Oo*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-oO || Honda In-Depth Guide || || Street Fighter IV || Oo*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-*=-oO Written by: RockytheHercules Last updated: 2009-08-29 13:01:28 =============================================================================== Table of Contents =============================================================================== - Introduction - Key Terms - The Moves - Strategies - Links - Contact Me =============================================================================== Introduction =============================================================================== As you can probably tell, having clicked on this guide, this is a guide to playing Edmond Honda in Street Fighter 4. If you've already chosen to play Honda, then great, welcome to the team. If you're looking around for a character to play, ask yourself first why you want to play him. Tier-wise, Honda is about mid-tier. He has a couple of relevant favorable matchups, but is generally not favored against especially fireball-heavy characters. His strengths are his big damage and high stamina. However, these qualities are present in other characters who are easier to play, such as Sagat and Zangief. In addition to this and his fireball weakness, he is slow, has a large hitbox, doesn't have a very good close anti-air move aside from EX Headbutt(making him susceptible to cross-ups), and just generally has a hard time putting pressure on opponents. If you're looking for an easy character to pick up and play, look elsewhere. But, Honda can be a precision tool in the right hands, and I'm here to tell you what your options are. =============================================================================== Key Terms =============================================================================== The first thing you should know are what to call things, meaning what things are referred to in the community. Most of these are either common sense or at least very common knowledge, so feel free to skip past all these if you're already familiar. First, the directions and buttons: u - Up d - Down f - Forward, or toward the opponent b - Back, or away from the opponent P - Punch. In this guide, a capital P will refer to "any punch." LP - Light punch. Also referred to as jab. It's the default function of the square button on the PS3. MP - Medium punch. Also referred to as strong(STR). It's the default function of the triangle button on the PS3. HP - Hard punch. Also referred to as fierce(FR). It's the default function of the R1 button on the PS3. PPP - All punches simultaneously. Normally mapped to L1. K - Kick. In this guide, a capital K will refer to "any kick." LK - Light kick. Also referred to as short(SH). It's the default function of the X button on the PS3. MK - Medium kick. Also referred to as forward(FWR). It's the default function of the O button on the PS3. HK - Hard kick. Also referred to as roundhouse(RH). It's the default function of the R2 button on the PS3. KKK - All three kicks simultaneously. Normally mapped to L2. st. - Standing. Meaning do this action on the ground, while not pressing down. cr. - Crouching. Do this action on the ground, while pressing down. j. - Jumping. Do this action while jumping, which is done by pressing up. Throw - An unblockable attack which is done in a very close range. It can be done by pressing LP+LK with any character. Honda, however, has a command throw, which is performed with a different input. Focus Attack - A new type of attack introduced in SF4. It "absorbs" one hit from an opponent, and depending on the length of time the input is held, it has varying effects. Performed by pressing and/or holding MP+MK. EX - Similar to a special move, but performed with the use of any two versions of the buttons instead, for example, LP+MP or MP+HP for a move requiring use of any punch. qcf - Also known as the "hadouken" or fireball motion. Performed by quickly pressing down, down-foward, forward (d, df, f) on the joystick. qcb - Similar to the qcf motion, but down, down-back, back (d, db, b) instead. hcf - Similar to the qcf motion, but back, down-back, down, down-forward, forward instead. hcb - Similar to the qcf motion, but forward, down-forward, down, down-back, back instead. (charge) - Referring to the need to hold a direction for a short period in one direction in order to trigger a move. For example, Honda's Headbutt move is performed by holding back for a couple of seconds and then pressing forward and any punch. Thus, it would be noted as b,(charge),f+P. DP - "Dragon Punch," referring to the motion for "shoryuken," performed forward, down, down-forward (f, d, df) on the joystick. Also used to refer to moves with similar properties, even though the motion may be different, such as Fei-Long's Flame Kick or Balrog's(Boxer's) Headbutt. FADC - Focus Attack Dash Cancel. To do this, first start a Focus Attack(MP+MK), then quickly cancel out of it by dashing forward(f,f) or dashing backward(b,b). These are some common slang words used by Street Fighter players: Poke - Usually, an attack with good range and priority which is done at about a medium distance. Priority - Based on the properties of the moves, if two moves are used at roughly the same time, the likelyhood that one move will come out and the other player will be hit. Footsies - Carefully gauging distance based on the range of pokes, usually done on the ground by walking back and forth to reach optimal poking distance. Stuff - Used as a verb, this means for a move of higher priority to hit the other player, causing their attack animation to be skipped. For example, if a player tries to use a