------------------------------------------------------ | Carlo Character FAQ from Psychic Force 2012 | | For Sega Dreamcast | | Copyright Pol Subanajouy 2002 | ------------------------------------------------------ Psychic Force is a trademark of Taito Corp. My can contact me at psuban@uic.edu, kyosuke@planetout.com and kyosuke@gaywired.com This FAQ is mine. You want to use it, contact me. You want to put in a magazine? Contact me. You have something to add? Contact me. You steal this FAQ? Don't worry, my lawyers and me will contact you. First Version: (August 12, 2002) ------------------------------------------------------------- INTRODUCTION ------------------------------------------------------------- Alright, Psychic Force is a thinking man's fighting game. If you prefer the hairy monkey cheapness of MvC2, go off and pop off some AHVB to boost your ego. For the rest of you, I'm going to try and tell you how to use Carlo, the resident water elementalist in the game. He's lean, he's mean, and he oddly reminds me of Kyosuke from Rival Schools. Anyway, Carlo is no slouch and should definitely be taken seriously. This is a result of the dare at the Psychic Force 2012 board at Gamefaqs.com. Now this is a rough FAQ, so please excuse any little errors. I'll hammer out the little things in later versions. First Version: (August 12, 2002) ------------------------------------------------------------- CONTENTS ------------------------------------------------------------- I. Legend II. Basics A. In close fighting B. Life Bar/Psy Bar C. Movement D. Guarding III. Special Moves IV. General Strategy V. Character Specific Counter Strategies A. Burn B. Carlo C. Emillio D. Gates E. Genshin F. Gudeath G. Keith H. Might I. Patty J. Regina K. Setsuna L. Wendy M. Wong VI. Miscellaneous and Thanks ------------------------------------------------------------- LEGEND ------------------------------------------------------------- L-Light Attack S-Strong Attack G-Guard Direction-err..press a direction genius Opposite Direction- press the opposite direction of the one you last did ,-means you do moves in succession +-means you do those button presses simultaneously 360 degrees-draw a circle with the D-pad Half Circle-press a direction and swing the D-pad in either clockwise or counterclockwise to the opposite direction ------------------------------------------------------------- BASICS ------------------------------------------------------------- Okay, let's start with the basics. (Where else could we start?) The Setup ------------------------------------------------------------- In-close Fighting-Fighting in close is only half of the fight in Psychic Force, but it's a crucial part as Carlo was meant to fight from any range. I. Physical Attacks- L or S. There is a certain range from which your one-button projectiles will become physical attacks instead. Know it, it can save your life. Strong Physical Attacks do not lead to combos while Light Physical Attacks lead to chains. II. Catch- G + L. Throws. You should know how these work by now. Throws are usually the fastest move in a characters arsenal and you will be using them a lot. Also, the range of a throw seems to cover 180 degrees around the front of Carlo so this makes a good counter to Slide Dashes. They can go through Regular Guards, but not either type of Barrier. In Carlo's throw, he grabs his opponent's head with his legs and snaps their neck 180 degrees with his knees before flipping them away with a jet of water. III. Chains- These are canned chains of physical attacks that are dictated by a persons weight class. These are the meat of your combos as they can go into your specials. As Carlo is a middle weight character, his chains consist of: L, L, L L, S, Special L, L, S, Special The first one is only three hits with no chance of follow up. The second is quicker and more convenient, but the third one actually does four hits as the Strong Physical Attack does two hits. So, why would you do any other chain than the third one? To mix up your opponent. Sometimes your opponent will just Regular Guard your chain and wait for you to try a special at the end and so they can counterattack. Mixing up which chain you do keeps you from getting predictable, and you can further complicate things for them by stopping in the middle of a chain and throwing, restarting the chain, or using a Hydro Trap. By the way, all the hits of Carlo's chain attacks are kick attacks of some sort. IV. Barrier Break- Direction + S. Uses 50% of your Psy Bar. Damages for 18%. This move has the power behind it to break Barrier Guards. For the duration of this move, Carlo is completely immune to they repelling effects of a Barrier Break and you can only do this at about the range you could do your chains. In Psychic Force, there really is no high and low game as in other fighters. But while there are more than one form of blocking, and this move forces opponents to switch and choose between those type of blocks, consider this like an 'overhead' attack. It actually takes about the same time to come out as well, and all Barrier Breaks have a spark of white light that accompany them. FYI, when Carlo's Barrier Break consists of him doing a spiral drop kick with water spinning around his body. ------------------------------------------------------------- The Life bar and the Psy Bar- Like other fighting games, ones life goes down as you take hits and throws and you are considered K.O. when you run out of life. It's pretty straightforward compared to other fighting games as no one takes more or less damage than anyone else as has been the recent trend in fighting games and damage doesn't scale as you get low on life (at least I don't think it does.) Unlike other fighting games however, your life bar shares space with your Psy bar. Your Psy bar is fuel for your fighting and special moves and you don't want to be caught without it. As your life goes down, there is more room for your Psy bar, which in essence means you have a larger tank of gas to run on as your life disappears. This can definitely allow for some stunning comebacks when one is low on life because some of the more intricate combos call for more Psy then you initially have. Managing your Psy Bar- Whenever you do any special move you are using up some of your Psy Bar. Now, there are several ways to get it back and it is crucial you keep an eye on the condition of your Psy. Nothing is worse than trying to do a special move but failing because you didn't notice you had only 79% Psy left and the move required -80%-. I. Neutral Charging- The slowest method of getting your Psy bar back is to simply stay still. When you stay still or just Regular Guard, your bar will very slowly trickle back. Moving in any way or using physical attacks will stop your bar from recharging and Barrier Guarding will just drain it again. This is not the way you want your bar to come back: it is slow, you can only Regular Guard, and staying still is a death warrant in this game. II. Psy Charging- Press L+G+S all at once and hold it. This is the recommended way to regain lost Psy. When you do this, Carlo will go into a 'charge pose' (it looks kind of funny imo) in which he is totally vulnerable. However, there is no lag whatsoever to Psy Charging so as soon as you let go of L+G+S, Carlo will stop and you can guard. Your bar will come back much faster than it did in Neutral Charging and at an even rate, so feel free to do your charging in quick spurts if the action is getting dicey. Learning when to do this during a fight is one of the things that separate a master from a novice in this game. III. Hyper Charging- 360 degrees+L+G+S and hold L+G+S (you don't have to continually spin the joystick.) For the hardcore only. You can do this any time you already have the maximum allowed Psy in your bar (i.e. the purple and the green are touching) and doing it when that isn't so will result in a normal Psy Charge. When you do this, your Psy Bar will go up at the same rate it does in Psy Charging except it will ~replace~ your life bar. For every percent of your life bar it eats, the rest of your move for that round will be that much more powerful. You can keep track of it by looking at the little percentage number right under Carlo's facial portrait. So, for example, at the start of the round (before he's taken any damage) Carlo Hyper Charges 50% of his life away, and thus increasing his Psy Bar by 50% (150% in total.) The little number above Carlo's life bar should read 150% also. He lands a Hydro Spiral on the opponent and it does 27% damage as opposed to the normal 18% because of the boost in attack strength. (18% x 1.5 = 27%) Okay, like I said, this is for the hardcore only. Damaging yourself is an extremely risky maneuver and should only be done when you are very confident in your abilities. On the other hand, with the larger, more dramatic Hyper Charges, 100% damage combos are not uncommon at all. You'll also want do this early on, before you've taken any damage. If you only have 10% of your life gone and you Hyper Charge that away, you really haven't increased your odds at victory that much. Whenever this is implemented, you can expect the round to end quickly one way or another. -------------------------------------------------------------- Movement- This is very different from any other fighting game out there. Both fighters are floating inside a giant cube (but for technical purposes you can just consider it a square.) 'Walking' is really just floating around, and 'running' is actually flying with a sudden burst of speed. Because of all the stuff you'll be dodging, it's paramount you know how to get yourself around. I. Floating- This is the equivalent of walking in Street Fighter, and it serves the same purpose it does there. Just to slowly and carefully make intricate changes in distance. Just press any direction and you'll float there. You should also note that there is a very minute 'skid' when you stop floating. It's really quite small, so it shouldn't make that much of a difference, but you can stop it by doing an attack or a whiffed throw FYI. II. Dashing- Direction + L + S. Carlo will suddenly fly in a preset distance that cannot be interrupted (by Carlo that is, other people can smack him out of it just fine.) If you Dash into the wall at, you'll play out the rest of the dash animation leaving yourself vulnerable. So that is never a good idea really. You'll primarily use this do dodge specials and avoid a person chasing you. Don't use this for offense however. For that you have... III. Quick Dash- L + S. This dash automatically homes in on the opponent and deflects Light Projectiles at the same time. You can interrupt this with any attack but not a guard or barrier. All attacks will turn into close range physical attacks while you are Quick Dashing, but you can still do your throws and special moves. This is sort of the equivalent of jumping in old school 2-d fighters because you temporarily give up defense to close a large amount of distance between you and your opponent and attack. You'll be using this often so you'll want to learn how to vary it every now and then. IV. Slide Dash- Direction, Opposite Direction + S + L. The hardest form of dashing, but also one of the most valuable. When you do this, Carlo automatically dashes in a curved manner. If done from far away, Carlo will end up closer to the opponent but also higher/lower/farther left/farther right then he in relation to the opponent before. Do a Slide Dash up close and you'll end up at your opponent's rear. You cannot interrupt this dash. Unfortunately, I haven't found a way to reliably control which way Carlo will swerve but at the least the computer makes sure you don't Slide Dash into the wall. The use of this move is too get closer to your opponent while dodging defensive fire or to counter Quick Dashes. It takes a while to learn, but it helps a lot. ------------------------------------------------------------- Guarding- Even Guarding in this game is not like other fighting games. Chip damage is much more deadly in this game and you also have to take into consideration what direction it's coming in. I. Regular Guard- Press the Guard Button. Pretty