Survival Mode FAQ .-----------------------------. | Copyright 2007 Steven Marr | | By Steven Marr (aka Xenomic)| | xenomic@bigstring.com | | kushara@bigstring.com | | entity_of_chaos@hotmail.com | | AIM: Xenomic, AnkokuRyu | | | '-----------------------------' Version 2 -Added in Specific Fighter Strategies and Anti-AI Moves section. -Added in Kyo Kusanagi --------------------------------- Legal Script --------------------------------- All copyrights and trademarks are acknowledged where are not specifically mentioned. If you wish to reproduce this document AS IS, you may do so after asking my permission, and not for profit. If I see fit, I, however, will revoke permission and ask for it to be taken down if necessary. --------------------------------------------------- Table Of Contents --------------------------------------------------- 1. Explanation of this FAQ 2. About Survival Mode 3. Tips & Tricks 4. The Fighters 5. Strategies 6. Specific Character Strategies 7. Anti-AI Moves 8. Credits --------------------------------------------------- 1. Explanation of this FAQ This faq is to help with taking you through the Survival Mode to unlock the two secret characters, Athena and Red Arremer. Note that this faq will attempt to break down each of the fighters that you'll face in Survival Mode, and how to go about defeating each and every one of them. So, without further adieu, let us begin the onslaught! ------------------------------------------------------------ 2. About Survival Mode In Survival Mode, you are pitted up against every fighter in the game. Depending on how well you fight, you'll gain health back. If you manage to defeat your opponent using a Super Special, then you get back a bar's worth of health. If you manage to pull of an Exceed on your opponent and kill them, then you get full health back. Also note that each fight is one round only, meaning if you lose a round, you'll have to start over from Match 1. Be careful which fighter you choose, as this can mean the difference between victory and defeat. ------------------------------------------------------------ 3. Tips & Tricks 1) Study your opponent carefully a couple times in Survival Mode. This will help you understand how to go about defeating them. This is a major key to your survival. 2) When your opponent has about 3/4 of his/her last health bar left, use your fighter's Exceed to finish them off, so that you start fresh in your next fight. 3) Sweeps are your best friend. However, you have to be a ble to time it right to get your opponent everytime, and even then it's not guaranteed that you'll hit. 4) Some fighters will be a really big pain in the ass (Goenitz, Shin Mr. Karate, Shin Akuma, Athena, Red Arremer, Orochi Iori, and Mai are the big ones here). Be prepared to fight your ass off against these fighters! 5) A good trick is to abuse certain attacks of characters. Note that for my Survival Mode, I used Terry (This faq will also attempt to break down the other fighters as well, but will focus more on Terry). ------------------------------------------------------------ 4. The Fighters Here is a breakdown of the fighters and the ranking that I gave them (At a later date, I will update this section with other characters). Note that these are based on a 5-star rating, with 1 being very easy to 5 being very hard. This is based on the fighter vs. the opponent, and how tough the opponent is to beat with that specific fighter. -Akuma- -Athena- -Balrog- -Choi- -Chun Li- -Dan- -Dhalsim- -Demitri- -Earthquake- -Geese- -Genjyuro- -Goenitz- -Guile- -Hugo- -Iori- -Kasumi- -Ken- -Kim- -Kyo- -M. Bison- -Mai- -Mars People- -Mr. Karate- -Orochi Iori- -Red Arremer- -Ryo- -Ryu- -Sagat- -Shiki- -Shin Akuma- -Shin Mr. Karate- -Tabasa- -Terry- Vs. Akuma (2) Vs. Athena (3) Vs. Balrog (1) Vs. Choi (1) Vs. Chun Li (1) Vs. Dan (1) Vs. Dhalsim (2) Vs. Demitri (2) Vs. Earthquake (2) Vs. Geese (3) Vs. Genjyuro (3) Vs. Goenitz (5) Vs. Guile (4) Vs. Hugo (2) Vs. Iori (3) Vs. Kasumi (1) Vs. Ken (2) Vs. Kim (1) Vs. Kyo (1) Vs. M. Bison (2) Vs. Mai (4) Vs. Mars People (2) Vs. Mr. Karate (3) Vs. Orochi Iori (5) Vs. Red Arremer (5) Vs. Ryo (2) Vs. Ryu (2) Vs. Sagat (3) Vs. Shiki (3) Vs. Shin Akuma (4) Vs. Shin Mr. Karate (5) Vs. Tabasa (2) Vs. Terry (2) Vs. Vega (2) Vs. Violent Ken (3) Vs. Zero (1) -Vega- -Violent Ken- -Zero- ------------------------------------------------------------ 5. Strategies -Vs. Akuma- "Humph. Such a pushover. And here I thought you were gonna be tough. You're nothing but a turd nugget..." -Xenomic ASHURA SENKU! If you've played the Street Fighter series or the Vs. series before, you know about Akuma and how tough he can be. However, this isn't the case in here. He seems to have been toned down to the point that his AI is pathetic at most in Survival Mode. The most that you have to worry about is him using a Gou Shoryuken or Zanku Hadoken on you. Most of the time, you can simply just walk up to him and sweep him to death. But, for those of you who rather duke it out, try to avoid jumping at Akuma, as this will provoke him to counter with Gou Shoryuken, and you don't want that to happen too much. Projectiles work well too, but beware that Akuma likes to hop over them at you. This, however, can turn to your advantage if you immediately act upon his mistake, as he never seems to attack when he jumps at you. He also tends to not block Super Specials or Exceeds that much, so you can get health back from this fight if you're running low. If not, then save them for future fights. -Vs. Athena- "Oh shit.....didn't expect you. But seriously, what's with the bikini?"-Xenomic You get to fight Athena on Round 35, and she can be a bit of a pain. Every one of her normal Specials do a considerable amount of damage, and this can lead to you falling quickly. However, she doesn't seem to attack as much as you would think. Try jumping and attacking her, then follow up with a Super Special or Exceed to punish her. You'll definently want to finish this fight with an Exceed if possible, since your next fight is against Red Arremer. Some of Athena's Specials will trick you pretty easily. If you want to try and use her (even if you haven't unlocked her yet), go to Training Mode and make sure that Random Select is on when you go into the Training Mode Menu. Athena is also prone to sweep attacks, and also likes to jump over projectiles, and just like Akuma, she tends to not attack when she jumps at you. Make sure to punish her for it. -Vs. Balrog- "Let's just rush into those nice little balls on the screen, shall we?"-Xenomic Balrog really isn't that tough to beat, though for those who may not have projectiles, he can be a little rough. As long as you throw projectiles, Balrog will be stupid enough to dash into them. Sometimes, he'll jump them, which is your cue to trip him. Up close, he loves to block and counter, so be careful when going head-to-head against this boxer. Avoid Anti-Air attacks like Guile's Somersault Kick and Ryu's Shoryuken, otherwise you'll end up getting hurt pretty badly. -Vs. Choi- "An ugly midget.......yay for me."-Xenomic More annoying than hard. He tends to jump around a lot, so keep your Anti-Air specials ready, if you have them. He also likes to run into some attacks like Terry's Burning Knuckle and Ryu's Tatsumaki Senpu Kyaku at times. Exceeds and Super Specials tend to connect easily against Choi as well. Not very tough at all. -Vs. Chun Li- "You again? Oh look....now you bounce as well..."-Xenomic Not too bad, but can deal some damage if you're not careful. She doesn't tend to attack head-on like some of the other fighters, but she loves to guard and counter. Try to trip her, or use Anti-AI attacks like Burning Knuckles to beat through Chun Li. Don't bother too much with Super Specials or Exceeds unless you're confident that they'll connect. -Vs. Dan- "..........When did you get so good? Don't EVER do that Hissho-Buraiken again!"