By Buktooth88, with contributions from Laicram and Colin. Special thanks to Madman's Cafe

September 06, 2001 |

Well, the highly anticipated game that is CvS2 is almost upon us, and those of us who are fortunate enough to be living in the California Bay Area (EDIT: This report was started roughly 4 weeks ago, before betas started appearing all over the world. I took two and a half weeks off for a much-needed vacation.) have been lucky enough to be able to play it through its merchandising test. While the version we were playing was not the final version, it's highly doubtful that any major changes are going to occur when the game is officially released since this was NOT a beta test. Anyways, read on for some of our findings. Maybe this report will help you get a headstart on the competition, or at the very least help you decide who you want to be on your teams. Also, please note that a lot of the opinions on this report are just that. Opinions. The game is still at a very early stage of skill development and half of the things that I write might already be proven wrong by now.

Note: In order to have a universal language between the Capcom and SNK public, I will be notating the button strengths with LP, MP, and HP (light punch, medium punch, and hard punch), as opposed to the Capcom jab, strong, and fierce. Also, the prefixes of s., c., and j. stand for standing, crouching, and jumping, respectively.

Basic Engine Changes:

• Rolls are much worse. While no longer vulnerable to low moves like they were at E3, they're generally slower all around and have much more recovery time at the end of them. Certainly not worthless, but we won't see any more Terry/Honda players whoring their rolls anymore.
• To echo JChensor: SIX BUTTONS! Woo!
• Level 1 supers have much less priority than in CvS1, and are more comparable to the Alpha series. We won't see anymore repeat Balrog/Guile supers anymore hopefully.
• The Guard Meter is now visible (like it always should be) and breaks MUCH faster than it did in CvS1. Interestingly, Guard Damage scales. A blocked combo at the beginning of the round will do about 60% Guard Damage, while the same combo right after that will do about 30%. This makes your Guard Meter be in the danger zone a lot more often, which is undoubtably an effort to make the game more exciting.
• The Free Ratio System has been implemented, allowing you complete freedom with how many ratio points you want to assign to each of your chars.
• The Ratio system has been tweaked so that it's now more balanced. Aside from not being able to choose 4 Ratio 1 teams anymore (thank you Capcom!) Capcom tweaked the damage and defense settings so that ratio 3's and 4's are more viable options, while ratio 1's aren't quite so threatening. It will usually take 2 or more non-super combos from a ratio 1 to kill off a ratio 4 who only had 10% life left.
• Most of the sweep juggles from CvS1 are gone, along with the linked sweep combos. Links are still plentiful, however. Most chars can link their crouching LK or LP into one of their medium moves, and some can still link their weak attacks into a FP. This \ makes the crouching LK still more powerful than some would like, but given the weakening of rolls and the removal of most sweep links it's not quite so bad anymore.
• Throws are much faster now. While still not instant like in the other Capcom games (you'll still get a missed throw animation now and then), they're a whole lot more useful than they were in CvS1.
• There are a LOT of normal moves that are only bufferable into supers, not normals. While these were around in CvS1, nearly every character has at least one now.

The Character Select Screen:

Choosing Your Groove:

Pretty self-explanatory. Capcom did a pretty good job of showing the benefits of each Groove at a quick glance. When you highlight a Groove with a cursor, it will show on your side of the screen the character that represents it (don't ask, I don't understand the chosen represetning chars myself), the individual benefits that the Groove offers, such as Rolls and Air Blocking, and a basic synopsis of the Groove at the bottom of the screen. For example, it say "Custom Combo System" for A Groove.

Choosing Your Team:

The characters are arranged in an awkward diamond fashion, so instead of going for the normal cursor controls, Capcom wisely decided to let you choose your chars with a mouse-like pointer instead. As in MvC2, you choose your chars in the order in which you would like to be the default order. If you want to opt for a two or one man team instead of three, there's an END button for you to choose once you've picked the desired number of characters. I keep forgetting to see what happens if you choose the END button first. :P Common courtesy, know who you're going to choose BEFORE you play. Even better, study the screen layout while other people are choosing so that you know where to find your characters. Games still take a while to finish, and with the undoubtedly long lines nobody wants to sit there while you kibitz through the selection screen at your leisure. As for the character art, whether the characters' icons, drawings, or both are drawn by the SNK or Capcom artist seems to be completely random. And for you fanboys, NO. There is NOT any correlation to the relationships between the chars due to theit placement on the select screen.

Allocating Ratio Points:

This is also pretty self-explanatory, though many people confuse it with trying to select their team order. If you have a three man team, you choose which one you want to be a ratio 2. If you have a 2 man team, you choose which one you want to be a ratio 3, or if you simply want a 2-2 team. If you have a one man team, you... do nothing, moron.

Basic Groove Features:

Dash:

It's the standard forwards/backwards hop performed by pressing f,f. However, it's not necessarily better to have the ability to run with certain chars. The ability to buffer moves while still moving forward (namely, command/super grabs) is still quite useful.

Air Blocking:

The rules for air blocking are pretty standard: You can air block anything except ground based moves and supers. Obviously, this is a very nice ability to have. Especially since many anti-airs (like Guile's/Kim's flash kicks) are NOT ground based.

Roll:

To clear up an oft-repeated question, rolls are still invulnerable to low moves and vulnerable to throws. However, everybody's roll seems to be much more equal in terms of speed, length, and distance. There's also quite a bit more recovery time at the end of them. Rolls are done by pressing lp+lk.

Tactical Recovery:

Done by pressing any two punches as you are knocked down, these are basically the same thing as the delayed get ups in CvS1. Safe Falls are pretty much better all around. Still a nice ability to have, though. You can really mess up someone's wake up game with these.

Counter Attack:

The new term for Alpha Counters. I haven't seen very much of these, but they don't seem to be very good. I've seen a lot of instances where the attacker was able to block the Counter Attack. They also do miniscule damage like in Alpha 3, and cannot be used to KO an opponent. If your opponent has no life left it will simply do zero damage. Done by pressing f+mp+mk when blocking.

Run:

It's pretty much what you'd expect, except there is a bit of recovery time when you stop if you don't cancel the run into anything. Run speeds can vary pretty drastically from character to character. For example, Dhalsim's run is about the speed of Chun-Li's walk, while Vega's run is really quick. Running in general is a bit slower than in KOF (probably to even it out a bit with dashing), and for some reason it doesn't cause any sounds. Some chars' run animations look really goofy, especially the Capcom chars (who we're not used to seeing run).

Low Jump:

Performed by tapping (as opposed to holding) up. Anybody who's played SNK games seriously will know important these are in an offensive strategy. For those of you who haven't been exposed to these yet, well... let's just say you're soon going to have to adjust to quite a few things. First off, defending against a low jump is completely different from a normal jump. Since the trajectory off your opponent's fall is completely different, most chars will need to use totally different moves as anti-air since your opponent is coming at you horizontally instead of vertically. Moves that are slightly angled upwards and have good range are ideal. For example, Ryu's standing HK is probably a good anti-air against Low Jumps, while Guile's crouching HP isn't. Also, to anti-air a low jump successfully you typically have to hit your opponent before or at the time he reaches the apex of his jump. You can still do late dp's and such, but that's a risky affair since people generally low jump in at the max range of their best air-to-ground move. If your opponent doesn't stick a move out, your dp will whiff and you can expect a subsequent smackdown. Low jumps are primarily used as a way to get inside and pressure your opponent, as opposed to being combo starters as with normal jumps. It's possible to combo off of a low jumping move, but it has to be done much deeper in the jump since you don't have as much downward momentum and take longer to reach the ground.

Safe Fall:

The other, vastly better version of Tactical Recovery. Instead of taking longer to get up, your opponent will tech roll backwards a short distance when they hit the ground and rise earlier. The first time you play someone using Safe Falls will throw you off really badly, especially cross-up/okizeme dependant people. If you go for a deep cross-up after a knockdown (for example, after a Sakura fierce dp), a Safe Faller will not only be standing up before you cross-up, he will have rolled to the perfect distance to dp you. Safe Falls are vulnerable to low moves while rolling, however, but the only chars I've seen exploit this are the ones that slide in to get closer after a knockdown (Bison, Vega). Like Tactical Recovery, Safe Falls are performed by pressing any two punch buttons upon being knocked down.

Dodge:

The S Groove-only alternative to rolls, dodges cause your character to sidestep into the background and avoid all incoming attacks from your opponent except throws. The nice part about dodges is that they have absolutely no vulnerability point at the end of them. If you dodge a Dhalsim Yoga Flame you'll be able to block it coming back from the dodge. In addition, you have two options while dodging by pressing either punch or kick. While which button does what is character dependant, the two options are basically the same with every character. One button will perform a decent-ranged move that will knock your opponent all the way across the screen, while the other is a typically dinky ranged move that is bufferable into specials and supers. While I haven't seen many S Groove users, the knockdown move typically has recovery time if blocked.

Counter Roll:

Also known as Guard Cancel Roll to the SNKers, they're basically a Counter Attack with a roll instead of an attack (hence, the highly inspired name) somewhat similar to Rolento's/Rose's/B.B. Hood's Alpha Counters. However, Counter Rolls seem to be MUCH more effective in this game than they ever have been elsewhere. For example, let's say an S groove scrub low on life is attempting to abuse Balrog's rush punch super (this "strategy" doesn't work anymore, by the way). You can simply Counter Roll to the other side after blocking the first hit, then do whatever you want while Balrog is still punching away. Obviously, this tactic can really wreak havoc on certain chars, especially those dependant on safe, abusable specials. Counter Rolls are performed by pressing back or forward and LP+LK. Back+LP+LK will make you Counter Roll backwards, but I've yet to see an effective application of this besides simply running away.

The Grooves:

C Groove:

Features: Dash, Air Blocking, Roll, Tactical Recovery, Counter Attack
Exclusive Features: Air Blocking, Level 2 supers, Super Cancels, fastest charging super meter

Basically, Capcom Groove from CvS1 with a few more features. Skeptics say this is the weakest groove overall, but I think there's a lot of reasons to use this groove over the others. For one, the quick-building meter lets you have a level 2 super or Counter Attack ready at almost all times. Level 1 supers are weakened in this game almost to the point being worthless outside of combos, so having a level 2 super for just a few more attacks is a huge benefit in itself. What's more, level 2 supers are even better than level 3's with certain chars (barring level 3-only supers like the ShinShoRyuKen, of course) due to the Super Cancel feature.

One of the most overlooked and commonly forgotten features, Super Cancels allow you to cancel a level 2 super into either a special move or a level 1 super if you have the necessary meter. This ability allows you to do even more damage than with a level 3 with certain chars, and also make your level 2's safer to throw out. Here's two examples: Chun-Li lands her dreaded rush kick super at level 2. Before the last launching hits, cancel it into a HK Spinning Bird Kick for a lot of extra damage. For the other example, Ken tries to wake up with a level 2 ShoRyuReppa super, which is blocked. Instead of being vulnerable after the super like he is normally, Ken Super Cancels the last uppercut into an Air Hurricane Kick which instead flies him away to safety.

Last, but certainly not least, of C Groove's exclusive features is Air Blocking. While games like the Alpha and Vs. series make us take Air Blocking for granted, you realize how important it is when it's taken away from you. It's hard to go back once you've been spoiled.

In addition to the above, C Groove gives you a small damage perk for having meter saved. Definitely not enough to make you want to hold onto your supers, but nice to have nonetheless. Here's the rundown on both the meter speed and power-up effects from the Madman's Cafe:

Meter gains 4 points on a hit, 1.3 on a guard, 0.4 when attack is missed.
Meter also rises when hit by opponent or guarding attacks.
Power up:
Lv1: x1.01, Lv2: x1.02, Lv3: x1.05

The main weakness of C Groove is its lack of offensive options. It doesn't have any pressuring tools like running or low jumps, nor does it doesn't have the relatively free jump-ins that parrying and Just Defend boast. This groove caters to zoning chars, rather than the rush down type.