basic, but you also have to remember that it only blocks things in front of you, and trust me, things can get you from the size and back in this game ALOT. Special will chip your life if you use this. You can block anything that comes at you from head on but you also have to consider how close you are to the wall. If you Regular Guard a special and the recoil into a wall, you will be bounced off the wall and be vulnerable temporarily. Note that this won't happen from blocked physical attacks or Light projectiles under any circumstances. Also, one can't Regular Guard throws. II. Barrier Guard- 360 Degrees + G and hold G. Okay, this is better. Carlo throws up a barrier that safely blocks all attacks from any direction and he will not take any chip damage from any special and he doesn't have to worry when he gets pushed into a wall. Anyone who was in the range of the barrier or attempts to enter the barrier will be bounced away without Carlo experiencing any recoil, which is why throws can't stop this form of guarding. The downfall? Barrier Breaks were designed specifically to tear through barriers. Also, it eats up your Psy Bar fast, so use it only as long as you have to. You can switch from Regular Guard to Barrier Guard by holding guard first and then at any point, rotating the d-pad/joystick 360 degrees. Switching back isn't as eloquent. You actually have to just stop Barrier Guarding and press Guard again. Really, if you use it in short burst you won't have to worry about the Psy consumption that much. III. Retreat Barrier- Direction, Opposite Direction + G and hold G. It takes 50% of your Psy Bar. Okay, before you do this, you have to understand the idea of being in a 'reeling' state. When you are in a reeling state, you are flying (usually away from the opponent) after a hit and you can't Regular Guard or Barrier Guard. The following things put you in a 'reeling' state: Basic Projectiles, most Special moves, Throws (with the exception of Gudeaths'), the end of a chain, a Strong Attack if it is the second hit in -any- chain at all and Strong Physical Attacks. Thing that WON'T put you in 'reel' are: Light Physical Attacks, Light Projectiles, bouncing off a wall and bouncing someone off of your Barrier. Whenever you are 'reeling' you can use this to prevent people from following up more attacks to lengthen their combos. Carlo will right himself and pull up a barrier and if you hold down G it will eventually turn into a Barrier Guard. This becomes important during high levels of play because characters have ways of creating some really nasty combos if you don't do this. Try and think of this as the 'safe fall' feature in Rival Schools/SF Alpha 3/Bloody Roar that was meant to prevent abuse of the juggle system. Note that you can't bounce off a wall and still Retreat Barrier, so if they 'reeled' you and you flew into a wall, they can and probably will continue with their combo and you don't have a say in the matter. IV. Psy Impulse- Press an attack button rapidly when bounced off a wall. It costs 25% of your Psy Bar and does 12% damage. I am a little hard press to call this guarding actually, but it's main purpose is defensive. When you do this, your character will emit a blast of psychic energy in all directions for a limited distance while they themselves will be temporarily invincible. Once this move has started, it is impossible to stop. It is the ultimate 'back off me' move. There is really nothing else you can do when you see this but Barrier Block. Note that you can do this anytime you are bounced off the wall, whether it be the first time or the second time. This was meant primarily to prevent cheap wake up tactics (i.e. Carlo!) Combo creation- Okay. The two factors that you must consider when you try to create combos for you character are a.)the Retreat Barrier and b.) the wall. Most combos consist of a chained followed with a special. Mind you that if you land a chain in the middle of the screen and attempt a special at the end, chances are they'll Retreat Barrier the move before your special can hit them. As long as a person has 50% of Psy at their disposal, a chain in the middle of the arena is just that and nothing more. However, if they hit the wall, then they will bounce off of it completely open to what you want to do to them. But of course they're are restrictions to this. A character can only be bounced off the wall twice in one combo. After the second time, they will fall toward the floor of the stage in an invincible state. Mind you that from the higher part of the stage they might not float all the way down to the floor. After the first bounce, the next move will knock them back into the wall, thus enabling the invincibility period I just mentioned. So it's stands to reason that you want the next attack after they bounce into a wall to be your very best, most powerful attack. So just like the model I mentioned earlier, the best combo here are a chain, wall bounce, special. Another single physical attack after the wall bounce wouldn't add to much damage, but if you are out of Psy at the moment I suggest you use a throw in lieu of the special. There are of course more complex combos out there, but they often involve using multiple projectiles at once. Experiment and find out! ------------------------------------------------------------- MOVELIST ------------------------------------------------------------- Oh...This is were it gets fun. Note that because there will be plenty of times where you be directly above or below your opponent, any directions can be used for specials regardless of what way you are facing your opponent. Hydro Spiral Command: Direction, Direction + S Damage: 18% Cost: 30% What it looks like: Carlo throws two droplets of water that helix around each other (with a kick oddly enough, so he looks a lot like King for KOF.) What is happening: Because the droplets spiral the farther the projectile goes the wider it gets. It's a really subtle effect, so you won't feel it in gameplay that much. Also, unlike other Basic Projectiles, it does not curve AT ALL when misfired. Definitely a minus. Anyway, remember that the command is there so you can do the move in close, possibly as a combo ender. If you have nothing else to end a combo off with, and you don't have a lot of Psy, you might as well do this instead. Aqua Javelin Command: Half Circle + L Damage: 0 Cost: 40% ->Flow Command: L while Aqua Javelin is out Damage: 22 % Cost: 0 Ebb ->Command: S while Aqua Javelin is out Damage: 22% Cost: 0 What it looks like: Carlo throws out a sort of a disk of water. When you press a button, the disk unfurls into a mid-geyser that has a lot of reach. Flow will make it shoot out ahead and behind of itself with respect to the direction it was flying in. Ebb will make it go out to both sides with respect to the traveling direction. What it happening: Okay, the disk cannot hurt the opponent by itself and it can go through opponents with no discernable effect, even Barrier Guards. However, it can still be nullified by opposing Special Moves and can plow through Light Projectiles. Once you've activated, anything in the path of the spray will get hit, so it can be an unlimited amount of projectiles that inhabit that space. So say that Genshin has set up all of his allotted Soul Mines tightly in between him and you. If you throw a Javelin and Flow it before it reaches any of the Mines it can destroy all of the Soul Mines and potentially hit Genshin as well! This will be one of your most used attacks as it is so versatile. Aqua Gimlet Command: Half Circle + S Damage: (3 hits) 24%, 8.4%, 5.9% (Max. Possible) 38.3% (!) Cost: 50% What it looks like: Carlo holds out one arm and projects a spike of water that hammers forward two more times, each time drilling farther than the last. What is happening: It takes a long time to come out, but it is three limited-ranged projectiles shoot progressively farther out toward opponents. The first spike is close and the third and last is far enough away to be considered long range. Anyone from far range will dodge unless they are totally sleeping at the wheel. Even up close, this takes nearly half a second to connect, so it'll be difficult to safely land. So why bother? Because the damage is so high! In optimum conditions, this move does as much damage as most other moves that cost 80% of ones Psy bar! Even if they do get bounced off a wall at any point, the damage will still be very much worth the Psy expenditure. If you ever get someone in a Bubble Mine, do this move after waiting for the Bubble to sap some health. Trust me, the results are most satisfactory (sometimes around a whopping 50%)! Another way to get this in is to anticipate other moves and use the multiple hits to overpower it (assuming the opposing attack had less than three hits to it.) Hydro Trap Command: Direction, Opposite Direction + L Damage: 35% Cost: 45% What it looks like: Carlo holds out his hand with three blades of water circling around it, kind of like propeller blades. If the opponent attacks Carlo with a physical attack, the blades of water will wash over them and hold the opponent in place as Carlo throws a big splash of water. If he isn't attacked at all, he'll just shake the water off of his hand, consequently leaving himself very open. What is happening: Meet the fastest move in the game outside of a combo. Taking only eight frames to come out means this move is excellent for a dash in counter because this move does great damage for a small amount of Psy. Here's a list of what you can counter: Close Physical Attacks Barrier Breaks Throw This is ALL you can counter. No matter what any special moves look like, you won't be able to Hydro Trap it, so don't try. The only special moves that you can counter are Meteor Butcher, Shaving Wall and Negative Drain, and that is because those count as special throws. Hydro Blade Command: Direction, Opposite Direction + S Damage: (3 hits) 14%, 9.9%, 6.8% (Max. Possible) 30.7% Cost: 40% What it looks like: Carlo fires a ring of water outward from his body in all directions, giving him cover from all angles. What is happening: You'll only get all three hits from up close, and it is just as slow as the Aqua Gimlet. There are other moves similar to this also shoot out in all directions, but this one is sufficiently more "meaty" and has slightly more range. It also doesn't have the lag of move similar to this. You probably won't be using this that much, as it slow on the draw. Still is has it's place. Like the Aqua Gimlet, the damage is handsome for the cost and if can predict the opponent movement you may be able to overpower projectiles. You may also use this to hit the opponent while trying to protect yourself from danger coming from multiple direction (i.e. Seeker Rays, Soul Mines, Asteroids.) Bubble Mine Command: Direction, Opposite Direction, Opposite Direction + L Damage: If detonated 12%, If it captures 24% Cost: 50% What it looks like: Carlo throws a Bubble out that slowly wobbles toward the opponent. If it is hit with a projectile, there is a small explosion of water. If it connects, the bubble envelops the opponent while they suffocate and struggle (except for Gates who apparently is so big that we can still drown even if his head sticks out of the Bubble clearly) and then it will simply pop without knocking the opponent back. If you (Carlo) are struck while this is out, the bubble will pop with no explosion at all. You may only have one of these on the screen at once. What is happening: Say hi to your new best friend. This move is so much fun when you get the hang of it. The bubble slowly moves forward in a up and down motion, so try and think of it as a belated Ogre Spirit that only goes half screen. It also homes in on the opponent: a lot of people don't know this. When attacked with another projectile, there will be an explosion that is about twice the radius of the actual Bubble itself. I suggest you get to learn that range as intimately as possible, because as soon as you do you'll know whether or not you should rush in for a combo. A lot of people, when accidentally blowing up the Bubble Mine, aren't expecting the explosion, so the won't be ready with a Retreat