-Xenomic GADOKEN! Surprisingly enough, Dan can put up quite a fight for being called a joke character in previous games. Some of his attacks can do a lot of damage and he likes to attack head on, so you're best bet is to back off and fire projectiles at him. When his health bar is flashing, stay away! He likes to try and use his Hissen-Buraiken, which will and can hurt you very badly, and you don't want that in this mode. Finish him with an Exceed, as he doesn't block them as much. -Vs. Dhalsim- "Hmmm.....you make a better woman than you do a man." -Xenomic YOGA FIRE! Dhalsim is really annoying, since he loves to teleport and use Yoga Fire to no end. However, you can counter this by firing projectiles at him and forcing him to jump at you. He'll try to attack, but he does it so prematurely that it'll never hit you, which lets you counter him very easily. Up close, sweeps and combos are key to taking him out. However, be warned that he also loves to sweep. Not too difficult, but not too easy either. -Vs. Demitri- "Hey, when'd you show up? Oh well. Time to kick your sorry little ass again! Sorry old chum!"-Xenomic "Come on baby!"-Demitri Darkstalker's own vampire just loves to throw out Chaos Flares and Bat Spins at every turn. Annoy him back by sweeping him and using Anti-AI moves. Watch out for his Midnight Bliss, as he loves to use that unexpectedly. For those of you who like to duke it out, watch for Bat Spin, then counter with an Anti-Air attack like Shoryuken or Rising Tackle. Also, try throwing out Hadokens and any other projectile attacks that your character may have. Demitri's a little rough, but don't despair. He's not as tough as one may think. -Vs. Earthquake - "A big fat guy......he's about as hideous as Richard Simmons..."-Xenomic Can you talk about easy? The only thing that can really get you are his fart attack and his Exceed. Other than that, he's a piece of cake. He never really seems to block, and he's about as stupid as they come when it comes to getting hit by Super Specials or Exceeds. You can even take him on head-to-head without too much damage if you want. -Vs. Geese- "YOU! HOW MANY TIMES DO YOU HAVE TO DIE! Welcome back!"-Xenomic DOUBLE SENPUKEN! Fatal Fury's original boss returns yet once again, and this time, he's a bit tougher than usual. He loves to throw out Double Senpukens and use Air Senpukens, so watch it. Also watch out for his counter stance, as he'll pull it out at times that you won't expect it. When his health is flashing, beware! You may end up with a Raising Storm if you're not careful! He also likes to duke it out, so you may end up being on defense at any time. Fight back with sweeps and combos, and finish up with Super Specials or Exceeds so that you can gain health back. -Vs. Genjyuro - "Hm? Did Haohmaru have a brother? Heh...this'll be fun. Watch out, pretty boy!"-Xenomic Damn annoying samurais...... Genjyuro loves to throw out his projectile attack and use his rush attacks a lot, so you'll need to be on your toes to beat him. If you're on the other side of the screen, fire projectiles like mad at him until he jumps at you. He'll attempt to hit you, but you stay where you are, he won't. This will let you either trip him or combo into a Super Special or Exceed. When up close, you'll most likely be on the defense. However, from time to time, you'll want to try and throw out some punches and kicks to chip off some damage. Remember though, that time is not your friend. You'll want to do as much damage to him as you can if you hope to continue on. -Vs. Goenitz- "Wind......wind.....wind.....more wind..........enough, you blowhard!"-Xenomic SNK boss syndrome. Enough said. Goenitz abuses his wind attacks like no tomorrow. Expect this fight to be one of the most troublesome battles you'll have. You'll need to try and rush in, but that's not as easy as it looks. Try busting out Rush attacks (like Burning Knuckle), or hang back and fire projectiles at him. Wait for an open opportunity to attack him, then continueously pound the pressure on Goenitz. Finish with an Exceed if possible, because you'll most likely be drained from this fight. -Vs. Guile- "......I hate this guy. Just about as much as I hate that haircut...."