Sarang Nadig FAQ Soul Calibur 3 Seong Mi-na Copyright 2005 Sarang Nadig November 25 Version 0.75 email: sarangnadig@netscape.net === Legal Stuff === If you guys have any problems, comments, suggestions, or anything else to add; feel free to email me. If you would like to use this FAQ for you're own site or whatnot, just drop me an email and let me know. This is my first FAQ so please bear with me. :) === Contents === 1. Introduction 2. Character Profile 3. Control Layout 4. "A" attacks 5. "B" attacks 6. "K" attacks 7. Simultaneous Attacks 8. Throws 9. 8 way run (8WR) moves 10. Recommended attacks and other strategies 11. Ineffective and Unsafe moves 12. Final thoughts === Introduction === Let me first start out by saying that I've been using Mi-na since Soul Blade for PSX and have stuck with her till Soul Calibur 3. I've even been fortunate enough to win small sums of money in a few tournies in my area thanks to Mi-na. While I'm certainly not claiming to be an expert or know her completely, I will do my best to share what I do know. If you hadn't noticed, I really like Seong Mi-na. All that aside, Mi-na has changed quite a bit since SC2. Other than her name change, she plays differently this time around. She also resembles Kilik a lot less as far as moveset goes, and she's gotten better on top of that. === Profile === Seong Mi-na Age: 23 Birthplace: Jirisan, Korea Height: 5'4" Birthdate: Novemeber 3 Blood Type: A Weapon: Zanbatou Weapon Name: Scarlet Thunder Discipline: Seong Style Longswords and Ling-Sheng Su Style Rod Family: Father/ Seong Han-myeong Mother and Brother both taken by sickness === Controls === 7 8 9 4 N 6 1 2 3 1 = Back Down 2 = Down 3 = Down Foward 4 = Back N = Neutral 6 = Foward 7 = Back Up 8 = Up 9 = Up Foward Button Layout: A = horizontal attack B = vertical slash K = kick attacks G = guard Properties: GI = guard impact GB = guard break Attack Level: H = High Attacks M = Mid Attacks L = Low Attacks Some Other Abbreveations: WC = While Crouching WR = While Rising AT = Attack Throw WJ = While Jumping WL = While Landing WS = While Standing 8WR = 8WR CH = Counter Hit _ = or BT = Back turned toward opponent === "A" attacks === --------------------------------------------------------------- Name Command Attack Level --------------------------------------------------------------- Twin Fang Thrust AAB HHM Root Fang 1A L Knee Slicer 2A L Strangling Slash 3A M Shadow Step Slice 4A L Hilt Kick 6AK MH Wing Cross 44AA ML Circular Heaven Slash 66A M Knee Slicer WCA L Twin Fang Strike WRAA MM Reverse Dance Blade BTA H Reverse Biting Strike BTWCA L Giant Fang WJA M Divine Biting Strike WLA L === "B" attacks === ---------------------------------------------------------------- Name Command Attack Level ---------------------------------------------------------------- Splitting Divide BB MM Dancing Fang Sweep 1BA ML Dancing Blade Kick 1BK MM Air Parting 2B M Lifting Heavens 3B M Retreating Fang 4B H Hidden Fang 6BA ML Thrusting Fang 6BB MM Top Hammer Fang 44B M Spinning Chin Strike 66B H Strangling Flower bA HH Air Parting WCB L Liquid Poke WC1B L Lifting Wing WRB M Reverse Air Parting BTB M Reverse Air Parting BTWC M Giant Air Parting WJB M Divine Lifting Heavens WLB M === "K" attacks === ---------------------------------------------------------------- Name Command Attack Level ---------------------------------------------------------------- Snap Kick K H Liquid Rising 1KK LM Earth Kick 2K L Belly Crush Spin Kick 3KK MH Check Mate 4KB MM Banishment Kick 6K M Thunder Kick 44K M Circular Heaven Kick 66KKK MMH Earth Kick WCK L Shattering Kick WRK M Reverse Snap Kick BTK H Reverse Earth Kick BTWCK L Giant Rising Kick WJK M Divine Sweep Kick WLK L === Simultaneous Attacks === ---------------------------------------------------------------- Name Command Attack Level ---------------------------------------------------------------- Zanbatou Smackdown A+B HHHHHH Light Crane 4A+B MMM Dancing Crane 4A+BAB MMMM(GB) Heavy Crane 4A+B 4A+B MMMMMMM Holding Treasure 1A+B L (AT) Rapid Earth 2A+B LLLL Opening Treasure 3A+B L (AT) Fang Barrage 6A+B MMMMM Seong's Crushing Blade 9A+B M Seong's Quick Blade 9A+BA M (GB) Radiant Wing 8A+B M Spinning Divide 66A+B M Heavens Wheel B+K MM Retreating Sands 6B+K MMM Rock Breaker 2B+K L Iron Chin Strike 6B+K H Leaping Horse Vault 7_8_9_B+ M Circular Blade Kick A+K M Fang Sweep 2A+K L Power Fang Sweep 4A+K LL Dark Curtain 4A+K LH Taunt K+G N/A Glory Fan WCB+K MMM === Throws === ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name Command Properties ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dropping Embrace A+G A to escape Crushing Soul B+G B to escape Riding Mustang approach from left (A or B) Mi-na Frankensteiner approach from