INTRODUCTION

Cell has always been a fun character to play as. Constructed from DNA taken
from Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo, and Frieza, Cell has a massive pool of attacks
and abilities to draw from.  Because of this, Cell has always had a rather
interesting (and very inconsistent) move list to work with. Aside from 
Kamehameha, none of his moves have stayed the same from game to game.
So what's new this time around? A life absorbing Perfect Cell that, while
very inaccurate to the series, is a blast to play as. Cell in Shin Budokai
Another Road is a defensive fighter built around punishing the opponent's
mistakes whether through absorbing health or a Warp Kamehameha. If you want
a tactical, defensive character, look no further than Cell.

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CELL ADVANTAGES

- Tail Shoot is one of the best attacks in the game, draining the opponent's
health while restoring Cell's. The attack itself is quick with a lot of range
and very hard to see coming. Once stuck with Cell's tail, the opponent can't
teleport counter out of it. Remember though, don't spam it or you will just
end up wasting ki.

- Cell can play a very strong defensive game. His >S and the first hit of his
SSSSS string both have a lot of priority and reach and can easily shut down
an opponent's rushing offensive game down cold.

- Regeneration is an excellent ABC, restoring a full bar and a half of health.

- He can combo of off his throw.

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CELL DISADVANTAGES

- Cell's rush down game is extremely limited. His SSSS string is fairly slow
and easily interrupted and he doesn't have any other slam strings that can be
used to start a combo.

- Cell isn't a very strong character, hitting only in the 2000s with his best
combo.

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CELL MAIN STRATEGY

Unless you want to fight without your best attacks, you should always fight
as Super Perfect Cell. Since Cell doesn't have a strong offensive game, you
will need Tail Shoot to heal during a battle. Cell is strictly a defensive
character, rather than rushing down the opponent, you will need to defend
until you can find an opening you can exploit. Cell simply doesn't have any
means of pressuring the opponent nor does he have a good set of slam strings
to break through their guard. If you play Cell aggressively, chances are,
you will lose. 

*Rush down*

Cell's only viable rush down strings are his >RRSS and his <RRS strings.
While both strings are fast, they are still just standard rushing strings so
any half way decent slam string will break through them. Cell's SSSSS is his
only viable slam string combo starter but it is too slow and is just as easily
beaten out by other slam strings. Cell can combo off of his throw, but all
of his Super Perfect Form special attacks have too much start up time to be
used as juggle enders so you are limited to one shot quick rushing combos.
While Cell is capable of rushing the opponent down, he isn't terribly good at
it.

*Punishing and Defending*

Since Cell can't mount a good offense, you'll have to rely on punishing to win
matches. Thankfully, Cell is built to punish. Cell's >S and the first hit of
his SSSSS string have crazy priority and have quite a bit of range. If the
opponent is rushing you down, you can throw out a quick >S to send them 
sliding across the ground. There are very few attacks that can break through
Cell's >S, so if you use it in the middle of the opponent's slams or rushing
strings, odds are you will break their offense. SSSSS works the same way for
punishment, like >S it is best used to interupt the opponent's strings. To
avoid becoming predictable, mix it up with throws and aura slams. Remember,
the safest way to damage the opponent with Cell is to cancel his SSSSS string
into a combo, if you get predictable with SSSSS and the opponent finds a way
to fight around it, your options become EXTREMELY limited. Cell doesn't have
a good rush down game to fall back on incase things get rough so you can't
afford to become predictable.

*Healing*

To get the most out of Cell's defensive game, you will have to continuously
heal to force the opponent to attack. The best, and safest, way to regain
health is to end all of your combos with Cell's Tail Shoot. While a single
individual Tail Shot doesn't heal that much, after 3 or 4 of them the health
regained starts becoming very noticeable. Even if you aren't linking together
large combos, the difference in health will overcompensate for Cell's low
damage. Tail Shoot should be your dominate method of healing, Regeneration
shouldn't be used unless you desperately need a large amount of health healed
immediately. When that time comes, make sure that the opponent isn't in a
position where they can blast you when you regenerate. >S is probably the
quickest way to get some distance between you and the opponent so you can
safely heal, but again, don't be predictable or the opponent will never
give you a chance to use Regeneration.

*What to do when the opponent has the Ki advantage*

Since Cell is a defensive character to begin with, he doesn't suffer too much
when the opponent has the ki advantage. Since SSSSS is already fairly slow,
it is the easiest, and safest, way to bait the opponent into using a teleport
counter and wasting 3 bars. >S still remains a great attack to throw out
since the opponent can't break fall from the slide giving you plenty of time
to charge ki. There really isn't too much to say here, an aggressive opponent
just gives you more opportunities to land SSSSS and >S and neither one can be
easily punished from a teleport counter.

