Street Fighter EX 2 Zangief Information Ver 1.4 Updated 16th November '98 Version History =============== Ver 1.0 Carry over info and some new stuff. Ver 1.1 New combo info, throws section added. Ver 1.2 Clean up, more vs info. Ver 1.3 Bearhug move and heaps more vs info. Ver 1.4 More vs info, combos, cleanup. Normal Moves ============ Jab Good speed and range. Strong Average. Fierce Standing punch has deceptive range because Zangief takes a step forwards. Splash ( jump, hold down ) has good priority, stays out for a long time and crosses up easily. "Superman Punch" ( jump, no direction) has GREAT range. Short Good for SPD/FAB ticks. Standing short hits low attacks well. Forward Standing forward has good range and great priority. Good for poking while advancing. Jumping knee ( jump, hold down ) has great priority. Roundhouse Still great range. Standing RH is very effective anti-air. Throws ====== Strong/Fierce Grabs opponent by the neck, bends them backward then throws them behind himself. You can barely get back into sweep range after. Forward/Roundhouse Belly to back suplex. You end up very close to them, so use this in preference to the punch throw. Roundhouse ( behind opponent ) Lifts opponent over his head then does a back breaker. You end up close to them. Special Moves ============= Lariat 3 Punches Great air defence, still vulnerable to some jumping attacks Quick Lariat 3 Kicks Faster version, not for use against projectiles Spinning Pile Driver Close 360 + Punch Damage is stil good, range may be a little less? Russian Suplex 360 + Kick Still a pretty useless move, but he runs a little faster now. You can cancel this move into a SPD or FAB. Bear Hug While in Russian Supplex press Punch During the Russian Suplex, JUST before you reach your opponent, push punch. Zangief will grab them then lift them up into a bear hug, squeeze them several times and then throw them into the air. You can hit them as they come down. Looks really neat, but timing is hard. Glowing Hand Dp + Punch Awesome speed and range! Does block damage! Comboable! Can destroy fire balls, but the timing is quite tricky. Will even destroy super fireballs! Super Moves =========== Final Atomic Buster Close 720 + Punch Zangief can now miss with the FAB supers. :( Level 3 Final Atomic Buster Close 720 + 3 Punches Still does 3/4 life damage ( usually ) Super Stomping qcf + Kick ( qcb + Kick cancels ) If they block this, canceling into a FAB super no longer works. The FAB will come out but miss. :( You have to do qcb + Kick then straight into FAB. If you do it right, you still get the yellow flash. Combos ====== Blocked combos ( assumes they block all the hits - except the throws.. :) -------------- Glowing Hand, SPD/FAB ( Nasty one this. The cancel is very smooth if you do it right ) Fierce, crouching Forward, Fierce Glowing Hand, SPD/FAB ( The timing for the cancel of the hand is a bit tricky - it's just as he steps forward ) [ a combo ], Super Stomping, qcb + Kick, FAB ( You can use the qcb as part of the 720 for the FAB so it comes out virtually as fast as just cancelling into the FAB used to. If you don't cancel, the FAB will miss ) Unblocked combos ( assumes they don't block the first hit ) ---------------- late Fierce, couching Strong, crouching Forward, Jab Glowing Hand, Super Stomping - 10 hits and about half their life. ( tricky combo - the timing on the jump attack and Glowing Hand is hard ) "Superman" Fierce, Forward/standing RH, Super Stomping - 7 hits and about half their life. ( this combo has excellent range. ) You can chain up to three Super Stomping supers together by cancelling after the fourth hit then doing a standing Forward cancelled into another Super Stomping, repeat as necessary. :) So if you have three levels charged you can do the following combo: late Fierce, couching Strong, crouching Forward, Jab Glowing Hand, Super Stomping standing Forward, Super Stomping standing Forward, Super Stomping. Against an opponent in the air, Jab then Lariat is a 2-hit combo. Tactics ======= Still much the same as EX+. The notable difference is the Glowing Hand. What a great move! The fierce one goes almost half the screen, then Zangief steps forwards, so you can use it to get around the screen. For example, after a SPD/FAB, do a Fierce GLowing Hand e arly and you're already back in their face! :) The best thing about the move is that if they block, you can cancel it into a SPD/FAB. And because of it's speed, range and quick advance it is a potent weapon against turtles. ( and everyone else.. :) The only minor problem is that there is a small pause as he steps forward after the attack so if you don't cancel it you can be thrown there. But why wouldn't you cancel? :) Zangief is still a mind game character. you have to mix it up with combos, clean jump in SPDs and FABs, and constant pressure and now block damage with the Glowing Hand! As usual, there will be some match-ups which will give Zangief problems, and especially now with the introduction of more fast characters like Nanase, Blanka and Vega, which have caused problems for Zangief throughout the SF series. A number of characters have really good standing kicks for air defence. If you jump in, you have to get it just right and use the "Superman" Fierce which will hit them out of their kick. Guard breaks ------------ When someone does a multi-hitting super on you, just repeatedly tap Forward ( the button, not the direction ). If they do a Guard Break, you'll automatically throw them. Some characters have quite good range on their Guard Breaks and they'll try to do them on you as you stand up. Use the standing Forward kick to hit them out, SPD if they're close or use and Excel to make the attack miss then nail them. Excel ----- Gamest mag lists this Excel for Zangief: c.LK - c.MP - c.MK - c.HP - MK (35/200) - (c)f,d,df+LP - 360+P (87/200) The major use for Excels for Zangief is as a defence. You are immune to attacks very briefly after you trigger one so you can use it do avoid one attack then SPD them. Useful against characters who