A Groove:

Features: Dash, Roll, Safe Falls, Counter Attack
Exclusive Feature: Custom Combos

There is only one reason to use this groove, and that's Custom Combos. The thing is, Capcom went at great lengths to try to insure that the CC's would not be broken in this game (which would be a Capcom first). First, you need a full meter to activate the CC, which is severely limiting in itself. Also, the CC's that are known as of right now aren't very effective. That's not to say that they will never be in the future, but I don't think they'll ever reach Alpha 3 V-Ism dominance. Guard damage has been SEVERELY toned down, damage has been reduced, multi-hitting shadows are gone (no more confusion VC's!), command grabs no longer grab through block stun, and the invincibility window seems to be shorter. On the positive side, you can still fall through anti-airs and blow through attacks at the press of two buttons, which is the basic reason to use a CC. Also, two new features have been added to this incarnation of CC's: air cancels and mid-CC super cancels.

Air cancels make for some interesting looking combos. Kyosuke can chain repeated air flash kicks into each other for a combo that goes rises all the way off of the screen and stays there for quite a while. Ryo can cancel his dp into repeated air fireballs. Since his air fireball causes him to stay in one spot while he's throwing it, Ryo just hovers a few inches off the ground while he bombards his opponent.

Mid-CC Super Cancels are exactly what they sound like. Somewhere in your CC (preferably at the end of it so you get extra damage) you cancel your CC into a level 1 super. While definitely a swell looking addition, nothing really groundbreaking here.

However, CC's definitely have an untapped potential according to the reports at Madman's Cafe.

Meter gains 3 points on a hit, 1 on a guard, 0.3 when attack is missed.
Meter also rises when hit by opponent or guarding attacks.
When executing the Custom combo, 5 frames of time where only the player can move exists, allowing for an attack if the opponent is not already guarding.

Ignore the meter information (A Groove is tied for second fastest meter charge with N Groove). The interesting thing is the five frame advantage given when activating a CC. Not proven yet, but this may lead to Alpha 2-style Valle CC's if it pans out like it sounds. For those of you that are unfamiliar with the Valle CC, it's an Alpha 2 technique named after its founder, Alex Valle. You activate the CC when your opponent is standing, while your opponent is stuck standing, you use your frame advantage to land an unblockable sweep into a combo. If this technique still works in CvS2, A Groove will definitely be a groove to be reckoned with.

However, without CC's A Groove is a very weak groove all around. It has all the weaknesses of C Groove, and doesn't have Air Blocking or reliable supers (A Groove only allows you to do level 1 supers. Even worse, they take half of the bar to use.) to bail you out of tough situations. As it stands right now, with the uneffective CC's and unconfirmed Valle CC, A Groove is the worst of the six in my opinion. Yes, I know. I'll be eating these words in a few months when I get owned by some newfangled BAS combo.

P Groove:

Features: Dash, Low Jump, Tactical Recovery
Exclusive Feature: Parries

While it's supposed to be like Street Fighter 3, 3rd Strike fans won't feel much at home using this groove. As reported nearly everywhere, parries are simply worse in general. The timing is tighter, and the frame advantage gained from a successful parry is much smaller. Also, Red Parries didn't make it into the game (thankfully). However, toned down as much as they may be, parries are still a very dangerous weapon in the hands of an expert. That's exactly who Capcom made this Groove for, experts. To get yourself out of a sticky situation, you HAVE to parry. This Groove doesn't have any easy means of escape such as rolls, dodges, or even Counter Attacks. Also, most of the time supering isn't an option since the groove has by far the slowest building meter. What's more, this groove suffers more guard meter damage than the others. So, parrying is the solution to ALL of your problems. It's also the fastest way of building meter in this Groove. However, even given the tone-down P Groove has received in comparison to SF3, I think this will be the strongest Groove to use in the future (that is, if A Groove CC's don't turn out to be anything too special) since parrying solves every problem you could possibly have. Again, here's the specifics:

Meter gains 1.1 points on a hit, 0.4 on a guard, 0.1 when attack is missed.
Meter also rises when Parrying, getting hit by the opponent or guarding attacks.
Parrying input lasts for 8 frames on ground and 7 frames in air if lever is positioned neutral within 3 frames after input. If a direction is held, the parrying will last 4 frames instead.

A huge bonus to this groove is the ability to low jump, which is probably to simulate the universal overheads of SF3. This is the only Groove that can both low jump and do level 3 supers at a moments notice, giving you a nice balance of offensive and defensive capabilities. While anybody can capitalize on the quasi-free jump-ins that air parries provide, I think this is a Groove that will cater to the grappler types in particular. Low jumps, air parries, and dashes are all very complimentary to a grapplers' game.

S Groove:

Features: Run, Low Jump, Counter Attack, Safe Fall, Dodge
Exclusive Features: Dodge, chargable meter, unlimited level 1 supers with low life

An improved version of the Extra Mode from the KOF series, S Groove is now much different (better) than it was at E3. To start, the Groove features running instead of dashes. Also, you no longer need to be quite so low on life to be in the desperation zone. The amount of life necessary is now about the same as it was in CvS1: about 1/3rd. The way the meter charges is also different. While at E3 it was just slow, in the current beta version it would start slow then accelerate. While it takes roughly the same amount of time to charge a full meter as it did in CvS1, the accelerating meter was no doubt implemented to prevent scrubs from running away while charging bit by bit at a time. As in the other games, having your meter maxed out gives you a damage perk. Here's the specifics:

Meter rises when powering up, and also when hit or guarding attacks
Max Meter: x1.15 (Lasts for 166 counts on timer)
(Note that the 15% damage increase does NOT last for 166 seconds. It lasts for 16.6 seconds.)

For the most part, the people who will use this Groove are the same people that that used SNK Groove in CvS1: The ones who love the level 1 super abuse at low life. However, level 1 supers are worse in general now so that won't be quite as annoying as it was before. (note that you thankfully CANNOT do unlimited Counter Attacks when you are low on life. Counter Attacks can only be done with a fully charged meter) Aside from former SNK Groove Iori/EX Mai scrubs (whose traps no longer work), S Groove seems to have a lot to offer to the more defensive grappling types. Dodging into a super/command grab works REALLY well.

The charging meter is a double-edged sword. Yes, it grants you a 15% damage perk and allows you to fire off multiple level 1 supers in a short period of time. However, for those of you who like to rush down, or those of you who are constantly getting rushed down, you will never find the opportunity to charge. In addition to that, I believe the biggest weakness to S Groove is it's inability to level 3 super without having low life AND being powered up. Even then, you only have a limited time to use the super as in all the SNK Grooves. As of right now, this is probably the most unpopular Groove. Whether or not its really all that bad remains to be seen.

N Groove:

Features: Run, Roll, Low Jump, Counter Attack, Counter Roll, Safe Fall
Exclusive Features: Counter Roll, Stock Breaks

The Advanced Mode from KOF, this is easily the most mobile Groove in the game combining Rolls, Low Jumps and Running all in one package. The super meter works similar to those found in the Darkstalkers or Vs. games: When your meter fills up, you gain access to one super, called a Stock. Different levels of supers aren't available normally. However, by using one of your Stocks to power-up ("breaking" the Stock) you gain for a limited time an increase in damage, defense and the ability to use a level 3 super if you have another Stock available. You CANNOT gain more meter while powered-up. The actual act of breaking a Stock is really quick; about the length of time taken for a jab. You can actually see you opponent jump, then break a Stock and quickly do a level 3 super for anti-air. Here are the vital stats from Madman's Cafe:.

Meter gains 3 points on a hit, 1 on a guard, 0.3 when attack is missed.
Meter also rises when hit by opponent or guarding attacks.
Max Meter: x1.2 (Lasts for 150 counts on timer)

One of the nice things about N Groove is that it has the second fastest charging meter along with A Groove. This is especially beneficiary to chars who aren't very dependent on supers like Kyo or Sagat, since they can simply use their constant source of Stocks to stay powered-up throughout most of the round. While skeptics may point out that powering-up only gives you a limited amount of time (15 seconds) to perform a level 3, I find the 20% damage perk and additional defense alone are reason enough to break a Stock. One of the inherent advantages of the SNK Grooves is that people tend to turtle up once their opponent is powered up and able to do a level 3, which allows you to go on the offensive.

The most commonly overlooked feature of N Groove is the Counter Roll. In some cases, this alone is reason enough to choose this groove IMO. Counter Rolls severely inhibit certain chars' offensive abilities, such as the new powerhouse char Hibiki. I guess a way to think of it would be a slower Red Parry that costs a Stock.

N Groove is definitely a contender for the best Groove. It caters most to the rushdown types of chars and has few inherent weaknesses to speak of. One of its shortcomings is its lack of air defensive maneuver, such as air blocking, air parries, or CC's. While the other grooves have safer ways of jumping in, N Groove users are forced to low jump and rely on the priority of their air moves. The only other weakness I can think of is the general SNK Groove inability to level 3 at any time. Otherwise, a very solid Groove.

K Groove:

Features: Run, Low Jump, Safe Fall
Exclusive Features: Just Defend, Rage Gauge

A strange hybrid of the systems from the Samurai Spirits and Garou games from SNK, K Groove is definitely something different. First, the Just Defend feature from Garou:MOTW. JD's are basically SNK's answers to parries. Instead of tapping forward, you instead tap back as the attack is about to connect (hence the name, Just Defended, as in just in time.) similar to the little known Blue Blocking feature in Alpha 3. The benefits from a JD are a little different from a parry, though. First off, Just Defending rewards you with a tick damage worth of life. Thankfully, it doesn't give you the obscene amount of life that it did in MOTW (where JD'ing a super gave you about 25% or more). Second, instead of being able to follow up the JD with anything like you can with parries, JD's can only be canceled into special moves. However, unlike in Garou they DO lessen the amount of blockstun you get. If you JD something that is normally safe, sometimes you will still be able to hit them during their recovery time with a normal move. Air JD's are also slightly different. When you JD in the air you bounce backwards, effectively making it much harder to punish a JD'd anti-air. You can still JD an air attack and hit your opponent afterwards with a normal air move, though.

The other K Groove feature is the Rage Gauge. Taken from the Samurai Spirits series, the Rage Gauge increases by taking damage and allows you to perform a level 3 super when filled. You cannot gain meter through normal means such as landing or whiffing attacks. The only other way to gain meter in K Groove is through Just Defending. However, the meter grows VERY fast. A character will fully charge their meter an average of 2 to 3 times per character. Please note that the meter grows according to damage, not number of hits. A ratio 4 character will not be able to do 5 supers before dying without Just Defending. Also note that a full meter does not carry over into the next round (your character has calmed down by then). The benefits of having a full Rage Gauge are pretty extreme, as shown once again by Madman's Cafe:.

Meter gains 1/12th the bar when Just defended.
Meter also rises when hit by opponent, but not when guarding attacks.
Just Defence input lasts for 6 frames- if the lever is moved during the time, the Just defence will lose its input. When executing multiple Just Defences, the lever must be put to neutral for 6 frames after the Just Defence input has ended, or it will not take effect.
During MAX: (Lasts for 180 counts on timer)
Normal moves: x1.35
Special moves: x1.3
Super moves: x1.1

Yes, you read right. A whopping 35% damage increase on normal moves for 18 seconds 2 to 3 times per character. The 10% damage increase on the level 3 super is pretty obscene also. I've seen quite a few occasions in which a ratio 3 char did 100% damage on a ratio 1 with a single super. Ownage.

K Groove suffers from the same limitation that P Groove does: You have to JD your way out of everything. Even worse, tactics that could be broken using parries don't necessarily fail against JDing since the frame advantage given is much smaller. If that's the case, you'll have to keep JDing and hope that the life your gaining back is enough to discourage your opponent to switch tactics. Of course, you can JD until you fill your meter (or if you can't do that, take hits) then try to level 3 your way out of the situation, but it takes 12 JD's to fill a meter. Ironically for a Groove that shares so similarities to P Groove, this Groove is very scrub friendly. They just love to be able to level 3 twice a round along with a 35% damage perk, just for getting hit (which happens a lot anyway)!

