------------------------------------------------------------------------------- An Advanced Strategy Guide to Alex in Street Fighter 3: 3rd Strike Written by DarkBunny Email: darkbunny@hotmail.com ICQ: 7513314 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------ Version 0.3 - 01/21/2000 ------------------------ Added new Hyper Bomb section More Strategy for trapping Revised Stungun Headbutt Trap strategies ------------------------ Version 0.2 - 11/13/1999 ------------------------ Fixed some errors induced by late night cut-n-pasting. :D Fixed some incorrect arcade lingo... now uses standard move description Added some new combos to the strategy section Added Waking Up and Wake Up Counters Section to Strategy Added New VS. Section ------------------------ Version 0.1 - 10/08/1999 ------------------------ First version ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Intro ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- First off, the intended purpose of this FAQ is that, after reading it, you should have an advanced understanding of how to use Alex against CPU and human opponents. This FAQ does *not* cover other character strategies, endings, story, colors or other such trivia. For a good basic overview of SF3 controls, character moves and strategy, Kao Megura's FAQ is a good starting point. Also for another take on Alex strategy see Ben Williamson's Alex FAQ. (Both of these FAQs are available on www.gamefaqs.com) Also, just so that you realize, Alex is *not* going to win you friends in the community of players who feel that crossing you up and pulling off *one* combo over and over is the epitome of Street Fighter acumen. Some people have an ethical problem with beating someone using a 50%-60% combo. In my opinion, the best players are the ones who mix up strategies, are comfortable playing offensively and defensively, and who can win on their own terms. Alex is one of the better 3rd strike characters to show this with, utilizing not only high powered supers but diverse and powerful attacks. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About Alex ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alex is what I would refer to as a a hybrid character. He possesses a number of charging moves as well as joystick motion moves. The priorities on his regular moves as well as his special moves make him a serious threat to just about everybody. His skills fall somewhere between a traditional grappler like Zangief, and a powerhouse like Guile. I would highly recommend Alex to any SF3:3S player looking to turn some heads and suprise some high level opponents. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Abbreviations ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All moves are notated for a character facing right. HCT - Half Circle Towards HCA - Half Circle Away P - Any Punch Button K - Any Kick Button PPP - All three punches KKK - All three kicks ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Regular Moves ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (* Updated 11/11/1999 *) Here's the moves I consider to be of a fairly useful nature. Standing Moves Punches Fierce - Pretty useless big windup punch. Causes your opponent a fairly lengthly stun period if you can hit or trade hits. + -> - Swings his fist quickly in the air. A really good deterrant for up close jumpers, does good stun gauge too. Tag Ibuki with this for for quick retribution. + <- - Extends his hand to grab opponent to do a fairly damaging and stunning headbutt. Strong - This elbow is a semi-reliable anti-air move. Alex has better moves for that purpose though, so I personally use it to charge up my super meter if I'm playing defensive. + -> - Does a quick over the head chop. I throw this in with ducking turtlers and footsie players. Jab - Fairly standard stuff. I have a few interesting uses for it that I will talk about later Kicks RH - A great move to put on someone who loves to jump in and trip. Put your boot on 'em before they land and watch them fly. Watch the stun Gauge go up too. Forward- This is Alex's best friend. You'll be using this to start some (Close mayhem in combos. Range) (Long - A good keep away move. Deals OK damage and doesn't leave you Range) especially vulnerable. You'll be using this against Gill... Near - I use this one when playing footsie with Shotoclones... it's not Opponent really all that effective but you can use it to set up a standing Short medium or strong. Crouching Moves Punches Fierce - Does a neat 2-hit shoulder uppercut. Used to be *extremely* useful in SF3, but is not all that powerful. Try throwing it out after you knock someone down at the end of a round for a nice looking finish. It is probably one of your better regular anti-air moves. Strong - This baby will help you effectively charge your Super Art gauge as well