Akuma / Gouki Character Faq Version 1.0 Updated March 4th, 2009 Faq by Christopher Olson [email protected] ******************************************************************************* ##### # # ##### ##### ###### ###### ##### # # # # # # # ##### # # # ##### ##### # # # ##### # # # # # # # # # # # ##### # # # ###### ###### # ####### # # # #### # # ##### ###### ##### # # # # # # # # # # # # # # ##### # # ###### # ##### # # # # # # # ### # # # # ##### ####### # # # # # # # # # # # # # #### # # # ###### # # # ##### ::: ::: ::: ::: ::: :::: :::: ::: :+: :+: :+: :+: :+: :+: +:+:+: :+:+:+ :+: :+: +:+ +:+ +:+ +:+ +:+ +:+ +:+ +:+:+ +:+ +:+ +:+ +#++:++#++: +#++:++ +#+ +:+ +#+ +:+ +#+ +#++:++#++: +#+ +#+ +#+ +#+ +#+ +#+ +#+ +#+ +#+ +#+ #+# #+# #+# #+# #+# #+# #+# #+# #+# #+# ### ### ### ### ######## ### ### ### ### ##### # # # # ## ##### ## #### ##### ###### ##### # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # ###### # # # # # # # # ##### # # # # # ###### ##### ###### # # # ##### # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # ##### # # # # # # # # #### # ###### # # ##### # # # # # ##### ###### # # # # # # # # #### # # # # # ##### # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # ##### #### # ##### ###### ******************************************************************************* Version History - 1.0 March 4th, 2009. Initial Guide Completed and Submitted. ******************************************************************************* Table of Contents - Preface 1) Intro - 1a - Intro to Akuma 1b - Basic Terms and Controls 1c - Street Fighter 4 New Concepts 1d - Akuma Backstory 1e - Unlocking the Demon 2) Moves - 2a - Normal & Command Moves 2b - Special Moves 2c - EX Moves 2d - Ultra & Super Move 3) In-Depth - 3a - General Approaches to Akuma 3b - Combos and Links 3c - Challenge Mode Trails 3d - Colors, Outfits, & Personal Actions 3e - Proper Usage of the Raging Demon 4) Matchups - 4a - Tough Fights 4b - Specific Fights 5) Resources & Further Education 6) Copyrights and Credits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ********* *Preface* ********* In February 2009 Capcom released Street Fighter IV for Playstation 3 and the Xbox 360. The game contains 25 characters, 16 initially, 9 that must be unlocked. Among these characters is the fighter Akuma, also known by his Japanese name Gouki. He is, by far, my favorite character in SF4 (Street Fighter 4), and my favorite person in the Steet Fighter universe both on a gameplay and a story level. I am, by no means, the best Akuma player in the world, however this guide is intended to be a good jumping point for the aspiring Akuma player to dig into, and maybe learn some new things, or some of my own insights into the character. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ********** *1) Intro* ********** 1a. Intro to Akuma - Akuma is a unique character in Street Fighter IV for a number of reasons. He has the second lowest Stamina of anyone in the cast (Lowest being Seth), along with the second lowest Stun rating in the game (Again, Seth is lowest). So he cannot take a beating for long. To compensate for this, Akuma has many high damage attacks and combos, a variety of moves for almost any situation, and the highest dealing Ultra in the game. Along with this, Akuma is quite fast, and can be both a Rushdown and a Defensive character, if there was a word to describe his playstyle, it would be Flexible. His stamina leaves little room for error, but therre is a big reward for those who take the time to master his high damage output to offset it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1b. Basic Terms and Controls Street Fighter IV is a 2D Fighting video game. The characters move on a 2D plane, able to move left and right, but cannot move into the background. Each character begins a round with a set amount of stamina, and depletes their opponents by attacking with a variety of attacks, as to be the last one standing. When describing directions in this guide, I will refer to things as either Forward of your facing, or Backwards. So if you are the character on the Left side of the screen, Forward to you would be pressing Right on the control stick, and Left on the stick if your on the Right side. Same applies for Backwards, it is relative to your position on the screen. F - Forward B - Backward D - Down U - Up Cr - Crouch J - Jump C - Close When describing movement of the stick, if it's for instance a movement of Quarter-Circle Forward (QCF from here), that would denote to press on the stick: D, D/F (Down Forward), Forward. You would press those in sequence to accomplish a QCF movement of the stick. QCB (Quarter-Circle Backward) is the converse of that, D, D/B (Down Backwards), Backward. Another frequent stick movement is reffered to as a Dragon Punch movement, so named after the popular move it performs. It means to move the stick F, D, D/F in a sort of zig-zag motion. This movement will be reffered to as a DP movement further in the guide.So : QCF - Quarter-Circle Forward QCB - Quarter-Circle Backward DP - Dragon Punch Motion HCF - Half-Circle Forward HCB - Half-Circle Backward These are the basic movements of the control stick. Street Fighter 4 in addition has 6 attack buttons. 