TEKKEN 4: Character Guide to Nina Williams Ver 0.1 For the Arcades and PlayStation 2 By Ingus a.k.a. Michael Wang Unpublished work Copyright 2001 Michael Wang ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This FAQ is for private and personal use only. It can only be reproduced electronically, and if placed on a web page or site, may be altered as long as this disclaimer and the above copyright notice appear in full. This FAQ is not to be used for profitable/promotional purposes; this includes being used by publishers of magazines, guides, books, etc. or being incorporated into magazines, etc. in ANY way. This FAQ was created and is owned by me. All copyrights and trademarks are acknowledged that are not specifically mentioned in this FAQ. Please give credit where it is due. The maker of the Tekken series is (c) Namco. This FAQ can be found at: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GameFAQs www.gamefaqs.com My Home Page ingus.home.tripod.com Version 0.1 --------------------------------------------------------[9-30-2001] FAQ Created Version 0.2 --------------------------------------------------------[10-3-2001] Additions in Move Analyst Cleaned up the Format in the Move List New Introduction Added Character Background info added ======= FORWARD ======= This FAQ assumes you, the reader know the basics about the game play mechanics of the Tekken series in general (strings, side steps, etc), and some knowledge on the various 'improvements' Tekken 4 has (crouching being d/b instead of d now, air juggles causing a lot less damage, etc). If you have questions on how to play the game, please search GameFAQs' Tekken 4 section, many excellent general FAQ's are already there. This FAQ is aimed at those players that have already played Tekken 4 for a while and is looking for someone interesting to learn. Well, enough chitchat... on with the show! ============ INTRODUCTION ============ Why do you want to play Nina? Because she's always been strong in the Tekken series. She has a strong offensive and defensive game, great air juggles, and devastating Multipart throws. For offense, Nina has a lot of short, fast pokes. On defense, Nina's Reversal move counters more moves then anyone else in the game. As a character, she's not as complicated to learn as say Lei, nor is she as shallow as paul. Besides, she looks hot! ^_^ ============= CHANGES IN T4 ============= Nina Williams received few moves for Tekken4 (T4) compare to other characters. However, while she retained most of her moves, her speed has been downgraded a bit and as the result, she feels sluggish at times. Another major change in Nina's moves, for the worse, is the lowered damage of her multi-part throws. These moves used to take out up to 80-90% of the opponent's life, now it barely does 40%. But since King's multipart throw has been downgraded as well, this is still 'fair'. Nina's 10-hit string is exactly as it was since Tekken2 - at least 5 high attacks before she switches to low. (You could switch the first high to a mid by doing d/f+1, but this slows down the combo a lot, and if the first hit is done this way, you can not switch out of the combo on the 3rd and 4th hit.) Unless you are fighting a scrub that has no idea what the sting looks like, don't bother with it. Another key to Nina's potency in T3 was her high damage Juggles. Sadly in T4 Juggles isn't anywhere near as powerful as they used to be. In Nina's case, this hurt her more then any other changes. I have yet to find an air juggle that takes up to 20% of the enemy's life. But just for fun (and since her ten- strings are so useless), I usually do the first half of her ten - strings for juggles. (The damage sucks, I know; it's all for style.