as hold your own in games of footsie. Chop Ryu in the crotch when he does a big fancy spinning roundhouse. Rinse. Repeat. Kicks RH - Has a fairly long windup, so you won't be fooling Yun and Yang, but it's at least comparable to the Shotoclone recovery speed. Forward- I actually find this to be pretty useful. It does a fair amount of damage and is pretty quick. I personally use this after a success- ful jump in to mix things up instead of a Power Bomb. Air Moves Punches Fierce - Does a big chop with pretty good priority. You won't be using it much since you have to be right next to your opponent for it to hit + Down - Does a cool dive in the air that changes your angle towards the ground. The bad thing is, as soon as you hit the ground, you roll, which makes you fully vulnerable. Use the priority and damage advantage you have here to your advantage (it trades hits with stuff like Remy's Flash Kick, and does about 3X the damage) Strong - This move used to be cool in SF3:2I and SF3, but I have yet to find a good use for this move in actual combat. Alex sticks his arm out and kinda clotheslines around. Jab - This has the same animation that the old Strong air punch from SF3 and SF3:2I. It has pretty much the same effect, only does less damage. Jump in with this and cause some mayhem. Kicks RH - This one is very similar to Zangief's RH kick, with Alex going sideways and causing a fairly serious stun upon impact. It's useful for combos, but very obvious for your opponent to parry. Wait to use it when they throw out a near fireball, or a trip. Also, use it as a cross up for *supreme* mayhem. Forward -This one now goes down at an angle and it's really useful for reaching someone who's just coming out of a projectile. Otherwise, a good move to throw in the mix. Short -This is the brass ring as far as Power Bomb set ups and in-air fighting goes. More on this later. As an in-air move it has really high priority, so take advantage of it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Special Moves ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Power Bomb - (HCA + P, near opponent) Flash Chop - (QCT + P) * Air Stampede - (Charge Down, Up and K) * Rising Knee Smash - (Forward, Down, Forward and K) * Spiral DDT - (HCA + K) Elbow Slash - (Charge Back, Forward and K) * * - Denotes EX'able ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Super Arts ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) Hyper Bomb - (Full Circle and P) 2) Boomerang Raid - (2X QCT and P) 3) Stun Gun Headbutt - (2X QCT and P) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Strategy ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Simple Combos ------------- Your most simple combos are the following: -Standing MK - Jab Flash Chop (2 - in - 1) (standing close MK, QCT + LP) -Standing MP - Jab Flash Chop (2 - in - 1) (standing close MP, QCT + LP) [This little combo is absolutely _crucial_ in most Alex strategies, and does substantial enough damage to be a deterrant. Note that the MP version acts a little differently than the MK version and is a good one to throw in to add variety.] -Fierce Flash Chop that hits , into anything that you can use on a stunned opponent -Jump in HK, into Headbutt [This used to work on all characters in the earlier Sf3s, but now you really have to plant that HK Jump in _Deep_] [There are more like this, but they are basically based on the same ideas] -1 hit of rising shoulder (Down + FP) chained into rising knee smash [This combo can really add some spice to your trapping strategies. In order to get only one hit in the air, do the rising shoulder very early.] Tricks (AKA Nasty S@&%) ----------------------- The biggest problem with Alex is that none of his Super Arts are really easily used in an offensive posture. They all do quite good damage, but the trick is getting into a position to use them. This little library of nastiness can cause some mayhem for even your most experienced opponents for a number of reasons. I theorize the biggest of these is that Alex players generally don't 2-in-1 their super arts, which is where the magic comes from The other big thing you can do to make your super arts effective is to exploit the push delay that most of your moves do. Ever notice how far a fierce Flash Chop pushes your opponent? Well that can be used very effectively to place your super art. Most Alex players ignore the Stun Gun Headbutt because it's difficult to hit consistently. Using the techniques I hinted at earlier though you can turn the standard Stun Gun Headbutt into a deadly and menacing super art. Remember that the SGH dizzies your opponent so feel free to experment to find your best dizzy combo. Also remember that the SGH has a very short Super Art bar, so even if you use the super at the very beginning of the round you should have it filled again soon. 1) Easy (not so mean) Punishment - Fierce Flash Chop that hits (2-in-1) into Jab Stun Gun Headbutt [Try this one when you're charged up and a Shotoclone misses a Dragon Punch or something like that. This one is pretty simple.] 