3 Punches and 3 Kicks. Each kick and punch has a light, medium, and heavy version of it. Generaly the Light attacks are fast, but deal little damage, the heavy attacks deal more damage but are slower, and mediums are in between the two. These are referred to as such : LP - Light Punch MP - Medium Punch HP - Heavy Punch LK - Light Kick MK - Medium Kick HK - Heavy Kick P - Any Punch K - Any Kick PPP - All 3 Punches KKK - All 3 Kicks Blocking - In SF4 when you are attacked, if you are pressing backwards in the proper place the attack will, generally, be blocked and you wont take it's damage. This corrosponds to whether the attack is low, medium, or high, and whether you are blocking low or high. Attacks come either low, medium, or high levels. If you are doind a standing block, you will block Medium and High attacks, but be vulnerable to low attacks. If you are doing a low crouched block you are vulnerable to High or Overhead attacks. If a special move hits you while you are blocking, you will take what is called chip damage, this is a very small amount of damage, not the full amount, but still some. Jumping - By pressing Up on the control stick you will jump into the air, either straight up, or backwards or forwards dependant upon which direction you press with it. So if you press up and forward that is the direction you will jump in. Moves that are done while jumping are written with a "J" in front. So a Jumping Low Kick would be written : "J.LK" . Crouching - By pressing down on the control stick you will enter into a crouched position. Any attacks done while doing this are different from standing attacks. It is represented as a "Cr" during notation. So a Crouched Low Kick is written "Cr.LK". Close Range - If you are very near your opponent some moves take on different properties, and become close attacks. This is noted with a "C", so a Close High Punch will be notes as "C.HP" . Teching or Quick Recoveries - When you are knocked down by something other than a throw, if you press down on the stick you will get back up much faster than if you do not. This is usefull to get back up faster, but sometimes you don't want to in order to not become predictable, and for tactical reasons. Dash - By pressing either Forward Twice or Backwards Twice (FF, BB) you will do a quick dashing motion dependant on direction. This allows rapid movement without jumping. Stun - If you are attacked a number of times in a row you will become stunned. This causes an animation of stars to circle your head, and you will be unable to move or act for a few seconds until either your opponent attacks you, or you break out of it. Rapidly pressing the stick and buttons will get you out sooner. Akuma has the 2nd lowest Stun rating in the game, and as such becomes Stunned quickly if attacked too many times in sequence. Throws and Throw Escapes - If you are directly next to your opponent, and press LP and LK together you will throw your opponent. By pressing forward or keeping the stick neutral you will throw them forward, and backwards if that is the direction you press with the throw. If you press Throw at the time when your opponent does, it becomes a Throw Escape, and it will prevent the throw from taking place. Personal Action / Taunt - If you press HK and HP together you will do a Personal Action, a taunt that has no effect on gameplay. It is merely a means of antagonizing your opponent, it leaves you open to attack, so do so at your own risk. Wakeup - When you are knocked down, and get back up, this is referred to as Wakeup. Whiff - When you attack someone and miss it is called a whiff, generally you are vulnerable to counterattack during a whiff, unless it is a more "safe" attack, or an attack that is hard to punish with a counter. It is important to know what moves are easily punishable, and not to use them without thought to leaving yourself open. For example, a Fierce Shoryuken whiffed is very easy to punish, and doing it repeatedly is a very bad idea. Cancel - A cancel is done by performing a move action while one is currently happening. For instance, Akuma can do a standing HP, and Cancel it into a Hurricane Kick by doing the Hurricane Kick input while the HP is attacking. This must be done fast. Link - Links are moves that must be done to an exact timing. While cancels can be done at any point during a move, Links have a much tighter window of combo. Usually you must execute the linked move at the exact moment the first one finished, this takes a good deal of practice to do consitantly. Recovery Move - This is a move that is performes as you Wakeup. So if you do Akuma's Shoryuken as your Wakeup it will be a Recovery move. Super Meter - As your perform Special Moves, deal damage, and are dealt damage, your Super Meter will begin to fill. It is split up into 4 sections. Each filled block will allow you to do 1 EX attack, and when all 4 are filled you can do your Super Attack. Revenge Meter - As you take damage in the game, your Revenge Meter will begin to fill. Once it passes the halfway point you can perform your Ultra Move. The more full the meter past the halfway point, the more damage the Ultra will deal. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1c. Street Fighter 4 New Concepts SF4 has a few new concepts that are added to the series from past itterations. *EX Moves* - When doing a special move, if instead of pressing one attack you press 2 and have an available Super Meter block it will become an EX attack. EX attacks have special properties that make them different from their normal counterparts. For instance, Akuma's normal, Tatsumaki Zankuu Kyaku (Hurricane Kick). Normaly the move is performed by: D, D/B, B + K It does an aerial spinning kick that travels over a horizontal space. However if you instead press 2 Kicks with the motion instead, it becomes an EX Hurricane Kick. The EX version is now stationary, and has a vacuum effect of pulling your opponent in, then spitting them back out. Each EX Move depletes 1 Bar on your Super Meter. *Focus Attacks / Saving Attacks* Focus Attacks (Saving Attacks in Japan), are performed by holding MK and MP together. By holding the buttons down longer the FA (Focus Attack) will become stronger as it goes, upto 3 levels of strength. While doing a Focus Attack you can absorb 1 attack and continue your attack approach. This is referred to as Super Armor. Some moves break Armor, and will breakthrough FA. If you are hit a second time it will break you out of the FA. Any damage incurred while performing the FA will not be dealt, but will be represented by a gray amount taken off of your Stamina bar. This will slowly regenerate the life in it, however if you are hit before that has come back, you will lose that amount of life permanently. There are three levels of charging for a Focus Attack depending on how long you hold the MK and MP buttons down. Level 1 - Only does regular damage, Crumples opponent if it's a counter hit Level 2 - Crumples opponent if hits, allows easy followup Level 3 - Becomes unblockable, Ha Armor Break properties, Crumples Opponent allowing followup *Focus Cancelling* Some special moves can be cancelled by performing a FA as it is being performmed. For instance, if Akuma is doing a Shoryuken, if you press FA during the attack he will Cancel into it, not finishing the Special Move. This consumes 2 Super Meter segments. You can Cancel a FA by dashing either Forward or Backwards. So you do MP + MK, then do FF or BB to cancel out of it. This is referred to as a FADC. *Portions pulled from the SF4 Game Manual ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1d. Akuma Backstory Akuma and his brother Gouken were students of Goutetsu. Goutetsu taught a nameless life-threatening martial art, which incorporates elements of karate, judo, and kempo. He also taught Shun Goku Satsu (literally Instant Hell Murder or The Raging Demon), a death technique which, although incredibly powerful, puts the user in considerable danger. As the brothers progressed under Goutetsu's tutelage, a dispute arose on the true nature of their fighting style and the path to master it. Gouken, unable to accept the violent nature of his fighting style, left Goutetsu to begin his own dojo. Akuma continued Goutetsu's teachings and vowed to use their fighting style as it was intended. In order to learn Shun Goku Satsu, Akuma embraced the principle of Satsui no Hado or (The Surge of the Intent to Murder/Murderous Intent). Through Satsui no Hado, Akuma was forced to give up any compassion he held towards other human beings. In addition, Akuma realized his limits as a martial artist could be expanded, and left Goutetsu's guidance to train alone. His return marked the end for Goutetsu - Akuma demonstrated his strength by killing his former master with Shun Goku Satsu. Goutetsu fell with an inner joy, realizing his pupil was attempting to master the nameless art. Akuma removed the beaded necklace from Goutetsu's neck and placed it around his own. Sometime later, Akuma challenged and fought his brother. With Gouken gaining the upper hand, Akuma was eventually struck down. Akuma requested death in defeat, however his brother had no intention of killing him. Akuma, vowing to return, left Gouken. Years later, he returned; they fought again, and this time Gouken was killed (or so Akuma thought). Ken saw the battle as he was returning from the U.S. Martial Arts tournament. Rushing to the dojo to find it in shambles and his master dead, an enraged Ken ran into the surrounding woods searching for the killer. Akuma easily defeated Ken and disappeared. Gouken's other student Ryu soon learned of his master's death and began to search for Akuma. In Street Fighter IV it is revealed that Gouken is not dead, but was in fact merely sleeping. Akuma will only fight those who he deems worthy of fighting him, and will not kill those who are unable to defend themselves, or are weak (as seen when he spares Gen's life upon learning that he is terminally ill). * Taken from the Street Fighter Wiki ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1e. Unlocking the Demon There is alot of misinformation and false facts floating around about how to unlock Akuma in SF4. The following is a direct explanation of how to unlock him directly from Capcom on Seth's blog, taken on February 24th, 2009. ******************************************** To unlock Akuma as a playable character: 1. Unlock Cammy, Fei Long, Dan, Sakura, Rose, and Gen. 2. Pick a character you have already used to beat Arcade Mode. 3. Win all your matches without continuing and without losing any rounds before fighting with Seth. 4. You need to get at least one "perfect" win in a round, and more than one depending on how many rounds per match you are playing. - 1 round match: 1 perfect round or more - 3 round match: 2 perfect rounds or more - 5 round match: 3 perfect rounds or more - 7 round match: 4 perfect rounds or more (including the last battle against Seth) 5. If you meet these conditions, Akuma will appear. Defeat him to unlock Akuma as a selectable character. ******************************************* That's it, if anyone adds or takes away from this then it runs counter to Capcom's official statement on Akuma. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ********** *2) Moves* ********** 2a. Normal Moves Standing - LP - Fast High Elbow Attack MP - Open Palm Punch to midsection HP - Straight forward fisted punch, this move cancels into alot of moves, including Hurricane Kick and Shuryuken. Forward + MP - Overhead Chop, Hits 2 Times, Will hit a Crouched Opponent. This should be a primary attack for hitting an opponent who crouches and block alot. LK - Fast kick to midsection MK - Knee to Face HK - This is one of Akuma's best normal attacks. He does two forward roundhouse kicks in a row, if the first connects then both will hit for a good amount of damage. It has very good range on it, and the it moves him forward as well. Overall a very good normal. C.HK - Done closely Akuma does an overhead Axe Kick that hits twice. Another good move for hitting a crouched opponent. Crouching - LP - Quick low Jab MP - Low Straight Punch HP - Akuma does an Uppercut straight up. This is a good anti-air move, beats Hurricane Kicks, and will hit a crouching opponent. If you are both in a crouching position near one another blocking, this will break them out of it. LK - Fast Low Kick, Combos into Hurrican Kick MK - Low fast slide kick. A good safe low attack for Akuma HK - Akuma stretches out a Foot to sweep his opponent. This move has a good deal of range on it, and it is deceptive how far it can reach. Due to his fast foot speed, you can play footsies alot with this to trip your opponent. I use this frequently on Zangeifs that spam Lariet, as it's range is greater than the Lariet. Jumping - sJ indicates a Stationary Jump J.LP - Fast downward Fist J.MP - Same as LP, Stronger J.HP - Stronger than MP J.LK - Akuma comes down with a fast Knee J.MK - This and HK have similar properties, however MK is better suited as an anti-air Kick due to it's angle. J.HK - Akuma's strong Jump in Kick attack J. D + MK - Akuma's Dive Kick. If D + MK is inputed at the peak of his jump Akuma will do a fast downward kick into the ground. This is a fantastic move, and combo's into alot of followups. Using demon flip this is a fantastic jump in. sJ. LP - A downward elbow sJ. MP - Forward open palm attack sJ. HP - Forward Fist attack sJ. LK - Akuma jumps and kicks high fast sJ. MK - Akuma kicks straight out sJ. HK - Akuma does a fast roundhouse in the air 2b. Special Moves QCF + P = Gou Hadouken (Fireball), Similar to Ryu and Ken's Standard Hadouken. The punch pressed determines the speed. Shoots a purplish fireball straight in front of Akuma. QCF + P (In the Air) = Zankuu Hadouken (Air Fireball), Akuma performs his Hadouken in the air. The punch pressed determines the velocity and angle. Low Fires more downward and slow, High fires the furthest and fastest, and medium is between those. The light version is fantastic for approaching from the air. HCB + P = Shakunetsu Hadoken (Red Fireball), This is a Red Fireball that hits upto 3 times. It has a longer startup than Akuma's standard fireballs. However it can meet other projectiles midair, and continue going past them. Punch pressed determines the amount of hits (1, 2, and 3 hits). If someone wants to get into a fireball war with you, bring this out and force them out of it. QCB + K = Tatsumaki Zankuu Kyaku (Hurricane Kick) , Knocks down if hits, Medium and Hard versions hit multiple times. Akuma travels horizontally spinning and kicking. Can be done in the air, the direction of the jump determines trajectory. The light version of this can be juggles by fast followups. For instance you can juggle the light version with a Shoryuken. DP (F, D, D/F) + P = Shoryuken (Dragon Punch), Akuma does a spinning uppercut. High Priority on the ground, very good anti-air attack. The punch pressed determines how high it hits, as well as how many times it hits, as well as how quickly you recover. Medium hits twice, Hard hits 3 times. Hard version leave you VERY open