Zangief FAQ version 1.0 by Fluffy For the latest version of this FAQ, go to Fluffy's Grotto at http://www.geocities.com/timessquare/ring/4981/index.html SURE KILLING TECHNIQUES Spinning Clothesline All Three Punches PPP(air) The Spinning Clothesline is Zangief's OG technique. He's had it ever since SFII. It is great for air defense and will stop almost all air attacks, sometimes even Spidey's HK. You must time it right though. It can also combo. Spinning Lariat All Three Kicks KKK (air) This move is just like the Spinning Clothesline, except it goes much faster and has another interesting property. If done in the air, it will knock your opponent slightly upward and when they land, they are vulnerable to your wicked grabs, including a FAB. It also is slightly invulnerable to low attacks. At least it used to be. Spinning Piledriver (SPD) 270 rotation (air) Zangief's premire technique! He grabs the opponent, jumps into the air while turning them upside down, spins, and comes crashing down to the earth with his opponent under him causing a small explosion. Massive damage (although less than in the previous vs. games) and it looks so cool. Flying Powerbomb (FPB) B, DB, D, DF, F, K Zangief runs (oh no!) at his opponent and if he grabs him, he leaps into the air and performs a powerbomb on his opponent. This move initiates super armor and Zangief can take a hit or two before he reels. However, this move can be tech-hitted. A useful move if you haven't yet mastered the SPD motion. Then again, if you haven't, you shouldn't play with Zangief. If done close, Zangief will do a backbreaker before the powerbomb and if done in the corner can allow an OTG. Glowing Hand F, D, DF, P Yes!!! An anti-projectile move!!! Eat it Ryu!!! Anyway, this move has another use. It can also close some distance between you and your opponent relatively safely. If your opponent turtles, you can use it to get in an do a SPD. It also combos. Air Grab F, D, DF, K Zangief jumps into the air at an angle, which is determined by the Kick button you use, snatches an opponent, and then throws them to the floor. LK is almost straight up, MK is out a little more, and HK is at a 45 degree angle. This move isn't all that useful as air defense because it has shitty priority. But, it can be used to get close to an opponent because you can attack on the way down. This is nasty for setting up a throw and most opponents will never see it coming. SUPER MOVES Final Atomic Buster 270 rotation+PP (Level 1) Zangief runs (oh no, not again) at his opponent with super armor activated. If he grabs him, Zangief performs a repeating German Suplex, throws his opponent into the air, jumps up to greet him, and performs an air SPD with a huge explosion at the end. This move works like the FPB. It does pretty good damage, but not as much as it used to.:( Double Final Atomic Buster D, DF, F, HP+HK (Level 2) This is the double team super that Zangief does when he's close to you. His partner comes out and jumps on the other side of their helpless victim. When they grab him, the both jump into the air and perform a tandem Piledriver. The damage on this move is relative to the power of the character you are partnered with. It usually does about half damage. Plus, it's a good way to switch out. Ultimate Final Atomic Buster 270 rotation+KK (Level 3) The mother of all special grabs. If works just like an SPD, so you in theory could do it whenever you could land an SPD on the ground. This does more damage that Hugo's Super Grab. Iron Body Transformation B, D, DB, LK (Level 1) Zangief taunts and when it is finished, he becomes MegaZangief. I have Mega Zangief listed as a different character because he plays a little different, so check it out. Crossover Counter B, DB, D+HP+HK when you block (Level 1) Zangief pops in and does a Spinning Piledriver. It is excellent to switch partners and works wonders against pitbulls. Crossover Combination D, DF, F+HP+HK (Level 2) Zangief hops in and does a Lariat that continues across the screen. It does pretty good damage when it catches them up close and is great to switch in. DUO TEAM ATTACK D, DB, B+HP+HK (Level 2+) Go for broke!!! You have an infinite super meter and both partners to join in the mayhem. More on this in the teamwork section. COMBOS Ground series: None Air series: None Super jump series: Stronger Air combo finishers: HP, HK, Spinning Clothesline, Spinning Lariat, Spinning Piledriver JUMP-IN COMBOS Yeah, like Zangief has any. Instead of combos, I'll just focus on jump in attacks. J.F+HP \/ ground combo This is like his jumping Fierce from the Alpha series. He has lots of horivontal range, but tends to get hit by projectiles if you try to jump it and do this move. J.D+HP \/ ground combo This is his Flying Body Splash. It has pretty decent priority and is great as a cross-up move. This is what you will want to use to set up your ground combos (which there aren't that many of.) J.D+MK \/ ground combo The Knee Drop. An old Zangief stand-by. I don't use this move to go in for a combo as much as I use it to go in for a throw. Some people consider it cheap to Knee Drop into an SPD, but it's their fault for letting me get that close. GROUND COMBOS S. or C.HP, Glowing Hand (HP) This is a decent combo that works good for two reason. First, it does pretty good damage for only two hits. Second, it puts you close to your opponent to set up a throw. S.HK, Air Grab (HK) Ok. This combo isn't all that useful. It does work ok as an anti-air combo. Not exact on which button to use on the Air Grab though. In corner, HP Throw or FPB, C.HK (OTG) This is Zangief's only useful OTG combo. There aren't really any others. This combo can only be done when you have your opponent in the corner. Not the greatest combo in the world, but the sweep OTG adds a little insult to injury. THROW COMBOS These aren't exactly