The New Characters:

The part most of you have been waiting for. I'm pleased to report that I like almost all of the new characters. Capcom did well with them, because for the most part they play completely different from your typical fighter char archetypes.

QCF+P:

Same lunging punch, but has a lot more lag now. If you want to be safe you have to know the distances. Still has huge priority, though, and can combo off of LP and LK.

DP+P:

It's hard to explain, but the shoulder tackle is different. He... moves forward, THEN attacks. I know he did this in 3S, but it's just... worse. You get hit out of it a lot more than you did before. However, the basics are the same, though. LP version combos off of a MP, but doesn't launch (and again, it's no longer super cancelable). MP and HP versions launch high enough for you to stick a ground move in there, preferably the S.MK which will launch again.

QCB+P:

Both of the properties of the Stun Palm that made it somewhat useful in 3S: Gigantic hitbox, and unbeatable (even by supers) priority, have been removed. Now it's just a slow useless move that can be faked by pressing two punches.

HCB+K:

Well, the good news is that the damage no longer seems to scale after landing this grab. The bad news is that the grab no longer seems to be instant, making it much harder to land. Big rewards for landing the grab if you have meter, though.

QCF+K:

I never understood the point of the handspring kick, even in SF3. It appeared to be an anti-air, but it had absolutely no priority backing it up. I haven't really experimented with it much in this game, but it seems to be the same story. It might be good for juggles, though.

QCFx2+P:

His super #2 from 3S (sourai rengeki), basically only good in combos. Level 1 version is safe, though since he doesn't do the jump kick part of the sequence.

QCFx2+K:

A brand new super, Yun turns his back to his opponent while Yang dives kicks down from over Yun's head at a very steep angle. The problem is, not only is the super hard to land, if you use it as anti-air (which is what you would think the super is meant for) Yang's diving kick will knock the opponent away and Yang will land and do his super #1 while nobody is anywhere near him. Even if you do manage to get the super to hit properly it does pathetic damage. There has to be an added perk like a followup or something to make this worthwhile.

QCBx2+P (level 3 only):

His super #1 from 3S (You-Hou). As said before, the last punch now looks really goofy. Instead of punching straight up, he now uppercuts and makes an "L" shape with his arm. Heh. Anyway, I haven't been able to experiment much with the juggles afterward, but theoretically you should be able to DP+MP, S.MK, and jump cancel that into whatever. Hrm...

(in air) QCBx2+K (level 3 only):

Another brand spankin new super, this one is actually very useful. Yun does a super version of his dive kick downwards which will beat any anti-air attempts. If it hits, Yun and his opponent will kinda warp down to the floor, then Yang will jump behind the opponent and they'll do a string of attacks very similar to Morrigan's Darkness Illusion super. Big damage, and makes your opponent hesitant to anti-air you when you have a level 3.

• Low MK has a lot less range. You're too far away to use it after three jabs.
• Sweep is slower (Yun is basically slower all around) and cannot chain into the standing HK.
• C.HP is completely different. Imagine him pounding the ground with one hand like Q, and put it in reverse. I dunno if it's good anti-air or not, but it doesn't look like it.
• I don't think he has his F+HP palm strike.
• Standing MK (the straight up kick) comes out a lot slower. However, it's jump cancelable whether it's blocked or not. You might be able to do something cool with jump canceled forwards into air dives for pressure.
• J.MK is more downward angled now. It might cross up. Have to check on that.
• You have to be really close when doing either of his chain combos, or the last hit will whiff. The LP, LK, MP chain is now much better than the other one. If you want to throw a super in you'll have to do it after the MP, since the DP+P is not super cancelable (I think). The timing's a lot tighter too.
• Again, the last hit of his MP, HP, B+HP chain is super cancelable, but I don't know what to do with it. Super #2 doesn't work of course, and super #1 whiffs the 2nd and 3rd hit. In the corner the second hit will still whiff, but the third will still connect. You might be able to combo the ground super with Yang, but I just thought of it now and haven't been able to try it.
• When the last hit of the chain isn't super canceled, the opponent floats differently now. In 3S they flew across the screen, while in CvS2 they kinda just pop up in the air.
• He retains his air chain of jab, f+fierce. The only time I used it was after a standing forward launcher.
• The main thing people notice is his dive kick is a lot worse. In 3S it was completely abusable if you don't count parries. In this game, it has a lot less block stun, a lot more start up time, dives slower, and has less priority. Basically, it's a move that should be used sparingly. This is the main reason people think Yun sucks, since the dive kick was one of his most important moves in 3S.
• You have a lot more freedom with your juggles after a standing forward kick launcher. You can even jump up and do the level 3 only dive kick super with Yang and it will combo. In fact, setting up the launcher was basically half of my strategy with the new Yun.
• His command grab where he flips behind you is a lot better. In 3S the damage scaled really badly on whatever combo you did after the grab. Well, not anymore. If you've got lv3, supering after a command grab will score you 50% damage for free . Obviously, this was the other half of my strategy with Yun. Problem is, the same grab setups from 3S don't work very well. Hrm...

QCF+P:

The best thing he's got going for him is his projectile. Kyosuke throws two separate waves, one arcing upward, the other downward. They converge at a point in front of him and continue on as a larger projectile. How I think it works is that it stays on the screen for about one second, and the different strength buttons determine how fast it goes. If you do it with jab, it will spend more of that one second in the arcing portion, but spend less time actually moving forward. In plain english, the jab version has short range, but works better as anti-air. The fierce version goes farther, but doesn't benefit as much from the arc.

QCB+P:

His jumping "electric volleyball spike" from Project Justice is in this game, but nowhere near as effective. In fact, the move is pretty much worthless. Kyosuke jumps into the air with lightning trailing from his hand. He then waits all the way until he's about to land to try to slap the top of his opponent's head. No Crack Shoot-like space controlling here. It's an overhead, but it's so slow you'll never surprise anybody with it. It's also got some recovery on top of that.

DP+P:

His "electric geyser" from PJ is pretty much only useful in combos. You can combo it after a LP/LK, and then add on a qcf+k like you could in PJ. This move does NOT work as anti-air. Also, it's got pretty hefty recovery like in PJ. Unlike PJ, you cannot add on the qcf+k unless the dp actually hit.

QCF+K (also in air):

His "flash kick" is also only useful in combos. It should pretty much only be used in the same fashion as the dp+p. Same with the air version; only good in air combos.

(in air) QCF+P:

His air wave is different than it was in PJ. Instead of doing the wave straight forward, he does it downward at a -45 degree angle. The wave has good reach and can be used well as an anti-anti-air, but he bounces up in slowly the air after throwing it, making this a risky move. I haven't been able to land this move in an air combo due to the downward angle, so I don't know if you can still add on a qcf+k afterwards. Sadly enough, this is probably his second best special.

QCFX2+P:

Kyosuke's qcfx2+p super is his super fireball. Instead of throwing two arcing fireballs that converge, he throws about eight at lv3. This also works as anti-air, but since you already have the lightning super this move is best used as anti-projectile. The damage on this move is pretty pathetic, though.

QCBX2+P:

This is basically an enhanced version of the "lightning geyser" special move. The super comes out instantly, unlike in PJ. Again, I can't comment on its priority due to only having used it at lv3, but the ability to air combo after it makes it much superior as a anti-air/wake up move then the flash kick super. The lightning doesn't go away until much after Kyosuke recovers from his animation, so the super is pretty much safe. I've seen many people walk right into the lightning thinking that the super was already over.

QCFX2+K (also in air):

His flash kick super is pretty much the same thing as in PJ. At lv3, he'll do two flash kicks, a bunch of punches, an air wave, then you have to manually chain in another flash kick. I didn't use the super at lv1, so I can't comment on its priority. However, the damage is so miniscule, even at lv3, that you might as well do his lightning super instead. The only thing that this super is good for is, once again, air combos. It might be useful in an air to air battle, but most people won't have the reflexes and speed to do a qcfx2 motion quick enough for the situation.

QCBX2+K (level 3 only):

His "party up" super from PJ is his only one that does good damage on its own. Kyosuke does his s.HP, and if that hits Kyosuke then launches the opponent with his s.MK and then stands off to the side while his schoolmates from PJ, Hinata and Batsu, proceed to beat the crap out of his opponent. I don't remember the exact sequence of events, but somewhere in there Hinata does her flaming spin kick special, hitting the opponent towards Batsu. Batsu then does his flaming uppercut to launch the opponent high in the air. Kyosuke then jumps up in the air and spikes his opponent with his heel at the same instant Hinata and Batsu punch the recipient of the super from opposite sides. Hinata does a sideways double-fisted punch which sends her skirt flying way up in the air. Woo! Needless to say, the super is impressive to watch. I didn't think to try to combo the super until now....

• Kyosuke has a very nice corner trap which solely consists of LP projectiles at max range. Jumping out is NOT an option for the opponent, since they will always land on an upward arcing projectile. For the grooves that have it, the best option outside of an anti-projectile super is to try to roll through the barrage of fireballs. However, if you can fake your opponent into rolling you can easily just throw them back into the corner and resume your fireball throwing. It's basically like the fireball/dp trap, but since jumping is not an option it becomes the fireball/throw trap. As always, parrying/Just Defend offers an easier way out of the situation.
• Kyosuke is unique in the game because of his MvC/PJ-like air combos. However, these air combos are NOT possible without a launcher. What that means is you cannot simply jump to intercept an opponent's jump in and do a LP, MP, HP combo.
• Kyosuke has a command normal which functions as a launcher, done with df+roundhouse. Although the move appears to be a good anti-air, in reality the move has absolutely no priority. It also has very little horizontal range, so the only time you'll hit with it when your opponent does a laggy move. The majority of the time, the only way you'll achieve a launch is by hitting your opponent with the lightning super.
• After a launch, you can cancel it into a super jump and do the basic MvC chain of LP, LK, MP, MK, HP, HK. There are exceptions, though. Kyosuke's j.MK goes down at such a steep angle that it's nearly impossible to use in an air combo. Also, you're only in the air long enough to do four moves, so the most damaging non-super air combo I could find was LP, MP, HP, HK.
• Or course, you can stick a special/super in an air combo also. However, like in MvC, HP and HK knock the opponent down and are not bufferable. So, if you want to do a special/super in a combo, you'll have to do LP, LK, MP XX special/super.
• Kyosuke's biggest weakness is his normals. He's slow and has really low priority. Except for his sweep, his range is pretty lacking also.
• His sweep goes far, but it's so slow enough to make it not very useful in footsie games. It's pretty much best used for punishing whiffed moves.
• For anti-air, things get a little tricky. If the opponent is far enough away, s.MK works fine. If they get in closer, you have to make a quick judgement call. If they're right on top of you, you have to use his close HP. If they're slightly more in front of you, use the crouching HP. The HPs will get beat out on occasion, though.
• One thing that's really hard for me to get used to is his c.MK. For most chars, the c.MK is their best poke. For Kyosuke, it's nearly worthless. The thing is slow and has ZERO priority. Can't be buffered, either.
• He has no links that I can find, and his c.short/s.jab are very slow.
• For those of you who remember the very first CvS2 trailer at E3, it showed Kyosuke doing a move where he sidestepped behind his opponent like in the Rival Schools games. If this move made it to the final version of the game (I haven't been able to find it) it might make Kyosuke worthwhile. Until then, though...

QCF+P:

Maki does a huge wind up then lets loose with a big haymaker punch. It's a lot faster than it looks, and the recovery isn't quite as bad as it seems. It's only useful in combos, however.