-Xenomic SONIC BOOM! Guile is by far one of the biggest nuisances in the game. He constantly blocks everything and counters with Sonic Boom and Somersault Kick. You'll have to take off damage slowly by dealing chip damage with strong attacks. Avoid any close-up confrontations with Guile, as they could lead to disaster at any moment. -Vs. Hugo- "Annnnnnd.....here's Andre the Giant!"-Xenomic Can be hard, can be easy. Depends on who you use to fight him. He has no projectiles, so you can exploit that weakness, right? Wrong! Hugo has an ability that can let him blunt any damage, regardless of what it is, if timed right. You may have to resort to attacks like Tatsumaki Senpukyaku or Burning Knuckles to get through this fight. -Vs. Iori- "Yay! Get to kill you again! Or, at the very least, get to knock out some more of your teeth."-Xenomic Iori can be a big pain in the ass as well, especially when you get up close with him. He loves to counter close attacks with his Fireball (Anti-Air) attack, and far away, he'll just fire off his projectile. Either way, this fight will be tough, but not to the point like Goenitz. You'll have to outsmart him by forcing him to jump at you, then counterattack with whatever you've got. Make sure to avoid his counters (he likes to use them when you're close to him). -Vs. Kasumi- "Hey, I remember you! Too bad you won't win, cuz you just don't have the spunk to beat anyone."-Xenomic Pathetically easy. The only thing you have to worry about here is her counter stance. Other than that, you can easily pummel your way through this fight with no problem. You may want to gain some health back if you enter this fight low on health. -Vs. Ken- "Dammit....now I'm gonna have to listen to him again..."-Xenomic SHORYUKEN! SHORYUKEN! SHORYUKEN! Trust me, you'll get tired of hearing this. Ken abuses this attack, even if he's not close enough to use it. When you see it, this is your chance to make him shut up. Make sure that you do it when he's in the air. Otherwise, you may end up getting hurt badly. Also, be careful of his Hadoken, as he'll use it occasionally if you're not close enough to him. -Vs. Kim- "......"-Xenomic Kim has a tendency to keep you down on the ground a lot if you don't watch what you're doing. Anti-Air specials are your best friend here, as are projectiles, as Kim possesses none of them. You can even get up close and duke it out, but do know that he'll make you pay with your health if you don't watch him. His favorite move to use, from what I've seen, is his flipkick move. -Vs. Kyo- Kyo's not that difficult to beat. He has absolutely no projectiles to use that'll save him from most fighters, thus he has to rely on close-ranged attacks to pull him through. You can spam projectiles against him if you want, but if you want to duke it out, then expect a strong combo from time to time. Still, the CPU does a terrible job of making Kyo seem like a big threat. End this fight with a Super Special or an Exceed. -Vs. M. Bison- "Oh goodie! You butt chin ass is back. Why don't you crawl back in your grave and stay there, before I dump a truckload of shit on your ass?"-Xenomic Mr. Teleport and PSYCHO CRUSHER! This is the nickname I've given to Bison. He just simply doesn't like to stay in one place for very long, so you'll most likely be chasing Bison around the area. You'll want to be lery of Psycho Crusher and Mega Psycho Crusher, as they tend to come out of nowhere. -Vs. Mai- "Oooh.....you again. You may be lovely, but I still hate fighting you. I wouldn't mind losing to you though......hey, THAT WASN'T VERY NICE!!"-Xenomic Mai can and will be a pest to you. She loves to spam her Butterfly Fan, and tends to use her Triple Butterfly Fan special quite often. You're best bet is to get in close and duke it out with her. She takes damage very easily, and she doesn't seem to do too good when people are pressuring her. Her speed and jumping will annoy you, but don't let it. That'll only lead to your demise if you do. Try and finish this battle off with an Exceed, just in case, or a Super Special. -Vs. Mars People- "................The hell is this thing? Where'd it come from????"