--------------------------- Return of the Space Cowboy! --------------------------- -a guide for people who like katana-wielding biomechanical space ninjas (and don't we all?) by Josh Addison (obrilliance@icqmail.com) version 2.04 (3/1/2000) Contents: 0. What's new? 1. So you wanna be a space ninja... 2. Why I Haven't Bothered With a Movelist. 3. What's His Story? 4. The Good Stuff. 4a. The Good Juggles. 4b. The Other Good Moves. 4c. The New Moves. 5. The Fun Stuff. 6. Stuff of Note. 7. General Tactics. 7a. Chicken Baiting! 7b. Tag Tactics. 8. The End. 0. What's new? New to version 2.04: - Happy New Year! - More commentary on the juggles, and a word on tag juggles. - A few more move comments here and there, where I've had a change of mind, or thought of something to add. 1. So You Wanna Be a Space Ninja... Well, of course you do - who wouldn't? In my experience, the majority of people, upon first being confronted with a Tekken game, say "ooh, I'll be the guy with the sword!" As well they should. There is, however, a whole lot more to Yoshi than just his nifty lookin' katana (is it a katana? He uses it one-handed, which suggests it might not be. People in the know are welcome to comment...) - he's got some of the handiest juggles, not to mention funniest little touches of anyone in the game. That said, he's also one of the trickiest to do at all well with - it takes a fair bit of practice to really master him, and he must have one of the shortest movelists of anyone. My first ever game of Tekken 3 was played as Yoshimitsu. I lasted three rounds. I gave up on him for a long while after that - once I discovered Lei's drunken boxing stance (yay Jackie Chan! But anyway...), but now that Tekken Tag is out I can be both of them at once. So I do. And you should too. Is anyone still reading? Perhaps I'd better get one with the guide. But first: an explanation... 2. Why I Haven't Bothered With a Movelist. I haven't bothered putting a movelist in this guide for a few reasons. First of all, this guide isn't for beginners, so I'm going to assume you know most (if not all) of his moves. The point of this guide is to tell you which of his moves are the good ones, and how best to use them. I will, of course, say how to perform each of the specific moves and combos I mention, using the standard 1=left punch, 2=right punch, 3=left kick, 4=right kick, 5=tag notation. The second reason is that there's already a whole bunch of them out there - they're not hard to find, so if you haven't got one already, go get one then come back here. And finally, because there are a whole bunch out there, any list I did put in would've been copied directly from someone else's. And that's not nice. Right that's the disclaimer out of the way. On with the guide... 3. What's His Story? Who cares. Oh alright, it's something to do with being the leader of a bunch of space ninjas, and he's got something to do with that Dr. Boskonovitch guy from the Playstation games, and - look, he's got a sword and he looks really cool - what more do you need to know??! Honestly, some people... 4. The Good Stuff. Right, here we go - these are the moves that will let you win easily and consistently with Yoshi. It's possible to play defensively, using his backflip, jumping moves, teleports, and so on, which you may be tempted to do based on the fact that a lot of his moves don't do too much damage. Myself, I prefer to take the offensive. Why? BECAUSE HE HAS SWORD, DAMNIT! Well, no, it's not just the sword - Yoshi has one of the best poking games around. A mixture of offensive and defensive play is probably the best idea. Anyway, the good moves (split into two sub-sections - juggles and normal moves): 4a. The Good Juggles. One of the best (if not THE best) things about Yoshi is his wide range of simple, effective, and damaging juggles. Here's what I consider to be the best of them: Juggle uppercut - df+2 Want to know the secret to winning as Yoshi? It's the proper use of this move. It's fast, easy to do, and it leads in to a huge range of handy dandy juggles. These are my favourites, listed in order of easiness-to-do: b+1, 1, f+3 Nice and easy this - finishing with the simple left kick, this combo is almost ridiculously easy, and is one of the more damaging of any of the juggles here - in only four hits. Unfortunately, the kick hits them too far away for a sword slash or flip-stomp, but you can't have everything. (See the "Savour Boot!" below, though). Note that f+3 is no different than the normal 3 kick, it just does a few more points of damage if you're holding the stick forwards - that's the same for all moves in Tekken, I believe. OR b+1, 4, 4 Similar to the one above - no left punch though, but that allows you to connect with two right kicks, instead of one left. This does about 1 percent more damage than the df+2, b+1, 1, 3 one above, but is also a tiny bit riskier - be careful not to hit 4 too many times, otherwise you'll end up doing a third right kick, which won't connect, but will give your opponent the second they need to get up. OR b+1, 1, df+1,1,1,1 If you're a person who likes to take risks, then this is the one for you. IF (and that's kind of a big "if") your opponent does the right thing, this can do around 50% damage. The first hit of the doorknocker combo connects, the second knocks them to the ground, the third misses, and as long as your opponent tries something (getting up, sweeping, tech rolling, a lightning ankle kick, etc.), the last (and most damaging) hit will connect too. On the other hand, if they stay lying down (or roll at the right time) you'll miss, and they'll get a free shot. Any combo which relies on your opponent doing what you want them to is gonna be risky - I think this one's worth the risk, though. OR b+1, 1, f,f+4, db+1 That's a spinning fist, left punch, then a jumping knee, followed up with a sword slash when they're on the ground. Alternatively, you could go for a flip-stomp (uf+3+4) instead of a slash. Be careful here - if your opponent is on to it, they can roll out of the way of either of these last hits, leaving you open for a counter. By the way, these two moves are handy any time your opponent is on the ground close to you, not just after a juggle. OR df+2, df+2, df+1,2 I see this one used quite a bit - it does a decent amount of damage and it's particularly easy to do. You just need to hold the stick df while you do the three (count 'em) uppercuts and the elbow to backhand. Note that it's possible for the backhand to miss if you're not quick enough. OR b+1, 1, df+1, 2, db+2 In other words, a spinning backfist, a left punch, elbow to backhand strike, followed with a mid spinning fist. This combo does more damage than any of the ones above, but only if the last hit connects. And it doesn't always - you have to get it just right, and if you miss, you'll come out of it a mite close to your opponent for my liking, so watch it. OR b+1, db+2,2,2, f+4 Making more use of the mid-level spinning fists, now. For