Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3 Adult Gohan FAQ and Guide Table of Contents: 1 - Intro 2 - Bio 3 - Pros and Cons 4 - General Information 5 - General Strategy 6 - Cancel, Stun, and Juggle Combinations 7 - Useful Capsules, Set-ups, and Strategies 8 - Character Match-ups 9 - Outro 1 - Intro Before I begin, there are a few things I want to make clear. First of all, this is not one of those character FAQs where I list all the capsules and how much damage deathmoves do. In my opinion, that is the most shallow way of describing a character and doesn't even begin to cover all the depth and ability a character has. It doesn't tell you anything about the character or how to play the character well, so I won't be doing that. I'll list a few useful capsules, but if you're looking for an extensive list of capsules, or anything of that sort, you won't find it here. Also, I'm not trying to tell everyone how to play, or get you playing a certain way. I'm trying to get you THINKING a certain way. There is a lot of depth and strategy in this game, like any other fighting game, and until you're thinking a certain way, you won't be able to progress. I will present concepts and techniques used at high level play that you should learn, but you really just have to kinda develop your own style, and just go with it. The object of any strategic game is to control as much of the game as possible. You want to deplete all of your opponent's life bars, and they want to do the same to you. There is no one way that works best, or step by step method for how to do it, but there is a certain fluidity to a strategic style of play, and that is the essence of any good fighting game. Everything you practice should flow smoothly, and if it isn't, you're either doing something wrong, need to practice more, or you've come across a situation you were unprepared for, and you won't be able to react quickly and efficiently to it again until you confront it. 2 - Bio Soon to come. 3 - Pros and Cons Gohan's Strengths: -He has a reliable combo platform, which is his most vital attribute. -He is by far the most damaging character in the game. He can get an instant win in one combo, without attack upgrades, quickly and efficiently. -He has some of the best capsule set-ups in the game. See useful capsules for more detail. -Great transformations. They give him nice upgrades in ki and attack power, with bearable slot usage and ki guages need to transform, as well as give him nearly unavoidable guardbreaks, off of which he can deal very high damages. -He is not transformation dependent. This is a great advantage over many characters, who need their transformations to use their deathmoves or gain various other advantages, because it means he can use Yakon on them. Having such a powerful level two deathmove and not having to transform to use it means he can do it early in the match, and doesn't have to worry about the Yakon. -He has the best level two deathmove in the game. It is a melee attack, which means he gains ki when he uses it. He can also cancel it, making it comboable, and it is also an infinite in the air, which is where his high damage comes from. Gohan's Weaknesses: -While his combo platform is reliable, it still leaves a lot to be desired. He is not very versatile, and has a mediocre offensive combo starter, which means he is at a disadvantage against defensive characters. He has no safe defensive starter himself, so he will also be at a disadvantage against characters with longer reach, and he also has no close range P starters, so he won't fare well against characters that do, or characters that have a comboable throw. -Although he is the most damaging character in the game, he completely relies on his level two deathmove to unleash high damage combos. This is a problem against many characters if they can equip a ki-based defense capsule, and also means he needs to use excessive amounts of ki for higher damage combos. -His Meditation capsule lessens his ki expenditure considerably, but the fact that his level two deathmove eats so much ki makes him somewhat reliant on it. He is also reliant on it at high level play, since there are many characters with many advantages over him. Without his exceptional capsule setups, he'd be a somewhat mediocre character in general, comparable to characters like Bardock. -Small characters with high combo resistence are nearly impossible to land a good combo on with Gohan. On the ground, his main starters whiff at close range, and his nuetral starter whiffs at long range. Since he cannot fight on the ground with them, he has to take to the air, so they are all pretty safe from him on the ground. Fortunately, there are only a few characters like this he'll have a problem with. So you see, Gohan is a great character, but he is far from perfect. His saving grace is his high damage output. He only needs to land one combo (or two with seven life bars) to win a match, while most characters need at least two or four. His capsules also go a long way, because without them, he couldn't even compete against a few characters in the game, high damage or not. 4 - General Information Here are some useful combo strings for making combos: Cancels: >PKK- KKKK- PPPKE- KK>KKE- K KK Juggles: >PPPP>P (infinite) PPKK (infinite, but doesn't combo on it's own) KKKE- (infinite) All his cancels are safe starters, and most of his stuns and juggles have safe follow-ups. However, his cancel combo strings will tend to be his main combo starters. You'll really only use a few of these strings in actual combination attacks, but the fact remains that they are still there. Here are some various useful combo strings... Launchers: >P+K P+K Launcher Strings: PPP>P P>PPP PPPKP KKKK KKPPP >PPPP KPP>P K, and then switch to one of his other infinites to lengthen the combo and get some extra damage, and still pull off over 2000 damage with only two SDS strings. You can also cancel and transform the SDS for a juggle and switch to your >PPPKE- for the following hit, or your >PPPP>P infinite. This makes it possible for people who can only get two or three SDS in one combo to get five or six, fairly easily. If you do not have the patience to learn his instant kill combos, this is a good alternative. You can still get an instant kill this way, so if you only transform during the combo, it won't matter if your opponent equipped yakon, or if you did yourself. 