LP, MP, HP, HK:

The Final Fight/Bushin Chain. Strangely enough, she does Guy's chain instead of her own from FF2. However, it's not NEARLY as fearful as Guy's. The damage is a lot less, doesn't knock down, and can't be followed up by gigantic juggles. So instead of the potential 85% damage Guy could do in A3, Maki is stuck with around 15%. Still her best non-super combo, but her game doesn't revolve around it like Guy. Her chain has strange properties: Unlike Guy, some people cannot crouch under the initial s.LP, but certain chars can crouch under the HP. Also, there will be quite a few times when the HK will completely whiff. Since the HK doesn't knock down, I was fairly sure there was something after it, but I haven't been able to find anything. It isn't bufferable, which is a shame. She also doesn't seem to have Guy's MP, HP chain.

(in air) HCF+P:

A command air grab. Maki grabs her opponent and flies into the opposite wall with them, then jumps off that fall and does a spinning piledriver similar to Yoshimitsu's back throw in Tekken. While the move does very good damage, the range isn't all that great and it's hard to set up.

QCF+K:

Guy's special run move. Unlike Guy, however, Maki can choose which follow up she wants after the run is initiated. The button strength used to start the run is irrelevant.
Pressing LK afterwards causes Maki to quickly stop.
MK is a VERY quick slide (fast enough to combo the run and slide after a s.LK!) that also goes under projectiles. If the slide connects, Maki will automatically go into a suplex. The slide is vulnerable if blocked, however.
HK will cause Maki to go into a quick hopping overhead stomp. The hop is very fast, and is high enough to go over moves and projectiles. It's also completely safe if blocked.
In addition to these three running options, Maki can also cancel the run into:

QCB+K:

A backwards run! While this run has three followups of its own, it also has the ability to cancel back into the forwards run. It's a whole lot of fun to run forward to psyche out your opponent into doing a move, run backwards to dodge it, then run forward again and punish them with a slide. Woo! From the backwards run:
LK also cause Maki to stop.
MK does a HUGE jump forward which doesn't seem to be too useful. Even if you try to drop down with a D+MP, the momentum from the jump still carries you quite a distance.
HK is a super jump backwards. Good for running away, and also good for setting up her off-the-wall specials.

Press KKK:

Her "clear out" move from Final Fight 2, complete with life loss when using it. This has to be one of the most useless moves I've ever seen. You would think that this move would have good priority or would do good damage, but unfortunately it doesn't. Also, you lose life whether the move connected or not. I just thought now to do the move while getting hit like in Final Fight, but that would be a bit too good to be true.

(in air and at a wall) QCB+any button:

These are a lot of fun.
QCB+LP will make Maki do a very fast triangle jump off the wall. It's a great move when combined with her cross up.
QCB+MP or HP will make Maki dive off the wall and grab you. The HP one dives off the wall at about a -30 degree angle, and the MP will do -45 degree dive. For some reason, I can NEVER connect the MP dive. It always seems to whiff.
QCB+LK will make Maki drop straight down from the wall, hopefully coaxing/discouraging anti-air attempts.
QCB+MK or HK has Maki do a dive kick off the wall at different angles. They're both safe if blocked.

QCFX2+P:

Your standard rush super, except the first move of the super has pitiful range. In this super she actually does her own chain from FF2. The priority is pretty good, even at lv1, but the distance leaves something to be desired.

QCFX2+K, then press K:

Maki runs forward until you press something like Mika's A3 super. When you press kick, she then goes into a multi-hitting flying kick which is REALLY fast. A great anti-projectile move at lv3 if you go right into the kick. Actually, I don't think there are any other options other than the kick so I don't know why you would want to run anyway. At lv3 she follows up the kick with her QCF+P move.

720+P (also in air):

As if her running and jumping madness didn't make her fun enough, she has a super grab to compliment all of that! Maki basically does her command air grab but with more wall bouncing, making it look like another Maximum Spider/KBA type move. As far as super grabs go, her isn't too great. The range is pretty small and you can simply jump away from the level 1 version. However, mixed in with her running/stopping/full screen cross up/rolling game, it isn't too hard to land one of these. The air version is different, though. Even though the range (both vertical and horizontal) is really good, it is SO hard to set up and land this thing. Also, the air grab will NOT connect against an opponent on the ground. I suspect the super air grab will be a huge advantage when mastered, though.

• Maki's best anti-air is her c.HP. She does an uppercut while spinning her tonfa at the same time for good priority. Against cross ups Maki's s.HK works well. It's a front kick that goes straight up.
• Maki's pokes are pretty bad all around. They either don't have much range or are really slow. Her s.MK isn't too bad, though. Also, her only bufferable normals are her LP and LK moves.
• Her j.MK has a giant cross up box. The problem is, her jump is so huge (like Guy's) that it's hard to gauge the distance correctly. That huge jump can work to your advantage, though, since you can cross up from so far away.
• She also has Guy's elbow drop in the air with D+MP. It seems to have more priority now.

QCF+P:

A strange move to figure out at first glance, this is actually a counter move. LP has autoguard against high moves, MP against mid, and HP against low. Eagle guards himself with a stick in a direction according to the button strength while spinning his other stick. He holds that pose until you let go of the button, and while he's holding the pose the autoguard is active. When you let go of the button he attacks in the direction of the autoguard. The nice thing about this move is that the autoguard is instant, so you can use it as a very deep anti-air or a reversal move. The autoguard won't catch supers, however.

DP+P:

Eagle swings his sticks in a baseball fashion to reflect projectiles. However, he takes his sweet time winding up before he swings, which both makes the move much harder to time and limits the usefulness of the move. The projectile is reflected back at about 30% faster speed, so a LP projectile comes back at the speed of a MP one, and a HP one comes back really fast. A LP reflect hits them straight back towards the opponent, while MP hits them at 15 degrees, and HP at about 35 degrees.

QCB+P:

Eagle does a spinning lariat much like Zangief's, except with sticks. The LP version makes Eagle stay in place while spinning, and the MP and HP versions move him forward. I still can't figure out what this move is supposed to be used for. It doesn't have good priority in its first frames like Gief's, and it doesn't travel through\ projectiles either. The only use I've found for it is an unorthodox cross up counter. If you do the HP version, Eagle will move forward under the opponent and they'll land on one of the sticks pointing backwards. Shrug.

HCF+K:

Much like Dudley's QCF+P, Eagle lunges forward, stops, then does a myriad of stick pokes for really good tick damage. The button strength determines both the distance of the initial lunge and the number of hits you get. LK goes about 1/3rd of the screen, does about 4 hits, and is pretty much safe. MK goes 2/3rds, does about 7 hits, and is still pretty safe. The HK version goes all the way across the screen (and then some), does about 10 hits, and is vulnerable when blocked. Sometimes, it's also vulneralble when you hit with it also. Eagle keeps attacking even after he pushes the opponent out of range, giving them ample time to punish him. ALL the versions leave you open for an obscene amount of time if they're jumped over, since Eagle will sit there flailing away at nothing like a moron. Also, they are all Guard Cancel Roll bait. However, used with moderation and intelligence, this is a pretty good move to have.

HCB+K:

Eagle hops forward and does an overhead stick swing in a fancy manner. Your standard anti-projectile move, it's also good for dodging pokes if you're really aggressive. However, if you're not perfectly postitioned, this move leaves you very open, making it another move you should use in moderation.

QCFX2+P:

One of the better rush supers, Eagle does a series of hits before going into his HCF+K move. The first (and most important) hit of the series has very good range and comes out nearly instantly, much like Balrog's rush punch super. The super also leaves you safe afterward if blocked (but is also GCR bait like most supers). A C Groove Eagle can do more damage with a level 2 super by cancelling into a HCF+HK before the last hit of the super.

QCBX2+P:

A super version of his lariat, it's almost exactly like Ryu's super hurricane kick. It has really good priority even at level 1 and is safe when blocked, so you can do the King strat and roll into super with good success. The level 3 version has Eagle scoop his opponent up into the air, then he sticks his stick upward for his opponent to land on it much like Vega's lv3 claw super.

• Eagle's normals as good, if not better, than Hibiki's, giving him one of the best sets of normal moves in the game. He's another character that pokes you to death.
• His sweep is awesome. It goes slightly less than half-screen and is fast, unlike Kyosuke's. Instead of doing the normal sweep knockdown when it connects, Eagle's sweep sends his opponent flying all the way across the screen. This puts you into perfect range to follow up the sweep with a meaty super jump MP. With the exception of a level 3 rush super that works as anti-air (like Iori's), there isn't much your opponent can do about the jump in except block.
• His c.MK has huge, HUGE priority. It's very fast and has decent range, and is bufferable into supers (not specials). You can also link two of these together.
• c.HP is an anti-air that works almost exactly like Vice's c.HP. That's a good thing. For those rare moves, that this move won't beat, you have the QCF+LP autoguard move. You can do really well with Eagle with just c.MK, sweep, and c.HP for anti-air.
• Both his c.MP and c.MK can link from his c.LP.
• His s.HP is a great space controller. He swings one of his sticks at a 10 degree angle with really good range. It discourages jumping, and many chars cannot crouch under it, making it a good move to throw out at random.
• c.MP is a two-hit move, not bufferable, but has good priority and pushes people away well.
• His jump ins are among the best in the game. j.MP has a lot of horizontal range as is nearly unbeatable at the max distance.
• For closer jump ins, j.MK is good for normal jump distance and j.HK is good when you're directly over them. Both are nearly unbeatable by normal move anti-airs.
• Eagle lacks any good non-super combos. You can either do c.LP X2, QCB+HP or c.LP X2, c.MP.
• Since Eagle's c.MP will only buffer into supers, super combos are quite easy with him. You can either do c.LP X2, c.MK, super, or c.MK, c.MK, super.
• Eagle's problem is with rushdown. He has to either super his way out, or autoguard through. Using the ground-based autoguard is tricky since there are three levels.

• His Pogo Jump is now performed by pressing KKK and forward or backwards. It's a bit slower, but still one of his most effective moves.
• Old tricks like the Patriot Circle combo, walk a few steps back, pogo jump forward into a super deep crossup forward still work very well.
• He can combo his wire super off of a low MK!
• Thankfully, he can no longer do his insanely annoying tactic of walk-up LP's all day. Three or four and he's too far away. (I'm a poet and didn't know it)
• The grenade super seems to come out slightly faster, but still slow enough to make it almost worthless.

• His super taunt takes ALL the supers you currently have, but if he somehow goes through the whole thing he gets a fully charged meter. Heh.
• His dodge animation is top tier in itself. It kind of looks like his jumping taunt, just goofier.
• I don't exactly remember his run animation, but I think he taunts while running. Woo!

QCF+P:

a FAST slash with her sword that goes slightly less than half screen. Were talkin one frame, AHVB fast here. As in block just about anything and smack him with the QCF+P fast. All of the different button strengths have a very lengthy recovery time period whether the move connects or not (in LB2 the move had no recovery time if it connected) so certain chars with very fast, long ranged moves (Balrog's rush punch super probably works) can smack her afterwards whether she hits them or not. The vast majority of chars cannot punish her, though. Doing the move with HP does a farther, yet slower version that hits low and knocks down. It also goes under projectiles (not ground-based ones, obviously) in a fashion similar to Dhalsim's c.HP.

QCB+P:

Somewhat similar to Hibiki's dp+slash in LB2, Hibiki runs a predetermined distance depending on which button you press and does another blindingly quick, long ranged slash at the end of it. This move is pure ownage if you know your distances well, and is a very good way to get inside. If Hibiki runs all the way up to the opponent before slashing, she'll cross up and slide to the other side of her opponent. If this happens and the slash hits, you can cancel the move (the cancel must be done VERY late compared to LB2) into either her QCF+P moves or her QCB,HCF+P super. I almost never used this feature of the move outside of combos, preferring instead to opt for the normal slash at max range.

HCF+K:

A counter move, similar to the one she had in LB2. Hibiki sticks her palm out in an attempt to catch any mid/high moves. If she is successful she tosses her opponent behind her (with one hand!), allowing them to be juggled by nearly anything, supers included. While the rewards are good, the counter itself isn't. It doesn't come out instantly and doesn't counter supers like Geese's or Todo's. However, the risk/reward ratio is good enough to make this move useable.