Barrier. Unfortunately, this move will end when you are harmed, so do not get complacent at all when you have this out. In fact, be ready to go on the defensive if you know your opponent is the ruthless type who like to rob you of advantages as soon as you get them (like me.) It can also be destroyed from a distance from afar as it is both slow to come out and easy to pop even with a Light Projectile. By far, the best case scenario is if they got actually got hit by the Bubble while they weren't guarding at all because that means free combo time for you. Just wait a little bit for the Bubble to drown some health out of them before you combo and you also get an extra 24% damage tacked on! Mind you, them actually getting enveloped is not likely at all, but I suppose that's fair, because every time it does half their life can easily be taken away. You can increase the odds of them falling into the Bubble if you creatively use Catches and Barrier Breaks or just force them to fight up close with this thing around. As you can see, this move has a LOT of benefits if you use it right. Serpent Press Command: Direction, Opposite Direction, Opposite Direction + S Damage: (11 hits) Initial hit does no damage, 1% x 9, 29% (In Total) 38% Cost: 80% What it looks like: Droplets form in front of Carlo in a collection of water that when it acquires enough mass, hits the opponent. If this initial attack connects, Carlo hoses down the opponent with eight hits followed up with one big blast of water that will knock the opponent against the wall. If it misses or is blocked, it's just that one hit, and nothing else. The recovery can be embarrassingly long if whiffed. What is happening: This is hit or miss short-ranged projectile that is very slow to come out. The last hit of it will always knock the opponent into a wall no matter where on screen you connected with this move. Seriously, this move has very little tactical value other than in combo creation and even then, the Aqua Gimlet is a better follow up to Bubble Mine. Use this in combos if you have the Psy, forget about it if you don't. ------------------------------------------------------------- GENERAL STRATEGIES ------------------------------------------------------------- coming soon... ------------------------------------------------------------- CHARACTER SPECIFIC COUNTER STRATEGIES ------------------------------------------------------------- The God Phoenix- Burn --------------------- Burn likes the warmth of others, which is why he'll be in your face so much during the fight. Remember that even though his moves certainly look intimidating, they aren't necessarily effective. Even though he'll flash his best stuff at you, calmly show him what happens when water meets fire. Flame Shoot- Pretty basic. It curves slightly more when misfired, but not much beyond that. Burning Trail- Burn flies at you very quickly, covered in flames so that he is invulnerable to special attacks (they'll only stop him but not harm him) and will go through Light Projectiles. He basically turns himself into a Basic Projectile. If he connects with it, Carlo will go back, covered in flames, until he hits a wall. Note that you are NOT in a reel state when this move hits, so don't try to Retreat Barrier. Instead, wait until you have hit the wall and then Barrier Guard (in order to keep presumptuous Burns from trying to do this twice in a row.) The downfall of this move is that it is so slow on the start up, when he is gathering flames around him. Just calmly move to the side when you see this coming and combo him when he beats up the wall. Oh yeah, this move is not a physical attack, so you can't Hydro Trap it. Exploder- This move is not too useful as a combo ender, but he might try to occasionally use it as a surprise move at long range. Just be wary. Burst Hand- An ouch move considering how inexpensive it is, but slow on the start up. Most likely a follow up to Triangle Heat, but you shouldn't be letting Triangle Heat connect. He might try it as a counter to Slide Dashes. Triangle Heat- A nice combo extender as it comes out fast enough that you can't Barrier Guard it but must Retreat Barrier at the end of a combo. The stun time isn't too long, but it is considerable. Don't try to Slide Dash around it, as it is too wide. Keep that Retreat Barrier ready! Explode- If he connects with this, there is really nothing you can do. Nova Flare- Compared to other 'status changers' in the game (i.e. Slipheed Dance, Frigid Shell) this is a little subpar. This dedicates Burn to slowly losing his Psy Bar and but slowly enough to really get a lot out of this move. What's more, this was meant to sort of boost his long-range skills, but that really doesn't help as he was meant to fight up close. It also seems more 'fragile' than other status moves as it will not only end from a hit or a wall bounce, but also just being bounced off a barrier of any kind. Strange. Nova Flare Shot- This move replaces the Blaze Shot when Nova Flare is active, but it's not really that great. Sure it's damaging for it's speed, but not ~that~ damaging. A newbie Burn might resign himself to chucking these continually if he accidentally did Nova Flare. God Phoenix- A very nasty counter to dash-ins. Because of the start up, you'll have to be careful when approaching Burn as it is just as fast as a throw coming out. (Fake your dashes every now and then man!) From far range, he'll use the summoning part as a shield to throw out the Phoenix, but remember that for all the hoopla, it can be Slide Dashed or nullified with a Hydro Spiral just like any other projectile. Other than that, he'll do it in a wall bounce combo, but that is out of your control. Nearly identical to Blizzard Tooth as far as properties are concerned. Overall Strategies- Burn is a very confrontational character (a comparison to Ken seems appropriate) but you can take advantage of any overeagerness on his part by making him whiff his moves in close. Remember to find the holes in his offense and keep a Bubble Mine around. You can also fall back on your long-range game as Burn's is not as good as yours is. The Serpent Press- Carlo ------------------------ You should know your own weaknesses! Nothing more to this fight over than showing off you mad skillz! C'mon, let's see what you got! The Arch Angel- Emilio --------------------- Are you run faster than light? Emilio has some good space controlling abilities, a means to limit your defense and definitely the fastest Basic Projectile in the game. Shining Arrow- The fastest Basic Projectile and also the slowest on the draw. The slow on the draw part was to ensure that it didn't dominate long range combat. Anyway, you should watch out for this move because it also stuns you for a little bit (it impales you and then explodes) so this move can also lead to combos. In fact it can actually combo into itself or worse, combo into an ArchAngel! However, because it takes so long to come out, it makes it more difficult to use up close, so take advantage of that. Don't get intimidated. Prism Reflector & Reflector Dash- You can't really prevent him from dropping these as he does them so fast, and what's more, once they are out, there is really no way to get rid of him unless he does it himself. Just try to make sure that you at least pay attention to them. Also train yourself to recognize the Reflector Dash as they can be big trouble. Try and preoccupy him if these are out and you might be able to keep him busy until they dissipate naturally. Seeker Ray- Okay, it's a little beam, not that much trouble, but as we all know, things are never that simple. If there happen to be any Reflectors of any type lying around, this beam will fly directly to the one FURTHEST away from Emilio and then the next furthest away and so on and so on. After all this is over, then will it go for you, unless it hit a Reflector Dash before hand. If it hits a Reflector Dash at any time, the beam will be dispersed into nine beams that shoot out in along eight different radial paths separated from each other by approximately 45 degrees each (bet you paid more attention in geometry don't you?) The first beam and last beam off a Reflector Dash will always be aimed at you (or where you were if you are moving.) Once Emilio has fired this, you really can't commit yourself to any type of offense because sooner or later a shaft of light is going to hit your backside. What's more, he can do nasty damage if you are caught in between Reflectors because he'll try and cap it all off with an ArchAngel. If he fires it into a Reflector Dash and you happen to be close (to the Reflector Dash, not him) then you really have no option to Barrier Guard as it don't have anywhere to run really. Of course, there is a fatal flaw to this move, and that is takes a while to come out, so you know what to do. Direct Shooting- In all honesty, I don't see Emilio players using this much. It's doesn't have much strategic merit other than leaving a couple Reflector for later around. Prism Seal- It looks nice and is a nice combo ender, but you should treat as a short ranged slightly slow projectile. Angel Halo- Grr. Emilio basically takes away your ability to use your barrier for longer than a half-second in any way. The change in status will go away if you hit him or wall bounce him. If he lands it, Arch Angel and all his Reflector games basically become unblockable as they do multiple hits and have a very high chance of knocking you into a wall. He'll try to use this at the end of a wall bounce combo as it is too slow for long range combat. If he does this, you're first reaction should be to go on the offense IMMEDIATELY. The mindset of most Emilios after he lands this is, "Now they are helpless and at my mercy; time to enjoy myself. Hehehe." not, "I've removed their defensive capabilities so they're going to try and rip me a new one." This is psychologically disorienting, so the Halo is almost guaranteed to come off. If you fight a repeated Emilio player, and he's gotten use to this, then you should start mixing it up. However, do not stay still for any amount of time though. Trinity Ray- Not just one Seeker, but three at once! Alone, this move is not any better than Seeker Ray at all (unless you were try to Slide Dash to his back or something) but with multiple Reflectors around, mayhem ensues. You're chances of dodging are nil, but you should be taking advantage of the long start up time instead. Direct Shooting- Again, nobody seems to remember to do this. Arch Angel- Visually impressive. If you leave Emilio alone too long at long range, he'll try to pull this on you, so keep him honest. Nothing you have can beat this head on, so get out of the way and then retaliate. Note that he can direct it slowly but not by much. Still, once you've dodge it, don't settle for just barely missing it. Other times he'll try to do this is after a Shining Arrow (Retreat Barrier or Regular Barrier man!) or after a Angel Halo (don't give him the chance.) Overall Strategy- Emilio has a reputation for being a difficult opponent. I suppose that's not entirely untrue, but you shouldn't get intimidated. Don't try not to let him hit you with Angel Halo, that's very important. If you do get hit, shake it off immediately but don't get foolhardy. His in close fighting isn't anything awe-inspiring. Even with Reflectors lying about, keep the fight in close so he doesn't have a chance to take advantage of them. The Pile Banger- Gates (The All Range Missiles sounded stupid) ---------------------- Though he looks like a big clunker of an in-close fighter, he can play well from nearly any distance. His combos can be nice and damaging, and from far away he can hassle you with homing projectiles. Basic Light Projectile- Normally I don't mention Light Projectiles, but Gates is worth it. He doesn't actually fire off a single projectile per se, but rather shoots off six in rapid succession. You can still beat it with Hydro Spiral, but your own Light Projectile will fail, and it can cover a larger area than most others. TOW Missle- His basic projectile can home in on you rather nicely. However, the tracking system is not good enough to keep up with you if you Slide Dash or even