2) Semi-Difficult (Relatively mean) Punishment - Fierce Flash Chop that is blocked in close range (2-in-1) into Strong Stun Gun Headbutt or Fierce Flash Chop that is blocked in outer range (2-in-1) into Fierce Stun Gun Headbutt [This can be countered easily by just about every character but Hugo, by either dashing undeneath it right as the blockstun is over. If they try to jump out they will get caught by it. Chances are that if your opponent is good, or awake, they'll have no problem countering it. Some characters have regular moves and super arts that will nail you on your way down so be careful.] 3) Tricky (and really mean) Punishment - Roundhouse Elbow Slash that is blocked (2-in-1) into Strong Stun Gun Headbutt or Roundhouse Elbow Slash that hits (2-in-1) into Strong or Jab Stun Gun Headbutt [This one is even more useful. If the dash hits, so does the SGH if you chose the right distance. Some characters can just jump out of it, but most will just get caught midjump. They can avoid this whole thing by doing a move that gets them out of the way the second they get "unblocked" like a super art or a dash move. Of course if your opponent parries the first hit, and believe me, they will try after they realize it's almost impossible to get out of, you should start jumping in with different short kick, jab punch, power bomb combinations. Note that if the dash doesn't hit, you probably won't connect the SGH if your opponent's good or awake.] 4) Use SGH as a wake up Watch an overeager shotoclone or Yun/Yang player jump in or trip you. Time the jab SGH so it goes through their attack and tags them when you land. 5) Use SGH as air defense Watch for an opponent to stick out an air attack and be committed to it. Use the jab SGH so that it goes through the attack and grab them while they land. 6) Use SGH as projectile punishment If you can anticipate that your opponent is going to throw a projectile, use SGH to go over the projectile and nail your opponent. Not as useful as it was SF3:NG where your SGH had full screen range, but still pretty good. While I use the SGH as my primary weapon against human players, I sometimes like to use the Boomerang Raid when I really want to give my opponent a chance. This is the Super art to use if you make heavy use of EX moves. 1) Another Easy one. Fierce Flash Chop that hits into Boomerang Raid [I'd consider this one fairly obvious, and you probably would do this as a gut instinct anyways.] (* UPDATE 11/11/1999, version 0.2 *) 1a) Fierce Flash Chop (or anything that links into... ) Standing Forward Knee (2-in-1) into Boomerang Raid [The timing on the link is tricky. I haven't used it in 3rd strike yet but I've seen it devastate in sf3, and sf3:2I... I think maybe some boomerang raiding is in order... SGH is not so fun anymore N E ways :D ] 2) Semi-Difficult fun - Elbow Slash or EX Elbow Slash that hit (2-in-1) into Boomerang Raid [It's a good combo, and I would use this more against human players than a CPU just because the CPU is really easy to dizzy and just use 1). The damage is pretty weak but then again you can do two of them. ] 3) Not really worth the difficulty - In the corner do a Medium Boomerang Raid from about half a step away. You'll bounce off initially, but you'll come into range and execute the piledriver at the end [This is one I use rarely against turtlers. A higher level player would just attack you low while you bounce off.] I'd highly recommend the Hyper Bomb, probably my second favorite super art, because there are some fairly cool little things you can do with it. (* UPDATE 01/21/2000, version 0.3 *) Hyper bomb really is a different style of grapple super. It has some ideosynchrocies that are important to know if you want to be effective with it. If has good priority (and a frame of invincibility) however this can all come crashing down due to a *jab*. A jab that was executed at exactly the right time will go through your invincibility frame and connect with you to knock you out of the Hyper Bomb. This is a pretty rare occurance but it is something to note. The key to effective Hyper Bomb use is using it right after your opponent has committed to doing another move. If you anticipate a trip, your superior priority will ensure that the HB connects. Landing a HB is best done while your opponent is attacking you, but can also be used defensively after a blocked or parried move. 1) The Easy Con Jump or super jump in the air, do the air dive into the ground so that you land within Hyper Bomb range after you're done your little roll. Your opponent is likely starting a combo right now, so just as you wake up from the roll execute your Hyper Bomb and you'll catch them right in the linker, so to speak. 