======================================================================== Capcom vs SNK 2 Hibiki Guide Version 20.0, by Brian Lui. ======================================================================== v20.0 1/02/02 Changes. v10.5 3/10/01 Character profile added. v10.0 2/10/01 Big update! "Cheapness" section added. Background information added. Also, I made a veritable mountain of not-so-subtly hidden jibes at character FAQ writers who think a good FAQ consists of 100 pages of background information, color scheme information, win quotes, endings, "legal notices" that have absolutely no purpose, and similar irrelevant information. These FAQs also have ABSOLUTELY NO STRATEGY information. What are they supposed to teach you? Are they supposed to teach you to never, ever, ever read a FAQ from the same writer again? Don't even get me started on the FAQ writers who can't even be bothered to use proper spelling, grammar and punctuation in their guides. In fact I think that one of the CvS2 Akuma guides, the author of which shall remain nameless, is a good example of this. v6.0 28/9/01 General improvements to FAQ. v5.1 27/9/01 Minor changes to normal move ratings. v5.0 27/9/01 Improvements to special move section, description of defense/offense strategies. v4.0 23/9/01 Large improvements to gameplay section; super cancel QCB+P noted. v3.3 20/9/01 Eliminated useless special moves from guide, noted only as footnote. v3.1 16/9/01 SOWLOR riskiness against Blanka/Rock type characters noted. v3.0 16/9/01 Lag times of special moves added to guide. v2.5 5/9/01 Groove information added to guide. v2.0 31/8/01 Gameplay section started; preliminary summary of Hibiki's play style. v1.6 27/8/01 All special moves and supers noted; cancellable moves indicated. v1.1 26/8/01 Corrected several errors in move descriptions. v1.0 25/8/01 First released version. Basic description of moves. The latest version of this guide can be found at: http://www.gamefaqs.com/ Please feel free to email me at _imavrean@hotmail.com_ any suggestions or other comments you may have. Contents -------- 1. Introduction 1.1 Purpose of this document 1.2 Who is Hibiki? 2. Moves 2.1 Normals 2.2 Specials 2.4 Supers 3. Gameplay 3.1 Groove choice 3.2 Ratio choice 3.3 Strategy 3.4 "Cheapness" 4. Credits ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. Introduction ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1.1 Purpose of this document ----------------------------- To provide a guide for Hibiki in Capcom vs SNK 2 so that you can win your matches. 1.2 Who is Hibiki? ------------------- Some girl from Last Blade 2. I mean, who really cares? Actually, I care. Why? Because the more useless background story I can dream up and put into this space, the larger the FAQ looks! And a larger FAQ means that more people will read it. Why? Because there is an overabundance of crappy FAQs written by people who took two minutes total, and these FAQs are like "qcf+K he kick u ok thank you for reading bye bye" 5k pieces of rubbish. Whereas larger FAQs generally mean a better quality FAQ. (This relationship does not always hold true; it is possible to write FAQs that are absolute rubbish but weigh in heftily - just look at a certain un-named SF3: 3rd Strike FAQ writer.) Anyway, enough about that! Hibiki's full name is Takane Hibiki, which means "Peak of the Majestic Wind". Or it may not. I didn't actaully bother to check. So anyway, her fighting style is iaijutsu, which is the same as Uyko Tachibana's (a character in the Samurai Shodown series of games). The concept of iaijutsu is that you space and position yourself until you can kill your opponent with one deadly stroke. Showboating or superfluous moves are highly discouraged in this style, which is quick, efficient, and deadly. Hibiki is 17 years old as of the first game she was in, Last Blade 2. In Last Blade 2, she is a friend of Amano Hyo. She was a very technical character in that game, as her QCF+P move would recover quickly if blocked or hit, but took seconds if you missed with it. She always seems very distressed by the inevitable bloodshed that she wreaks, with great violence, upon her hapless victims. A nice person sent me an e-mail about Hibiki's background information. But I lost the e-mail so I hope this will suffice. Thanks, whoever you were! Oh yeah, before I forget, here's Hibiki's character profile. Enjoy! Fighting Style: Iaijutsu Birthdate: May 16, 1438 Age: 17 