Maxi

Soul Calibur IV Guide - Maxi

Maxi

Age: 28
Birthplace: Shuri, Ryukyu Kingdom
Height: 5'8”
Weight: 126 lbs.
Birth Date: May 1
Blood Type: O
Weapon: Nunchuk
Weapon Name: Soryuju
Discipline: Shissen Karihadi
Family: Parents/Deceased. His crew, who were like family, were slain by Astaroth.

Unlocked: Initially available.

Having reunited with his friends, Kilik and Xianghua, at a trading port in India, Maxi discovers that the Soul Edge fragment lodged in his body prevents him from venturing with Kilik, who holds an opposing artifact. Having vowed to slay Astaroth, the monster who killed off his entire crew, Maxi is forced to leave them behind. During his travels, he is approached by a mysterious girl. Using his seething hatred of the golem Astaroth to manipulate him, she points him towards the cursed city of Ostrheinsburg, telling him that there he could find both Soul Edge and his revenge.

Like Kilik, Maxi is a popular choice among newcomers to the series. His fast-paced fighting style and difficult to predict maneuvers make him especially adept at performing combos. Maxi suffers in the range department, however, meaning that he'll have to move in to close-rangeto get the job done. Furthermore, Maxi can be difficult to control; button mashing can lead to a lengthy combo that he's unable to get out of until its conclusion, leaving him wide open should the initial strike be sidestepped. Maxi also has many different stances that he shifts into rapidly while attacking, making truly mastering this character a difficult task.

Strategy

Please read through 'The Basics' and 'Fighting Terms' for an explanation of the 'directional notation' and the fighting terms used to explain strategy.

There is little Maxi can do at long-range. Your focus here is to move up to mid or close-range where you'll have more options. Make use of 8-Way Run to avoid any linear vertical moves thrown your way; you can retaliate with Dragon Roar (66K) which is a good move for punishing a missed, slow recovery attack. Reverse Snake Cross (hold 1_7, B) is another option, which is a mid-hitting attack that can be used to punish missed lows.

At mid-range you can take advantage of moves such as 4B, B, K, K and 4B, B, B (which ends with a Guard Break). Use horizontal moves like Twin Snakes (A, A) and Snake Scythe (1A) to counter sidestepping and focus on moving in to close-range where Maxi excels. 4B, K ends with a Guard Break and a knockdown when it hits, allowing you to move in to close-range. Quick Slice (1K) and Snap Kick (3K) are both quick kicks that can be used to interrupt overbearing opponents. Tongue (2A) is a quick move that ducks under high attacks, and it can be followed by one of Maxi's while rising moves such as Dragon Scream (while rising K, K) or Purity Cross (while rising A) since it puts Maxi into a crouched animation. Other than that, be sure to alternate between high and low attacks to keep your opponent guessing and avoid simply mashing buttons, otherwise you may find yourself being punished after a missed attack.

This character's many stances (Left Outer, Right Outer, Right Cross, Back Lower, and Left Inner) are difficult to get the hang of, since he is constantly switching between them while on the offensive. Pure Soul Loop can be used to cycle between each stance indefinitely; there are five different Pure Soul Loop moves, each referring to a different directional input. Becoming familiar with each stance what moves they can lead into will require plenty of observation and time in the game's Training Mode.