the attack you wish to use (1,2 for TP, 2 for DGP, 4~4 for Tsunami Kicks). You will pull off the WS attack almost instantly, making it look as if you pulled the WS attack from a standing position! This works with any WS attack, but IMO much better with Twin Pistons, as one hit = guaranteed juggle. Now, what are the weaknesses of this move? Well, there aren't many - they aren't quite "weaknesses", but more like built-in restrictions. The Twin Pistons is a POWERFUL move, and needs restrictions. I mean, would Namco give the Mishimas half-screen range for their WGF? Of course not, it's powerful enough at mid-range and especially in-close. And the Twin Pistons are no exception... which addresses the first setback - the range of Kazuya's Twin Pistons is truly pathetic. While there is forward movement in the move, it isn't all that far (unlike Devil/Angel's and Hei's), so you need to be pretty close to connect with this. As for Bruce, all he has to do is block the first hit and hit d/b+4 - he swings back out of range and kicks Kazuya in the mouth for free, and of course anyone with a Mid Parry of some sort can employ that on the second hit. The second setback is that unlike Devil/Angel and Heihachi's versions, Kazuya's Twin Pistons require proper setups to connect with it, as it comes out of a While Standing position and therefore can be seen coming pretty easily when used out in the open (which is another reason you MUST learn Instant WS). Devil/Angel (ESPECIALLY them) and Heihachi can do the Twin Pistons instantly without crouching or revealing (which is why IMHO an expert Devil/Angel is probably the most frustrating Mishima to fight against) the attack. Third, expert players who have eaten/blocked a lot of Twin Pistons will try to reverse the second hit when they get sick of getting pecked. In the case of reversals, simply buffer a Chicken into the second uppercut (done with f+2+4) to teach them. Then again, since this comes out so fast, almost no one reverses this, but keep your Chicken at ready against those Reversal-capable characters. No matter what your feelings are about this move, it is bar none Kazuya's most important attack along with the Wind Godfist, and not using it will make your Kazuya game overall suffer greatly. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Attack Name Command Rating ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Demon Gut Punch WS+2 *** WHY did Namco do this to poor ol' Kazuya? I mean, this is Kazuya's trademark attack that set him apart from the Mishimas. The main reason Kazuya was feared... and now it's just a shadow of its former self. It's been confirmed (many thanks Rev and 7ronko, as well as bluu for confirming it) that, in fact, you CAN escape ANY of the DGP stuns (Counter-Hit or Clean Hit) by simply holding Forward OR by Tagging out (Counter-Hit included, unlike how I previously thought). While they may be vulnerable if they Tag out, they can always cancel the Tag run-in with u/b~b and be safe from virtually anything. Well, in my book, combining that weakness with the lengthened start time, lengthened recovery time, and weaker damage potential since Tekken 2, this move has been knocked WAY down my "usefulness" chart. The fact alone that you can escape the stun at ANYTIME regardless makes this WAAAAAAYYYY less useful than it was in Tekken 2 during good competition - along the lines of "nearly useless in high-level play" in TTT. Sure, if you catch a scrub or intermediate player (and I mean those players and only them, not anyone that has decent knowledge of TTT) with a CH/CL Demon Gut Punch, then it's GAME OVER for them, no question about it, but any good/expert player that knows how to escape stuns is going to make Kazuya's life rough if you rely on stun combos (although the damage from the DGP itself is EXCELLENT) and stun combos only. But, not to take everything away from it, this attack comes out at ok speed, does INSANE damage on Clean/Counter-Hit (55 points on CH+CL and 46 on CL!), hits Mid, and will catch the opponent in an evil Double-Over Stun with a Counter-Hit, and a Fall Back Stun on Clean Hit (be aware that regardless of hit type it REQUIRES a Clean Hit to stun). However, it can be reversed if they see it coming, so you need to buffer a Chicken (with f+2+4), so they'll get smacked in return. This is also decent to use for some damage potential by smacking an opponent recovering from a low attack (you won't get a stun though) like a Stagger Kick, Dragon Tail, or Snake Edge, and it can be set-up FAIRLY well on beginners and intermediates with a d+3. For reasons I cannot guess, just about EVERYONE attacks you right away if they eat a d+3! But like Lee said, that's basically a wild-card strategy because if anyone eats DGP off of a d+3, you can rest assured they suck bad. The recovery time, while not HUGE, is rather significant at 13 frames, so beware when fighting anyone with a quick Hop Kick or jab or you'll get juggled or eat a 1,1,2 or some equivalent. Anyways, d+1 is always better than d+3 since d+1 gets you 9-frames on hit. Now, what are the options Kazuya has off of a CH/CL Demon Gut Punch? Well, let me save you the trouble - the only option outside of Tag juggling would be to do the Thunder Godfist to Spinning Mid Kick since the damage is just plain evil. A standing 4 also works VERY nicely, but then again it's gay-looking and cheap. If you want to Tag juggle them, you could do a FAST Wind Godfist to launch them into a 40-50% juggle combo (the timing, while nowhere near as hard as a Jin CH b,F+2, EWGF, is still kinda tough) and of course Tag out, or continue with your own juggle. But the question is - so fucking what? Demon Gut Punch, in all reality, is too flawed a move to abuse like back in Tekken 2 - and even back then it was slow as all hell. Back then the only saving grace was its priority and the fact that it couldn't be escaped. Yes, the stun looks painful. Yes, it does a lot of damage. Yes, you can do a lot of huge combos off of it. Well, how will you do all that when no one will get hit with it? The recovery time is enough for retaliation, it comes out quite slow and is incredibly telegraphed, and it is easily escaped. A much better, much more effective tool is the Twin Pistons... which unlike the DGP, is one of the best moves in the game. Use that, dammit! Not only does it juggle, it executes in 11 frames, has HIGH priority, almost instant recovery, hits and launches guaranteed from the WS+1, and has so many setups it's not even funny. Sure beats the hell out of a stun hit that can be escaped, executes in 16 frames, recovers in 13 frames (as opposed to the 6 it takes for TP, which prevents ALL retaliation), and comes out so predictably that it's near impossible to hit with it on a good opponent. I mean, when you're looking for it (and most Kaz opponents are since that's what EVERYONE knows him by), the DGP is SOOOOO easy to see coming, since it doesn't come out the fastest AND needs to come out of a WS position. I mean, if you need to trick them into getting hit with _Twin Pistons_ (one of the fastest, safest moves in the game) for Christ sake, do you really have a chance in getting THIS flawed attack to connect in SKILLED play? With a 20-frame escape window no less? I doubt it. I could drink a cup of joe, take a leak, come back, and escape the fucking thing. To be fair, though, hitting with the DGP itself does insane damage, and at times, the shock of being CH Demon Gut Punched will usually have the opponent forget to escape, allowing you to murder them with one combo. There's also the fact that 75-80% of the time you play competition, it's not going to be in Japan, Korea, or California, so most of the time you can use DGP and have a level of effectiveness. There IS, if you are a serious player, going to be a time where play against someone who will NOT fall for it at all, though - I play at a really crappy arcade, and even then only about 50-60% of them fall for it. Be patient, unpredictable, and use your brain when employing it, and the rewards will be VERY good. So in summation, like Kian said, the Demon Gut Punch is an effective, dreaded tool at beginner/intermediate play, but almost totally useless at high levels of competition, so you've been warned. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Attack Name Command Rating ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Tsunami Kick WS+4,4_d/f+4,4 ***** By far one of Kazuya's best kick attacks, the Tsunami Kick is the perfect weapon for aggressive players, Custom Strings, Kazuya's Okizeme game, and for turtlers, simply because it has INSANE priority, good damage, very fast speed, two guaranteed hits, and a safe recovery. While the recovery is indeed 15 frames, it pushes them so far back they cannot retaliate except with the longest-range, fastest power strikes. Not only that, it can be done from three different sources: from a While Standing position, from the normal ready position, and even from Kazuya's Crouch Dashes. All you need to do when executing it from the Crouch Dash is tap 4,4. However, be sure you don't hold D/F when you Crouch Dash or you'll get the Hell Sweeps instead. It is best done from the standing position, as is will cleanly counter or hit pretty much any attack thrown at the same time. It will also smack rolling opponents twice and put them on the floor, making for a mean Okizeme trick to employ. It's really simple - as soon as you see them twitch, you can stick out this and it will hit them. The speed and priority are THAT high. Put this attack in all of Kazuya's Custom Strings because it's mad speed will keep them pinned-down for as long as Kazuya wishes, afraid to stick out an attack. As a neat trick, Kazuya can actually delay inbetween the two hits by 5 frames, like Heihachi, where it looks like the Front Kick comes out, then a quick pause, and the axe kick comes out, just in case you have to dupe the moron into getting smacked with the second hit if they blocked the first. It is also an easy and quick juggle finisher to employ, and of course, once they're on the ground again... Oki time! ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Attack Name Command Rating ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Left Splits Kick f,f+3 * While Jin and Heihachi's versions have SOME use (if they hit, of course), Kazuya's (and Devil's too) pretty much sucks. I mean, Jin can at least go into a 3-Ring Circus to juggle 'em up for a combo (if it hits), and Heihachi's inflicts huge block stun, allowing him to recover and start setups for crazy combos with his poking and put on pressure with his god-like EWGF. Kazuya's is identical to Jin's, except he practically has nothing in terms of floats (you can get a simple Hell Sweep hit off though), and this attack also has giant 19-frame execution, a slight though vulnerable recovery time, and is easily reversed/Sidestepped/parried, so you're better off leaving this one alone. If you want to know, it can be executed from Kazuya's Crouch Dash by going into the Dash, and tapping f+3. Do yourself a favor though, and steer clear of it. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Attack Name Command Rating ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Right Splits Kick f+4 **** This has been beefed-up massively since Tekken 2. While it comes out rather slow at 19 frames, has slightly short range, and is bait for an Attack Reversal, it still has quite a bit of priority, the block stun it incurs an 11-frame advantage, and on normal hit gives Kazuya an 8-frame advantage. While nothing is guaranteed to hit, the advantage is definitely in Kazuya's favor, and when employed, frame advantage is oh so useful. Since Kazuya has such a staggering frame advantage whether blocked or connected (non-CH of course), you can press the advantage with the Gut Punch, Wind Godfist, and Hell Sweeps to form a powerful mixup. If they try anything other than block or reverse, they'll get CHed for huge damage opportunities. On Counter-Hit, it immediately floors them into an SLD position, which allows for a guaranteed Hell Sweep (and b+1+4 on fatties if they don't roll to the side), or allows you to flow into an Okizeme game. From watching Castel's Kazuya Combo Arts Act 2, I've discovered that a Right Splits Kick done on a crouching opponent will stun them just long enough for you to get in a GUARANTEED Wind Godfist and phat combo! Now, before, I originally thought that the timing was insane, but after practicing a few times (and hitting the WGF execution faster), I was able to nail it 100%. The only hitch is that it's quite unlikely you'll catch them while they're crouching unless they're taking a nap, and even if it does, they'll usually throw something out and get CHed to the floor. I've discovered that it is VERY effective to use after hitting them with a Stonehead throw, Sidestepping left, waiting a split-second, then throwing this out. They'll either block and take some crazy block stun, or get snagged while rising from the Tech Roll and be open for a free WGF. And if they stand up again, throw them again! Be careful though, since they may choose to stay still, then hit you with a wake-up attack. Keep in mind the slow 19-frame execution of the move, and use it at a sensible range and time where the opponent will be forced to block it. Few players know about the advantages of using this move, and fewer Kazuya players use it correctly, but when used sparingly and wisely, it can be extremely dominating. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Attack Name Command Rating ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Demon Scissors 4~3_u/f+4~3 ** The once-penultimate ground attack of the Mishimas is certainly not as good as it used to be, due to the fact that guaranteed ground hits are pretty much non-existent in TTT due to the additions of Tech Rolls and more wake-up options. This can even be reversed by Attack Reversals and Mid Parries (King can NOT Reverse with his Kick Attack Reversal, apparently). However, this is still actually an effective move in situations - very LIMITED situations, mind you. First, it will cut through almost any attack and put them on the ground, so it may come in handy against scrubs. Second, lots of scrubs when knocked down have little clue on how to Tech Roll, and will eat this attack regardless. Third, Kazuya, Heihachi, and Jin (Devil and the Ogres cannot) can actually execute the Demon Scissors one frame faster by tapping u/f+4~3. Normally, Kazuya pauses, then does the attack, but tapping u/f before the 4~3 makes it come out without the delay, and in certain situations it may be necessity to pull it out a frame faster to hit with it. Finally (and this pertains only to Kazuya and Devil), and most usefully, it will also connect as a guaranteed hit after a combo following a CH Wind Godfist in certain special occasions. Read the info in the Wind Godfist analysis for more details. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Attack Name Command Rating ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Roundhouse u_u/f+4 * This attack starts off the Triple Spin Kick, the savior and death of all scrubs. However, the Roundhouse is horrifyingly slow at 25 frames, hits High (meaning it is easily ducked), and has low priority, so it is always best to go into the Triple Spin Kick, although that isn't all that much better. If you're going to use this against a player with a reversal (not a Parry), buffer a Chicken into it. = Triple Spin Kick 4,4,4 ** The overabused scrub attack for the Mishimas (a.k.a. the Cheese Wheel), Kazuya lands from the Roundhouse into two Hell Sweep sweeps, finishing with a Mid-hitting kick. Unfortunately, this move really sucks on anything resembling decent competition, but it of course is the ultimate scrub killer. Not only is it easy to block, it also falls prey to the new low block stagger (which leaves Kazuya at a whopping -26 frame disadvantage), allowing HUGE retaliation attempts, such as a rival Mishima getting a guaranteed Twin Pistons/Uppercut and a massive juggle. Any of the two low sweeps can be easily Low Parried, and the final Mid kick is easily reversed/parried, so it is best to just leave this alone. If executed with u+4, Kazuya will stagger only on the second sweep if blocked, whereas if he did it u/f+4 he would stagger on the first blocked sweep. The only truly useful application is after a stun (you must delay it with a Double-Over/Fall Over Stun, and you must do it with u+4 to hit although the Roundhouse doesn't hit). As a plus, if the Mid kick is actually blocked, Kaz is relatively safe from retaliation, although they will usually make Kaz stagger long before that, and if he does, well it ain't pretty. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Attack Name Command Rating ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Gut Punch d/f+2 ***** A new move for Kazuya in Tekken (it has replaced his old d/f+2 Uppercut) - it is basically a standing version of his Demon Gut Punch, except it only stuns on Counter-Hit AND Clean Hit, inflicts Crumple Fall Stun, not Double-Over Stun, executes two frames faster, and recovers one frame slower (which amounts to 14 frames), but only if blocked at its outer range - if it's blocked close, it inflicts enough block stun to leave Kazuya relatively safe from attack. On Clean Hit and Counter-Hit, I'm telling you... this thing does INSANE damage, but still shy of the cheesiness of a CH Demon Gut Punch. And finally, it's been discovered (thanks to ILuvMomo and Kazuya Kazama for this!) that a Wind Godfist IS GUARANTEED FOR A FULL LAUNCH AFTER A CH+CL GUT PUNCH! Yes, it's true, you can WGF them and launch for a combo! However, it's kind of offset that the timing IS FREAKING INSANE to pull this off! You need to execute the WGF as fast as humanly possible for it to launch. And that fastest-possible speed is 13 frames. One frame faster, and it's gonna knock them down. No joke. To quote ILuvMomo, you have _exactly_ 13 goddamn frames to hit with the WGF! So not only must it be done out of Mist Step Cancel, it is virtually impossible to do it from the degree of difficulty. It's widely regarded as the hardest technique in the entire game. I have yet to pull this off even on my PS2 (and I'd like to think I'm pretty good with a PS controller). So, even if a WGF does work, the insane timing still makes it not as useful in terms of stun combos. However, that doesn't mean much - THIS ATTACK IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO KAZUYA, COMBOS OR NOT. It does a LOT of damage on CH and/or CL, hits Mid, it's a good finisher for a juggle combo (check out the Combo section), and there are still some very damaging follow-ups you can use (like a Lightning Uppercut and Triple Spin Kicks) when you do connect with it. The best part though is that the stun is completely INESCAPEABLE. No Tagging out or holding Forward here. And did I mention it has block stun in-close? Set this up by going for lots of low hits like Hell Sweeps and Stature Kicks, followed by a low jab (d+1), then a Front Kick (WS+4), and repeat. They'll get quite annoyed with your poking and most likely attack. It's also great to use when you have a significant frame advantage (after a blocked/hit f+4, d+1, d/b+4, or blocked f+2 for example), since the Gut Punch is quite fast (14 frames) and will always hit them if they counter attack. In either of those cases, send out d/f+2 and watch them get stunned! Like ILuvMomo said, you should use this in every COMBO situation (because of course the GDF has its own uses) you would use the Glorious Demon Fist, as they have the same stun (except the Gut Punch needs to be a Clean Hit and CH), but comes out MUCH faster. The difference? The GDF's stun lasts longer, allowing a wider variety of combos if Kazuya chooses to Tag after the stun. Opponent is constantly throwing out Paul's Deathfist? Block the first and do the Gut Punch as he rushes right into it with his second, then go for a power juggle. This attack is nearly perfect with its great damage, solid stun capability, and quick speed and decent recovery (when close enough). You should use this A LOT more than the Demon Gut Punch in every case. You'll be glad you did. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Attack Name Command Rating ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Entrails Smash d/f+1 *** A new move for Kazuya, and overall not the greatest, but it has a few uses. Kazuya punches the opponent in the kidney area with an Mid- hitting underhand body blow. It stuns slightly, although no follow-ups are guaranteed, but it does give Kaz the initiative and shifts them off- axis. A good strategy is to SSL once this hits. If they throw anything it will most likely whiff. Side throw! Or better yet, WGF and combo. However, it comes out with a little lag (16 frames, which is on the slow side) and it has VERY short range, so you're better off using the Gut Punch instead of this. However, regardless, it's still a decent poking move, as the recovery is almost instantaneous, so Kazuya recovers fast enough to resume offense with his pokes, like 1,2,4, 1,1, and his d+1. It is also a good combo filler, since it comes out moderately fast and recovers instantly, so afterwards you can follow up with a jab to keep the combo going (found this out in Castel's second Kazuya vid), or simply end with d/f+4,4 for 53 easy points of damage. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Attack Name Command Rating ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Soul Thrust f+2 ** This is basically Kazuya's version of a Demon's Paw, albeit the slower execution and shorter range. Kazuya takes a stride forward and throws a slow chest punch. It has much less range than the Demon's Paw, and it's also slow as hell (20 frames), but it hits harder and smacks them away to the ground on Counter-Hit, although it will knock them too far away for Kazuya to follow-up with anything other than a Hell Sweep hit, and to make it worse, the slow speed makes it easy bait for an Attack Reversal - which is why you should always buffer a Chicken into it. It's really not an attack you want to randomly throw out or let me tell you, you WILL be hurt. The upside - the recovery is good due to big block stun it dishes out, and if you'd like, you can always use the frame advantage to set-up your Crouch Dash mixups. It also works decently as a juggle finisher, so if Tag combos aren't your thing (they should be though), and you don't like WGF as a juggle ender, use this (you should use WGF over this any day though). Be warned, if you're hoping to start an Okizeme game after a combo, don't use this - it blows them away in the air. In all, it's not useless, but the risks outweigh the rewards most of the time. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Attack Name Command Rating ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Glorious Demon Fist f+1+2 *** This is another new Kazuya move, and boy does it hurt... although anyone stupid enough to see this coming and just eat it should be smacked in the head. Kazuya lunges forward, crouching slightly, as he aims a slow, left-handed sidewind punch into their stomach, instantly stunning them with a Crumple Fall Stun regardless of hit type. Not only does this look hella-sick (which is why many players call it the "Assassin's Fist"), have a sweet name, and track SSers VERY well, it is oh so damaging, AND of course you can do a number of fairly-powerful juggles. But... it's kind of a moot point because the move's power and stun combo follow-ups are kind of offset by the disgusting lag time (a whopping 20 frames), so more often than not you're going to get poked out of this before it hits. However, the recovery (25 fucking frames!) isn't THAT big of an issue as you'd think, because it pushes them back if blocked, so most power hits will miss or get blocked. It still leaves Kazuya open for more than a few power hits, though. However, the true beauty of this attack is its _insane_ range and the fact that it does avoid a lot of moves. This is quite useful for hitting Tagging opponents due to the lunge, so if you time it just right and know they're gonna Tag, let loose and watch them get hit and murdered. The same goes for if they Tag in - they'll be hit before they can even cancel the run-in! You can also throw this into a juggle (against a big guy) for an unusual finisher. After an opponent is stunned by the Glorious Demon Fist, Kazuya can follow up with a few options - your best bet is to do the Roundhouse to Triple Spin Kick (must be done with u+4, and not u/f+4) for sick, easy damage. For style, you can use a Crouch Dash Front Kick (f,N,d,d/f+4) to scoop them up for a jab or two, but the damage is not as good (or as cheap) as the good ol' u+4,4,4,4. A Thunder Godfist or Lightning Screw Uppercut will work on big characters for unreal damage if you want it simple. Contrary to popular belief, the b+1+4 DOES work afterwards on normal- size characters, but the timing is so insane you're better off leaving it alone. And for those who like showing off, Kazuya can always Tag after he recovers, and since the stun is so damn long, it allows some characters to come in and land some MASSIVE combos (i.e., (Kazuya) f+1+2, 5, (Bruce) d/f+3, b+4,3,4). So once again... like many of Kazuya's moves, it's not insanely powerful, but when used correctly, it can be very useful. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Attack Name Command Rating ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Stature Smash d/b+4 **** One of Kazuya's new moves, and one of his more useful ones... if you're careful with it. The Stature Smash is one of Kazuya's sneakiest attacks, and it thankfully hits Low, which is good since he lacks in Low attacks. Kazuya feints a mid/high-level kick, then cuts low for a kick to the shins. People are surprised and hit by this on an almost consistent basis... well, at first. NEVER abuse this... because 20 frames of execution is damn slow. Once opponents are used to the wind- up, they'll Parry low and fuck you up, or worse yet, a CH 1~2,1, EWGF, or d/f+2 or some equivalent will rape you. If it is blocked, Kazuya is pretty safe from retaliation, as well (a minor 9-frame disadvantage, which only allows 8-frame jab/low jabs to sneak in). It's so easy to hit with this - you can do this by baiting them with quick High/Mid attacks like 1,1, d/f+4, and d/f+2, then cut low and hit them in the leg! The only real problem is if you're facing a good player that like to Low Parry your d/b+4, which in that case, you could mixup after a couple of Stature Smashes and switch to a Mid hit like d/f+2 to dissuade them from throwing out a Low Parry, then switch back to d/b+4, etc. If it hits, Kazuya has a 7-frame advantage - just enough for you to get an guaranteed throw, d/f+2, WGF, or d/f+4,4 on CH if they do anything but block or reverse - but you must be quick. Speed is the key word here - if you're too slow, they may interrupt you if they have an 8- frame jab or use d+1. This attack is also vital to Kazuya's Okizeme game, as it will smack rolling opponents and put them back on the floor, afraid to move. Mix that up with his Hell Sweep, and you'll be able to keep them on the floor for a decent piece of the fight. I wouldn't really agree with ILuvMomo and Chinky-Eye in saying that the risks outweigh the rewards - d/b+4 is one of Kazuya's few Low attacks, does decent damage (17 points, 25 on CH), has a deceptive wind-up (but like I said before, a trained opponent WILL Low Parry), and better yet, a 7- frame advantage on hit, which is very helpful. The only thing you should not do is over-abuse it - when you know how and when to use d/b+4, it can be quite useful. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Attack Name Command Rating ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Leaping Side Kick f~f,f+3_WR+3 **** Just about everyone has this move in some way, and Kazuya's is no different. As always, remember that this is easily telegraphed and blocked/reversed/parried (remember to Chicken reversals!), but hits Mid, does lots of damage on hit, and gives Kazuya an insane 17 frames of advantage when blocked (unlike in previous Tekkens, nothing is guaranteed anymore). That means mixup time (with d/f+2, WGF, Hell Sweeps, etc.)! ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Attack Name Command Rating ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Thunder Godfist f,N,d,d/f+1 *** The classic, ultra-damaging, elemental Mishima uppercut of destruction is back to menace scrubs once again. A Clean Hit with a TGF will guarantee a loss of at least 25% of their energy, and if Kazuya is Netsu-charged or hits on CH, you're gonna see 40% down the shitter. Of course, power comes at a price, as anyone with half a brain will see the huge-ass wind-up, and block high, and to be even more crappy, it has pretty bad recovery time, too. The damage has also been toned-down quite a bit from Tekken 2, although it is still very powerful, and like back in Tekken 2, it won't combo off of anything less than a Class 1 Launcher or CH DGP because it comes out so slowly (three frames slower than Heihachi's) and doesn't hit as low to the ground as Hei's. So, why use this, then? Well, that's because it is the coolest, deadliest, most stylish juggle finisher/filler ever in Tekken, God dammit! It will only connect after a Class 1 Launcher, against a big guy (and in certain cases King/Armor King) after a WGF, or a CH/CL Demon Gut Punch, due to its slower start (Hei's executes in 19 frames, as opposed to Kaz/Jin/Devil's 22 frames) and higher execution height. A Thunder Godfist to Spinning Mid Kick after a Counter-Hit Demon Gut Punch alone does around 60% damage, and if you connect a TGF after a Tagged-out Class 1 launcher like Hwoarang's Sky Rocket or Kuma's f,f+2, you're gonna have your opponent growling for a while! Other than that, though... NEVER - _EVER_ - use this out in the open, because you can get messed up bad if they block in-close. It's not super slow-recovering (14 frames), but it's usually enough for them to stuff a jugglestarter down your throat if you're close when it's blocked. From farther away, it;s not quite as dangerous if blocked. Only use this in a non-combo situation by going under a High or Mid attack to interrupt/hit them while recovering - if that happens, the Thunder Godfist will pimp them for a quarter of their life and leave a very nasty expression on their faces! Again, do NOT get this blocked - you will be punished quite harshly by competent players. The Thunder Godfist is like any other tool - if you use the right one for the right job, things go smoothly. If you don't, you won't make the same mistake twice. = Spinning Mid Kick = 3 **** No, do NOT think that this will come out fast enough to counter attacks after a blocked TGF, because the interim between the two hits is DAMN slow, and the recovery time if blocked is a slow 14 frames. It's main use is for an added hit after the TGF during a juggle or stun combo - in that case, it is excellent - ALWAYS go for it! Only useful in juggles. = Hell Sweep = 4 * Do not use this move. While it will connect in the combos described above, the damage it does is laughably poor and the blocked recovery is absolutely terrible, so screw this and use the Spinning Mid Kick. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Attack Name Command Rating ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Wind Godfist f,N,d,d/f+2 ***** = Tag = ~5 The Wind Godfist is the penultimate Tekken jugglestarter, and the most infamous move in all of Tekken. All who are wise fear this move like no other. It is one of the fastest moves in the game (it can execute as fast as 14 frames counting the Crouch Dash input), juggles to a perfect height for any of Kazuya's juggles (and Tag combos too!), has insane priority, does great damage, and can be delayed since it comes out of Kazuya's Crouch Dash, which lulls many opponents into letting their guard down, and BAM, there they go! However, in TTT, the Wind Godfists have been toned down in that they now hit Special Mid, which means that you can block the move standing or crouching. When combined with the toning-down of the Hell Sweep, Kazuya's Mid/Low evil Crouch Dash mixups from previous Tekkens have basically been killed, although Kazuya's Twin Pistons from CD are arguably more dangerous. It is also not as good as Heihachi's due to the much broader juggling options available to him, as well as the shorter horizontal range. And as I've recently learned, Kazuya apparently has the slowest-recovering Wind Godfist of all the Mishimas (well, tied with Devil because his is identical) - Heihachi can get a free 1,1,2 if your WGF is blocked (only Hei, since his arms are so long), Bruce gets a f+2,f+4 (which hurts a lot for only two hits), the Ogres get a free 2,2, Law gets a quick standing 4, and of course, anything less than 10 frames will get through as well. Jin only has 7 frames of disadvantage with his WGF (but anyways, what competent Jin player attacks with his crappy WGF when EWGF gives him 4 frames of ADVANTAGE?), and while Hei's is also 10 frames, it pushes them farther back when blocked (and besides, he's got EWGF with 4 frames advantage anways). What that means is do NOT use this like crazy in close, but since only a select few can get any REAL damage off of a blocked WGF, it's not a big problem. And as you most likely already know, in TTT, the Wind Godfists/Electric Wind Godfists of the Mishimas are now TOTALLY irreversible. The only exception is Jin (he must buffer in a ~5 after the input to make it into a Special Mid irreversible (E)WGF, and even then it's pretty unreliable). Yes, I didn't believe it myself until I tried it myself (and got some info from SauerKraut's TTT Notes and Castel's Reversal Charts), but it is true - not ONE Attack Reversal, special or otherwise, can reverse the WGF or EWGF, and it cannot be parried