normal attack against a player using a shoryuken, the normal attack will not be shown, and that player will get hit instead. Tech Jump - Certain moves, such as throws and some lows, have the property that if the opponent is off the ground, such as due to jumping or being juggled in the air, they will miss unconditionally. A tech jump is a move that invalidates those moves without having to jump first. Tech Crouch - A move which tech crouches evades moves that do not normally hit crouching opponents, without necessarily being done from a crouch. Tick Throw - As I understand it, it is the combination of a quick move which is supposed to hit or be blocked, and a throw which is performed right as the opponent is coming out of hitstun or blockstun, so there is no opportunity to counterattack in the interim. =============================================================================== The Moves =============================================================================== Alright, so here we go. The meat of the guide is here. Obviously, I'm not the be-all, end-all expert on the subject, but I can comment on what I know, so I'll try to give you the best opinion I can on each move. Let's start off with the normal moves. st.LP - A very quick move, can be used to interrupt. Obviously doesn't do very much damage, but if you end up close, you can use it to start an offense. Gives you a little advantage on hit and block. cr.LP - A very quick poke. Its range is very useful, and you can pretty much stick it out at footsie range with little concern, as it's very fast. You can also combo into HHS. jump up LP - Not really all that useful. You can use it if you jumped up anticipating a jump at you, but they just move forward on the ground instead. j.LP - Against taller opponents, like Sagat or Gief, you can use it to escape by jumping back and hitting LP early. You'll catch them if they're just standing there, and if they jump at you. Careful with it, though, as you might catch a punish if they're ready for it. st.MP - Not great, but has decent range. In close, it does two hits and you can combo after it, which is handy. A little slow to start, though. cr. MP - A bit slow. You can combo HHS off of it, but cr.LP is so much safer, and the difference in range is negligible. I don't use it very often. jump up MP - If you jump up early enough against an oncoming jump-in, it will stuff a lot. It's slightly slow, but when it comes out, it's got pretty good priority. I have to emphasize that you have to have jumped up before your opponent, though, or you'll eat the hit. Its main disadvantage compared to jump up HP is you can't change the angle of the jump like you can with HP. j.MP - A good air-to-air move if your opponent is higher or about the same level as you. It'll hit grounded opponents from a sort of weird angle as well, and has decent range, so use it if you think your opponent might jump at you, but not from too close. st.HP - It has respectable range, good priority and excellent damage. It stuffs a lot of moves and is a passable anti-air against some. I mainly use it against opponents who use moves that tend to tech jump st.RH. The close version is a reasonable anti-air, but I haven't had much success with it against cross-ups. cr.HP - It does considerable damage, but the range isn't great, and it's quite slow. It does kind of tech crouch, though. jump up HP - Also known as the "floating fierce," it's a very good move which has a lot of applications. You can wiggle slightly forward and backward after hitting the fierce button, and because of that, you can slightly alter your trajectory. This is useful in getting past fireballs(float forward) relatively safely, as an air-to-air against high jump-ins(float backward), and even against grounded opponents(float forward). The weakness is that the distance you can travel is very little, so your mobility is hindered. After landing, sticking out st.HK if you're mid-range or so is usually a good follow-up, as it creates a block high->block low condition, and if you hit with the floating fierce, st.HK combos. j.HP - Not a bad jump-in, but somewhat lacking in range. The angle is a lot more vertical than his other jump-ins, and you can combo st.HK or HHS after. Basically, if you're coming down a bit deep, j.HP is your best choice. If you're coming down from far, probably go with j.HK. st.LK - A quick move, not really that great. In close, it hits low and is decent for a tick throw. cr.LK - A quick low, good for mixups and to start a HHS or Ochio tick throw. Fast enough to use to interrupt as well. jump up LK - Kind of an awkward knee kick thing. I'd imagine if you jumped up and they came up real close, you could hit with this. j.LK - It's a decent move to use to jump away from someone by hitting LK early, it can stuff poorly-timed jumps at you. st.MK - Kind of awkward, doesn't really have enough range to use over your other options. cr.MK - A reasonable low. After a jump-in, you can combo into this into headbutt for more damage than cr.LK. It doesn't generally have enough reliability to use� over cr.LK, though. jump up MK - It's very awkward, as it's angled upward. Possibly, you could use it as an alternative to jump up MP if your opponent jumps earlier. j.MK - It's your go-to cross up jump-in. You can do it high in the jump as an air-to-air, and it's pretty decent unless they're doing something with better range, but it's best done a bit later for the cross-up. If you're aiming to jump over, you can often catch opponents trying to jump away, as well. Follow up with cr.LK->HHS or headbutt. st.HK - An excellent poke. Great range, fast, good damage, and it's a low. It combos after some mid-range jump-ins