DP+K:

Hibiki turns around and slowly sticks her opponent in the gut with her scabbard, which stuns them long enough for you to do just about anything. Originally thought to be a worthless move in CvS2 (in LB2 it was good after a parry), I just recently found out that this move is an overhead. Woo! Since it's a special move, you can buffer it after one of her normal moves so that it comes out surprisingly quick. In essence, it's like Makoto's QCB+P chop overhead in 3rd Strike except Hibiki can follow hers up with anything, not just supers. Nice. This move works very well with Hibiki's cross-up game.

Press kKK:

Hibiki does an S Groove style dodge, just worse. There's vulnerable frames at the end of it, and she spends less time actually dodging. It's difficult to even dodge a projectile.

(During KKK dodge) F+K:

Hibiki cancels her dodge into a forward run. The run can't be canceled out of until she runs a short distance, effectively neutering its usefulness.

(During KKK dodge) B+K:

Hibiki cancels her dodge into a backwards hop. She can do any of her jump attacks during the jump. Honestly, I think her special dodge and its additional options are all pretty worthless.

QCB,HCF+P:

Hibiki dashes forward through her opponent. If unblocked, Hibiki slashes and slides over to the other side while her opponent is still stunned. She then slowly sheathes her sword. At the moment she sheathes it, there's a big booming sound and the opponent finally feels the effects of the slash, anime style. The opponent then shrivels up as if he died of tick damage. As far as usefulness goes, this super is great. With some good timing this super can even be used as anti-air, even at level 1. At level 3 it's your basic all-purpose wake-up/anti-fireball-anti-air super.

F,HCF+P (level 3 only):

Hibiki's unblockable sword super from Power Mode in LB2. If connected properly, the entire screen turns black and you see a slash mark. Lights turn back on and basically the same thing happens as the above super. If Hibiki finishes her opponent with this move, her hair tie gets slit off and she goes through a special win pose with her hair going straight down. The move is no longer unblockable (wouldn't want to make her TOO good...), but still requires you to be VERY close to get the full effect. Even closer than Ryu's ShinShoryuken. Kind of a useless super, since you can use her dashing super for the same things and not have to worry about distance. It does do a bit more damage, though.

HCB,F+LK (level 3 only), upon hitting: LP, MP, HP, then:
LP, MP, HP, LP, MP, QCF+HP
Or, LK, MK, HK, LK, MK, QCF+HK
Or, LK, MK, LK, HK:

Hibiki's "Custom Combo" from Speed Mode in LB2. For all intents and purposes, this is pretty much Geese's Deadly Rave but with three different endings. Great for anti-projectile purposes. The first ending sticks her DP+K overhead in there, the second hits low, and the third hits low and launches. Being that this is a level 3 only super, there isn't much use for the launcher outside of S and N Groove, since those two are the only ones that allow you to do another super after a level 3.

• She has a pretty hard time against chars with a very fast super. If you do a qcf+p, you can expect chars like Rock or Balrog to smack you down whether you hit or missed. I'm not sure who else can exploit this besides those two, but I'm sure there's more.
• She probably has the best normal moves in the game. Her crossup HK is one of those downward slash moves, like Silver Samurai's or Iron Man's j.HK. It has this strange property where you sometimes end up in front of the opponent after crossing them up. Needless to say, this makes blocking difficult for the recipient.
• At the right distance, her j.MP is almost unbeatable as an air-to-ground move. The only moves I know of that consistently beat it are Rock's s.HK and Chun-Li's sweep. It also works very well as air-to-air, but for that you can use:
• Her j.HP causes Hibiki to slash from forward to 45 degrees up, making it a perfect air-to-air move.
• Her j.LK is a -75 degree kick much like Karin's j.LK. And we all know how much priority that move has...
• Her crouching LKs have as much priority as Nakoruru's did in CvS1. In fact, you can still do wake up LK with pretty good results.
• Her standing and crouching MP is the poke of the gods. If a char has a good enough anti-air so that you can't rush them down, you can simply poke them to death with this. It's fun to see the frustration on your opponent's face after you do this move about 432542 times.
• Her c.LP is the same move as the c.MP, just with less block stun and power. However, this move is bufferable! You can do an otherwise-impossible combo of a max range jump in MP, c.LP, QCF+P.
• Her bread and butter combo is c.LK x3, C.LP, QCF+P. Her rushdown game is mainly cross up HK into either c.LK x3 or c.MP into DP+K overhead.
• Her s.HP is probably the second best normal move anti-air in the game behind Rock's s.HK. It beats nearly everything, even Rugal's ADF. Even better, if your opponent tries to cross you up you'll do the close version of the move, which goes straight up and knocks them out from above you. Too good! The only move I know of that beats this move consistently is Kim's j.HP (huh?). However, people with fast jumps like Blanka/Nak/Mai/Vega sometimes give you a hard time since the move has to be done slightly early.
• If you do press HP twice when close Hibiki will do two slashes that combo. I don't think either slash is bufferable.
• Her s.MK is her F+K from LB2. It still knocks down, just not all the way against the opposite wall like it did before.

QCB+P:

Her standard projectile attack from KOF. The actual delivery is much faster now at about the speed of Capcom chars, but the projectile itself is REALLY slow. Possibly the slowest in the game. That's actually not a bad thing since you can throw a LP projectile and super jump after it.

DP+P (also in air):

Her uppercut move is really puzzling. Sometimes the priority seems to be great, while at other times it seems to get beat by everything under the sun. I try not to rely on it much due to its unpredictable nature and use it only in combos. The LP version has nearly no recovery time, though.

HCF+P:

Her command grab launcher. It doesn't seem to be instant, but still is fairly easy to land given the tools she has at her disposal. Without supers the most damaging thing I could find the grab was a simple jumping DP. With supers and some quick positioning, you can land her HCBx2+P super WITH the followup QCB+P for really big damage.

QCF+K:

Telepooooooooort! While it's a bit slower than it was in KOF, she is now completely invincible to everything except for throws, kind of like a glorified roll. Fireball zoning combined with teleports to run away is fairly effective, as is teleporting into a surprise command grab.

QCB+K:

Her fireball reflector, it requires some anticipation and timing since it comes out fairly slow with LK. With MK or HK, she does a small hop forward (making it even harder to use to reflect projectiles) and bounces back projectiles at a much increased speed. LK version increases projectile speed also, just not as dramatically. It's not known whether the move is good in juggles as it has been in previous KOF games.

(in air) QCB+K:

Phoenix Arrow! Considered by many to be her signature move, Athena tumbles downward covered in psychic energy, causing many hits in a similar fashion to Kim's steppy move. HK version causes her to end the tumble with a kick similar to Chun Li's sweep (which always goes in the correct direction) which knocks down. However, there is now no pause between the rolling and the kick like there is in KOF; it's one continuous move. If the kick followup is blocked, Athena is left vulnerable. There are a few crafty uses to this move: For one, the move can be done at any height, allowing you to do tigerknee motions and do the move inches off the ground for an instant overhead (not confirmed if the move actually is an overhead, though). You can also cross up with the move and force your opponent to block in the opposite direction if you have the right positioning in the air.

HCBx2+P, followed by QCB+P (also in air):

Her crystal bit super, this is one of the better defensive supers around. It seems to have a good amount of invincibility even at level 1. The followup QCB+P launches the crystals at her opponent, and they will home in to a certain extent. Even better, the followup will actually combo off of the the initial part of the super if your opponent is very close and you input the command VERY quickly. Actually, this super doesn't do all that much damage unless you combo the follow-up.

(in air) QCFx2+K:

A super version of her Phoenix Arrow, Athena somehow does a whole mess of them in a row before finally finishing it with the kick. HUGE chip damage, but doesn't seem to have a whole lot of air-to-ground priority.

• She has a command normal with F+MK, which is slightly different from her F+B from KOF. She does a knee, then a hop kick which knocks down.
• She retains the ability to chain her F+K from KOF. It's now done by pressing MP, F+MK. You cannot buffer the F+MK into anything like you could in KOF, but it seems to be a launcher of some sort. Now if I can find a move that will juggle...
• While F+MK appears to leave you vulnerable if blocked, but you can pretty easily DP any retaliatory attempts.
• Her sweep practically has negative range. It's SO hard to get used to using C.HP instead, which has somewhat decent range.
• Her jumping forward kick actually crosses up REALLY well. It's one of those crossups that's good enough to confuse the opponent with which way to block. She's also got a pretty large jump horizontally (similar, if not the same as Chun-Li's jump. We all know how annoying HER crossup game is...) so it's fairly easy to get within crossup distance.
• Perhaps her greatest improvement, her new standing MK and MP are good anti-airs, MK especially. This something that she has always been missing in the KOF games (in the versions where her sweep didn't work as anti-air).
• After the crossup I do three main things: If the crossup hits, chain combo of standing MP, F+MK for decent damage. If the crossup is blocked, I can do a standing MP into a projectile, then go for another crossup. My last and favorite option is to wait a tiny bit, then go straight into a command grab ala Vice. BIG potential damage.
• Her command normal of D+MK in mid air works a lot like Chun-Li's stomp, just... worse. You can only do it when jumping forward, and you cannot land right on top of your opponent's head like Chun's either. It also doesn't have the advantage of extra priority like Chun either. On a positive note, Athena will always bounce backwards when she does her butt stomp, so you bounce off and do an air super for good chip damage or something. However, the move will knock down if it connects, so these little tricks don't seem to be very useful at higher level play.
• C Groove Athenas can do an uber-leet combo of lv2 Fang Arrow (air qcfx2+K), super canceled into the lv1 Crystal Bit super near the end, and finally landing the followup projectile launch.

QCF+P:

As for specials, his main one is his wave. Qcf+p makes them, LP has short range and damage, but is comboable off of medium attacks. HP has long range and very big damage, but can't combo (unless Todo has a bufferable HP or HK, I couldn't find one). Nevertheless it is pretty safe to end a blocked chain with a HP wave because the main purpose of the wave is to chip. A blocked HP wave chips 5 or 6 chips worth of life. Those add up fast. Also, the waves absorb fireballs and do not lose any of their own momentum when doing so. So any fb's from the opponent within half screen can be punished on reaction with a HP wave. Basically, you want to constantly force the opponent to block waves in an attempt to make them roll or jump foolishly since they can easily be chipped to death by them. Also, if you can set up an opportunity to do so, waves juggle.

DP+P:

Todo raises his hands in the air and, er... scratches at it. While many prematurely branded this move as useless, I was actually having some pretty good success with his "anti-air" wave. I think the way you're supposed to use it is to first toss out some ground waves, then just randomly throw an anti-air one when you think they're expecting another ground one (and hope they don't roll). They'll see Todo stick his hands into the air and jump towards you. Since the anti-air wave comes out so slow, it hits right about when they are about to land on you. You can juggle afterwards with a wave super, so the risk/reward ratio is good enough to use the move every so often. The trick to the anti-air wave is to use it as you would Dhalsim's upward Yoga Blast. It's a bit trickier to land Todo's since his doesn't cover up so much air space, but his extra damage potential and less recovery time balances things out a bit.

(in air) QCF+P:

Another wave move, this one in the air. It can be done at any height and Todo will drop straight down from wherever he did it. Thusly you can tigerknee the motion and use it as antiair if the opponent is jumping towards your front. If you can react well this is probably better than the low HP.