just Regular Dash to the side, so its not really that bad. Stun Spark- This move is only real damaging if you get hit by both it's hit and that usually doesn't happen unless you are that close. It doesn't leave much more to Slide Dash around, but not doesn't have that much range so feel free to back up. Also, don't try to overpower this move with the Aqua Gimlet. He seems to be invincible to projectiles when he does this. Plasma Cannon- A combo extender, and a nice one at that. It's completely unblockable without a barrier. So if you are blocking a chain from Gates throw up your barrier quick or he'll try to sneak this in at the end! G Cracker- He takes his sweet time pitching this move, so don't worry about it catching you by surprise. It's when it breaks up into little chaff debris that you should be wary. If you are fair away, try to get out of the way as it will most likely detonate by the time it gets to you. If you are closer, Slide Dash around it. All Range Missile- Slow, obvious, and has the potential to wipe out a whopping 55.2% of your life. Argh. No Gates player who wants to win will try to pull this move in a combo or up close as it is too darn slow. Once the missiles are out, and are in front, they protect them from most attacks, and even if manage to hit he still might have discharged some. As you might have guessed, I suggest keeping the fight in close where he won't be able to do this move. The only time he'll really try to do this move is when there is a temporary lll in long-range combat, so don't give him the opportunity. Even from far range, you can make sure he doesn't feel safe. Finally, if you are feeling brave (and I know you are) next time you see him do this move, fly right in front of him! Stop about the same distance you would have if you were right next to him and he bounced you of his barrier. When he releases the missiles and they criss-cross, they will miss you entirely! Laugh and do what you will to him! Boost Arm- Firing off your arm seems a little too Warner Brothersesque for my liking, but oh well. Anyway, this is a little slow but it certainly packs a punch (that'd be a pun wouldn't it?) You can slide dash around it as long as the arm is out, can't do anything until it returns (don't worry, it doesn't hit on the way back.) However... Double Boost- you don't want to be Slide Dashing when he does this move. Boost Arm becomes much more effective when it becomes two hard-hitting projectiles fired off in rapid succession. When he does this, Dash straight to the side and fire off something. Even if he gets his arms back in time, you'll significantly changed the momentum in your favor. Pile Banger- Actually, this move is not that much to worry about. Unless you're letting Boost Arm connect, you won't have to worry about this. Overall Strategy- Gates can play from any distance, but his big flaw is that from any distance, his attacks are slow. Try and take advantage of this. In close he'll try and chain you and sneak in Plasma Cannons, but it's nothing to worry about if you find the holes in his combos. From far away, he'll try the All Range Missile to bully you around, but as I mentioned before, he won't do it if you don't let him. The Death Curse- Genshin ------------------------ Ah...now we start getting sneaky. Genshin is a master of restricting your movements with Soul Mines and slow projectiles and then coming in with a barrier break or just plain in close fighting. Traps are his game, so keep your wits about you. Once again, prevention is better than a cure. Ogre Spirit- The slowest basic projectile, but by no means useless. The Ogre's Head is large and it travels in a wavy pattern, so it seems a little menacing to try and dodge at first. A mean little trick Genshin has is to put this at the end of a combo. If you Retreat Barrier, he'll rush in with a Barrier Break. Unless you hit a wall, he should get to you about the same time the Ogre Spirit does and you in a wonderful predicament. Take damage from the Barrier Break and block the Ogre Spirit or Regular Guard the Barrier Break and eat the chip damage from the Ogre Spirit. Sometimes the best way to deal with a dilemma is not to put your self in the position where it can come up. If you see this at the end of a combo, be brave and dodge it. He'll stop following the Spirit and stop using it as a combo ender altogether. Thunder Rosary- He throws his beads at you and if they connect you are held in place as lightning strikes you. Going forward this move is not that noteworthy as Genshin will not be able to take advantage of you being incapacitated (believe me I've tried) but on the way back when it returns to you, that's when you want to pay attention. If it captures you on the return trip, Genshin is quite free to combo off of that, possibly making you eat a Death Curse or a Big Foot. Just remember that if you hit him at anytime their out, the Rosary automatically returns to his hand. If it misses you on the way out, you have all the time until it starts to return to do your stuff. Soul Mine- Okay, Patty has her Prelude Keys, Genshin has his Soul Mines. Similar to the Bubble Mine, they can complicate in close fighting by posing an outside threat and they can really rack up damage if you start bouncing off of multiple ones. As combo extenders go, remember it puts you in a reeling state, so Retreat Barrier if you think he's going to combo you. If he starts planting these things around, you can destroy all of the ones in your immediate vacinity at once with a Hydro Blade (and deter him from rushing in.) Also, if you have a Bubble Mine and he has his Soul Mines about, chances are your Bubble Mine will hit one of the Soul Mines, detonate, take out a couple other Soul Mines, and hit Genshin! Just be wary about trying to dash in for a combo. Nothing makes you feel like an idiot like running head first into one of these things. One last thing. He can use this as the end of a combo and use the same Barrier Breaking Strategy as he uses for Ogre Spirit, except in this case, you can feel free to rush him head on as the Soul Mine doesn't damage on the way out! Big Foot- Actually, it is a little too deliberate in my opinion. It can be frightening at first to see a big ass foot kick you whenever you're even close to a Soul Mine and it does increase the likely hood of flying into another attack, but Genshin can have difficulty finding the right time to do this and it becomes predictable if poorly used. Trap Card- Hmmm. This is tough. There really is no way to effectively stop Genshin from doing this and it is quite good at switching the momentum of a fight. Just remember that he can only do this move whenever he is in the "reeling" state or whenever he could do a Retreat Barrier instead. If he does is, he does it. Just avoid it by dashing to the side and keep dashing till it is over. Fortunately, it is an expensive move, so Genshin's won't be able to do this too often. Adamant Ring- More often a counter to dash-ins. Just remember to use those Dash-in fakes and you can start to take advantage of the noticeable lag time afterwards. Death Curse- As an 'ultimate' move, it is not all that effective. Just deal with it like you would an extremely fast basic projectile. Avoiding it means you'll never have to worry about all the flashy stuff that follows. Be wary of when you are recoiling off of a Soul Mine as that is when he can try to hit you with this whammy. Overall Strategy- I know from how tricky his special moves are it would seem like Genshin is not an in-close fighter. However, don't underestimate his versatility, as his in-close game can get very claustrophobic with all the Soul Mines around. He'll feel safe with all the of those around, so remember that Hydro Blade and Aqua Gimlet have the potential to overpower them and still hit him while he's setting them up. More than any other character, he'll be trying to do Barrier Breaks the most, so be quick to change between guard types. The Gravity Infinity- Gudeath ----------------------------- Hey, how did Zangief sneak into this game? Seriously though, it is obvious that Gudeath will to be staying close to you, but his long-range game is sorely lacking. Not at all bad, but you can outsmart him. Gravity Bullet- Slow, slow, slow. And not effectively slow like Genshin's Ogre Spirit. This is just slow. If it does hit, you randomly get knocked in any direction except for towards Gudeath. Gudeath players can't really plan combos off that aspect of it though, as the they themselves don't which direction you'll head in if it hits! Zero G- Gudeath can also make the Bullet stop and hang in place. When he does this, he sort of tugs on a gravitational leash on the Bullet to stop it and I heard that that the leash can damage you but I've never had that experience. He can only two on screen at once but they have an extremely short life span (as soon as second one appears on screen, the first one is close to dissipating) so don't worry, these things are no Soul Mines. Meteor Hammer- Freaky to see at first. Dashing straight to the side might not get you out of the way in time and Slide Dashing is just stupid, so Dash straight up the center toward Gudeath (unless he has an Asteroid Belt on.) If he does have an Asteroid Belt on when he does this, maybe you'll want to trade this with a quick release Aqua Javelin. The difference in damage is not that great. Asteroid Belt- Gudeath likes to put on his fancy shmancy Belt and then try to rush at you. Like Striders' Ouroboros, in close fighting becomes very one sided with this move. And because each Asteroid is considered a projectile, they will interrupt you even if you land a Hydro Trap. However, bringing up the Asteroid Belt is a chore, and is comparable to releasing a Bubble Mine. And, like I said before, all that debris is considered five projectiles, so all of them can detonate the Bubble Mine! Suddenly rushing in isn't such a hot idea. Also, one hit will make the all the Asteroids fall, so any projectile that get through the Asteroid belt is good (and this can happen, even with five Asteroids) but Hydro Blade, Aqua Gimlet and Aqua Javelin are all guaranteed to penetrate his defenses if you can pull them off. Of course, if he is overeager and doesn't utilize his Guard Break often, you can bounce him off a barrier and watch them fall away. Satellite Fall: Single- Gudeath might do this after he sees you pull out a Bubble Mine, to nullify it from a distance, but you'll have dodged and fired something at him by then. Satellite Fall: Volley- Treat it like a mediocre All Range Missile (th that loophole of standing in front still works!), and remember that it depends on how many Asteriods there were to begin with. Shaving Wall- A rushing throw, and the only move of it's kind. Interesting. Gudeath will try this if he sees that you are particularly lazy with your barriers at middle range or after a combo, so don't be. He also tries this about whenever he would try a dash-in combo as you were probably expecting to Regular Guard some hits, but Hydro Trap covers both scenarios! Meteor Butcher- He'll try this whenever he would try his normal throw, but the damage is much greater the startup much faster. Careful dashing in, as good Gudeath players with quick hands will just grab you out of the dash and deal some nasty damage. Remember, it's a throw, so it can be Hydro Trapped! Gravity Infinity- You'd think that a black friggin' hole would be more frightening, but it's kind of tepid. I suggest you just avoid getting caught in the Gravity well in the first place, so you don't have anything to worry about. He'll too busy concentrating on the black hole to do anything while you're retreating. If you do get stuck in place, you can just wait for when the debris is about to come and pull up a Barrier Guard to conserve Psy. If some Gravity Bullets or 
Asteroid Belts were around before hand, then pull up a barrier 
sooner.  Don't worry, this move is too slow to catch you off 
guard.  Also, during the time the black hole is up but before 
the debris flies in, DO NOT hit Gudeath.  If you do, then you 
have freed him from the stun associated with this move and you 
now have to worry about both him and the black hole.

