Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 16:55:00 -0600 From: Pete Funnell X-Men vs. Street Fighter Akuma FAQ Version 1.02 Table of Contents ================= I. Version History II. Intro III. Background IV. Description V. Normal Moves VI. Throws VII. Special Moves VIII. Super Moves IX. General Combo Information X. Beginner Combos XI. Intermediate Combos XII. Expert Combos XIII. Infinite Combos XIV. Credits XV. Outro I. Version History ================== Version 1.0 -- Basic info. Version 1.01 -- Added some left out credits. Version 1.02 -- Made a table of contents, corrected some moves, added new infinite combo, fixed the credits section, added several new sections, added some info on his throws and U + FK. II. Intro ========= Akuma is similar to Ken and Ryu in many of his special moves, combos, and overall fighting style, but has several extra moves and Supers that give him an edge, allowing him to become a "deeper", more strategic fighter than Ken and Ryu. His varied collection of special moves is rivaled in number only by M.Bison, and his powerful Super moves can quickly destroy your opponent's life bar if used wisely. III. Background =============== Akuma, also known as Gouki, is a master of Shotokan-Karate, the martial art originally used by Japanese assassins. This art allows one to concentrate his chi and channel it into a single murderous blow, but Akuma's master Goutetsu removed the killing power from the art and taught Akuma and his brother Gouken a less deadly version which is practiced by Ken Masters and Hoshi Ryu. Akuma rediscovered the dark side of Shotokan-Karate, and killed his master and his brother to assure that the knowledge was his alone. Soon he became entirely evil and was possesed by a powerful demon from another realm, and now only seeks worthy opponents to destroy with his newly increased powers. IV. Description =============== Akuma wears a torn up uniform similar to Ryu and Ken's with a Japanese Kanji character on the back meaning "heaven", "sky", "destiny", and "fate". In Akuma's context, it means "rest in peace." He also wears a huge necklace made up of huge bronze beads with the front bead also having the "heaven" character on it. He wears his hair in a ponytail that sticks straight up, like the Japanese warriors of old, and his entire body has the ability to emanate flames as in his Raging Horse stance at the beginning of a match. V. Normal Moves =============== Quick Punch [QP] Minimal range, good speed. Medium Punch [MP] The overhead [F + MP] can be effective if used mixed up with low attacks. Fierce Punch [FP] Good speed and recovery with his launcher [D + FP]. Quick Kick [QP] Very fast; crouching QK can be used to hit your opponent off the ground after a combo. [OTG] Medium Kick [MK] The overhead [F + MK] hits crouching opponents, and goes over most low attacks like sweeps. Crouching MK also hits your opponent off the ground. [OTG] Fierce Kick [FK] Can hit your opponents off the ground, but cannot be used to continue the combo. U + FK in the air can be done more than once in an air combo, and hits your opponent higher in the air. [see section XIII.] VI. Throws ========== His FP, FK, and MK all are throws, just hold fowards or backwards and tap the button. Performing a throw in the air or in an air combo requires you to tap down and the button instead. His FP throw the enemy far away, the FK throw kicks the opponent across the screen, and the MK throw is similar to Ken's in that he rolls with the enemy and then releases them... very impressive if done from the air! Also, if you throw an enemy into the corner, you can hit him off the ground and continue with a combo if you are close enough. VII. Special Moves ================== Gouhaduken [Fireball] D, DF, F + any P [air or ground] Do not ignore this move or overuse it; while it is the most generic of all Street Fighter moves, using it every once in a while will catch most opponents off guard. Air version angles down, very useful for going over an opponent's fireball and catching them still stuck in the fireball animation; also doesn't leave you as open as a ground fireball. Also used as an ender for air or ground combos. Goushouryuken [Dragon Punch] F, D, DF + any P This move has lost almost all of its usefullness since the introduction of air-blocking. Most of the times this will be blocked and leave you wide open, but it can still be used to knock vulnerable oponents out of the air, and the QP dragon punch used at close range can knock opponents out of most attacks without leaving you open. In the FP dragon punch the first hit of the animation [the low crouching hit] takes off more power than the other two hits combined. Goutatsumakisenpuukyaku [Hurricane Kick] D, DB, B + any K [air or ground] This is one of Akuma's most useful moves, not only is it extremely easy to chain into any combo, it lets you hit the opponent off the ground after it connects for an easy air combo. This is covered more in depth in the air combo section, and also talks about how you can use it to set up the Raging Demon. Tap K repeatedly to add hits if it conects, and if blocked you can follow it up with a throw by tapping F + FP. Diving Kick D, DF, F + any K [air only] This move is not limited to a certain amount of hits; as long as there is something for it to connect to, it will keep on hitting. This makes it very useful against the larger characters such as Juggernaut and Bison. If blocked, he recovers faster than it looks so don't hesitate attack as you are getting up with a hurricane kick or sweep; most opponents will be caught dead in the middle of a move. Ashura Warp B, D, DB or F, D, DF + 3P or 3K The backwards dragon punch motion teleports you away from your opponent, and the forwards motion teleports you towards them. Using 3K teleports you a short distance, and the 3K teleports you a long distance. Akuma is COMPLETELY invulnerable while he is teleporting, ALL projectiles, punches, kicks, and Supers [!] pass right through