by a Mid Parry, special or otherwise, either. Also pointed out by my God - er, man - bluu at the Zai, it's been confirmed that a blocked Mishima WGF from the edge of its range is TOTALLY SAFE and TOTALLY INVULNERABLE from ALL attacks - Julia/Michelle's 1, Kuma's f+1, Yoshi's d/f+4 and f,f+4, all of them - CANNOT hit Kazuya if the WGF is blocked - they will all whiff or come out too slowly, giving Kazuya time to block. Just remember that this is pertaining to a LONG range blocked WGF - in close, Kazuya will eat an 8-10 frame attack if blocked. Don't let the Special Mid blocking setback fool you into thinking that the WGF is now weak - it's simply been altered to a way that makes the WGF a more useful tool for defensive players (and this was always the best strategy for the WGF anyways). All you need to do to hit with this consistently is hang back and wait for them to attack. If they whiff and/or get blocked, you get a free Wind Godfist and killer juggle. The Wind Godfist is the single best mistake-punisher in every Tekken if you know your juggles. And while Kazuya's WGF isn't the best of the bunch pound-for-pound, it is faster, a whole lot better than Jin's crappy WGF (and some may debate that Kaz's WGF is better than Jin's EWGF too), and Kazuya still has some power juggles up his sleeves that can do some real damage. And if Kazuya's juggles aren't enough for you, you can always Tag out and bring in a power juggler (Bruce, Jin, Hei, Bryan, etc.) to finish up for you, as the damage from their Tag juggles will do more than Kazuya can do on his own (and look a whole lot cooler to boot). A quick WGF is also guaranteed after a f+4 on crouching opponents (not fatties though) for HUGE damage. And of course, Kazuya's Wind Godfist is only deadlier when used in the infamous Mist Step Cancel, as it executes one frame faster and is a bit easier to do. While one measly little frame may not make much of a difference on paper, TRUST ME - if you can consistently do MS Cancel WGF, you will be getting LOTS more WGFs to connect than any of the other Mishimas. Only Devil's WGF is possibly as fast. I've taken back my original opinions on the CH Wind Godfist. Truth is, it's actually a bit more beneficial in getting a CH WGF as opposed to waiting for a whiff, then doing WGF. Why? Well, the damage of a CH Wind Godfist itself is just awesome (37 points), and the potential juggle damage exceeds that of the normal Wind Godfist juggles because of the unique properties of the Counter-Hit WGF. On Counter-Hit, the WGF flips them backwards in mid-air, to land in the SLD position. Now, to be honest, it's much harder to juggle proficiently following a CH WGF, but there's only a handful of juggles you should use in that situation to begin with. CH WGF, 4 is the simplest and does a disgusting 61 points of damage in two hits. CH WGF, WGF is almost identical, albeit harder to do (and not quite as satisfying IMHO). However, your best bet overall is to do CH WGF, 1, 1, WGF, u/f+4~3. If you land the second WGF at the right time (right before they land), the Demon Scissors is in fact GUARANTEED afterwards. You can always use three jabs, but the timing is a bitch (your dashing needs to be perfect), and it's only 5-6 points difference - you're better off with only two jabs. That little five-hit is over 80 points of damage by itself - much much more than a non-CH WGF will get you. Some may disagree in saying that a CH WGF is better than a non-CH, but put it this way - the bottom line is, when ANY type of Wind Godfist hits, you're getting a BIG damage opportunity either way. I'm telling you now, it is absolutely IMPERATIVE that you master the use of this attack. It is by and far his best move, and the reason Kazuya is so dangerous. Wise use of it is why you'll win time and time against even the toughest opponents. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Attack Name Command Rating ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Hell Sweeps f,N,d,D/F+4,4 ***** Kazuya's Hell Sweeps, like the other Mishimas, have been toned down a bit in TTT. Now, Kazuya's Hell Sweeps do less damage, and it is further weakened by the new low-block stagger and the universal Low Parry. And to put the final nail in the coffin, the Mid/Low mixup Crouch Dash games that were so effective with every Mishima (especially Kazuya) have been killed by the Wind Godfist's new Special Mid blocking position in conjunction with the aforementioned blocking setbacks of the Hell Sweep. However, despite all of these flaws, the Hell Sweep is still a powerful, hard-to-anticipate tool of Kazuya warfare. This is also due to the unique difference of Kazuya's Hell Sweeps from Heihachi's and Jin's. Unlike theirs (unless you input it f,N,d,D/F~4 for Jin), Kazuya's Hell Sweeps sweep them off of their feet regardless of Counter-Hit, but like Jin's it still requires a Clean Hit to sweep. If it hits on non-Clean Hit (about the edge of its range), it will unbalanced them, but not sweep. However, this is kind of offset by the fact that the Clean Hit range is MUCH larger than Jin's, so you can still sweep them off of their feet from what seems to be a non-Clean Hit range. The second hit, however, ALWAYS sweeps regardless of Counter-Hit or Clean Hit, and recovers much faster than if you stopped after one sweep. What this means is that Kazuya can actually do a combo off of the second sweep if that one is the sweep that hits! It acts kind of like Heihachi's Hell Sweep on CH - like Hei, Kazuya can float them with a Wind Godfist before they hit the ground, and follow-up with a d/f+4,4 for a TRUE combo. However, this is balanced by ease of blocking it. Kazuya's Hell Sweeps are the no-frills version, hitting twice Low - and that's it. No Mid kick, Tsunami Kick, or Thunder Godfist follow-ups. This makes it very easy for a player who's anticipating it to block Low and stagger Kazuya, leaving him open for a quick attack. So, you're probably asking "Why the hell do you say it's effective, then?" The reason is this - it is incredibly hard to see coming at times, especially when you've been pecking them with a continuous volley of Highs and Mids like d/f+4 and 1,1, and BAM, you pull out the Hell Sweep and put them on the ground. And yes, I did say the CD mixups are dead - with the Wind Godfist and Hell Sweeps, it is. But that's why Kazuya can cancel into WS attacks from the CD, and mixup with Hell Sweeps and Twin Pistons. And that one mixup is the main reason Kazuya is so powerful at high-level competition. It isn't the hardest mixup in the world - when they duck, use Twin Pistons - when they stand to block, use Hell Sweeps. If the Twin Pistons are blocked, you're perfectly safe. The Hell Sweep should not even get blocked, since if they duck you automatically switch to Twin Pistons. The command is very tough though, and will take practice. There are several ways to do it, which will be explained below in the Strategy section. Either way, once you master mixing up with Hell Sweeps and Twin Pistons, your Kazuya is one to be feared. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Attack Name Command Rating ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Mist Step f,N ***** The Mist Step is a special Sidestep that Kazuya possesses (Lee has it too, but he has no moves from it, and he only does a Crouch Dash-type move, and no Sidestep). It is basically an extra Sidestep for Kazuya that he had back in Tekken 2 (when no-one had a Sidestep-type move except for Kazuya, Heihachi, Baek, Michelle, etc.). Kazuya, however, has an extra-special feature built into the Mist Step - by simply tapping d/f, he can go into an automatic Crouch Dash that moves and comes out faster than the normal one! From the Mist Step Crouch Dash, Kazuya can go into the Thunder Godfist, Wind Godfist, and Hell Sweep. On an even frame number, Kazuya Sidesteps to the left with the Mist Step - on an odd frame number, he goes to the right. The Mist Step is VITAL to playing Kazuya to his fullest. Not only is it easier to pull off his Crouch Dash attacks with the Mist Step, they come out more deceptively than the normal versions and are more evasive due to the built-in Sidestep. Not only that, but by just doing the Mist Step without the Crouch Dash (tap f,N), you can do any of Kazuya's normal attacks, such as the Flash Punch Combo, Twin Fang Stature Smash, and other attacks with no hitch. From the Crouch Dash, Kazuya can pull off the Tsunami Kick by simply tapping 4,4, and if you delay the CD to the end, Kazuya can do any While Standing move - the Tsunami Kick and Twin Pistons come to mind (or you can always cancel the CD into WS if you're good). This makes it very easy to simply slip under all attacks and deal them a big juggle or stun combo. All attacks from the Mist Step Crouch Dash are identical to the normal ones, so strategies are found on the individual move analysis. And finally, you have the most feared part of Kazuya's Mist Step (many, many thanks to the good Reverend C. for this info) - the Mist Step Cancel. It's been around since Tekken 2 as I've recently discovered (and tested), but not widespread knowledge until Rev brought it up. This works with all the Mist Step CD moves, but for obvious reasons, is much much more effective with the WGF. When you go into the Mist Step and IMMEDIATELY tap D/F~2 (BEFORE he auto-sidesteps), you can pull out a WGF that is actually FASTER than a conventional EWGF, because the WGF cancels the auto-SS that is built-in to the Mist Step. What does this mean in the long run? Well, when done naturally, a Wind Godfist takes at least 14-15 frames total to execute, because every point in the f,N,d,d/f motion counts for one frame, equalling 4 frames of CD input, then tapping 2 for the WGF, and adding 11 frames, bringing it to 15 frames total (it can be shortened by tapping d/f and 2 simultaneously, making both the d/f and 2 count for one frame input and bringing it to 14 frames total). HOWEVER, by using the Mist Step Cancel, this means that by inputting it f,N~D/F~2 saves one frame of the execution by skipping the d part of the motion, and overall comes out at 13 frames, faster than a Mishima (E)WGF done at fastest possible speed! As of late, I've been using this EXTENSIVELY, with much success in match play. It comes out faster than an EWGF guaranteed, and it will start juggles better and faster than anything else Kazuya has, so fling away! And not only is 13 frames the fastest, it is also REQUIRED in order to launch after a CH+CL Gut Punch. Anything slower will knock them down. And remember, Mist Step Cancel also works extremely well with the Hell Sweep due to its stealthy speed and Low-hitting range. ************ UNBLOCKABLES ************ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Attack Name Command Rating ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Lightning Godfist b+1+4 **** While it is still a very slow 43 frames to execution, the Lightning Godfist is by far a very useful Unblockable. It comes out very fast for an Unblockable, and it will evade almost every High attack and even some Mids, deals a great 40 points of damage, and is the best follow-up from a d/f+2 stun (and even f+1+2). It still is slow, though, when compared to most non-Unblockables, and it can be easily reversed, so don't misuse it or you'll pay for it. This can connect after Class 1 Tag Launchers as well for good damage. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Attack Name Command Rating ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Lightning Screw Godfist B+1+4 * While this attack does tremendous damage, it is so damn slow (an absolutely horrible 63 frames) that anyone seeing it will Sidestep, counter-attack, reverse, or Parry it easily. If they are stupid enough to throw out a jab or a high power hit like a Mach Breaker to counter this, they fully deserve to be embarrassed if they're hit by something this damned slow. The only guaranteed Lightning Screw Godfist you can get is after a Glorious Demon Fist or after a P-Jack SS+1 on a big character, and it works on everyone after Angel's SS+2 (NOT Devil!) if you have perfect timing. ======================================================================= 12. Combos ############################################################ ======================================================================= As you all know, Kazuya is a Mishima. The name Mishima goes hand-in- hand with crushing combos in every Tekken, and Kazuya is no exception (more or less). While he lacks the finesse and damage of Jin and Heihachi, or the Class 1 jugglestarter of Devil, he still possesses some very powerful combos that can decimate an opponent's energy by half when employed right. However, unlike the other Mishimas, Kazuya is a Mishima that relies a little more on stun combos instead of juggles to win. Kazuya also lacks a varying amount of jugglestarters, unlike Jin and Heihachi. He relys on starting combos with his Wind Godfist, Gut Punch, and Twin Pistons, and his juggle combos are moderately powerful and simple. His stun combos are also the most powerful in the game, even topping True Ogre's (a simple CH+CL WS+2, WGF does almost 80 points of damage by itself, let alone with a combo tagged on after it). (Note: The rating I give a move pertains to how effective it is for combos, not as a move overall. As another note, the jugglestarters only pertain to those that can be Tagged out of, NOT viable jugglestarters like u/f,N+4 or BK u/f+4, which DO juggle to Class 2 height.) ************** JUGGLESTARTERS ************** 1.) Wind Godfist Command: f,N,d,d/f+2_f,N,d/f+2 Damage: 25 Height: Sm Class 2 Rating: ***** As you all should know, the Wind Godfist is the ultimate jugglestarter in every Tekken. Its range, speed, good damage, priority, and ease of execution (from the Mist Step especially), and irreversibility make it the perfect tool for the typical pitbull Kazuya that lives on getting out his juggles. While it can be blocked Low now, the guard stun it incurs is enough to offset any retaliation attempts. It will set up any Tag juggle perfectly and will also override almost any High/Mid attack thrown at the same time. Remember though, that a CH Wind Godfist will juggle them in a different manner (they flip backwards to land on their stomach and face) and that there are less options after it. Your best bet after a CH Wind Godfist is to finish with an easy 1, 1, WGF, u/f+4~3 (just make sure to hit that second WGF as low as possible), since it far exceeds the damage of any other follow-ups. The height of the launch also depends on how fast you got out the WGF and how fast you buffered Tag afterwards. If you're fast, your partner should come in just as they reach the max launch height. 2.) Twin Pistons Command: WS+1,2 Damage: 12,15 Height: m,m Class 2 Rating: **** This is an excellent launcher for normal juggles, but it does not work as a Tag Launcher simply because they land before your partner can come in and finish the combo. Remember this is used at different times than the WGF. The Twin Pistons are used in-close for interrupting and for offense, when they are in your face and you need a jugglestarter that won't put you at risk by doing a complicated motion like a Crouch Dash or Mist Step that would get snuffed by a jab, whereas WGF is more effective as a mid-range interrupter. In the case of in-close fighting, the Twin Pistons is one of the best moves in the game. It has INSANE priority, extreme speed (the WS+1 executes in 11 frames), moderate damage if unblocked, comes out of nowhere, and has an extremely short recovery time at 6 measly frames. If you by any chance don't have Kazuya's Crouch Dash down to a science (which you NEED to know before you can get any good), this is the next best thing to use. The only hitch is that you need to be close to get both hits guaranteed. Very effective, and Kazuya's best move bar Wind Godfist. ******************* STUN-COMBO STARTERS ******************* 1.) Demon Gut Punch Command: WS+2 Damage: 25 (37 on Clean Hit) Height: m Stun Type: Fall Over Stun (on Clean Hit), Double-Over Stun (on Clean and Counter-Hit) Rating: **** One the most feared moves of Kazuya (IF IT IS NOT ESCAPED), although it bites comapred to the Tekken 2 and 3 versions (the Ogres had it in T3). As said before, if the opponent gets hit with a Counter-Hit DGP and does not escape, they will most likely lose at least 50-70% of their health due to the huge combo that will inevitable follow, and if you happen to be fighting Wang or another character with bad stamina, it may very well kill them. The options Kazuya has after a DGP are almost limitless... for style and originality, you can do f+1+2, d/f+4,4 when fighting large characters. If you're a juggler first and foremost, you can do a fast WGF to pop them up for a disgusting juggle, or you can really pack on the damage by Tagging out of the WGF and continuing the combo if you have a partner like Bruce or Jin (although if you chose not to Tag out, Kazuya can still do major damage). And, if you want, in the words of Jason "Isiah" Cole, phat damage and quick wins, you can go for the Thunder Godfist to Spinning Mid Kick to drain up to 60% of their energy on a weak opponent, go into a delayed u+4,4,4,4 (make sure the u+4 misses) for an extremely easy and powerful combo, or use the Lightning Godfist to get almost equal damage, but less style points. A Lightning Screw Godfist is also guaranteed on large characters. Of course, there's that problem that they're most likely going to escape. My advice: pray that they suck and hope they don't escape the stun. 2.) Gut Punch Command: d/f+2 Damage: 21 Height: m Stun Type: Crumple Fall Stun (on Counter-Hit) Rating: ***** This is extremely similar to Kazuya's DGP, albeit better. While this comes out faster, does nearly identical damage, looks identical, and is slightly easier to do and MUCH easier to set up, it is not as effective in terms of stun combos, because there are less options than if you hit with the DGP, and recovers one frame slower than the DGP if done too far away. However, I'd trade the larger options and escapability for similar follow-ups, high potential damage, and an inescapeable stun like with the regular Gut Punch. And like the DGP, if you are fast (and I mean FAST, as in 13 fucking frames!), you can land a Wind Godfist for a full launch and combo after a CH+CL Gut Punch! Outside of that, there is a decent list of follow-ups available afterwards, but if you don't have the insane timing to pull the WGF (and I totally understand), do yourself a favor and do the b+1+4, as it's guaranteed, looks cool and does a lot of damage (B+1+4 is guaranteed on fatties), or use u+4,4,4,4 for simplicity and damage. It is also an effective juggle finisher by the way... 3.) Glorious Demon Fist Command: f+1+2 Damage: 26 Height: m Stun Type: Crumple Fall Stun Rating: *** While again, this is REALLY slow, it has insane power, and when put into play against the big guys, Kazuya simply DEMOLISHES them with the krunk combos he can pull afterwards (Glorious Demon Fist + Lightning Screw Godfist = pEaCe OuT)! Just be careful when you use this, as it has tremendous recovery time and can be easily punished by a long-range power hit like a Deathfist, Mach Breaker, Konvict Kick, and countless others. Don't over-abuse this, and the reward can be VERY high. ******************* STANDARD COMBO ARTS ******************* Starters Wind Godfist: f,N,d,d/f+2 Twin Pistons: WS+1,2 Class 2 Tag 1, 1, f,N,d,D/F+4,4 1, 1, 1, 1,(1),2 1, 1, d+1, WS+2 1, 1, 1, 1,2 1, 2, WGF 1, 1, 1, 1,2,4 1, 2, d/f+4,4 1, 1, 1, f+2 1, 2, f,N,d,D/F+4 1, 1, 1, d/f+2 1, 1,2, WGF 1, 1, 1, d/f+4,4 1, 1,2, d/f+1 1, 1, 1, 4 1, 1,2, d/f+2 1, 1, 1, d/b+4 1, 1,2, d/f+4,4 1, 1, 1, 1, WGF 1, 1,2, d/b+4 1, 1, 1, 1, 1,(2),4 big 1, 1,2, f,N,d,D/F+4 WGF, WGF 1, 1,2, 1,2,4 WGF, d/f+4,4 1, 1,2, 1,(1),2 WGF, 1,(2),4 1,2, f,N,d,D/F+4,4 WGF, 1,1,2 1,2, 1, d/f+1 WGF, d/f+2 1,2, 1, d/f+4 d/f+4, WGF 1,2, 1, d/b+4 d/f+4, d/f+2 1,2, 1, 4 d/f+4, 1, WGF 1,2, 1,1,2 d/f+4, 1,(2),4 1,2, 1,2, d/f+4 d/f+4, 1,(1),2 1, 1, 1, d/f+1 d/f+1, 1, f+2 d/f+1, 1,(2),4 d/f+1, d/f+4,4 ********************** COUNTER-HIT COMBO ARTS ********************** Starters Wind Godfist: f,N,d,d/f+2 1,2, d/f+4,4 1, 1, 1,1,2 1,2, f,N,d,D/F+4,4 1, 1, 1,2,2 1,2, WGF 1, 1, 4 1,2, d/f+2 1, 1, 1, 1,2 1,2,4 1, 1, 1, d/b+4 1, 1,2, d/f+4,4 1, 1, 1, d/f+4,4 1, 1,2, d/f+2 1, 1, 1, WGF 1, 1,2, f,N,d,D/F+4 1, 1, 1, 1, d/f+4 1, 1, f,N,d,D/F+4,4 1, 1, 1, 1, d/f+2 4 (cheap and easy) Gut Punch: d/f+2 f+1+2 big d/f+4,4 d+1, WS+4,4 f,N,d,D/F+4,4 d+1, cc, 1, d/f+4 u+(4),4,4,4 d+1, cc, 1, d/f+2 TGF,3 big d+1, cc, 1, WGF TGF,4 big late WGF FAST WGF, any Standard Combo d/f+2 d/f+1, d/f+4,4 Demon Gut Punch: WS+2 f+1+2 big 1,2, 1,1,2 WGF, any Standard Combo 1,2, 1,2, d/f+4 1, 1, f,N,d,D/F+4,4 1, 1, 1, d/f+1 1, 1, d+1, WS+2 1, 1, 1, 1,(1),2 1, 1,2, WGF 1, 1, 1, 1,2 1, 1,2, d/f+1 1, 1, 1, 1,(2),4 1, 1,2, d/f+2 1, 1, 1, f+2 1, 1,2, d/f+4,4 1, 1, 1, d/f+2 1, 1,2, d/b+4 1, 1, 1, d/f+4,4 1, 1,2, f,N,d,D/F+4 1, 1, 1, 4 1, 1,2, 1,2,4 1, 1, 1, d/b+4 1, 1,2, 1,(1),2 1, 1, 1, 1, WGF 1,2, f,N,d,D/F+4,4 1, 1, 1, 1, 1,(2),4 big 1,2, 1, d/f+1 TGF,3 1,2, 1, d/f+4 TGF,4 1,2, 1, d/b+4 b+1+4 1,2, 1, 4 4 (REALLY easy and REALLY cheap) iWS+1,2, any Standard Combo Glorious Demon Fist: f+1+2 d+1, WS+2 big 4~3 f+1+2 big f,N,d,d/f,f+4, 1, 1, d/f+2 WGF f,N,d,d/f,f+4, 1, 1, WGF TGF,3 big f,N,d,d/f,f+4, 1, 1, d/f+4,4 TGF,4 big f,N,d,d/f,f+4, 1, 1, d/b+4 u+(4),4,4,4 f,N,d,d/f,f+4, 1, 1, f+2 f,N,d,D/F+4,4 f,N,d,d/f,f+4, 1, f,N,d,d/f,f+4, d/f+4 b+1+4 (must be FAST!) d/f+4,4 B+1+4 big ********************** CLASS 1 TAG COMBO ARTS ********************** Starter Class 1 Tag WGF, BT 4 U/F+4, 1, 1,2, 1,(1),2 f,f+3, BT 4 U/F+4, 1,2, f,N,d,D/F+4,4 f+1+2 U/F+4, 1,2, 1, d/f+1 f+1+2, d/f+4,4 f+1+2, WGF big TGF, 1, f+2 U/F+4, 1,2, 1, d/f+4 TGF, 1, d/f+2 U/F+4, 1,2, 1, d/b+4 TGF, 1, WGF U/F+4, 1,2, 1, 4 TGF, d/f+4,4 U/F+4, 1,2, 1,1,2 TGF,3 U/F+4, 1, 1, d/f+1 TGF,4 U/F+4, 1, 1, 1,(1),2 TGF,3, d/f+4,4 big U/F+4, 1, 1, 1,2 TGF, BT 4 big U/F+4, 1, 1, 1,2,4 U/F+4, 1, 1,2, WGF U/F+4, 1, 1, f+2 U/F+4, 1, 1,2, d/f+1 U/F+4, 1, 1, d/f+2 U/F+4, 1, 1,2, d/f+2 U/F+4, 1, 1, d/f+4,4 U/F+4, 1, 1,2, d/f+4,4 U/F+4, 1, 1, 4 U/F+4, 1, 1,2, d/b+4 U/F+4, 1, 1, d/b+4 U/F+4, 1, 1,2, f,N,d,D/F+4 U/F+4, 1, 1, 1, WGF U/F+4, 1, 1,2, 1,2,4 ********************** CLASS 4 TAG COMBO ARTS ********************** Starter Class 4 Tag u/f+4~3 f,N,d,D/F+4,4 ******************* MY FAVORITE JUGGLES ******************* 1.) WS+1,2, 1,2, d/f+4,4 Twin Pistons, Left Right Combo, Tsunami Kick A quick, easy juggle for the aspiring Kazuya player that doesn't have those mad reflexes needed to pull TGFs and the like as juggle finishers. 