Overall Strategy- Keeping Gudeath at long range and beating 
him there is easy.  Everything will come out too slow to 
really threaten you, but his real game is in close.  Even if 
he does get in close though, your Hydro Trap effectively 
counters his two main goals up close (Shaving Wall and Meteor 
Butcher) and Bubble Mine keeps him from getting close with a 
sizable advantage (Asteroid Belt.)  Keep him outside, but 
don't panic if he gets close.


The Blizzard Tooth- Keith
-------------------------
Just as much of a combo master as Carlo, this guy can pretty 
much force you to come to him with his Frigid Shell.  He also 
has a wacky combo extender that can be really painful if you 
aren't quick to Retreat Guard.  Be smart.

Frigid Lance- It has a noticeable start up time and it hits 
multiple times if Barrier Guarded, but beyond that it's 
pretty straightforward.  Slide Dash around it.

Frigid Spear- Keith throws and ice spear into your gut that 
slams you against the wall and the throws you back into the 
center of the arena.  Remember when I said you can't Retreat 
Barrier after you get thrown in the wall, well I lied.  
Despite what it looked like, the fighting engine does NOT 
count this as a wall bounce, which is why Keith can do this 
move than twice in a row.  After the ice explodes, you are 
considered in a reeling state forward, so you can Retreat 
Barrier after this, and you should!  This is Keith's favorite 
combo extender, and he can create some truly heinous combos 
with this.  If you don't have enough Psy for a Retreat Barrier, 
the Regular Guard or Barrier Guard as soon as you can.  
Fortunately for you, it has a long start up time, so be 
careful in long range combat and it won't catch you.

Frigid Spine- A quicker, less damaging equivalent to Carlo's 
Hydro Blade.  If he ties this every time you dash in, fake a 
dash and combo him after he whiffs.  Remember that this move 
hits as the ice juts out, and that after that you can safely 
dash in even if Keith is covered in Spines at the time.

Frigid Prison- Keith's ~other~ combo extender.  This move is 
surprisingly quick but it severely decreases the damage of 
following moves.  In the end, damage observant Keiths won't 
bother with this move.  Pay attention to its range, it's not 
that great.

Frigid Shell- Immunity to projectiles!?  Argh!  *Shakes fist*  
This means you either run around until it wears off or fight 
in close.  But because the damaging part of the Hydro Trap is 
considered a projectile, so he's immune to it!  That's right!  
If you do a Hydro Trap, the part that would hold him still and 
the part that would do damage don't even slow him down!  Keith 
will stare at you funny while you do the animation for the 
Hydro Trap and then pick whenever to combo you into oblivion!  
Join me in shaking our fist in indignation!  *Communal shaking 
of fists!*  I hope your dashing game is good, because if he 
chooses to fight far away or up close, you'll need it.  Like 
most other status changing special moves, a good hit or a wall 
bounce will stop it.  This a good example where you want to 
stop the move before it begins.  From far away, try to keep 
him busy so he doesn't have time to do it, and up close, rush 
in and throw him to ensure that even if the Shell is finished 
you can still attack with something he's vulnerable to.

Blizzard Tooth- A very nasty counter to dash-ins.  Because of 
the start up, you'll have to be careful when approaching Keith 
as it is just as fast as a throw coming out.  (Fake your 
dashes every now and then man!)  From far range, he'll use 
the summoning part as a shield to throw out the dragon, but 
remember that for all the hoopla, it can be Slide Dashed or 
nullified with a Hydro Spiral just like any other projectile.  
Other than that, he'll do it in a wall bounce combo, but that 
is out of your control.  Nearly identical to God Phoenix as 
far as properties are concerned.

