Haohmaru Bust
A fast and aggressive character whose moves comes out fast. His standard moves make him easy to use, although that restrict his attacking options unlike people like Galford or Genjuro. The Bust's Super is as powerful as Gaira's one, able to kill an opponent whose blood level is still in the green region.
Secret Cyclone Slash (
+ slash)
Projectile move which summons a moving cyclone, drawing an opponent up into the air to crash down. Opponent can be hacked out of the cyclone by a jump slash or a Cresent Moon slash from underneath if the timing is correct. Doing an A slash Cresent Moon Slash immediately after an A button Cyclone hit the opponent is s sure hit and need no timing, the rest of the possibilities are trickier.
Secret Crescent Moon Slash (+ slash)
Haohmaru's uppercut move which is quite fast when done with the A button. Even the C button version can be used in combos easily, usually after a B slash, after the first hit of a BC slash (a punch rather), or after opponent is stunned by the Sword Shockwave move (below).
Sword Shockwave (+ D)
Haohmaru rush forward to ram the opponent - can only be comboed with a B slash after the opponent is stunned or is hit from behind. After opponent is stunned by the hit, there is the option of doing a Super Death combo, a Super, or any on of his moves.
Typhoon Wave (+ D)
A close range three hit move that can be a combo by using it after A, B slash. Good for draining blood to kill dying opponents, and there is always the chance of them not blocking the move totally.
Serene Slice (
+ slash)
Haohmaru's most useful move in my opinion. He waits for the opponent to draw near before using a half-move of the cresent moon slash. Use just before opponent gets up from the ground, or against jumping opponent. You can try to use a Cresent Moon slash with A button immediately after the serene slice is activated and blocked by the opponent to catch them if they are thinking of counterattacking. At the corner, an opponent hit by the Serene Slice can also be attacked again with the Cresent Moon Slash, but the two moves would have to be done together, and you cannot wait to see if the Serene Slice hits first before using the follow-up move.
Computer Opponent List.
First set:
Ukyo
Hanzo
Shizumaru: At a distance, crouch down and give a few kicks (D button), prompting Shizumaru to jump. Use the cresent moon slash with A button to hit him in the air. Also prone to be hit by the B slash - Cresent Moon slash combo, but make sure the B slash hit him first before going on to use the Cresent Moon slash.
Jubei: Keep using jumping C slash, and either use the B slash Cresent Moon slash combo or sideswitch move (+ AB) to catch him off guard. It is very easy to use guard crush on him, just jump over and grab him in this manner, after which you can do whatever you want to him.
Kyoshiro: A very defensive character. The best way is to jump over and use guard crush, then poke him with a B slash. Doing this in sucession, you will drive him to the corner, whereby after another guard crush Haohmaru can use the super death combo on him. After he is down and Haohmaru gains his POW, jump back. When Kyoshiro recovers, jump over again and guard crush him to use the Super. Repeat the whole procedure twice in a round to win.
Kazuki: Running C slash is particularly useful against him. After he is hit by one and is down, shift back to the end of the screen and keep using Cyclone Slash; He will block a few times initially but will get himself hit by it when he stop blocking sometimes or when he tries to jump over. As with dealing with Shizumaru, bait him with kicks and use the cresent moon slash with A button to hit him in the air when he jumps.
Second set:
Charlotte
Kyoshiro
Nakoruru: She cannot block the Serene Slice move, so just keep using that and you can win the game. You can push her to the corner and use the Serene Slice before following up with a Cresent Moon Slash immediately.
Kazuki: Same as above, except easier.
Hanzo: Fearsome character here, he will punish your mistake with a fast Ninja Shrike Dash move. However the B slash - Cresent Moon combo can be used against him; He will only block the weapon slash and get hit by the Cresent Moon slash when he stop blocking. As with Kyoshiro and Jubei, using guard crush on him is a good way to win.