2.) f,N,d,d/f+2/any jugglestarter, 4 Wind Godfist/any jugglestarter, Standing Right Kick This "combo" does EXTREME damage for two hits regardless of which jugglestarter you use, but lacks skill and is really just a quick juggle to use if you're losing badly and need a comeback. 49 easy points of damage, and on CH it skyrockets to 61. Arguably the best "combo" in the game since you can't whiff it (unless you are the saddest excuse of a Tekken player ever) and anyone caught by it loses 25-40% health. 3.) f,N,d,d/f+2, f,N,d,d/f+2, d/f+4,4 Wind Godfist, Wind Godfist, Tsunami Kicks This is Kazuya's most damaging (non-stun) combo from the Wind Godfist, and it's also pretty easy to do. It does 59 points of damage by itself, and absolutely INSANE damage if preceeded by a CH WS+2 or f+4 on crouching opponents. Use this all the time! 4.) f,N,d,d/f+2, d/f+1, d/f+4,4 This is Kazuya's other bread and butter juggle from the WGF. It does around 53 damage (a lot more when preceeded by a CH WS+2 or f+4 on crouching opponents) and is a lot more reliable than Combo # 3, so if you don't feel up to doing two WGFs, use this. 5.) CH WS+2, f,N,d,d/f+1,3 CH Demon Gut Punch, Thunder Godfist to Spinning Mid Kick The bread-and-butter mega-damage Kazuya combo is back and almost as good as before. This is easy to do, works 100% when done fast, and destroys over half of their energy in three hits. Overall, it should be a combo used OFTEN by Kazuya, whenever possible, although getting off the Demon Gut Punch is another story ^_^. While you can substitute the Hell Sweep ender for the Spinning Mid Kick, it doesn't do as much damage and looks rather weak itself... 6.) CH WS+2, b+1+4 CH Demon Gut Punch, Lightning Godfist A nice little bread-and-butter combo off the Demon Gut Punch. You should only use this if you can't pull off the Thunder Godfist to Spinning Mid Kick, as that does more damage, or you can always use the standing 4 to really tear them a new one (about 80 points of damage in two hits!). You can substitute the b+1+4 for the B+1+4 on fatties to kill them. 7.) f,N,d,d/f+2, f,N,d,d/f+1,3 Wind Godfist, Thunder Godfist to Spinning Mid Kick You can only do this combo on the bigger guys: the Jacks, Kuma/Panda, Ganryu, and the Ogres. It also works on King and Armor King, but it's really iffy and whiffs more often than it hits. Does quite a lot of damage, too (about 35-40% every time). You must pull the TGF quickly though or they will Tech Roll. WGF, 1, TGF,3 is actually easier and more reliable to do since you recover much faster from the jab than from the WGF. It would be cool if you could pull this on anyone, but since it executes at 22 frames (and because Kazuya has no EWGF to pop them higher or recover quicker from) and doesn't start out as low as Hei's, it's impossible. Makes you wish Kazuya had a 19-frame TGF like Heihachi. It's kinda weird too, since a WGF, 1, TGF combo was guaranteed on everyone in Tekken 1 and 2 with every Mishima. 8.) f,N,d,d/f+2, f,N,d,d/f+2, f,N,d,d/f+2 Wind Godfist, Wind Godfist, Wind Godfist This is still arguably one of the hardest combos in the game (with Kazuya at least), although it is easier to do than in Tekken 3. Heihachi and Jin can do it too, and easier since they have easily- recognized, conventional EWGFs (although they can do 3xWGF too). The timing is all in the second WGF - if you're REALLY fast with it, you will have a little slop to pull the third WGF pretty easy. If you were slow with the second one, you'll need to do a Dash WGF (explained later) to pick them off the ground with it. It is of course much easier to do this on the big guys. You should try doing it with the Mist Step Cancel, since there's less points on the controller/joystick to hit. There are better options, but nothing beats it in terms of style. 9.) f,N,d,d/f+2, 1, 1, 1, 1, f,N,d,D/F,2 Wind Godfist, Standing Jab, Standing Jab, Standing Jab, Standing Jab, Wind Godfist Cool, and pretty hard (I think it's a little easier in Tekken 3). You must have mad dashing skills for this one inbetween the jabs, and delay the WGF until the end of the Crouch Dash to pick them off the floor by like an inch =^). You also need to do the jabs like f,F+1, and not f,f+1, as doing it like f,F+1 saves three frames of the recovery, allowing you to dash after the jabs to continue. If you're having trouble with the four jabs, use three for equal damage and style points. 10.) f+1+2, f,N,d,d/f,f+4, 1, f,N,d,d/f,f+4, d/f+4 Glorious Demon Fist, Crouch Dash to Front Kick, Standing Jab, Crouch Dash to Front Kick, Front Kick Very sweet-looking, although it will be hard landing the Glorious Demon Fist! Make sure you Crouch Dash in as close as possible before scooping them off the ground with the Front Kick. After that, remember to do the jab as F+1, CD into another Front Kick, then d/f+4 will be easy. On big guys, you can substitute the d/f+4 with a WGF, d/f+2, or a Crouch Dash Tsunami Kick. 11.) CH f,N,d,d/f+2, 1, 1, f,N,d,d/f+2, u/f+4~3 CH Wind Godfist, Standing Jab, Standing Jab, Wind Godfist, Demon Scissors I got this from the Castel's Kazuya Combo Act 2 movie, and the Demon Scissors is, in fact, 100% GUARANTEED! You must hit with the second WGF AS CLOSE TO THE GROUND AS POSSIBLE for the SLD Tech Roll to be nullified, and you MUST tap u/f+4~3, as fast as possible, to have it combo in. You'll be able to tell if it's guaranteed if they don't bounce up high after getting hit with the second WGF. In fact, the regular 4~3 works too, but hitting u/f executes the move one frame faster, just to be safe. I know, I know, there are a lot of peeps that don't believe it works... but it IS GUARANTEED if done right. Although Castel's original combo had three jabs in it, I find it much easier and more reliable when only two jabs are used... besides, the damage difference is hardly anything. If you're using the Wind Godfist properly (to interrupt), you should be doing this combo each and every time. Practice! 12.) f+1+2, B+1+4 (fatties only) Glorious Demon Fist, Lightning Screw Godfist OWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!! Only works on the big guys. If they get hit with this, you can say "Goodbye!" to 80% of their energy! 13.) CH d/f+2, f,N,d,d/f+2, f,N,d,d/f+2, f,N,d,d/f,f+4,4 CH Gut Punch, Wind Godfist, Wind Godfist, Tsunami Kicks The timing for this one is quite literally INSANE. You have EXACTLY 13 frames to hit with the WGF, or it will simply knock them down with no combo. That means you need to have the most beeznaughty timing skillz on this planet to land this! I'm being quite serious in saying that this is THE hardest combo in Tekken Tag (with the possible exception of that Bob combo which I don't remember). Thanks to Kazuya Kazama for this one. On anyone less than a big guy, the second hit of the Tsunami Kicks will whiff, but if it does hit... 101-105 points of damage! 14.) (On crouching opponents) f+4, f,N,d,d/f+2, (any Standard WGF combo) Right Splits Kick, Wind Godfist (Standard WGF combo) It's not quite as hard as I once thought. You just need to be fast after the f+4. Anything you choose to do afterwards will regardless do a LOT of damage. 15.) f+1+2, u+4,4,4,4 Glorious Demon Fist, Roundhouse to Triple Spin Kick The easiest, cheesiest, and most damaging follow-up to the GDF. 30-40% of a life bar almost every time. Use this if you like being called cheap, but hey, it's the damage that counts. This also works with a CH+CL Gut Punch (and it does more damage too). *********************** MY FAVORITE TAG JUGGLES *********************** (Note: The cool thing about Tag Combos is that being hit with one inflicts unrecoverable damage. Huzzah!) 1.) (Kazuya) f+1+2, 5, (Yoshimitsu) 1+2,1+2, f,f+4 (Kazuya) Glorious Demon Fist, Tag, (Yoshimitsu) Flea to Flea Headbutt, Fubuki Crazy, cheap damage. The only hitch is timing that f,f+4 to hit them since the Flea Headbutt recovers kinda slow. The GDF can be substituted with a CH+CL Gut Punch, which I can safely say will connect a whole lot more than the f+1+2, but the stun won't last as long, so be quick! 2.) (Kazuya) CH WS+2, f,N,d,d/f+2~5, (Bruce) 3, b+4,3,4 (Kazuya) CH Demon Gut Punch, Wind Godfist to Tag, (Bruce) Turn Kick, Triple Knee Combo The hated, dreaded, Kazuya/Bruce Tag Juggle of Destruction. This combo does so much damage it is plain scary. If Bruce is on Netsu when he comes in, this combo will LITERALLY kill them almost every time you hit with it unless they're a Class 1-3 character. Without Netsu, it drop- kicks about 120-130 points of their energy into the great beyond. You have to be fast with the WGF, buffer the Tag IMMEDIATELY, and you need to be fast after Bruce's standing 3 to pick them up with the Cheese Knees. The 3 an be substituted with a lot of moves... 2, 1, d/f+1, b+3, d/f+3, pretty much any quick-recovering move, since the Cheese Knees have INSANE range and speed, and will pick them up from what seems like an impossible distance. If you happen to have Bruce on your team and don't use this, you're just plain stupid! The only real problem is landing the DGP and them not escaping the stun ^_^, although it will do insane damage with or without the DGP. Let the cheesiness ensue! 3.) (Lee) d,d/b+4~5, (Kazuya) f,N,d,d/f+2 (opponent flips over), BK+4 (Lee) Blazing Kick to Tag, (Kazuya) Wind Godfist, Back-Turned Standing Right Kick Another VERY cool combo, but it's kinda random. You need to pull off the WGF so they flip over Kazuya, and have them land in Kazuya's BK+4. Off the subject... LEE ROCKS!!! Even better when Lee and Kaz are both decked out in their pimp suits (Start for Lee, Kick for Kazuya), lol. BTW, don't you wish Namco kept the old Kick T2 Kazuya outfit in here? You know, the one with the white jacket & black Devil symbol, flyscreen shirt, jeans, and combat boots? That outfit kicked ass... erm, ha, let's go on... 4.) (Kazuya) f,N,d,d/f+2~5, (Baek) 1,2,3~f, 1,2, 3+4_u/f+3+4 (Kazuya) Wind Godfist to Tag, (Baek) Left Right Combo to Flamingo Cancel, Left Right Combo, Lightning Halberd Simply a very cool combo (I worship the Lightning Halberd!). If you're super quick on the Tag, you can get a 1,2,3~f, 1,2,3~f, 1,2,3~f, N+3+4, but that's fucking hard... 5.) (Kazuya) f+1+2, 5, (Heihachi) f,N,d,D/F+4,4,N,1, d+1 (Kazuya) Glorious Demon Fist, Tag, (Heihachi) Hell Sweep x 2 to Spinning Thunder Godfist, Hammer Fist Whoa. I'd never had known this would work until I saw Agent316's Mishima Unleashed video. But pull this off in a crowd, and you'll get mad props, believe you me. The Glorious Demon Fist stuns them long enough for Heihachi to come in with his Hell Sweeps (you need to be fast), but it also works fine (and easier) with a CH+CL d/f+2. Insane damage, of course. Kinda compensates for their lack of a Netsu Power-Up of both guys... too bad they hate each other... =^( 6.) (Kazuya) f,N,d,d/f+2~5, (Julia) FC+2, FC,d/f+4,3, d/f+4,2 GOOD Eddy player who uses his arsenal instead of just his 3~4. In that case, you had better watch out - these guys are some of the deadliest players you'll face in Tekken. Don't go head-to-head with Eddy too much, because b+3 will snuff literally anything you throw out. However, Eddy still lacks a good arsenal of punch attacks (although the new b+2 is pretty good, and b+1+2 is a good poke), and he STILL has quite a bit of recovery and lag time after his attacks, so you can pretty much throw out WGF after WGF and