this juggle to work (for the front kick at the end to connect), Yoshi must spin around THREE times - no more. You can do up to five spins before getting dizzy, and even though you'll still connect with most of them you won't do as much damage, won't be able to connect with the kick, and are in more danger of hitting 2 too many times and getting dizzy. OR df+1, 2, db+2,2,2, f+4 Right - here's a trickier one, but it's worth it for the damage it does. The trick to getting all six hits to connect is to pause for half a second after the initial uppercut before doing the elbow/backfist move. Again, Yoshi must do three spinning fists for this whole thing to work, and give you maximum damage. OR b+1, 1, B+1,1,1,1, df+4 My favourite to use against the big characters - you can get an 8 hit combo here! Against smaller folk only three of the backfists will connect. You have to do all of this very quickly (as little delay between the first b+1 and the 1, and the 1 and the rest of the backfists) to be sure of everything connecting - it actually seems harder to do in TTT than it was in T3. There's a whole lot of juggles for Yoshi that involve multiple strings of backfists, but they are damn tricky to pull off - you need very good timing. I'm not one to take risks, and to be honest, when in doubt, I just go for the nice, easy to do, guaranteed to hit, df+2, b+1, 1, f+3. Still, if you're after high damage or flashy juggles, you can do worse than give this sort of thing a go. OR df+2, B+1,1,1,1,1, f+3 Here's the most damaging Yoshi juggle I know of (and it's one that someone else told me, not one I came up with on my own. Curses). Again, be very careful not to do more than five spins, otherwise you'll go dizzy. That IS a second df+2 on the front by the way - you do TWO of them before the spinning backfists. Against big characters you only need to do four backfists, not five. In fact, against True Ogre, I've found that you have to do four - if you do five, too many of them connect and he gets knocked too far away for the last kick to connect. So that's the good juggles. Oh yeah, there is one other thing you can do with the df+2 uppercut: you can PUT A TENSTRING ON THE END OF IT!!! Try it - df+2, then 121:4:4:4:1111. The first four hits will connect, the fifth usually misses, but the sixth (a low kick) hits them on the ground, and then (assuming they try to get up, which the computer, at least, usually does) they get hit for the remaining four hits - a punch and three unblockable sword strokes! If your opponent is clever, they'll stay on the ground - this means they'll only get hit by the eighth hit (the downward sword stroke). If they're really smart, they'll then sweep you while you're still doing the ninth and tenth hits. Again, be careful. A word about that tenstring. I've never been fond of tenstrings - I find them too fiddly to get the timing right. Not with that one of Yoshi's, though - it's good and easy. If you're no good at tenstrings like me, do it like this: the first three hits are easy enough, just do them as fast as you like. Then just keep hitting 4 until Yoshi does his second of three kicks, then switch to bashing 1 until you're done. Easy! Juggling sweep - D,df+3 If you ever find yourself ducking (and I'm sure you will at some stage), this is a very good move to come back with. It's a little slower than I'd like, but you do actually move forwards into your opponent as you do it, so it's possible to catch people out by crouching a short distance away from them and then pulling this one out. It juggles, too - you can follow it up with WS 4, f,f+4. As this can be hard to do, you might prefer WS 4, d+4 (or df+4). Better still is the Flea to Flea Headbutt - u+1+2, 1+2, or if you're really good, AND do the sweep when you're right on top of them, you can catch your opponent with u+1+2, uf, 1+2 - see the Hayashida video which may or may not still be available at Tekken Zaibatsu for this one in action. See also the Samurai Slash and Roo Kick in a later section. 4b. The Other Good Moves. That's the juggles out of the way, but Yoshi has more than just juggles. Here are what I consider to be his best other moves and short combos (in more or less descending order of goodness) with tactics specific to them: Fubuki (that jumping knee thing) - f,f+4 Good and fast, knocks them down on a counter, and because you jump forwards into your opponent, you don't have to be right next to them to do it. I use this a lot. As should you. A good move to end juggles with, although it has a relatively long recovery time (compared to, say, df+4), which makes it of less use in the middle of juggles, and downright dangerous if it's successfully blocked - the only real downside to this move. Remember also that Yoshi doesn't have a running slide kick - he does this move if you hit 4 while running. Saviour boot! - df+4 I saw this kick given this name in someone else's movelist, and the name seems appropriate - it's very fast, it has good range, and it's easy to do, which makes it good for getting you out of tight spots (if you're low on energy, and your opponent has managed to get closer to you than you'd otherwise prefer, for example). The other good thing about this move is it's relatively quick recovery time (not as quick as it was in Tekken 3, though. I seethe). This means that, for example, if you end a short juggle with this kick instead of a normal 3, your opponent will still land too far away for a normal slash or a flipstomp too connect, but you may have time to pull off a QCF+1, or a f,f+3, 1, and hit them on the ground with that instead. Kick to sword strike - f,f+3, 1 This is my favourite move to do when my opponent has their back turned after a f+2, or df+1,2, but you can still use this move to their face, and it's very handy in this situation, too. The kick is a bit slow, so you may find yourself on the receiving end of a counterhit, but if they just block it (which they often do), they'll have a hard time doing anything about the unblockable sword hit to follow. Joy. It can also be used as a juggle after df+2. Or try df+2, f,f+3, 4 instead. Note also that you come out of the initial kick crouched, so you can either hold D, and automatically dodge any high hit they throw at you in retaliation, or hit 2 for a juggling uppercut instead of a normal high punch. Double somersault sword slice - QCF+1 The most useful of the unblockables (the others tend to be more "Fun" than "Good") - you can do it from a distance and hit your opponent with it as you land, you can do it up close and hit them as you go over their head - in fact, if you get the distance just right you can hit them several times as you go over! Only things to watch for: if your opponent has good timing they can hit you out of the air, it can be sidestepped once you're airborne, and if they duck it, you'll end up landing with your back to them - not a good look. Saw-blade - b,B+1,N,1 Recently promoted to the "Good Moves" section, this is one of my favourites. I