2) The Killer Cross Up While just inside of any Air stampede range, choose the distance that will cause your opponent to cross up (ie land on the outside so you push your opponent towards your point of departure) then execute the Hyper Bomb when the blockstun is over. Lemme know if you have problems and/or find any amazing super art combos I've omitted. Not Exactly Combos ------------------ 1) Hit someone with a shoulder uppercut (down + HP) and hold down throughout the travel of the move. If you connected then use the down charge you've just done to make a forward air stampede. Otherwise, this will set you up perfectly for a cross up of some sort depending on if your opponent blocks. Missed the shoulder uppercut? Watch for a trip and jump on him if he tries! 2) Power Bomb Mayhem Connecting a Power Bomb consistently and being a constant annyonance is an art. i) Just walk up to your opponent and do it if he's turtling. [Only try this if your opponent appears to be a newbie and you just want to get your match over. Otherwise you could be eating a super art. Of course, nothing can piss off a really good player more than taking a big stupid hit :D] ii) Jump in with an air short kick, and then do it after a very short pause [This gets even some very advanced players because they know that if they don't pull off some sort of counter you'll be power bombing. Eventually they'll figure out that they can throw you pretty easily so then start using iii)] iii) Jump in with an air short kick, throw out a standing jab, then power bomb while they're recoiling from it. This is remeniscient of an old Zangief strategy, but it works. If they duck the jab then throw, if you're too far out of range try the medium or short Spiral DDT but just remember it's not really that great a move. iv) After doing all of this your opponent will probably try to attack you on your way in (if he hasn't been from the beginning). Parry the oncoming hits and power bomb away. v) Once these are all in your opponents mind, start mixing them up. Mix up your super and regular jumps to really be unpredictable. vi) And of course you are free to parry and punish. 3) Q: What exactly can you do with the Spiral DDT? A: Chain it in the same way you would a SGH from a Flash Chop or Elbow Dash. Still it's not that great. The Spiral DDT also has the ability to chain off of regular moves, especially (quel surprise) the standing forward. Throw in the medium DDT on someone who stood up to the standing forward. Just don't do it if they ducked. I have also found the RH Spiral DDT to be of good use to evade Remy's corner trapping strategies. RH Spiral DDT, Power Bomb or combo. Spiral DDT can also be used to grab dashing players, so if you have a footsie player coming in for a followup, do the short kick version for a shift in momentum. Don't get me wrong, Spiral DDT is an asset, just don't expect it to fool a high level opponent on a regular basis (however feel free to throw it in if you want to add extra variety) 4) Anticipation Even experienced players get nervous with Alex in close range. Try doing your easy Standing Medium Kick - Jab Flash Chop 2-in-1, then watch for your opponent to jump and then use the medium Rising Knee Smash. The CPU Akuma *really* falls for this one... 5) Avoid the Wake up Here's the deal. You just knocked your opponent down with a massive combo worth 50%. They are probably feeling the pressure right about now. They need to take off damage and they need it now. Wait, you're standing right over them... what an opportunity to make up some ground! Wrong answer. Time your standing MK to correspond with the *exact* time they wake up and, you guessed it... combo it into either the Boomerang Raid *or* the Jab Flash chop. Some players will see the pattern and start anticipating by parrying or some other counter move. Did somebody say Power Bomb? Even a perfect wakeup Dragon Punch will trade hits with the knee. Just watch though for folks who love to throw because, well, you're vulnerable right there. Or Remy with that damn Blue Nocturne. 6) Your Wake up Strategy It's always good to be ready for whats coming. When you think someone might be coming to trip you or start a combo low off of waking up, be sure to charge up your low Air Stampede and use it as a wake up. Use a medium if you think they'll use something that will either push them back or if you want to use it to set up one of your ranged supers. Other wake up strategies include using a parry and Power Bomb, or some Super Art usage (Boomerang Raid could pay off here) 7) Parrying as a Link For a Charge Move (* Whoever sent this to me... lemme know if you want credit *) This has been used for other characters with back-forward charge moves, (try using it with Oro on a closeup projectile) but it's a useful mixup for Alex too. Charge back, and when a jumping in opponent comes in parry forward, then execute your Elbow Slash with the kick button. Throw it in when they expect some other anti-air like the Rising Knee Smash. 