QCFX2+P:

Todo does a super version of his wave attack which goes all the way across the screen. Level 2 and 3 have invincibility frames, 1 does not, however it does not matter that much due to the properties of the super. This super behaves almost exactly like Magneto's super in marvel except it is not as tall. If you wake up with level 1, the opponent might hit you but that will not stop the shockwave from hitting him and knocking him across the screen. The shockwave keeps going no matter if Todo is hit. So you can use any level as anti air or a wakeup, level 1 might trade but it's all in your favor. This super juggles marvelously so it will get all hits as antiair or if comboed after the antiair wave. The super is tall enough to be antiair if you do it deep. His wave super works like a faster version of Magneto's shockwave/Venom's Death Bite in MvC2; to get full damage, you need to be midscreen so the wave has more room to push the opponent backwards. However, if you do manage to connect it midscreen (mainly after his command grab), this thing does HUGE damage. I mean, I've seen a combo of command grab, low forward, lv3 wave do 75% with R1 Todo against another R1. Neat.

QCF, HCF+P:

Todo's super counter. It can be done at any level and counters any attack except throws. Also, since the counter is active throughout the entire super(unlike most counters) the counter super is actually pretty safe at poking range. I will occasionally just randomly do super counters at my opponent's favorite poking range. The super is over before they can throw me and if they attack at any point during my pose, they will be countered. Super counters are also good against any readable attacks like in between hits of Kim's comet crusher or if you see an obvious honda/bison/blanka torpedo. Best of all, the super will counter other supers, and cross-ups! I like to use the super to discourage wakeup dp's/supers, then command grab em after I condition them to just do passive wakeups. Fun! The lv3 counter is still pretty risky to use unless you're absolutely sure it's gonna connect.

• Todo has several good normals, namely his low HP in which he elbows at a 45 degree angle. This is his anti air, and it works surprisingly well.
• If they jump from further away and you don't have a super then tigerknee wave does good damage.
• Other good normals are his standing MK and low MP, they are both high priority pokes with okay range.
• His standing HK which is a high damage poke. It has about the same range as Yamazaki's but it is a little slower.
• Todo's low MK and MP are both bufferable and combo into the LP wave or shockwave super.
• Todo's sweep sucks, it is slow and has lag. Use low MK->LP wave wherever you would normally sweep.
• Todo's command attack, towards + MK (AKA The Move), has awesome range, he leaps forward and attacks the opponent's legs, it must be blocked low and it reaches almost full screen (EDIT: actually, a bit less then 2/3rds.). If it is blocked at long range it is safe, up close though you will have problems. Often if you follow up a few blocked waves with this, you will catch the opponent moving forward.
• He can link two low MKs together, but at that distance the only combo you can do is a wave super which is still pretty nice. You can do this combo after his command grab also.
• His jumping MK kick does cross up very well, but it's pretty hard to take advantage of outside of wakeups since his jump has almost no horizontal distance like Ryo. A successful counter super is a great time to a REALLY deep cross up, though.
• Todo hikes up his skirt while running. Whatta pimp!

Charge B,F+P:

His ball throw from KOF is relatively unchanged. Like all his other moves, it comes out a lot faster than before, but still retains a long period of autoguard before tossing the ball out. You can even use this as anti-air if you time the autoguard right (which isn't very hard). His HP version takes longer to come out (and consequently has more autoguard frames), but has slightly more range. His C version from KOF where he spins the ball first is gone.

Press P rapidly:

His ball swing is still comboable off of a LP. Even better, in CvS2 you can do c.LPx3 then the ball swing for a nice 4 hit combo. Good for punishing rollers. It still works well as anti-air if you've got fast enough fingers, and does HUGE chip damage if you trap your opponent in the corner. Although kind of a useless application, you can move forward and dissolve (non-ground) projectiles with this move also. Chang can cancel his ball swing by pressing PPP.

HCB,F+P:

His command where he slams you around does a LOT of damage. It doesn't have much range, but it's instant and I know tick setups qork quite well with it.

QCF+K:

Choi's "Drill Claw" (AKA Projectile Assist). Choi jumps off of the wall and drill claws at a height slightly higher than a high Tiger Shot. The strength of the kick determines where Choi starts decending. The height of Choi's flight prevents jump attacks and also allows him to fly over projectiles and drill your opponent. Nice move.

HCB+K:

Choi's whirlwind spin (AKA Anti Air Assist). Choi runs forward a distance determined by the kick you press, then does his whirlwind anti-air from KOF. While Choi doesn't have a whole lot of priority with this move, he does take up a lot of space while he's spinning and effectively covers you so you can attack.

DP+K:

Choi's cross slash (AKA Ground Assist). Choi runs forward a distance determined by which kick you pressed, then does his cross slash uppercut from KOF. Of all his assists, this one seems to be the most useless, since the Choi AAA does pretty much the same thing, but better.

QCF,HCB+P:

Chang's "ranbu" super is much, much, MUCH better than in KOF. At level 3, it can be used as anti-air, anti projectile, anti-roll, anti-ANYTHING. Does a ton of damage, and looks much better now, too. He does his normal string of attacks from KOF, then slams them around with his command throw, then Choi does his ground assist to finish it. Chang doesn't have his anti-air belly flop super, but this pretty much does the same thing. If the move is blocked/whiffed, Chang will fall on his face, leaving him quite open.

HCBx2+K:

Choi's super whirlwind super doesn't seem all that useful. Choi needs to run forward first before doing his move, making the super too slow for use in most cases. It does MASSIVE chip damage, however.

• S.LP is his slap from KOF. Doesn't work quite as well as it did in that game, though.
• S.MP is his CD from KOF, the stomach smash. Although it's much faster than in KOF (as are all the KOFers moves), it still doesn't seem to be really useful.
• S.HP is his his standing C. It's MUCH faster now. No startup time at all. Although the move goes over crouching opponents, it's a great move to snuff jumps right when they start (kinda like a shorter ranged Dhalsim s.HK), or as an anti-air against low jumps.
• S.short is his dinky standing B. Not much new here.
• S.forward is just like his strong, but he uses his butt instead of his stomach. Looks leet if you do a bunch of these in a row in a custom combo.
• S.HK is his standing D from KOF, but a LOT better. It has surprisingly long reach and speed. The reach is about the same as Eagle's or Kyosuke's sweeps. Needless to say, a great poking tool.
• c.LP is his elbow from KOF. Much faster, and can combo into other elbows now. The only thing you can combo off of a jab or elbow is his spinning ball special.
• c.MP makes Chang do a slightly upper-angled backfist with pretty good range. Some chars can crouch under it, though.
• c.HP is his crouching C from KOF. It does have a bit of startup time, but has a lot of priority when it comes out, making it his best non-super anti-air.
• J.LP/MP makes Chang do a -30 degree punch with his leading arm. Good for air to air when your opponent is above you.
• J.HP is his jumping CD iron ball swing from KOF. Not quite as domninant as in that game, but still a very good move. It pretty much rules the entire area from -45 degrees to 30 degrees. If your opponent manages to get over you (which isn't nearly as hard in this game as it is in KOF), use LP/MP instead. Chang's still got pretty good dominance of the air.
• J.LK/MK is his jumping B, the dinky kick at -45 degrees. Priority isn't bad though.
• J.HK is new. He does a kick at -60 degrees with good range. Those downward angled kicks are always good, but Chang jumps pretty low to begin with, making it even more useful for him. You can do several of these in a row for a good pressuring tool.
• df+HP is his slide. GREAT move. It's much faster than KOF, but doesn't have quite as much reach (and consequently, is safer to use). Still his main anti-projectile move.

QCF+P:

Haohmaru winds up, then launches a tornado with his sword. The tornado launches the opponent up in the air upon hitting, but it is still unknown whether you can juggle afterwards or not. While definitely not as slow as it was in SS, the tornado takes quite a bit longer than normal projectiles to come out. Recovery is about the same.

DP+P:

Haohmaru swings his sword in a circle, then does a jumping uppercut with it. The priority on the move isn't very good, but the range is. If you want to use this move as anti-air you have to do it early enough so that your opponent is within range of your sword, but not close enough to hit you.

RDP+P:

Haohmaru does a flip towards his opponent and slams his sword into the ground, functioning as an overhead. Somewhat safe if done at the correct distance, and is fast enough to dodge moves. Definitely not abusable, though.

QCF+K:

A fake projectile. Haohmaru winds up like he's going to throw a tornado, but goes back into his fighting stance instead. However, Haohmaru's projectile isn't a big enough part of his game to make this move useful.

QCFX2+P:

Sort of like a Shoryureppa, Haohmaru does a bunch of circular slices before doing his uppercut slice. Unlike Ken, however, Haohmaru's super has little forward movement, severely limiting its usefullness. The super doesn't juggle very well either. You get about two hits before your opponent bounces away.

(level 3 only) HCB,F+LP:

Haoh's much-talked about mega damaging super. He does a very large windup before doing his a glorified version of his s.HP. While the super DOES do a lot of damage (about 75% on equal ratioed characters), it comes out very slowly. It's impossible to combo, and its very hard to punish mistakes with. The move does have quite a bit of invincibility time, so the only way I found for it to combo was to counter a laggy move with. The laggy move goes straight through Haoh during his windup, and then Haoh punishes them with a huge smack with his sword.

• Haohmaru is all about one thing: landing his s.HP. It has good range, decent speed, and does more damage than any of his non-super combos. It does an obscene amount of guard damage also. However, the move is very laggy and is punishable if done too close. Even if you successfully guard break with this move, the lag is large enough so that you won't be able to capitalize on it.
• After his ugly s.HP, Haoh's biggest strength lies within his solid poking game. His LP is a lot like Rolento's annoying LP from Alpha, but with even MORE priority.
• His s.MP is quick and has very good range. It's also high enough to snuff jumps at an early stage. The general poking pattern I see most Haoh players use is c.LP X3, s.MP.
• c.HP is decent anti-air, somewhat like Nakoruru's but a bit worse. Certain chars can get around it fairly easily, though.
• c.HK is a slow slide. As far as slides go, this one isn't very good. It's like King's but even slower.
• His air game is pretty good. j.HP is fast and has very good priority for air-to-ground. You have to do it kinda high off the ground to take advantage of its priority, though, making combos almost impossible afterwards.
• Probably his biggest improvement from SS, his j.MK crosses up very well. Its also good for air-to-air.
• His bread and butter combo is c.LK X2, DP+HP. Works well after a cross up and puts him in a good position to do a meaty cross up again.

QCF+P:

A projectile exactly like Geese's Reppuken. LP and MP versions throw slow and fast ones, HP causes Rock to do two waves and throw them out as one big one; the Double Reppuken. The single versions have less than average lag, and the Double Reppuken is mostly useless except in combos.

QCB+P:

Rock flies forward and elbows his opponent in a fashion similar to Terry's Burn Knuckle, just MUCH faster. This move is a LOT faster than it was in Garou, and for the most part, safer. The LP version is completely safe given the proper distance. The MP and HP versions cause Rock to due a flaming palm attack after the elbow, making it better for use in combos. However, those versions are punishable if blocked. The LP version will get you a whole lot of mileage, however.

Charge D, U+P:

Terry's Rising Tackle. Not too useful as anti-air since Rock's normals do that job quite nicely, but still a decent wake-up/reversal move.

360+P:

Yep. He's got a command grab, the Shinkuu Nage. Rock basically does the same thing as Geese's punch throw but more stylized. The range isn't great, and I'm still not sure whether it's instant or not, but it's still a GREAT move to have. Especially when you combine it with:

During Shinkuu Nage: Press PPP:

Rock's ability to "break" the grab carried over from Garou. This has to be done immediately after grabbing your opponent, but the timing is much more forgiving than it was in Garou. Basically, you cancel the recovery time after the grab so that you can juggle your opponent with whatever you want. Rock tosses his opponent quite a distance behind him, so if you're midscreen about the only thing you can do is a Shine Knuckle super (darn. That's it?). If you're in the corner (your own corner) you can do whatever you want, from a s.LP to a Raging Storm. Rock also has a canned follow up to his grab. If you press and hold PPP after the grab, Rock will ready himself to shoot a blast of chi at his airborne opponent. Rock will let loose the blast when you let go of the punch buttons, but it has to be correctly timed for it to hit. Again, the timing for this is much more lenient than it is in Garou.