5 - General Strategy The one thing you have to be able to do before you will ever win a match, is land an attack. Obviously, the most damaging attacks are the best, and the most damaging attacks are combinations. Meaning, to do any real damage in this game, you have to be able to land a combo starter. You can try landing ultimates, but you have to go hyper, and even if you could get close enough to land an attack before your ki wears down, you have a very slow attack that eats the rest of your ki, and if you miss, your opponent gets a free hit. If you miss with a combo starter, nothing happens, except you gain some ki, then you try again. I suppose you could try using deathmove strings as well, but spamming PPPPE only goes so far at a minimal level of play. If you can land one combo starter, you can take away over three bars of your opponent's life, easily. Think about that for a second...Kamehameha does 375 damage at the end of a combo, and my most damaging combo done at base form does over 3000...even Gohan's ultimate doesn't even come close to that. I have some setups that even allow you to pull off 4400+ damage in one combo. So from now on, Kamehameha does not exist, and ultimates/dragon rush do not exist unless it is in a low level of play. Gohan's most effective weapon, and the only weapon he needs, is his Soaring Dragon Strike. The core of Gohan's combo starting abilities is his offensive play, so I'll start with that. His main offensive starter is his >P, but you can use his

P, which makes it somewhat useful. Whatever you do, don't forget that he does have change-up attacks for all his starters. Here are some strategies for landing offensive starters: - When your opponent is within range, go for it. Since he has the generic >P, he has the same reach as many other offensive characters, so learn to beat them to the punch. The player with the fastest reflexes in these situations will land the attack, so if you do it before your opponent, you win. If they block, relax, you'll still build some ki and do a little bit of damage. Also, remember that your

P. Many players will not expect you to come out with a P, if there is any lag time between the string. Just pick your shots carefully, because you can get hit while doing this. - If you're using the above strategy, and you don't have a chance to come in for the attack, attack at the end of the string. If you time it perfectly, you can almost always land it, but realistically, you won't do this very often. But if it's blocked, don't worry, you're still keeping on the offensive this way. - Use a guardbreak. Gohan does not have many of them, but use what he has. Be careful with dash attacks. Only do them from as far away as you have to. If you have to hold the forward button, you're too far. If your opponent dodges your attack, they get a free hit, and even though it will juggle you, there are some characters (such as Gohan) who can capitalize on those kinds of counter hits. Anyway, off of a guardbreak, you can go in for a >PKK-transform, and juggle your opponent high enough to combo. If you time it perfectly, you can catch them before they can guard, but after they regain their balance, and land a full combo on the ground. - Capitalize on mistakes. The key thing about offensive starters, is that even from a long range, you can land an attack, so your opponent should never be safe. If they make any mistakes, you rush in and land a quick combo on them, or long, if you have time. Gohan's "plan B" attack strategy is to use his nuetral starter. Namely, his K. It is reasonably fast, but it is shorter in range than his K. It can be used similarly to his offensive starter, and similarly to a defensive starter, which is why I call it nuetral. Here's some strategy for you: - When your opponent is within range, go for it. The K makes a great follow-up to a blocked offensive starter, since they all pull you within range. The speed of the K will override most offensive starters, and if you beat your opponent to the punch, you'll win. - If your opponent is going for a combo string, block or dodge. It doesn't really matter, as long as you stay in close range. When you see an opportunity in some lag time between the string, hit them with the K and interrupt the combo. Just be careful, you won't be invincible with this technique. - If you're using the above strategy, and you don't have a chance to come in for the attack, attack at the end of the string. If you time it perfectly, you can almost always land it, but realistically, you won't do this very often. But if it's blocked, don't worry, you're still keeping on the offensive this way. - Use a guardbreak. Gohan has some awesome damage potential off of a guardbreak. Even though following up immediately with a K will throw them up in a juggle because it is a counterattack, Gohan can