8) The EX'd Air Stampede I've recieved a couple of emails about my aforementioned EX'd Air Stampede strategy against projectile throwers. Just about all projectile throwers require some sort of delay after they throw (with Remy's being the most annoyingly short). In case you didn't know, the EX Air Stampede makes it heat seeking. Yup that's what it does. So if your opponent does any sort of move that has a let's say 0.1 second of vulnerability, pull out the EX and Alex's big 'ol boots will be resting on your opponents face. Try it as an ender to a Shoto-style fighter who tries to gain some ground with a projectile. Please note that the heat seeking nature of this move allows Alex to move the entire length of the screen in the least amount of time of any of his moves (yes, even more distance and faster than an EX'd Elbow Slash). 9) The EX'd Rising Knee Smash This strange little EX has the ability to grab a standing opponent off the ground. I haven't found any really practical uses for it yet but, it is a really stylish way to finish someone off. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VS. Opponents ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------- VS. *ANYONE* -------------------- Keep in mind these things if you wish to become a better SF player, at any game with any character. To some of you, these might seem a little bit vague, but these are the things I think about when I play: -Don't take the game too seriously. It is a very sophisticated and competitive game, but it is a _game_. -Control your anger. If you let yourself get extremely angry at an opponent, you will become more likely to make mistakes. Focus on destroying your opponent's character in the game and *not* on destroying your opponent. -Trash talking is for the dishonorable. Anyone who does it, makes themselves look like an ass. Take it and make your opponent look bad in the game. [This doesn't mean that you can't have choice words after the match is over, just keep yourself focused on the match] -Be honorable and give 2nd round. It presents an excellent opportunity to practise parrying and can have other strategic uses. Moreover, it makes the game more exciting. -Don't play when you're overly tired. If you are tired, you again will be prone to error. -If you have an opponent you can't seem to beat, take a step back and analyze their technique vs. the computer or against other players. Knowlege of your opponent's ideosyncrocies will give you the upper hand. -Know your weaknesses and improve on them. If you never practise, you will never get any better. Just because there are no challengers around, doesn't necessarily mean you shouldn't play. Make the most of your practise time by trying to parry difficult moves and develop new Super Art combos. -Never ever give up. Never. By challenging opponents of superior skill you will get better (given that you are learning the most that you can from every battle). By walking away you are selling yourself short. Calm yourself down, return with a peaceful mind, and play with deadly accuracy to win. -Know yourself - Know why you play the game. Do you play because you enjoy it as a release, a change from everyday life? Do you play because you can be better than someone else at it? Do you play because it's fun? Do you play because you enjoy humiliating others? Examine your reason for playing and acknowledge it. You might find that's a question you haven't asked yourself before and you might find that the answer surprises you. I would urge those who are unhappy with their reason to seek solutions (SF can take up a lot of time, effort and your life. Make sure you're not missing out on other things.) Just something to think about. Keep in mind these things when you are playing SF3:3S as any character: -Parrying isn't always the best solution to every problem -Creative techniques will surprise and damage even the best opponents -Be aware of the vulnerability of all of your moves -2-in-1'ing your super arts not only looks good but is integral in building new and creative combos -The standard throw has very high priority, it is just executed in a different way. Be prepared to throw the over-ambitious. Keep in mind these things when you are playing as Alex: -Most of your regular moves are very powerful. Counter with them or trade hits in order to gain ground against most opponents. -Your Super Arts are also very powerful. Find ways to link or 2-in-1 them for surpreme mayhem. -Your air moves have very good priority and deal quite good damage and stun gauge -Your anti-air moves