like j.FR and after fierce HHS as well. Basically, when trying to do footsies, this and cr.LP are your best options. Some characters tend to tech jump it, though, and in those cases, use st.HP instead. cr.HK - I'm not a huge fan, but it is a reasonable sweep with good range. It's quite slow though. I guess it'd be a reasonable mixup considering the range, but I feel like there are better options. jump up HK - It's a decent air-to-air against oncoming attacks, seems to have pretty good priority, but the range is pretty small. j.HK - Has probably the best range of your jump-in options, and it's one I use often. It's also actually a good air-to-air option, if your opponent is lower to the ground than you. Still, good damage and range, so a good move overall. Also, you can jump away with it to catch overeager opponents jumping in on you after a knockdown. df+HK - Honda's overhead. It's not really great for much, because it's super slow. The only use it has so far is to threaten an overhead and cancel into something else. Focus Attack (MP+MK) Honda's focus isn't really that great. The range is a bit short, and the hit comes out a bit slow. Honda does sort of crouch when he does it, but aside from that, I can't say much good about it. Hundred Hand Slap (Press P rapidly) The hundred hand slap, abbreviated HHS, is one of Honda's signature moves. It's also very good, and therefore you should learn to do it without fail. You can easily go into HHS from cr.LK or cr.LP, so it's easy to set up. The actual input requires you to input any punch 5 times within 3 frames, with the last input hit determining which version comes out. The LP version has the longest recovery and doesn't move you forward, and the MP version is only slightly less recovery than that, but inches you forward. For all intents and purposes, you should just learn the HP version, as it has the least recovery and does the most damage. The EX version is actually slower than the LP version, and it can actually move you backwards, so when players do it by accident, they tend to move backwards, because most Honda players will maintain a down-back charge while doing HHS. So, that out of the way, what's so good about HHS? Well, first of all, it does good damage and if blocked, good chip damage. It also builds meter very well. In addition, you can maintain a charge while performing HHS. Best of all, though, are the follow-ups. If you hit close, you can go fierce HHS, inch forward, then fierce HHS again. Or, fierce HHS->cr.LP->fierce HHS. You can cancel HHS into super, as well, so that gives you a good way to get big super damage. Another good trick is on hit or block, you can FADC into Ochio for even more damage. Headbutt (b,(charge),f+P) A very good move. The punch button pressed determines the speed, power and distance Honda travels when performing the move. The EX version is of note because its speed and priority are very high, beating out moves the normal versions would not. It deals good chip damage, but be careful especially when the stronger versions are blocked, because it can leave you open to counterattacks. EX headbutt is also your best option against crossups. Just hold back, and when the opponent goes over, hit the punch buttons, and it'll come out. Also, be careful against opponents with DPs, because you'll lose out against those. For the most part, other characters with torpedo-like moves, such as Blanka's roll or Bison's(Dictator's) psycho crusher, will be beaten if you start at about the same time. Headbutt also breaks armor. Splash (d,(charge)u+K) A decent move. The kick button determines the distance you travel, the angle of the move and the damage. This move only hits on the way down, and it seems to have fairly low priority, so it's not really an ideal anti-air. It is useful to do things like tech jump against a throw or low, cross someone up, and other tricks. If you're expecting your opponent to throw out a low poke, the LK or MK versions could be used as a kind of overhead. The MK version is generally the most useful to cross up. The EX version does seem to have higher priority, and seems to have hit on the way up, so it's a decent move to throw out if you're knocked down and being pressured, but like the other versions, it's got terrible recovery, so be careful with it. Ochio (f, df, d, db, b+P) A very good move. It does a very good amount of damage and it leaves you right on top of them for wakeup shenanigans. You can tick into it, basically with LK or LP, standing or crouching, and it has pretty good range. It is just a smidge slower than a normal throw, so keep that in mind. The EX version has longer range. Also, keep in mind that you can whiff it to build meter, such as when fullscreen and idling against a non-fireball character, or immediately after hitting an EX headbutt. Super (b,(charge),f,b,f+P) It's really a shame that this isn't Honda's ultra instead. It does very good damage, goes through fireballs, has two opportunities to hit, and can be combo'd into from HHS. However, Honda relies relatively heavily on EX headbutt and EX splash, so it's hard to get the balance between those and the super. There are some character matchups where the super is much more useful, though. Ultra (b,(charge),f,b,f+PPP) Honda's ultra isn't really that great. Sure, it does an absolutely absurd amount of damage, especially with a full bar, but it's quite hard to stick. It's a good anti-air, in the same vein as EX headbutt is, but it is considerably more punishable. The beginning of the move has some frames that go through fireballs, but it's very limited, so you have to use it at a very strict range or you'll get hit. Also, since the motion requires you to break