Country: Japan Blood Type: O- Height: 174cm Weight: 65kg Hobbies: Collecting teapots, playing with turtles and tortoises, playing marbles Favorite Food: Soba noodles, 'dango-ichi' Prized Things: The ribbon she got from her great-grandfather Dislikes: Rude people, laziness, violence ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2. Moves ------------------------------------------------------------------------ When describing Hibiki's moves I'll rate each one's usefulness on a scale of one to five "stars," a technique pioneered by Andrew Park and Greg Kasavin in their excellent KOF '97 Kim and Yashiro guides respectively (both are available at http://www.gamefaqs.com). 2.1 Normals ------------ Standing LP ----------- This is your normal, run-of-the-mill, interruptable standing LP. You have better. But anyway, I'd like to give you a demonstration of how any FAQ can be padded with useless information, thus rendering size a totally irrelevant indicator of FAQ quality. Look ma! I can pad a FAQ with useless info! Weeeeee! In this move, Hibiki stands and uses her free hand to do a mid level palm strike at the opponent. The range, is short, and she says 'ia!' or a similar sound effect while doing the move. It is safe if blocked, and you can combo it into a QCF+P if you hit with it. The palm strike is not a good air defense, so don't use it as such. Also because of the short time it stays out, it is only mediocre against rolls. Luckily, though it is safe to stick out at random since the time period from execution to finishing is so short. Nevertheless, you have more potent weapons in your arsenal, as the MP is a better poke, and the HP is a better anti-air, and the cr. LK is a better anti-roll. Therefore, you will not want to utilise this move too often in your game plan, although it is mostly harmless to occasionally stick out a few standing jabs for variety. Usefulness: [*----] Close MP -------- This is the most damaging comboable normal move you have. However, if you are playing Hibiki, you will probably not use this move that much. Usefulness: [**----] Far MP ------ Abusable! Hibiki's Far MP of Doom (tm) lets her control space effortlessly. Feeling bored? Stick out 50 of these things. Opponent want to get in close? Stick out 50 of these things. Want to zone your opponent to optimum range? Stick out 50 of these. Usefulness: [*****] Close HP -------- This is a two hit slash which is great cross-up defence. Combined with far HP, this makes jumping not a viable option for the opponent. If you release the button after the first slash, she will not follow up with the second slash. Also, the first slash can be supercanceled or cancels into *only* specials or super moves that use the fierce punch. Don't ask why. Usefulness: [*****] Far HP ------ Even more abusable! Using this move all but shuts down jumping, unless you are playing against one of the few people with delayed air moves like Kim's qcf+K or Akuma's air fireball super. It's an easy one button flawless air defense, what more could you want? Usefulness: [*****] Standing LK ----------- A kick. You have better. Usefulness: [*----] Far MK ------ A very long ranged poke with a bit of startup but no end lag. Use this liberally with far MP. Bored after doing 50 far MPs? Do a few far MKs! Watch your opponent scream in frustration as his every move is shut down. Usefulness: [****-] Far HK ------ A sword slice. It hits marginally further than the standing MP and does more damage, although it does take slightly longer to come out. A pretty good move. Usefulness: [***--] Low LP ------ A quite long ranged, cancellable jab. Won't combo into itself but will combo from a crouching LK. Part of your bread and butter combo. Usefulness: [***--] Low LK ------ Hibiki sticks her foot out. Three of these will chain into each other if close enough. Your standard light kick attack. Usefulness: [****-] Low MP ------ This move is extremely good, and almost as good as her standing MP. In any situation where you would use the standing MP, you can use this too. Plus, it has the benefit of looking the same as her low LP. Usefulness: [****-] Low MK ------ Useless. Usefulness: [-----] Low HP/HK --------- These moves have pretty good damage and priority, although they are laggy at the end. They would be great moves on any other character, but Hibiki has better pokes so I tend not to use these too much. Usefulness: [**---] Jump LP ------- Hibiki sticks