-Xenomic Very easy to beat. You can put the pressure on it without worry from anything but it's Super Special, which is so easy to avoid it's pathetic. Simple punches and kicks will get you through, but finish with a Super Special to fill your health up if you're too low. -Vs. Mr. Karate- One of the actual average fighters. You may or may not have a tough time with him, but odds are, it'll be tough. He loves to counter any jumping action, and if you're far away, he'll throw projectiles at you. Up close, he's a dangerous force, but that's your only hope. Duke it out with him, but be ready to go on the defense at any time. This is going to be a very tough fight, so try and finish it off with an Exceed (which you'll most likely have) or a Super Special at the very least. You don't want to go on to the next fight hurt too badly. -Vs. Orochi Iori- Your toughest opponent is definently going to be this demon. He simply puts too much pressure on you at all times, and he's incredibly fast. Your best bet is to stay on the other side of the screen and throw projectiles until he jumps at you, then sweep him and run away. This is the only sound method that I've found to work efficiently against him. -Vs. Red Arremer- Your final opponent (most likely). Stay far away! His attacks hurt a lot if you're up close, and you don't want to flaunder in this final battle. Beware of his Exceed as well, as it goes to mid-screen, and WILL do a full bar of damage to you. His Zombies and other specials will pester you as well, but take heart and use your best strategy to ounce this beast! -Vs. Ryo- Surprisingly, Ryo is pretty easy to beat. He tends to walk into Super Specials, and he doesn't block that much. However, he loves to counter air attacks, so avoid jumping at him. Don't worry too much about Ryo unless he actually does start giving you a hard time. In that case, smash through him with Dash attacks. He just loves those moves. -Vs. Ryu- HADOKEN! SHORYUKEN! TATSUMAKI SENPUKYAKU! You actually don't hear these attacks as much as you would in other games. You can simply walk up to him and duke it out. Makes me a bit sad to see Old Faithful so easily trounced. Then again, he must've let himself go after all of those other compilations, no? Finish him with a Super Special, at most. -Vs. Sagat- TIGER! TIGER! TIGER UPPERCUT! Sagat's infamous move, and he'll spam it like no tomorrow. The same for his Tiger Shots. So, you'll have to figure out how to avoid his Tiger Shots, while at the same time, avoiding his Tiger Uppercut. Tricky? Yes. Hard? It can be. When you get close, and he throws a High Tiger Shot, duck and trip him. Before he gets up, trip him again. He'll fall for it more often than not. This is a cheap way of going about beating Sagat, but to do it the old fashioned way is almost impossible against him. -Vs. Shiki- Shiki's mediocre, just like Mr. Karate. She likes to teleport, so watch for that. She also likes to try and dash at you, so try using Dash attacks or attacks like Tatsumaki Senpukyaku to get through her attacks. Not too tough by no means. You'll face far tougher opponents in the end. -Vs. Shin Akuma- The third toughest opponent, IMO, due to his unpredicability. He loves to throw out Zanku Hadokens at any time, and loves to counter close attacks with Gou Shoryuken. This is going to be a rough fight, but hang in there! You may need to trip him on occassion, then go for a Super Special. Exceeds don't work very well against him, but you may want to try to use them when you see an opening. You most likely fight Shin Akuma after Akuma, so watch it. -Vs. Shin Mr. Karate- IMO, the toughest opponent you'll ever face, next to Orochi Iori and Shin Akuma. He's so unpredicatable and suffers from SNK Boss Syndrome that it's hard to come up with any good strategies against him. Therefore, you'll have to use everything you've got to beat him. One thing I did notice in my