combos in the sense that they add hits to the combo meter. Actually, you can't combo a throw. But, you can wait for an opponent to finish reeling and throw them right out of it. Also, any time you see a FPB, you could substitute a FAB or DFAB and I think it works the same way between an SPD and a UFAB. C.LK, SPD (HP) This is combo is an old combo from the Alpha series and is very easy to do in this game. Because of the fast recovery off of a light attack, this feels just like a normal two-in-one. Even if you're opponent blocks it, they usually end up eating the SPD. Even the computer can't avoid it. You have to be really close to do this, so only attempt it off of deep air attacks or cross-ups. It does pretty good damage, but in my opinion, it should do more. S.MP, FPB This combo works great. It combos off of the magic chop and will catch most people off guard. However, you can tech-hit the FPB, so be careful. But, you can't tech-hit a FAB. AIR COMBOS You can set up Zangief's air combos off of the launcher or his MP throw. Not very much here though. After all, Zangief isn't a combo machine, he's a throwing machine. S.J.LK, S.J.MK, S.J.HP This will work on pretty much all of the characters. I haven't found a character that it doesn't work on yet. The beauty of this combo is that your opponent will land before you do and you can attack them on the way down and set up a cross-up or a tick-to-SPD. S.J.LK, MK, SPD This is extremely hard to time. It looks ugly upon impact though. However, it lacks in damage. S.J.LK, MK, Spinning Lariat \/ S.HK, Air Grab or FPB This is THE Zangief aerail combo. You have to time the HK so that it hits the opponent on the way down. You land before your opponent. INFINITE C.MP /\ SJ.LK, SJ.MK, Air Lariat \/ /\ J.D+MK, C.MP, /\ etc. This infinite works. However, it is hard as all hell to pull off. To do this, you have to hold a direction (forward or back) when doing the lariat. Once you land, jump in the opposite direction with the Knee Dive and relaunch before they hit the ground. If you basically understand the way combos work in the Vs. games, then you should understand this section. If you don't, go get another faq with that kind of information in it. I'm to lazy to put it in. STRATEGY If we are going to be talking about strategy with the almight Zangief, we have to spend a major amount of time on how to land his throws. They are his main offense. Without them, he sucks. He has almost nothing else but that. Zangief is the only true Pro Wrestler in the game, literally. He is the only wrestler character in the game. Because of this, Zangief is limited in his defensive capabilities and has to primarily stick to offense. He doesn't have the great defensive moves like a dragon punch or a captain corridor. This doesn't make Zangief an underdog, it just forces you to be more creative. Face it, Zangief has to be close to do any damage, right? No, he doesn't. He can attack from almost anywhere, however most of his attack strategies do involve putting you closer to your opponent to land a grab. If you've played Zangief before in another game, you would have noticed that his grabs to way less damage than they did before. I think that because of that, it is more important to set up your grabs in combos and use his other combos. I've played people who I just repeatedly SPD and it does pathetic damage. You have to rely more on Zangief's power and less on his grabs. With Zangief, it's not a question of when to attack, but how to attack. Zangief's Ground Game Zangief has more than one way to attack you. Some people will think, "Huh?", but it's true. People often underestimate Zangief's ground game. He has some of the best ground attacks in the game. They do all kinds of weird things and people just seem to walk right into them. The only problem is that most of his attacks are slow and people who have fast specials and supers can nail him before he strikes. So, you have to be cautious if you're opponent has some a character with fast specials or supers. The highlight of his ground arsenal is the crouching Roundhouse. It has the best range in the game and if used moderately close to the opponent can set up a FPB or a FAB. It is very hard to escape one when it is times right. It also is pretty fast and people tend to not see it coming. Another great move is the standing Fierce. It chains into a Glowing Hand for some serious damage. People often run into it sometimes because it has so much range and it isn't too bad on speed either. I basically use it when I think my opponent is going to do a move. They just walk right into it. Pow. Another move people don't use that much is the standing Strong. I'm not sure about in this game, but in the alpha series, it has some sort of magical ability. It would cancel out most sweeps because it hit so low. It also can set up a FPB. But, you almost have to be psychic to know when to use these moves. A lot of Zangief's strategy involves trying to predict what your opponent will do and how he will respond to things. You may have to spend some of the match to figure out your opponents patterns. After all, humans are creatures of habit and tend to do the same things and sometimes even fall for the same tricks. Landing his grabs First off, if you've checked the combo page, there is a type of combo that Zangief does to allow him to land his throws that way. These require you to be right next to your opponent. Later, we'll talk about getting next to your opponent. But now, we have to talk about ways to set up your grabs. Tick into Grab - This is a very easy to do technique and is also easy to escape. You basically do a jumping attack which forces your opponent to block. Then, you grab as soon as you land. The best attacks to use for this are the the Knee Drop and the Flying Body Splash. You have to time it just right or a fast