to attack if not used wisely. Light is the safest and least open to attack (but is still vulnerable). This is your primary anti-air attack for jump ins. DP / Reverse DP (B, D, D/B) + KKK / PPP = Ashura Senkuu (Teleport), The joystick motion may be reversed with either 3x punch or kick to teleport backwards. The punch version of this move will take you forward a full-screen's distance away, and the kick takes you about halfway. When you've been backed into a corner, or are about to take a nasty hit (Zangeif SPD), this is your ticket out. DP + K = Hyakki Shuu (Demon Flip), Akuma leaps forward into the air, K pressed determines how far he goes. From the flip in the air several options are available : - Pressing Punch does a forward hammer punch, it is armor breaking and knocks down. - Kick will initiate Akuma's Dive Kick, and is a great Combo starter. - Kick + Punch when close will do a throw - Pressing Nothing will result in Akuma doing a fast slide kick on the ground Demon flip is a fantastic part of Akuma's arsenal. 2c. EX Moves QCF + PP = Hadouken now hits twice. Limited use considering Akuma's Red Fireball. QCF + PP (In Air) = Akuma will fire 2 seperate Air Fireballs. The 2 Punches pressed determines their trajectory. This is a great use of his EX bar. HCB + PP = Again, this is redundant because the Fireball already hits multiple times QCB + KK = The Hurricane Kick no longer moves horizontaly. It will spin in place, vaccuming in the opponent, and sends them across the room, hitting multiple times. This move is very nice. It can be combod into, and it gives Akuma some space when he needs it. Another very good use of his EX meter. DP + PP = EX Shoryuken DP + KK = This is fantastic, basically it speeds the Demon flip up considerably. In addition no matter your distance it will bring you directly to your opponent. I like this EX alot, if done in response to a projectile you can do a Dive kick jump in, and proceed with your favorite combo. Very usefull EX. 2d. Ultra & Super Move Super Move - LP, LP, F, LK, HP = Shun Goku Satsu (Raging Demon), This and Akuma's Ultra behave similar, however there are differences. I tend to use his EX bar often, and I believe his Super Bar is better spent on EX, and not on the Super. Ultra Move - LP, LP, B, LK, HP = Shun Goku Satsu (Wrath of the Raging Demon), This is Akuma's Ultimate Technique. Akuma brefly pauses, then glides along the ground towards his opponent, if he connects the screen goes black, alot of terrible things happen to your opponent, and a huge chunk of their health is gone when the lights come back on. This is the most damaging Ultra in the game, and is also one of the trickier ones to actually land. Like Akuma the move is High Risk, High Reward. Difficult to do, however does a great deal of damage if it does. I have devoted a section to this move below. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ************* *3) In-Depth* ************* 3a. General Approaches to Akuma Akuma is an amazing character to understand and learn how to play. He has a large variety of moves, the largest, and likely best, variety of fireballs in the game. A teleport that is very usefull, and helps him decide where and when to fight. Akuma is a combo machine, able to bring out high damage output combos and attacks. He is very fast on the ground, has the most damaging Ultra in the game, has both an amazing keep away game, but also can bring the pain up close in the right situations. Akuma is a high damage output character that is also fast, to compensate for this, he has a very low stamina and stun rating, second only to Seth. What this means is that Akuma cannot take the type of beating most of the other Characters can for very long. This turns Akuma into a high risk character, when you get hit your going to feel it, and your not going to be able to stand many high impact moves like Zangeif's Lariet. Doing lots of high vulnerability moves will get you beaten very quickly, and Akuma has a bit of a learning curve, mainly because you die fast and wont have much time to learn during player matches. It is very advisable to take him to Training Mode and work for an extensive period of time on his combos and attacks. Akuma can be played both as a Defensive keep away character using his various Fireballs, but is also very good at Offense, and you can change your approach depending on the situation. If Akuma had a word to describe his playstyle, I would say "Verstile" is the word to best put things. An effective Akuma can switch between Rushdown and Keep Away constantly in a match depending on what's happening and who your matched up against. Akuma is exceptional at punishing mistakes with a high damage Bread and Butter combo. My favorite and primary combos revolve around something canceling into a Light Hurricane Kick, Followed by a Heavy Shoryuken. You can link many things into those two, and Dive Kicks are a good way to get into those as well. Akuma has both a great ground and aerial game using different tools. In the Air, his Air Fireball helps him to control the sky. A common and effective