QCF+K:

A Counter much like his father's. LK for high moves, MK for mid, HK for low. If the counter connects, Rock does a mini Crack Choot (hence the name, Crack Counter) which knocks the attacker down. Since it knocks down, you cannot link a Shine Knuckle super afterwards unlike Garou. It's unknown whether or not the counter will grab supers like his father's.

QCB+K:

His Rage Run from Garou. Rock runs forward and does something different depending on the strength of the kick button you press to initiate the move. The run itself is much slower than it was in Garou, but now Rock has a new useful option to use. Doing the run with LK will cause Rock to do a quick, low Power Dunk overhead. It basically looks like one of the universal overheads from SF3. The new option, the MK version, cause Rock to stop when he reaches his opponent, ala Guy. The HK version causes Rock to shift behind his opponent upon reaching them. The shift can be canceled into the command grab for a nice surprise. Unlike in Garou, a successful command grab after the shift will still toss your opponent across the screen.

QCFX2+P:

The Raging Storm with a MUCH simpler motion. Unlike Geese's, it looks more like a wall of blue flames instead of a cage. Rock can hold down the punch button to delay the release, but there isn't much point to that. lv1 has to be done pretty early to function as anti-air, but levels 2 and 3 have plenty of invincibility time. A C Groove Rock can super cancel a lv2 Raging Storm into a Rising Tackle for more damage than a lv3, and for less meter.

QCFX2+K:

God. I HATE this move. Probably the best super in the game, the Shine Knuckle causes Rock to fly forward REALLY fast with his fist out. Almost AHVB fast. Levels 1 and 2 have about 2/3rds screen length, and the level 3 will shoot Rock all the way across. The level 3 has an ungodly amount of invincibilty frames, and follows up the punch with an elbow into a Rising Tackle. It's the perfect "counter everything" move.

(level 3 only) HCF,F+LK then upon hitting:
LP, LP, LK, LK, MP, MK, HP, HK, QCB+HP:

Geese's Deadly Rave. Outside of combos, it's not too useful since you have the faster Shine Knuckle instead. You can do more damage with this move, however, by foregoing the last QCB+HP and doing whatever you want in its place. For example, an N Groove Rock can combo into the Deadly Rave, forego the the last part and do a c.HP into lv1 Shine Knuckle instead. Somebody suggested that I do c.LP x2, c.MK into Shine Knuckle instead, but I haven't been able to try that out.

• Colin has found the most bastardly tactic in the world with Rock. Once Rock has a lv3 charged, he can throw out full screen projectiles all day. If you do ANYTHING except block, such as jump straight up over the projectile at full screen , jump towards Rock, roll through the projectile, reflect the projectile back, even do a double fireball, and Rock gets a free lv3 shine knuckle super on you. It's THAT fast, and goes THAT far. You can even watch to see if one of the projectiles hits, then shine knuckle them on reaction. The worst part is, projectiles do a good amount of guard damage in this game compared to other games. If you sit there blocking projectiles to wait it out (if Rock is powered up in an SNK groove) you're not gonna have much guard meter left afterwards. If Rock is in C or P groove, well, you're gonna have to try to work your way out of it. Not impossible, but very difficult. If you're foolish enoush to try to super jump at Rock, he has two options:
  1)Raging Storm. 2)Anti-air with s.HK, then make them land on another projectile. This will push your opponent back into the corner and keep the trap going.
  
  If you're in C or N groove without a good anti-projectile super and a lv3 charged, then you're gonna have a REALLY rough time getting out of the trap. S groove can dodge the projectiles, but if Rock has more life than there's not much that groove can do either. If you have a full meter in A groove, then you can jump in and fall through whatever anti-air Rock does with a CC. P and K grooves have the easiest ways out of the trap. In P groove, you can simply jump at Rock and air-parry whatever he throws out at you. In K groove you can just sit there and gain life Just Defending projectiles.
  
  Fighting a Rock with meter is actually pretty reminiscient of fighting O.Sagat back in ST. You have to slowly, carefully work your way in close while dodging the barrage of projectiles thrown at you. For example, when I would play Cammy I would have to do stuff like jump over the projectile, then quickly dive kick back to the ground and hope he doesn't super me in time (which is possible, Rock's projectile has less than average lag), then walk forward a few steps and try to deal with the next projectile. You can't even cross him up, since he can easily (with a simple qcfx2 motion instead of Geese's pretzel motion) Raging Storm you. Bah.
  
  However, the trap isn't as easy to do as it sounds. If you're anti-airing with the Shine Knuckle at distance, you have to time it such that it hits deep. Otherwise, you'll only get two or three hits and score piddly damage. Moves such as Cammy's dive kick are possible to fully punish but they screw up your timing. Also, certain chars can get out of the trap much easier than others (like Dhalsim beating O.Sagat in ST). Torpedo chars like Blanka, Honda, and Bison can simply fly over Rock's ground projectiles (unless Rock fools them and does a Double Reppuken instead), another Rock can do his own lv3 Shine Knuckle super, SNK Groove Mai/Nak/Blanka/Vega might have fast enough low jumps to get over the projectiles safely, etc.
• He has three normal moves that function well as anti-air, but he only needs one. His s.HK beats EVERYTHING. Without this move Rock wouldn't be half as good as he is. It one of the few moves that works equally well against both low jumps and regular jumps due to its range, and even has good enough priority to cleanly beat even Chun-Li or Hibiki's jump ins. While the s.HK also works somewhat well against cross-ups due to it's gigantic hit box, you'll be better off using his c.MP. It looks and acts almost exactly like Vice's c.HP, but with less horizontal range. With these two moves, Rock doesn't really need a special move anti-air. His third anti-air, his c.HP (D+AB from Garou) also works very well, but the s.HK is simply better.
• Rock's normal moves are much faster all-around than they were in Garou, which is a good thing. Otherwise he'd be one of the slowest chars in the game.
• He can link his c.LP into his c.MK. With this you can do a combo of: c.LP x2, c.MK, qcb+P.
• Rock's F+AB overhead from Garou is now F+MK. Rock steps forward and does a turning axe kick.

Press P rapidly:

His multi-punch special is pretty much just like E.Honda's HHS, except you can combo it off a LP. I doubt there's a follow up, but Joe lunges forward like Honda does during the first few punches.

HCF+P:

His LP Hurricane Upper projectile is really good. It comes out very quickly and has as little lag as a sonic boom. It only goes 1/2 screen, but it's a solid poke. The MP version causes Joe to throw two tornadoes that go about 2/3rds of the screen. The HP version is slightly slower than the MP version, but the tornadoes go full screen. The tornadoes themselves are very good projectiles. They're about the height of Joe, meaning moves that will go over ground projectiles won't work against these, and moves that go under normal projectiles will also get smacked. It's also more difficult to even jump over these (especially with Chang).

QCF+K:

Joe flies forward with his foot out. This move has HUGE lag if blocked. It combos off of LP or LK, but I'd rather use the multi-punch for that purpose.

DP+K:

Joe does a flaming knee anti-air. While the move does have a good amount of invincibility time to it, the knee itself comes out fairly slowly. If you it with normal DP timing, there's a good chance your opponent will pass right through you and be able to block the move when he lands. It makes a good reversal/wake-up move, though.

HCB+K:

Looks and functions almost exactly like a Crack Shoot, which is a huge advantage to have. Terry's kick comes out a bit earlier and stays out a bit longer, however.

QCFX2+P:

The Screw Upper. Joe does one uppercut which produces a stationary tornado, then another uppercut which turns it into a huge tornado that travels forward. It isn't very good anti-air unless you do it at lv2 or above. Combos well, though.

QCF, HCB+P:

Joe completely spazzes out and rushes forward attacking, does a few tornados, does his knee anti-air and then finishes you with his crack shoot. Decently anti-projectile at lv3 if you're within half screen, but otherwise only good for combos.

(level 3 only) HCBX2+P:

I love this move. Joe faces towards the screen and does an uppercut with both arms, creating a huge tornado on both sides of him. INCREDIBLY goofy looking. Obviously, this destroys jump-ins of any sort, be it a cross up or whatever. It also has a vacuum property which prevents any accidental one-hitters. However, if this move is blocked on the ground Joe is left pretty vulnerable.

• He can link his crouching MP from a crouching LP.
• His standing LK and MK are both very good pokes. Quick, decent range, and a whole lot of priority.
• His c.HK is a knee slide which is safe if done at the correct distance.
• His j.HK has really good air-to-air priority. It's his jumping CD from KOF.
• His j.LK is a downward angled kick that is pretty good for air-to-ground.

The Returning Characters:

For the most part I'm pretty pleased with what Capcom did with the old chars. Cheesy stuff such as Terry's roll into Rising Tackle ad infinitum and Iori's column super trap have been removed, and most chars that were lacking in the first game are now solid competitors.

• Her old standing LK is now her standing MK, meaning it's slower. BOO! I can't zone/poke my opponents nearly as well anymore.
• Her standing LK is now Mature's double kick in KOF98. However, you can only buffer moves off of the first kick.
• Her standing HP is now her standing MP, meaning it's faster. WOO! It seems to have retained a lot of its priority, also.
• Her new standing HP has good range and priority (IIRC, it's her fierce from KOF), but has horrible startup time.
• She can still jump LK and go straight into a super grab. Hehe.
• Her new crouching MP/MK have decent priority, but kinda dinky range. The crouching MK looks really goofy.
• Her new jumping MK is one of those upper angled moves. Good for air to air, I guess.
• Her jumping MP is the same as her old jumping LP
.
• She still has that command throw where she drags you on the ground (Gore Fest). It looks a lot better now; She drags you a lot farther and the victim's sprite now shakes, making it look more like you're getting dragged instead of sliding. Even better, the damage done by the throw isn't dependant on where you landed it (in previous version, the act of dragging is what caused the damage, and Vice would stop dragging once she reached the corner) and can still be followed up with the jumping grab. The jumping grab is now performed with dp+p and cannot be done outside of the throw.

• Most importantly, her QCFX2+P fan super has been sped up, eliminating that retarded SNK Groove trap. It also won't juggle off of a sweep.
• She also retains her flaming "anti-air". Does anybody use this?
• Her new crouching moves are good. c.MK is a short slide which is safe if blocked. Those are always handy.
• c.MP is the same as c.LP, but the MP version is a very good poke. It has great priority and pretty good range.
• Her air dive super seems to have been slowed down a bit.
• Her off the wall dive can no longer cross up.

• Rugal has normal Rugal's moveset except for the dive punch from the air. His dive punch is not too great though, it beats most attacks and recovers instantly, but it comes out sorta slow. It is a little faster than CvS1(if you use jab) but it is still slow.
• Reppukens recover very fast.
• Kaiser waves are faster, taller, and do more damage. The kaiser wave is actually rather useful now. It is hard (for some characters *VERY VERY hard*) to jump over Kaiser waves. I see this as an "anti Chang" character.
• Running grab still has too much recovery to be generally abusable. However, it actually combos after a reppuken at anywhere farther than about 1/2 screen distance, or even closer if the reppuken is very meaty(like they roll into it). I was playing random mashers at Hayward and when they rolled I was reacting with reppuken -> dash grab combos. Then you can juggle after the dash grab with his kick super at any level. Also grab combos off of medium attacks. Also, you can use the running grab to react to rolls and open up big combos that way.
• Genocide cutter is weak anti air. Like the power dunk, it loses to most jumpins. Against other moves on the ground it i s a very good dp, the only problem is it is not instant. It cannot be used as a wakeup. It does juggle now though, although not after a running grab so setting that up is hard.
• Grab super is the same, except it sets up juggles now with the kick super.
• Kick super juggles after anything in the corner, except that they took out the juggle after his punch throw. You can juggle after a running grab, normal or super, and his genocide cutter if it hit them in the air.
• Rugal's new jump HK is very good. It is abusable with low jumps. His stand HP is the same except it seems to have EVEN MORE range. It is very handy. Also his new standing MK is very long ranged and has very good priority over low attacks like sweeps. His low MK is good also, and bufferable, so that gives him a long ranged low attack to make up for his weak sweep. His low HP is new and hits twice, although I do not think it is bufferable.
• He can link his LP's to his low MP to his running grab, then super. 2 low LP, low MP, run grab, level 3 super takes off almost 100 percent in a R1 to R1 matchup.
• Shield Move (hcf+k) reflects Super FBs. Hahaha!