use it a lot - when my opponent's down in front of me and getting up, charging in to me, or just a little too close for my liking. It is hard to sidestep (or at least, harder than it looks) - against an opponent who doesn't know Yoshi too well it can be fun to do this, then laugh as they try to step around you and whack you, only to discover that from the side you don't see what a wide area it covers! DON'T try this against one of the Kings though - with their big sidestep to throw combo, you're asking for trouble... You can use it as a fake-out - try and convince someone you're going to run them through, then whip this one out as they try to run in and punish you for your foolishness! Also looks mighty cool, as does it's cousin, the saw-blade shield (db+1+2), which is faster, but does no damage, just pushes your opponent away - and where's the fun in that? Remember you can cancel it with b,b. If you hit someone with it, don't forget to do this, otherwise they'll be able to sweep you while you're stilling spinning at thin air... Elbow strike to sword slash - f,f+2 O.K., the most important thing about this move is that is HAS TO BE A COUNTER! If it's blocked, or even if it hits but not as a counter you'll find yourself standing right next to your opponent and very vulnerable. If you do manage to get it right, though, they'll end up on the ground, and you'll end up a fair distance away from them, out of harm's way. If it is blocked, or hits, but not as a counter, do something! Straight away. I'd recommend simply punching - if you're lucky, they'll go for a minor counter that's not as fast as your punch. If you're really lucky, they'll go for the throw that the punch you're doing counters, giving you a little distance. Don't forget that if you do the super charge (1+2+3+4), all of your moves are counterhits for the next couple of seconds, AND if you hit them while they're running, that counts as a counterhit too. With that in mind, here's a really nasty thing to do to a stupid computer opponent: Get them with this once, then backflip (B,uf) away. They'll get up, see you're far away from them, and run at you. Guess what you do? That's right, get them with it again, putting them on the ground again and you far away again, so they'll get up again, run at you again...you get the idea. I can't imagine this would ever work against a human opponent, but damn it's fun! Sword slash - db+1 As I mentioned in the juggle section, this move is good any time your opponent is on the ground and close to you. People tend to think that Yoshi's sword is only good for the fact that hits made with it are unblockable, but it also has the advantage of good range, and this is one of the moves that best shows it - you don't have to be right on top of your opponent like you do with Heihachi or Nina/Anna's stomps or Paul's ground punch, so there's little chance of getting hit by, say, a lightning ankle kick. Rising Kickup to Cross Chop - b,b+3+4 when on the ground Did you know that only Yoshimitsu, Paul and Kunimitsu can do this? It's my preferred method of getting up - especially since if your opponent blocks you they reel back, meaning you can hit them with a rising punch that knocks them off their feet. I'd recommend the combo 1(keep hitting it as you come out of the roll to knock them over),df+2,df+4 in this situation. Thanks to the wonders of the Saviour Boot, you may be able to get them on the ground as well - see above. The spinning moves - B+1,1,1... DB+3,3,3... DB+2,2,2... Ah, the spinning moves. Handy if used right, but be careful. Don't, for example, use the high spinning backfists unless you're close enough for the FIRST hit to connect. Otherwise you're asking for it. If you are close enough, they're good and fast, and remember you can swap to the spinning sweeps in mid combo for added variety. Of the three, I find I use the spinning sweeps the most often. Remember to follow them up with a front kick (f+4), and remember that if you do more than five hits you'll get dizzy and fall over (that's five hits in total, so two backhands then four sweeps will put you down). Here's an effective trick: Do three mid backfists (DB+2,2,2) then a throw (2+4 is best - see the Flea stance below). Very often, your opponent will block, and still be blocking when you come out of the spins early and throw them. This works quite well (don't abuse it, of course) - thanks to Vainj for this one. Shark Attack, Shark Dive, Roo Kick - f,f+3+4, 1+2, 3+4 If all three hits connect that's your opponent as good as finished - it does huge damage (full damage in some cases - instant K.O.!) and ends with them flying in the air just waiting for a juggle. That said, this doesn't often happen. The best way to make all three hits connect is to do it while their back's turned (after a f+2 backhand) - this can be hard if your opponent's on the ball, though. Like the Fubuki and elbow strike to sword slash, this is good because you jump at your opponent from a distance, although it's not as fast, making it easier to block and counter. What usually happens when they see you coming, though, is that they'll sidestep, which means you'll just go sailing past them and end up far enough away that you don't need to worry about the danger of immediate counters. So that's O.K. One thing I've noticed with this move: it doesn't seem to work too well on Eddy (damn his eyes). Because he moves from side to side the way he does, sometimes the first hit will connect, but he'll move to the side automatically, and you'll sail past him on the second. I've had this happen once or twice with Lei, too, although it usually doesn't. I don't know of anyone else that this is a problem for (Law's the only one I can think of who jumps around a bit, and it works fine on him). Yoshi Jumpkick - uf+4 This is a funny one - a jumpkick that hits M, not L. A useful one to throw in from time to time (you can do it as a juggle after df+2 if you want). Rainbow Throw - QCB+1+2 Yoshi's most damaging standard throw (his throw from behind does more, but that doesn't count), and it's not too hard to do either. Can be handy. 