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© 1999 ohyoung@nevada.edu
Ken
A computer controlled Ken is easier to defeat than a human controlled Ken. For some reason the computer will keep on doing dragon punches or that stupid fake roll where Ken falls on his back. This just means that you're free to hit Ken after a missed dragon punch or stupid fake roll. I have found that at times just jumping backwards and doing a jump kick will make the computer controlled Ken do a dragon punch even if he is no where near of making contact. I have perfected the computer numerous times just by doing this. A hurricane kick is easily countered with a crouching fierce punch. What you don't want to do against Ken is attack cause Ken along with Akuma are the best offensive characters. Just sit back and counter a missed dragon punch or roll and you should have no problem beating a computer controlled Ken. In fact I've beaten computer controlled Ken fighters just by throwing out standing fierce punches. Since Zangief's standing fierce has such range you can even hit Ken out of the air with it if you time it right. Fighting a human controlled Ken is a different story. Since another person will not keep on doing dragon punches even if there's no chance of hitting you, you'll have to play it smart. You might even want to mix it up a bit and break out Zangief's super combo air throw which is a great way to counter the dragon punch. Play Ken like you would play a human controlled Ryu. I find that people who use Ken tend to use Ken like how they use Ryu which is ok but not the greatest thing to do. Ken is a better offensive fighter and Ryu a better defensive fighter. Nonetheless, if you play it right, Ken will be a victim of your mighty Russian fists. Just watch out for his top down kick attack. The alpha counter where Zangief grabs his opponent then punches him works great for countering this move but if you're playing SFA3 watch your block meter. Also, Ken is Zangief's boss in SFA2. Make him pay for calling you a Mamma's boy. Gwahahahahaha.
M. Bison
The original boss is back and more cheesy than ever. Watch for his psycho crusher move that takes off about 3/4 of your life and hits even if you are air blocking. Always watch Bison's super meter. When challenging a computer controlled Bison, watch his bar. His super bar has only one level that takes a long time to charge but once it does, he could break out a psycho crushed in no time and win the round. As soon as you see Bison's super meter fill back away and play very defensively. Avoid throwing out any unnecessary punches or kicks. If you can get in close enough, then go for the spin. That should be your goal the entire time you fight Bison. Try to get in close enough to spin him. You don't need to worry about jumping in with splashes or jump kicks. Just jump in and try to spin him. The spinning pile driver is what is going to win you the match not punches or kicks cause per punch or kick, Bison takes away more than you. I've tried to challenge Bison without spinning him and it's almost impossible to win. You could do it, but not if you are hit with the psycho crusher or one of Bison's never ending combos. Also watch for Bison's air throw and ground throw. Once in awhile Bison might just walk up to you and throw you. He does this more in SFA3 than SFA2. In SFA2 Bison is really easy to beat. You should be able to beat him with ease cause his psycho crusher is not as effective as it is in SFA3. For some reason Bison likes to do his roundhouse slide kick every once in awhile. Make sure you block it and send him for a ride. When challenging a human
controlled Bison you have the upper hand. Try to get in close and spin him. That's all that you need to know. A human can't whip out the psycho crusher super as fast as the computer can so you have the upper hand. Trap him in the corner and make him pay for threatening Mother Russia with his evil psycho power. On a final note, as of now I'm pretty sure Bison has no top down attack so you don't have to worry about those although you still have to worry about his teleports. Don't let it piss you off and try to predict where he's going to appear so that you can slam him into the dirt face first.
Rose
I normally hate fighting Rose because she cheats a lot (especially the computer). Against the computer Rose stay on the ground. Try not to jump in too much because if you do, then you might get air thrown. Instead try to work gradually nudge your way in by throwing out punches and kicks and once in awhile jumping. When you have a chance to you must attempt a spinning pile driver because that's the only way you're going to beat a
computer controlled or human controlled Rose for that matter. Thankfully Rose has no top down attacks, but watch for her super combo shadow move in which she makes multiple images of herself appear. Watch for the cheese on this one cause there's no telling what might happen if you fail to block. Also watch for her air throw super combo. Once in awhile the computer likes to do this one and if you get hit by it it takes off a lot of life. When challenging a human controlled Rose watch for the super combo shadow attacks. Whenever Rose throws a fireball at you immediately jump over it and hopefully when you land you'll be close enough for a spinning pile driver. Zangief's jumping fierce splash is a good attack to use when in the air as well as the jumping fierce. Above all else, remember that when you are fighting Rose you must be patient. Fighting Rose is like
fighting Dhalsim. Be patient cause in the end, you take off more life than Rose does per move so make sure that you land as many hits as she does.