right (A or B) Stalk Cutter approach from behind cannot escape === 8WR moves === ------------------------------------------------------------------ Name Command Attack Level ------------------------------------------------------------------ Circular Heaven Slash 6A M Spinning Chin Strike 6B H Sliding 6K L Spinning Divide A+B M Heaven's Wheel B+K MM Heavy Willow Divide 3_9AA MM Lifting Heavens 3_9B M Spring Splash Esoterica 3_9KB MM Falling Fang Divide 2_8AA ML Black Wing 2_8AB MM Glory Wing 2_8B M Dark Sweep 2_8K L Sparrow Sweep 1_7A L Shadow Fang 1_7B L Thunder Kick 1_4_7K M Wing Cross 4AA ML Top Hammer 4B M === Recommended Attacks and Strategies === As far as short ranged battles go, Mi-na will probably have pretty hard time going up against the likes of Taki or Talim, who excel at close range. Some good short range moves that Mi-na can utilize are: 1A+B 3A+B AAB 3B 1KK 2A 2K bA 6AK 6B+k If you haven't noticed, Mina does very well during mid ranged battles. Some of her best moves for mid range are: 3B 8WR 2_8AB 8WR 2_8AA 66KKK AAB 8WR 3_9KB BB 6BA 6BB 6BA_6BB 1BA 1BK Though Mi-na has a similar weapon in comparison with Kilik she seems to lack moves that would greatly help her in long range battles. 66KKK 8WR 3_9AA BB 8WR 2_8 B 6A+B Mi-na also has a fairly good ring rut game too. She's got a few terrific moves for ROs. 8WR 2_8B 66KKK bA A+K 4A+BAB 2A+K 8WR 2_8AB 66A+B 8WR 3_9KB 4KB- Can also auto GI enemy's attack if timed correctly. B+G- This only works if you have you're opponent at the very edge of the ring. Using B+G will make Mi-na vault over her enemy and slam them into the ground. In turn, the enemy will simply "roll" off the edge. It's pretty amusing. :) 1A+B (AT)- If you ever find yourself at the edge of the ring and about to face a RO, this move is probably your best bet. Unless you're opponent breaks the AT, Mina will simply pick up you're opponent and toss them out of the ring. Once again, it's very amusing. Credit goes to Habaloo (Tim) for reminding me about these. Now that you know about Mi-na's ranged battle, here are some of her moves you should find yourself relying on. AAB- You should abuse the hell out of this move. It yields a whopping 80 damage if it hits on CH and is safe on block too. The first two hits are a natural combo, but even if the third hit is blocked you're relatively safe with this move. The only problem I had with AAB is I missed that SC2's AAB would lead into a juggle, while SC3's AAB doesn't. 6AK- This is one of Mi-na's best close range pokes. It's fast and fairly safe. However, the second hit can be ducked, giving you're opponent the chance to counter attack; so don't go using this move too often. 2A- A quick low that can be pretty hard to see coming. It's an excellent poke and one of her best lows. 1KK- Another good low. It's not as good as Mitsurugi's 2KB, but if an does manage to block the first low attack, they still have to contend with the second mid kick in order to avoid damage. You can even mix things up by not following up with the second kick to throw opponents off. 66A- This moves returns from SC2 and it's one her better moves. Not only is it extremely quick but it stuns on CH allowing for additional damage. 1BA or 1BK- This is a great move simply because one hits mid and the other hits low. This will keep you're opponents on their toes. 3B- This is a no brainer. It's quick, safe, and it lauches. bA- If I had to choose, I would say bA is in the top three of Mi-na's best moves. It's ridiculously fast, hits stepper, and it's safe. The only downside is that it hits high, so it can be ducked. But judging by the speed of this move, most will probably not seeing it coming, unless you abuse it. 666KKK- Not only is this a great ring out tool, but it's safe on block and Mi-na doesn't need to unleash all three kicks. For example you can stop after the first two kicks and then anwser back with a low attack to catch you're opponent off guard. The downside is, the kicks are linear. Opponents can easily step them and retaliate, so take care. 4A+BAB- Not only is the final hit a guard breaker but you can G cancel it. If you decide to use the GB, the try to follow up with a fairly quick attack to get some damage in. If you choose to G cancel, it would be a good idea to go for a low attack. I suggest 1KK. 66B- A new move for Mi-na, and it's a good one. It's fast, safe and it stuns on CH. Go for 3B followed by bA if you get this to land on CH. 6B+K- Another new move for Mi-na. This move is fast like 66B, but it knocks you're opponent straight to the ground. You should be able to get off a quick low attack or 3B while you're enemy is grounded. 