the charge to do, you're sort of committed to it as soon as you start, so it's somewhat hard to time. =============================================================================== Strategies =============================================================================== Footsies First off, Honda is not really a footsie character. He's got some pretty good pokes, from st.HK and cr.LP to st.HP. But, being a charge character, you often have to maintain a back charge for the Headbutt. His foot speed isn't very impressive, either, however his floating fierce can be somewhat unpredictable. Basically, as far as footsies go, it's hard for Honda to outmaneuver, but you can get some unexpected hits in, especially with floating fierce and st.HK. Approaching Since his footsie game isn't really that great, you have to focus on other ways of getting in with Honda. Splash is an option, but if you whiff, you'll almost definitely eat punishment. On block, it's not so bad, but if you get the distance wrong, it's pretty unforgiving. LP and MP headbutts can be useful against non-fireball characters. If you're careful, jumping in is feasible against some opponents, and you can bait out anti-airs with his floating fierce. Speaking of his floating fierce, it is a very good way to get in against fireball characters. At poke range, you can space with st.HK and cr.LP, then possibly MK splash or dash up throw, or maybe move in for cr.LP->fierce HHS. Escaping Getting out of the corner or from a knockdown setup is pretty important. If you have room to get away, you can use j.LK or j.HK while jumping away to get away from many opponents if they're trying to pressure you with a hit after the knockdown. These are relatively safe, but if you guess wrong, you could eat another hit into another knockdown. You could try blocking, but then you're susceptible to a throw mixup and then another knockdown. Backdash is another good option. If facing an aggressive opponent without a DP(or who doesn't tend to DP you on wakeup), EX headbutt or EX splash are really good options because of their high priority. If you're in the corner, though, things get a little tougher. First off, you're pretty susceptible to cross-ups. EX headbutt is pretty much your only good option against those. The bigger issue is against 50/50 mixups like Zangief. If he gets you in the corner, most of your choices to get out are invalidated by either his SPD or his lariat. So, you can't jump out, and you can't really afford to block, either. Your best option in this case is to reversal EX splash out of there to escape, which will beat either of those options, though it will go too far and whiff if he stands there and blocks, but at least you'll be out of the corner by that point. Jump-ins Honda's jump-ins lead to a lot of damage, and they can be put to good use. His j.HP and j.HK have good range, pretty good priority, good damage, and can lead to more damage. His j.MK can be used to cross-up, and sets him up nicely to combo for more damage. However, he can be anti-aired fairly easily because of his jump arc and his large hitbox, so the trick is to time them correctly, mix in neutral jumps, floating fierces and empty jumps to bait out your opponents' anti-airs and get the damage in when you know you can. Knockdowns This is certainly a big part of Honda's game. Getting a knockdown, usually with a splash or an Ochio, can lead to a great deal more damage. At base, after an Ochio or splash(basically, standing over your opponent, who is knocked down), you have a few options. You can cr.LK into a HHS or headbutt, you can Ochio, you can tick throw or you can cross up. In addition, your opponent could reversal or attempt to jump away. If your opponent tries to jump away, you could splash or j.HP them out of the air. If they reversal, you have to block and punish. Basically, you have a lot of options, and if you guess correctly, it should lead to another knockdown mixup, for more shenanigans, and especially against opponents without DPs(and, I suppose, teleports) you can really deal a lot of damage even from just one knockdown. Block Strings Honda doesn't really have great block strings. cr.LK->cr.LK->cr.LP is pretty much the only effective one I know of. Combos Honda isn't a very combo-reliant character, and if you're curious about combos, just try the Trial mode. Basically, his combos can mostly be summed up as jump-in->LP or LK->headbutt or HHS. It's not all that interesting. =============================================================================== Links =============================================================================== > * www.Shoryuken.com - The foremost website, at least for 2D fighting games like Street Fighter. > * http://www.youtube.com/user/lordaborigine - Lots of videos of Japanese players, search for Akimo specifically for a good Honda, and look for other great Japanese players as well. > * http://www.youtube.com/user/ArcadeInfinity - You can watch the SoCal players here, specifically Mike Ross's Honda, but there are plenty of other good players as well. =============================================================================== Contact Me =============================================================================== If you have questions, comments, corrections or suggestions, you can contact me at [email protected] and I'll try my best to address them. That's it for now, but if I come up with anything else, I'll try and update this guide. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- This guide was created at http://www.playhaven.com/ For a complete version, go here: http://www.playhaven.com/guides/ps3/street-fighter-iv/honda-indepth-guide/s0tXa EqjBUrw/