4c. The New Moves. Since this is meant to be a FAQ for TTT, it'd probably be a good idea to have a look at the moves that have been added since T3 by themselves. Flea Headbutt - u+1+2, 1+2 This one probably belongs in the Fun Stuff section with the other flea moves, but I kind of like it all the same. You need to let your opponent get quite close to you for it to work, but it's speed and the fact that you end up in a standing position quite quickly after it make it fairly useful. Hiltstrike Uppercut - SS+1 and Dodging Uppercut - SS+2 I suppose I should admit to a certain prejudice away from side-stepping moves - I find that if you actually have to side-step to do a move it just gets too unwieldy. Not always, but often. On the other hand, if you happen to be side-stepping at the time, the ability to do a move in the middle of it can be quite handy. With that in mind, here's what I think of these new side-stepping moves: The first thing to say is that both of these moves knock your opponent higher in the air than the normal df+2 uppercut, so you can't use the juggles I mentioned earlier. I'll have to experiment a lot more to see if there's any good ones out there - for now I find a simple kick's the best follow-up to them. The dodging uppercut's actually quite good - follow it up with a saviour boot for best effect. The hiltstrike uppercut only knocks them in the air on a counterhit, so it's a lot less reliable. Follow it with a left kick if you still feel the need to use it. Whirlwind Kick - SS+4 Again, I don't like side-stepping moves, but as far as they go, this one's not bad. It's pretty fast, and has the bonus of stunning your opponent on a counterhit. A good one to throw in from time to time (remember: variety). Sword uppercut - d+1+2 O.K., I'd be prepared to admit that this move just seems useless because it's new to TTT, and I'm not used to it yet. If anyone thinks this is the case, please e- mail me to say why. As far as I can see, though, it's tricky to use effectively (your opponent needs to be quite close, and it needs to be a counterhit), and does no damage, just puts them in the air! There's much easier ways of getting a juggle with Yoshi. I understand that it's been taken from Soul Calibur, where he made a guest appearance, so it could just be here for the sake of completeness. Saw-blade shield - db+1+2 This one's mentioned below - my original comment was "it's a bit faster than the offensive saw-blade, but does no damage - why not just use the saw-blade?" Well, because it's NOTICEABLY faster than the offensive saw-blade, and can be handy for getting yourself out of a sticky situation by shoving your opponent back a bit. That's why. Don't be afraid to use it if they get too close. Roo Kick, Indian Style O.K., this is handier - you can now go into a roo kick from a flip-stomp (uf+3+4, 3+4) or a left kick (3, df+3+4). Still not that fond of it, though. You can also go to indian style from flea stance or from lying on the ground (face towards, feet up) with b+3+4, and apparently you can do it straight after the elbow strike to sword slash, which would be handy if you're low on energy (although if you're low on energy you should be trying to tag out, not go for a risky move like that). I haven't tried this yet. Tweaks And here's a bunch of minor changes to already existing moves that I've encountered so far (if you know of any more, please let me know): As I mentioned above, the Saviour Boot has a longer recovery time now, so it's not as good as it used to be. But still damn good. Also, it may just be my imagination, but I'd swear that you can delay the Saw Blade longer - in other words, you can leave it longer before pressing the second 1, making it even better as a fakeout than before! And I'm not sure why, but I find it harder to work the df+2, df+2, B+1,1,1,1,1, 3 juggle - something's timing has changed a bit there - the backfists I think. 5. The Fun Stuff. Well those moves (combined with the right tactics - get to them later) will see you winning fights easily with Yoshi, here's how to win fights with style! All of the moves in this section are risky, and will more than likely see you taking one in the head for your troubles. I take no responsibility for people getting a kicking while trying these moves. Still, one of the best things about playing as Yoshi is that he has a whole bunch of moves that appear to be there solely to make you look goofy and/or cool, and make your opponent look really stupid if they actually work! Such as... Sword run-through - b,B+1 The classic - insanely damaging, unblockable, so slow you'll have time to tie your shoes before it hits. Only works against very stupid opponents, and those who underestimate its range (which is better than you'd think), but when it does... With a little luck, you can do well with this move - do it straight after you've knocked your opponent to the ground far enough away that they can't get up with a kick and hit you, and hope that the don't roll towards you with a sweep. In all honestly, I tend to end up connecting with this more commonly by accident than design. Of course, I never admit that at the time... Flea - u+1+2 (then f,f OR u/uf/ub OR 1+2 OR 4~3) Now this just looks silly. Laugh at Yoshi. Laugh as he leaps comically in the air. Snigger as he dashes forwards like a bunny rabbit. Chuckle as he headbutts you. Funny thing is, these moves can actually be very effective if used properly, especially the jump. The flea stance itself is only really useful against people who attack low a lot. Eddy and Tiger are the only ones that spring to mind (although against someone who likes Paul's sweep/elbow combo a bit too much it could work). You'd think it would be good against Hell Sweeps from Heihachi and the like, but I find I have trouble doing it quickly enough - are my reactions just not good enough, or is it not possible? You tell me. Here's a good trick though - any time you get someone with the 2+4 throw, go into flea stance straight away. If they do anything but roll away from you, they're more than likely to get hit by it, and if they do roll away from you, hit f,f or 1+2 and they'll get hit anyway! In fact, any time your opponent is knocked to the ground, u+1+2, f,f_1+2, or u+1+2, uf, f,f is a good combo. A nice trick is to go into flea when blocking a tenstring - when the hits go from high to low, instead of blocking low, u+1+2! This only works in some cases, mind. The best comedy moments by far come from the Playstation version of Tekken 3 if you fight against Gon (or Doctor B., for that matter). Just go into flea stance and watch him kill himself by bashing against your sword again and again! Helicopter trick - uf+1+2 Soar into the skies. Come down with an unblockable blow to the forehead. Again, quite risky, but worth it if it works. I tend to use it as a relatively safe way of putting some distance between myself and my opponent. Note that if you do it close to your opponent and hold B, Yoshi will spin around in mid air and land behind them, but facing towards their back. Cue evil laugh... Suicide - d+1+4 Right, well, what can I say? If you're getting a kicking and want to take the honourable way out, or if you want to intimidate your opponent by showing them what a hard space ninja you are, go ahead. It's your funeral. So to speak. Much more fun is the suicide spin (d+1+4, B+1,1,1,1,1,1) - kill yourself, look goofy and maybe inflict a little damage on your opponent (but not much). Or the jump-in suicide (f,F+1+4) - take them with you! Unless they smack you in the back of the head first. Spoilsports. Or you can go for the fake suicide (f,f+1+4,N) - make them THINK you're rushing in to kill yourself, but then don't. What's to stop them from slapping you one for your cruel deception, I'm not sure though... (My guess would be a fast 1 or d+1 - if you're really lucky a FB 2 backhand). O.K., seriously