are excellent as well, use them alongside your parry strategies -Parrying will give you the edge to defeat high-level opponents. Period. -Stunning your opponent will only take around 3 combos. Be watching for the opportunities. ------------ Ken ------------ One of the most difficult opponents for Alex is Ken. Ken has probably the best agility of the Shoto-style players as well as the best footsie game of them too . Alex can do some good footwork thanks to the longer range of his low RH, but I wouldn't want to be tangoing with Ken for too long. Use a hop to mix up his ground game, then Power Bomb when he tries one of those tall heel kicks or rush combos. Against players who love to use the Shippu-Jinrai-Kyaku in a combo or cross up, use the RH Elbow Slash to escape at the height of their jump. (That is if they can't parry your MK/RH Rising Knee Smash) If Ken likes to hurricane kick over you, catch him with your Crouching Fierce shoulder uppercut to deter that kind of behaviour. Otherwise, be sharp with your parrying, use your strength advantage and Super Arts whenever possible, and you'll win. ------------ Ryu ------------ Expect to see a lot of this guy. He's the second best dizzier in the game compared to you, and he has as much if not more nastiness that he can do. Your parry game will have to be sharp because he has more versatility than Ken and you will be forced to deal with his Super Arts, the most menacing of which are the Shinkuu-Hado-Ken and Shin-Syouryu-Ken. Many Ryu players believe that just because you're a grappler, it gives them the license to start jumping all over the place. Take advantage of this to use your excellent anti-air moves like the Rising Knee Smash to surprise them for some decent damage. Parrying and punishing any jump-ins they send at you will also show them that they are *not* fighting the CPU Alex. If your opponent starts throwing out spinning RH kicks to try and corner you, (A strategy that I've actually seen work against Alex players who have poor knowledge of their regular moves or who cannot parry well) use your crouching forward chop to stop it. If you don't feel comfortable parrying Ryu jump-ins then I would recommend using someone else, because parry/power bombing a jump- in a couple of times will definately give you an edge. Use your crouching fierce to nail hurricane happy foes the same way you do with Ken. Basically, expect to see some of the same stuff you saw from Ken, with much more powerful supers, more versatile regular moves and longer, meaner combos. Usage of nasty Super Art strategies combined with what I've outlined here, should be enough to keep all but the very best Ryu players at bay. ------------ Akuma ------------ Another commonly used character by human opponents is the projectile happy Akuma. Again, have at least a medium level parry game if you hope to survive. One thing I must mention against shoto-players is that contrary to most players opinions, I would recommend not going after them right at the very start. Use your jumping short kick (which has priority over just about every move they have in the air) to knock them to the ground, and Power Bomb if you land close enough to your opponent. Also be aware that if you time SGH combo iii) well you can catch an opponent that has been knocked out of the air, so do it to a player who's using Akuma's air agility to his favor. Parry and punish Akuma's diving kick to disable much of his combo ability. Beware of Akuma players using Gadou-Hadou-Ken because it has very little charge time (short enough to catch you in Power Bomb windup) as well as it can deal fairly severe damage if you're stuck on the ground. Watch for misplaced trips and punish them with a combo or a power bomb. Also note that you'll have to red parry his hurricane kick if you want to counter it, because it's a little closer to the ground than Ken or Ryu's and you can't duck it. Take advantage of the fact that Akuma can't throw two Dragon Punches in a row as fast as Ken or Ryu and slap him up with a combo or a super art. ------------ Q ------------ Q is probably your only rival as far as damage dealing (with the possible exception of Hugo) and you can expect that once he has his taunts in, you're going to have a hard time taking him down. Exploit his more evasive stance early in the round (for those who don't know, Q can double his armor by taunting 3 times in a round) for your purposes. If you are using Stungun Headbutt or Boomerang Raid, and happen to see him start to dash backwards, start an Elbow Slash/Super Art Combo. Most Q players dash at the beginning of the round so if you have a super art charged, why not stop them from taunting and do some major damage. At all costs, stop Q from taunting. Use an EX'd Air Stampede or Elbow Slash if you don't have a super art ready. Don't be afraid to