still use his SDS infinite. Use this when you want to get straight to business and maim your opponent, if you see the opportunity. - Again, capitalize on mistakes. Nuetral starters are great after a dodged dash attack, a sidestepped attack, and anytime your close enough while your opponent is open. Look for the opportunity, learn to spot it, and just go with it. Defensive Play vs. Offensive and Nuetral When used properly, defensive play is arguably the most reliable means of landing an attack. It is designed to be used a certain way, and when it is, it lands. Offensive and nuetral play is not. There is no great way to start an attack with one, however, you have many more opportunities with them. You can throw many more offensive or nuetral starters safely than you can defensive ones. In conclusion, the key to landing offensive and nuetral starters is not necesarily HOW you use them, but when. They are designed so you can attack from further away, at a quicker speed, in a safer, efficient way than defensive starters. You can go for it when your opponent is weak or unprepared more than you can with defensive starters. So, focus more on being the attacker, instead of how you're attacking, and remember your change-ups. Make less mistakes than your opponent, cover yourself as well as you possibly can, and you'll become a formidable offensive player. Here is how you can be safer: - Use your change-ups. For example, instead of a >PKK-, throw a >PPPP>P...you can even get an SDS string to go underneath and behind your opponent off of that string, or continue it indefinitely from the front. If you have good enough reflexes, go for the launchers when your >P gets blocked. Same goes for >PPPKE. There are change-ups for all your starters. If your KK doesn't land, follow through with PPP sometimes, instead of always using KK, or go for the KP and K strings as well as all the various change-ups available. - Simple launchers. They won't build as much ki as a whole string, but they are easier to land, and still give you enough time to taunt or build ki. A good way to use them is to just start charging one once your opponent is in range for their starter, and cancel it quickly. It's safe, and if they attack, you merely release the charge. If you're good, you can time it during an attack, or use it similarly to a defensive starter. For more info on defensive play, check out my Android 18 FAQ. - Blocking. As simple as it sounds, it does build your ki. Use your block a little more when you need ki, let your opponent build some up for you. Just avoid dodging while your ki is low. Landing any attack will also build ki, whether it fully lands, is blocked, or dodged. Either way, it builds about the same ki. - Maintaining a full ki guage. When you are at max ki, you will stay there for awhile before it starts to drop. Once it does that, all you need is a P or something small to get it back to max. try to keep it there as much as possible, and always try to build up to max ki if you can. When you aren't doing damage, you should be building ki. - Transforming will also give you a higher baseline ki, faster recharge rate, and build ki as well if you use it as a guardbreak. That about sums up all the strategy I wanted to get into. The key to mastering all these various things is practice, practice and more practice. You'll never completely master every strategy, and you'll make mistakes, but the more you practice, the less you'll make. If there is one strategic aspect you are lacking in skill with, or not using much, start using it. Don't neglect your weak points. Eventually, most of this stuff will become simple instinct which can be good or bad. It's good if you develop good habits, but bad if you have a habit of doing unsafe things, so always try to be thinking about how you can be safer or more effective with your techniques. 6 - Cancel, Stun, and Juggle Combinations For Gohan, they're simple enough in structure. I am going to list five combos for you, of my own device, and their damages below with some common attack percentages. That's right, just five combos. Here they are: (note: These combos are very difficult to pull off. For additional information on how to do them, check the last couple paragraphs of the general information section.) -Simple Soaring Dragon Strike Combo #1: >PKK~, KK>KKE 11 hits, 0.7 ki bars recovered -Simple Soaring Dragon Strike Combo #2: >PKK~, KK>KKE-, KK>KKE 18 hits, 1.1 ki bars recovered -Simple Soaring Dragon Strike Combo #3: >PKK~, KK>KKE-, KK>KKE-, KK>KKE 25 hits, 1.5 ki bars recovered -Simple Soaring Dragon Strike Combo #4: >PKK~, KK>KKE-, KK>KKE-, KK>KKE-, KK>KKE 32 hits, 1.9 ki bars recovered -Simple Soaring Dragon Strike Combo #5: >PKK~, KK>KKE-, KK>KKE-, KK>KKE-, KK>KKE-, KK>KKE 39 hits, 2.3 ki bars recovered I have spent considerable time developing this system, and for Gohan, it is the best way to deal maximal amounts of damage in minimal amounts of time. It works like this...The number represents how many SDS (Soaring Dragon Fist) strings there are in the combo. There is no need to do more than five, and doing so would not only be excessive, it would take too long. Stick to five or less. There are two variations: the alternate variation, and the nuetral variation. The alternate variation starts like this: PKK~, then continues on to do the SDS strings. It gives your opponent enough time to build an extra fifth of a ki bar on average. The nuetral version has the same recovery time, but looks like this: KKKK-, >PKK~, P+K similarly to Cooler's stepback move, so your best bet is to do this when he's playing his range game, and try for a