now - there are a couple of situations where you do have a fair chance of getting someone with the suicide move - one's after the f,f+1+2 Shark Dive, which ends with you facing backwards. Do d+1+4 straight away and you could get lucky. The other situation (which I first read about at the forum at www.tekkentagtournament.com, but I can't remember who said it - I think it was Cosmic Forge) is when you do the first three moves of the flipstomp combo (see below) when your opponent is down right in front of you. If you're lucky (and I mean LUCKY), you'll flip right over them, move further away from them with the backfist, flip back onto them with the backflip, and then, if they try to get up you'll be back to back with them, allowing you to suicide them! This relies on your opponent doing just the right thing, but if they do, you're pretty much guaranteed to hit. Similarly, I once won a round when I tried to do my df+2, f,f, b+1+4, df+4 juggle, but messed up and ended up doing df+2, f,F+1+4, and my opponent got up just in time to eat run-in suicide - now THAT'S lucky! This kind of goes without saying, but DON'T do the suicide unless you have more than 50% energy (unless you won the first round, and can afford a Double K.O.)!!! Life Suck - f,f+1+2, 1+4 OR SS+1+2, 1+4 As far as "impossible to get right, but by golly, when it works it makes everything worthwhile" moves go, this one is king. Lift your opponent up BY THE FACE, suck the very life from their body, AND transfer it to yourself - could it get any better? Well, it could if the move were a little easier to do - you have to be facing backwards, coming out of a shark dive or meditation stance (see below), and when you do it you actually take half a step backwards, so your opponent has to be walking right into you for it to have effect. And did you know if you hold F+1+4, you actually transfer some of your own life to your opponent! Again, only handy for intimidation purposes, or dying an altruistic death. But fun all the same. Indian Style - d+3+4 Another funny lookin' stance where Yoshi just sits there expectantly looking up at his opponent. This one has the advantage of rejuvenating your energy though, which makes it a bit handier than the flea as a stance in itself (the flea has lotsa handy moves that follow it, though). And it leads into... Teleports - d+3+4, then b OR f OR 2 OR 4~3 Zip! Pow! Teleport around like the little space ninja that you are. Coming out of a teleport into spinning backfists or a roo kick can be a plus, too. If you really want to use this often, remember that you'll teleport behind your opponent if you're close to them ("less than three character lengths away", according to a guide I read), but if you're far away, you'll stay in one spot, but come out facing away from them. Not a good look. The teleport dodge (B+3+4,3+4,3+4...) looks kind of cool also, but takes your energy down, and makes you dizzy if you do it too much. Smoking sword slash - db+1,DB (x7) While the normal sword slash is a handy little move, you can turn it into this hilarious manoeuvre. Chase your opponent like the bad guy from a bad eighties slasher flick! Should you actually (by some miracle) connect after seven steps (when your blade flashes), I'm told it's instant death for the opponent. Never seen it happen, though. Bad Breath - b+1+2,any button Originally, I had this in the "don't bother with it section" (back when I had a "don't bother with it" section). I found it to be pretty useless, and not even that funny-lookin'. However, it is actually useful against someone like Law, who does a lot of high punches. Against a high punch this move is quite handy, as you can lean back out of your harm's way as the punches fail to connect, and then breathe your icky purple breath on them as soon as they're done. Class. Also, it's unblockable (always a plus), hits mid, and you can get a juggle out of it if you're quick - d+1, f,f+4 or something similar. If you've got more energy than your opponent, then go into the stance, forcing them come to you, then be ready to give them a taste of space ninja halitosis! It's possible to get a juggle out of this move, because of the way your opponent will slowly crumple up and fall over when hit, BUT it's best to be a couple of steps back when you hit them. The reason for this is that Yoshi himself takes such a long time to recover from doing this move that you need to have started the move before it hits in order to have recovered enough to be able to go for a juggle (DB+2,2,2..., or df+1,2,DB+2,2,2... work quite well). It seems that if you hit your opponent while they're right on top of you, you can cancel out of the recovery animation and into a juggle with f+1 at exactly the right time - I can only get this right 50% of the time (if that), though. Doorknocker combo - df+1,1,1,1 This isn't the best of combos, but it's about the most vicious one of Yoshi's. If you get an opponent who thinks he's Charles Bronson, take the butt of your sword and smash his nose in! (One for the Reservoir Dogs fans there). Clonimitsu! - Throw from right side Throws from the side can be tricky to pull off, but when they look this groovy they're worth it! Cartwheel throw - Throw from left side Ditto. 6. Stuff of Note. This section used to be called "Stuff It's Not Worth Bothering With". Ah, the arrogance of youth... What I should have realised, of course, that there are no bad moves, just moves that you don't know how to use yet. Some are harder to use than others, sure, but they shouldn't be written off straight away. Which I did in some cases. Bad Josh. This section now consists of moves that maybe aren't that good, or special, but deserve mention (if only so I can say "I think this move is crap - prove me wrong!"). Elbow strike to backhand - df+1, 2 I used to think this move was one of the best, but then I realised that I've been playing against people who were just too damn slow. The backhand is really a bit slow to connect after the elbow - it can be blocked fairly easily. The backhand by itself (f+2) is a good idea after blocking an attack - then you've got a good chance of hitting. Also, did you know that just hitting 2 while your back's turned does the backhand as well? Something to remember. As I said before, I like to follow up with f,f+3, 1 - although a good old 3 will do (you'll need to step forwards), a back throw's great (again, you'll have to dash forwards, or tack one or two db+2 spinning fists on after the backhand) and IF you can connect with the Shark Attack Combo, then the round's as good as won! Roo Kick - 4~3 I'm told I was a little hard on the roo kick, and, to be fair, IF you connect with it, your opponent is in big trouble. I like to follow it with a sword reversal, and then a saviour boot (or just a simple 4). To get the reversal to connect, take a step or two back while you're opponent's in the air (don't worry, you'll have time - they'll be in the air for quite a while) - just hold B, then hit 1+4 at