^_^) As for the new moves Nina got, the most useful one (b,f+3:1+2) unfortunately is also the most difficult to do. It turns the Spider Knee Kick (if connected) into a multipart grab, but the timing has to be VERY precise. ==== BIOS ==== Name: Nina Williams Country of Origin : Ireland Fighting Style : Assassination Techniques based on Bone Martial Arts and Akido Age : 24 (she spent 15 years in cryosleep) ========== BACKGROUND ========== After The King of Iron Fist Tournament 2, the Mishima Zaibatsu used Nina as an experimental test subject for cryogenics research. Fifteen years later, Nina was released from cryosleep and appeared in the third Tournament. She fought through the Tournament while suffering from cryosleep-induced amnesia. Since then, Nina disappeared from the reaches of the Mishima Zaibatsu and spent her days carrying out missions as a contract assassin. To this day, she has been unable to regain memories of Anna or her personal life. As a woman without memories or close relations, the only person Nina could count on was herself. Carrying out her hits for profit was the only reality she could rely on. One day, Nina received a new contract from a Mafia organization. The target of the contract was Steve Fox, a boxing world champion. With a little research, Nina discovered that Fox was a participant in The King of Iron Fist Tournament 4. Nina set her sights on completing her new mission and infiltrated the Tournament. - From the Official T4 Site (www.namcoarcade.com) ============ MOVE ANALYST ============ Here are some moves that are useful and deserve a closer look. The Usefulness rating goes from 1 to 5 stars, where 1 is useless, and 5 is a move that should be abused. qcf+1+2 / qcf+3+4 Multipart grab starters h / h ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- These two moves are the start of Nina's most damaging multipart throws. The difference between the two starters is the key for escape. (2 and 1, respectively) The qcf motion moves Nina forward while ducking, and if you can anticipate a high attack with long delays, do the qcf motion. If your opponent is standing, go for either of these two moves. The punch version (Palm Strike) last a little longer compare to the kick version (Crab Claw), so there are more time to input the next sequence. Also the punch multipart does more damage if the entire string goes through. However, for that exact reason, most people knows the escape sequence for the punch multipart throws (the escape hasn't changed since Tekken2). Try to mix the two starters a little for better results. Usefulness: *** qcf_f,f+3 Bad Habit m ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you manage to land a few multipart throws on your opponent, next time they see Nina go in the crouch rush motion (qcf) they will get smart and duck. This is when you bust out this move, which hits mid and on a counter hit produce a crumble stun. If you get a counter hit, do Bad Habit again while your opponent is on the floor, it'll combo into itself. Usefulness: **** qcb+1+4 Sway, Betrayer h ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is another multipart grab starter. The difference is that instead of going forward while ducking, this throw moves back slightly while ducking low. What's important about this move is that unlike the other multipart throw starters, this one can not be escaped. Also after the qcb motion, Nina is considered as crouching - all the WS moves can be used to substitute Betrayer. The animation for the throw itself is very short, and it's difficult to go into the next sequence in time. But for the same reason, the escape frame is also very short, meaning it's also hard for your victim to escape. Usefulness: ** qcb, f+1+2 Sway, Blond Bomb m ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If your opponent caught on with all the betrayers you've been doing, mix this move in. Since it hits mid, a ducking opponent will always get nailed, hard. Usefulness: *** u/f+3+4 Quick Leap Heel Hold h ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is yet another multipart starter, it has long animation, so it's easy to tap in the next sequence. If you have a chance to do multipart throws, this should be what you do. Usefulness: **** b,f+3_WS+3_2,3_1,2,3:1+2 Spider Knee - Double Snap ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nina's