jump in and start Power Bomb mayhem (Q is very vulnerable to the flying short kick/power bomb setups). Or just dash and Power Bomb if the Q player turtles a lot. ---------- Remy ---------- Remy possesses absurdly quick charge times with his special moves, and a nice assortment of powerful non-charge moves. His primary strategies involve cornering and knocking opponents out of the air. Your most powerful asset is something that you probably don't use much, your air dive. It trades hits with Remy's flash kick and all of his crouching/standing air moves, and does roughly three times the damage that they do. After you have made a habit of doing this, Remy will think twice about automatically countering, so take the liberty of starting some Power Bombing. Once mixes of these two strategies have been defused by your opponent, take the liberty of parrying on your way in and Power Bombing or comboing when you land. Also, Remy can be a pain with using his Light of Virtue (Sonic Boom) and Cold Blue Kick to corner you, then using crouching strong into low Light of Virtue chains. Avoid the whole situation by blocking or parrying the combo and then Spiral DDT'ing over or onto your opponent. I have a gut feeling that a properly timed Fierce Flash Chop can defuse the combo but that's unconfirmed. Otherwise, don't be afraid to trade hits because once you have strategies for these two situations, the playing field will be a lot more level. ------------ Ibuki ------------ This little ninja has been known to cause problems for Alex, despite her small size and weak attacks. Make extensive use of your anti-air, with the notable use of the Short and Forward Rising Knee Smashes to grab her leaping and and hopping attacks. Also of note to SGH users is that her double kick bounces off of you perfectly to land in fierce SGH range. Wait a little while before doing it if she throws a knife in the process of jumping. Also be watching for her to jump in outer ranges, and use your rarely used RH Rising Knee Smash. Effective users of Ibuki can present problems, so be aware. ------------------ Yun and Yang ------------------ These two guys are generally used by opponents who like to throw out combos indiscretely. One thing that is a major weakness from these two is that their moves are not as fast as they used to be, and that Power Bombing them out of missed attacks is not that difficult. The fact that they fight in close a lot can also be used to your advantage if you are a Hyper Bomb user or if you enjoy Power Bomb mayhem. This used to be a more difficult fight before 3S, but is not really that bad if you can parry or can effectively trade hits to your advantage. ------------ Twelve ------------ Twelve can present problems for you as well. Prepare for some difficulty parrying his standing strong on a jump-in, as well as for problems with his DRA attack. His throw also has some extreme priority so try to avoid Power Bombing if you know your opponent will use it. Combo him when he misses an NDL (which is also an excellent opportunity to use your EX'd Air Stampede or SGH if that's what you use). Watch in particular for his air dive, (counter with the appropriate version of the Rising Leg Smash) and AXE. Being able to parry all five hits of the AXE will also be of use to you. Also notice that Twelve is the only character to my knowledge that has the ability to simply jump out of SGH combo iii) without requiring a counter, so version ii) or some other chain is required to be effective. -------------- CPU Gill -------------- I had initially some problems with this, but I've figured out some strategies to keep this guy at bay. Don't expect to be able to Power Bomb him. All of his regular moves come out quickly enough to hit you out of the windup. This I realize is not as flashy as your other strategies, but use your standing + back medium kick to keep him away, then throw him when he dashes in. If you are able to parry his two hit knee drop, do so, Fierce Flash Chop him and throw in the Super Art or combo of your choice. Watch for mid-screen projectiles because you will be able to hop them and punish Gill for this mistake. This is one situation that you can't really play both offensively and defensively. If he starts to resurrect, dash near him and Fierce Flash Chop him for your quickest and most punishing stop. (* send requests, inaccuracies and/or suggestions for VS. section *) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Final Thoughts ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- That's all for now. If you want more, have suggestions or want to challenge email me @ darkbunny@hotmail.com or ICQ me @ 7513314 Thanks to SAL for being my #1 rival (and nitpicker) :D Thanks to everyone who's ever written a SF faq of any sort and folks who take the time to play the game with skill. Cheers.