opponent will be able to get a move in before the grab or they can just jump. You can also tick off of a Glowing Hand or do the tick in a combo that your opponent has blocked and the SPD will usually connect. Laying in Wait - This is sometimes referred to as turtling, but I don't think it is. Basically you can just sit there and wait for an aggressive opponent to attack you. When you see an opening, do an SPD. Best time to do it is after you block a jumping heavy attack. The SPD is fast enough to interupt most ground attacks with some exceptions to faster characters. A word to the wise, don't push block unless you absolutely know it will benefit you. Push blocking all of the time will put your opponent out of the way of your throws. You have to know what strings your opponent uses to know what attacks to push. If you've got their pattern, do it when you know it will benefit you. I see a lot of people push with Zangief at the wrong time. If you don't know when to do it, then chances are you shouldn't, unless you are trying to lessen the chipping damage of a beam super or something. Charge! - Sweep your opponent and do an FPB. This works Ok, but the FPB can be tech-hitted. This also doesn't work too well on opponents that roll constantly either. It can also be jumped out of if you don't time the FPB to grab as soon as they are able to block. Rolling to Safety - They think they are rolling out of harms way, but if you sweep them and they roll, chances are they are going to roll right back in front of you again. This is perfect to set up another FPB or an SPD. If you can get a FPB after a sweep to connect a couple of times or maybe even just once, your opponent will try to roll after a sweep. Just wait for him to finish rolling and grab him. Near the Corner - If you're near the corner and you land a close FPB, you can OTG with the sweep. The FBP up close will cause you to land about half the screen away and you have enough time to get back in and throw again. You have to be careful because your opponent probably isn't going to just stand there. So, do a tick into grab. Call for some Back-up - Most people don't think about it, but you can use your helper to set up your grabs. The best ones to do are the ones that your opponent will either block or duck and ones that are out for a long time, like Lou, Arthur, Thor, and Iceman. My favorites are Thor for big and medium sized characters and Arthur for small ones. Most people will just duck their attacks and think that I am wasting a helper character. While my helper is doing his thing, I'm walking up to them and doing a FAB. Warning: I have been accused of being the son of Satan for doing this. I've heard things such as, "That's just wrong." to "Oh my god! I was raped!" and my personal favorite "Damn. That was evil." Definitely pisses people off because they can see it coming and can't do anything about it once the start ducking. A word to the wise, even though I've never seen anyone think of it, the way out of this is to block instead of duck and push block Zangief away as he runs at you. This will put him right in front of you as both him and his helper are finished and he'll be at your mercy. Then again, I've never seen anyone do that, but it's possible. Getting close enough to smell their breath In order to land your throws, you have to be close. Here's how to get close. The March of Doom - This one is simple enough. Just walk up and grab them. Don't dash because Zangief's dash is pathetic. Just walk in and jump occasionally. If your fighting a fireball happy character, jump over the fireballs. Most people won't be aggressive enough to keep you away. You can get in and land the grab. If you're opponent starts to stick out moves when you get close to push you away, do a jumping Fierce. You have to do it slightly early, but it works great. His jumping Fierce has range, power, and just looks cool. If you can get close, but have trouble getting next to your opponent, do the Glowing Hand. If you have good timing, you can SPD them before they do anything else. Death from Above - Another easy way to get close to an opponent is to superjump. Because you can block while you jump, this is a very effective way too close ground between you and your opponent. Two things usually happen when you superjump at them. Either they will try to launch you or they will jump at you and attack. If they try to launch you, block and grab when you land. If they try to meet you in the air, block or make them block and SPD. If they don't do anything but stand there, SPD. They deserve it. I don't have a versus section for Zangief because he really doesn't need one. Whoever he fights, he's going to use the same basic strategy. Go Kill. It's actually a very simple concept.

CLOSING In closing, I would like to say that these are techniques that I use with Zangief. You may not think they are worth a shit, but they work for me. If you've got anything you want to say, mail me at fluffmistr@aol.com or post on the MVC: THE SITE message board. I read it all the time and MVC: THE SITE is a great site. Credits Thanks to All of the Zangief users on the MVC Message board because they helped me get my Zangief back up to par with my the competition. sCrub for writing a good Zangief FAQ. I tried to put stuff in that wasn't in his and I hope he doesn't think that this is a rip-off of his. Most of the techniques I wrote about were ones that I personally use and are ones I've been using since back in the day. Chung, who I finally beat after 5 years. Damn, you're good. Ross and Chuck for playing against me and driving once in a while. Copyrights Um, you oughta know the drill by now. I actually sat down and wrote it. If you want to do anything with it, fine. Just give credit where credit is due. If you don't, I will have master Satan castrate you when you get to hell.