new multipart starter, this one is great because it's done in the middle of a combo. However, it's also incredibly hard to perform because for the Double Snap to come out you'll need to do a Just Frame attack on the 1+2. To the best of my understanding, the JF for this move occurs right after the knee connects. Keep practicing this move, because its very powerful, and because this particular JF attack is actually easier then Paul and Lee's JFs. Usefulness: ***** b+2+4 Reversal h,m attacks only ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is Nina's old reversal move, if an opponent hits Nina with either a high or mid attack during the execution of the Reversal, he/she will get thrown. Compare to its T3 and TTT versions, the T4 Reversals last for a shorter time. The new change in T4 is that if Nina manages to reverse a left punch attack, the reversal goes into her Palm Strike (punch based multipart throw starter)! Sadly in T4 there are some moves that just cannot be reversed, so be careful. Usefulness: **** Multipart Throws Sequences (see move list at the end of this guide) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- These sequences need to be tapped quickly (in around 1 - 1.5 sec), evenly (the time in between the taps should the about the same) and precisely (you can't tap extra buttons) for the sequences to continue on (assuming your opponent didn't tap the correct escape sequence). Two things worth noting here: 1.)Some multiparts have long animation, and you can take advantage of this by tapping the sequence in over and over. As long as one of the sequences is correct, the throw will continue. A further use for this is when Nina has a choice between two sequences, one being long and one being short, you can tap both in, the long first, and the short second. This way even if you messed up the long (more damaging) sequence, the short sequence would still come out. An example would be the last part of Nina's kick based multipart throws. The last sequence could either be the Achilles Tendon Lock (1,3,2+4,3+4,1+2), or the Knee Cross Lock (3,1,4,2+4). Since the move before these two finisher, the Knee Hold is almost 3 seconds long; there are enough time to input both of these moves. 2.)There are some 'short cuts' to the moves. If you press and hold a button and tap another, the game interprets it as a tap of the first key, then a simultaneous tap of both keys. This is very useful because multipart throw key taps has to be both quick and precise. An example would be the Knee Cross Lock (3,1,4,2+4) above. As you can see it requires a 2+4 at the end, and in the heat of the battle it's easy to miss the timing. Using the 'short cut' method, all you have to do is press 3, 1, press and hold 4, and tap 2 with another finger. Usefulness: **** SS+1 Snake Shot m ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The beauty of this move isn't itself, but what it could turn into afterwards. The variations are: =~F Crouch Dash =1+2 Palm Grab - Multipart grab start =3 Bad Habit - Kick to the stomach =4 Flip Heel Kick - Flipping air born attack =d/b,d/b+2+3 Evil Mist - Zero range zero damage unblockable (it stuns) =~B Sway =1+4 Betrayer - Multipart grab start The ~F variations are useful to advance on your opponent, and once in a while throw in a ~B Sway to suprise people. Usefulness: *** SS+1+2 Spiral Explosion m ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This one sends the opponent flying while spinning (no fast recoveries upon landing). The move comes out a little slow, so don't rely on it that much. Usefulness: ** SS+2 Lift Shot h ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On a counter hit this move launches. Sadly your opponent won't fly too high, and you'll need to use a short air juggle combo after it. And since it hits high only, be careful. If you do the SS close to your opponent and your Lift Shot hits him / her on the side, it will also launch. Usefulness: *** b+2,2 Double Slap h,h ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This move