demolish him with no sweat. Forest Law Difficulty: Hard Forest was by far the best character in Tekken 3. When played correctly, he was unstoppable. However, he's been toned down quite a bit in TTT, but he's still deadly. His Fake Step no longer has as many combo options afterwards due to the changed properties of his 3,4 (the 3,4 will only combo on Counter-Hit now), his Dragon Storm (b+1,2,1) is weaker now in that the b+1 hits High, his b+2,3,4 is pretty useless by itself since it no longer combos even on CH, but since he's recieved so many new moves, it's almost made up for. His new WS+2 hurts like hell, launches very high and is easy to set-up, his Poison Arrow (f+2~1) does huge damage and more importantly can set up EXTREMELY DAMAGING Tag combos with certain partners (WATCH OUT FOR PAUL!), and his F+1+2 comes out quick, hurts a lot, gives him a +1 frame advantage on block, and causes a Master Counter-Hit (i.e., Bounce Juggle) on CH. And not to mention his combos are still very easy and extremely damaging, and you still have one of the best characters in the game in the right hands. However, once you recognize his patterns of Somersault Kicks, are careful in defending his b+1,2,1, always remember to Tag out of the stun from his Poison Arrow to avoid the nasty Tag combos, use the Low Parry after blocking his d/f+1 and b+2, Law doesn't have much he can use against you... on offense. On defense he's probably the best character in the game, due to his insane arsenal of Parries... hell, he's got an un-Chickenable Punch Reversal (and it even reverses some of Yoshi's sword attacks!), Mid Parry, Low Parry, universal Low Parry, so he can deal with pretty much anyone's attacks. What you have to do is outsmart him and attack him where he isn't defending. Bait him by throwing out lots of High/Mid attacks (Gut Punch, Glorious Demon Fist), then when he's gotten into parrying your High/Mids, cut low and hit him with Hell Sweeps. Law's big problem is also that he's quite predictable. Most players have seen his BS a hundred million times before, and he doesn't really have any truly advanced tactics to use (i.e., Wavedash, Haha Step, Crazy Legs, etc.). Beware of his Low Dash (FC,d/f,d,d/f), because a good Law will mixup the Dragon Slide with his WS+2 to punish the foolhardy, but since the new WS+2 is slower than the old WS+2, it shouldn't be a big threat. However, he also can't do anything about your Wind Godfist, so if he's one of those players that is Fake Step/Parry-happy, give him a WGF and watch him drop his jaw as you juggle away 40% of his energy. =^? Ganryu Difficulty: Medium Ganryu is a big surprise in Tekken Tag Tournament. He was probably the worst character outside of Kuma in Tekken 1 and 2. You think he's like as fast as a snail, but nothing could be farther than the truth. For a tub of lard, Ganryu is pretty damn quick, and has a lot of moves to handle just about any opponent. He has the Twin Walls (b+1+3_b+2+4), a Punch Parry that guarantees a 1+2 back throw and sizable damage, which could spell trouble for your Twin Pistons and 1,1,2 attempts. His 1+2_d+1+2 inflict guard stun, come out fast, do huge damage, and have little to no recovery, which translates to an abusable move from a distance. His crouching game is also top-notch due to his Sit stance and the mixup he can pull from it (i.e., d+3+4, 1 hits Mid, d+3+4, 2 hits Low). Also beware of his b+1+2 Unblockable, which has no warning charge-up, ducks under LOTS of attacks, can be cancelled into the Splits (b+1+2, D), which avoids ALL High and Mid attacks, or can be cancelled into the Fake Tackle Upper, which stuns on any hit, allowing some really sick combos. His WS+1+2,1+2 is truly awesome - if the second hit connects, Ganny has a 23-frame advantage! And you've always got to beware of that f+1 - one CH, and the WHOLE annoying f+1,2,1,2,1,2,1 chain hits guaranteed. He possesses a solid Okizeme game due to his insanely-fast d/f+3, f+1+2, 1+2, and his deceptive-looking d/f+2+3. He's also got the Sumo Pop (b,d/b,d,D/F+1), a Class 1 that sneaks under LOTS of High and Mid attacks AND pushes them back if blocked. Even his slow Salt Upper (b+2) has its uses - huge block stun and guard break, starts juggles, and ducks under a lot of High attacks (and even a few Mids)! To be brutally honest, Ganryu does not truly lack in many areas. He possesses excellent stamina (meaning he takes less damage than most), yet also deals a lot of damage in his strikes. He is also pretty hard to juggle consistently due to his weight, yet the simplest of his combos can decimate 1/3 of their life bar (i.e., b+1+2,2, d+4). He has a solid SS game with his SS+1+2 (identical to the d+1+2), and SS+1, which hits High, but does huge damage and comes out insanely fast. Most of his best attacks are fast and cause block stun and guard break, and use of his Twin Walls can shut down MANY opponents who rely on their punches. However, all is not peachy with Ganny. He does have a weakness here and there to exploit. Foremost is his speed. He may be darn quick for a big guy, but he's no Ling Xiaoyu, so you can still outspeed several of his key attacks with the Wind Godfist, WS+1,2, d+1, and even d/f+2 when timed right. As many Gan experts also point out, he also relies way too much on WS+1+2,1+2 and d/f+2+3. Even if they are great moves, anyone who uses two moves to win a battle will lose in the long run. He can't play a jab game with your 1,1,2 since his basic jab (2) is 14 frames - the slowest jab in the game. Ganryu's primary set-up is his 2,1, since it gives him a 12 frame advantage with which to set-up WS+1+2,1+2, d/f+2+3, or even b+2. Ganryu's attacks also don't track too well, so use that Mist Step to SS frequently when you have room to manuever to get around his attacks and juggle the big guy. While it may be difficult to juggle him with conventional juggles, a quick WGF, 1, TGF,3 can do the trick quite nicely. He also can't really do jack against the WGF due to its irreversibility. Just don't let him get into super turtle mode, and you'll do ok. Gun Jack Difficuly: Easy Even though Gun Jack is most likely the best Jack in the game and a powerful opponent when mastered, against Mishimas, the Jacks just suck. Everything he does can be countered/interrupted by the Wind Godfist and 1,1,2, and he's a huge target for Okizeme. Even landing one f+1+2 will spell the end of his game if you follow up with B+1+4. And since he's so damned slow, you can pretty much SS circles around him. But be careful and stay outside of throw range - Gun Jack has a LOT of throws, and one d/b,F+1+2 can REALLY fuck you up. You must also be aware that Gun Jack's standing 2 is 10 frames AND can net a guaranteed d/b,F+1+2 on CH, so make sure you have the advantage when trying to play jab games. In all honesty, you shouldn't have much trouble here though. Heihachi Mishima Difficulty: Medium/Hard Heh... Old Man Hei is by far my best character in every Tekken, and no doubts about it, he's one of the most feared and respected characters in Tekken Tag. When played correctly, he's just as good as Kazuya. While he isn't as brainless as he used to be in previous Tekkens with the cheap WGF/Hell Sweep mixups, a good Heihachi can slap down Kazuya in a heartbeat, although his horrible stamina, bad recovery, and poor Netsu capabilities hold him back. Hei's CD mixups are not very good anymore because he has no Mid attacks from the CD (unless they cancel into WS+2, u+4, or even d/f+1,2), and his Hell Sweeps suck ass. However, his juggles are the most varied, easiest and most powerful in the whole game for such little effort (due mainly to his huge array of jugglestarters), his WS+2 does a lot of damage, stuns them for a nice Deathfist or TGF (AND the stun is inescapeable), has a built-in mini-SSL, a 0-frame disadvantage if blocked... AND he possesses the deadliest weapon in the whole game - a Special Mid, irreversible Electric Wind Godfist that just kills your WGF (and Jin's EWGF!). This one move alone can almost cripple Kazuya by itself if Hei gets a chance to unload. Worse though is a Heihachi that has Wavedash down pat. These nightmares will haunt you even when you're awake. Fortunately, there are about 20 people in the world that can do that consistently, and more importantly, with skill. First off, Hei's EWGF is so damn hard to pull off in the first place, you'll be lucky to find a player that can pull off more than three in match play (Hei must do his EWGF like f~N~d~D/F~2 and press D/F and 2 within 2 frames, as opposed to Jin's, which can be done like f,N,d,D/F~2 and press D/F and 2 within 3 frames), although his regular WGF is still incredibly deadly. Second, a Wavedashing Hei that actually knows what he's doing is even harder to find. As for the Hell Sweeps, my GOD are they pathetic now... Hei needs a CH to actually sweep them off of their feet! AND that's not even counting the -26 frame disadvantage Hei gets if its blocked! And as noted before, Hei takes damage VERY poorly... one big Tag combo and it's "pEaCe OuT!", plain and simple. And since Hei is a nasty bastard, he has a Netsu of 7 on average, and most characters could care less about him. You must be careful with using WGFs, though, because Hei is the only Mishima that can get a guaranteed 1,1,2 after blocking Kaz's WGF close (Hei's arms are quite long). However, a good Heihachi will not fall upon his Hell Sweeps, and more importantly, will be CONSTANTLY attacking, so there won't be too many chances to smack him in the interim of his attacks. His new b+1 is a premier setup for his attacks since it hits Mid AND gives him a crazy 15-frame advantage on CH (but nothing is truly guaranteed). Beware of his Twin Pistons... while they recover like shit if blocked (28 fucking frames of disadvantage!), it pushes you far back, and if it hits (which WILL happen since it's only a 13 frame attack), YOU ARE GOING TO BE HURT BADLY. You never want to trade or interrupt the Demon's Breath (1+2), which is kind of like Heihachi's panic button - it comes out like lightning at 12 frames, guarantees an u/f+4~3 on CH (unless they quick recover by hitting f the moment they land), and has priority out the ass. Luckily, a lot of Hei's attacks have poor recovery (TGF, f,N,d,D/F+4, f,f+2, d/f+1,2, 1,1,2, Hell Sweeps) and poor lag time (b+2, f,f+2, TGF, f,N,d,d/f_D/F+3), so you will have ample time to counter after he misses his main attacks. Above all, you must be CAREFUL when counter-attacking - one miss and he'll make you SOOOOOO sorry for it! Hwoarang (a.k.a. Bob) Difficulty: Medium/Hard Definitely one of the most improved characters aside from Anna in Tekken Tag, our man Bob can be extremely deadly in the right hands, but it seems these days that it's all about the scrubs picking him and doing d+4,4 and 3,3,3,3 the whole damn day. If you are fighting one of those types, remember to ALWAYS duck under the last hit of both attacks and punish them with extreme prejudice with a CH Demon Gut Punch. However, if you're fighting a good player (i.e., one that uses Bob's punches to full effect, Wavedash, Crazy Legs, Triple Flamingo SS), you're going to have a nice (i.e., PAIN IN THE ASS) match on your hands. Bob's kicks are INSANELY fast in-close, where he fights his best game. Beware his standing 4, because it will stagger on CH and leave Kaz open for a NASTY