Ryu
One of the most used fighters in SF history. The odds that someone will challenge you with Ryu is pretty good. To beat the computer controlled Ryu wait until he starts throwing fireballs at you (to get him to do this just back off and don't jump around too much). As soon as Ryu goes into his fire ball mode you can do a number of things. First off you can jump in and either hit him with a jump kick, splash, or just land and do a spinning pile driver or super combo spinning pile driver (which I found is very effective because while you are in the air you have the freedom to quickly do the 720 degree motion required of the super combo). If you don't feel like jumping in then just do the spinning lariat or banishing punch. If you choose to do the lariat move towards Ryu and Zangief's fists will fit Ryu's out stretched hands. If you do the banishing punch, quickly attempt a spinning pile driver after it. For some reason the computer controlled Ryu will sometimes continue to throw fireballs at you if you continue to do the spinning lariat. He might even throw a super combo fire ball at you. No bother because if you are doing the spinning lariat, then the super combo fire ball will pass right through you. This trick works almost all of the time in SFA2 and only sometimes in SFA3. Note that this trick also works with Akuma. Other than that, you should play defensively against Ryu. Don't let him hit you with a jump kick, hurricane kick, or a throw. Just play it smart and counteract when Ryu throws his fire balls or when he does a dragon punch and completely misses you. If Ryu decides to do a hurricane kick then do a crouching fierce punch. Crouching fierce punches, sweeps, and standing fierce punches are also good to throw out at the computer controlled as well as human controlled Ryu every once in awhile to keep him honest. Zangief's lariat also is an effective anti-air move against Ryu. Use it to hit Ryu out of the air before you get hit by a jump kick to the head. Against a human controlled Ryu one must exercise even more patience. Let your opponent do a move then counter with a move of your own such as a lariat or a spinning pile driver if your opponent is foolish enough to jump in (which if they are you are going to have a field day cause if you execute the spinning pile driver correctly right when your opponent lands, then it'll beat him/her every time). A sure fire way to beat a human controlled Ryu is to trap him in the corner and unload on him with crouching fierce punches, sweeps, and of course throws. If Ryu tries to jump out hit him with a lariat. If he just sits there then throw a fierce punch or do one of my favorites tricks. Instead of jumping in and attacking, jump in and block; don't attack. Just before you land quickly execute a spinning pile driver or super combo spinning pile driver so that when you do land Zangief will grab your opponent. This gets most human opponents because everybody expects you to attack while jumping but you're blocking and then throwing them after. Of course people will tell you that it's cheating but when they're throwing fire balls at you and then you jump in and they dragon punch you then that's not cheating. Hmmmm something to think about. Anyway that's why you have to trick them before they can hit you. Even if they do execute a dragon punch you'll block it and then be able to throw him after that. A sure fire way to beat Ryu and leave them standing there going, "I can't believe I lost to Zangief".
Sagat
Sagat is not as hard to beat as he should be. All you got to do is jump over his tigers and hit him with fierce splashes/punches and throws. Watch for the tiger uppercut though cause when it hits, it hits fast and does lots of damage. The same goes for his super combo tiger fireball which will hit you and knock you even out of the air. Thankfully it doesn't take away as much life as it used to, but it still takes away a lot of life. The trick to beating Sagat is just to be patient and let him do what he's going to do then attack. He likes to throw tigers so make him pay by jumping over then (I know it's hard for Zangief to jump over tigers but he can do it) hitting Sagat. Before you know it, you can beat Sagat whether he's human or computer controlled.
Sakura
If someone tells you that they're going to beat you with Sakura then laugh in his/her face. I'm not sure if it would be much better for them to have Dan. Sakura vs. Zangief should equal to Zangief being the victor. Since Sakura's fireball does not travel the full distance of the screen, she needs to be in close to do damage with the rest of her moves. Her rushing dragon punch, if blocked by you, will set her up for a spinning pile driver or a super combo throw if you're feeling adventurous. The same goes for her hurricane kick only watch the various angles. On certain angles you'll be able to spin her and on her others you won't for some reason or other. There are only two Sakura moves of which you should be aware of. The first is her top down forward kick attack. The second is her sweeping super kick combo. Watch for both. Whenever you see Sakura do a super combo, always block low. Zangief's lariat, set of fierce punches, and roundhouse sweeps, should be enough to kill this idiotic school girl and make her stop from dancing. Show her what it means to be a true warrior.
Vega
As of now I haven't really challenged Vega a lot on SFA3 with Zangief. I can tell you though that challenging Vega on the original SFII used to be a difficult task. Challenging Vega on SSFIIT, the last SF game that Vega was in before SFA3, was easier. I'm not going to say for sure, but Zangief's fierce splash and jumping fierce punch should still be effective. The trick to beating Vega is to keep him grounded and force him backwards until he's trapped in the corner. When Vega is trapped in the corner that's where you can unload on him like crazy. Also, for some reason Vega likes to do roundhouse slide kicks.
You should already know that if blocked, Vega's sliding kicks will result in Vega's head being slammed into the pavement via a spinning pile driver. Other than that I can't really tell you that much about how to face Vega until I get to challenge him more.
Zangief
You shouldn't have to worry about fighting Zangief unless someone challenges you with him. If this happens, don't panic. Chances are that that person knows how to spinning pile drive well, but that's it. When challenging another Zangief, stay away from him by throwing out fierce punches, fierce splashes, jumping fierce punches, lariat, and crouching fierce punches. Don't worry about getting a throw off cause that's what your opponent will be trying to do. Instead try to play keep away and you should be able to get a win. When challenging Zangief vs. Zangief, the trick is not to see who can spinning pile drive the other guy more, but to see who is the more patient and smarter of the Zangief players. Remember this and you will come out with a win.
© 1999 ohyoung@nevada.edu
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