comes out a little slower, but if the first hit connects the second hit cannot be escaped. And it will send the opponent flying sideways while spinning. Good finish for air juggles, fun, too! Usefulness: ** d/b+2 Backhand Body Blow m ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nina slides forward with one leg and does a body blow with her right hand. The range is decent, but the speed is slow. However it stuns quite often. Usefulness: *** d/b+3+4 Divine Cannon m ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- One of Nina's few guaranteed launching move. This move comes out with a slight delay, as she puts her right hand to the floor before kicking up. This is a very useful because it has great range. Nail your opponent with this whenever he/she whiffs a long delay move on you. Usefulness: ***** u/f+4,3,4 Can Opener hlh ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This move covers a lot of ground and the second hit often hits because of its speed. But the third hit isn't guaranteed even if the second hit connects. Usefulness: ** 1+4 Ivory Cutter mm ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is a new move for Nina. A quick 2 hit move, Nina spins her body on the ground very fast. A great move to put in the end of juggling combos, this move has a deceptively long range. Go after a multipart throw after this and it can catch your opponent often. Usefulness: *** d/f+3,2,3 Creeping Snake, Divine Cannon m,h,m ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This move launches if the last hit got through. But by itself it's mostly useless because most people would block high anyways. The best use for this is in an air juggle. Since T4 has slowed Nina down a bit, (her old d+4,1, f+1+2 just won't connect anymore) use this move instead for about the same damage. Usefulness: ** d+3,2 Low Spin Kick, Upper l,m ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This move deserves special attention. First of all, the second hit of this move launches, always. But the problem is this: if you start the Low Spin Kick too close to your opponent, when the second hit come out you will be misaligned with your opponent and the Upper won't even connect. Do this move at maximum range, since this move, like many of Nina's strings, moves her forward. What's even more important is that Nina has many strings that could continue into a Low Spin Kick, and every time you can do a Low Spin Kick, you can do the Upper right afterwards. Strings like 4,3,2 and d/f+3,2,d+3,2 are very unpredictable and difficult to block. Usefulness: **** WS_f_f,f+1+2 Blond Bomb m ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is Nina's Signature move, this move does a huge amount of damage on a counter hit. If you tap f,f for this move, Nina will take a step forward first, and resulting in a longer reaching, slower starting, and more damaging version of the same move. Watch out for the increased delay after the f,f version though. What's great about this move is that it's actually a finisher for many of Nina's short strings. Try to stick this one into your air juggles for maximum damage. Usefulness: *** qcf_f,f+4 Flip Heel Kick m ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This move is good to hit downed people. But be careful since if you completely miss your opponent and lands Nina on the ground with out hitting anything, this move will do damage to Nina instead. The damage isn't that much, thought. Usefulness: ** d,d/f+4 Wipe the Floor L ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This move is a little hard to do because if you are not fast enough, the d can turn into a SS instead of the start of this move. If it does come out though, this is a good move because its long range, and its ability to hit floored opponent. Usefulness: *** ========= MOVE LIST ========= This list is taken from website Tekken Zaibatsu (www.tekkenzaibatsu.com). Originally this is in a chart format, since I had to convert it into a txt file this could be a little messy to read. Still, I decided to