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COMBO SECTION

*Super Quick Guide to Combo Canceling*

All combo cancels are done by holding down the last S in a regular combo
string then tapping guard to cancel the animation.  When done fast enough,
the character returns to their neutral state and can immediately start 
another combo string.  Once mastered, the charge on the canceled S doesn't
show and the full combo looks fluid without any noticeable breaks or pauses.
Side Step canceling can be done by tapping down or up with guard but only 
works with certain combo strings.  The advantage to side step canceling 
is that if done properly, the combo continues from the opponent's back 
where damage is greater.  Energy attacks can also be canceled by holding 
down E then tapping guard, but only a few characters need use this method 
to cancel a string.  Since energy canceling uses a small amount of ki, it
isn't recommended unless it is the ONLY way to cancel a certain string
for that character.

Finally, the most advanced combo cancel is the Aura Cancel.  While
holding S, tap Aura Burst, release S, then tap S again to trigger the
character's Aura Slam.  This is by far the most difficult cancel to pull off
but opens a whole new range of damage. After a successful Aura Smash cancel,
you are granted a free Aura Rush attack so use that to close the distance 
and continue the combo.

*The Golden Rule of Combo Canceling*

NEVER under any circumstances attempt a combo that puts the opponent in ki
advantage.  That means that no combo should EVER go over 2.5 bars worth of ki
gain for the opponent since it leaves you open for a teleport counter (which
can be canceled into a combo).  That also means that no combo should end in 
an attack that can be recovered from quickly leaving endless possibilities 
for a counter attack.

Basically, no on the ground attacks since break fall can lead into a combo
just as quickly as a teleport counter cancel.  

Finally, absolutely NO PURSUIT FINISHERS!!!!!!  I can't stress this one enough,
although they look great each pursuit attack gives the opponent back 1 whole
ki bar.  That means that getting a complete Pursuit combo ending in a
finisher is next to impossible against anyone who knows how to teleport
counter.  A single pursuit attack is okay once in a while to show off, but
trying for 3 is asking for trouble.  All combos in this guide follow are 
safe to use but incase you try building your own, just keep in mind the 
golden rule and you should be okay.

Legend:

R = Rush attack
S = Slam attack
>= Towards opponent
< = Away from opponent
>> = Dash to opponent
^ = Up on the D-pad
E = Energy Button
- = Cancel
* = Stun
~ = Side Step Cancel
' = Fully charge upcoming move
[AB] = Aura Burst
-[AB] = Aura Cancel


***ALL COMBOS ARE DONE AT MAX KI AGAINST GOGETA AT MAX KI***


All combos performed on the ground without booster cards in SPF.

Beginners Section
No cancel knowledge needed

1) SSSS*, <RRS>E [Tail Shoot] 9 hits, 803 damage

2) SSSS*, RRRS<E [Tail Shoot] 10 hits, 893 damage

3) SSSS*, RR>RRRS>E [Death Beam] 11 hits, 935 damage

Intermediate Section
No Burst canceling knowledge needed

1) SSSSS-, >RRSS-, <R<RRR>E [Death Beam] 13 hits, 1278 damage

2) SSSSS-, <RRS-, >RRSS-, RRRS<E [Tail Shoot] 17 hits, 1241 damage

3) SSSSS-, <RRS~, >RRSS-, RR>RR*, <S>S<E [Tail Shoot] 19 hits, 1438 damage 

Advanced Section

1) SSSSS-, RR>RR*, <RRS~, >RRSS-[AB]S, ^E [Warp Kamehameha] 26 hits,
2188 damage. Opponent gains 1.5 ki bars

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CELL SPECIAL MOVE RATINGS

Kamehameha: 4/10
There just isn't anything that stands out about the Kamehameha this time
around. While this use to be a solid and reliable move, the Kamehameha just
doesn't have anything going for it in the Shin Budokai series. The damage is
average, the ki blast itself travels fairly slowly, the start up time prevents
it from being useable on its own, and it hits multiple times making it very
easy to teleport counter. Avoid using this whenever you can, you'd have to 
play some really terrible people to hit them with this from a distance and
you are better off finding something else to end combos with.

Energy Field: 6/10
Good damage, can't be teleport countered, and a single hit, the only thing
holding this attack back is its lack of range.  Even in close combat, the
opponent can step outside of the blast radius, wasting ki and leaving you wide
open. When fully charged or done from aura burst, the blast radius doubles in
size making it a little more viable for mid range combat but not enough to be
considered an option from long range.