f,f+4, d/f+2, 1,2,4 combo - the good Bob players will use this FREQUENTLY. There are three ways to escape it, however. If you get hit with the CH 4, hold Down to fall to the ground and Bob will fly over your head, leaving him wide open. If he already gets the f,f+4 on you (which leaves you with your back turned and gives Bob a free d/f+2 pop- up), IMMEDIATELY attempt a throw. You'll turn around and eat the d/f+2, but instead of launching you you'll stagger, which you can escape. And you can also simply Tag out once you're hit with the f,f+4. The main attack to be aware of is Bob's WS+4~4. This is unquestionably his best attack, much like Baek's WS+4,4,3. Not only is it insanely fast (11 frames), it hits twice, hits grounded opponents, does decent damage, can be cancelled out of the Crouch Dash, leaves him with a 7- frame advantage on hit, is perfectly safe if blocked, has VERY good range, and best of all, leaves Bob in the RFF stance, where he can dominate with his standing 4, d/f+2, huge-range d/f+4, and other attacks. If you watch some of the Korean movies for Bob, you'll see that almost everyone just ABUSES the hell out of this move to no end - and the sad thing is, there's not much the opponent can do! NEVER attack Hwoarang if he connects with this attack - you'll eat a CH 4, and take a 2, 2, 2,4,3 juggle (or some equivalent), or worse, eat a f+4~4 and an even bigger juggle. Once he enters RFF, you MUST back off, or you'll be eating CHes all day. Also beware of the Crazy Legs... this is when Bob uses his 3+4 to interrupt his special movements (walking, dashing, CD, Flamingo) by switching Stances, at insane speeds, making his legs look spazzy to confuse you and allowing Bob to attack with extreme confusion and speed. If he goes into the Crazy Legs, pull out your WGF as soon as possible so he can't get you confused and bait you into dumbass mistakes. Although it's easily seen coming, yes, we all get hit with the d+4,4 sometimes. Remember to ALWAYS duck the last hit if it's not a CH, but if it is, you'll just have to grit your teeth and take his 40% juggle. After knocking you a safe distance away, lots of Bob players like to Supercharge (1+2+3+4) to set up their d+4,4... when they do, immediately block low, dukc the second hit, then rise with DGP for a CH stun and massive damage. And also watch out for that f,N,d,d/f+4... one mistake and you'll have a Class 1 slammed up your ass. Bob's biggest weaknesses are that he lacks in punching attacks, but the punches he does have are pretty effective. His 1,1,3,3 is extremely annoying, does excellent damage, is delayable inbetween hits, and is a guaranteed combo if the first 1 hits on CH. His next weakness is that he is lacking in Low hits - he only has a few, and none of them are really effective when you compare it to your Hell Sweep. He's also lacking a fast, mid power hit like a Deathfist or Demon's Paw... his power hits (RFF 3~4, f,f+4, RFF 3,3, etc.) are pretty damn slow. None of his attacks are faster than 10 frames, so interrupting shouldn't be very hard here. As Kian Chong Lee brought across to me, Hwoarang is very much a CH dependant character, even moreso than Julia since she does have a few attacks that don't need a CH to do lots of damage (ding ding, d/f+2~1 or u/f+4 sound good?). With Bob, you need to just throw out the attack and hope to interrupt, basically. Jack-2 Difficulty: Easy Although Jack-2 is probably the best Jack in the game due to his speed, Okizeme, and frame advantages... he's still a Jack, and you're still Kazuya. You shouldn't have too much trouble here. Jin Kazama Difficulty: Very Hard Wow. If anyone is truly advantaged in Tekken Tag, it is without a doubt Jin Kazama. Jin was already a top five character in Tekken 3 where he made his debut, but in Tekken Tag, he's been given just about EVERYTHING, and nothing has been taken away. He has no apparent weaknesses. Jin is BY FAR the best character in Tekken Tag Tournament. He's got the Electric Wind Godfist, which comes out just as fast as Heihachi's and is a lot easier to do (although some might debate whether Kaz's WGF is better or not). Although it hits high, a good Jin player lets his opponent attack, then throws out EWGF to hit them because he knows damn well NOTHING can stop an Electric Wind Godfist. While it can be reversed or parried, Jin can work around this by buffering in a Tag (~5), which automatically makes his WGF/EWGF a Special Mid AND irreversible (although the Special Mid property is notoriously unreliable), and like stated above, a good Jin uses EWGF to counter, not to attack. And if it's blocked, HE gets a +4 advantage! Let's not forget he has the most elaborate Crouch Dash game of all the Mishimas, with his WS+2 Uppercut (which is the best WS+2 in the game), his weaker- though-still-semi-useful Twin Pistons (WS+1,2), and Tsunami Kicks, as well as the f,f buffered moves like the f,f+2 Demon's Paw, Left Splits Kick, and Stonehead - ALL of which can be incorporated into Jin's near- invincible Wavedash. Oh yes, and we can't forget Jin's b+4, which comes out in 16 frames, has ridiculous priority, stuns on CH, has almost no recovery time, AND is a great juggle finisher, not to mention the extremely-useful b,f+2,1,2_d+2 which do insane damage in Jin's juggles, as well as Jin's powerful Hell Sweep (although slightly weakened), which CAN be a guaranteed knockdown at any range if done at EWGF-speed... AND it starts combos! Add all of those factors up, and you'll see why a good Jin player is damn near IMPOSSIBLE to beat. Fortunately for Kazuya, he is the originator of a lot of Jin's attacks and many times over, his versions are much better. First off, Kazuya has Twin Pistons, which does NOT need a CH to combo AND comes out in 11 frames, unlike Jin's which come out in 13 frames and requires CH for both to hit guaranteed. Kazuya also has his regular WGF, which is better than Jin's EWGF most of the time due to it's much longer range, guaranteed Special Mid blocking, irreversibilty, and faster execution (via Mist Step). Jin's EWGF is also still not as good as Hei's simply because by even buffering a Tag, sometimes the thing will just whiff a crouching opponent for no reason, unlike the other Mishima WGFs, which makes the (E)WGF~5 trick for Jin not 100% reliable. Jin is also lacking in Low hits and he still has trouble defending them (even with the universal Low Parry), so using Hell Sweeps often will usually prove to be effective against him. If you block his EWGF, wait a split-second, then throw out d+1. If Jin tried EWGF, he'd get snuffed or you'll simply duck the EWGF, leaving Jin open to Twin Pistons or Demon Gut Punch. Also beware of Jin's b+1+4, because just like yours, it is an effective surprise attack when used properly (watch out for that d/f+2+3 that he uses to set it up!). If he Wavedashes, you need to make sure to snuff it EARLY, or you, to be frank, WILL FUCKING REGRET IT. Use d/f+4 and d+1 to WS+1,2, and once you've stopped his WD momentarily (don't give him an opportunity to get into it again!), send him on a space trip ala WGF, then go into your own to turn the tables on him and destroy him with your better CD Cancel - WS game. Julia Chang Difficulty: Very Hard Julia is extremely annoying, and in the right hands can be almost impossible to defeat. However, there are quite a few things keeping her from being as good as the Mishimas - a quick jugglestarter that is safe to use (u/f+4 has shit recovery), no real power hits, too much dependency on Counter-Hits, her massive recovery time after her attacks and jugglestarters, and the fact that 90% of her moves are steaming piles of monkey shit. The attack you want to watch out for is Julia's standing 1. Easily the best jab in the game, it comes out 8 frames, recovers with no disadvantage, and combos into the 1~1,1 and 1~2,1 on CH, which can see 60% of your life away in one juggle (and will probably drop about 5,740 elbows on ya). However, both attacks have a massive recovery time and if they're blocked, Julia is screwed (especially if they try to Tag from 1~1,1, which increases the frame disadvantage to 28 fucking frames!). Also beware of her mixups (like 1~1,4,3_1~1,1) - after the second 1 or d/f+1, block or Low Parry. If you get the Low Parry, Twin Pistons or WS+4,4. If she decides to go into the uppercut, you have just enough time to stand and block that - if you blocked high, chances are she'll get off the Bow & Arrow Kick and mess you up. Julia's d/f+4 also deserves mention - it has a LOT of range and chains directly into the Mountain Crusher, arguably her best new move. On CH, the first two hits will connect, but it's much more deadly as a juggle finisher since it does insane damage. Also beware of the Mad Axes throw (qcb,f+2). No doubts about it, this is the best throw in the game - the time to input the f+2 in the throw has - and I say this with full meaning - INSANE slop time. She can do qcb, SS, BACK DASH _OR_ DASH, then hit f+2 and pull off the throw. That's how much slop time you have! To make matters worse, it's the fastest throw in the game (10 frames), has ludicrous range, an almost- nil 5-frame escape time, and does a respectable 42 points of damage. Some Julia players like to set this up after a low jab, d~D/F+1 (which comes out mad fast with no recovery time), or u/f+1 (I believe RedfooT used this to fool Seok once in the World Finals). Be careful about the d~D/F+1, as good players just love to delay the second hit so they can CH stun you for a free u/f+4 or d/f+2,1 and a LOT of damage. If you happen to get hit with it, Tag your ass out of that stun and cancel the run-in (u/b~b). Again, be CAREFUL about the f,f+1 - it will stuff EVERYTHING Kazuya throws out except for his d+1, and you need to throw that out VERY early. Luckily, the Elbows do pathetic damage, have little range, and knock Kazuya far away, so Tech Roll and defend against her attacks until you see an opening. This is one of those fights where Kazuya NEEDS to turtle up. Kazuya is not as fast as Julia is, and if you eat a jab on CH you're going to be quite sorry. I know it's much harder than it sounds to avoid an 8-frame jab but you really need to have a competent defense to win against Julia. Getting some distance on her is a primary goal here - if she gets pushed back, Kazuya can go into the CD mixups, which Julia DOES have problems dealing with. Julia players usually use d/f+4 to snuff WD/CDers, but remember that Twin Pistons and WGF are faster, so if you so much as see her twitch, it's juggle time. The good thing is that Julia has hardly any frame advantages from her attacks, and in general her attacks have very bad recovery and/or lag time. If you can d+1 her out of her major attacks, rest assured that Julia will lose her cool and be open for attacks like the WS+1,2. It's extremely unwise for Julia to go head-to-head with that since it ducks under jabs and by the time she notices it's out, she needs to block or get juggled. You NEVER, EVER want to try to out-throw her because you will ALWAYS lose to the Mad Axes and its insane cheesiness. Her SS game is to be feared, with SSR, 3+4, SSR being EXTREMELY effective at landing Julia 4,4,1's on your back if you so much as whiff an attack. Her combo damage is unreal for a skinny little Indian wannabe - one Wonder Combo (jugglestarter, d+2, FC,d/f+4,3, d/f+4,2