the right time. To get the kick to connect, you'll need to do the reversal quite early - they should land on it just before you come out of it. Bad Breath is also a classy (and easy) way of following this move up - just hold B and keep mashing 1+2, and you'll connect with it! Still have trouble actually hitting people with it, though - it IS very slow, although now you can do it off a flipstomp, a left kick, or out of the indian style stance, which makes life easier. There's a movie at tekken.net that shows Tragic (who I gather is one of the best there is) doing a roo kick, then a double somersault, and connecting with it!! I'd sell my soul to know how to work that, I just can't do it no matter how I try. Samurai Slash - D,db,b+1 This move is cool, but not that cool, and handy, but not that handy. However, if you're ducking in front of someone, give it a go - it's unblockable and it juggles low (D+1, df+3 or d+1, uf+3+4, b+1, 4 work)! I prefer the juggling sweep myself, but this one does the trick if you get it right, and it can't be blocked. Sword Reversal - b+1+4 Right, I've had a complete change of mind with this one - it's way cool. I'd been trying to use it like other reversals, and found it just too hard to get the timing right - against a high or mid kick, you need to get the timing perfect, and even then you'll often take the hit anyway, even if they do get hit too. However! What it's really good for is when you're opponent is right on top of you - against shoulder charges, or moves that involve charging or jumping right into you. I haven't had the opportunity to try it against Lei's headbutt, but I'd imagine it'd be pretty good against that. Ironically, it works well against Yoshi's own flipstomp. Against the bigger characters (Kuma, the Jacks, etc.) it's actually possible to dash into them and do this - it doesn't have to be a counter! Same for Eddy - the way he bends forwards while in his normal dancing stance makes him nicely vulnerable to this move. I tend to use it in juggles though - df+2, f,f, b+1+4, df+4. For the last kick to hit you need to do the f,f and the b+1+4 as fast as humanly possible. It doesn't do quite as much damage as some of those I've mentioned, but it looks right purty - I do it as a show-off juggle more than anything. Flipstomp combo - uf+3+4,b+1,4,db+1 I'm sorry, the flipstomp can be quite useful, and the first three hits of the combo are good against a downed opponent - the backflip is actually a low attack in this combo (I don't know if it is normally, I only use it to put some distance in between my opponent and myself) - but try to continue into the last hit, and you're asking for very hard punch to the head. Meditation Stance - SS, 3+4 Stay in it too long and you start to lose energy, the only moves you can do from it (Life Suck Throw and Rejuvenation) are too slow to be of any practical use (although the life suck throw is cool, but its much better done from a Shark Dive instead), it's just no good. If you can prove me wrong about this one, I'd be surprised to say the least. 7. General Tactics. So, those are a bunch of moves, with how to use them individually, but you'll be wanting some sort of overall strategy to put them all together... O.K., first thing: variety is the key to victory - no matter how good any of these moves are, if you use them too often or too consistently, your opponent will quickly learn how to beat them. In my opinion, Yoshimitsu's biggest weakness is his comparatively small repertoire (ooh, there's a fancy word!), so mix it up as much as you can. Don't be predictable. I've found that Yoshi's opponents (and probably everyone else's) generally develop through three stages: Stage One: Someone who knows little to nothing about Yoshi, and is likely to fall for moves an opponent at a higher stage wouldn't, such as the second hits of the 3,4 or df+1,2 combos. Stage Two: Someone who knows enough to see what's coming, but not enough to know what to do about it. This person will fall for the f,f+3,1 combo without fail (provided you use it right, of course), and will often just stand there and watch as you pull off a double somersault straight on their head. Stage Three: Someone who not only knows what's coming, but what to do about it. This is not the sort of person you should just bash away at - they'll know to sidestep (what a concept!) the double somersault, and whack you with a fast punch before you can do the second hit of the f,f+3, 1 combo. It shouldn't take too long to work out what stage your opponent is - see "Chicken Baiting!" - if they take the bait: stage two, if they don't: stage three, if they actually get hit by the bait: stage one. The good thing about Yoshi is that, because he isn't as widely used as other characters, you tend to encounter more people as stage one, and people tend to stay at the lower stages for longer. Against stage one opponents: Do your worst! Whip out all of the "Fun" moves - chances are, they won't see 'em coming, and by the time they do, it'll be too late. Go for the 3,4 combo, the df+1, 2 combo, go for df+2 at every conceivable occasion - the Tekken world is your oyster. Against stage two opponents: Chicken bait! Against any character with reversals this'll work a treat. Make good use of the double somersault and f,f+3, 1 combo - they'll see it coming, but won't know what to do about it. If you need to, create some room for yourself, with the backflip, saw-blade shield or helicopter trick. Don't take too many chances - these people aren't stupid, they're just lacking in experience - which is what they're gaining by playing you. Before you know it they'll be stage three, and then... Against stage three opponents: Now you'll have to work for it. You're now at the level where most Paul, Jin, and anyone-else-who-gets-used-all-the-time-so-that- everbody-knows-what-to-expect-of-them players live. Variety, variety, variety. Try not to use the same move in the same situation twice (unless the situation is that they've messed up, and you can hit them without them being able to do anything about it!). Play your strengths: you're fast, nimble, and have a move for every occasion (although sometimes only one). DON'T just charge in with a df+2, wait for them to make a mistake and do it. Be careful with the double somersault. And so on. In general, whenever possible go for the df+2 uppercut, then follow it up with the juggle (or tag juggle) of your choice. Obviously, if you want to do a whole lot of damage in one go, go for the tenstring (remembering that there is some element of risk there). Even computer opponents will eventually start backing away when you try this too much, though - human opponents who know Yoshi (stage two or three) will start backing off or blocking straight away!, so use a bit of variety - be sneaky. Yoshi has plenty of stuff to use on downed opponents too - flipstomps, db+1 slashes, juggling sweeps, spinning sweeps, and flea stance - this one can be very useful if your opponent is on