Death Beam: 7/10
While the start up time leaves something to be desired, the damage is solid.
When fully charged or done from an aura burst, the first hit is followed by
two more in rapid succession.  Because of the speed at which the attacks hit,
the powered up version of Death Beam is relatively hard to teleport counter.

Tail Shoot: 9/10
Hands down Cell's best attack, not only does Cell pierce the opponent for
quick, reliable damage, he heals the same amount of damage he inflicts. 
Between Tail Shoot and Regeneration, Cell can last indefinitely in battle
so be sure to end all of your combos with Tail Shoot whenever you need the
health.

Super Kamehameha: 6/10
Now this is the Kamehameha I remember.  The only problem with this ultimate
is the damage, without any real follow up options, 1000 is the most you can
expect to see. However since there is no start up time, Super Kamehameha is
very easy to combo into making more useable than a number of other ultimate
in the game.

Warp Kamehameha: 6/10
I wouldn't say this is an improvement over Super Kamehameha. This Ultimate
is still pretty low on the damage side, hitting for only 150 more than Super
Kamehameha even if done from behind the opponent after a teleport. The
built in teleport itself is mediocre at best, the start up time prevents the
teleport from triggering unless you have been in the stance for some time.
You WILL be hit by a ki blast if you trigger this attack right before the ki
blast hits and you WILL be knocked out of Warp Kamehameha entirely. To make
matters worse, the start up time limits combo opportunities so Warp Kamehameha
is actually harder to connect with in a combo than Super Kamehameha. 

Regeneration: 9/10
Arguably the best type of Aura Burst Charge in the game, Regeneration recovers
1500 health (a life bar and a half) on activation. You are wide open when the
recovery starts so just be sure that the opponent isn't in a position where
they can attack you when you go for regeneration or you might end up losing
more health than you recovered.

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q: How do you use Regeneration?

A: In order to use any Aura Burst Charge, you have to push C (left
shoulder button) and B (right shoulder button) together at the same time.
Aura Burst Charges are unique to every character and can only be used once
per match.

Q: How do I teleport behind the opponent when they attack me?

A: To perform a teleport counter, simply press forward and guard at the same
time when you are attacked.  Teleport counters consume 3 ki bars and can be
canceled into a combo by holding down guard when you teleport.  

Q: How do I teleport after the opponent when I knock them away?  Also, how 
do I do (insert special move) after the teleport?

A: To perform a pursuit attack, simply press Burst (right shoulder button)
after you knock the opponent away with any attack.  Pursuit attacks cost 1 
ki bar and can be done up to 3 times in a row.  After the 3rd attack, your
character will automatically hit the opponent with a special move.  Be 
warned, each pursuit attack gives the opponent 1 ki bar back so connecting
all 3 is extremely rare against a skilled opponent since they will most 
likely be able to teleport counter behind you for a free combo.  

Q: I keep seeing the computer recover health, how do I do that?

A: Health recovery is an Aura Burst Charge unique to Piccolo, the Buus,
Cell, Janemba, and Cooler.  The best way to deal with health recovery (and
any powerful Aura Burst Charge) is to stop the opponent from ever using it.
Close in, stay in their face, and keep the pressure on them so they never get
a chance.  In the off chance they manage to get away and use it, they will be
wide open so hit them with any long range death move, or even an ultimate
to instantly shave off some of the health they regained. Even if the 
opponent manages to heal, it is only 1500 health points, easily taken away
by another combo.

Q: The computer keeps kicking my ass in Another Road, is there any way to
deal with all of the enemies?

A: The best way to deal with the gauntlet of enemies thrown at you in Another
Road is to learn how to combo cancel.  Instead of boosting your stats with
cards and spamming >E, just learn how to combo and you'll be able to take out
3 or 4 enemies without losing a single bar of life.  No I'm not exaggerating,
the A.I. in Budokai simply doesn't know how to deal with extended combos
from charge canceling.  Once you master combo canceling, stat boosting removes
all difficulty from Another Road since a combo that hits for 2000 damage 
normally could hit for well over 4000 damage.

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QUESTIONS?  COMMENTS?  ADVICE?

You can email me at [email protected] if you have any questions or comments
regarding this guide. 

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SPECIAL THANKS

Dimps and Atari - For caring enough to improve the series with each game.

Nnamz - For all of your support and permission to use your faq layout

Zejitox, philff138, cml64, Brogeta, Goryus, Sjsman, vegeta1,
kekken5, EVIL CAPTIAN AMERICA, SuperShinySonic, superior13, kevinlim123,
1ssj4gogeta1 - and everyone else on the Another Road board (specifically the
tier topics) who know how to play the game and continue to contribute to the
community

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LEGAL INFO

This may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal,
private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed
publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web
site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation
of copyright.

Copyright 2008 DrunkenPilot72