Overall Strategy- Don't get sloppy or Keith will have his way 
with you.  The main objective here are to make sure he does 
not abuse the Frigid Spear and try to prevent the Frigid 
Shell.  Remember that both of these moves have long start up 
time, so keep on Keith, even though he is a close range 
fighter.


The Excursion-Might
-------------------

Strange that they would make the unofficial "hero" of the 
game a lightweight in-close fighter, but whatever.  Overall, 
Might can catch you off guard because of his direction 
altering abilities and likes to keep the fight in close where 
he can overpower you with Lightning Swords.  All in all, not 
too much worry about though if you keep your head on straight 
(though I could say that about any character.)  Play smart, 
and lightning will NOT strike twice.

Electrigger- It seems a pretty straightforward move, but 
don't let that fool you.  Even if you slide dash around it, 
you're still not safe as he can redirect it back at you.  
However, keep in mind that Might can only redirect the bolt 
of lightning at you if his hand is still in contact with the 
bolt and if you didn't move, the lightning just make a wrong 
turn at Alberkerkey.  So at large distances this becomes a 
pretty deliberate and easily avoidable attack.  Also, you can 
slide dash and then dash again past him so the Electrigger may 
miss you and you will be that much closer to Might.  Another 
option is to not move and fake him out and hose him when he 
redirects it at nothing.

Magnet Anchor- Ah, the scrub's favorite move.  Newbie Mights 
will try to tack this at the end of the combo and then combo 
you again and then tack at the end of that and well...you get 
the picture.  You should realize though, that you don't even 
need a retreat barrier to protect you.  You can just put up a 
regular barrier and the bolt won't get to you in time to reel 
you in (even with thunder break power up.)  This means it can 
no longer be used to lengthen combos as long as you aren't 
bounce on the wall and have Psy energy.  Outside of a combo, 
it's too slow to be on any real threat unless you're caught 
sleeping at the wheel.  Congratulations, you've just made this 
move obsolete.

Lightning Hound- Might flies fist first forward covered in 
lightning in a state where light projectiles all bounce off 
of him and heavier projectiles simply stop him without causing 
damage.  While this does sound dangerous, the start up time 
make is difficult to use it to punish projectiles unless 
you're getting predictable (WHICH YOU SHOULDN'T BE.)  Don't 
get cocky and try to avoid it as he can simply turn on his 
heels and keep coming after you.  It's better to just pull 
up a quick barrier and disrupt his momentum.  In a combo, it 
is still too slow to catch you if you pull up a regular 
barrier.  Also, if you're dealing with an inexperienced Might, 
they might try to use this to defuse a Bubble Mine, not 
knowing it'll explode and send them reeling!  If they make 
such a mistake, combo away.    This makes chasing you around 
with this move when a Bubble Mine in play kind of risky, so 
use that to your advantage.  One more thing, despite what it 
looks like, you cannot, and I repeat, cannot counter this with 
the Hydro Trap, so don't try.

Lightning Sword- The favorite follow up to the Magnet Anchor, 
but we already made that move obsolete, remember?  The range 
is okay and it's difficult to avoid up close, so don't try 
and avoid it.  Instead, you should be busy try to combo/throw 
him so he can't get it off or bouncing him off your barrier 
where it can't reach you.  Oh, this isn't counterable with the 
Hydro Trap either.

Thunder Break- A move to power-up his other specials, however, 
one hit or knock into the wall and the power-up boosts end.  
What's more, I think the effects it has on the other moves are 
a little too subtle to be worthwhile.  Don't think much of 
this move and try to combo him before he can pull it off.

Excursion- A pretty straightforward attack.  In or out of 
combos, this move is just too slow.  Just avoid it, pull up 
a barrier guard, or if you understand its range, just back 
out of its reach.  Wow, a second move made obsolete. =)

Overall Strategies- Might will like to bring the fight to you 
but Carlo can deal with him just fine from any distance.  
He's quick and likes to peck at, but he really can't do any 
amazing damage.  If you take Magnet Anchor away from him, a 
lot of his combo options go away and the only thing you have 
to do is wait for him to make a mistake.  The Lightning Sword 
can leave some bruises, but don't get intimidated by it: it 
doesn't mean he owns close range by any stretch of the 
imagination.  Use the Bubble Mines and Hydro Trap in close 
like you normally would.  His ways of defusing traps aren't 
effective here.


The Saint's Requiem- Patty
--------------------------

Subtle as a serenade, deadly as a funeral dirge.  While not 
especially threatening at first, Patty can win the fight 
insidiously if you let her.  A good Patty will drop Prelude 
Keys around the field causally and all of a sudden, before you 
realize it, large very damaging explosions will accompany all 
her attacks.  Stay in close where she is the weakest.

Holy Whisper- Basic projectile so deal with like you would any 
other.

Prelude Key- This is where all of Patty's effectiveness lies.  
The keys themselves are subtle pieces of work and you should 
remember that what direction they are struck in and with what 
force effects how the explosions act.  Try thinking of them in 
terms of billiard balls that only she can effect and you'll 
get it rather quickly.  Normally I would tell you to jump all 
over her, but it is quick enough to get in between the hits of 
in close fighting as well.  Still, in close will deter her 
from trying to lay these down, so keep the fight close to her.  
Also, having a Bubble Mine around will up the psychological 
ante and keep her unsure if she should drop another or not.

Eternal Harp- Patty will break this out only if you've let 
her get away with too much.  Remember that it is slow to 
come out and is not effective as a combo ender.  If you see 
her do this and are within range, just throw a Light 
Projectile.

Sweet Tone- If you are knocking Patty around and this move is 
out, remember that she could be setting up Prelude Keys 
behind your back if you give her room to breath, so don't.  
Even if she tries to beat you away that will be less time 
she has to drop more keys.
Resonance- Argh...annoying.  When her little sonic sphere 
emits that short-range frequency, it can't hurt you but it 
is a relatively safe way to detonate the Bubble Mine.  Never 
good.  Also, Patty can use this little trick where she has 
the sphere emit a Resonance and ~then~ drop a Prelude Key.  
The waves stay on screen long enough so that the Prelude Key 
will go off and it'll be like the explosion came from no 
where.  Be wary and see if you can get an attack in if she 
starts to concentrate on this too much.

Sonic Rhapsody- Her bread and butter, Patty players rely on 
this just as much as Holy Whisper (if not more) and sort of 
treat it as her third projectile.  It's damaging, fast, and 
can bounce off walls even if she is hit so if you avoid it 
and start comboing her, there is a chance that it can hit you 
from behind.  However, that situation doesn't actually come 
up enough, so just try to figure out if you where it is going 
beforehand.  While it's not important, you should try and 
change the arena size to "smallest" and try this move again 
for kicks.  It is soooooo ridiculously effective in that 
scenario.

Reverse Noise- Patty puts herself in a sonic shell that 
echoes nearly any special move back at the attacker with a 
projectile of her own.  Note that the echo wave has priority 
over everything, including the Bubble Mine and even Setsuna's 
Black Sun.  Also, once she's started to reflect, she's 
invincible to projectiles so the multiple hits of the Aqua 
Gimlet won't help in overpowering her.  How to deal with this?  
Simple, start incorporating more light projectiles into your 
fighting.  It'll drive her batty when she tries to echo the 
wrong projectile and you'll have slightly jarred her confidence 
in this move.  Also, when she's preparing to fire back, she's 
quite vulnerable to physical attacks.  With everyone else 
this wouldn't come up much, but because of the properties 
the Bubble Mine, she might try to Reverse Noise a Bubble 
Mine when you are close by.  Kick her around so she'll know 
to take you more seriously.

Holy Purge- A very nice space controlling move.  Once this 
is out, it's pretty much claimed a clump of the screen with 
a big "This belongs to Patty" sign.  If happen to be inside 
the move when it comes out, just try to fire out to her as 
it's practically impossible to escape.  Keep in mind that 
while Carlos can't fit through the gaps in the circle, 
projectiles can make it pass this move as long as your are 
persistent.  Take advantage of the long start up time.  One 
last thing, it takes a lot of the bite out of this move if 
you remember it does no damage and reduces combo damage 
greatly if you are bounced off of it.

Saint Requiem- A nice way to set off Prelude Keys as she is 
invincible to anything once she gets it out, meaning she can 
detonate that Bubble Mine right next to her safely.  However, 
the move is so slow on the draw that you might be able to 
counterattack even if she tries to put it in a combo!

Overall Strategy- Once the fight is in close, Patty will try 
to get some breathing room so she can start setting up traps.  
Her favored ways of doing this is just using physical attacks 
and then running away while you're stunned.  Keep sharp and 
keep both the Hydro Trap and Bubble Mine handy.  If the fight 
does get long range, rely on the Aqua Javelin and Aqua Gimlet 
to overpower Prelude enhanced attacks.  This fight will rely 
on whether or not you can keep on her or not.