technique is to use a Light Air Fireball to approach, and when you hit the ground attempt to mix up against the opponent depending on how they are blocking the Fireball. You can do alot of things with this approach, if they block, sometimes you can approach and throw as well. There is alot of variation and experimenting to be done with the Air Fireball. On the ground Akuma has the standard Fireballs and Dragon Punches to control the vertical and horizontal spaces around him. His footspeed is very good, and his leg sweeps have long range comparative to his size. Due to these factors he has a very good "footsie" game, where he can move quickly in and away from an opponent using dash, and poke using his crouching or standing HK pokes. The standing Roundhouse kick has a deceptivly large range, and also moves forward as it attacks, and is a pretty safe move to come in with. If you find yourself against someone who is spamming Fireballs, you have a number of options against them. One is to use his Red Fireball to bypass their own Fireballs, and maybe hit them. You can jump, and fire back with your Air Fireballs, again possibly hitting them. Or you can do my favorite response, which is to do a Heavy Demon Flip over the fireball, and into either a Dive Kick combo, or a Sliding Leg Sweep. If youget yourself into close range with one of these, you then have 2 options from it. You can continue the closeup attack, or teleport back to long range and reassess yourself. Playing Akuma is about being smart, picking where and how you fight using things like his teleport andair fireballs, and exploiting mistakes that you can punish with his combos. Take the time with Training, and see what suits you for playing his styles. Due to his versatility different people play him in different ways, be it keep away, defensive, rushdown, or combinations of these. 3b. Combos and Links A good deal of the following is from the SRK Forums, and Credit goes specifically to "Trag" on the Akuma Character Forum. Normal Combos - Cr.LK-Cr.LP, Cr.LK -> QCB+LK, DP+HP (vs standing only) Cr.LK-Cr.LP, Cr.MP -> QCB+LK, DP+LP -> FADC, HCB+HP (vs standing only) C.HP , QCB+LK, DP+HP (can also use Cr.HP to start) C.HP -> QCB+LK, DP+LP -> FADC, HCB+HP C.HP -> QCF+HP -> FADC, C.HP -> QCB+LK, DP+HP J.HK, C.HP -> QCB+LK, DP+HP J.HK, C.HP -> QCF+HP -> FADC, C.HP -> QCB+LK, DP+HP crossup MK, Cr.HP -> QCB+LK, DP+HP crossup MK, Cr.HP -> QCB+LK, DP+LP -> FADC, HCB+HP HK, Cr.MP -> QCB+LK, DP+HP HK, Cr.MP -> QCB+LK, DP+LP -> FADC, HCB+HP Focus Attack Combos - MP+MK (full), dash, HP(c) -> QCB+LK, DP+HP MP+MK (full), dash, HP(c) -> QCB+LK, DP+LP -> FADC, HCB+HP Links - C.LP, C.LP (note: slight pause to link and not 'chain') C.LP, C.LK C.LP, C.MP C.LP, C.LP, C.MP C.LP, C.LP, MP C.LP, C.LP, Cr.MP C.LP, C.LP, Cr.MK C.LP, C.LP, HP C.LP, C.LP, Cr.HK C.LP, C.MK C.LP, C.HK LP , HK LP , Cr.HK Cr.LP, Cr.MP Cr.LP, Cr.MK Cr.LP, Cr.MP, Cr.MK Cr.LP, C.HP C.LK, LP, Cr.MK C.LK, LP, HK C.LK, Cr.MP C.LK, Cr.MK Cr.LK-Cr.LP, Cr.MP Cr.LK-Cr.LP, C.HP Cr.LK-Cr.LP-Cr.LP, Cr.MK Cr.LK-Cr.LP, C.LP, Cr.MK Cr.MP, C.LK, Cr.MK Cr.MP, C.MP Cr.MP, c.MP, Cr.MK Cr.MP, C.MK Cr.MP, C.HP HK , C.LP, Cr.MK HK , Cr.MP HK , Cr.MK HK , C.HP (depends on starting position of far HK) 3c. Challenge Mode Trials Some of the following is information from Event Hubs SF4 Akuma Character page. This is more the actions that are expected to pass the trials. If you would like some visuals to help you, this is a video showing all of Akumas Trials being completed : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yntp7XGDc6Y Descriptions along with Titles Awarded : Normal 1- 1 Jumping Hard Kick. 2 Towards + Hard Kick. 3 Towards + Light Punch and Light Kick (Throw). 4 Backwards + Light Punch and Light Kick (Throw). 5 Towards + Medium Punch. 6 Dive Kick (Down + Medium Kick in the air while jumping forward). Awards : Ultimate Demon Title Normal 2- 1 Fireball. 2 Red Fireball. 3 Air Fireball. 4 Shoryuken (Dragon Punch). 5 Hurricane Kick. 6 Air Hurricane Kick. 7 Demon Flip, Air Throw. 8 Teleport. 9 Raging Demon [Super] (Light Punch 2x, Towards, Light Kick, Hard Punch). 10 Nightmare Demon [Ultra] (Light Punch 2x, Backwards, Light Kick, Hard Punch). Awards : Ready for Pain? Title Normal 3- 1 Standing Hard Punch, Cancel into Fireball. 2 Crouching Medium Kick, Cancel into Hurricane Kick. 3 Crouching Hard Punch, Cancel into Shoryuken. 4 Towards + Hard Kick, Cancel into Focus Attack. Awards : Instant Death Title Normal 4- 1 Jumping Hard Kick, Standing Hard Punch, Cancel into Light Kick Hurricane Kick, juggle with Shoryuken. 2 Focus Attack, Dash, Standing Hard Punch, Cancel into EX-Hurricane Kick, juggle with Shoryuken. 3 Demon Flip, press Kick while flipping, Standing Hard Punch, Cancel into Fireball. 4 EX-Air Fireball, Red Fireball, juggle with Shoryuken. 5 Focus Attack, Dash, Cancel into Raging Demon [Ultra] (You have to do this very quickly). Awards : Fool Title Normal 5- 1 Crouching Light Kick, Link into Crouching Light Punch, Link into Standing Hard Punch. 