8WR 3_9 KB- This is another excellent new move for Mina. It's a quick little jump kick followed by a WLB which ends up launching. You should be able to get a follow up attack if the second attack hits. It's safe and does fairly good damage. From my experiences, I've noticed a lot of people block the first hit but for some reason are unaware of the second hit. 8WR 2_8AB or 8WR 2_8AA- Once again, this move is a good mid and low attack variation that can keep opponents guessing. Not only that but they have great range and they are very safe moves. Also 8WR 2_8AB is a great ring out move. 8WR 2_8 B- While this move is a little slow coming out, it's got range and it hits opponents so high that it gives you plenty of options on what to do to them next. If anything, I suggest 66A+B for good damage. Combos: CH 66B, 3B, bA 8WR 2_8B 66A+B CH 3B, 8A+B 44K, 8B+K Ineffective and Unsafe Moves All characters have them, and you should exploit you're opponents for using them. Obviously, you shouldn't opt for flashiness over practicality if you're playing to win. So, here's Mi-na's. Just so you are aware, not all these moves are 100% unsafe. They should simply be used sparingly. 44B- Mi-na may look stylish performing this move, but unfortunately it's not an ideal move to use. Not only is it a little slow, and linear, but it does pretty average damage. It's fairly safe on block, but this move can easily be stepped and punished. The only good use I see for it is to hit grounded opponents, but even then there are better options. 6BB- The only real fault this move has is that it's extremely linear. If you could this off on a CH you're opponent would get 56 damage. 2A+B- This should be a no brainer. It's slow, linear, nothing is guaranteed with this move. It's just a bad move. A horrible low that shouldn't be used in serious play. 4BK- While this is a good move, it's a little on the border. It's pretty safe on, block, good for ROs, and it does decent damage. The only problem is it's way too linear. It's somewhat like Mitsurugi's 4BK, but it's not as safe for some reason. 6A+B- This move would not have made it if you could G cancel it like you could in SC2. Unfortunately that's not the case here; so it would be best to avoid this move. However, getting this to hit on CH would yield massive damage. 4A+K- The problem with this move is it's a bit unsafe and it's slow in it's execution. It's a fairly decent RO move, but 2A+K is just as good for ROs and it's faster. If you're just looking for a good low, you should look elsewhere. B+K- A pretty cool looking move and fairly safe if you know when to use it. This move is ONLY safe if you land directly in front of you're opponent. This means, if you execute the move about two arms length away from you opponent and it's blocked, you're opponent can't touch you. However, if you perform the move too close, and you end up behind your opponent (without at least one of the two strikes hitting), then you are open for a counter attack. WC B+K- Honestly, I have never seen anyone use this move nor have I ever used it myself. It does average damage even if all three hits land (38). You can G cancel it, but it's so linear that this move shouldn't even be considered, unless you're trying to show off in front of you're friends or something. 9A+B- This would be her unblockable move. While all unblockable moves are a bad idea to use, Mina's has got to be the worst by far. You can execute it quicker by pressing B during the animation. But at that point, it will no longer be an unblockable, but simply a guard breaker. If you haven't caught on yet, a lot of Mi-na's moves are extremely linear. This is probably one of her biggest weakness. While the moves have the range, they are either to slow in execution or they can simply be stepped and punished. === Final Thoughts === Thus far, I am really liking Mi-na. Like I said before, she has improved quite a bit since SC2, and she plays differently from Kilik to boot. Mi-na's got great range, power and a few quick moves. Her game is all about spacing and getting that range. It is probably a wise move to get you're opponent at about mid or long range and just poke them out with moves like BB. If you mix up mids and you're lows well, you'll give the other person a hell of a time. Mina can be a pretty deceptive. Not to mention a lot of Mi-na's attacks can do a lot of damage and has a lot of great new moves at her disposal. Mina doesn't have any stances to worry about, so she's not that hard of a character to pick up. However, playing her effectively is another matter. If you don't mix up attacks and use some her better moves, you'll probably have a hard time winning. Thanks to all those who took the time to read my first attempt at an FAQ. I'll try to see if I can update this FAQ with other strategies for Mi-na.