the ground right in front of you - if they move, they're hit, and if they don't move, hit f,f, and they're hit! I like the b,B+1,1 saw blade too, but they have to actually get up into it to get hit - the flea's probably the safer bet. I said I like to play offensive as Yoshi, but not in the same way as you might with Paul or Jin - he's not a heavy hitter like them, but he is fast, with a good poking game. "Evasive" would probably better describe how to play as Yoshi - he has rushing-in moves like the Fubuki, elbow strike to sword slash, front kick to sword slash and shark attack, so you don't need to be close enough to them for them to hit you instantly to have a go at them. His backflip is a great way of getting clear, and his saw-blade shield is a good way of creating a little room between you and your opponent, so you are able to use these moves. Backing off then coming in with an unblockable QCF+1 or f,f+3,1 is a favourite tactic of mine (although one that can be beaten quite easily by someone who knows what they're doing - be warned). If you're against someone who likes to just sit there, waiting for you to try something so that they can block and counter it, remember: YOSHI HAS UNBLOCKABLES - a whole lot of them. Use them. Or, if you're playing one of those people who, as soon as they're ahead on energy, just stays away, forcing you to come to them if you don't want to lose the round on a timeout (I've played against a few of these...) - indian style! They'll stand there looking at you, and you'll sit there looking at them - getting all your energy back!! This effectively reverses the whole situation - now they'll have to come to you, and (as is always the case with indian style) they can never be sure what you're going to do when you come out of it... Other than that, if they get too close go for the saviour kick, a few 1, d+1 or d+4 pokes, or Fubuki - it really is one of Yoshi's best moves. If they're far away try a helicopter trick, or double somersault. 7a. Chicken Baiting! This isn't a huge point, but I put it as a separate section, basically because I just wanted to have one called "Chicken Baiting"! By this I mean doing easily reversible moves (of which Yoshi has a bunch), and being ready with a chicken when you get reversed. This works very well for the second stage of opponent I mentioned above. Stage three opponents will know better than to reverse them though, they'll just block (or duck) and smack you out of it. Bevare, as Bela Lugosi used to say... Here are the best moves to use for chicken baiting: High kick, fast mid kick - 3,4 This one works well as a normal move against stupid (stage one) opponents too, because the second kick is so fast - if they don't know it's coming, they'll probably block the first and try to give you a counter, only to get a mid kick to the face! Fast mid kicks - 4,4,4 These are particularly good, because, being all right-side moves, you know that it's going to be f+2+4 to chicken. That Tenstring From Before - 121:4:4:4:1111 Stage three opponents will duck the first kick and punch you. Stage twos, however, almost always go for the reversal, so be ready on that chicken. Stage ones, of course, don't know what the hell's going on, and if they haven't done something before the second kick, they're in for three unblockable, and hugely damaging sword strokes! If your opponent is fast, it's actually possible to reverse the third punch - watch for that, too. Also good is the 44:2:2:4:4:1111 tenstring - it's not used as often as the others, and people don't know what's coming as often. If you can keep them guessing until the sixth hit, they're looking at another flurry of unblockable hits! What makes this even better is that all of the first six hits are right kicks or right punches, so you know that it'll always be f+2+4 to chicken if you're reversed. If you feel like it, go for the Chicken Glitch Throw - there's guides around that detail this weird little glitch (which may not still be there in TTT, I haven't had chance to find out yet), but basically, do Yoshi's QCB+1+2 throw straight after chickening someone's reversal, and watch the fun! 7b. The Tag Stuff Some TTT specific tactics now - I've split this up into a bunch of sub-sub- sections. In General. Since Yoshi actually has moves that replenish his energy (indian style, life suck throw, rejuvenation from meditation stance), it's not quite as necessary to tag out as often as you might do with other players, but it's still a good idea (if for no other reason than to keep up the variety). That said, I find myself tagging out rather than relying on energy replenishing moves - better to recover energy while you're out of the fight completely, than sitting on the ground or something, where you're still vulnerable to attack. I don't know of any tag throws for Yoshi apart from the standard 2+5 - you'd think there would be one for him and Kunimitsu, but I haven't heard of one. Ditto special tag combos. As you'd expect, you can tag out after any of his high juggle moves - even the standard df+2 uppercut (another reason why it's just so useful!), with the roo kick providing about the safest way to tag out of the lot, and one of the best tag juggle starters of the game. Assuming you can actually connect with it, that is (yes, I'm still bitching about that one). Tagging Out. The evasive style of play that suits Yoshi well extends to tagging in and out also, so do it as often as possible - not too much though - nothing's easier than waiting for someone to tag in after their partner goes out, and whacking them as soon as they're in. So don't make it easy for your opponent to do that. The trick with TTT is to tag whenever you can (safely), NOT whenever you have to - I still see lots of people wait until they're at 25% energy or less before tagging out, by which time it's probably too late - keep the pressure on and you'll have won the round without their partner having the chance to tag in. When energy is low, you'll be looking to tag out, and this can be exploited - like I say, keep the pressure on. If you're tagging in and out a lot, you're partners are getting back energy all the time, which puts you at an advantage over those who tag infrequently. This applies to everyone, but especially so for Yoshi. Tagging In. When tagging in, you can make use of Yoshi's moves that involve dashing towards the opponent, such as the Fubuki or f,f+2. This shortens the amount of time spent running onto the screen, making you less vulnerable to the sort of thing I just mentioned. I actually find that a simple d+4 poke seems to work best, since people rarely block low when their opponent tags - be ready to follow it up with more pokes or maybe a throw, though. You may know that anyone can tag in with a flying cross-chop by doing f,f,N,1+2 as you tag in - this works pretty well. A simple left kick can work well also. I like to come in with a QCF+1 or uf+1+2,d - get things started with an unblockable! The QCF+1 cancels the running