her sword out in front of her. Has pretty good stuffing priority and horizontal range, although don't expect to combo with it much. Also stays out quite a bit. Usefulness: [***--] Jump LK ------- A stuffing type move, it is angled downwards, but is hard to combo off of. Usefulness: [***--] Jump MP ------- Your main jump attack. Attacks quite far horizontally and is slightly angled downwards. Usefulness: [****-] Jump MK ------- Useless. Usefulness: [*----] Jump HP ------- This is Hibiki's best air to air move. Usefulness: [***--] Jump HK ------- A circular type sword slash thingy, use this in the rare situations where you get to crossup. Also, it is good in a short jump as it then becomes an extremely quick overhead attack. Usefulness: [****-] 2.2 Special Moves ------------------ Despite what the move list may say, Hibiki only has three special moves. They are listed below with a brief footnote on the other moves. Slash Out With Lots Of Range (QCF+P) ------------------------------------ This is the most fundamental Hibiki move. With rare exceptions, this move is safe when blocked or hit at maximum range. If it hits someone in the air, they will be knocked down. If it hits them on the ground, they will not be knocked down. This move is *fast*. Very, very fast. It forms your bread and butter combo of cr LK x 3, cr LP, SOWLOR. Quite damaging too. It also makes a long ranged and fast if risky poke. The main danger when using this move is that, if it whiffs entirely, you are very much open to punishment. Your enemy, therefore, will jump (easily shut down with 500,00 far HP), or roll. The HP version hits low and knocks down, but has more recovery at the end of it. It can pass under mid-fireballs like a hadoken. Unfortunately, against certain people such as Blanka or Rock, this move is never safe to use when the opponent is on the ground. People with very fast DMs.. um, I mean, supers. Yeah. People with very fast supers can retaliate against you whether or not you hit them with the SOWLOR. So don't use this too much against them. Usefulness: [*****] Run And Slash At Your Back (QCB+P) ---------------------------------- This move you will use rarely. However, it is a good move to use in situations where the opponent is very defensive, as, spaced rightly, it can crossup and be cancelled into a super. It will also combo from a close MP if you get the chance. Usefulness: [**---] Counter (HCF+K) --------------- Yummy. Hibiki will stick out her hand and any mid-high hitting moves will be caught by it. This can be followed up by a SOWLOR or a super (!). Because of the damaging follow-ups, this will make your opponent even more scared of attacking you if used judiciously. Usefulness: [****-] Note: Hibiki also has moves with commands DP+K, 3K. Use them as you would use a taunt. ... no, seriously! I've never even seen anyone use the 3K move, and the only times the DP+K move connects is when the other guy has suffered a total mental breakdown and is unable to hit any buttons. 2.3 Supers ----------- Hibiki has three supers. However, you will only need two of them. Running Slash Super (QCB, HCF+P) -------------------------------- Mediocre at levels 1 or 2. However, at level 3, this move turns into a monster. A L3 RSS is totally invincible, will through fireballs, is perfect air-defense if timed well, combos from a HCF+K, combos from a cr LP/LK, and has no start-up at all. Once you have a full super. you can randomly do the qcb, hcf motion, and press P if you see your opponent do anything at all. It's sort of like a half screen air hyper viper beam. Usefulness: [*****] Screen Turns Black Super (F, HCF+P) (Level 3 only) -------------------------------------------------- Pretty good range, and looks cool. Could substitute for the RSS as air defense. But all-around, not as good as RSS, and it's not unblockable anymore. Usefulness: [*----] Speed Mode Combo (HCB, F+LK) (Level 3 only) ------------------------------------------- This super is good, because it is safe. You won't get punished if it gets blocked. Here's the follow up you should learn: LP, MP, HP, LP, MP, HP, LK, MK -> standing HK, QCB+HP, QCF+HP. It combos easily from a standing or low LK, and you can do shortcuts to combo it like that. It also has good invincibility periods so you can use that to anticipate a poke and attack (safer than the RSS). The disadvantage of this move is that it won't hit airborne people for all the