• His godly sweep is still really fast, but doesn't appear to be bufferable anymore.
• He appears to have all of his moves from both of his CvS1 personas, but does his supers in the KOF fashion. (super grab is HCBX2+P)
• His serpent slash (HCB+P) both recovers faster and cancels faster.
• His knife attack (DP+P) still only hits twice with HP.
• His command grab (HCB,F+P) seems to be faster with better range.

• His jumping forward crosses up!!! It's great news since Geese had no crossup offense at all in CVS1. (EDIT: it actually crosses up VERY well. Works great after a successful counter since they're laying right in front of you.)
• C.MK is bufferable. It has slightly better range than c.LK and stays out longer. (EDIT: and it links from a LP.)
• Geese's Double Reppuken stops the Blanka ball! Also, I got blanka balled while in mid Double Reppuken and it stopped the ball in that instance, too. Yippee =)
• Geese has the close c.LK -> Double Reppuken combo, which he lost in CVS Pro.
• Blocked Deadly Rave attacks gets pushed back now? Not sure what to make of that...I suppose it's safer for Geese if it's blocked? I thought it was cooler in CVS1 where you could lay in all those hits on the guard.
• I dunno if this was a good tactic in CvS1 (didn't play much Geese), but backwards tigerknee+p is a very good strat in CvS2. He does his air fireball so close to the ground that it's basically a half-screen fireball that bounces Geese away to safety. Even if your opponent jumps over it (not likely if you're close enough, given the air fireball's downward trajectory) the best they can do is to hit you out of the air. You bounce out of range of most rolls, also.
• Geese now has a different animation for all three of his counters when they connect. "Too easy!"
• In case you haven't heard already, Geese's counters now will stop supers. Fun!

• His QCF+K now has its follow up, which is done the same way as in KOF, d,u+k. It still has that crappy range also. If you do two low LKs into the qcf+k, 90% of the time you'll be too far away for the followup to hit. Bah.
• Benimaru's "new" DP+K helps him a LOT. A LOT. It's GREAT psychic DP material, and isn't too risky since Beni doesn't move forward and comes down pretty quickly. It also works great as anti-air as long as you do it just a bit early. It really changed the way I play Beni.
• I poke with him like a kinda Guile/Cammy hybrid: Liberal use of his F+MK and F+HK in poking strings. It's much more effective since you can dp+k any retaliatory attempts during your pokes without too much worry. Add in some cross ups with LK, and you have some good rush down potential. Cammy is still my queen of rush down, though.
• Having his other super from his regular version in CvS1 (QCFX2+K) also helps him a lot. It's a nice anti-projectile super.
• He can link his c.MP off of LPs and LKs. I dunno if his sweep still links, but I doubt you can juggle anything after it.
• I'm not sure, but I think that his qcf+p move differs on hits/speed depending on what button you use. I think the HP version hits three times and comes out slow, while the LP version hits once and is quick. Not sure if it can still be crouched under. Well, this move was never a big part of Beni's arsenal anyways.

• Her qcb+k from her EX version is now done with qcb+p. It longer combos off of LP/LK but you can still juggle afterwards with a surprise rose in the corner.
• Her qcfx2+k double strike seems to come out faster. I comboed it after a crouching MK.
• Her qcbx2+k super still seems to have good priority at lv1. It's just not godly like it was in CvS1. You can't juggle after it either.
• Her sweep is slower and is no longer bufferable, but her new crouching MK fills in that gap nicely. The c.MK is her old sweep from KOF, just much faster (of course).
• You don't seem to be able to juggle after her punch grab anymore.
• Her Surprise Rose seems to have beefed up priority. It might even be a good anti-air now.

• His fireball (which is full screen, by the way) seems to come out much faster. I saw it combo off of a LP.
• His air fireball has a much more favorable angle now, about the same as Geese's but without the backward bounce.
• Most importantly, his DP seems to have a lot more priority. In fact, I don't remember seeing it trade at all, while I saw shoryukens trade quite a bit.
• His level 3 punch super has changed a lot. It dizzies you instantly like it used to KOF, but now it comes out quite slowly, similar to Haohmaru's lv3 slash (still faster that that, though). That means that you can't combo it (thank god). There is a very large invincibility window, however, making this a sort of counter move for aggressive players.
• He gains the chop from his EX version done with RDP+P.

• If anybody was wondering, here's her new movelist:
  qcf+p- her SHORT projectile.
  qcb+p- her fireball reflector.
  dp+p- her uppercut. You still can only do doubles with her fierce version. However, air fireball + uppercut = ANNOYING.
  qcf+k- her air fireball. Still as annoying as ever.
  qcb+k- her running slappy move.
  qcfx2+p- her "shoryureppa" super.
  f,hcf+p- her super fireball.
  qcf,qcb+k- her super where she steps all over you, with a brand new motion. Infinitely preferable to the cumbersome f,b,hcb+k motion in CvS1.
  
  
• Crouching MP has HUGE priority. It looks and acts like Balrog's (boxer) c.MK in ST. The thing is, it has laughable range. I think most jabs go farther than this move. Anyways, if you get close enough you can link it off of a jab (just one, mind you) quite easily for some nice combos.
• Actually, just about all of her new normals have dinky range.
• She does her special "strip tease" win pose every time you finish your opponent with her super fireball. Now THERE'S an improvement.

• His godlike sweep is... no longer godlike. It's a bit slower and is no longer bufferable.
• Replacing the sweep is his new C.MK. While the range is nothing extraordinary, it links from his C.LP, making some damaging combos available.
• The qcb+k will always combo off of the c.MK if you do it with MK or HK. Makes for a very nice combo when you add in the links.
• His new standing MK is excellent anti air, complementing his C.HP. S.MK controls the space in front of him, while C.HP covers the air directly above him.
• He has two more moves with his other stance. I don't know what the other one is, but one has him stomp the ground for a low hit similar to his d,d+k, except he's facing towards the camera. I also don't know if stance switches are actually useful now.
• He regained his (charge B, F+K) move from KOF. Kim slides kicks forward (goes under projectiles) and knocks his opponent into the air. He then jumps and axe kicks them back into the ground. The move is slower than in KOF and the second kick is very prone to parries/DP's.
• He has all three of his supers now: QCB, HCF+K... (in air) QCF, HCB+K... and the QCFx2+K launcher.

• His best new combo (in a practical sense) is c.LP x2, c.MP, weak punch chain. Lots of damage, even at ratio 1. Easy, too.
• If you want to combo his HP chain, you'll have to use a HP. A combo of: c.lP, c.HP, HP chain does about the same damage as the other one, but is less practical.
• The last move of the HP chain does two hits, instead of the one hit it did in KOF.
• His weak chain does not have autoguard, but his HP one does. It's quite a bit easier to utilize the autoguard on the move than it was in KOF. Autoguarding through projectiles is much easier, making this a more reliable move.
• If you want to go for big damage, you can go for a combo of: c.jab, c.fierce, qcf+kk, lv3 orochinagi super. Pretty much the same as in KOF.
• While his rdp+k move doesn't have the horizontal distance it had in KOF, it now has a lot more priority and speed. It's also an overhead with good recovery time. You can bait your opponent into attacking you after this move, then dp them (or do another rdp+k which will usually go over their move, if you prefer).
• For some reason, he still has his triple air kick special along with his aragami chains. Good for use in juggles, obviously.
• The second kick of his df+roundhouse can now be blocked high. Shrug.
• Along with just about every other anti-air in the game, Kyo's dp has reduced priority. It still seems to do the huge amount of damage it did before, though. Doesn't have autoguard.
• His CD from KOF (done with F+HP) is still slow, and still knocks down.
• Both of his supers have recieved a much needed speed boost. His Orochinagi super seems to come out almost instantly, making it good for anti-air (with a bit of timing) even at level 1.
• If you're in a low jumping groove, you can use Kyo's age old offensive pattern of high priority low jumping LKs/d+HP. Since Kyo's jumping LK has such a large crossup box in addition to it's high priority, you can almost play him the same way you play KOF Iori.
• C Groove Kyo can do this ultra-leet combo: cross-up LK, C.LPx2, C.MP, lv2 QCFx2+P super, super cancel the last hit into the QCF+ HK,HK, LV1 Orochinagi super. If you don't have the extra meter, DP+K is still very impressive and damaging. You know where you heard this combo first.

• His F+A,A chain from KOF has made the transition to CvS2, done by s.MP, F+MP. Both hits are bufferable, and the initial MP has good range.
• Since he can now be chosen in a Groove with low jumps, you can play with cross up crazy with jumping B+LK like you could in KOF, making him MUCH more effective.
• His level 3 column super travels across the screen much faster AND doesn't push you back along with it, effectively eliminating that dumb SNK Groove trap from CvS1.
• The column super also doesn't leave you frozen for quite as long. You don't have enough time to charge a full meter and super afterwards.

• His new c.HP is actually an anti-air! Not a terribly good one, but decent enough if done kinda early. This effectively patches up his biggest weakness from CvS1.
• His shoulder charge seems to have both faster start up time and better recovery time.
• Since Chikyu's j.LK into 720, then smack them if they jump tactic is relatively unknown (to us, anyway), it's unknown whether this trick still exists in CvS2.
• His new j.MK is actually a very good move, for both jump ins and air-to-air.
• Only two kicks are necessary to charge the Drop Kick, leaving you 4 other buttons to fight with (instead of just two punch buttons in CvS1).
• Again, he has all of his moves from both of his CvS1 personas.

• Her bread and butter combo was supposed to have been removed, but I swear (and a bunch of others saw it also) I saw it work still. Anyways, it doesn't do nearly the same amount of damage it did before, which is the important thing.
• Her F,DF,D+P slide (my name is kim) works differently. Instead of slowly sliding to a halt, she just instantly stops on a dime now. Also, there doesn't seem to be a safe distance to use it at.
• Her air dive off the bird is a bit slower, but still really fast.
• She has a new move off of the bird, a multi-hitting roll, which is probably even better than the bird dive. It has good priority and leaves her completely safe afterwards.
• Her fireball reflect from Samurai Spirits is back (RDP+P), but she can only swing her cape once before doing the follow up. This gives her some sort of defense against ground-based projectiles and Yoga Fires.
• Her god-awful j.LK still behaves exactly the same way it did before: Huge priority, huge cross up box.
• She has a new super done by HCBX2+K. Her old super from SS, Nak hops onto her bird, the super flash happens, then she SLOWLY dives off from the bird. If it hits, she does her cape reflect a few times, hits her opponent up, then calls her bird to nail the victim. I guess the only use I see for this super is to dodge ground based moves.

• His devil flip (is that the name?) is done with dp+k. I don't think you can dive kick out of it, though. The timing for the grab is pretty liberal, but your opponent still has to be standing.
• He still has the Demon Flip kick grab, but it has to be done really deep like Cammy's special Hooligan Combination grab.
• The Demon Flip kick is new. Instead of the goofy looking back-flop in Alpha, he does an even goofier looking flying axe kick. There's some recovery time when he lands from the kick.
• His air fireball is like 3S, meaning it takes about a half hour to come out. The projectile comes out almost a full second after you input the command for it.
• The dive kick has a slight amount of startup before it comes out, like in 3S. In Alpha the damn thing was near instantaneous.
• Like in CvS1, he still doesn't have the hop kick. This alone makes Ryu a better char to choose, IMO.
• As stated numerous times elsewhere, the Raging Demon is once again a worthless move. Hmph.
• I don't think he's gained any of his supers from 3S like the super hurricane kick, but then again he's already got four.