in animation too - it can be very efefctive, but, as usual, if your opponent knows what to do against it, don't use it too frequently. When your opponent tags in be ready - Yoshi's got a bunch of moves tailor made for this situation. The sword reversal is good - when your opponent tags out, dash forwards, then b+1+4. A good follow up is u+1+2, f,f. If you're quick, you can dash forwards and go for the saw blade spin (b,B+1,1), although you probably won't have time to follow it up with anything, since it takes a while to stop, even if you cancel it with b,b. Once again, a Fubuki, or the good old-fashioned left kick is a good response to someone tagging in right in front of you (watch for reversals, though), and if you're feeling lucky, go for the b,B+1 - what have you got to lose? Well yes, energy, the round, respect, self esteem - but apart from that...? Tag Juggles. Where I play, I don't see enough people using tag juggles, which are great fun because A) they take away the jugglee's red bar, meaning they can't regenerate as much while tagged out, B) they provide one of the safest ways of tagging (unless you whiff your tag juggle - then you could be in trouble), and C) they look damn cool! Yoshi's strength is in his juggle starters, rather than his actual juggles - df+2~5 is possibly the best in the game in terms of speed and ease, and 3~4~5 is one of the best launchers, allowing Yoshi's partner to connect with pretty much anything they damn well want upon tagging in. I can't see much point in tagging in with Yoshi for a tag juggle, unless you want to tag your partner out and have the opportunity to tag juggle, rather than just plain tagging out. When choosing Yoshi's partner, then, one thing to consider would be whether or not they can take proper advantage of his starters. Which leads me to... What Partner? As far as choice of partners goes, what you probably want is someone with some powerful moves that you can bring in to save Yoshi's ass and end a fight quickly if you get into trouble. Heihachi, Law or Paul would compliment him well, I suppose, but as I said before, I often use Lei, simply because he's my other favourite and I'm best with him. As I said before, Yoshi's roo kick is a great move for putting someone in the air and quickly tagging out of (Yoshi's tag-out animation from this move is cool too) - great if you're teamed with someone with good powerful juggles. Of course, if you're good enough with Yoshi, you can use him as your main partner, and have him save your other partner's ass when necessary. You could, for example, team him with Kunimitsu, for some two-bladed, double ninja action! I like the combination of these two - Kuni's even more evasive than Yoshi - you can adopt a "guerrilla warfare" style of play - tag in (safely, of course), make a fast hit, (safely) tag out again, repeat. One of my favourites, though, is Lee. when you think about it, he's very similar to Yoshi - he's not the most powerful character out there, but he's fast, with a couple of good juggle starters (like uf+4), one big one (d,db+4), a backflip, and a good poking game (not to mention a good guessing game), so you don't have to change strategy too much when swapping between them. Only problem is, like Yoshi, his juggles are pretty crap, so tag juggles tend to be pretty feeble. At time of writing, I've started using Yoshi with Wang a lot - largely because I wanted a character with reversals, and don't like Paul, Nina, or Jin. Tag juggles off Yoshi's df+2 into Wang's QCF+2, or f+1+2, or 1+2 seem to do the trick nicely, and Wang's Waning Moon throw can tag into Yoshi's suicide! And that's all I have to say about TTT. Which still isn't all that much, but it's a relatively new game - comments or suggestions? 8. The End. Version History: New to version 2.03: - Added a bit more to the tactics, especially TTT specific stuff. - Added commentary to a couple of other moves. - A bit of reformatting. - A new title, 'cause the old one was kinda boring. New to version 2.02: - Added comments in the Tag Tactics, Chicken Baiting, and Good Stuff sections. - Moved all the rest of these updates to the end of the FAQ, where they're not in the way any more... New to version 2.01: - Corrections (how did I not notice that I'd got the Meditation Stance move wrong? "SS, 1+2" - what was I on?), additions, thank-yous. New to version 2.0: - Realised that there's a lot of crap here, and a major overhaul was needed (Hence v2.0) - Moved stuff around, created new sections (notably "Chicken Baiting!" in a new, separate "General Tactics"), changed "Stuff It's Not Worth Bothering With" to "Stuff of Note" - Changed a whole bunch of entries, added a few (one last juggle!) - A bit more TTT specific stuff New to version 1.03: - Reorganised "Good Moves" section - ordered moves, and split them into juggles and non-juggles - Added yet more juggles New to version 1.02: - A few more handy juggles and moves in various sections - Added commentary to various moves - A correction or two (can't believe I got the b,B+1 move wrong!) - A teensy bit more reformatting New to version 1.01: - Added commentary on the moves new to TTT - A couple of corrections, additions, rewording and reformatting elsewhere... Well there you have it: my guide to Yoshimitsu. I hope this proves useful to someone out there. If it does drop me a line to say so. If there's something blatantly wrong, something I've obviously missed, or some strategy you violently disagree with, feel free to say so. It's been other people's comments that prompted me to do this major update, so keep 'em coming! As far as copyright stuff goes, consider this guide © Josh Addison 1999/2000. That said, I don't actually give a damn what you do with this guide, as long as I get credit where credit's due. It would be really nice if you wrote to me to tell me what you want to do with it, but whatever. And finally, speaking of credit, I should thank a bunch of people here: First, I should say that I've used movelists by Patrick Beja, and Catlord of tekken.net in writing this guide, just to make sure I've written the moves down correctly. I don't know you, and you don't know me, but I couldn't have done this without you. Ta guys. In fact, Tekken Zaibatsu (now all 2.0 and spiffy-looking) deserves mention as THE resource for Tekken lovers on the Internet. Thanks to Vainj (who I suspect knows significantly more about Yoshi than I do, but what the hell, I'm the one writing the FAQ) for pointing out where I was talking crap, and offering strategies, suggestions and juggles. Thanks also to Xenogear and Andy Newman and everyone else who's written to me for their correspondence. Thanks to Abrar and the folk at Inside Tekken for advice, encouragement, and for posting my Mysterious One Hand Technique FAQ for Lei!. While I'm at it, those responsible for the high quality of discussion at Tekken Salute have my thanks as well. And that's it - see you in version 2.05 (if I can think of anything more that needs to be said)!