hits. Usefulness: [*****] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3. Gameplay ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ah, the juicy part. 3.1 Groove Choice ------------------ It goes without saying that you should choose a groove based on your team, not just on one character. However, some notes for Hibiki. Hibiki is, in general, a very defensive, turtle type character. You won't get much mileage out of C or A groove for her. S groove suits her style, but choosing S groove seems so.. wrong, somehow. I prefer to use her in P groove, since she will not need to attack or jump much. She is also powerful in K (which is an abbreviation for 'scrub'. Fear the Ratio 4 K groove scrub!) groove. Many people use Hibiki in N groove, because she then has the scary options of run (repeated run-in low LP) and hop (instant overhead hop HK). I agree with them. N-groove Hibiki is good. 3.2 Ratio Choice ----------------- Because she is a turtle, Hibiki works well as a ratio 1 or 2. I like her as ratio 1 because, if you play her well, you will slowly inflict damage and receive almost none in return. 3.3 Strategy ------------- If they jump, far HP. If they roll, cr LK x 3, cr LP, qcf+P. If they poke, far MP. If they fireball, qcf+HP. Just do those four things all day. [end of document] ehehehehehehehehe!! That FAQ joke never gets old. Sorry. :) Seriously, though, that's all you have to do. Lets start by examining the first one. If they jump ------------ The vast majority of characters can do nothing against Hibiki's far HP. Those that can fall into two groups. a) A very fast jump, combined with a jump attack with lots of vertical range (e.g. Blanka jump HK, Vega (claw) jump HK). b) An air move that changes their trajectory (e.g. Akuma's air super, Morrigan's air fireball, Rugal's dark barrier, Kim's kicky kicks). For situation a, you will trade with them but not hit them cleanly out of the air. In this situation, you must weigh the consequences of repeatedly trading. Is it in your favor? If not, block, or use your groove's method of dealing with repeated jump attacks (e.g. parry, roll.) For situation b, you can often anticipate their air move if your st HP has scared them enough. Thereafter, change your timing to take advantage, or use another standard way of dealing with anticipated attacks. If they roll ------------ Rolls have been slowed down very much in CvS2 and are more vulnerable at the end. If they roll will end up in front of you, use the bread and butter combo. If they roll from close (what? you didn't zone them?) and will end up behind you, just throw them. If they poke ------------ Very, very few characters have the priority and variety of pokes that Hibiki has. Even Vega or Yamazaki cannot out-poke you if you use your full poke arsenal well. If they fireball ---------------- This depends on what kind of fireball it is. Mid fireballs are easy to deal with by getting in range and using qcf+HP. Low fireballs take a different approach. Either use your groove ability (parrying), or else save up to a level 3 super and punish them next time they fireball you. Gameplan -------- That should be enough to shut down any offense. What can Hibiki do now? Pokes ----- First of all, whenever you are in range, poke with st MP, st MK, or qcf+P. With practice, you will intuitively know which one to use at any given moment. It is hard to teach, but can be picked up with more play time. Hopefully, with some poking, you will have your opponent at Hibiki's optimum range, which is 'just inside maximum QCF+MP range'. Then, you can whittle slowly away at your opponent, while waiting for them to make and error out of desperation (it is very frustrating playing against a good Hibiki turtler). Retaliation ----------- What do you do when they do something stupid, like try to psychic DP a poke? Use your standard retaliation. A mistake up close: Bread and butter combo A small mistake at medium range: L3 super, or qcf+P A large mistake at medium range: L3 super, or qcb+P into super. Jumps ----- Do not jump much at all when using Hibiki. Her jump is slow, and she loses much of her zoning ability while in the air. Her jump attacks are also average at best. Rushdown -------- Hibiki's most effective pressure options come from the run and hop. If you are in a groove without either of these, you won't be able to pressure. If you have just one of these two, you'll be able to put up a half-assed