The Atomic Burner- Regina
-------------------------
Sister dear is by no means a slouch in combat and some of her 
moves vaguely resemble Carlo's.  However, she does not have 
the Hydro Trap or the Bubble Mine.  Does that mean she is 
helpless against you?  Darling, a lady is never without her 
defenses.

Blaze Shot- Fairly standard projectile, until...
Split- she splits it up into five different little 
projectiles.  You should be aware that once the fireball has 
split, all the little fireballs are considered 'light' 
meaning that you can overpower them with your Special Moves.  
If she habitually splits her Blaze Shots, start to throw out 
Hydro Spirals to overpower the small fireballs or fire off 
your basic light projectile to protect yourself without 
wasting Psy.  She'll start to not split her Blaze Shots, in 
which case you can just treat it like a standard projectile.  
Soon, she'll not want to do this move anymore, or at least 
vary it up.

Spark Rain- Regina will do this primarily as counter for dash 
in or an occasionally surprise attack up close. Beyond that, 
they're aren't too many places she's use this move.  If she 
pulls it off and you are close, just Barrier Block.  You won't 
really too much momentum if you do.  If you are far away, the 
lag isn't too great, so don't beat yourself up if you can't 
combo her for whiffing.

Hyper Napalm- It really is just an amped up Blaze Shot.  Don't 
be intimidated and just Slide Dash around it.  Unfortunately 
for her, she's dedicated to this move (i.e. can't block) until 
the Napalm either leaves the screen or...
Explode- No doubt, this was suppose to be a sister move to 
the Aqua Javelin, but it doesn't have the same space 
controlling potential though.  The explosion has a much 
shorter range (even though it goes in all directions) so it 
isn't as much of a threat.  She might detonate the Napalm if 
you keep Slide Dashing around it, so just stay in place then 
and watch as she detonates it harmlessly in front of you.

Flare Blast- A counter to dashes mostly.  Try to make her 
whiff as the lag is quite long.

Burst Whip- An interesting move.  The whip can't harm you 
when she whips it out, but it leaves a fiery trail as it 
comes in, so you should try and think of it as her dragging 
a projectile back toward her.  She uses this move to create 
temporary barriers to impede your movement.  However, to do 
this effectively, she'll have to be able to predict where 
you are about to go.  Don't be that predictable (simply 
put.)  In a long-range fight, as long as she can pull the 
whip back in, she'll be safe from your projectiles, so just 
dodge and close in instead.  Also, she likes to defuse 
Bubble Mines with this, but remember that if she never gets 
a chance to pull in her whip, then she never gets to 
damaging part of the move!
(P.S.  Why would anyone care a whip that long?)

Flame Chaser- I guess Regina has gotten tired of having to 
deal with all the male suitors following her trail.  Anyway, 
this move is effective defensively, and quite simply you 
should only try to chase Regina carefully when she has this on.  
It can be used offensively, but I rarely seen it done, so I 
just suggest blowing bubbles in hope that she might dash into 
one of you Bubble Mine.

Atomic Burner- Can we say Serpent Press?  Though they look 
only slightly different, they're properties are almost 
identical.  If you know how to deal the Serpent Press, you 
know how to deal with this.

Overall Strategy- Like her brother before her, Regina can 
fight at any distance, but is slightly better than Carlos at 
long range.  The ineffectiveness of the Hyper Napalm is made 
up by the Blaze Shot Split, so keep her unsure of the correct 
time to Split or not.  In close, she'll be comboing in a 
manner very similar to your own, without any real combo 
extenders.  Theoretically, she can use the Blaze Whip to drag 
you in, but that happens so rarely it doesn't matter much.  
So, why did I bother to tell you that part?  Anyway, she has 
no real pronounced flaw in her strategy, as she is so 
versatile.  Just stick to your guns and punish her if she 
gets sloppy.

The Darkness- Setsuna
---------------------
Who's afraid of the Dark?  Setsuna long-range game is not 
easily contended with as he just has so many options available.  
He also likes to strike not just at you, but at your Psy Bar 
as well.

Darkside Soul- Annoying to say the least.  Setsuna sends a 
gaping maw at you that chomps on you for multiple hits.  The 
fact that it eats up so much time (okay, I intended the pun 
that time) regardless of if it hits or not makes it difficult 
to handle, but it also homes in slightly.  I don't recommend 
Slide Dashing, just block or nullify it.  Also, expert 
Setsunas like to shoot it off course very slightly so it will 
go around whatever projectile you are firing and then curve 
back around to bite you in the nip.  This tactic is super 
subtle, so keep an eye out for it.

Dark Wedge- He sends to shadow daggers at you from both sides 
that intersect at around where you are.  Obviously Slide 
Dashing is not a good idea, and trying to go up the middle 
between the two daggers is not effective as they are so fast.  
Direct confrontation with a one hit projectile is not good 
either as they are two projectiles at once.  Either back up or 
Dash to the side and you'll be good.

Mirror Coffin- A slow rangeless damaging attack.  It's the 
rangeless part that will mess up.  Anytime you accidentally 
are wall bounced, rest assured this move won't be far behind.  
During long-range combat, he'll do this when you start dashing 
around too much.  Train yourself to either Barrier Guard this 
move or dash straight at Setsuna for a combo.  The latter is 
preferred.

Negative Drain- Hmm...A throw that damages you for 24% and 
replenishes his life for 18%?  Something's a little off here.  
Anytime Setsuna might do a normal throw; he might go after this.  
No worries.  It's considered a physical attack, so Hydro Trap 
all the way!  Besides, as he's a long-range character, he won't 
use this much anyway.

Daggers Shadow- A very difficult to dodge move.  If you are at 
far range, float to the side, don't dash.  If you got a Bubble 
Mine out, use that for shelter.  If he tries to get 
presumptuous and holds it until there are many, stand you're 
ground and fire an Aqua Gimlet.  By the time he realizes what 
you're up to, he'll have no choice but to release the Daggers 
and eat the Gimlet.  You could also used an Ebbed Aqua Javelin 
and nullify all of them at once when they fly.  Not 
particularly effective, but man does it look cool.

Black Sun- This move is dangerous.  Highly damaging and it 
goes through all other projectiles.  Try avoiding it or Slide 
Dashing it, but be wary during long range combat, because you 
never know when he'll try to sneak this in.  If he charges it 
up so it goes farther and does even more damage, provoke him 
with a Light Projectile or Hydro Spiral (something without a 
lot of lag) so he'll let go and you can block or avoid it.

Shady Cloud- Annoying.  With this move around you might not 
want to engage Setsuna in close range combat lest you lose 
your Psy energy very quickly.  However, keep in mind that 
the Shady Cloud disappears if your Psy Bar reaches zero 
while it is on you.  So you can release a Bubble Mine and 
then ~actively~ move into the Cloud and let it eat your bar 
real quick.  The Bubble should give you enough time to 
recharge and you won't really lose any momentum.  Also you 
can go for the throw or Serpent Press, which will make you 
immune to the Cloud's effect.

The Darkness- Okay, this is where things get weird.  
Tactically speaking, being disabled from reloading your ammo 
and having you foe's movements disguised to a certain extent 
is a considerable disadvantage.  But the real disadvantage is 
a psychological one, which is very preventable.  Do not become 
afraid: do realize that you can still control the pace of the 
fight if you are smart.  You simply have to start fighting 
'lean' as it were (especially if he combined this with a 
Shady Cloud.)  You will be using you Light Projectile much 
more, but remember that throws, Slide Dashes and controlled 
Barrier Guarding takes nothing considerable off your meter, 
so you might want to focus on this more.  It also costs 
Setsuna a lot of his Psy energy, so take advantage of that.  
If you have the Psy and land a wall bounce combo, end it with 
a Bubble Mine and wait right until it will burst and then 
throw/Serpent Press them.  This combo might not do as much 
damage as others might but it eats up time, meaning less 
time for Setsuna to press the advantage.  Also, remember 
that the start-up time is long: 57 frames!  That's 
practically a second!  You have more than enough time to 
stop him if he does it a wrong time.

Overall Strategy- Setsuna is engineered for long range combat 
but as the Major once said, "To overspecialize is to breed in 
weakness."  A bit of a bully, Setsuna players like to think 
they can be intimidating with their Psy-eating attacks and 
Black Sun but relieve them of this illusion and the fight 
will turn in your favor quickly.  Try to keep the fight in 
close where he is weakest.  After a while he might try 
something desperate to knock you away, but it's nothing you 
haven't seen before.  Also, as most of his projectiles are 
wide spread, he seems to have a higher chance of detonating 
the Bubble Mine!