2 (Just outside of Close Range) Standing Hard Kick, Link into Crouching Light Kick. 3 (Just outside of Close Range) Standing Light Punch, Link into Standing Kick. Awards : Satsui No Hado Title Hard 1- 1 Crouching Medium Kick, Cancel into Fireball, Focus Attack Dash Cancel, Standing Hard Punch, Cancel into Shoryuken. Awards : Messatsu! Title Hard 2- 1 Crouching Light Kick, Link into Crouching Light Punch, Link into Standing Hard Punch, Cancel into Light Kick Hurricane Kick, juggle with Shoryuken. Awards : Evil Eye Title Hard 3- 1 (Just outside of Close Range) Standing Hard Kick, Link into Crouching Light Kick, Cancel into Light Kick Hurricane Kick, juggle with Shoryuken. Awards : I Am Supreme Title Hard 4- 1 Demon Flip, press Kick while flipping, Standing Light Punch, Link into Standing Hard Punch, Cancel into Light Kick Hurricane Kick, juggle with Shoryuken. Awards : Shin Akuma Title Hard 5- 1 Jumping Hard Kick, Standing Hard Kick, Link into Crouching Light Kick, EX-Hurricane Kick, juggle with EX-Shoryuken. Awards : Heavenly Sky Title 3d. Colors, Outfits, and Personal Actions In Street Fighter IV there are 10 colors, and 10 Personal Actions (Or Taunts) available to each character. In addition Capcom has released in stages Alternate Costumes, 1 for each fighter. Akuma is much the same, his Alternate Costume has him shirtless wearing torn pants. In addition he is wrapped in large corded ropes twisted behind his back. To Unlock the various Colors and Personal Actions, simply complete the Time Trials and the Survival Trials available (Normals). If you go and finish all of them you will end up with all the Actions and Colors. Akuma has: Color 1 - Blue Gi, Red Hair Color 2 - Red Gi, Red Hair Color 3 - Blue Gi, Blue Hair Color 4 - Purple Gi, Purple Hair, Golden Rope around waist Color 5 - Green Gi, Red Hair Color 6 - White Gi, Red Hair Color 7 - Purple Gi, Red Hair Color 8 - Greenish/Blue Gi, Red Hair Color 9 - Black Gi, Black Hair Color 10 - Purple Gi, Golden DBZ Style Hair Personal Action 1 - "Die!" Personal Action 2 - "You Don't Stand a Chance!" Personal Action 3 - "Can you Withstand my Power?" Personal Action 4 - "Go on, Stike Me" Personal Action 5 - "You are not long for this world" Personal Action 6 - "Such Ineptitude" Personal Action 7 - "Die!" Similar to PA 1, However in this a fire aura flares around Akuma Personal Action 8 - "Do Demons frighten you?" Personal Action 9 - "Absurd" Personal Action 10 - "You are but a child" 3e. Proper Usage of the Raging Demon Akuma's Ultra and Super attack, the Raging Demon, is the most damaging Ultra in the game. It is also one of the hardest ones to consistantly land and make stick. The reason for this, is that no matter how close someone is on the ground in relation to you, if they hold up on the stick when you start the Demon, no matter the closeness they will jump over it. Anyone who sees the screen freeze and Akuma dash forward, and has an idea what they are doing, is going to immediatly jump and avoid it, likely punishing you badly for your mistake. Knowing that a straightforward ground attack with it is unlikely to work, his Ultra is much less of an offensive tool, and much more of a reactive one. Use it as a tool to punish mistakes, because unless a good player makes a mistake your not going to hit them with it. It's important to note that Akuma does not need his Ultra to win a match, and actively trying to land the Ultra should not be your goal in a match, but a tool you keep in your pocket for the time when it's appropriate. You can setup his ultra in a couple of different ways. The only know way to Combo into it is by doing a FADC into it. In this you would do a Focus Attack that crumples your opponent, immediatly Dash Cancel it by Dashing Forward or Backward, and quickly input the Demon attack to catch the crumpled opponent. This is obviously something you need to practice, as there are alot of buttons to press in a short amount of time. This is however the only true combo that leads into his Ultra. Catching a jumping opponent with it is also an option available. To be able to do it, you need to time it to catch someone before they hit the ground. In other words Akuma needs to be moving towards his opponent and touching them before they hit the ground, otherwise they can still hold up on the stick and avoid the Demon. Getting the timing on this takes time, but is clearly worth it. Another method is to catch them during their own FA. Sometimes an opponent not being careful will start a FA over me as I wakeup, I'll get up, and instead they get a Raging Demon attack in their face. The Demon is armor breaking so it will go through someones FA and grab them. If Blanka rolls at you, after you block it if you immediatly input the Demon you can catch him before he lands. The timing on this is very tight, but it is possible to do. I'll add more methods in the future, but these are good routes to hit someone with Akuma's Ultra. Do not randomly throw the Ultra out there without thought, that's not the correct way to apply it, and is easily punishable. Similarly, you need to learn how to input it almost instantly. If your opponent sees you across the screen jabbing at the