fights against him is that he abuses projectile attacks like no tomorrow. Perhaps there's a strategy against this? -Vs. Tabasa- Can be a nuisance, especially when she starts throwing out projectiles all the time. However, this can be used to your advantage! If you manage to get close enough, she'll try to use her Anti-Air move or a projectile, at which case you block and counter with an Anti-Air move or Super Special. Not too tough. More like annoying. -Vs. Terry- Once again, a mediocre fighter. He can get a bit aggressive, so be prepared to fight back at any moment. He loves to use Crack Shot and Power Wave, so watch out for those. He doesn't seem to use his Super Specials very much, so you don't have to worry too much about them. Just focus and watch out for his counters, and you should be fine. Finish it with a Super Special or Exceed, if possible. -Vs. Vega- Vega's predicatable. Study him, and you'll see he likes to jump around and use his sweep move a lot. Anti-Air attacks and Dash attacks are perfect to beat Vega. Nothing really special to say about him, other than he'll annoy you with his crys... -Vs. Violent Ken- Violent Ken.......he's a bit tricky. He'll stand around and suddenly throw out Hadokens or teleport right in front of you. He'll even throw out his Super Specials unsuspectedly. You'll need to be wary at all times, and try to jump in at him, though you may be hit by a Shoryuken. You're best bet is to rush him down, while being prepared to go on the defense at any time, especially when he gets back on his feet, as he'll more than likely counterattack. -Vs. Zero- Zero is pathetic in this game, at least the AI makes him look that way. You can pretty much duke it out head-to-head with him and not even worry about getting hurt that much. If you try to use Anti-AI attacks, sometimes he'll counter with a LP, which will annoy ya to death at times. Other than that, it's not that tough of a fight at all. ------------------------------------------------------------ 6. Specific Character Strategies -Akuma- -Athena- -Balrog- -Choi- -Chun Li- -Dan- -Dhalsim- -Demitri- -Earthquake- -Geese- -Genjyuro- -Goenitz- -Guile- -Hugo- -Iori- -Kasumi- -Ken- -Kim- -Kyo- -M. Bison- -Mai- -Mars People- -Mr. Karate- -Orochi Iori- -Red Arremer- -Ryo- -Ryu- -Sagat- -Shiki- -Shin Akuma- Honorable Way Cheap Way Yes, Shin Akuma is very cheap in this game. Here's a strategy (from Rezzurection) on how to use him cheaply: The trick is to SPAM like no tomorrow with him. Matter of fact, you should throw the CPU opponent into the corner. Then get close enough to them just to corner them. Back away about 1-2 character's length(just to avoid any counter attacks) and just spam that Double Air-Fireball (Gou Zankuu) repeatedly. Just repeat until the CPU is drained of it's energy, or if they become dizzy use a DM (A Messatsu Goushoryuu would do just fine) And when things go bad, usually his Exceed will bail you out. (Unbloackable and Semi-Homing) -Shin Mr. Karate- -Tabasa- -Terry- -Vega- -Violent Ken- -Zero- ------------------------------------------------------------ 7. Anti-AI Moves This section is for those of you who just want to get through this mode quickly and unlock Athena and Red Arremer without the hassle. -Akuma- -Zanku Hadoken -Athena- -Balrog- -Choi- -Chun Li- -Dan- -Dhalsim- -Demitri- -Earthquake- -Geese- -Genjyuro- -Goenitz- -Guile- -Hugo- -Iori- -Kasumi- -Ken- -Kim- -Kyo- -M. Bison- -Mai- -Flying Squirrel (also called Musasabi No Mai in Japanese) -Mars People- -Mr. Karate- -Orochi Iori- -Red Arremer- -Ryo- -Ryu- -Sagat- -Shiki- -Shin Akuma- -Zanku Hadoken -Shin Mr. Karate- -Tabasa- -Terry- -Power Wave -Burning Knuckle -Vega- -Violent Ken- -Zero- ------------------------------------------------------------ 8. Credits Thanks to Capcom and SNK, for making this game, and here's to hoping that a great sequel comes after this. Thanks to Gamefaqs, for hosting such a wonderful site Thanks to Rezzurection, for the Anti-AI strategy for Shin Akuma, and for reminding me that Kyo wasn't in this faq at all.