The Earth Gale- Wendy
---------------------

Fast as the wind, but then again, what were you expecting?  
Don't take her lightly as she can combo you like crazy you 
are sloppy.  If you let her speed dazzle you, then it's 
pretty much over.

Air Crescent- Annoying when you first start out.  I know 
you're first reaction is to try to dodge it, but train 
yourself to dash forward every time you hear her say "Attiye!" 
and she'll stop doing this out of the blue very quickly.  
Trust me.  Her other use for it is as a counter as she can 
throw this out and probably have enough time to dodge your 
projectile.  That tactic is ineffective against light 
projectiles and if she does it with an Aqua Javelin, Ebb it 
so you'll at least have a stalemate.

Air Slasher- What?  It's not fast enough to safely get off 
in close.  It's too short range to do anything outside of a 
wall bounce combo, and you can't do anything in that 
situation anyway, so don't worry your pretty little head about 
it.

Vortex Stream- This is one of the reasons's why you want to 
learn how to Retreat Barrier, as this move can be used to 
lengthen combos and does nice damage on it's own.  What's 
more, if you Regular Guarded it, chances are that it will have 
knocked you into the wall and you'll get thrown about anyway.  
Once it is over, you'll get thrown back in the center of the 
ring where she can rush up and combo again, so you should 
throw up your barrier (either way, Retreat of Regular Barrier) 
to stop the madness before it starts.  Watch out for Barrier 
Break fake outs though.

Mirage Step- Another pseudo-combo extender.  If she does this 
in a combo, you can assume that she is trying to teleport 
behind you and combo you in the back.  Barrier time.  Also 
note that despite what is looks like, she is simply not flying 
really fast.  She can go through attacks this way, including 
our beloved Bubble Mine.

Tri-Crescent- This is sort of her version of the Aqua Gimlet.  
It is slow and is really three projectiles in one, so it takes 
three directs hit to stop it.  You are better off avoiding it, 
but she can make it fly apart similarly to the Aqua Javelin.  
Fortunately for us, it's not a very precise tactic and the 
move is slow to come off, so don't worry about it too much.  
If she's just performed Slipheed Dance however....

Slipheed Dance- A move that makes Wendy even faster.  I don't 
know what to say other than, don't let her get it off and if 
she does, try and knock her out of it by bouncing her off a 
wall or hitting her.  Some Wendy players like blitzing you 
every time they finish this, so Hydro Trap them please.

Earth Gale- A bit of a roundabout way to throw eight 
projectiles at you if you ask me.  Chances are that the 
debris won't hit you anyway, so all this does is keep you 
from approaching Wendy.  The only time this move makes a 
significant difference is if she performed Slipheed Dance 
right before.

Overall Strategy- Another picky character, Wendy gets her 
victories from slowly wearing you down and using hit and 
run.  She closes in usually by using a Mirage Step or a 
simple dash.  You can counter the Mirage Step only if you 
have an idea of where she is going to end up, but I 
recommend the Hydro Blade to cover all possible scenarios 
if you have the time.  You know how to deal with a dash.  
Remember to cut her combos short with barriers to stifle 
her offense.  Also, Wendy players tend to push their luck 
with rushing in sometimes, so keep your Hydro Trap ready.


A Perfect World- Wong
---------------------
The clock is ticking.  A good Wong player can make you unsure 
of which way is up (not that it matters much in this game.)  
He's certainly one of the sneakiest characters and can make 
it seem like he and his swords are coming in at you from all 
angles.

Tracks of Delusion- When shot forward, this move is actually 
kind of slow and doesn't travel fullscreen.
Tracks of Hindsight- A back stab, quite literally.  This move 
get confusing if Wong purposely aims it off as it will no long 
come straight behind you but from above or below.  Sigh.  
Still, it he does it too much, start to dash in after it 
vanishes (past the point where it vanished, as the sword will 
never fly past that point.)  Or you could use a Hydro Blade to 
cover yourself from all angles.  If it did hit you from behind, 
you can expect to be comboed, so Retreat Barrier if you can.

Empty Illusion- This is what Wong players use to control 
momentum as he can do it any time he could do his Retreat 
Barrier and then some!  In fact, he can do it between the 
first and second hit of the Aqua Gimlet!  Still, there are 
ways to counter this, as if he does this chronically, you 
should immediately do Hydro Blade any time he is in a reeling 
state: Wong will gladly teleport right into the blast. =)  You 
could also do the Hydro Trap if he attacks every time he 
reappears.  If he is being smart about it and mixing up when 
you do this, dash after him every time he does this.  If he 
Retreat Barriers, Barrier Break it: if he Regular Guards, 
throw him: if he vanishes, you'll be safe.

Baptism of Warning- Ouch.  Why did they make such a hard 
hitting move so inexpensive?  Well, fortunately, it is not 
that effective unless he stunned you for a little bit as it 
is just a short ranged projectile if you don't consider the 
follow up.  Most likely you will see this done in a combo, 
be wary and barrier where you can.  Also, I found that if he 
does this at the end of a blocked chain, you usually don't 
have time to hit him before he throws it out.  
Twelve Small Numbers- The follow up to Baptism of Warning.  
You shouldn't be seeing this as you shouldn't be letting the 
Baptism connect.

Dimension Blink- Good fake out.  If he is repeatedly just 
teleporting behind you, use the counters mentioned under 
Empty Illusion.  For repeated Blinks in place, just fire out 
an Aqua Gimlet (it should last long enough to get him.)  You 
could also rush toward his last known whereabouts as soon as 
he disappears and throw up a Barrier Guard.  If he 
rematerializes behind you, all that will happen is that he 
misses you.  If he comes back at his last position, then he 
gets bounced which will REALLY annoy him the more you do it. 
=)
Faint- Yet something to make things even more confusing.  
All counters listed above are still appropriate, but you must 
delay them.  It should be noted that while Wong is in the 
ether, you technically have no 'target' so your attacks will 
really be go everywhere.  So do not attack on reaction when 
you see Dimension Blink, but out of prediction.

Selection of Fate- It's actually a glorified sidestep (okay, 
so it's a sidestep into a pocket dimension, but whatever.)  
From far away, Wong will do this to be fancy and avoid 
projectiles, but it's nothing more than showing off from there.  
Up close however, is when you might overextend yourself and 
leave you backside open.  Because both Wongs are considered 
'not there' at all until the real one is 'declared' you should 
do something that will cover both.  If you want to be 
conservative, you should try a Barrier Guard but if you 
predicted this, go for a Hydro Blade.  All he can do is 
defend, if that at all.

History Repeating- Sneaky, sneaky, sneaky.  Wong players 
generally tend to have a good memory of where they did 
there Baptism of Warning as you should too.  Forget, and 
you might find a claymore sword teleported directly into 
your gut.  Just stay away from the last Baptism of Warning 
and you'll be fine.  Remember that even though this move does 
not come up much, it is a combo extender that Retreat Barrier 
is ~not~ particularly effective against.

Slow Invitation- Not much to worry about.  Just wait it out as 
it last so short that the effects don't mess you up that much.

Perfect World- This is where he starts getting cheap.  There 
is really no defense against this once it's started as all 
form of guarding are ignore and all projectiles will do 
nothing to Wong while time is frozen.  Pay attention to his 
bar as the more bar he has, the more trouble you are in.  With 
full health and 100% bar, you don't have to expect more than 
24% damage.  However, dependent on range and how much more bar 
he has, this move starts to mean free Baptisms of Warning.  
That's why a Wong with low life is by no means defenseless, as 
every second you leave him alone is 35% of your life cut away.  
Obviously, you should take advantage of the incredibly long 
start up time.  DON'T GIVE HIM A CHANCE TO DO THIS!  If he's 
already finished the move, well, take you beating like a man.

Overall Strategy- Wong likes to pick his fights as he can get 
away with a lot, or so he'd like to think.  You can keep him 
at long range at the start of the fight, as his teleportation 
methods will be predictable from there.  However, when his 
life starts getting low and his Psy Bar long, keep on him.  
Once he's started to do his repeated time freezes combined 
with Baptism of Warnings, the show is going to be over very 
quickly.  Remember that he is just as vulnerable to Hydro 
Traps as everyone else is, but he has a way to try and regain
momentum from them as well.

-------------------------------------------------------------
MISCELLANEOUS AND THANKS
-------------------------------------------------------------
I didn't need to ask my friends, and they all say I look
like Carlo and Kyosuke.  Weird

Psychic Force is the fighting game with the most people 
wearing glasses I've ever seen.

I'd like to thank Jacel Ong for the movelist and frame 
information and being apparently being ENTIRELY UNREACHABLE 
BY E-MAIL!

I'd like to thank MarsDragon for listening to my dare.

Yes, this is the rant of a sleep deprived individual.

I'd also like to say that
M@1 7@|\|6|\|3$$ 1$ $0/\/\3 1337|\|3$$ 4 j00