Ukyo: Much easier to beat than Hanzo. Crouch down and block, and wait for him to do a C slash before hacking him with a C slash of your own. Do be alert and block up when he is close enough to do a BC slash, or when he start to run back and forth; A sure sign that he is going to use the swallow swipe move once he is close enough. Most of the time when he jump over, he is going to use the Swallow Swipe move too, and so block it and deal him a C slash when he land.
Amakusa:
Follow the tips given in the General Tips section for a start. Also, when Amakusa is reasonably close, use the Seret Cyclone Slash, and Amakusa will then teleport behind Haohmaru. Grab hold of him with a guard crush then and do a Super Death combo or whatever.
Zankuro:
After blocking his sword or fist rush, Haohmaru can either do a B slash - Cresent Moon slash with C button combo for maximun damage, or a super death combo. Somehow, POW gained from a Super Death combo at Zankuro's stage disappears very fast, and a lot of times Zankuro will not give you a chance to use it for a Super before it is gone, unless the sideswitch move is used to leave him open to the Super. After blocking a BC slash from him, Haohmaru is quick enough to give him a C slash hack. Using the B slash to poke at him after his projectile move does not seem to work, and with time about to end, doing this may get yourself killed if Zankuro catches that with his blade snag counter-attack.
Genjuro:
A few tricks:
When Haohmaru stands quite a distance from Genjuro, use the C slash to reach him, and use a Secret Cyclone Slash with the A button immediately. He is bound to block the weapon slash and would want to follow up with a C slash of his own, which will lead him to be hit by the cyclone before he manage to get Haohmaru.
At a close distance, follow up a B slash move with a Cresent Moon Slash with the A button (or the Super). He is almost certain to react by trying to slash back at Haohmaru but will get the Cresent Moon Slash first. Using the Super after the B slash at close range seems to be a certain hit too.
To make him exposed for a jumping slash, crouch down and give a kick at a distance to induce him to use his playcard projectile, after which Haohmaru can jump over and give him a jumping C slash.
At very close range, any weapon slash which Haohmaru would use on Genjuro would be answered in turn by a slash too. So use B slash and block alternately when it is his turn to slash you. Most of the time in the course of such a weapon clash, he will use the C slash to hack you or do an uppercut move, and blocking that, he is then left open for a brief moment for a light / medium slash attack, which can be followed by a Super. Make use of this chance also to use any CD combo or the Super Death combo to inflict maximum damage if close enough.
The surprising you can do on Genjuro as the last character is that it is possible to use Haohmaru's infinite combo on him, because he is susceptible to the sideswitch move. After sucessful hit on him with a jumping slash, use the sideswitch move. He will be trying to slash at you, mostly doing a heavy slash, and cannot turn to face you. Use your B slash, then the Sword Shockwave move, and repeat the two steps.
Other tricks
The reason why the Serene Slice is my favourite move is because it is very fast and Haohmaru can react to attack again almost instantaneously, surprising anyone thinking of counterattacking after blocking the first Serene Slice move. Suitable followup to that move would be the Cresent Moon Slash, another Serene Slice, or the Super.
When my rage meter is full, I always like to go close to the opponent and use the Serene Slice, hoping that they block it and try to counter after that. I can then use the Super on them before their attack come because Haohmaru recover from that move extremely fast. I discovered that using the Super after the Serene Slice is possible even if the opponent is hit by the first move, thus the Super would work before the opponent falls to the ground from the initial hit. But this can only be done at the corner.
Haohmaru's Super is one of the best being very fast in its speed of execution and also one of the most damaging. The cresent force of the Super catches the opponent in midair too, and one can catch the victim before they land after a jump in front of Haohmaru, or use after Haohmaru block the opponent's air attack (especially with slow characters like Ukyo who still float in the air a little after he does a weapon slash in midair). If you are extremely sharp, go try to catch Ukyo when he does a ground Swallow Swipe, hitting him just as he leave the ground for the move.
Amakusa ¦ Gaira ¦ Ukyo ¦ Galford ¦ Hanzo ¦ Genjuro ¦ Sogetsu ¦ Jubei ¦ Kazuki
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