him. The drawback is that he is defenseless immediately before and after he teleports, so you have to time this carefully. A good use for this, other than simply dodging through moves, is using it to get close to your opponent when he is keeping you at bay with a lot of projectiles, etc. If you are close enough and use the 3P warp, you can actually go right through him and attack him in the back. Be warned that your opponent can attack you before you recover if you do this incorrectly. VIII. Super Moves ================= Mesatsu Gouhaduken [Super Fireball] D, DB, B + 2P This moves is identical to Ryu's super fireball, with the exception that it cannot be done in the air. It has and fairly fast startup and almost instant recovery, and is best used when your opponent is recovering from their own super or when your opponent is in the middle of a move. This is Akuma's team up super, and if he is your inactive fighter when you do the team super motion, he will wait until the other character finishes their attack and THEN do his super fireball. Lots of times your opponent will block the first fighter's super and walk right Akuma's. Mesatsu Gouhaduken Rain [Super Air Fireballs] D, DF, F + 2P [air only] This move shoots a volley of fireballs at a downward angle, and can hit your opponent even if you are way up and they aren't even on the screen. This does not leave you vulnerable but is often blocked because the startup speed is not too great. Use the same strategy as the ground super fireball and try to catch your opponent in the middle of an attack. It can also be connected in the middle of an air combo. Mesatsu Goushouryuken [Super Rising Dragon Punch] D, DF, F + 2P This series of rising uppercuts is best when connected to a ground combo. Otherwise the first couple of hits will connect, but the rest will be blocked. Instantaneous startup, but if blocked will leave you wide open. Raging Demon QP, QP, Towards, QK, FP This move is Akuma's most powerful and versatile super, and since it is UNBLOCKABLE, if you set it up correctly it is almost guaranteed to connect The easiest way to get the Raging Demon to connect is to do it while you are on the ground and you opponent is in the air in front of you coming down from a super jump, uppercut, or your air combo like some of the ones I've listed below. You can also do a jump-in hurricane kick that your opponent will usually block and perform the Raging Demon motion in the air while you are still in the Hurricane Kick motion and it will come out as soon as you hit the ground if you time it correctly. Also simply dashing in with a QP and doing the rest of the motion quickly can catch your opponent off guard. These methods still give your opponent a very small window where they can hit you out of the move, but if you use these tactics correctly they will usually get grabbed before they have time to react. Don't forget that after every Raging Demon you can hit your opponent off the ground for an easy super or air combo. Examples of this in the combo list below. IX. General Combo Information ============================= Like Ken and Ryu, his timing on the air combos is slow and unsteady, and takes some practice so you get all the hits to connect. Both his air combos and ground combos follow the Qx, Qx, Mx, Mx, Fx, Fx pattern [x = P or K] so as long as you follow this you can do pretty much whatever you want. You can skip foward in the pattern but not backward. Also, you can only hit your opponent off the ground once per combo. [Catching someone out of the air with the Raging Demon after you air combo them does not "legally" continue the combo, so you can still hit them off the ground after the Raging Demon even if you hit them off the ground for the air combo in the first place.] Dashing in for a close combo not only catches your opponent off guard but allows you to connect more hits than you usually would. You can cancel out of all puches and kicks into special moves or supers -- this makes sure the moves connect. X. Beginner Combos ================== Jumping FK [land], FP, cancel into FP Fireball Dash-in QP, MP, FP Dragon Punch D + QK, D + MK, D + MP, cancel into FP Fireball Jumping FK, [land] D + MK, cancel into FK Hurricane Kick, D + FK. XI. Intermediate Combos ======================= Jumping FK, D + QK, D + FP, [launch] QP, MK, MP, cancel into Super Air Fireballs. Jumping MP, jumping FP, [land] D + QK, D + MK, cancel into Super Rising Dragon Punch. Jumping MK, jumping FK, [land] D + QK, D + FP [launch], QP, QK, MP, MK, cancel into air Fireball. Raging Demon, D + QK [OTG], D + FP [launch], QP, MK, MP, cancel into Air Super Fireballs. XII. Expert Combos ================== Jumping MK, jumping FK, [land] D + MK, cancel into FK Hurricane Kick, D + QK [OTG], D + FP [launch], F + Air Hurricane Kick, [land] Raging Demon [catches opponent falling out of air], D + QK [OTG], D + FP [launch], QP, MP, MK, cancel into Super Air Fireballs. XIII. Infinite Combos ===================== DF + MP, F + MK, DF + MP, F + MK, DF + MP, F + MK, again and again ... [infinite] D + FP [launch], QP, QK, MP, MK, U + FK, U + FK again [knocks opponent higher into the air], superjump, QP, QK, MP, MK, U + FK, U + FK again, superjump, again and again... [infinite] XIV. Credits =========== Adam Tennant Juggernaut FAQ that convinced me I could write my own... Don Carter's All Star Lanes Best arcade in the Crescent City... Fritz! Major source of tokens, unbelievable stories [27 wins?], and lots of tactics and info. The Mighty Rose and Honorary Members For the occasional DC tournament and general beatdowns... James Chen Excellent XSF FAQ, source of good combos. Michael Chen Primary source of moves + pics. Warrior's Dreams Source of background info. Leung Gave the incredible air infinite... XV. Outro ========== Please feel free to send any comments, critisism, combos, info or anything at all to me at dfunnell@neosoft.com -- email me to get the latest version or to be added to my mailing list. MIGHTY ROSE! -- Pete.