include this because this list contains every single one of Nina's moves. GRAPPLING ARTS Command Place Name Damage Escape Properties ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- F+2+4 front Arm Grab Flip 30 2 2+4 front Lifting Toss 30 2 2+4~B front Revolving Elbow Strike 2 (d/b+2+4_2+4~D) front 2 u/f+1+2 front Neck Throw 40 1+2 #1 d/f,d/f+1 front Embracing Elbow Strike 33 1+2 1+3+(u_d_b_f) any Position Change - 1 (F+2+4_2+4) left Rolling Triangle Lock 40 1 (F+2+4_2+4) right Swinging Toss 38 2 (F+2+4_2+4) back Triangle Hold 60 - #1You can tech roll to reduce damage by 20. MULTI THROW ARTS Command Name Damage Escape Properties ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (qcf+1+2_b+2+4) Palm Strike 15 2 #1 = 3,4,3,1+2 = Arm Bar 30 1+2 = 2,3,4,2,2 = Double Snap 15,15 2 = 1,3+4,1,2,1+2 = Neck Crusher 35 1 = 1,2,4,3,1+2+3 = Gale Tech Strech 45 1+2 = 1,3,2,1 = Standing Reverse Arm Lock 20 1 = 3,1,4,1+2,1+2 = Rear Gale Tech Falcon Wing 25 1+2 = 2,1,3,4,1+2 = Falling Reverse Arm Lock 25 2 (b,f+3_WS+3_2,3_1,2,3):1+2 Spider Knee - Double Snap 15 -- #3 = 1,3+4,1,2,1+2 = Neck Crusher 35 1 = 1,2,4,3,1+2+3 = Gale Tech Strech 45 1+2 2+4 Lifting Toss 30 2 = 1,2,1 = Shoulder Buster 35 -- #2 = 2,1,3 = Arm Lock 10 -- (WR_f,f,f)+3 Leaping Heel Hold 20,20 2 CH = 1,3,2+4,3+4,1+2 = Achilles Tendon Lock 45 1+2 = 3,1,4,2+4 = Knee Cross Lock 35 1 u/f+3+4 Quick Leap Heel Hold 20,20 2 = 1,3,2+4,3+4,1+2 = Achilles Tendon Lock 45 1+2 = 3,1,4,2+4 = Knee Cross Lock 35 1 qcf+3+4 Crab Claw 15 1 = 3+4,3,4,1+2 = Commando Arm Lock 35 1 = 3+4,4,2,1+2 = Heel Hold 20 2 = 3,1,4,2+4 = Knee Cross Lock 35 1 = 1,3,2+4,3+4,1+2 = Achilles Tendon Lock 45 2 qcb+1+4 Betrayer 15 -- = 1,3,2,1 = Standing Reverse Arm Lock 20 1 = 3,1,4,1+2,1+2 = Rear Gale Tech Falcon Wing 25 1+2 = 2,1,3,4,1+2 = Falling Reverse Arm Lock 25 2 = 2,1,1+2,1+2+3 = Twisted Nightmare 28 2 = 1,3+4,1,2,1+2 = Neck Crusher 35 1 = 1,2,4,3,1+2+3 = Gale Tech Strech 45 1+2 #1 When reversing a left punch (b+2+4) Nina will execute the Palm Strike. #2 Initial throw does no damage when doing the Shoulder Buster. #3 The 1+2 needs to be pushed on the "Just Frame". SPECIAL ARTS Command Name Damage Range Properties ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (d/f+1<2)_(WS+1<2) Double Punch 10,15_12,15 mh #2 (1<2)_(BT 1_2<2) Double Punch 4,10_15,10 hh #2 = <3 = Spider Knee m FSc = :1+2 = Double Snap 15,15 throw #4 #9 = <4 = Bermuda Triangle 15 h = = ~B = Sway -- -- RC #5 = 1+4 = Betrayer 15 throw #4 SS+1,2 Double Shot 15,15 mm d+1,N+4 Low Jab - Rising Kick 5,10 Smm 1+4 Ivory Cutter mm GC KS d/f+1+2 Cross Blade 6,8 mm GS FSc (WS_f_f,f)+1+2 Blonde Bomb 20_20_30 m SS+1+2 Spiral Explosion 20 m 2 Straight Jab 10 h = SH STRING HIT ARTS Command Hits Damage Range ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1,2,1,2,3,3,2,1,2,4 10 4,10,6,6,7,9,6,6,6,30 hh"h"h"h"lhhhh 1,2,1,2,3,3,2,1,4,3 10 4,10,6,6,7,9,6,6,5,25 hh"h"h"h"lhhlm 1,2,1,2,4,3,4,2,4,3 10 4,10,6,6,9,9,5,6,5,25 hh"h"hhllm"lm d/f+1,2,1,2,3,3,2,1,2,4 10 10,15,6,6,7,9,6,6,6,30 mh"h"h"h"lhhhh d/f+1,2,1,2,3,3,2,1,4,3 10 10,15,6,6,7,9,6,6,5,25 mh"h"h"h"lhhlm d/f+1,2,1,2,4,3,4,2,4,3 10 10,15,6,6,9,9,5,6,5,25 mh"h"hhllm"lm WS+1,2,1,2,3,3,2,1,2,4 10 12,15,6,6,7,9,6,6,6,30 mh"h"h"h"lhhhh WS+1,2,1,2,3,3,2,1,4,3 10 12,15,6,6,7,9,6,6,5,25 mh"h"h"h"lhhlm WS+1,2,1,2,4,3,4,2,4,3 10 12,15,6,6,9,9,5,6,5,25 mh"h"hhllm"lm BT (1_2),2,1,2,3,3,2,1,2,4 10 15,10,6,6,7,9,6,6,6,30 h"h"h"h"h"lhhhh BT (1_2),2,1,2,3,3,2,1,4,3 10 15,10,6,6,7,9,6,6,5,25 h"h"h"h"h"lhhlm BT (1_2),2,1,2,4,3,4,2,4,3 10 15,10,6,6,9,9,5,6,5,25 h"h"h"hhllm"lm =============== ACKNOWLEDGMENTS =============== - Tekken Zaibatsu (www.tekkenzaibatsu.com) This website is an awesome source of Tekken information. The move list section of this FAQ is taken from there. - Namco Corporation For this game, and their many cool character designs. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Guide v0.2 Unpublished work, Copyright 2001 Michael Wang All rights reserved. Tekken 4, Nina Williams, etc. are all trademarks of Namco Corporation, Copyright 2001