air, it's pretty clear what your going to be doing, and they will almost certainly avoid it. Always keep it concealed, and a surprise. Popping off the Ultra as a surprise will always be one of your greatest tools. Also important, is to note the psychological impact of having Akuma's Ultra charged up. Often you can just hold it, and never activate the Demon, but it will effect the way your opponent reacts and fights you. If they know you are charged up they will be more careful normally, and you can use this to your advantage. Simply keep that Ultra up your sleeve and they will act differently to you, even if you have no intent on using it at that time. In this way not using it is also a weapon in addition to using it. ************* *4) Matchups* ************* 4a. Tough Fights In this section I'm going to note some Character Matchups that I think are more challenging for Akuma than other fights. This will likely be updated over time as I find some fights that take some particular approaches to try and defeat. Blanka - Blanka is pretty nasty towards Akuma. Important to learn is to use the Ultra to punish his blocked balls. This is difficult timing to learn, but it is a great way to make Blanka afraid of using his roll attacks. Otherwise play conservativley. Cammy - If your not careful she will catch you on your way down from an Air Fireball with an Ultra. Your best bet against her is to use your teleport to your advantage. Keep away with Fireballs. Balrog - This is a hard fight, Balrog hits hard on you when you already have limited Stamina to spare. In addition he stuns quickly against your low stun rating. Do not jump in on this guy, he has too many anti-airs, and can combo into his Ultra fairly easily. This fight seems to be about Footsies very often, and keeping away from him. Do not allow him to be on top of you keeping pressure, you will not survive that very long. More will be added here in the future, but those are 3 fights that come up frequently via Online play that can cause Akuma some problems. 4b. Specific Fights While some of these are not what I would consider tough fights, they do need to be handled in a specific way. Or just general strategies against the characters. Insights and strategies via submission are welcome, and I'll post ones I think are good and valid. Zangeif - This is, through my own experience and of I think alot of Akuma players, the easiest matchup for Akuma if you know what your doing. If he is spamming Lariet you have a couple of very good options. First, your HK Sweep has greater range than the Lariet, so as he is spinning around you get close, sweep in, and just in general play alot of footsie games while he's doing so. Do not let him get on top of you, teleport out of incoming SPD attacks. You cannot stand more than a handful of big attacks from him, and even a few mistakes will result in you rapidly losing. Abuse Air Fireballs against him, keep away, and get in fast, do some attacks, and get right back out. Generally just keep away. Again, more will come, and suggestions are welcome for different Fighters. ************************************ *5) Resources and Further Education* ************************************ I am certainly not the greatest Akuma player in the world, although I like to think I'm not completely terrible, and can hold my own. However there are better players out there to goto for help and insights. Also there is a wealth of good information and strategies available. www.Shoryuken.com is a fantastic forum resource for Akuma, and any character you want to learn about. The Shoryuken Wiki is also a fantastic resource, use it. EventHubs is another great source of information in regards to the game. Available on YouTube are a series of fights between 2 Japanese players. One is Momochi, who is playing Akuma, -vs- Daigo, a well known and highly skilled player, using Ryu. This series of fights is highly entertaining, and you can learn alot by watching it, and studying the videos. Always keep learning and strategizing. This game has an incredible depth to it, and there are always new thoughts to aquire, and ways to think about the game and your Character. ************************** *6) Copyright and Credits* ************************** I give a great deal of credit and acknowledgement to the Shoryuken forums as a source material for my guide. The discussions and insight there have helped me be a much better player, and helped form this guide. Trag on the Akuma Character Forum wrote much of the Combos and Links, which I retooled to be read in the language of this guide. I hope I translated and reproduced them to a high degree of fidelity. Street Fighter, all it's characters, and it's Intelectual Properties are owned by Capcom. I want to thank them for an amazing game, and cannot wait to see what direction they take the series in. Thanks to GameFaqs for being a consistant source of Game help to me for going on 14 years now. At current this Faq should ONLY be found at : Www.Gamefaqs.com Copyright 2009 Christopher M. Olson
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