have one, nasty move that they use a lot, like Guile's Flash Kick. Vs Info ======= Vega ---- Vega is Mr Rolly polly himself and will often spend all his time just ticking block damage off you with his annoying roll. However, there are two brief gaps in the roll: 1) After Vega dives forward for the first two hits. While he is coming back round, there is a SPD sized gap in the hits. :) You have to be fast, but hey, take your time on judging it because he'll keep rolling ( watch for Guard Break cancels and throw him out of them ) and he'll have to do a hell of a lot of ticking to make up for one SPD. :) 2) After the second time he rolls forwards there is also a gap for a SPD or a FAB if you're fast. :) Blanka ------ You have to block A LOT and carefully advance slowly and inexorably towards him, backing him into a corner at which point he's in trouble. Things to watch for are the hop move into a throw and you have to not try to lariat his jump-ins unless he's right over you or his RH kick will hit you and the subsequent combo will take half your life off. If you block his roll, you can hit him with a Fierce Glowing Hand. The timing is a bit weird in that you have to wait a little bit after he bounces off. You have to be fairly careful because if he has a super charged he can cancel into his super as he bounces off. If he does the ground roll super, your Super Stomping will hit him out of it. It also hits the normal roll attack strangely enough. Be careful with jumping in. Blanka has several very effective anti-air moves. If you're not too far away, use the superman fierce which will hit Blanka's crouching fierce. It's the other way around if you're too far away. Shadowgeist ------------ You can lariat his air stomp the same as Bison from EX+, that is, exactly as it hits you. If you block it, it has deceptively little delay. Watch for his overhead kick because he can combo off it. If he does the super which drags you in, use a Super Stomping super and make him pay. You'll probably have to block a lot because he charges his super levels quickly due to his multiple hit attacks. Chun Li ------- Yuck. This was one of Zangief's hardest fights in EX+ and it still is. You get to do a great deal of blocking. Don't try to sweep her if she jumps straight up, she'll kick you out of it every time. As in EX+ if she does the Spinning Bird Kick, you either have to hit it before it connects with you or block all of it. You used to be able to hit her with a Super Stomping super as she landed, but I'm not sure if it works still. Try to counter jump and hit her out of her long flip move or hit her as she comes down. The crouching fierce hits her forward flip pretty well, but you have to do it fairly early and you'll lose half your life if you miss-time it from the resulting super combo(s). Chun Li players seem to have gone back to the classic SF2 days of jumping up and down in the corner and trying to kick you. If they do this there are two options. You can either jump and attack really early with a Fierce or you can move up to just outside her kick range and SPD her as she lands. DON'T try to sweep her in this situation, it doesn't work. Nanase ------ She's VERY fast ( at least as fast as Chun Li ) and very annoying. DON'T jump if she does the super staff throw because she can stop it at any time. Her jumping short comes out at a downward angle and has priority from Hell. Only a jumping jab will beat it ( usually ). She's so fast it's VERY hard to get her with SPDs before she jumps away. I played one asian guy playing her and all he did was jump repeatedly with her short kick, trying for cross ups or a hit and then doing her big combo with 1,2 or 3 supers in it. I can't understand people like that. Why bother playing? Hokuto ------ Watch for the move where she moves back then comes forward with a kick. As soon as you see her go back, jump straight up and SPD/FAB her when you come down. Be careful jumping in. She has two of the best anti-air moves in her crouching Fierce and standing RH. Watch for the overhead move. Skullomania ----------- You can't duck his Skullotchakov throw any more, so hit it instead. If he does his DP with the horizontal move afterwards, hit him with the Glowing Hand as he bounces off or use the fast, kick lariat to hit him as he comes in. If you use the Glowing, be careful because if he gets wise to this he can cancel into his sphere super and nail you. If he does his slide, make sure you SPD him early or you'll eat at least one super. His 3 super chain does HEAPS of damage. Garuda ------ Still as nasty as ever. Watch for q super after his headbut-dive move. Try not to jump because his DP is the best in the game and he'll super you after it. One of the fastest characters at charging supers due to having a bunch of moves which hit muliple times. If he does the spinning super as he comes down in the air, you can lariat it if you crouch directly under him then lariat his feet. Guile ----- Arg. I hate fighting Guiles. It's such hard work and so boring. ONLY jump when he's throwing a Sonic Boom or he's standing or you'll eat a Flash Kick with a super Flash Kick on the end which REALLY HURTS! SPD him if he does the backfist. Don't try to lariat through Sonic Booms unless you're a long way away. You have to be REALLY patient and block LOTS. This is definately one of Zangief's hardest fights. Always has been, always will be. If you're keen, you can try a jump in and do an Excel just as he flash kicks. The flash kick will miss you and you can then nail him. Kairi ----- Another RyuKen. The main thing to be aware of is his air super fireball. So if he does his knee thrust or he misses a DP or just jumps in, be careful when retaliating. His Guard Break has great range. If they do it as you get up, use the standing forward kick to hit him out of it or Excel through it. Other Stuff =========== Any comments/suggestions/requests, please EMail me. amtennant@worley.co.nz Web Site: www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/4811 Bolishoi Tavyeda! ( Big win! ) Adam.