offence which should worry the other guy enough to fall into your turtling ways. Anyway. If your groove has run: mix up qcb+LP with run-in low LP, run-in stand MP. If your groove has hop: get close to them, and do lots of hop MP, and hop HK, vary these with low LK combos. If you have both, then your added mobility should give you the additional option of running in and going for a crossup HK. Combos ------ Finally, the combos you will need to punish. Bread and butter: cr LK x 1-3, cr LP, qcf+P. Damage: close MP, qcb+P, qcb, hcf+P. 3.4 "Cheapness" ---------------- You might be thinking, "Wow, this guy's FAQ makes Hibiki seem like a really cheap scrubby character that takes no skill to play at all." Well, not exactly. Scrub Hibikis can be easily beaten by rolling past inappropriately timed SOWLORs. Also, most of the time, when a scrub playing Hibiki has a full super bar, he will do a F, HCF+P super when trying to go for a QCF+P. Laugh at the scrub's stupidity! Anyway, what to do when someone says you are "cheap?" Here is an easy 7 step plan. 1) Assess the person. Is he big/strong/violent? Or could a bucolic seven year old hermaphrodite frog beat him to within an inch of his life using a tenderized trout and a wireless telephone? 2) After you win the match, laugh heartily. If you are with friends, make jokes to them about how this loser scrub is so stupid he can't figure out a way to beat your Hibiki. 3) Say to them, "I don't see you using Hibiki and winning, champ." Then point at them and say "Ha ha ha! Loser! You couldn't fight your way out of a paper bag!" 4) Make a retarded, moronic face and say "But you threw me!! Throwing is CHEAP don't throw me why are you being so cheap I will tell the arcade to ban you from here!!! No throwing ok???" Say this even if he didn't throw you during the match. 5) If he challenges you again, yawn loudly and don't bother looking at the screen until the match starts. Make it a contest to see how many times you can taunt (safely) during the match. Every time you taunt safely, break out into raucous laughter. 6) Say to him, "Want to know a tip for beating Hibiki? I'll tell you how... you need to GET SOME SKILLS, SCRUB! BWAHAHAHAHA!!!" 7) Then say to him, "Awww, poor widdle you can't beat big mean ol' Hibiki! Boo hoo hoo! Go cry to your mommy!" Then show him the finger and laugh heartily. These seven steps should be enough to convince your challenger not to call you cheap. Or else, if he's bigger than you, it should be enough for you to know in intimate detail what the inside of an intensive care ward looks like. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4. Credits ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Thanks to: Capcom for the game. SNK for the SNK characters. Arcades in Hong Kong for challengers. Chinatown Fair in New York for different style challengers. Whoever handled SNK's distribution and marketing efforts in North America. No, seriously, what were those guys thinking? "Hi, we're SNK's marketing guys and we think stupid english which would cost five dollars to fix won't hinder our marketing efforts here!" GameFAQs, for so generously hosting my FAQs, and other FAQs. It is much, much harder than it looks to build a viable and profitable website relying on advertising income alone. It is amazing how GameFAQs can survive even while the advertising market is severely depressed following the 2001 technology bubble burst. NEW! This update has benefited from the generous contribution of readers! Thanks to: Kao Megura, who provided much information on Hibiki's normal moves, and her custom combo super. Michael H., and Roninwind, who likewise provided information on Hibiki's normal moves. The 'Buk teaches Hibiki' thread in the shoryuken.com forums. Lots of fun stuff there interspersed with flames. About the author: Brian Lui plays arcade games. He likes CvS2 and KOF 98, but will play KOF 2000, CvS, or MvC2 if compelled to. He occasionally plays at Chinatown Fair in New York, and regularly gets his ass handed to him by Sagat and Blanka players. He is ashamed. He has also written several other FAQs. All of them, except the KOF 2000 Chang guide, are high quality pieces of work. The KOF 2000 Chang guide was crappy, in order to suit the game. :) His work can be found at the following URL: http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/recognition/1654.html Legal notice: All your copyright (2001) are belong to me.